Its a two parter.
Part one: The setting is the six of them, plus Rachel's baby girl who'd be about a year by now - in Central Perk. Joey has a big announcement to make and its obvious that he isn't comfortable saying this because he's having a really hard time getting out the words. Finally, with his head bowed and in a low voice he tells them that he's been doing a lot of thinking - about his life, his career, and the future. He tells that he doesn't want to waste his life and then die an unsuccessful "regular sized" man. If he never makes it as an actor, what will his whole life trying have meant? So he announces, that while its so difficult to think of leaving his friends who mean everything to him, he feels that he owes it to his future to give his career another shot - in Hollywood. His friends gasp and ask him if his mind is made up, and he tells them that it is.
Its quiet. Monica and Chandler look at each other. Chandler nudges Mon - "you go" She says " no you go." The Friends ask "What's going on?" Chandler tells them that Monica is pregnant and they've been thinking a lot about expanding their family but they don't want to do it in NY. They've been looking at houses in Connecticut, but they've backed out at the last minute because they couldn't leave thier friends. But now with Joey leaving...
Rachel clears her throat and says she wasn't going to say anything but now that the subject has been brought up - she's been talking to her dad about taking the baby and going to L.I. She feels that its impossible to date in the city with a baby and L.I. is more family oriented - she feels that she owes it to herself to find happiness. Ross is flabbergasted and tells everyone that he's been offered a job in Canda- to study a new breed of dinosaur fossils newly discovered.
They all look at Phoebe - who throws up her hands and says "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to wait right here for you all to come back. And you will come back", she promises.
They do all decide to leave, but they make a pact to return to Central Perk in 10 years, and they'll see how "famous and happy and successful" everybody is.
Part two: ten years later....
Much to everybody's chagrin, not much has changed. Monica and Chandler never had more children. Ross got married to a woman in Canada, but got divorced - again. Joey never even made it to Hollywood - he got caught in Vegas where he trades off working as a gladiator in C. Palace and putting on shows with his identical____ twin [you fill in the blank.] He gambles away half his earnings. Rachel moves back to her father, but finds that every eligible young man is happily married or having an affair. She drives a BMW, hangs out with posh country club ladies and pours her energies into raising her daughter. She is miserable. Only Phoebe who remained in NY, lucked out. She takes over the massage place where she worked and turns it into a big beautiful spa.
It comes time for the reunion, but no one wants to come back and admit their lives have failed miserably. So each friend hatches up a plot to make the other friends believe they have been happy. Monica and Chandler borrow thier neighbors six blond kids for a photo shoot, and with their own, real son - take a family portriat - the eight Bings and plan to show off thier large family at the reunion. Ross, refusing to admit his fourth marriage failed, calls an escort service and pays a woman to be his wife for a day - dresses her conservatively and preps her on the ins and outs of dino fossils, and brings her with him to CP. Rachel does the exact same thing. Joey plans to tell everyone that he found his niche in directing and shows up in a rented limo, with huge sunglasses and a Hawaiin tropics t- shirt and prepares to talk about "Apocalypse 2012-" The movie that's going to the the "Titanic" of that year. But Joey lays it on a little too thick and finally Chandler says, "There isnt' going to be any movie, is there Joey?" And Joey admits to what he's been really doing for the last ten years which leads all of them to confess that they are not famous, special, successful, or happy. But Phoebe is still insisting that she owns a spa - which no one believes, although in reality it is the truth. Anyway, its quiet for a long time after they finish thier confessions and they come to realize that the one thing they all had that was unique and special [thier friendship] was the one thing they all walked away from. Go figure. The series ends with each of them, secretly approaching Phoebe, and eliciting her help in renting the same apartment in the Village. The End.
And for the teaser [this isn't my idea somoene posted it in the ng] but I love having them go to the fountain - all of them forty now - and why not? jump in and splash around while the music plays "I'll be there for you"- fadeout to black.
Comments?