Friends: The Complete Fifth Season

Friends has matured into television's most beloved comfort show, and the fifth season was one of its most sweetly satisfying. Ross and Rachel still have issues to work out, such as Ross saying her name at his ill-fated wedding to Emily, and Emily's ultimatum that Ross never see Rachel again, not to mention R&R's drunken Las Vegas nuptials that close out the season. But in between, this season charts the hilarious secret relationship between Chandler and Monica, about which only Joey knows (at least until the benchmark episode, "The One Where Everybody Finds Out," which is one of Matthew Perry's and Lisa Kudrow's finest half-hours). But Friends' peerless writing staff spread the wealth: Kudrow's Phoebe begins her own arresting, albeit short-lived romance in "The One with the Cop"; hapless Ross turns "mental" in the wake of his second divorce in "The One with Ross's Sandwich"; and Rachel suffers through a series of disastrous job interviews in "The One with Rachel's Inadvertent Kiss." This season also serves up what is arguably Friends' best Thanksgiving episode, "The One With the Thanksgiving Flashbacks," which concludes with the classic moment in which Chandler first says "I love you" to a turkey-bedecked Monica. Thanks to syndication, Friends' devoted fans can recite these episodes chapter and verse, but this is one of those special sitcoms that maintains its sparkle through repeat viewings, a testament to the sharp writing and the ensemble's lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry. DVD extras include series creators/producers commentaries on three episodes, the 42-minute “making of” documentary “The One That Goes Behind the Scenes,” and the two-minute “Friends: On Location in London.” Highly recommended. (D. Liebenson)