Favorite Episodes of "FRIENDS" Season Three (1996-1997)

 

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season Three of the NBC series, "FRIENDS". The series was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman:




FAVORITE EPISODES OF "FRIENDS" SEASON THREE (1996-1997)



1. (3.16) "The One with the Morning After" - Ross Geller and Rachel Green's romance falls apart even further following a major quarrel and his one-night stand with a Xerox employee named Chloe.






2. (3.06) "The One with the Flashback" - The gang recounts to Chandler Bing's girlfriend Janice Litman the events from three years previously, when several of them almost slept together.






3. (3.15) "The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break" - Ross seeks solace in Chloe's arms after a bitter fight with Rachel. Phoebe Buffay's date, an Eastern European diplomat, needs an interpreter to communicate with her.






4. (3.09) "The One with the Football" - Old sibling rivalry between Ross and sister Monica Geller resurfaces, leading to a game of "touch" football with the gang and a postponed Thanksgiving dinner.






5. (3.02) "The One Where No One's Ready" - A stressed Ross desperately and insistently tries to get the rest of the gang ready for a black tie event at the museum. Meanwhile, Monica freaks out after hearing a voice mail from her ex-boyfriend Dr. Richard Burke, unsure if it is an old message or a new one. Roommates Joey Tribianni and Chandler Bing clash over personal belongings and personal space in their apartment.






Honorable Mention: (3.23) "The One with Ross's Thing" - Ross seeks medical help when he finds a mysterious skin condition on his backside. Phoebe struggles to choose between two guys she is romancing. And Monica cannot decide what to do about her new boyfriend Pete Becker, when she thinks he is going to propose.

Favorite Episodes of "FRIENDS" Season Two (1995-1996)

 

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season Two of the NBC series, "FRIENDS". The series was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman:




FAVORITE EPISODES OF "FRIENDS" SEASON TWO (1995-1996)



1. (2.24) "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding" - Rachel Green reluctantly agrees to be maid of honor at the wedding of her ex-fiancé, Dr. Barry Farber. Monica Geller ponders her future with her older boyfriend, Dr. Richard Burke. And Chandler Bing falls for a mystery woman on the Internet.





2. (2.19) "The One Where Eddie Won't Go" - Creeped out by his bizarre new roommate, Eddie, Chandler demands he move out. Meanwhile, old roommate Joey Tribbiani struggles dealing with losing his job on "Days of Our Lives".
A new book on female empowerment inspires the girls to have a "goddess meeting", unleashing buried truths.





3. (2.07) "The One Where Ross Finds Out" - A drunken Rachel calls Ross Geller and reveals her true feelings for him on his answering machine. Meanwhile, an unemployed Monica keeps busy by being Chandler's personal trainer.





4. (2.05) "The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant" - During a dinner party at a local restaurant, the gang become divided by income issues. Chandler also uses a case of mistaken identity to his advantage when a sexy-sounding woman calls the wrong number.





5. (2.15) "The One Where Ross and Rachel . . . You Know" - Monica meets Richard, her parents' old friend, for the first time when she caters a party for him and becomes immediately infatuated. Ross and Rachel go on their first date. Joey and Chandler refuse to move when they get a new television and two armchairs.

Favorite Episodes of "FRIENDS" Season One (1994-1995)

 

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season One of the NBC series, "FRIENDS". The series was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman:



FAVORITE EPISODES OF "FRIENDS" SEASON ONE (1994-1995)



1. (1.24) "The One Where Rachel Finds Out" - After Ross Gellar leaves for China on behalf of the museum he works at, Chandler Bing accidentally reveals Ross's unrequited love for Rachel Green. Joey Tribbiani takes part in a fertility study and is unable to sleep with his new girlfriend. Lauren Tom guest-starred.





2. (1.11) "The One with Mrs. Bing" - Chandler's flamboyant romance-novelist mother comes to visit, and Joey catches her kissing Ross. Meanwhile, Ross' sister Monica Gellar and Phoebe Buffay fight over a guy lying in a coma at a hospital. Morgan Fairchild guest-starred.





3. (1.22) "The One with the Ick Factor" - Monica gets a shock when she finds out her current boyfriend is a high school student. Chandler finds out his office colleagues do not like him when Phoebe becomes his temporary secretary. Stan Kirch guest-starred.





