The SmarK DVD Rant for Friends: Season Ten
And finally, after years of buying these box sets, we wrap up the 10-year saga of Friends on DVD with one last set. The end of Friends on NBC marked a bit of a transition for my viewing habits as well, as Friends was the last “traditional” sitcom that I could enjoy, and once it left I found myself drawn to non-laugh track fare like The Office and Arrested Development. Maybe it’s because very few sitcoms drew me into the world of the people on it like Friends managed to, I dunno. There’s always Joey these days, but although the show is funny, I don’t find myself caring about the people in it, and that’s the major difference. Friends was part of my life, Joey is just something to watch.
But as for Friends, when we last left off in season 9, everyone was in Barbados for a dinosaur conference hosted by Ross, where Joey and Rachel were in the midst of hooking up after a year-long tease, and Phoebe gave up dream boyfriend David The Scientist Guy in exchange for Mike The Lame Piano Player. With only 18 episodes produced in the final year (17 if you count the finale as one show), the producers and cast finally knew, for absolutely certain, that this was the last year of the show, so the final season was all about tying up loose ends and paying tribute to years past.
Disc One
– The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss. So Rachel and Joey are making out in Rachel’s room, while Ross and Dr. Charlie are off in her room, and everyone else is in Monica & Chandler’s room eavesdropping on them. This makes for some great scene transitions to illustrate how thin the walls are. Great moment as they make up some lame sitcom excuse to keep Ross off the scent, but then freely admit to spying on Rachel & Joey, which shows that Charlie was never going to be part of the group even if things had worked out with Ross. Ross’s obsession with stealing from hotels makes one final appearance here. Ross & Joey talk things over on the plane ride home, sort of, as Joey gives him the go-ahead for Dr. Charlie. Ross continues the confusion over his allegiances, once again elevating Chandler to “best friend” when it had previously been established that Joey was his best friend. Meanwhile, Phoebe has the ultimate awkward moment in a series filled with them, hanging out in Mike’s apartment when his current girlfriend stops by. The big wacky gag has Monica putting her poofy hair in cornrows, but Ross steals the episode with a freakout over spilled shampoo. However, it seems to get even worse for him when he walks in on some hot Joey & Rachel action.
– The One Where Ross Is Fine. Surprisingly, Ross is Fine. Loud and squeaky, sure, but FINE. Not at all psychotic. Mondler start looking at adoption agencies and get referred to friends of Phoebe, which is normally a warning sign right there. However, in this case they’re normal people. Sadly, the actress who played Colleen committed suicide shortly after this episode aired. Chandler commits social suicide, as usual, accidentally telling their adopted son that he didn’t come from Mommy’s belly, as previously thought. The new happy couples all hang out together, and Ross is in freakout overdrive (“FAJITAS!”). Trivia note: Joey lets us know that he sold the mystery boat from season 8 shortly after buying it. Phoebe’s token plot sees a frazzled Frank Jr. trying to unload the triplets on her. Joey, being the stand-up guy that he is, offers to call it off with Rachel, but after a nice manly talk, Ross decides to move on, and we are go for Joey & Rachel.
– The One With Ross’s Tan. Ross is envious of Monica’s spray-on tan, while Phoebe & Monica are plagued by the return of their annoying faux-British friend Amanda, who moved there and now speaks like Madonna. Jennifer Coolidge would return to the Friendsverse as Joey’s new agent Bobbi in his new show. The meat of the episode sees Rachel struggling to make out with Joey, as she finds herself slapping him away due to not wanting sex from him on another level. This troubles Joey, who has no other levels. Ross goes to the tanning place and has troubles with the instructions, and ends up an 8. Of course when he has trouble with instructions, he REALLY has trouble with them, and things escalate from there. Bit of revisionist history here, as Monica recalls Rachel being unable to stop laughing the first time she kissed Ross, but that was actually the third time, and maybe more in between “TOW The Prom Video” and “TOW Ross and Rachel…You Know”. Anyway, just like that, Joey & Rachel are a dead issue, and everyone’s happier for that. And in answer to Rachel’s question on the subject, Chandler and Monica didn’t have that problem because they never were that close of friends to begin with. Great Chandler snark in this one, and in many of this season’s episodes (when Ross comments that he was just at a new tanning place, Chandler quips “The sun?”).
