TV Love aka Why I Have Unrealistic Expectations of the Opposite Sex

Let’s be honest, television and movies have ruined us.  It’s true.  Whether it’s through sucking up all of our time or having us futilely wait for someone to stand on top of a kissing booth and profess their love for us, television and movies are a bad influence.

Seth Cohen, why don’t you actually exist?!

We watch these movies or shows with over-the-top romantic gestures and action, and then we expect our own lives to shadow that in some way.  This of course can’t happen because us normal folks don’t have writers dictating every word of our perfectly crafted speeches or directors guiding our daily life.  This is particularly true when it comes to the opposite sex.  I can’t tell you how many times the guys that I’ve met have fallen short of the vision I have set in my mind.  This vision, like it or not, is constantly adapted and molded by the impossibly perfect relationships I’ve seen play out on television.  The starting point was Alias.

Alias – Sydney & Vaughn

This pairing – my first TV love! – is a double agent and her CIA handler.  Talk about an unattainable relationship.  Their life together is fraught with intrigue, drama and a lot of wigs.

Basically, what I took from this is that your man should be all sorts of brave, put his life on the line for you and wear a suit.  Also, you should fight crime together while using questionable accents.  Needless to say, no boys when I was in junior high lived up to this.  I don’t even think any of the guys I know now would.

Gilmore Girls – Rory & Logan

There are so many pairings that I took to heart in Gilmore Girls, but the one between Rory and Logan is the one that has stuck with me the most.  They meet during college and despite a rocky start become what I believe is one of the most realistic and enduring relationships for Rory.

They also do awesome things like dress in formal wear and bungee jump off of scaffoldings with umbrellas.

During college, I was convinced that I was going to meet a Logan Huntzberger.  I mean, I was a cool brunette.  I was even a journalism major for a year or so.  I thought I’d meet a cool guy at college and we’d flirt for a few weeks before slipping into something in between, and then we’d date, it’d become Facebook official, and we’d live happily ever after (or at least until graduation).  I didn’t anticipate the general douche-baggery of college guys or the unfortunate reality that the majority of the men at Loyola bat for a different team.

Dawson’s Creek – Joey & Pacey

This one kills me guys.  It KILLS me.  The sad fact is that no guy can be as effortlessly charming as Pacey Witter.  I dare you to show me one guy who can go up against Capeside’s resident charmer.  Just show me one!  Basically, what the Joey-Pacey-ship has done to me is make me convinced that it can’t be true love if the guy doesn’t buy me a wall and write something super romantic on it.

I mean, how else am I supposed to know that you really care about me and want me to pursue my dreams AND be with you forever?  I ask you, how?!

Parks and Recreation – Ben & Leslie

This couple is actually the worst.  Leslie is this person who’s always sort of been overlooked in comparison to the “beautiful tropical fish” Ann Perkins, but then Ben comes along and sees what everyone else was missing.  See what I mean about it being the worst?  Separate these characters were endearing and likable, but together they are do-not-talk-to-me-during-their-scenes amazing.  I’d also like to note that it took me three tries to spell “likable”.  That is what this couple does to me.

When it come to TV couples, this one is actually probably not a half-bad one to aspire to be.  They’re not spies.  They’re not Capeside teenagers.  They’re real people doing real things that happened to bring them together.  And by real people, I mean people that other people created to entertain all of us.  And entertaining they are.

Who are your favorite TV couples?  Do you feel like they’ve given you unattainable expectations?