Audiences, advertisers and network honchos alike breathed a collective sigh of relief as NBC announced that "Friends" would be coming back for another year. Signing on for a ninth season for a reported $1 million per episode each memeber, the cast will postpone its has-been status as some of the highest paid stars on television.

But for those of you who can"t get enough of your "Friends", either from the new episodes Thursday nights on NBC or the incalculable number of reruns that air every day in syndication on UPN and TBS at all hours of the day, there is a special DVD box set highlighting the best of "Friends." The DVD four pack includes two discs with 10 episodes of fan favorites and two discs containing the top 10 episodes, also as voted on by the fans. Each episode features additional footage and re-mastered Dolby Digital 5.0 sound, and the discs are also available individually as well as in two separate compilations.

Extra features on the discs include cast and crew biographies, a documentary, and extra bits of footage added to each episode, but most of the time this just consists of an additional joke that was cut out because it wasn"t that funny in the first place. However, The One That Goes Behind the Scenes is an extremely informative 42-minute documentary that gives an in-depth look into the making of the show. Originally broadcast on The Discovery Channel, this behind-the-scenes look details the creation of the episode entitled The One After Vegas. The rest of the DVD isn"t quite as enlightening, leaving out last year"s hilarious outtake special hosted by Conan O"Brien, but the episodes themselves make up for that.

Everyone knows the story of the six relationship-challenged 20/30-somethings, but this set gives a concise and thorough summary, spanning from the pilot all the way to The One With the Proposal. The one gaffe is the two-part fantasy episode, entitled The One That Could Have Been, which imagines what would have been if the "Friends" had made different choices (i.e. if Monica was still fat and had Ross stayed married to a lesbian).

Except for a few clever inside jokes, this was one of the series" low points. Highlight episodes include four of the always-funny Thanksgiving episodes and first season gem The One With the Blackout, in which Chandler is trapped in an ATM vestibule with a Victoria"s Secret model. But the heart and soul of this anthology, like that of the show itself, comes courtesy of the emotional roller coaster that is Ross and Rachel"s relationship. The discs take us through their all-encompassing voyage, from the breathtaking highs to the heartbreaking lows.

This best-of collection may seem somewhat unnecessary with the approaching season-by-season release of the entire series, and you might not even need it at all for another year. But assuming that the ninth (and probably last) year is as charming and witty as the current one, this DVD set is still a great way to enjoy "Friends" forever.