I saw an interesting thing on the CNN.com website today.
It is a repost of a recap of "16 Wonderful TV Weddings" from Entertainment Weekly.
Frankly, I didn't know what to expect when I clicked on the link. Fictitious marriage ceremonies involving characters in TV shows or made–for–TV movies? Nuptials from reality shows? Real–life weddings?
Actually, it turned out to be all three. And, in all honesty, the choices (well, most of them, anyway) weren't bad. Certainly, I remember watching many of them. Some I didn't watch — reality shows and soap operas have never been high on my list. That doesn't mean they didn't deserve to be included, but I felt that the limitation of 16 forced some worthwhile TV weddings to be left out.
One was the long–awaited wedding of Niles and Daphne on the "Frasier" show. The pairing always seemed unlikely to me — I simply couldn't see a woman as beautiful as Daphne being attracted to someone like Niles. But perhaps that is indicative of the unpredictable nature of love.
The story itself was a testimony to the love that brides and grooms usually have for their families. Niles and Daphne were married in Reno, but then they had to repeat the ceremony with their loved ones in attendance after they learned that their families would be heartbroken if they couldn't witness the vow exchange.
Another memorable wedding came at the end of the final episode of the "M*A*S*H" series in 1983. Klinger and his Korean love, Soon–Lee, tied the knot just before the camp was disassembled. Soon–Lee was only in a few episodes, but Klinger's decision to marry her and stay in Korea while they searched for her refugee family was truly an expression of love and sacrifice, given the fact that Klinger was well known for trying to be discharged from the Army by dressing in women's clothes.
As Hawkeye said when Klinger announced that he was staying in Korea, "You don't have to act crazy now. We're all getting out!"
I guess my all–time favorite TV wedding was the one that united Ted Baxter and Georgette on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" — a spur–of–the–moment ceremony in which everyone — including guest star John Ritter, who played a minister who was summoned from a tennis game to perform the honors — had memorable lines.
(It's been many years since I have seen that episode, but, as I recall, one of Ritter's best lines came when he was positioning the members of the wedding party — "Bride on my forehand, groom on my backhand!")
Perhaps the best line came when a skeptical Mary had a brief one–on–one conversation with Georgette in which she sought reassurance that her friend really did love Ted.
"Of course, Mary," Georgette replied. "Somebody has to!"