4. (1.20) "The One with the Evil Orthodontist" - Rachel and her former fiance, Dr. Barry Farber, start dating again; despite his current engagement to her friend Mindy. Chandler goes nuts when a woman he is attracted to will not return his phone calls. Mitchell Whitfield and Jennifer Grey co-starred.





5. (1.13) "The One with the Boobies" - Joey finds out his dad has a mistress. Rachel tries to even the score after Chandler inadvertently catches a glimpse of her breasts. Phoebe dates a shrink who analyzes the other friends. Robert Costanzo, Brenda Vaccaro and Fisher Stevens guest-starred.

Top Ten (10) Favorite "FRIENDS" Episodes

Below is a list of my top ten favorite episodes of "FRIENDS" (1994-2004):


TOP TEN (10) FAVORITE "FRIENDS" EPISODES



1. (5.14) “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” - Phoebe finds out about Monica and Chandler, so she and Rachel play practical jokes on them. Monica and Chandler realize something's up so they play along.






2. (4.12) “The One With the Embryos” - Phoebe's uterus is examined for implantation of the embryos. And a seemingly harmless game between the guys and the girls escalates into a full-blown contest to see which pair knows more personal data about the other.






3. (7.19) "The One with Ross and Monica's Cousin" - Denise Richards guest-starred as Ross and Monica's gorgeous cousin, who comes to visit; and Phoebe, Ross, and Chandler become attracted to her. Rachel and Phoebe quickly throw together a shower for Monica. Joey auditions for a part and told a lie about his 'downstairs' area that he and Monica try to fix so he can still get the part.






4. (5.08) "The One with All the Thanksgivings" - On Thanksgiving, everybody has flashbacks of their worst Thanksgiving. Phoebe recalls her Thanksgiving in 1862, which happened in one of her "past lives". Rachel reveals Monica's worst Thanksgiving, at which Monica accidentally cut off Chandler's little toe.






5. (6.10) "The One With the Routine" - Joey's Australian roommate, Janine (Ellie MacPherson), gets a job dancing for "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" and invites Joey, Ross and Monica to come with her. Meanwhile, Phoebe, Chandler and Rachel look for Monica's Christmas presents so that they could buy her something suitable in return.






6. (2.19) “The One Where Eddie Won’t Go” - Creeped out by his bizarre new roommate, Eddie (Adam Goldberg), Chandler demands that he move out. Eddie agrees, but doesn't move out — nor does he even remember the conversation. Joey has trouble coming to grips with the death of Dr. Ramoray and the accompanying change in his lifestyle. And a new book on empowerment for women inspires the female friends to have a "goddess meeting."





7. (6.09) “The One Where Ross Got High” - Before Monica's Thanksgiving dinner, Ross is forced to tell Chandler why Jack and Judy don't like him. It turns out that in college, Ross experimented with 'pot', and blamed the smell of the drugs on Chandler, who had supposedly jumped out of the window because he was 'stoned'. Rachel tries to make dessert, but because the recipe book's pages were glued together, she makes only half of the dessert, the other half being a Shepherd's Pie. Phoebe develops a crush on Jack Geller after a sensual dream. Joey and Ross try to get out of Thanksgiving when they are invited to hang out with Janine and her dancer friends.






8. (5.05) “The One with the Kips” - Chandler and Monica go away for the weekend but spend the entire time fighting. Ross tells Rachel about his agreement with Emily, and he and Rachel get into a fight. Joey finds out about Monica and Chandler's relationship after Monica tells Rachel that she's lost her eyelash curler, which was left in the hotel room.






9. (9.05) "The One with Phoebe's Birthday Dinner" - Phoebe plans a night out for her birthday, but she and Joey are the only ones on time. Moncia is angry when Chandler smokes at work in Tulsa. And Rachel becomes anxious over leaving baby Emma at home.





10. (3.16) "The One on the Morning After" - Ross tries to prevent Rachel from learning that he slept with Chloe, the copy store employee. When she finds out anyway and they go back to her apartment and have a fight, the other four friends are trapped in Monica's bedroom, forced to listen in as Rachel decides to break up with Ross.


What are your favorites?

