Friends: Series 1 Boxset (UK)

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Review of Friends: Series 1 Boxset
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RWB

The whole first series
Certificate: 12
Running Time: 528 mins
Retail Price: £60
Release Date:
Content Type: TV Series

Synopsis:
The Pilot
Rachel leaves Barry at the alter and moves in with Monica. Monica goes on a date with Paul the wine guy, who turns out to be less than sincere. Ross is depressed about his failed marriage. Joey compares women to ice cream. Everyone watches Spanish soaps. Ross reveals his high school crush on Rachel.
The One With The Sonogram At The End
Ross finds out his ex-wife (Carol) is pregnant, and he has to attend the sonogram along with Carol`s lesbian life-partner, Susan. Ugly Naked Guy gets a thigh-master. Ross and Monica`s parents come for dinner, which stresses Monica out. Ross and Rachel console each other. Rachel returns the ring to Barry, who is much less upset about the break-up than expected.
The One With The Thumb
Ross discovers the fate of his childhood pet, Chichi. Chandler starts smoking again; when the group complains, he diverts their attention to their own faults. Phoebe gets money she doesn`t want; she complains and gets more; she gives it away and gets a can of soda in return... which contains a thumb. The beverage company gives her $7000. Monica`s new boyfriend (Alan) is a hit with her friends, but Monica`s not too sure.
The One With George Stephanopoulos
Ross, upset about it being the anniversary of his first time with Carol, goes to a hockey game with Chandler and Joey and gets a puck in the face; they end up at the hospital, where Ross reveals that Carol is the only woman he`s even been intimate with. Rachel gets a visit from her old friends, which depresses her about her life. The women have a slumber party, which isn`t very fun until they spy on George Stephanopoulos.
The One With The East German Laundrey Detergent
Chandler and Phoebe decide to break up with Janice and Tony on the same night; Phoebe`s goes really well but Chandler has a harder time. Ross arranges to do laundry with Rachel and Monica; Monica cancels, leaving just the two of them; Rachel reveals she`s never done laundry before... and accidentally dyes all her white clothes pink. Joey wants his ex-girlfriend (Angela) to break up with her boyfriend (Bob), so he arranges for Monica and him to double date with them... but he tells Monica that Angela and Bob are siblings. Ugly Naked Guy lays kitchen tile. Janice buys Chandler Bullwinkle socks. Rachel is so happy about her laundry experience that she kisses Ross.
The One With The Butt
Everyone attends Joey`s new musical, Freud! While there, Chandler meets a beautiful and exotic woman, Aurora, and begins dating her. Joey gets picked up by the Estelle Leonard Talent Agency, which gets him a job as Al Pacino`s butt double. However, he loses the job by overacting. Rachel cleans the apartment by herself for the first time; however, she moves the green ottoman, which starts Monica obsessing. Chandler finds out Aurora is married and already has another boyfriend. When she picks up still another, Chandler isn`t sure he can take it.
The One With The Blackout
New York City is blacked out (due to a mishap on Mad About You). Chandler is trapped in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre. The rest of the gang hangs out at Monica and Rachel`s apartment. Ugly Naked Guy lights a bunch of candles and has a slight accident. While trying to share his feelings with Rachel, Ross is attacked by a cat. While searching for the cat`s owner, Rachel and Phoebe meet "the Weird Man", known in later episodes as Mr. Heckles. He tries to claim the cat, but it obviously isn`t his. The cat turns out to belong to Paolo, an Italian hunk who lives in the building and doesn`t speak much English.
The One Where Nana Dies Twice
Chandler finds out a lot of people think he`s gay when they first meet him; he tries to find out why. Paolo gives Rachel calls and shoes from Rome. Ross and Monica`s grandmother dies... twice; At the funeral, Joey watches a football game on a portable TV; Ross falls into an open grave and hurts his back, then gets a bit loopy on muscle relaxers. Monica tries to deal with her mother`s criticisms.
The One Where Underdog Gets Away
Joey poses for a health poster, but later finds out he`s become the V.D. poster boy. Ross finds out Susan is reading to the unborn baby and decides he must, too. Ross and Monica plan their own Thanksgiving dinner because their parents are away; Phoebe joins them, because she celebrates with her grandmother and her grandmother`s boyfriend... in December... because he`s lunar; Joey joins in because his family thinks he has V.D.; Monica has to make three kinds of potatoes. Chandler plans to boycott Thanksgiving because his parents announced their divorce on that day; Rachel has plans to go to Vail to be with her family. The Underdog balloon breaks free during the parade; everyone goes to the roof to watch but they get locked out of Monica`s apartment; the dinner is burned and Rachel misses her flight. Everyone ends up eating Chandler`s cheese sandwiches and Funyuns for Dinner. Ugly Naked Guy has Thanksgiving dinner with Ugly Naked Gal, and there`s Ugly Naked Dancing.
