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"Closure. That's what it is, that's what I need." So determined a drunken Rachel in the season 2 episode "The One Where Ross Finds Out." And closure is what this mega-hyped series finale gives loyal and faithful viewers who have been there for Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey, even when Friends seemed stuck in second gear. Television's most popular and comforting comedy did go gently into that good night, packing off new parents Monica and Chandler to the suburbs to start a family; domesticating the once free-spirited Phoebe, and, yes, finally bringing star-crossed, on-again-off-again Ross and Rachel together ("I got off the plane" will take its place in series lore alongside, "We were on a break").

There were some keenly felt absences, most notably Elliott Gould and Christina Pickles as Monica and Ross's maddening parents, and very few surprises, save for one climactic Ross revelation that allowed David Schwimmer's hapless character one of the episode's best lines: "We almost made it 10 years without that coming out." Gunther professing his unrequited love for Paris-bound Rachel was a nice grace note for one of the series' most valuable players, as was the touching, sniffle-inducing ending in which each Friend turned in their key to the apartment each had shared at one time or another over the past 10 years. In the end, it was all about Ross and Rachel, but it seems we will not have ultimate closure until the inevitable reunion special, "The One with Ross and Rachel's Wedding." Until then, between reruns and home video, Friends fans need not fret. As singer Dan Hicks once said, how can we miss them when they won't go away? --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (198)

The one that did NOT disappoint!
The finale episode of FRIENDS, which aired on NBC on May 6th and is now available on Collector's Edition DVD, did not disappoint this loyal fan. I've watched the show since day one, and like so many others, have come to love this sextet of NY pals.

With so much hype leading up to the finale episode, my fear was that the show would go the way of SEINFELD, whose finale was a big let down. FRIENDS, however, stayed true to form. While the show certainly had it's big moments, the writers and producers didn't try to fill every moment with huge events. In some ways the finale felt like a regular episode, with funny situations and jokes (like the new chick and duck getting stuck in the fooseball table). And that's a GOOD thing!

It was touching to see Chandler and Joey have their final moment together after years as roommates, talking about the happy times they had playing fooseball. And of course they wrapped up that scene with one of their famous hugs!

Chandler and Monica's surrogate mother having twins--and a boy and a girl, no less!--was touching, although it seemed highly unrealistic that they came home with the babies practically MINUTES after Erica gave birth. Necessary to speed the episode along, I guess.

And of course we all knew the big ending would be Ross and Rachel finally getting together! The build-up gave us just enough tension to keep us on the end of our seats--Ross not being able to admit how he feels, Gunther finally telling Rachel he loves her (that was sweet), Ross and Phoebe going to the wrong airport, Rachel boarding the plane the first time...up to the moment when Ross's answering machine cuts off Rachel's message!

But the moment Rachel walked into Ross's apartment saying, "I got off the plane..." was priceless! It's what we've waited for for the past ten years, ever since the pilot episode when Ross (after pining for Rachel since high school), tentatively asked if he might be able to ask her out sometime. In the finale, they finally declared that they love each other, were done messing up their relationship, and wanted to be together forever. It was a classic moment when Ross joked, "Unless we're on a break." EXCELLENT!

The subtle final moments of the episode were a perfect fade out...all six of them leaving their apartment keys on the counter, and walking out to go down to the coffee shop one last time. Of course, Chandler got in one final joke, asking "Where?" when Rachel suggested getting a cup of coffee.

Thanks to the cast, writers, producers etc. for 10 wonderful years!

The End and the Beginning
So, after 10 years, it comes down to this. Chandler and Monica are at the hospital waiting for the birth of their baby on the day before they move to their new house. But they might just have a surprise waiting for them. Meanwhile, Joey has a housewarming present for them, Chick Jr. and Duck Jr. Phoebe wants to turn the day into a musical. But the finale wouldn't be complete without another chapter in the Ross/Rachel soap opera we've been following for 10 years. Rachel's leaving for Paris, and Ross needs to decide if he wants to try to stop her by telling her how he feels. And with this gang of six involved, you can be sure there will be plenty of laughs.

I've been a fan for a few years now, catching up on the show thanks to constant reruns. And while the show did loose something in the last couple of seasons, I kept watching. This finale was exactly what this Friends fan was hoping for - plenty of laughs as the gang of six faced some changes in their lives. It really did feel like starting a new chapter and not a harsh goodbye at all, even if the last couple of scenes were very bitter sweet. It was especially nice to see a few nods to classic moments from the show, with appearances by Gunther and Mike, Joey's present, and the infamous "We were on a break!" line.

With the quick release and low price of this DVD, I wasn't expecting much in the way of extras. Since my expectations were low, I wasn't disappointed. The DVD features the broadcast version and an extended version of the finale as well as an extended version of the pilot. Boy have styles changed in 10 years! Both episodes feature great sound and clear picture. It also features the music video for the classic theme and 10 of the opening credits. As any Friends fan knows, they usually changed them half way through the season, so we're only getting about half here. But we do get a couple special ones, like the London opening and the Arquette joke.

Since I'm sure it won't be long before season 10 hits selves in a complete set, it's really up to you to decide if you want to get this now or wait for the set later. I loved the finale so much I just had to go out and get it.

Now everyone sing with me. "So no one told you life was gonna be this way....."

Review, part two
You who did not have the guts to state your name, you are the opinionated one because you do not believe others have a right to their opinions. You must see that this review forum is not just for 5 star reviews, it is so people can voice their opinions on a show/DVD. In my case, I must in all honesty rate this show one star. You may do as you wish, in case you didn't notice my one-star rating did not prevent many 5-star ratings. All I can say is, YOU should get a life if all you do is look at reviews on Amazon and rip people for having a different opinion.

The episode of all episodes
Ladies and gentle men this the best *(swearword)* dvd ever and there is absolutely no argument i'm afraid. Friends is most definately the greatest show of all time so this legendary episode is a perfect way to end a legendary show. It's the end of an error and to be honest.... well...I cried my ass off..

It's Really Over...
*sigh* It seems like it was only yesterday Rachel walked into Central Perk in a wet wedding dress. But it wasn't. It was TEN years ago.
Re-live the comedy and drama and romance in the final episode, originally aired on NBC on May 6, 2004 @ 9:00/8:00c.
Go back to Central Perk for a cup of coffee and scone for one last time...
The Final episode left us with the answer to a 10-year question: will Ross and Rachel end up together? Yes. In the Final episode, Chandler and Monica finally become parents after years of trying, Joey gets a chick and a duck again, named Chick Jr. & Duck Jr., and Phoebe and her husband decide to have kids as well. Who'd thunk their FRIENDShip would last this long and through all the bad, and good stuff? The birth of Phoebe's brother's triplets, the birth of Ross & Rachel's Emma, Chanler and Monica's wedding, and Joey's first real-starring role.
This DVD is awesome and it'll help you remember how good these F*R*I*E*N*D*S really are. It's loaded with extra stuff you'll love, and comes with the un-cut finale, and the original broadcast. ... Read more

Reviews (80)

irresistible comedy
FRIENDS is one of the most loved and successful sitcoms ever made and its not hard to see why. A talented ensemble cast, great recurring characters and flawless scripts and direction all come together to create one fabulous series!

Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), Courteney Cox Arquette (Monica), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Matt Le Blanc (Joey), Matthew Perry (Chandler) and David Schwimmer (Ross), all add pathos and charm to their portrayals of six singles friends who help each other through the pitfalls and anguish of being single in New York City.

There's Monica and Ross's parents (Elliot Gould and Christina Pickles), Rachel's mother (Marlo Thomas), irritating ex-girlfriend-of-Chandler Janice (Maggie Wheeler), Ross's lesbian ex-wife Carol (Jane Sibbert), and the list goes on...........

Every single episode of FRIENDS has been released on video in Australia, each season has a 6-video set, 4 eps on each tape.

The series holds up beautifully with repeat viewings, and there's always something you pick up that you did not notice before.

Marta Kauffman and David Crane have to be commended for creating the endearing, wickedly comical FRIENDS.

