Why Is Friends Still On?

It seems like a pretty simple question. Why is a show that ended almost a decade ago still playing on a channel no matter what time you turn on your television? The simple answer is that this show is incredible, but I don’t think that an opinion like that is a good enough answer. The reason I believe this show is still so predominant in everyday pop culture is primarily due to the themes it portrays. Everyone can identify with one or multiple characters in this series. One of the easiest ways for these identifications are through the relationships presented on the show:

Phoebe and Mike: Phoebe is perceived as an outcast in the group. Not to the point of her not fitting in with her friends, but she has always been the quirky, hippie, offbeat girl who sang in the coffeehouse about a Smelly Cat. However, the last season brought out a new side of Phoebe. She had rough childhood to say the least so to see her happily married off at the end of the series wasn’t only satisfying for the viewer, it demonstrated an important message. Phoebe’s happy ending shows the viewers that no matter what obstacles you face in life, if you keep a positive attitude and believe in someday, you can find your happy ending.

Chandler and Monica: Chandler and Monica are two best friends who fell in love. What isn’t inspiring about the notion that anyone, even someone you’ve only seen as a friend could turn out to be the one for you. They also have their share of struggles including the biggest one, the fact that they can’t conceive. News this detrimental can destroy a person, however the two of them overcome the obstacles and find their happily ever after and their family.

Ross and Rachel: Last but not least we have Ross and Rachel. A couple that proves that its possible to somehow date for 8 years without actually dating for 6 of those years. We saw Ross pine over Rachel and Rachel pine over Ross. We saw them date. We saw them take a break, which ended in a break up. We saw them countlessly attempt to get back together. We saw them have a baby. Even with all of their history, these two still find a way to end up happy together. This calls out to all the hopeless romantics or maybe those of us who just aren’t ready to let go of their significant other in an on-again-off-again relationship.

So there it is, my take on my favorite series. Even though I adore this series more than anything else to ever grace the small screen, this isn’t the reason I chose to write about it. The series itself isn’t my passion it’s the ideals it holds that inspire me. I’m not some obsessed dude trying to find a wife in the next twenty minutes and run off into the sunset. However, what’s so bad about escaping the stress of everyday life, that doesn’t always end the way you want it to, by entering the world of six friends with similar struggles and watching them conquer these hardships and come out on top. In my opinion, the world would be a better place if we all made a little time for our Friends.

Season Ten: The One Where It All Ends

They say all great things come to an end, and that’s exactly what happened on May 6, 2004 to our favorite Friends. This season gave the writers and creators 18 episodes to end the multiple pivotal story lines they spent 10 years of their lives creating. In my opinion, they could not have done a better job. We see Phoebe and Mike, newly engaged, plan their wedding. From an extravagant wedding plan, it winds up being a quiet wedding in the street due to a blizzard on their wedding day. It was quirky, simple, and beautiful. It was Phoebe.

Rachel and Joey attempt to date, but in the end they realize that they are better off just friends. Joey also has to say goodbye to his agent, who helped him get to where he currently was in his acting career, though it was a humorous demise, the episode saw Joey really accept the fact that he was growing up. Ross, who left Barbados dating Charlie did not date her long before her ex boyfriend swept her off her feet, leaving him in the dust. You know what that means, Ross and Rachel, single again?? But we’ll get to that. Monica and Chandler, after realizing they couldn’t have children, went through the adoption process and were finally chosen by a mother named Erica.

This brings us to the series finale, appropriately titled The Last One. I cannot do this episode justice in a blog, so I will not write it down, you need to watch this show for yourself, and if I spoil the ending, it will ruin everything…

So instead I want to end my coverage of all things Friends by discussing the common themes that make this show so prominent, in pop culture and society today, almost a decade after the show ended. (See Next Blog Post)

 

Season Eight and Nine: The Ones Where Rachel Has A Baby, And EVERYTHING CHANGES

So since the weeks are running down, I want to do a few big blog entries at the end so I had to combine these two seasons. As the title spoils, Rachel is the one who took the positive pregnancy test! The only question now is, who is the father. After everyone tries to convince her to tell them, the only hint she gives is that he was wearing a red sweater that he carelessly left behind the night they were together. Joey found this and showed it to Phoebe who knew that Tag owned that sweater! So she called Tag and had him meet him at Central Perk, however when he showed up, what he was wearing was shocking to them. He was wearing the RED SWEATER. Obviously he’s not the father. Frustrated at the mystery, Joey and Phoebe headed back to Monica’s and Ross was there. He exclaimed “My Sweater! I’ve been looking everywhere for that!”

