The Ross and Rachel saga unplugged

May 2, 2004, 8:27 AM ET9 posts by 5 postersalt.tv.friends
9 posts
Lydia Malt.tv.friends

Found this at http://delawareonline.gannettonline.com/FriendsPromo/20040422-44874.html

Thursday, April 22 The Ross and Rachel saga unplugged

By Cheryl Sarfaty | Home News Tribune

Ross and Rachel. Rachel and Ross. For us, it has always sounded better than it has looked.

Maybe it?s because we?ve never seen a whole lot of maturity in marriage-happy Ross. Maybe it?s because Rachel has grown wiser over the years. Or maybe it?s because it?s really hard to imagine stimulating dinnertime conversation that goes from, "How was your day in the world of high fashion, honey?" to "And your day teaching paleontology, my sweet?"

It just doesn?t flow well. The only thing that flows well between these two is liquor.

Take for example, the season five cliffhanger when Ross and Rachel "accidentally" got married in Las Vegas. That was an all-time favorite moment between them, and they were wasted.

Another classic was during season eight (though it happened in season seven) when, drunk on wine, they "accidentally" conceived Emma.

Sure, there have been heart-tugging times between Ross and Rachel over the years, such as Emma?s birth and, most recently, when Ross stood by Rachel when her father fell ill.

Of course they were often cute together. But honestly, there?s been more chemistry between Rachel and Joey than Rachel and Ross.

Look, R ?n? R just don?t belong together. They?re too different and not in a complementary way. When they?re together, it seems like Rachel?s baby-sitting Ross and their daughter.

That said, we?ll admit that Ross and Rachel had their moments, like the kiss that sealed them as a couple during season two. It was certainly unforgettable ? much more so than Rachel?s famous hair at the time. And who didn?t simultaneously wince and celebrate when Ross, during his wedding ceremony to Emily in the show?s fourth season cliffhanger, called Emily Rachel instead?

No doubt viewers have even ached for Rachel as she endured Ross? various relationships, like with snooty Emily, and the always-smiling, always-agreeable Julie. None of those couplings seemed right, either.

Come to think of it, Ross only seemed well-matched when paired with Marcel the Monkey, who quietly disappeared years ago. Don?t think about it.

But as it turns out ? and not surprisingly ? Ross and Rachel have countless supporters out in TV land who want to see them end up happily ever after.

A "Ross and Rachel" search on Yahoo! lists thousands of hits. The "Ross and Rachel Reunited for Season 10" site has a petition to be sent to the show?s executives that, at press time, had more than 2,200 online signatures. One Ross and Rachel photo gallery declares the couple should "get married FOR REAL" this season. And those are just a sampling of the more than 50,000 hits that came up in our Web search entry.

In the final analysis, we think it would be a big mistake for Ross and Rachel to wind up together.

Is this really how we want to send this fictitious couple into syndication heaven? We don?t know about you, but we don?t want to see them end up like Ward and June Cleaver in their "yes, dear" dysfunctional marriage. Who wants that for Emma?

It?s bad enough that Wally and the Beav are forever doomed with such a family.

Let?s not risk Emma?s future happiness by marrying off her parents. Wrap up Ross and Rachel as they were meant to be: friends.

JanieLydia Malt.tv.friends

[email] (Lydia M) wrote in message news:...

The woman who wrote this article is an idiot. Her several mistakes and inacuracies show that, as someone who does not watch the show regularly, she is completely unqualified to give such an opinion.

Paul HyettJaniealt.tv.friends

Alas, no qualification is required to express an opinion... :)

Paul 'US Sitcom Fan' Hyett
JaniePaul Hyettalt.tv.friends

Paul Hyett wrote in message news:...>

of course not. You're right. But are you more likely to value the opinion of an OCCASIONAL, casual viewer or someone who has seen every episode? That's like me stating my opinions on Quantum Mechanics; I know very little about it, yet i still have my opinions. This woman clearly does not watch the show, as I'm sure many tv critics have. What was her position anyway? TV Critic?

VincentJaniealt.tv.friends

On 2 May 2004 22:21:59 -0700, [email] (Janie) wrote:

I thought it was odd when she wrote, "Come to think of it, Ross only seemed well-matched when paired with Marcel the Monkey, who quietly disappeared years ago. " Marcel's departure from the show was clear and well-known. There wasn't anything "quiet" about it.

~~Verbal~~Vincentalt.tv.friends

"Vincent" wrote in message news:[email]...

news:...

http://delawareonline.gannettonline.com/FriendsPromo/20040422-44874.html

Which time? The time where there was an entire episode about sending him off to a zoo because he wanted to screw anything in site or the time where there were 2 episodes about the monkey coming back temporarily to NY because it hit it big in the movies? :)

Vincent~~Verbal~~alt.tv.friends

On Mon, 03 May 2004 17:26:59 GMT, "~~Verbal~~" wrote:

Either time. In both cases, the reason for sending Marcel away (or letting him return to his life after filming the movie) was known and the destination was known. He didn't quietly disappear as the writer Cheryl Sarfaty stated.

~~Verbal~~Vincentalt.tv.friends

"Vincent" wrote in message news:[email]...

off

there

hehe sorry. I guess I didn't lay the sarcasm on enough to be noticed ;)

Lydia MJaniealt.tv.friends

[email] (Janie) wrote in message news:...

The writer is not a fan of R&R - it clearly shows :-) - she does at the least demonstrate she's a casual viewer of the show.

While I do not agree with the Marcel comments nor do I think there was more chemistry between Rachel and Joey save for that one episode where they date, all of which in Joey's lingo is now a "moo" point. The trouble with a soapy plotline is that it becomes meaningless when that story is resolved.

But the writer does raise some valid points. R&R will clearly be the dysfunctional couple and that's not good for Emma. They do not compliment each other. They deride each other occupation. What with all the dinosaur jokes and "Jurassic Parka". R&R have barely demonstrated any level of maturity in their on/off/on/off/ relationship. The current plot between them to be resolved in the finale sounds hollow. Is that any impetus to get back together again, especially after a Vegas marriage and a baby couldn't bring them together? Would that relationship knowing the history of R&R ever last? I don't think so.

The couple had chemistry in season 2/3 but it's long gone since. Therefore I think they should remain friends as Cheryl rightly points out - R&R had always sounded better than it looked.