Lisa Kudrow Movies

A married woman who has not been able to successfully conceive a child turns to a specialist who succeeds in inseminating her artificially. Before too long, she hears rumors of the doctor's past and present genetic experiments and when she finally aborts the fetus, finds that it is a monster as she had feared--and still alive! ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

The title of this episode should have been "When Paul Met Jamie." In an extended flashback, the viewer is apprised of the first encounter between the future Mr. and Mrs. Buchman. Paul (Paul Reiser) ends up chasing Jamie (Helen Hunt) so fast that she finally catches him -- and it's a true Rembrandt Moment. Appearing as Paul's "Ten-Second Date" is Lisa Kudrow, long before becoming a series semi-regular in the role of waitress Ursula Bufay. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Few ensemble sitcoms of the 1990s and early 2000s commanded as much love and devotion from their fans as the immensely popular NBC series Friends -- and few such sitcoms generated as many "water-cooler conversations" as the characters' lives and loves evolved over the series' ten-year run. Set in New York City, the action largely took place in two neighboring loft apartments. One of these was the home of Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), who can be described as the series' "rock" -- or better yet, "den mother." An assistant chef who later ran her own restaurant, Monica lived with her best friend, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), who had come to New York after running out on her wedding; employed as a waitress in the earlier episodes, Rachel later became a buyer for a retail fashion chain, and finally an assistant to a high-profile designer. Occasionally dropping into Monica's apartment was her brother, Ross (David Schwimmer), a paleontologist who spent most of the first season coming to grips with the fact that his wife, Carol (Jane Sibbett), had declared herself a lesbian and divorced him (Carol would later give birth to Ross' son Ben, whom she and her partner insisted upon raising themselves). Across the hall from Monica's flat lived Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), an aspiring actor whose professional luck was generally bad until he landed a continuing role on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives -- as a man with a woman's brain! Joey lived with "corporate guy" Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), who was regarded as the class clown of the bunch. A frequent guest at both apartments was Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), an airheaded will-o'-the-wisp who never quite got it all together at any one time.

When the "friends" weren't at home or at work, they could be found hanging out at Central Perk, a Greenwich Village coffeehouse manned by Gunther (played by real-life "coffee guy" James Michael Tyler, who did not receive screen credit until well into the series' run), where Phoebe occasionally performed as a folksinger. Gradually and inevitably, many of the friends became lovers. First it was Ross and Rachel, a relationship that came to a screeching halt in season three when Ross slept with another woman when the couple was "on a break." Ross then ended up marrying the prickly Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale) during a jaunt to England in season four. That this alliance was doomed from the start was demonstrated when, during the ceremony, Ross said Rachel's name instead of Emily's. After the dissolution of the marriage, a drunken Ross and Rachel impulsively got hitched in Las Vegas at the end of season five, but they soon realized that they'd acted too hastily, and were themselves divorced. In season eight, Rachel gave birth to Ross' baby, a girl named Emma. Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica, who after "getting it on" at Ross' wedding ceremony tried to keep their relationship a secret from everyone, were married at the close of season seven. They would later discover that they could not have children, whereupon they adopted a baby from a woman named Erica (Anna Faris). In a similar vein, the whimsical Phoebe had earlier agreed to be artificially inseminated so that she could bear a child for her half-brother, Frank (Giovanni Ribisi), and his wife (and former teacher), Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). Ultimately, Phoebe gave birth to triplets. Phoebe also had another sibling, a twin sister named Ursula -- actually the same character played by Lisa Kudrow in the earlier NBC sitcom Mad About You, which was still in production when Friends debuted on September 22, 1994.

The series' tenth and final season (2003-2004) wrapped up several loose plot strands. Having admitted that he always loved Rachel, Joey proposed to her, but the marriage never came off -- and in an eleventh-hour decision, Rachel forsook plans to move to Paris, and returned to Ross. After several desultory relationships, Phoebe married a nice guy named Mike (Paul Rudd). And as Friends approached its two-part finale, Erica, the birth mother of Monica and Chandler's soon-to-be-adopted baby went into labor -- and surprisingly delivered twins, which they named Erica and Jack. After the storyline of the series ended, Joey would end up moving out of New York, heading to L.A. to pursue a film career, thereby setting up the premise of Matt LeBlanc's spin-off sitcom Joey. At or near the number one ratings slot throughout most of its run, Friends also earned a veritable warehouse of Emmy Awards -- not to mention full-fledged stardom for all of the series' regulars. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

As a recording of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" wafts through the Rockefeller Center skating rink, Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) prepare to celebrate Valentine's Day. This segues into an extended flashback to 1991, when bachelor Paul and bachelorette Jamie decide to move in together. Alas, Paul can't seem to make a lasting commitment -- and a pair of ice skates is a poor substitute for an engagement ring. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

On the eve of the Buchmans' second anniversary, Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) loses his wedding ring. As if this wasn't vexing enough, Paul is forced to ingest three lunches held in honor of his wife, Jamie (Helen Hunt). Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's second season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season three of Mad About You opens with an intolerable heat wave bearing down on New York. Escaping to the relatively temperate climate of the Jersey shore, Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) conduct a lengthy and largely fruitless search for their all-time favorite fried clam restaurant. Though the Buchmans have commandeered the car owned by Jamie's business partner, Fran (Leila Kenzle), it is Murray the dog who ends up getting towed away (sort of). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It's another evening out at Riff's, where Jamie (Helen Hunt) has arranged a blind date between her friends Fran (Leila Kenzle) and Nick (David Beron). The cozy tête-à-tête quickly goes south when Fran's ex-husband, Mark (Richard Kind), makes an unexpected appearance. But this is only the first of several startling surprises, each more hilarious than the one before. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When an ex-con manages to schmooze her way into being a high-priced nanny for a rich family, she promptly tries to control the family's two adorable moppets. Unfortunately for her, the kids are none too keen on starting an early career in a sweat shop, and with Home Alone-like aplomb, they manage to thwart her intentions. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Looking for the perfect third-anniversary gift causes Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) to lose confidence in their relationship. In a rare "alternate reality" situation, the Buchmans are permitted to experience what might have happened had they never met. Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's third season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jamie (Helen Hunt) decides to test husband Paul's (Paul Reiser) tape-recorded theories of dating do's and don'ts (Find 'Em, Meet 'Em Make 'Em Yours). Meanwhile, Paul's cousin Ira (John Pankow) doesn't seem to need any advice -- at least, not with Jamie's friend Susannah Gould (played by Anne Bobby in her first Mad About You appearance). This episode has been brought to you courtesy of the "Jodie Foster-Daniel Day-Lewis Look." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A man tries to figure out why his best friend isn't his mother in this comedy written and directed by Albert Brooks. John Henderson (Brooks) is a neurotic, self-obsessed writer whose relationships with women have been almost uniformly disastrous. Middle-aged and single, John decides that he must come to terms with his problems with women, and he decides to start with the first significant female relationship of his life -- his mother, Beatrice (Debbie Reynolds). John arrives at Beatrice's house and announces that he's moving back into his old room until he can resolve his issues with her. Beatrice politely plays along, but she is more puzzled by John's behavior than anything else. John and Beatrice soon find that they spend less time trying to resolve their differences than arguing if salads can be frozen or if you can really tell the difference between premium ice cream and the supermarket's store brand. Rob Morrow plays John's brother, and Lisa Kudrow plays one of John's less compatible blind dates. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi