|
|
 |
Friends: The Complete Second Season
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Ethan Stevenson (29th June 2013). |
|
The Film
 Some say that the sitcom is the lowest form of entertainment, and if we’re talking about the standard soundstage set, multi-camera, 22-minute canned-laughter cancer of the airwaves, I’d agree. For the most part, anyway, but, as with every rule, there are exceptions. Yes, most sitcoms are terrible—but not every sitcom is the same. The one’s I do think good enough to watch tend to skew toward the more post-modern, which play with the conventions of the sitcom, often subverting them in some way. But there are series that fit the traditional sitcom mold that are undeniable classics. Of the two more contemporary classics that I adore—“Seinfeld” (1990-1998) being the other—“Friends” was rarely ever finer than it was in its second season. By the end of its first season, the friends of “Friends” were no longer a cast of near nobodies—the most famous before the show being Courtney Cox, who had been in a few music videos and commercials—and they were well on their way to becoming superstars. The show’s creators, Marta Kaufmann, David Crane and executive producer Kevin S. Bright, as well as a wealth of critics, and marketing people, like to refer to the “'Friends' phenomenon". And, indeed, a phenomenon the show did become, at some point in this second season. Side stepping the sophomore slump, season two of “Friends” features an unusually high number of the show’s best, or at least most well known, episodes featuring some of the moment memorable developments in the series. Season two is overloaded with goodness because of one of the main things that set “Friends” apart from its contemporaries in the first place, and is still a rare occurrence in television today. The cast was an enable from the beginning—with no real star (say what you will, but “Seinfeld” still had Seinfeld; it wasn’t called "Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer’s Comedy Half-Hour”—and the characters they played all got near equal screen-time as a result. A standard sitcom usually has an A story and a B story in each episode. The “Friends” writers always added a C story to each episode, giving the six a chance to split evenly across the runtime if need be. The style also left little time for lulls in the time-compressed narrative. Season two will always be remembered as the one where Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) finally got together. But, it’s also the season where they weren’t together, first; the role of the pinning person in their on-again-off-again relationship flipped from Ross (who looked on from afar as Rachel had other relationships in season one) to Rachel (who has to contend with Ross’s affections for Julie (Lauren Tom)). It’s also the season where Monica met the first love of her life, Richard (Tom Selleck). This is the season with the two-part episode that features Brooke Shields as Joey’s insane-o stocker and Julia Roberts as Chandler’s old school chum. This is the season with the greatest prom video of all time (and Fat Monica); the one where Monica has to work at the tacky 50's-themed diner; the season in which Rachel’s mom (Marlo Thomas) announces a plan to leave Dr. Green; the season with Joey’s touchy-feely tailor; the season Ross and Pheobe argue about evolution; the season where Chandler realizes he actually wants to be with Janice, but finds out (THANK GOD) it’s too late, and she’s married; the season where the friends find out Joey was in a porno, and Chandler has a nubbin—er, a third nipple; the season where Fun Bobby gets sober and turns out to be not so fun anymore; the season where Chris Isaak asks Phoebe to sing to school children (and it doesn't go well); it’s even the season where Joey and Chandler get the recliners. Season two is the one with Carol and Susan's (Jane Sibbett and Jessica Hecht) wedding; the one that features pretty much all of the stuff anyone remembers with Ben as a baby; the first appearance of Doctor Drake Ramoray; the arc with crazy Eddie (Adam Goldberg); Phoebe’s secretly straight-but-gay-but-really-straight husband; the same season she finds out her mom lied to her about both her father and how classic movies ended; and the one with Smelly Cat; the season with the List; and Ross’s doppelganger Russ; the one with Jean-Claude Van Damme and “Outbreak 2: The Virus Takes Manhattan”. It’s not quite the strongest 24-episode run of the series, but the second season of “Friends” is close, and I wouldn't hesitate to call it the second best. The sophomore season is filled with many of the classic moments most remember when they think of the show. “Friends: The Complete Second Season” includes 24 episodes on two discs. Episodes 1-13 are housed on disc one; episodes 14-24 are on disc two. The episodes are