Plot: What’s it about?
It’s hard to imagine that after all the buzz and hoopla was over and done with, “Friends” was finally over. The show debuted in late 1994 and never really had any trouble with the ratings. After all, it never left the primo “Thursday Night” television spot which was then run by “Seinfeld”. That show ended its run in 1998 and it was then “Friends’” turn to anchor that day (if not the network). It did and the rest, as they say, is history. Though the show had its critics, and myself one of them until a few years back, it will likely go down as one of the more popular shows around (and compared to the likes of “Cheers”, “M*A*S*H” and “Seinfeld” in popularity alone). What was more important is that the show meant something more to those of us (again – myself included) who were close to their ages. That time after college, finding a job and trying to carve out your little niche in the world is tough and to see characters on a show that were going through what you’re going through made the show very relatable. If you can put aside the fact that each of these stars is now worth at least $60 million dollars, it’s a nice thought they “they” were just like “us”. There is some speculation (which, arguably means absolutely nothing now) that the show should have ended a few years earlier, but as long as it makes money; shows will still be on the air. For me, I loved the first four seasons, when the “Friends” were just that. Yes, Ross pined for Rachel since the pilot episode and that didn’t really stop until the final credits rolled on the finale (but I won’t tell what happened), but this is before Joey professed his love for Rachel, Monica and Chandler were married. To me, when Chandler/Monica started dating, the show took on more of a different turn.
This is a review of the series finale, but I don’t want to give too much away. And, it doesn’t take too much of an intellectual to figure out what will happen. Do you think Ross and Rachel won’t end up together? Do you think Chandler and Monica won’t get a baby? To put it in Chandler speak: “Could this be any more predictable?” Well, no. But that’s the thing about television; it usually gives the audience what it wants. The last ten years have had “Friends” in it for all of us who watched television. I can remember episodes that I laughed so hard, I missed the next five minutes of dialogue. Episodes that are classic, like when Chandler gets caught in the ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre. Perhaps my favorite is when they play the trivia game and upon the loss, Rachel and Monica lose their apartment to Joey and Chandler. The finale serves the purpose for wrapping things up nice and neat. We know that we’ll see Joey in his self-titled spinoff next fall, but will it be the same without the other five “Friends”? Only time will tell. Whatever happens, one thing is for sure, we enjoyed it while it was on and it’s going to be more than a physical void next Fall when we don’t see those seven little letters pop up on Thursday night…
Video: How does it look?
The “Friends” finale is shown in its full-frame aspect ratio, which makes perfect sense seeing as how it’s a television show. This appears 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.
Audio: How does it sound?
“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?
This disc is a “Limited Edition” and obviously is trying to cash in on the success of the show. Odds are that when Season Ten comes out on DVD (most likely some time next year) we’ll get a commentary track at the very least. That being said, the disc doesn’t contain a lot of extras. The original Pilot episode is included and makes for a nice watch if only to see how the actors’ comedic timing has improved and how much they’ve aged in a decade. The original music video is shown by “The Rembrants” that was everywhere when the show first debuted. Lastly, the opening credits from every season are also shown (and if you’re not sick of those credits by Season Ten, you’re a better person that I). All in all, if you couldn’t get enough of the finale, it’s here just barely a week after it aired. Odds are though, we’ll get a better version of this in the near future.
