My Favorite Christmas Episodes

(Guest post by TJ)

If you know me, you know my birthday is Christmas Eve. Also, you’d know that I love the Christmas season and Christmas movies are some of my favorite things. But a good Christmas episode is equally compelling to me. Today, I’m going to share seven of my favorites from some of my favorite TV shows (along with honorable mentions.)

I Love Lucy - The I Love Lucy Christmas Show: Season 6 - Episode 11
Another thing you may wish to note about me is that I deem I Love Lucy one of the greatest television series of all time. Unfortunately, I think they only have this one Christmas episode. Unfortunately, this is a clip episode, which are sometimes full of nostalgia. The goal for the main four characters is to make a good Christmas for Little Ricky. This leads Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, and Fred dressing up as Santa Claus. At the very end, they dance around the tree and suddenly there are five people in the room…This is just a fun episode and hits a strong classic tone. But it’s also a reminder that Christmas is definitely about sharing what’s special with others.

The Simpsons – Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire: Season 1 – Episode 1
This is one of those moments where I get to say, “I was there.” I watched this episode with my brothers and cousin when it aired the first time. This hooked me to the Simpsons, a show that changed many times over the years while being the same. There’s an anti-Gift of the Magi theme going on here where both Homer and Marge believe the other has Christmas money saved up. But of course, a series of events leads them to not having any money, a sign of the show that this is about a family who struggles financially. In the end, Homer ends up bringing home a dog, saving the dog from being abandoned. Something that everyone loves. As much as Christmas is about presents for everyone, sometimes it’s about doing what you can for those you love. 

Friends - The One with the Holiday Armadillo: Season 7 – Episode 10
First of all, this is the episode where Monica says, “…Santa, the Armadillo man and I will have a talk in the kitchen. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.” But this is a pretty interesting episode. All Ross wants to do is help his son understand a different holiday, one that’s important to him. Being half-Jewish myself, I have appreciated my heritage and have been looking for ways to celebrate Hannukah with my kids to help them understand their heritage as well. But the humor of the random costumes between Santa, the Holiday Armadillo (seriously who came up with that) and Superman is what makes this episode such a holiday joy. 

Community – Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas: Season 2 – Episode 11
Community, at its heart, is such a diverse show, even in its holidays. In season 1 we learn that everyone at the table has a different belief system. But for this season 2 we suddenly have a Claymation episode because Abed has jumped into a delusion. We go through this Winter Wonderland in Abed’s mind as he searches for the true meaning of Christmas. (Gotta be honest, my 6-year-old loves this episode for one specific reason: she loves the Christmas pterodactyl.) Now, while I agree with Shirley’s statement that Christmas is about the Savior, the group does realize that Christmas has another point to it: the longest, coldest, darkest nights can be the warmest and brightest as long as you have those you love around you. This message becomes clearer as the study group sits and watches Rudolph together. 

Doctor Who – The Runaway Bride – Season 3 – Episode 0
This in-between episode that introduces Catherine Tate’s snarky Donna Noble has very little to do with Christmas…or does it? She gets married on Christmas…kind of. It’s the humor that makes this episode so great for me. (See the meme that goes with this.) But I digress. What is interesting in this episode is the Doctor remarks that there is nothing special about Donna, an insult to the fastest temp in Cheswick. But the real point is that Donna is special…not only that, we’ll see how important she is much later. Regardless, Christmas can be a time where we don’t worry about whether or not we’re special. The joy in seeing someone else feel special is part of what the Christmas spirit is.

The Big Bang Theory – The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis: Season 2 – Episode 11
This was Big Bang’s first Christmas episode and honestly is still my favorite. While Penny has gifts for the guys, this causes Sheldon to be extremely Sheldon-like and goes on a rampage at guessing how much Penny’s gift is worth. On the flipside, Leonard loses his new BFF to Penny and shows his jealousy when to the guy who’s attractive and super-intelligent. Of course, that relationship fails quickly. For me, this episode has the strongest chemistry between Penny and Leonard. But of course, when Penny gives her gift to Sheldon, he has a plan to make her go first. Of course, she kindly does and Sheldon is absolutely flabbergasted. He has no idea what to do since the gift that cost the struggling waitress $0 is worth more to Sheldon than the dozen gift baskets he purchased for her. So, he hugs her, showing that Sheldon can exhibit real personable emotions…in this case…gratitude. 

