I'm not watching
Tonight is the big series finale of Friends. I don't plan to watch it.
It's not because it's on opposite another fave: Survivor. I could easily manage to record one, or both of them. No, I'm not watching because I don't like series finales. They are depressing.
Years ago I watched the finale of Barney Miller, a cop sitcom, and it just depressed me. They tried to give "closure" by showing how all the characters were moving on in their lives. But to me it was like all my friends were dying. It drove home the fact that there would be no more new stories. They were gone. It was finished.
In these days of widespread syndicated re-runs, I will be able to watch Friends nearly forever. I want to believe that they are all still there, living across the hall, and the street, from each other, drinking coffee, getting into trouble, and helping each other. I want them to keep being there.
I don't want my re-run experience to be darkened by the looming knowledge that they're really gone.
So I won't be watching tonight. I don't want to be depresssed, and I don't want them to leave. So, they'll always be there for me.
Posted by jackhodgson at May 6, 2004 10:38 AM