Philip J Reed RIP

News

Posted by on 12th August 2022, 20:06

I’m sorry everyone, but this is a bad one. Over the last week we have lost Phil Reed, our friend and former writer on Noise to Signal, Observation Dome and here on G&T.

Nintendo Life, a former writing haunt for Phil, tweeted the news originally and the gaming channel for which he worked, Triple Jump, are running charity streams in his memory and in aid of an organisation that was close to his heart – The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth charity and something that is increasingly vital in this awful, garbage fire of a world. If you feel moved to do so you can donate either through their campaign or in your own way.

For any G&T geriatrics among you Phil will need no introduction, but over the last 20 or so years he has been a friend and colleague to many in our community. Personally, I first got know Phil during the old Observation Dome and Noise to Signal days and he’s been a constant if sporadic presence here on the site since. He was a warm and talented writer and an exceptionally funny person. For those wanting to sample his work over the years, the best place for his more recent writing is Noiseless Chatter (fair content warning: Phil says goodbye personally in his last post so click with caution if you are understandably not up to reading it) and there’s more besides that, but I’ll use the comments section to point you to some of my favourites from back in the day.

We are sorry to once again be the bearers of awful news. G&T is a community of great people and we’ve lost a huge amount recently. Remember, if any of you need help then please seek it out – either professionally with a service such as The Samaritans or amongst your friends here. Take care, everyone.

52 comments on “Philip J Reed RIP”

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  • Fuck it all.

    I will miss you, Phil. I loved your writing and enjoyed our many interactions over the years. I’m also selfishly pissed off that I won’t get to read your thoughts on the Better Call Saul finale. x

  • Oh damn, that last Noiseless Chatter post… absolutely heartbreaking. RIP to Phil, and condolences to those here who had the fortune of knowing him.

  • This is very sad to hear for anyone, let alone such a member of the community. That last post is a hard read. Condolences to all those who knew him.

  • Ah fucking hell what. I’m so sorry you saw no other way out Phil. As someone who’s on the edge myself at the minute I have no idea how to really process this right now.

    Sorry you’re struggling. I definitely understand not having a clue how to process this. Things like this never make sense.

  • Ah fucking hell what. I’m so sorry you saw no other way out Phil. As someone who’s on the edge myself at the minute I have no idea how to really process this right now.

    Oh man, I’m really sorry to hear that, International Debris. Hoping you’re able to get away from that edge.

    “Yes, God?” isn’t that bad I take it all back

  • Ah fucking hell what. I’m so sorry you saw no other way out Phil. As someone who’s on the edge myself at the minute I have no idea how to really process this right now.

    Fucking ditto.

  • Oh, guys, how awful.  My heartfelt condolences to those of you who knew him, I’m so sorry for your loss  :(

  • I am gutted. He was a spectacular writer, whether he was dismantling a novelty sitcom about an alien puppet living on Earth, or brilliantly and beautifully writing about a genre-defining survival-horror game.

    But more than anything, he was just… good. Just a good person. A good friend to talk to. A good collaborator to work with. When he asked me if I’d be willing to provide stuff for his charity livestreams, giving him almost-finished edits of PortsCenter episodes was a no-brainer.

    I love Phil. Genuinely, wholly, truthfully. I wish I’d told him so.

  • This is deeply shocking. I had more or less lost contact with Phil over the years, but we had a brief DM exchange a few months back, where he was potentially looking to move to the UK. I always thought the sheer *amount* of stuff he did was something to aspire to. One of those writers who just got on and actually wrote things.

    Sorry Noise to Signal is offline; I’m moving web providers for all my legacy sites at the moment, and it’s taken longer than I meant it to. I’m working this weekend, but I’ll do my best to get it back up next week.

  • Is there anyone who might be willing/able to do the work of backing up Noiseless Chatter? Scraping it or whatever needs to happen?

  • I knew Phil Reed for close to 20 years. Over the last few months we had been emailing about some freelance work opportunities he was looking forward to, and it seemed like he was excited to return to writing fiction, which he’d always loved. He messaged me a few days before he died and was very vulnerable. It seemed like he was going through something but I had no idea what at the time—he seemed so positive overall but looking back it does seem like a final touchpoint, where he was expressing appreciation for our friendship, and we messaged back and forth for a bit. I’m glad we connected so recently but I wish I’d been more perceptive at the time.

    He was the first person to believe I could actually be a writer (my first print publication, 14 years ago, was in an anthology alongside one of his stories), and it was his encouragement that kept me going. But more than that, he was a great and caring friend who taught me a lot about being a good writer and being a good friend, and I’m devastated that he’s gone. We wrote stories and scripts and essays and made podcasts and so many other things together and I’ll miss him dearly.

