By Peter Bowes in Hollywood

This review contains plot spoilers - click here if you would rather return to the entertainment index.

It was billed as the episode when we would find out what happens in the love triangle between Ross, Rachel and Joey.

It comes as no surprise that at the end of the show we are none the wiser.

Fuelled by months of press speculation that the ninth season of Friends will be the last, the NBC network appears to be relishing the uncertainty.

"Cherish every episode," the station warned in its on-air promotions.

But the show, which last weekend achieved ultimate Emmy glory with its win for Outstanding Comedy, still has plenty to offer.

Aniston's character Rachel is the focus of the start of the new series

The first episode of the series, mischievously titled, The One Where No One Proposes, picks up from last season's cliff-hanger.

Set in Rachel's hospital room, the new mum, played by Jennifer Aniston, thinks she's engaged to Joey - Matt LeBlanc - who appears to make a fumbling proposal.

Ross - David Schwimmer - who may, or may not, have similar intentions, interrupts the moment. Confusion reigns, much to the delight of the meddling Phoebe, played by Lisa Kudrow.

Monica - Courteney Cox Arquette - and Chandler - Matthew Perry - provide the sub-plot when they sneak into an empty hospital closet to have sex.

They are caught in the act by Monica's dad, Jack - Elliott Gould - whose flatulence becomes a running joke.

Confusion

Friends is as fresh as ever. This was one of the best episodes. For all their middle-aged foibles, the characters interact in the engagingly childish manner that we have come to love.

One of the funniest scenes involves Rachel struggling to learn the techniques of breast-feeding.

"Do you think my nipples are too big for her mouth?," she asks, when her baby daughter refuses to feed.

When the truth comes out about Ross and Joey's non-proposals, the emotional confusion within the love triangle simply deepens.

The episode has set the scene for an enjoyable final season, should it turn out that way.

But if the current buzz in Hollywood is to be believed, saying farewell to Friends may be as misguided as getting seats for Barbra Streisand's "last" concert.

Speculation

Everyone is being non-committal. "Who knows," said Aniston after winning her Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy.

Last month, Kudrow was more forthright, saying she was not ready to say goodbye.

There is speculation that the series could return with only some of the cast members or with its biggest stars, like Aniston, appearing only occasionally.

According to one anonymous TV executive, quoted in the entertainment industry newspaper, Variety, Friends will be back.