{"id":50832,"date":"2024-05-06T21:00:26","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T19:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2034695"},"modified":"2024-05-06T22:31:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T20:31:29","slug":"lets-be-honest-friends-ended-3-years-too-late","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/lets-be-honest-friends-ended-3-years-too-late\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s be honest \u2013 Friends ended 3 years too late"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been 20 years since Friends came to a close, but should it have been 23? <\/p>

By George White\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 06 May 2024 at 19:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

6th May 2004 was a moment. One of those \u201cwhere were you when\u2026\u201d moments, to be more precise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the finale of Friends <\/span>broke TV records<\/span><\/a>, and David Schwimmer\u2019s Ross frantically shouted at his answering machine as he stressed over whether Jennifer Aniston\u2019s Rachel got off the plane, viewers across the world were hooked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even I, a primary schooler who sneakily stayed up past my bedtime, not really understanding any of the jokes but laughing along when my parents did, could feel the enormity of what was playing out on screen. This was pop culture history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But should 6th May 2004 have been a moment, really? Should Friends<\/a> have stuck around long enough to hit that 10th season and wind things up the way they did?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, after growing up with Friends as my go-to pre-sleep watch, then growing older, more jaded and more analytical, it\u2019s become blindingly obvious that it shouldn\u2019t \u2013 Friends should have come to a close three years earlier.<\/span><\/p>

Of course, if you look at any list of the \u2018best Friends moments\u2019, plenty of quotable late-season scenes come up:<\/span> \u201cJoey doesn\u2019t share food!\u201d, \u201cPrincess Consuela Banana Hammock\u201d, \u201cIt\u2019s the humidity!\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

But for all that these<\/span> have wormed their way into the zeitgeist, and were delivered by master comedians at the top of their game, the real genius of Friends was its ability to deliver such memorable moments while telling a genuinely interesting story<\/span> \u2013 which, if we\u2019re being honest, died a death<\/span> several years before the show itself did.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Think back to season 1 \u2013 for me, the strongest of the lot \u2013 and the genius of<\/span> Friends is in full view. There are undoubtedly moments of comedic brilliance throughout the season \u2013 Rachel\u2019s stand-off with a foul-mannered laundromat customer; Chandler\u2019s Trident quip \u2013 but all of the jokes are underpinned by layers beyond the humorous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Friends