Similarities between Seinfeld and iCarly

[King_of_doom]

Hope don't get bash for this lol, i admit i do watch iCarly since some episodes are funny and back then my fav show was and still is Seinfeld and when i watch iCarly i see some similarities between the shows:

-The main characters want to start their own show, Jerry and George want a show about nothing and Carly and Sam want a show about everything of course Carly and Sam had a success doing their own show in the first episode.

-All the characters have their own hang out, Seinfeld has Tom's restaurant and iCarly has the The Groovy Smoothies

- Even tho the characters are different in comedy, personality they have some similarities:

Carly/Jerry: Both are the center of the show, Both are the catalyst of the show, but are the straight man/girl. Everyone is friends with them, regardless of the other relationships that those people have and both are famous in their own way.

Sam/Elaine: Both are pushy and loud, and get into open conflicts with people around them, even tho Elaine doesn't do it often but she does bothers and sometimes hates George like Sam with Freddie.

Freddie/George: They are the sad sacks, the people who just cannot win, Freddie might have his moments more than George yet both of them have a hard time finding the right person for them

Freddie's mom/George's parents: Even tho they are the opposite(Freddie's mom loves his son and George's parents hates him) all of them make a big deal on what their sons do and try to embarrassed them.

Neville/Newman: Both are the antagonist of the main characters, in the DVD commentary they mention that the hatred between Jerry and Newman it is because Newman once tried to ruin Jerry's show just like Neville wanted to do with Carly.

Gibby/Newman(again): Both of them started as background characters until they start having bigger roles, both hang more with the other characters than the main character(Kramer and Newman and Gibby and Spencer)

The one that has alot more similarities and tell me if i'm not lying:

Kramer/Spencer: Both characters are total nut jobs and do alot of crazy stuff, both of them have a friend that never appears on the show(Kramer's friend Bob Sacamano and Spencer's friend Socko), both of them have their own way to gain money: Kramer does different things like the Coffee Table and Spencer with his art, both of them have suffer punches, hits and other crazy stuff that hurt themselves, both characters have their own nemesis:

Crazy Joe Devola/Chuck Chambers: Both of them are psychopaths that wants revenge on both Kramer and Spencer.

Now wonder if iCarly needs a character like George Steinbrenner lol, iCarly may have its moments but not has memorable as Seinfeld and also when it comes to writing yet both shows have their own way of comedy.


Ok, maybe i had free time but wanted to see how everyone thinks about it.

[ABrown]

Um, yeah. I'm gonna have to say no.

[email2003]

Simple!

Seinfeld > iCrappy

[Restless]

iCarly's characters aren't anything new. You'll find a million others just like them if you look at other tween comedies (and cartoons, too). Not saying Seinfeld had completely original characters, but they were definitely executed well and had unique and often relatable personalities. iCarly's often come off as generic or one-note. There are similarities between Seinfeld and iCarly, but only with the bare bones of a character (if that). Their personalities are very different. People aren't going to recognize any true similarities between Elaine and Sam.

Having a character referred to but never seen isn't all that rare. I believe a character called Fuzzy Slippers is sporadically referred to on Hey Arnold, and none of us can forget Maris in Frasier. Additionally, Spencer has a recurring job as an artist in iCarly. How he makes enough money to support them is subject to debate (though they do have at least one parent), but the joke with Kramer was always that no one knew how he made money or could even support himself. He rarely would get an actual job, he still had an apartment and car and could get involved in odd scemes, and often borrowed random objects from Jerry. There are even a few jokes about it over the course of the series.

If it was announced tomorrow that Seinfeld somehow inspired iCarly, I'd still stick with the belief that almost none of it really carried over, other than eroded skeletons of the characters.

[King_of_doom]

iCarly's characters aren't anything new. You'll find a million others just like them if you look at other tween comedies (and cartoons, too). Not saying Seinfeld had completely original characters, but they were definitely executed well and had unique and often relatable personalities. iCarly's often come off as generic or one-note. There are similarities between Seinfeld and iCarly, but only with the bare bones of a character (if that). Their personalities are very different. People aren't going to recognize any true similarities between Elaine and Sam.

Having a character referred to but never seen isn't all that rare. I believe a character called Fuzzy Slippers is sporadically referred to on Hey Arnold, and none of us can forget Maris in Frasier. Additionally, Spencer has a recurring job as an artist in iCarly. How he makes enough money to support them is subject to debate (though they do have at least one parent), but the joke with Kramer was always that no one knew how he made money or could even support himself. He rarely would get an actual job, he still had an apartment and car and could get involved in odd scemes, and often borrowed random objects from Jerry. There are even a few jokes about it over the course of the series.

If it was announced tomorrow that Seinfeld somehow inspired iCarly, I'd still stick with the belief that almost none of it really carried over, other than eroded skeletons of the characters.
I'm glad some have more elaborated thinking in their comments. I agree that all the characters are not new since we have seen this on others just had this on my mind since i watch sometimes iCarly in the afternoon and at 6 i watch Seinfeld and some things remind me of the characters.

Anyway i wanted to see how others react about it and i know most of them will disagree but those are their opinions.

[Michael24]

Restless said it best. You'll find lots of similar characters in other sitcoms.


Neville/Newman: Both are the antagonist of the main characters, in the DVD commentary they mention that the hatred between Jerry and Newman it is because Newman once tried to ruin Jerry's show just like Neville wanted to do with Carly.
Seinfeld is also my favorite show of all time, and if I remember correctly, the antagonistic relationship between Jerry and Newman was actually never explained. Newman was introduced before Jerry and George ever started working on their show for NBC, and while he always relished the thought of Jerry failing at things, he never actually did anything to ruin Jerry's sitcom. I think I did read an interview once where somebody from the show said Newman was probably just always jealous of Jerry's success, but nothing like that was ever elaborated on in the show.

On a sidenote, I also like iCarly. True, I'm so far outside its target demographic, and I don't watch it religiously, but I have been known to leave it on if I come across it while channel surfing and nothing else is on. It's a harmless show, but it's better than some other tweencoms I've seen, and it can still make me laugh. Especially with anything involving Spencer. :D