RIP thread for people involved in TV
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Saw this illustration posted on insta. Very sad but fitting tribute.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy-TrK0qmqE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Woke up to the news of his death, and been kind of numb since then. I stopped watching Friends around Season 5/ or 6. But I did tune into the finale, as well as the reunion episode. I still had that attachment. This was very upsetting news.
There were shows that just dominated every decade. The 80s had Dallas, Miami Vice, St Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, and Cheers, just to name a tiny few. (Dallas had 83 million people, in the USA alone, tune into the episode that revealed 'Who Shot Jr?'. It was his Sister-in-Law, for those wondering). Seinfeld started in the late 80s, 1989 specifically, but it really gathered speed in the 90s. Cheers ended in 1993, and there was a genuine feeling that 'sitcoms are dead' when it ended. 93 million people tuned into the finale, in the US alone.
And then Friends started in 1994. And as @orangerhyme said, it exploded. The Simpson's and Friends dominated the 90s. (I mean, 'the Rachel' haircut became a staple of the decade) Even Game of Thrones wouldn't compare to Friends (or The Simpson's, for that matter) in terms of audience. The finale of Game of Thrones got 19.5 million viewers. Friends got more than that on average, per episode- estimates are between 22 to 25 million. (52 million watched the finale of Friends, where Matthew Perry had the last line. 16 million tune in to watch the reruns, every day.) I think Friends, like The Simpson's, was one of the last 'appointment' viewing shows. You'd sit down to watch it at the exact time it was one, make time in your schedule. And you'd only set the VCR to record it if you HAD to be somewhere else (wedding, funeral, family get together, school tomorrow). And it killed other shows- Murder She Wrote was one of its victims. It was a behemoth. Microsoft even brought in Jennifer Aniston and Perry to help showcase Windows 95. (Perry has admitted he never watched the final video.) This was sent to libraries to help them learn the new ins and outs of Win 95.
Perry had a very sad, troubled life. And you just hoped things would have gone better for him. (By his own admission, he was a full blown alcoholic at 14). But apparently only a few people knew just 'how bad' his addictions were. (The other Friends actors did their best to help cover it up- at any one time he could be on alcohol, Xanax, cocaine, methadone, or vicodin). I think I only truly realised the damage he did to his body when his colon exploded. Apparently he was on anti-depressants, and also medication for COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder) at the time of his death. For all his faults, he didn't blame anyone for his problems, but he did heap praise on the likes of Jennifer Aniston for always checking up on him.
RIP
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