Staying Fit
(Left to right) Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, Steve Carell, Phyllis Smith and Jenna Fischer of "The Office."
Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank
Love is patient, love is kind. Love is a many-splendored thing. Love is blind. But in the right hands, love can also be very funny. That's why Valentine's Day is such ripe territory for sitcoms, from disastrous blind dates to will-they-won't-they flirting to years-long marriages that need a little spicing up. Break out the bubbly and a box of chocolate-covered strawberries and binge these 10 holiday-themed sitcom episodes — many of which are as romantic as they are hysterical.
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Mad About You
The episode: “Love Among the Tiles” (1993)
The plot: As they prepare for their friends’ Valentine's Day party, Paul (Paul Reiser, 64) and Jamie (Helen Hunt, 57) accidentally get stuck in their bathroom after the doorknob breaks off. This being a sitcom version of a New York City apartment, the bathroom is palatial, but that doesn't stop them from getting extremely bored. They paint toenails, play hangman, drop S.O.S. notes out the window, try to karate-kick the door down, beg their dog Murray for help, and even sample Jamie's face cream. As Paul says, it “tastes very much like chicken."
The sweetest moment: When Paul offers a very hungry Jamie his last Tums, and she snaps it in half so they can both have a bite.
Where to watch: Mad About You, on Amazon Prime
The Simpsons
The episode: "I Love Lisa” (1993)
The plot: This especially warmhearted outing often gets ranked among the top Simpsons episodes of all time. When Lisa sees her oddball classmate Ralph Wiggum crying after he doesn't receive any Valentine's cards, she gives him one of her own — just as a friend! But the message, a smiling train saying “I Choo-Choo-Choose You,” gives him the wrong idea, and he instantly falls head over heels. How can she let him down easy without breaking his heart?
The sweetest moment: When Ralph channels his heartbreak into a masterclass performance as George Washington in the Presidents’ Day pageant, and the whole school erupts in applause.
Where to watch: The Simpsons, on Disney+
Cheers
Ted Danson as Sam Malone
Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
The episode: “Sam Time Next Year” (1991)
The plot: Every Valentine's Day for the past two decades, Sam Malone (Ted Danson, 73) has a standing rendezvous with a woman named Lauren (Get Smart's Barbara Feldon, 87), but can he keep up the lothario act after he slips down the icy steps at Cheers and throws out his back? Back at the bar, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer, 65) and Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth, 62) plan a mixer for their respective therapy groups of shy men and women.
The sweetest moment: When Sam and Lauren spend their evening together, not in bed but instead getting to know more about each other, as they talk frankly about aging — everything from loose skin under the arms to not being able to read menus.
Where to watch: Cheers, on Hulu
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