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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Music Video-I'll Be There For You-The Rembrandts
Rating
Year Released	1996
Running Time	174:21
RSDL/Flipper	Dual Sided	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region	2,4	Director	Michael Lembeck
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Jennifer Aniston  Courtney Cox  Lisa Kudrow  Matt Le Blanc  Matthew Perry  David Schwimmer
Case	Transparent Amaray
RPI	$36.95	Music	Michael Skloff  Ian Christian Nickus

    I can't believe that it has been almost two months since I last watched a Friends DVD, but there you have it - time flies when you are having fun, I guess. It was a pleasure to return to this collection of episodes, which keep up the comedic standard set by previous episodes. Interestingly, it seems as if all 8 episodes on this DVD were directed by the same director, Michael Lembeck, in sharp contrast to previous episodes which tended to be directed by a series of directors. Once again, guest stars are prominent, with Adam Goldberg and Charlie Sheen featuring in episodes on this DVD.

    The episodes on this DVD are Episodes 17 - 24 of Series 2.

    The One Where Eddie Moves In (21:47). Joey has now moved into his new apartment, but he misses Chandler. Chandler also misses Joey, but is convinced to take on a new room-mate, Eddie (Adam Goldberg), much to Joey's chagrin. This particular storyline is very funny indeed and very well written, putting a nice twist on a familiar theme. Phoebe gets to record Smelly Cat, but the music video doesn't quite turn out the way she planned. Ross spends a lot of time in Monica & Rachel's apartment, leading to lots of brother and sister conflicts.

    The One Where Dr Ramoray Dies (21:44). As the title suggests, Joey's Days Of Our Lives character is killed off. Meanwhile, Chandler discovers that Eddie is somewhat high-strung and paranoid. Monica, Richard, Rachel and Ross become hung up over how many other partners they have each had.

    The One Where Eddie Won't Go (21:51). Joey's extravagant lifestyle catches up with him now that he is out of work, and so he wants to move back in with Chandler. Meanwhile, Chandler demands that Eddie move out, but he won't go, a problem Chandler solves in his own unique way. The girls get hold of a new age book, Be Your Own Windkeeper, and overenthusiastically apply its philosophies to their own lives.

    The One Where Old Yeller Dies (21:33). Phoebe sees the end of Old Yeller for the first time, since her mother censored the ending for her when she was younger, and is shocked. Chandler and Joey go out with Richard to a basketball game, initially reluctantly, but later become enthusiastic about their relationship.

    The One With The Bullies (22:03). Ross and Chandler are scared away from the coffee shop by some bullies. Phoebe resolves again to meet her father, but plans go awry once again. Monica becomes addicted to the stockmarket, and has to take on a job at a cheesy diner when she runs out of money.

    The One With The Two Parties (21:50). Rachel's birthday party turns into two parties when both of her (feuding) parents show up.

    The One With The Chicken Pox (21:56). Guest starring Charlie Sheen as Ryan, this episode sees Phoebe's occasional partner return from 8 months at sea. Unfortunately, Phoebe gets chicken pox just as he is due to arrive. Chandler gets Joey a job as a processor, and Joey swings into the part of Joseph the Processor with excessive vigour.

    The One With Barry And Mindy's Wedding (21:48). Joey is frustrated because an audition he goes for requires him to kiss another male, so he desperately tries to get as much practice as he can. Barry and Mindy's wedding sees Rachel attend as Mindy's bridesmaid, but steal the limelight, not entirely for the right reasons. Monica and Richard see differently about wanting children. Chandler meets a woman he corresponded with on the Internet, only to find out that she is... I guess you'll have to watch the episode to find out who she is.

Video

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. It is not 16x9 enhanced. Four episodes are present on each side of the DVD, which is not clearly labelled in regards to which side is which.

    The transfer is generally quite soft-looking although perfectly watchable. Some minor grain is visible at times in the backgrounds of images, but this never becomes distracting. Shadow detail is limited, as all of these episodes are staged on well-lit sets. Low level noise is not an issue.

    As with previously-reviewed DVDs, the colours in this transfer were strongly saturated without ever becoming oversaturated or bleeding.

    MPEG artefacts were not an issue for this transfer. Neither was aliasing nor film artefacts.
 
 

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/MPEG Artefacts
Film-to-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The dialogue was clear and easy to understand at all times. Some very slight distortion rarely affects the dialogue without it impacting on intelligibility during The One With Barry And Mindy's Wedding.

    Audio sync was marginal at several points during the transfer, such as in Joey's apartment during The One Where Dr Ramoray Dies, from around the 18:00 mark and at the start of The One Where Old Yeller Dies. Other than these points, audio sync was fine.

    The score by Michael Skloff and Ian Christian Nickus was mainly limited to the opening theme of the series, but additional musical cues found their way into the score at times, particularly during The One With The Two Parties, which prominently featured party-type music.

    The surround channel was not utilized at all, with this being strictly a stereo mix. Audience laughter and applause and background music was all that made their way into the left or right channels, with dialogue being centred at all times other than for a brief and disconcerting stereo vocal effect during the end credits of The One Where Eddie Moves In. The subwoofer had nothing to do except during The One With The Two Parties, where it added substantial and unexpected bottom end to the party music.
 
 

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Distortion/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

Music Video-I'll Be There For You-The Rembrandts

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Michael Demtschyna (read my bio)
24th January 2001