A night of kids, kisses and coffee

Not counting the next thousand years of reruns, and the final sets of DVDs, and the sweeps-month stunt casting reunions that will be sure to mark however many seasons of “Joey” Matt LeBlanc manages to pull out, we have seen the last of “Friends.” Along with the soon-to-be-seen last of “Frasier,” its impending absence precipitated 100 think pieces on the death of the sitcom and flowered in network crossover promotions, including a special Wednesday “Dateline” (and a second, postmortem, tonight on “Dateline,” to sop up the last dregs of valedictory enthusiasm) and several segments of “Today.”

Then came what NBC called “television’s big night” -- the last Thursday that would be must-see on account of Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe (Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox Arquette, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow, respectively, in case you have just arrived from outer space).

KTLA, which has off-network rerun rights here, got in on the action by airing the pilot episode at 7:30, like an “Oscars” pre-show -- everyone 10 years younger, thinner, smoother, differently coifed, strangely dressed, Rachel coming into Central Perk in her runaway bridal gown, Ross abandoned by his lesbian wife, Phoebe full of hippie solutions, Joey in full mook mode.... It seemed a very long time ago, and indeed it was.

Bridging past and present, NBC began the official proceedings with an hourlong clip show that paraded a decade’s worth of punch lines, double takes and touching moments. There was Monica with a raw plucked chicken on her head; Ross with his monkey; Chandler dressed as a bunny; Joey explaining the meaning of “a moo point”; Rachel trying to get a pigeon out of the apartment; Phoebe teaching Chrissie Hynde to play “Smelly Cat.” Everyone playing touch football; everyone singing the “Odd Couple” theme. Hugging, kissing, fighting. Good times!

The last episode of “Friends” was like ... an episode of “Friends,” with the special exception that 30 seconds of ad time cost $2 million, a record if you don’t count the Super Bowl. The main things that happened: Rachel was still going to go to Paris despite the fact that she and Ross had sex; Chandler and Monica got twins they weren’t expecting; Joey and Chandler had to dismantle the Foosball table to rescue a baby chick and a baby duck (it was Monica who ultimately did it); and Phoebe drove Ross at breakneck speed to two airports to stop Rachel from leaving the country.

It was always a smart show, with smart players, and it stayed smart -- the finale was funny enough, especially where Kudrow and LeBlanc were concerned -- but they called it quits at the right time. Ten years is a long while to keep fresh -- you need to be “The Simpsons,” which is to say, not beholden to reality, and to time, to get away with it -- and the writers had exhausted every possible permutation of intramural regard.

In any case, civilization cannot weather another breakup or reunion of Ross and Rachel. Of course, they were united once again at the eleventh hour. Was anyone surprised by that? Does anyone imagine that if the show had gone another season they would have stayed together longer than Episode 4? Still, given that the series was originally built on Ross’ hangdog love for Rachel, it was the only possible way to end.

The last scene showed the famous apartment empty of all its stuff and contained the episode’s best line, from Joey: “Has it always been purple?” Then to the strains of the Jefferson Airplane’s “Embryonic Journey,” the six -- having cried what looked like some real tears -- left their keys on the kitchen counter and went off for coffee.

The local news followed, KNBC flogging the expected “Friends”-related items. (“If I’d’ve known how good and funny that show was,” said anchor Paul Moyer, who somehow had avoided “Friends” until that night, “I would have watched it when it was on.”) Weatherman Fritz Coleman (whom Moyer called “dude” at one point) reported from Universal CityWalk -- very-soon-to-be NBC corporate partner! -- where as many as 1,000 people gathered to watch the finale on a big screen. “We had clergy and therapists for distraught fans,” Coleman said. “It could not have been a more beautiful experience.”

Jay Leno followed, holding court with the entire cast on the Central Perk set. “Welcome to ‘The Tonight Show,’ ” he said, “the only NBC show coming back next season,” at the top of a “Friends”-themed monologue that included many specific references to the events of the last episode, as if they were news. Leno’s interviews of the cast -- already on to other things (Kudrow’s hair was dyed brown for a role, Cox was hugely pregnant) -- were not enlightening, but it was clear they’d all enjoyed each other and the last 10 years.

After Leno, Brad Pitt Aniston was on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” promoting his new movie, and O’Brien asked him what he thought of the finale. “Moving, moving,” he replied. “I love that Joey.” He told some amusing stories about his wife Jennifer’s sleepwalking.

As of last report, the world has not ended.