The Top 10 Couples in TV History

Valentine’s Day is the time when our minds turn to greeting cards, chocolate and, incidentally, love. And to celebrate, Pop Literate presents 10 TV couples who have taken a special place in our culture. If your kids want to know about real love — the good and the bad — just plop them down in front of these ten clips.

#10 Mike & Carol
Sure, the Bradys are hokey and dated. But The Brady Bunch was actually groundbreaking in its decision to feature a non-traditional family. And any couple who can stay together through this wedding must really be in love. (YouTube won’t let me embed this clip.)

#9 Archie & Edith
It must take a lot of love to stay with a guy like Archie. In this clip, Archie and Edith are left alone for several days, and don’t quite know how to handle it.

#8 Pebbles & Bamm Bamm
Arranged marriages are doomed when even the babies are falling in love.  Pebbles and Bamm Bamm are like romance on training wheels.  But they had longevity.  If not for the sorry state of pre-historic health care, they could probably have lived to celerbrate their 100th anniversary.

#7 Luke & Laura
Wikipedia calls Luke and Laura the “signature supercouple” of General Hospital. Not only that, but it says the term “supercouple” was actually coined to refer to them.  Their wedding on General Hospital in 1981 drew more viewers than any other daytime program. Now you can relive it in all its glory.

6. Joanie & Chachi
Theirs was a love so strong that they needed a complete sentence to describe it in the show title. And love is the only explanation for how Joanie could keep a straight face while listening to Chachi sing.

#5 Major Nelson & Jeannie
What kind of a man can resist the charms of a stunning, veil-clad blonde genie living in a bottle in his home for years? Major Tony Nelson can.  But even he succumbed eventually. We can only assume the highlight of the wedding night was that he finally got to see Jeannie’s belly button, which had been covered by TV censors for years.

#4 Barney & Thelma Lou
A guy like Barney Fife needs a good woman to take care of him. And it helps if she’s also willing to go along with all his crazy schemes, and ignore his occasional dalliance with Juanita down at the diner. These two were really in love, and if you don’t believe it, just look how hard they took it when they broke up.

#3 Lucy & Ricky
The quintessential TV odd couple, upon which countless future TV relationships are modeled. Even sleeping in twin beds could not keep these two from experiencing a “blessed event.” (That’s 1950s-speak for “having a baby,” kids.)

#2 David & Maddie
Moonlighting was the show that launched Bruce Willis’s career. The show that revived Cybill Shepherd’s career. And the wittiest banter since Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday. I firmly believe if the writers hadn’t made them sleep together in Season 3, they would still be great together.

#1 Sam & Diane
The dumb jock. The snooty egghead. No other couple (except maybe David & Maddie) conveyed onscreen chemistry like Sam Malone and Diane Chambers. Here are a few high points from Season 1 of Cheers.