Ken Olin and the actress playing the woman with cancer are married in real life. They also played a married couple on a another show, and her character had early onset Alzheimer's.
OH! Ok....When I saw Hope..was the name? calmly eating a candy bar while getting bad news...that was played out on This Is Us. I didn't watch much of this show...but, I thought I'd seen that scene when Mandy Moore git news her husband died in Us..
My husband and I used to watch this show. We were thirty something’s with kids and careers and it was very good. Fast forward 30 years and my husband is gone 13 years. Amazing to me I ever lived that life. It was a lifetime ago.
I used to watch Thirty Something as inspiration to make something of myself. I wanted to be a Yuppie with a nice clean office job. No one in my family had even graduated from high school and I saw an education as a way out of the life I had. Struggled through a community college. Then a university and even graduate school. I even worked in advertising for several years. I just always thought, "If rich kids can do it, so can I!" Looking back, I realize that the odds of me making it were pretty slim, but I did!
The night the pilot aired, my husband called me from the living room to come down. I did. He said "Someone has been spying on us. Watch!" I even still have crappy VHS tapes of some of the episodes. Great cast. Well written. Great production.
This show I remember watching although from a Boomer generation but loved how the entire cast cemented their relationship so well. However, Gary, was the one that glued all of the relationships together which helped them become less biased but "see the reality" of their actions. Loved this show for all those talented actors/actresses.
Thirtysomething years later, and these scenes still make me cry. What a series that was. The finest writing, the best acting. The characters still live in my memory like good friends.
Thirtysomething was and will always be an incredible show. I remember when i was fifteen staying up just to watch this amazing cast and poignantly written stories about the baby boomer generation struggling through their lives but also showing how much love they all loved each other. I miss this show so much.
Michele pinsker.i was around that age too.its funny that I wish I couldve watched it originally when I was in my 30s.a sign of a great show that I could watch it as a teenager and find meaning and watch it as a 48 yr old and find it just as meaningful
I loved reading this because I thought I was the only weirdo teen who’d intentionally watch the show. I loved these characters and they were the archetypes of what I’d imagined my own adult life would be. Somehow, I feel so immature compared to these characters even though I’m now forty something 😹😹😹
I was in my early 30s when this show was on and watched it every week. I hated the complaints that it was about yuppies complaining about their perfect lives. The point was, they had problems like everyone else and their lives weren't perfect
On January 8, 2020, ABC confirmed a television pilot that will serve as a sequel to the series has been ordered. The pilot will be directed by Zwick, written by Zwick and Herskovitz, and have four members of the original cast (Olin, Harris, Busfield and Wettig) reprising their roles.
The writing and dialogue - WOW - the best. Here's one of my faves between Ellyn and her mother Marjorie who is divorcing Ellyn's dad: Marjorie Warren: You see, there are two kinds of boys in high school. There are the good-looking ones, the ones on every team, the ones everyone wants. They're the greatest dancers too. And then there are the others... the boys who look as if they'd always rather be somewhere else reading a book, who are shy and awkward. I think you'd call them 'nerds' now. Those are the boys to marry, Ellyn. Those are the boys who tell you secrets, who hold you when you cry in the middle of the night, who want to grow old with you. Ellyn Warren: How do you know about this, Mom? Marjorie Warren: Because... I married a great dancer.
@@jgrmtnjgrmtn3954 You chose such a memorable scene! I love that one. The writing was exquisite. I always loved the Thirtysomething's tag line: "Kind of like life - only with better writers."
We were in our 30s with 3 kids and two very involved careers when this show came out. It was all people talked about in our age group. It was after the kids went to bed television for our generation. This episode was essentially compelling. Now we’re all 60 something.
I was also married and in my 30s with little kids when Thirtysomething was aired. It dealt with the same kinds of issues that my age cohort was dealing with at the time. Our group of friends all watched the show and discussed it. The realism and the superb acting and writing are what made the series so compelling. Because network television still commanded a mass audience at the time, excellent series like Thirtysomething had a much broader and deeper impact than even the best series of the past ~15 years. I would love to have it streamed on Netflix or another streaming service.
It first aired when I was 8-years-old, and it ended when I was 11. I watched it, and I loved it. This show was really important to me. Television taught me about the world in a way that my family didn't. I'm grateful quality shows like this existed back then on free tv.
I turned 30 in '89. I never missed thirty something. After it ended and went into reruns on a cable channel, I remember liking the tag line: "like real life, only with better writing."
Yup I was thirty something during the run of thirty something. Wallpaper peeling on the kitchen , working around the house with a little boy ( he’s now thirty something) it was / is our lifetime. Rinse repeat
I watched this when it first aired and was stunned. (No spoilers back then!) My husband came home from work and found me bawling! “What’s wrong?” “Gary died!” “Who the f--is Gary?” Crying all over watching it again.
Loved this show sooooooo much. This episode I will always remember. Ken olin is a boss at acting. The scene when he gets Gary things and breaks down.... Wow!!!!