It's about time we got Friends on tape!
I am a long time fan of this show, having watched it every weeknight at 7 and 11 in syndication on a local station for the past three years. I also, of course, watch it on NBC at 8 every Thursday when I can. I remember voting on the official site for my favorite episodes last year, and I'm glad they finally put the top ten on video! I went out last night and bought this set and boy am I glad I did! It has some of the best episodes of the series, or of any comedy on tv. The Pilot will basically introduce you to the characters and give you their history while also foreshadowing things like Ross-Rachel. The One With Two Parts (One Hour) features Phoebe coping with her identical twin Ursula when Joey wants to ask her out and also Rachel and Marcel the monkey ending up in the hospital. The One With All the Poker features the gals wanting to play poker with the guys and Ross becoming falsely macho but then throwing in the game out of love. The One Where Ross Finds Out is one of the best Ross-Rachel episodes ever, featuring Ross finding out that Rachel knew he liked her and then falling in love with him and them having their first kiss at the end. The One With the Prom Video is probably my favorite episode, featuring Chandler hating a piece of jewelry Joey gave him out of friendship and Rachel liking Ross again after seeing the sweet thing he did in the prom video they watch which shows how wacky they were back then! The One Where No One's Ready is all about Ross wanting to go to a banquet but everyone being slow and Rachel getting mad at him. The One With the Embryos features Phoebe deciding to be a surrogate mother for her step-brother Frank and his wife. The One With Ross's Wedding (One Hour) features the gang going to London (except the pregnant Phoebe), Joey being homesick, Rachel deciding to rush over the London (after staying home) to tell Ross she loves him, Rachel going there, Ross famously saying the wrong name at the altar, and basically just the whole "incident" with Emily and Ross' wedding. The One With All the Thanskgivings is a hilarious episode where the gang shares past Thanksgiving stories and we flashback to some funny incidents, making Monica get mad at Chandler, Chandler get mad at Monica, and Monica cheering him up by putting her head in a turkey. The One Where Everybody Finds Out is an episode from season 5 which features Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe, trying to make Monica and Chandler admit their relationship; Phoebe pretends to hit on Chandler and then when seducing him makes him uncomfortable enough to say that he is in love with Monica; Ross moves into Ugly Naked Guy's apartment which faces Monica's so guess how he feels when he sees them...doing it! But that's not all! Every episode is not just what we see on tv, but what was in the original teleplay! There is so much extra footage you'll be amazed! I love watching them and pointing out, "Hey, Chandler didn't say that in the final thing!" or the such. Also included is the Rembrandts' music video, in which the gang hangs around while they play the famous theme song in full length. Plus, on the second tape, there is also a whole behind-the-scenes feature where we learn a lot about what happened when the cast went to London for the episode with Ross' wedding. It's touching because they talk about how much they missed Lisa Kudrow because her character Phoebe wasn't there and thus she wasn't, how big a following the show actually has in England, and how much fun it is to go on location. There are actually two parts to the segment, one being Friends Goes to London and the other being Friends on Location in London, so we get different aspects of the same story. If you're a Friends fan of any kind, buy this set! You won't regret it! You'll love seeing the extra footage, going behind the scenes, and replenishing your fond memories of these wonderful favorite episodes. I will watch this time and time again, and I highly recommend it for any fan or anyone wanting a little comedy.

Complete Seasons is What I'm Going For!
Friends is a terrfic show, definitely one of the best sitcoms on TV and sadly this is it's last season to air new episodes but why buy a DVD that only has a few best of episodes when you can buy complete seasons on DVD at reasonable prices? I guess the best of DVDs are fine if you are a casual fan who only wants to have certain episodes on DVD but I personally want to own DVDs that have all of the episodes and I highly recommend the complete seasons!

Good Episodes, but already available
This set of Friends, has some of the best episodes like "The one with two parts," but the only problem, Is your going to pay [$$$] for six episodes that are aready available in the Season 1 and 2 boxs sets. If you only want a few episodes this is the way to go, but your better off buying the full seasons.

Definitely the BEST of Friends!!
This set of Volumes 1 and 2 of the Best of Friends is absolutely worth watching!! The DVD features the following episodes:

VOLUME ONE

1. Pilot (9/22/94): This is the best first episode of America's favourite comedy, showing how Rachel came to live with Monica. This ep sets the mood for the rest of the series.

2. The One With Two Parts (3/2/95). Two-part episode where Monica and Rachel date two doctors, both guest stars from the hit series ER (George Clooney and Noah Wyle).

3. The One With All the Poker (2/23/95). The girls challenge the guys to a game of poker only to lose all of their money more than once... Rachel starts applying for jobs

4. The One Where Ross Finds Out (11/9/95). Ross and Julie decide to buy a cat but a drunken Rachel leaves a phone message for Ross confessing her feelings about him, hence Ross finally finds out how Rachel feels.

5. The One With The Prom Video (2/1/96). One of the fun flashback episodes to when the guys are in high school, getting ready for the prom. Hilarious shots of Rachel, Monica and Ross when they were teenagers!

VOLUME TWO

1. The One Where No One's Ready (9/26/96): Ross stresses out as no one is ready for his museum benefit. Monica finds a message from Richard and can't decide if it's old or new - so she leaves him a msg on his answering machine with disastrous results.

2. The One With The Embryos (1/15/98): Phoebe agrees to carry her brother's baby while the rest of the gang argue about which duo knows the other one better - Chandler and Joey or Monica and Rachel. They settle it with an hilarious game hosted by Ross!

3. The One With Ross's Wedding (5/7/98): Another two-parter where the gang head over to London for Ross' wedding with Emily. The start of Chandler and Monica's relationship, as well as the demise of Ross and Emily's.

4. The One With All the Thanksgivings (11/19/98): Another hilarious flashback episode where the gang relive past Thanksgivings with some of the gang discovering ghosts of the past...

5. The One Where Everybody Finds Out (2/11/99): A personal favourite, when Phoebe finds out about Chandler and Monica and decides to "mess with them". Ross applies for Ugly Naked Guy's apartment.

Apart from the obvious benefit of NO COMMERCIALS - YES!!, the extra features on this DVD are fantastic! It includes a music video of the Friends theme by the Rembrandts featuring the main cast from the tv show, a behind the scenes look at filming in London, commentary from the production team and cast bios.

Volumes 1 and 2 really do have the funniest, most entertaining episodes of Friends and I would recommend it to both fans of the show and those people who are not yet convinced - if these DVDs don't convince them, nothing will! ... Read more

Description

Friends producers pick their favorite episodes for The Best of Friends Season 4. The five hilarious episodes selected for this collector's keepsake are "The One With The Jellyfish," "The One Where Chandler Crosses The Line," "The One With The Free Porn," "The One With All The Wedding Dresses" and "The One With The Worst Best Man Ever." The Emmy? Award winning Friends starring Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Courtney Cox-Arquette (Monica), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), David Schwimmer (Ross), Matthew Perry (Chandler) and Matt LeBlanc (Joey) continues its reign as television's #1 rated comedy with more than 36 million viewers tuning in each week. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The producers do a lot better picking episodes from Season 4
The producers of "Friends" do a lot better for this "The Best of Friends: Season 4" collection of episodes from the year that Phoebe got pregnant and Ross proposed to Emily:

"The One With the Jellyfish" is certainly the most educational episode of "Friends" ever, because if Joey knows what to do when somebody is stung by a jellyfish, then that pretty much means the entire nation now knows. However, even that exciting event becomes secondary in this episode since Ross fell asleep reading Rachel's 18-page letter and find that replying affirmatively to her question, "Does it"? was not something with which he can live. One of the better of the many non-ending endings for the Ross & Rachel traveling circus. Does anyone in this country dare take a break on their relationships?

"The One Where Chandler Crosses The Line" has Chandler riddled with guilt and the apartment littered with new furnishings, after Chandler makes out with Kathy. Once again Chandler learns that there is no success he can have with the opposite sex that will not come back to plauge him two fold.

"The One With The Free Porn" has Joey and Chandler keeping their television on so that they do not lose the unscrambled adult cabel channel that pops up. Meanwhile Ross tells Emily he loves her, but that is nothing compared to two guys in lazy boys watching free porn.

"The One With All The Wedding Dresses" has Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe all getting caught up in wedding fantasies. Rachel might be the one proposing, but it is Monica who foreshadows the future with her obsessiveness about the perfect wedding (see Season 6).