Frasier – Frasier Grinch: Season 3 – Episode 9
The Christmas episode from season 1 is probably one of the best episodes, but the character arc that Frasier goes through is removed by the next episode it seems. And even though this episode starts in a way I don’t necessarily appreciate, it has one scene that makes me cry every time. Frasier fights to get his son a specific toy and fails. Martin tries to cheer Frasier up, but it’s not working. Finally, Martin gives Frasier his Christmas present: the toy Frasier wants to give Freddie. In the end, this episode breaks Frasier’s recurring theme of “let me live my life my way alone and I’ll do what it takes to get there” to “I don’t care about anything else besides making someone I love happy.” Seriously, writing about this moment on Frasier makes me cry a little.

Thanks for reading! Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled.

Five Reasons Marge Simpson is the Mom We Need

 I did this for Homer for Father's day I figured it's time Marge got a turn. 

If you haven't seen the show, Marge Simpson is the mom on the Simpsons, the wife of the infamous Homer and mother to Bart, Lisa and Maggie. In comparison to the rest of her family, Marge usually plays the straight man, being the normal person in a world full of oddball characters, her giant tower of blue hair notwithstanding. Being the most grounded person on the show doesn't mean that she doesn't have her moments to shine or that her episodes are any less good, it just means that when she gets into wacky shannegains they're made even more funny by her having more normal sensibilities than the rest of her family. 

Above all else though, Marge is a wife and a mother, and she is devoted to each with every once of her being.

5: Patience of a Saint

It would be one thing to have to put up with just one source of crazy in a family, Marge has three and an infant to boot. She takes care of her families eccentricities no matter what they may be that week and rolls with whatever punch she's thrown. Sometimes it's being ready to clean barbecue off the roof after Homer uses the chimney as a smoker. Sometimes it's remembering to check Bart's pockets for sling shots and frogs before church, and sometimes it's making sure Lisa's lunch is vegetarian despite Bart and Homer demanding meat. She takes it all in stride. Not to say that she doesn't occasionally need time to recharge. Marge takes time off to read a book, get her hair done, or go on a week long vacation whenever the stress of the family is getting to her, but she always comes back ready to take care of her families' sometimes extreme needs. 

4: She Accepts her Family

Along with her patience is accepting the kooky eccentricities of her family and loving them for being different. For Christmas she makes two sets of cookies for the kids, a set of Christmas trees for Lisa and bloody spear heads for Bart, both using the same cookie cutter. She knows what Bart likes and doesn't try to force him to be more traditional. With Lisa her relationship is a bit more complicated. Marge is the traditional stay at home mom, interested in making the perfect meal and cleaning the house, where Lisa is an outspoken feminist, wanting to educate herself and become more than a housewife which she sees as inferior. The two have clashed over expectations they have for each other, but Marge is always willing to listen to Lisa's opinions on the world, even if she doesn't agree with them. Marge and Lisa have learned a lot from each other, both willing to see each other's point of view and without having to make drastic changes to make the other happy. 

3: She Loves Being a Mom

There's something about the pure joy Marge finds in being a mom that makes the Simpson house feel like somewhere that would be nice to visit or grow up in. Weather it's her humming to herself as she makes lunches or how eager she is to flex her considerable cooking or sewing skills, Marge revels in her home and families happiness. While she does get annoyed when the house is destroyed by someone's misadventures, she's happy to try again the next day. Again this doesn't make Marge a pushover. Whenever she feels that her good nature is being taken advantage of she has no problem making the rest of the family pitch in and help clean up their messes, but whenever she's gone the family is always grateful to have someone who loves to take care of them. 

