Contains minor spoilers
Could I be more excited!
It seems quite shocking that it has been 17 years since the last episode aired (2004 peeps). Perhaps it’s because there are usually reruns on the TV and I watch episodes every now and then so it feels like it’s still going. Friends first aired in 1994 and I remember I first saw it at University when a friend was watching it on her TV. I don’t remember what episode I first watched, I just remember thinking it was something a bit different and quite fun. Somewhere along the line, I ended up watching the seasons as they aired, all the way up to the last one (sniff). And now, I have watched every single episode and some of the episodes I have watched multiple times.
There’s just something relatable with the characters that draw you in, whether it’s something you see in yourself or in your friends and family. I know someone who’s a bit of a ‘Monica’. I know some self-centred ‘Rachaels’. And I’m probably more of an ‘outcast’ Phoebe. I’m struggling to think of anyone as ‘dumb’ as Joey. Perhaps that’s because while his character did show the odd moment of rare maturity and insight, his character never really developed as the other characters did. This is a shame as Joey was a great character. Even Chandler grew into a sensible, mature adult, though he never lost his quick wit. And though Ross continued to ‘play’ with dinosaurs, he went through character development arcs (and a number of divorces!).
I could see myself hanging out with most of the characters and that’s probably the same for a lot of fans. And having been on our screens for 10 years, it makes it hard to separate the actors from their characters at times! When the actors make their way one by one onto the recreated set for the reunion, it is like seeing the actual characters coming home.
Now, there’s been a lot of comments on social media about some of the actors’ appearance and whether they’ve had plastic surgery/botox. I’m not going to go there. It’s been 17 years, so yes, they will look different and will have aged, and you know what? They’ve aged pretty damn well. Even Joey – I mean – Matt Le Blanc has aged but he still looks damn fine. How you doin?
One thing I enjoyed about the reunion is when the cast did read-throughs of some of the episodes mixed with actual clips and the cast read it pretty much exactly how they originally acted it. They’re all great actors and possess great comedic timing, and are great with visual gags. They are all masters at putting on appropriate facial expressions – of which there is a huge range, as well as voicing appropriate tones. Matt Le Blanc stated that he looked back at episodes and didn’t think his acting was believable because he knew it was him acting it. I can imagine it must be very difficult to watch your acting from an objective viewpoint but he did it well.
We were also treated to some guest appearances which rather bizarrely included Justin Bieber dressed as Sputnik. And then there was the revelation that Jennifer Aniston and David Scwhimmer were actually crushing on each other in the beginning. Oh. My. God! But I’m not going to spoil it anymore, if you love Friends then you’ll love the reunion!
