There is the sad urban legend that "death comes in threes". Actor Richard Roundtree, who played "Shaft", died October 24th at age 81. Richard Moll, "Bull" Shannon from Night Court, and the voice of Harvey Dent, alias Two-Face on Batman: The Animated Series, died October 26th at age 81. Saturday, October 28th, Matthew Perry, best known as the snarky, wise-cracking Chandler Bing on Friends, passed away after apparently drowning in his jacuzzi. He was 54.
Sadly, Perry's career was darkened by self-esteem issues and doubt. In his memoir, he admitted that his prayer was for fame. He was willing to do anything for it. He admitted during the MAX Friends reunion that he didn't think he was funny, and angsted over every laugh. I wonder sometimes if we were created to seek out fame. There are scriptures that say we should live our lives simply and humbly, away from any limelight or attention. Yet, in the course of all human history, we have drifted to narcissism. Friends was such a popular and successful show, and yet he never seemed to find any satisfaction in that. That's such a shame. I always thought he was the funniest character on the show.
Looking back over the decade long run of the series, I think I identified with Perry's character. He was more ordinary than Ross or Joey. The producers confessed that they considered pairing Monica with Joey, however, when you look at the episodes leading up to London, you can see the chemistry between Chandler and Monica. Through the flashbacks to Ross and Chandler's college days, the thread comes that Chandler followed Monica. He pursued her and was able to find an apartment across the hall from hers! I would argue that from episodes like The One Where Ben Is Born, where Chandler proposes having kids together with Monica, that they were destined to be a couple from the start, whether that was premeditated or not.
The producers have also said that other than the MAX UN-scripted reunion, there will never be a scripted reunion of Friends. That would not be right, it would be a cash-grab. While I accept that, I disagree. Even though the show left the characters in a different place, they're still friends. A reunion could celebrate Joey winning an Oscar for Best Actor. It could be for Ben's wedding. It could celebrate a milestone for Emma. It could also be for Jack Gellar's funeral.
"Jack Gellar, buried at sea. Huh."
Friends celebrate milestones. Some of the classic Friends episodes celebrated Thanksgiving.
There was an alternate reality episode where Chandler and Monica still connected. Chandler wrote for Archie Comics.
That's what I would LOVE to see! A Friends comic. Hey! - Welcome Back, Kotter got ten issues! Bless Mark Evanier, who wrote both the live action and the comic book series! I mean no disrespect at all - I just want to point out just how unlikely a comic book Welcome Back, Kotter was.
Friends was produced by Warner Bros. Television. Warner Bros. is the parent of DC Comics.
Okay, here's my pitch: After Freud!, Estelle gets Joey a gig for as Robin for an anniversary photo shoot promoting the DC Comics / Keebler / Nancy Reagan Drug Awareness Program. Ross and Chandler make fun of his costume. However, Joey is quite successful with the models standing in as "New" Teen Titans Raven, Starfire and Wonder Girl. He is embarrassed by the guy posing as archer Speedy, who stops a crime - like John Ritter in Hero at Large. Monica could be mistaken for Donna Troy, who is Wonder Girl. Phoebe could meet a guy who could be The Flash villain The Pied Piper. Ross could dust off his Science Boy script.
Hey, if Welcome Back, Kotter could get a comic book, so can Friends! Y'never know what's going to work, until you try it.
Good night, Chandler Bing. May you finally find peace.
