As a girl born in the mid Seventies, I’ve grown up watching Japanese cartoons and American series on tv. As a romantic girl, I’ve always loved series with at least one love story in the plot, and I still enjoy stories which include love skirmishes. For this reason, here is the top five of my favourite lovers in tv series (starting from the bottom). I hope you’ll enjoy it and please don’t forget to say if you agree with my choices or if you would choose other couples.

5) Jonathan and Jennifer Hart (Hart to Hart)

I loved this couple, because it was a symbol of glamour and adventure. The protagonists were a millionaire (Robert Wagner) and his free-lance journalist wife (Stephanie Powers).  They spent their free time as amateur detectives, so in each episode they found themselves involved in cases of smuggling, theft, international espionage or murder. At their beautiful home, set in Mandeville Canyon, they were assisted by Max (Lionel Stander), their loyal butler, cook and chauffeur who also helped out in their cases. The Hart’s pet dog was Freeway.

I really liked the style of its protagonists: Jonathan was impeccably dressed in formal and casual occasions, and Jennifer was equally gorgeous. I loved her perfectly coiffed hair, her fur coats, jewellery and evening dresses.

The series ran for five seasons, from 1979 to 1984, but in the 90s the couple teamed up again for eight telemovies. The original script was written by the novelist Sydney Sheldon and the show was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg.

4) Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man)

They actually were not the protagonists of a tv series, but of a series of six detective movies, produced from 1934 to 1947. The protagonists were a retired detective (William Powell) and his beautiful wife, a wealthy socialite (Myrna Loy). The flirtatious couple was always solving the mysteries behind murders or cases of missing people. They were “helped” by their trusty wire-haired fox terrier, Asta.

In Another Thin Man (1939) their son Nick Jr was introduced.

I loved the witty and funny relationship between husband and wife, and I really loved their style, especially Nora’s. She was so beautiful but not showy: she always wore simple suits, lovely lace evening dresses, refined jewellery and she was extremely elegant even when she wore robe and pajamas.

The characters were based on The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett, and some of the movies were based on novels of the American writer.

3) Carrie Bradshaw and Mr Big (Sex and the City)

They are probably among the most popular and most loved couples in tv series.  Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), the narrator, writes a weekly column, Sex and the City, for the fictitious newspaper The New York Star. She’s a member of the New York glitterati, and is known for her unique fashion sense. She is entangled with Mr. Big/John Preston (Chris Noth) in a complicated, on-and-off-again relationship, which will lead to a marriage in Sex and the City – the Movie (2008). The long love-story between them is interesting because they’re different but still manage to stay together. He is a sarcastic businessman who doesn’t love being in the spotlight, while Carrie enjoys living the New York social life. What I like most about them is their troubled relation but also their witty and brilliant cross talk.

Unfortunately, in the movie the charm of this couple is in part missing – they spent most of the movie apart, so what made them special together is somehow lost.

The series was inspired to the novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell; it ran for six seasons, from 1998 to 2004.

2) Nicole Chapman and Jesse Velasquez (Fame)

I really had a hard time in putting them in the second place, because Fame is my favourite tv series ever. I watched it when it first ran and I always watch the reruns. Nicole Chapman (Nia Peeples) and Jesse Velasquez (Jesse Borrego) first appeared in the fourth season, and it was immediately clear that their relationship would be rocky. The on-and-off-again lovers seemed to come from different planets: she came from a wealthy family and was hard-working at school, while he was an illegal immigrant from Mexico, a jealous, fast-talking playboy who had no plans of entering a serious relationship.

They were both beautiful and talented – their performances together were hot! Their style screamed 80s: Nicole’s hair was big, she had long and colourful nails, she wore wide sweaters, tight pants, short boots and flirty flower dresses, while he often wore trainer pants or tight jeans and nothing else, and emphasized his Latin descent with a bandanna on his forehead.

I watched this show as a teenager and I dreamt of meeting someone like Jesse. The characters were both charismatic, they got along so well, so I think it was any teenager’s dream to have a love story like theirs.

The show ran for six seasons, from 1982 to 1987; it was based on the film of the same name (1980) by Alan Parker.

1) Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)

The choice to give Chuck and Blair the first place of this top five has been difficult, but I think they really are a match made in heaven. Gossip Girl has run only for two seasons, but it has an great potentiality as for the quality of the direction, the plot, the setting, the cast and the fashion. Sex and the City used to be my favourite modern tv show, but Gossip Girl has soon replaced it, because its characters are more complex and multi-faceted than the four New York girls, and because the plot often takes unexpected turns. I’m sure all the audience has wanted Blair and Chuck to be together since the beginning, because they are apparently different, but share lots in common. Blair Waldorf (or Queen B) is shallow, intelligent and scheming; despite her frivolous nature, she works for everything she’s ever gotten, and constantly looks out for those she cares about. On the other hand, Chuck Bass is cynical and suave, he possesses near-sociopathic tendencies of manipulating others who get in his way, but eventually struggles with his nature to win Blair’s love.

