Search - Friends: The Complete Series Collection on DVD

A worthwhile way to collect all ten seasons at once

calvinnme | 12/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Some people just don't understand....

Wilson Ng | Guam USA | 11/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Order the Individual Seasons separately

Anthony Vu | San Diego, CA United States | 12/12/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"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.

"

Scratched discs won't play without skipping

B. Shell | Sacramento, CA United States | 12/08/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"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."