RIP Matthew Perry

Did they overdo it? Sure.

But the ratings were insane. That summer, it was Survivor and Millionaire.

What made them great was their LCD appeal. You could actually watch this with your 75 year old parents or your teenage kids.

 

Well played.

Well, um, er, I was covering a Boston Celtics game around that time, um, er, the Celtics came out gunnin' threes but then went cold.

So I wrote, "Boston bombin' to Boston Common!"

(None of this happened.)

 

Not sure I agree with all 10, but these are a good 10.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/matthew-perry-death-chandler-bing-best-friends-moments

 

Too much inside baseball.

 

Very few celebrity deaths make me pause too much. They can certainly be sad. Bring nostalgia. Thoughts of “way too young” or “very old, had a great life.” That’s about it.

This one’s a bit different for me. And perhaps others here, because I think a lot of us on here are Gen X.

“Friends” was right in the Gen X wheelhouse. Those of us who straddle the great generational technology divide. We moved from answering-machine culture to having the world in our pockets, constantly plugged in, with a smart phone.

And Chandler Bing was a pretty quintessential Gen X character. Sarcastic and funny. But earnest underneath. Terrible at relationships until he met the right one. The perception of a slacker but clearly a hard worker who wanted to do well. And be left alone.

Perry’s real-life struggles add to it. We bridged a time when addiction was looked at as failure and a character flaw, to now when it’s viewed as a disease and with more compassion. He was honest about it and really seemed to do his level best to beat it.

Perhaps it’s more broad than I’m making it out to be. The show and the character certainly touched older and younger generations.

But to me, Chandler was pure Gen X.

 

I remember that episode too, and as I recall, Dick Butkus (RIP) played the blockhead boyfriend’s father.

Watching some more clips, there was another episode when the parents are trying to get Carol to start dating again and she’s not willing to do so because she’s still grieving.

 

That’s a great point.

 

Well-said. This one hurts differently.

 

Well done, friend. Well done.

 

While never a “Friends” heavy user, this describes my life then to a T.

 

This is good timing w/the Foos performing. Grohl & Co sadly know too much about performing through and after loss.