The One With The Embryos

From Friends Central

"The One With The Embryos"
Friends episode

Season	4x12

Episode no.	85

Written by	Jill Condon Amy Toomin

Directed by	Kevin S. Bright

Guest stars	Giovanni Ribisi as Frank Buffay Jr. Debra Jo Rupp as Alice Knight Buffay Cindy Katz as Dr. Zane

Original airdate	January 15, 1998

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"The One With Phoebe's Uterus"	"The One With Rachel's Crush"

"The One With The Embryos" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of Friends, which aired on January 15, 1998.

[edit] Plot

Phoebe has accepted to host in her uterus the artificially inseminated child(ren) of her brother Frank and his older wife Alice; the anxious wait for a pregnancy is rewarded. Meanwhile a display by Chandler and Joey how well they know Monica and Rachel by guessing the items in their shopping bag leads to a large-scale bet on a quiz, for which Ross makes the questions. It goes close, but the team captains pride and sense of competition brings Monica to accept Chandler's dare to up the stakes: either the boys' birds are ousted, or the girls must exchange their master apartment for the boys measly rooms- Rachel's error in the last round enables a triumphant entry of the victors.

[edit] Cast and Crew

[edit] Main Cast

Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green
Courtney Cox - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller

[edit] Supporting Cast

Giovanni Ribisi - Frank Buffay Jr.
Debra Jo Rupp - Alice Knight Buffay
Cindy Katz - Dr. Zane

[edit] Crew

Directed By:
Kevin S. Bright

Written By:
Jill Condon & Amy Toomin

[edit] Reception

In a 2001 review, Entertainment Weekly rates the episode A+, stating that "Thanks to the trivia contest alone, Embryos is quite possibly Friends' finest moment". It singles out Rachel's line "He's a transpon-transpondster!" (in response to the question "What is Chandler Bing's job?") as the best of the episode. The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends call it a "sure-fire contender for the best episode of all time ... not one to be missed under any circumstances".

The episode is the favorite of Cox and LeBlanc. Cox likes the episode because she enjoys playing Monica at her most competitive, while LeBlanc spoke fondly of the pace of the episode and the information about the characters that came out. He identified scenes that featured just the six core cast as the best, "because you don't have to introduce a character -- you don't have to lay any pipeline -- you just get right to the funny".

[edit] Continuity

During the contest, the "extended part" of the living room table, that makes it square is pointing to the couch, but, right after the coin toss, there is a shot where it is shown pointing to the window.