Certain celebrity deaths hit hard - the untimely deaths of Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams, and Kate Spade immediately come to mind. Given the joy that they bring to our lives, it's easy to feel as though we have lost a loved one, or someone from our F•R•I•E•N•D•S circle, as is the case with the quick, snarky, sweet, and cute Chandler Muriel Bing, played by the amazing Matthew Perry, who recently passed away.

The comfort that celebrities offer us through their art and work is immeasurable and so appreciated. Feeling blue? Play Selena's “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.” Feeling sick? Stay home and binge Lucy's and Desi's “I Love Lucy.” Feeling nostalgic? Play Aaliyah's “Miss you.”

Over the past year and a half - which has been tough, on a personal level - I found myself gravitating towards television and music for comfort, as one typically does during troubling times, amirite?

Admittedly, Friends is not a show that I watched a lot during this period, maybe just for a few nights through HBO Max, or Max as it is known now. I soon learned that Max automatically plays the next episode when one ends, so since I'd wake up in the middle of the night having missed a lot of Friends, I chose to watch Parks and Rec instead through iTunes. It was just easier to turn on that show and drift to sleep to the voices of Leslie, Ron, Tom, Donna and everyone else in Pawnee, IN. I also rewatched a lot of The Office, some Community, and even binged the entire 10 seasons of Vanderpump Rules for the first time this past summer (OMG, why hadn't I discovered this crazy Bravo show sooner?).

I guess I took Friends for granted - I'd always say, oh I can just watch it whenever; they'll always “be there for you.” Someone's passing - especially someone as endearing as Matthew Perry - is always a huge reminder that nope, life comes at you fast, so if you have people whom you care about, you better let them know ASAP, and don't even think about taking anything for granted.

My sisters and I grew up watching Friends. Like with my favorite movie, Clueless, I can pretty much recite entire Friends episodes from memory. And I honestly love all of the friends - including Ross (why so much anti-Rossness in the world?). For the record, they WERE on a break. If he hadn't thought that Rachel was with Mark at the same time that he was with the copy shop girl, then maybe he wouldn't have slept with that girl. And he's genuinely funny - the leather pants, the sandwich, the voicemail to himself about getting stamps, the “PIVOT!” - I mean, come on! Joey is adorable, Monica is relatable, Rachel is the one, and Phoebe gave me a phrase that I repeat constantly and silently to myself for no reason at all: “Nes-lay Tul-HOUZA” (“Nestlé Toll House”).

But when I sat down to write this article on the day after Matthew Perry passed away, and I thought about my absolute favorite scenes, I found that part of why these are my favorite is because of the magic that comes from “transponster” extraordinaire, Miss Chanandler Bong. Check these out:

• That's right - at the top of my list (though these are in random order) is the one with Ross' quiz about which pair of friends knows each other best. Chandler's line, “You are RUINing moving day for us!” after he and Joey beat Monica and Rachel and win the girls' apartment is something that I think about all the time.
• The one where Joey puts on all of Chandler's clothes and does lunges, while going commando no less, prompting Chandler to go, “Uhhh-aah!” in disgust, is another favorite.
• There's also the one where Chandler and Rachel keep stealing cheesecakes, and Rachel throws Chandler's last piece on the ground after she accidentally drops hers. LOL.
• The one where Joey builds the oversized entertainment unit and his electric drill gets a tad too close to Chandler's head is awesome. Chandler's line, “No, you didn't get me. It's an electric drill. You get me, you KILL me!” is another one that I think about a LOT.
• The one where Chandler and Joey lose Ross' kid on the bus (uy no) is a classic. One of my all-time favorite lines from the entire series occurs when he and Joey are flipping a coin to guess which baby is Ross', either the one with ducks on his clothes, or the one with clowns. After Joey assigns the ducks-wearing baby to heads “because ducks have heads,” Chandler goes, “What kind of scary-ass clowns came to your birthday?” That's when I first saw him as a cool dude, and not just dorky Chandler. (Side note: I first saw him as a really hot guy opposite Salma Hayek in the truly underrated film, “Fools Rush In.” Whew, Mr. Bing!)
• The one where Rachel and Phoebe rope him into finding Monica's hidden holiday gifts is so funny. I know it's Rachel who delivers this gem of a line, but she does say it to Chandler after he talks about the true meaning of Christmas, so it still counts: “Whatever Linus, I'm opening mine.”
• And lastly, the one where Rachel handcuffs Chandler to her boss' filing cabinet, and he accidentally slams his head on it is simply the best. His facial expression and hand gesture there are just priceless.

The list could go on and on, and I'll probably update this article later to add more. There are just so many moments that easily make Chandler the best part of the show - like when he always tries to save his BFF Joey: “Run, Joey, run!” Or when Joey said one of his Joey-isms, and Chandler tells him, “Ok, you have to stop the Q-Tip when there's resistance.” Or when Chandler screams, “I KNEW it!” after Rachel tells Ross, “And hey, just so you know - it's not that common, it doesn't happen to every guy, and it IS a big deal!”

Besides displaying Matthew Perry's superb comedic timing, I also love how Friends, through Chandler and Monica, showed that some of the best romantic relationships often begin with a solid friendship between two people. It's great that he and Monica were genuine friends before they started dating, and it's so cool how the show foreshadowed their love from time to time - like in the one at the beach with Phoebe's birth mother, where he kept asking Monica if she would ever date him. I mean, Ross and Rachel probably broke up in the non-existent season 11, and she wound up moving to Paris without him after all. But, Monica and Chandler? Na - they are for sure still going strong, with Joseph living next door with his hot wife, “Karen” (IYKYK, lol). That's how I like to imagine it anyway.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Matthew Perry's struggles with addiction. Knowing now what he went through while making Friends, it's hard to see his appearance change so drastically throughout the show's various seasons. It's admirable that he spent so much of his life helping others deal with their own challenges. Could our collective friend BE any cooler? Nope.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Perry. Thank you for helping us heal through laughter.

Photo credit: Cori