Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir (PDF)

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening—as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the book fans have been waiting for.

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The Fog Of Courage | Courage The Cowardly Dog | Cartoon Network

When Courage finds a mysterious amulet while digging through the yard, a Ghostly Fog covers the farm. Eustace, however, refuses to return the amulet that apparently belongs to the Fog Ghost's long lost love, Cariana. Now Courage must protect his family from the vengeful fog spirit.

Rude Removal | Dexter's Laboratory | Cartoon Network

 

"Rude Removal" is a cartoon episode originally produced in 1997 for the animated television series Dexter's Laboratory for Cartoon Network. It was intended to air as part of the second season, but was left unaired due to the characters swearing even though the swear words were censored. 

Recap To The Year: Checkered Past, A Forgotten Chapter In Cartoon Network's History

Checkered Past is a weeknight programming block currently viewed on Cartoon Network. I regard it as the international counterpart of Boing and Boomerang as the block features classic series like Ed Edd'n Eddy, Johnny Bravo, The From Adventures Of Billy And Mandy and Samurai Jack.

Since its inception from last month, Warner Bros. Discovery hasn't spoken about duplicating the offering in other countries. Can't really say I'm surprised as this content has it's own channel and some parts of Europe don't really acknowledge this part of Cartoon Network.

But I on the other would have loved to see more variety on Cartoon Network with or without Checkered Past. I feel Warner Bros. Discovery in these regions are just modernising as children still watch television in these regions unlike the US where adults dominate TV.

Something I've seen in some parts of Europe would be restrictions to shows like Samurai Jack and The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy. While the main feed can still be seen airing these shows others have gone as far as banning them for depicting violence or horror.

But hey it's kind of weird how this entertainment can have its own channel in some of these regions and be catered to the same demographic as Cartoon Network. Instead of falling under Adult Swim as viewers to have viewed had grown overtime with some exploring other interests.

For those in the mood for 90s and early 00s Cartoon Network, there's always Boing and Boomerang but majority of content can be streamed these days on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Showmax in case you find yourself in a situation where you reside in a region without Max then always VPN.

PBS KIDS Greenlights Its First Series Built Around Autistic Characters

PBS KIDS has commissioned Fuzzytown Productions and Spiffy Pictures to produce Carl the Collector, its first series featuring a cast of characters who are on the autism spectrum.

Set for a fall 2024 premiere, this 2D-animated concept for four- to eight-year-olds was created by New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Zachariah OHora (My Cousin Momo).

Carl the Collector centers around an autistic raccoon who is smart and energetic, but who struggles with anxiety in new situations and when things don’t go according to plan. He has a huge collection of things (from the perfect fake mustache for a disguise, to a soft plushie when a friend is in need) to help him solve whatever problems his friends, who are both on and off the spectrum, are facing.

The PBS greenlight is for 40 x 22-minute episodes (each one tells two 11-minute stories). Canadian studio Yowza! Animation (Green Eggs and Ham) will handle the animation, Spiffy Pictures co-founder Adam Rudman (Donkey Hodie ) is working on scripts as head writer, and OHora will executive produce.

Advisors on board include Dr. Geraldine Oades-Sese, a licensed child psychologist and kids book author; and Stephen Shore, an autistic professor of special education at New York’s Adelphi University. “Carl the Collector will become a great tool for both autistic and non-autistic people to gain insight on autism,” says Shore.

News Shorts: Saturdays Cancelled After One Season On Disney Channel, Telemundo Temporarily Suspends Production Of Original Programming, Redemption Makes It's Freemium Debut On e.tv

Saturdays are about to be retired

 

Earlier this year, Disney launched a brand new single-cam, coming-of-age comedy series called “Saturdays” on the Disney Channel and Disney+. The show takes place on the best day of the week...Saturday! The series revolves around 14-year-old Paris Johnson and her best friends Simone and Ari, who hone their roller-skating skills on the cool parquet floor of Saturdays, a local skating rink in Chicago. Together they form the We-B-Girlz skate crew and are determined to show and prove they have the hottest skate routines on the planet!

Unfortunately, according to TVLine, the show has been cancelled because while, Disney Branded Television was high on the show, it is now focusing on building out its multicam strategy. Disney is also focusing more on shows that are based on Disney-owned IP, and will be focused on creating global tentpole programming.

Telemundo is going on autopilot

Based in the United States, Telemundo is a Spanish language television channel distributed internationally by NBCUniversal. It is home to number of original productions including My Heart Beats For Lola, Betty In New York, Fearless Heart and Aurora.

Due to declining number of TV households, Telemundo joins the lineup of premium TV channels to have lost their viewers on year end for platforms like Netflix and Disney+ and this included NBC, HBO, The CW, TNT, ABC, National Geographic, Freeform and Disney Channel.

This has resulted in the shortage of original productions as Telemundo delays production on an untitled Danilo Carrera series. Prior to that one of their current actors William Levy (Vuelve A Mí) had mentioned having numerous projects from the network taken away from him.

Internationally, the channel had to licence content from numerous studios including Colombian dramas The Chosen Granddaughter and Ana's Revenge from RCN and Caracol Television and Turkish series Cennet: The Power Of Destiny from ATV.

Redemption is coming to e.tv

Prior to the series debut on BET, it was very much announced that Redemption would be made available to e.tv. Following the cancellation of the family drama during the year, we got word that the series will air on weeknights at 20:00 from 19 November.

Set in a mega church, centres on the Zikode family. After the disappearance of Pastor Simon Zikhode (Themba Ndaba), his daughter Faith (Kwanele Mthethwa), who is on the cusp of an international music career, drops everything to come to her family's rescue.

The cast includes Tina Jaxa, Sthandiwe Kgoroge, Seputla Sebogodi, Yonda Thomas, Pearl Modiadie, Sparky Xulu, Nkone Mamejta and Toka Mtabane.