3) wait for it....wait for it...Barney!
But there are so many similarities between the two shows that one might come to think that HIMYM is a rip-off of Friends!
Here is a bunch of similarities that i noticed while watching HIMYM:-
1) Characterization :- Ted(HIMYM) is a lot like Ross(F), both are hopelessly romantic. Barney(HIMYM) is the womanizer and a master of sarcastic one liners just like Joey and Chandler respectively. Lily(HIMYM) is a lot like Monica(F) and Robin(HIMYM) is a lot like Rachel(F).
2) Ted(HIMYM) has a spoiled sis(or at-least he thinks she is spoiled), same with Rachel(F).
3)Robin(HIMYM) gets a lucrative job offer but has to move to Japan , Rachel(F) gets a lucrative job offer in the end but has to move to Paris.
4)Couple dating:- Joey and his Australian girlfriend find Chandler and Monica too annoying, same happens between Barney-Robin and Marshall-Lily in season 5.
5)Both shows are primarily about a group of friends living in Manhattan,New York.
6)Robin`s rebound boyfriend Guyel(played by Enrique) is similar to Rachel`s Italian boyfriend.
7)Emily did`nt want Rachel to be around Ross , same way as Stella did`nt want Robin to be around Ted in the wedding.
8)Joey(when Chandler and Monica hook up) and Marshall(when Barney and Robin hook up) don`t want to hear any more secrets.
9)Janice ends up with a deaf husband. So does Ted`s annoying talkative ex girlfriend.
10)Both Ross and Ted buy a new car and show off.
11)Barney`s job is mysterious and unknown while Chandler`s job is forgettable too.
12)The Coffee show is to friends what the bar house is to HIMYM.
13)The episode where Ted moves out of he apartment is a rip-off of the episode where Rachel moves out of the apartment.
14) There is a similar episode in both the shows where each of them points out the others` faults and criticize each other.
15)Robin and Ted go on and off....just like Ross and Rachel.
16)Both Barney and Phoebe don`t know who their dad is. Both have been lied by their mother and grandmother respectively that some guy from TV is their dad.
17)The loving your best friend`s ex connection :- In HIMYM barney falls for Robin while in Friends Joey falls for Rachel.
18)Both Ross and Ted end up becoming professors and that`s not all...both end up dating one of their students(the latter ends up marrying his student)
So is How I Met Your Mother a rip-off of Friends?
Ahh yes...now I know why I had that annoying feeling while watching HIMYM...coz I hate friends too..no wonder I didn't like it..excellent..
ReplyDeleteperfect.you are good
ReplyDeleteYeah right.. i felt the same.. but any day friends is better than this.. this is cute.. just cute.. expect for Barney no one makes u laugh real hard.. And some episodes are just plain boring..
ReplyDeleteHIMYM is awesomer than friends. True story.
ReplyDeleteFalsety false!
DeleteI've noticed the similarities, since I'm a big Friends fan (watched each episode at least 3 times) as well as a recent HIMYM fan (watched all episodes online until I caught up). I think perhaps they are influenced by Friends, but it doesn't strike me as a blatant rip-off. I love them both. Friends is the 90s, HIMYM is more current. Also, it's easier to identify with the HIMYM chars, because I'm currently the same age as them and the Friends cast sometimes acted a bit too old for their ages.
ReplyDeleteHey, do you remember the episode where Ted breaks up with a girl on her birthday using an answering machine... The actress actually is the same that appears in FRIENDS few years earlier as Mike's girlfriend, who's been dumped on her birthday by Phoebe... It's so similar..
ReplyDeletethere's this episode where rachel made dessert and it turned out to be awful, and monica said she'll eat it in the bathroom. in HIMYM, robin made something (i think its hotdog, i forgot) and she also ruined it, so lily said she'll eat it in her bedroom.
ReplyDeletePlus Joey married Monica and Chandler
ReplyDeleteand Barney married Lilly and Marshal
Aye, now that I have read this..it sure seems like a rip off. :|
ReplyDeleteWhen Lily came home from San Francisco, she couldn't find a job, so she had to work as a waitress dressed out like a hula girl. The same happened to Monica then she worked in a wig, rollerskates and and had big boobs, and in both series the others came to make fun of them :p
ReplyDeletelily can´t have a baby just like monica and the naked man
ReplyDeletelily get's pregnant it's robin that can't have a baby.
DeletePlus I think Joey's the naked man not Chandler
DeleteFriends s04e12 - monica and rachel were having a bet with joey and chandler, this is where ross said "challenged accepted". this is where HIMYM the phrase ripped off.
ReplyDeleteFriends s03e06 - Joey's first meeting with monica, strips naked in the living room. This is where HIMYM got the "naked man" idea.
