a very good show indeed

Tonight, I was watching a tv show that I had never seen before, called "Go On".  The only thing that I knew about the show is that it is supposed to be a comedy starring Matthew Perry. 

What I didn't know going into it, is that Matthew Perry's character has recently experienced the death of his wife.  After a little research, I realize that I saw the 2nd official show tonight (excluding the pilot).

So, there I was, watching this show about a man whose wife has recently died.  He's trying to make his life 'normal' again, and he's going to a group therapy for people who have experienced various life changes.  I didn't know much about the backstory, because this wasn't the first episode.  What I did realize is that there are still people in his life that haven't heard the news. 

One of the people he had to break the news to was his landscaper.  After he told the landscaper, the landscaper began to build a fountain in the yard, in memory of the wife.  It was brightly colored, and had a large woman (perhaps Mary?) at the top of it.  It certainly didn't fit the modern landscaping in the backyard, and some might even say it was tacky.  Nonetheless, it was something that the landscaper needed to do. 

Plenty of funny things happened throughout the show, but a lot of it was quite real to the experiences I've had over the last year.  People trying to do and say the right things without succeeding, people trying to guess what the bereaved are feeling, the group trying to figure out how to (you guessed it) go on.

And then, at the end of the show, I cried.  The people from the life changes group had ended up at Matthew Perry's home, and they heard music coming from the back patio.  When they stepped outside, the fountain had been completed, and it was simply beautiful.  Tears streamed down my cheeks as I thought of all that our friends, family, and even strangers have done for us.

It was overwhelming to watch a tv show about something so close to my heart, but it was such a relief to see it, too.  I don't know if the show will be a huge success, but I truly hope it will be.  After the show was over, I watched the pilot and the 1st official episode on nbc.com - a very good show, indeed.