How I Met Your Mother vs Friends

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by EmoBorg, Dec 6, 2012.

?

How I Met Your Mother vs Friends

Poll closed Dec 20, 2012.
  1. How I Met Your Mother has a better cast

    21 vote(s)
    48.8%
  2. Friends had a better cast

    14 vote(s)
    32.6%
  3. Both cast were equally as good

    9 vote(s)
    20.9%
  4. How I Met Your Mother has better comedic writing

    28 vote(s)
    65.1%
  5. Friends has better comedic writing

    14 vote(s)
    32.6%
  6. Both's comedic writing were equally as good

    2 vote(s)
    4.7%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Bisz

    Bisz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 1999
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    On the one hand I love HIMYM and on the other I was never a fan of Friends so the choices were pretty easy for me... and it seems I'm in the majority. Hmm, I must re-evaluate my position ;)
     
  2. Beagleman

    Beagleman Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2003
    Location:
    Same planet as yours.
    HIMYM, both cast and writing. I liked Friends quite a bit but in retrospect and in comparison to HIMYM I find most of it's characters either annoying or unlikeable...
     
  3. scnj

    scnj Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2009
    I don't know yet. HIMYM appeals to me with all of its continuity porn, but it all hinges on how they end it. If I'm channel flipping, I'll still watch Friends if I see it's on, but I can't guarantee the same for HIMYM yet.

    Also, Scrubs eclipses both, in terms of humour and emotional connection. Neither Friends or HIMYM made me tear up, but Scrubs managed it twice.
     
  4. Geckothan

    Geckothan Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2009
    Location:
    People's Republic of Britainistan
    Friends hasn't aged that well for a 90s sitcom (compared with Frasier, for example). HIMYM obviously doesn't have that issue right now, so it's impossible to compare them fairly. I prefer HIMYM myself, though. I can watch that show all day, but Friends gets annoying after 2-3 eps in a row (maybe it's just because Comedy Central always seems to have the same episodes on every time I watch it on there?).
     
  5. FPAlpha

    FPAlpha Vice Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2004
    Location:
    Mannheim, Germany
    Well.. as with most shows the early part of Scrubs was awesome but got less so as the show progressed (with some exceptions). But the first 3 or 4 seasons are better than both other shows combined mainly due to the comedy which was completed by some truly sad moments.

    Plus they had the most awesome supporting characters ever.. Ted, Todd and the Janitor were just hilarious and i had stomach aches several times for laughing so hard :lol:
     
  6. JarodRussell

    JarodRussell Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2009
    Definitely Friends. HIMYM is nice, but Friends beats it on every level.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2012
  7. EmoBorg

    EmoBorg Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2012
    Location:
    in the 10 dimensions of reality
    I would beg to differ on that. Friends is still fresh even though it's first season aired 18 years ago. I don't know whether HIMYM will still be that fresh in 18 years time.

    I don't think that the cast of HIMYM has the closeness that the cast of Friends had. The Friends cast were being paid different amounts in season 1 and season 2 before they decided to enter into collective bargaining for equal pay. Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer had their pays reduced to match the lowest paid cast members.

    I read that Jason Segel plan to leave HIMYM after this season to further his movie career and the cast of HIMYM still get paid different amounts after 8 seasons.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2012
  8. FPAlpha

    FPAlpha Vice Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2004
    Location:
    Mannheim, Germany
    I wouldn't read too much into that. The Friends salary thing is pretty much unique and shouldn't be a benchmark on how close a cast is.

    A much better gauge for me would be to watch the gag/blooper reels for each show.. when people mess up or goof around you can really see how comfortable they are with each other and having seen them all for each show (yeah.. i love bloopers reels :p) i can say that each cast seems pretty much comfortable and close with each other (and HYMIM is far more racy at times :lol:).

    As a contrast watch the gag reels for Community.. especially the ones from the later seasons and see how they react to Chevy Chase. You can feel that the others are not really including him in their antics that much and try to keep a distance.. anyone who's familiar with the background workings of the show knows why that may be the case.
     
