Plot: What’s it about?
“Friends” had certainly reached its peak by the seventh season (2000-2001), but a devastating event was about to take place in the “real world”. This was the season before the events of September 11 occurred and though it wouldn’t have any major ramifications to the show, we can see the skyline of New York like it will never be again. This isn’t of much consequence to the plot, but it does serve as a reference to the show and a point in all of our lives. That being said, this season of the show ranks among the favorite of most every serious “Friends” fan. Why? It was the first without anything going on between Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). Their on again/off again romance was put on a hiatus for one season until Rachel would become accidentally pregnant by Ross. This is a storyline that’s still going today and will probably be a key plot point when the show comes to an end in just a few months. Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courtney Cox-Arquette) had become engaged and their wedding would culminate the season. But what of the other friends?
This season also showed how powerful the six were as they received then “unprecedented” reaises to garner $750,000 an episode (which has been eclipsed to a cool million an episode now). The fans feared this might be the last season, but the greed, er—team spirit of the cast showed that they still had life in them yet. Don’t let the salaries and potentially predictable plot lines throw you; this is one of the best seasons yet. Susan Sarandon made a great guest appearance on “The One With Joey’s New Brain” as the has been soap opera star who is famous for throwing drinks in faces and giving people a good slap. Joey gets to experience both of these…and more. Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) faces her own personal choices as the love of her life comes back in “The One With all the Cheescakes”. David (Hank Azaria) would prove to mean more to Phoebe than all of her previous boyfriends and she faces a tough decision when he’s back in town for only a few days. Naturally, the most famous and therefore popular episode is the one where Chandler and Monica tie the knot. We get to meet Chandler’s “dad” (played by a great Kathleen Turner – yes, you read that right) and Mom (Morgan Fairchild). Though one third of the cast is now married to each other on screen, “Friends” still showed that it had what it took to get great ratings and be entertaining at the same time. If you have the first six seasons, will you really stop now?
Video: How does it look?
Friends is shown in its full-frame aspect ratio, which makes perfect sense seeing as how it’s a television show. Just like the previous Volumes, these appear very clear and the level of detail is excellent. Though some episodes tend to vary in clarity, I did a comparison to the digital cable that I’m used to watching them on and the DVD is superior to even that. Some of the episodes tend to have a bit of halos to them, mainly in the panning city shots (that feature a lot of shots of the World Trade Centers), but that’s about all the fault I can find with the way these look. Fans of Friends will not be disappointed as it’s more of the same. And that’s a good thing.
Audio: How does it sound?
Again, just as in previous seasons, Friends is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.0 mix that does add a new layer of depth the audio portion of the show. While a dialog-driven comedy, the scenes do feature some fairly strong audio portions. What I notice most is the applause (filmed in front of a live studio audience) coming from the rear speakers and the guitar music for the “in between” shots does sound nice as well. I think I said the same thing about the previous version, but it’s essentially the same thing, just different episodes. While not the best audio presentation in the world, it certainly gets the job done.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Like the previous seasons of “Friends”, this comes equipped just as they did. Some basic cast and crew bios start off the supplements. There are commentary tracks on three of the episodes: “The One With Monica and Chandler’s Wedding” (both parts), “The One With Joey’s New Brain” and “The One With the Holiday Armadillo”. Much like the other commentary tracks on previous seasons, these are all very entertaining and informative. These are, again, light-hearted and funny and though not a whole lot of new information is learned in the tracks; it’s funny to hear some of the things that go on behind a television show (even a successful one like “Friends”). “Friends of Friends” Video guestbook shows some of the stars that appeared on the show during its seventh season, such as: Winona Ryder (before shoplifting), Denise Richards, Kathleen Turner, Gary Oldman and Kristin Davis (of “Sex and the City”) just to name a few. The obligatory “Gag Reel” is shown as well, as in previous seasons and all of the episodes are the “director’s cuts” with scenes not seen in the original broadcast. “Monica’s Wedding Book Challenge” trivia quiz is also included as the “interactive” part of the disc and there’s also some DVD-ROM material to keep you busy. Bottom line, this season went back to the way things used to be and even though two of our friends got married, they still showed they could have some fun. And, like us, they all turned thirty!
