Friends VS How I met your mother: The ultimate showdown
Credit: Isabela Peixoto
One might think the most heated debate that came out of the tv show Friends was whether or not Ross and Rachel were on a break. Though the true dispute of the century, came later with the release of How I met your mother, a sitcom that like Friends followed a group of 30 somethings living in New York City (in very broad, unspecific terms). As an unbiased judge who has watched and re-watched both shows over a hundred times, I will attempt to settle this historic debate. Both Friends and How I met your mother Fanatics have agreed to fight for the greatness and superiority of their shows, to see fair and square who wins the title of the Ultimate sitcom.
Referee– Now let’s meet the contestants:
On Team Friends we have Bianca who’s so obsessed with the show she named her dog Joey.
On Team HIMYM we have Maya who has watched every episode at least 3 times and some more than 10.
The fight has been broken into 6 rounds. Winning one round will get you 10 points. At the end the points will be tallied to see who will win the title of “THE ULTIMATE SITCOM”
Round 1: Characters
HIMYM throws the first punch, and it hits hard
M: Our characters are more realistic. I feel like some of the friends characters aren’t very real.
Uh-oh
Friends hits back
B: HIMYM characters are basically worse versions of the ones in Friends
ouch
B: Marshall and Lily are clearly Chandler and Monica and Robin and Ted are Rachel and Ross (we were on a break?) and Barney is a more sexist and less deep version of Joey.
That has to hurt
B: And they have no Phoebe (need I say more?)
No you do not.
Round 1 goes to Friends
Round 2: Couples
HIMYM keeps it simple
M: I love Lily and Marshall. They are the cutest couple ever.
Friends takes the hit
B: I admit Marshall and Lily were pretty cute
But not without a fight
B: Can we acknowledge the fact that the couples in Friends actually ended up together?
All in all, Marshall and Lily make this a HIMYM win
Round 2 goes to HIMYM
Round 3: Guest appearances
HIMYM tries to hit but misses
M: J.LO and Katy Perry
Then Friends gives them an uppercut
B: Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Tom Selleck, George Clooney… and whoever played JANICE.
Making it an obvious win for Friends.
Round 3 goes to Friends
Round 4: Jokes/gags
Friends throws a punch and gets HIMYM in a chokehold
B: There are just so many… I know they know we know they know. WE WERE ON A BREAK! Are you planning on divorcing anyone today? Plus, we have CHANDLER.
HIMYM can’t get loose from the chokehold and tries to elbow Friends from behind
M: Robin Sparkles and the slap bet.
But they miss, Giving Friends the win.
Round 4 goes to Friends
Round 5: How everyone met
Friends goes for the uppercut but HIMYM dodges and they end up falling
B: I still wonder how they all met Phoebe
HIMYM advances with speedbag punches
M: My favorite is how Barney and Ted meet. Barney randomly starts talking to Ted, a then stranger, and decides that he is going to teach Ted “how to live.”
With a final elbow strike, HIMYM wins the round
Round 5 goes to HIMYM
Final round: Last episodes
Team friends starts off strong with an right cross and subsequent hook
B: The HIMYM episode doesn’t even compare to the beautiful, chaos and laughter that was “The Last One”
They have HIMYM pinned to the ground HIMYM taps out
M: I hated the last episode. I hate it now and always will. Ted and Robin do not belong together, that is very well established in the show. Even though they have a strong connection, they don’t work. This is shown over and over throughout the seasons, yet in the last episode they end up together. Also, killing Ted’s wife in the last episode was just ridiculous to me.
Friends with no doubt, wins this round, securing 50 points. And the overall win
Final point count – Friends: 80 HIMYM: 20
The match has ended and Friends has been unofficially, officially crowned “The ultimate sitcom”.
Farzad • May 8, 2019 at 8:18 am
now there are many articles doing this kinda comparison between these two series and each one are giving their own result.
BUT there is something none of them are pointing:
it really matters how old u are!!!
yes it matters, if u are 45-55, no matter what, u would probably never replace Friends with any other sitcom because u have spent ur youth years watching them when u could feel more connected to their stories and feelings…
but if u are a little younger u probably get even more interested in HIMYM because they seem more real in ur age and “Friends” looks from a passed decade.
although i do believe it might not be the case for everyone, but we should agree it has impact on why some ppl wouldn’t stop loving either of them.
there are things which we feel connected to and there are things far from that. u may watch a mysterious crime series and no matter how wonderful it is, but it won’t usually turn to ur nostalgia of life and also no matter how old u are, u can always start watching it & like that and simply discuss ur interests and replace the grade of series in that genre.
but there are some series that u feel so close that would turn into some part of ur life through the years u watch them. if u ve started ur journey with HIMYM then u may hardly feel so touched by Friends and vice versa…
so i do strongly believe about these kinda series the real point is not the technical or story line or screen play advantages… if u ve loved the Friends, usually u ve started by that movie and u ll probably won’t change ur idea and if ur ages were closer to the HIMYM & have started ur journey with em u ll never stop loving em.
for me, i have lived with HIMYM for several years and since the it finished i was so addicted to that i was seeking for a cure or similar stuff & searched a lot for a replace, so i went for Friends but it wasn’t close to that type of addiction and i couldn’t feel any connection, and it seemed like i couldn’t really laugh at their jokes or funny situations & my mind was judging all the time. i figured out i still can laugh at other sitcom like “the last man standing” because they didn’t come in the same judgment, but i couldn’t bear Friends characters take the place of my beloved guys on HIMYM. it means about these kinds series we feel so protective just like our family members and if something else wants to make us feel the same way we act defensive & try to make judgments the way our first chosen one save its place.
I think most of reviews agree that the type of jokes in HIMYM are deeply smart and the messages are so sheltered and hided behind the words they talk. even simplest words got a funny meaning or real message behind and sometimes even in some short discussions u face so much complex paradoxes of real life beyond jokes and concepts.
i agree that Friends was a pioneer, but i just believe such series would be felt, loved and touched by ppl’s mind,heart and life and we should put these series apart from our usual rating systems or comparing methods. yes u can simply compare many other comedy series and rating or awarding them based on different aspects, but these two series are so connected to the ppl who HAVE LIVED with them that no party accept to replace its favorite one .
Arletti • Mar 6, 2018 at 4:30 am
Barney just likes to find ways of abdicating his responsibility, and passing the buck! He has his suspicions does he?? Me thinks, he is just looking for excuses to opt out”a very shabby partner, dumping, retracting, and casting aspersions ..indeed, he is a louse!
Martina • Feb 22, 2018 at 8:48 pm
AMEI ZABS!! Ficou demaisss?
Zaba • Mar 5, 2018 at 7:32 pm
TE AMO <3 <3 <3 <3