Customer Reviews

Friends: The Complete Series Collection

5 star:		(286)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(48)

 

 

Since I notice all the questions seem to concern the logistics of the set, that is the main thing I will address in this review, since you would have to be a resident of another planet to not know the story behind the series "Friends". Suffice it to say it is a classic comic treatment of what I have always called the "post-college adolescent phase" of life, which is roughly the ten years immediately following college graduation as you strike out on your own and try to find your place in life. It is the time in life when you are likely to have the best health, the most freedom, the most disposable income if not necessarily the most total income, and the most fun if you are fortunate enough to have people to share it all with. This phase ends when you "settle down" both career-wise and family-wise, and I always found Friends to track this time in life quite accurately and with both drama and great humor.

As for logistics, this collection fits in a sturdy red box that's less than a foot long. There are 40 DVDs containing 236 episodes that can be found inside. The Friends set just has two pieces of the box that comes together. Flipping the top up exposes the guts of the set consisting of 6 books, with one for each Friend. Thus there are only 6 books to hold the 10 seasons. Each book has a picture of the Friend, a number (1-6), and the episodes you can find in each case. The books flip open from the top, and each disc has its own pouch in the double-sided pages. Every disc has a different photo of the Friend, and they're all inserted into the pouches so that the photo is visible as you flip through the book. The disc number and episode numbers are also visible. The contents of the discs are the same as the previous sets, but they have new artwork.

Besides the packaging, there's just one thing to note for this release, that being the episode guide booklet. This 60 page booklet lists every episode with its synopsis and the disc you can find it on. Of course, the bonus material is mentioned along with the disc it can be found on, and the bonus features include 25 documentaries. You'll also get the original treatment for the series written by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. The booklet, which is as wide as the box, can be found behind the DVD books.

As for screen format, it's full screen, which is what Friends was filmed in. The full screen ratio is 4:3, which is the same as 1.33:1. You can record in wide screen and chop off parts of the frame to make it fit a traditional 4:3 TV, which is what is done with full screen editions of movies. However, you can't add stuff to a frame that was recorded in 4:3 and make it widescreen.

There's very little of value here for someone who already has the season 1-10 boxes, and the book with the episode information is just an upgraded version of the booklets that come with the season sets. If you don't already own the 10 seasons then this is an easy way to buy the show since it is a lot cheaper than buying each set individually. It's also nicer than the box set released last year, which was the existing 10 seasons in a big box. If you decide to replace your existing sets then you'll be happy to know the set takes up exactly the same amount of shelf space.

I love this show but I am returning this box set and decided to order the individual seasons separately for the following reasons:

1) Many of the DVDs are faulty and skip even when they are not physically scratched. I tested this with multiple DVD players which have never given me problems before. If you check other reviews this quality control issue is pretty common with the DVDs from this box set. From what I can tell the quality control on the original season sets is much better.

2) Disc 28 was missing and I got two copies of Disc 29 instead.

3) The corner of the collector's box was broken/damaged when i received it.

4) The discs are spread out through 6 scratch-prone cardboard-like sleeves for each character instead of by Season. Cute, but i don't want to have to open up a damn episode guide and look up the episode number to figure out which season i'm about to watch, while worrying about scratching my DVDs when taking them in and out of the sleeves.

This set has disc holders made of heavy cardboard that WILL scratch the discs as you take them out and put them back. I just received this set from Amazon today, and the first disc I started watching was scratched and it skipped quite a bit. I'm shipping this back immediately. This packaging is very poorly designed.

On a side note, the size of the box is also less than ideal. It's doesn't fit well with other DVDs on a shelf.

I'm going to buy the individual seasons separately instead! The individual seasons are properly packaged with slim plastic disc holders. Plus, they are the size of other DVDs.

I received this set as a gift... and i was disappointed at the way this collection was made. The discs are in poorly glued together paper booklets with no protection for the reading surface whatsoever. Unless you CAREFULLY and TEDIOUSLY remove them when u want to watch it... there's a guarantee that you'll end up with multiple scratches. (putting it back in is just as harmful) ... i've watched up to season 6 so far... and i've experienced 3 damaged disc (the reading surface was clearly damaged during packaging and i'm not talking about minor scratch). I cannot watch those episodes because of the damaged portion.

It's not worth it to invest money in this set if you end up not being able to watch multiple episodes. In addition, sliding it in and out with the surface in contact with the paper sleeves will seriously cause damage.

:( I'm highly disappointed that whoever designed this set was so inconsiderate of the fans. . .

i know people say "oh but it's cheap" ... sure it is... if you're okay with paying around $200 and not being able to collect the whole series because the product was so poorly made. :/

I recieved my Friends Complete Collection today! I'm so excited, I've already watched a few of my favorites.

