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Friends - The Complete Ninth Season
Warner Bros. // Unrated // March 8, 2005
List Price: $44.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Show
After years of dominating the television ratings, and ruling Thursday nights, Friends began to feel some heat as the new millennium began from an upstart reality series called Survivor. Over the next few years (and for the remainder of Friends' run) these two shows would duke it out for supremacy on Thursdays. With Season Nine of Friends, now available on DVD, we see that the show had made some changes to engage in this battle, but the core of the series remained intact.
(SPOILER WARNING!: In order to describe Friends Season 9, I must divulge some of the plot-lines for the shows, as well as discuss events from Season 8. So, if you haven't seen Season 8 and want to be surprised by Season 9, read with caution.) At the conclusion of the eighth season of Friends, Rachel (Jennifer Ansiston) was about to go into the labor with the baby that she was having with Ross (David Schwimmer). However, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) had developed very strong feelings for Rachel, but he knew that it would be inappropriate for him to express them, as she was having someone else's baby -- even though she and Ross weren't a couple. As Season 9 opens, Rachel has given birth to her baby girl, Emma, and all seems fine, until she thinks that both Ross and Joey have proposed to her! Meanwhile, the birth of Rachel's baby solidifies the fact that Monica (Courtney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) want children, and they begin trying, only to have those plans dashed when Chandler is forced to work in Oklahoma four days a week.
As the season progresses, several story arcs unfold. Ross and Rachel live together in order to raise Emma, but neither is sure exactly where their relationship is going. Through an awkward blind date, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) meets Mike (Paul Rudd) and she embarks on her first serious relationship. As Chandler attempts to adjust to his new work situation, he realizes that his happiness and Monica are more important than his job and he makes a drastic career move. And Joey...well, Joey is just along for the ride for most of Season 9, until he is forced to face his feelings for Rachel again. The season concludes with a trip to Barbados where these situations will comes to a head.
The Friends: The Complete Ninth Season DVD set contains the following episodes:
"The One Where No One Proposes"
"The One Where Emma Cries"
"The One with the Pediatrician"
"The One with the Sharks"
"The One with Phoebe's Birthday Dinner"
"The One with the Male Nanny"
"The One with Ross's Inappropriate Song"
"The One with Rachel's Other Sister"
"The One with Rachel's Phone Number"
"The One with Christmas in Tulsa"
"The One where Rachel Goes Back to Work"
"The One with Phoebe's Rats"
"The One where Monica Sings"
"The One with the Blind Dates"
"The One with the Mugging"
"The One with the Boob Job"
"The One with the Memorial Service"
"The One with the Lottery"
"The One with Rachel's Dream"
"The One with the Soap Opera Party"
"The One with the Fertility Test"
"The One with the Donor"
"The One in Barbados"
Friends has always been a quality show, so Season 9 is certainly good, but it isn't great. The season features all of the requisite components that make up a season of Friends. As I've mentioned in past reviews, the test of quality for Friends is the Thanksgiving episode and the one in Season 9 is pretty good, as Christina Applegate guest stars as Rachel's snotty and oblivious sister. We also have the inevitable guest stars, including Freddie Prinze, Jr. (who is great as the male nanny), John Stamos, Selma Blair, and Jeff Goldblum. And of course, there's an appearance by Chandler's ex, Janice (Maggie Wheeler), but they make us wait a long time for this.
And while all of those components are in place, and there are some very, very funny moments in the episodes, Season 9 really lacks heart. Relying once again on a Ross and Rachel "Will they/Won't they?" scenario feels very lazy and long-time viewers may have trouble caring what happens with this couple. Similar devoid of feeling is the situation with Monica and Chandler. The scenario with Chandler's job and their attempts at having a baby are very detached and have no immediacy. It is nice to see Phoebe have a strong storyline again and Paul Rudd is a good as her boyfriend Mike. These observations aside, Season 9 of Friends continues to prove that the series was one of the best at maintaining story arcs, yet having episodes with individual storylines. So, although the overall stories aren't very intriguing, there are still some great moments here. And the fact that many episodes are "Super-Sized" (they ran several minutes longer than usual to discourage viewers from switching to Survivor) means that we get even more jokes. Friends may have been past its prime by Season 9, but this high-quality show never fails to entertain.