– The One With The Cake. Ross & Rachel obsessively plan Emma’s first birthday, which everyone else thinks is trivial and ridiculous, thus showing that Ross & Rachel were in fact destined to be together. So yes, it’s a “six trapped in a room” show. Joey steals the party by reading “Love You Forever” to keep from looking stupid, accidentally upstaging Phoebe’s song to Emma. I think it’s funny that Joey is so dumb that he actually expected Phoebe’s song to be something good. But the real plot twist comes when they discover that Emma’s bunny cake is in fact a penis cake, a joke recycled from a deleted scene in season 9, which provides rapid-fire punchlines. But when Ross and Rachel leave to fix the cake, the rest scheme to leave, leading to a tense wind-up toy race to see who goes. More references to Rachel’s horrible driving here. Continuity geek note: The cake has “Green” on it, which again casts into doubt exactly what the accepted spelling of Rachel’s last name is. IMDB lists it as “Green”, but lots of other sources have it as “Greene”. This would seem to be the definitive word on it.
– The One Where Rachel’s Sister Babysits. Lots of unconnected plot threads here, as Joey wants to write a letter of recommendation to the adoption agency, Phoebe and Mike have their one-year anniversary at a Knicks game, and Amy returns to annoy everyone, stealing scenes left and right. Mike finds out that proposing to someone over the Jumbotron isn’t Phoebe’s idea of romance, while technology betrays Joey again in the form of a thesaurus, as apparently replacing EVERY word isn’t an effective way to sound smart. Joey’s “I’m curvy, and I like it!” brings the awesome. Great pair of callbacks, as Ross and Chandler offer advice to Phoebe on proposing to someone. And when Molly the Hot Lesbian Nanny gets sick, Amy volunteers to babysit, which pretty much writes its own jokes. And after all the false starts and teases, Mike proposes to Phoebe and she accepts.
– The One With Ross’s Grant. Ross is up for a big grant at the university, which means that he’ll get recognition WITHOUT having serious questions raised about his work! Man, his academic career has been rough. It gets worse, as it turns out that the grant is being administered by Dr. Charlie’s ex-boyfriend (played Greg Kinnear, king of smarm), who did NOT get his Nobel Prize for moving on. Another funny plot has Joey trying to convince Chandler to cast him in a commercial by showing his acting skills (“I’m old. I’m cold.”) but Chandler lies about watching the audition tape, leading to a uniquely Joey payoff. The highlight of a funny show proves to be Ross getting grilled with some grossly inappropriate questions for a grant board (“Sorry, we were looking for ‘Baby It’s You’…’Baby It’s You’.”) and things go downhill when Charlie dumps him for her ex anyway. I’m just gonna ignore the whole stupid painting subplot, and note that Charlie is a WHORE. See, even hot professors can be hoochies.
Disc Two
– The One With The Home Study. Weird neuroses abound, as Rachel refuses to let Emma on the swings because of a childhood hair incident, so of course Ross demands that she work through it. Pretty much a repeat of the Phoebe bicycle episode, and about as funny. Phoebe decides to donate the wedding money to a children’s charity, but then changes her mind and wants it back. And then changes her mind again and yada yada. And speaking of the children, Mon & Chan’s social worker is a former Joey conquest, which of course makes for an awkward re-introduction, although a hilarious speech from Joey saves things for him. Just a filler episode.
– The One With The Late Thanksgiving. The last ever Thanksgiving episode, and the first episode on this set to warrant commentary from Bright and company. This time, we deviate from the pattern, as Monica doesn’t want to cook dinner, but everyone pressures her into doing it anyway by using her competitive weirdness. However, Phoebe and Rachel get sidetracked at a baby beauty pageant, Ross and Joey go to a Rangers game, and soon everyone is late and Monica is pissed. The running joke with Chandler’s out-of-proportion pride about making cranberry sauce is pretty funny. This begins the meat of the episode, with the four standing around talking in the hallway while they’re locked out. So we get a hilarious (and rare) sight gag, with all four of their heads poking through the door, as Joey tries to use his “freaky eye-contact thing” to convince Monica & Chandler to let them in. And of course it wouldn’t be Joey if he didn’t get his head stuck in the door and ruin Thanksgiving for everyone. However, the last Thanksgiving ends happily, as Monica and Chandler are awarded a baby by the adoption agency. Not a classic like most of the Thanksgiving shows, but the floating heads were creepy and brilliant.
– The One With The Birth Mother. So Chandler and Monica head off to Ohio to meet the mother of their child, but the records get switched and suddenly he’s a doctor and she’s a reverend. Sounds like a bad cop movie, I know. Joey has a HORRIFYING experience with a girl who picks off his plate (future Law & Order ADA Annie Parisse), and really who hasn’t been THERE? JOEY DOESN’T SHARE FOOD. We meet Anna Faris from the Scary Movies as Erica, who is pregnant and very stupid. Speaking of very stupid, Ross lets Rachel shop for him, and ends up wearing a girl’s sweater, and the social faux pas which results is predictable, but still funny. Speaking of funny, Joey rules it at dessert time with “Excuse me sir, there seems to be some sort of red crap on my cheesecake.” Chandler saves the day without irony or sarcasm for once, although funny Chandler is more entertaining.
