I have been bad. It’s been almost two weeks since my last post.  Fail.  Sorry, dudes.  I’ve experienced so much pop culture since then, I’m going to give you the highlights.  As I sit here listening to the Christmas music channel on digital cable (why do I always forget about those music channels?!), let’s look back on the past two weeks, shall we?

When last we talked, it was about Prince William’s engagement.  Well, he tried to steal the thunder of another Brit, but he was unsuccessful: HP7: Part 1 opened on the 19th, and I went to a midnight showing.  You know, I just realized how annoying it is that the movies aren’t numerically symmetrical with the books, what with seven being the most magical number.  Right, Jo?  That being said, I liked the movie.  The action sequences were good.  Though, the first movie didn’t quite make the case that a split was necessary.  It was a little too slow, so for it to be worth it for me, the second movie better not leave out any detail.  Again, though, I did enjoy it.  Especially Godric’s Hollow and Malfoy Manor.  Okay, HP geeking out is over now.

The second pop culture event I took part in was seeing the Broadway musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.  I’ll try to refrain from fagging out here (there will be plenty of time for that later), but the cast of this hot mess is amazing.  Patti LuPone, Sherie Rene Scott, Laura Benanti, Brian Stokes Mitchell…  If those names mean nothing to you, you should be ashamed.  This one should be familiar though: Justin Guarini!  Yep, that curly-haired moptop from season one of American Idol.  Anyway, if you love crazy trainwrecks, see this show.  It’s amazing.

The next big event (commence fagging out) was a midnight showing of Burlesque in Chelsea!  Oh.  My.  God.  That movie was amazing.  I don’t know if it was bad enough to be of Showgirls calibur, but it was pretty terrible.  And also fabulous.  The production numbers!  Cher!  Xtina!  And the fact that there was only one true burlesque number performed!  The rest were just girls doing hip-hop/jazz hybrid dances in underwear.  The audience applauded after each one, and laughed at the terrible writing/acting, which one woman got very upset about.  She kept asking her boyfriend (?), “What is so funny?  I’m not getting it.  Am I missing something?”  Brilliant.

Then there came Thanksgiving.  I spent the morning baking and watching my friends from Memphis perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (I hate the lip-syncing that happens during that parade).  I spent the afternoon/evening with my sister, sister-in-law, nephew, our Brooklyn family, and Emily.  That is a day to be thankful for.  Here are my pies:

Saturday, we went to the Christmas tree farm, and picked out two beautiful trees: one for me and one for my sister’s family.  My nephew was absolutely enamored with everything Christmas: Santa, snowmen, reindeer, etc.  And yesterday, I spent all day watching Fa La La La Lifetime movies (A Diva’s Christmas Carol?  Yes, please!) and decorating my tree.  As with last year, my tree is decorated with some cheap 99¢ store ornaments, but mostly handmade ones cut out from my Entertainment Weeklys, with Ellen Degeneres serving as my angel (as she is everyone’s).  This year, there were some new additions joining last year’s Tina Fey, Bones and Booth, Heidi Montag, Lady Gaga, and others.  My tree is proud to name these amongst its occupants: the Gilmore Girls, Cher, Justin Bieber, RuPaul, and Melissa and Joey.  ‘Tis the season!  Here’s a pic:

Well, it has begun: the holiday season.  For me, it starts with Halloween and goes straight through New Year’s.  Yep, about two months worth.  I’ve already caught flack for the fact that I start listening to Christmas music November 1st (more on that later), but I don’t care.  This is my celebration.  And if my Halloween was any indication of how awesome this year’s festivities will be, things are looking good! 

