Friends (season 10)

Friends (season 10)
The tenth and final season of Friends, an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 25, 2003. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 17 episodes (with 5 double-length episodes, including the premiere and finale) and concluded airing on May 6, 2004.
Season synopsis
The season premiere opens in Barbados, where the season 9 finale ended: Joey sees Ross, his best friend, and Charlie, his ex-girlfriend, kissing in the hotel lobby, then goes to Rachel's room, where the two of them also kiss. However, before going further, they decide to seek Ross' approval, but Ross finds them kissing, back in Manhattan, before they can approach him. Ross tries to hide his hurt, to no avail. Joey eventually talks to Ross about the situation and Ross seems to give his blessings. After several obstacles prevent Joey and Rachel from consummating their relationship (including Joey unable to untie Rachel's bra and Rachel accidentally kneeing Joey in the crotch), they decide to remain platonic. By the sixth episode, Ross is single again when Charlie reunites with her ex-boyfriend.
Mike proposes to Phoebe and they marry mid-season. Monica and Chandler decide to adopt a child, after discovering they are infertile. They are eventually paired with a young, expecting mother named Erica (Anna Faris) and buy a house in Westchester county. Rachel is scouted for a fashion buyer job with Gucci, but her current boss (Mr. Zelner) is seated at the next table, in the restaurant where she is being interviewed. She is fired by Ralph Lauren and rejected by Gucci, which leaves her unemployed. While cleaning out her office at Ralph Lauren, she runs into Mark, her former Bloomingdale's colleague (from Season 3), who offers her a job with Louis Vuitton in Paris. Ross, unaware and still in love with her, secures her job at Ralph Lauren, even convincing her former boss to increase her salary. However, Rachel chooses Louis Vuitton and Paris. Saying her goodbyes to everyone, Rachel goes to Ross' apartment last, where they spend the night together. Expecting Rachel to now cancel her plans for Paris, he is devastated when she does not.
In the season's (and series') final episode, Joey and Phoebe help pack up Monica and Chandler's belongings, while Erica delivers; to their surprise, she has twins, a boy (Jack) and a girl (Erica). Rachel leaves Ross' apartment. Gunther declares his love for Rachel (at Central Perk). Rachel has to leave for the airport, immediately after meeting the twins.
While Joey, Monica and Chandler finish packing, Phoebe and Ross leave in her cab to catch Rachel at the airport, but they end up at JFK, the wrong airport. Meanwhile, Joey, Chandler and Monica disassemble the foosball table to remove a baby chick and duckling.
Phoebe's cell phone call to Rachel results in a chaotically absurd "phalange" panic and delay in the departure. They catch Rachel at the gate before she boards, but despite Ross' pleas, Rachel still boards. Ross returns home only to find an answering-machine message from Rachel declaring her love, but she is prevented by a flight attendant from leaving the plane, and her call is disconnected partway through. Ross is frantic until Rachel enters his apartment, saying "I got off the plane". They kiss and declare their love for each other. The last scene of the series is everyone putting their keys on the counter in Monica's apartment. When Rachel asks if they have time for one last coffee, Chandler jokingly replies, "Where?" Jefferson Airplane's “Embryonic Journey” plays as the camera pans across the empty apartment, before landing on the purple front door. The show then fades to black. The tag scene pans around New York.
Reception
Collider ranked it #6 on their ranking of the ten Friends seasons, and picked "The Last One" as its highlight. The final episode was watched by over 52.46 million people and is the 4th most watched episode in TV history.
Cast and characters
Main cast
Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green
Courteney Cox-Arquette as Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan
Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer as Ross Geller
Recurring cast
Paul Rudd as Mike Hannigan
Aisha Tyler as Charlie Wheeler
Anna Faris as Erica
James Michael Tyler as Gunther
Guest stars
Anne Dudek as Precious
Maggie Wheeler as Janice Litman-Goralnik
Elliott Gould as Jack Geller
Christina Pickles as Judy Geller
Giovanni Ribisi as Frank Buffay, Jr.
Christina Applegate as Amy Green
Greg Kinnear as Benjamin Hobart
Ron Leibman as Leonard Green
Ellen Pompeo as Missy Goldberg
Donny Osmond as himself
Danny DeVito as the stripper
Dakota Fanning as Mackenzie
Jane Lynch as Ellen
Jennifer Coolidge as Amanda Buffamonteezi
Maria Pitillo as Laura
Episodes
Specials
Home Media Releases
An exclusive limited DVD edition of the finale was released in region 1 on May 11, 2004, only 5 days after the series finale premiere on NBC; the disc includes the broadcast and extended version of the 2-part episode, the series' pilot and several other bonus features. For region 4, the limited DVD was also released in Latin America on September 14, 2004.
The complete tenth season was officially released on DVD in region 1 on March 8, 2005, as a 4-disc DVD Box Set. The release includes the extended versions of every episode, 3 audio commentaries, an exclusive interview with the cast and producers about the final days at the set, multiple gag reels, a music video and a video guide to season ten's guest star. The bonus features included in the limited DVD version of the finale were not included into the official season set, except for the extended finale, that was the only feature included in both sets.
Season 10 was released on Blu-ray altogether with the rest of the series on the Complete Series releases; and as part of the special features the set include the original "super-sized" broadcast versions of several episodes from seasons 7, 9 & 10 apart from the original broadcast versions of every episode; the episodes from seasons 9 & 10 are presented in High Definition, while the ones from season 7 are presented in Standard Definition.
Notes
References
External links
10
2003 American television seasons
2004 American television seasons