"The One With The Worst Best Man Ever" is the one less than stellar episode that almost costs this collection a star. Joey throws a bachelor party for Ross while Phoebe's mood swings have Monica and Rachel wondering if there is anything they can say or do that will keep the expectant mother from ripping their heads off. I guess the show wanted to get this nonsense out of the way before the season finale in London.

The pickings are pretty good for Season 4 because previous collections of "The Best of Friends" only culled "The One with Chandler in a Box," "The One with the Emrboys" and both parts of "The One with Ross's Wedding." Those are the four best from the season, but there are more good ones out there: "The One with the Cat," "The One with the Cuffs," "The One with the Dirty Girl," and "The One with the Fake Party" immediately come to mind (and I like "The One with Joey's Dirty Day" a lot too). Any one of those would have been a much better replacement for "The One with the Worst Best Man Ever." I was going to go with four stars again, but compared to previous "Best of Friends" season collections, this has four solid episodes, so I will round up on the 4.5. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Episode Guide
TOW Frank Jr. 10/10: (I love this episode! Its hilarious.) Summary: Pheobe's half brother comes for a very strange buisness. Roos makes a list of women Rachel will let him sleep with.
TOW with the flash back 8/10: (Pretty good episode. Funny.)Summary: Janice asks if they have ever almost slept with each other. A flahback of three years ago evoloves.
TOW Monica and Richard are just frieds 6/10 : (Pretty good episode.) After six months of getting over RIchard, Monica celebrates by...going on a date with him!?! Summary: Pretty good...mostly centerd around sex though.
TOW Rachel and Ross take a break 4/10: (Dont really like this one) Summary: Rachel calls it a break...Ross calls it a break up.
TOW the morning afer 2/10: (Its way to sad!!) Rachel finds out about the one mighter with the Xerox girl.
Total: 7/10 (A good buy. Multiple Languages)

It's Gotta Be Friends
From Central Perk to Montauq, Season Three goes everywhere. Join Chanler, Phoebe, Rachel, Ross, Monica and Joey for the best of the best, the Best of Friends. No one can deny it, Friends has a huge effect of America, what other show has people waiting for Thursdays evenings? Now you can get your Friends fill whenever. The best of Friends Season Three truely delivers!!!!

very good selection, but could've been better
Spite this selection of 5 episodes from Season 3 is very good, the ones encharged could've done a lot better. They forgot classic episodes like TOW Jam or TO At The Beach. The episodes selected were TOW Frank Jr. , TOW The Flashback, TOW Monica and Richard Are Just Friends, and the one hour break up of Ross and Rachel, on 2 episodes ( TOW Ross and Rachel Take a Break and TO The Morning After).

TOW Frank Jr. - Phoebe's weird brother, who likes to melt things, is spending a couple of days at Phoebe's place. Joey tries to build an entertainment center. And Ross has dificulties on making a list of the 5 celebrities he would sleep with.

TOW The Flashback - When Janice asks them if they have never hooked up with one another, they have a flashback to 3 years earlier, when Joey is moving in with Chandler, Phoebe is moving out from Monica's place, Ross has just discovered his wife is a lesbian and Rachel is still engaged.

TOW Monica and Richard Are Just Friends - When Monica bumps into Richard, they decide they can be just friends......with benefits. Joey agrees to reading "Little Women" and Rachel, "The Shining". Phoebe has a new boyfriend, who has issues with his underwear.

TOW Ross and Rachel Take a Break - Phoebe dates a diplomate, but they have trouble comunicating, which leads him to bringing a translator on their dates. Joey and Chandler wonders if they could have a menage à trois. And Ross and Rachel take a break ( duh!).

TO The Morning After - Ross and Rachel make up. Chandler and Joey warns Ross about the trail linking Rachel and the woman he slept with while they were on a break. Rachel finds out about Chloe. Ross and Rachel have a fight on her place and the other 4 are trapped on Monica's room, listening to their break up. ... Read more

Description

The Best of Friends, Vol. 3:
"The One with the Blackout": During a blackout in New York City, Chandler is locked in an ATM with beautiful supermodel Jill Goodacre.Meanwhile, the gang converges on Monica's apartment to tell scary stories and talk about sex.
"The One with the Candy Hearts": Joey and Chandler go on a double date, but to Chandler's horror, his date is his ex-girlfriend Janice. Meanwhile, Monica, Rachel and Phoebe have a "bad boyfriend cleansing ritual" which gets out of hand.
"The One Where Ross and Rachel... You Know": Ross and Rachel have their first date, but a case of the giggles keeps them from consummating it. Rachel plans an intimate dinner, but Ross gets called to the museum and has to work late.
"The One with the Football": The gang decides to play a friendly game of football, which devolves into a series of personal competitions:Monica and Ross over the coveted "Geller Cup," Chandler and Joey over a beautiful woman.
"The One That Could Have Been (Part 1 and Part 2)": The gang discusses what their lives would be like if they had chosen different paths, then go on to play out those very divergent roles in one of the more surreal episodes of the series.

The Best of Friends, Vol. 4:
"The One with Chandler in a Box": Joey, still upset with Chandler because he kissed Kathy, decides to move out.When Chandler offers to make it up to him, Joey makes him spend Thanksgiving Day in one of the leftover furniture crates.
"The One Hundredth": Phoebe finally delivers Frank Jr.'s triplets, amongst chaos at the hospital as Rachel tries to set herself and Monica up on a date with two male nurses, Joey develops kidney stones and Phoebe ponders motherhood.
"The One With All the Resolutions": It's New Year's Eve and the friends all make resolutions, which wind up getting them into trouble.Meanwhile, Rachel overhears a phone conversation and discovers Monica and Chandler's secret.
"The One Where Ross Got High":Thanksgiving dinner with the Gellers turns into a fiasco when Chandler discovers that the reason Monica's parents don't like him is because Ross blamed him when his parents caught him smoking pot in college.
"The One with the Proposal (Part 1 and Part 2)": Chandler tries, unsuccessfully to propose to Monica when Richard (Tom Selleck) reenters the picture throwing Monica into a quandary over which of the two men to spend her life with. ... Read more

Reviews (31)

More Best of Friends - Commercial Free!!!
The Best of Friends Volume 3 - 4 collects 10 more of the "best episodes" of the award-winning comedy series about six friends living and working in New York. In addition to the episodes the DVDs also contain a "behind the scenes" documentary (which is pretty cool), cast bios and NEVER BEFORE SEEN FOOTAGE (seamlessly edited into the shows).

Here's a rundown of the DVDs contents:

Volume 3:

1. The One With the Blackout (11/3/94): A power outage occurs leaving Chandler stranded with a supermodel (Jill Goodacre) at an ATM and the others in the dark at home. Ross tries to make his move in on Rachel until a lost cat gets in the way leading to the introduction of the cats owner, Paulo whom Rachel falls head over heels for...

2. The One With the Candy Hearts (2/9/95): Valentine's Day mishaps abound as Joey fixes himself and Chandler on date with a chick he likes and her friend, (unknowingly the friend being Chandler's ex Janice); the girls get into a "ex-boyfriend bonfire ritual" and Ross runs into his ex-wife Carole while out on his first date in ages.

3. The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know (2/8/96): Ross and Rachel head out on their first date -- at his working place (with a HILARIOUS ending); Monica caters a party for her parent's eye doctor friend, Dr. Richard Burke (Tom Selleck) (setting off another GREAT storyline); plus, Joey and Chandler become the ultimate "Lazy Boy" couch potatoes.

4. The One With the Football (11/21/96): It's Thanksgiving and Ross and Monica drag their friends into the ultimate battle of football for the "prestigious" Geller Cup.

5. The One That Could Have Been (2/17/00): Ross still with Carole? Rachel actually marrying Barry? Phoebe as a wealthy, high-powered stockbroker? Monica still fat? Chandler as a struggling writer? Joey as a successful actor? Great alternate storyline episode as the gang wonders What If?

Volume 4:

1. The One With Chandler in a Box (11/20/97): Thanksgiving comes around again. With Joey still fuming at Chandler for stealing his girlfriend, Chandler confines himself to a box to prove his friendship to Joey. Plus, Monica attempts to start a relationship with Richard's son.