I had a great weekend of parties and costumes and babies.  As I’ve previously stated in this blog, I love Halloween costumes.  This year, I had a pretty amazing costume, and I’ve never been happier that ugly clothes are back in fashion.  You see, I was Clarissa Darling, that early ’90s Nickelodeon star who would explain it all.  She wore bright colors and lots of obnoxious jewelry.  And I spent about $55 at Kmart and Claire’s Accessories finding the perfect elements to make my costume.  The only thing I was missing were combat boots, which I own, but are at my parents’ house in Chicago.  If only I would have thought of it sooner…  Ah, well.  I went to a great party Friday and got delightfully (I think…I don’t recall slapping anyone) drunk.  The rest of the weekend was spent with adorable babies in costume and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters.  How fantastic.  Anyway, here’s my costume along with its inspiration:

So, onto the next holiday of the season, which you are correct to say is Thanksgiving.  But in my world, Thanksgiving may as well be Christmas Eve.  Don’t get me wrong; I love Thanksgiving.  To me, Thanksgiving is about sharing a meal with people you love and being with my New York family.  Now, I’m lucky enough to have a sister nearby, who is, obviously, my actual family.  But I’ve also been welcomed into this glorious chosen family of hers.  And every year since I’ve moved here, we’ve all had Thanksgiving together.  But I know that some year, were she not to be around for Thanksgiving, I would be welcome at numerous other tables of those in New York who I love and who love me.  Oh, the holidays do make me sentimental, don’t they?  On a lighter note, I also love Thanksgiving for the pie.

As I stated earlier, I caused a bit of an angry convo on facebook when I updated my status that I was listening to Christmas music.  That’s my rule: November 1st.  And that rule isn’t to make me start celebrating early, it’s to keep me from celebrating even sooner!  Christmas means all things winter to me, and winter is my most favorite season.  No joke, I love when the wind is so cold it stings your face.  And once you enter a warm building, you can still feel that sting on your face.  And you can just tell your cheeks and nose are red.  And snow!  Don’t get me started on snow.  In the words of Lorelai Gilmore, fellow snow-lover, “The world changes when it snows.  It gets quiet.  Everything softens.”  Now, I get why it annoys people that stores start putting out one holiday’s items before another holiday has even happened, but I can’t help it.  Sometimes, in the middle of the summer, I’ll just get this Christmasy feeling out of nowhere and wish it were December.  So you don’t have to break out your *NSYNC Home for Christmas CD, but I’m gonna go load it on my iPod.  Don’t begrudge me that.

Oh my god.  I haven’t blogged in awhile because when you last heard from me, I was preparing for the arrival of eleven family members.  Before they came, I had another friend come stay with me, so I needed to clean my apartment.  All of this plus my work, improv, and Patty & Emily duties, then the actual arrival of my family, meant I’ve been extremely busy.  Add to all of this my crazy and you have a very overwhelmed Patty.  And yet, the visit was a success!  My family, I hope, had a great time.  And while I may have stressed out too much, as I am wont to do, I also had a great time.  I got to go to a lot of tourist sites I hadn’t been to, and some others I didn’t mind visiting again.  And I got to share Memphis with them!  That may have been my favorite part.  That and spending time with my nieces and nephew.  Oh man, are they cute!

Of course, all this family time left me behind on my TV!  It’s the beginning of the season, and I’m behind on almost all of my scripted shows!  I’ve kept up with my competition reality shows for fear of being spoiled: your ANTM, you Top Chef: Just Desserts, your Project Runway.  I did let DWTS fall by the wayside, though.  Perhaps I’ll just skip the aired episodes and start off next Monday.  As stated, it’s a show I’m not 100% invested in.  The two scripted shows I am on top of are Glee and Bones.  I mean, I obviously can’t wait too long to watch Glee.  I’ll be watching this week’s ep as soon as I’m done here.  And Bones is my current Dawson’s, my Gilmore Girls.  The show whose characters I can’t be without even if the writers don’t always do them justice.  (That season premier was a waste of an episode, but last week’s was great.)  But I’m behind on, I think, every other show I watch.  I have to catch up on 30 Rock because the live episode is this week.  And then there’s The Good Wife and Mike & Molly.  I haven’t even watched their premiers!  Geez.  I’m getting tired just thinking about everything I have to watch.  Good thing I love it.

