This ep ran in syndication (early) in the States yesterday....thought I would post some thoughts, especially for our friends across the Pond who still haven't seen all of S6 yet, let alone the S7 premiere.
This ep is one of my top 5 favorites. Great writing, great delivery, great interaction between the friends. What I really like is that the whole "Who Knows Who Best" was very organically developed -- from an incidental converstation between Joey and Monica to a full-blown trivia game with Ross hosting and refereeing. Building on already established character traits (Monica's competitive nature, Chandler and Joey's everyday knowledge of the girls, etc.), the writers did a fantastic job creating a very funny and revealing episode.
While Phoebe's storyline was essentially a continuation from previous S4 eps, it still feels rather tacked on, and much more cliched and sitcom-y than the Trivia Game plot. Seeing her brother and his wife are always a comic treat, and Frank gets some hysterical lines in, but for me, this plot pales in comparison to the other.
Way too many good lines to quote here, but one of my favorites has to be, "_Miss_ Chanandler Bong, actually." And I love when R&M and C&J give each other the banging-fists gesture -- inside joke for astute viewers.
Just to be nitpicky, I could not for the life of me figure out what day of the week it was supposed to be. If it was a weekday, how did Chandler, Ross and Rachel have time to sit around all day and play games? If it was a Saturday, Phoebe would not have been able to see the fertility specialist. Ross himself, when nominated to create the questions for the game, complains that he has a life -- work, family, etc. Wish the writers would have worked a bit harder to establish a credible reason for all five being able to spend all day together.