Social media has been abuzz reminding me the television show Friends (NBC) started its run 30 years ago and aired its final episode May 2004 – 20 years ago. I would guess that with syndication, it has never been off the air in the last 20 years. I know I have rewatched it when it used to come on every night at 9:00. Mainly just because it was there. With it streaming on Max and other options, new generations are now watching it. But they just don’t understand.

September has long been associated with the a few things.  Football season.  Fall (or Autumn depending on your geographic location and/or faux sophistication), the traditional school year start, and most important, the beginning of the original television show season.  That last one was definitely a big one for me.  I won’t go into too many embarrassing details but I would usually purchase a TV Guide or some other entertainment magazine and look at the schedule.  When were all the long awaited premieres?  In all fairness, the previous season usually ended mid-May and any show worth watching usually had something I had been waiting for some type of resolution for four months.  And back in those days, four months felt much longer than they do now.  Waiting from May until September for the answer to some evilly designed cliff-hanger should have developed a keen sense of patience in me.  Should have.  But somehow didn’t.  Of course, any promise in a finale was usually unwound in a premiere. Just to keep the story going another season because only finales got happiness (if you’re lucky). Premieres usually got more problems to solve. One of those storylines I waited for-EV-er on was the Ross and Rachel romance of Friends.

From the beginning, the Friends makers toyed with us.  Ross liked Rachel.  Rachel liked Ross.  Ross and Rachel liked each other.  Ross screwed up (I never liked the “We were on a break!” storyline).  Rachel and Ross were angry with each other.  Ross and Rachel reconciled.  Ross and Rachel broke up.  Ross and Rachel were angry with each other.  Ross and Rachel liked each other but not like-liked each other.  Ross and Rachel had a kid together.  An awkward Joey triangle.  Ross and Rachel are going their separate ways.  Ross and Rachel reconcile for the last time.  Supposedly.

Full disclosure, I have written how dragging this romance out for 10-long seasons I refer to as the Friends Flaw.  The storyline actually became overcooked and unsuitable for any other ending.  But I’ve already discussed that before so I will jump back into the point of this post.

I have read reviews and critiques about how Friends ended. The finale finally allowed Ross and Rachel to get together. People nowadays binge watch the show and complain she chose him over Paris.

Okay, anyone who watches it now will not understand. You binge watch 10 seasons in what, 2 weeks maybe? 14 days?  You do some kind of compressed viewing and watch all 236 episodes in what?  Days?  Maybe months?  

I scoff at all that.  

Those of us around since the beginning put in ten years – 10 YEARS or 3,650 DAYS waiting and being teased with them getting together. Off and on and off and nearly on and off and kid and…

Granted, if it was real life I would suggest they step back and see the insanity of it all.  BUT IT IS NOT REAL LIFE.  It is a show.  With fictional characters designed to make us happy.  Really, that is the end goal and I say that with confidence because it was filmed in front of a live studio audience with the intent of laughter.  

We waited 10 years and 236 episodes for that ending. You Johnny-come-latelys will never understand that wait and so, you will not appreciate the finale. You simply can’t.

Us old timers get it.  This was ten years of my life, people.  No, I’m not proud of the fact I can say that but don’t you come here and tell me it should have had a different ending for Ross and Rachel.  I refuse to listen to such silly nonsense.