1. Penny and Leonard (The Big Bang Theory)
Yep, I started and ended the list with Big Bang Theory couples, and the show has deserves that distinction. The reason Rachel and Ross aren't on this list and Penny and Leonard are is both simple and complex. Friends worked hard to remind you every week that those two were in love with each other, and when they ventured off into other relationships it was just a stop-gap until their next romance together. Their continued vacillations defined the relationship: sometimes Rachel was into Ross but he was seeing someone else, sometimes Ross was into Rachel but she was seeing someone else, oftentimes they were together but the timing wasn't right. It was contrived in a sitcommy kind of way, but their inability to be with one another became part of their charm as a couple. When they finally got together at the end of the show it was deserved, even though Rachel was out of Ross's league the show had established that he had a quirky charm and he was good enough for her in his own way. The Big Bang Theory doesn't operate on that level, particularly concerning the relationship between Penny and Leonard. The primary problem with their pairing (and the primary problem with the show) is that Penny and Leonard are never equals. This is sometimes directly addressed, but often it remains in the background as if it were a universal truth. While these other shows often don't acknowledge the ridiculousness of the inequality of the relationships, The Big Bang Theory highlights that inequality almost joyously. Despite Leonard's genius aptitude, stable job, and his unbridled affection for Penny, he is
always more in love with her than she is in love with him. There's no back-and-forth, and Penny never kowtows to Leonard's needs the way he does for her (other than the sitcom staple that women are always doing men a favor by having sex with them). Leonard is the one who needs Penny to be happy, Penny is often happier alone. The other relationships on this list are awkward and ridiculous because they are incredibly mismatched and the show doesn't acknowledge it, this TV relationship is doomed because Penny and Leonard both believe that they are mismatched. Just because the show is eager to point out that they have no business of being together doesn't make it better that they still are. Furthermore, Penny's complete lack of interest in Leonard's life along with Leonard's continued dismissal of Penny's intelligence makes their relationship not only unrealistic in a forced TV kind of way but unhealthy as well. So the relationship devaulues Leonard's positive attributes and dehumanizes Penny as her ultimate value is her sexuality. Their supposed love for one another is contrived and arbitrary, both actors need to be in the show and experience emotions so the writers just plump them right next to each other and tell them to kiss. Basically, the show posits that nerds are actually sensitive and kind, but despite their positive qualities they have to grovel at the feet of women, even if their only interest in them is physical. Mutually assured destruction isn't as cool as it sounds, and The Big Bang Theory has an awkward problem at its miscalculated heart.
Comments, concerns, criticisms? What couples did I leave out? Let us know in the comments.