Friends may have inspired countless shows. But Friends, in turn, it was inspired by Seinfeld. The two shows seem poles apart if you look at the larger picture. But once you dig a little deeper in terms of subplots, not many differences can be spotted.
Seinfeld is the beginning and an inspiration for many many sitcoms. Friends just cranked it up a notch. We are fans of both. So today we decided to count the ten times Friends was inspired by Seinfeld.
Gang Of Friends, Navigating Their Lives
At the very outset, it is difficult to ignore that Friends is inspired by Seinfeld. The premise of the two shows is almost the same, although the plots, characters, and subplots may vary here and there. But here’s the thing: Seinfeld shows a group of four, who navigate their lives in the city. There are themes of love, career, and general well being.
Similarly, Friends shows a gang of six, residing in the city who figure it out gradually. The character pacing is almost similar in both the shows. Character developments are slow and gradual. They take place over the course of nine seasons in Seinfeld and ten in Friends.
Monk’s Café & Central Perk
The hang out places in Seinfeld and Friends are almost similar. The four in Seinfeld have a fixed table to eat. They hang out at a diner called Monk’s Café over breakfast, lunch, for coffee and food. They either take the front table or the table by the window.
Similarly, Friends designated a hangout place for its characters, where each of them would be present almost every day without fail. This was the coffee shop called Central Perk. The gang was always seated on the orange couch, seen bonding over coffee.
The Apartment
The iconic apartments in both the series were the beginning point of the casts’ adventures. Seinfeld started in Monk’s Café but took viewers straight to Jerry’s apartment where most of the activity was happening. People came in to visit Jerry all the time. It was rare that anyone decided to pay a visit to George, Elaine, or even Kramer, Jerry’s next-door neighbor.
Friends began in Central Perk, followed by Monica’s purple-walled apartment. The iconic apartment is where most of the stories began. It hosted all of the gang members. Rarely did we see Phoebe or Ross’s place. Joey and Chandler’s was a hangout place for a brief time. But Monica with her purple place was always the hostess.
Moocher, Unemployed Neighbor
Right opposite the hang-out pad lives a moocher neighbor who hangs out at the pad more than his own place. Kramer from Seinfeld and Joey from Friends are the two moochers. You will always see Kramer storm into Jerry’s place, open his fridge, take out any eatable or beverage and start speaking.
Fans observe the same body language for Joey. He storms into Monica’s goes for the fridge and then talks to the people around. Sometimes these moochers have more than food to eat. They come to host with their silly thoughts or ideas about something. Joey will talk about his acting gigs and Kramer about his business ideas.
Moocher Has Luck With The Ladies
Both Joey and Kramer have luck with women. Women love Joey, and women seem to like Kramer, too. Now, Joey is a ladies man, but Kramer… not so much. Other than that, these men find it too easy to woo women. Another similarity between the two moochers is they are unemployed, mostly throughout the show. More often than not, they are broke. They also seem to have lower intelligence than the rest of the gang members.
The Lead And His High-School/ College Best Friend
Jerry And George knew each other since high school. In the episode “The Outing,” Jerry and George met in the gym locker room. The two have been close ever since then.
Ross, the presumed lead of Friends, was best friends with a guy named Chandler since college. Their friendship started in college, where Ross and Chandler bonded over unfortunate hair and women they couldn’t date.
The bromance has similarities in another respect as well. Jerry is essentially Chandler, and Ross is George. Jerry and Chandler both are sarcastic, observational guys. Ross and George frequently land in unfortunate situations and misadventures.
The Hosts Like Their Places Neat And Tidy
Both Jerry and Monica are neat freaks. To call them a neat freak would be a misrepresentation, especially in the case of Monica. She has an obsessive-compulsive disorder that showrunners should have recognized in ten seasons. Jerry on the other hand, frequently wants to get his place get cleaned. He could barely hide his happiness in “The Statue,” when The Rubber Man Windexed his peephole.
Since Jerry and Monica are the hosts of the iconic apartments where most of the group activity takes place, they like their things organized. Jerry’s cereal boxes are lined nearly, he likes his things clean. Monica has categories for guest towels. Both like tidying up their place as often as they can.
Kooky Characters
Phoebe and Kramer are two outlandish characters who keep running the gag. Phoebe’s character is heavily inspired by Kramer’s. They aren’t just kooky, but they have an alternative thought for everything that exists. Kramer thinks healthcare is a scam, Phoebe doesn’t believe in western medicine.
Just like Kramer, Phoebe has a dysfunctional relationship with her parents. What’s strikingly similar is how far they will get to extract favors out of people.
Overly Enthusiastic Guest Characters
Parker’s character from Friends is exactly who Ray from Seinfeld is. We meet Ray in “The Statue.” He plays Rava’s boyfriend, a student at Columbia University hired by Jerry to clean his apartment. Ray is overly enthusiastic about his surroundings and everything in general. He calls Jerry, Lord of the manor.
Parker from Friends is every bit as enthusiastic as Ray. He plays Phoebe’s boyfriend. They meet at the dry cleaners and hit it off at first. Parker is like Santa Claus is Disneyland getting high on Prozac! He calls the expressway as a concrete miracle.
Troublesome Neighbors
Newman and Mr. Heckles are the two troublesome neighbors that keep pestering the hosts. Newman has sworn enmity to Jerry. Whereas, Mr. Heckles would always try and get Monica to keep it down. Newman and Heckles may not be exactly the same in demeanor. But there are differences that one can’t ignore. For one, Mr. Heckles lives in the building, just like Newman does. Their lives are every bit dull and drab. Both of them knock at doors or are seen in the hallway. The motive is similar in both the cases: to stir up a hornet’s nest.