2. The One Hundredth (10/8/98): Phoebe gives birth to the triplets she carried for her brother, with a Fonzie-loving weirdo as the doctor. Plus, to Chandler's chagrin Rachel sets-up Monica and herself with two cute males nurses.

3. The One With All the Resolutions (1/7/99): New Year's comes around and with it resolutions. Chandler can't insult; Ross wants to try new things (including wearing leather pants which lead to a HILARIOUS disaster on a hot date); Joey tries to learn guitar from Phoebe; and Rachel resolves not to gossip, but stumbles across Chandler and Monica's BIG secret!!!

4. The One Where Ross Got High (11/25/99): Ross and Monica's parents visit for Thanksgiving and it is revealed that they don't like Chandler, to Monica's chagrin. Ross reveals the reason for their parent's disdain of Chandler is a little white lie he told them about Chandler to cover his own tracks while in college. Also, Rachel tries to fix Thanksgiving desert for the very first time -- to hilarious results!!!

5. The One with the Proposal - Parts 1 & 2 (5/18/00): Chandler's big plans to spring a surprise proposal to Monica nearly fall through when Dr. Richard Burke returns from the past to try to reclaim Monica for himself!!! Plus, Joey inadvertently buys a boat at an auction and Ross breaks things off with his college co-ed honey!!!

In addition to these episodes BOTH DVDs also contain the following special features:

1. Special Discovery Channel Documentary: "The One That Goes Behind The Scenes." Slightly dated, this 45 minute documentary takes you behind the scenes as the season premiere for the 1999-2000 season is produced (the One After Vegas). The beginning is kinda so-so with tons of technical stuff where the set gets built and the writers discuss the storyline, but it picks up as the actual filming begins. So COOL stuff toward the end of they get immediate feedback from the studio audience about jokes which work and fall flat and TONS of cool stuff in the "post-production" phase where we see the Foley artists adding in the sound effects, the music editor adding on the soundtrack and the video editor actually stitching the episode together. Overall, the first half of it is boring; the second half is cool. This should be great for film/video production students wanting to see how an award-winning, ratings-producing show is produced. Kinda neat for Friends fans.

2. Cast bios (the usual stuff talking about where they grew up and their career resume, neat but nothing to write home about....)

3. NEVER BEFORE SEEN FOOTAGE: It's soooo seamlessly edited into the shows that I can't really tell the difference anyway... Pretty cool I guess...

Here's my quick rundown:

Awesome: NO COMMERCIALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some of the stuff on the documentary was pretty cool

So-so: The additional footage? Me personally, I can't really tell the difference but I guess that makes it a plus.

Bad: Nothing really, but HEY, WB, WHERE'S THE COMPLETE SEASON COLLECTIONS?????????

I like the fact that they released these episodes on DVD. The replay value, like most sitcoms, is awesome. It's just like watching Friends syndicated reruns on your local station but without the commercials and with a better picture. Unlike taping your favorite episodes off the air, the DVD won't get "eaten" from constant replay.

However, I'm anxiously awaiting when Warner Bros will release the complete season sets like they have overseas. Getting these "Best of" sets will be somewhat moot if/when the complete season sets come out domestically.

Otherwise though, if you need your Friends fix, sans commercials and VCR eaten tapes, this will have to do it for you.

Recommended.

Great Choices--- but please bring season by season format!
...I really wish WB would put out *all* of the friends episodes I've laughed along with over the years. But until that thought gets into their heads, I can't wait for this set. These really are some of the "Best of" the series. the two plot lines I'm most looking forward to reliving:

The one with chandler in a box: Chandler proves how much Joey's friendship means to him by sitting (quietly) in a box for several hours one thanksgiving night.

The one that could have been (parts 1 and 2): A hilarious what if episode where we see what might have happened if monica hadn't lost all that weight, chandler handn't gotten a job, pheobe worked on wall street, Joey was still on Days of Our Lives, Rachel was married to Barry, and Ross's (ex)wife Carol hadn't realized she was gay. The others are hillarious as well, but wow. let's hope we don't have to wait another *year* before more episodes are released here on DVD.

"Must-see TV"?
...Dear God, please strike me blind! I'd rather see a test pattern than this piece of crap

I LOVE IT!!!!
A must have for any Friends fan, such as myself. This set has some absolute classics on it!!!! For starters...the thanksgiving episode with Chandler in the box!!! And what about Phoebe's Fonzi-crazy obstetrician in the one where she has the triplets? And lets not forget my ABSOLUTE favorite Friends episode off all time.....the one where Ross's parents find out he got high in college and Rachel makes Thanksgiving dessert (Ross: "It tastes like feet"..Joey, "I like it") If you are a Friends fanatic, and you dont own this already, do it now!!! I can't wait for Volumes 5 and 6!!!!

Not the best, merely "fan favorite" episodes of "Friends"
Volumes 3 & 4 of the "Best of 'Friends'" provides a chronological progression through these "fan favorites" (Volumes 1 & 2 are devoted to the "Top 10 Episodes"). On Volume 3 we find:

(1) "The One with Chandler in a Box" (November 20, 1997), finds Chandler, who hates Thanksgiving to begin with, banished to a packing box after stealing Joey's girlfriend, Kathy. Picked as #4 on TV Guide's list of 50 Best "Friends" moments, which seems to be way too high, especially since it is my least favorite episode on this particular disc.

(2) "The One Hundredth" (October 8, 1998), has surrogate mom Phoebe delivering her brother Frank's triplets. Certainly one of the most creative ways of dealing with the pregnancy of an actress in television history, although Phoebe's Fonzie-obsessed obstetrician is a clunker. #31 on TV Guide's list.

(3) "The One with All the Resolutions" (January 7, 1999), but the only ones that matter are Chandler's New Year's vow not to make fun of his pals and the tight leather pants Ross is wearing as part of his attempt to try something new every day. The all time funniest scene of a guy with his pants down around his legs, this is #14 on TV Guide's list. This episode also sets up the grand fun of "The One Where Everybody Finds Out," which caps off Volume 2.

(4) "The One With Ross Got High" (November 25th, 1999) is yet another fun Thanksgiving Day with the sextet. The good news is that Rachel is trying to make desert and has combined recipes for English trifle and shepherd's pie. The bad news is that Mother and Father Geller cannot stand Chandler because Ross told them it was Chandler's marijuana they were smelling in his room way back when. It is time for Ross to come clean, but not before he and Monica engage in a classic bout of sibling one-up-manship as they rat each other out. #49 on the TV Guide list (way too low).

(5) "The One with the Proposal - Parts 1 and 2" (May 18, 2000), finds Chandler being too smart for his own good in his attempt to surprise Monica with his proposal. Tom Selleck returns as Richard, just to make things interesting. #10 on the TV Guide list, which also seems low for one of the most truly romantic proposals in television history (the only one I have seen that was better is when Donny proposed to Daphne; ANYONE would have said yes to that surprisingly powerful proposal from that unexpected source).

Take out Volume 3 and insert Volume 4 and you will find that only one of the episodes on this DVD were listed on TV Guide's "The 50 Best 'Friends' Moments":

(1) "The One with the Blackout" (November 3, 1994), New York City is blacked out (due to a mishap on Mad About You), and Chandler is trapped in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre. The rest of the gang hangs out at Monica and Rachel's apartment watching Ugly Naked Guy light a bunch of candles. This episode also has the first appearance of Mr. Heckles.

(2) "The One with the Candy Hearts" (February 9, 1995) finds the gang suffering through Valentine's Day, where Ross is on a date and runs into Carol and Susan, while Chandler breaks up with Janice (again), and the girls decide a cleansing ritual is in order to improve their love lives.

(3) "The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know" (February 8, 1996) might be focus be focused on the main event, the proverbial consummation devoutly to be wished, but this follow-up episode to "The One with the Prom Video" also has Joey and Chandler getting their La-Z-Boys. #40 on the TV Guide list.

(4) "The One with the Football" (November 21, 1996) is not another horrible Thanksgiving, it just seems that way. A game of touch football threatens the end of the world as we know it as Ross and Monica compete for the "Geller Cup," Chandler and Joey hit on the same Dutch girl, and Phoebe and Rachel explore notions of good sportsmanship.