Video
The Friends: The Complete Ninth Season DVD boxed set comes from Warner Home Video. The set contains all 23 episodes from Season 9, spread across four discs. The shows are presented in their original 4:3 aspect ratio. The images here look very good, as the picture is sharp and clear, showing only a slight amount of grain and no defects from the source material. The colors are very good, as the show has a noticeably creative palette, and the blacks are deep and true. There is some noticeable artifacting at times, but the image lacks the blurred look which has haunted some seasons of the show. Overall, this transfer rivals digital broadcast quality.
Audio
As with past seasons, this DVD set features a Dolby Digital 5.0 audio mix. This provides clear dialogue with no distortion or any other obvious flaws. The dialogue emanates from the center channel, with occasional sound effects coming from the front channels. Music cues and the live-audience laughter fills the surround speakers. The audio isn't breathtaking by any means, but it works for this show.
Extras
The Friends: The Complete Ninth Season DVD offers the typical line-up of lackluster extras, the exception being the audio commentaries from series Executive Proucers/Creators Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane. On this set, they provide commentary for: "The One with the Male Nanny" (Disc One), "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" (Disc Two), and "The One in Barbados" (Disc Four). As usual, these tracks are very fun and informative, especially when the trio discusses the guest stars involved in the episodes (Freddie Prine, Jr., Christina Applegate, and Aisha Tyler, respectively.)
The remainder of the extras can be found on Disc Four. "Behind the Style: The Look of Friends" (20 minutes) examines the clothes and hair fashions presented on the show and offers interviews with costume designer Debra McGuire, and hair stylists Chris McMillan and Jonathan Hanouser. The segment also takes a brief look at Monica's fat-suit. "Phoebe Battles the Pink Robots" is a music video from The Flaming Lips which contains footage from the show. "Gunther Spills the Beans" (3 minutes) is the typically pointless look Season 10 featuring actor James Michael Tyler. (I guess there won't be one of these on the Season 10 set.) The extras are rounded out by a 7-minute "Gag Reel" and a set-top game entitled "Who's Your Best Friend?"
As Friends went up against Survivor: Thailand and Survivor: The Amazon in its ninth season, the show didn't pull any gimmicks (save for the "Super-Size" thing). Instead it relied on the solid writing and good acting which had carried it for so many years. While some of the story lines may seem tired, the episodes are good, but can't touch the quality of the show's earlier years.
After years of dominating the television ratings, and ruling Thursday nights, Friends began to feel some heat as the new millennium began from an upstart reality series called Survivor. Over the next few years (and for the remainder of Friends' run) these two shows would duke it out for supremacy on Thursdays. With Season Nine of Friends, now available on DVD, we see that the show had made some changes to engage in this battle, but the core of the series remained intact.
(SPOILER WARNING!: In order to describe Friends Season 9, I must divulge some of the plot-lines for the shows, as well as discuss events from Season 8. So, if you haven't seen Season 8 and want to be surprised by Season 9, read with caution.) At the conclusion of the eighth season of Friends, Rachel (Jennifer Ansiston) was about to go into the labor with the baby that she was having with Ross (David Schwimmer). However, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) had developed very strong feelings for Rachel, but he knew that it would be inappropriate for him to express them, as she was having someone else's baby -- even though she and Ross weren't a couple. As Season 9 opens, Rachel has given birth to her baby girl, Emma, and all seems fine, until she thinks that both Ross and Joey have proposed to her! Meanwhile, the birth of Rachel's baby solidifies the fact that Monica (Courtney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) want children, and they begin trying, only to have those plans dashed when Chandler is forced to work in Oklahoma four days a week.
As the season progresses, several story arcs unfold. Ross and Rachel live together in order to raise Emma, but neither is sure exactly where their relationship is going. Through an awkward blind date, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) meets Mike (Paul Rudd) and she embarks on her first serious relationship. As Chandler attempts to adjust to his new work situation, he realizes that his happiness and Monica are more important than his job and he makes a drastic career move. And Joey...well, Joey is just along for the ride for most of Season 9, until he is forced to face his feelings for Rachel again. The season concludes with a trip to Barbados where these situations will comes to a head.