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - Episode Ten "Points" Commentary

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - Episode Ten "Points" Commentary

”BAND OF BROTHERS” finally came to an end in this tenth episode that featured Easy Company’s experiences as part of the U.S. Army of occupation, following Germany’s surrender in Europe. This marked the third episode that featured Richard Winters as the central character and the second with his narration.

Told in flashback via Winters’ narration, ”Points” opened in July 1945, with Dick Winters (Damian Lewis) enjoying a morning swim in an Austrian lake, while being watched by his best friend, Lewis Nixon (Ron Livingston). After the two friends spend a few minutes looking at regimental photos, Winters recalls the experiences of Easy Company during the last days of the war in Europe and their role as part of an occupational force. Two months earlier, the company manages to capture Eagle's Nest, Adolf Hitler’s high mountain chalet in Berchtesgaden. Following Easy Company’s capture of Berchtesgaden, they receive news of Germany’s surrender to the Allied Forces. Easy’s remaining stay in Germany does not last long. They, and the rest of 2nd Battalion, are sent to Austria as part of the U.S. Army’s occupational force. Easy Company battled boredom, various departures, the death of Private John Janovec (Tom Hardy) in a jeep accident, the shooting of Sergeant Chuck Grant (Nolan Hemmings) by a drunken American soldier, and a mixture of anticipation and anxiety over the possibility of being shipped to the Pacific. The miniseries ended with a visit by a recovered Lynn “Buck” Compton (Neal McDonough) and the revelations of the men’s post-war lives.

”Points” proved to be a mildly interesting episode about what it was like for World War II veterans to serve as part of an occupational force in Europe, following Germany’s defeat. Many of the incidents featured in the last paragraph certainly prevented the episode from becoming dull. And thanks to Erik Jendresen and Erik Bork’s screenplay, along with Mikael Salomon’s direction; ”Points” provided other interesting scenes. One featured a tense scene that saw Joe Liebgott (Ross McCall), David Webster (Eion Bailey) and Wayne A. "Skinny" Sisk (Philip Barrantini) assigned to capture a Nazi war criminal. Private Janovec’s conversation with a German veteran at a road checkpoint provided a good deal of subtle humor for me. Another humorous scene featured Winters and Nixon’s encounter with a still resentful Herbert Sobel (David Schwimmer), who proved to be very reluctant to salute the now higher ranked Winters. One scene that really grabbed my attention featured most of the 506th regimental officers watching a newsreel about the fierce Battle of Okinawa in Japan. Not only did that scene remind viewers the fate that Easy Company had managed to evade with the surrender of Japan, it also proved to be an unintentional foreshadow to Spielberg and Hanks’ World War II follow-up, ”THE PACIFIC”.

Once again, Damian Lewis gave a subtle, yet exceptional performance as the miniseries’ leading character, Richard Winters. But I was also impressed by Matthew Settle’s fierce portrayal of a frustrated and somewhat tense Ronald Spiers, who struggled to keep Easy Company together, despite their travails as part of an occupying force. And I was pleasantly surprised by Peter Youngblood Hills’ poignant performance in a scene that featured Darrell C. “Shifty” Powers’ private farewell to Winters.

I do have one major complaint about ”Points”. I did not care for the fact that miniseries did not reveal the post-war fates of “all” of the surviving members of Easy Company. The only characters whose lives we learned about were most of those seen in Austria, at the end of the episode . . . but not all. The episode never revealed what happened to Edward “Babe” Heffron or Donald Malarkey, who were also in Austria, by the end of the miniseries. And viewers never learned of the post-war fates of veterans such as William “Bill” Guarnere, Walter “Smokey” Gordon, Joe Toye, Roy Cobb, Les Hashley, Antonio Garcia, and yes . . . even Herbert Sobel.

Despite my major disappointment over how the episode ended, I still enjoyed ”Points”. I would never consider it to be one of my favorite episodes of ”BAND OF BROTHERS”. But it did not put me to sleep. However, it still managed to be a satisfying end to the saga.





Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), RIP

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - Episode Four "Replacements" Commentary

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - Episode Four “Replacements” Commentary

In the last episode, ”Carentan”, yet-to-be-announced First Sergeant Carwood Lipton announced to Normandy veterans Easy Company that they would be returning to France. Instead, a conversation between Sergeant Bill Guarnere and a group of replacements reveal that Easy Company never did. Eventually Easy Company did return to the Continent when they were deployed to the Netherlands to participate in the doomed Operation Market Garden campaign.

