Unexpected and unlikely "Bromances"
People spend a lot of time these days talking about shows with characters who share a great "bromance" which to me is rather a combination of a "brotherhood" and a "romance". The pair in question invariably create a relationship that is both popular and memorable for any number of reasons. In this era, I think it's high time we stop limiting those characters to men. It seems to me that we have any number of other examples from which to draw so why stop there? So let's take a look at some out of the ordinary, "bromances" with "out of the ordinary" characters!
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- CreatorRob GrantDoug NaylorStarsChris BarrieCraig CharlesDanny John-JulesThe adventures of the last human alive and his friends, stranded three million years into deep space on the mining ship Red Dwarf.Kryton and Lister have to go down as the greatest bromance of all time between an android and the last living man in the galaxy. The fact that it was one of the weirdest, wildest and funniest shows with no budget whatsoever is just icing on the cake. This show almost single-handedly kept PBS on the air because its fans are raving lunatics, loyal enough to go until the end of time to keep it on the air.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Let's face it, Lucas was a genius and his space opera opened up the genre for an entirely new kind of filmmaking and an entirely new kind of film. But don't kid yourself. Chewie and Han may have been the tallest representatives of the "bromance", but it was R-2 and C-3-pio who captured it's essence and our hearts from the very beginning.
- CreatorRockne S. O'BannonStarsBen BrowderClaudia BlackAnthony SimcoeThrown into a distant part of the universe, an Earth astronaut finds himself part of a fugitive alien starship crew.Anyone who doubts that Dargo and Crighton are the embodiment of the bromance either weren't paying attention or weren't watching. In either case, you missed one of the greatest character studies and friendships in the history of TV…. Along with one of the greatest Sci-Fi shows ever to grace the airwaves.
- CreatorDavid MaplesStarsMary McCormackFrederick WellerPaul Ben-VictorU.S. Marshal Mary Shannon must hunt down witnesses for federal cases in the witness protection program while also managing a rather dysfunctional family and her own personal life.NO, you scoff! A man and a woman CANNOT a "bromance" make. I beg to differ. Yes there were moments when Marshall clearly was conflicted about his feelings for Mary but in the end, at one time or another, each admitted that the other was not just a best friend, but their ONLY friend. If you watch their interactions over the 5 seasons they were on the air you will see that we should ALL be so lucky as to have a friendship like that in our lives.
- CreatorJ.H. WymanStarsKarl UrbanMichael EalyMinka KellyIn a not-so-distant future, a human cop and an android partner team up to serve and protect.Once again we are confronted by the reality that some friendships are better and stronger BECAUSE they defy the laws of humanity. Karl Urban did a brilliant job in this short-lived series as a damaged man who ultimately turned to an android as his closest friend because that was the "man" he trusted the most. It was as wonderful as it was short-lived.
- CreatorJames DuffStarsMary McDonnellG.W. BaileyTony DenisonThe Closer (2005) spin-off series, which follows Captain Raydor of the Los Angeles Police Department.OK, I confess… this is rather a cheat. Because Flynn and Provenza are both men, both work together and have a friendship that has survived not one but TWO series! The definition of the "Bromantic Moment" was during The Closer when they were standing on the steps outside a church as a casket came tumbling down the concrete steps to crack open and reveal the body of a woman wedged into the casket alongside the man who was supposed to be buried in it. Only Flynn and Provenza could have given us this truly MUST-SEE-TV!!!
- CreatorTom KapinosStarsTom EllisLauren GermanKevin AlejandroLucifer Morningstar has decided he's had enough of being the dutiful servant in Hell and decides to spend some time on Earth to better understand humanity. He settles in Los Angeles - the City of Angels.Some would argue that you cannot have a "bromance" of any kind if sex is involved. I would say that when the sex was between Lucifer and his Demon Mazikeen, the sex just doesn't count. So this "bromance" is dedicated to the devil and his female bodyguard Maze. Because of what they share, what they don't and because if you can't "PUNISH" the guilty with your bestest "bro" than why bother punishing at all!
