Some TV couples just have a certain spark. It makes them intriguing to watch as an audience, and their will-they-or-won’t-they plotlines and ups and downs create fan bases. Here is a list of the top ten TV couples.
- Inara Serra (Morena Baccarin) and Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) – Firefly
Sadly, Firefly only lasted fourteen episodes, but it’s a testament to the series that it gained enough of a fan base to make the feature film Serenity. Inara, a high-class courtesan, and Mal, a ship captain have delicious chemistry and just can’t get along. The tension was phenomenal, but sadly, this couple never came to be.
- Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas) and Eric Goetts (Tyron Leitso) – Wonderfalls
Wonderfalls is another cancelled gem, a show about a girl (Jaye) who suddenly has stuffed animals talking to her, telling her to do good deeds. Eric is a married man, and his wife’s affair immediately after their wedding has scarred him. Jaye has her own issues (is she insane or talking to God?). They do come together at the end, however.
- Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) and Greg House (Hugh Laurie) – House MD
The tension between these two is palpable, and they’ve finally gotten together at the end of the sixth season. They’ve had ups and downs until this point, such as Cuddy’s attempts at becoming a parent and House’s drug-induced hallucinations. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
- Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) and Gil Grissom (William Petersen) – CSI
This was handled in a different way. There were always hints that Sara and Grissom had a relationship prior to their time at CSI, and then it was suddenly revealed that they had been dating – for years – during the time period of the show. There was never anything explicitly shown, just hints. They wound up married – so it was a happily ever after.
- Darlene Connor (Sara Gilbert) and David Healy (Johnny Galecki) – Roseanne
Watching a teenage relationship grow into an adult one was interesting and never easy for the two of them. Darlene’s proposal to David was one of the funniest on television.
- Dana Whitaker (Felicity Huffman) and Casey McCall (Peter Krause) – SportsNight
Another show that ended too quickly, Dana and Casey were so close to getting together, until a wacky idea about waiting (on Dana’s part) ended it. We never got a satisfactory ending to this storyline, as the show was cancelled after two seasons.
- Brisco County Jr. (Bruce Campbell) and Dixie Cousins (Kelly Rutherford) – The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
This was a funny sci-fi western, if you can picture such a thing. It was truly a great show, and the tension between the cowboy and the showgirl is fantastic!
- Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) – Star Trek: The Next Generation
This is a couple that seemed to have a complicated relationship while on the show, never quite getting it together until the films and other Star Trek series came on, when they were finally married.
- Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves) and Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce) – Frasier
This is one of the greatest will-they-or-won’t-they plots ever. It lasted seasons, and when they did get together, Niles was married for the second time and Daphne was at the altar.
- Monica Gellar (Courteney Cox-Arquette) and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) – Friends
The tension in this relationship didn’t come from a will-they-or-won’t-they, but from suddenly being together and having to hide it. They got married and struggled with infertility through the course of the show, finally adopting twins during the series finale.