Episode Guide-Season 3

SEASON 3 Episode Guide

TOW The Princess Leia Fantasy
(96/97 Season Premiere)

Monica is disfunctional because of her breakup with Richard. Joey can't stand having Janice around all the time. She invites him on a "day of fun" so they can get to know each other; Ross and Rachel talk about their fantasies. Rachel then tells Phoebe and Monica about Ross's Princess Leia fantasy; Phoebe helps Monica try to relax; Ross and Chandler share personal information, which leads to some unpleasant side effects for Ross; Mr. Geller shows up and comforts Monica.

TOW No One's Ready

Ross has an important night but no one else is ready to go. Joey and Chandler fight about chairs and clothes. Joey spills hummus on Phoebe's dress. Monica hears an old message from Richard and thinks that it might be new. She leaves him a message which she then tries to erase, but just makes it worse. Rachel can't decide what to wear. Ross gets angry and Rachel decides not to go... unless he drinks the fat.

TOW The Jam

Joey falls while jumping on the bed and dislocates his arm. Monica tries to stay busy to keep her mind off Richard. First, she makes a lot of jam, which Joey loves. Second, she begins to screen sperm donors--and runs into Joey's file. Some guy named Malcolm(guest-starring David Arquette) stalks Phoebe mistaking her for Urlsula. Phoebe starts dating him. Chandler seeks advice on relationships from Rachel and Ross. Ross secretly tells him about the "hug and roll"--a manuever designed to end the cuddling and give you some space. Chandler tries it out but ends up dumping Janice on the floor.

TOW The Metaphorical Tunnel

Joey appears in an infomercial for the Milk Master 2000. Phoebe forgets to tell Joey about an audition....but makes it up to him by calling the casting director and pretending to be an agent. Joey asks her to represent him full time. Ross has a hard time accepting that his son plays with a Barbie doll. He tries to get him interested in more masculine toys. Chandler is scared of the "tunnel" of commitment until Joey convinces him to face his fears... but then Chandler overdoes it and scares Janice away for a while. Monica and Rachel welcome Chandler to "their side of the tunnel" and console him with ice-cream.

TOW Frank Jr.

Joey gets carried away with a mailbox project and ends up building an entertainment center--then gets sidetracked on Monica's bathroom floor; Phoebehangs out with her half-brother, Frank Jr. (guest-starring Giovanni Ribisi), in hopes of getting to know him better. He misundertands when she tells him she gives people "massages and stuff"; The gang all consider what five celebrities would be on their "freebie list"--people they can sleep with without anyone getting upset. Ross finally narrows his list down by eliminating Isabella Rossillini... then he bumps into her.

TOW The Flashback

Prompted by a question from Janice, the group has a flashback revealing events which occurred three years earlier: Chandler searches for a roommate; Cute Naked Guy puts on weight; Phoebe secretly moves out of Monica's apartment; The bar is closing to make way for a coffee shop- Central Perk!; Mr. Heckles could play the oboe; Rachel contemplates her upcoming marriage to Barry; Mr. Heckles could be Chandler's new roommate; Ross is happy that Carol has found a new friend -- Susan; One of the lifeguards dismantles a nuclear device; "Almost" relationships are revealed between Joey and Monica, Monica and Chandler, Chandler and Rachel and Ross and Phoebe.

TOW The Racecar Bed

Monica and Phoebe shop at the store owned by Janice's soon-to-be-ex-husband, and Monica ends up with the wrong bed. Rachel and Ross have dinner with her father,which doesn't go well. The next day at brunch, Ross and Dr. Green find something to bond over. Gunther broods over Rachel. Joey Teaches a class--"Acting for Soap Operas".While trying to return the bed, Joey and Monica see Janice kissing her ex-->behind Chandler's back..

