Chandler Bing: My comfort character

Amongst all the tributes flowing in for Matthew Perry this week, there was one that stuck with me.

It labelled Perry as the 'comfort character' in Friends.

And honestly, there can be no better description for the inimitable Chandler Bing.

There will never be another Chandler, in any other series, ever again.

He was a sitcom genius, possessing that perfect blend of being neurotic, hilarious & dorkishly sarcastic all in one.

Boy oh boy did Perry master his character brief. 

His comedic timing, facial expressions and overall warmth made him the absolute standout of the long running series (ok he was an equal first with my other favourite Jennifer Aniston 😍).

But there was something else that made Perry shine in this role.

You always felt a little better about life when you'd had a bit of Chandler humour.

Friends in general gave me such wonderful feel good vibes in the 90s. It was such an easy to watch, wholesome 30 minutes of funny goodness on a Sunday evening  (PSA kids: back in the 90s there was no Netflix or TV on demand. You watched the show once a week, and waited in anticipation for a whole 7 days before the next episode screened. Argh life was hard).

Eerily, I started rewatching Friends repeats 2 weeks ago.

In fact, I found out Perry had died when a news notification popped up on my phone - just after finishing the 3rd season (FYI - there are 10 seasons, in case you're wondering).

I swear it slapped me in the face harder than any other celebrity death has before.

And I genuinely think one of the main reasons is that Chandler really was a comfort character. He was MY comfort character.

And especially so over these last couple of weeks.

You see, I’ve spent most of the past fortnight lying in bed dealing with an injured back ... and subsequently feeling sore and sorry for myself.

I've gone through the gamut of emotions - 'why me, oh god will I be in pain forever, I want the simple things in life back, oh how I miss wearing high heels & pretty clothes'. You know, the usual.

But something that has helped pull me out of my self-imposed pity party is Friends.

The first couple of days of bed rest saw me hurtle down the road of watching dark movies (by the way, if you're feeling down on life don't watch Vengeance with Nicholas Cage or Nowhere with actors I've never heard of).

My mental health didn't need to cop these D grade movies, but I digress.

So on a whim and because I didn't want to feel sad anymore, I started watching Friends from the very beginning.

I remember watching the first episode way back in my 20s and nearly cracking a rib laughing when Chandler says "And I just want a million dollars" (in the scene when runaway bride Rachel storms into Central Perk cafe).

And … I am happy to report, that scene didn't let me down watching it decades later.

There was something beautiful about immersing myself once again in this sweet 90s sitcom over these last couple of weeks.

I felt happy, disconnected from reality a bit, and importantly … I felt comforted.

And Matthew Perry has had a huge part to play in that.

It was especially poignant watching Perry have the very last line in the final episode of Friends.

It was well written, and as usual, delivered perfectly by Chandler Bing.

Vale Matthew Perry.

Thankyou for the laughs.