I watched this originally as a thirty something newlywed. At the time, I didn't have experience with death. Thirty years years on, I've lost my my sister, my favorite aunt, and both my parents. I now know what death is. I understand that loss now, and watching this is breaking my heart.
It's been ages since I've watched this and even now, all these years later, I'm still struck by how poignantly it was written and the excellent acting on the show.
OMG I totally agree with you. This was the saddest TV episode I have ever watched in my entire life!! I loved Gary and the entire cast. Thirtysomething was one of a kind. I cried my eyes out too. So unexpected. I haven't seen this episode in years. Cried again when I rewatched this clip.
Debi Taylor Me too! I was 27 when this show started. I am 59 now got chills and tears again. I was such a shock back then. I was heartbroken when they cancelled the show.
He was gorgeous. Ken Olin did not age well. After this, he stuck to behind the camera work and got heavy. Odd, because his wife, Patricia Wettig stayed fabulously beautiful.
My now-wife and I loved this show when we were dating in college. We were nowhere near thirtysomething at the time, but the show resonated with us. Now we are fiftysomethings and watching this clip reminds me of all the reasons I loved this show.
I am a big This is Us fan. Watching this I just noticed the connection to Jack’s dying scene with Rebecca at the vending machine eating the candy bar, all light and happy just as Hope was with the vending machine candy.
OMG, I remember this amazing episode as if it had first aired five minutes ago. What a punch to the gut I felt at that moment!!! "Thirtysomething" was and always will remain one of my all-time favorite TV shows, airing during my college years when I was just an early-twentysomething. Gary's shocking death happening on the same ep as Nancy's good prognosis? I don't believe *anyone* saw that coming! The writing on this show, not just for this particular episode but also for the entire run of the series, was utterly brilliant and engaging. Like many others who have posted here, I would LOVE for them to have some sort of reboot.
Never before or since has the death of a TV character affected me like it was a real person. It was surreal how deeply I felt this. And it wasn't like I was the world's biggest Gary fan. It was just depicted in such stark realism.
I cried when this episode came on back in 1991. One of the things that got me was when Nancy said “It’s not supposed to Gary, it’s supposed... but I got better”. That still gets me everything I see this clip.
From what I understand at this time it can't be streamed because of all the amazing music that was part of the show. Each piece needs to be renegotiated so artists get paid. All the original agreements and music rights are fine to be in the DVDs as no-one could have ever imagined streaming. This is what's happened with China Beach and Homicide Life on the Streets, which was finally secured and is now streaming on Peacock.
I loved this show, never missed It back In the 90s.. I was In my 20s They don't make shows like this anymore, superb acting & great cast! I had the biggest crush on Michael ~
Me too. I think we got very specific shows for our time. Not 50s feel-good, not 60s rebellion, & not ra-ra capitalism-is-best-70s, just straight realism rolled from 50s-90s.
Omg. I haven’t watched this scene in more years than I care to count. Lol. I’ll tell you one thing, never has a television show had me speechless, heartbroken, shaken as this one. I will never forget watching this scene, the whole program. Never. It’s so odd that this even popped up in my suggested videos!
I wish we still had payphones and I think this episode was one of the top 5 in TV history. Amazing work! And Gary’s present to Nancy was perfect and so true!
@@ZippyTripped I remember everyone saying charge up your cell phones before Hurrican Katrina made landfall. The first thing that went out during the storm was my cellphone. Landline was still working.
Apparently the reason we don't see this in re-runs or streaming has to due with music rights. I watched a ThirtySomething Reunion here on RUclips and that's where it was mentioned.
My brother died at 23 in a stupid car accident in Galveston TX on a stretch of sea wall road that should hav3 had a guardrail and good lighting-but did not. His life was just beginning, his wife was pregnant with their first child, whom he never got to see. He had helped a woman earlier in the day whose battery had died by jumping her battery. On the ride home his car lost its lights, his friend was driving. They went over the sea wall, my brother was the only fatality. He went through the windshield and the car landed on top of him. It changed all our lives, so it felt familiar when I watched this when first broadcast. I loved this show.
So sorry. This is so similar to the way I lost my brother. He was 21 on his way back to college with two of his friends in the car. He fell asleep and the car flipped over a guardrail. He was ejected and the car landed on him. Fortunately the other two boys got out ok. That was 49 years ago.
I was a teenager when the show was popular and this is the first scene that I came to look for on the Internet when I finally got dial up. I’m over 50 now and it still is my go-to scene for a good sob
Ken Olin was awesome _ the whole ensemble of actors was great!!!!! Ken went on to direct Alias for a couple years..I was actually surprised that we don’t see reruns of this show. The music and real life situations all blend together crashing into hard realities. I truly loved this show.
