The One with the first season of FRIENDS

I have always been intrigued by FRIENDS, the TV series. It was already a long time ago since I've heard of this show but I never cared for it until I saw on a website that they compared FRIENDS with How I Met Your Mother. They said that these two shows have lots of similarities. This intrigued me a lot, I had to download the complete ten season of FRIENDS.

I've finished the first season of FRIENDS, and yes, I see similarities, from characters to work. But there are also differences of the two. But more of those later.



There were these siblings Ross and Monica Geller played by David Schwimmer and Courteney Cox respectively. There was this rich girl whose fate was twisted named Rachel Greene played by Jennifer Aniston. There was this weird girl whose mind is totally out of this world named Phoebe Buffay played by Lisa Kudrow.  There was Joey Tribbiani, an aspiring actor played by Matt Le Blanc, and lastly, Chandler Bing, who was a very busy man played by Matthew Perry.

Ross Geller. He was just recently having his divorce with Carol, his ex-wife, who turned out to be lesbian. Later in the season, they discovered that Carol was with Ross' child. Susan, Carol's partner, argues with Ross often, but they became friends when they were stuck in a room when Carol was about to give birth. Soon, they named their baby Ben, after Phoebe's suit name. He is working as a paleontologist at a museum. This made him go to China where he met his girlfriend. He had a long crush on Rachel, a high school friend of his, which happened to be Monica's roommate. During the first season, he got a pet monkey named Marcel which he took care of very well. But later in the season, he had to give up Marcel who was growing up.

Monica Geller. She is Ross' younger sister, the less favored between the two sibling, at least from their parents. As seen in the first season, she dated a lot of guys, from Paul the Wine Guy to Fun Bobby. She works as a cook a restaurant. There's not much to say about her. She let Rachel be her roommate after an event.

Rachel Greene. She was supposed to get married, but ran away probably because she lost her feelings to him. She became Monica's roommate. Struggling to live on her own (she was very rich), she tried to apply to many jobs, but since she's not good in writing letters, she ended up being a waitress at their hangout place, the Central Perk, a coffee house. She was Ross' crush since high school, but she never knew it until Chandler said it. She dated a few guys like Paolo.

Chandler Bing. He is Joey's roommate. He broke up with Janice a long time ago, but fate always brings them together. It's funny that Janice is like a mixture of Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse (just saying). From an ordinary office man, he was promoted into a processing supervisor checking on the WENUS and the ANUS. His mother is a critically-acclaimed novelist whom he doesn't like because of her attitude but forgave her later in the show. He did one of the most important things on the season because he spilled out to Rachel that Ross had a crush on her.

Phoebe Buffay. She is the most out-of-this-world character in the show, mostly because she's weird and has a lot of beliefs and stuff. She is a masseuse and a part-time singer at the subway. She once got over a million dollars but gave it to a hobo. She helped in the breaking up of Chandler and Janice. She has a twin sister named Ursula who works as a waitress on a restaurant. Ursula is pretty much like Phoebe even in attitude, but Joey fell in love with Ursula. She became Chandler's secretary once. The suit which she was wearing which contained the name, "Ben," was where Susan and Ross got the name of their son.

Joey Tribianni. He works as an actor. He fell in love with Phoebe's twin sister Ursula making Phoebe feeling neglected. That's all about him which I could say.

Certain elements of HIMYM and FRIENDS are similar. Characters are somewhat the same. Ross is to Ted, both wanted to settle down. Rachel is Robin, both who are always dating men and who are focused on the job. Chandler and Marshall, both who are always funny and has some serious jobs. Lily and Monica, both of which are like the mother of the gang. Joey and Barney, who are both womanizers. Phoebe stands alone.

The hangout place of FRIENDS is Central Perk, a coffee house, which is somewhat close to HIMYM's Mclaren's Pub, a bar. Both of which are in New York. Both also has a common apartment wherein they almost meet there everyday.

Amid these commonalities, the main difference between the two is there point of view. While HIMYM is all about flashbacks of five people and how Ted met his wife, FRIENDS' attack is on how six people live on present New York. Both are humorous in their own ways. If you ask me, I'd still like HIMYM better. :D