- CreatorJohn LoganStarsJosh HartnettTimothy DaltonEva GreenExplorer Sir Malcolm Murray, American gunslinger Ethan Chandler, scientist Victor Frankenstein and medium Vanessa Ives unite to combat supernatural threats in Victorian London.Let's face it, this is a show that on the surface doesn't lend itself to the concept of "bromance" in any way, shape or form. I would beg to differ. Because it's just possible that Dorian Gray offers us an example of the bromance that has never been considered before. A man so in love with himself that no one else is even capable of being anything more than a distraction. Dorian's greatest relationship is with himself and his portrait. Which, if THAT doesn't meet the definition of overlooked and unexpected means that nothing else ever could. Think about it… and don't go looking to get your portrait done anytime in the near future!
- StarsEssie DavisNathan PageHugo Johnstone-BurtA female sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of Melbourne in the late 1920s, fighting injustice with her pearl-handled pistol and her dagger-sharp wit.Who needs men to make the perfect "bromance"? Certainly not Dot and Phryne Fisher who perfectly define the art of bromance in Austrailia in the early 1900's. Dot and Phryne don't just break rules, they break conventions and they do it with a style and panache that would put any man to shame.
- CreatorSydney NewmanStarsPatrick MacneeDiana RiggHonor BlackmanA quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners.Obviously, I couldn't make this list much less continue it without including the cool style and devilish charm that made Mrs Emma Peel and Mr John Steed the very definition and possibly the original example from which the "bromance" eventually grew. Between them they both defied and defined a generation and we've been trying to catch-up ever since. Well done and all hail to the (respective) Chiefs!
- CreatorJames L. BrooksMatt GroeningSam SimonStarsDan CastellanetaNancy CartwrightHarry ShearerThe satiric half-hour adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.I know, I know… the obvious bromance here is between Homer and Moe. WRONGO oh Homer fans. As a quote to me from a friend on this site once proved, Homer's TRUE "bromance" is actually with BEER! Preferably Duff and preferably served from Moe but it is still with beer nonetheless. Which raises the notion of "bromance" to completely new and utterly terrifying takes on "reality". ; - ) … or lowers it completely… But leave it to Homer to throw a wrench into anyone's plans, thought processes, concepts and/or ideas. He is, therefore he confounds.
- CreatorHans BeimlerRobert Hewitt WolfeStarsPaul BlackthorneValerie CruzTerrence MannHarry Dresden is a wizard, the only one listed in the Chicago phone book. He's got a handle on the crimes that can't be solved by anyone else. Paranormal? No problem. Dresden deals in all matters of supernatural threats.Although for most of the book fans, this show managed to fail on a spectacular level, that doesn't prevent me from adding it to the list. You see, the show anthropomorphized "Bob" Harry's skull who is actually a spirit of intellect. So although I love him in Butcher's series with his glowing eyes screaming about the sex-scenes in romance novels, I also have to respectfully include the show's version of Bob and Harry as one of the best "other-worldly" bromances in the history of TV…. Sorry Supernatural but those guys ARE brothers and fight the supernatural. Cass may be their buddy but he ain't no Bob!
- CreatorMichael GarrisonStarsRobert ConradRoss MartinDick CangeyTwo Secret Service agents, equipped with a wide array of gizmos, work for the government in the Old West.I know what you're thinking and you couldn't be more wrong. Just because I added Flynn and Provenza to my list does NOT mean I'm going to do it again with Jim West and Artemus Gordon. Because that's actually not the bromance I was going for when I sought out this show. To be fair, I started with the TV series Zorro but the picture it pulled up didn't do the show justice so I came here instead. All that aside, the bromance here, as with Zorro, is between Jim and HIS HORSE! Loyal to a fault, smarter than heroes and villains alike, it was the horses of both James West and Zorro who were their true "brothers" in fighting crime. They were always where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there and always made sure our favorite crime fighters lived to fight another day. All of that AND the fact that they didn't back down to anyone, including their "bros"… What can I say? Sometimes people are overrated!
