Best of Friends - Volume 3

Rating:
Summary: It deserves 100 stars and MORE!
Review: (First of all, I am a 17/female, I made a mistake and used the 12 year olds review board)
Okay, to my review:
Everything from the writers, the characters and the amazing chemistry they all share is perfect and wonderful. I consider myself the biggest friends fan ever and I own all of the friends DVDs including Vol. 3 which I love the most(TOW ross and rachel...you know). Whenever u're sad and you watch it, you just get that feeling of happiness and it's like you know them.
They are totally 6 normal attractive people living in New York City that everybody can relate to. It's not all happy happy life; they go through break-ups, hardships and even losing jobs and I love the fact that they have that kind of relationship that no matter what you're going through, there's always somebody to hug or a shoulder to lean on.
They are definitely the type of friends that everybody wishes they had and I just love all of them forever!(even though Rachel can be a ... at times, but hey we all have our faults)
It is and will always be the best show in the world to me and I am so proud of all of them:-)

Rating:
Summary: ULTIMATELY THE BEST EVER OF FRIENDS!! :)
Review: The Best of Friends Volume 3 collects 5 more of the "best episodes" of the award-winning comedy series about six friends living and working in New York. In addition to the 5 episodes the DVD also contains a "behind the scenes" documentary (which is pretty cool), cast bios and NEVER BEFORE SEEN FOOTAGE (seamlessly edited into the shows).

Here's a rundown of this DVDs contents:

1. The One With the Blackout (11/3/94): A power outage occurs leaving Chandler stranded with a supermodel (Jill Goodacre) at an ATM and the others in the dark at home. Ross tries to make his move in on Rachel until a lost cat gets in the way leading to the introduction of the cats owner, Paulo whom Rachel falls head over heels for...

2. The One With the Candy Hearts (2/9/95): Valentine's Day mishaps abound as Joey fixes himself and Chandler on date with a chick he likes and her friend, (unknowingly the friend being Chandler's ex Janice); the girls get into a "ex-boyfriend bonfire ritual" and Ross runs into his ex-wife Carole while out on his first date in ages.

3. The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know (2/8/96): Ross and Rachel head out on their first date -- at his working place (with a HILARIOUS ending); Monica caters a party for her parent's eye doctor friend, Dr. Richard Burke (Tom Selleck) (setting of another GREAT storyline); plus, Joey and Chandler become the ultimate "Lazy Boy" couch potatoes.

4. The One With the Football (11/21/96): It's Thanksgiving and Ross and Monica drag their friends into the ultimate battle of football for the "prestigious" Geller Cup.

5. The One That Could Have Been (2/17/00): Ross still with Carole? Rachel actually marrying Barry? Phoebe as a wealthy, high-powered stockbroker? Monica still fat? Chandler as a struggling writer? Joey as a successful actor? Great alternate storyline episode as the gang wonders What If?

In addition to these episodes this DVD also contains the following special features:

1. Special Discovery Channel Documentary: "The One That Goes Behind The Scenes." Slightly dated, this 45 minute documentary takes you behind the scenes as the season premiere for the 1999-2000 season is produced (the one after with the gang in Vegas where Ross and Rachel got married). The beginning is kinda so-so with tons of technical stuff where the set gets built and the writers discuss the storyline, but it picks up as the actual filming begins. So COOL stuff toward the end of they get immediate feedback from the studio audience about jokes which work and fall flat and TONS of cool stuff in the "post-production" phase where we see the Foley artists adding in the sound effects, the music editor adding on the soundtrack and the video editor actually stitching the episode together. Overall, the first half of it is boring; the second half is cool. This should be great for film/video production students wanting to see how an award-winning, ratings-producing show is produced. Kinda neat for Friends fans.

2. Cast bios (the usual stuff, neat but nothing to write home about....)

3. NEVER BEFORE SEEN FOOTAGE: It's soooo seamlessly edited into the shows that I can't really tell the difference anyway... Pretty cool I guess...

Here's my quick rundown:

Awesome: NO COMMERCIALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some of the stuff on the documentary was pretty cool

So-so: The additional footage? Me personally, I can't really tell the difference but I guess that makes it a plus.

Bad: Nothing really, but HEY, WB, WHERE'S THE COMPLETE SEASON COLLECTIONS?????????

I like the fact that they released these episodes on DVD. The replay value, like most sitcoms, is awesome. It's just like watching Friends syndicated reruns on your local station but without the commercials and with a better picture. Unlike taping your favorite episodes off the air, the DVD won't get "eaten" from constant replay.

However, I'm anxiously awaiting when Warner Bros will release the complete season sets like they have overseas. Getting these "Best of" sets will be somewhat moot if/when the complete season sets come out domestically.

Otherwise though, if you need your Friends fix, sans commercials and VCR eaten tapes, this will have to do it for you.

Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Buy the full season already!!
Review: These episodes are great but if you're really a "Friends" fan, you'll be better off with any of the Seasons 1-4 that are already out on both VHS and DVD (Season Five soon to come out!!)

These "Best of.." series isn't bad at all but wouldn't you rather see it all??

Rating:
Summary: Still Doesn't Beat Vol. 1, but Is Still Awesome!
Review: This is the third dvd with the Best Of . . . title for the amazing Friends t.v. show. Watch me as I do my Chandler Happy Dance, feel dumb, and review the following five episodes!

