Friends reunited as Ross and Rachel live happily ever after

ROSS and Rachel got it together again as US sitcom Friends faded into history.

American television's most popular comedy went for the crowd-pleasing finale, with Rachel getting off a plane to stay with Ross just as she was about to leave for a new job in Paris.

The hour-long episode 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.

Monica and Chandler were surprised by the delivery of twins and prepared for their move to the suburbs. Phoebe was already married, and Joey headed west to get serious about his acting career (and star in a spin-off).

The suspense involved Rachel's plan to take the Paris job and whether Ross would try to stop her or join her. The couple's tortured romantic past included a quickie Las Vegas wedding and a baby. Despite a few twists and turns, including Ross' frantic trip to the wrong airport, the two declared their undying love for each other.

In the final scene, the six friends gave up their key to Monica and Chandler's apartment. "This is harder than I thought it was going to be," Monica said, before the six friends left for one last cup of coffee babies in tow.

In New York, the final episode was beamed on a big screen in Times Square, and 3,000 people watched sitting on blankets in a park overlooking the Hudson River in Tribeca.

"I'm a New Yorker, so I understand the whole lifestyle," said 33-year-old Joann Joseph. "I find it funny. I love how they all have different personalities, but they all come together."

The Friends finale was likely to be the second most-watched TV show of the year, behind the Super Bowl, which had almost 90 million viewers.

US television's most popular series finale yet, M-A-S-H, was seen by 105 million viewers in 1983. The last Cheers was seen by 80.4 million people in 1993 and Seinfeld had 76.2 million for its 1998 ending.

The number NBC likes best is two million dollars, which advertisers were paying for a 30-second commercial on the final Friends.

It's also the end of an era for TV comedy. With Frasier finishing next week, and HBO's Sex And The City gone, television is losing some of its best and most popular comedies with little to replace them.

Irish viewers will have to wait until May 21 to tune into Network 2 and bid their own farewell to Friends.

According to trade publication Variety, Friends will earn about $2 billion for Warner Brothers by 2011, making it the second most profitable television series of all time, after Seinfeld.