One of my favorite Comedy shows of all time is "Friends". It never gets old for me, I almost always laugh at their jokes no matter how many times I have already seen one episode. I love how the story develops between the characters. I can't even tell who my favorite character is because I just love all of them! The best part is, every time I watch this show, I just get so happy. Whenever I am feeling down or just so tired, I need a break, I watch "Friends"! I had seen Friends, all episodes from beginning to end before college I think. And then, on September 19, 2005, my first semester at college, this new show comes out called "How I Met Your Mother."
The show started out as very promising. It started as flashbacks, it was narrated by a very familiar voice to me, Bob Saget, (I grew up watching Full House), and one of the main characters was another very friendly face to me, Allyson Hannigan, (my favorite show of all time is Buffy the Vampire Slayer). So it had a good start. I was really into the show and continued watching it until season 2 or 3 when I realized, it is a complete imitation of the show "Friends". The only originality of this show was the relationship between Lily and Marshall. I presume they were portraying "Chandler" and "Monica" being best friends but also in a relationship and engaged to be married. The originality part was that they had been in together for 11 years as boyfriend and girlfriend and the first episode of the show is Marshall proposing to Lily. So it was quite different from the "Friends" scene. However, "Ted Mosby" is pretty much a copy of "Ross Gellar", only not at all as interesting and funny as Ross. I don't even think Ted tried to be funny. Throughout the entire show, you just get the urge to really hit him sometimes. He was so overly romantic and so unrealistically romantic that it just pisses you off at some point. Then, there's "Robin" who is obviously a trade-off of "Rachel", though I have to state that Robin has a different personality than Rachel and I definitely started to take a liking to her after a while but towards the end, I just couldn't stand her and her ways of "scared of commitment" and being a "loner" etc.
Then there's Barney, my favorite character of this show, who is so obviously a copy of "Joey". In all fairness though, I like Barney more than Joey but at the same time, his character is just a bit too unrealistic but Neil Patrick Harris is just such an amazing actor that he doesn't seize to entertain you! Barney, like Joey, is the womanizer of the group. He is also the most immature character with the biggest difference being that Barney is the richest of all in this group of friends and Joey is usually the most broke of the group. Then again, this idea of being "broke" is throughout the entire show of Friends which is one of the parts of the show that I really like. Phoebe is completely cut out of the scene of Friends and just doesn't exist in "How I Met Your Mother". I can understand that though I think she just adds so much to the series "Friends" and wow Lisa Kudrow is just so amazingly talented and funny. Marshall Eriksen, played by Jason Segel replaces "Chandler Bing" but he has a very different personality than Chandler (played by Matthew Perry). I pretty much love both of their characters and personalities. Then there's "Monica Gellar", sister of "Ross Gellar" a twist in the show "Friends" that did not exist in "How I Met" which I really loved, this brother-sister relationship that is just so close. It never gets old for me. Allyson Hannigan playing "Lily Aldrin" is with Marshall, making her the replacement of Monica. Their character personalities are also very different.
Based on my analyses, the personalities of each character was quite different except for Joey-Barney. However, the plot of the two shows were just so damn similar. Ted and Robin were in an on and off relationship throughout the show with finally getting together at the very last episode, much like Rachel and Ross. I like the story between Rachel and Ross so much more just because their friendship was there throughout the entire show and they really did want to be together several times but so much happened and they were afraid of losing their friendship and most importantly, they shared a child together which brought them closer together and almost led them to each other but even then they couldn't just make it work until the very last episode, I guess that's just how the writers of the show had planned it. In many ways, it is super unrealistic and yet in other ways, it's not. It makes sense that you can't really tell what you have until it is being taken away from you and it is only when Rachel was set on leaving to Paris that Ross finally got up the courage to go to her. This ending was very similar to "Sex and the City"'s ending, another really favorite show of mine, which ended February 2004 as opposed to Friends ending May 2004. So perhaps, this time, Friends stole this "ending" from Sex and the City. In any case, it was a sweet ending and it brought most viewers to tears including me. The most important part is that it wasn't just Ross going to Rachel but Rachel also got off the plane to run to Ross. This unity in their love and returning to each other was only in Friends while in "Sex and the City", Big goes to Carrie and brings her back to New York. In "How I Met". also, Ted, finally after many years of getting married to the love of his life and having kids and his wife dying and six years passing, he goes back to Robin and shows up with "the blue french horn". To me, that was just the stupidest way to end the show because the characters just didn't grow. It was the very same old story of Ted resolving to go to Robin and Robin being the girl who either accepted it or not. Robin, who at some point married Ted's best friend for three years no less! So there is not question that the ending to the show "Friends" surpasses all other shows because of that whole idea of "friendship" and "love" that stays true until the very end of the show and most importantly, the characters truly evolve and grow with each other and finally find their back to each other.
