Frank and Alice, Phoebe’s brother and his wife, are married and have been attempting to conceive a child without success. They approach Phoebe with the request that she carry their baby as a surrogate. Meanwhile, Joey secures a job as a tour guide at Ross’s museum. Concerned for Phoebe, her friends urge her to carefully consider the implications before making a decision about bearing Frank and Alice’s child.
Kathy and Chandler’s relationship is progressing well, although they have not yet been intimate, as Chandler feels insecure about living up to Joey’s standards. Joey, however, proves to be a less-than-ideal tour guide. Seeking guidance, Phoebe visits her mother to discuss the surrogacy. Her mother advises against it, sharing her own experience of the emotional difficulty of giving up a child.
At the museum, Joey realizes that he and Ross cannot maintain their friendship at work due to the perceived divide between tour guides and scientists. After Chandler and Kathy eventually become intimate, Chandler feels unsatisfied and turns to Rachel and Monica for advice on improving his performance. Ross demonstrates his loyalty to Joey by having lunch with him at work, which leads to a positive change where the museum staff no longer segregates themselves into groups.
Ultimately, Phoebe decides to proceed with the surrogacy, believing it will bring happiness to Frank and Alice.
Did you know ?!
• Matthew Perry messes up a line by saying “blue blazer black” instead of “blue blazer back”. The rest of the cast’s responses were so funny that they left it in the episode.
• Women’s health sites have listed Monica’s 7 erogenous zones as the ears, the lips, the neck, the breasts, the buttocks, the inner thighs, and the vagina. Chandler’s surprised reaction is likely to the ears.
• Fourth episode to include Phoebe’s name in the title.
• Teri Garr and Paget Brewster both appear in this episode but not share any scenes together. They would play sisters in Unaccompanied Minors (2006).
• The whole “Phoebe is having her brother’s babies” story line was created to keep Lisa Kudrow in the show while she actually was pregnant. It was also the reason she stayed in the U.S. during Ross’s wedding because she actually was in her 3rd trimester and was not allowed to fly.
• This is the last appearance of Phoebe’s birth mother.
• In the last scene of this episode, Monica asks Rachel if she would agree to be a surrogate for her if she ever asked. Rachel replies that she would, but in season 9 when Monica and Chandler turn out to be unlikely to conceive, they reject the idea of surrogacy and ultimately end up adopting their twins in the series finale.
