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Love is a wonderful thing if you can find it, and it?s even better if you can maintain it. In science-fiction, however, love usually seems to be an easy casualty, and anyone falling in love on a sci-fi show has to know that death isn?t far behind.

What makes me bring this up? Well, honestly, my original idea for the 10 best kisses on sci-fi has been done to death, and I sadly no longer put much value on romance. So I took a look at different couples from the past 10 years on sci-fi television and found at least 10 whose ill-fate was sealed with a kiss.

While they are in no particular order, here is a sampling of 10 couples doomed from the beginning.

Wesley Wyndham-Pryce and Winifred "Fred" Berkle -- "Angel"
These two were meant for each other, and we knew that from the end of Season 2 of "Angel." We suffered with Wesley when his chance at being with the woman of his dreams is trampled on as Charles Gunn swooped in and swept Fred off her feet. We watched him in his loneliness and self-loathing as he continued to lose all he held dear, including the trust of Angel. Finally, in Season 5, Fred -- who was once again swept away from Wesley by the charming-but-evil Knox -- lets Wesley know she?s interested in him, complete with a long-awaited passionate kiss.

By the end of the next episode, Fred was dead. By the end of the season, so was Wesley.

Rupert Giles and Jenny Calendar -- "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
Here is where we learned Joss Whedon would mercilessly kill of beloved characters just as they became interesting. Jenny and Giles were going to become more than co-workers when Angelus killed her, and left her dead body waiting amidst rose petals in Giles? bed.

T?Pol and Trip -- "Star Trek: Enterprise"
This ill-conceived relationship, while quite intriguing and hot because Connor Trinneer and Jolene Blalock could have chemistry with an ironing board, was so contrived that both its beginning and end were almost embarrassing. The lame excuse for getting them together in their pajamas (Dr. Phlox ordering Trip to have T?Pol teach him how to de-stress) and then the adolescent way in which she blew him off after they became intimate is characteristic of the way The Killer B?s (Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, as our site founder Michael Hinman so famously named them a few years back) portrayed any kind of coupled relationship in all the Star Trek series. The relationships were always on-again, off-again, inconsistent, and exhibiting no loyalty on the part of one partner to the other.

"Terra Prime" was a fitting way to bring the relationship back in some form, but by "These Are The Voyages," Vulcan T?Pol is reduced to bemoaning the loss of their relationship and Trip is a cold heartless bastard to her. Then he ends up dead.

Capt. Jack Harkness and Capt. Jack Harkness -- "Torchwood"
It seems our hero, Capt. Jack Harkness, took his name from a doomed squadron commander, whom he actually meets in a pocket of 1941 that opens up in an old building. After failing to persuade the real Capt. Jack to spend one last night with the woman who appeared to be his sweetheart, our Capt. Jack learns that his Captain Jack would much rather spend that night with him.

The Doctor and Rose -- "Doctor Who"
The relationship between The Doctor and Rose was almost symbiotic. Here, The Doctor had a strong, loyal companion to travel through time and save the universe with. The two started to get so close, it was time to send her into a parallel universe before they actually ? merged.

While Rose didn't really die, she is on the records in this universe as being dead ? and the rift between the two dimensions supposedly can?t be opened again until it?s time to boost ratings with some stunt casting, which we'll sure see in the upcoming fourth season.

Starbuck and Apollo -- "Battlestar Galactica"
The sexual tension between these two was always palpable from the very first episode of the mini-series. Somehow, though, they lost their way, and ended up with other spouses. We finally got a glimpse of what happened to them in "Unfinished Business" where they got out all their issues by beating each other to pulps. And then she died. And then she came back. Stay tuned ?

Hurley and Libby -- "Lost"
It looked like Hurley was going to get lucky with tailie Libby, when once again, death paid a visit to the couple. In "Lost," until the coupling of Kate and Sawyer took place, nearly anyone who had sex on the island ended up dead within a day. While Hurley and Libby were only at the having-a-picnic stage, the die was cast most likely when actress Cynthia Watros got charged with drunken driving in Hawaii.

Zoe and Wash -- "Firefly/Serenity"
Here was a happy married couple -- something rare on a Joss Whedon production. We had to know one of them was doomed, because it?s Whedon?s life mission never to allow a couple to be happy for very long.

True to form, in "Serenity" we saw the sudden and tragic demise of the Washburns. The hearts of fans everywhere were also torn out of our chests.

Xander and Anya -- "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
As much as I?ve tried not to mention another Whedon creation, I can?t not mention the relationship of Xander and Anya.

What started out to be a casual fling for Xander with a pushy ex-demon, ended up being a mostly happy couple headed for the altar. On the day of the wedding, though, Xander reconsiders after having all his doubts brought to the forefront by a vengeful man-turned-demon hell-bent on destroying Anya. It worked, as Xander walks out on the wedding, leaving Anya devastated. The following season, the couple seemed to be on their way to reconciling, when the final Sunnydale apocalypse came and Anya ended up in pieces on the floor.

Ned and Chuck -- "Pushing Daisies"
Ned has been in love with his childhood sweetheart, Charlotte/Chuck, since he was 9 years old. He?s also responsible for the death of Chuck?s father. He can also bring back the dead, but only for a minute. If he leaves them alive for more than a minute, someone else has to die in their place. If he touches them again a a second time, they go back to being dead.

Ned is reunited with Chuck after not seeing her for years, when she is found dead ? strangled to death. Ned revives her to find out who killed her, and finds he doesn?t want to send her back to being dead. So he has Chuck alive, but he can never touch her. One touch will kill her again, but this time, forever. So while Chuck is alive, the relationship can?t be fully realized, because it would mean her certain death.

I?m sure I?ve overlooked a number of doomed romances in sci-fi, since I haven?t seen every single episode of every sci-fi/fantasy show that has aired in the past 10 years. So tell me, who have I left off the list? Visit our message boards by clicking here, or send me an e-mail at rbrownfield@airlockalpha.com.

"Ten Forward" is a monthly column by Robin Brownfield, a staff writer for Airlock Alpha out of New Jersey, celebrating the site's 10th anniversary.