F.R.I.E.N.D.S v/s How I Met Your Mother

 The two most popular television series according to any sitcom addict would be, the F.R.I.E.N.D.S and How I Met Your Mother.These two series, with the former argued as the best TV series ever and the latter being debated as one of the most popularly watched show being equally good. It was when I was going through HIMYM that some things strangely caught my eye. Though I am a huge fan of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S series, I have enjoyed HIMYM equally and yet, I can’t seem to see how similar these shows are or shall I dare to say more specifically that how HIMYM seems so much similar to F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

So I did a bit of thinking of my own and decided to pull an analysis of my own. If anybody has another view or feels am wrong, please go ahead and express yourself in the comment section. Like I always say, the comment section is always sold for free, no conditions applied.

Okie dokie, with that said, wear your surgical gloves and face masks, Dr. Superrrnickkk is about to perform a live surgery here at the workshop.

*RED LIGHT ON*

*SWITCH ON THE BIG OPERATION LIGHT*

Well, if I had to begin comparing, then I feel that in F.R.I.E.N.D.S, the main guy was Ross and the series had us watch him make his journey of finding true love of his life. He was always in love with Rachel but that dint stop him from exploring other women and their possibilities to be the one for him. Similarly HIMYM, is a story about Ted and how he met the women of his dreams. Coincidently, both stories are happening in new York (ok, most sitcoms have their main plot in New York) but what seemed even more similar to me was Ross was a Paleontologist , who loved to talk about his work and we know how his friends made fun of him. Now Ted is an Architect who doesn’t miss a single opportunity to talk about buildings and their history which bores the hell out of the other members in the group.  Also, both are professors in a university and have a craving (ok, I’ll agree on it, like any other professors) to be liked by their students.

Rachel, arguably the female central character also comes to town as a runaway bride and decides to find herself in the city. She starts up as a waitress and is quite unhappy at her job. Just like Robin who comes from Canada to make her mark as a TV anchor, ends up at profiles and channels that never satisfied her. Coincidently both the ladies had troubles with their respective Fathers.

Chandler is Ross’s college friend, just like Marshall knew Ted from College. The chemistry between them and there are lots of college stories by both the teams. Joey and Barney, both are Ladies men and have a long and uncontrollable urge to go to bed with every other pretty chick and they do it well. When compared to Both Ross and Ted in their respective series, Chandler and Marshall are bad with Ladies and their mess up is a laugh riot. (I know Marshall got married to Lilly, but he does try to act as a wing man for Barney and it was a disaster.) Monica gets married to Chandler towards the end of the show where as Lilly is married to Marshall towards the beginning itself. Both Joey and Barney are added into the group while the rest of the gang knew each other from their past experiences.

Ross and Rachel feel a spark and decide to give it a shot just like Ted and Robin. Both end up unsuccessfully. Ross and Ted move on and so does Rachel and Robin. But there is a strange chemistry between these two couple that makes us want to watch them together. Though Ross and Rachel eventually find each other, we all know that Robin is not Ted’s girl. It’s a roommate of a girl Ted dated.Both Joey and Barney have crush on Rachel and Robin respectively which don’t last for long. 

Marshall and Chandler are unhappy with their jobs; quit it to follow their long cherished carrier with Marshall trying to be an Environmental Lawyer and Chandler trying to be a copy righter in an ad agency. Both go through a phase of initial hurdles of being unemployed and land up as interns, struggle again but eventually end up successful.

Ross is married three times and does not fear to propose and our Ted is famous for throwing away the “I LOVE YOU” bomb to every other girl. Ted almost is married and left at the alter just like Ross who says Rachel’s name at the alter when getting married to Emily.

Monica is the Mother hen of the group and controls major action happening in and around her. So is Lilly in her own ways. How ?? Let me tell you how. Most times Lilly is the one who picks up something unusual activity in the group and also the person who talks sense into the heads. While Monica had a huge difficulty in getting over Richard, Lilly was trying hard to say that its over to scooter, her high school crush.

Both the couples in the respective series have a long struggle to have a baby and after long attempts and episodes they do have it. Unlike Monica and Chandler, Marshall and Lilly don’t adopt the kid as Lilly gets pregnant but both couples decide and eventually move out of the city for the proper upbringing of their kids. Which surprisingly is opposed by all in both series and then agreed.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S, the hang out at a coffee bar where they have their spot reserved while in HIMYM, they hang out in the bar downstairs where coincidently even they have their spot reserved and don’t sit anywhere else. And both group from the respective shows hang out awfully lot in their respective joints or the common apartment near to it.

Other few tidbits that are hard to ignore are:

  1.       Both the shows in their pilot episodes have a guy falling for the girl and get their heart broken. But eventually they realize that they love each other and hook up. And though later they break up they still hang out in the same group and act jealous or concerned for each other and hook up again. Totally on and off.

   2.       That there is a person in both the shows who works in media (Joey and Robin). While Joey’s acting skills are known to be dumb by the group, nobody watches Robin’s shows.

   3.       There is a person in the group whose job profile is not known by the rest in the gang. (Nobody knows what Barney does or what Chandler did.)

   4.       Both Ross and Ted share a liking towards museums which nobody else in the group likes and mocks them about it.

   5.       Joey and Barney feel that the answer to every problem lies behind the doors of a strip club.

  6.       In HIMYM, except for Barney everybody else has been other’s person’s roommate and in F.R.I.E.N.D.S except for Ross, everybody else has lived with the other in the group at one point or the other, with Ross and Barney both liking their own space.

   7.       Marshall is pretty close to his family especially his father and Ross was the “miracle of science” that made him the eye candy of his family.

  8.       The only left out is Pheobe who unfortunately doesn’t find herself in the latter’s show since HIMYM has only 5 central characters, but strangely Phoebe and Barney both had Father issues, with both of their respective father’s abandoning them in their childhood. Barney believed every lie his mother told him about his father and so did Pheobe(though it was said to her by her grand mother.). Both confront their fears and finally end up with an extended family. 

       *RED LIGHT OFF*

*Pulls of the gloves and face mask*

All in all, I must say, both the shows are good at making us laugh and keeping us entertained.

If any of you have more to add, feel free because am all ears. :)

Cheers..!!!

P.S : oh yeah, I am a BIG time movie/sitcom addict and I just dont watch them, I live through it and every detail of it.

P.P.S : Fun Fact : F.R.I.E.N.D.S ended its glorious run in September 2004 and How I Met Your Mother started in September 2005. Coincidence ???? I dont think so....!!! :D hehehehehehehehe