Friends ’Til The End: My Top 10 Favorite Tv Best Friends.
Friendship is one of the most important things in life and I personally feel that after God and Family it’s the most important relationship you will ever form with anyone. I highly value friendship and as a fan of film and television, the shows and movies that put friendship on full display with its characters then I’m hooked! These are my top ten favorite best buds that had their highs and lows but were always there for each other when the chips were down and celebrated the good times as much as they got through the bad together. It’s all about genuine chemistry and these ten tv best friends had it in spades.
10. Al Bundy and Jefferson D’Arcy. Married… with Children.
Al and Jefferson were a perfect match. Oh, sure on the surface they have as much in common as night and day, but both men shared a joy for hooters, get rich quick schemes, beer, distaste for their wives and the topless hot babes at the nudie bar. Ed O’Neill and Ted McGinley had great chemistry and clearly had fun playing off each other as Al and Jefferson. To put it simply, these two idiots were meant to be the best of buds.
9. Al and Griff. Married… with Children.
As great as Al and Jefferson are as best buds, Al and his shoe store companion Griff take it to another level. The show somehow got even funnier with Griff’s addition and once again, the chemistry between Ed O’Neill and Harold Sylvester was the stuff of legend! These two were one of the best salt and pepper duos of the 1990’s and many classic and hilarious moments were of the result of their misadventures.
8. Jo Polniaczek and Blair Warner.
Blair Warner and Jo Polniaczek were like oil and water, cats and dogs, Trump and his wig. Two polar opposites that didn’t match, yet somehow these two bitter enemies became each other’s best friend, sister and conscience. No matter how much they bickered or traded insults with each other when it came down to it these two had each other’s back no matter what.
7. Gina Waters and Pamela “Pam” James. Martin.
Gina Waters and Pamela James were homegirls to the end. They had their share of falling out but at the end of the day they always had each other’s backs, especially when dealing with Sheneneh Jenkins. Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold’s off screen life long friendship played a big part in the authenticity of Gina and Pam’s friendship.
6. Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson. Elementary.
The 2012 to 2019 CBS series based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories took a whole new approach to the famed detective’s story; the biggest being the change of Dr. John Watson to Dr. Joan Watson played by the iconic Lucy Liu. I admit when I first heard of Elementary and that they changed Watson to a woman I rolled my eyes thinking that this would be another sacrilege changing of a iconic character and iconic dynamic. I was certain that Holmes and Watson would become some tired will they\won’t they dynamic and they’d sleep together by the end of episode 2. I have never been so happy to be so wrong in my life. I was mesmerized by the strong chemistry between Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as their characters that was neither romantic or filled with sexual tension or brother and sister\ platonic. It was something else; Something special. Genuine friendships between men and women on television has always been rare and sadly still is today. What Elementary did with Joan and Sherlock was nothing short of refreshing. The greatest, most epic fictional friendship of all time was honored properly with this version of Holmes and Watson as they solved puzzling cases together while sharing a brownstone and playfully irritating each other in the process.
5. Dwayne Wayne and Ron Johnson. A Different World.
If any two dudes repped black brotherhood it was Dwayne and Ron. Two very different guys on the surface but at the end of the day they were brothers through and through. They were loyal to each other, always had each other’s back, while also keeping it real with each other and never being afraid to call the other out on his BS. It always hurt when they got into a fight with one another because of how deep their bond was. What makes their friendship even more iconic is how in real life Kadeem Hardison and Darryl Bell adopted the Dwayne\Ron dynamic when Kadeem named Darryl the godfather of his daughter.
4. Jonathan Smith and Mark Gordon. Highway to Heaven.
Two rode together… Jonathan Smith was an probationary angel who traveled around with ex cop Mark Gordon in his beat up old car doing God’s work helping anyone that needed them. The bond between Jonathan and Mark over the course of five years evolved beautifully. What started out as suspicion on Mark’s part turned into one of tv’s greatest partnerships and certainly one of its most endearing and lovable friendships. Michael Landon and Victor French were very good friends in real life and it translated on screen every time Jonathan and Mark were together.
3. Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci. Quantum Leap.
Talk about true friendship, when you’re literally leaping through time where everyone sees and hears you as someone else there’s no greater comfort than having the one person who can see and hear the real you, and is basically the one true family you have in this incredibly weird life of yours. That’s what Al is to Sam. While, yes, they were different as night day the super genius boy scout Sam and the forever horny, womanizing Al both loved and admired each other and each made the ultimate sacrifice for each other that most people would never do. As Sam once said there was nothing Al wouldn’t do for him nor he wouldn’t do for Al and they proved it with two significant actions that altered their own histories. Let’s face it, Sam never could’ve survived leaping around in time without Al there to guide or assist him; and even more importantly provide the emotional support that kept him alive both literally and figuratively.
2. Richie Cunningham and Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli. Happy Days.
Richie and Fonzie were the first true friendship between chosen brothers I had ever seen on tv as a young boy when watching reruns of Happy Days — usually at my Grandparents house after school on Tv Land. The bond these two guys shared was something truly special and iconic. Once again opposites attract and the ever so cool Fonz and all american boy next door Richie were somehow connected and meant to be best friends for life. The chemistry between the two became the core of the show and I feel that the deepest friendship I have with my own best friend was in someway shaped by the bond Richie and Fonzie had. Fonzie was the big brother Richie always needed and Richie was the kid brother Fonzie always wanted. They watched out for one another, guided the other and had some real happy days… pardon the pun.
- Andy Taylor and Barney Fife. The Andy Griffith Show.
It was brutal trying to pick a number 1 for this but when it came down to it there may never has been nor ever will be a better and more endearing friendship in tv history than Sheriff Andy Taylor and his Deputy Barney Fife. These two were the epitome of comic chemistry as much as such iconic duos as Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, Kenan and Kel etc. Nothing makes me smile or laugh harder than any time Andy acted like a naughty little kid whenever he caught Barney doing anything ridiculous. Just as funny is whenever Andy teases Barney and he gets all flustered in return. But what makes their friendship truly epic is that they would do anything for each other. Andy always protected Barney, whether it was from embarrassment, losing his job or genuine harm without a moment’s hesitation, and in return Barney stood up for Andy in times of need like in The Cow Thief when Andy figured out that a thief put shoes on cows to help sneak them out of a farmer’s barn and nobody believed him except for Barney who came to aide his best friend in the capture of said thief. Andy Griffith and Don Knotts’ chemistry offscreen was just as enjoyable and heartwarming onscreen. Little known fact, when Don Knotts was on his death bed, Andy called him by his real name and made him laugh just before he died. Everyone should have a friendship as tight knit and true blue as Andy and Barney.
Thanks for taking this journey with me folks! I highly value friendship and I always appreciate tv shows and movies that do the same. Til’ next time!