Byron Lafayette
In this era of 8-episode seasons and three season-long shows, it’s hard to believe there was a time when we could watch the entire lives of a group of characters unfold alongside our own. The ’90s was the era of the sitcom, and we saw many such as Seinfeld, Mad About You, Home Improvement, Everybody Loves Raymond, and King of Queens. However, none reached the height of the king of all sitcoms, Friends. Set in a stylized New York, it follows Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Monica Geller (Courtney Cox), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), and Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) through all the hopes, dreams and drama of their relationships, and ended its run with the finale being seen by 52 million viewers.
The show opened with the song “I’ll Be There for You” and, in effect, that is what the show was about and why people gravitated to it so much. The idea of friends who had each other’s backs, always and forever, about a life that never changed too much, and a beautiful stylized life. Friends showcased the idyllic life we all wish existed for us.
So let’s dive into the review!
The One About What You Get
Friends: The Complete Series (4K), 30th Anniversary Edition, comes with all 10 seasons and 236 episodes of the hit sitcom, with a runtime of 4800 minutes, 25 discs in 6 cases. All 10 seasons are upscaled to 4K, with the bonus features and documentaries being in Blu-ray.
For those who enjoy stats here are the nitty-gritty details
Video
- Codec: HEVC / H.265
- Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
- HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
- Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
- Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1, 1.85:1
Audio
- English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
- German: Dolby Digital 2.0
- French: Dolby Digital 2.0
- Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0
- Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
The series also comes with subtitles in the following languages English SDH, French, German SDH, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish.
The One About the Packaging
I always appreciate a nicely packaged series. I will never forget my disappointment with the quality of The Rockford Files: Complete Series. Thankfully I can say that Friends does not suffer from this! The boxset is quality, and I appreciated them putting two seasons into each disc case. The series case is already large, and the effort to make it more manageable was appreciated and showed care on the part of WB.
The only negative aspect of the packaging is the 4K amaray cases. Opening them, I always had a disc coming loose and falling out; however, this issue did not occur with the Blu-ray case. A minor issue, and one that did not sour me in a significant way.
I did appreciate that each amaray case had a cast photo from that season on the front, and a photo on the back of the case as well. It was a nice little touch.
The bonus content of Friends: The Complete Series is in its own Blu-ray case that also comes with a pamphlet that lists which episodes are on which season and the bonus content that is included. I really liked this as I am a huge fan of pamphlets that come with shows. Overall, the boxset is attractive, sturdy, and looks nice on a shelf.
The One Where It’s Upscaled
Now I am sure most who are reading this are interested in the 4K upscaling of the series. We have all been burned when our favorite films are upscaled and end up looking terrible, and then our feelings are invalidated by James Cameron screaming at us for noticing.
I want to start by saying one must remember that a film or series that is from 2024 will always look better than something that older and then upscaled to 4K, that is just the way the cookie crumbles.
Now just because of what I said above, that does not mean I give studios a pass for bad upscaling. Thankfully I can say that the 4K upscaling of Friends was good. I did not notice much grain, and though Digital Noise Reduction was likely used, the scenes did not have any obvious “Waxy” look to them. The upscaling was smooth and the colors popped; there was no blurriness and I was able to see details on the sets and clothing of the characters. Overall, I was pleased with the 4K upscaling and I was happy to see it was not a cheap and rushed upscaling job.
The One About the Bonus Features
The boxset includes a large amount of bonus features that will be a treasure trove for fans of the program, including commentary on selected episodes, and some supersized edition episodes. Also included were some previously released documentaries such as Friends from the Start, When Friends Became Family and The Legacy of Friends. The gag reels were funny as well, and I enjoyed the short videos of Gunther humorously breaking down the next season’s storylines.
Also included were some cool things like the script and producer’s cut on the episode “The One where Rachel tells Ross.” We also get a few appearances of the cast on Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres. Lastly, we get the humorous original music video from The Rembrandts for the show’s theme song. Sadly, Friends: The Reunion is missing from the box set. This was likely due to rights as that was a Max exclusive, but its inclusion would have been the icing on the Central Perk cake.
The One About The Recommendation
I am so happy that Friends was given the 4K treatment, as sadly we have seen lots of really great shows age terribly as they get left behind in the technological dust. Friends: The Complete Series is a welcome addition to any collection for the lifelong fan, or those looking to get into the show for the first time. I am happy to be able to recommend this ultimate boxset for the iconic program that changed the face of TV forever. Now thanks to this 30th-anniversary edition, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, and Joey can forever go on their madcap adventures on our screens, and like the lyrics of the theme song promise, Friends will be there for you (like it’s been there before).
Friends: The Complete Series (4K) is available for purchase now
