Saluting Favorite TV Couples for Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day only a few days away, it seemed like the right time to salute some of my favorite TV couples; but not just the recent TV couples who are my personal favorites but rather those who have stood the test of time over the last few decades because – after all – I haven’t been watching TV for only the last few years.

Let’s get started with a recent TV couple, one that has been five seasons in the making: Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) on the popular ABC series Castle.

Castle and Beckett

In the beginning, Kate was forced to include Castle in her investigations because of his friendship with the mayor, who allowed Castle to follow her with the purpose of creating a new fictional character for his new books. But, as time went on, they became not only partners on the job but partners at home. They haven’t always had the easiest of times as partners, but one thing remains true: they have an undeniable chemistry and commitment to each other.

Next up is the Lois and Clark in both the 90’s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as well as the long-running WB/CW series Smallville.

Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher

This legendary couple is, of course, a mainstay in comic book lore, on the big screen at the box office and on television, but for me it really started with Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher on the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which had its fair share of ups and downs, good and bad episodes and a lot of, well, ridiculous storylines. But the one thing that was always apparent was their love for each other. Moving over to Lois and Clark on the WB sans The CW series Smallville, we were given a slightly different view of Lois Lane, as played by Erica Durance, but one that only added to the appeal of the legendary couple; and, of course Tom Welling as the Man of Steel, who didn’t take on the mantel of his destiny until the last moment that was so worth the wait.

Erica Durance and Tom Welling

The next couple is Dr. Michaela Quinn (Jane Seymour) and Byron Sully (Joe Lando) from the long-running western family drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman that ran on CBS for six seasons from 1993 to 1998.

Joe Lando and Jane Seymour

Say what you will about the simplicity of the show, but for the time period it was airing the show was exactly what the viewers wanted and the ratings for the series reflected the viewers’ interest. They were the go-to couple for countless millions of TV viewers, making their wedding episode one of the highest rated episodes of the show’s complete run. Even after the show came to an albeit unexpected end, the viewers were diligent with their support, seeing their commitment to the show rewarded by two made-for-TV movies that continued the story of Dr. Mike and Sully.

Then there is Best Buy employee-turned (somewhat) reluctant spy Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) and sexy, skilled CIA operative Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski), who meet under extremely unusual circumstances in the fan favorite NBC dramedy Chuck.

Yvonne Strahovski and Zachary Levi

The original mission that brought these two people together may have started out as one to keep Chuck, who inadvertently downloaded critical government secrets (known as the Intersect) into his brain, safe and alive; but as time moved on, Chuck became more and more important to the government and to his handler, Sarah. As viewers’ know, he eventually downloaded an enhancement to the Intersect, making him more than a simple Best Buy employee with a secret life as a would-be spy, becoming a real spy and eventually Sarah’s husband.

Lastly, there is Max Evans (Jason Behr), the human-looking alien hybrid and Liz Parker (Shiri Appleby), the human girl he loved on the cult favorite series Roswell that aired for two seasons on the WB and then moved over to UPN for its final season.

Jason Behr and Shiri Appleby

This late 1990’s-early 2000’s series took TV viewers on quite a (space) ride, shifting from teen angst high school drama to sci-fi laced thrills and action. The series wove a tale of lost aliens hiding among us in Roswell, New Mexico as well as their human friends and those who loved them as they try to learn the truth about their origins and make a live for themselves in a world that doesn’t believe in aliens.

There are many other TV couples, of course, who have become my personal favorites such as Richard and Kahlan on the syndicated series Legend of the Seeker; Catherine and Vincent on the original CBS series Beauty and the Beast; Snow White (Mary-Margaret) and Prince Charming (David) on Once Upon a Time; Mick and Beth on Moonlight and Veronica and Logan on Veronica Mars, but the aforementioned list is easily the best of the best in my opinion.

But, my opinion isn’t the only one that matters, of course. I would love to hear what our readers have to say; so, have at it. Which TV couples do you like most? Please share your favorite TV couples in our comments section below and Happy Valentine’s Day!