(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 consumation devoutely to be wished, but this follow-up episode to "The One with the Prom Video" also has Joey and Chanlder 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.

You know, I really think we are being set up here. If you compare what is availble on the four DVDs that are out with the TV Guide list, the glaring omission (beyond anything from the 2001-2002 season) would be the Rachel & Ross marriage and the Ross & Emily marriage and the all the permutations in between. Volume 3 is definitely the weakest of the four DVDs to date and you should have no problem naming 6 episodes you would rather see than any of these.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews   Was this review helpful to you?

Report this | Permalink Comment Comment

Here's a rundown of this DVDs contents:

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 of 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?

In addition to these episodes this DVD also contains 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 with the gang in Vegas where Ross and Rachel got married). 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, 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.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews   Was this review helpful to you?

Report this | Permalink Comment Comment

These "Best of.." series isn't bad at all but wouldn't you rather see it all??

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews   Was this review helpful to you?

Report this | Permalink Comment Comment