White or Gold, Blue or Black? The TV Standoffs That Feel as Unsolvable as #TheDress Debate of 2015
The gold-and-white vs. blue-and-black dress debate rages on across the Internet, destroying once-healthy relationships and leaving a swath of confused bickering and Photoshop GIFs in its wake. A universally accepted answer as to what colors the dress really is may never be reached. Pop culture is made for these sorts of unwinnable battles over unimportant minutiae, and television is a territory especially prone to unending debates about subjective character actions and inconclusive endings. With each side entrenched and confident in the righteousness of their stance, these polarizing TV debates stand with the Great Dress Color Fight of 2015 as fights in which everyone is entirely right and entirely wrong at the same time.
Ross and Rachel's Break
In Season 3 of Friends, Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) relationship hit the skids. When she suggests they "take a break," a broken-hearted Ross takes the opportunity to hook up with the hot girl from the copy shop -- which is not what Rachel had in mind. Their different understandings of the nature of a break was the root of most conflict for the power couple. We may never come to a national consensus on whether "a break" means a full-on breakup or just a temporary relationship pause, but at least it gave them something to fight about.
Angel or Spike?
Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) spent most of her time saving the world, but certainly made time for plenty of romantic drama along the way. The fandom will forever be divided over whether the Slayer's soulmate was rock-and-roll bad boy Spike (James Marsters), the morally questionable king of the one-liners; or ever-brooding Angel (David Boreanaz), the soul-having vampire with a heart of gold.
Lost's Mysteries
Promises were made about revealing the truth about the island on which the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 encountered polar bears, smoke monsters and the mysterious Others (and then the Other Others.) Whether those promises were adequately met is another story.
The Sopranos Finale
Finding the right way to end a show as seminal as The Sopranos, was never going to be easy. In the final scene, mobster Tony (James Gandolfini) and his lower-case family settle into a restaurant booth, with Journey playing in the background and ... cut to black. The abrupt, ambiguous end had some viewers certain their cable was just on the fritz. David Chase's unsettling final moment of darkness left fans divided, but love it or hate it, we're still talking about it.
Dylan or Brandon?
The world of Beverly Hills 90210 brought us a decade of grappling with the choice of motorcycle-riding Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) or baby-faced Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley). It's always the redeemable bad boy versus the All-American good guy, isn't it?
Leno vs Letterman
Together, David Letterman and Jay Leno have ruled late night for years. Their reigns may be over, but it's likely the bickering over who's actually funny and who's a hack (depending on your comedic sensibilities) will never end.
