Friends, the final episode of a cult

David Benaym · May 9, 2004

Translated from the French. Original: La Dernière Heure, May 9, 2004 · French version

(09/05/2004)

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT IN NEW YORK,

The broadcast sparked a frenzy in New York

NEW YORK

“I’ll be there for youuuuu...”. The theme song starts and the crowd sings along in unison to the cult series of the 90s. It has already been ten years since Chandler, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross and Joey came into our lives. Friends are not necessarily there for life... On Thursday evening, Friends said goodbye to more than 50 million viewers. In Tribeca, a chic neighbourhood in lower Manhattan, the film festival of the same name paid tribute to the series by showing the five friends on a giant screen. Thousands of fans had gathered for the occasion.

The diehards knew by heart the lines of the commemorative clip shown before the final episode.

For weeks, New Yorkers had been preparing the farewell evening in the spirit of the show. Everyone tries to identify with the different characters: Phoebe and her otherworldly jokes, Monica the neat freak, Joey the greedy seducer with Peter Pan syndrome, Ross the clumsy, oversensitive palaeontology obsessive, Rachel the seductive businesswoman between two love affairs, and Chandler, king of heavy-handed jokes and puns... they were all together for the final departure.

The price of the commercials aired during the special evening reached a level never seen for a TV series, exceeding the rates of some Super Bowl finals or the Oscars, two of the most watched annual events in the United States. Advertisers prepared spots especially for the occasion, to make an impression and get the most out of their investment. To be present during the commercial breaks, one had to pay an average of two million dollars per thirty-second slot! Even though the series is over, Friends will keep making money for its producers. Its 236 episodes are broadcast in 150 countries, dubbed into around a hundred languages, and currently bring in 1.5 billion dollars in advertising revenue alone. Not counting rerun rights and DVD sales, including that of the last episode, which will be available from Tuesday!

All the New York dailies hailed the departure of Friends from the local broadcasting landscape. Newsday wished the actors good luck on their return to “normal life”, the New York Times summed up the ten seasons, and USA Today shed a tear, hailing the feat of having lasted “ten years without a hitch, without ever boring the viewer”. What is surprising in the United States is that despite the competition between networks, they all celebrated the farewell to Friends.

Without revealing the twists of the last episode, Americans discovered whether Rachel and Ross finally get back together and whether Chandler and Monica finally manage to have a baby. Phoebe and Joey, as usual, played their hilarious roles as offbeat characters. Viewers are now waiting patiently for the spin-off of Friends, based on Joey’s life in Los Angeles, to soothe their frustration at losing 5 friends at once... “Joey”, played by actor Matt LeBlanc, is due to appear in the autumn, with a single objective: not to disappoint.

D.B.