If you’re of a certain era, Friends was a must-watch each week, it was an unmissable TV occasion and, don’t forget, this was before the streaming services days that now give us unrelenting choice, whenever you want it. An episode of Friends was always rememberable. It meant a gathering. It was a connection to a character, or a moment in time and bonded to you those six characters – and even though we never knew how they afforded those NYC flats, it genuinely didn’t matter because we cared about Chandler, Monica, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joey – as if we were part of the group.

Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and originally airing on NBC in the States from September 1994 to May 2004, it was first shown in UK on Channel 4 in April 1995, and even amongst the Britpop phenomenon of the time, it was an instant hit – hitting the zeitgeist of the era with a positive comedy that somehow, even as teenagers, you could relate to – or possibly aspire to. As a quick reminder, Friends followed the loves and lives of close friends living in New York City, which included siblings Ross (David Schwimmer) and Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), along with friends Chandler Bing (the late, great Matthew Perry), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston).

Today, I’ve been enjoying the 4K UHD release, out now, and while I’m not sure if I can review every single episode ever written, I’ve certainly delved deeply into the entire series in a discerning way, from Season 1 to Season 10, as there were 236 episodes and, my review fans or friends, I’m sure you can appreciate that would be one hell of a venture – which I’m willing to do, if someone can pay me for it! But digressing, this beautiful boxset contains all those episodes, and you’ve also got an absolute plethora of Special Features, which I will dive into shortly.

Also, to start with some facts – and I made a spreadsheet like Monica might – did you know that there’s approximately 30 episodes related to births, deaths or weddings, and that if we break down how many times the character name was in the title ‘The One…’ then Rachel comes out on top as she’s in the episode subject title for 27 episodes, followed up by Ross with 22 episodes, which may be obvious considering those two led the way pretty much from the start, and then more surprisingly Joey is next with 16 episodes, Chandler with 11, then Phoebe with 10 and Monica with 8, you know she’s going to hate being last, considering her competitive streak!

Friends endures to this day, and this complete boxset is an absolute dream to rewatch in 4K UHD, and the extras make all of this even more exciting, there’s so many great outtakes – which is a reminder of live studio audience beauty, and you really do get to see their genuine love and chemistry for each other, which is something that almost seems impossible to make today with the way Television is produced, and especially situation comedy. From the last great comedies from modern TV history, globally, isn’t something you can really argue with when you see its worldwide popularity even today. Dive into all the featurettes including going through the peephole (!), some of their talk show appearances, a selection of ‘true friends’ documentaries, the original script and producers cut for The One where Rachel tells Ross, a music video from that famous song theme tune and even some super-sized broadcast episodes from Season 7. Also, once you get to Season 3, there are select episodes with audio commentary, and so you’ve got so much to enjoy.

This absolute cast chemistry masterclass took the Globe by storm, and I’m shocked (in a good way) that it’s now the 30th Anniversary, but grateful it continues to hold a unique place in popular culture and hearts worldwide. With its sharp humour, worthy characters (complete with flaws and troubles that while heighted, really weren’t that dissimilar to things you’d know yourself) and memorable catchphrases through the likes of ‘We were on a Break!’ to ‘Pivot!’ across the likes of ‘Could I be wearing anymore of Chandler’s clothes?’ (covering two characters in one) and not forgetting Phoebe’s iconically mad Smelly Cat, through to Monica’s obsessive control behaviour – even though we loved her for it, never overlooking Joey’s ‘How you doing? either, and then there’s Ross boring everyone with the details, all the way to the important question: What was Chandler’s job? With a WENUS?! And let’s not ignore that some things were never too shabby for Rachel, something I seem to still say today, in any random situation. Oh, and I didn’t even mention the mass of super-famous cameos that often brought a whole new level, but maybe a special mention for Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Helen Baxendale, and Paul Rudd, with the legendary Tom Selleck.

So grab that turkey for your head, but don’t forget you might need help to take it off, grab your coffee from Central Perk, try not to look too closely at the ugly naked guy, don’t mess with the maintenance guy in the building, definitely don’t eat Rachel’s beef trifle, but always find the best moments in the worse places, always support each other even when times are challenging, from surrogates to weddings with the wrong name, to every bad ball game in between (plus the catch game, even with the dropper!), enjoy the laughs, the ridiculous moments and always, always keep Friends nearby. Could I be any more right?

Rachel: “Okay, should we get some coffee?”

Chandler: “Sure, where?”

*lights out*

FRIENDS: The Complete Series in 4K UHD is out now: https://amzn.to/3B2BaeE

There’s also a Limited Edition 4K UHD set released on 16 December, order here: https://amzn.to/3Zm2ix6