Review of Friends: Series 5 Boxset

Introduction

Series Five - and no end in sight. They`re back, and the proceedings begin with the conclusion of Ross and Emily`s wedding...after Ross said the wrong name, of course.

As usual, the jokes come in thick and fast, and the acting is good, with special mention going to Helen Baxendale as Ross` wife, or divorcee, however it may turn out...

Video

It is presented in 4:3 Fullscreen, which is normal for a TV-DVD transfer, but that doesn`t mean it`s necessarily good. The palette is OK, and there is the odd compression sign, but on the whole it is a fairly good print slightly sullied by the odd flaw.

Friends doesn`t revolve so much on visual comedy as say, a spoof, but there is plenty for your eyes to lap up. The situations the characters get them into is humourous, and there are more great set-pieces in this series.

Audio

A DD 2.0 track is on offer, which is sufficient for this, being a dialogue-driven feature. The main audio stream is crisp and clear, and the ambience level is just right, but the audio has been marked down for the abscence of a DD 5.1 track.

The scripts are all sharp, and as mentioned above, put the characters into some great comedic situations.

Features

The last series had two featurettes about the London episodes - fair enough, and breathed some life into the normally-lacklustre extras. Now, the featurettes are back: but why? Apart from the first episode, this series is back in the good ol` US of A, so the only reason the featurettes are still here is so Warner Bros. can write something on the back of the cover apart from the usual video:

There is also a music video - "I`ll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts, yet again on offer: it`s getting a bit boring now, and then propping up this breathtaking extra material, there is episode selection and boring, plain, static menus. Yet again, disappointing.

Conclusion

A must-buy for fans, and this is up there with the third and fourth series as the most enjoyable so far.

Disc wise, same as always except for the (ever so slightly) strengthened extra material.

Again, recommended.