TOW The Giant Poking Device

Phoebe avoids going to the dentist because whenever she goes, someone dies; Joey tells Chandler about Janice kissing her husband, and Chandler confronts her; Ross has an emergency at the museum, so Rachel takes care of Ben and Monica bangs Ben's head; Ugly Naked Guy has a new hammock, and looks awfully still so the gang build a very long poking device out of chopsticks so they can make sure he's not dead; Gunther continues to brood over Rachel.

TOW The Football

The girls cook while the guys watch a football game on TV. All six decide to play football together. Monica and Ross compete for the "Geller Cup." Joey and Chandler compete for a dutch girl. Rachel goes long. Phoebe flashes Chandler. Rachel goes long.

TOW Rachel Quits

Gunther re-trains Rachel on how to be a waitress. She realizes it's time to quit working at the coffee shop; Ross accidentally breaks a little girl's leg, and ends up selling Brown Bird Cookies for her so she can go to Space Camp. Monica's childhood cookie habit returns; Joey gets a job at a Christmas tree lot. Phoebe tries to come to terms with the cruelty of having a Christmas tree.

TOW Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister

Joey astounds the gang with a card trick; Chandler, depressed over his breakup with Janice, fools around with one of Joey's sisters at Joey's birthday party--but can't remember which sister; Rachel meets Mark, who gets her an interview at Bloomingdales. Ross worries about Mark's motives; Phoebe dates the noisy guy from upstairs, who seems to charm himself out of any situation.

TOW All The Jealousy

Rachel has her first day on the job; Ross continues to be jealous about Mark; Chandler arranges a bachelor party for his cousin; Joey gets an audition for a Broadway musical, but he can't dance; Gunther pines for Rachel; Monica falls for Julio, a co-worker at the diner who writes poetry. He writes a poem for Monica which isn't very flattering; Ross and Ben have a play date with the stripper from the bachelor party, which makes Rachel jealous.

TOW Monica & Richard Are Just Friends

Monica and Richard have a meet up in a video store and decide to see each other as friends--but it doesn't stop there; Phoebe dates Robert, a jock whose shorts are a little too revealing. Ross and Chandler don't know how to tell him; Joey and Rachel read each other's favorite books: The Shining and Little Women.

TOW Phoebe's Ex-Partner

Phoebe's former singing partner performs at Central Perk and asks Phoebe to get back together with her. They eventually do, but soon have problems; Chandler meets a woman in the men's room and asks her out. Coincidentally, Joey used to date her-until an unfortunate incident occurred; Ross continues to struggle with Rachel's career and her involvement with Mark.

TOW Ross & Rachel Take A Break

Phoebe dates a diplomat who doesn't speak english but has a translator who follows them wherever they go. Phoebe convinces Monica come to dinner with them so the translator will have a date; Chandler and Joey gawk at the Xerox girl, who invites them both to a dance club; Ross interrupts Rachel's late night emergency at the office, leading to a fight. Rachel wants to take a break. Ross goes to the club and ends up kissing the Xerox girl.

TOW The Morning After

Rachel is sorry about her fight with Ross. Meanwhile, Ross wakes up with the Xerox girl. Chandler and Joey convince him not to tell Rachel. Ross tries to make sure Rachel doesn't find out; Monica and Phoebe try out a "painless" leg waxing kit; Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, and Monica get stuck in Monica's roomwhile Ross and Rachel try to work things out.

TOW/out The Ski Trip

The gang tries to hang out with Ross and Rachel seperately. Chandler starts smoking again. Rachel invites everyone but Ross to go skiing for the weekend, and they get locked out of the car at a rest stop. Ross interferes with Carol's and Susan's "Anniversary".

TOW The Hypnosis Tape

Rachel gives Chandler a hypnosis tape to help him quit smoking, however, the tape was designed for women--and it works all too well. Phoebe's brother, Frank (guest-starring Giovanni Ribisi), announces that he's getting married--to his home economics teacher, who is much older; Phoebe tries to break it up and gets help from Ross and Joey. Monica gets asked out by a customer at the diner, who turns out to be a millionaire.On their first date, they go out for pizza... in Italy.