And just like my family’s visit and the sheer amount of TV I have to watch, I’ve been a little overwhelmed, in a good way, the past few days thanks to Patty & Emily.  We got some more great news regarding the Mutual Admiration Society we’ve formed with Memphis.  And we’ve had a little more Internet magic (which of course is where the Mutual Admiration Society began) courtesy of Twitter.  You see, we made this little video, An Open Letter to Kristin Chenoweth, about out concerns for her Internet safety.  Well, a friend of hers sent it to her, and she tweeted about it!  She called it “HIGHlarious,” and now fangirls every where are cursing us for advising her to stop tweeting her location.  We got negative YouTube comments!  Complete with poor grammar.  I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.  So, yeah.  I have a lot of sleep to catch up on, a lot of crumbs to vacuum up (three kids in my two room apartment), a lot of TV to watch, and a lot of poorly worded comments to read.  But I’ll definitely take feeling this kind of overwhelmed rather than being underwhelmed with my life…or even just being whelmed (which I think you can be in Europe).

Mondays

HIMYM — Jennifer Morrison will be on the show this season, which is exciting. Also, I believe there will be a return of Robin Sparkles!!!

Mike and Molly — Melissa McCarthy, you are the only reason I’m watching this show. I hope it’s as good a show as you deserve! You’re amazing!

Dancing with the Stars — I’m going to give this another try, thought I’ve only watched on complete season (the one with Aaron Carter, Donny Osmond, MJH, and Kelly Osbourne obvi). I tried watching the subsequent season, but got super bored. This season, however, I actually know who all of the people are. And they include Florence Henderson (Mrs. Brady!), Jennifer Grey (don’t put her in a corner!), Brandy (she killed someone!), Kyle Massey (That’s So Raven’s little brother!), and Bristol Palin (Abstinence Only Education Advocate!). And these are just the highlights.

Tuesdays

Glee — Duh. Along with the amazing music, the guest stars are gonna kill it: John Stamos, Britney (playing herself, so it should be alright), Cheyenne Jackson, Carol Burnett, and Javier Bardem (?). Plus, JGroff, Idina, and Cheno will be back. Eek!

Running Wilde — I’m gonna give this a shot. I love Will Arnett and Keri Russell. Plus, it’s by Mitch Hurwitz, the guy behind Arrested Development.

The Good Wife — Mmmm. This show is so good. Julianna Margulies is amazing, and I love love love Josh Charles. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well. Plus, along with any Law & Order that shoots in New York, it’s fun to play the “spot the Broadway actor” game.

Parenthood — This show makes me happy. I love Lauren Graham, and while it makes me miss Gilmore Girls, it also makes me miss my crazy family. It’s such a good ensemble show.

Wednesdays

ANTM — Obvi. I wrote an entire blog about it. Awkward tiny waist girl, FTW! (Not really.)

Modern Family — I adore this show. It’s so funny, and so sweet. I love me some Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Ty Burrell has some of the funniest lines on TV. The kids are spectacular as well. Manny is a genius character. Well deserved Emmys for the show and Eric Stonestreet! Now, let’s see some boys kissing!!!

Cougar Town — Oh my god. Watch this show. It’s hilarious! Yes, the title is terrible, but whatever. Another hilarious ensemble piece, the relationships between these people are so funny. My fave interactions are Jules and her son, Travis, and Andy and Bobby. Please give this show a chance. It’s great.

Top Chef: Just Desserts — Bonus points for a brilliant name! I’m pretty excited about this. Gail’s hosting, and it’s all about dessert! I hope this gives them ideas for dessert challenges to do in regular Top Chef. Desserts always separate the winners from the losers!