    Rest in peace, bud.

  • I found this in my archives if it’s of interest; it’s a podcast we recorded together, probably around 2006 or so. I read the first monologue and Phil read the second (I haven’t listened to it all the way through again recently so I forget if he mentions who does the third segment). It was the first time we’d talked on the phone, and I remember being worried it’d be awkward but it ended up being a lot of fun. He’d written the monologue specifically for me because he knew I was a Beatles fan. https://youtu.be/IQhcdHSNajU

  • Oh wow, I’d totally forgotten about that, to the point where I was curious who the third reader might be until I started listening…

  • I found this in my archives if it’s of interest; it’s a podcast we recorded together, probably around 2006 or so. I read the first monologue and Phil read the second (I haven’t listened to it all the way through again recently so I forget if he mentions who does the third segment). It was the first time we’d talked on the phone, and I remember being worried it’d be awkward but it ended up being a lot of fun. He’d written the monologue specifically for me because he knew I was a Beatles fan. https://youtu.be/IQhcdHSNajU

    Oh wow, I forgot there are four segments and that Capps is reading the third one, right? This is what I get for uploading far too late at night without listening to the whole thing again. . .  Anyway, hopefully YouTube won’t take it down because of the music.

  • It was a very strange experience coming to that realisation just as my segment started! If YouTube takes it down we’ll host it here for people to listen.

  • Whenever he posted I always paid special attention to what Phil had to say. About as good a compliment to a writer as you can make.

  • Not on Facebook to know how far its reach is.

    762 views on my end.

    Assuming we haven’t already, I think it might be a lovely tribute to give Phil a memorial banner on the site like Seb has, in the midst of all the normal RD-themed ones.

  • I’m very sorry, such a loss. I don’t think I ever had direct contact with Phil but I always enjoyed his writing, articles and posts. Going through the links being shared in this thread and so far I’m belatedly getting into Phish.

  • Oh my, this is so terribly sad. I remember Phil’s writings and comments from the early days of G&T. He was always entertaining and had so much talent and passion.

    Remember to reach out to people if you’re struggling, everyone. People do care and you’re not inconveniencing them. Usually, you find some common ground and that you’re not alone in how you feel.

    Rest In Peace, Phil x

  • Phil’s presence and influence on G&T wasn’t confined to the relatively short time he was part of the writing staff. He contributed so much to the community in his comments and forum posts, and perhaps had more impact than most on the culture (for want of a better word) that has developed here over nearly 20 years. For one thing, he invented and championed the concept of the Hall of Fame, and indeed contributed countless posts that were more than eligible for that status. I really really don’t like the idea that I’ll never again see Phil’s name when I’m scrolling through new comments and topics. It was a guaranteed seal of quality.

  • Favourite Phil Reed post:

    “I broke up with a girl 10 years ago and for a long time we were not on speaking terms.

    By this point we can get together and talk about old times and laugh and be perfectly pleasant.

    But we’re different people now, and the old relationship will never be rekindled. And as chummy as we are now, I don’t think either of us would WANT it to be.

    I’m Doug. And the girl I used to slap my nuts against is Rob.”

  • This is just devastating news. Phil was one of my favourite people on the planet.

    Noiseless Chatter was one of the few websites that really made you think and the possibility that his brilliant novels could go unpublished is unforgivable, but mostly I can’t conceive of never getting another inspired email from him.

    I will miss him terribly.

  • Dreadful news. His writing was always fun and engaging. I’ve recently been enjoying his Better Call Saul reviews… His last post is just heartbreaking.

  • Hi Ben, I’m Casey. I took over (at Philip’s offer) doing the Christmas livestreams as of last year. We’re doing a retrospective one on October 29, with previous shows Philip picked out, and some of what I know his favorite music videos were, and any of his old hosting segments I can find; and then this year’s regular one on December 17. It’s possible I already know you through some other screen name. But I’m glad to meet another Xmas Bash person (unless you’re referring to some other livestream he did; the man was prolific).

    You (and everyone else in the comments here) are invited to come to both.  It’s on Discord: https://discord.gg/HETBCPvAye

    I don’t know how to tag everybody in the comments here, so I’m asking for your help with that. And anyone else you know who knew Philip, please let them know and invite them.

