Friends: The Complete Series - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

As with movies, whether good or bad, we tend to watch a television series with a heavy dose of nostalgia and through rose-tinted glasses, associating various memories of our youth to the show. For me, Friends — along with Seinfeld, of course — was one such 90s show because I was enjoying my 20s during its original broadcast run, making me just a few years younger than the characters while attending college. It was the days of watching a TV episode as if it were an event with our family or a group of friends, and I was sucked into dedicating my Thursday nights laughing at the latest shenanigans of Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey. My college friends — we pretended we were a study group, but obviously weren't — would gather together at another friend's apartment to watch a new episode, drink some wine, eat junk food, and share laughs while her husband would conveniently "go out" for a few hours. 

In the years since it ended in 2004, I've revisited the series from time to time, from start to finish, and flashbacks to those days with my own friends' group are permanently fixed. Many of us were also big fans of romantic comedies, so the relationship between Jennifer Aniston's Rachel and David Schwimmer's Ross was a huge selling point during the first season. I still remember how giddily excited we were when the season ended on Matt LeBlanc's Joey and Matthew Perry's Chandler letting slip that Ross was crushing on Rachel, but then, we returned in the second season to heartbreak, feeling for Rachel, when Ross came home from a dig with a girlfriend. In every episode from there, we waited with bated breath until Ross found out about Rachel, quickly establishing their silly on-and-off again relationship, teasing us with the whole "will they or won't they" storyline, which frankly is now what has made this show infamous. 

But I have to give it to the writers for bringing viewers back for more by giving us genuinely heartfelt reminders that these two doofuses were meant for each other, that they were each other's lobsters, as Lisa Kudrow's Phoebe liked to say. Looking back, it now seems silly, but we foolishly loved it nonetheless. If it wasn't the prom video finally bringing the two together, then it was the one where Ross and Rachel take a break or the episodes at the beach in between the third and fourth seasons. Of course, everyone else in the gang enjoyed episodes focused on them and their personal lives, but that didn't stop writers from still dropping hints in some clever way or another. For example, my favorite episodes are those with memories of the 80s, like the worst Thanksgiving ever and the College Reunion, or in the sixth season when they imagine what could have been, or the other Thanksgiving episode with Brad Pitt and the "I Hate Rachel Green" club. The producers comically kept bringing it back to Ross and Rachel's inevitable union.

Interestingly, this revisit of Friends, for the umpteenth time, has actually given me a new level of appreciation for the series, noticing one aspect of those many episodes I hadn't picked up on before. And that is the relationship of Courtney Cox's Monica and Perry's Chandler slowly blossoming in the background. There are various delicately implied allusions to their attraction throughout the third season and more deceptively whispered suggestions throughout the fourth. This culminated in them finally shagging at Ross's UK wedding, paving the way to one of the show's most memorable moments with them proposing to one another at the end of season six. However, even after going through the entire series again, I can't really say that Friends is one of my top favorite shows. But I can say that it holds a very special place in my heart due to the many memories I made with my friends, and I can still sit and watch random episodes from time to time, just to reminisce on those times and enjoy a good laugh. (Movie Rating: 4/5)

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Warner Home Video celebrates the 30th anniversary of Friends on 4K Ultra HD as a 25-disc box set where all 236 episodes are spread across 23 UHD100 discs. They all come inside five black keepcases with each containing two seasons spread across four or five discs on center spindles. The sixth keepcase comes with two more BD50s containing all the special features and a glossy booklet, and they are all housed inside a flimsy, cardboard slipbox. Sadly, my box set comes with two copies of the second disc for the ninth season, so I am without the third disc containing episodes 13 through 24, which is frustratingly disappointing. At startup, the discs go straight to a static menu screen with the usual options along the bottom and music playing background.

The 90s series darling visits the Ultra HD cafe and chills with a warm and welcoming HEVC H.265 encode, looking better than its streaming counterpart although it's not by leaps and bounds. Nevertheless, fine lines and objects are sharp and well-defined for a thirty-year-old broadcast with the 4K transfer showing improved clarity of the background information and the various items decorating the apartments. As would be expected, the early seasons show their age with a more prominent grain structure that can occasionally look a smidge busy and noisy, but later seasons look better with a more refined grain structure. For purists, the biggest issue is with the fact that all episodes have been reframed for modern television sets, altered from the 4:3 aspect ratio of the original broadcast to a 1.78:1 open matte ratio. Thankfully, the change is not significant enough to ruin the presentation, but it is nonetheless irksome for some fans and purists. 