  9. Vanyel

    Vanyel The Imperious Leader Premium Member

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2001
    Location:
    San Antonio, Texas
    Friends and as proof I offer this:
    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCIrSW7QZfU[/yt]


    And for bloopers I offer my all time favorite blooper:

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQicfUjVVqU[/yt]
     
  10. Vanyel

    Vanyel The Imperious Leader Premium Member

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2001
    Location:
    San Antonio, Texas
    I also think there is a bit of the age of the cast that I can relate too. I'm approximately the same age as the characters and went through life a bit like they did. Finding my way and love with my friends.
     
  11. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    That makes sense. I'm 29 now and was in my early/mid-teens when Friends was at its peak, so that could be one reason I relate to HIMYM more.
     
  12. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2000
    Location:
    QC, IL, USA
    I think that's my situation, too. I was a teenager when Friends was on the air. It's series finale aired my freshman year of college. The characters in HIMYM are right around my age and are dealing with issues that I can relate to a lot better.
     
  13. EmoBorg

    EmoBorg Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2012
    Location:
    in the 10 dimensions of reality
    It does matter. For the Friends 6 main cast members to collectively bargain for equal pay does show how close they were. You don't see that from the cast of HIMYM even after 8 seasons and especially after Jason Segel intending to leave after this season.

    The gag reels of Friends do show how close they were, and they even closer than the cast of HIMYM. They were close as a family.
     
  14. FPAlpha

    FPAlpha Vice Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2004
    Location:
    Mannheim, Germany
    I didn't say it doesn't matter just that it is a unique situation that was never repeated on any other show (that i know of).

    It speaks for the Friends cast and their integrity to have pulled this off (especially from those who were about to earn more than their co-stars). However just because they did that doesn't mean that the cast of Mother is not as close.. just using the Friends salary thing to say other shows don't get along as well is a bit disingenious.

    Segel is leaving because it's been 8 years, his character won't evolve much anymore and he's getting bored apparently.. i can understand that reasoning and certainly don't believe it's due to a bad atmosphere at the set.
     
  15. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    I watched the new movie Written by, directed by, and starring Josh Radnor "Liberal Arts" and I am not completely sure what genre I had just watched. It was totally Zach Braff, just whining on about how nonplussing the universe is for no reason... The Olsen Twins YOUNGER sister was trying to seduce him and he was poorly trying to talk himself out of going along for the ride.

    She was legal, it just a question of not being pervy, and not being that guy.

    Unlike her sisters, this one seems to know how to eat.

    Mazel tov!
     
  16. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 1999
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    How to eat? In which way are we supposed to interpret that? :lol:
     
  17. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2010
    Location:
    to your immediate right
    not anorexic
     
  18. Holdfast

    Holdfast Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2000
    Location:
    17 Cherry Tree Lane
    The sheer warmth and, well, friendliness radiating from the Friends cast when they were on top of their form was quite something to behold. Off the top of my head, episodes like TOW All The Poker, TOW the Football, TOW the Videotape, and TOW Everyone Finds Out remain brilliant entertainment. There are many, many more. The show worked beautifully when it gave something for each Friend to do, while pulling them all round a central activity. So I think when working as an ensemble the Friends cast is better. Individually, the Mother cast are probably better actors, I suppose, but that's not the same thing. I also don't really find any of the Mother characters interesting, apart from Barney.

    Writing-wise, they're just very different beasts so it's difficult to compare. Friends is more zippy one-liner oriented, Mother has those too but feels generally a bit more situational (Barney's role excepted). I prefer the Friends style of comedy, though could understand why someone might prefer the Mother style.

    But yeah, overall, I never really got into HIMYM whereas still occasionally watch my Friends DVDs. In fact, I might just do that later tonight. :)
     
  19. Spot's Meow

    Spot's Meow Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2004
    Location:
    Hotel California
    I guess I'm kind of an anomaly. I'm the same age as you RojoHen, I was starting my freshman year of college when Friends ended, but even though my current experiences match better with HIMYM, I don't find it as relateable for some reason. I guess, I just have a hard time seeing the characters as real people, it doesn't feel authentic. With the Friends cast I never for a minute got taken out of the story of their lives, it seemed like it really could have been happening.
     
  20. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2000
    Location:
    QC, IL, USA
    Well, part of HIMYM is that we're being told these stories by Old Ted. Things are bound to feel "off" or "unrealistic" from time to time. Every character is a bit over-the-top in one way or another, but I find many aspects of them far more similar to me and my friends than anybody ever was on Friends.