”Replacements” centered on Sergeant Denver "Bull" Randleman and his experiences during Operation Market Garden and with the replacements in his platoon. One of them included Edward “Babe” Heffron, who hailed from the same Philadelphia neighborhood as Guarnere (this was established at the end of Carentan”). The other three include Antonio Garcia, James Miller and Lester “Leo” Hashey. Through both his and their eyes, viewers get to experience Easy Company’s trouble-free jump into Holland, the Dutch citizens’ joyous reaction to their presence in Eindhoven and their disastrous encounter with battle-hardened S.S. troops – one of many encounters that led to the failure of Operation Market Garden. Following Easy Company’s retreat from Eindhoven, a wounded “Bull” Randleman finds himself trapped in the German-occupied town and is forced to find his way back to Easy Company and the American lines.

”Replacements” turned out to be a decent episode, but it was one that did not knock my socks off. It featured a terrifying battle in which Easy Company was forced to retreat in defeat. And it also gave viewers an interesting view in the mindsets of replacement troops like Garcia, Miller and Hashey; who seemed to regard Randleman and the other Toccoa trained men with awe. In scenes that featured Easy Company’s brief liberation of Eindhoven, the episode revealed the cruel fates inflicted by the Dutch citizens upon local women who had collaborated (had sex) with some of the occupying German troops. And viewers got to enjoy more scenes featuring some of the men engaging in small talk that revealed more of their personalities. The episode also had interesting scenes that featured Lewis Nixon’s brief brush with death (a bullet in his helmet) and Winters’ reaction, Easy Company’s brief reunion with Herbert Sobel, who had become a supply officer; and David Webster, Don Hoobler and Robert Van Klinken’s humorous encounter with a Dutch farmer and his son. However, ”Replacements” belonged to one particular character, namely Denver “Bull” Randleman. Screenwriters Graham Yost and Bruce C. McKenna did a solid job in both his characterization and the Holland experiences of the Arkansas-born sergeant. One of the episode's more harrowing scenes featured a violent encounter between a wounded Randleman and a German soldier inside a barn, while the owner - a Dutch farmer - and his daughter look on.

But Randleman's experiences during Operation Market Garden would have never been that effective without Michael Cudlitz's subtle performance as the quiet and imposing Randleman. With very little dialogue, Cudlitz conveyed the veteran's battle experiences and emotions through body language, facial expressions and the use of his eyes. He made it easy for me to see why the troopers of First Platoon and even the company's officers held with such high regard. Cutdliz was ably supported by the likes of Dexter Fletcher's sardonic portrayal of First Platoon's other NCO, John Martin; Frank John Hughes' amusing performance as the verbose Bill Guarnere; and Peter McCabe, who turned out to be one of the few British actors who perfectly captured the accent and speech patterns of an American combatant in his portrayal of the aggressive Donald Hoobler. Also, it was nice to see David Schwimmer again as Easy Company's much reviled former commander, Herbert Sobel in a more subtle performance. Portraying the inexperienced replacement troops were James McAvoy (James Miller), Douglas Spain (Antonio C. Garcia) and Mark Huberman (Lester “Leo” Hashey). And each actor did a solid job in portraying their characters’ inexperience, awe of the veteran Toccoa men and their determination to prove themselves in combat.

However, ”Replacements” had its problems. One, the opening scene at the English pub featured Walter Gordon revealing Carwood Lipton as the company’s new first sergeant. And this moment really seemed out of place, considering that Lipton was already acting like the new first sergeant at the end of ”Carentan”. Aside from the battle scene, I must admit that this was not an exciting episode. Like ”Day of Days”, it featured a major historical event – in this case, Operation Market Garden – that had exciting moments, but lacked an epic quality that would have suited such a topic. Allowing the episode a longer running time would have been a step in the right direction. And if I must be honest, I got the feeling that not much really happened in this episode, in compare to ”Day of Days”.

But, ”Replacements” turned out to be a decent episode. Although it lacked an epic quality for a story about Easy Company’s experiences during Operation Market Garden, it did feature an exciting battle that resulted in defeat for them. And Michael Cutdliz gave a subtle and first-class performance as the episode’s central character, “Bull” Randleman.