As mentioned, Barney at some point, falls in love with Robin, much like Joey falling in love with Rachel. The difference between the plot for these two characters for the two shows is that Barney and Robin actually do go out and at some point in the show get married and divorced, while Joey and Rachel try to date, but they realize they are too good of friends that it is just not worth it to date because they don't want to lose that friendship. I definitely liked Friends' plot more.Then, there is Chandler and Monica's love story that end in marriage after many trials and errors, they get married and move to "Westchester". They try to get pregnant but fail to do so because Monica is unable to conceive. Similarly, in "How I Met", the very same plot happens when Marshall and Lily get married, move to Westchester, but when they try to get pregnant, they are able to and by the last season, they are pregnant with their third child. Monica and Chandler go on to adopt twins in the last season. Barney's character also evolves and grows as in the last two episodes, though he had gone back to his womanizing ways after his divorce from Robin, he tries to have the "perfect month" of sleeping with 31 women in 31 days and gets the last girl pregnant, which is very unrealistic by the way. Why doesn't this guy get Aids or something? In any case, though he is afraid of fatherhood, once he becomes a father of a daughter, his character changes immensely and he is suddenly a different person, one with character and maturity. On the other hand, Joey's character does not evolve and in fact he is left alone with his two best friends leaving the city and all his other friends coupled off. Maybe this is an evolvement for him since he is never been alone like that and probably it is why the spin-off show "Joey" started years later though I have never seen it. I've heard it's not very good though.
One of the things that annoy me the most about "How I Met" is that their "meeting spot" is always at McClaren's, the bar downstairs from their famous apartment. So basically, during every episode, they are drinking, perhaps glass after glass of beer and other alcoholic drinks. Is this really logical? Do people really drink every night? And sometimes not even every night but several times throughout the day and night. To me, that just seems too unbelievable. And unhealthy. And stupid. On the other hand, in "Friends", they always meet at "Central Perk" when throughout the day maybe even in their lunch breaks etc, they come in for a cup of coffee, which is completely natural and practical because that's just what New Yorkers do. New Yorkers are hard workers who may drink multiple cups of coffee or tea per day to function well but they definitely do not drink uncontrollably every night and maybe even throughout the day because they need to go back to work and still function! Or maybe some people do that? I just liked the Central Perk so much more than "McClaren's"--just my opinion.
In the end, one of the things that makes a television show a good one, is when the characters evolve and develop throughout the story. This is true about novels and movies too. In any kind of story really, it is through the plot that we see how much each character has developed and this change has taken place. One of the reasons I am more of a "Friends" fan than "How I Met" is that I feel like pretty much every character in "Friends" changed from the first episode to the last and these changes didn't happen overnight (as Barney did in How I Met). These changes happened slightly throughout the show moving in a very slow speed. Then again, isn't that more realistic? Who changes overnight? Realistically, change and growth take place during the course of our lives and in reality, no "change" happens within a few hours, that's just in the movies!
The show started out as very promising. It started as flashbacks, it was narrated by a very familiar voice to me, Bob Saget, (I grew up watching Full House), and one of the main characters was another very friendly face to me, Allyson Hannigan, (my favorite show of all time is Buffy the Vampire Slayer). So it had a good start. I was really into the show and continued watching it until season 2 or 3 when I realized, it is a complete imitation of the show "Friends". The only originality of this show was the relationship between Lily and Marshall. I presume they were portraying "Chandler" and "Monica" being best friends but also in a relationship and engaged to be married. The originality part was that they had been in together for 11 years as boyfriend and girlfriend and the first episode of the show is Marshall proposing to Lily. So it was quite different from the "Friends" scene. However, "Ted Mosby" is pretty much a copy of "Ross Gellar", only not at all as interesting and funny as Ross. I don't even think Ted tried to be funny. Throughout the entire show, you just get the urge to really hit him sometimes. He was so overly romantic and so unrealistically romantic that it just pisses you off at some point. Then, there's "Robin" who is obviously a trade-off of "Rachel", though I have to state that Robin has a different personality than Rachel and I definitely started to take a liking to her after a while but towards the end, I just couldn't stand her and her ways of "scared of commitment" and being a "loner" etc.
Then there's Barney, my favorite character of this show, who is so obviously a copy of "Joey". In all fairness though, I like Barney more than Joey but at the same time, his character is just a bit too unrealistic but Neil Patrick Harris is just such an amazing actor that he doesn't seize to entertain you! Barney, like Joey, is the womanizer of the group. He is also the most immature character with the biggest difference being that Barney is the richest of all in this group of friends and Joey is usually the most broke of the group. Then again, this idea of being "broke" is throughout the entire show of Friends which is one of the parts of the show that I really like. Phoebe is completely cut out of the scene of Friends and just doesn't exist in "How I Met Your Mother". I can understand that though I think she just adds so much to the series "Friends" and wow Lisa Kudrow is just so amazingly talented and funny. Marshall Eriksen, played by Jason Segel replaces "Chandler Bing" but he has a very different personality than Chandler (played by Matthew Perry). I pretty much love both of their characters and personalities. Then there's "Monica Gellar", sister of "Ross Gellar" a twist in the show "Friends" that did not exist in "How I Met" which I really loved, this brother-sister relationship that is just so close. It never gets old for me. Allyson Hannigan playing "Lily Aldrin" is with Marshall, making her the replacement of Monica. Their character personalities are also very different.
