A Little Bromance!

I recently discovered a 'new' television channel, The Retro Television Network, which actually has been around since 2005, but I had never come across it before a few weeks ago. Most of the shows currently airing aren't anything I want to watch (Highway to Heaven, really?), with one notable exception: I have been watching reruns of Starsky & Hutch every night and loving every minute of it. What's better than a kitchy '70s cop show? But it got me thinking about all the great television 'bromances.' My definition of the best bromances are those friends who will do anything for their bro and forgive them for all their transgressions because their friendship means more than any slight. Here is the list of my top television bromances.  I'm sure I'm missing some of your favorites.  If I am, don't yell at me - write your own competing blog.  :-)

1.  Dave Starsky and Ken ("Hutch") Hutchinson (Starsky & Hutch):  For me, the street-wise Starsky and intellectual Hutch represent the quintessential bromance. These guys would literally take a bullet for their partner. They consistently show how much they care for each other - from Starsky taking care of Hutch after mobsters repeatedly inject him with heroin to garner information to Hutch supporting, comforting and making Starsky laugh after Starsky's beloved girlfriend dies. This show (I believe) was the first to give an accurate depiction of a bromance - where they were unafraid to actually show their emotional connection to each other. By far, this is still one of my favorite shows from the '70s. It also helped that I had a HUGE crush on Paul Michael Glaser (truth be known - I still do), which is why I've been having so much fun watching these shows all over again. The only issue I have with this show is that no plainclothes detective would ever drive around in a cherry red Ford Gran Torino with a white stripe down the side - no matter how cool a car it was!  

2.  Dr. Gregory House and Dr. James Wilson (House): Both are brilliant doctors, but that's about all they have in common. House is a misanthrope, Wilson is a humanitarian. House has never been married, Wilson has been married 3 times. House thinks everyone lies, Wilson believes most people are good. They are polar opposites and yet they have one of the strongest relationships currently on television and arguable of all time. They even made the cover of TV Guide in October 2008 with an article entitled: "Isn't It Bromantic?" Although I saw a posted opinion that their relationship is really "a destructive codependency," which is perhaps true - but whatever it is, it certainly works. Even when House, at the end of last season, crashes his car into Cuddy's house and breaks Wilson's wrist in the process, they still manage to repair this weirdly functioning dysfunctional relationship.

3.  Benjamin Franklin ("Hawkeye") Pierce and B.J. Hunnicutt (M*A*S*H): One of the best shows ever (in my humble opinion), M*A*S*H symbolized true 'brothers in arms' - particularly in the characters of Hawkeye and B.J. Knee deep in blood, guts and gore, these two surgeons manage to make us laugh and cry, sometimes in a matter of seconds. They supported each other through the worse kind of hell and managed to play pranks, have a laugh or two and the occasional mental breakdown in the process. The final scene from the television movie ("Goodbye, Farewell and Amen") still makes me cry - nearly 30 years later.

4.  Richie Cunningham and Arthur ("Fonzie") Fonzarelli (Happy Days): I can still recall to this day the slightly cheesy episode ("Richie Almost Dies") where Richie has bought a motorcycle.  He crashes it and ends up in the hospital, where it's questionable if he'll ever wake out of a coma. One of the more dramatic moments on Happy Days, and Henry Winkler's performance was brilliant. It solidified what the viewers already knew which was that these friends were more than mere friends but brothers. (Whatever happened to Chuck Cunningham anyway??) I'm sure in the 1950s, the last thing an ordinary middle class American family would want in their lives is a leather clad, motorcycle riding hoodlum, but somehow it works in this Hollywood fiction.

Honorable Mentions:

Lenny and Squiggy from Laverne & Shirley
Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters (the only non-fictional people on my list)
Fred and Barney from The Flintstones
Sam and Al from Quantum Leap
Jerry and George from Seinfeld

The one consistent thing with television bromances is that the bros are very different characters from each other; generally complete opposites, which is why these partnerships work so well. They balance each other out marvelously. Well done, Hollywood! Which is your favorite bromantic couple? Take this survey.

[Side Note: When I was writing this blog, I did a spell check and every oddly spelled name came up as needing to be fixed, except 'Fonzie' which says something about the impact The Fonz had on our culture.]