Why The Big Bang Theory and That 70's Show are Basically the Same Show

Note: If you haven't watched these two series, this blog post will make no sense. Sorry!

Since I've been in college, I have attempted to watch an entire season of a television show on Netflix each semester. I've watched Scrubs, Law and Order: SVU, Lost Girl, and Longmire...just to name a few. This semester, I decided on That 70's Show. I had seen many episodes and knew I liked it plus the episodes are only 30 minutes and don't require much thinking. I just finished the final episode (of the 7th season-I didn't attempt to watch the train wreck of an 8th without most of the characters). Over the semester, I have made an interesting observation. I also watch The Big Bang Theory fairly regularly. And I see so many similarities between the two shows.

You wouldn't think  teenagers getting high and scientists would be similar characters. But here's the set-up. Both shows have four male best friends. First is the stable one (Eric or Leonard). Everyone gathers at his house and makes fun of him, even though he has the least absurd actions and reactions. He is somehow dating a girl way out of his league that lives next door. That's right. These beautiful girls both live right next door. The series revolves around the tumultuous relationship between these two characters.

Speaking of the girlfriend character (Donna or Penny), they are both made out to be more athletic while their boyfriend is nerdy (which sometimes irritates them). They both explain sports to their partners.

Now there is the most important character in both shows in my opinion: the roommate. Hyde and Sheldon are VERY different characters. The real similarity here is that neither show could work without this character. They provide a lot of the laughs and instigate a lot of the action. They are a constant presence and provide contrast for their roommate. They also both don't care at all what the others think of them. The other characters say they hate this, but they really love him.

Then there are the secondary friends. These two friends come to visit. One is a womanizer-or at least attempts to be- (Kelso and Howard) and the other is foreign (Fez and Raj). These two friends are best friends with one another. The first is always hitting on girls, to varying success. Kelso is really stupid, but Howard has no sense of social norms so both have to have things explained to them often. The foreign friend provides laughs on the basis of misunderstandings too, but on a cultural basis. He is also the most feminine of the guys. This character almost never has a girlfriend and this seems to be the main conflict in his life.

Note that Jackie is the only main character without a real counterpart, but The Big Bang Theory has added two female characters in their later seasons to make up for this discontinuance. There are no parents in BBT, but parents do provide conflicts at some points (Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard all have moms that drive them crazy and Raj's parents come in on Skype for a few episodes.)

As for story-lines, at some point one of the four main guys has a relationship with one of the other friend's sisters. Both have the main couple at odds about marriage--the girl isn't ready. Both have the womanizer character go off to a training for work in which they are the rookie (NASA space training and police academy). Hopefully, Big Bang Theory doesn't follow suit and die at the 8th season.

So, I guess the moral of this blog post is: Write a script about four best friends and a hot girl from next door, and you might make millions.