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It's time again for Friends' traditional Thanksgiving show (the series' last such episode, in fact). But the dinner may not go off as planned: after Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) strong-arms Monica (Courteney Cox) into staging the event for the rest of the friends, no one bothers to show up on time, preoccupied as they are with such distractions as a Rangers game and a baby beauty pageant. Offended and disgusted, Monica and Chandler (Matthew Perry) lock their door and refuse to allow any of the latecomers into the apartment. Happily, the friends are reunited by a very special phone call from Ohio. ~ Rovi

The pregnant Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) due date arrives -- then passes without incident. As Monica (Courteney Cox) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) place bets as to when the baby will show up, Rachel resorts to an unorthodox (and very spicy!) method to speed things along. Elsewhere Joey's WWI movie is set for a Memorial Day release ("I'm in THX! I'm unsuitable for children!"). Joey (Matt LeBlanc) invites Chandler (Matthew Perry) to the premiere -- a gesture he has cause to regret. ~ Rovi

Hank Azaria returns in the role of David, the nerdy but good-hearted scientist with whom Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) briefly fell in love way back in Friends' first season. Upon finding out that David has come back to New York -- albeit only for one day -- Phoebe is determined to have a passionate reunion. Only one problem, however: Phoebe is currently supposed to have dinner with Joey (Matt LeBlanc). Elsewhere, Ross (David Schwimmer) must play peacemaker when Monica (Courteney Cox) is upset over not being invited to a relative's wedding. And in keeping with the title of the episode, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) have trouble resisting temptation when several cheesecakes are delivered to the apartment by accident. ~ Rovi

Winona Ryder guest stars as Melissa, former college sorority sister of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). The air is abuzz with rumors that, back during an extremely drunken frat party, Melissa and Rachel may have shared a not-so-sisterly kiss. A shocked Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) refuses to believe Rachel's insistence that the scandalous osculation actually took place, obliging Melissa to set Phoebe's mind at ease with the truth. Trouble is, everyone involved was so blitzed on that night that no one can remember exactly what really happened. And in another development, Ross (David Schwimmer) freaks out Chandler (Matthew Perry) with the "celebrity history" of his rented tux. ~ Rovi

In the first half of Friends' sixth-season finale (originally telecast as a single, one-hour episode), Chandler (Matthew Perry) meticulously stage-manages his planned proposal to Monica (Courteney Cox), choosing just the right time at just the right restaurant to present her with the ring. Alas, things go awry when this very special moment is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Monica's former boyfriend Richard (Tom Selleck), who may have an offer that she can't refuse. Meanwhile, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) discuss their alternate plans on the off-chance that they never meet the men of their dreams. ~ Rovi

Phoebe's policeman boyfriend, Gary (Michael Rapaport), invites the guys for a ride-along in his cop car. This results in an apparent act of courage by Joey (Matt LeBlanc) -- an unnecessary act, to be sure, but one that arouses the envy of Chandler (Matthew Perry). And Ross (David Schwimmer) ruminates over the fact that his ex-wife Emily is about to remarry. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Offered a lead role in "Shutter Speed," a movie filming in Las Vegas, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) heads west with Chandler (Matthew Perry) -- all the while figuring out ways not to jinx himself this time. By the time the journey is over, Joey is alone and working as a gladiator at Caesar's Palace. Back in New York, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) nervously goes to the eye doctor to deal with an infection, only to ignore the doctor's advice. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Several months' worth of a difficult pregnancy may transform the vegetarian Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) into a voracious meat eater; somehow this forces Joey to become a temporary vegetarian. More apropos to the title of this episode, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) throws a fake farewell party for Emily (Helen Baxendale). It's all part of Rachel's scheme to see her dream boy Joshua (Tate Donovan) outside the workplace. Love that cheerleader outfit! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pete (Jon Favreau) enters a grueling "ultimate fight," leading to a lot of hurt and a fateful decision by Monica (Courteney Cox). Ross' (David Schwimmer) new date Bonnie (Christine Taylor) once had a hair problem -- mainly, she didn't have any. Chandler's (Matthew Perry) new boss gives a whole new meaning to the word forceful. And yes, those two guys in the park are just who you think they are. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ross (David Schwimmer) can't reconcile himself to his gorgeous girlfriend Cheryl's (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) unbelievably messy apartment. Still trying to overcome his feelings for Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) girlfriend, Kathy (Paget Brewster), Chandler (Matthew Perry) offers to pick an appropriate birthday gift for her. Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and Monica (Courteney Cox) line up a rather grim catering job. And Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) wants to get through an entire crossword puzzle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An afternoon of unbridled sex on the floor of the Buchmans' apartment has disastrous consequences when Jamie (Helen Hunt) throws out her back. Virtually immobile, she is at the mercy of her sister Lisa (Anne Ramsay), who enjoys nothing better than "payback time." Meanwhile, husband Paul (Paul Reiser) takes over Jamie's duties at City Hall, all the while struggling to arrange an eye examination for his father, Burt (Louis Zorich). ~ Rovi

