Betty and Veronica/Live-Action TV

Examples of Betty and Veronica in Live-Action Shows!

A

• The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. Done Aborted Arc style, where the pilot introduces both the scholarly Amanda Wickwire (Betty) and saloon girl Dixie Cousins (Veronica) in what would seem to be an obvious set-up for a series love triangle. However, the chemistry between Brisco and Dixie was so immediate and obvious that the production team dropped Amanda for the rest of the series, even though her inventor father would appear throughout the series.
• Ally McBeal: Every third episode had this plot, either for Ally or one of her clients.

B

• Battlestar Galactica (2004). A double-sided version: Starbuck is torn between golden boy Lee (Betty) and ex-athlete/resistance fighter Sam (Veronica), while she herself is the Veronica to Lee, with Dee as his Betty.
  • And of course Dee herself has a Betty (Billy) and a Veronica (Lee Adama).
• Pictured above: Beverly Hills, 90210 had Dylan (the '90s James Dean) choose between Brenda (Betty) and Kelly (Veronica). Some seasons later, Kelly had to choose between Dylan and Brandon (Mr. Nice Guy). Briefly Brandon was torn between Kelly (Betty) and ex-flame Emily (Veronica), but the latter was a guest star, so the conclusion may have seem somewhat foregone, although it had lasting consequences.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow was the Betty to Xander's Archie. She was a genuine love interest for Xander, but he was far more drawn, in different ways, towards two different Veronicas: Buffy and Cordelia. (This being Joss Whedon, when Xander finally started to return Willow's interest, it trashed his relationship with Cordelia, nearly trashed Willow's relationship with Oz, and did not lead to Xander and Willow living together happily ever after.)
  • Buffy and Faith had a strong Betty and Veronica vibe going, although the guy playing Archie changed regularly. Xander, Angel, Riley, Spike, and Robin all took turns - usually fairly brief - in the Archie seat. For those keeping score, Buffy was simultaneously the Veronica to Willow's Betty and the Betty to Faith's Veronica. There's probably a lesson here.
  • Also subverted in early seasons in that Cordelia, an obvious Veronica, was interested in a seemingly willfully oblivious Angel, who only had eyes for Betty: the "good girl" Buffy (who's actually much more physically dangerous at this point, being the Slayer and whatnot).
  • A gender-flipped Angel example: Fred (Archie) had to choose between the tough, street-smart former gang leader Gunn (Veronica) and the bookish, nerdy Smart Guy Wes (Betty). Eventually, she chose her Veronica, then broke up with him, turned to her Betty, died, became an ancient goddess, nearly killed both of them (one inadvertently), then Wes died. Long story.
  • Wesley had this vibe with his Dating Catwoman relationship with Lilah Morgan, versus his crush on Fred. Eventually he dumps Lilah for Fred, only to have his chances killed prematurely when Fred finds out about Lilah. Wes starts a brief relationship the following year, only for Fred to get killed.
  • Willow was also Oz's Betty, as opposed to sexy werewolf Veruca. Betty wins, but then Oz leaves, realising that he's a danger to people and has to go figure out his condition before he can be around her.
  • In season 8, Willow's girlfriend Kennedy was her Betty, with Willow's mentor/lover Aluwyn, the snake lady from a magical dimension, as Veronica.

C

• Chuck: For one or two episodes, Chuck has to choose between CIA Action Girl Sarah (Veronica) and sweet deli owner Lou (Betty). Later, there's a Gender Flip example when Sarah has to choose between Chuck (Betty) and her spy ex-boyfriend Bryce (Veronica).
• Community episode "Pascal's Triangle Revisited" ends with Jeff (Archie) struggling to make a decision after both Britta (Britta) and Professor Slater (Veronica) confess their love for him. He ends up taking a Third Option Love Interest in Annie (Cheryl).
  • Jeff as the Archie to Annie (Betty) and Britta (Veronica) in Community season 2.

