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Friends - The Complete Fifth Season
Warner Bros. // Unrated // November 4, 2003
List Price: $44.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Show
As Friends approached its fifth season, the show was not only a bona-fide hit, but it had become an American institution. (And, it was very popular in other countries as well.) The top-rated program had spawned characters which had taken on lives of their own and were very familiar to most Americans. In a sense, they had become our "friends". To avoid over-familiarity, the producers of Friends had introduced some intriguing plots in Season 4, and many of these carried over into Season 5, which has recently hit DVD.
Season Four of Friends ended with two cliffhangers. In the first, the wedding between Ross (David Schwimmer) and his British bride, Emily (Helen Baxendale), had come to an abrupt halt when Ross uttered Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) name during the vows instead of Emily's. The other pot-boiler involved long-time chums Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), who wound up in bed together while in London for Ross' wedding.
As Season Five opens, Ross and Emily complete their wedding, but Emily then refuses to see Ross, forcing him to return to the U.S. alone. Meanwhile, as Monica and Chandler come home, they wonder exactly what their fling meant and what it will lead to. Once the group returns to New York, they assist Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) as she gives birth to her brother's triplets. (If you don't get that, don't ask.)
The main emphasis of Season Five is on the relationship between Monica and Chandler, and their attempts, with help from Joey (Matt LeBlanc), to keep their affair a secret from the others. Reeling from his doomed marriage, Ross has difficulty at work and is forced to move in with Joey and Chandler. Following a bad experience in which she tried to date a customer, Rachel leaves her job at Bloomingdales and goes to work for Ralph Lauren. Towards the end of the season, Monica and Chandler begin to get serious, leading everyone to hear wedding bells in the future, which, of course, brings us to the season's cliffhanger.
When Ross and Rachel began dating in the early seasons of Friends, the relationship felt very organic, especially given the fact that Ross had always had a crush on Rachel. But, the pairing of Monica and Chandler felt very forced and artificial...at first. This situation would reek of desperation and signify a show "jumping the shark" on many other series, but the talented writers on Friends are able to make this odd coupling work. If one looks at the history of the show, we've seen Monica bounce from one unhealthy relationship to another, while Chandler has had only one on-again-off-again girlfriend (the unbeatable Janice), so it's great to see these two in a healthy relationship. And, the writers have done a great job of gelling Monica's anal-retentive compulsiveness with Chandler's low self-esteem need for guidance. Of course, the romance is simply an excuse for another wedding on the show, but Monica and Chandler do make a great couple, and this move helped to solidify the show's future.
The overall quality of Friends is certainly above average, but like any show, it has its ups and downs. Fortunately, Season Five is filled with some classic episodes. The Thanksgiving episodes of Friends are always good, but "The One With All the Thanksgivings" is simply a classic, as we get a glimpse of Ross and Chandler in their college years (where they were easily influenced by fashion trends) and Courteney Cox dons the fat-suit, which always equals comedy gold, right Roland Chang? Ross is typically the goofiest "Friend", but the episode in which he freaks out on his boss shows a new, and very funny side of him. And who can forget the episode in which Joey chooses a meatball sandwich over the lives of his friends? Friends is definitely one of the best TV shows of all time, and Season Five offers some examples of the why the show's popularity is so enduring.
(The episodes included in this set are: The One After Ross Says Rachel, The One with All the Kissing, The One Hundreth, The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS, The One with the Kips, The One with the Yeti, The One Where Ross Moves In, The One with All the Thanksgivings, The One with Ross's Sandwich, The One with the Inappropriate Sister, The One with All the Resolutions, The One with Chandler's Work Laugh, The One with Joey's Bag, The One Where Everybody Finds Out, The One with the Girl Who Hits Joey, The One with the Cop, The One with Rachel's Inadvertent Kiss, The One Where Rachel Smokes, The One Where Ross Can't Flirt, The One with the Ride-Along, The One with the Ball, The One with Joey's Big Break, and The One in Vegas.)