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - Episode One "Currahee" Commentary

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - EPISODE ONE “CURRAHEE” COMMENTARY

After spending the last six months or so watching and re-watching my taped copies of the recent HBO miniseries, ”THE PACIFIC”, my family and I decided to re-watch the first television collaboration between Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Of course I am speaking of the 2001 Golden Globe and Emmy winning miniseries, ”BAND OF BROTHERS”.

Based upon Stephen Ambrose historical book , ”BAND OF BROTHERS” centered around the experiences of “Easy” Company, one company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. The miniseries was divided into ten episodes and starred Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston. The first episode, titled ”Curahee”, told the story of Easy Company’s two years of training at Toccoa, Georgia; North Carolina; and later in England under the command of Herbert Sobel.

”Currahee” basically served as an introduction of the main characters featured throughout the miniseries. However, not all of the characters made an impact in this episode. Albert Blythe, David Webster and several others were occasionally seen, but not heard. But one did have characters like William “Wild Bill” Guarnere, Carwood Lipton, George Luz, John Martin, Joe Liebgott, and Harry Welsh certainly made their impacts. More importantly, the two lead characters were featured – namely Richard Winters and Lewis Nixon. But I might as well be frank. This episode truly belonged to the man who had served as Easy Company’s first commander, Herbert Sobel.

The acting in ”Currahee” struck me as pretty solid. At least 70% of the cast featured British or Irish actors portraying American servicemen. Some of the actors did pretty good jobs in maintaining an American accent – including Damian Lewis. However, there were times when it seemed that the basic American accents that most of the British cast seemed capable of using were either Southern, a flat trans-Atlantic accent or an accent from one of the five boroughs of New York City. I found it disconcerting to find some British actors using the latter, despite their characters coming from another part of the country. For example, actor Ross McCall did a great New York accent. Unfortunately, his character Joe Liebgott was born in Michigan, and moved to San Francisco sometime before the war. Even some of the American actors used the wrong accent for their characters. I enjoyed James Madio’s performance as Frank Perconte. However, Madio, who hailed from New York City (the Bronx), used his natural accent to portray Illinois native, Perconte.

I have to be honest. I never found the basic training sequences featured in some war movies to be interesting. In fact, the only war movies that featured interesting training sequences were about the Vietnam War - ”THE BOYS OF COMPANY ‘C’” (1978) and ”FULL METAL JACKET” (1987). As I had stated earlier, the episode ”Currahee” truly belonged to the Herbert Sobel character and David Schwimmer’s memorable and complex performance. Despite Ambrose’s portrayal of Sobel as a tyrannical company commander that was deeply disliked by his men, many veterans of Easy Company cannot deny that he made the company. His tough training methods helped the men endure the horrors of war that faced them in future battles. If it were not for his character and Schwimmer’s performance, I would barely consider ”Currahee” as an interesting episode.

Once Sobel was removed from the scene, the last 15 to 20 minutes of ”Currahee” featured Easy Company’s preparation for their jump into Normandy, France and their participation of the famous June 5-6 invasion. Those last minutes also set future storylines in the next episode and in future ones – including Easy Company’s experiences in France, Guarnere’s anger over his brother’s death, and Lynn “Buck” Compton’s relationship with the men in his platoon. It was not a bad episode. In fact, it was pretty interesting, thanks to David Schwimmer’s portrayal of Easy Company’s first commander, Herbert Sobel. But if it were not for the presence of Sobel’s character, I would almost find this episode rather dull.

Top Ten Favorite TV Theme Songs

Below is a list of my favorite theme songs from television shows from the late 1950s to the mid 2000s:


TOP TEN FAVORITE TELEVISION THEME SONGS



1. ”Hawaii Five-O” (1968-1980)






2. ”Rawhide” (1959-1966)






3. ”Wonder Woman” (1975-1979)






4. ”S.W.A.T.” (1975-1976)





5. ”Mod Squad” (1968-1973)





6. ”I Spy (1965-1968)





7. ”Starsky and Hutch" (1975-1979)






8. ”Charmed” (1998-2006)





9. ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003)






10. ”Friends” (1994-2004)



HONORABLE MENTION



”Peter Gunn” (1958-1961)