One of my concerns was something I caught on one of the discussion boards (on this page).. about ending up with a missing disc, and having a replica of another instead. Luckily, that didn't happen :)

All the episodes are in order, from the very first to the very last. Subtitles are an option.

The box I have here is slightly dented on one of the top corners, there is an extremely minor tear I saw on the box as well, and one of the corners of the booklet is a little bent. But overall, I'm very happy with the product to be honest. As long as the discs are okay. Nobody would notice the (very) slight wear.

The discs I've viewed so far work perfectly. The collection does include some bonus features. The booklet is helpful. In case anyone is wondering?.. It's a horizontal folder-sized booklet with a picture of the inside of the empty coffee house on it. The back has the apartment with everyone in it. The booklet has a description of each main character inside it and several pictures throughout. The booklet is divided in sections by season.


The overall red box's top (the part that opens) isn't locked in some way to shut close. It opens and closes freely. I had an idea about hot gluing a piece of ribbon and a button for the ribbon to close on. (Since it doesn't overlap to velcro it). Depends if I have that kind of extra time. Either way, it's fine the way it is.

There are six booklet-kind-of-holder/cases for the CDs. Some of you have heard that the CDs might get scratched by it's 'casing'. Each disc has it's individual place.. the material is like thick cardpaper.. and there's a somewhat gloss where the CD touches the paper in the insert. ..Hope that helps understand what it's like, better.

Anyways, I'm so glad it's finally here! Apparently if you're interested in the limited edition's "frosted" door box, it's availabe for about $20 on their site. I read about it on the limited edition's discussion board, just in case anyone is interested =)

Missed out in the awesome wooden box from last year.
And settled for this guy here. I love Friends and at least I have a complete set finally.
But the packing is truly disappointing. Cheap cardboard that looks like it won't last more than a few openings. 5 stars for the show. 0 stars for the packaging.

And the thing that really gets me is the discs are divided into 6 sets of disc holders. One holder for each Friend is cute and novel...but a failed gimmick...there are 10 freaking seasons man. It makes no sense that each season wouldn't have it's own holder or box.

I put on a brave smile because I got this as a gift. But I was really dissapointed with the packing.

They had perfection with the wooden box..why mess with it.
If you are purely interested in only the contents of the show...get this. If you want something that feel authentic....skip this cheap knock off and get the real deal wooden box set while it's still available at some places.

All I have to say is buy the individual seasons. I thought this was going to be a great buy... great price and compact! However, I have not played one disk yet that has not skipped, stopped playing, or returned to the menu in the middle of an episode. I have tried this on multiple DVD players and it does the same thing on every player. I am extremely disappointed with this box set and wish I would have bought the individual seasons. Save your $150 or whatever you are going to pay and put it to better use!

At first, I purchased the box set for $139 through an Amazon partner. Characteristics:

* Six smaller albums within, each containing several DVDs, individually wrapped in plastic. The DVDs were held into place using cardboard tabs.
* Two CDs of music (normally sold separately.)
* A printed piece of paper was affixed to the back of the red box. This paper did not easily detach, and so I did not do so for fear of marring the box further.
* The six smaller albums had questionable print quality on the outside. The tabs were frustrating to place DVDs into.
* When removed, the plastic wrapping on each DVD marred the surface of the discs in spots and caused problems when playing on multiple devices.

I would have kept given the other flaws, but the playback issues were unacceptable. The partner was good about giving me my money back, including return postage.

Amazon then had a sale on the product for $99, not involving a partner. I decided to take a chance and try again. This item had the following characteristics:

* Same six albums contained within, but much better print quality. Also, each DVD was held in a pocket, and no plastic covering on each DVD.
* The printed piece of paper came off of the red box very easily, and it looks great.
* The two audio CDs were omitted. No great loss to me, but some might miss them.
* This version included a nice book with photos and various piecs of information.
* No playback issues!

The bottom line is to make sure, if you're getting it from an Amazon partner (or someone outside of the Amazon ecosystem), to ensure that you receive the revised edition.

Awright people. For the folks that already bought the complete series, this re-release isn't for you. So there's no need to stop moaning and groaning about how Warner is ripping you. Warner isn't ripping you off if you ain't buying it...

Warner re-released this for the folks who didn't buy it the first time around. The first release with the special box is sold out through official channels. Sure, you can find copies in the Amazon third party sellers. That's always an option.

But for those of us who never got around to buying the complete series, this is an excellent way to relive a whole decade of Friends.

What DVD collection could be complete without the complete series collection of Friends. This is one of the finest sitcoms in the history of television. Thursday nights on NBC was "event" television before shows like 24 made people stay at home and plan their nights around an episode.

From the first show through the last, the ensemble cast was truly top rate. I can watch these shows again and again. We all have our favorites, some of which are laugh out loud funny on the 10th go around. I don't care if the series is available in 10 different versions, much like books. The content is the same whichever the packaging. And in the case of Friends... the packaging is excellent.