A Brief History of Situation Comedies

Friends—this was the one where we were sitting on the couch together and our skin touched for the first time. Popcorn and Mountain Dew. It was that episode about Ross dressing up to take Rachel to the dance because she thought her date was not going to show up. It’s “The One With Prom Video,” and your elbow touched my arm. As you teared up at the end of the show, you put your head on my lap—I wanted to go home and never think about the time I fell in love. I thought about it.

We laughed when we were supposed to cry, and we cried when we were supposed to laugh—so that was Scrubs, and so that was us, magnets in opposites of the world, and so we were drawn to it whether we wanted to or not. Luckily, we attracted each other, too—at the end of every episode, we sang TLC’s “No Scrubs”—a ritual that always ended with us kissing and spilling over our snacks. That montage during the series finale—that how I wanted it to be, for us.

I wish I could’ve held up the blue French Horn for you, just like in How I Met Your Mother, but I figured you wanted something more—something that was meaningful between you and I and no one else, like we were our own sitcom. That’s why I waited so long—it had to be perfect, not for me, but for you. It had to be perfect for you. Was it? I guess we never had that conversation, but that evening at the laundromat, as the washing machines and dryers were shaking and rattling and telling their own stories—just before we were mugged, I asked you. You never said yes and we lost all that we had in our pockets, but there we were, at home together, every day, in front of the TV hoping for the unexpected.

We had been through a lot together—so much, sometimes I can’t believe that we made it at that far. So many tough times mixed in with the fun, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as sad at that episode in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, when Will meets his dad, and when he left his son at the end, just as he had done years ago. It was the most fatherly Uncle Phil had been up to that point—it was the most we had ever seen him hurt for his nephew. You were in a similar situation—I understand. You made it, though, without him—in spite of him, and I’m so thankful to be a part of that journey with you. I so love you. In spite of me.

It was always about Cory and Topanga in Boy Meets World, as it should be. It should be because the most important relationship was between Angela and Shawn—it was complicated and real and it was us looking at our reflections on the TV screen. We watched every episode of every season, as morning arrived, we knew that this was the end. When Eric revealed his philosophical findings by saying, “Lose one friend, lose all friends, lose yourself,” we recognized my failures, and I lost myself. Sorry—so sorry.

There's this scene in The Office where Pam is crying, and Dwight sees her and says something along the lines of "Who did this to you?" It's a tender and unexpected moment when a predominantly emotionless character, who seemingly doesn't care, shows that he actually looks out for his friends. I've seen this particular episode several times, but it didn't quite resonate meaningfully until last week when I thought of you while crossing the street. I hope you have a Dwight around, and I'm sorry—so sorry. I can pick up the phone—I know, but that would require a better version of myself which can only be seen on TV.