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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Full Frame
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English, French, Spanish
  Extras
  • 2 Audio commentary
  • Cast/crew biographies
  • 2 Featurette
  • Animated menus
  • Interactive film trivia
  • Interactive game

Friends - The Complete Season 2: CE

Warner Bros./Warner Home Video . R4 . COLOR . 567 mins . PG . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Following straight on from Friends – The Complete Season 1: CE comes the second season of this hit American sitcom. Again it has been completely remastered and looks and sounds better than ever. The first season was not only an introduction to the characters, but also an introduction to the style of humour and superb writing. Season two continues with this, letting us learn more and more about the characters and getting to love them even more.

"Hey, if we were in prison, you would be like my bitches!"

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Julia Roberts guest stars

Season one ended with Rachel finding out about Ross, apologies to anyone who hasn’t seen it but really, have you been under a rock for the last decade? Anyway, season two picks up with Rachel awaiting Ross at the airport only to meet his new girlfriend, Julie. The story of Ross and Rachel is not the only theme of the season, but it is a major one. Other topics include Phoebe’s attempts to meet her real father, the relationship between Monica and Richard (Tom Selleck), Chandler’s search for love and Joey’s continuing stupidity.

There are again 24 episodes, two of which are combined as a double length episode, and these are all easily accessible from the main menu. Each episode also has a preview attached to it, so you can see what it is about before watching. After all, the episode name doesn’t always tell you what the whole episode is about.

Episode Listing

The One With Ross's New Girlfriend
The One With the Breast Milk
The One Where Heckles Dies
The One With Phoebe's Husband
The One With Five Steaks and an Eggplant
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 Russ
The One With the Lesbian Wedding
The One After the Super Bowl
The One With the Prom Video
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 The Chicken Pox
The One With Barry and Mindy's Wedding

This season was a little more serious than the first with many issues covered, especially Rachel and Ross’s relationship. There are still plenty of laughs, though, and some classic songs from Phoebe - who could forget Smelly Cat? There are also many classic lines in this series as the characters really develop more.

" If Dino had been a velociraptor, he would have eaten the Flintstones!"

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Jean Claude Van Damme errrr acting?

Again there is a multitude of guest stars ranging from Jean-Claude Van Damme, Charlie Sheen, Chrissie Hynde, Chris Isaak and Brooke Shields right up to the likes of Julia Roberts. All put in great performances and show what fabulous senses of humour they have.

Currently available for around a mere $50 recommended retail, these four-disc sets are great value. This is a series that can be watched again and again and you will still find laughs. It is great to relive the early years of the show, knowing how things will turn out later. These sets are the best available for this terrific show, so if you're a fan rush out and buy them.

  Video
Contract

As stated earlier, all episodes have been remastered and look wonderful. Presented as expected in full frame there are very few faults to be found. Occasional grain on location scenes is a minor distraction and the odd colour pixelisation is also never too distracting. Subtitles are plentiful and the English ones sampled were accurate. Overall this is another fine transfer that will satisfy fans.

  Audio
Contract

Audio is again in Dolby Digital 5.0 and although a surround mix was not really needed, it is a pleasant inclusion. Dialogue is crystal clear at all times and synch is never a problem. Directional effects are used well when needed, but as this series is dialogue driven the majority of sound is kept to the front speakers. Music used is also well delivered and offers good ambience.

  Extras
Contract

There are again a few nice extras to accompany this release. They are not going to blow your mind, but compared to previous releases they are a welcome addition.

Cast and Crew
This feature can be found on each disc and it contains a single text screen listing the main cast and crew members.

Commentaries
There are two commentaries available for this series. These are supplied for the episodes The One With the List and The One With the Prom Video. Both consist of the producers giving there views on the show and the particular episode and offer some interesting facts.

Open House at Monica and Rachel’s Place
This feature is a screen shot of Monica and Rachel’s apartment which can be interactively accessed to find out interesting facts about certain areas of the room. When an area is selected, you will be given text information on that area and also have the option to click an icon and be given video information from art director John Shaffner.

Friends of Friends
Showing a list of guest stars that appeared in this season, the viewer can click on the name and see a short clip from that particular person’s appearance. Not a bad idea, but perhaps a more interesting idea would have been to show more about that actor rather than snippets from their performance.

How Well Do You Know Your Friends?
This is a trivia game where you are asked a series of questions. For each response you are shown the relevant clip from the show.

What’s Up With Your Friends?
After an introduction from Central Perk’s Gunther, you can select each of the six main characters and be given a montage of their highlights from the series. This feature is nothing special, but is still fun.

  Overall  
Contract

If you plan to collect the entire Friends collection as it is released, do not waste any more time and rush out and get this one. It is great value, offering four discs for around $50, and is well worth having to watch again and again. The show is very addictive and this series is no different. Video and audio are again superb and a small amount of extras make it very much worth owning.


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      And I quote...
    "The second season is more of the same – great value!"
    - Adrian Turvey
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