Thursdays (the busiest night on TV)

Bones — I can’t wait for this season to begin! Mostly because I want to know if someone at The Jeffersonian noticed that the entire Forensic Anthropology department took a year off. That’s not really how the real world works. But, anyway. Looking forward to seeing how Bones deals with Booth’s new lady, and how it affects the rest of the team. It may be too far away to discuss this season’s finale, but after two crappy ones, I better get a good one.

Community — Love this show. Geez, yet another great ensemble piece! This show’s really funny, and I don’t think got the attention it deserved. I routinely laugh out loud when watching it.

30 Rock — If you don’t know why I’m looking forward to this show, you don’t know me.

The Office — Steve Carell’s last season, which I actually assumed would be the show’s last season. Either way, there should be some great Michael episodes. I’m excited that Holly will be back in some capacity!

Parks and Rec — Looking forward to this coming back sooner than expected after NBC realizes that pushing it to mid-season for Outsourced was a bad idea. Sorry, Outsourced, I won’t be watching you.

Fringe — I’m actually behind on this show, but the episodes I missed are waiting on my DVR. I just need a free Saturday to catch up. I love Joshua Jackson. :-)

Project Runway — This is currently going on. There’s a lot of drama this season, and I’m liking the designers aesthetics. Plus, Tim Gunn seems especially sassy. I think PR is back on track!

It’s Always Sunny — Last season was alright, with just a few stand-out episodes (the World Series one was great), so hopefully this season will be amazing. Of course, an alright episode of It’s Always Sunny still makes me pee in pants from laughing.

Sunday

Boardwalk Empire — This show looks amazing. Since I don’t have HBO, I will have to find other means of watching it.

As you can see, I only have three new shows on this list. And I’m only really looking forward to one of them. The other two are getting chances because of their casts. My schedule is pretty full, so I’m fine with not adding too many new shows, but it’s a little disheartening that there aren’t more that look interesting to me. C’mon, people! Make it hard for me to choose which shows to keep and which to let go!

Attention!  New TV trend alert!  Fat people shows.  And no, I don’t mean weight loss shows.  Those have been around since just after the Reality Show boom of 2000.  I mean shows whose main characters are not only overweight, but that fact is woven into the premise of the show.  There are currently two of these shows on the air and one that’s going to premiere in the fall.  And I’m not sure how I feel about it.  Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing diversity of any kind in media.  And while I understand that it’s still TV and we want to look at pretty faces, that doesn’t mean we can’t look at all sorts of people.  But I guess we’re not at the point where an overweight person (or even someone over a size 10) can star on a show without it being about the fact that they’re fat.  The closest we came to this was Rosanne, but A. that’s been off the air for thirteen years, and B. she was a married Midwesterner, and we’re okay with them being fat.  Today we have schlubby ladies on TV, but they’re still gorgeous.  Liz Lemon, I’m looking at you.  It would not be okay for you to be chowing down on Sabor de Soledad cheese curls if you were twenty pounds heavier.

I suppose making it the gimmick of the show is just the way networks are making the audiences okay with it.  “Guys, this show is about people who meet at Overeaters Annonymous.  They will be fat.”  (Incidentally, you don’t have to be fat to be in OA.)  That fake quote was a description of the new fall series, Mike & Molly.  And while I’m sure, as the creator has said, it will be about these two people learning about each other and starting a relationship, they are still overweight, they still met in OA, and the promos are still riddled with fat jokes.  I’m also pretty sure the actual series won’t have a proportional amount of fat jokes, but still that’s what they use to hook people to the show.  Here’s the thing though, I love Melissa McCarthy.  A lot.  I will watch this show.  And I’m hoping that it is good and not just about two fat people.  Because whatever the joke is, if it gets beaten into a show over and over again, it’s not going to be intelligent or funny.  Self-deprecation?  Sure.  Self-awareness?  Definitely.  Self-hatred?  Not funny. 

