Reviews from Customers
Season six all comes down to Chandler proposing to Monica
"Friends: The Complete Sixth Season" ends on such a high note, arguably the finest moment in the history of the series, that you tend to forget that this was an uneven year. In retrospect it marks the irrevocable shift from the Ross and Rachel axis to the Monica and Chandler axis, but it took some doing. After all, the previous season ended with Monica and Chandler deciding on an impromptu wedding only to discover that a drunken Ross and Rachel had beat them to the punch. The aftermath of that great joke (you want to see Ross and Rachel married? Presto! They are married!) takes up the first story arc of the season while Chandler's proposal to Monica provides the season ending bookend.
Best Episodes of the Sixth Season: "The One After Vegas," the season premier, where Ross and Rachel wake up without any memory of being married and Chandler tries to let Monica know that he thinks they should move in together; "The One With Ross's Denial," has Monica and Chandler finding over where "his" stuff will go in "their" apartment, while Ross suggests Rachel move in with him, still having avoided telling her that he has not gotten their marriage annulled; "The One on the Last Night," has a great bit where Chandler has to invent a game called "Cups" to find ways of giving Joey money until he finds a new roommate, while Phoebe tries to save everybody else from Monica having them help Rachel pack, but the best bit are Monica and Chandler saying farewell to their old roommates; "The One Where Ross Got High" has Monica's parents visiting for Thanksgiving dinner and she does not want them to know that she is living with Chandler because they do not like him. Apparently they think he turned Ross on to drugs way back when (that was Ross's story and he is sticking to it), which leads to one of the funniest 30 seconds ever as the Geller siblings totally out each other to their parents; "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry" continues the misadventures of Ross with Rachel's kid sister, Jill (Reese Witherspoon), but the best bits here are Chandler's explanation for while the fact the cartoonists stopped drawing the deer in "Bambi" never made him cry and the clip from the infamous porno video made by Phoebe, "Buffay the Vampire Layer"; and, the best for last, "The One with the Proposal, Part 1 & 2," where Chandler wants his proposal to Monica to be a surprise (just writing about this scene starts the tears coming).
The pivotal moment in this season comes in a rather lackluster episode, "The One Where Paul's the Man," which has stupid shtick going on with Ross and his college co-ed girlfriend Elizabeth hiding form her father (poor Bruce Willis). A subplot has the gals visiting a museum where there is a long waiting list, and as a lark they all put their names on the list. Of course, when the phone call comes to tell Monica that there is an opening available for the Geller-Bing wedding, it is Chandler that hears the phone message first. A frantic Monica rushes to convince him that it did not mean anything, not knowing that Chandler has already decided the idea is perfect, thereby starting the final story arc centering on the big proposal. There was a chance that "Friends" was going to end with the sixth season, so they came up with something that would have been memorable enough (which would be a good portent for what we will see this spring at the end of all things).
But as great as the grand finale ends up being, it does not make up for some of the low points of season six, such as "The One With Ross's Teeth," "The One with the Joke," "The One with Joey's Fridge," and "The One Where Ross Meets Elizabeth's Dad." You look at that list, and it becomes clear that any episode that centers around the guys without seriously involving the gals, was an iffy proposition during season six. Get them involved, e.g., "The One with Unagi," and you have something. Do a clip show (i.e., "The One with MAC and C.H.E.E.S.E.) or double up for a "what if" episode so Monica's fat suit can come out of the closet ("The One That Could Have Been Part 1 & 2") and the results are even worse, although even that debacle emphasized the idea that Monica and Chandler belong together, which is what this sixth season certainly boils down to in the end.
A Very Sweet and Fun Season to Enjoy
This was the season I started out with, and I could not have picked a better one. Season 6 had a lot of heart, humor, and a lot of growing up of the characters. Chandler and Monica move in together, Joey ends up with a female roommate for a little while, Ross and Rachel are married and then get divorced, and Ross dates a college student. Phoebe, is well... Phoebe. There were several memorable episodes in this season. My favorites were:
The One With Ross's Denial
The One Where Phoebe Runs
The One With the Routine
The One With the Apothecary Table
The One Where Ross Got High
The One Where Chandler Can't Cry
The One With Unagi (my favorite one! if you have seen it you understand)
The One With the Proposal
This season leads up to the engagement of Chandler and Monica, which is the best finale because the characters are made for each other and it is such a moving scene as well. For the first time, there is a gag reel of the season. Enjoy Season 6, and start with this season because it is such a great one!
One of the BEST!
I personally believe this is one of the best seasons! The key to this one is that the writers FINALLY started utilizing the key comedic talents of LeBlanc (Joey) and Kudrow (Phoebe), who were previously only known as dim and flighty characters. I'd have to say that "The One With Joey's Fridge" has to be the funniest of the whole season. This also was a better season for Schwimmer's "Ross" portrayal because he was a more developed character than previously (although with his 2nd divorce he was hilarious, but the 3rd divorce sent him over the edge). Aniston's "Rachel" is consistently funny, but this season saw the decline of Perry's "Chandler." By having a relationship with Cox's "Monica," he wasn't as funny--more sappy than sarcastic, and the writers were obviously in a bind because Chandler couldn't make fun of his girlfriend. The key to Monica was that people easily make fun of her Type A personality, and thus Chandler's mojo had to be taken away.
I plan to collect all the "Friends" seasons, as I am only doing with two other shows (and this, as far as I can tell, is the only one that will be 10 seasons long, which is quite a commitment). And all the people who persist in comparing this show to "Seinfeld," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" etc., are ridiculous, sad, embittered self-loathers just like Larry David. "Seinfeld" succeeded in "jumping the shark" about 3-4 seasons before it finally ended (with the worst series finale ever!), where "George" was just a screamer like his parents, Jerry was still a whiner, "Elaine" was just going through the same motions that she did in earlier seasons (running out of ideas, perhaps?), and "Kramer" (a long time favorite of mine in the early years) had been reduced to a glorified Chevy Chase by having falling down be his only niche.
As far as I'm concerned, it is comparing apples and oranges. However, for those who persist, "Seinfeld" was a lead-in for "Friends" during its 1st season, but for its 2nd season, "Friends" became a lead-in for "Seinfeld," in my opinion because "Seinfeld" just wasn't funny anymore. Maybe this disintegration of the characters is the reason why none of the actors have been successful in other ventures, and not the fallacy: "oh, they were just so great at their 'Seinfeld' roles that nobody can see then playing another character." No, maybe we just grew to hate them as those characters, none of them are strong enough on their own, and we don't want to see them anymore. On the other hand, "Friends" made 10 great seasons, an amazing series finale, likeable characters for the duration of their time, and who's to say that "Joey" won't be a successful spinoff? (knock on wood)
A final toast to the best "Friends"--You will be missed!
