Wedding March: Jim and Pam tie the knot

After five seasons of will-they-won't-they drama, Jim and Pam will officially tie the knot tonight on "The Office." Cute salesmen and receptionists everywhere have hope.

There aren't a lot of details about the wedding itself, except that it'll be at Niagara Falls with the entire "Office" crew there to make things awkward. Oh, and someone mispells Jim's name on the banquet hall as "Halpret," according to Entertainment Weekly. The teaser clips from NBC doesn't exactly reveal too much, either, although here's one that I found pretty hilarious.

Still, all this wedding talk got us thinking... will it be the same after the couple say "I do." What is it about a TV wedding that gets so many viewers to tune in? Is it the anticipation? The potential fallout? Should Jim and Pam get some advice from other great TV couples? Here are a few examples of couples that tied the knot on the screen for better or for worse of the show.

Niles and Daphne from "Frasier"

In many ways, Niles and Daphne were the Jim and Pam of their time. Niles nursed his long-time crush on Daphne, his father's physical therapist, but it took several seasons before he revealed his true feelings to her. Then, Daphne endured several seasons of unrequited love herself when Niles marries his girlfriend. On and on it went until the two finally tied the knot in Season 10, first in a secret ceremony and then with their family. It was cute, it was sincere and it didn't ruin the show.

Abby and Luka on "ER"

Technically it was a kind of an afterthought since Abby and Luka already had a kid, but who didn't want to see Abby's plucky nurse-turned-doc wed the handsome but troubled Croatian Luka? Symbolic of their entire relationship, the two are surrounded by colleagues and friends as they embraced marriage head-on. Troubled times lay ahead for the couple -- Abby's relapse into drinking and Luka's family troubles in Croatia -- but they stuck it out and survived a separation. They might not have had an aww factor, but their marriage was real.

Chandler and Monica from "Friends"

In a way, it was cute. Formerly fat, neurotic Monica finally finds her dream guy in dorky, funny Chandler. Finally, "Friends" had a likeable couple that weren't named Ross and Rachel. Then the two got hitched. Chandler got fatter -- and less funny -- and Monica got even more neurotic and annoying. The two snarkiest characters were reduced to he-said-she-said banter that spelled the end of the show.

Jesse and Rebecca on "Full House"

The smooth-talking, leather-jacket-wearin' Uncle Jesse was always the bad boy of the "Full House" gang. You know, the cool uncle (I mean, heck, he got tossed in the slammer on said wedding day!). Then he got married to Rebecca. It's not that I wasn't all for Uncle Jesse getting some, but come on -- what newlywed begs to to live in his brother-in-law's attic? More than that, what newlywed wife agrees to that? The show definitely went downhill after this union, and Uncle Jesse definitely lost a lot of street cred. Don't even get me started on the twins.

Turk and Carla on "Scrubs"

This marriage should have theoretically wrecked the bromance that was Turk and J.D., but it did not. Instead, Turk's marriage to Carla actually seemed to strengthen his bond with J.D. in some weird way. It wasn't easy either -- the couple hit a rough patch and endure a trial separation -- but came back together with intentions to have kids. In many ways, their marriage added a new dimension -- about parenting and relationships -- that didn't destroy the goofiness of the show.

George and Callie on "Grey's Anatomy"

Now there was a time I liked this show, watched it religiously even. But if I were to correctly pinpoint an event that lead to its major suckage, it would be the pointless marriage between George and Callie. Let's see... what happens after they get married? Oh, that's right, George cheats on Callie with his bff Izzie. Callie discovers she's a lesbian. And I stopped watching the show.

"The Office" airs a special one-hour episode tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC.

--Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com