The two fat people shows that are currently on the air right now are Huge (seriously?) and Drop Dead Diva (another bad title).  Huge is about kids at a fat camp.  I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard good things.  Perhaps I’ll start.  Plus, I loved Heavyweights, and I’m sure it’s the same thing.  Drop Dead Diva I do watch, and it’s a little high-concept.  Deb, a beautiful, young model, dies, but through some wackiness, comes back to earth and wakes up in the body of a size sixteen (!) lawyer.  Brooke Elliot is delightful to watch going back and forth between characters — she’s still the model, but has the knowledge of the lawyer.  Like I said, high-concept.  But after the initial, “Oh my god, look what I was and now look what I am!” of the pilot, the show really is about this woman trying to navigate a new life.  The new body is a non-issue.  So, okay.  We may never get to the levels of English TV and let truly ugly people have shows, but it’s a start, right?

This is Entertainment Weekly’s 20th anniversary year, so they’re doing a lot of looking back.  In this week’s issue, they count down the 100 Greatest Characters of the past 20 years.  Now, there are some I feel are missing (No Daria? No Angela Chase? No Camden family from 7th Heaven?!  Okay, that last one was a joke), but it’s a really good list overall.  And I just wanted to share some thoughts about some charaters who jumped out at me.  Next to them is where they fell in the order of the list.

1. Homer Simpson

    I love The Simpsons, but that’s probably because I stopped watching it a while ago.  When I did watch it, man was I into it.  I’ve seen every episode of at least the first half of the series.  When it first came out, I put a self-imposed ban on the show (I felt it was inappropriate), but I finally came to my senses in junior high and became a hardcore fan.  The Simpsons were a huge part of my introduction to the Internet.  I spent my time in the early days of dial-up in Simpsons chatrooms and taking Simpsons trivia tests.  While I love every character on the show, I get why Homer was singled out.  Way to go, Homie!

2. Harry Potter

    Oh, HP, where would I be without you?  JK’s amazing world routinely takes me out of the reality of smelly New York subways and into the ever-confusing halls of Hogwarts.  At the center of this complex world is a complex character who we get to see grow up before our eyes.  A self-proclaimed fangirl, I must address the movie adaptations, which I find to be flawed (as most movie adaptaions are), but extremely well done.  If you’re a non-reader and are confused, I have no sympathy for you.  There’s an easy and enjoyable remedy if the movies seem to have plot holes.  Read the books, and fill them in like the rest of us.  You won’t be sorry.  One thing though: how hard is it to get Daniel Radcliffe some green contact lenses?!

7. Edward Scissorhands

    I have a confession to make: I’ve never seen the end of this movie.  Edward Scissorhands scares the shit out of me.  When I turned the page and saw his picture, I gasped and proceeded to cover it up so I could read the accompanying story.  I understand it’s a beautiful tale about an outsider finding acceptance, but all I see is the creepy guy who made me cry and lock myself in the bathroom at the age of eight.  One day I’ll watch this movie, but I’ll be in a safe place, surrounded by those who love me.

18. Sue Sylvester

    Not even one season into the show, and Sue’s on the list?!  Bravo, I say!  Jane Lynch is a genius and deserves to be on this list several times over for memorable characters she’s helped to create.  You know whenever Sue comes on screen, she’s going to say something insane, delivered to perfection by Jane Lynch.  The occasional glimpse at Sue’s soft side (being romantically rejected, interacting with her sister) add depth to this character, who could come across as just plain bitchy.  One word: Outstanding!

34. Cher Horowitz

    Clueless was an important movie of my youth.  Cher was hilariously ignorant of how ignorant she was.  Yet, she really just wanted to make the people around her happy.  True, sometimes it was for personal gain, but what teenager wasn’t a little selfish?  In the end, it didn’t matter that she ended up with her ex-step-brother (weird) because we wanted to see her happy.  Not to mention Paul Rudd’s Josh was super adorable.  Cher helped usher in fashion trends, some of which are back (knee socks, babydoll dresses) and slang, most of which I still use.  I’m outie!

