Monday, April 25, 2011

Joey vs Barney: Legen-waitforit-till the end of the post i meant.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S - Epic. Unrivalled. Colossal success. Phenomenal.
How I Met Your Mother - Barney Stinson.

A friend of mine said a couple of days back- "Barney Stinson is the new Joey". I spluttered and planned to garrote him in the chasms of my mind. He, then went on to explain that Baaarneeey is the new Jooeeey and not that HIMYM is the new F.R.I.E.N.D.S. I thought about it and since I hated the thought process and where it led me, I therefore proceed to exhume a factor called "Joey" of a goliathan show that's been off air for 8 years now and still has sponsors lining up for re-runs. I pit it against the formidable if not great 'David'ish HIMYM. Since even this would be unfair on many levels, I decide to piggyback on my last sentence and pit Joey with his lady-killing ways and bufffonish charms against the upcoming Barney Stinson with all his Lemon Laws and The Playbook intact.

What Joey had going for him: 
Dr. Drake Ramoray and how he played it, giving his original character a split-personality. Apart from that, Joey had the IQ level of a 4 year old that was sort of funnily endearing. Imagine him not sharing his food and shouting about it. Or the time when he went and got his apartment looted by getting locked in the cupboard by the thief when trying to sell the "Entertainment Unit". Or when he finds about Chandler and Monica and can't tell anyone. Or when he goes and get his head stuck up a turkey on Thanksgiving. Damn I miss the show!!





What Barney has going for him :
The fact of the matter stays that Barney is the pivot around which the whole show of HIMYM hinges and that's what makes my job more difficult and the show more pedestrian. Barney's goofiness is uncannily unlike anyone and for that, I do believe Barney has the upper hand. However, would I rate him higher on the comic-timing scale above Joey? Circumstantial evidence is all we have and based on that, I wouldn't. Would you honestly?? The next part becomes his characterization and herein again, Joey beats him solely on the basis of the support characters he had and what Barney sorely lacks(this is the circumstantial evidence I talked about).  A Chandler-Joey altercation would definitely bring me to the "worth-engaging level" and something that even a "Barney-Ted" bonhomie can't. Scripting problems eh??


Joey vs Barney: You're Hired!!
Whose job is cooler and which one would you prefer? A struggling actor/self-proclaimed soap opera "star"/theatre actor who manages to get along or someone like Barney Stinson with his megalomaniac mindset and suit obsession which he can afford by virtue of his job of ummm..what does he do again at GNB??..I go for Barney. Don't blame me. Money is the root of all evils. Not having money the evil itself.


THE LADIES ARENA


How You DOOIN?!!
The single pick-up line Joey Tribbiani used to get girls and boy did it work!! It sure did beat the hell out of any competetion at that time. He has slept with girls and never called them. He has forgotten about girls and met them on the streets and not remembered and hit on them again. He has possibly slept with every single girls in her 20's in NYC. Fine I exaggerated. He has possibly the fluidest of moves when hitting on the opposite sex and he charms them into bed without lying to them. 


THE PLAYBOOK
Barney Stinson doesn't play by the rules. He hits on bimbos and he's Armani-clad awesome. He picks up bimbos and then sleeps on them. Bimbos make his world go round and go down and go up. Wise strategy. Only question: Does MacLaren's have this "Bimbo Day" every other day by any chance? I mean yea, Stinson is class with his suave one-liners and tongue-in-cheek wit but the Playbook he uses more often than not, uses in his own words-"scam, con, hustle, hoowink, gambit, flim-flam, strategim and bamboozle to pick up chicks and give 'em the business". I am a sexist yea, but I object to the implication that all bimbos are centred in NYC. But nevertheless, Respect for the bro. Even doing 200 chicks on a show is some serious business and predicates the risk of STD's. Hence, the RESPECT.

CONCLUSION:
2-1. Joey still hold the throne. I know it's time Barney took over and he almost has, but for the extent of sanity, I preserve that "LEGEN-waitforit-DARY" has to wait some more. Drop me a comment. Cheers!!


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

abe if it's only barney v/s joey den i guess barney holds upper hand..
take out joey out of FRIENDS n the show MIGHT still work(fr sm episodes)...bt..BUT..take out BARNEY n show is doomed..fr sure

ark of conwheals said...

Yes and No. FRIENDS may or may not work without Joey but yea HIMYM will collapse. However, since it's Joey vs Barney, I also accounted for scores of situation where Joey's conversations made me laugh along with other characters. In barney's case, it's just a monologue from him which agreed is funny but not as good as conversation-funny.

antora said...

i like joey barney is a pervert but joey is innocently cute

ark of conwheals said...

Perverted in a funny way though..:D

Unknown said...

You are comparing a 1994 NYC guy to 2005 NYC guy who are different on so many levels..... eg jobs.....

And its really bad to compare the two shows & consequently the guys because their intended audience is very different........

"Friends" tried to be funny n a no-brainer. While HIMYM is intended for a more intellectual audience.....

For eg, HIMYM is not shot in a convention sitcom way.... it's shot as a reminiscence from a perspective of 2030....

But "Friends" was supposed to be how people lived and behaved with each other..........

antora said...

HIMYM is for a more intellectual audience????
you make me laugh :D

Unknown said...

Thank you...... Apart from both of these sitcoms I've made you laugh....
I'll try to rephrase what i said....
You cannot enjoy Barney Stinson the way you did Joey Tribianni....
You cannot enjoy HIMYM the same way you did "Friends"....
While watching "Friends" you had to only listen what they say....
But while watching HIMYM you'll have to do a little thinking to enjoy the comedy that's intended by those dialogues.......

Unknown said...

Friends I am a little late in barging into this conversation; but frankly even though HIMYM is quite close to my heart there is simply no comparison between HIMYM and F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Although this is not the debate the fact is FRIENDS was a trend setter in sitcoms and all the characters in it were perfectly sketched such that none of the characters could do without each other.There in lies Joey's importance. Barney Stinson is epic ; but since the other characters do not compliment him that well his portrayal is just not as good as Joey.All in all this is just my personal opinion.