Five Best Friends on TV

Television is filled with memorable characters, some good, some bad, and some are people who you wouldn't mind being friends with in real life. They are the crazy, the cool, the funny, and sometimes the downright weird. So in celebration of the recent loss of two of my favorite TV friends (see No. 4) I want to present a list of what I consider to be the top five ultimate best friendships on TV, past or present.

Honorable Mentions: Corey Matthews and Shawn Hunter (Boy Meets World); Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza (Seinfeld); Chuck Bartowski and Morgan Grimes (Chuck); Will Smith and Carlton Banks (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air); Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy (30 Rock); Bert and Ernie (Sesame Street); Chandler Bing and Joey Tribbiani (Friends); Dean Winchester and Castiel (Supernatural); James T. Kirk and Spock (Star Trek); Kyle Broflovski and Stan Marsh (South Park).

5. Tyrion Lannister and Bronn of the Blackwater Game of Thrones

Though their relationship started as one of sellsword and "person who has a lot of money and needs protection" it has progressed into something more. Bronn is not your average mercenary, as his quick wit and obvious common sense smarts means he can keep up with Tyrion's own intellect, or at the very least offer a one-liner that cuts to the heart of whatever was just said in a conversation. Yet, its more than just their banter that makes them a good pairing. Bronn helps keep Tyrion grounded and Tyrion offers Bronn a better life than he could have ever hoped to have as a common thug for hire. They both like to pretend that they stay together because of the money Tyrion is paying Bronn (and though that's a perk) you can tell that they genuinely like each other.

BRONN: Don't get killed.

TYRION: Nor you, my friend.

BRONN: Oh... are we friends now?

TYRION: Of course we are. Just because I pay you for your services, doesn't diminish our friendship.

BRONN: It enhances it, really.

TYRION: Oh, "enhances". Fancy word for a sellsword.

BRONN: I've been spending time with fancy folks.

4. Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster Psych 

The longest friendship of this list, Shawn and Gus have been friends since childhood. The pair just celebrated their last adventure together in a very fitting and heartfelt series finale, but even though the series is over, the friendship of these two lives on. Shawn is a brilliant but lazy and jobless man-child. Gus is straight-laced and hardworking, but can be a mess in his personal life. Together the men have forged a friendship unlike any other. They have spent so much time together they practically have their own language based on snide mouth clicks, one word sentences, and on the spot lies and aliases, (mostly instigated by Shawn.) Much like the show itself, the pair never takes themselves too seriously, even when Gus has a manic breakdown (which he is prone to.) Shawn is that friend who you often find yourself enduring a lot of BS with, but for some reason can never stay mad at. He often acts aloof at the expense of Gus, but the truth is that he cares deeply for him and vice-versa, one hardly seems able to exist without the other.

SHAWN: Here's the thing: I think Scott was murdered, robbed. The killer thinks the coast is clear. He's finally selling off his belongings. [Knocks on door]

GUS: So all we have to do is find the seller.

SHAWN: We just did!

GUS: What?

SHAWN: Ooh.

GUS: You just knocked on the door of a murderer and all you can say is, "Ooh?"

SHAWN: I should have thought about it in my head before I said it out loud, but I wanted a fun reveal. For you!

GUS: Shawn!

3. Abed Nadir and Troy Barnes Community

Have you ever had a friend who you get completely lost in? Well Troy knows exactly what that is like, as more than four years of his life has become consumed by his friendship with Abed, this kid who he met at a local community college. In all fairness though, it's kind of hard not to get swept up in the world of Abed, even the best of the Greendale Community finds it hard to resist. Troy, however, is not just a sidekick to Abed, a Constable Reggie to his Inspector Spacetime, as it is revealed that Troy helps keep Abed grounded. Perhaps for the former high school jock, Abed is the kind of person he always needed in his life, someone to let him know that building pillow forts and loving LeVar Burton so much that it restricts your ability to speak, is okay. For Abed, Troy is the one person who not only doesn't get tired of his constant antics, but even goes so far as to protect him from the outside world. Troy worries and cares about his friend, deeply, knowing that Abed always tends to be one magical claymation adventure away from a mental breakdown. Regardless, how can you fault either of them for a friendship that includes a fake morning talk show?

ABED: I hate when they finish each other’s…

TROY: … pies.

2. John Dorian and Christopher Turk Scrubs

Speaking of two people who have been friends since college and have an unspeakable bond that transcends both race and embarrassment, JD and Turk are among the two best friends you will ever meet. Their love is so deep that they actually sleep very comfortably next to one another in the same bed. Turk is more the jock and JD more the clumsy emotional one, but they both equally enjoy playing pranks and generally being weird. Their strengths and weaknesses sort of blend together, making them seem more like two parts of one biracial love-doctor, than two separate people. When Turk needs to figure out his emotions JD is there to help. When JD knocks himself unconscious in an attempt at playing sports, Turk is there to make him feel better. With pet names such as "chocolate bear," and being overwhelmingly comfortable with each other physically, its not hard to see why their relationship practically coined the term, "bromance," or an entire song about "Man Love." It is also pretty well understood that neither of them will ever love their significant others in quite the same way as they love each other.

TURK: We agreed that's how we'd raise our kids.

JD: Our kids? Turk, we're not married.

TURK: Dude, we're a little married.

JD: I know. I love it.

1. Lucille Ricardo and Ethel Mertz I Love Lucy

A friendship can start in many ways, college, childhood, hiring one person to be your mercenary killer, etc... but for Lucy and Ethel it all started when Lucy and her husband Ricky moved into the apartment building of Fred and Ethel Mertz. In that moment one of the first ever TV friendships was formed. Lucy is a schemer and even though Ethel is more level-headed she often finds herself wrapped up in the machinations of her crazy friend. A lot of the plots of the show center around Lucy and Ethel trying to pull something off while avoiding the attention of their husbands and in these moments you see two women who truly care about one another. The term "thick as thieves" is not an inappropriate analogy for the two. In a way their relationship was the forerunner for a lot of the others on this list: one's a dreamer the other is grounded; one's kind of dumb the other is smart; one's always got a plan and the other wants nothing to do with it. They even have their own friendship song, (much like JD and Turk.) Yet their relationship is still completely unique and has withstood the test of time, even after more than fifty years of television history.

LUCY: Oh, gee, Ethel, thanks. It's times like these when you know what friends are for.

ETHEL: If I'd known this was what friends were for, I'd have signed up as an enemy!