FAVORITE TV COUPLES, THEN AND NOW

tvTALKcelebratesONEyear

I continue celebrating TV TALK’s completion of one year, with a list of my favorite TV couples, then and now

Ross & Rachel

FRIENDS (1994-2004) Then

How could their names not be at the top of this list! Almost every TV show has that one couple that is meant to be together, and may get together, but have to face several ups and downs, several break-ups and reconciliations, before they finally get together for good. Pioneers in that area, were undoubtedly, Ross and Rachel. In the beginning, they may have seemed an odd pair, with her being a glamorous, rich kid, and him, a geeky paleontologist, but the more we saw them together, the more they seemed to fit. It took them two years to get together and another, to break up, because ‘they were on a break’! Thereafter, there were so many moments when they almost got there, each instance going wrong in some way, breaking our hearts each time. And after a hasty wedding in Vegas, a divorce, an accidental pregnancy, and unplanned co-parenthood, what finally brought them together was the thought of living apart from each other. I would have loved to see more of them as a solid couple, and possibly see them have a proper wedding, but unfortunately, their reunion is all we got. They’re certainly my all-time favorite TV couple!

Chandler & Monica

FRIENDS (1994-2004) Then

No one could have possibly imagined that these two crazy kids would hook up, but four seasons down the line, the live audience gasped and screamed as Monica came out from under Chandler’s covers in his hotel room in London! And that was only the beginning. A commitment-phobic Chandler and a romantic-at-heart Monica dealt with having a secret affair, the matter of defining their relationship, an almost-impulsive wedding in Vegas, living together and then finally getting engaged, bringing on the gasps and screams all over again! As a couple, they grew together, and that changed Chandler, who became more mature and sensitive, going down as one of the best character evolutions on television. Moments like them finding out that they couldn’t have kids, and then him pleading to their potential birth-mother to reconsider them as parents for her baby, were heartwarming and endearing to say the least. They were the marriage that anyone would want to have. There’s no way they’d not make it to this list!

Jesse & Rebecca

FULL HOUSE (1987-1995) Then

It may seem odd that Jesse and Rebecca are in this list, with greats like Ross-&-Rachel, but if you were a FULL HOUSE fan, there’s no way you could deny the amazing chemistry they shared and the beauty of the relationship they had. Right from the time when they first got together, one knew that Rebecca would be the one to make an honest man out of Jesse, the player! And watching two gorgeous looking people in a relationship so wonderful was an added bonus for us. Who can forget their wedding, before which Jesse goes bungee jumping and lands up in a tomato truck, and moments they shared, while expecting their twins… She was the perfect wife, who fit right into the family and he was the doting husband who loved her more than anything!

Ally & Billy

ALLY McBEAL (1997-2002) Then

We may not have ever seen them as a couple on the show, except for in flashbacks from their younger days, but I think they deserve to be on this list, because, for me, Ally and Billy have been the epitome of that one unrequited love, which almost anyone can relate to! They had their moments of unspoken affection, as friends, despite the fact that he broke her heart after law school and married the very classy Georgia. She learnt how to be around him at work, living with all the pain he had caused her, and eventually they seemed to become the best of friends, in some strange way. When his marriage to Georgia ended, there was some hope for them, but his sudden death in a courtroom became the most heart-wrenching moment on the show, for me. However, they did go on to have their special moments as she spoke to him occasionally, asking the memory of him to guide her through tough situations. And Ally may have gone on to have other relationships later, but none of them could ever come close to what she shared with Billy.

Kitty & Robert

BROTHERS & SISTERS (2006-2011) Then

I considered Kitty and Robert’s relationship to be the strongest on BROTHERS AND SISTERS, with their story being told in as much detail as it could have been told. Right from the time they first met, when she interviewed him as an up and coming politician, there was a wonderful charm about their relationship. They had more than their share of rough times. Seeing each other through his race for President, her taking to his children from a previous marriage, his heart attack, her cancer, their inability to conceive, them adopting a baby, and her almost straying away from the marriage, was all so beautifully handled. It broke my heart to see him die right before the final season of the show. Unfortunately, that turn of events took something away from Kitty’s story and left little for us to cherish in her character. That made me realize all the more how great she and Robert were together. If only he’d stayed alive right till the end.

Ted & Robin

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (2005- ) Then

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER began with Ted falling for Robin. They had one date, and he stole a blue French horn for her, but ended up ruining his chances by telling her that he was in love with her, the hopeless romantic that he is! They had undeniable chemistry, which is why, when they got together by S2, it really seemed like she was the one. Now, in a show that is, in a big way, about who ‘the mother’ of his kids will be, a revelation of someone being the one that early in the series would kill the suspense, so I guess they had to speak of her as his future kids’ ‘Aunt Robin’, but that didn’t make me lose hope, because there can always be loopholes. I thought they were great together, despite the fact that they were both so different. And now, with her past and possible future with Barney, chances of Ted being with Robin seem bleak, but on seeing them together as friends and roommates, even hooking up that one time after they broke up, I can’t help but hope they’d end up together!

