Review of Friends: Series 8 Boxset

Introduction

Ending my review for the seventh series, I said how I had great expectations for this series - year eight, and from the ratings, it seems the show is still going strong.

Even on paper there are highlights: the birth of Ross and Rachel`s baby and the life of Monica and Chandler post-wedding. Oh, and of course, there is the hope that the charm that has defined the show is back...

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 some good set-pieces in this series, as always.

Audio

Dolby Digital 2.0 (English). It is sufficient for this, being a dialogue-driven feature. The main audio stream is crisp and clear, and the ambience level is just right. As an added bonus, on the second side of the discs (reserved for the director`s cuts), the episodes are in Dolby Digital 5.0 (English) - and although the surrounds aren`t as active as they could be, it is better than nothing.

The scripts in this dwell on Rachel and her pregnancy, with the other characters involvement. Although this is good, and develops the characters more, the comedy isn`t as fresh or spontaneous as in other series.

Features

The first three series had a music video. The next two had the music video plus two featurettes. Yet again, this series is totally avoid of extras - except for `Instant Episode Access`...a feature that has been available on every other series, but since Warner Bros. needed a main extra, they gave it a seemingly impressive name. Thanks but no...

The menus are completely static as usual, but are easy to naviagte.

Conclusion

Not the best series (the seventh lays claim to that), but again, very enjoyable. The acting is again spot-on...everything fits into place, again. Yes, `again` - a word that crops up now when reviewing Friends: it is one TV show that proves it can pull of quality, time after time.

The discs themselves are exactly the same as the previous two series, with the added feature of slightly better audio - but unfortunately not enough to boost the score.

Roll on the next series...no doubt it will be another good `un.