2: She Stands her Ground

Marge lets her family be themselves and lets them make her own decisions, but they're are lines that will not be crossed on her watch. When Homer bought a gun and was using it irresponsibly she told him that it was the gun or the family, because she knew that it would not be safe in her house and would not accept anything less than complicity (We'll ignore that when Homer did throw the gun away Marge picked it up, saw how cool she looked in the reflection, pursed it and strutted away). No matter how much easier it would be on everyone she refuses to give up on Bart, insisting that he gets an education even if she has to teach him herself, and when she did become his teacher he learned. With Lisa she will not let her think less of herself because the world tells her to, she makes sure that even if they don't agree on something that Lisa knows that she is special and is loved and that even though she might not be appreciated by others now she will be one day and teach them all a lesson. 

1: She Stands Up For Her Family

Marge's soft-spoken nature falls by the wayside as soon as anyone starts talking bad about any member of her family. She has defended Homer to her own family, telling them off on numerous occasions for discounting him. She has told off principals, teachers and other students in defense of her kids. In the early 90's then first lady Barbara Bush publicly said that The Simpsons was "The stupidest thing I have ever seen". Marge (AKA the writers of the show) wrote a polite but firm response to Barbara: 

Barbara then wrote back! 

This is the mom you want- one that will clap back for you against the wife of the president of the United States, so hard that she writes a letter back apologizing! 

That's a good mom!

-JOE

The Good, The Bart and The Loki

 What in the world is Disney doing with the Simpson's franchise?!

Okay let me unpack that: 

The Good, The Bart and The Loki is the latest Simpsons shorts to premier on Disney+, standing out for A: Not being exclusively about Maggie and B: for having Tom Hiddleston voice his iconic character. The God of Mischief is banished to Springfield and finds a kindred spirit in Bart, and a father figure in Homer, both indulge his evil machinations for as long as they serve their own psychotic wants. 

It's hard not to spoil, not because the plot is so interesting but because the entire clip is four minutes long. It breaks down into an excuse to show multiple Simpsons characters as iconic MCU characters, though only briefly. The entire episode feels like an excuse for Disney to flex its franchise collection, and sadly little else. 

Being a Simpsons fan since episode 1 over 30 years ago, I can say that the show has long since run out of ideas, and Disney seems to agree. The main series has gone on without change since the acquisition, with Disney only releasing Maggie shorts in a Bugs Bunny style and now this thing, making the Simpsons feel like less of characters and more stand-ins for Disney to use to show off their other franchises. Granted, a show which frequently features child abuse as a running gag isn't a good match for a brand known for family friendly princess movies, but if Disney is going to own this thing they may as well do something with it. 

Circling back to the latest Simpsons crossover, one stand-out moment is a cheeky post-credit scene where Loki is charged by the TVA for not only his crimes as Loki but for the flaws in his current show, Loki. It was nice to see Disney admit that their latest MCU outing had some problems that was annoying fans, though it's one thing to admit to problems and an entirely different one altogether to actually fix them.

A full length episode of the Simpsons apologizing for Loki and letting us have some real fun with the concept would've been welcome. This sadly is just a taste of what could've been. 

-JOE

5 Best Halloween Movies On Disney+ (That Aren’t Hocus Pocus)

So while I grew up loving Disney, my Halloween was a little... darker.... so I don't have the same nostalgia goggles my contemporaries have for Hocus Pocus or Halloweentown, so excuse me if they didn't make the list. These however are five Halloween(ish?) movies that I know and love that you can find on my favorite streaming service, Disney+.  

Nightmare Before Christmas 

Can't go wrong with a Tim Burton classic. A deconstruction of my favorite holiday Halloween and my least favorite holiday Christmas makes for a beautiful blend of the best both have to offer. The animation stands strong to this day, the iconic look has become a staple of Halloween decorating. Add the iconic songs that you can sing all year round and you have a yearly must-see. 

