Friends – Series 5 – Episodes 9-16 DVD – Christina Pickles, Matthew Perry

Season 5: Divorce number two is immediately on the cards as the year opens with “T.O. After Ross Says Rachel”. As of this point, Ross’ character undergoes some extreme personality changes (which apparently lost Schwimmer many female fans). His incessant whining drives all the Friends to distraction, especially in “T.O.W. Ross Moves In” with Chandler and Joey. Later things get uncomfortable both at work and at home when he goes through a period of rage (“T.O.W. Ross’ Sandwich”). While all this downplays his failed relationship with Rachel, the real idea is to allow focus on the secret pairing of Chandler and Monica after a night of passion in London. This made for a return to the show’s appealingly silly atmosphere as poor Joey is made piggy-in-the-middle of everyone’s secrets. Building to “T.O.W. Everybody Finds Out”, the silliness pauses for some genuinely touching interplay between Perry and Cox. The previous year’s semi-serious thread about Phoebe’s birth gets forgotten fast: to distract the viewer she’s introduced to Gary (Michael Rapaport) in “T.O.W. The Cop”. This leads to some hilarious parodying with Phoebe interrogated about apartment hunting, and the guys excited and then scared in “T.O. W. The Ride Along”. She’s more than over him by the time of the two-part finale “T.O.W. In Vegas” though, especially since she missed out on London. Just in case fans thought Chandler and Monica had permanently stolen the spotlight, a cliffhanger shocks expectation again with Ross and Rachel bursting out of a chapel… –Paul Tonks