D

• Dark Shadows: The original supernatural soap opera has Friendly Neighborhood Vampire Barnabas Collins is torn between the memory of his fiancee, Josette du Pre, a Betty type, and the Veronica type (to the max) Angelique, the witch who gave him the vampire curse. At the end he gets over his torch for Josette, and avows to Angelique that he loves her. She is then killed (albeit not for very long), and Barnabas ends up with neither.
• Dawson's Creek: Joey is at first the Betty to Dawson's Archie, while Jen is the Veronica. Later on, the gender roles switch and Dawson becomes the Betty to Joey's Archie, with Pacey as the Veronica.
• Degrassi the Next Generation has a gay (male) Betty and Veronica played straight—one boyfriend is a timid neat freak, and the other one is clueless and selfish.
  • Later on, KC is stuck in a Love Triangle with his girlfriend Clare (prudish and low-key) and new girl Jenna (upbeat and perky).
  • JT had a discussion with Toby about whether he should go back to Liberty who's like oatmeal or stick with new flame Mia who's as exciting a meatball sub. Unfortunately, we never got to see how this would have played out.
• Dexter has sensible, kind (and blonde) Rita as Betty to dark-haired, dangerous, manipulative former addict Lila as Veronica. Interestingly, as he is a sociopathic serial killer, he'd likely be just as happy without either of them - but he needs them as cover.
• Dobie Gillis had a revolving cast of pretty, money-hungry Veronicas, most notably Thalea Menninger. His constant and loving Betty was the somewhat tomboyish Zelda Gilroy.
• In Series 5 of Doctor Who, the Doctor is the Veronica to Rory's Betty and Amy's Archie. Uniquely, the Veronica is an avid Shipper on Deck for Betty/Archie and is quite happy to take themselves out of the equation.
• Dollhouse: Mellie (Betty), Paul (Archie), and Echo (Veronica). Subverted in that Mellie turns out to be a sleeper active planted by the Dollhouse.

E

• Engine Sentai Go-onger seems to fit this trope, as it features Sousuke as Archie to the sweet, unspoiled Saki (Betty) and the wealthy, shallow drama queen, Miu (Veronica).
  • Choujin Sentai Jetman has Kaori in a love triangle with Troubled but Cute Ryuu (Betty) and Jerk with a Heart of Gold Gai (Veronica). She marries Ryuu in the Where Are They Now? Epilogue, while Gai gets knifed to death on his way to the wedding. Oh dear.

F

• Friends: The third season has Ross choosing between Rachel (Betty) and Bonnie (Veronica). They're both blonde, but the trope still applies as Rachel was his best friend, on-again-off-again ex-girlfriend and the woman he'd been in love with since his teenage years and Bonnie was the exotic hypersexual newcomer. Subverted in an early episode where Phoebe has to choose between a bulky fireman and a sweet schoolteacher, only to find out both of them were both athletic and sensitive (i.e. not too different after all).
  • The second season love triangle between Ross, Rachel and Julie can also be seen as being an example of this. Although arguably, sweet, harmless Julie would be the Betty, with Rachel as the previously unattainable Veronica.
• Fringe: Peter was arguably the Archie to Fauxlivia's Veronica and Olivia's Betty. Of course, Fauxlivia only became a love interest for Peter because she was pretending to be Olivia, but she was definitely the more exotic option.