Presented in Dolby Vision HDR, the color palette for the entire series offers the most notable upgrade, as practically every episode enjoys richly saturated primaries. More impressive still are the secondary hues looking bolder and more sumptuous throughout, which is most noticeable in Phoebe's various Bohemian outfits, from the buttery yellows and tiger oranges to the hot pinks and soothing lilacs. In fact, much of the cinematography has a warm yellowish tone to it, which was never as apparent as it is now thanks to the HDR grading. Contrast and brightness balance remains about the same as the streaming version, but whites are cleaner and have a bit more pop to them here while specular highlights are tighter and more revealing. Black levels are inky with strong shadow delineation. Facial complexions appear healthy with lifelike textures and a peachy-rose tone in the entire cast. 

Overall, the entire series looks great on UHD and better than its streaming counterpart. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 78/100)

Unlike its Blu-ray and streaming counterparts, the show is given the lossless treatment on Ultra HD, featuring an impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack that sounds much better than initially expected for a show of this vintage. Although it largely remains faithfully to its front-heavy orgins, imaging nonetheless feels expansive and incredibly welcoming as the theme song fills the entire soundstage while exhibiting a great deal of warmth and fidelity in the midrange. Also, background activity smoothly moves across the front-heavy channels and into the off-screen space without any discernible issues or feeling artificial. Likewise, a few atmospherics, particularly the laugh-tracks, occasionally bleed into the surrounds, nicely expanding the soundfield without seeming forced and enhancing several scenes. All the while, vocals are distinct and well-prioritized in the center of the screen, and an appreciable low-end adds appropriate bass to several moments throughout. (Audio Rating: 88/100)

For this UHD edition of the classic 90s series, many of the same special features from the previous Blu-ray and DVD sets have been ported over, but a couple of new supplements might be enough to entice devoted fans.

UHD Discs 1 - 23

• Audio Commentaries: There are a total of 25 commentary tracks for several episodes, and they feature discussions between executive producers Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane talking about various aspects of the production, characters and stories.

Blu-ray Disc 24

• NEW Friends: Through the Peephole (HD, 15 min) is a brief but enjoyable retrospective where the host walks fans through the various archived props and costumes of the show.
• NEW How Well Do You Know Your Friends? (HD, 7 min) is essentially a trivia game show testing a fan's knowledge with some questions more difficult than others.
• The One that Goes Behind the Scenes (SD, 42 min) 
• Friends of Friends (SD, 30 min) 
• When Friends Become Family (SD, 29 min)
• Friends from the Start (SD, 28 min)
• What's Up with Your Friends? (SD, 25 min)
• The Legacy of Friends (SD, 11 min)
• Friends Around the World (SD, 8 min)
• Friends on Location in London (SD, 2 min) 
• Gunther Spills the Beans (SD, 2 min) 
• "Smelly Cat" Music Video (SD, 2 min) 
• The One With the Trailer of Season 2 (SD, 1 min) 

Blu-ray Disc 25

• Extended Broadcast Episodes (SD) for four episodes
• Friends of Friends (SD, 63 min) 
• Gag Reels (SD, 37 min) 
• Friends Final Thoughts (SD, 26 min) 
• "The One Where Rachel Tells Ross" (SD, 23 min) is the original producer’s cut of the episode
• Friends Visits The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (SD, 22 min) 
• Behind the Style: The Look of Friends (SD, 20 min) 
• Additional Gag Reel (SD, 17 min) 
• Friends Visits The Ellen DeGeneres Show (SD, 16 min) 
• Gunther Spills the Beans (SD, 8 min) 
• "Joey Joey" Music Video (SD, 3 min) 
• Phoebe Battles The Pink Robots (SD, 2 min) is a music video by The Flaming Lips
• Music Video (SD, 2 min) is The Rembrandts performing "I’ll Be There for You"
• "The One Where Rachel Tells Ross" (HD) is the original script

30 years later, Friends continues to bring laughter, tears and everything in between, and it spawned classic lines and left an indelible mark on popular culture. For me, personally, the series also comes with a heavy dose of nostalgia, visiting the series every couple of years to reminisce and be easily entertained. Warner Home Video celebrates the show's 30th anniversary as a 25-disc 4K Ultra HD box set featuring an excellent Dolby Vision HDR presentation and an impressive DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, offering a notable upgrade not only to previous home video releases but also the version available for streaming. With an extensive wealth of supplements ported over from the previous Blu-ray and DVD box sets, this UHD edition of the series comes Highly Recommended. 

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.