(5) "The One That Could Have Been - Parts 1 & 2" (February 17, 2000) takes us into an alternative Friends universe. You see, when the gang learns Barry and Mindy are getting divorced they wonder what would have happened if (a) Rachel had gone through with her marriage to Barry, (b) Ross's wife Carol never realized she was a lesbian, (c) Joey was still on "Days of Our Lives," (d) Phoebe was a stockbroker, (e) Chandler quit his job to be a writer, and (f) Monica was still a tad overweight. As with most of these "It's a Wonderful Life" episodes, the lesson is that some things are just meant to be.

This one also includes "The One That Goes Behind the Scenes," which is a very interesting look at the first episode from the fall of 1999 (picking up on the Green-Geller surprise nuptials in Las Vegas in "The One in Vegas, Part II"). However, I have to admit that I do not know these episodes intimately enough to always recognize the ADDED FOOTAGE that is included. Having these DVDs is nice because you do not have to keep paying attention to the repeats in syndication to see your favorite scenes again. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the wake of the phenomenal success of My Big Fat Greek Wedding,it seemed an obvious choice to build a sitcom around writer-star NiaVardalos's family life. But the sitcom was cancelled after half aseaon--which is too bad, because though My Big Fat Greek Lifedoesn't capture the same relaxed, storytelling rhythm of the movie,almost the entire acting ensemble returns (Andrea Martin, MichaelConstantine, Lainie Kazan, Gia Carides, and Louis Mandylor; only JohnCorbett, due to other obligations, was ably replaced by Steve Eckholdt asNia's non-Greek husband), and their skilled interplay makes My Big FatGreek Life an entirely satisfying show. Most of the episodes staystrongly entrenched with family issues, playing with the contrasting tugsof family obligation and the desire for independence, all anchored byVardalos's smart, engaging presence. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Big, Fat still Funny
I rented the dvd last night and I'm glad I did. I laughed hard
and even watched some episodes twice. Constantine shines again and so does the rest of the cast. Brilliant acting, they seem to enjoy it. I don't know why the show was cancelled or why some people don't understand the difference between movie and sitcom. The writers also deserve credit cause they really did capture the spirit of being Greek and presented Greek life as it really is. So don't be a xeno to a good sense of humour. Rent/buy this dvd.

Why did they bother?
As soon as I saw the teasers on TV for the series "My Big Fat Greek Life", I knew we were in trouble. Sure enough, I thought the first episode was terrible. Gone were the heartfelt performances, creative writing, and general good feeling of the movie. Introduced were campy portrayals, crap writing, and general sitcom non-sense.

It made me sad they tried to cash in on the movie's success with this abomination. It did not make me sad when they yanked it off the air.

The Big Fat Greek Sitcom
Nia Vardalos delighted audiences with her personally scripted blockbuster MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING. The movie inspired this short-lived sitcom. This sitcom starring the Canadian-Greek comedienne premiered on CBS on February 24,2003. She is Nia Portakolos married to Ian,an all-American man(Steven Eckholdt). John Corbett,who played Ian in the film already had a show of his own,HBO's recently cancelled "Sex In The City",so he contractually could not do MBFGL. Also part of the TV cast who also appeared in the film are Gia Carides as Nia's sister,Michael Constantine as the father and Lainie Kazan as the mother. In every episode there are several flashbacks to Nia's childhood with her much younger mom and dad. Rita Wilson served as executive producer as she did for the movie. In addition to Wilson,other memorable guest appearances were made by Joey Fatone of the singing group NSync,who also appeared in the film as Angelo,and Frank Stallone,who's Sylvester's brother. After 6 or 7 episodes,CBS pulled the plug on this sitcom. See tvtome.com for details. Hopefully Vardalos' next movie,"Connie and Carla" will be a hit like MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING.

A Very Short-Lived, Mostly LacklusterTV Series
Following the enormous success of the 2002 film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Brad Grey, Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos (who wrote and starred in the film), along with 8 other people, produced a TV series sitcom with a similar cast and plot entitled "My Big Fat Greek Life". The series aired on CBS in the spring of 2003, but poor viewer ratings brought about its quick demise after only 7 episodes. Characters that appeared in the TV series that had also appeared in the original film and remained unchanged were Maria Portokalos (Lainie Kazan), Gus Portokalos (Michael Constantine), Nick Portokalos (Louis Mandylor), cousin Nikki (Gia Carides) and Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin). Nia Vardalos, who played Fortula 'Tula' Portokalos in the film, changed her character's name to Nia Portokalos Miller for the TV series. John Corbett, who played Tula's husband Ian Miller in the original film, was unable to appear in the TV series due to a previous commitment to another TV series. (That TV series, "Lucky", was cancelled by Fox after 13 episodes.) So, in place of John Corbett, Nia's husband in the TV series was Thomas Miller as played by Steven Eckholdt.

Whereas the 2002 film had been expertly written and successfully drew the audience into its tale of self-discovery and love for its main character, 'Tula' Portokalos, the TV series instead focused primarily on jokes and less engaging, often predictable plot lines. My rating for each of the seven episodes, as well as each episode's air date, are as follows:

1. "The House Gift" (3, 2/24/2003). After returning from their honeymoon, Nia and Thomas are surprised to learn that Gus and Maria have purchased them a new house.

2. "The Empire Strikes Back" (3.5, 3/3/2003). Following the hospitalization of a close friend, Maria and Gus decide to write wills that give the restaurant to Nia instead of Nick.

3. "Ariana" (4, 3/9/2003). Cousin Ariana (guest appearance by Rita Wilson) visits from Greece following her divorce from her cheating ex-husband. Nia wants to help Ariana build an independent life, but Gus and Maria have other plans for her.

4. "The Free Lunch" (1.5, 3/16/2003). The worst written and edited episode of the series, Nia tries to get a loading zone permit for the restaurant. Notable guest appearances include Ken Campbell Rusty Schwimmer.

5. "Big Night" (4.5, 3/30/2003). After Thomas foolishly tries to impress Gus by lying that he knows Pete Sampras, Nia, Voula and Nikki run into Yanni (himself) instead.

6. "Nick Moves Out" (4.5, 4/6/2003). Tired of being taken care of, Nick decides to get an apartment of his own in spite of his parents' objections.

7. "Greek Easter" (3.5, 4/13/2003). Nia wants to impress the family by cooking Easter dinner and surprising Gus with a surprise visitor. Notable guest appearnace: John Aniston.

My overall rating for the short-lived TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life" is 3 out of 5 stars. Had the same writing quality been applied to the TV series as the film, it would have likely been able to sustain better ratings and had more than 7 episodes. Unfortunately, the series' two best episodes (#6 and #7) didn't appear until the number of viewers had dropped following several lackluster episodes and one terrible one.

Incredibly Funny
It took me at least twice as much time as usual to watch this, because I kept rewinding - pretty much every scene is so hilariously funny you want to watch it over and over.

To those of you who refer to "BFGL" as "Big Fat Waist of Airtime" - A lot you know!!! There is something seriously wrong with your sense of humor.

Watch it! By all means watch it! You won`t regret it!! ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Mary Tyler Moore is Fabulous!This DVD Release is a Waste!
I don't own, nor do I plan to purchase this product because I ALREADY own the Complete 1st Season on DVD!What overpaid executive came up with this stupid release?I agree with the other writers, how about a Season 2 preview tape?What good is a preview after the full season has been released?Just a ridiculous marketing plan.

This would be the same as going to the theater and seeing previews of films that were released almost 2 years prior!

Why is Fox so ignorant?
Fox is releasing all these so-called "best of" disks of their shows, only AFTER releasing the first seasons.This is absured and insulting to the fans that have bought the complete seasons and to fans of the shows in general.<>

Four Top Notch Episodes
In a recent effort to get casual fans interested in their TV products on DVD, Fox has released four episode starter sets of several of their shows.Reasonably priced, they tempt the viewer to buy the first season and even provide a coupon for the purchase price of the sampler off the price of the complete first season if offered.The casual fan has little to loose.