Back when Lifetime reran the series early 2000, I was a cashier in Los Angeles for a local supermarket. The evening prior to working, I had just watched this episode and Peter Horton (Gary) came through my check out. Was the coolest thing ever. I was kind of in shock. I told him I just watched it last night. Don't know if he knew it aired the night before... who knows? Also, for those wishing this was streaming; I bought the whole series on dvd so can watch whenever. One of the best drama series on TV.
How much was the DVD set? I ran into the actress who played Ellen back in 1996 at the Burbank Toys 'R Us. My gf mom friend and I followed her around the store with our two toddlers like silly school girls.
@@debmauritson5016 I have had the set for a while now but Amazon has them. If I can recall I bought them somewhere between 15-20 dollars per season. Also, I got them as they were released and they weren't released all at the same time. Glad you ran into Ellen (Polly Draper). I would love to meet Ken Olin; he's my fav.
@@valleya6114 I looked on Ebay and found only the first season and the last season with a huge price difference between the two. I jut want the whole four seasons but I don't see anyway to buy them easily in a full grouping.
@@debmauritson5016 Yeah, there are quite a few price differences now... I see some on Amazon for 40 dollars; pretty pricey. Also, depending if you buy used or new.
LOVED this show! As a baby boomer the same age as the cast/characters, having a baby when the lead characters did and going through all those same experiences of brand-new parenthood, establishing careers or putting them on hold to be at-home parents, figuring out where we were headed now that we were the grownups, the writing was so true and honest and the characters were so well acted.
This is the saddest death I have ever seen in TV history. I am still brought to tears by this decades later and I am now 62 years old and cannot watch this without crying 😢
I still wish that some day Ken Olin & Jon Hamm (who played Don Draper in Mad Men among other roles) would play brothers. There's a strong resemblance there, in my opinion.
A real blast from the past. People who are thirty something now will probably not remember having to make public calls within a few centimetres of a wall.
@5:11 Michael picking up the little hockey figurine, he's trying to hold back sobs, that little squeak that escapes his soul is enough to break me every time. Such palpable loss.
My siblings and I loved this show when it aired and we weren't even 30 something at the time and to be honest, it was one of my brother's who fitst got us hooked on the show. He really liked the Elliott character , Gary and the girl whom Michael had to tell when leaving from the hospital with Hope. Those 3 characters were all it took to hook my brother then we all started watching it. These characters felt so real to us. We all cried like babies when Gary died. The ugly cry too. 😢 One of the best written and great character development shows I have ever seen.
Back then being 20 something, in college dating a long haired guy that even kinda looked like Gary... The best show ever. Every episode touched my heart and soul. This one just knocked me off my feet. I cried like a baby. Back then everything had a profound message and meaning. It was the 90s. So glad I was a part of it, in some small way.
I was just a kid. My parents thought I was asleep but I was secretly watching “Thirtysomething”. I apparently thought I was thirty or something. I was so obsessed with the music, I actually held my stereo up to the t.v. and recorded the song. I played it over and over until I figured it out on the piano. I just got a keyboard for Christmas, this is the first song I played.
I love mine and the song choices for stand out episodes like this one. I have two cassettes and I think the CD too. Now to buy all the episodes on DVD one day. If we even can.
Clearly a rough cut of the episode. I haven't seen the show since it aired. Such incredible acting, writing, and directing. It is just a pleasure to watch the artistry.
I remember when this aired; so shocking! He and Melissa never quite made it beyond the “friends with benefits” stage. I always hoped they’d make it as a couple. Gary was so cute, and the actor Peter Horton, who played Gary, was married to Michelle Pfeiffer at the time.
In my early twenties, I used to watch Thirty Something as inspiration to make something of myself. I wanted to be a Yuppie with a nice clean office job. No one in my family had even graduated from high school and I saw an education as a way out of the life I had. Struggled through a community college. Then a university and even graduate school. I even worked in advertising for several years. I just always thought, "If rich kids can do it, so can I!" Looking back, I realize that the odds of me making it were pretty slim, but I did! It was quite a journey.
So many things are etched in my memory about this episode. Melissa at the piano. That tiny breath that Nancy inhaled after she heard the news. I truly felt like I lost someone. Every detail was written exaxtly how people feel that moment you find out. How they captured that heavy dread in your gut...the mood in a room is beyond me.
I remember weeping over this episode...they kill off the English major...my best friend and I watched this even tho' we were in our twenties (in our early sixties now).
This episode was something like 30 years ago now. Yet, the emotions still well up inside. This haunting miserable feeling of loss when everything was supposed to be better. When art like this is done well, it taps into my subconscious touching me in ways I cannot describe. I miss this show terribly. I may have to give This Is Us a try since Ken is executive producer.
That last part hit home. When my son was 19 he got leukemia. He was in the hospital for 7 months during treatment, the first few weeks in the PICU, not knowing of he'd make it. He went into remission and finished treatment in the fall. The next summer his 2 year old cousin drowned. Our families are very close, their cousins are like siblings. My son had a feeling of guilt that he survived his camcer, but his cousin died. Survivor's guilt is a real and terrible thing. My wonderful SIL sensed this, and told my son that it wasn't his time, and that God has a plan.