as follows: - “The One with Ross’s New Girlfriend”—Rachel gets an unpleasant surprise when Ross returns with a girlfriend. Phoebe has varied success when cutting her friends’ hair. - “The One with the Breast Milk”—Monica goes shopping with Ross’s new girlfriend and is too afraid to tell Rachel. Joey is troubled when a fellow after-shave salesman outperforms him on the job. - “The One Where Heckles Dies”—The grouchy downstairs neighbor dies and bequeaths his strange possessions to Monica and Rachel. - “The One with Phoebe’s Husband”—Everyone’s surprised when Phoebe’s estranged husband (Steve Zahn) show’s up. - “The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant”—When planning a birthday party for Ross, the six discover money is an issue in life, even among friends. - “The One with the Baby on the Bus”—Joey and Chandler accidentally leave Ben on a bus while babysitting. Phoebe (whose “Smelly Cat” debuts here) gets fired from her Central Perk signing gig and is replaced by a professional. - “The One Where Ross Finds Out”—Dramatic developments occur in Ross and Rachel’s relationship. Chandler regrets asking Monica to help him lose weight. - “The One with the List”—Rachel makes a painful discovery concerning Ross. Monica’s new boss gives her an impossible task. - “The One With Phoebe’s Dad”—Phoebe learns a surprising truth about her father. Ross makes Monica’s Christmas party guests miserable. Rachel gets her revenge for “The List” on Ross. - “The One with Russ”—After some gentle persuasion, Joey accepts a great acting job. Rachel dates a guy who looks shockingly similar to Ross. - “The One with the Lesbian Wedding”—Carol and Susan prepare for their wedding with the help of an uncomfortable Ross. - “The One After the Super Bowl”—In this Emmy-winning two-part episode, Ross goes to visit Marcel the Monkey at the San Diego Zoo and finds the simian is pursuing a show-biz career. Joey has a date with a deranged fan. - “The One with the Prom Video”—Monica’s old home video elicits the true feelings Ross has for Rachel. Joey gives Chandler a gift. - “The One Where Ross and Rachel… You Know”—Ross and Rachel encounter romantic obstacles; Monica falls for a handsome older doctor and friend of her father. - “The One Where Joey Moves Out”—Chandler catches Joey licking a spoon and replacing it in the drawer, and a major fight ensues. Meanwhile, Monica’s parents find out about her new, old, boyfriend, Dr. Richard Burke. - “The One Where Eddie Moves In”—Joey and Chandler pine for each other but nether will admit it. Chandler gets a new roommate. A record company asks Phoebe to make a Smelly Cat music video. - “The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies”—Joey’s soap character looks set to be killed after Joey makes some contentious remarks to a fan magazine. Monica and Richard have their first argument. - “The One Where Eddie Won’t Go”—Chandler battles to get rid of his annoying roommate and have Joey who is feeling the crunch of unemployment and mounting debt, move back in. The girls discover a book on personal empowerment. - “The One Where Old Yeller Dies”—Impressionable Phoebe becomes depressed when it dawns on her that some movies don’t end happily. Richard bonds with Chandler and Joey at a ball game. - “The One with the Bullies”—Chandler and Ross are intimidated by two bullies who take over the friends’ Central Perk sofa. Phoebe meets her long-lost family. - “The One with the Two Parties”—Rachel get a real surprise when her parents show up at her birthday party. - “The One with the Chicken Pox”—When Phoebe catches chicken pox, her chance for romance with an ex-lover is nearly ruined. Monica feels she may have be too neurotic for straight-arrow Richard. - “The One with Barry & Mindy’s Wedding”—Rachel is a bridesmaid at her ex-fiancé’s wedding. Monica and Richard’s relationship is jeopardized when the subject of children arises. Now, for the first time, “Friends” is available in 1080p high definition, looking better than it ever has, following a lengthy, costly, remastering from the original film elements. But there’s something that will probably cause some dismay for disgruntled fans that’ve grown accustomed to the DVD's—the extended episodes contained on those discs are not on the Blu-ray in any form. But, before immediately discounting the Blu-ray set, realize this: 1) the extended episodes were originally compiled as added incentive for buyers of the DVD's. DVD's that didn’t contain the original NBC broadcast edits in any way. The Blu-ray does include the original cuts, making the set the first time the NBC versions—which are not necessarily the syndicated edits—have been available on home video in the US. 2) Warner claims that when the extended cuts were compiled for home video, they were edited and post-produced in standard definition, on videotape just like the NBC edits. However, unlike the series proper, which had its NBC broadcast video-based edits carefully timed and cataloged, closely noted and kept with the original 35mm film negative that was put in storage after being transferred to video, the extended cuts had no such cataloging. Warner would have to find the extended footage (sometimes this can be a monumental task in itself, and surely would be considering the amount of footage a television series stockpiles over its run, and then recompile it without a roadmap, a task far more difficult than what they faced when redoing the NBC edits for high definition. 