Love may be especially pungent in the air this week, but it’s always present on our television screens. Like any real-life romance, these on-screen pairings can be picture perfect … or doomed to fail.
Prepare your TiVos, because these are some famous couples you’ll want to channel, or avoid imitating, if you want your special someone to stick around at least until next Valentine’s Day.
The best
Monica and Chandler of “Friends” (1994-2004)
With the drama consistently centered around Rachel and Ross, Chandler and Monica were able to rely on their strong friendship and senses of humor to evolve into the show’s most dependable couple.
Bottom line: The best relationships come out of a mutual place, and most of all, these relationships don’t take themselves too seriously.
Episode to watch: “The One with the Proposal,” Season 6
Ned and Chuck of “Pushing Daisies” (2007-2009)
When Ned, a pie-maker who is able to bring the dead back to life, uses his powers to revive his childhood sweetheart, they’re able to pick up right where they left off. The magic, though, only goes one way, and if Ned touches her again, she’ll be dead for good.
Bottom line: Physical chemistry can play an important role in a relationship, but it can’t be the only thing keeping you together. Talking and hanging, not just hooking up, provides valuable insight into a person that distinguishes them as a long-term partner, not another fling.
Episode to watch: “The Fun in Funeral,” Season 1
Phil and Claire Dunphy of “Modern Family” (2009-present)
No show on television portrays familial dysfunction on par with “Modern Family.” The show’s wit and comedic timing are hard to match and Claire and Phil tend to be at the center of the show’s multi-ring circus.
Bottom line: Whether you’re married to a 40-year-old man-child or an overprotective, mildly OCD perfectionist, a good relationship doesn’t always constitute perfection. Opposites can always attract, if they’re truly committed to working out the everyday annoyances and complications for the sake of the relationship.
Episode to watch: “My Funky Valentine,” Season 1
The worst
Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII of “The Tudors” (2007-2010)
The ill-fated romance between the King of England and his mistress has transcended television as one of history’s most destructive couples. Viewers were able to watch every moment as the couple’s relationship, conceived with forbidden passion, ended with an act of violence.
Bottom line: If your boyfriend is a power-hungry control freak, don’t expect to be the one to change his ways. If you fail, you’re out of luck … or in Anne’s case, out a head.
Episode to watch: “Destiny and Fortune,” Season 2
Don and Betty Draper of “Mad Men” (2007-present)
Don and Betty were the perfect example of how deeply flawed a marriage can become when plagued by a lack of trust and communication. Ironically, despite Don’s frequent infidelities, viewers still rarely sympathized with Betty because of her cold and often childish demeanor. Betty was also named by Vulture magazine as “one of the worst mothers in TV history,” and with a show like “Toddlers & Tiaras” on the air, attaining this title seems to be a special accomplishment.
Bottom line: If something isn’t meant to be, don’t force it. It makes it much harder to make a clean break, which will have emotional repercussions for you, the other person, and those close to you.
Episode to watch: “Shut the Door, Have a Seat,” Season 3
Jaime and Cersei Lannister of “Game of Thrones” (2011-present)
In the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, complicated webs of loyalty, betrayal, and power intertwine the characters. Love, too, becomes a game, with violent and destructive implications. When viewers are introduced to the Lannister family as they visit the Starks of Winterfell, an immediate sense of suspicion is felt. When the youngest Stark boy stumbles upon Cersei (the queen) and her twin brother, Jaime … um, in a compromising situation, Jaime promptly pushes the boy out of a window to protect their affair. We later find that Cersei had a son with her brother, who, despite being the ultimate problem child, is set to inherit the throne.
Bottom line: The lesson here is easy to grasp. One, don’t have sex with your siblings. And two, if (God forbid), you just can’t avoid the incestuous experimentation, at least draw the line at murdering a little kid just to keep it going. Comprende?
Episode to watch: “Winter is Coming,” Season 1