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyIn the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.Let's face it, Jim and Spock were great and Bones made for a great threesome. But the real bromance from the show, for anyone paying attention to something besides pointy ears and Bone's witty repartee, was between Scotty and the Enterprise. That great, beautiful, starship of legend who many of us grew up wanting to go along with "where no man has gone before". But they could never have gotten there w/o Scotty and his ship. They couldn't have gotten back out again if Scotty hadn't "...given you all she's got!". And there would never have been any trouble with all those wretched Tribbles if Scotty hadn't taken out the Klingon who called her a "garbage scow". So for me, the eternal bromance will ALWAYS be Scotty and his revered and beloved Enterprise.
- CreatorToby WhithouseStarsLenora CrichlowRussell ToveyAidan TurnerA werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost try to live together and get along.OK, I confess, this one has me stumped. Clearly the UK version was first and best of the series but equally clear was that it was first built around the concept of a 3-way bromance between a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire trying to stay "in the closet" and blend in with humanity. I know it got complicated later on and that those complications were messy and changed the nature of all of their relationships. But somehow, they always managed to put the friendship first so I'm going to call it a tie and leave them and the show to RIP.
- CreatorSteven Long MitchellCraig W. Van SickleStarsMichael T. WeissAndrea ParkerPatrick BauchauA specially gifted man, with the ability to instantly master any skill, escapes from a secret testing facility and travels the country taking on different jobs and helping strangers while hiding from his kidnappers.Since I just added this to my "Binge-Worthy" list and since I've actually BEEN binging it for a few weeks, I have enough hours logged to say that I believe that Miss Parker and Jarod are actually the genuine article in the "Unusual Bromance" dept. Yes, they spent the entire series playing cat and mouse instead of actually working face-to-face but as you watch it becomes clear that in many ways their shared history has united them in experiences no one else would ever understand. So not only do they respect and admire each other (albeit somewhat grudgingly on her part), they also know each other better than anyone else around them ever will. More often than not they fit hand in glove to solve problems that might otherwise never see the light of day. Proving that distance isn't necessarily a factor in a thriving "bromance".
- CreatorJoss WhedonStarsSarah Michelle GellarNicholas BrendonAlyson HanniganA young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.Buffy & Willow right?….. and unusually (for me anyway), nuff said!
- CreatorIrwin AllenStarsGuy WilliamsJune LockhartMark GoddardA space colony family struggles to survive when a spy/accidental stowaway throws their ship hopelessly off course.Yeah, it's pathetic… but I still had to do it. Too many of us "Boomers" grew up on the phrase: "Danger Will Robinson, Danger!"
So, clearly it's Will Robinson and "his" Robot. Cause what's a kid in space supposed to do?….
And Mr. Smith would just have been TOO CREEPY! ; - ) - CreatorGlen A. LarsonStarsDavid HasselhoffEdward MulhareRichard BasehartA lone crimefighter battles the forces of evil with the help of a virtually indestructible and artificially intelligent supercar.Because let's face it… the show itself was slap-happy-crappy but a love story "Bromance" between a guy and his car just HAS to make an appearance on the list somewhere right?! And this was the one with the car that could talk back so it makes the cut… barely.
And yes, you really SHOULD have already figured out that I'm nuts! - CreatorDavid GreenwaltJoss WhedonStarsDavid BoreanazCharisma CarpenterAlexis DenisofThe vampire Angel, cursed with a soul, moves to Los Angeles and aids people with supernatural-related problems while questing for his own redemption.Yeah, OK… so I'm breaking my own rule again. But since it's my rule and since rules were made to be broken and since the fact that the "Bromance" in question is both LOVE/HATE & BETWEEN VAMPIRES…
I'm going to cut myself some slack.
Because in the "history" of the "Bromance" I'm not sure any of them span the centuries that Angel and Spike do. So whether they're at war, at odds, at evens, or just generally trying to prop each other up at the end of something that just sucked for the both of them, Angel and Spike make my "Bromance" list for most long-lived if for nothing else at all. That and the fact that some of their best fights were just "girly-girl"!
Like I've said before… NUTS! ; - )