It’s no secret that Friends is one of the greatest sitcoms to have ever been made. Lasting for brilliant ten seasons, without a single dull episode, the show has become something of a standard against which all future comedies can be compared against.
It’s a show that almost all of us know and love, and now it’s finally coming to Blu-ray.
I’m a big fan of the Blu-ray format, and have been hoping that the show would get an HD release somewhere down the line, and now the date has been set – 13th November. Albeit, that’s its American release date, but I can’t imagine the UK will be far behind, especially with the potential for orders to be filled in time for Christmas.
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.
I have the complete seasons one to ten on DVD already, and know full well that the quality is good, but the early seasons are somewhat grainy looking back – a reminder that the show started all the way back in 1994 – and am very much looking forward to seeing the newly remastered versions. Apparently the HD episodes have been airing in the US (and quite possibly the UK – I don’t actually have a TV), and they look brilliant, so all the more reason to look forward to this release.
One slight issue is the price tag: a 9.98 suggested retail price, which is roughly £180. On a good day, the DVD box set for all ten seasons will set you back somewhere around £50, so it’s a considerable difference, but you can’t put a price on a quality like that.
Realistically, you can, and they have, but you know what I mean.
For now, I’ll leave you with the final scene from the final episode to reminisce. Enjoy. (For those interested, closing song: Jefferson Airplane’s Embryonic Journey. Beautiful stuff.)
“Synopsis: 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. archivesSpecial 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”
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMsr-fWGvKM’]
Source: via Collider.