Michael Steadman AKA Ken Olin went on to produce (and direct many episodes) of This Is Us.
And Brothers & Sisters.
Ahhh, that totally makes sense I loved thirty something and I loved This is US
Ken Olin and the actress playing the woman with cancer are married in real life. They also played a married couple on a another show, and her character had early onset Alzheimer's.
OH! Ok....When I saw Hope..was the name? calmly eating a candy bar while getting bad news...that was played out on This Is Us. I didn't watch much of this show...but, I thought I'd seen that scene when Mandy Moore git news her husband died in Us..
He is now Executive Producer/Director of new show Tracker with Justin Hartley.
Whoa the acting 😢 such an excellent cast!
My husband and I used to watch this show. We were thirty something’s with kids and careers and it was very good. Fast forward 30 years and my husband is gone 13 years. Amazing to me I ever lived that life. It was a lifetime ago.
Oh Susan, I'm so sorry you lost your husband so young. xx
you will see him again. Susan. Memories last a lifetime..then you will reunite
Sorry for your loss. 🥰
I used to watch Thirty Something as inspiration to make something of myself. I wanted to be a Yuppie with a nice clean office job. No one in my family had even graduated from high school and I saw an education as a way out of the life I had. Struggled through a community college. Then a university and even graduate school. I even worked in advertising for several years. I just always thought, "If rich kids can do it, so can I!" Looking back, I realize that the odds of me making it were pretty slim, but I did!
I’m sorry ❤
I really loved this show
Me, too!
I cried my eyes out when he died! My husband said, "It's a TV show!" I couldn't help it!
Me to ir was so sad to me I loved Gary
Same, and I was a teen. I would watch this with my mom....it was SO real and SO unexpected....
Yeah, it's a tv show, but sudden unexpected death is sad and real in our mortal coil
i cried my eyes out now watching this. these characters were like family
@@susanmann5286 me too!
The night the pilot aired, my husband called me from the living room to come down. I did. He said "Someone has been spying on us. Watch!" I even still have crappy VHS tapes of some of the episodes. Great cast. Well written. Great production.
Ken Olin kicked ass in this role- he was so great. The whole cast was amazing.
Yes, he is & was my favorite. He has a political voice these days!
This show I remember watching although from a Boomer generation but loved how the entire cast cemented their relationship so well. However, Gary, was the one that glued all of the relationships together which helped them become less biased but "see the reality" of their actions. Loved this show for all those talented actors/actresses.
Thirtysomething years later, and these scenes still make me cry. What a series that was. The finest writing, the best acting. The characters still live in my memory like good friends.
Thirtysomething was and will always be an incredible show. I remember when i was fifteen staying up just to watch this amazing cast and poignantly written stories about the baby boomer generation struggling through their lives but also showing how much love they all loved each other. I miss this show so much.
Michele pinsker.i was around that age too.its funny that I wish I couldve watched it originally when I was in my 30s.a sign of a great show that I could watch it as a teenager and find meaning and watch it as a 48 yr old and find it just as meaningful
I loved reading this because I thought I was the only weirdo teen who’d intentionally watch the show. I loved these characters and they were the archetypes of what I’d imagined my own adult life would be. Somehow, I feel so immature compared to these characters even though I’m now forty something 😹😹😹
They weren't the baby boomer generation fyi. There were more like gen xers.
@joe blanco they were at their peak of popularity any person who are in their 30's at that time
I was in my early 30s when this show was on and watched it every week. I hated the complaints that it was about yuppies complaining about their perfect lives. The point was, they had problems like everyone else and their lives weren't perfect
I wish they would reboot this as Sixty-Something. I would love to know where all the characters are now.
Great idea.
IT'S HAPPENING!
its happening!
What an awesome idea
On January 8, 2020, ABC confirmed a television pilot that will serve as a sequel to the series has been ordered. The pilot will be directed by Zwick, written by Zwick and Herskovitz, and have four members of the original cast (Olin, Harris, Busfield and Wettig) reprising their roles.
I remember watching this show in my youth and thinking wow it’s cool to be thirty-something. 😄
Now I’m 51 and wish I was in my 30’s. 💃🏻🌟
Ditto. Well said.
Yeah. We didn't all wind up being comfortable, upper-middle class yuppies in Philadelphia. Shocking, eh?
Absolutely the best written, acted, and produced episode of a television drama ever. I miss this show.
Hulu bring this show back.
Yes, please!!
The original Friend s. Great show, stories ,directors ,actors. Watching that brought me back. 2023 it 's still powerful 😢
Ken Olin and Patricia Wettig are 70/72 years old respectively. Are still a married couple!