Few ensemble sitcoms of the 1990s and early 2000s commanded as much love and devotion from their fans as the immensely popular NBC series Friends -- and few such sitcoms generated as many "water-cooler conversations" as the characters' lives and loves evolved over the series' ten-year run. Set in New York City, the action largely took place in two neighboring loft apartments. One of these was the home of Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), who can be described as the series' "rock" -- or better yet, "den mother." An assistant chef who later ran her own restaurant, Monica lived with her best friend, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), who had come to New York after running out on her wedding; employed as a waitress in the earlier episodes, Rachel later became a buyer for a retail fashion chain, and finally an assistant to a high-profile designer. Occasionally dropping into Monica's apartment was her brother, Ross (David Schwimmer), a paleontologist who spent most of the first season coming to grips with the fact that his wife, Carol (Jane Sibbett), had declared herself a lesbian and divorced him (Carol would later give birth to Ross' son Ben, whom she and her partner insisted upon raising themselves). Across the hall from Monica's flat lived Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), an aspiring actor whose professional luck was generally bad until he landed a continuing role on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives -- as a man with a woman's brain! Joey lived with "corporate guy" Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), who was regarded as the class clown of the bunch. A frequent guest at both apartments was Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), an airheaded will-o'-the-wisp who never quite got it all together at any one time.

When the "friends" weren't at home or at work, they could be found hanging out at Central Perk, a Greenwich Village coffeehouse manned by Gunther (played by real-life "coffee guy" James Michael Tyler, who did not receive screen credit until well into the series' run), where Phoebe occasionally performed as a folksinger. Gradually and inevitably, many of the friends became lovers. First it was Ross and Rachel, a relationship that came to a screeching halt in season three when Ross slept with another woman when the couple was "on a break." Ross then ended up marrying the prickly Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale) during a jaunt to England in season four. That this alliance was doomed from the start was demonstrated when, during the ceremony, Ross said Rachel's name instead of Emily's. After the dissolution of the marriage, a drunken Ross and Rachel impulsively got hitched in Las Vegas at the end of season five, but they soon realized that they'd acted too hastily, and were themselves divorced. In season eight, Rachel gave birth to Ross' baby, a girl named Emma. Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica, who after "getting it on" at Ross' wedding ceremony tried to keep their relationship a secret from everyone, were married at the close of season seven. They would later discover that they could not have children, whereupon they adopted a baby from a woman named Erica (Anna Faris). In a similar vein, the whimsical Phoebe had earlier agreed to be artificially inseminated so that she could bear a child for her half-brother, Frank (Giovanni Ribisi), and his wife (and former teacher), Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). Ultimately, Phoebe gave birth to triplets. Phoebe also had another sibling, a twin sister named Ursula -- actually the same character played by Lisa Kudrow in the earlier NBC sitcom Mad About You, which was still in production when Friends debuted on September 22, 1994.

The series' tenth and final season (2003-2004) wrapped up several loose plot strands. Having admitted that he always loved Rachel, Joey proposed to her, but the marriage never came off -- and in an eleventh-hour decision, Rachel forsook plans to move to Paris, and returned to Ross. After several desultory relationships, Phoebe married a nice guy named Mike (Paul Rudd). And as Friends approached its two-part finale, Erica, the birth mother of Monica and Chandler's soon-to-be-adopted baby went into labor -- and surprisingly delivered twins, which they named Erica and Jack. After the storyline of the series ended, Joey would end up moving out of New York, heading to L.A. to pursue a film career, thereby setting up the premise of Matt LeBlanc's spin-off sitcom Joey. At or near the number one ratings slot throughout most of its run, Friends also earned a veritable warehouse of Emmy Awards -- not to mention full-fledged stardom for all of the series' regulars. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi