My Favorite and Sometimes Hopeless Television 'Ships

We've all done it. We've all watched our favorite show and decided "hey, these characters would be good together."

Nowadays, 'shipping is practically required in fandom. I tend to keep the ideas to myself as I like unusual pairings. Such as my conviction that Mulder was terrible for Scully and I'd rather see her with Robert Patrick. *ducks tomatoes*

But sometimes, I'm with the rest of the world in wanting to see two people together. So here are a few of my favorites:

1. Alphas--Lee Rosen and Nina Theroux
Yes, this is all kinds of messed up. First, it's a May-December pairing. Second, he was her psychiatrist/counselor. Third, she can literally push people into doing whatever she wants.
And yet....

The pair have always had a different relationship than Rosen and the rest of the Alphas team. Nina has always called him Lee, rather than by his last name. He's obviously the one person she trusts implicitly, as she changed her life around when he came calling about the Alphas team the first time. And after the events of this season, it's clear he will never, ever give up on her.

For Lee's part, there's a connection. He confides in her unlike anyone else. When he was struggling over a horrific personal decision, he went to Nina. Even more, he listened to her advice.

When I had a chance to talk to Alphas show-runner Bruce Miller last week, I mentioned this hopeless ship and he pointed out the actors (David Strathairn and Laura Menell) have great chemistry together. I'm sure that's part of it.

These are two lonely people. I'd love to see them find some comfort in each other, thought it would be incredibly complicated and I doubt the rest of the team would like it. Yum.....crunchy emotional conflict.

2. Remington Steele--Laura Holt and Remington Steele.
This was the show that did the slow romantic burn before the more famous Moonlighting. It started with the great premise and only got better. Laura opens a detective agency, no one hires her because she's a girl. (It was the early 1980s.)
So she creates a fictional male boss.

In comes one very handsome master thief played by Pierce Brosnan, and soon he's taken on the fictional identity of Remington Steele. Cue lots of snark, cases to solve between two people who don't know each other well, and an evolving romance as they came to realize they're in love with each other.

The show got canceled, then un-canceled but this one had somewhat of a resolution as Laura & Mr. Steele got together at the very end of their last scene together. If you missed this one back in the 1980s and love banter, check it out. It doesn't hurt that young Pierce is so pretty.

3. Castle and Beckett--Castle

Yes, these two got together at the end of the last season but the way they got together is emblematic of my mixed feelings about the show.
When Castle is light banter with a smattering of mystery, it's terrific. The two leads are so appealing and they're clearly having fun on screen together. But when they go for angst and darkness, it becomes all messed up.

All last season, Castle kept this big secret from Beckett to "protect her," which is one of my least favorite actions by people ever in stories. Then when she ran headlong into danger, he confessed what he'd done and insisted she stop so she'd live.

And he never apologized for being an over-protective ass rather than a partner treating her like an adult. So, naturally, she dumped him and ran off headlong into danger. And he decided to let her go instead of realizing that maybe his secret had something to do with her rejection. If maybe he'd apologized and said how he cared and she said she was angry but, of course, she loved him...the break-up would have been heartrending. Instead, it made me want to chuck things at the television.

Ah, but then Beckett realized she needed this guy in her life because she screwed everything up, gave up everything else that mattered to her, and showed up from being soaked in the rain (another cliche) at Castle's doorstop.

ARGH.

I was hoping for real partnership to go along with kisses and protestations of love. At this point, I'm only praying they'll settle the angst in like, two seconds, next season and get back to bantering and solving crimes. Only this time, can Castle not solve every single one?

Castle keeps teasing me and then not delivering satisfaction. Give me some proper climax, show!

4. Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher--Star Trek: The Next Generation
Yes, they got together at some point, given they're divorced in the final episode but that was a nasty tease by the writers. Beverly saw through Jean-Luc's gruff dignity and Jean-Luc had been in love with her since she married his best friend. (Oops!)

The relationship never progresses past Beverly forgiving Jean-Luc for his part in her husband's death but maybe that's because Wesley was always around, mucking up things for his mom.

Wesley had much to answer for. :) (Though he did give the geek world Wil Wheaton, so it might have been worth it.)

4. The West Wing--C.J. and Danny

She's the press secretary for the President of the United States. He's a reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper. They shouldn't be together. But outfitted with a lot of snappy Aaron Sorkin dialogue, they're perfect.

And though Danny eventually gave up on his pursuit when C.J. couldn't get past the conflict of interest, he came back in the last season and...presto!

A happy ending.  I have that episode permanently saved on my DVR.

Corrina Lawson can be found at www.corrina-lawson.com, also talking about The Big Valley and her love of Spartacus.