OMG STFU now dude, first of all the "naked man" idea is stolen from other sitcom, and "challenge accepted" is a very common phrase...
DeleteNow, I'm a big fan of both series, that's why I see the similarities (I mean, they even tease about it, like "hanging out in a coffee house is not as fun as in a bar" is the same train of though the Friends had when Central Perk was made into a bar [and also a direct shot against Friends]).
Before comming up with such stupid and arbitraries references, you could at least say that the "dance for me my puppets" is a rip off from Phoebe's "puppet master of the group".
Seriously, if you're going to comment about something, a little research first is good.
BTW, great post dude!
I am a big fan of HIMYM so I decided to watch Friends this summer because people said it was similar. Well, I don't really like it. I think the major real similarity is just that both are based on the lives of a group of 5/6 friends, but most of the stuff you pointed out are just surface similarities. For instance- we know that Robin isn't the mother, so the on again, off again, thing is different cause we know how it ends. Barney is far more womanizing than either Ross or Chandler and, in a comedy show, of course you need a character that can bust out sarcastic one liners (which all of them in HIMYM do, but Barney most often). I don't even remember Ted's new car. And as for things like the deaf husband- that was a really minor plot point, the deaf husband was shown for like 10 seconds and never discussed again. So I think, while the premise is similar in that both follow a group of really close friends, the similarities don't go much deeper and they are really different shows. (Plus, of course, there is the non-chronological order of HIMYM like you mentioned). That's why I love How I met your Mother while didn't enjoy Friends very much. How I met your Mother is also a lot funnier in my opinion.
ReplyDeletejoey was the womanizer...
Deleteu better watch friends again my friend , cuz lookd like u dont get the show and u dont even get the characters , i also watch HIMYM but i wouldnt even compare which one is the funniest , cuz , F.R.I.E.N.D.S is the funniest , i mean come on , there is no Phoebe in HIMYM and maybe there r similiar characters to Chandler and Joey but undoubtly just convos between them makes F.R.I.E.N.D.S the funniest one
DeleteThe deaf husband in friends is also only mentioned once and a very minor plot line. At the very, very end of the series robin and ted do get back together (just like Ross and Rachael do). A lot of episodes of friends are shot as flashbacks (A LOT). Yes, Ted and Ross both get new cars, show them off, are told they will never use them, have a friend that calls shotgun instantly, and get rid of the cars by the end of the episode. The main difference between the two shows are two separate decades 2005-2013 (show time) and 1995-2005. One huge similarity that this did not mention was when Rachael moved back in with Joey and when Robin moved back in with Ted - basically the same scene. Also, crazy spray tan incidents.
DeleteMost of it is that there are only so many story-lines that can happen for the shows to still be realistic. If you don't see the similarities, you need to watch both shows again (I've seen all episodes of both about 6 times, don't knock my knowledge!).
I didn't see anything written for Pheobe :P
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, this one's some real nice and intelligent post!
P.S:You're the first Scorpion fellow blogger I saw, so couldn't resist visiting your page!
Love, Risha :)
you're seriously not a virgo ? ;)
ReplyDeleteI thought only I have a P.hD in sitcoms :D
This is freaky :D
Loved it, I like your wit :)
P.S. This post was Legen - wait for it - Dary :D
I like HIMYM more :)
ReplyDelete@risha
ReplyDeletehey! thanks a lot :-) and am sure there must be lots of good scorpion bloggers out there :P
As for phoebe..check point no 16. :D
also one more similarity is that..the wedding style of lily-marshall is inspired from phoebe`s wedding.(Nothing works as per plan..they dont get their desired "perfect" wedding but instead get a flawed wedding which turns out 2 b evn more special)
@serendipity
thanks for ur kind words :)
apart from our common PhD in sitcoms...even i love the word "serendipity" :D
really well done! i like both series, but i think HIMYM is much funnier, although i dont catch many jokes cause im spanish! But still cant wait for the new season!
ReplyDeletei wanted to point out an other similarity.Robin wants to be known and goes from job to job, just like joe
;)
Here are two more that I've picked up...
ReplyDelete(1)In "Return of the Shirt" Ted dates and dumps Natalie on her birthday. Same actress plays Precious on Friends and is dumped by Mike (Phoebe's boyfriend) on her birthday.
(2) In the Pilot, Lily is hit in the eye when Marshall opens up a bottle of champagne and is forced to wear an eye-patch. Monica, in season 4 is hit in the eye by a piece of ice and is also forced to wear an eye-patch.
Ross and Ted similarities:
ReplyDeleteboth Ross and Ted love to compare themselves (or be compared by others) to Indiana Jones, given they are university professors.
Also, both Ross and Ted take delight in talking about how much their students love them.
