The One with the Thumb

Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow are finally given material to stretch their characters out beyond the arena of the group ensemble and both put forth exceptional acting performances that give some layers to the show beyond Cox, Schwimmer and Anniston and indicate the writers are bulking up their characters with individual nuances and traits that would build to a crescendo in season three with their personalities fleshed out. Show really starts to gel from this point on with less focus on the outside and more on the inter-workings of the main characters and their relationships and how they impact the inner circle of friends. Astrof & Sikowitz flesh out a more youthful, less forced and more spontaneous script that flows more naturally than the first two scripts written by the show creators. Nice step forward for the show.