One recent evening, at a dinner with old college friends and their preteen daughter, the conversation turned to "Grey’s Anatomy."

"Do you think she’ll get back with Dr. McDreamy?" Connie, a CPA and college professor, asked, suddenly looking as dewy-eyed as the woman in question, Dr. Meredith Grey.

Before I could say a word, 11-year-old Tara started giggling. "McDreamy? McDreamy????" she said, incredulously.

Yes, we were being mocked, not by our husbands, mind you, but by the one person at the table who was of an appropriate age to be dishing about such silly things.

Alas, nothing can bring out the girl in a woman like television romances. And there are quite a few intriguing ones right now. For Valentine’s Day, I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 couples I’d like to see get together — eventually.

Unlike a movie — where the lovers fade into a hazy happily-ever-after, never to be seen wearing flannel to bed or arguing about toothpaste-squeezing — once a TV couple does get together, it’s usually the kiss of death for them.

So, we realize it’s necessary to sustain the tension as long as possible. But, like Dr. Ross and Nurse Hathaway on "ER," it’d be nice to see these couples wind up together in the end.

Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan and Agent Seeley Booth (Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz), "Bones": He teaches her social skills. She’s given him a new respect for science. They’re both gorgeous, the chemistry is great, and they already bicker like a long-married couple.

Susan Mayer and Mike Delfino (Teri Hatcher, James Denton), "Desperate Housewives": Though now apart, they’re clearly meant for each other. That was evident from their first meeting after Mary Alice’s funeral.

Gil Grissom and Lady Heather (William Petersen, Melinda Clarke), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation": The kinkiest couple, to be sure. Usually, nothing can drag Grissom away from his bugs, but this comely recurring dominatrix is an exception. This past week, Lady Heather and Gil didn’t have time for romance (her daughter had been murdered). But in the future, well, here’s hoping they have one.

Kate Austen and Jack Shephard (Evangeline Lilly, Matthew Fox), "Lost": Some people may still be rooting for Kate and very-bad-boy Sawyer, but ever since that moment in the pilot when Kate stitched up Jack’s wound, those two seemed destined for each other. Also, Jack loves to save people, and if they ever get back to civilization, he’d have quite a rescue mission in fugitive Kate.

Michael Scofield and Dr. Sara Tancredi (Wentworth Miller, Sarah Wayne Callies), "Prison Break": He’s an inmate. She’s the prison doctor. Can they possibly have a future? While treating Michael for (self-induced) high blood sugar, she noticed he’s not like all the other guys in the joint. He saved her from a marauding mob of prisoners and has tried to make a connection. Sure, they’d need a pardon to make it work. Good thing her father is the governor.

Jack Bauer and Audrey Raines (Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Raver), "24": This is probably too much to hope for since people who care for Jack tend to meet a bad end. In the plus column, their love survived the fact that he halted life-saving surgery on her estranged (and now dead) husband, Paul, and faked his own death.

Pam Beesly and Jim Halpert (Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski), "The Office": They’re adorable together, and her fiance, Roy, is such a lunkhead. The good news is that the comparable pair in the British version of "The Office," Dawn Tinsley and Tim Canterbury, ultimately did come together in the special that wrapped up the series. What prompted Dawn to see the light: Unlike her fiance, Tim encouraged her dreams of becoming an artist. Did you notice how recently in NBC’s "Office," fiance Roy pooh-poohed the idea of Pam taking a graphics-art internship, but Jim encouraged her to do it?

Agents Samantha Spade and Jack Malone (Poppy Montgomery, Anthony LaPaglia), "Without a Trace": Lately, Jack’s gotten close to Ann Cassidy (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), the beautiful widow of an old friend, although they hit a little rocky patch last week. And Samantha, of course, recently had a dalliance with Martin (Eric Close). But that’s over now, and Jack, married at the time of his affair with Sam, no longer has a wife. Clearly, there’s still something simmering between Jack and Sam. Even Montgomery has gone on record saying she thinks these two belong together.

Drs. Gregory House and Allison Cameron (Hugh Laurie, Jennifer Morrison), "House": Hold those rotten tomatoes, folks. I know this is not the popular choice of mates for House. He clearly adores ex-girlfriend Stacy (Sela Ward), but she’s married to someone else now. As for Cameron, many people find her wooden and way too gentle to hold her own with House. But, to borrow from Jerry Maguire, they could "complete" each other.

Drs. Meredith Grey and Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd (Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey), "Grey’s Anatomy": They’re one of the most intriguing TV couples ever, and they definitely have the most complicated back story:

In the pilot, she slept with a devastatingly cute guy named Derek, told him she didn’t want to do "the thing" ("exchange details, pretend we care"), then went off to her first day as a resident at Seattle Grace, only to discover that her new boss was her one-night stand — surgeon Derek Shepherd.

They continued their mad, passionate affair until Dr. Addison Shepherd (Kate Walsh) appeared. His wife.

As it turned out, the reason he’d left her — and New York City — was that she’d been having an affair with his friend. But now Addison’s sorry, and McDreamy decided to give reconciliation a chance.

But he’s admitted to Addison that Meredith was not just a fling; he fell in love with her. And the way Meredith and McDreamy look at each other says it all.

Last Sunday, the post-Super Bowl episode ended with a cliffhanger: Meredith was in jeopardy of getting blown up in one operating room, and when McDreamy, next door, realized she was in danger, he looked stricken.

Will this be their life-is-too-short-to-not-be-with-the-one-you-love wake-up call?

Sorry, Tara, but someday you’ll understand all this nonsense.

* * * Rohan’s riffs

Diagnosis, please: I’ve praised the extraordinary Emmy-winning "Three Stories" episode of "House" a few times since it premiered last May. Apparently, though, I didn’t fully understand what happened in that episode.

It left me with the impression that limping, pill-popping Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) had lost his leg during life-saving surgery. Imagine my surprise when, in this week’s episode, House steps out of the shower on two perfectly healthy-looking limbs.

Perhaps I’m alone in my misdiagnosis. But if not, here’s the scoop: According to a Fox representative, that surgery — which Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) proposed and House’s then-girlfriend Stacy (Sela Ward) OK’d while he was in a coma — removed a lot of dead tissue, but not the whole leg. (An aneurysm had clotted, restricting blood flow to House’s leg, which resulted in muscle-tissue death.)

In that episode, House, attributing his own story to a "patient," told medical students that so much muscle was removed it "severely compromised" the leg’s functioning and caused chronic pain. Wouldn’t it also have left his leg looking deformed, though?

Coming to a PC or iPod near you: Sadly, NBC yanked its promising "The Book of Daniel" recently after airing only three of its eight episodes. The drama, about an Episcopal priest and his family, was a victim of not-great ratings, lack of advertiser support and vigorous protests by Christian-right groups. A few NBC affiliates even refused to air the drama. Now, though, NBC is inviting people to catch the unaired episodes at nbc.com.

ABC, meanwhile, announced on Tuesday that it’s making three unaired episodes of its canceled "Night Stalker" available for purchase at the iTunes Music Store (itunes.com) for $1.99 per episode. The network had previously released seven other "Night Stalker" episodes on iTunes.

Not entirely super: It’s hard to argue with the ratings for last Sunday’s "Grey’s Anatomy." The episode drew 38.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched entertainment program following a Super Bowl since the Jan. 28, 2001, premiere of CBS’ "Survivor: The Australian Outback."

The down side, at least for this viewer: It wasn’t a typical "Grey’s Anatomy." I understand why the writers felt the need to amp everything up for such an important showcase, but what makes the show distinctive is its usual blend of lower-key comedy and drama.