Ted and Ross boring their friends talking about their field (architecture and paleontology, respectively) or other intellectual topics, is an often-used device in both sitcoms.
Ted freaks out about Barney and his sister, just as Ross does when Chandler and Monica initially hook up.
Other similarities:
Ross and Chandler were roommates in college, as were Ted and Marshall.
Phoebe and Mike don't really want a fancy wedding, but plan one anyway, only to decide on a simple wedding in the street at the last minute due to snowfall - similarly, Marshall and Lily aren't too keen on their big wedding, and just before it starts decide to get married outside in a simple ceremony.
On Friends, Joey officiates at both Chandler and Monica's as well as Phoebe and Mike's wedding, just as Barney officiates at Marshall and Lily's simple wedding.
When they first meet, Monica invites Joey in for "juice", which he takes to mean sex, and undresses in her living room. Similarly, Barney mistakes Robin's invitation to play "battleship" for an invitation for sex, and also undresses in her living room.
Talking about "juice" - Robin invites Ted over for "juice" in the episode "Nothing Good Happens After 2AM", which everyone assumes (including the taxi driver) is a euphemism for sex. Monica invites Joey for "juice", leading to a similar misunderstanding.
ReplyDeleteTed and Ross are both really intense about their hair.
ReplyDeletealso, in both shows there was made a pack that if someone isn't married after their 40 they marry each other and there are so many, many more,
ReplyDeleteand another point, HIMYM also rip's off Scrubs but that was only like 2-3 scenes or so
How about Joey marrying monica and chandler same as Barney marrying lily and marshall and both characters makes a remark about how they got there license to marry online.
ReplyDeletenow, the barney-robin relationship rivals the ross-rachel one in that they sleep together once and the girl ends up pregnant.
ReplyDeleteRobin doesn't get pregnant. She can't have any babies.
Deleteobviously, since friends started 10 years before HİMYM is the and a rip off.
ReplyDeletezaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdf
you don't know what this means do you?
Robin dates a multi-millionaire (Derek) in Season 1 - on Friends, Monica dates multi-millionaire Pete Becker in Season 3.
ReplyDeleteIn the pilot episode of friends, rachel (who later dates two guys from the group) joins the existing group of friends. in the himym pilot, robin (who later dates two guys from the group) joins an existing group of friends.
ReplyDeleteon friends, ross kisses chandler's mom. on himym, barney kisses ted's mom.
ReplyDeleteon friends, chandler and monica make a spur of the moment decision to get married in the gambling town las vegas, only to back out at the last minute. on how i met your mother, marshall and lily make a spur of the moment decision to get married in the gambling town atlantic city, only to back out at the last moment.
ReplyDeleteMarshall and lily actually got married for like, 12 seconds, so not the same!
Deletein himym, lily looks for dresses in a high-price boutique, but later buys a dress at a sale at a discount store. on friends, monica looks for a wedding dress at a high-end store, but later buys her dress at a sale at a discount store.
ReplyDeleteon how i met your mother, everyone pretends to have enjoyed lily's play, but barney tells her it sucked straightforwardly. on friens, everyone fakes having liked joey' play Freud!, but chandler straightforwardly tells him it sucked.
ReplyDeleteon friends, ross first asks chandler to be his best man, then switches to joey as his best man, only to ultimately decide he wants them both to be co-best men. on himym, marshall has ted as his best men, then briefly names barney as his best man, and after barney's obnoxious reaction decides to have them both be co-best men.
ReplyDeleteon friends, ross makes it clear he wants a chilled-out bachelor party without strippers, but joey organises a stripper anyway.
ReplyDeleteon himym, marshall makes it clear that he does not want strippers at his bachelor party, but barney organises a stripper anyway.
on friends, joey appears on the tv game show "pyramid". on himym, barney appears on the tv game show "the price is right".
ReplyDeleteon friends, phoebe is lied to by her mother (and grandmother) about the identity of her father, and believes he is a “famous Burma tree surgeon”, showing extreme naiveté. over the course of the show, she starts to look for her real father, and eventually meets him.
ReplyDeleteon himym, barney is lied to by his mother about the identity of his father, and believes him to be famous game show host bob barker. over the course of the show, barney starts to look for his real father, and eventually meets him.
even though they are very nerdy, both ross (F) and ted (HIMYM) smoked weed in college.
ReplyDeleteThe naked man was in Friends, not How I Met Your Mother....so the one where Joey strips had no influence on the naked man because the naked man was in Friends.
ReplyDeletethere was a "naked man" in HIMYM... he was trying to date robin
DeleteIn Friends (Episode 7.22, The One With Chandler's Dad), both Rachel (successfully) and Ross (unsuccessfully) try to talk themselves out of getting a driving ticket. On HIMYM (Episode 4.23, As Fast As She Can), Marshall(successfully), Robin (successfully) and Barney (unsuccessfully) try to talk themselves out of getting a driving ticket.