The One With The Monkey
Ross gets a monkey named Marcel. Everyone makes a pact not to bring dates to their New Years Eve Party. While performing at Central Perk, Phoebe confronts some noisy boys and ends up dating one of them: David, Scientist Guy. Their relationship develops well until he gets offered a grant to go to Minsk, and doesn`t know what to do. Everyone breaks the no-date pact except Ross; Phoebe brings David, Joey brings Sandy, someone he met while working as an elf in a department store; Rachel plans to bring Paolo, who`s flying in earlier than expected; Chandler snaps and asks Janice; Monica invites Fun Bobby; Ross just brings Marcel. However, no one ends up with their date (or monkey) at midnight.
The One With Mrs Bing
Monica and Phoebe distract an attractive guy who then gets hit by a car and ends up in a coma; they both take care of him in the hospital but begin getting very competitive and possessive over him. Chandler`s mom (who embarrasses Chandler with her forwardness) is on Jay Leno and then pays Chandler a visit. Paolo returns from Rome. Mrs. Bing takes everyone out to dinner... and ends up kissing Ross. Mrs. Bing gives Rachel advice on writing romance novels. Ross tells Chandler about the kiss and convinces him to confront his mother about his feelings.
The One With The Dozen Lasagnas
Everyone hums the theme from The Odd Couple. Monica is stuck with a dozen lasagnas because she didn`t know they were supposed to be vegetarian. Paolo and Rachel prepare for their first weekend away together; Paolo makes a pass at Phoebe, which ends his relationship with Rachel. Phoebe makes the best oatmeal-raisin cookies in the world. Joey and Chandler have to get a new table, but can`t agree on which one; they end up with a foosball table; Monica rules the foosball field. Carol finds out the gender of the baby, but Ross doesn`t want to know - even though everyone else knows.
The One With The Boobies
Chandler accidentally walks in on Rachel after a shower and sees her breasts, leading to a series of shower peepings. Phoebe`s new psychiatrist boyfriend, Roger, depresses and angers everyone. Joey finds out his dad has been having an affair with Ronni, a pet mortician, for six years; he insists his dad either break it off or confess, but it turns out his mom already knew--and didn`t want it to stop.
The One With The Candy Hearts
Ross goes on a date with a Kristen, a woman from his apartment building; Carol and Susan show up at the same restaurant; Susan gets paged and leaves; Ross pays so much attention to Carol that he doesn`t even notice his date has gone. Joey can`t go out with his date, Lorraine, unless he brings a friend for her friend; Chandler agrees to go, but the date turns out to be Janice; Somehow they end up together again; Janice buys Chandler candy hearts for Valentines Day; Chandler breaks up with her--again. Phoebe, Monica, and Rachel have a cleansing ritual to rid themselves of bad luck with men, which turns into a small fire; Fireman guys come to the rescue.
The One With The Stoned Guy
Chandler gets offered a promotion at work but turns it down because he doesn`t like his career; his boss, however, keeps offering more money until Chandler accepts; he spends the day showing off his new office to Phoebe and his night working late. A client of Phoebe`s needs a new head-chef, so Monica auditions for him; unfortunately, he`s stoned and the evening is a disaster. Ross goes out with Celia, a woman from the museum, who wants him to talk dirty; it`s a skill he hasn`t quite mastered... at first
The One With Two Parts, Part 1
Chandler and Joey meet Ursula, Phoebe`s twin sister; Joey begins dating Ursula, but that bothers Phoebe, who doesn`t get along with her sister very well. Ross attends Lamaze class with Carol and Susan; Carol isn`t sure she can go through with the delivery; Ross realizes he`s really going to be a father. Chandler can`t bear to fire an employee he`s attracted to, so he starts to date her and tells everyone else she`s mentally unbalanced, so it isn`t safe to fire her; she begins to notice people treating her oddly, so Chandler has to come clean. Ross has trouble controlling his monkey, Marcel, who switches Monica`s TV into Spanish mode; no one can figure out how to switch it back. Mr. Heckles could have cats. Jamie and Fran (from Mad About You) make an appearance in Central Perk. Rachel finally gets around to taking down the Christmas lights, but falls off the balcony in the process, and ends up hanging upside down outside Mr. Heckles` window.
The One With Two Parts, Part 2
Monica takes Rachel to the hospital; Rachel has no insurance, so she and Monica switch identities--a tricky situation that is made worse when two cute doctors (guest stars George Clooney and Noah Wyle) ask them on dates; Monica and Rachel start arguing and end up listing all their worst qualities in front of their dates. Ross worries about whether he can be a good father; he seeks comfort from his friends and advice from his father. Joey continues to date Ursula, which interferes with his friendship with Phoebe--he misses her birthday; however, when Ursula stands Joey up and won`t return his calls, Phoebe talks to her and finds out she isn`t even planning to tell Joey it`s over; Phoebe pretends to be Ursula so she can let him down nicely--a ruse which doesn`t last. Marcel chokes on scrabble tiles and has to be rushed to the hospital; Ross realizes he can cope with the responsibilities of parenthood. Ugly Naked Guy has a hula-hoop.