And this set offers four of the funniest episodes from the first season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show."Love is All Around" is one of my favorite TV pilots ever, expertly introducing us to the characters we'd grow to love as the series progressed.

"Support Your Local Mother" brings Rhoda's Mom for a visit.With Mary as her host, Mary begins to see why Rhoda has a hard time dealing with her mother.

"Toulouse-Lautrec Is One of My Favorite Artists" finds Mary confronting the realization that she's a height bigot when a charming but shorter man asks her out.

"The Snow Must Go On" places Mary in charge of election night coverage.Vowing they won't go off the air until they get final results, Mary must keep Ted going when they are cut off from any source of news.

Of course, the problem with this disc is that any fan of the show has had two and a half years to get the complete first season by now.But if you are a casual fan, this disc will give you four top notch episodes from the first season of this classic sit-com.

Good but buy the complete season 1 instead
I am rating this 5 stars just because the MTM show deserves 5 stars.Notice that the sales rank of this start up disk is much lower than the complete box set.Good.I want Fox to release seasons 2+ in their entirety.And hopefully this will help.Just a note to the Fox team who is putting out the MTM dvds..... Include the entire cast on the box.The pictures they use nowis making it look like the 'Independent Seventies Woman striking it out on her own' type show which was new at the time but today it's dated.If they include Ted, Lou, Murray, etc. it will appeal to a much wider audience who know and love these characters.

For "Starters", Check Out These Four Terrific MTM Episodes!
On March 22, 2005, Fox Home Entertainment released this "TV Starter Set" DVD consisting of four of the best episodes from Season #1 of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". This one-disc "Starter" Pack is nice for those people who are not at all familiar with the MTM Show (and would just like to see a "sample" from the series), or for those who are already fans of Mary's show, but don't want to dig too deep into their pocketbooks and purchase the full-season, 24-episode DVD boxed set of the first MTM season, which is a compilation which also earns a perfect "Five-Star" rating from this writer.

Unlike the deluxe 4-Disc "Complete First Season" DVD set of "TMTMS", there aren't any special bonus features on this "Starter" disc -- just the four episodes (listed below). But it's still a very good deal, IMO, at the bargain price offered.

The video quality for these four stellar MTM episodes is simply SUPERB! I doubt these shows could look any better. The colors are perfect and vibrant and there's no annoying video "noise" or artifacts (that I can detect at any rate).

Each episode here gets its own "Chapter" sub-menu on the disc, with 10 chapter stops per show! Video is presented in the original TV ratio of 1.33:1; the audio sounds just fine via the disc's English Dolby Digital soundtrack (of the 2.0 Mono variety). There are even two foreign-language tracks included (in Spanish 2.0 Mono and French 2.0 Mono); plus Subtitles in English and Spanish. Unfortunately, there is not a "Play All" feature included.

There's also a very short "Mary Tyler Moore TV Spot" included on this disc. This is not an original 1970 CBS-TV promo for TMTMS, however. It's a brief 15-second ad pitching the 4-Disc "Complete First Season" set of The MTM Show.

A 12-page insert (DVD advertising booklet) also comes with this Starter Set, featuring many ads for other FOX TV-On-DVD products.

And -- You also get a valuable mail-in certificate good for $10.00 off the price of one of FOX's full-season DVD boxed sets. According to this coupon offer, you don't necessarily have to use the discount for the Mary Tyler Moore first-season collection. You can apply the $10 discount to any one of 12 different complete-season sets put out by Fox Home Entertainment -- "TMTMS" Season 1, "24" Seasons 1 thru 3, "Buffy, The Vampire Slayer" Seasons 1 thru 7, or "The Pretender" Season 1. The coupon offer expires December 31, 2005.


Here's a glance at the four episodes that make up this "MTM Starter Set" (with original CBS-TV Air Dates in parenthesis)............

1.) "Love Is All Around" (09/19/1970)
2.) "Support Your Local Mother" (10/24/1970)
3.) "Toulouse-Lautrec Is One Of My Favorite Artists" (10/31/1970)
4.) "The Snow Must Go On" (11/7/1970)

"Love Is All Around" is the debut episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", and does a great job of introducing the viewing audience to "Mary Richards", "Rhoda Morgenstern", "Phyllis Lyndstrom", "Lou Grant", "Murray Slaughter", and "Ted Baxter".

Everybody in this series was first-rate all the way, with the show picking up more steam as the first season progressed; and it got even better in Season #2.

"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was one of the most popular and successful TV comedy series ever aired on network television, accumulating an amazing 67 Emmy nominations during its seven-year period on the airwaves (1970 to 1977). The series won 29 total Emmy Awards, including four during its rookie season.

This MTM "Starter" disc is a fine supplementary addition to the DVD collection of anyone who loves flat-out good TV shows.

------------------------------

Post-Script / Related News:

MTM SEASON TWO IS COMING TO DVD ON JULY 26, 2005!

This Season 2 news is also confirmed on the Main Menu of this "MTM Starter" disc. At the top of this disc's Main Menu are the words "Season 2 Available Summer 2005". Plus, the Menu screen also provides other informational blurbs as well, letting the viewer know that "The Bob Newhart Show Season 1" is coming soon; and that MTM Season 1 is available now.

This is outstanding news, indeed, for those who have been craving MTM Season Two on DVD ever since the first-season set was released on September 24, 2002. ... Read more

Description

The Five Best episodes from Season 1 as chosen by Executive Producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman & David Crane. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great Friends Collection to posses
This is my first of the Friends DVD which I ordered from Amazon and I'm really pleased to own this. Even though it has only the best 5 episodes, it is really a worth for any Friends Fan. I also ordered Best of Friends Seson 3 and Best of Friends Season 4.

Only a couple of Season 1 classic "Friends" episodes here
Actually, the better title for "The Best of Friends Season 1" would be "Best of Friends Season 1 not included on "The Best of Friends: Top 10 Episodes" and "The Best of Friends: 10 Fan Favorites." That is because "Top 10" has the "Pilot," both parts of "The One with the Two Parts," and "the One with All the Poker," while "10 Fan Favorites" has "The One with the Blackout" and "The One with the Candy Hearts." So, what is left to be included in "The Best of Friends Season 1"? The following:

"The One With The East German Laundry Detergent" is really the one that introduces Janet as Chandler's hyper-annoying girlfriend and where Ross and Rachel have their first date (in the laundry) and share their first kiss (foreshadowing).

"The One With The Stoned Guy," who is Jon Lovitz as the owner of a swank restaurant who shows up in that condition to taste test Monica's cooking as she auditions for a head chef position. Meanwhile, Chandler is promoted and Joey teaches Ross how to talk dirty to impress the curator of insects at his museum (it sounded like a good idea at the time).

"The One Where Underdog Gets Away" is the first Thanksgiving episode, which goes horribly wrong when everyone runs outside to see the Underdog balloon escape from the parade and they all get locked out of Monica's apartment. The first Thanksgiving episode, but nowhere near the best, although it does introduce the back story on Chandler's strange childhood.

"The One With The Birth" has the gang descending on the hospital when Carol goes into labor. Of course, Ross and Susan cannot stop fighting with each other. Not only do they get kicked out of the delivery room, they end up locked in a storage closet. Meanwhile, Rachel is flirting with a cute doctor and Chandler offers to have a baby with Monica if they are still both unmarried at the age of 40. This is the one true classic in this collection and the obvious nominee to have been included in the previous collections.

"The One Where Rachel Finds Out" is when Chandler lets the cat out of the bag at Rachel's birthday party. This is an important moment in the Ross-Rachel relationship, but the chief charm of the episode is Joey who has a hot new girlfriend but is required to be celibate because of a fertility study that is helping him pay the bills.

If we are talking top 10 episodes from Season 1 of "Friends," then "The One with the Stoned Guy" and "The One with the Birth" would both be on that list. They would have had a better collection if they replaced the other three with "The One with George Stephanopoulos," "The One with the Butt," and "The One with the Ick Factor." But clearly the idea here is to touch on key moments in the development of the characters rather than the really funny episodes. The end result is that "The Best of Friends Season 1" is going to be for those who have some reason for just not going ahead and purchasing the complete Season 1 set.