The Friends: The Complete Ninth Season DVD set contains the following episodes:
"The One Where No One Proposes"
"The One Where Emma Cries"
"The One with the Pediatrician"
"The One with the Sharks"
"The One with Phoebe's Birthday Dinner"
"The One with the Male Nanny"
"The One with Ross's Inappropriate Song"
"The One with Rachel's Other Sister"
"The One with Rachel's Phone Number"
"The One with Christmas in Tulsa"
"The One where Rachel Goes Back to Work"
"The One with Phoebe's Rats"
"The One where Monica Sings"
"The One with the Blind Dates"
"The One with the Mugging"
"The One with the Boob Job"
"The One with the Memorial Service"
"The One with the Lottery"
"The One with Rachel's Dream"
"The One with the Soap Opera Party"
"The One with the Fertility Test"
"The One with the Donor"
"The One in Barbados"
Friends has always been a quality show, so Season 9 is certainly good, but it isn't great. The season features all of the requisite components that make up a season of Friends. As I've mentioned in past reviews, the test of quality for Friends is the Thanksgiving episode and the one in Season 9 is pretty good, as Christina Applegate guest stars as Rachel's snotty and oblivious sister. We also have the inevitable guest stars, including Freddie Prinze, Jr. (who is great as the male nanny), John Stamos, Selma Blair, and Jeff Goldblum. And of course, there's an appearance by Chandler's ex, Janice (Maggie Wheeler), but they make us wait a long time for this.
And while all of those components are in place, and there are some very, very funny moments in the episodes, Season 9 really lacks heart. Relying once again on a Ross and Rachel "Will they/Won't they?" scenario feels very lazy and long-time viewers may have trouble caring what happens with this couple. Similar devoid of feeling is the situation with Monica and Chandler. The scenario with Chandler's job and their attempts at having a baby are very detached and have no immediacy. It is nice to see Phoebe have a strong storyline again and Paul Rudd is a good as her boyfriend Mike. These observations aside, Season 9 of Friends continues to prove that the series was one of the best at maintaining story arcs, yet having episodes with individual storylines. So, although the overall stories aren't very intriguing, there are still some great moments here. And the fact that many episodes are "Super-Sized" (they ran several minutes longer than usual to discourage viewers from switching to Survivor) means that we get even more jokes. Friends may have been past its prime by Season 9, but this high-quality show never fails to entertain.
Video
The Friends: The Complete Ninth Season DVD boxed set comes from Warner Home Video. The set contains all 23 episodes from Season 9, spread across four discs. The shows are presented in their original 4:3 aspect ratio. The images here look very good, as the picture is sharp and clear, showing only a slight amount of grain and no defects from the source material. The colors are very good, as the show has a noticeably creative palette, and the blacks are deep and true. There is some noticeable artifacting at times, but the image lacks the blurred look which has haunted some seasons of the show. Overall, this transfer rivals digital broadcast quality.
Audio
As with past seasons, this DVD set features a Dolby Digital 5.0 audio mix. This provides clear dialogue with no distortion or any other obvious flaws. The dialogue emanates from the center channel, with occasional sound effects coming from the front channels. Music cues and the live-audience laughter fills the surround speakers. The audio isn't breathtaking by any means, but it works for this show.
Extras
The Friends: The Complete Ninth Season DVD offers the typical line-up of lackluster extras, the exception being the audio commentaries from series Executive Proucers/Creators Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane. On this set, they provide commentary for: "The One with the Male Nanny" (Disc One), "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" (Disc Two), and "The One in Barbados" (Disc Four). As usual, these tracks are very fun and informative, especially when the trio discusses the guest stars involved in the episodes (Freddie Prine, Jr., Christina Applegate, and Aisha Tyler, respectively.)
The remainder of the extras can be found on Disc Four. "Behind the Style: The Look of Friends" (20 minutes) examines the clothes and hair fashions presented on the show and offers interviews with costume designer Debra McGuire, and hair stylists Chris McMillan and Jonathan Hanouser. The segment also takes a brief look at Monica's fat-suit. "Phoebe Battles the Pink Robots" is a music video from The Flaming Lips which contains footage from the show. "Gunther Spills the Beans" (3 minutes) is the typically pointless look Season 10 featuring actor James Michael Tyler. (I guess there won't be one of these on the Season 10 set.) The extras are rounded out by a 7-minute "Gag Reel" and a set-top game entitled "Who's Your Best Friend?"
As Friends went up against Survivor: Thailand and Survivor: The Amazon in its ninth season, the show didn't pull any gimmicks (save for the "Super-Size" thing). Instead it relied on the solid writing and good acting which had carried it for so many years. While some of the story lines may seem tired, the episodes are good, but can't touch the quality of the show's earlier years.
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