Video
Friends: The Complete Fifth Season arrives on DVD courtesy of Warner Home Video. The transfers included on this four-disc set preserve the show's original 4:3 aspect ratio. Given the immense popularity of the show, and of these DVD sets, the video on these DVDs is of dubious quality. When viewed on an analog TV, the image is somewhat clear, but shows a noticeable amount of grain. But, when shown on a digital monitor, the picture is incredibly ugly, with grain and pixellation creating a very ugly image. This is accompanied by overt video noise and artifacting. The colors are fine, showing true fleshtones and no oversaturation, but the overall poor quality of the transfer is quite shocking.
Audio
The episodes in this set all carry a Dolby Digital 5.0 audio track. This track provides clear and audible dialogue, a must for a show of this nature, and show no signs of hissing or distortion. The stereo effects are quite good, especially when a character is speaking off-screen, but the surround effects are limited to musical cues and the laughter of the live audience.
Extras
As the series of Friends DVDs grows, the number of special features dwindles. Series creators and executive producers Kevin Bright, David Crane, and Marta Kauffman provide audio commentaries on three episodes: "The One Hundreth" (Disc 1), "The One with all the Thanksgivings" (Disc 2), and "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" (Disc 3). All three of these chats are good, as the trio explains the thinking behind each episode and how the story arcs for the season were created. They also comment on the actors and have a lot to say about the costumes in the Thanksgiving episode. The remainder of the extras appear on Disc 4. With "Gunther Spills the Beans", series regular James Michael Tyler gives us a 90-second preview of Season Six. Season Six is also featured in a 42-minute featurette entitled, "The One that Goes Behind the Scenes", although it's unclear why this doesn't focus on Season Five. This segment is a very in-depth examination of how the show is made, beginning with the writing process, and then moving through set construction, rehearsal, shooting in front of the live audience, editing, and sound effects. The featurette contains interviews with the cast and crew and a ton of behind-the-scene footage. Finally, we have "Friends: On Location in London", a 2-minute behind-the-scenes short which previously appeared on one of the "Best of Friends" collections.
As Friends is one of only two TV shows which I watch regularly, I may be seen as biased in saying that this is a great DVD collection. But, the quality in some of these episodes is undeniable and the presence of "The One with all the Thanksgivings" makes this set a keeper. However, don't be caught off guard by the muddy visuals included in this set.
As Friends approached its fifth season, the show was not only a bona-fide hit, but it had become an American institution. (And, it was very popular in other countries as well.) The top-rated program had spawned characters which had taken on lives of their own and were very familiar to most Americans. In a sense, they had become our "friends". To avoid over-familiarity, the producers of Friends had introduced some intriguing plots in Season 4, and many of these carried over into Season 5, which has recently hit DVD.
Season Four of Friends ended with two cliffhangers. In the first, the wedding between Ross (David Schwimmer) and his British bride, Emily (Helen Baxendale), had come to an abrupt halt when Ross uttered Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) name during the vows instead of Emily's. The other pot-boiler involved long-time chums Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), who wound up in bed together while in London for Ross' wedding.
As Season Five opens, Ross and Emily complete their wedding, but Emily then refuses to see Ross, forcing him to return to the U.S. alone. Meanwhile, as Monica and Chandler come home, they wonder exactly what their fling meant and what it will lead to. Once the group returns to New York, they assist Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) as she gives birth to her brother's triplets. (If you don't get that, don't ask.)
The main emphasis of Season Five is on the relationship between Monica and Chandler, and their attempts, with help from Joey (Matt LeBlanc), to keep their affair a secret from the others. Reeling from his doomed marriage, Ross has difficulty at work and is forced to move in with Joey and Chandler. Following a bad experience in which she tried to date a customer, Rachel leaves her job at Bloomingdales and goes to work for Ralph Lauren. Towards the end of the season, Monica and Chandler begin to get serious, leading everyone to hear wedding bells in the future, which, of course, brings us to the season's cliffhanger.
When Ross and Rachel began dating in the early seasons of Friends, the relationship felt very organic, especially given the fact that Ross had always had a crush on Rachel. But, the pairing of Monica and Chandler felt very forced and artificial...at first. This situation would reek of desperation and signify a show "jumping the shark" on many other series, but the talented writers on Friends are able to make this odd coupling work. If one looks at the history of the show, we've seen Monica bounce from one unhealthy relationship to another, while Chandler has had only one on-again-off-again girlfriend (the unbeatable Janice), so it's great to see these two in a healthy relationship. And, the writers have done a great job of gelling Monica's anal-retentive compulsiveness with Chandler's low self-esteem need for guidance. Of course, the romance is simply an excuse for another wedding on the show, but Monica and Chandler do make a great couple, and this move helped to solidify the show's future.
