THE BUDDY SYSTEM

The evolution of the modern crimefighting team: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson: The originals. The Watson character began as merely an observer of Holmes’ near-magical deductive powers, but developed into Holmes’ partner. Nick and Nora Charles: The prototype of the fast-talking, wise-cracking male-female team. Introduced by Dashiell Hammett in his novel The

Thin Man, the pair became fully realized in a series of movies starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. Batman and Robin: The first notable crime-busting team to incorporate action with brainpower. Batman was introduced in comic books in 1939, Robin in 1940. Emma Peel and John Steed: Part of the British spy craze of the 1960s, this cool-as-Bond pair came to ABC in 1965 in the series The Avengers. Diana Rigg (now Olenna Tyrell in Game of

Thrones) played the stylish and slinky Mrs. Peel, the perfect counterpart to Patrick Macnee’s Steed. Sally and Stewart “Mac” McMillan: Before Susan Saint James left McMil

lan and Wife in a contract dispute, she and Rock Hudson made for a glamorous and effective crime-fighting team. Jennifer and Jonathan Hart: Hart to

Hart revived the Nick and Nora concept in a more family-friendly way (not counting all of those murders). The Harts, played by Stephanie Powers and Robert Wagner, were a rich married couple who solved crimes as a hobby. Laura Holt and Remington Steele: The first that most Americans saw of Pierce Brosnan was as the title character in this blend of romantic comedy and detective series. He was a charming con man; Stephanie Zimbalist was his more business-like partner. Maddie Hayes and David Addison:

Moonlighting was the third and most memorable of the 1980s detective-romance shows. Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis played the sparring lovers. Michael Hewitt