Friends is possibly one of the most well known sitcoms of the late 90s to early 2000s. Almost anyone who grew up then has seen at least one episode. It is without a doubt, in my opinion, one of the greatest sitcoms I have ever seen, and when it ended in 2004, it was the end of an era. Most sitcoms since haven’t been the same. How I Met Your Mother, on the other hand, is an amazing example of a brilliant current sitcom. Critics have referred to it (in its earlier years) as “The New Friends,” probably because of the large amounts of similarities between the two shows. Since I’ve been currently watching both series in a bit of a marathoning spree, I thought I’d take a few moments to sit and compare the two shows.
Both How I Met Your Mother and Friends center around a group of adults in their late twenties/early thirties living in New York City. They all go through various trials and tribulations, experiencing difficulties with love, life, relationships, work, and everything else. At the end of the day, they’re such a tight knit group that they’re really family. Hilarity usually ensues as a result of the various antics.
Comparing How I Met Your Mother to Friends is, in a lot of ways, a very valid comparison. They both tackle some very serious issues in lighthearted ways that keep things interesting, and they are two of the highest quality sitcoms I have ever seen. But let’s take a closer look at the series specifics, shall we? (And warning: possible SPOILERS ahead)
I already mentioned the general setting of New York City and general life experiences, but there are some general set ups and character ideas that are similar between the series. Some of these are pretty much tropes, but it still merits mentioning. For example, Barney and Joey are similar in a lot of ways. They’re each the playboys of their respective shows, with Barney being a little more intense about getting laid than Joey is. Ross and Ted are also similar in a few ways. You see them deal with relationships that happen and fall apart. They’re both the mildly obnoxious academic type, spouting random useless facts that the rest of the characters don’t really care about. They even both eventually become professors in their respective fields. Monica and Chandler eventually fall in love with each other and get married like Lily and Marshall do (though they admittedly were together before the series began). Chandler and Ross are the college roommates turned best friends, much in the same way Marshall and Ted are.
As similar as the series are though, How I Met Your Mother, in my opinion, in many ways is ultimately a better show than Friends. And here’s why: the premise of the show. How I Met Your Mother is literally about what the title says. Older Ted is telling his children the story of how he met their mother. This allows a lot more freedom and playfulness in the show. Since everything is a flashback, different scenes show up multiple times, and you learn a little bit more about what’s going on each time you see that scene. For example, in the beginning of season 6 you see Ted and Marshall at a wedding, and you learn that wedding is where he met the mother. You see different references to that wedding again throughout seasons 6 and 7, learning more about who’s wedding it is. (I won’t tell you, because, I don’t want to spoil that for any and all who want to see it.) How I Met Your Mother is amazing for it’s ability to take a joke and keep it alive across multiple seasons. You see a bit of a flash forward in season 4 that you don’t get the full story of until the end of season 6. I highly applaud their writers for that ability.
How I Met Your Mother is also pretty good at not taking itself too completely seriously, and responding to things that go on in the world around it. For example: How I Met Your Mother is aware of the comparisons made between it and Friends and makes fun of it, putting itself clearly on top.
The other major reason I like How I Met Your Mother more than Friends (even though I love both series) is the clear character growth that happens over the series. While Chandler, Joey, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, and Ross do go through at least a little bit of growth over the 10 years of the series (particularly Chandler), they just don’t grow enough for my personal tastes. Barney Stinson, however, is one of my favorite characters in television ever, and not just because he’s played by Neil Patrick Harris. The character is so much more than he appears to be, and you see a lot of that unfold as the series goes on. Ted, Marshall, Lily, and even Robin each experience growth in their own ways over the seasons, and the drama never overpowers the comedy.
However, it should be said that in many ways Friends made shows like How I Met Your Mother or even The Big Bang Theory possible. From the beginning, Friends was always about the ensemble, never the individual. The cast worked together, never letting one member make more than the others, and always being nominated for awards as a ‘supporting’ role, never a lead role. They made it very clear that their success was because they were together. No one member of the cast was better or more important than the other. Lots of other sitcoms of their time, like Seinfeld, or Everybody Loves Raymond, or Fraser, lacked this ensemble orientation. Sure the cast worked well together, but not in the same way that Friends did. The ensemble focus definitely set the stage for future sitcoms.
Even if you’re not the greatest fan of sitcoms in general, I still highly recommend How I Met Your Mother. It uses a great type of humor, and appeals to audiences far beyond the typical sitcom viewer. Plus, it’s got Neil Patrick Harris AND Alyson Hannigan!
Comments? Thoughts? I’d love to hear them.
Until next time,
Angel Out!
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