And if you tell me it's a Christmas movie I'll send a man-eating jack-in-the-box to your house. 

Treehouse of Horror

Disney bought the Simpsons, which means all of the Halloween specials are in one place and can be watched at any time. These are a delight to watch, even the arguably worse later seasons did justice to the Treehouse of Horror. Early episodes include a reading of The Raven by Poe and a parody of Nightmare on Elm Street. Later installments feature a tribute to Orson Well's War of the Worlds and a zombie story where the only way to stop the walking dead is drinking Bart's bath water. Laugh, maybe scream, but definitely laugh while you watch it. 

Maleficent

During October, Disneyland is taken over by the villains, so it's only fitting that a movie starring the Dame of All Evil ends up on this list. Maleficent is the Sleeping Beauty story told from the side of the villain, and it is a beautiful character story on an infamous bad guy and a fun revelry in all things dark and evil. Maleficent is a great movie all year round, but pay tribute to your inner villain and check it out in October. 

Ichabod and Mr. Toad

A headless ghost and two friends who end up in hell? How much more Halloween can you get without carving a pumpkin while watching it? This is a scary cartoon that still holds up against the best modern Disney movies. I still get chills when Ichabod looks down the empty neck hole and hears a laugh emanating from within. Show it to your kids and watch them jump. 

Fantasia (The Last Segment) 

Okay don't watch the while thing unless you want to. It's a good movie but what I'm focusing on is the last segment, A Night on Bald Mountain. This is the one with the big scary demon (Known to Disney fans as Chernabog) coming out of a mountain and sending out his scary demons and ghosts into the world. The scene is short but is incredibly memorable, with the unique monsters dancing and reveling in the night. It does wrap up with a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria, leaving off with the message that despite how scary the dark can be the light will always come through. 

 

5 Reasons Homer Simpson is the Dad We Need

When the words "model TV dads" come by, you usually hear the dad from Leave It To Beaver, Andy Tailor, maybe more recently Danny Tanner from Full House. But if you want an example of a dad who is more realistic, look no further than Homer J. Simpson.

I'm serious.

5: Always Willing to Change

Homer's known for being pig-headed, stupid, and ignorant on most topics, but for Marge and the kids he's always willing to learn about something, even if it's just enough to get by. After taking a test that indicates he may be a bad father, Homer gets closer to Bart as they build and race soapbox derby cars. Homer even goes as far as to ask Ned Flanders for parenting advice just to prove that he is a good dad and does care about his kids.

4: Stands By His Kids

In the episode "Lisa the Iconoclast" he helps Lisa as she tries to unravel a conspiracy around the town's founder, Jebediah Springfield. Even though Jebediah is a hero of Homer's, he's willing to hear his daughter out and help her get to the truth, even at the cost of his job as town crier. Homer could've easily jumped in with the mob against Lisa, a position even Marge takes, but instead he sticks by Lisa to the end, even supporting her decision in the end to not reveal the truth. Homer has also helped Bart fight off bullies, defended Lisa's beauty and has stood up to Marge on the few times when she's shown a lapse in judgment, like when she broke a promise to Lisa to make her a costume.

3: Willing To Teach

There's not much that Homer knows that's really of use to anyone, but the little he does have he's always eager to share with his kids. This includes giving Bart the tip that "When it comes to compliments, women are ravenous blood-sucking monsters always want'n more... more... MORE! And if you give it to them, you'll get plenty back in return.". It may not be accurate but it helped Bart in the moment and Marge and Lisa did appreciate the compliments. Homer's never afraid to bring his kids along on one of his zany adventures, and teach them some handy life lessons along the way.

2: Respects His Wife

Homer has argued with Marge, sometimes done things she doesn't approve of, like buying Lisa a horse or buying a gun, but in the end he always tries to respect Marge's opinion and never puts her down. He's completely devoted to making Marge and the kids happy, even if he has to grumble about it in the car. The pair have taught their kids that a perfect marriage doesn't need to involve perfect people, but it does involve mutual respect and caring. Yes Homer slips up, but he's always the first to apologize and make amends. 

