Classic 90s TV Episode of the Week: Friends' 'The One With The Embryos'

We took a week off from our "Classic 90s TV Episode of the Week" series (It was Thanksgiving! Give us a break!) but we're back again with a brand new installment. This week's edition features the famous Friends episode "The One With The Embryos."

I'll admit, I was never the biggest Friends fan. I know it's a celebrated show and a sitcom classic, but something about it always just prevented it from climbing up my personal ranks. But I can recognize greatness even if I don't fully appreciate it, and I know Friends deserves the respect it's received.

One episode I and many others have always enjoyed is the Season 4 episode "The One With The Embryos." This is the episode that featured the famous quiz between the teams of Rachel and Monica and Chandler and Joey (with Ross as host), while Phoebe underwent an in vitro fertilization procedure to try to deliver a baby for her brother and sister-in-law.

The episode starts innocently enough with Chandler and Joey boasting that they know Monica and Rachel so well that they could name every item in the girls' grocery bag. They do and it eventually evolves into a full-blown game show with categories, jokes and even a lightning round. The gang raises the stakes before the game ends and the girls bet their apartment. But they lose in the lightning round when they cannot identify Chandler's job (a running joke through the first through seasons) and they lose.

This episode worked so well because it almost exclusively featured the six main cast members and focused on the hilarious interplay among them. It also had heart, as Phoebe found out she was pregnant and they all celebrated together. It was a classic Friends episode by all counts.