{greener}

TV dating can be really gross.  Really slutty.  Completely unhealthy, even.  Those love stories that work are quick to gain fandom these days, especially with the advent of tumblr (which furnished all the images I stole today) and fanfic terms like “ship,” which I guess is a cool way to say you endorse a fictional couple (most specific way to say “like” ever?).

Here’s a not-comprehensive list of my personal favorite pairings, selecting only those from series of which I’ve seen all or nearly all.  Keep in mind I’m not qualified to assess anything but what I like.  And also that I watch some stupid shows.

Sawyer & Juliet (“Lost”)

 

 
Okay, let’s start with the problems I have with the way this relationship was presented in the series.  As fact.  Their togetherness was thrust into unearned existence by a mechanical plot device that jumps us forward in time to them contentedly sexing and playing honey-I’m-home.  And we’re supposed to accept that the little bit of a spark we saw between three years ago will provide meaningful development that surpasses the hot, near-perfect Sawyer-Kate thing that came to fruition when they were locked in the bear cages that time–you know, that thing that exploded because they spent episodes building up to it?   Generally, I don’t like to be told how to feel, but there’s something to be said for an onscreen love that reads as believable despite the immense failings of back-story writing.  Both Josh Holloway and Elizabeth Mitchell are so good–and good together–that I buy it.  I even ship it.  Their I-have-your-back dynamic is compelling through the nutty end.

Ryan & Marissa (“The OC”)

Oh, tortured teenage love, classic high school romanticism.  Though this star-crossed coupling–bad boy and rich girl, both troubled–is overly dramatic and cliche, it captures the stuff of young adult novels that engrosses the fantasies of girls who just want to be understood.   Just look at Marissa on the verge of tears, with Ryan there to be her anchor.  And come on.  Look at that hoodie/jacket combo.

House & Cuddy (“House”)

 

 
Full disclosure: I fell off the bandwagon of this show before these two actually got together, and now my parents mess with me about whether they’re on or off again.  It doesn’t matter.  Their chemistry has been simmering from the start, each positioned in the show’s context to drive each other nuts.  There’s also a deep sense of respect between them, if only because they may be the only people in each other’s lives smart enough to earn it.

Xander & Anya (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”)

 

 
Until their break-up, they were so refreshingly un-moody in a show where there’s a lot of pain going on pretty much all the time.  The beauty of this candid, sex-driven romance is its superficiality.  Also, Anya.   For those of you unfamiliar with the ex-demon character, she’s like Brittany on “Glee,” except the random ridiculous choice lines she delivers are clever, and actually refer to something going on in the episode.

Veronica & Logan (“Veronica Mars”)

I love this pairing, in all its phases.  Veronica and Logan are each so sharp as individual characters that they push, pull, and bounce off each other amazingly whether they’re friends, foes, or officially together.  Thank goodness the show ditched the first boyfriend love interest, because his restrained brooding and accompanying incest scare don’t hold a candle to Logan’s slicing dialogue and general jackassery in the passion department.  Veronica and Logan call each other out on their crap; he sees her jaded need to muckrake, and she sees his immaturity–in harsh accurate light.  Their exchanges are spontaneous and volatile, but built on a loyalty of honesty.  The sometimes-brutal openness stands out from the mystery-propelled plot-lines shrouded in deception.  For a show that died before its time, their story is, as Logan assesses at one point, pretty “epic.”

Mitch & Cam (“Modern Family”)

 

 

Hey, yin and yang.  Haven’t seen you since my 4th grade binder doodles.  Cam and Mitch are pretty well constructed foils of each other, rife for marital conflict.  But at the end of the day, they support each other, despite their differences in things that seem pretty fundamental, like parenting approaches.  The uptight guy and the loosey-goosey guy both have their share of fun freak-outs, but there’s a balance that keeps them grounded enough to almost get into the dippy saccharine voice-over messages at the end of each “Modern Family.”

Eric & Tami (“Friday Night Lights”)

This scene is one of my favorite finales ever.  It’s a perfect conclusion, and a new beginning, closing one season and launching another.  And it’s only fitting that faithful Tami is there with Coach.  It’s an idealistic notion of what together-forever-through-everything looks like, but still seems real.  It’s free from the trite trappings of typical sitcom marriages.  Their sugary-sweet fights are funny.  Their anxiety-ridden late-night chats are touching.  And the chemistry’s not bad either.  They seem committed, comfortable, and genuine.

Jim & Pam (“The Office”)

 

 
There’s something so fun about their play, about being on the inside of their inside jokes.  This relationship was attentively and carefully nursed by the show writers with admirable consistency.  You know that wedding episode pulled your heartstrings a little bit.  What a sweet payoff.

Ally & Larry (“Ally McBeal”)

 

 
I’m pretty sure one of the many messages of the convoluted, flash-back-inflated, sobfest mess of a series ending is that Larry was the one.  And that his abrupt departure from the show had really sent the writers into a predicament, because they don’t know how to tie up his loose ends without memory flashes of old footage and random snowmen with glasses (really?!).  Robert Downey Jr.’s turn as Ally’s lawyer boyfriend boosted the show’s ratings, earned him a Golden Globe, and gave Ally a fair match in wit and neuroses.  Too bad he got caught up in all those drugs and may never act again.