G

• General Hospital: An interesting version (a very standard Soap Opera plot, as a matter of fact), which had Jagger being torn between Karen (The Betty) and Brenda (The Veronica). However, in this case, the trope is subverted, because (a) not only is the Veronica more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold than an outright bitch, it's she who futilely struggled to get Jagger's attention while the Betty had Jagger's undying love and devotion. Furthermore, the rebellious bad boy Jagger himself was the Veronica while Karen was undecided between him and golden boy Jason (the Betty), and this time, the trope is played straight, as Karen eventually dumped Jason for Jagger.
• Gilligan's Island: Of course, this series has the perennial question of "Ginger or Mary Ann?", where Ginger is the Veronica and Mary Ann is the Betty. However, this one didn't involve an actual love triangle between the characters - it was more of a perennial debate among viewers/fans of the show. See also Bailey and Jennifer of WKRP.
• Gilmore Girls lives on this trope. In the first season, Rory is dating sweet, safe Dean (Betty) and being pursued by rich jerk Tristan (Veronica). When Tristan is Put on a Bus, the Veronica mantle is taken up by bad boy intellectual Jess. When Rory goes to college, she has to choose between Nice Guy Marty and wealthy alpha male Logan. After Rory chooses Logan, Jess returns, having turned himself around, and becomes the Betty to the new Veronica.
• Glee has Rachel as Betty and Quinn as Veronica to Finn's Archie.
  • This is subverted in the episode "Original Songs," when Quinn explains to Rachel that, however things might appear, she, Quinn, is actually the girl-next-door whom Finn will end up settling for, and Rachel is really the unattainable fantasy dream-girl.
  • Also Finn (Betty) and Puck (Veronica) to Quinn (Archie), Rachel's Archie to Finn (Betty) and Jesse (or Puck) as Veronica.
  • And then there's Brittany being the Archie to Artie's Betty and Santana's Veronica. It's a bit of a Tear Jerker though, since Santana confessed her feelings to Brittany and Brittany chooses Artie instead.
  • And later Blaine is the Archie to Kurt's Betty and Sebastian's Veronica. So far, he's loyal to Kurt, but never really turned down Sebastian's advances.
  • Then there's the unusual Cooter/Beast/Sue triangle with Sue as the Veronica or the "tall, pretty blond" as Beast puts it.
• Gossip Girl has used this several times, most effectively with Blair having to choose between Nate (Betty) and Chuck (Veronica).
  • Quite ironically, during the first season, both Chuck and Nate were 50/50 Betty and Veronica: Chuck was the bad boy but was always there for Blair; Nate was the cute soulmate-type but in reality he'd cheated on her and was still in love with Serena.
  • Perhaps a better example (though not nearly as popular) is the way Vanessa acted as Betty for Dan, while Serena, Georgina and the Hillary Duff character were Veronica's, the latter being the one who pointed out how Dan had developed feelings for Vanessa.
  • Blair is the Veronica to Serena's Betty, with Nate as their Archie during Season 1. It could be argued that since Serena slept with Nate while he was dating Blair it technically makes her the floozy other woman (read: Veronica), but Blair is continuously the scheming mean girl to Serena's sunny, sweet do-gooder and their natures are constantly clashing. Not to mention strict adherence to color coding.
• Grey's Anatomy: Male version. For a little while, Meredith (Archie) hesitates between dark haired McDreamy Derek (more of a Veronica) and the nice McVet Finn (a complete Betty).
• Grimm: Looks like Rosalee will become Monroe's Betty while Angelina is clearly his Veronica.
  • Conversely Juliet would be the Betty and Ariel would be the Veronica to Nick.

I

• In iCarly, the titular character is the Betty to Freddie's Archie and Sam's Veronica.

H

• How I Met Your Mother had several Love Triangles involving this trope. It also enjoyed having the Betty be the newcomer instead of Veronica.
  • Season 1 has Ted (Archie), Robin (Veronica), and Victoria (Betty).
  • In season 4, Stella is torn between Ted (Betty) and her ex-husband Tony (Veronica). She chose Tony. On the day that she was to marry Ted.
  • Much of the first half of season 7 revolves around the love triangle between Barney (Archie), Robin (Veronica), and his new girlfriend Nora (Betty).
  • Around the same time, Robin finds herself in the Archie role when she must choose between Barney (Veronica) and her new boyfriend Kevin (Betty).
  • Season 8 has Barney (Archie), Robin (Veronica), and Patrice (Betty). Subverted when it's revealed that Patrice was playing along in one of Barney's Batman Gambits to get with Robin.

K

• Kamen Rider Kiva gave Otoya Yuri (Betty - although more "troubled" than most examples) and Maya (Veronica) in 1986, while in the present day Mio is torn between old friend Wataru (Betty) and her foredestined husband Taiga (Veronica.) In both cases, the "Archie" figure dies.
  • Kamen Rider Double gave Akiko Ship Tease with both Shotaro (Betty) and Ryu (Veronica.) Veronica won.
• Kyle XY: There's a clear example with Amanda, Kyle's neighbor who's easy to talk to and plays the piano in a way that touches Kyle, compared to the heartless and ruthless Jessi.
  • Also Charlie is the Archie who cheats on his virginal girlfriend with the vivacious blonde and thus ends up losing both Betty and Veronica.

