Winnie Cooper was the object of Kevin Arnold's affection throughout the run of this great series even though they didn't end up together. They were childhood friends but all things changed in the pilot when they kissed in the woods, the first kiss for both of them. Winnie and Kevin both dated many other people but kept coming back to each other. In the series finale, we learned that Kevin eventually married someone else but stayed in touch with Winnie and that seemed to be a satisfying ending. It was young love, but not permanent love.
Standout episodes for Kevin & Winnie:
#6 "Dance with Me" (4/19/88) - Kevin is having a terrible time at a school dance and tries to make Winnie jealous but after a tender moment, they finally get their slow dance together.
#85 "Double Double Date" (2/26/92) - Another school dance episode - Kevin and Winnie are dating other people but decide to double date for the dance, only to end up together again at the dance.
While the audience watched Ross and Rachel go back and forth, they were caught by surprise by a new pairing of friends. Chandler was a commitment-phobe who had gone from bad relationship to bad relationship while Monica didn't have much luck either and was heartbroken by a breakup with the older Richard (Tom Selleck). When they got together in London, and it was revealed in a hilariously surprising way, it wasn't expected but it seemed immediately right. They had more than their share of quirks but grew together and eventually married and then, after struggles with infertility, had twins via adoption in the final episode. It was a sweet ending for an unexpected couple that we grew to love.
Standout Episodes for Chandler & Monica:
#111 "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" (2/11/99) - Chandler and Monica admit that they love each other after a hilarious seduction attempt by Phoebe.
#145/146 "The One with the Proposal" (5/18/00) - Chandler proposes to a tearful Monica after a series of misunderstandings.
One third of the couples in the new hit Modern Family, Phil and Claire are both quirky, especially Phil. But they play off each other so well. Despite always being harried by a busy household and three kids and despite Claire's regular exasperation for Phil's antics, they are very much in love. Their best moments come when they are able to get away from the family - whether it's becoming "Clive" and "Julianna" on Valentine's Day or going to see a cheap horror movie with snacks stuffed up their sleeves. They are not perfect, but perfect for each other.
Standout episodes for Phil & Claire:
#15 "My Funky Valentine" (2/10/10) - Phil and Claire take on alter egos to spice up their Valentine's Day but it ends with disastrous results.
#23 "Hawaii" (5/12/10) - After having to have a shotgun wedding the first time around, Phil surprises Claire with a real wedding when the family vacations in Hawaii.
He was a doctor and she was a lawyer but this power couple was unlike any we'd seen on TV before since they were an affluent African American family. Cliff and Clair were both great parents but were very much in love and despite their busy jobs and 5 kids, they found time for each other and had lots of witty banter and funny interactions. This was a groundbreaking show in many ways and Cliff and Clair's marriage was the heart and soul of it.
Standout episodes for Cliff & Clair:
There weren't particular standout episodes for these two, it was an overall theme throughout the series but just in a scene or two per episode.
They were one of TV's first mixed marriages (between a witch and a mortal) and one of the first to share a bed. Samantha and Darrin were at the heart of Bewitched, especially early in the show's run and when Dick York was playing Darrin. While Darrin was often upset at what was going on around him with wacky relatives and magical spells, he was very much in love with Samantha as she was with him. It was an innocent time for TV, but their marriage explored interesting themes in a playful way.
Standout episodes for Samantha & Darrin:
#1 "I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha" (9/17/64) - The pilot episode shows Sam and Darrin's courtship, marriage, and then honeymoon where she reveals she is a witch and Darrin has a choice to make.
#17 "A is for Aardvark" (1/14/65) - After hurting his ankle, Darrin is given temporary powers by Samantha which he abuses. This leads to a tender ending where Samantha explains that all she really wants is a nice simple life with her husband.
Despite being an ensemble comedy, Ross and Rachel was more of the center storyline than any other during the show's ten year run. They had many stops and starts in their relationship: Ross liked Rachel, Rachel liked Ross, they dated, they broke up, they got back together and then broke up again, Ross said Rachel's name at his wedding with Emily, they drunkenly got married in Vegas, and they had a baby together after a one night reunion. But in the end they ended up together and the audience wouldn't have accepted any other ending. As Phoebe would say, he's her lobster.