1: He Does It For Her

In the episode "And Maggie Makes Three" Bart and Lisa ask why they're aren't any pictures of Maggie. The subsequent flashback story tells how Homer and Marge, fresh out of debt and at the time only having two children, decide that Homer can chase his dream job of working at the bowling alley. This comes crashing down when Marge announces he's pregnant and Homer has to go back to the nuclear power plant where Mr. Burns puts up a plaque that says "Don't Forget: You're Here Forever". Homer takes pictures of Maggie and arranges them to make the plaque say "Do it for her" so he always remembers why he's working so hard at a place he hates. Homer is shown to sometimes forget Maggie but when he's at work he never forgets what makes it all worthwhile. 

Homer is the dad we didn't want but the one we needed. 

-JOE

Saluting Homer’s new corporate overlords

Any fan of Pixar is well aware that when you go see a Pixar movie in the theater, you’re going to start by watching a Pixar short. Pixar shorts are usually masterpieces in and of themselves. (See our reviews for the SparkShorts films Loop, Float, and Purl.) But Onward doesn’t have a Pixar short. Instead, Onward is preceded by a short called Playdate with Destiny, starring Maggie Simpson! It’s the first theatrical sign of Disney’s acquisition of Fox, and specifically of The Simpsons, which can be streamed on Disney+.

Playdate with Destiny is a cute film, and follows a lot of the best tropes of Pixar shorts: it’s largely silent, features very few characters, tells a tight story, and has a whole lotta heart. This is Maggie’s story, through and through, which makes it easy to have zero dialogue. Maggie meets and falls in love with Hudson, and the two share a whirlwind romance of sharing champagne and strawberries (which are really a water fountain and sand). When Maggie thinks that she will never see Hudson again, she takes drastic measures to find him as he leaves on a train. The two are about to share a kiss, but they trade pacifiers instead. Cute.

The short is adorable. It’s crisp and clean, well animated, and looks terrific. (Personally, I love the rough hand drawn Simpsons of 1989. I used to watch the original Simpsons shorts in between skits on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. Bonus trivia: Tracey Ullman voices the pawn shop owner in Onward.) Maggie's story is engaging and compelling in all the best Simpsons ways. The humor is a little lacking, though there are some clever bits when Maggie uses her imagination, and getting drunk on baby formula reminds me of my caffeine addiction caused by that most sinful of addictive drinks, Diet Dr. Pepper. Ultimately, The Simpsons is a great addition to the Disney family, and Playdate with Destiny shows a fresh and promising future for the classic comedy powerhouse, The Simpsons.

Five TV shows that need to end

I’m probably going to catch a lot of flak for this, but that’s okay I’m used to it. There are just some shows I’m sick of seeing, hearing about, or being told that I “have to see”. Here is what’s sitting at the top of my list. And for the record, I really did try to get into these shows, but honestly I either can’t do it anymore or I never could like them.

The Office

All this show does is take the one joke from the film Office Space and stretch it out into 8 seasons. Yes, I know that offices can be quirky, but come on 8 seasons? How long is this documentary supposed to be? It’s as bad as that endless bedtime story How I Met Your Mother keeps telling. The camera angle thing and the breaking the fourth wall are cute, but at one point it just gets old. This show even did the whole Ross and Rachel/JD and Elliot/Bones and Booth thing nearly every other TV show ever has done. They even had a baby and this show is still going! What is the appeal?

