Friends: The Complete 3rd Season (DVD)

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I really enjoy the performances by the cast members, but I also detest Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe). I like wacky stuff that humanizes a fictional creation, but Kudrow´s character is wacky for the sake of being wacky. The other five characters often act with chagrin when they realize that they´ve done something silly, but Phoebe is so oblivious to reality that she elicits groans rather than laughs from me. I know that there´s little chance of getting rid of her for the show´s 10th(!) season, but miracles do happen, right?

Video:
The third season of "Friends" arrives on DVD with a 1.33:1 (full-frame on 4:3 monitors) video image. The video quality is still not as great as, say, the quality of the video of the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" DVDs. Most episodes are rather soft, and that softness can lead to the occasional blurring. Sometimes, the footage sports a digital sheen rather than appearing film-like, possibly due to overzealous edge-enhancement. However, colors and lighting schemes have been reproduced well.

Audio:
Warner Bros. re-mixed the show´s soundtracks into Dolby Digital 5.0 English presentations. Since "Friends" is a sitcom, there´s not much that requires the use of dazzling sonic effects. Therefore, while the 5.0 mixes help to "widen" the depth of the soundstage, there´s nothing on these DVDs that will compel you to pop them into your DVD player to impress your friends. Dialogue and music are well-balanced. Low-end frequencies are scarce, but they´re not necessarily suitable for something like "Friends" anyway.

Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles as well as English closed captions support the audio.

Extras:
Despite the fact that there are four discs in this box set, there aren´t many extras to accompany the Third Season of "Friends". Where are the bloopers? Where are the retrospective interviews with the cast members looking back at their costumes and their hairstyles from the early seasons? Sigh.

Disc 1: Executive Producers Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane contribute an audio commentary for "The One Where No One´s Ready". The three have much to say about the episode as well as the series as a whole, and the commentary is an enjoyable listen. However, there´s not enough substance to be gained for my liking from a 30-minute commentary.

Disc 2: Executive Producers Bright, Kauffman, and Crane contribute an audio commentary for "The One With the Football".

Disc 3: Executive Producers Bright, Kauffman, and Crane contribute an audio commentary for "The One With the Morning After". This episode shows the series´ handlers´ surprising grasp of dramatic elements, so this is a good listen.

Disc 4: The other "big" extras are found on Disc 4. "Open House at Joey and Chandler´s Bachelor Pad" is an interactive feature that takes you around the set of the guys´ apartment. The "Friends of ´Friends´" menu page offers clips of the various guest stars on the show. This is a rather redundant feature because you get to see the guest stars in the episodes themselves anyway, so why bother? "What´s Up With Your ´Friends´?" offers a couple of clips of the principal characters doing random things. Finally, there´s the "Ross and Rachel: On a Break?" trivia quiz.

--Miscellaneous--
On each disc, the menu screen that allows you to pick an episode to watch also has "coffee cup" icons in front of each episode´s name. These icons access previews of the episodes. Each disc also has a list of the show´s leads as well as executive producers. There are some weblinks if you use a DVD-ROM drive to view the discs.

The cardboard gatefold packaging provides information about the episodes´ writers, directors, original airdates, and guest stars.

Film Value:
After a roaring start delivered by the first two seasons, the third season of "Friends" lowered the laugh meter appreciably during its second half. Therefore, as a whole, the third season of "Friends" is a bit of a letdown. Still, there are some precious gems here, especially that episode that has the six friends almost "getting together" with the wrong friend. At any rate, I´m really judging the show against itself. Maybe the third year of "Friends" isn´t as funny as the first two years, but it´s still much funnier than its contemporaries on TV. Besides, once you start buying entire seasons of a TV show, you can´t skip any box sets, can you? :-P

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