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Review by Jack Foley |
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DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: None
THEY'VE been here for us for eight seasons and yet still they remain as welcome
as ever. The cast of Friends may have enjoyed varying degrees of success away
from their TV personas, but Friday nights just wouldn't be the same without
the New York six-some and their very special guests.
Some would argue that the show has become laboured and unfunny; that it is
showing its age; or that it has seldom come close to recapturing the magic
of its first two seasons - but what it may lack in freshness, it makes up
for with familiarity. With Chandler, Joey, Monica, Ross, and co, you know
exactly what you're going to get.
Rather like a real life friend, I guess, you may tire of them sometimes -
but when push comes to shove, they are there for you when it counts. And in
the case of the TV Friends, they can bring a welcome smile to the grottiest
day!
Season eight, which is now available to buy as a complete box set on DVD,
picks up just moments after Monica and Chandler tied the knot - but while
the trials and tribulations of marriage play an important part of the run,
it is the theme of Rachel's pregnancy which becomes the season's focus, as
the story progresses from fatherhood revelations, towards the maternity ward
two-part finale, and taking in the tug of love between Ross and Joey.
Well-written, laugh-out-loud funny and frequently life affirming, season eight
is generally acknowledged as something of a return to season one form, with
the Ross/Rachel/Joey love triangle seeing viewers flocking back to the hit
show States-side and prompting a ninth season - as much out of demand, as
the need to inflate pay packets.
And the star of the season is undoubtedly Joey, now firmly in place as the
show's biggest comedian (displacing married man, Chandler), and rightly rewarded
with an Emmy nomination to boot. Rachel continues to be as sympathetic as
she is annoying, while Ross appears to have come through the hysteria which
beset him in earlier seasons (following his painful break-up from Rachel).
Chandler, meanwhile, continues to be funny (if more restrained and 'under
the thumb' than usual), while Monica remains her neurotic, cleanliness-obsessed
self; and Phoebe is as dippy as ever.
Indeed, one of the strengths of the show has been its ability to constantly
develop the characters, so that it seldom feels like you're watching the same
gags, the same situations and the same pitfalls befalling them over and over
again. As we have grown up with the characters, so the characters themselves
have grown up.
And where would the show be without its guest stars? Previous seasons have
entertained the likes of Julia Roberts, Tom Selleck, Charlie Sheen, Bruce
Willis and Robin Williams - this time around, however, the really big guns
have been drafted in, from Brad Pitt's brilliantly funny turn as a Rachel-hating
ex-school chum in 'The One With The Rumour' to Sean Penn falling for both
Phoebe and her evil twin.
Another strength is the ability to be able to lure such big names to the series
without ever letting them hog the limelight - guest star cameos always remain
fun, but never at the cost of the central characters themselves.
In all, then, this is another essential series for all genuine fans of the
series.
