TV Best Kiss?
May 22, 2006 by Kath Skerry
The longing, the anticipation, the moment. Why are kisses between our favorite TV couples so powerful? A recent Chicago Sun Times article explored this issue a bit after seeing and feeling the impact of Jim & Pam’s kiss on the season finale of The Office.
When Jim kissed Pam during the season finale of NBC’s “The Office” earlier this month, fans of the show were thrilled.
It’s been obvious to even latecomers to the show, which just finished its second season, that Pam, a receptionist, and Jim, a paper salesman, had developed strong feelings for each other. But Pam remains loyal to her fiance Roy, who’s portrayed as a close-minded clod who seems insensitive to what Pam wants or thinks. So the friendship between Jim and Pam had remained frustratingly platonic — until cute, sweet Jim tearfully declares that he is in love with her and kisses her. (Then the season ends. Sigh.)
That kiss was the talk of many workplaces the next day. NBC’s online message board was filled with gushing fans. “I couldn’t breathe when Jim told Pam ‘I love you.’ That line, and the kiss took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes,” one viewer wrote. Another viewer said: “I liked Ross and Rachel [from ‘Friends’] … but come on, they don’t even compare to Jim and Pam.”
In the movies, you get two or three hours to care about a character. With TV, you get weeks or years of build-up. What is it about small-screen kisses? Why do make-believe characters — yes, these people do not exist — make us grab our hankies in ways real people don’t? Do we get this worked up if, for example, a single friend or co-worker told us that her date kissed her last night? Probably not.
“We’ve invested so much in these characters,” says Jaimee Zanzinger, US Weekly’s TV editor, who lists last week’s “Grey’s Anatomy” kiss between Dr. McDreamy and Meredith Grey among her favorites.
“We’re able to hear their innermost thoughts, see the longing looks they’re giving each other — it’s almost like we’re living the experience with them … if your friend tells you about [their first] kiss, it’s not the same. You don’t get to experience the same emotions and the visceral element isn’t there.”
And, kisses are prettier on TV — no awkward bumping teeth or noses, she adds.
The article asks their readers to submit their favorite TV kisses. Making the cut in the Chicago Sun Times list were Kevin and Winnie from The Wonder Years, Sam and Diane from Cheers, and Logan and Veronica’s first kiss on Veronica Mars.
So what’s your favorite TV kiss, any why? Think about it…what made the kiss so special? Share your thoughts with other GMMR readers either here, or in the TV’s Best Kiss section of the GMMR Forums.
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Filed under Jenna Fischer, Jim Halpert, John Krasinski, The Office
Buffy and Spike in “Once More With Feeling.” That episode had it all and when they kissed….magic. I
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Joan and Adam from Joan of Arcadia. I’m not entirely sure that it’s my favorite but man, was it great. (Also, Logan & Veronica’s kiss – it threw me for a loop the first time I saw it but after watching the season a second time I saw the hints leading up to it.)
When Logan and Veronica first kiss on VM, I lost my breath. I was so involved, and it was only the third time I had seen that show.
Kate and Jack on Lost. Wow.
Josh and Donna in The West Wing, because we had waited for nearly seven years for them to do it.
kate and sawyer kiss on lost and it made my day. but best tv kiss is 100 % logan and veronica mars first kiss! ! !
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