(1) The One with the Blackout - NYC experiences a complete blackout while the gang is at Monica's. Only Chandler is stuck in an ATM with a model. Oh, the dorkiness that is Chandler in this episode. It's great!

(2) The One with the Candy Hearts - This is the return of Janice! I love her. She's absolutely hilarious and annoying as always. Joey sets Chandler up on a blind date who turns out to be Janice. And guess who ends up in bed with who on Valentine's Day?! Also, Ross and Carole have a long talk after having been left by their dates at a restaurant.

(3) The One Where Ross and Rachel . . . You Know - This is the first official Ross and Rachel dating episode! Of course it doesn't go smoothly (Rachel can't stop laughing when Ross touches her), but in the end, all is well. Also, Tom Selleck beings his guest starring as Monica's love interest.

(4) The One with the Football - One of the many famous Thanksgiving episodes! Here, Ross and Monica plan a football game to get the infamous Gellar Cup. This one's great with the friends against each other. Extreme competition! And I must mention that Jennifer Aniston is too cute in this one.

(5) The One that Could Have Been - This episode is absolutely great! The gang sits around at Central Perk, wondering what would have happened if . . . Monica was still fat? Rachel would have married? Ross was still with Carole? Chandler would have a different job? Phoebe had become a stockbrocker? and if Joey would have become a true actor? This episode truly deserves the Best Of . . . treatment the most. It's a great episode with outstanding performances from each actor. Especially Courtney Cox. She has true comedic style.

In addition the uncut episodes, there's a documentary on making the set of a Friends episode. It's a little outdated, but it was still an interesting watch. Also, the usual Cast and Crew bios are there. Awesome Best Of . . . , but still doesn't beat Volume 1.

Rating:
Summary: Skip this volume
Review: unless you're looking for something to help you fall asleep. The episodes on this 5-episode video include: 1) "The One with the Blackout", which leaves Chandler locked in an ATM vestibule with model Jill Goodacre; 2) "The One with the Candy Hearts", a Valentine's Day episode where Chandler unknowingly gets fixed up with his (VERY annoying) ex-girlfriend Janice, and the girls have a bad-boyfriend-bonfire that gets a little out of hand; 3) The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know", where Joey and Chandler can't seem to pry themselves away from their new leather recliners and big screen TV, and Ross and Rachel try to take their relationship seriously; 4) "The One with the Football", one of the most insufferable episodes ever made, the entire cast just basically runs around in a park throwing (and dropping) the football in hopes of winning "The Geller Cup"; and 5) "The One That Could Have Been, Parts 1 and 2", where the cast wonder what might have happened had things turned out differently (PS they all still basically turned out pretty much the same). Granted there are probably tons of people out there who think this is some of the Friends best work, I however am annoyed when these "best of" videos are released and they have nothing but fillers. Buy at your own risk, don't say I didn't warn you!

Rating:
Summary: Buy the full season already!!
Review: Volume 3 of the "Best of 'Friends'" begins again the chronological progression through these "fan favorites" that concludes in Volume 4 (Volumes 1 & 2 are devoted to the "Top 10 Episodes"). Interesting enough, only ONE of the episodes on this DVD were listed on TV Guide's "The 50 Best 'Friends' Moments":

(1) "The One with the Blackout" (November 3, 1994), New York City is blacked out (due to a mishap on Mad About You), and Chandler is trapped in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre. The rest of the gang hangs out at Monica and Rachel's apartment watching Ugly Naked Guy light a bunch of candles. This episode also has the first appearance of Mr. Heckles.

(2) "The One with the Candy Hearts" (February 9, 1995) finds the gang suffering through Valentine's Day, where Ross is on a date and runs into Carol and Susan, while Chandler breaks up with Janice (again), and the girls decide a cleansing ritual is in order to improve their love lives.

(3) "The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know" (February 8, 1996) might be focus be focused on the main event, the proverbial consumation devoutely to be wished, but this follow-up episode to "The One with the Prom Video" also has Joey and Chanlder getting their La-Z-Boys. #40 on the TV Guide list.

(4) "The One with the Football" (November 21, 1996) is not another horrible Thanksgiving, it just seems that way. A game of touch football threatens the end of the world as we know it as Ross and Monica compete for the "Geller Cup," Chandler and Joey hit on the same Dutch girl, and Phoebe and Rachel explore notions of good sportsmanship.

(5) "The One That Could Have Been - Parts 1 & 2" (February 17, 2000) takes us into an alternative Friends universe. You see, when the gang learns Barry and Mindy are getting divorced they wonder what would have happened if (a) Rachel had gone through with her marriage to Barry, (b) Ross's wife Carol never realized she was a lesbian, (c) Joey was still on "Days of Our Lives," (d) Phoebe was a stockbroker, (e) Chandler quit his job to be a writer, and (f) Monica was still a tad overweight. As with most of these "It's a Wonderful Life" episodes, the lesson is that some things are just meant to be.

You know, I really think we are being set up here. If you compare what is availble on the four DVDs that are out with the TV Guide list, the glaring omission (beyond anything from the 2001-2002 season) would be the Rachel & Ross marriage and the Ross & Emily marriage and the all the permutations in between. Volume 3 is definitely the weakest of the four DVDs to date and you should have no problem naming 6 episodes you would rather see than any of these.