L

• Lincoln Heights has the love triangle involving Charles (Archie), with Cassie as the (Betty) and Sage as the (Veronica). Also featured was Johnny Nightingale (Betty) and Devon (Veronica) for Lizzie (Archie).
• Lost: Jack (Betty), Sawyer (Veronica), and Kate (Archie). But in season five, it becomes: Juliet (Betty), Kate (Veronica) and Sawyer (Archie).
• Lost Girl has a bisexual version with female succubus Bo (Archie) having to choose between Dyson (werewolf and Veronica) and Lauren (human and Betty). That's at the start. Lines become more blurred as the season progresses

M

• Mad Men has shown instances of two such pairings. At work is the non-relationship version with simple, hardworking Peggy (Betty, or Mary Ann, if you prefer) contrasted to sultry, flirtatious Joan (Veronica, or Ginger). Outside of the office Don Draper's relationships tend to follow this pattern as well with wife Betty being cut more from the Veronica mold (cold, emotionally distant, former model) while most of Don's mistresses are typically more Betty-like.
• Merlin: Lancelot du Lac (aka Lancelot brought back from the dead) is the Veronica to Gwen's Archie, with Arthur as Betty.
• My So-Called Life: Brian Krakow is the love-struck, blonde boy next door (Betty). The protagonist Angela Chase (Archie) just can't see him because she's too busy lusting after bad boy Jordan Catalano (Veronica). Luckily, Brian and Jordan are Color Coded for Your Convenience.
  • Given MSCL's unusual complexity (for a teen show), there was another, even more subtle one with Brian himself, with Sharon as Betty and Rayanne as Veronica. This essentially went nowhere as Sharon already has a love interest and Rayanne is a little too complicated for Brian to handle.
  • Far more blatant was Brian's dynamic in "Life of Brian", between the new girl Delia (Betty) and his long-held lust with Angela (Veronica). In true MSCL fashion, he ends up killing any chance of a relationship with Delia for just a whiff of a notice from Angela.

N

• The Nanny is a show told from the point of view of a Veronica. Fran is the wild, lower-class "risky" option that Maxwell falls for, whereas his business partner, C.C. Babcock, is the "safe" Betty option. Of course, the Love Triangle only exists in C.C.'s mind, but that's besides the point.
  • C.C. herself is the Archie in a triangle with Maxwell (Betty) and Niles (Veronica). Like Maxwell, she eventually chooses the Veronica; as noted, the Betty wasn't the least bit interested, so that was probably a factor.
• Neighbours: Lampshaded in an episode, when Donna is working through her feelings for Ringo (Betty) and Andrew (Veronica). She and Kate mention several examples of this kind of triangle, including Blair, Nate and Chuck, Buffy, Riley and Angel, and Archie, Betty and Veronica. Amusingly, Kate doesn't recognise the last one.
• 90210 (2008) where love triangles abound:
  • Ethan has to choose between his on-again-off-again girlfriend Naomi and the newcomer Annie; when he chooser her, it's Annie's turn as she's torn between Ethan and her ex from Kansas; later on, Ethan develops feelings for Rhonda (the new Betty) and finally for Erin Silver, who in turn has to choose between him and Dixon (the white WASP jock with a newfound sentimental side vs the black official boyfriend who's also the new kid in town).
  • During the second season, it's Adrianna choosing between Teddy and Navid (the blond jock womanizer vs the Iranian-American brunette nerd with a crush on her since childhood), and later on it's Silver choosing between Teddy and Dixon (the former having become a Betty and the latter now being manipulative and Machiavellian).
  • Liam was also Veronica in season one (with Ethan being Betty and Naomi being Archie) and became Archie in season 2 (with Naomi being Veronica and Ivy being Betty).

O

• The OC: Unusually it had Cool Loser Seth end up with popular, beautiful, initially uninterested Summer (Veronica) while the seemingly kindred spirit Anna (Betty) was quickly dropped.
• The Office (US): Season 3 had Pam (Betty) and Karen (Veronica) vying for Jim's affections.
• One Tree Hill: Lucas (Archie) continues to flip between Peyton (Betty) and her best friend Brooke (Veronica), ultimately choosing Peyton.

P

• Power Rangers RPM has a gender flipped version: Action Girl Summer is torn between Hero and by-the-book Scott (Betty) and the brooding cyborg Lancer Dillon (Veronica).
  • This is also Lampshaded outright by Dr. K (of all people):

"I understand your dilemma. You find Ranger Series Red attractive because he represents the guy who can give you solid security: the boy next door, trustworthy, responsible, the kind you'd take home to mother. At the same time, you're hopelessly drawn to the excitement and danger of Ranger Series Black: the tortured and mysterious bad boy you think you can save."

• Private Practice has also used this often, most obviously with Violet as the Betty, Charlotte as the Veronica, and Cooper as the Archie.

