The best parts of any year are those that come once a year, every year. The special combination of rarity and regularity gives us something to look forward to, such as birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, and so on.
Of course there are some annual events that are a lot less fun, but we all pretend to enjoy anyway, such as New Year’s, Valentine’s day, April fool’s day, and the annual rumour that the Friends cast are FINALLY getting back together for a reunion.
How people believe this every year is just beyond me. At this stage, David Schwimmer (The Rossatron) and Matt LeBlanc (Chick) have said that they don’t want to take part in a reunion, while Jennifer Aniston (Hot Rachel that you took to the Christmas party Rachel?) said “it ended at the right time”. So that’s half the cast gone right off the bat.
Lisa Kudow, aka Pheebs, has stated that “it would be so different it wouldn’t be Friends anymore”, Matthew Perry, aka Duck, said that he would if he could go back in time, and Courtney Cox blamed David Schwimmer for the lack of reunion.
But that still doesn’t stop people from regurgitating these unfounded rumours year after year. A combination of wishful thinking and clickbait headlines make sure that every year, we’re all talking about a show that ended 12 years ago. Now, the world is abuzz with rumours that the cast have actually been confirmed for a two-hour special, and everyone is freaking out. So let’s clear things up.
It’s all a big lie.
The two-hour special is not an episode of Friends, it’s a two-hour tribute that NBC are having for James Burrows, who directed 15 of the 236 episodes (00.06%), all before 1998.
Furthermore, the big announcement that they are all confirmed is just a flat out lie. What NBC Chief Robert Greenblatt actually said is “I’m hoping all six will be in the same room at the same time. I’m not sure we can logistically pull it off.”
So basically, some successful director is retiring and they wanted to get loads of media attention. Meanwhile, 6 of the most famous people on the planet are wondering who this guy is, but they don’t want to ask each other because they don’t actually talk. The six of them have never met up at the same time since the show ended. They’re not going to show up for a reunion that only one of them hasn’t said is a bad idea.
There is not, nor will there ever be a Friends reunion. It’s been twelve years. It’s time we accept that the show is over.