bigjim25

From Zap2it.com - It's not like the final episode of "Friends" will need much help in the ratings, but cable's TV Land is planning to shut down when the show says goodbye on Thursday, May 6.
Rather than air its regular classic-TV slate that night, TV Land will devote the hours prior to the finale to pre-"Friends" appearances by the six principal cast members on other shows. The network will then go dark from 9 to 10 p.m. ET, when the finale airs.

Or rather, viewers will see a group of TV Land staffers gathered around a TV set. Someone will look up from time to time to remind the audience to flip over to NBC.

"The end of 'Friends' is the end of an era in television history, TV Land president Larry W. Jones says in a statement. "'Friends' has proven itself to be a modern classic, and TV Land wants to be sure no viewers accidentally miss this historic event."
(Hell if they do, they can go buy the DVD the following Tuesday)
TV Land did something similar for the final episode of "Seinfeld" in 1998.

Surprisingly, no corporate synergy is in play here. TV Land is part of the Viacom-owned MTV Networks family, while "Friends" airs on GE-owned NBC and is produced by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner.

"Before They Were Friends" retrospective will air on TV Land from 6 to 9 p.m. ET May 6.
It will feature each cast member in another series:
Lisa Kudrow on "Cheers"
Matt LeBlanc on "Just the Ten of Us"
Jennifer Aniston on "Ferris Bueller"
David Schwimmer on "The Wonder Years"
Matthew Perry on "Who's the Boss?"
Courteney Cox on "Family Ties"

das Monkey

That's pretty funny. I might watch that instead.

das

Rogue588

Quote:

Originally posted by bigjim25
"The end of 'Friends' is the end of an era in television history, TV Land president Larry W. Jones says in a statement. "'Friends' has proven itself to be a modern classic, and TV Land wants to be sure no viewers accidentally miss this historic event."

Are they going to be passing around the bong on camera, as well..?

Kal-El

That's cool. I'll watch that.

the narrator

that's interesting....I had no idea they did something like that for Seinfeld.

namja

ditto. maybe they'll get higher ratings doing this than their regular programming.

MvRojo

I really don't think Friends is that important.

FuzzyBallz

Don't feel too bad, you're not the only one that's been living under a rock for the past 10 years... hermit...

UAIOE

I could perhaps see them shutting down for a final episode of "The Simpsons" as that show ending (if it ever does) would be the end of an era...but "Friends"?

Canis Firebrand

Hmmmm.. I'm going to have to watch that.. I never knew some of them were on those shows.

And I used to watch them all the time.

xVladx

Well, hasn't Friends been on for something like ten years? That's pretty darn long, and it's been (as far as I know) consistently popular for its whole run.

rfduncan

That is FUNNY! I forgot about this! I wonder if the casting director for Friends cast Jennifer Grey (the original Jeanie Bueller) as Mindy as an inside joke?

I may have to Tivo all that...

resinrats

Sweet!! I loved this show when it aired. I'll definatly be taping it. Any plans to actually air the whole series?

Michael Corvin

eh. Everyone has their favorites. I never did get into the Simpson's. But there is a difference in 'eras' between the two. The Simpsons era would be because it has been on for 13+ years. Friends' era is that it has been a consistent top 10 program for 10 straight years. Probably top 5 if one were to research it.

Mopower

I'd rather watch a blank screen than Friends so for TV Land.

Aphex Twin

This may have been attempted had it been pre-Janet...but I don't think they'd show it on TV post-Janet.

Rogue588

Quote:

Originally posted by Mopower
I'd rather watch a blank screen than Friends so for TV Land.

My girlfriend forced me to sit through an episode of this "modern classic" once...

... once ...

Geofferson

That is pretty cool. I'll have to be sure to remember to tune into TV Land during that hour.

nightwing82

The "Friends" finale, to me, is way bigger than if the Simpsons were ending. I watched the Simpsons off and on, and do not currently watch it anymore. A series finale of the Simpsons wouldn't even draw my attention, I don't even watch the reruns in syndication anymore like I do with Seinfeld and Friends. Plus as many have already mentioned, Friends has been a very consistant hit for 10 years straight.

djbrown

Given the lack of minorities on Friends , this has to be the first time the words "dark" and 'Friends' have been uttered in the same sentence.

AGuyNamedMike

I watched it for a coupla years, but eventually realized I couldn't stomach most of the characters so for me it jumped the shark. Seinfeld, on the other hand, was a trainwreck of comedic genius.

calhoun07

I must be the last person on earth who doesn't care about Friends at all. Though I might watch TV land before it to see some sit coms these actors were on in the past. That might be interesting. But I never watched the show in 13 years and I am not going to start now.

bboisvert

I try to cut down on my Friends watching. I only watch the shows that NBC advertises as "very special".

das Monkey

Wow ... when do you find time to sleep?

das

UAIOE

Nope, i've never cared for the show either.

I've seen some episodes, but it didnt strike me as anything better than any other sitcom.

And all the people i know who like & have watched the show frequently all agreed the show should have ended about 2 seasons ago.