R

• Riverdale, being a Live Action Adaptation of Archie Comics, plays with this:
  • While one would expect the traditional players in their traditional roles, Betty is Archie's Unlucky Childhood Friend. In Season 1, Miss Grundy acts as Archie's Veronica while Veronica is his Betty.
  • Jughead as the Betty and Archie as the Veronica to Betty's Archie.
  • Betty as the Betty and Toni as the Veronica to Jughead's Archie.
  • Archie as the Betty and Reggie as the Veronica to Veronica's Archie.
• Robin Hood: The BBC series had (in its third season) the aristocratic Isabella as the Veronica, and peasant girl Kate as the Betty. The twist? Robin ends up with the Third Option Love Interest; Marian, who was killed at the close of season 2 and who he is reunited with after his own death in the series finale.
  • On the same show, in earlier seasons, Marian had the choice between Robin and Guy, who could fit into either trope. Guy was conservative and law-abiding (Betty) but also dangerous and tortured (Veronica), whereas Robin was an outlaw and a thief (Veronica) but also Marian's childhood sweetheart (Betty).
  • A final example: Djaq had her choice between amoral, thieving Allan-a-Dale (Veronica) and straightlaced, sensitive Will Scarlett (Betty).
    • In all examples, the Betty wins.

S

• Scrubs does this quite a few times. First Dr Cox has to choose between his pregnant ex-wife Jordan (Betty), and Julia, the young, desired pharmaceutical saleswoman (Veronica). Played again when JD chooses between Elliot, one of his best friends, who needs comforting when a truck filled with her belonging is stolen (Betty) and Lisa, the pretty gift-shop girl (Veronica). And again when Elliot chooses between JD, her nerdy friend, who she's had an on-again off-again realtionship with, (Betty), and her hunky, dolphin-trainer boyfriend, Shaun (Veronica). Also, Played for Laughs Turk continually has to choose between spending time with either; JD his dorky best friend (Betty) or his wife, Carla, the sexy Latina nurse (Veronica). He always picks JD.
• Smallville:
  • In the early seasons, in a gender-switched version, Lana is Archie with Clark as Betty and Whitney as Veronica even though Lana didn't want Whitney because he was a great football star and couldn't seem to see just how dangerous he was.
  • Lois Lane is the Veronica, though she acts like a Betty, to Clark's Archie and Lana's Betty, who likewise acts like a Veronica.
• South of Nowhere is unique in that it features a "Betty" and "Veronica" lesbian romance - a blonde "girl next door" who falls for her troubled, petulant, dark-haired friend - with no "Archie" in the middle, after the first few episodes.
  • Season 3 features an interesting dynamic. There's a triangle between Spencer, Ashley and Aiden. Which is which is unclear.
  • There's also Spencer with Ashley (Betty) and Carmen (Veronica).
• Supergirl:
  • Kara is the Archie to Winn's Betty and James' Veronica with Barry Allen as Cheryl Blossom. She chose James but the ship sank pretty quickly.
  • James is the Archie to Lucy's Betty and Kara's Veronica. Lucy is the one who ends this and encourages James to pursue a relationship with Kara.
  • Mon-El is the Archie to Kara's Betty and Imra's Veronica. Ultimately, he decides to tap out of this trope and is quite happy for it.
  • The backstory for the series suggests that Cat Grant was the Veronica to Clark Kent's Archie and Lois Lane's Betty. Cat is a Graceful Loser but she still likes to flirt with Clark. And really, who wouldn't?
• Switched at Birth has set this up with Daphne (Betty) declaring her feelings for Emmett (Archie), who in turn professes to only want Bay (Veronica). Complete with original trope-maker hair colours.

