Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, "The X-Files"

Well, it's all been said before. The FBI team investigating paranormal happenings enjoyed an intimacy and deep friendship that transcended their doubts about each other's investigative approach and worldview. Yet, they didn't get particularly physical until quite late in the nine-year series.

These two had a rare and enviable faith in one another, despite differences of opinion. While they were not above flirting, they also cared about the things that motivated and moved one another. What more could anyone want?

Well, sex, maybe. Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder (David Duchovny) had a child together, albeit rather clinically. But who could forget their long kiss in the final episode of the penultimate season (which really should have been the last one), and Mulder's declaration that it was time for them to explore "other possibilities." The truth may be out there, but it's not as interesting as the truth about these characters.

Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan and Seeley Booth, "Bones"

Based on the Temperance Brennan novels by anthropologist Kathy Reichs, "Bones" concerns Reichs' heroine, a forensic anthropologist nicknamed Bones (Emily Deschanel) and her FBI agent partner, Seeley (David Boreanaz).

Now entering its second season, the show is as intense as any forensic investigation series. But it also has a giddy quality born of the lead characters' rapid-fire, blunt dialogue and touching affinity. Bones and Seeley are much like Scully and Mulder in terms of their complementary styles as investigators and the extent to which they have become devoted constants in each other's private lives, broadening one another's horizons.

Right now, their relationship, already beautiful, looks like it could either become permanently fraternal or eventually sexual. They're comfortable in close proximity and while sharing intense emotions. They touch each other frequently -- though sometimes that just means Seeley's staying Bones' hand when she's stealing his French fries.

This is the team to watch this 2006-07 season. Love is already there, but what that means is anybody's guess.

Laura Holt and the eponymous Steele, "Remington Steele"

This vibrant, 1980s series starred Stephanie Zimbalist as Laura, a private detective having trouble drawing business under her own name. The solution: Create an agency with a fictional head, Remington Steele, who (Laura would tell curious clients) was always off working on a case.

Then, suddenly, a mysterious but rather dapper man (Pierce Brosnan) shows up, claiming to be the real Steele. Whatever his shady background, Laura teams up with him, setting into motion a slow-brewing romance that became official when the two got married to keep Steele from being deported.

The series' brief fifth and final season -- really a couple of two-hour movies and another movie divided into two segments -- found the characters at last consummating a good thing. It took time to get there, but it was nice when it did.

Ross Geller and Rachel Green, "Friends"

The big question in the first two seasons of the hit NBC sitcom was whether reticent Ross (David Schwimmer), who had been pining for gorgeous Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) since high school (and even before her nose job), would ever get it together to let her know his feelings.

The unwritten assumption among the six chums -- three guys, three gals -- at the center of "Friends" was that they were all just, well, friends. Except everybody but Rachel knew what was in Ross' heart. Just when Rachel's romantic interest began to shift toward Ross, he blew it by compiling a list of comparative virtues between Rachel and another prospective girlfriend -- a list Rachel found and became angry about.

Hope seemed lost until seven episodes later, when Rachel saw, for the first time, an old video of her prom night in which Ross' pure passion for her was evident. A big kiss and seemingly endless sex followed (the following episode was the one where the new couple was discovered naked in a planetarium by Catholic school kids).

Their relationship went through various permutations until the series finale, eight seasons later, where Rachel abandoned plans to go to Paris to be with Ross -- presumably permanently. Whew.

Catherine Chandler and Vincent, "Beauty and the Beast"

An update on the fairy tale, this CBS drama was pure romantic fantasy.

Catherine (Linda Hamilton) was a corporate attorney attacked and left for dead in Central Park. Found and nursed back to health by the furry but courtly Vincent (Ron Perlman), she developed ardent feelings for her hero, who felt the same about her.

Still, there was something forbidding about the idea of physical intimacy between them, and the appeal of their great love was that it was based not on heat but rather poetry recitations, shared safety and trust.

They did, however, kiss at the end of Season 1, and the show rather clumsily fell apart at the top of Season 3 with Catherine's murder after she gave birth to Vincent's child. The series ended not long after.

Charlie Eppes and Amita Ramanujan, "Numb3rs"

The interesting thing about watching math genius Charlie (David Krumholtz) and, uh, math genius Amita (Navi Rawat) fumbling with the prospect of a theoretical romance is that it rings true for so many people who have tried to carve a personal relationship from an impersonal one.

The two colleagues in math research often collaborate on Charlie's side gig as consultant to the FBI. (Charlie's brother, Don, played by Rob Morrow, is a federal agent.) Amita has helped him on many occasions take terrorists and serial killers out of commission, but the two have trouble managing a simple date. At the end of Season 1, Amita announced that she had been offered a teaching job in another city. Charlie's frustration sometimes leaves him enervated. Whether it sparks him into action is the question.

They fit well together, and one wants to see these eggheads make each other happy. But will it take four or five more seasons before it happens? Maybe. Maybe not.