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Do you understand that ending of FRIENDS, the keys on the counter, one last sarcastic Chandler zinger, and the gang heading out for coffee prefer it’s just one other day? Yeah, total emotional chaos in one of the simplest ways. It wrapped up ten years of snickers, love triangles, and way too many turkey moments with the sort of bittersweet perfection that made us all feel personally attacked.
But get this: that tearjerker of a finale wasn’t just something the writers cooked up over lattes and nostalgia. Nope. It seems that they’d a bit help from the ’70s. Specifically, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. That classic sitcom didn’t just rock bell bottoms and laugh tracks. It also mastered the art of the emotional finale. The FRIENDS creators loved it a lot that they used it as a guidebook on saying goodbye. So, while we were bawling our eyes out in 2004, we were also getting hit with a dose of vintage TV brilliance.
How Did The Mary Tyler Moore Show Encourage Friends?
The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a game-changer in TV history. It introduced Mary Richards, played by Mary Tyler Moore, a career-driven, smart, and single woman, way ahead of her time. The show’s seven-year run led to 1977 with a finale, The Last Show, that made us all reach for the tissues. After everyone on the newsroom got fired (aside from Ted, after all), the gang shared a protracted, emotional group hug. And guess what? FRIENDS was being attentive.
Showrunner Marta Kauffman called The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s ending the “gold standard” for sitcom finales. “It’s just so unbelievable. That they won’t leave that hug, that was good,” said David Crane in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. The FRIENDS finale took notes from that emotional goodbye. They gave us closure, resolving big storylines like Ross and Rachel reuniting and Monica and Chandler’s family plans, all while ensuring the show’s heart, their friendship, shone through.
In the ultimate moments, the gang shares heartfelt, tear-filled hugs before leaving the apartment for the last time, symbolizing each the top of an era and the beginning of something recent. It’s a FRIENDS hug with a Mary Tyler Moore twist.
How Did Friends Craft The Perfect Goodbye?
Crafting the FRIENDS finale was no easy feat. With ten seasons of snickers, love triangles, and unforgettable moments, the pressure to deliver an ending that felt satisfying and true to the show’s spirit was intense. Showrunners Marta Kauffman and David Crane knew they’d to strike the proper balance: unexpected but fulfilling, funny yet emotional.
To nail it, they watched and analyzed several sitcom finales, determining what worked and what didn’t. As Kauffman put it, “Those we actually like are those that stayed true to what the series was.” And for Crane, there was one finale that stood out above the remaining, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. “That’s the gold standard,” he told SFGATE. They admired its emotional yet grounded farewell and got down to recreate that magic for FRIENDS.
Kauffman also stressed they didn’t want anything “high concept” or misplaced. “We wanted it to feel like FRIENDS,” she said. So, after days of brainstorming, the team crafted a finale that kept the humor, wrapped up major storylines, and delivered a punch of emotion. And ultimately, they nailed it, an ideal mixture of tears, laughs, and one last group hug.
For more such stories, take a look at TV updates!
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