"Closure. That's what it is, that's what I need." So determined a drunken Rachel in the season 2 episode "The One Where Ross Finds Out." And closure is what this mega-hyped series finale gives loyal and faithful viewers who have been there for Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey, even when Friends seemed stuck in second gear. Television's most popular and comforting comedy did go gently into that good night, packing off new parents Monica and Chandler to the suburbs to start a family; domesticating the once free-spirited Phoebe, and, yes, finally bringing star-crossed, on-again-off-again Ross and Rachel together ("I got off the plane" will take its place in series lore alongside, "We were on a break").

Predictable, but it's a SITCOM...

I'm an avid Friends fan...which means I'm one of the ones who cried when it ended.

I have to say, though I was a little disappointed with the last two seasons (they just didn't seem as good as the first 8); the finale was definitely terrific, and I think that it is well worth the money to buy it. It was slightly predictable, but it's a sitcom, not a drama...it's meant to be like that. The people who don't like Friends...that's their prerogative...they don't need to shout out to the whole world how horrible they think the finale was, though. If you don't like it, why care?

To the point of my review, I strongly recommend everyone at least view the finale...it's like the Seinfeld finale...you watched it, even though you weren't a huge fan.

They were great because they reminded us of ourselves

First of all, since this is supposed to be a review of the final episode, let me say that the finale kept the same high standards of writing and performance that we have come to expect from Friends during the past 10 years. In other words, it is a keeper. I recorded it last night but will probably buy the DVD since the price is so attractive.

Why has Friends lasted so long and been so popular? I expect it is because the characters, like most of us, were good and decent people with flaws. At different times I could identify with either Ross or Joey or Chandler. They gave us something to relate to and to laugh at. (And I don't mean to imply that if you disliked the show it is because you are not a good and decent person. It just means the show didn't rub you the same way.) It doesn't matter whether or not it was a true sit-com or a sit-soap or whatever label one wants to attach. The show worked. The ensemble cast had brilliant comedic timing and consistently were given good material to deliver. Will Friends make me forget Seinfeld, Frasier, Cheers, Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, or I Love Lucy (to name a few)? Of course not. But, for the moment, it will be my first choice when watching reruns.

Very disapointing

The friends finale felt like a bad episode. It is so sad that such a great sitcom had to end this way. Where were all the past characters that made us laugh so much. The writing was horrible. It felt like the writers were tired or just didn't care about the fans anymore.