The Good

Regardless of how vanilla this show could be it really is funny.

The Bad

No Special Features of any sort.

Friends Collection: The One With All the Birthdays is, you guessed it, a six episode assortment of various Friends episodes that focus on that special (or not) day of the year. The episodes in this set are "The One With Two Parties," "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister," "The One Where Rachel Smokes," "The One Where they All Turn Thirty," "The One With Phoebe's Birthday Dinner" and "The One With the Cake."

These episodes are really good. Whether they skewer how people become party-Nazis or a cake comes in an odd shape, the writing on this show always seems to capture the humor of the situations without forcing the jokes down our throat. By the same token, I never felt that any of the episodes spoon-fed me information on what I was supposed to be thinking.

Features

No extras came with this DVD.

Video

Standard Version presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of their original television exhibitions. Truthfully, there really isn't too much to say about the look of these shows. Aside from the fact that extra footage has been added (which I think only truly rabid fans of the show will be able to notice), these episodes seem exactly like what one might have already viewed when these shows played on TV. The biggest differences might come in watching the syndicated versions.

Audio

Dolby Digital. English: Dolby Surround 5.0. To me this is a compliment but others might not see it that way... I really enjoy watching these characters act on this show. I can tell they are playing roles but I honestly don't care. There is such a levity in how much we see of all the Friends cast, that I don't tire of hearing their quips and asides because it is so spread out amongst each person.

Package

A cute photo of Jennifer Aniston at a birthday party is the main shot on this front cover. On the back are three pictures from some of the episodes, a listing of what shows are in this set and technical specs. Overall, I still don't understand why Warner Bros. releases only 6 shows from the series (especially when all the other episodes are on DVD), but I am sure there is a method to their minimalist madness.

Final Word

In the 1990s with shows like Friends and Seinfeld, I think TV writers really got into their grooves as far as the ensemble situation comedy was concerned. I feel this way because I don't I have a favorite character in either one of those shows. Sure, some characters were just inherently more funny than others, but for the most part I think these shows got the perfect blend and gave us just enough of each one.

Friends was released .