I had a discussion earlier with a few friends about the best moments in…well, in Friends. Phoebe’s “Smelly Cat” renditions came to mind first, of course. Who can forget the iconic acoustic number? Arguably the first time mainstream media spotlighted cats, besides pointing out their affinity for bachelorettes.
It then occurred to me cats wormed their way into a more
recent television outlet, encouraging their social spread and significance:
does “Soft Kitty” ring any bells?
Yes, I managed to parallel two of my favorite TV shows over
the course of my morning coffee.
But let’s dig into the two songs (they’re both SONGS, even!)
and think about how they’re in the least similar…besides their feline focus.
How about their use in making the listener, or audience, feel better and
happier?
Phoebe’s jingle might have received a few odd appraisals at
first, but the entirety of Central Perk learns the verse and chorus in the end
credits of its first feature episode. She, and everyone else, uses their “real
voice” to herald the “smelly cat” and wonder…just what are they feeding it? Its quirk is the very thing that makes it
amusing and fun—everyone gets to feel goofy, free of judgment.
And speaking of odd appraisals, Sheldon made Penny’s
eyebrows shoot to the sky when he first asked her to sing “Soft Kitty,” his
childhood feel-better song for times of illness and injury. Just as it strumming
“Smelly Cat” spoke to Phoebe’s trust in the café atmosphere, Penny demonstrates
her strength and dependency lulling “Shelly” to sleep—or just humoring him—with
his mother’s lyrics time and time again.
But Sheldon did always have a particular attachment to cats
in the series. I think cats need a comeback in The Big Bang Theory; I’d stay
tuned for that!
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