ReplyDeleteOn HIMYM (Episode: Hooked) Ted kneels down to pick up a ring that fell out of somebody else's jacket that he happens to be wearing, leading a girl (Henrietta) to falsely believe he proposed to her. On Friends (The One Where Rachel Has A Baby), Joey kneels down to pick up a ring that fell out of somebody else's (Ross) jacket, leading Rachel to falsely believe he proposed to her.
ReplyDeleteOn Friends, when Carol is pregnant with Ross' baby, he does not want to find out the sex of the baby, which much to his annoyance is revealed to the rest of the group, and eventually he finds out by accident (Rachel inadvertently blabbers). On HIMYM, Lily and Marshall don't want to find out what gender their baby is, but it is revealed to Barney and Robin. Later, they accidently find out because the piece of paper containing the info sticks to Ted's shoe. Also, when Rachel is pregnant with Ross' baby, there is a similar storyline about wanting and not wanting to know the sex used for comedic effect.
ReplyDeleteOn Friends, Phoebe dates a psychologist who analyes the group and states their dysfunctions to their faces. On HIMYM, Robin dates a psychologist (Kevin) who analyses the group's dysfunctionality and openly lets them know.
ReplyDeleteHUGE similarity between Richard & Monica and Ted & Robin. (views about marriage)
Deletethe song "All By Myself" is played in both friends and himym...
ReplyDeleteShe appeared as "Judy Geller", the mother of Ross and Monica Geller in Friends and she also appeared on the show How I Met Your Mother as Lily Aldrin's grandmother in 2009 and 2011.
ReplyDeleteChristina Pickles...
DeleteJanice from friends is also the realtor who shows Lilly and Marshall their slanted apartment
DeleteOne could say that there are also similarities with Cougar Town and Friends as well, they play that game where they sleep when someone tells a boring story. It is also about a group of friends, but instead of the coffee house drinking coffee it's in Jules (courtney cox) house drinking wine. Rachel dates two guys in the group, just as jules was married to bobby and dates grayson. Laurie is the weird one like phoebe, and grayson was quite the womanizer like Joey.... I think it's easy to find similarities between series when you look for them, i don't think the writers of HIMYM actually took the ideas from friends, i think it is a psychological thing: when you look for something, you find it! FRIENDS is the best BTW, very clever humour ;)
ReplyDeleteHIMYM is SO much better then friends. It's funnier and more current. You will find similarities if you look for them, but a lot of people pointed out the same similarities. I think they may have similarities but they have completely different storylines. HIMYM isn't a rip-off version, it's completely different, and, tbh, if there are similarities between them, then friends should take it as a complement. I think everyone should just leave it, cus the similarities are only minor and I'm sure if you were looking for differences between the two shows, you would find so many more, for example: HIMYM: 2 girls FRIENDS: 3 girls etc, etc, etc. Please find more... :p
ReplyDeleteHow I Met Your Mother isn't a rip-off. The writers made the similarities as a tribute to the show science it was so popular that show was. They also reference the show multiple times like in S2E7 when they are in the coffee shop that has the same layout as the one in Friends.
ReplyDeleteI love them both yeah they are a lot alike but I love that fact it just means I have 1 more program to watch in the week. I THINK IT'S GR8!!!!!!!
ReplyDeletePs. I have watched all eps of each program like 10 x each
My favs even more
The actress Anne Dudek appears in both shows. In friends she is Precious who was Mike's girlfriend when he and Phoebe broke up. In HIMYM she is Natilie who was Teds girlfriend. In both shows she got dumped on her birthday.
ReplyDeletedid anybody notice that the old man who was the horse and acarriage driver in robins tv interview was also on an episode of friends where he played frankie the tailor who 'man handles' chandler
ReplyDeleteWhat about when Ted's name is used as a pornstar name in HIMYM, same as Pheobe's is used by her twin sister for a porn name in F.R.I.E.N.D.S!
ReplyDeleteYes! Finally something about resonate.
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F.R.I.E.N.D.S is better
ReplyDeleteFriends is in fact, the best show ever made. And come on, how can you find Joey annoying. He is so sweet and then chandler and his sarcasm... come on. You can't be it. There are striking similarities between the two shows and Friends comes out as the superior show. I cried after I watched the six of the leave the apartment for the last time.
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joey refer to the word "CODE" in season 1 episode when Ross kisses chandeler`s mom.... He said u broke the "CODE"
ReplyDeleteSame idea is taken in "Barney`s BRO CODE" in HIMYM
wow they used that one word the same. are you going to sue them for both using the word hello
DeleteIt just means that it was first referred to in friends not the rip off
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