3) The remaster project is primarily about bringing the series into the era of HD for syndication—making a new, higher resolution, digital master of the show for streaming, download and, yes, broadcast; which are the major revenue streams for Warner with the series (and the Blu-ray is not… necessarily). So, no, no extended cuts of episodes. But the broadcast versions are now in HD, and of undoubtedly more interest than my assessment of a 20 year old television series—which found its fat-Monica sized fanbase at least fifteen years ago, and has routinely been called one the greatest shows of all time, making any of my musings inanely insignificant—is the question of how “Friends” looks on Blu-ray, and whether or not fans should spend their money on making the upgrade to HD. Read on to find out…
Video
Where to begin? Well, I suppose, as close to the beginning as possible. When it was filmed, like a lot of television in the 90's—in fact, most series from the mid-80's until the advent of HDTV standards that wouldn’t appear until the eve of the millennium—“Friends’” was originally shot on 35mm film, but the footage was immediately transferred to NTSC videotape for editing and eventual mastering, effectively limiting the series’ resolution to the standard definition format it was broadcast in for most of its run. (In part, this is why the original DVD's, especially the early seasons, look so bad; they were from an absurdly low-resolution source that was literally no better, perhaps even slightly worse, than DVD). Keep in mind, the series was not shot on video; just mastered on video. It originated on 35mm film. And to bring the series into the high definition realm, Warner Brothers has had to go back to the original 35mm film elements and rescan the negative into a digital medium to essentially recompile the entire series from scratch—much like the heavily publicized remastering of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987-1994), which was also shot on film, and originally edited and mastered on videotape in the 80's and 90's. However, unlike “ST: TNG”, which, obviously, had extensive visual effects (that have needed laborious re-compositing and/or re-rendering using more modern CG techniques with each season's Blu-ray release to make the SD-to-HD transition smoother; a costly, time-intensive task that has slowed the release of that series), “Friends”, being a sitcom, had little in the way of elaborate VFX. (The most elaborate special effect in the entire series is probably the time-tested split-screen composite whenever Kudrow appeared on screen as both Phoebe and her twin, Ursula, side-by-side; no need for a CG overhaul there. Just a scan of the appropriate film). The remaster of “Friends” was, rather than a restorative re-imagining, a much simpler re-cut from the original negatives in the digital realm—taking the film, scanning it, re-editing it, and creating a new digital master—only, this time in HD. So, how does “Friends” look in HD? The short answer is better… but still not great. The longer answer… well, let’s get the obvious out of the way; the Blu-rays quickly make waste of the DVD's and broadcasts—even the HD-sourced re-runs in syndication. The Blu-rays are without question the best “Friends” has ever looked. And different from how it has ever looked, too, because the 1080p 24/fps (AVC MPEG-4 encoded) high definition transfers are framed in widescreen. Yes, widescreen, despite the fact that the original broadcasts, and DVD's, were framed in 1.33:1. But, before writing off this high definition upgrade as an atrocious crop-job, and forming a mob and marching on Warner Bros pitchfork in hand—or, more likely, writing a tersely worded letter—know this: it once again goes back to the beginning; the source. Unlike some 35mm originated television series of the era, “Friends” was shot in a way—either Super35 or 2-perf 35mm, I have not been able to confirm which—that used less of the standard 35mm film frame when originally shot and composed. Rather than full aperture (which is around 1.37:1), the series was shot at a compromise ratio closer to 1.5:1, nearer the widescreen we’re seeing on the Blu-ray. It's also worth noting that when “Friends” was mastered for the initial SD