Couples

[poliphilo]

I've been tagged again.

This time by qos. I've got to name my 20 (20!) favourite couples from current fiction.

OK, but I'm interpreting current to mean anything that's still being read or viewed. As far as I'm concerned the Iliad is still current.

1. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson- the perfect marriage of complimentary opposites.

2. Pierre Bezukhov and Natasha Rostov from War and Peace. I don't think any fictional love story has ever engaged me more. I was desperate for them to get together.

3. Mr and Mrs Bagnett from Bleak House. Dickens (whose own marriage was crap) had a talent for creating great couples. Mr and Mrs Micawber are the most famous, but the Bagnetts are just as touching and funny.

4. Willow and Tara. I believe I wept when Tara died (And if I didn't I should have done.)

5. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy. To quote myself- "In most love stories one lover is analysed to death and the other is a dummy, but Elizabeth and Darcy are equally real."

6. John Steed and Emma Peel- the Avengers. There's something especially exciting about a couple who have huge chemistry but never take it to bed. I also like it that they're equals (rare now and even rarer then.)

7. Xena and Gabrielle.

8. The Pastor and his Mistress from Bergman's Winterlight. They must have names but I don't know what they are and it doesn't matter. This is probably my favourite movie. On one level its about the death of God and on another it's about love conquering everything. Sublime.

9. Will and Lyra in Pullman's His Dark Materials. I don't think I can tell you much about these two without spoiling the story. Read it.

10. The Doctor and Rose. Will I feel the same way about them when Chris Ecclestone has turned into David Tennant? I can't wait to find out.

11. Bill and the Bride. (David Carradine and Uma Thurman.) They love one another to death.

That's 11. That's enough already. I've got a policy of not tagging, but have a go if you feel like it. This one's fun.

Comments

[tx-cronopio.livejournal.com]

What, no Basil and Sybil Fawlty? :)

I'd have to add Harriet Vane and Peter Wimsey.

Regards from TX, where it is finally, faintly cooling off. Hey to Ailz.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Basil and Sybil? *shudders*

But maybe I should have included Tim and Dawn from The Office.

I'm afraid Lord Peter and Harriet don't do it for me. I'm of the opinion that fictional detectives are better off celibate.

[queen-in-autumn.livejournal.com]

Great list! Thanks for sharing.

To me, "current" meant couples who mean something to me now, as opposed to those who held my attention and affection in the past. I like your inclusion of Holmes and Watson!

I thought about Bill and the Bride. Their scenes together in KB2 were what made the film(s) for me. It was so clear that they had a special and powerful bond.

[tx-cronopio.livejournal.com]

Hey, qos? Possibly the BEST ICON EVER. :)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes- Jimmy or Cary- that's one hell of a tough choice.

[queen-in-autumn.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The Philadelphia Story is one of my Top 10 Favorite Movies. This icon was made by wild_rice_icons and posted for general use, if you want to save it for yourself.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I have to admit (heresy, heresy!) That I prefer High Society, what with the lovely Cole Porter songs and the pairing of Bing and Grace and the divine Celeste Holm providing back-up.

[queen-in-autumn.livejournal.com]

Ack! That is heresy!

I tried watching High Society once, but Bing and Grace just didn't have the sheer presence, much less the crackling chemistry that Cary and Kate did, and so the story just fell flat for me. I should probably give it another try and just let it be what it is.

I do enjoy Grace and Cary in To Catch a Thief.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

In most circumstances I'd vote for Kate and Cary over Grace and Bing, but I dunno, the songs edge it for me.

High Society has Louis Armstrong too!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for tagging me. I enjoyed myself.

A lot of people didn't like KB2, but I saw it before I saw KB1 and it blew me away.

And I found the scenes between Bill and the Bride extraordinarily moving.

[aftertorless.livejournal.com]

I adored the scenes in "KB2" between Black Mamba and the Snake Charmer (I agree with you: they were quite moving). Although I may actually be so bold as to post the pairing of Black Mamba and California Mountain Snake as one of my favorite couples on my own list, as well...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

KIll Bill has been dismissed as a soulless entertainment, more concerned with technique than anything else, but I think it's positively drenched in emotion- and not cheap emotion either.

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

current fiction? what's "current"?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I had problems with that. qos thinks it means stuff that affects you now rather than stuff that affected you at some time in the past. I decided, like Humpty Dumpty, that it means whatever I want it to mean.

[sommeilbienivre.livejournal.com]

I am in full support of all of your couples. I was loving you list, but when I came to Will and Lyra - sigh, Philip Pullman. You managed to hit on several fictional universes that shaped my childhood. :)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's a great book, isn't it? I believe he's working on a sequel. Maybe Will and Lyra will be reunited at last....

[sommeilbienivre.livejournal.com]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

*ahem*

I waited for three-four years for The Amber Spyglass to come out. If he's writing more I might just explode.

[idahoswede.livejournal.com]

Yay, Steed and Peel! I was so pleased when I got married to become Mrs. Pihl (pronounced Peel), but nobody around me got it.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Mrs Pihl- I like it!

The Avengers still works I think. I've watched the odd episode recently and it still looks wonderfully inventive.

[jenny_evergreen]

7. Xena and Gabrielle.

*is abruptly sent into fits about the BLOODY AWFUL ending to that series*

*agrees with the ones on your list I'm familiar with*

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I stopped watching Xena before the end. I was so distressed by the farrago it had turned into.

[jenny_evergreen]

I was very dedicated and hung on till the very end, which was so hideously awful that I'm STILL mad. Humph.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

One of the things about the Phillip Pullman rhat really do not work for me is the trouble he went to to stop Will and Lyra getting together; I found that so arbitrary and unnecessary...

And what? You don't get Lord Peter and Harriet Vane? We disagree so profoundly I don't know where to begin...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't particularly like Sayers. I prefer her contemporary- the almost forgotten Margery Allingham.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Margery Allingham. Yes, she's wonderful. I've been sitting here for five minutes trying to think how to say something about her and Sayers, but there's too much to say, I can't keep it brief. Thanks for reminding me of her...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to think that The Tiger in the Smoke is the best novel to come out of the "golden age" of the detective novel.