The writing and dialogue - WOW - the best. Here's one of my faves between Ellyn and her mother Marjorie who is divorcing Ellyn's dad:
Marjorie Warren: You see, there are two kinds of boys in high school. There are the good-looking ones, the ones on every team, the ones everyone wants. They're the greatest dancers too. And then there are the others... the boys who look as if they'd always rather be somewhere else reading a book, who are shy and awkward. I think you'd call them 'nerds' now. Those are the boys to marry, Ellyn. Those are the boys who tell you secrets, who hold you when you cry in the middle of the night, who want to grow old with you.
Ellyn Warren: How do you know about this, Mom?
Marjorie Warren: Because... I married a great dancer.
@@jgrmtnjgrmtn3954 You chose such a memorable scene! I love that one. The writing was exquisite. I always loved the Thirtysomething's tag line: "Kind of like life - only with better writers."
@@jgrmtnjgrmtn3954I remember that exchange so well even after all these years. It was heartbreaking ❤️🩹. The show was amazingly well written.
We were in our 30s with 3 kids and two very involved careers when this show came out. It was all people talked about in our age group. It was after the kids went to bed television for our generation. This episode was essentially compelling. Now we’re all 60 something.
I was also married and in my 30s with little kids when Thirtysomething was aired. It dealt with the same kinds of issues that my age cohort was dealing with at the time. Our group of friends all watched the show and discussed it. The realism and the superb acting and writing are what made the series so compelling.
Because network television still commanded a mass audience at the time, excellent series like Thirtysomething had a much broader and deeper impact than even the best series of the past ~15 years. I would love to have it streamed on Netflix or another streaming service.
I was 23 and I desperately loved this show. Now I’m 57.
It first aired when I was 8-years-old, and it ended when I was 11. I watched it, and I loved it. This show was really important to me. Television taught me about the world in a way that my family didn't. I'm grateful quality shows like this existed back then on free tv.
I remembering being "30 not 30-something" and it was fun to watch people just a "tad" older than me....
@@jeffreylanger3627 Today's "streaming services" are cheap imitations of the quality we watched on plain network TV in the day.
Oh how I loved this show
This was my generation, I was 30 something, married, small kids. This show was everything.
I was in my late 20's married to the love of my life with a baby on the way. The best years of my life.
I turned 30 in '89. I never missed thirty something. After it ended and went into reruns on a cable channel, I remember liking the tag line: "like real life, only with better writing."
Me as well
@@dianes2652 me too! ❤️
Yup I was thirty something during the run of thirty something. Wallpaper peeling on the kitchen , working around the house with a little boy ( he’s now thirty something) it was / is our lifetime. Rinse repeat
I happened upon this tonight. I loved the show and cried watching this video. Now I want to see the entire run of Thirty Something again.
This was an amazing show. Reminds me of when I was 19 and I thought 30 was old.
I watched this when it first aired and was stunned. (No spoilers back then!) My husband came home from work and found me bawling! “What’s wrong?” “Gary died!” “Who the f--is Gary?” Crying all over watching it again.
😂🤣🤣🤣
@@allisonyoung4007 ......Same reaction; that's hysterical "Who the f#$k is Gary"?😂😅😂😅
@@wynnssecret8584 😂It sounds EXACTLY like a similar scenerio bet me & my late hubs~🤣
😆😆😆
Lol
I remember watching this show in my 20’s thinking how much older people in their 30’s were.
I fully forgotten about that, but youre 100% right!
Me too! 😌
I was devastated when they killed Gary.
Loved this show sooooooo much. This episode I will always remember. Ken olin is a boss at acting. The scene when he gets Gary things and breaks down.... Wow!!!!
Yes the way he is emotional yet a little embarrassed at the same time trying to hide his feelings from the nurse but can't any longer was so intense.
I watched this originally as a thirty something newlywed. At the time, I didn't have experience with death. Thirty years years on, I've lost my my sister, my favorite aunt, and both my parents. I now know what death is. I understand that loss now, and watching this is breaking my heart.
It's been ages since I've watched this and even now, all these years later, I'm still struck by how poignantly it was written and the excellent acting on the show.
This performance by Ken Olin was one of the best acted scenes.
After all these years, these people are still better at adulting that I am and I'm 47.
Don't be so hard on yourself, they had a script.
I remember this so vividly, as if it was yesterday.
Gary's death was the biggest shock to me. It was the first time I ever cried over a TV show.
Very realistic, little did I know several years later I would experience the sudden death of a friend. Heartbreaking.
Debi Taylor me too I wish Netflix had this show
Same here.
OMG I totally agree with you. This was the saddest TV episode I have ever watched in my entire life!! I loved Gary and the entire cast. Thirtysomething was one of a kind. I cried my eyes out too. So unexpected. I haven't seen this episode in years. Cried again when I rewatched this clip.
Debi Taylor Me too! I was 27 when this show started. I am 59 now got chills and tears again. I was such a shock back then. I was heartbroken when they cancelled the show.
I had forgotten how handsome Michael was!