TOW The Shiny T-Shirt

Monica continues to date Pete but is still not attracted to him. He thinks she might change her mind. Joey gets a lead part in a play, but can't stand the female lead... until he realizes he likes her. Mark asks Rachel out. Rachel asks Ross to come over, but just so she can return some of his stuff. Ross gets upset and demands all his stuff back, including a tiny t-shirt that Rachel likes to sleep in. Later, Ross finds out Rachel is going on a date with Mark and spies on them through Chandler's peep-hole. Phoebe ponders Spiderman.

TOW The Dollhouse

Ross and Monica's Aunt Silvia passes away and leaves a beautiful dollhouse to Monica. Monica invites Phoebe to play with it but then doesn't like Phoebe's ideas. Phoebe makes her own dollhouse, but it catches fire. Joey yearns for Kate, but since he can't have her, he goes out with her understudy. things get hot between Joey and Kate during rehearsal, however, and they end up sleeping together... but it means more to Joey than it does to Kate. Rachel sets Chandler up with her boss. She likes him, but he thinks she's a big dull dud. Chandler tells her he'll call even though he doesn't intend to.

TOW A Chick. And A Duck

The diner where Monica works puts their staff on roller-skates. Monica crashes into Rachel while skating. Rachel's injuries are worse than first believed; Pete buys a restaurant and offers Monica a job as head chef. She's unsure whether to take it, since she still isn't attracted to Pete. Pete makes up a story about another woman so Monica will think he's over her. Phoebe sees right through it but promises not to tell Monica; Joey buys a pet chick for Chandler, but caring for it becomes a source of conflict; Ross has a chance to be on TV as part of a panel of Paleontologists, but gives it up to take Rachel to the hospital; Monica and Pete are about to stop seeing each other, but then they kiss... and Monica finally feels it.

TOW The Screamer

Phoebe waits on hold so she can have her phone repaired before the warranty expires; The gang goes to Joey's play on opening night. The play gets bad reviews, prompting the director to break up with Kate so Joey and Kate spend the night talking and falling in love. Kate gets a job offer in L.A. and decides to leave; Rachel dates Tommy, who seems pretty nice... except when he starts screaming at people, however, only Ross witnesses this behavior and can't convince anyone else;

TOW Ross' Thing

Ross finds a growth on his body but can't tell what it is. neither can anyone else. He visits his doctor, Chandler's doctor, and Phoebe's guru; Phoebe dates two guys: Vince, a burly fireman, and Jason, a sensitive teacher. She has trouble deciding who to continue dating; Pete is out of town and tells Monica, "We need to talk," which gets her all worried. The gang goes with Monica to Pete's place see how a millionaire lives. Joey finds a stub for a $50,000 check to a ring designer. Rachel begins to plan Monica's wedding.

TOW The Ultimate Fighting Champion

Monica's boyfriend Pete begins competing to be the Ultimate Fighting Champion. he loses... repeatedly; Chandler's new boss has a habit of slapping him on the behind, which Chandler tries to deal with; Phoebe asks Rachel if she can set Ross up with Bonnie. Rachel agrees since Bonnie's the girl who shaves her head; Later, Rachel finds out Bonnie now has plenty of hair.

TOA The Beach
(96/97 Season Finale)

Phoebe finds a picture of her parents with their friend (also named Phoebe) and looks her up. she lives out by the beach, so everyone decides to go to the beach for the weekend. Rachel wears a huge hat. Monica mourns her failed relationships, which prompts Chandler to offer to be her boyfriend "If worse comes to worse." Monica laughs, which prompts on-going efforts by Chandler to prove he is boyfriend material. Joey tries to start a strip-poker game, which ends up as a strip-Happy-Days game. Rachel and Ross flirt... until Ross' girlfriend Bonnie shows up. Phoebe finds out that the other Phoebe has no idea where her father Frank is... but she has a different revelation to make. Rachel convinces Bonnie to shave her head again, which results in a confrontation between Rachel and Ross in which she reveals she still loves him. Ross must decide.

EPISODE GUIDE Main