The One with the Embryos
Encyclopedia
"The One with the Embryos" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of the American
television situation comedy
Friends
, which was broadcast on NBC
on January 15, 1998. While the title refers to Phoebe
(Lisa Kudrow
) having in-vitro fertilisation as part of the on-going storyline designed to cover up the actress's pregnancy, the episode is best remembered for the trivia game played by the other characters, and was ranked #21 on TV Guide's
list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".
The episode was directed by Kevin S. Bright and written by Jill Condon and Amy Toomin. It frequently ranks amongst the series' best episodes in polls. Giovanni Ribisi
and Debra Jo Rupp
reprise their recurring characters Frank Jr. and Alice Knight.
and Chandler
(Matt LeBlanc
and Matthew Perry
) correctly identify the contents of Rachel
's (Jennifer Aniston
) shopping bag, Monica
(Courteney Cox
) suggests a trivia contest to see who knows more about whom, the men or the women. They place a $100 bet on the outcome and Ross
(David Schwimmer
) puts together some questions and plays as host. Meanwhile, Phoebe has agreed to be a surrogate mother for her brother Frank and his older wife Alice, but is concerned that they are paying $16,000 for the IVF procedure which only has a 25% chance of success, and she is helpless to influence the results.
The trivia game begins, with various facts about the characters being revealed like Joey's space-cowboy imaginary friend Maurice and Rachel's secret liking of Weekend at Bernie's
. A 9 to 9 score leads to a lightning round
. Monica raises the stakes: If the women win, Joey and Chandler must give up their birds, as the maturing Chick is crowing in the mornings and waking them up. Chandler rebuts by suggesting Rachel and Monica give up their apartment to them, which Monica agrees to without consulting Rachel. The girls lose the lightning round because they cannot identify Chandler's job, and the boys win.
As the four pack up their respective apartments, Rachel in particular displeased about having to switch, Phoebe returns home and takes a pregnancy test, though it is too soon for a result. Later with packing complete, Rachel finally refuses to move as Frank and Alice come by with another pregnancy test. The boys and the girls begin to argue along with Ross, which is cut short when Phoebe emerges from the bathroom and joyfully announces she is pregnant, the mood turning to one of celebration.
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". In 2004 an MSNBC.com
reviewer wrote that the character trivia is "revealed in a manner completely organic to the plot. Beautifully written and acted, "The One With The Embryos" encapsulates the whole series in a single episode". The episode was ranked #21 on TV Guide
s list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".
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".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, which was broadcast on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on January 15, 1998. While the title refers to Phoebe
Phoebe Buffay
Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom Friends , portrayed by Lisa Kudrow...
(Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
) having in-vitro fertilisation as part of the on-going storyline designed to cover up the actress's pregnancy, the episode is best remembered for the trivia game played by the other characters, and was ranked #21 on TV Guide's
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".
The episode was directed by Kevin S. Bright and written by Jill Condon and Amy Toomin. It frequently ranks amongst the series' best episodes in polls. Giovanni Ribisi
Giovanni Ribisi
Giovanni Ribisi is an American actor. His film credits include Gone in 60 Seconds, Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan, The Mod Squad, The Gift, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Lost in Translation and more recently, Public Enemies and Avatar...
and Debra Jo Rupp
Debra Jo Rupp
Debra Jo Rupp is an American film and television actress, perhaps best known for her role as Kitty Forman on the long-running Fox sitcom, That '70s Show...
reprise their recurring characters Frank Jr. and Alice Knight.
Plot
When JoeyJoey Tribbiani
Joseph Francis "Joey" Tribbiani, Jr. is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends and the title character in the spin-off, Joey , portrayed by Matt LeBlanc....
and Chandler
Chandler Bing
Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Matthew Perry.-Background:Chandler Muriel Bing was born on April 8, 1968, the son of an erotic novelist mother and a cross-dressing Las Vegas star and is of Scottish ancestry. Chandler was Ross...
(Matt LeBlanc
Matt LeBlanc
Matthew Steven "Matt" LeBlanc is an American actor, best known for his role as Joey Tribbiani on the NBC sitcoms Friends and its spin-off Joey....
and Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry (actor)
Matthew Langford Perry is a Canadian-American actor and comedian, best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Chandler Bing on the popular, long-running NBC television sitcom Friends...
) correctly identify the contents of Rachel
Rachel Green
Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Jennifer Aniston. Aniston received an Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe for her performances.-Background:...
's (Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
) shopping bag, Monica
Monica Geller
Monica E. Geller Bing is a fictional character on the popular US television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Courteney Cox. Monica is known as the "Mother Hen" of the group and her Greenwich Village apartment was one of the group's main gathering places. She was also known for her obsessive personality...
(Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
) suggests a trivia contest to see who knows more about whom, the men or the women. They place a $100 bet on the outcome and Ross
Ross Geller
Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television series Friends, portrayed by David Schwimmer. The character is noted for his geeky, lovable demeanor.- Origin :...
(David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
) puts together some questions and plays as host. Meanwhile, Phoebe has agreed to be a surrogate mother for her brother Frank and his older wife Alice, but is concerned that they are paying $16,000 for the IVF procedure which only has a 25% chance of success, and she is helpless to influence the results.
The trivia game begins, with various facts about the characters being revealed like Joey's space-cowboy imaginary friend Maurice and Rachel's secret liking of Weekend at Bernie's
Weekend at Bernie's
Weekend at Bernie's is a 1989 American comedy film directed by Ted Kotcheff. A comedy starring Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman features the two as a couple of young insurance agency employees who discover their boss is deceased...
. A 9 to 9 score leads to a lightning round
Tiebreaker
In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests.-In matches:In some situations, the tiebreaker may consist of another round of play...
. Monica raises the stakes: If the women win, Joey and Chandler must give up their birds, as the maturing Chick is crowing in the mornings and waking them up. Chandler rebuts by suggesting Rachel and Monica give up their apartment to them, which Monica agrees to without consulting Rachel. The girls lose the lightning round because they cannot identify Chandler's job, and the boys win.
As the four pack up their respective apartments, Rachel in particular displeased about having to switch, Phoebe returns home and takes a pregnancy test, though it is too soon for a result. Later with packing complete, Rachel finally refuses to move as Frank and Alice come by with another pregnancy test. The boys and the girls begin to argue along with Ross, which is cut short when Phoebe emerges from the bathroom and joyfully announces she is pregnant, the mood turning to one of celebration.
Reception
In a 2001 review, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
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". In 2004 an MSNBC.com
Msnbc.com
msnbc.com is a news website owned and operated as a joint venture by NBCUniversal and Microsoft.In addition to original content from its news staff, msnbc.com is the news website for the NBC News family, with content from the cable television news channel MSNBC, NBC shows such as Today, NBC Nightly...
reviewer wrote that the character trivia is "revealed in a manner completely organic to the plot. Beautifully written and acted, "The One With The Embryos" encapsulates the whole series in a single episode". The episode was ranked #21 on TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
s list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".
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".
External links
- "The One with the Embryos" at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...