I've written before about my favorite couples on television, but this is a slightly modified list. I wrote it for my newspaper, so I tried to pick a variety of couples, and excluded a few that I personally love but aren't necessarily the best choices for a list of the greats.
"A few weeks ago, The Office cordially invited us to the wedding of Jim Halpert & Pam Beesly. Of all the romantic relationships that have been portrayed on television, few are as genuine or as full of love as the one between the adorable salesman and the soft-spoken receptionist. The phrase “made for each other,” which is perhaps overused, definitely applies to Jim and Pam.
Currently in its sixth season on NBC, The Office has been building to this point from the beginning. Remembering the sweet journey that brought Jim and Pam to getting married, the groom himself put it best in his rehearsal dinner speech: “Four years ago, I was just a guy, who had a crush on a girl, who had a boyfriend. And I had to do the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do, which was just to wait. Don’t get me wrong—I flirted with her. For a really long time, that’s all I had. Little moments with a girl who saw me as a friend. And, a lot of people told me I was crazy to wait this long for a date with a girl I work with, but I think, even then I knew that…I was waiting for my wife.”
In thinking back over the relationship between Jim and Pam, I started to make a mental list of the best television couples. Then I wrote the list down. Here it is:
Eric and Tami Taylor, played by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights. In a show so real that it transcends television, these two have a marriage that is a true partnership. Sure, they have arguments and struggles—over money, over raising their teenage daughter, over problems at work—but you never doubt that they will get through it together, with honesty and love. You need only watch the Season 1 finale, “State” to understand why the Taylors are included on this list.
Buffy Summers and Angel, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They were a human/vampire couple before it was cool to be a human/vampire couple. In fact, they resisted their relationship until they were powerless to stop it. She was the Slayer, the Chosen One whose life mission was to fight the forces of evil, and he was one such force of evil. But he had been cursed with a soul. He was a vampire tormented by all his monstrous acts, seeking redemption by helping those in need. Buffy and Angel faced demons and apocalypses on a daily basis, and that was the easy stuff for them. The obstacles: he lost his soul, she had to send him to a hell dimension, he moved away because he could never give her a normal life, she died for a few months… Viewers saw the depth of their love by how much pain they felt over each other, but what’s more—viewers saw their love was eternal because, in the midst of their messed up lives, being together brought them the greatest happiness they had ever known, or ever would know.
Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn, played by Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan, Alias. When a double agent falls in love with her CIA handler, things are never going to be easy. It took more than a year of unresolved sexual tension for these spies to finally come together. They had the cutest relationship ever, only to have their joy stolen away by an enemy terrorist organization. Don’t you just hate it when that happens?! Sydney was abducted, and her death was faked. Two years later, she awakened with no memory of what happened to her, expecting to return to the comforting embrace of her boyfriend, only to find that Vaughn had married someone else in her absence. Of course, his wife turned out to be a traitor to America, and they killed her. When Sydney and Vaughn did resume their relationship, they were a more world-weary couple with all their new baggage, but they did not allow it to harden them. Their love was as strong as ever, and they went on to find peace in marriage and in a son and daughter.
Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes, played by Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson, Gilmore Girls. For the first four seasons of this show, the timing was never right for them. One would have feelings for the other, one would be in a relationship with someone else, one would do something that created major tension in their friendship. It took a self-help book and decisive action to make them wake up and realize that they were in love. Annoying plot contrivances in later seasons drove them apart for a little while, but the whole world could see that the Luke and Lorelai relationship would last when they were eventually reunited.
Veronica Mars and Logan Echolls, played by Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring, Veronica Mars. They hated each other at first, but somehow, in spite of themselves, they became friends and developed an undeniable attraction. Logan could be immature and overprotective, and Veronica had some serious trust issues. They still make this list because they brought out the best in each other, and their love was strong enough to keep them connected even when they were broken up. They have some fundamental character flaws that keep them apart, but they’re still young and have the capacity to change. The show has been cancelled for a couple of years now, but fans continue to hold out hope that in the continuing fictional world, these two will end up together.
Temperance “Bones” Brennan and Seeley Booth, played by Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, Bones. The non-couple couple of the list because it’s only a matter of time before they get together and live happily ever after. Theirs is a partnership in which completely opposite personalities complement each other to make an effective crime-solving team. She’s a brilliant forensic anthropologist who can tell you everything about a set of bones but lacks social skills with people who are alive. He’s an alpha male FBI agent with an innate talent at reading people. Booth and Bones have grown so much as human beings because of their work together. They have risked their lives numerous times to save the other, and demonstrated that they value their partnership more than anything. They might not be in a romantic relationship (yet!), but their chemistry is magical, and their love is no less than if they were an actual couple.
Chandler Bing and Monica Gellar, played by Matthew Perry and Courtney Cox Arquette, Friends. Ross and Rachel are considered to be the great classic couple in all of sitcom history, possibly in all of television history. Over the course of 10 seasons, those two were either on, off, or in a transition period. But in a far more nuanced storyline, Monica and Chandler became the stable couple of the show. A woman with OCD and a man with a fear of commitment, who were never more than friends, hooked up at a wedding and never looked back."
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