Greg Malins Movies

Season seven of Friends comes to an unforgettable close as Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) prepare to march down the matrimonial aisle. In the first half of the two-part season finale (originally telecast as a single one-hour special), everyone gathers for the ceremony, including Chandler's transvestite dad (played by Kathleen Turner) and his no-doubt-it's-a-woman wife (Morgan Fairchild). Meanwhile, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) is having trouble getting off of the set of his movie in order to attend the wedding, due mainly to a somewhat "juicy" co-star (Gary Oldman). But this complication pales in comparison to events that occur during the rehearsal dinner -- namely, the sudden disappearance of bridegroom Chandler, who has literally "choked up." ~ Rovi

Ross' son, Ben (Cole Sprouse), has been raised on visions of Santa Claus, making it difficult for Ross (David Schwimmer) to explain the significance of Hanukkah to him. Meanwhile, Monica (Courteney Cox) has problems consoling herself to Chandler's (Matthew Perry) ineptitude when it comes to tipping. And Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) resorts to drastic measures to convince Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) to remain her roommate even after she returns to her old apartment. ~ Rovi

In the second part of Friends' fifth-season finale, everyone is still in Las Vegas -- including Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), who can't leave their hotel room until the mustache Ross drew on Rachel comes off (if ever). At the casino, Monica (Courteney Cox) tells Chandler (Matthew Perry) she will accept his proposal if he rolls the dice a certain way. Elsewhere, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) gets in trouble in a variety of ways, and has a run-in with Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) "hand twin." The now-famous climax occurs at a wedding chapel, where a most unexpected turn of events bids fair to change the lives of the friends forever. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

As he prepares to entertain Monica's (Courteney Cox) parents at Thanksgiving dinner, Chandler (Matthew Perry) must come to grips with the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Geller (Elliott Gould, Christina Pickles) don't like him very much -- and he doesn't make matters any better with his overeagerness to please. It turns out that the Gellers hold Chandler responsible for Ross' dependence upon marijuana in college...or at least that's what Ross (David Schwimmer) has told them. Meanwhile, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) prepares a Thanksgiving dessert that no one will ever forget, while Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) control-freak roommate, Janine (Elle MacPherson), cooks up a "theme" party like none other on the face of the earth. ~ Rovi

Now that he has asked Emily (Helen Baxendale) to marry him, Ross (David Schwimmer) asks Monica (Courteney Cox) to pick up his intended's wedding dress. Meanwhile, the pregnant Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) acquires a wedding gown of her own. The upshot of all this is a pair of roommates who rather enjoy the sensation of being bridally garbed. Later on, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) brings her issues to the table as a result of a turn-down from Joshua (Tate Donovan). And Chandler can't sleep thanks to Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) snoring. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Chandler (Matthew Perry) unwittingly makes a pass at Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) new girlfriend, Kathy (Paget Brewster, in her first series appearance). Though he'd like to withdraw gracefully, Chandler can't -- Kathy is just the person he's been looking for all his life. Meanwhile, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) risks her health to cultivate a more sensuous singing voice, and Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) are once again at odds over their relationship, thanks to attractive single mom Amanda (Laura Stepp) and baby-faced Josh (Brian "Fish" Smith). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this opening episode of Friends' third season, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) discovers that Ross (David Schwimmer) has a "thing" for Star Wars' Princess Leia. Meanwhile, Monica (Courteney Cox) can't function properly after breaking up with Richard, resulting in a visit to a sleep therapist. Joey (Matt LeBlanc) is asked to bond with the troublesome Janice (Maggie Wheeler). And Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Ross bring up "that girl in the Xerox place" for the first time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Whatever Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) shortcomings as a roommate, he was a prince among men compared to Chandler's (Matthew Perry) bizarre new roomie, Eddie (Adam Goldberg). Ordered to leave, Eddie agrees, then claims he's forgotten all about the agreement. Elsewhere, Joey has to adjust to the fact that his soap opera stardom -- and the commensurate hefty salary -- is a thing of the past. And after reading the self-empowerment book "Be Your Own Windkeeper," the girls feel that a "goddess meeting" is in order. ~ Hal Erickson, 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