    In terms of Noiseless Chatter, I have the password for the WordPress backend, but I can’t get into Philip’s other accounts to transfer the site to my hosting service. But I am working with Philip’s family to get court orders to open up his accounts, etc., so we can make sure the site stays alive, as long as we get it before whatever hosting he paid for runs out. But a few people have mirrored the site, so there is that.

    Thank you for being Philip’s friends, all of you.

    –Casey

    email me too if I can help with anything at all

    caseyroberson at hotmail dot com

  • Austin, I should have replied to you as well. Again, it’s possible I know you under another screenname. The comment I left above is for you, too, and for everybody, I just don’t know how to make it so everybody gets notified of my comment at once.

    Thanks –

    Casey

  • I knew Phil Reed for close to 20 years. Over the last few months we had been emailing about some freelance work opportunities he was looking forward to, and it seemed like he was excited to return to writing fiction, which he’d always loved. He messaged me a few days before he died and was very vulnerable. It seemed like he was going through something but I had no idea what at the time—he seemed so positive overall but looking back it does seem like a final touchpoint, where he was expressing appreciation for our friendship, and we messaged back and forth for a bit. I’m glad we connected so recently but I wish I’d been more perceptive at the time.

    He was the first person to believe I could actually be a writer (my first print publication, 14 years ago, was in an anthology alongside one of his stories), and it was his encouragement that kept me going. But more than that, he was a great and caring friend who taught me a lot about being a good writer and being a good friend, and I’m devastated that he’s gone. We wrote stories and scripts and essays and made podcasts and so many other things together and I’ll miss him dearly.
    Rest in peace, bud.

    Okay, maybe now I’m doing it right? See above!

  • I am gutted. He was a spectacular writer, whether he was dismantling a novelty sitcom about an alien puppet living on Earth, or brilliantly and beautifully writing about a genre-defining survival-horror game.

    But more than anything, he was just… good. Just a good person. A good friend to talk to. A good collaborator to work with. When he asked me if I’d be willing to provide stuff for his charity livestreams, giving him almost-finished edits of PortsCenter episodes was a no-brainer.
    I love Phil. Genuinely, wholly, truthfully. I wish I’d told him so.

    Okay, I think I didn’t properly reply to you the time before. See above!

  • Don’t worry, my reply logic is totally rubbish!

    Thank you so much for the comments and the invite.

  • I haven’t been back here since I saw the news about Phil. I never met him in person but we had a lot of good talks, I felt we had a connection, and he was always so supportive and encouraging of me and my abilities as a writer – even if I could never see them myself. I think about him every day since hearing of his death. I miss his sense of humour. He always made me laugh so effortlessly. 

    To get a compliment from a writer of his caliber made my day. I know he meant it when he gave those. I envied his talents as a writer but was also in awe of them.

    I’m such a big fan of Better Call Saul and the Breaking Bad universe in general. Since BCS started, it became something of a fun tradition to check his reviews after the latest episode aired. His way of looking at the characters and the story was unique and always made me appreciate the show more and more. 

    For various mental health reasons, I fell behind of his last few reviews. I don’t know if I can ever really read them now. I would’ve loved for him to see the end of that show. To hear/read his thoughts. And I know that may sound ridiculous and pointless considering what a loss those who knew Phil are facing.

    The last conversation I had with Phil was about an episode of BCS the week that aired. We were generally riffing and joking about what had been a very dark episode. 

    The conversation I had with him before that, I could tell something was up. I will always regret not saying to him that he could always talk to me. 

    As I said, I haven’t been here since hearing the news about his death in August. For whatever reason, I felt the need to say some words about him at the place I met him. I didn’t meet him in person, but the impact he had on me is immeasurable. 

    He’s been in my thoughts every day since he left us. His absence still hasn’t really hit me. It’s hard to think of a world without him. I’m sorry the world failed you, Phil. I hope someday I’ll see you again. Somehow in person. 

  • Hey, just thought I’d mention that the DieDieBooks Kickstarter mentioned above has met its funding goal. So that’s some good news.

  • There’s another Bash charity stream in memory of Phil on the 17th of December (7pm EST to Midnight/Midnight GMT to 5am), you will need to join the discord where the stream will be held. Discord: https://discord.gg/HETBCPvAye

    I’m sure Phil would have loved some of you seeing a Bash, so please come by even if it is for a short while.

  • I’m like 99% sure I was talking to Phil on Discord under the name PhillyJayWalrus before he passed (I met him through my Red Dwarf Discord). I was showing him my old Sonic parodies and he was really enjoying them but he also seemed really depressed a lot of the time. Eventually he just vanished off the face of the internet and timing of it makes me pretty positive it was this Phil.

    He was a swell guy.

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