broadcasts, the footage was cropped, zoomed, and otherwise shrunk down on a shot-by-shot basis from a wider shape to fit into the old square format of pre-HD television—an slight reduction from a larger whole. That whole has been restored in Warner’s HD remaster. Compared to the older 1.33:1 framed DVDs, the new HD transfers, framed at 1.78:1, show considerably more information on the sides of the frame, and, in most cases, on the top and bottom as well. The opened up framing, even in season one, feels… right. There are occasional errors—a wall ends, the set extending into the studio—but they are fleeting. In most cases the composition feels more natural, and less cramped. From what I gather reading a few sources on the Internet, the series was shot with both ratios in mind—protected and intended to be seen in 4:3, but with the foresight to know that 16:9 was on the horizon (overseas broadcasters began using widescreen much sooner than their American counterparts; even before the advent of HD television). All of the re-framing, and re-mastering of the source aside, the series is still a simple sitcom—even in high definition, it doesn’t look like anything other than something that was largely shot fast, cheap, and with little artistry on bland soundstage sets that are over (and occasionally under) lit. The series, especially in its earliest seasons, has a noticeable inconsistency from episode to episode and even shot to shot—grain levels wildly fluctuate; colors are oversaturated one moment and almost lifelessly dull the next and contrast seemingly follows suit, overblown and hot one minute, flat and natural the next. The increased resolution brings out details in costumes and sets like never before, but HD also makes the camera crew's frequent focus errors even more obvious. Season two has a generally more pleasing presentation than the first disc in the season one set, and is more inline with the second disc in that season. Focus is still an occasional issue, and the other inconsistencies in color and contrast seen in season one still persist—but to a lesser degree. There are traces of noise reduction here and there, spikes in grain in other spots, a hint on ringing in a handful of scenes, blink-and-you-miss-‘em-bouts of noise, a touch of aliasing—usually on tightly pinstriped or checkered plaid shirts—and several other issues throughout the runtime, but in the grand scheme of things, with so much footage (576 minutes in season two), each passing problem is less a presentation-ruining blunder and more a nagging nuisance that nevertheless keeps Warner’s HD overhaul from attaining perfection. NOTE: Even with the HD re-master from the original 35mm elements, sporadic upconverted standard def inserts appear throughout the series. A notable occurrence in season two is in “The One with the Prom Video”—said prom video sequences are obviously sourced from low-def videotape, which gives the footage a realistic camcorder quality (as was the intention).
Audio
An unfortunate consequence of Warner’s decision to cram an entire season on two discs is that “Friends: The Complete Second Season” makes its way to Blu-ray without any sort of lossless audio. In place of a high-res option is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps) track. To be honest, I doubt a lossless mix would’ve made much of a difference; the series is typical sitcom fare, and even in lossless the show would likely have little sonic prowess beyond intelligible dialogue and its boisterous, bombastic, but brief main theme and a sporadic use of other song cues. The mismatched volume levels between episodes are still troubling in season two, but the surround remix is much more competent compared to the early episodes in the first season, and the patchy hollowness of dialogue is no longer an issue (although, it, like the video, seemed to improve after the first disc of season one). In the end, the soundtrack’s biggest issues are insignificant anomalies over the course of the runtime. Still, "Friends: The Complete Second Season" doesn't earn a very high score here. A note on the laugh track: unlike many sitcoms of the era, “Friends” was actually recorded in front of a live audience. As much as I hate laugh tracks, “Friends” doesn’t work without one, because, like live stage, the actor’s performances—noticeably, their comedic pauses—are dictated by the audience and their sometimes overpowering laughter. A laugh-track free option wouldn’t work, because the laughter is not canned—its organic, and inherent to the soundtrack. French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, German Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, Spanish (Castilian) Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo dubs, and subtitles in English, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish have also been included.
