GOODBYE TO 'FRIENDS' SOUTHLAND CROWD BIDS FOND FAREWELL AT CITYWALK.

Byline: David Kronke and Ryan Oliver Staff Writers

Near the end of ``Friends''' final episode, as they were preparing to bid one another farewell, Chandler (Matthew Perry) asked Joey (Matt LeBlanc) how he wanted to say goodbye: Awkward hug or lame, cool-guy handshake?

They did both, of course, which is how the episode itself bade fans adieu: With soppy sentimentality and goofy humor.

And, just like that, they were gone.

The hourlong season finale marked the end of 10 years for the sitcom, which followed six New York coffee shop regulars as they moved from post-adolescence to something approaching adulthood.

NBC estimated that as many as 45 million viewers tuned in for the hugs, the tears and the laughs that marked an end of an era for fans. Hundreds of those viewers were gathered at Universal CityWalk during what was dubbed the ``world's largest 'Friends' finale viewing party.''

``I'm like the world's biggest 'Friends' fan,'' said Paige Godfrey, 17, of San Pedro, who heard about the CityWalk party on the radio and dragged her mother and two friends along.

``I have my hair cut just like Rachel's and everything. I can't believe the show is over. It's been on as long as I can remember. I'm really, really sad right now.''

Some fans were excited and moved by the finale, and said they just won't be able to give it up.

``I loved it. I'm overjoyed Rachel and Ross got back together,'' said Mariza Gutierrez, 20, of San Fernando. ``I had my doubts it would happen. I'm buying every season on DVD and I'm gonna watch it every day and not get sick of it. It's such an awesome show.''

Fans participated in ``Friends'' contests and got a close-up look at a knockoff set of Central Perk before settling down for the final episode, which was broadcast on CityWalk's outdoor Astrovision screen.

The end of the night was bittersweet for one fan. As the tears began to flow, the realization set in that the show is over.

``I hate it, I positively despise it. It was a good show, and this is the end,'' said Jennifer Alorejsi, 17, of San Pedro. ``And they had to torture us at the end of the show by showing us the empty shelves in the apartment.''

For the people in America who somehow missed the finale, here are the important facts: After much protracted dithering, and to the delighted shrieks of the studio audience, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) abandoned her Paris-bound plane for the arms of Ross (David Schwimmer), who took until the eleventh hour, the 59th minute and about the 58th second to proclaim his undying love for her.

And Monica (Courteney Cox Arquette) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) finally, thanks to a surrogate mother (an ironic plot point, given that Cox Arquette was noticeably pregnant with her own child), became parents, marking the series' fifth and sixth births, since the surrogate unexpectedly gave birth to twins. The infants came just as the couple prepared their move to the suburbs.

The episode was written by series creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane and directed by executive producer Kevin S. Bright, who will head up next season's spinoff, ``Joey,'' starring LeBlanc.

It concluded with the gang heading off to Central Perk for one last coffee and a graceful camera pan through Monica and Chandler's apartment, emptied of their belongings, save the keys left behind by each character. Answering a longtime question of how the group managed to afford such spacious New York apartments with such minimal-seeming means of support, Chandler revealed, ``Because of rent control, it was a freakin' steal.''

In the last half-hour, Joey's beloved foosball machine was dismantled in an effort to rescue his housewarming gifts for Chandler and Monica, a chick and duckling. That's a pretty silly subplot for a farewell episode, but perhaps that was part of its charm, if charm is the right word.

NBC's lachrymose promos for the finale made the ``Friends'' cast seem more like astronauts lost in a space-shuttle disaster than highly paid actors departing the most popular situation comedy of the past decade. Even CNN's ``Anderson Cooper 360'' ran a snarky piece about ``Friends'' overkill Thursday evening - ``Most of us don't take this much trouble to say goodbye to our real friends,'' Cooper kvetched. Of course, were Cooper really that offended by all the hype, he wouldn't have done a story at all.

Fortunately, the series' producers didn't indulge in as much bathos. The evening began with one of the best-executed clip shows in recent memory, and, except for the resolution of the Ross/Rachel romance and the final scene, the emphasis was more on punch lines than pathos.

During the 65-minute broadcast, there was a total of 32 commercials, including one for Aniston husband Brad Pitt's latest movie, ``Troy,'' not to mention numerous promos for other NBC programs. At the rate of $2 million per spot (more than ABC got for the Oscars ceremony, but less than CBS charged for the Super Bowl), and accepting that some were 15-second spots or local commercials, that still translates into NBC's coffers expanding by approximately $60 million in little over an hour.

And the show isn't ready to say goodbye to its fans' wallets: The DVD of the finale will go on sale Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report..

David Kronke, [phone]

david.kronke(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The cast of ``Friends'' oohs and aahs over Monica and Chandler's new adopted twins in the finale shown Thursday for the long- running NBC series, which concluded with an empty oversize Manhattan apartment.

Warner Bros.

(2 -- 3 -- color) A Universal CityWalk crowd watches the big show outdoors Thursday night, above, on an Astrovision screen. At left, a man reacts while seeing a crucial scene between Ross and Rachel at a screening of the NBC ``Friends'' finale in the middle of New York's Times Square.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

(4) At Universal CityWalk, the audience watches David Schwimmer on-screen as the sun begins to set on Los Angeles.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer