# Characters on long run TV shows who fell in love or hooked up (but didn't start out to do so) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126 "2009-08-20T21:04:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/1 "2009-08-20T21:04:09Z")
Shows like _Moonlighting_ and _Who’s the Boss?_ were clearly set up for the hero and heroine to fall in love (or at least into bed), but the Chandler and Monica affair and marriage on _Friends_ was more of a surprise. On _Frasier_ Daphne and Niles may or may not have been slotted to end up together, but Frasier’s hookup with Roz late in the series was a surprise. There was an episode of _Taxi_ in which Alex (Judd Hirsch) and Elaine (Marilu Henner) had a one night stand. I don’t believe it was ever referred to again. What are some other shows where main characters have become lovers (either permanently or for a brief affair) where it wasn’t obvious from the first episode that’s where it was going? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/2 "2009-08-20T21:21:33Z")
OK, not really main Simpsons characters, but a decade in, I’d still bet nobody would’ve seen it coming… Comic Book Guy and Agnes Skinner :shudder: ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/3 "2009-08-20T21:29:25Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > OK, not really main Simpsons characters, but a decade in, I’d still bet nobody would’ve seen it coming… > > Comic Book Guy and Agnes Skinner :shudder: Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel weren’t intended to become a serious couple as they were for many years. FTM, Smithers’ unrequited crush on Mr. Burns started as a one-off throwaway gag, and somehow it stuck to him well enough that it became a defining personality trait. Way back on _WKRP In Cincinnati_, Baily Quarters had a crush on Dr. Johnny Fever, which it was implied led to occasional dating, and possibly other things. But never developed further than that. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/4 "2009-08-20T21:34:35Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > On _Frasier_ Daphne and Niles may or may not have been slotted to end up together, but Frasier’s hookup with Roz late in the series was a surprise. I don’t know. Watching the early episodes it’s very clear that none of Frasier’s girlfriends have even half the chemistry with him that Roz does. It would have been corny at first, but Frasier and Roz would have worked as a long term couple. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/5 "2009-08-20T21:39:23Z")
Worf and Deanna Troi on _Star Trek: TNG_ had a brief, unexpected thang going near the end of the series. It didn’t last, as Worf wound up with Jadzia Dax on DS9, while Deanna wound up back with Will Riker in the movies. Apollo and Dualla on _Battlestar Galactica_ were a pairing I didn’t expect, though it was clear that his heart was always with Starbuck (and, it became clear to Dualla, too). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/6 "2009-08-20T23:24:49Z")
Ivanova and Talia in **Babylon 5**. Probably Straczynski has planned it, but there was no hint until you saw them in bed together. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/7 "2009-08-20T23:56:42Z")
**The Nanny** sorta counts. Niles and C.C. were supposed to be the WTF couple, but then again it wasn’t much of a surprise when they hooked up. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/8 "2009-08-21T00:29:54Z")
Hawkeye and Major Houlihan hooking up while trapped under fire over night. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/9 "2009-08-21T03:00:05Z")
Going way, way back to _Petticoat Junction_ the producers brought in the character of Steve to court and eventually marry the oldest daughter, Billie Jo. Everything went along in typical sitcom fashion until Steve suddenly proposed to the youngest daughter, Betty Jo. On top of that, Betty Jo was supposedly a tomboy who was more interested in playing baseball and driving the train than she was in boys. It turned out that the actors who played Steve and Betty Jo wound up having a real-life romance and got married, so the producers decided to rewrite the script – leaving viewers wondering what they hadn’t seen in the previous 25 or so episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/10 "2009-08-21T03:14:27Z")
I thought that was because Linda Kaye Henning got pregnant, and they needed to marry off her character. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/11 "2009-08-21T06:00:07Z")
Buffy and Spike. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/12 "2009-08-21T06:09:29Z")
> [@jellyblue](#): > > Buffy and Spike. Along those lines, Angel and Cordelia. (Which still grosses me out.) ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/13 "2009-08-21T06:25:56Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Along those lines, Angel and Cordelia. (Which still grosses me out.) No kidding! ::shudder:: ---
**Author:** ![drillrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@drillrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drillrod)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/14 "2009-08-21T10:44:33Z")
Monica and Chandler on Friends. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/15 "2009-08-21T13:06:51Z")
Another World’s super-couple Mac & Rachel. She was a young bitch and he was an older millionaire. When they had a scene together, head writer Harding Lemay “noticed sparks” and put them together. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/16 "2009-08-21T13:10:37Z")
Maria and Luis. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/17 "2009-08-21T16:59:09Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > It turned out that the actors who played Steve and Betty Jo wound up having a real-life romance and got married, so the producers decided to rewrite the script – leaving viewers wondering what they hadn’t seen in the previous 25 or so episodes. Aside: Did that actor (one imdb consultation later- [Mike Minor](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0591581/)) have a singing career in the 60s (or did he try to launch one)? I’ve seen few episodes of PETTICOAT JUNCTION but it seemed to be guilty of “The Linda Lavin Syndrome”- the producers working in any excuse for him to sing; his voice was, to quote Simon Cowell, “pleasant enough but completely unremarkable small town karaoke champion”. Since he was the boss’s son-in-law though I’m sure if he wanted a singing career Paul Henning would have helped him. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/18 "2009-08-21T17:05:53Z")
Wikipedia says [yes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Minor_(actor)). > [@](#): > > He began voice lessons at the age of 14. His first singing job was at Ye Little Club in Beverly Hills, where he was engaged for two weeks and held over for ten. and > [@](#): > > A recording artist, Minor has made two albums and numerous singles, the latter including the successful “Silver Dollar” and “One Day at a Time”. It also appears that \*\*kunilou \*\*was right; he married Linda Kaye Henning; they had no children, so the pregnancy was just a plotline. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/19 "2009-08-21T17:20:37Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > **The Nanny** sorta counts. Niles and C.C. were supposed to be the WTF couple, but then again it wasn’t much of a surprise when they hooked up. They were also a couple that you knew would stay together about two days if they ever got married.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126/20 "2009-08-21T17:25:29Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I thought that was because Linda Kaye Henning got pregnant, and they needed to marry off her character. According to the episode guide, the Steve/Betty Jo romance started on-screen at the beginning of the 1967-68 season. Betty Jo didn’t have her baby until the 1968-1969 season. And even if the pregnancy thing is true, it would have been easy enough to have Steve continue to court Billie Jo and limit Betty Jo to the traditional behind the counter/talking on the phone/trapped from the neck down contrivances that sitcom producers have traditionally used to hide pregnant stars. > [@Sampiro](#): > > Aside: Did that actor (one imdb consultation later- [Mike Minor](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0591581/)) have a singing career in the 60s (or did he try to launch one)? I’ve seen few episodes of PETTICOAT JUNCTION but it seemed to be guilty of “The Linda Lavin Syndrome”- the producers working in any excuse for him to sing; his voice was, to quote Simon Cowell, “pleasant enough but completely unremarkable small town karaoke champion”. Since he was the boss’s son-in-law though I’m sure if he wanted a singing career Paul Henning would have helped him. By the end of PJ, the producers were so bereft of ideas that EVERYONE was singing. Mike Minor had been singing professionally since he was 14, but I think the producers’ real push was to have Meredith MacRae sing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-on-long-run-tv-shows-who-fell-in-love-or-hooked-up-but-didnt-start-out-to-do-so/507126.md?page=2)