Week of Feb. 11: Top Five Committed TV Couples

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Looking for some classic TV for your Valentine's Day celebration? Take a look at some of television's classic committed - either married or seriously involved - couples. Here are my top five:

5. Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt), "Mad About You" (NBC, 1992-99): Forget the last three seasons when the show jumped the shark, first with their flirtations with other people and then with baby Mabel. The first four seasons showed the Buchmans going through what many couples go through. The best: The two-parter at the end of Season 3 when Paul and Jamie recalled falling in love and getting married.

4. Ann Marie and Donald Hollinger (Marlo Thomas and Ted Bessell), "That Girl (ABC, 1966-71): A fun relationship to watch evolve, from Ann and Donald's first meeting in the pilot as they battled over a piece of furniture in a store. They had many adventures - Donald getting his car and himself stuck in the mud on a picnic date and Ann getting her toe stuck in a bowling ball come to mind. Ann's always suspicious father, Lou Marie (Lew Parker) never thought Donald was good enough for his daughter, but viewers knew better. At the beginning of Season 5, Donald proposed and Ann said yes; regrettably, and reportedly at Thomas' request, the series did not end with a wedding.

3. Bob and Emily Hartley (Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette), "The Bob Newhart Show" (CBS, 1972-78): The first successful situation comedy to truly feature a married couple as two intelligent and independent beings. Bob, a psychologist, and Emily, a schoolteacher, had intelligent discussions, the occasional disagreement (over Emily's IQ being higher than Bob's) and were so identified as a unit that their payoff actually came in the series finale of "Newhart" 11 years after "The Bob Newhart Show" left the air.

2. Jonathan and Jennifer Hart (Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers), "Hart To Hart" (ABC, 1979-84): What couple has ever had more fun on television than the wealthy Harts, who were to the small screen what William Powell and Myrna Loy's Nick and Nora Charles were to the big screen. With their faithful butler, Max (Lionel Stander) their adorable dog, Freeway, and a lot of romance, Jonathan and Jennifer solved all the crimes. They were so convincing that many people thought Wagner, who tragically lost real-life wife Natalie Wood halfway through the run of the series, and Powers should become a real-life couple!

1. Cliff and Claire Huxtable (Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad), "The Cosby Show" (NBC, 1984-92): Five children and anybody else who happened to live in the Huxtable residence didn't stop Cliff and Clair from enjoying those romantic moments with each other. Famous Cliff comment about the children: "I just hope we get them out of the house before we die."

Here's a look at their priceless discussion about what would happen if Claire died:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEorB-OHjAU

Happy Valentine's Day! And until next week, Happy Viewing!