Disc
One: “The Pilot”, “The One With The Sonogram At The End”, “The One
With The Thumb”, “The One With George Stephenopoulas”, “The One With The
East German Laundry Detergent”, “The One With The Butt”
Disc
Two: “The One With The Blackout”, “The One Where Nana Dies Twice”,
“The One Where Underdog Gets Away”, “The One With The Monkey”, “The
With Mrs. Bing”, “The One With The Dozen Lasagnas”
Disc
Three: “The One With The Boobies”, “The One With The Candy Hearts”,
“The One With The Stoned Guy”, “The One With Two Parts”, “The One With
All The Poker” (DD)
Disc
Four: The One Where The Monkey Gets Away”, “The One With The Evil
Orthodontist”, “The One With Fake Monica”, “The One With The Ick
Factor”, “The One With The Birth”, “The One Where Rachel Finds Out”
Stars:
Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew
Perry, and David Schwimmer
Gust
Stars: Elliott Gould, Christina Pickles, Jill Goodacre, Elinor Donahue, Max
Wright, Hank Azaria, Morgan Fairchild, Fischer Stevens, Jon Lovitz, Helen Hunt,
George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Beverly Garland, Jennifer Grey, Harry Shearer,
Claudia Shear, Leah Remini, and Jonathan Silverman
Writers:
Marta Kauffman, David Crane, Jeffrey Astrof, Mike Sikowitz, Alexa Junge, Jeff
Greenstein, Jeff Stauss, Adam Chase, Ira Ungerieder, Bill Lawrence, Doty Abrams,
and Chris Brown
Directors:
James Burrows, Pamela Fryman, Arlene Sanford, Alan Myerson, Michael Lembeck,
Peter Bonerz, Gail Mancuso, and Robby Benson
Created
By: David Crane and Marta Kauffman
Executive
Producers: Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane
Feature
length: 587 minutes
Extras:
Producers Commentary For The Pilot Episode, A Peek At Central Perk: Interactive
Map, Friends Of Friends: Memorable Gust Star Moments, How Well Do You Know Your
Friends Trivia Quiz, The One With The Trailer Of Season Two
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.0
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French, Spanish, and Korean Subtitles
Packaging:
Gatefold Within Slipcase
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround Sound
Year
of Television Broadcast: 1994 – 1995/DVD Release: 2002
Home
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
After
four volumes of “Best Of” compilations on DVD in Region One America, Warner
Home Video is finally releasing the complete first season of “Friends” on
four DVDs in a deluxe gatefold within a slipcase, much like the way Warner
released the acclaimed miniseries “Roots” to DVD back in January of this
year. The Emmy Award® winning series is arguably one of the best television
sitcoms of the 1990s and a part of television industry. With one more season
coming while the series is still as funny as ever, fans new and old can soon
purchase the entire first season on DVD.
The
DVD set features all 26 episodes of season one and exclusive bonus features that
include an episode length commentary track on disc one for the Pilot by
Executive Producers Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane. This
commentary track is excellent because it reveals how the show came together with
the ensemble cast. Among the interesting elements one learns is how
“Friends” changed the television landscape with an average episode
containing at least three storylines running in a time limit of less than
30-minutes without commercial breaks. The style of the show’s multi-layered
and colorful palette of production design as well as the casting and network
concerns along with how the group just got in synch from the very beginning,
which is apparent from screening the pilot for one’s self are among just some
of the things covered in the commentary.
All
of the episodes of “Friends” in this set are presented in their (1.33:1)
television broadcast aspect ratio with a newly remastered English Dolby Digital
5.0 Surround Soundtrack and English Captions and Closed Captions and French,
Spanish, and Korean Language Subtitles encoded on to the DVDs as options. All of
the episodes in this set also feature footage previously unseen on network
television. The episode picture quality looks great with only some scenes
showing a faint grain. The English Dolby Digital 5.0 Soundtrack is full and
vibrant. The average episode length runs between 23 and a bit over 24-minutes
with the exception of the pilot, which has a running time of 29-minutes and
“The One With Two Parts,” which is edited together as one long 47-minute
episode.
Disc
four has the rest of the extras including an interactive map of the “Central
Perk” coffee house set featured in the series, a trivia game, a “Friends Of
Friends” feature focusing on the many guest stars to have appeared in the
first season
with clips, and a trailer for second season of “Friends,” which is coming
to DVD and VHS soon. Each episode also has a 30-secend preview showing one of
the memorable sequences to give both the casual and hardcore “Friends” fan a
taste for what they can expect in each episode. The episodes can be watched
individually or can be played on each disc in a row. The menus are well rendered
and easy to navigate.
Whether
you are a casual fan or a “Friends” fanatic you cannot go wrong with buying
this DVD set. “Friends: The Complete First Season” will debut on DVD-Video
from Warner Home Video on Tuesday, April 30, 2002.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.