and Isaak. Jae-Ha Kim of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the chemistry between Perry and Roberts was "authentic" and that Shields "may have found her niche as a sitcom queen." Her performance in the episode impressed NBC so much that she was offered her own sitcom, Suddenly Susan, for the network's 1996 fall lineup. In discussion of Shields performance, Joanne Ostrow of The Denver Post noted that she "did a nice turn to help her stalled career." She went on to say that Roberts' appearance was "to little effect". Ostrow commented that the Monica and Rachel storyline "was evidence of unfunny, lazy writing." Kim, however, thought the storyline offered some "funny moments." Ostrow was complimentary of cast members Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer's performances. "Lisa Kudrow, as Phoebe, singer of truthful folk songs, continues to be a Friends highlight and David Schwimmer can carry off amusing, emotionally tinged moments even opposite a monkey." DVD Talk's Earl Cressey named the episode one of the highlights of the second season of Friends. Hal Boedeker of The Orlando Sentinel praised "The One After the Superbowl" for being better than most episodes of Friends and "pleasantly off-the-wall and in keeping with the Friends spirit." The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends wrote that there are "some lovely moments of slapstick" in the episode. They called Roberts "a fine guest-star", while Van Damme was "embarrassing". Pergament said "The One After the Superbowl" "had its moments", but he thought it felt more like an episode of Seinfeld than an episode of Friends. The Houston Chronicles Ann Hodges gave the episode a more negative review, commenting that the Friends writers "dropped the ball" with it: "Women's underwear, three-way-sex jokes, and a monkey — that was it. The insipid, stupid script was an insult to guest stars like Julia Roberts and Jean-Claude Van Damme." References External links "The One After the Superbowl: Part 1" at the Internet Movie Database "The One After the Superbowl: Part 2" at the Internet Movie Database "The One After the Superbowl: Part 2 at the TV.com 1996 American television episodes Friends (season 2) episodes Super Bowl lead-out shows Emmy Award-winning episodes