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The Movie: It's interesting to see how much the television landscape has changed since "Friends" first debuted in 1995. The combination of "Friends" and "Seinfeld" made for a wealth of copy-cats boasting attractive young, single people who discussed nothing and everything at once. Yet, those shows never really got it right - whether it was an issue with cast or a show that really put crafting jokes before crafting characters, "Friends" remains the only one of these shows left on the air - not only that, it's even more successful now than it ever was. Since then, network television has had to compete with a legion of new aspects in the entertainment universe - most notably, the internet and the rise of cable programming, such as HBO's "Sex and the City" and "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm". "Friends" has been a lock for NBC and remains so - the cast heads into their final season with a $1m per episode contract for each of the main cast. "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer has been locked in for another season as well, but its "Friends" that gets the key demographic that the network is looking for. The debate about the show's future continues, as well. While many members of the show's cast have called the upcoming season their last, some have hinted that the possibility for additional seasons exist. Although the show's still running fairly strong, it's a pleasure to be able to look back at the entire second season, where many of the characters and show dynamics were starting to get going, especially the Ross/Rachel relationship. The actors were also starting to get into the characters a bit more; while I've never found Kudrow or Schwimmer that entertaining, Perry's finely tuned sarcasm is often brilliant, while Aniston's natural charm and wit shines through in most of her scenes. Certainly, I got a lot more laughs out of Season 2's episodes than the first season's. Still, if "Friends" doesn't return, hopefully "Scrubs" can take its place, as I currently consider it the best possible replacement and quite often the funniest show currently on TV. Episodes: The One With Ross' New Girlfriend, The One With The Breast Milk, The One Where Mr. Heckles Dies, The One With The Five Steaks And An Eggplant, The One With Phoebe's Husband, The One With The Baby On The Bus, The One Where Ross Finds Out, The One With The List, The One With Phoebe's Dad, The One With The Prom Video, The One With Russ, The One With The Lesbian Wedding, The One After The Superbowl, Part I, The One After The Superbowl, Part II, The One Where Ross And Rachel ... You Know, The One Where Joey Moves Out, The One Where Eddie Moves In, The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies, The One Where Eddie Won't Go, The One Where Old Yeller Dies, The One With The Bullies, The One With The Two Parties, The One With Barry And Mindy's Wedding, The One With The Chicken Pox The DVD VIDEO: As with the first season episodes, these are also presented in their original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. Also, as with the first season's effort, these certainly aren't reference quality, but they do look more consistently pleasing visually than these episodes do when they're broadcast these days. Sharpness and detail are smooth and consistent, as each of the episodes remained crisp and well-defined. A few little flaws do pop up again here; some slight traces of pixelation did appear, as did some instances of grain. Thankfully, edge enhancement was not spotted, nor were any other faults. Colors looked well-rendered and bright, with no smearing or other faults. SOUND: All of the episodes are presented with newly remastered Dolby Digital 5.0 soundtracks along with the original 2.0 soundtracks. Certainly a dialogue-driven show, most of the audio is concerned with only providing the dialogue. While most of the sound is front-heavy, the score is still nicely reinforced by the surrounds, which also occasionally boast some nice crowd noise. Audio quality is solid, as the dialogue remained crisp and clear, as did the music. MENUS: Nicely done animated main menu, with the show's theme playing over...and over...and over... EXTRAS: producers Marta Kauffman, Kevin Bright and David Crane return again (after a commentary on the pilot for the Season 1 DVD set) for commentaries on two episodes: "The One With the Prom Video" and "The One With the List". The commentaries that the trio provide here are as informative as the one from the first season; the three provide a thoughtful, intelligent and insightful discussion of what makes these two episodes special. Season 1 offered one commentary, Season 2 offers two and hopefully, Season 3 will have three. Other than the commentaries, there's not a whole lot included: an interactive map of the girl's apartment, video clip of the guest stars, trivia quiz, bios and DVD-ROM weblink. Final Thoughts: "Friends" hit some terrific high points in season 2. While there's a few flat episodes, most of them offer some superb laughs. The DVD edition provides very good audio/video and a few solid supplements. Recommended. |