T

• That 70s Show: While it never comes up as a matter of potential relationships the character dynamic is still in full swing and played straight with literal the girl-next-door Donna (Betty) and Jackie (Veronica).
• 30 Rock plays this trope straight for the second half of the fourth season with Jack (Archie) trying to choose between Nancy Donovan (Betty), a devout Irish Catholic and single mother who was his high school crush and Avery Jessup (Veronica), the fast-talking host of a political talk show who begins her relationship with Jack as a one-night-stand and whom Jack eventually chooses after learning that she is pregnant. There's even an explicit reference to this trope when Nancy doesn't think it's possible to be in love with two people at the same time, and Jack says, "It's possible. Haven't you ever read Archie comics?"
• To Catch The Uncatchable. In the Hong Kong comedy drama, female lead Vivi was torn between choosing between her sweet, handsome but dull and clueless personal trainer Jim and Detective Mok, who's snarky, smart and enjoys teasing Vivi but incredibly loyal and always helps her out in a tight spot. She lampshades to Detective Mok at one point, comparing the two to food. Jim was a plain tofu while Detective Mok was a tofu with more filling.
• Tomica Hero Rescue Fire had Ritsuka (Archie) caught between Tatsuya (Betty) and Tsubasa (Veronica). It's left open in the finale - the boys wrestle over Tama-chan's wedding bouquet so that one of them can marry Ritsuka, but Jun rescues the flowers and gives them to her. We then see that Tsubasa is still hung up on her and carries her picture with him, but Ritsuka is very happy when Tatsuya sends a letter.
• Torchwood has one, involving Rhys Williams as the Betty: Gwen (Archie) has to choose between Jack (Veronica) and Rhys (Betty). (Owen might also be a Veronica.) By the end of series 2, she'd chosen Rhys/Betty and during series 3 and 4 the love triangle virtually ceased to be.
• True Blood has a male version, with Sookie (as an Archie) having to choose between her brunette boyfriend Bill (as Betty) and the Big Bad blonde Eric (as Veronica).

U

• Ugly Betty: In "A League of Their Own", Marc St James meets Cliff who he clicks with but asks a nameless (very hunky) model out instead, before being confronted by Cliff who was trying to ask him out
• The original V took this up to Evil Is Sexy levels with earnest blonde Resistance leader Julie (Faye Grant) and gerbil-swallowing brunette vamp Visitor leader Diana (Jane Badler).

V

• Veronica Mars, there's several instances of this throughout the entire series. Duncan (Betty)-Veronica-Logan (Veronica). Veronica (Veronica)-Duncan-Meg (Betty). Piz (Betty)-Veronica-Logan (Veronica). Even Wallace gets his brief moment of Love Triangulus. Not to mention, Weevil and a certain dead girl and their involvement in a past-tense love triangle, an example which is especially adequate for this trope.
  • Try not to be confused by the fact that the female lead's name is actually Veronica. The writers lampshaded the fact by having Veronica assume a different identity, using the name "Betty" as an alias when she needed to infiltrate a rival school (and claims to have come from a Riverdale High).
    • And ironically while as Betty she dresses preppy a la Veronica.
  • And all that doesn't cover the relationships of their parents. Between Celeste Kane (Veronica)/Jake Kane (Archie)/Lianne Mars (Betty), Jake Kane (Veronica)/Lianne Mars (Archie)/Keith Mars (Betty), and Lianne Mars (Veronica)/Keith Mars (Archie)/Alicia Fennel (Betty), you've got this trope everywhere in the series. Interestingly, All three of these were resolved by the single action of a 3rd party: Veronica(Mars) sending her own mother out of town to protect her father.
• Victorious:
  • The first two and a half seasons reek of this with Beck as the Archie with Jade and Tori respectively filling in the roles of Betty and Veronica. It's amusing because Jade, the established girlfriend, has the personality of a Veronica while Tori, the mysterious newcomer, acts as a Betty. Tori Goes Platinum ultimately subverts it. Beck and Jade may have thought that Beck/Tori was an option but Tori never saw herself as a love interest for Beck.
  • Jade is a confusing character on the best of days but some of her attitudes hint that she's the Archie to Beck's Betty and Tori's Veronica. The trope is called Psycho Lesbian for a reason.

W

• The West Wing: Josh Lyman's assistant Donna (Betty) falls for him, while Josh (Archie) falls for political loose cannon Amy Gardner (Veronica). However, Josh is also a clueless Genius Ditz who has no idea that Donna is in love with him and is in denial about his own feelings, so he has absolutely no reservations about courting Amy, thereby making poor Donna's plight even worse.

Y

• The Young and The Restless has been doing this for the past few years with Nick Newman (Archie) and his current wife Phyllis (a red-haired Veronica) and his ex-wife Sharon (Betty). Although It appears Phyllis has left Nick for good because she's tired of fighting with Sharon over him.

Z

• The final season of Zoey 101 featured Zoey as the Archie to Chase's Betty and James' Veronica. Uniquely, the Betty and the Veronica never met nor were they ever shown to be aware of the other.

• Reality TV dating shows in which a host of women try to win a man's heart will often set up the final two female candidates for the male's affections as this. Examples are Trista (Betty) and Amanda (Veronica) on the first season of The Bachelor and Paige (Betty) and Erin (Veronica) on the first season of For Love Or For Money.