Megan celebrates Brad and Ted from Nickelodeon’s Hey Dude for Valentine’s Day
I’ve never been much of a Ross and Rachel shipper. To me, they never had very much chemistry on Friends and were better apart (“We were on a break!”) than they were together.
I know this is pop culture sacrilege, since “Ross and Rachel” are often put in the TV canon next to couples like “Sam and Diane” and “Bert and Ernie,” but they never held a candle to my favorite TV will-they-or-won’t-they pair of all time: Brad (Kelly Brown) and Ted (David Lascher) from Nickelodeon’s Hey Dude, who flirted and fought as co-workers at the Bar None Ranch from 1989 to 1991.
Even though I watched this show as a youngster, I knew this was truly a special TV couple. While some may assume I’m relying on ‘90s nostalgia for my memories of Bred (just officially coined this hybrid couple name), I can tell you that I own all five seasons of Nickelodeon’s second live-action series ever, and that this couple still holds up upon multiple viewings as an adult.
I’ve always hated when television shows tell you that you should want a couple together, rather than making you want it to happen (kind of like the way Gretchen kept trying to make fetch happen in Mean Girls). TV love is meant to happen naturally. For example, in 30 Rock’s last season, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) marries Criss Chros (James Marsden). The show kept trying to convince us they were a good couple (admittedly, the “Han Solo’d” bit is cute), but mostly it felt like we were being cajoled into this thought because it was the show’s last season. She and Marsden had about as much chemistry as Tracy Jordan and Nermal.
But with Brad and Ted, it was so easy to want them to be together because of their witty banter and the ways in which they understood each other, even when they hated each other. When they’re handcuffed together in the appropriately titled episode “Ted and Brad Get Handcuffed,” Ted connects himself to Brad with what’s supposed to be the Great Zamboni’s trick handcuffs (they belong to the Tulsa Police Department) and hilarity ensues. The two serve dinner together (“He’s a trainee. You can just ignore him. I try to.”) and end up having to spend the night in a bunkbed (“Arm spasm!”—”Leg cramp!”). In the end, Brad learns that her words can sting and that it’s not so bad spending time with Ted, while Ted learns that sometimes there’s a reason why no one wants to be around him. They may have only been conjoined together for one night, but the connection builds after this episode.
Later on in season 5, when Ted is accused of stealing Brad’s birthday money in “Presumed Stupid,” Brad apologizes for jumping to conclusions with a sheepish grin. Ted responds, “I know.” It’s a subtle, lovely moment, even on a kids TV show.
The strength of Brad and Ted as a couple lies in Brown and Lascher’s acting, and also in the writing team that consisted of Graham Yost (Justified) and Lisa Melamed (Manhattan).
Since Brad and Ted, I evaluate most TV couples based on the Hey Dude scale. Some come close (Luke and Lorelei from Gilmore Girls), others not so close (Lily and Marshall from How I Met Your Mother), and others start out great and then get annoying (Jess and Nick from New Girl). But not one couple has a special place in my heart like Brad and Ted.