The episode titles in “Friends” were distinctively generic: “The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break,” “The One With the Monkey.” The template said a few things about the show. “Friends: The Reunion,” the sweet, shaggy special arriving on HBO Max on Thursday, makes another thing about the titles clear: They’re pre-nostalgized. They’re written the way you would try to remember the episodes, retrospectively, years later — say, at a reunion. “Do you remember the one where you guys were throwing a ball back and forth?” Jennifer Aniston asks her old colleagues. Central Perk, “Smelly Cat,” “We were on a break”; check, check and check.

Source: New York Times May 26, 2021 16:30 UTC