Friends Complete Series I've been debating how to review these complete series sets ever since they were first announced. Since the material on the DVDs (audio, video and extras) are the same, I've decided this review will be about the differences between the season sets, and the complete series release.
The Packaging
It's hard to believe that you can fit all your friends in a red box that's less than a foot long. Wait, that's not correct! It's hard to believe that you can fit all the Friends episodes in a box that's less than a foot long, but that's exactly what Warner Bros has done. 40 DVDs containing 236 episodes can be found inside the pretty red box. The outer packaging is almost identical to The West Wing set, though the Friends set has a rough texture, while The West Wing feels like faux leather. The West Wing had a flap that closed over the lower part of the case (and was held closed with a magnet), while Friends just has two pieces of the box that comes together. Flipping the top up exposes the guts of the set; 6 books, with one for each Friend.
That's right, there are only 6 books to hold the 10 seasons. Each book has a picture of the Friend, a number (1-6), and the episodes you can find in each case. The books flip open from the top, and each disc has its own pouch in the double-sides pages. Every disc has a different photo of the Friend, and they're all inserted into the pouches perfectly so the photo is visible as you flip through the book; the disc number and episode numbers are also visible. The contents of the discs are the same as the previous sets, but they have new artwork.
The Material
Besides the packaging, there's just one thing to note for this release; the book. This 60 page book is your guide to the series, and lists every episode (with synopses), and the disc you can find it on. Of course the bonus material is mentioned along with the disc it can be found on. You'll also get the original treatment for the series written by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. The book, which is as wide as the box, can be found behind the DVD books.
To Upgrade, or Not to Upgrade?
There's very little of value here for someone who has the season 1-10 boxes. The packaging is nice, but not $300 nice (of course that's the SRP - you can find it cheaper), and the book with the episode information is just an upgraded version of the booklets that come with the season sets.
If you don't already own the 10 seasons then this is an easy way to buy the show. The set carries a suggested price of $300, but you can find it for about $185, which means you're paying $18.50 a season (I'm a math wiz), and that's a lot cheaper than buying each set individually. It's also nicer than the box set they released last year, which was the existing 10 seasons in a big box. If you decide to replace your existing sets then you'll be happy to know the set takes up exactly the same amount of shelf space.
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