5. Sookie Stackhouse/Alcide Herveaux—True Blood
It’s obnoxious enough that every unrelated young gentleman immediately falls head over heels for Sookie (Seriously, every time) because of her…special fairy attractiveness, I guess (and no, Sookie, your blood being especially delicious to gorgeous vampires who would die for you in a second is not a problem). It doesn’t help when the writers try to spice up her love life (as if it needs it) by shoehorning in a romance that even they know won’t work out. Really, is anyone actually convinced Sookie will end up with Alcide? Everyone knows he was introduced in the third season only because seemingly every vampire series needs a werewolf nowadays and because Bill had been kidnapped and Eric was…brooding. In short, this still-ongoing relationship is a waste of time.
4. Rachel Berry/Finn Hudson—Glee
This one is annoying for its sheer implausibility. I’ve never been what you’d call a Glee fan, but I’ve seen enough of it to know how completely different Rachel and Finn are from each other; she’s a driven theater geek, he’s a laid-back jock. Yes, I know they had the glee club in common, but really, the only real reason a character like Finn was so devoted to the club was because the writers made him. Even in the anything-is-possible world of TV, the social diversity of the glee club was hard to believe. I’m sure the writers played up this romance mainly for the novelty of seeing such different people fall in love with each other, but that’s why they’re called novelties; their appeal isn’t long lasting.
3. Kate Austen/Dr. Jack Shepard—Lost
I could write a whole novella on how brilliant Lost was for the first three seasons and how badly it sucked during the last three (my thesis: Killing off Charlie cursed it). But the one drawback consistent through all six seasons was the epic on-again, off-again romance between Kate, the misunderstood fugitive, and Jack, the squeaky-clean spinal surgeon. While I applaud the writers for their twist on the usual “good girl/bad boy” relationship so often seen in entertainment, like Rachel and Finn, the only thing that held this relationship together was the writers having too much fun pairing “such an unusual couple!” Otherwise, the actors did not have any chemistry, and the characters had absolutely nothing in common, including their “pasts.” Even though most people probably would’ve yawned at the idea of them being in love forever, Kate and fellow criminal Sawyer were much more convincing as a couple.
2. Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan/Seeley Booth—Bones
This one is painful for me to write because not only do I love Bones as a character, but unlike most of the other relationships listed here, this one is actually believable. It’s just the execution of it that’s been appalling. This is another example of a plot element being there solely because the writers put it there. I am convinced no one can offer a compelling argument as to why it took so long for Bones and Booth to shack up and have a baby together, including the actual show. Sure, a TV show has got to have some romantic intrigue, but it cannot be done for its own sake.
1. Jim Halpert/Pam Beesly—The Office
Here it is, the Big Kahuna of annoying will they, won’t they TV romances. It’s been clear from the very beginning these two are perfect for each other; the only person it wasn’t initially clear to, for whatever reason, was Pam. It was entertaining to see them flirt and get together with other people before they finally hooked up for good. I was just as shocked as Jim when Pam got pregnant. But after that…the only way I can put it is that it just died. All of the romance, all of the intrigue, died. They became just another married couple with a baby. It was like a speeding car coming to a sudden halt, and just as irritating. And then, when Steve Carell left, the whole show just fell apart. Such a tragic ending to such a brilliant show.