Warner Brothers, having released the complete 10 seasons of Friends, has now decided to go back and release them in themed sets under the Friends Collection banner.
For the uninitiated, like myself, Friends tells the various comic misadventures of a group of friends. Ross (David Schwimmer), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Monica (Courtney Cox), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow). This set brings together a selection of episodes that deal with birthdays.
The One with Two Parties (Season 2): Rachel’s birthday party is disrupted when her divorced parents cause her party to be held in two locations, one for mom and one for dad. Nobody likes Monica’s party and Phoebe tries to smuggle people to the more happening party at Joey and Chandlers. Margo Thomas and Ron Leibman guest star as Rachel’s parents.
The One Where Chandler Can’t Remember Which Sister (Season 3): They’re throwing a birthday party for Joey but Chandler sees an old girlfriend and decides to get drunk. He has way too many jello shots and ends up fooling around with one of Joey’s sisters in the storage closet. The problem is that he can’t remember which one.
The One Where Rachel Smokes (Season 5): The group decides to celebrate Rachel’s birthday a month early to really surprise her (forgetting Chandler’s birthday in the process). Rachel is having trouble at work since her boss and coworker make all the company’s decisions while they’re on smoke breaks. She feels left out so she decides to start smoking. Monica and Phoebe are at odds planning Rachel’s surprise party.
That's not a bunny cake!
The One Where They all Turn Thirty (Season 7): Rachel is upset that she’s turning thirty and this causes everyone to have flashbacks to their thirtieth birthday parties. Elliot Gould and Christina Pickles guest star as Ross and Monica’s parents.
The One with Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner (Season 9): Phoebe plans a dinner at a fancy restaurant for her birthday, but complications arise and only she and Joey are at the party. Monica and Chandler fight about Chandler staring to smoke again, putting a damper on their evening of conception. Ross and Rachel lock themselves out of their apartment and the baby is locked inside. Christina Pickles guest stars again.
The One with the Cake (Season 10): Ross and Rachel are planning a memorable birthday for Emma’s (their daughter) first birthday. Uncle Chandler and Aunt Monica want to skip the party and have a romantic weekend in Vermont. However, things get crazy when instead of the bunny cake they ordered the bakery substitutes a stag party cake that is shaped like a penis!
Warner Brothers has sold you the entire season sets, and now they try and sell you some more by grouping episodes together in themed single disc releases. I’m sure if you’re a Friends’ fan that you already have the season sets and don’t need to buy these. They supposedly have unaired footage, but I think that the season sets have the same footage. I’m not too up on Friends and for the most part was a little confused by the skipping around amongst seasons. However, there are some funny bits in here.
Friends - The One with all the Birthdays is presented in fullscreen as they were originally shown on television. The only special feature is a trailer for more Friends DVDs.
Rachel turns 30
If you’re a die hard fan you already own the seasons and have no reason to buy this. Others may be confused by the changing relationships jumping from one season to another. However, there is still some funny stuff in the collection. At the same time, I can’t believe that this is ALL the birthday themed episodes.
Friends - The One with all the Birthdays is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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