Friends’ jokes and storylines that people believe were inspired by Seinfeld
In the world of sitcoms, two iconic shows stand out for their timeless humor and enduring popularity: Seinfeld and Friends. While they may revolve around different groups of friends in contrasting settings, both shows share remarkable similarities that have captivated audiences for decades. But were those similarities a coincidence?
1. The Manhattan gang’s everyday routine
Monica and her entourage rarely left the Central Perk and invaded each other’s privacy barging into one another’s apartment without knocking. Sound familiar, right? We all remember how Jerry and his escorts constantly hung out at a coffee shop!
2. Episode titles
All episodes of both shows start with “THE” and pretty much give away the content of the episode, be it “The Smelly Car” from the legendary Seinfeld or “The One with the Race Car Bed” from the splendid Friends. These two shows triggered the interest of the audience with each new episode title making the whole episode more memorable.
3. Getting trapped in jeans
The decision to wear tight jeans in the episode “The Wait Out” made Kramer and his friends miserable. He failed an audition for a friend, frightened a kid, and even got arrested. Throughout the entire episode, quirky Cosmo struggles with the inability to sit. But this was nothing compared to Ross, who blew his date because of leather jeans in the episode “The One with All the Resolutions”. I guess Ross’ resolution should have been “no resolutions at all!”.
4. Troublesome neighbors
Newman was one of the best TV villains of all time. His endless enmity with Jerry made the series more intriguing and fun. We are not saying that Mr. Heckles’ character from Friends is identical to the mail carrier’s character, but no one can deny that his character eccentricities inspired the writers of Friends while putting together Friends’ neighbor’s personality – constantly wearing bathrobes and pajamas, dumping perfectly good women for ridiculous reasons and ending up living alone.
5. Aliases
When it comes to lying and pretending someone you are not to get a job, a woman or a movie part George Costanza with his alias Art Vandelay and Joey Tribbiani with Ken Adams have no rivals. Unless, of course, Phoebe Buffay is on vacation with Regina Phalange. The creators of Friends accurately and grammatically breathed new life into the concept of aliases suggested by Seinfeld and it was a big success.
6. Home robberies
The two most sarcastic characters of the shows Seinfeld and Friends – Jerry and Chandler got robbed because of their friends. Jerry has been burglarized because Kramer left the front door open by mistake. However, we should give credit to Friends’ robbery storyline as Joey got into the entertainment center voluntarily and simply spooned how to rob him. To quote the Italian actor “I was trying to make a sale!”.
This list can go on and on without jeopardizing the legacy of both shows that had an enormous influence on American TV show history. Some choose to believe that Friends is Seinfeld with better-looking people, like Jerry Seinfeld himself, others accept the show as a new concept that defines a generation. What are your thoughts?