The FRIENDS' Firsts!
Ain't life great when you've got your FRIENDS? Despite all the bumps in the road, your life goes smoothley. Except that the fact that your wife is a lesbian, you've just dumped your fiance at the altar, you can't get a gig, you find out that your credid card has just been stolen, you work for a borring business company, and you tend to find fingers in soda cans, life's perfect.
Enter Ross, Rachel, Joey, Monica, Chandler, and Phoebe. They go through life in the big apple, and other events that you'd call a part of your life. This season 1 collection comes with all of the FRIENDS' first episodes! Plus a lot of other extras! This DVD set ROCKS!
-4 discs, 24 episodes, 12 hours, 566 minutes, 6 episodes per disc, plus extras on the 1st and 4th discs. English and spanish subtitles.- ... Read more

Description

The best episodes of Season 2 as chosen by Executive Producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman & David Crane. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Once again, they could have picked over the leftovers better
Once again the six episodes collected on "The Best of Friends Season 2" are what was selected after the choices episodes were already selected for the "The Best of Friends: Top 10 Episodes" ("The One Where Ross Finds Out," "The One with the Prom Video") and "The Best of Friends: 10 Fan Favorites" ("The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know"). Fortunately, that is only three episodes out of the mix, so there are better pickings for this collection than we found on the same DVD for Season 1. The problem is there are really only two solid episodes here:

"The One With Ross's New Girlfriend" is the season premier for Season 2, which picks up at the airport where Rachel discovers her big plan to reveal her love for Ross will be rather difficult now that he is back in town arm-in-arm with paleontologist Julie. However the fun part is when Phoebe confuses Dudley Moore with Demi Moore while working on Monica's hair. This is where a strong start becomes a "Friends" tradition.

"The One Where Heckles Dies" has mean old Mr. Heckles downstairs dropping dead and getting back on Monica and Rachel beyond the grave by willing them his entire apartment of junk. Meanwhile, Ross is losing it because Phoebe refuses to believe in evolution. This is the second of the two really solid episodes here.

"The One With Phoebe's Husband" revels that Phoebe has been married to Duncan, her gay Canadian friend, so that he can get a green card. But that is not the only secret that is revealed as we learn who has more than two nipples and who has only been with one woman in his life. I always had a bit of a problem with this episode because Rachel goes way too far in trying to break up Ross and Julie.

"The One With The List" is another episode with a problematic contrivance. Ross has to choose between Rachel and Julie, so of course he makes a list and checks it twice. Actually, he checks it once; Rachel checks it the second time. I know the Ross-Rachel bit has a great payoff with the end of "The One with the Prom Video," but they are really stringing us along here.

"The One After The Superbowl (Parts 1 & 2)" should have been called night of the Hollywood stars since we have Chandler meeting up with the girl he teased in the fourth grade, who grew up to be Julia Roberts, Joey being stalked by Brooke Shields, Phoebe falling for Chris Isaak, and Rachel and Monica fighting over Jean-Claude Van Damme on the set of "Outbreak 2," which leaves Ross to hook up with Marcel, the new movie star. Talk about overkill, this is a case where more is less. Roberts and Matthew Perry are far and away the best of these bits, which just makes the rest of them look like the people on the losing side of the biggest football game of the year. Who was it that year? I know this is a memorable episode, but it is not a great one by any means.

Once again, I have to question some of the choices here. I would keep the first two, ditch the rest, and substituted "The One with the Breast Milk," "The One with the Baby on the Bus," "The One with Barry & Mindy's Wedding," and "The One Where Old Yeller Dies." How could you not put that last one on this list? Even "The One Where Joey Moves Out" and "The One Where Eddie Moves In" would have been better. One of the things that you notice about Season 2 is that "Friends" got off to a great start and then things went into a holding pattern while Ross and Rachel put off the inevitable. Maybe the idea is to convince you to pass over this less than adequate selection and go right for the complete Season 2 on DVD. ... Read more

Description

The Best of Friends, Vol. 4 contains:
"The One with Chandler in a Box": Joey, still upset with Chandler because he kissed Kathy, decides to move out.When Chandler offers to make it up to him, Joey makes him spend Thanksgiving Day in one of the leftover furniture crates.
"The One Hundredth": Phoebe finally delivers Frank Jr.'s triplets, amongst chaos at the hospital as Rachel tries to set herself and Monica up on a date with two male nurses, Joey develops kidney stones and Phoebe ponders motherhood.
"The One With All the Resolutions": It's New Year's Eve and the friends all make resolutions, which wind up getting them into trouble.Meanwhile, Rachel overhears a phone conversation and discovers Monica and Chandler's secret.
"The One Where Ross Got High":Thanksgiving dinner with the Gellers turns into a fiasco when Chandler discovers that the reason Monica's parents don't like him is because Ross blamed him when his parents caught him smoking pot in college.
"The One with the Proposal (Part 1 and Part 2)": Chandler tries, unsuccessfully to propose to Monica when Richard (Tom Selleck) reenters the picture throwing Monica into a quandary over which of the two men to spend her life with. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Friends is the best Comedy show !
This is a collection of the best episode. I think that friends is the best tv comedy show, you have to see it !

This is the One with "The One with the Proposal"
Volume 4 of the "Best of 'Friends'" continues the chronological progression through these "fan favorites" begun in Volume 3 (Volumes 1 & 2 are devoted to the "Top 10 Episodes"):

(1) "The One with Chandler in a Box" (November 20, 1997), finds Chandler, who hates Thanksgiving to begin with, banished to a packing box after stealing Joey's girlfriend, Kathy. Picked as #4 on TV Guide's list of 50 Best "Friends" moments, which seems to be way too high, especially since it is my least favorite episode on this particular disc.

(2) "The One Hundredth" (October 8, 1998), has surrogate mom Phoebe delivering her brother Frank's triplets. Certainly one of the most creative ways of dealing with the pregnancy of an actress in television history, although Phoebe's Fonzie-obsessed obstetrician is a clunker. #31 on TV Guide's list.

(3) "The One with All the Resolutions" (January 7, 1999), but the only ones that matter are Chandler's New Year's vow not to make fun of his pals and the tight leather pants Ross is wearing as part of his attempt to try something new every day. The all time funniest scene of a guy with his pants down around his legs, this is #14 on TV Guide's list. This episode also sets up the grand fun of "The One Where Everybody Finds Out," which caps off Volume 2.

(4) "The One With Ross Got High" (November 25th, 1999) is yet another fun Thanksgiving Day with the sextet. The good news is that Rachel is trying to make desert and has combined recipes for English trifle and shepherd's pie. The bad news is that Mother and Father Gellar cannot stand Chandler because Ross told them it was Chandler's marijuana they were smelling in his room way back when. It is time for Ross to come clean, but not before he and Monica engage in a classic bout of sibling one-up-manship as they rat each other out. #49 on the TV Guide list (way too low).

(5) "The One with the Proposal - Parts 1 and 2" (May 18, 2000), finds Chandler being too smart for his own good in his attempt to surprise Monica with his proposal. Tom Selleck returns as Richard, just to make things interesting. #10 on the TV Guide list, which also seems low for one of the most truly romantic proposals in television history (the only one I have seen that was better is when Donny proposed to Daphne; ANYONE would have said yes to that surprisingly powerful proposal from that unexpected source).

This one also includes "The One That Goes Behind the Scenes," which is mildly interesting. However, I have to admit that I do not know these episodes intimately enough to always recognize the ADDED FOOTAGE that is included. Having these DVDs is nice because you do not have to keep paying attention to the repeats in syndication to see your favorite scenes again. My only complaint is that at least on my DVD player I cannot just fast forward to a favorite scene (i.e., ,the proposal). What's up with that?

A Great End to a 4 Volume Set
The fourth, and I guess, final Best Of Friends DVD is an absolute must have. Much like its 3 predecessors.

(1) The One with Chandler In a Box - Chandler, to show he feels sorry for stealing Joey's girlfriend, decides to stay in a box throughout Thanksgiving dinner. This ensues in hilarious stuff from Joey who becomes a parent-like unit to Chandler. Also, the gang finds it weird when Monica pursues a relationship with Richard's son.