Standout episodes for Ross & Rachel:
#31 "The One Where Ross Finds Out" (11/9/95) - Ross has moved on from Rachel and is dating Julie but then finds out that Rachel likes him. It's a hilarious episode with the drama of their first kiss at the end.
#63 "The One with the Morning After" (2/20/97) - After dating for over a year, Ross and Rachel take a break but Ross foolishly hooks up with another girl leading to a dramatic end to their first go around at dating with the other four friends listening from the bedroom.
4. Rob & Laura Petrie (Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore) - The Dick Van Dyke ShowRob and Laura Petrie were one of TV's first realistic couples. Rob, the TV writer and Laura, the suburban housewife were an innocent 1960s couple (they even had separate beds), but they were very much in love. And they were talented too - some of their best moments were when they danced or sang together. They were more adult than Ricky & Lucy but less tame than Ward & June. They were the JFK and Jackie of television and a great couple.
Standout episodes for Rob & Laura:
#6 "Oh How We Met on the Night That We Danced" (10/31/61) - A flashback to the first meeting of Rob and Laura which includes a broken foot.
#34 "The Attempted Marriage" (10/10/62) - Everything that could possibly go wrong does go wrong during a flashback to Rob and Laura's wedding.
Paul and Jamie Buchman were a young neurotic married couple on this underrated romantic sitcom. Often a couple's strength can be shown by how long they last on TV without a dramatic change in their relationship such as marriage, a baby, etc. Well Paul and Jamie were married by the time they show began and they did not have a baby until Season 5. For four seasons, the show thrived just on their married life and interactions with one another. They were a modern couple for a modern show. It's nice to believe they didn't divorce later on as the series finale claimed they did because they were certainly quirky but mad for each other.
Standout episodes for Paul & Jamie:
#16 "Love Among the Tiles" (2/13/93) - Paul and Jamie get trapped in the bathroom on Valentine's Day but that's when they are the best, interacting together without places to go or people to see.
#29 "Natural History" (11/14/93) - Paul and Jamie realize they might have crossed paths as children at a museum but argue about whether fate brought them together. It ends with a great flashback to that fateful day.
It was one of the most tortured paths to a relationship. For a year and a half, Jim secretly had a crush on his best friend in the office Pam, who was engaged. After he told her his feelings, he moved away for a time and came back with a girlfriend. It wasn't until Season 4 that they finally got together and have since gotten married and had a baby. They may not have as much of a storyline anymore but it was so satisfying to see them get together after hoping with Jim for so long that things would happen.
Standout episodes for Jim & Pam:
#28 "Casino Night" (5/11/06) - Jim finally tells Pam that he is in love with her and they share a kiss in the office, but your heart breaks for Jim as Pam tells him it wouldn't work.
#104/105 "Niagara" (10/8/09) - Probably the most satisfying wedding in TV history - Jim finally got his girl that he wanted "from the day he met her" in a romantic Niagara Falls wedding.
CBS thought no one would believe that a Cuban bandleader was married to a screwball redhead but the catch was, it had happened in real life between the stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. TV's first real couple, the real married couple played the classic married couple. They were a very 1950s TV couple but the love was real and the stories were classic including the historic pregnancy and birth of Little Ricky (in real life, Desi Arnaz Jr.) It's sad to know that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz did not stay together but easy to think about Lucy and Ricky Ricardo living happily ever after.
Standout episodes for Lucy & Ricky:
#50 "Lucy is Enciente" (12/8/52) - Lucy tells Ricky that she is pregnant in a very sweet and romantic moment that captured some real life emotions from Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
#82 "Sentimental Anniversary" (12/17/53) - Lucy and Ricky spend a quiet and romantic anniversary in the closet to avoid the surprise party they know is being thrown for them right outside in the living room.
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