That '70s Show x F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Character Profiles
Michael Kelso & Joey Tribbiani
Womanizer: Both being handsome and charming, they were popular with the ladies and enjoyed casual sex, seen throughout both series.
Model Behaviour: Kelso was “discovered” in season four and was a model for Halverson’s (much to Jackie’s chagrin). Joey infamously was the face of VD (coincidentally, Kelso also frequented the free clinic) and would later become a soap actor.
Animal Lover: Kelso was shown to love dogs, even ditching Jackie to play with a pack of them. Joey and his roommate adopted a chick and duck as pets for their apartment in the earlier seasons of the show.
We Are Family: They both had a big table at Thanksgivings. Joey has seven sisters. Kelso has six siblings. It wouldn’t be surprising if they both got lost in the shuffle at home.
Other Consideration: Ross for his possessiveness over women
Odd One Out: Both can be regarded as the odd card in the deck of the rest of the friend group. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Fez was from a different country. Phoebe thought she was from another planet.
Loyal to a Fault: Perhaps because neither had their birth family around, it made them more dependent and loyal to their friend groups. Phoebe was left essentially parent-less and had a strained relationship with her twin sister. Fez had a foster family, but his blood relatives were across the world.
The Music in Me: Phoebe was perhaps best known for her music, though she thought she was more talented than she was. It never stopped her from strumming her guitar and singing for strangers. Fez revealed his skills with the xylophone when he competed with Kelso for the best room in their shared apartment.
Wordsmith: Both Phoebe and Fez were speakers of different languages. We never knew exactly what language it was that Fez spoke but there were a few times he used his native tongue. Phoebe was fluent in French and tried (unsuccessfully) to teach Joey.
Other Consideration: Joey for being sex-obsessed
Eric Forman & Ross Geller
Nerd Alert: Ross’s obsession was dinosaurs. Eric’s was Star Wars. Though Ross was revealed to also have a liking to Princess Leia. In fact, both their loves (Donna and Rachel) dressed up as Leia to seduce their respective nerds.
Territorial: Perhaps the least attractive quality of both men and something both their girlfriends were turned off by their jealousies and possessiveness. Eric demonstrated this shortly after he and Donna went steady and Ross was famously made an ass of himself with Rachel’s co-worker.
Carrying a Torch: Both Ross and Eric have been in love with the same woman practically their entire lives. Eric and Donna were close friends since early childhood and got together in high school with both harbouring romantic feelings for each-other for several years. Ross fell in love with Rachel in high school and never fell out, with them finally getting together in their mid-twenties.
Mama’s Boy: Once again, Eric finds a commonality when it comes to his mama. Ross too was close with his mom. In this series comparison, it is clear that Eric’s mother and Ross’s mother favoured their son over their daughter (Laurie and Monica).
Other Consideration: Chandler for his sarcastic humour
Donna Pinciotti & Monica Geller
Head Strong: Both women can be described as confident and career-driven, motivated by their respective passions. Donna, a music-lover, got her foot in the door as a radio DJ. Monica, a self-identified foodie, got to climb up the ladder to eventually become a chef at an acclaimed restaurant.
Girl Power: Neither one knows their own strength. In fact, Donna and Monica were shown to actually be stronger than most of the men around them and surprisingly gifted at sports. Donna was one of the guys when it came to basketball games and Monica knew her way with a football, often competing with Ross for their family trophy.
Daddy’s Girl: They definitely had a closer relationship with their fathers, who both can be described as the more submissive parent (in comparison to the mothers). After Midge left for California, Donna had to rely on her dad for comfort. Monica gravitated towards her father while her mother openly favoured Ross.
My Best Friend: Donna and Monica both ultimately fell in love with whom they considered to be their best friend. Though this was a friendship that developed in their adulthood with Monica and Chandler, they established a platonic bond before getting romantic in London. Donna and Eric have known each-other their whole lives and made the romantic leap in high school.
Other Consideration: Phoebe for caring about causes
Jackie Burkhart & Rachel Green
Development: Of all the other characters in their groups, Rachel and Jackie stand out the more for maturing the most. Both started out as spoiled, shallow snobs with silver spoons in their mouths but had to adapt to a humbler life due to the circumstances around them. They became better people through the series and developed meaningful relationships with the people around them. They both thought they knew what they wanted in their first seasons but eventually learned what they needed by the show’s end.
Fashionista: Both are considered style icons for their respective decades. Jackie really rocked the 1970’s era with her polished style, embracing bellbottoms, maxi dresses and neck scarves while Rachel embodied the chicness of the 1990’s with her high-waisted jeans, crop tops and stockings. They cared about their appearances, and it showed.
Toxic Parents: We knew early on that both Rachel and Jackie were used to an upper-class lifestyle provided by their parents that may have contributed to their naivety and ignorance. Though Jackie’s parents’ dynamic is mostly implied offscreen (her mother was an absentee drunk and her father an emotionally-distant workaholic), Rachel’s parents’ dynamic can be considered similar when we witnessed her going back and forth with the bitter former spouses during her birthday party, unable to resist from bashing the other to their only child.
Popular: One of the reasons for their snobbery and initial abrasiveness can be contributed to their common identification as one of the “popular kids” in high school. Jackie was a cheerleader for the majority of the show and though she technically wasn’t one, Rachel did dress up as cheerleader to impress a potential suiter in season four.
Other Consideration: Monica for being high maintenance
Steven Hyde & Chandler Bing
Glass Half Empty: Both can sometimes have a similar tone and outlook on life. They can be described as pessimistic but Chandler and Hyde would be quick to clarify that they are realistic. Take their common dislike for the extravagance of a wedding for example. They were the reality check Jackie and Monica needed to ground them when it came to marital expectations.
Chaotic Upbringing: Certainly different in terms of socioeconomic status/class, but that doesn’t change the fact that Hyde and Chandler both had traumatic childhoods. Hyde’s father abandoned him and his mother, who in turn blamed Hyde and took it out on him, verbally, physically and emotionally. Chandler’s parents divorced young and had an antagonistic dynamic for the remainder of his life.
Brotherly Love: Chandler and Hyde both developed lifelong friendships with Ross and Eric to the point where they are basically family. Hyde and Eric are foster brothers after Eric’s parents took Hyde into their home following his own mother’s abandonment. Chandler and Ross actually became brothers (in-law) when the former married the latter’s sister.
Commitment-Phobic: Neither Chandler nor Hyde would have considered themselves to be the happily-ever-after type. In fact, both openly confessed that they never really had long-term romantic relationships (though this was intentional on Hyde’s part). All that changed when a certain abrasive brunette entered their lives. Before them, the idea of marriage would give them hives. Chandler and Monica did end up married with kids and when given an ultimatum, Hyde was about to propose to Jackie when she left for Chicago.
Other Consideration: Joey for selflessness with friends
