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05/10/2004: "Friends is done..."
Friends is no more. This past week was the last Thursday that my wife and I will sit down to watch out lineup of Friends, CSI, and ER. I guess we'll have to find another acronym to watch.
To be clear, however, we didn't actually watch the final episode of Friends on Thursday. Our daughter's bedtime typically conflicts with at least one of the shows we watch, so we just tape it. (Actually, we tape the whole evening, just in case we have to abandon the TV to get her to sleep.) So Saturday we finally got to see the end of Friends. Almost.
The VCR worked just as it should, and recorded from 9pm until 10pm, at which point it switched over to another channel to record ER. Sadly, that meant that the last thing we saw on Friends was Rachel and Ross kissing and saying that they really want to be together... and then *poof*, we're watching something else.
That's right... we haven't seen the last 30-60 seconds of Friends, and it's bugging me. Yes, it was an epic show, but don't you think they could keep within the allotted time? Did they really need to go over? Argh.
If anyone knows of a place where I can download the last episode online, please lemme know.
And Happy Belated Mothers day to any and all mothers out there. My wife and I dipped fresh strawberries in chocolate in your honour. Mmmm, MM! Yum.
Replies: 4 Comments
on Monday, May 10th, Walt's Dog said
I had the same problem...kinda.
I wasn't taping it but watching it on some channel that was simulcasting it. I got as far as the part where Ross is listening to Rachels message on the phone and then BAM! the simulcast ended and I was on to something else...by the time I found anothe channel that had the show (new dish so I'm not sure where things are) I caught the last 20 seconds but still missed about a min in there.
on Tuesday, May 11th, Hat Daddy said
What you experienced has caused quite a furor on blogs across the interweb.
You see, not only did Friends start 1 minute *earlier* than other programming, but NBC lied about when it would end (the official line was that it would end at 9:59, not 10:03)
Yes, it was a pretty mean trick for them to do, but there is, unfortunately, precedent. You see, in Japan, there is no show that starts on the hour (or half-hour), because *ALL* the networks there are seeing competitive advantage by 'locking in' their viewers with weird start times.
I'm cynical enough to believe that this will inevitably be the case here in North America, and that the viewing audience won't complain too much about it.
Seems like a good reason to stop with television altogether. If a network wants me to see their show, they can give it me on DVD, commercial free.
Other fun facts: The ad spots for the last episode of Friends cost as much as the Superbowl ($2m/30s spot).
All this, and I didn't watch it. I don't even care for it, either. Enterprise is WAY better than Friends, but both are as good as local furniture store commercials when compared to Firefly.
on Tuesday, May 11th, mr.ska said
That's very interesting... but it doesn't help my sneaking suspicion that the entire show ended with some sappy/humourous reference to no longer being "on a break".
So who thinks that CSI: New York is going to be a big flop? I thought CSI: Miami was already bordering on getting blood from a rock, but a third CSI? Puh-lease.
on Tuesday, May 11th, Hat Daddy said
I'm a little astonished at the proliferation of crime dramas in general. You mentioned 3, I also know of Cold Case, another specializing in missing persons (a Jerry Bruckheimer one I believe), then there's the one with the paralegal who got wrongfully jailed by her ex...
is it just me, or is crime drama a tad overrepresented?
