Friday, October 24, 2003
Who needs continuity when you've got ratings?
Last night on Friends, the gang celebrated baby Emma's first birthday. If you watched this episode (like I did), you were probably thinking one of three things:
1. Awwwww!
2. It's about damn time they actually worked this child into a plot instead of just completely ignoring her existence.
3. Dude, that child was born in May. It's October. Her first birthday came and went six months ago, and they're just now getting around to celebrating it?!
If you're most people, you were probably thinking #1. If you're Kate, you were probably thinking #2. But if you were me, you would have been thinking #3. In fact, you would have been thinking it every time Rachel went on and on about how important it is to celebrate Emma's birthday on the actual day of her birth. If you were me, you'd be yelling at the TV, "Rachel, you are the worst mother in the entire world if you can't even remember the date of your child's birth within six months of said date! Actually, the people who wrote this episode are the worst writers in the world if they can't even remember what month it was when one of their main characters freaking GAVE BIRTH!"
The lack of continuity on Friends has bugged me for a while, ever since last season when they "re-introduced" (I use that term loosely) Jon Lovitz's character from Season 1, and everyone acted like they'd never even met him before. Look, if this guy was so memorable that I can recall him nine years later, surely a similar spark of recognition would have flared in Rachel when she was SET UP ON A BLIND DATE WITH HIM. God.
Anyway. The other day, I stumbled upon the most brilliant idea for the series finale of Friends. Since it's pretty obvious that the writers will probably fuck it up beyond all recognition, I would like to now offer them this brilliant suggestion in hopes that they'll take it and allow the show to go out with at least a fraction of the humor it once had.
We all know that this season is leading up to the resolution of the Big Friends Love Triangle. Who will Rachel end up with? And I have come up with the most brilliant answer to this question. It is at the same time unexpected, humorous and satisfying. Are you ready for this?
Gunther.
Gunther! It's absolutely perfect. True, the Friends writers suck at continuity, but there is one storyline that they've managed to keep going, more or less, for the entire ten years, and that's Gunther's crush on Rachel. Everyone's expecting her to end up with either Ross or Joey, and with so many people planted firmly in either camp, a choice between the two is guaranteed to anger at least half of the audience. That's why Gunther is so perfect! It's not that anyone really wants Rachel to end up with him, but true Friends fans could at least appreciate the comedic genius of such a solution. Plus, it's been ten years! Gunther deserves a break already!
If this were Seinfeld, I have no doubt that they'd resolve the situation in this manner. But this is not Seinfeld, it's Friends, and they'll probably do something sappy and maudlin, and it'll suck. But they won't be able to say I didn't give them this great idea.
Last night on Friends, the gang celebrated baby Emma's first birthday. If you watched this episode (like I did), you were probably thinking one of three things:
1. Awwwww!
2. It's about damn time they actually worked this child into a plot instead of just completely ignoring her existence.
3. Dude, that child was born in May. It's October. Her first birthday came and went six months ago, and they're just now getting around to celebrating it?!
If you're most people, you were probably thinking #1. If you're Kate, you were probably thinking #2. But if you were me, you would have been thinking #3. In fact, you would have been thinking it every time Rachel went on and on about how important it is to celebrate Emma's birthday on the actual day of her birth. If you were me, you'd be yelling at the TV, "Rachel, you are the worst mother in the entire world if you can't even remember the date of your child's birth within six months of said date! Actually, the people who wrote this episode are the worst writers in the world if they can't even remember what month it was when one of their main characters freaking GAVE BIRTH!"
The lack of continuity on Friends has bugged me for a while, ever since last season when they "re-introduced" (I use that term loosely) Jon Lovitz's character from Season 1, and everyone acted like they'd never even met him before. Look, if this guy was so memorable that I can recall him nine years later, surely a similar spark of recognition would have flared in Rachel when she was SET UP ON A BLIND DATE WITH HIM. God.
Anyway. The other day, I stumbled upon the most brilliant idea for the series finale of Friends. Since it's pretty obvious that the writers will probably fuck it up beyond all recognition, I would like to now offer them this brilliant suggestion in hopes that they'll take it and allow the show to go out with at least a fraction of the humor it once had.
We all know that this season is leading up to the resolution of the Big Friends Love Triangle. Who will Rachel end up with? And I have come up with the most brilliant answer to this question. It is at the same time unexpected, humorous and satisfying. Are you ready for this?
Gunther.
Gunther! It's absolutely perfect. True, the Friends writers suck at continuity, but there is one storyline that they've managed to keep going, more or less, for the entire ten years, and that's Gunther's crush on Rachel. Everyone's expecting her to end up with either Ross or Joey, and with so many people planted firmly in either camp, a choice between the two is guaranteed to anger at least half of the audience. That's why Gunther is so perfect! It's not that anyone really wants Rachel to end up with him, but true Friends fans could at least appreciate the comedic genius of such a solution. Plus, it's been ten years! Gunther deserves a break already!
If this were Seinfeld, I have no doubt that they'd resolve the situation in this manner. But this is not Seinfeld, it's Friends, and they'll probably do something sappy and maudlin, and it'll suck. But they won't be able to say I didn't give them this great idea.
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