The Simpsons

I wouldn’t be a good internet nerd with a blog if I didn’t at one point complain that the Simpson’s is still on the air. What’s interesting is that when this show first came out they’re were tons of parents and morality groups screaming for it to go off the air for being too racy. It was one of the first cartoons to be aimed at teens and adults, talking about adult situations and even swearing at times, and it pushed the envelope as far as TV and animation were concerned, and I admit I love the first few seasons. So then what happened? Well essentially they stopped pushing the envelope. Shows like South Park and Family Guy came along and went WAY farther than Simpsons ever dreamed of going.  Because Simpsons wasn’t willing to compete, they just sort of stagnated in the market, relying mainly on in-jokes and putting their characters in wacky situations with each other. It didn’t say anything, it didn’t make any statements, and it’s just there, taking up time. Matt Groening, either grow the kids up or focus on Futurama. Speaking of Family Guy…

                                                                                   
Anything Seth McFarlane has out right now

Seth, I love you. Stewie is one of my favorite characters. I loved him both as the world dictator and as the effeminate baby, but do we really need three cartoons about middle-class working families? In fact, do we really need three ultra-liberal anti-religious cartoons about middle-class families? Say what you want about South Park, at least their statements are varied and happily attack anyone they can find equally. Family Guy especially, since I fear if it’s not happening now it’ll end up being like the Simpsons in the very near future, just stagnant and not having much going for it. And no more clones of Family Guy. When it first came out everyone called it a Simpson’s clone, but now you’re kind of proving them right. At least when Groening was green lighted for another project; he set it 1000 years in the future and made half the cast aliens and robots.

Big Bang Theory

This is probably what I’m going to catch the most flak for. Everyone tells me I should love this show, but frankly I despise it. Its 2012 now, walk into any Elders quorum in the US and ask who Doomsday is and you’ll find someone who can tell you about the death of Superman, and for that matter, nearly any occupation in America. This isn’t Revenge of the Nerds people, not all geeks are scientists and socially awkward around women. I’m not even sure who the audience for this thing is supposed to be, since it makes fun of geeks for being geeks but then makes jokes and references only geeks would get. Who are you trying to alienate exactly?

Glee

Is this show really still on the air? I feel like whenever I watch Glee that I’m just tuning through different channels seeing what’s on. One minute they’re having kooky conversations, the next it’s a big musical number, and then some serious moment, and then an overdramatic romance scene, and then another musical number. Pick a tone, people! I admit I like a lot of the songs; I’m always a sucker for a good remix or cover. It’s the context I don’t like. And the fact that the entire series is this massive convoluted drama on top of that, featuring a dozen characters doesn’t help. You practically need a flow chart and a score card just to sit through this thing.

Okay start sending the complaints.

-JOE

Joe's top ten best Geek romances

Hay, guess what tomorrow is? Valentine’s day! And while you’re either getting ready to take your sweetheart out on the town or stay home, eat a carton of Ben and Jerry’s and cry, this list ought to put you in the right mood to do either on this fake holiday invented by girlfriends in order to get chocolate. So here it is, Joe’s top ten romances in geekdom. Enjoy!

10: Mario, Peach, Link, and Zelda from Nintendo

This is just on the list so I don’t have to hear about it later. I put both couples in the same place because it’s the same relationship. Every year or so Link and Mario trek across an increasingly visually appealing landscape to save their respective princesses from the bad guys. It says something to devotion when these characters are willing to go through the same thing over and over again for the women they love, though it could just be a sign of insanity.

9: Wash and Zoey from Firefly

I know some people are going to be disappointed that Mal and Inara aren’t on this list, but unfortunately the brevity of Firefly made it so that they’re attraction never really developed past a spark. Wash and Zoey on the other hand got some time to develop their love for each other. Like Roger and Jessica, they seem completely mismatched, but also like the cartoons they’re completely devoted to each other at the end of the day, even to the point of risking their lives with each other. In my saddest deaths post I discussed where there relationship end up, and to me it only cements them in my heart as one of the cutest, and saddest, couples.

8: Batman and Catwoman

The Batman story has too many writers and too many interpretations, putting Catwoman on any given day as a villain, a friendly ally, flirtatious tease, to true love for the Caped Crusader. Generally though, they have a certain bad-girl-good-guy chemistry that’s just irresistible  They've rescued each other more than they've battled at this point, and you always know whenever Batman and Catwoman team up the furs going to fly.

