Dear TV Crushes of Today

Jim Halpert, (John Krasinski) The Office

Admittedly, I'm far more partial to John Krasinski, the actor who plays Jim, but it was Jim that wooed me in. Jim, of the pining, longing love for Pam, his co-worker in the US version of The Office. Before you all tell me how much superior the UK version is blah, blah, I say this. I say it's a different show - yes the horrible redux of Season One in which they basically repeated the UK episodes verbatim is bad, but Season Two becomes something else and the show takes off!

Central to it all is the heart of The Office and that's thanks to Jim and Pam. Best friends and cohorts who denied their feelings for a LONG time, John Krasinski's mastered the loving from afar look and the unspoken heartbreak to the camera shot - in fact, his performance in the Season Two finale episode Casino Night, in which he professes his love and is awkwardly rejected is heartbreaking - I cried!

But beyond The Office, John is all the best bits of Jim. Adorkably cute, funny and able to give some of the most charming TV chat show interviews (I defy you to watch any of his Ellen or Jimmy Kimmel interviews and not smile). And he got the hot girl - marrying Emily Blunt last year, they both appear settled and normal and I want to be adopted by them (sorry Mum and Dad) so we can hang out together and play practical jokes on Jimmy Kimmel and visit George Clooney at Lake Como as they are want to do. 

Rick Castle/Capt. Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), Castle/Firefly

Again following a trend, I'm partial to anything Nathan Fillion does but especially his Firefly work. As a Joss Whedon fanatic, I was shocked to see I'd missed this series when it first began but after weirdly seeing an episode and adoring it without knowing who was behind it, I was entranced. And of course, a big part of my adoration was Capt Malcolm Reynolds. Sarcastic, surly, closed off yet fiercely loyal, deeply protective and underneath, a man's man who would stand his ground in any battle he believed in.

After Firefly was cancelled (don't even get me started!) and the followup film Serenity screened, I kept following Mr Fillion. From his charming cheating doctor in Waitress to remembering I'd love him way back when as firefighter Johnny in Two Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place (yep, the same one with Ryan Reynolds).

Then came Castle, a crime procedural for sure, but it made perfect use of Fillion's off-screen persona. His character is part charm, part playboy, part ego-driven man-child but he plays it with such fun and fearlessness that each Sunday night (despite my better intentions), I'm watching the latest episode. They have just ended Season Three in the US on a doozy of a cliffhanger and Nathan got to bring some of his hang dog puppy love looks to his female partner and for a TV show with a unresolved chemistry heavy plot, they just had a really frank discussion about their non-couple status - it was AWESOME and I squealed like every fan girl should.

Coach Taylor, (Kyle Chandler), Friday Night Lights

It was so close between Riggins and Coach Taylor but if we're talking about TV character crushes then Coach Taylor edged out Tim (sorry!). As an introduction to Coach Taylor, Kyle Chandler for those not familiar stole the show in the mega-Grey's Anatomy episode Code Black as the bomb squad captain who asked Meredith to picture someone else when removing the bomb. He was awesome and then he was blown up - silly Grey's!

If we're talking salt of the earth, simple man, with simple dreams and a sexy as hell southern drawl then we of course, can only be talking about Coach Taylor. Aside from being the central focus of this AMAZING television series, Coach Taylor was the moral compass for the show. He'd stray sometimes in the wrong direction but when he was focused and on it, so was the show. His speeches to the team, be they in a locker room, on the field or at his front door when they showed up for counsel at all hours were the best combination of poetry and manhood.

He was also part of the best portrayal of marriage on screen. It was real and honest and the Taylors fought over much but always were safe in the knowledge that they loved each other, they wanted each other and despite struggling with their own desires wanted the best for each other.

The last episode of the series had me weeping because yes, it was over but I was going to have to say goodbye to these characters - especially the Taylors. Coach Taylor, with his sunglasses, a protective barrier to the world. Coach Taylor with his hilarious and tender father/son relationship with Saracen. Coach Taylor with his odd couple friendship with Buddy Garrity. Coach Taylor: full eyes, clear hearts, can't lose.


Runners Up in the Now Crush Bracket:
Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd), Torchwood
Eric Northman, (Alexander Skarsgård), True Blood
Marshall Eriksen, (Jason Segel), How I Met Your Mother