I like this couple because their cross talk is amazing and because their style is equally stunning. They are both quite formal when it comes to style, but their outfits always have something special, just think of Blair’s jewellery or hairbands, or Chuck’s ties or perfectly tailored jackets with contrasting hems. The stylist Eric Daman has done a terrific job with all the characters but the jewels of his crown are Blair and Chuck, always impeccably dressed and coiffed, two models of elegance.

Since they’re the winners, here are Chuck and Blair’s most intense and exciting scenes.

When the show starts, Chuck and Blair are not a couple, because her boyfriend is Nate Archibald. Things change on the back of Bass’ limousine, during the seventh episode of the first season: Blair loses her virginity with Chuck, and this will lead to schemes and retaliation of one against the other. I’m sure all the female audience of the series has dreamt of sitting on the back of a limo with Chuck at least once 😉

Seventeen Candles is one of my favourite episodes. In the screencaps above, Chuck takes advantage of Blair’s single state to court her during her birthday party. His kiss on Blair’s shoulder is so sweet! In this case, Blair wore a lovely Valentino dress, with a puffy tulle skirt.

In Hi, Society, during the annual cotillion ball, Blair breaks up with Chuck and return to Nate. What I like about their relationship is that they are rarely lovey-dovey: they fight, they pull the other’s leg and provoke each other, they look like enemies, but they are hopelessly in love with each other.

Lily and Bart’s marriage is the main event of Much ‘I Do’ About Nothing; during this episode, Chuck and Blair come public with their relationship (he kisses her during the wedding party), but this will not last long. Here Blair’s outfit is lovely – a Collette Dinnigan halter neck dress, Stuart Weitzman hot pink sandals and an awesome Jennifer Behr orchid headband – and nicely contrasts with Chuck’s tuxedo.

In the second season, things change for Chuck and Blair: they are still in love, but he cannot express his feelings. He also experiences a profound personal crisis after the death of his father, and this will briefly bring them together again.

The Dark Night has got a Shakespearean plot: during a party at the Waldorf’s, a black out causes a lot of misunderstandings. When the lights go out, everybody feels free to act following his/her heart; for this reason, even if Blair is in a relationship with Marcus, she passionately kisses Chuck. Here she wore a 3.1 Phillip Lim dress with a beautiful draped bodice.

For the annual Snowflake Ball – the central event in It’s a Wonderful Lie – Blair and Chuck make a bet that they can find the ideal dates for each other, but they eventually end up dancing together. This is a funny episode but it represents the calm before the storm: during the ball, Lily receives a phone call about Bart’s death in an accident. The bet makes them look like Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, the protagonists of Les Liasons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos: they are apparently enemies, but they use an unaware couple to cause the other’s jealousy. At the ball Blair wore a dramatic Carolina Herrera dress and the same necklace Chuck gave her in Seventeen Candles.

O Brother, Where Bart Thou? is one of the episodes I prefer, because it’s dramatic, full of pathos and of subplots. Bart’s death strikes the protagonists of the series like a lightning: the most devastated is, of course, Chuck, who loses his aplomb and falls into a spiral of self-destruction, driven by resentment, sorrow and despair. Blair tries to rescue him, she tells him she loves him but he rejects her. At Bart’s funeral, Blair wore a demure Diane Von Furstenberg dress, a black short jacket, her trademark bow hairband, a pearl necklace and stunning long leather gloves.

After the funeral, Chuck goes to Blair’s, they sleep together, but he sneaks away while she’s asleep, leaving her a note. This scene is really moving: Chuck is lost and Blair tries to help him with her love. Here Blair wore an elegant 3.1 Phillip Lim satin fan dress.

In Southern Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Chuck and Blair are officially not a couple: she’s with Nate again, but she has mixed feelings for him, because she still loves Chuck (who has rejected her several times).  The scene in the screencaps above is so funny: they go to see Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg) in a Christian camp because they want to rescue Serena from a complicated situation. They fall asleep in Chuck’s limo, and when they wake up, they pretend not to have hold each other’s hand all the time. It’s so funny when they pull themselves together and check their faces in the rearview mirrors at the same time.

The last episode closes with the scene we were all waiting for: after wandering through Europe, Chuck gets back to New York with lots of presents for Blair (among them, Falke stockings and Pierre Hermè macarons), ready to give in to his love for her. I was seriously moved by this scene, sooo romantic! Blair’s outfit is all about greens and golden yellows: she wore a Nanette Lepore coat, a David Szeto Victoria blouse, a Milly beaded cardigan, a gold brocade skirt, funky Tatienne heels by Pour la Victoire and a Jennifer Behr knot headwrap.

I don’t know what Gossip Girl‘s scriptwriters have in store for the third season, but for sure I’m so looking forward to it, because I’m curious about the future of Chuck and Blair’s relation.

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