7: Homer and Marge Simpson

Say what you will about the Simpsons, at the end of the day they showed how a marriage can endure anything. These high school sweethearts married after Marge got pregnant with Bart, but they've shown that these two would've ended up together no matter what. No matter what ridiculous situation Homer gets into, his biggest concern is always to try and make Marge happy, and when she isn't he’ll move heaven and earth to put a smile on her face again. Marge has defended her husband dozens of times to her cynical sisters, saying that despite his flaws he really is a good man, and Homer would give Marge the world if he could. Although the show has gone through controversy and arguably isn't currently working with its best material, at least you can say it showed us a beautiful example of true love.

6: Tony Stark and Pepper Potts from the Marvel Universe films

Okay, I admit it, I don’t know a whole ton about Marvel. I’d do something from the X-Men, but honestly even Scott and Jean’s relationship seems a bit weird, and I can’t really say anything about Rogue and Gambit since theirs is problematic at best, but I love what Robert Downy Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow have done with the characters. These two aren't the cheesy super hero one-rescues-another model. Pepper is more than capable of staying out of trouble, and serves as a voice of reason to the millionaire playboy. I like how their romance has room to bloom in the films, and how in the Avengers Pepper is the one Tony calls when he’s not sure he’ll make it. Marvel has worked hard at making their super hero films great, and this relationship is proof.

5: Snow and Charming from Once Upon a Time

I've talked about this one before too, but I just had to mention them. These two go through one nightmare after another for each other, and they always end up together. This is another relationship that’s nice to see develop, especially when they start out enemies. I also love that no matter how hard the evil queen Regina tries, she can never keep these two lovebirds separated for long, proving that love truly is the greatest magic of all.

4: Rick and Lori Grimes from The Walking Dead

Before the first walker ate somebody, their relationship admittedly had problems. But considering what Rick goes through just to find his wife and child, I’d say there’s definitely devotion going on here. Weather in the comic books or the TV show, their reunion brings tears to my eyes, as they are both so relieved that the other isn’t dead. Rick is even able to forgive Lori of her indiscretions, and does everything he can to keep her safe throughout the zombie apocalypse.

3: Roger and Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Say what you will about this saucy redhead and her silly rabbit of a husband, but this relationship was probably one of the best parts of the movie. Both Roger and Jessica go to any lengths to protect the other from harm, including posing for “dirty” pictures and holding a judge at gunpoint. One of my favorite lines is when Jessica is asked what she sees in that guy, referring to the wanna-be Looney Tune, only to answer “he makes me laugh”. Let’s face it, sometimes that’s all you need.

2: Han Solo and Princess Leja from Star Wars

I love these two! They start off hating each other, in fact Han didn't even want to rescue her at first, and they end up together. First off, I love how that annoying Luke Skywalker didn't get the girl, and second, I love how this relationship doesn't even develop into romance until halfway through the second film. These days in movies it’s enough time to fall in love, get married, and have an obnoxious kid get kidnapped. The now famous “I love you” “I know” line is epic, and shows their relationship to a tee, with Han knowing flat out that it was just a matter of time before they got together. I also love how, like Batman and Catwoman, they take turns rescuing each other, showing that there is now weak link in this chain.

1: Severus Snape and Lily Potter from Harry Potter

An unusual pick I know, but let me explain: I've mentioned several times that I like it when the relationship has time to develop, and this thing had seven books (or 8 movies) to develop, completely unknown until almost the very end of the story, where every one of Snape’s wicked and hurtful actions are all explained in one concept: he’s heartbroken. It’s not the romance that happened; it’s the fact that it didn't that makes me love this one the most. Snape is a good guy, just as good as Dumbledore or Harry, but being the happy good guy isn't his thing. He’s bitter and angry at the world for letting the love of his life go with his worst enemy, and then forcing him to teach and prepare their son to fight the man that took his beloved’s life away. Then he dies, so he can save Lily’s son, the son of the man he hates and the woman he loves, and fulfills his destiny. Now that’s romantic! 

-JOE