TVSquad

What can I say about Friends that hasn't already been said? You either like the show or you don't. I think a lot of people look at the show as "just another sitcom" about friends who hang out somewhere, one that was overhyped and one where the stars where overpaid. The hype I can't argue with and the pay, well, more power to them if they could get it. But I also happen to think that for a while there, several seasons in the middle of the show's 10 year run, it was one of the best sitcoms of all-time. It was remarkably well-written, clever, and at the same time had at its core a really big heart that all the copycats that followed couldn't recreate.

But what about this DVD set? Should you go out and buy the complete set?

Packaging

The set comes in a big, file cabinet-like box, like the West Wing Complete Set comes in. There are six DVD sleeves in all, and they correspond to the number of characters there are on the show (Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, Phoebe, and Ross). Each one has a different color and each DVD has a different pic (of a different age) of each actor. And they don't come in the usual folders or plastic cases, they come in little pocket-sized CD books. That's actually a nice way of doing it, even if you can't always tell what show is on what DVD. Luckily, there's a booklet that runs down each episode in order.

Sound/Video

Both seem fine (honestly, as I've said before, if the sound and/or video is really bad then I'd notice, but this isn't a science fiction show or nature special, so the sound and video doesn't really stand out that much. Having said that, both are clear and crisp).

Features/Extras

There are commentaries on every track from the show's producers/creators, and they're quite informative. None of the six Friends do commentaries though, and that's too bad. I wonder if it was just a matter of them being on the show for 10 years and not wanting to do commentaries so soon (this set is actually the individual seasons put into one box) or if it was some contract thing, where if one or two cast members didn't do it none of them could. Who knows. But the commentaries are well done.

There's also a booklet that has the original pitch that the creators used to get the network to buy the show. It's interesting to see the changes that were made when the show finally aired (for example, Monica was originally Ross' older sister).

Differences?

The biggest revelation (for me anyway) on the DVDs is the amount of extra footage not seen since the show was originally broadcast on NBC. If you watch the syndicated version of the show, there have been several seconds (if not a minute) cut from each episode! Not just music or needless footage, but whole scenes and whole jokes! If you get this set and you know the episodes really well (as I do), you're going to be stunned by the scenes included here that you either never saw or saw so long ago you don't remember them. It's like a quick course on how shows are cut for syndication. Some plot lines in certain eps are actually cleared up (or fleshed out), and things that are said in certain eps actually make more sense when you see the full version of the episode.

There's even one scene that changes the whole character of Phoebe in a small way. You know how they always call her "Pheebs?" In one episode she calls someone else Pheebs, and that person says, "your name is Pheebs." And her response is "oh, I thought that was just like a pet name for all of us."

Add on gag reels for each season and interactive features like quizzes and tours of the various sets used on the show and you have one great set.