The overall quality of Friends is certainly above average, but like any show, it has its ups and downs. Fortunately, Season Five is filled with some classic episodes. The Thanksgiving episodes of Friends are always good, but "The One With All the Thanksgivings" is simply a classic, as we get a glimpse of Ross and Chandler in their college years (where they were easily influenced by fashion trends) and Courteney Cox dons the fat-suit, which always equals comedy gold, right Roland Chang? Ross is typically the goofiest "Friend", but the episode in which he freaks out on his boss shows a new, and very funny side of him. And who can forget the episode in which Joey chooses a meatball sandwich over the lives of his friends? Friends is definitely one of the best TV shows of all time, and Season Five offers some examples of the why the show's popularity is so enduring.
(The episodes included in this set are: The One After Ross Says Rachel, The One with All the Kissing, The One Hundreth, The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS, The One with the Kips, The One with the Yeti, The One Where Ross Moves In, The One with All the Thanksgivings, The One with Ross's Sandwich, The One with the Inappropriate Sister, The One with All the Resolutions, The One with Chandler's Work Laugh, The One with Joey's Bag, The One Where Everybody Finds Out, The One with the Girl Who Hits Joey, The One with the Cop, The One with Rachel's Inadvertent Kiss, The One Where Rachel Smokes, The One Where Ross Can't Flirt, The One with the Ride-Along, The One with the Ball, The One with Joey's Big Break, and The One in Vegas.)
Video
Friends: The Complete Fifth Season arrives on DVD courtesy of Warner Home Video. The transfers included on this four-disc set preserve the show's original 4:3 aspect ratio. Given the immense popularity of the show, and of these DVD sets, the video on these DVDs is of dubious quality. When viewed on an analog TV, the image is somewhat clear, but shows a noticeable amount of grain. But, when shown on a digital monitor, the picture is incredibly ugly, with grain and pixellation creating a very ugly image. This is accompanied by overt video noise and artifacting. The colors are fine, showing true fleshtones and no oversaturation, but the overall poor quality of the transfer is quite shocking.
Audio
The episodes in this set all carry a Dolby Digital 5.0 audio track. This track provides clear and audible dialogue, a must for a show of this nature, and show no signs of hissing or distortion. The stereo effects are quite good, especially when a character is speaking off-screen, but the surround effects are limited to musical cues and the laughter of the live audience.
Extras
As the series of Friends DVDs grows, the number of special features dwindles. Series creators and executive producers Kevin Bright, David Crane, and Marta Kauffman provide audio commentaries on three episodes: "The One Hundreth" (Disc 1), "The One with all the Thanksgivings" (Disc 2), and "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" (Disc 3). All three of these chats are good, as the trio explains the thinking behind each episode and how the story arcs for the season were created. They also comment on the actors and have a lot to say about the costumes in the Thanksgiving episode. The remainder of the extras appear on Disc 4. With "Gunther Spills the Beans", series regular James Michael Tyler gives us a 90-second preview of Season Six. Season Six is also featured in a 42-minute featurette entitled, "The One that Goes Behind the Scenes", although it's unclear why this doesn't focus on Season Five. This segment is a very in-depth examination of how the show is made, beginning with the writing process, and then moving through set construction, rehearsal, shooting in front of the live audience, editing, and sound effects. The featurette contains interviews with the cast and crew and a ton of behind-the-scene footage. Finally, we have "Friends: On Location in London", a 2-minute behind-the-scenes short which previously appeared on one of the "Best of Friends" collections.
As Friends is one of only two TV shows which I watch regularly, I may be seen as biased in saying that this is a great DVD collection. But, the quality in some of these episodes is undeniable and the presence of "The One with all the Thanksgivings" makes this set a keeper. However, don't be caught off guard by the muddy visuals included in this set.
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