47. Corky St. Clair

    Waiting for Guffman was the movie that made me realize I was a “theatre person.”  I had worked with Corky St. Clair.  Anyone who has done community theatre has worked with Corky St. Clair.  I understood the jokes in this movie as if they were written for me.  You know when you get a really good joke, and you just have to say out loud, “Yes! That is true! That’s exactly how it is!”  All of Waiting for Guffman is that joke.

65. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore

    We all already know how much I love Gilmore Girls.  I miss these women.  I miss their relationship.  I wish I knew what they were up to now.  I imagine they’re talking about Heidi and Spencer splitting up and Emily has no idea what they’re saying.  I wish I could bring this show back.

75. David Brent

    When I first saw the American Office, I, like many others, hated it.  Mostly because the pilot was just a rehashing of the British pilot.  And the Brits did it better.  Now, I love and can appreciate the show that was inspired by the original, but there’s nothing quite like the original.  David Brent is indescribably awkward, and the discomfort I get when watching him interact with other people is oddly pleasurable.  You know what I would love to see?  Extras’ Andy Millman having a conversation with David Brent.  Amazing.

77. Mimi Marquez

    One of the few characters I disagree with being on this list.  I love that Rent is represented here, but if I were to pick a character from the show, it would have to be Angel.  Angel is the heart of Rent.  His is a character of joy, love, and acceptance.  The spirit he embodies is eventually what brings Mimi back from the edge.  Oh, it probably doesn’t help that I can’t stand Daphne Rubin-Vega’s voice.

79. Elphaba

    If only you could remove the flaws from the musical Wicked and the book Wicked, then I think you’d have the perfect Elphaba.  I love the mainstream spotlight that Wicked and Elphaba put on musical theatre, but I feel the Elphaba in the book is a much more complex and well-rounded character.  I know a lot of people rag on the book, and I agree, it wasn’t the easiest of reads.  However, I think because I know the musical version and the book version of Elphaba, I have a better understanding of the potential character she could be.

86. Karen Walker and Jack McFarland

    The apex of a fag/hag duo, Jack and Karen are everything I want to be in life.  They’re irreverent (sometimes downright mean) and do what they love for the pure joy of it.  While their questionable behavior often gets them in trouble, we can learn a lot from them.  If we could all be that free with our friends and ourselves every now and then, it would make those days where we have to be responsible a little easier. 

92. Christopher Boone

    I don’t read a lot of contemporary literature; I’m not familiar with what’s out there, and I try to only take suggestions from people whose taste I trust.  My sister gave me The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time as a present, and luckily I’ve always trusted her taste.  Christopher, a fifteen-year-old with Aspergers, narrates this touching and funny mystery novel.  I’ve reread it countless times, and never get tired of entering Christopher’s interesting and complex world.

If there is one thing weekends are good for, it’s a marathon.  And if you thought I meant running 26 ½ miles, you obviously don’t know me.  I mean the kind of marathon where you break out your DVDs of the entire run of a TV show, where a basic cable channel shows innumerable back-to-back episodes of a show, or where you decide to watch all six Harry Potter movies in a row.

I rarely have days where I just do nothing.  Even my vacations are overscheduled and a little too busy.  Sometimes, however, I have one or, if I’m super lucky, two days to sit around.  If this happens too often, I’ll get bored in my apartment by myself.  If my life is crazy busy and days off are a rare occurrence, I relish this time away from the annoyance of people and work.  This weekend was one of those occasions.  And I watched TV.  The entire time (with the exception of writing this, obvi).

Even on those weekend nights where I have something to do, Oxygen Network almost always has something for me to fill the day with: an ANTM marathon.  They pretty consistently run day-long marathons of entire “Cycles” of America’s Next Top Model on Saturday and Sunday every weekend.  Yesterday, it was Cycle 11, with awkward Marjorie, sexy Sheena, adorable Sam, transgendered (gasp!) Isis, and one of my least favorite winners: McKey.