(2) The One Hundredth - Phoebe goes into labor with the triplets, and is stuck with a doctor who is obsessed with "The Fonz" much to Pheobe's dismay. Monica and Chandler question their relationship here also, but in the end, they strengthen it. I must also mention that Lisa Kudrow gets major kudos for this ep! The ending is quiet teary.

(3) The One with All the Resolutions - This episode is great for 2 reasons only. 1. Rachel finds out about Monica and Mr. Big -- after making her New Year's resolution not to gossip. And the other reason, 2. Ross' resolution is to do something new each day. He chose to wear leather pants one day. And well, that leads to a very funny catastrophe in a date's bathroom.

(4) The One Where Ross Got High - Another Thanksgiving ep! Monica invites her parents over for Thanksgiving, but has failed to tell them about her and Chandler. Also, Monica has promised Rachel she can fix the Thanksgiving dessert. Although this episode doesn't have the spunk that the rest do, the last 5 minutes are great.

(5) The One with the Proposal - Chandler plans to pop the big question on Monica, but all doesn't go as planned when Dr. Richard (Tom Selleck) shows up and screws things up by telling Monica he loves her. A VERY good episode with a VERY good ending.

The twenty episodes that were contained in the Best of Friends volumes are all great. Now I must go and get the Friends Season One set, and anxiously await further seasons.

Ok, but not really the "best of"
This video has 5 episodes (from various seasons): 1) "The One with Chandler in a Box", where Joey makes Chandler spend Thanksgiving in a wooden box as punishment for kissing his (Joey's) girlfriend; 2) "The One Hundredth", where Phoebe (acting as surrogate) gives birth to her brother's and sister-in-law's triplets, which had both funny and very emotional moments; 3) "The One with All the Resolutions", where all the friends make their New Year's resolutions, but best of all, this is the episode with Ross and the leather pants (hilarious!!!); 4) "The One Where Ross Got High", yet another Thanksgiving episode, pretty mild and somewhat sleep-inducing and highly forgettable (this is where "Rachel" makes the beef-banana Thanksgiving dessert); and 5) "The One With the Proposal, Parts 1 and 2", where Ross finally realizes his romance with his much younger student is pointless, and best of all Chandler finally proposes to Monica, but not without complications from Dr. Richard.

Good video for us "Friends" junkies, but what I"m really waiting for is actual anthologies of all the seasons, not just a mixed bag of what some producer deems the "best of". A few of these episodes really are the "best", but the other few are pretty much fillers, probably to make you have to keep buying videos to get the really funny ones.

More Great Friends episodes, sans commercials!!!
The Best of Friends Volume 4 collects an additional 5 more of the "best episodes" of the award-winning comedy series about six friends living and working in New York. In addition to the 5 episodes, the DVD also contains a "behind the scenes" documentary (which is pretty cool), cast bios and NEVER BEFORE SEEN FOOTAGE (seamlessly edited into the shows).

Here's a rundown of this DVDs contents:

1. The One With Chandler in a Box (11/20/97): Thanksgiving comes around again. With Joey still fuming at Chandler for stealing his girlfriend, Chandler confines himself to a box to prove his friendship to Joey. Plus, Monica attempts to start a relationship with Richard's son.

2. The One Hundredth (10/8/98): Phoebe gives birth to the triplets she carried for her brother, with a Fonzie-loving weirdo as the doctor. Plus, to Chandler's chagrin Rachel sets-up Monica and herself with two cute males nurses, and Joey has a kidney stone.

3. The One With All the Resolutions (1/7/99): New Year's comes around and with it resolutions. Chandler can't insult; Ross wants to try new things (including wearing leather pants which lead to a HILARIOUS disaster on a hot date); Joey tries to learn guitar from Phoebe; and Rachel resolves not to gossip, but stumbles across Chandler and Monica's BIG secret!!!

4. The One Where Ross Got High (11/25/99): Ross and Monica's parents visit for Thanksgiving and it is revealed that they don't like Chandler, to Monica's chagrin. Ross reveals the reason for their parent's disdain of Chandler is a little white lie he told them about Chandler to cover his own tracks while in college. Also, Rachel tries to fix Thanksgiving desert for the very first time -- to hilarious results!!!

5. The One with the Proposal Parts 1 & 2 (5/18/00): Chandler's big plans to spring a surprise proposal to Monica nearly fall through when Dr. Richard Burke returns from the past to try to reclaim Monica for himself!!! Plus, Joey inadvertently buys a boat at an auction and Ross breaks things off with his college co-ed honey!!!

In addition to these episodes this DVD also contains the following special features:

1. Special Discovery Channel Documentary: "The One That Goes Behind The Scenes." Slightly dated, this 45 minute documentary takes you behind the scenes as the season premiere for the 1999-2000 season is produced (the one after with the gang in Vegas where Ross and Rachel got married). The beginning is kinda so-so with tons of technical stuff where the set gets built and the writers discuss the storyline, but it picks up as the actual filming begins. Some COOL stuff toward the end of filming as they get immediate feedback from the studio audience about jokes which work and fall flat and TONS of cool stuff in the "post-production" phase where we see the Foley artists adding in the sound effects, the music editor adding on the soundtrack and the video editor actually stitching the episode together. Overall, the first half of it is boring; the second half is cool. This should be great for film/video production students wanting to see how an award-winning, ratings-producing show is produced. Kinda neat for Friends fans.

2. Cast bios (the usual stuff talking about where they grew up and their career resume, neat but nothing to write home about....)

3. NEVER BEFORE SEEN FOOTAGE: It's soooo seamlessly edited into the shows that I can't really tell the difference anyway... Pretty cool I guess...

Here's my quick rundown:

Awesome: NO COMMERCIALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some of the stuff on the documentary was pretty cool

So-so: The additional footage? Me personally, I can't really tell the difference but I guess that makes it a plus.

Bad: Nothing really, but HEY, WB, WHERE'S THE COMPLETE SEASON COLLECTIONS?????????

I like the fact that they released these episodes on DVD. The replay value, like most sitcoms, is awesome. It's just like watching Friends syndicated reruns on your local station but without the commercials and with a better picture. Unlike taping your favorite episodes off the air, the DVD won't get "eaten" from constant replay.

However, I'm anxiously awaiting when Warner Bros will release the complete season sets like they have overseas. Getting these "Best of" sets will be somewhat moot if/when the complete season sets come out domestically.

Otherwise though, if you need your Friends fix, sans commercials and VCR eaten tapes, this will have to do it for you.

Recommended. ... Read more

Description

The cadets take to the streets when three inept goons successfully orchestrate a metropolitan crime wave. ... Read more

Description

The Best of Friends, Vol. 3 contains:
"The One with the Blackout": During a blackout in New York City, Chandler is locked in an ATM with beautiful supermodel Jill Goodacre.Meanwhile, the gang converges on Monica's apartment to tell scary stories and talk about sex.
"The One with the Candy Hearts": Joey and Chandler go on a double date, but to Chandler's horror, his date is his ex-girlfriend Janice. Meanwhile, Monica, Rachel and Phoebe have a "bad boyfriend cleansing ritual" which gets out of hand.
"The One Where Ross and Rachel... You Know": Ross and Rachel have their first date, but a case of the giggles keeps them from consummating it. Rachel plans an intimate dinner, but Ross gets called to the museum and has to work late.
"The One with the Football": The gang decides to play a friendly game of football, which devolves into a series of personal competitions:Monica and Ross over the coveted "Geller Cup," Chandler and Joey over a beautiful woman.
"The One That Could Have Been (Part 1 and Part 2)": The gang discusses what their lives would be like if they had chosen different paths, then go on to play out those very divergent roles in one of the more surreal episodes of the series. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Buy the full season already!!
These episodes are great but if you're really a "Friends" fan, you'll be better off with any of the Seasons 1-4 that are already out on both VHS and DVD (Season Five soon to come out!!)

These "Best of.." series isn't bad at all but wouldn't you rather see it all??

It deserves 100 stars and MORE!
(First of all, I am a 17/female, I made a mistake and used the 12 year olds review board)
Okay, to my review:
Everything from the writers, the characters and the amazing chemistry they all share is perfect and wonderful. I consider myself the biggest friends fan ever and I own all of the f