Friends: The Complete Ninth Season on DVD

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I’ve skipped a few Friends Season DVDs, but reviewing the second to last season proved that the DVD collections have gotten better. Beginning with only producer commentary and some recap featurettes, they have now added behind the scenes documentaries and gag reels. They have lost the interactive tours, which is a shame, but they probably ran out of regular locations to explore by Season Five.

A spot on the makeup and wardrobe goes really in depth about the costumes, hairstyles and makeup designs with three separate interviews with the style artists. If you love fashion, you’ll love these details, and if you don’t, you’ll be amazed how much thought goes into a hairdo.

The gag reel is really funny. More than just messups, it features stunts pulled by the cast members, improvisations that were too hot for TV and a general sense of camaraderie at the goofs.

A music video about the character Phoebe is just weird. There’s no context like was this created by a fan, did it come from the show (I sure don’t remember it) or is it a DVD exclusive. A conversation piece for sure.

It seems the producers have exhausted some of their anecdotes as the commentaries have more gaps than earlier seasons, but they still share everything about their thought processes. With one more season to go, we’ll see if they maybe got some of the actors to share their thoughts for the final disc.