Timeline

Friends





Friends is a comedy sitcom about six friends who live together in Manhattan. Friends follows the lives of six young (ish) friends, the six friends are all different In their own unique way. Friends lasted ten years, ten seasons and 236 episodes spanning from 1994-2004.

Friends is mainly aimed at the younger generation due to the sexual references and some bad language. The certificate awarded for Friends is a 12.

Friends is a Comedy sitcom, due to the amount of jokes created and the people who are casted.
One of the main element that defines Friends is the theme tune. The theme tune is really famous all over the world and people relate the song to Friends. Another factor that make audiences familiarise themselves with Friends is the setting. The living room set up and the purple door instantly makes you think of Friends when you see that setting. Also, the coffee shop 'Central Perk' is another famous location of Friends. We associate these particular things with Friends because these locations/places are in most episodes of Friends. Therefore the mise-en-scene is instantly recognisable.

Friends is structured in a particular way. A typical episode starts off with a clip of either the group, or certain people(s). This clip usually sets the tone of the episode and usually has a pun of some sort. The titles then role, with the famous 'Ill be there for You' theme tune. The episode then flows, usually set in the house and generally, the cast, or some of the cast, end up in the coffee shop, Central Perks. Finally, the show ends with another clip of the cast. I like the way the creators add a clip at the beginning and end of the episode, as the clip at the beginning really sets the episode off and the clip at the end closes the show. The show lasts for around 20-22 minutes per episode, the usual duration for a sitcom. these are the elements that make up the formal conventions of Friends.

The stylistic conventions of Friends include the highly distinct setting. The setting is very relaxed and natural. The famous apartment that Monica and her 3 friends live in, the purple door, Central Perks coffee shop and Joey and Chandlers apartment. Not forgetting the famous overlook of NYC. The setting really does make the show. People who aren't even fans of the show immediately identify the scenery. The six different characters are all portrayed equally, the show doesn't just focus around one person but all the different characters. They all have a different personality, which makes the show funnier and more diverse. Monica is like the mother of all the characters, she's bossing but in a caring way. Ross is her older sibling who is very clumsy and is in love with Rachel. Rachel is very likeable and caring even though she can act spoilt at times. Joey is very dim but enjoys the attention he gets of females. Phoebe is very peculiar and idiotic, but she can be a very warm hearted person. Finally, Chandler is very sarcastic and is the one who tells all the jokes. Each cast member has their own individual personality and the audience can relate to each one of the characters.

Friend is set in the heart of Manhattan in  the borough of New York. The actual filming is in front of a live studio audience in the Warner Bros Studio in California.



Characters

Jenifer Aniston as Rachel Green

David Schwimmer as Ross Geller

Courteney Cox as Monica Geller

Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing

Lisa Kudrow as Pheobe Buffay

Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani

Dallas was a television soap opera that aired from 1978-1991 on channel CBS. They produced 14 seasons and a total of 357 episodes. The duration of each episode was 60 minutes. The television series was about a rich Texan family who own a oil plantation. The show focuses on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes and is most famous for it's cliff hangers. The show was a crime/drama type genre. Compared to Friends this is a totally different genre. Friends is a comedy with romantic aspects, aimed at teenagers and young adults. Whereas, Dallas is a soap opera, aimed at all different ages. Dallas is more dramatic and tense due to the controversial story lines although, Friends is much more relaxed maybe because its aimed at a younger audience and due to the genre of the programme. Joey is another programme produced by Warner Bros and aired in the year of 2004-2006. Both programmes aired for a long time, proving that Warner Bros is a very successful company and produce shows that the public want to watch. Joey is a follow on from Friends, about Joey Tribbiani trying to become an actor. Joey was aired on NBC channel. It has all the humour Friends had, without the five other characters. The programme is very much like Friends as it's almost like a follow on from the show, it's aimed at the same age group and same type of people. The show was even aired on the same day as Friends used to be on but at 8:00pm and not 8:30pm. The show ran for the same amount of time as Friends. However it only lasted two series.


Dallas and Joey are two very different programmes, just like Friends and Dallas. Joey is the follow on series to Friends and had the same audience as Friends did. Dallas is a totally different genre, meaning that different people are watching it. The duration of Dallas is 60 minutes whereas the duration of Joey lasts for 20-22 minutes.


How I met Your Mother is an American comedy sitcom starring Josh Radnor and Jason Segel. The series sees main character Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) in the year 2030, trying to describe to his children the adventure on how he met their mother. While living in New York with his best friends.The show premièred on the channel CBS on the 19th September 2005 and the ninth and last series is set to air on 31st March 2014. 

Compare/contrast

First of all, both shows are set in the magical city of New York. Even though Friends isn't actually filmed there, but filmed in front of a live TV audience in California, Friends is all about friendship and about what the friends get up to. (Hence the name 'Friends') Similarly, How I met Your Mother is also about Ted's best friends. Characterisation plays a huge part in both sitcoms. Characters that appear in both programs, have similar personalities. For example, Ted (HIMYM) is very much a like Ross. (Friends) Two other characters that are almost identical are Robin (HIMYM) and Rachel (Friends), both very sweet and kind. Aswell as all the characters being very similar, there is also an aspect of a 'will they wont they' relationship between a couple in each sitcom. Between Rachel and Ross and then between Ted and Robin.  

Another programme very much like Friends is the programme 'Seinfeld.' Seinfeld was an American sitcom aired between 1989-1998 and was a highly popular show, just like Friends. The show is about Jerry Seinfeld and his friends going through everyday life. Both shows share the same, friendly humour. Both programmes were filmed in front of a live studio audience. Similarly they are both set in New York and about a group of friends.