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NBC Says Goodbye to Friends

© F. Colin Kingston

May is an even bigger month then usual in the world of television. In addition to being sweeps month, it is also the month that two long-running series bid adieu - "Friends" and "Frasier." Both, coincidentally, air on NBC.

"Friends" has been a mainstay on NBC for many years. Except for Courtney Cox, the now famous cast began as virtual unknowns. As their popularity rose the cast held a famous "sick out" and demanded huge pay raises and a percentage of the show as compensation. The cast won as the show has a large following and has anchored NBC's Thursday lineup for many years.

It is estimated that 50 million people will watch the final episode on Thursday, May 6, 2004 and NBC plans to do all it can to milk every last drop out of it. The evening of "Friends" will begin with a one-hour retrospective on the series. That will be followed by a one-hour series finale.

NBC is guarding what happens in the finale very carefully. All that is known for sure is that series star Matt LeBlanc will get his own spin-off series next season. An NBC press release describes the finale this way: "Filled with humor and bittersweet emotion, the series finale of "Friends" finds Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross embarking on the next chapters in their lives.

The six of them have been there for each other through all the ups and downs of becoming adults. Now it's their last day together, and it's one of momentous events and last-minute surprises. Even as the friends make major decisions on their futures, there is a bond between them that will last forever - no matter where their paths lead."

Fans of the show can take heart. Reruns of "Friends" will be on the air till the end of time. You can also purchase DVDs and videos of your favorite episodes. For more information on "Friends" check out the official NBC site at http://www.nbc.com/nbc/Friends/friends_f...

It's shake, rattle and roll on "10.5": Capitalizing on the popularity of disaster pictures, NBC will air a two-part mini-series that features much of the west coast getting destroyed by a 10.5 earthquake. Many people on the east coast will no doubt enjoy this thought but it is, after all, only fiction.

An NBC press release describes the mini-series 10.5 in the following manner. "Disaster strikes the United States when a major earthquake hits the Pacific Northwest, causing major fault lines to start connecting and culminating in a catastrophe of epic proportions -- the West Coast begins to separate from the rest of the continent."

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