– The One Where Chandler Gets Caught. And in a season with only 18 episodes, one of them just has to be a clip show. Fuckers. Phoebe and Rachel think that Chandler is having an affair, but really he’s just shopping for a house. And then clips. And thus begins the breakup of the group.
– The One Where The Stripper Cries. Three totally unrelated stories this time around, but three individual classic ideas: Ross & Chandler are at a reunion and recall making a pact in the 80s about not fooling around with a particular girl, which gives us another flashback to Afro Ross and Flock of Seagulls Chandler. Joey meanwhile is a guest star on “Pyramid.” This one writes itself, but “Paper? Snow? A GHOST!” is the obvious choice for best line. Rachel throws a bachelorette party for Phoebe, who isn’t grown up enough to not have strippers, thank you very much. Unfortunately the only one available on short notice is Danny Devito, and talk about a home run guest spot. Back in the past we get lots of great callbacks to the Thanksgiving Flashback show, and Chandler moves on Valley Girl Rachel to give us another layer of interaction between the characters that we didn’t know about before. Ross is so upset that he goes to get his own action from Rachel to spite Chandler, but in the atomic bomb of all jokes this season, Ross and Monica come to a very shocking realization back in the present. Goodbye to Fat Monica. Best episode of the last season, outside of the finale.
– The One With Phoebe’s Wedding. Another step towards the inevitable end. Phoebe makes the mistake of putting Monica in charge of the wedding, and you can imagine how that goes. Mike needs a new groomsman, setting off wussy competitive fires in Chandler and Ross. Joey fills in for Phoebe’s dad, and wants to know what Mike’s intentions towards her are, in yet another hilarious Joey moment in a season filled with them. Chandler’s issues towards being left out of the wedding party don’t make any particular sense, because he was already Ross’s best man in the Emily wedding, and presumably his best man for his first wedding with Carol. The lack of Frank Jr. or Frank Sr. or Alice or even URSULA in the wedding is a bit troubling too from a closure standpoint, but guests cost money. They could have at least put the Buffay sisters back together before ending the show, however. No big twists or shocking revelations at the wedding, just a nice ceremony and the end of Phoebe’s single life.
Disc Three
– The One Where Joey Speaks French. Joey’s exaggerated resume bites him again, as this time he needs to speak French for a play, and of course can’t. So he asks Phoebe for help, but proves to be incredibly stupid in any language. Dr. Green has a heart attack, making for some awkward bedside conversation with Ross (“Knock up any more of my daughters?” “Nope, just the one.”) But with our favorite couple staying at Chez Green, Rachel puts the moves on Ross to begin the final trek towards Lobsterhood again. Ross, like an idiot, turns her down. Erica tours NYC with Mondler, and Chandler REALLY loves the city, it turns out. However, the real meat of the episode from a drama standpoint sees Erica confessing the father could either be a football captain or a shovel-killer. Luckily, it turns out that she only did “the thing we NEVER do” with Shovely Joe, and thus the football guy is the daddy. This one is a laundry list of Friends running gags: Joey’s resume, Ross v. Rachel’s dad, Regina Phalange’s last “appearance”, Ross and Rachel’s sex life, Ross being overly proud of his doctorate, and Ross moaning about how long it’s been since he had sex.
– The One With Princess Consuela. The mystery of Monica’s married name is continued, as she admits to never actually changing it legally. The big final plotline for Rachel begins, as she interviews for another job with Commander Data at a restaurant where Mr. Zellner happens to be eating lunch, and gets fired as a result. Phoebe goes overboard while changing her name (shocking, I know) and Princess Consuela Bananahammock is born. Mike responds by changing his name to Crap Bag. It helps to think of a big bag of crap if you want to remember it. Ross gets tenure, which is a rather unexpected (and unlikely) development for someone with an academic history as dodgy as his was. Joey tries some rather pathetic attempts to sway Chan & Mon out of buying their dream house, and Dakota Fanning continues her run of playing every child role in Hollywood by guesting here, too. The talk she gives him sets up Joey’s spinoff show. While leaving Ralph Lauren with all the furniture she can carry, Rachel and Ross bump into Mark (in yet another ode to the past), and in a twist this time he’s not a romantic rival, but a plot complication: He offers Rachel a job in Paris. And with that, we take a two-month break for some reruns and the fan-voted Top Six Episodes.