He was gorgeous. Ken Olin did not age well. After this, he stuck to behind the camera work and got heavy. Odd, because his wife, Patricia Wettig stayed fabulously beautiful.
@@GiftSparks I think he looks great.
Beautiful man
He was so damn sexy
Yes, and still is~~Loved this show~~
I was a senior in high school when this aired. I’ve never forgotten this incredible episode.
I absolutely loved Thirty Something. It was brilliant
My now-wife and I loved this show when we were dating in college. We were nowhere near thirtysomething at the time, but the show resonated with us. Now we are fiftysomethings and watching this clip reminds me of all the reasons I loved this show.
Ken Olin produces This Is Us....and that has a thirty something theme to it. Loved this show so much.
Really! No wonder! I just don't like this show bc I'm 43 and don't look old as these actors/actresses. Or do I and I'm in denial.
My favorite show is This Is Us.
I am a big This is Us fan. Watching this I just noticed the connection to Jack’s dying scene with Rebecca at the vending machine eating the candy bar, all light and happy just as Hope was with the vending machine candy.
OMG, I remember this amazing episode as if it had first aired five minutes ago. What a punch to the gut I felt at that moment!!! "Thirtysomething" was and always will remain one of my all-time favorite TV shows, airing during my college years when I was just an early-twentysomething. Gary's shocking death happening on the same ep as Nancy's good prognosis? I don't believe *anyone* saw that coming! The writing on this show, not just for this particular episode but also for the entire run of the series, was utterly brilliant and engaging. Like many others who have posted here, I would LOVE for them to have some sort of reboot.
I was in my early 20s and had such a TV character crush on Gary. This sucker punch was just so bloody cruel. 😢❤😢
I absolutely love this show it's my favorite show of the 20th century ❤️ ThirtySomething
This was one of my favorite TV series. I never missed an episode.
30 yrs later and i'm stil balling when i watch this. TV did not get better than this...And This is Us can't be compared. Loved this show!!!!
Never before or since has the death of a TV character affected me like it was a real person. It was surreal how deeply I felt this. And it wasn't like I was the world's biggest Gary fan. It was just depicted in such stark realism.
I think a haunting scene for is the death of Jack Pearson on this is Us. I do miss thirtysomething.
Devastating scenes. I was watching that night and also was struck by the realistic reactions. No melodrama, just stunned disbelief and confusion.
I cried when this episode came on back in 1991. One of the things that got me was when Nancy said “It’s not supposed to Gary, it’s supposed... but I got better”. That still gets me everything I see this clip.
They really need to stream this show on Netflix or Hulu. I don’t want to buy the DVDs when I subscribe to many streaming services.
I didn't know the dvds were available. I'd buy them.
I so agree! The show is relatively old As am I.
From what I understand at this time it can't be streamed because of all the amazing music that was part of the show. Each piece needs to be renegotiated so artists get paid. All the original agreements and music rights are fine to be in the DVDs as no-one could have ever imagined streaming. This is what's happened with China Beach and Homicide Life on the Streets, which was finally secured and is now streaming on Peacock.
I have the entire series on dvd.
BUY THEM. Trust me on this. If you love an album, a book, or a TV show do not leave it up to streaming services to determine if you can watch it.
I loved this show & miss it.. nothing like it ever again.
I loved this show, never missed It back In the 90s.. I was In my 20s
They don't make shows like this anymore, superb acting & great cast! I had the biggest crush on Michael ~
Me too. I think we got very specific shows for our time. Not 50s feel-good, not 60s rebellion, & not ra-ra capitalism-is-best-70s, just straight realism rolled from 50s-90s.
Omg. I haven’t watched this scene in more years than I care to count. Lol. I’ll tell you one thing, never has a television show had me speechless, heartbroken, shaken as this one. I will never forget watching this scene, the whole program. Never. It’s so odd that this even popped up in my suggested videos!
I wish we still had payphones and I think this episode was one of the top 5 in TV history. Amazing work! And Gary’s present to Nancy was perfect and so true!
i fully agree ,cellphones aren't always very reliable
@@larryshaver3568 always have to worry about them being charged up. You get stuck in an airport where an outlet isn’t readily available to charge up.
We need pay phones as badly as we need a horse a buggy.
@@ZippyTripped I remember everyone saying charge up your cell phones before Hurrican Katrina made landfall. The first thing that went out during the storm was my cellphone. Landline was still working.
I lugged my answering machine into the office to have an Aussie co-worker record my outgoing message.
Wish wish wish some network would show this!!!!it was incredible!!! 😊❤❤❤
Apparently the reason we don't see this in re-runs or streaming has to due with music rights. I watched a ThirtySomething Reunion here on RUclips and that's where it was mentioned.
My brother died at 23 in a stupid car accident in Galveston TX on a stretch of sea wall road that should hav3 had a guardrail and good lighting-but did not. His life was just beginning, his wife was pregnant with their first child, whom he never got to see. He had helped a woman earlier in the day whose battery had died by jumping her battery. On the ride home his car lost its lights, his friend was driving. They went over the sea wall, my brother was the only fatality. He went through the windshield and the car landed on top of him. It changed all our lives, so it felt familiar when I watched this when first broadcast. I loved this show.
