America Online is 'Friends' Fan Central as Tens of Thousands Say Good-Bye Online.Entertainment Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2004 America Online See AOL. , Inc. -- AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. Members Flooded Message Boards with More Than 31,000 Posts the Day of the Finale, at a Peak Rate of Nearly 200 Posts per Minute -- 77% Believe the Show Ended Perfectly -- Fans Sign Online "Friends" Yearbook to be Presented to Cast -- TV's Top 5: Special "Friends" Edition On AOL and AOL for Broadband Throughout Weekend After 10 years of laughter and tears, it all came down to last night, when fans of "Friends" said good-bye to one of television's most beloved series. AOL Television joined fans on their final journey with the celebrated series, providing a forum for AOL and AOL for Broadband members to talk about the series finale
A series finale is the very last installment of a television series, usually a sitcom or drama. before, during, and after its airing, to reminisce rem·i·nisce intr.v. rem·i·nisced, rem·i·nisc·ing, rem·i·nisc·es To recollect and tell of past experiences or events. [Back-formation from reminiscence. about the series' history, and to react to the ending. -- 77% of AOL members felt that Ross and Rachel together again and Monica and Chandler becoming parents of twins was the perfect end to the series, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an AOL poll that began last night at 10:00 p.m. ET. More than 30,000 votes had been cast as of 8:00 a.m. Friday morning. -- "Friends" message boards were flooded throughout the day with more than 21,000 postings by 10:00 p.m. ET, and more than 31,000 by 8:00 a.m. Friday morning. -- After the show ended on the East coast, messages were being posted at a peak rate of nearly 200 per minute. -- More than 7,900 AOL members participated in chats throughout the day and during a live "Watch & Chat." The "Watch & Chat" forum - which let fans chat about the show as it aired - was the most successful "Watch & Chat" event on AOL Television. -- Throughout the day and during the finale, the most talked about storyline Noun 1. storyline - the plot of a book or play or film plot line plot - the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.; "the characters were well drawn but the plot was banal" was overwhelmingly that of Ross and Rachel. -- AOL members reacted most enthusiastically on the message boards when Gunther came clean with his feelings for Rachel, when Rachel got off the plane and arrived back at Ross' apartment, and when Ross made a joke about being on a break. -- Members can also submit messages for their favorite "Friend" that will be collected as part of an online yearbook and presented to the cast. Message board postings from AOL members included the following: -- "I just finished bawling my eyes out. I am sooo glad you got off the plane Rach!!! should have done the same thing a long time ago!!!!!! Love the show, now I need to find something else to take up my Thursday nights!!!" -- "Oh my God I am so happy that Ross and Rachel end up together and I'm so happy that Chandler and Monica got twins. Yay Yay - Yet Another Yacc !!!" -- "Thank you so much for the years of entertainment you have provided us. I love your show so much. I shed quite a few tears tonight watching your last show. It is just too bad it had to end. But I guess all good things come to an end eventually. Thanks again." The celebration of "Friends" continues this weekend with a special edition of TV's Top 5 available today through Monday morning at AOL Keyword: TV's Top 5. The special edition of TV's Top 5, a daily feature allowing AOL members to relive re·live v. re·lived, re·liv·ing, re·lives v.tr. To undergo or experience again, especially in the imagination. v.intr. To live again. , rate and talk about the top TV moments from the previous day--best experienced on AOL for Broadband--includes the following "Friends" moments from the past week of retrospectives, interviews and the finale. 1. "Friends" gave us all that we wanted from the finale, Ross & Rachel in love forever. (Friends/NBC) 2. "Dateline" reads the original pitch that NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. bought to put these "Friends" to work. (Dateline/NBC) 3. Travel back to the first episode of "Friends" when Ross tested Ross test a test which uses sodium nitroprusside in the detection of ketone bodies in urine and milk. the waters with Rachel. (Friends/NBC) 4. Witness the emotional footage of the cast's farewell after the final taping of "Friends." (Friends/NBC) 5. "The Tonight Show" airs comments from celebs who never quite made their mark on "Friends." (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno/NBC) In addition, at AOL Keyword: Friends, members can take a trip down memory lane with Ross and Rachel and view a selection of some of the best moments of their history. The moments capture the on again off again, and now on again romance that captivated cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. the hearts of television fans from beginning to end. A virtual "Central Perk Central Perk is a fictional coffee shop in New York City's Greenwich Village. It is situated near Monica's apartment, and was one of the focal points of the popular television sitcom Friends. " over the years, AOL Television has offered members an array of "Friends" content, including polls, exclusive episode previews, chat rooms to dish about the show, the latest "Friends" news, "Friends" DVD's and much more. In January 2004, AOL Television, Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television is the television production and distribution arm of Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment and The CW Television Network (in which Warner has a 50% ownership stake). and NBC offered members the chance to vote for their favorite six episodes of "Friends" from a selection of the top 40 episodes of all time according to the show's producers (Bright/Kauffman/Krane). AOL members viewed the clips more than 2.6 million times and cast more than 1.6 million votes. The episodes that received the most votes were aired on NBC during March and April. The most popular episode was "The One with the Prom Video" (Season 2). |
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