An introduction to the gang. After Rachel leaves her fiancé at the altar, she moves in with Monica and finds that independence is not so easy, particularly without Daddy's credit cards.

Ross's lesbian ex-wife, Carol, is pregnant with his child, and he doesn't like her choice of last name for the baby. Rachel finds out that her ex-fiancé went on what would have been their honeymoon with her maid of honor.

As Ross and Emily send out wedding invitations, he and Rachel each look back on their relationship together while Joey and Chandler look for a purpose in life.

Joey gets his big film break when he's hired to be Al Pacino's stunt butt. Ross tries to be less conservative and Chandler thinks his fantasies have come true when he has an affair with a married woman.

It's Christmas time and Monica tries tipping with cookies, rather than cash, with mixed results. Phoebe tries to track down her real father. And Chandler and Joey wait too late to shop for presents.

Joey gets an audition for the lead character in a new TV show. When the audition is rescheduled, Chandler takes the message but forgets to tell Joey. When Joey misses the audition, he gets upset and the group reminisces about their mishaps in the past.

When Monica's credit card is stolen, she, along with Phoebe and Rachel, decide to catch the thief. Joey enlists his friends to help him come up with a less ethnic-sounding stage name. And Ross finds out that Marcel has reached sexual maturity and needs to be with other monkeys.

Barry and Mindy's impending divorce prompts the gang to fantasize about what their lives might be like if they'd all taken different courses. Ross is still married to Carol, and Rachel is married to Barry, but fawning over famous soap star Joey Tribbiani. Monica is still fat and dating a doctor. Chandler is an aspiring writer and Phoebe is a Wall Street shark for Merrill Lynch. The gang continue to fantasize about how different their lives could have been. Carol and Ross decide to have a threesome to spice up their marriage. Rachel goes to Joey's but is incredibly nervous about cheating and gets drunk. Meanwhile, Monica's dinner date falls through and Chandler tries to cheer her up but things take an unexpected turn.

Monica and Chandler are getting married in four weeks and have to write their vows, but neither has a clue what to say, so they reflect on their past. In the end, the only real problem is who will be saying the vows first.

Joey prepares for an interview with Soap Opera Digest, although he's afraid of saying something stupid and getting himself into trouble, so he enlists his friends to make sure things go well. During the interview, he reminisces about his past acting experiences, his friends and his romantic life.

While the men attend a hockey game and end up at a hospital, a delivery man accidentally brings a pizza meant for George Stephanopoulos, who lives across the street from the girls; they decide to peek at the former White House advisor with their binoculars.

Monica and Ross mourn the death of their grandmother with a little help from the gang, and Monica and her mom come to an unspoken understanding about the relationship between mothers and daughters. Meanwhile, Chandler is irritated by office speculation that he is gay.

Everyone knows the sex of Ross's baby, except for Ross, who doesn't want to find out until it's born. Monica gives Paolo one of the dozen lasagnas she made for her aunt, who doesn't want them anymore because they've got meat in them.

Joey falls for Phoebe's twin sister, Ursula, making Phoebe feel neglected. Ross has doubts about parenthood when he attends Lamaze classes with Carol and Susan. Meanwhile, Chandler finds himself between a rock and a hard place, when he is told to fire an employee he is attracted to.

Rachel and Barry start dating again, which is kind of awkward since he's now engaged to Mindy, who wants Rachel to be her maid of honor. Meanwhile, Chandler goes nuts when a woman he likes won't return his phone calls.

The guys are uncomfortable with the thought of Carol's breast milk while Rachel is upset by Monica's growing friendship with Julie. Meanwhile, Joey competes with a fellow cologne spritzer for the affections of a beautiful colleague.

The gang is amazed to learn that Phoebe married a gay Canadian ice dancer to help him get his green card. And Ross seeks relationship advice from Rachel.

Monica is broke and decides to gamble on the stock market, while Chandler and Ross run into a couple of bullies in Central Park. Rachel and Joey help Phoebe locate her father, but a vicious dog prevents Phoebe from finally meeting him.

Phoebe's submariner ex-boyfriend visits New York on leave for 2 weeks from the Navy. Unfortunately, Phoebe catches chicken pox at Ben's first birthday party. When Monica realizes that Richard has no real neuroses, she worries that she is too strange for him. Chandler organizes a job as a processor for Joey.

Rachel decides to start smoking in order to avoid missing important meetings with her boss. Meanwhile, Ben gets offered an audition for a soup commercial, and Joey auditions to be Ben's father during the ad. Also, Monica and Phoebe plan a surprise birthday party for Rachel together, but Monica takes over.

The gang makes--then breaks--a pact to celebrate New Year's Eve without dates. Ross compensates for his loneliness by getting a roommate, a monkey named Marcel.

Chandler's romance-novelist mother comes to New York to visit him, and Joey catches her and Ross kissing.

The gang searches frantically for Marcel, who slipped out of the apartment while Rachel was baby-sitting him. Just as it looks as though Rachel and Ross might actually spend a romantic evening together, her ex-fiancé barges in and declares his love for her.

Monica gets back together with Fun Bobby. Joey lands a role of a neurosurgeon on Days of Our Lives. And Rachel, dating a guy named Russ, can't see his uncanny resemblance to Ross.

Monica's new boyfriend impresses Chandler and Joey. Phoebe's world view is shattered when she finds out what she missed as a child, and Rachel resents the fact that Ross has planned their whole life together.