Movie:
Finally, Friends, the hit comedy sitcom from NBC, arrives on DVD in Season sets, rather than more of the previously released "Best Of" collections. The show stars Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), Matthew Perry (Chandler), Courtney Cox (Monica), Matt LeBlanc (Joey), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), and David Schwimmer (Ross). For those who have never seen the show, the series explores the intertwining friendships, relationships, and lives of the six main characters through a variety of situations and events.

The twenty-four episodes, six per disc, of Season One are: The Pilot, Sonogram at the End, The Thumb, George Stephanopoulos, East German Laundry Detergent, The Butt, The Blackout, Nan Dies Twice, Underdog Gets Away, The Monkey, Mrs. Bing, Dozen Lasangas, The Boobies, The Candy Hearts, The Stoned Guy, Two Parts, All the Poker, Monkey Gets Away, Evil Orthodontist, The Ick Factor, The Birth, and Rachel Finds Out. As a bonus, each episode includes previously unseen footage.

Though the series was just first starting out, Season One contains quite a few gems, like The Pilot, All the Poker, Candy Hearts, Blackout, Fake Monica, and Two Parts. Even early on, the chemistry between the six stars was remarkable, giving it a very natural feel, which only increased as the long-running series continued. Friends has always been one of the better written and funnier shows on TV and is well worth revisiting.

Picture:
Friends is presented in 1.33:1 full frame, as it was originally presented on TV. The episodes have few flaws, as well as some minimal edge enhancement and some slight pixelation. Colors are well saturated and are vibrant throughout, with no smearing.

Sound:
Friends has been newly remastered in Dolby Digital 5.0. Dialogue for all the episodes is crisp and clean with no distortion. Surrounds, though, are really only used for the laugh track and the music between scenes. Still, these sound much better than they do on TV. Optional subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish, as well as Closed Captions in English.

Extras:
Extras are available on Discs 1 and 4 of the collection.

The main feature on Disc 1 is the commentary from executive producers Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane for the Pilot episode. Each participant was recorded separately and then their comments were spliced together to form a track that provides a wealth of information regarding the development, casting, and filming of the show. This is, in terms of extras, easily the highlight of the collection, and I hope for more commentaries in future sets. Also on Disc 1 are cast & crew bios.

Moving to Disc 4, there are two main extras. First is Friends of Friends, a list of guest stars with brief clips from the episodes they appeared in. Next is A Peek at Central Perk, which is an interactive map of the set with facts about the props. A few of the props have the option of accessing either a clip or additional comments from the executive producers or the crew. Also available is a Trivia Quiz and a promo trailer for Season Two.

Summary:
At last and for a reasonable MSRP, you can now watch every episode, in order and uncut, from Season One. With an improved presentation over the original broadcast showings, fans should find the collection hard to pass up, though the extras are a bit lacking. Newcomers might want to try renting the already released "Best Of" collections to get a taste for the show. Highly Recommended.