I'm so sorry for your loss...Omg that's horrific.
So sorry. This is so similar to the way I lost my brother. He was 21 on his way back to college with two of his friends in the car. He fell asleep and the car flipped over a guardrail. He was ejected and the car landed on him. Fortunately the other two boys got out ok. That was 49 years ago.
I was a teenager when the show was popular and this is the first scene that I came to look for on the Internet when I finally got dial up. I’m over 50 now and it still is my go-to scene for a good sob
And UGH I still love Elliot
I cried buckets over this. I loved Michael but Hope drove me nuts.
It’s a Carol B thing- exactly!!! I really didn’t like Hope’s character
I loved it, too, but thought all the girls were whiney!
Maybe if women created, produced and wrote the depiction may have different...I bet ya.
Gotta agree. I couldn't stand her.
Me, too! Hope was so whiny. But I do remember this episode. Ken Olin was fabulous in this episode!
Thank you for showing this. ThirtySomething has always been my very favorite series.
Mine too. The acting, directing, and writing were just brilliant.
Ken Olin is a incredible actor! Timothy Busfield as well!!
I remember this show was on when I was in my 20’s. I never missed an episode.
Me too
I loved this show. In 1988, the year my oldest was born, this was a terrific drama.
I was thirty something when Thirty Something was being aired in the UK. It was so damned good... miss it.
This has always stayed with me. Even down to the music. So impactful. Brilliant writing and acting. I ❤️’d this show
Ken Olin was awesome _ the whole ensemble of actors was great!!!!! Ken went on to direct Alias for a couple years..I was actually surprised that we don’t see reruns of this show. The music and real life situations all blend together crashing into hard realities. I truly loved this show.
Back when Lifetime reran the series early 2000, I was a cashier in Los Angeles for a local supermarket. The evening prior to working, I had just watched this episode and Peter Horton (Gary) came through my check out. Was the coolest thing ever. I was kind of in shock. I told him I just watched it last night. Don't know if he knew it aired the night before... who knows? Also, for those wishing this was streaming; I bought the whole series on dvd so can watch whenever. One of the best drama series on TV.
Awesome experience!
How much was the DVD set? I ran into the actress who played Ellen back in 1996 at the Burbank Toys 'R Us. My gf mom friend and I followed her around the store with our two toddlers like silly school girls.
@@debmauritson5016 I have had the set for a while now but Amazon has them. If I can recall I bought them somewhere between 15-20 dollars per season. Also, I got them as they were released and they weren't released all at the same time. Glad you ran into Ellen (Polly Draper). I would love to meet Ken Olin; he's my fav.
@@valleya6114 I looked on Ebay and found only the first season and the last season with a huge price difference between the two. I jut want the whole four seasons but I don't see anyway to buy them easily in a full grouping.
@@debmauritson5016 Yeah, there are quite a few price differences now... I see some on Amazon for 40 dollars; pretty pricey. Also, depending if you buy used or new.
LOVED this show! As a baby boomer the same age as the cast/characters, having a baby when the lead characters did and going through all those same experiences of brand-new parenthood, establishing careers or putting them on hold to be at-home parents, figuring out where we were headed now that we were the grownups, the writing was so true and honest and the characters were so well acted.
I’ll never forget the shock of that episode! Devastating!
What always sticks with me was when he grabs the hockey keychain.
It all came down to that. It took my breath away then and now
I loved this show. Gary's death was heartbreaking.
Oh it was too realistic.
I remember when Mad Men debuted …Jon Hamm reminded me of Ken Olin, and I can still see it here.
I loved this show so much. Have looked for it over the years. I would love to watch it again.
This is the saddest death I have ever seen in TV history. I am still brought to tears by this decades later and I am now 62 years old and cannot watch this without crying 😢
I still wish that some day Ken Olin & Jon Hamm (who played Don Draper in Mad Men among other roles) would play brothers. There's a strong resemblance there, in my opinion.
Very strong.
I have always thought this as well.
@@stefaniejean8023 You & I should therefore be the casting directors.
Ken Olin is superb in these scenes.
Really? I thought he was terrible lol. No emotion
@@user-ir8mf7km6w his acting was excellent
@@user-ir8mf7km6w He was in shock and he was the one who had to tell everyone else and who had to identify the body.
And really good writer/producer
This was my first TV heartbreak. Whew! I cried my eyes out.
A real blast from the past. People who are thirty something now will probably not remember having to make public calls within a few centimetres of a wall.
@5:11 Michael picking up the little hockey figurine, he's trying to hold back sobs, that little squeak that escapes his soul is enough to break me every time. Such palpable loss.
I loved this show, the cast was stunning! I miss quality shows like this...😢
🌺me too🌺
@@vickilanger1228me three!
