Running for a full decade, Friends has become one of the best-known and most iconic TV shows of all time, and after more than eight years off the air (it really has been a long time), the programme is now finally getting the HD treatment and is being released on Blu-ray this month.
We first heard back in the summer the Friends: The Complete Series would be released on Blu-ray, and it’s been very much a long-awaited release. The DVDs have been brilliant up until now, but the early seasons are noticeably grainy, and that’s hopefully all about to change.
All 236 episodes have been remastered in 1080p HD video, 16×9 widescreen format, and 5.1 audio, giving us our best look at the programme yet.
Starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer, and created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, the programme spent ten brilliant seasons on the air on NBC in the US, with a perfect, two-part series finale, The Last One, bringing everything to a close back in May 2004.
Since then, the show has lived on in syndication worldwide (and in the short-lived series, Joey), and now it’s finally arriving for our enjoyment in HD, and I can’t wait. Just in time for Christmas.
Friends: The Complete Series is now available on Blu-ray in the UK, and arrives in the US today, 13th November. For now, here are two brilliant trailers to get you in the mood.
“The ultimate collector set features over 110 hours of content (90 hours of features and 20 hours of bonus content).
Ø All 236 original broadcast episodes (released for the 1st time in the US)
Ø Highly Collectible Premium Packaging
Ø Lenticular Box Cover
Ø Hard-cover book that holds 21 discs
Ø 32-page episode guide with content from the Warner Bros. archives
Special Features:
Over 17 hours of special features from the original DVD releases.
Over 3 hours of all-new special features
True Friends: Documentaries: Retrospective documentaries with new interviews looking at the influential 10 years of the show
The Original Producer’s Cut for ‘The One Where Rachel Tells Ross
The Original Script for ‘The One Where Rachel Tells Ross’
Friends On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2005)
Friends Visit The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2004)
The Ones With More Friends: The original extended broadcast episodes
The One with the Never-Before-Seen Gags: Never-before-seen gag reel with the laughs that were too funny to include on the DVD
The Rembrandts – “I’ll Be There For You”: Official music video”