Extras
The DVD release of season two included a few interactive features, a glut of episode promos, and a few bonus trailers, all of which haven’t been ported over to Blu-ray; none of these are a huge loss in my opinion. For some reason, although the DVD release included an audio commentary on two episodes—“The One with the List” and “The One with the Prom Video”—neither of these tracks have been ported over to Blu-ray. Why? The first season retained it’s single commentary track, so I’m at a loss. Like the first season, the extended episodes from the R1 DVD are also MIA—although, unlike the missing commentaries, the lack of longer episodes can be blamed on the re-mastering effort, which was focused on bringing the series into the age of HD syndication, and not necessarily Blu-ray. An UltraViolet digital copy of the entire second season is also included. DISC ONE: There are no extras on this disc. DISC TWO: “Friends of ‘Friends’” (1.33:1 480i, 11 minutes 12 seconds) is a featurette focused on the various guest stars in season two. Essentially, it’s just a compilation of clips in which the famous—including Dan Castellaneta, Julia Roberts, and Jean-Claude Van Damme—appeared on the show. It’s kind of a throw away, although if you need a refresher on what “Friends” looked like before the HD remaster, be sure to check this out. “What’s Up with Your Friends” (1.33:1 480i, 7 minutes 50 seconds) is another clip-heavy featurette, with Gunther (James Michael Tyler, in character) introducing character montages for Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel—“Oh, Rachel!” Gunther pines wistfully—and Ross. Skippable. The disc also offers the uncut music video for “Smelly Cat” (1.33:1 480i, 1 minute 49 seconds).
Packaging
Warner previously released the entire run of “Friends” on Blu-ray in a 21-disc box set at the end of 2012; the set included a coffee table book and was oddly shaped like many of Warner’s Ultimate Collector’s Edition releases. Now, WB is breaking out the single seasons of the show, and releasing them at a slow pace, for those fans who want to have “Friends” on their media shelves, but without the big awkward box, or without having to spend somewhere in the vicinity of $200 in one fell swoop. “Friends: The Complete Second Season” is a simple 2-disc set. The first region free BD-50 contains 13 episodes from the second; the other BD-50 contains 11 episodes. The episodes are presented in their original NBC broadcast form; the discs are housed in an eco-Elite keep case with a sturdy cardboard slip-case included in initial pressings. An episode guide has been included.
Overall
The second season of “Friends” sidesteps the sophomore slump—for the most part—with only a few clunkers, but many more memorable episodes, filled with fan-favorite characters, gags and storylines. Like the first season set, the second season’s Blu-ray release is a mix of triumph and trouble. The series has never looked better; it’s still quite visually underwhelming, and the remastering is plagued by a plethora of problematic anomalies that ultimately add up with frustrating inconsistency. WB's decision to forgo high res audio for lossy Dolby Digital will once again no doubt displease spec wh*res. The 2-disc set is even lighter on supplements than season one; for some unknown reason the Blu-ray even drops two commentaries from the previous DVD. Unfortunately, “Friends: The Complete Second Season” is not perfect—although it is perhaps the second most perfect season. For fans, I think a love for their “Friends” (its characters, and the many classic episodes that appear even this early in the series) means the flaws can be easily overlooked, and assuming you didn’t already spring for the big boxset, this standalone release is recommended.
|
|||||
|