TV Interlude: FRIENDS

Last night, I settled in for the final episode of Friends. I circulate the seasons at night because I am so comfortable with the show, and know it so well that I literally can stay up and watch or fall asleep comfortably to the sound of their voices. Either way, I feel like it is running through my head constantly. But I stay away from two episodes like the plague because they will make me ball like a baby. The first is the break up episode in season 3, “The One with the Morning After,” (yes I know, it’s pathetic that I know the names of the episodes). Anyone who has ever been cheated on knows that it is a feeling that you don’t want to relive, and every time I watch this episode all I can think about is the jerk who broke my heart. It feels just like that too, you are exhausted all the time and that person is forever changed in your mind, tainted somehow.

The other one is “The Last One” because, well, it’s the end of something, and lord knows I don’t deal with endings well. It is perfect in the fact that it is not actually sad at all, the jokes are well times as usual, the plots wrap up the way you want them to. But for some reason every time Rachel shows up and says “I got off the plane” tears stream down my face. It’s the perfect ending to a ten-season story. It is the ending that we dream for, but seldom get. It is bittersweet, wonderfully entertaining television. 

I am a firm believer in the fact that Friends episodes can solve any problem, if you stay away from the above mentioned episodes for the above mentioned reasons. It’s never not amusing to see Monica in a fat suit, or watch Chandler be girly, or see Ross sport the worst fake tan in the history of the world. Flashbacks are always good stories, and some of my favorite episodes are about nothing,  like the one where they are all just trying to get ready to leave (season 3), or the one with Unagi. The genius is that you can walk in on any episode and feel like you understand and are invested. If you are a diehard like me, by the end of the series these characters were so well developed, in depth, and quirky that they really did feel like friends. You knew how neurotic they were and it made them all the more endearing. 

If you’ve never given it a chance, you should. I have hooked so many people on this show I can’t even count.  The writing is quirky and heartwarming, and no matter how many times I watch these episodes I want more. It is the only show that I have ever felt that way about, and it is the only show that I haven’t gotten annoyed with characters or bored with story lines (I’m a tough critic).

Fav description: 6 normal people. No Sex. Bad Jobs. Hit Show. Go Figure. I guess some things are just meant to be. 

Noteworthy: Still making an impact, here is a recent Friends article that I adore:  http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/05/friends-oral-history-top-of-the-rock?mbid=social_retweet