The One With All The Poker
Rachel, tired of being a waitress, sends out resumes; she gets an interview with Saks Fifth Avenue. Ross pines for Rachel. The girls decide they want in on the guys` poker games; reluctantly, the guys accept. The girls don`t do so well, but they want a rematch. Monica`s competative side comes out... she may have thrown a plate once during a Pictionary game, but she insists it was an accident. Monica inlists the help of her Aunt Iris to give them some poker tips; the girls still don`t do so well. Then at the third game, the girls are going down again. Rachel gets some bad news about the job for which she`s been interviewing, and gets aggressive at cards; she taunts Ross into a high stakes hand... and he lets her win because he wants to see her happy.
The One Where The Monkey Gets Away
Rachel finds out Barry is engaged to Mindy, her former bridesmaid; she begins to show interest in dating again, so Ross decides to ask her out. However, before he gets the chance, she loses Marcel while monkey-sitting, which temporarily drives a wedge between them. Mr. Heckles is missing a waffle and saw Regis Philbin once. Rachel, not knowing Marcel is a illegal exotic animal, calls Animal Control; the animal-catcher turns out to be Luisa, who went to high-school with Monica and Rachel. Luisa`s memories of high school aren`t favorable toward Rachel, so she decides not to cut them any breaks. While looking for Marcel, Joey and Chandler meet some hot girls (Samantha and Tia) with a broken radiator. Luisa tries to shoot Marcel with a tranquilizer but hits Phoebe instead. A delivery of bananas leads everyone to Mr. Heckles apartment; he claims the monkey as his own until Luisa shows up. Rachel pleads with Luisa to let Ross keep Marcel, but it`s only the threat of reporting her for shooting Phoebe that convinces her. Ross and Rachel finally sit down for some wine, but before Ross can ask Rachel out, Barry barges in, saying he`s still in love with her.
The One With The Evil Orthodontist
The gang argues the virtues of Mr. Peanut and Mr. Salty. Someone is peeping into the apartment building with a telescope; Joey discovers it`s a woman, and that she`s very complimentary. Ugly Naked Guy gets gravity boots. Chandler has a good first date with Daniel and then obsesses about trying to call her again without seeming too needy. Rachel ends up sleeping with Barry instead of telling him to get lost; but after she and Mindy (Barry`s fiance`) get together and talk, Rachel decides Barry is evil. Joey has a one-track mind after Rachel mentions that her best friend, Mindy, taught her to kiss. Ross does a crossword puzzle.
The One With The Fake Monica
Monica`s credit card is stolen; after seeing the credit card statement, Monica decides the thief lives her life better than she does. She meets `Fake Monica` at a dance class which was charged to her card, and suprisingly they become friends. As Mononna, she and Fake Monica have a great time... until Fake Monica is arrested. Ross` monkey, Marcel, reaches sexual maturing and starts humping everything in site; Ross has to find a zoo in which to put his pet. Joey tries to chose a stage name.
The One With The Ick Factor
Rachel has sex dreams--first about Chandler, then Chandler and Joey, and finally about Ross. Phoebe looks for supplemental income, and works part time as Chandler`s secretary. This leads to Chandler`s discover that the people at the office don`t like him anymore... and they even mimic his unique way of talking. Monica dates Ethan, a younger man who turns out to be even younger than she thought; she breaks up with him because it`s just too icky. Ross gets a beeper so Carol can page him when she goes into labor; after several false alarms, he gets beeped for the real thing, and everyone heads to the hospital.
The One With The Birth
Everyone arrives at the hospital for Carol`s delivery. Ross and Susan fight; Rachel flirts with the doctor... for a while; Phoebe sings and makes a lot of sense; Joey helps a single mother (Lydia) give birth; Monica yearns for a baby of her own; Chandler tries to comfort her, but isn`t totally successful. The baby is named Ben, after Phoebe.
The One Where Rachel Finds Out
Joey participates in a fertility study, but things get hard when he has to avoid intimacy with Melanie, his new fruit-basket-making girlfriend. The gang has a barbecue, but Ross only shows up long enough to drop off Rachel`s birthday present and announce he`s going to China to get a bone for the museum. Later, while Rachel opens her presents, Chandler lets slip that Ross is in love with her; she goes to the airport to catch him before he leaves, but just misses him. While he`s gone, she debates what to do do. Finally, she decides to go for it and goes to the airport for his return. Unknown to her, however, Ross has become involved with another woman during his week in China.

Special Features:
Instant Episode Access
Music Video