Customer Reviews

Friends 'Til the End: The Official Celebration of All Ten Years

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

10 years. 10 years is a long time indeed. Plenty of time to get to know smelly cats, ugly naked guys, yettis, and a certain Miss Chanadler Bong. When all is said and done, this show about a group of six friends had just as many little quirks and infamous characters and situations(likes the ones mentioned above)as that other NBC behemoth, "Seinfeld". Looking back at the pictures through the seasons and re-discovering the moments when you first met Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey, is quite special. Remembering and reminiscing why you liked and fell in love with everything about it in the first place. This book, in celebration with the "Friends" finale, is a nice little keepsake to have as a lasting little nod to the sitcom. Very few shows have the success and longevity that the show had. All the media hype, attention, and of course, the hair do's you just gotta have!. I don't know why it says it's just being released now as I have had my copy for almost a month now. There has yet to be a real book on the "Friends" legacy, and this one isn't it. However, I don't think that were it's intentions. Written by David Wild, who I believe is(or was)a music journalist for Rolling Stone, the book goes over the show and seasons in photos. Photos galore. There are interviews with each cast member, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer. They talk about when they first got the show, and the reaction soon afterwards, and the ups and the downs and the struggles and the backlash and now, the ending. It would of been nice to get sections on the people who were in the supporting/recurring cast throughout the show's run. People like Gunther, Janice, The Geller's, and so on. I guess the original Chick and Duck were probably too busy. While this book probably didn't have any aspiration to be the treasure trove companion piece that we still don't have, it satisfies for what it is. That about does it for the written part. The photos are bright and vibrant and they seem to of picked the best of the best. Most of the choices for every season section showcase the best, funniest, saddest, and most important moments. Re-living and remembering some of these events through the pictures are fun and nostalgic. There are a few sections that have some lines from the show about love and friendship and the like. It would be nice to actually get a companion book to the show, but this will most definitley due until it gets here. There's not much else to say except that it's a book for the fans to remember and cherish their best friends.

If you are a huge fan of the show, don't even think about it, just go get your own copy since it's still available. Who knows what would be the price of this book 5-10 years from now in ebay.

I love that instead of a big book with episode guide (If I want an episode guide, I'll get it in the internet) of the whole series, the book put a lot of pictures of some of the memorable scenes in each season. And then there are captions describing the photos as well as some short quotes from some of the guest stars about their experiences doing the show. Most of them said that it was such a great set to be in becasue of the atmosphere provided by the cast. Another common comment is that most of the character actors that guested on the show are being exclusively recognized from the show in spite of their brief appearance on the ten year show. It's a fun read. I also like the commentary of the author in each season as he talks about the best episodes and the significance of that season in its original airing.

Then of course there are interviews with the six cast memebers separately. It's more than 5 pages for each friend. The executive producers (Kauffman, Crane and Bright) were also interviewed separately as well as a pleasant surprise interview from Maggie Wheeler. The book also has some rarely seen photos in rehearsals and friends parties etc.

There is also a separate section about some backstage stories of the finale. There were great pictures showing the cast having their final bow and in between takes photos.

Grade: A

And what a grand celebration it is. This book is the best! Any and every thing you want to know or want to remember about one of tv's most popular comedy shows ever is right here inside the pages of this great book. A true keeper in every sense of the word!

Just the idea of having "Our friends" all gathered in this nice looking book along with 10 years of happiness makes me realize what a wonderfull job they did by making us all happy and forget about our problems every thursday night during the past 10 years.
This book is a great way to inmortalize them for ever in our hearts!!! thank you FRIENDS!!...we'll never forget you guys.

There are some people who don't want Friends to end. And there are some people who think Friends should have ended long ago. I am in the former category! Now what am I going to do on Friday nights? (Being British, Americans have them on a Thursday night)

This book is totally what you need to try and relive all the good old days, when Friends was about Ross and Rachel, Rachel's hair, Phoebe's kookiness, and everything you said had to at least include "how you doin'?", "we were on a break" and "could I BE anymore ..."

This book is mostly big colour photos, so it didn't take me long to read - infact I had to read it straight away as soon as I got it. It goes through each season, and thankfully, doesn't repeat what all the previous books have done, and give a synopsis of each episode - it would have been a mighty big book if it had done that! Instead, it shows you the best photos from that season, and then has an interview with one of the cast members, talking about the end of Friends. There are also interviews with the three directors, the crew, and small interviews with Gunther & Janice. (The laugh is real)

What is wrong with the book is it completely ruins the last episode, for anyone who has been staying on Mars for the past couple of months, and has managed to avoid all the press coverage about the last ever episode. That's not me. Although I'm sure the final episode will still be a surprise. Instead, you get to see stills from the last ever episode, and it brings tears to the eyes. So I'll be needing LOTS of tissues when the last episode does finally come on.

Most of the cast members in the interviews, do their best to publicise that there will be another show to watch after Friends as finished - the stupidly named "Joey". Featuring of course Matt Le Blanc, in the one and only (I'm sure) Friends spin off. We'll see how successful that is.

What are the Americans and us going to do with our TV nights? Sex & The City was the first to end, then that one that was a spin off from Cheers, which escapes me, and now Friends. Now what will happen, is that the DVDs will be thrown in your face, and you'll be able to buy all 10 series for a total that will probably make your eyes water - and if you bought them all separately, you'd probably save! And guess what I'll be doing? Sitting in the house, day after day, crying into my tissues, and watching each episode in order - even though I only have the first series and the seventh series. So that's another eight series' I need to buy. If I buy one a month, I should have them all by January 2005!!! And of course I need to buy the limited edition season finale on DVD, featuring the very last episode - apparently (!) it's not the version that's shown on TV! Sure! It won't have any million-dollar/pound advertisements in it.

If you've been a major fan of "Friends" who have followed the series religiously over the entire 10 seasons, get the collection of DVDs and this compendium for keeps. The companion book puts together snapshots/dialogue/in-and-outs of the show and the cast we have grown accustomed to for some 10 years of our lives.

While I could see why the network decided to pull the plug on the series at Season 10 (as the jokes/storylines were getting a tad stale and repetitive), the final countdown still came as a let-down - the use of flashbacks of past episodes (previously used sparingly throughout the series) was never a good strategy especially when viewers would expect nothing less than a decent wrap up of the show and not be cheated on air-time at the point of no-return. What's also remorseful was the absence of the much-awaited conclusions on "The One With Ross' & Rachel's Wedding", not least "The One Where They All Lived Happily Ever After"....

This book was terrific! It is the perfect collector's edition for any FRIENDS fan. It includes great interviews from the cast and creators of the show. Also, it has beautiful pictures and summaries from all ten seasons. My personal favourite part was the unforgettable quotes on life and love that we've heard throughout the years.

Just the idea of having "Our friends" all gathered in this nice looking book along with 10 years of happiness makes me realize what a wonderfull job they did by making us all happy and forget about our problems every thursday night during the past 10 years.
This book is a great way to inmortalize them for ever in our hearts!!! thank you FRIENDS!!...we'll never forget you guys.

This book is a must have for any true Friends fan. I really enjoyed it. It made me laugh and cry from beginning to end

The book is really excellent. If you are a true fanatic fan, this is the book for you. The pictures are so cool and wonderful. This is a book that you can have the "friends" all the time and forever! Truly a collector's item.