– The One Where Estelle Dies. Joey’s continued problems with change foreshadow his split from the group, and to further that another running gag is wrapped up, as his incompetent agent Estelle is killed off, off-screen. Ross negotiates with Mr. Zellner behind Rachel’s back in hopes of getting her to stay in America, but of course gets in over his head. And speaking of wrapping up all the running gags from the past, Janice makes her final appearance, attempting to buy the house next door to Chandler and Monica. Chandler’s understated “Sure” in reaction is great. But sure enough, we get closure on that relationship, too. Rachel appears to pick Paris once and for all, and the Joey storyline is paid off with a funny paper-eating gag.
– The One With Rachel’s Going Away Party. Things wind down as Mondler are packing up the apartment and getting ready to move, while Rachel is packing for Paris, and everyone is in a melancholy mood. Rachel says goodbye to everyone one-by-one, giving us much needed closure on all the individual relationships, while Chandler and the guys ponder the meaning of handcuffs found in the guest closet. Courtney Cox is quite obviously pregnant with David Arquette’s demon spawn at this point. The build joke is that Ross is dreading the big talk with Rachel, and yet it never comes. The Joey talk, done via a silent window gag, steals the show. Ross’s indignant overreaction comes a close second, with extra points for being his final one of the series. Erica goes into labor to set up the series finale, while Ross & Rachel are finally “on again” one last time. And with that…
– The Last One. Expectations were HUGE for this one, as they studied past finales to craft one that would live up to viewers’ hopes. Monica & Chandler are awaiting Erica’s birthing in the hospital, which gives Chandler yet another social setting to botch. Another callback sees Joey giving them a new chick and duck as a present, which allows them to slip in an offhand comment about the fate of the original pair (they’re dead, but don’t tell Joey). Erica’s big birth moment becomes two big birth moments in a great twist that makes sense given how dumb she is, and thus that story is resolved. Next up, the last ever coffeehouse scene, as Gunther finally confesses his love to Rachel, and thus wraps up his character in a sweet way. And with the babies home and everything wrapped up otherwise, Rachel leaves for Paris…and Ross goes after her, finally growing a set of balls after 10 years. So the second half of the show switches to the two primary romances of the show’s history: Ross & Rachel, and Chandler & Joey. As Ross chases after Rachel, Joey and Chandler share some much-needed goodbye time, with the new chick and duck trapped in the foosball table and only one way to get them out — destroying it. But although Ross wins the race to the airport, he races to the wrong one, and all hope is lost. OK, it’s not, but I’m just building tension here. Monica finally gets to live out her dream by smashing the foosball table to pieces, which leads to the final manly hug between Joey and Chandler before Joey goes off to his own show. Ross catches Rachel on attempt #2, but it fails…until Ross gets home and finds a message on his machine from Rachel, trying to get off the plane. And finally, once and for all, they are together for good and he is her lobster. Unless they’re on a break, of course. And in the end, they all go for coffee, the end.
Overall, while not the best season, the final one at least was not as weak as the seventh one, or as unnecessary as the ninth one. I think that hindsight has shown that the show should have ended with the eighth season, as shown by the Emmys giving them Best Comedy that year as a farewell, but because they knew they were ending things with the tenth year it allowed them to make the entire season one long goodbye. After 10 years on the air the same tricks have been done a few too many times to still be as entertaining, but they’re all consummate magicians and know just when to pull the rabbit out of the hat, so it still works. And the finale is awesome.
The Video
Definitely a TV show transferred from videotape, and it shows. Colors and contrast are about the same level as, say, a really good digital cable channel, although I noticed a lot of compression problems in darker scenes and some noise on the transfer. It’s as good or better than broadcast, so that’s the important thing.
The Audio
Redone in Dolby 5.0 surround, it’s never really used. Pretty much all from the center with the audience occasionally mixed into the rears, it’s generally a waste of disc space and would have been just as well served in 2.0 stereo. A good mix, but not a necessary one.
The Extras
Well, unfortunately Warner sent me a defective copy of the set, as the fourth disc containing all the extras was replaced with another copy of the first disc, so I can only list what Amazon has for the set.
Friends Final Thoughts: The cast and producers reflect during their final days at work and after series production ends
Multiple-season gag reels
All-new Matt LeBlanc “Joey Joey” music video
Friends of Friends: video guestbook
DVD-ROM features
Sounds pretty cool. Too bad I’ll never know.
As usual, there’s also commentary from Bright/Kauffman/Crane on three selected episodes (TOW The Stripper Cries, TOW The Late Thanksgiving and The Last One).
The Ratings
The Film: ****
The Video: **1/2
The Audio: ***
The Extras: N/A