No, I didn’t spend all day watching ANTM.  Not because I didn’t want to, but because I’ve been in the process of watching my recently purchased first and second seasons of Bones for a few weeks now.  I’ll watch an episode here and there, but until this weekend, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and watch a bunch all at once.

The show’s currently in its fifth season, so I have to get on buying seasons three and four soon. It’s daunting looking at $60+ DVD sets when there are seven or eight seasons worth you want to buy.  It’s much easier to buy them as they come out.  It took me awhile to buy all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, since season five was already out when I bought season one.  It was worth the wait, though, because I love Gilmore Girls marathons.  One problem, I somehow lost the last disc of season four, so if anyone can help me out with that, I’d appreciate it…

Including the rest of Bones, when I buy it, and the fourth season of Psych, of which I own the first three, I anticipate many more marathons in my future.  I just bought a new computer, which should arrive in a couple of weeks!  The computer I’m currently typing on is an old, sad laptop I got in 2005.  My new laptop is red and small and has a Web cam!  Plus, I’ll be able to watch videos on it without it freezing every few seconds, meaning I’ll get streaming Netflix.  Can you just imagine the movie and TV marathons in my future?!

So, David Boreanaz’s admission of adultery has inspired me to discuss some of my favorite fictionalized couples from TV, movies, and books.  Because, clearly, they’re the only relationships that work.  At least, where we left them after the credits rolled or the afterward began.

1. Pacey and Joey from Dawson’s Creek

Again, if you know me, this should come as no surprise.  Pacey Witter is my perfect man.  He’s smart and strong, so he can carry you when you need it.  But he’s also flawed and needs to lean on you for support.  Gah.  If Joey had ended up with Dawson, I would not be able to watch reruns of that show.  Here’s my favorite Pacey and Joey moment:

2. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice

So clichéd I know, but whatever.  This entire book is about people’s flaws; how no one is perfect, and you can’t judge them for it.  It’s also an instance of a woman in the early 19^th century insisting upon marrying for love.  Plus, it gave us the whole Bridget Jones series!  Who can honestly say Renée Zellweger doesn’t look better with some meat on her bones?

3. Booth and Brennan from Bones

I know what you’re going to say: they’re not actually together!  I know this, but I also know they will be eventually.  Also, Booth is played by the above-mentioned adulterer.  But if we’ve learned anything from Charlie Sheen, it’s that people can still love an asshole actor if they love the character he plays on TV.  And you know, even if Booth and Brennan don’t get together (which they will), their relationship still works for me.  They love each other a lot, and they always will.  If (when) they move onto romantic love, it will only add a dimension to their love, not to how much they love one another.

4. Luke and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls

Here’s a will-they-or-won’t-they couple that got the shaft a bit thanks to bad decisions by the network and the show’s creators.  After the unnecessary addition of Luke’s daughter April in season 6, Amy Sherman-Palidino left the show when contract negotiations broke down.  The new show runner did his best to clean up the mess that was left.  When the last episode was shot, the fate of the show was still unknown.  They wrote it open-ended enough in case the show was picked up, but with some closure in case it wasn’t.  It wasn’t.  :-(   Luke and Lorelai ended up together, but not really with the certainty and the Gilmore Girls flare they deserved.

5. Sam and Joanna from Love Actually

If these two (literal) kids can make a long distance relationship work, then there’s hope for the rest of us.  Also, us grown-ups love a kid who’s wise beyond his years.  When Liam Neeson’s character expresses relief that Sam is in love and not “something worse,” like depressed over his mother’s death, Sam responds, “Worse than the total agony of being in love?”  Oh, precocious children (who are reciting the words an adult wrote in a script).  Sam overcomes youthful awkwardness and Heathrow security to declare his love for Joanna.  In a post-9/11 world, this is no small feat.

After looking at all these (fake) relationships, how can you not believe in true love?!