They don't make series like that anymore. The silence they put into it gives the viewers space to feel something & have emotions.
I’m back here again because this is the best television ever.
My siblings and I loved this show when it aired and we weren't even 30 something at the time and to be honest, it was one of my brother's who fitst got us hooked on the show. He really liked the Elliott character , Gary and the girl whom Michael had to tell when leaving from the hospital with Hope. Those 3 characters were all it took to hook my brother then we all started watching it. These characters felt so real to us.
We all cried like babies when Gary died. The ugly cry too. 😢
One of the best written and great character development shows I have ever seen.
When I was in college I used to watch this show. I thought thirties was so old. I am now 50 yo. What I would do to be in my thirties again.
This was a great show
OMG.. this still rips me to pieces.. my favorite show of all time!!
OMG, how the memories of this series come rushing back
THANKS 4 REMINDER!
EYL Chris from Chicago ❤
This show is my favorite show of all time I miss it somuch it was the best 👌 ever ❤
I remember seeing that episode and crying. Nancy got better and went into remission when everyone thought she would die and Gary died instead.
Almost like death said "For her soul to stay I need one to take her place.'
I totally loved that show so much. The cast was wonderful.
Back then being 20 something, in college dating a long haired guy that even kinda looked like Gary... The best show ever. Every episode touched my heart and soul. This one just knocked me off my feet. I cried like a baby. Back then everything had a profound message and meaning. It was the 90s. So glad I was a part of it, in some small way.
This is one of my favorite shows for the 1990's. The music is very moving.
It was on in the 80s. It started in 1987.
@@emmarae4322, stayed until May 1991.
I was just a kid. My parents thought I was asleep but I was secretly watching “Thirtysomething”. I apparently thought I was thirty or something. I was so obsessed with the music, I actually held my stereo up to the t.v. and recorded the song. I played it over and over until I figured it out on the piano. I just got a keyboard for Christmas, this is the first song I played.
There is a soundtrack you know. Check amazon. I played by cassette tape till it broke.
I love mine and the song choices for stand out episodes like this one. I have two cassettes and I think the CD too. Now to buy all the episodes on DVD one day. If we even can.
I loved this show I watched every week.
I watched this with my 30 something mom back in the 90's, and now I find myself 38 and its wildly accurate.
I loved that show !!
Clearly a rough cut of the episode. I haven't seen the show since it aired. Such incredible acting, writing, and directing. It is just a pleasure to watch the artistry.
Yes, well said.
I use to watch this every week lived it
I watched this show when I was in high school. I absolutely loved it!
I remember when this aired; so shocking! He and Melissa never quite made it beyond the “friends with benefits” stage. I always hoped they’d make it as a couple. Gary was so cute, and the actor Peter Horton, who played Gary, was married to Michelle Pfeiffer at the time.
In my early twenties, I used to watch Thirty Something as inspiration to make something of myself. I wanted to be a Yuppie with a nice clean office job. No one in my family had even graduated from high school and I saw an education as a way out of the life I had. Struggled through a community college. Then a university and even graduate school. I even worked in advertising for several years. I just always thought, "If rich kids can do it, so can I!" Looking back, I realize that the odds of me making it were pretty slim, but I did! It was quite a journey.
So many things are etched in my memory about this episode. Melissa at the piano. That tiny breath that Nancy inhaled after she heard the news. I truly felt like I lost someone. Every detail was written exaxtly how people feel that moment you find out. How they captured that heavy dread in your gut...the mood in a room is beyond me.
I remember this episode, so real in emotion.
This is the first episode I ever watched of thirty something. My sister in law was watching it and I got hooked on it. I was 18 at the time now I'm 46
I remember weeping over this episode...they kill off the English major...my best friend and I watched this even tho' we were in our twenties (in our early sixties now).
The best ever....went through high school with every episode💔❤garys death was so epic
I wish Amazon or Netflix would pick this show up.
Loved ken olin and. The. Show and. He was a. Good actor
This episode was something like 30 years ago now. Yet, the emotions still well up inside. This haunting miserable feeling of loss when everything was supposed to be better. When art like this is done well, it taps into my subconscious touching me in ways I cannot describe. I miss this show terribly. I may have to give This Is Us a try since Ken is executive producer.
This Is Us is 30 something for a new generation. Plenty of heartbreaking moments in there.
Check out This Is Us you won't regret it.
The music in this episode intensifies that feeling.
That last part hit home. When my son was 19 he got leukemia. He was in the hospital for 7 months during treatment, the first few weeks in the PICU, not knowing of he'd make it. He went into remission and finished treatment in the fall. The next summer his 2 year old cousin drowned. Our families are very close, their cousins are like siblings. My son had a feeling of guilt that he survived his camcer, but his cousin died. Survivor's guilt is a real and terrible thing. My wonderful SIL sensed this, and told my son that it wasn't his time, and that God has a plan.