Customer Reviews

The Best of Friends: 10 Fan Favorites

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

Friends, the sitcom about six very attractive New Yorkers and the problems they face, has released another boxed set full of their best episodes. Friends never fails to please an this collection is no exception. The shows on these DVD's are: Volume 3 The One With The Blackout - The One With The Candy Hearts - The One Where Ross and Rachel... You Know - The One With The Football - The One That Could Have Been (Parts 1 and 2) volume 4: - The One With Chandler In A Box - The One Hundredth - The One With All The Revolutions - The One Where Ross Got High - The One With The Proposal (Parts 1 and 2)

The One With the Blackout: A first season episode, Ross wants to ask Rachel out but a cat (and then a handsome Italian man) get in his way
The one with the Candy Hearts: The Valentine's Day Episode where Chandler unknowingly gets set up with his old girlfriend Janice (oh my Gawd!!!) and Phoebe, Monica, and Rachel have a "boyfriend bonfire" because they are all alone.
The One where Rachel and Ross...You know: A second season episode. Now Ross and Rachel have become an official couple and they are going out on their first "official" date: to the Museum of Natural History (where Ross works)and the things that happen there.
The One with the Football: The second of many special Thanksgivings Episodes, the "gang" plays football in a nearby park. Monica and Ross have an ongoing competition which turns into a full out war boys against girls.
The One that Could have Been: A fantasy episode, what if the gang could have lived their lives differently: Rachel was still married to Barry, Ross was still married to Carol (and Carol wasn't a lesbian) Joey wasn't fired from Days of Our Lives, Monica was still fat, Chandler had the guts to quit his meaningless job, and Phoebe was a stockbroker.
The One with Chandler in a Box: Chandler kissed Joey's girlfriend (in the last episode) so Chandler's punishment is to spend time in a box, thinking about how he wronged his friend. A really funny episode with Matthew Perry stealing the show with only three fingers visible.
The One Hundredth: It's time for Phoebe to have her brother's triplets. Chandler and Monica have their first fight and Joey has his own medical problems when he gets kidney stones. The most poignant and touching moment is at the end, Phoebe's speech to her newborn neices and nephews.
The One with All the Resolutions: Its New Years Eve, baby! The gang each make a resolution for the new year. Ross: to do one new thing a day, Phoebe: to Pilot a commercial jet, Monica: to take more pictures, Chandler: to stop insulting people, Rachel: to stop gossiping, Joey: to learn to play the guitar.
The One where Ross got High: Another great thanksgiving episode. Ross and Monica's parents hate chandler and don't know that C+M are living together. The info slips out during Thanksgiving dinner.
The One with the Proposal: The last episode of the 7th season. Chandler finally proposes (or tries to) to Monica.
Friends is a great series and continues to make people laugh. I can't wait for the next installment.

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.

...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.

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!!!!

I love Friends. They are so funny and always make me laugh. But I really want the complete sets. So you aren't jumping around so much and I know people would pay for the complete seasons. Recommended until complete sets come out.

What could be better? 10 episodes of one of the funniest sitcoms EVER to hit television! Not only do you get "must-see" and "must-have" episodes such as "The One with all the Football" and "The Hundreth." But you get slightly lesser known, and maybe slightly MORE funny ones such as "The One that could have been" and "The One with Chandler in a Box." This cast of actors is probably the most talented comedic ensemble I have witnessed. Not only have they mastered physical comedy (Chandler's AhhhhhACK! for isntance) but wit and sarcasm are not too sophisticated for them either. "Friends" achieves light and fluffy humor, with a provocative and edgy feel to it that keeps you on the edge of your seat laughing, like you would if you were with real friends. The characters are easy to watch, and to relate to. You start to realize why these people hang out together (their characters) and even if at the beginning Rachel bothered you because she was so shallow...or Ross annoyed you for being whiny...if you see enough episodes, they begin to be people, and you accept them for who they are. If you allow the humor to just sink in, and don't judge it, "Friends" is truly a masterpiece of a television show, and this DVD is a masterfully thought out and put together collection of some of the funniest episodes.

Once again, Warner Bros. is presenting the series in "Best Of" format rather than "Season-by-Season" format that most fans prefer (hence my rating of 4 instead of 5). Anyway, the episodes themselves are excellent. The volume 3 comprises of: - The One With The Blackout - The One With The Candy Hearts - The One Where Ross and Rachel... You Know - The One With The Football - The One That Could Have Been (Parts 1 and 2) The volume 4: - The One With Chandler In A Box - The One Hundredth - The One With All The Revolutions - The One Where Ross Got High - The One With The Proposal (Parts 1 and 2) Each episode is presented with few minutes of additional footage, as well as documentary that shows behind-the-scenes footage.

I for one think that the choice of episodes is outstanding for the upcoming volumes, and I definitely feel that this is a must buy for any true "Friends" fan. I thought that the first two volumes, although great, were missing some of the best episodes which will be carried on the new volumes such as: "The One With the Football", and "The One With the Proposal." And although I would still like to see "The One in Vegas" released, I am definitely satisfied with their choice of episodes....My one and only complaint is that I would like to see entire seasons released in full in the USA. I'm hearing that they can be bought in Europe and am still wondering why we're not seeing them over here. Oh well, hopefully they'll be soon to follow....Anyways, this DVD gets two thumbs up from me.

When I bought the best of volumes 1 and 2, I thought that was gonna be the end of friends on dvd. Then I went to Europe and saw that everywhere you go, they already have every complete season on dvd (I am waiting impatiently for Warner Bros to release that in the US). These 2 dvd's are the continuation of the first 2 volumes and are definitely worth buying. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!!