So Ross is the father of the baby! When Rachel tells him she’s pregnant he freaks out a little, but he eventually gets on board and let’s just say it is an extremely hilarious to watch the two of them throughout her pregnancy. If I haven’t convinced you to watch this show yet, take my word for it now, this season is hilarious! Ross asks Rachel to move in with him because he wants to be involved in the pregnancy. Though Ross and Rachel are having the baby, they do not resume their romantic relationship. Joey, however starts to develop feelings for Rachel.

He doesn’t act on them, but they are clearly evident. In the season finale, Rachel gives birth to a baby girl, whom she names Emma. At the hospital, Ross’s mother offers him an engagement ring because she wants him to marry Rachel. Ross does not intend to ask Rachel to marry him, but he takes the ring anyway and puts it in his jacket pocket. Meanwhile, after Emma is born, Joey looks for some tissue for an upset Rachel, picks up Ross’s jacket, and the ring falls to the floor. He kneels to pick it up and turns to Rachel, still on his knees and still holding the ring. Rachel thinks that she is proposing to him and she says yes…

That brings us to the ninth season. Rachel is embarrassed after figuring out that Joey wasn’t proposing while Ross isn’t the happiest with either of them for the situation, Joey proposing, and Rachel saying yes… However, this all gets swept under the rug and Rachel and Ross take Emma home!

This season introduces a new character named Charlie. In the interest of time, I’m going to outline the rest of this season up to the finale…

-Joey starts dating a paleontologist named Charlie (She’s the worst)

-Phoebe starts dating a guy named Mike Hannigan (He’s the best!)

-Chandler and Monica try to start a family, but are unsuccessful and have to visit a fertility specialist.

-Ross develops feelings for Charlie

-Joey still has feelings for Rachel

-Phoebe and Mike break up because he says he never wants to get married

-Phoebe starts to date David again

-Everyone takes a trip to Barbados for a paleontology conference to support Ross

In Barbados, Ross confesses his feelings for Charlie, who in turn breaks up with Joey to be with him. Joey then confesses his feelings for Rachel, and they kiss. Phoebe, who brought David on the trip, is surprised when Mike shows up and tells her he’s still in love with her. He then proposes to her and she says yes! So that means that everyone is together with new people, but season ten, the final season, changes everything, again!

Season Seven: The One Where Monica and Chandler Get Married

So the season starts directly after Chandler’s proposal. The rest of the season follows the gang as they prepare for Monica and Chandler’s wedding. There are bumps along the way, such as choosing who the best man/maid of honor will be, and other things, but we’ll get to the wedding at the end.

So Rachel begins dating a much younger man. His name is Tag, yeah TAG, and they date throughout the season. He starts working as her assistant and it turns into something more after about three episodes. Joey’s show Mac and CHEESE gets cancelled, and he ends up crawling back to the show runners of Days of Our Lives. So now he plays a character in a coma. Luckily, later on his character receives a brain transplant giving him the ability to act in the show by doing more than lying in a bed. Phoebe’s apartment gets fixed, but it is made into a one-bedroom. So she moves back into it alone and Rachel stays with Joey. That’s fine with Rachel though, she and Joey actually make perfect roommates!

So let’s skip ahead to the end. Like I said before, this entire season revolves around one event; Chandler and Monica’s wedding. The week before the wedding, Monica and Chandler travel to Vegas to see Chandler’s Dad’s drag show to invite him to the wedding, despite Chandler’s hesitation. He/She is honored and accepts the invite. After that everything is set and ready to go. There are a few minor complications, like with Joey. Joey got ordained as a minister online and was to perform the ceremony, however when his movie shoot ran late due to a drunk costar, he had to perform the ceremony in a bloody Civil War solider uniform. Another, not so minor, complication that occurs involves Phoebe. When Phoebe’s getting ready in Monica’s bathroom, she looks into the trash can and finds a pregnancy test! Chandler overhears that Monica could be pregnant and freaks out! He leaves a note and goes into hiding. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard to find him considering his hiding place was his office. He conquers his fears and goes to the wedding. After the ceremony he tells Monica he loves her and that he knows about the baby. She replies, “What baby? I’m not pregnant.” So who’s test was it? In the last five seconds of the episode, the camera moves away from the couple and zooms in on Monica’s maid of honor; Rachel…