Seinfeld (1989-1998) and Will & Grace (1998-2006), sitcoms set in New York City, center around four unrelated characters who are good friends. Both sitcoms were unique for their time period, Seinfeld dealing with the minutiae of daily life while Will & Grace was based on homosexuality. Jerry's apartment and the one shared by Will and Grace are the primary stage for the drama.
While Seinfeld revolves around the lives of three straight men – Jerry, George, Kramer and one woman - Elaine, in contrast, Will & Grace takes you in to the lives of two gay men – Will and Jack and two straight women – Grace and Karen. Jerry and Will emerge as the most stable members in their own quartets.
The parallels drawn between Elaine and Grace are that both are successful professionals but just cannot seem to have long-lasting relationships. George and Karen for their part come across as self-obsessed and narcissistic individuals. Completing the ensemble are Jack and Kramer – two very different characters but with certain common traits to their personalities – both are eccentric, impulsive and are misfits to an extent.
Seinfeld deals with ordinary, everyday life and the presentation is what sets it apart. It seamlessly draws the viewer in and although events from previous episodes are referred to, it really does not matter that you may have missed a few. Will & Grace on the other hand is more staged and its characters and plots are contrived – not all that straight!!
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3 comments:
Thanks, Akshaya. What though do you mean by "WILL & GRACE was based on homosexuality"?
WILL & GRACE is a sitcom revolving around relationships and is strongly influenced by the ‘sexual orientation ‘of Will – that he is gay. It gives us an insight to what society thinks of homosexuals, for instance in an episode Will's dad tells his company that Grace is his son's wife, not beacause he was ashamed of his son but fears what others might judge his son because of his sexual orientation. Even many of references and jokes are based on homosexuality.
Yep, that's a bit clearer now. Thanks, Akshaya!
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