Based on my analyses, the personalities of each character was quite different except for Joey-Barney. However, the plot of the two shows were just so damn similar. Ted and Robin were in an on and off relationship throughout the show with finally getting together at the very last episode, much like Rachel and Ross. I like the story between Rachel and Ross so much more just because their friendship was there throughout the entire show and they really did want to be together several times but so much happened and they were afraid of losing their friendship and most importantly, they shared a child together which brought them closer together and almost led them to each other but even then they couldn't just make it work until the very last episode, I guess that's just how the writers of the show had planned it. In many ways, it is super unrealistic and yet in other ways, it's not. It makes sense that you can't really tell what you have until it is being taken away from you and it is only when Rachel was set on leaving to Paris that Ross finally got up the courage to go to her. This ending was very similar to "Sex and the City"'s ending, another really favorite show of mine, which ended February 2004 as opposed to Friends ending May 2004. So perhaps, this time, Friends stole this "ending" from Sex and the City. In any case, it was a sweet ending and it brought most viewers to tears including me. The most important part is that it wasn't just Ross going to Rachel but Rachel also got off the plane to run to Ross. This unity in their love and returning to each other was only in Friends while in "Sex and the City", Big goes to Carrie and brings her back to New York. In "How I Met". also, Ted, finally after many years of getting married to the love of his life and having kids and his wife dying and six years passing, he goes back to Robin and shows up with "the blue french horn". To me, that was just the stupidest way to end the show because the characters just didn't grow. It was the very same old story of Ted resolving to go to Robin and Robin being the girl who either accepted it or not. Robin, who at some point married Ted's best friend for three years no less! So there is not question that the ending to the show "Friends" surpasses all other shows because of that whole idea of "friendship" and "love" that stays true until the very end of the show and most importantly, the characters truly evolve and grow with each other and finally find their back to each other.
As mentioned, Barney at some point, falls in love with Robin, much like Joey falling in love with Rachel. The difference between the plot for these two characters for the two shows is that Barney and Robin actually do go out and at some point in the show get married and divorced, while Joey and Rachel try to date, but they realize they are too good of friends that it is just not worth it to date because they don't want to lose that friendship. I definitely liked Friends' plot more.Then, there is Chandler and Monica's love story that end in marriage after many trials and errors, they get married and move to "Westchester". They try to get pregnant but fail to do so because Monica is unable to conceive. Similarly, in "How I Met", the very same plot happens when Marshall and Lily get married, move to Westchester, but when they try to get pregnant, they are able to and by the last season, they are pregnant with their third child. Monica and Chandler go on to adopt twins in the last season. Barney's character also evolves and grows as in the last two episodes, though he had gone back to his womanizing ways after his divorce from Robin, he tries to have the "perfect month" of sleeping with 31 women in 31 days and gets the last girl pregnant, which is very unrealistic by the way. Why doesn't this guy get Aids or something? In any case, though he is afraid of fatherhood, once he becomes a father of a daughter, his character changes immensely and he is suddenly a different person, one with character and maturity. On the other hand, Joey's character does not evolve and in fact he is left alone with his two best friends leaving the city and all his other friends coupled off. Maybe this is an evolvement for him since he is never been alone like that and probably it is why the spin-off show "Joey" started years later though I have never seen it. I've heard it's not very good though.
One of the things that annoy me the most about "How I Met" is that their "meeting spot" is always at McClaren's, the bar downstairs from their famous apartment. So basically, during every episode, they are drinking, perhaps glass after glass of beer and other alcoholic drinks. Is this really logical? Do people really drink every night? And sometimes not even every night but several times throughout the day and night. To me, that just seems too unbelievable. And unhealthy. And stupid. On the other hand, in "Friends", they always meet at "Central Perk" when throughout the day maybe even in their lunch breaks etc, they come in for a cup of coffee, which is completely natural and practical because that's just what New Yorkers do. New Yorkers are hard workers who may drink multiple cups of coffee or tea per day to function well but they definitely do not drink uncontrollably every night and maybe even throughout the day because they need to go back to work and still function! Or maybe some people do that? I just liked the Central Perk so much more than "McClaren's"--just my opinion.
In the end, one of the things that makes a television show a good one, is when the characters evolve and develop throughout the story. This is true about novels and movies too. In any kind of story really, it is through the plot that we see how much each character has developed and this change has taken place. One of the reasons I am more of a "Friends" fan than "How I Met" is that I feel like pretty much every character in "Friends" changed from the first episode to the last and these changes didn't happen overnight (as Barney did in How I Met). These changes happened slightly throughout the show moving in a very slow speed. Then again, isn't that more realistic? Who changes overnight? Realistically, change and growth take place during the course of our lives and in reality, no "change" happens within a few hours, that's just in the movies!
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