With only two episodes left and its place in the television hall of fame is cemented, but like so many shows before it, "Friends" appears to be signing off a little too late.
"Friends" has been a fixture of NBC's Thursday night line-up in its ten season run. The show has inspired haircuts, fashion trends and board games. But irregardless of the cultural phenomenon "Friends" has created, the show is still a success based on the strength of its actors and writers.
The series has managed to consistently deliver laughs and even, in some cases, tears. Enduring a host of weddings, births, break-ups, make-outs, hirings and firings, "Friends" has found ways to play out the same stories while keeping them fresh and funny.
That is, until this season. Thus far, the final season of "Friends" hasn't exemplified the cleverness that made the program a hit. Instead, it has relied on tired plots and the same old zany mishaps, like in one recent episode, when Monica (Courteney Cox-Arquette) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) decide to pretend to be a reverend and a doctor in order to appeal to the potential mother of their adopted baby.
These cases of mistaken identities and well-meant deception might be enjoyable in small doses, but by now, they just come off as stale and hackneyed. At the beginning of every show, the audience knows that some easily avoidable problem will arise, and even though it is completely fixable, it will somehow be made worse before finally being resolved with hugs and kisses.
The plotlines of the remaining friends have been equally dull. Recognizing that Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) has been distractingly irrelevant in the past few seasons, the writers teamed her with a significant other in Paul Rudd's character of Mike. While the presence of Rudd, fresh off his "Celebrity Poker Showdown" success, provides many laughs, the match has merely given more time to an unfunny Phoebe and contrived storylines. The supposed highlight of this season thus far has been Phoebe and Mike's marriage, but at this point, with four marriages already under the show's belt, Phoebe's exchange of vows just seems like another stunt to spice up the show and grab ratings.
After experiencing a character renaissance a couple of seasons back when he started to fall for Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Matt LeBlanc's Joey has once again reverted back to being a supporting character, too often played off as a dim-witted cartoon (as when he believed he had learned French, but had merely mastered the art of gibberish).
We might be interested in Rachel as she raises an infant if we hadn't already seen it before with Ross (David Schwimmer) and his son Ben. Which brings up an interesting question: what happened to Ben? It's like Ross completely forgot that he has another child. As for Ross himself, he has deteriorated into a sometimes moping, frequently pathetic, and occasionally foppish caricature.
The core of the show still is the Ross-Rachel relationship. Their on-again, off-again love affair has provided many of the show's most memorable and poignant moments -- after one of their break-ups, they both stared into the rain despondently as U2's "With or Without You" played in the background. "Friends" can still redeem itself for a sub-par year if the final episodes wrap up this saga in a satisfactory -- not sugary -- manner.
As the finale nears, Rachel is heading to a new job in Paris with her daughter, Emma. Most likely Ross will follow in her wake, and after some drawn out sequence where he gets lost or sidetracked or thrown in jail, he'll dramatically confess his love for Rachel and they'll live happy ever after. Meanwhile, Joey will move to L.A. and Chandler and Monica will become Mom and Dad in the suburbs.
If the denouement treats the Ross-Rachel relationship with dignity and care and lets the jokes come from the strengths of and interaction between the characters, then "Friends" just may exit on a high note. However, if NBC trumps out a parade of guest stars and puts the characters in terribly trite situations, then the finale will likely be a disappointment.
Whether or not the final two episodes live up to previous standards, the audience will laugh anyway because it's "Friends" -- it has been ingrained in us to laugh at it. Hopefully, though, "Friends" can manage a conclusion worthy of its golden years. And thanks to upcoming years of reruns, the familiar faces and characters will always remain dear "friends."