Lily & Marshall

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (2005- ) Now

These two have been a total cuddly twosome right from the beginning of the show. Even though their little exchanges and, let’s not forget the unreal telepathic communication they have occasionally, can get a tad silly at times, those two are really, really cute together! What makes them even more special is the fact that they have had problems, and that things weren’t always great between them. When they broke up briefly and called off the wedding, that summer when Lily went off to pursue a career as an artist, it made them real and it made their wedding later so much more special than it would have been otherwise. Seeing each other through thick and thin, like Marshall’s conflict over having a meaningful career as opposed to a paying one, and Lily’s shopping addiction, have made them even more endearing as a couple. More recent moments like Lily being there for him when his father died, and then their discovery of their impending parenthood further made their relationship special.

Claire & Phil

MODERN FAMILY (2009- ) Now

In the midst of life with their kids, who are most definitely a handful, and the other part of their chaotic family, Claire and Phil have one of nicest relationships on television today. With his constant attempts at being ‘cool’ and hip, and her undying spirit, while holding the family together, they make quite an odd pair. And while Phil may be a bit of a letch at times, and Claire has moments like subtly trying to look hot when they’re expecting firemen over, we know that those two are completely devoted to each other. Sharing emotional moments like exchanging notes on their growing kids and funny ones, like the two disastrous Valentine’s Days we’ve seen them have, give their relationship that amazing balance for us to enjoy. I’ve enjoyed watching Claire and Phil over the last two years, and I’m expecting to see a lot more of them in the years to come.

Lynette & Tom

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (2004-2012) Then & Now

Lynette and Tom have been that one couple in this show, where every other relationship has had someone cheating or being cheated on, or getting divorced and remarrying the same person… to put it simply, where no other couple has been together as long as they have. They’re the couple that has fought over being equals in the relationship, with Tom expressing his need to be ‘the man in the relationship’ and Lynette being too strong-willed and too much of a feminist to ever let him feel like he’s superior to her. They’re also the couple that stuck together through her jeopardizing his career, him having a lovechild from a previous fling, her supporting him while he pursued his dream, him forgiving her for sharing an intimate friendship with another man, her cancer, him having slept with her best friend in college, and of course, them raising five kids together. It’s unfortunate that their relationship recently hit rocky ground, and that they’re getting separated. But it’s only a matter of time before they realize that they’ll never be happy without each other!

Gaby & Carlos

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (2004-2012) Now

Now here’s one couple that has evolved so much over years of being together, and apart and together again. They both started out as being each other’s ‘trophy-spouse’, and being two of the most selfish, shallow people you could imagine. Their first marriage was a sham in the beginning, until they decided to start a family; but then things went downhill once again. During their divorce, they were an entertaining twosome, playing games to bring each other down, and it took Gaby getting remarried to another man who also treated her like a trophy-wife for her to realize how much she cared about Carlos. For me, that’s when they truly fell in love, and that became more and more evident when they stuck together through his visual impairment, through their poverty, and raising two of the brattiest kids you could imagine. Seeing them through better times thereafter made me really happy for them. More recently, their bond was further solidified, when she needed protection from an abusive stepfather, and he needed her support after committing an accidental murder. That will certainly bring them even closer together.

Addison & Mark

GREY’S ANATOMY (2005- ) and PRIVATE PRACTICE (2007- ) Then

I know that not many fans of the show out there considered this relationship as one that was worth exploring or had any future, but I know that some fans out there, including me, feel that there would have been no one as perfect for Addison as Mark would. First of all, they were both cheaters; second of all, they always had this sizzling chemistry between them when they were together, and an undeniable sexual tension when they weren’t. And they have been friends for years, so they get each other. That’s why, as Addison was about to leave GREY’S ANATOMY, I couldn’t help but want so badly for her to honor the deal she made with Mark, which would bring them both together. Unfortunately, she didn’t, and then moved to LA. But their chemistry never ended there. We’ve seen them together in PRIVATE PRACTICE also, and that again made me think of how great they would be together. I doubt that a future between the two is something that we’ll ever see, but that just makes me want to see them together even more!

Alex & Izzie

GREY’S ANATOMY (2005- ) Then

Right from the beginning of GREY’S ANATOMY, there was this spark between bad boy Alex Karev and former model Izzie Stevens, a spark that excited me way more than Meredith’s one-night-stand with Derek. I knew that Alex and Izzie would be a pair to look out for. They always had so much potential, and the several instances when they almost got together, but didn’t, left me feeling even more desperate for it to happen. Here was a love story on television that excited me more than any other had in a long time. Their bond came through incredibly strongly when Denny died, after months of Alex being jealous of Denny and Izzie. At that point, all he did was, be there for her. But that was not their time yet. It made him lose someone else he loved, and her suffer from cancer, for them to finally get together. Moments like him carrying her away from Denny’s deathbed are etched in my memory. And I think that their wedding while she was suffering from cancer was one of the most beautiful moments on the show. Their relationship, tragically, took a turn for the worse, soon after, and that definitely left me heartbroken.

Which of these couples did you really like seeing together? Or were there any others? I’d love to know…