Imagine this: A gorgeous, smart and witty man shows up in your living room, or perhaps even your bedroom, once a day or several times a week.
He doesn't leave dirty dishes in the sink or wet towels on the bathroom floor, and never looks anything other than incredible every time you see him. And unlike some of the guys you know in your "real life," he never makes wisecracks about your mother, your shoes or your weight.
Thing is, he doesn't know you're alive.
Actor
Patrick Dempsey stars in the TV hit "Grey's Anatomy" airing Thursdays on ABC.
(AP)
He's your TV Boyfriend.
We recently asked Sun-Times Lifestyles readers to tell us which guys on the small screen make them swoon -- and inspire them to move heaven and earth just to catch them on TV.
Thorsten Kaye, the dark-haired cutie who plays rich casino owner Zach Slater on "All My Children," was the top vote getter.
TV doctors were other favorites (think hotties
Mekhi Phifer and "Croatian Sensation"
Goran Visnjic from "ER," and both
McDreamy and
McSteamy from "Grey's Anatomy").
But readers also flip for everyone from Comedy Central's
Jon Stewart and
Stephen Colbert to crime fighters
Kiefer Sutherland ("24") and
Carmine Giovinazzo ("CSI: New York").
When inviting readers to choose their dream TV boyfriends, we didn't ask women whether they were single, married or otherwise involved. This is pure fantasy, girls.
"Part of what people like about TV and entertainment is it takes them out of their lives [so they can] be in another world for a while," says Sarah D. Bunting, who co-wrote
Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (and Hate to Love) About TV (Quirk Books, $15.95).
"Being in a world where you work with Patrick Dempsey [of 'Grey's Anatomy'] is not a bad state of affairs for a lot of people.
"A woman's TV boyfriend might be a bad boy who she wouldn't be into in real life. There's an escapism element to it."
Many women pick their TV boyfriends based on actual boyfriend attributes, such as being smart and having a sense of humor. But, she says, "some people just do want to gaze upon this man for 47 minutes. It's like watching a bad sitcom, but not asking too many questions."
And just as men dream about being with certain female actresses, "Women have the same fantasies. In a way, it shows they are a lot like guys," says David Zinczenko, editor in chief of Men's Health magazine and author of
Men, Love & Sex: The Complete User's Guide for Women (Rodale Books, $22.95). "Just because we think about someone else doesn't mean that we think less of our relationships."
But Zinczenko doesn't think "real men" have to worry about measuring up to their ladies' TV Boyfriends, even if these onscreen dudes have the benefit of makeup, fitness trainers and script writers to make them irresistible week in and week out.
Fortunately for guys, "Women are accepting of the fact that [real] men are to George Clooney what real women are to Halle Berry."
mjenkins@suntimes.com
Why your guy appeals to you
Ladies, what does your choice of a "TV Boyfriend" say about you?
We asked Sarah D. Bunting, co-author of Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (and Hate to Love) About TV
(Quirk Books, $15.95), for her take on these Sun-Times readers' dream guys:
Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart"
Bunting calls him "the thinking girl's sex symbol." The woman who digs him "is engaged politically, she's smart, pays attention to the world around her, and values humor and intellect as much as good looks."
Tucker Carlson, anchor of MSNBC's "Tucker"
"Maybe she likes a man who's contradictory. He's conservative with the bow tie, but has the floppy collegiate hair." Says he's got "a hint of a bad boy."
Jeff Probst, "Survivor"
His female fan "likes a challenge; she likes physical working out and also likes denim shirts, because he wears them all the time."
Kiefer Sutherland, "24"
If you're into his Federal Agent Jack Bauer character, you like "a man of action. [She's] not an overly romantic woman; she likes a man who knows his own mind and gets things done and prefers that over the lovey-dovey stuff."
Wentworth Miller, "Prison Break"
His real-world girlfriend "likes a smart guy. And [she] likes them a little bit rock 'n' roll, because he's covered in tattoos for the show. Likes a crafty guy with a plan. And she likes an element of danger."
Ice-T (above), "Law & Order: SVU"
She "likes a man in uniform, even though he never wears one" as Detective Fin Tutuola. "She likes a little bit of danger, likes a blue-collar guy. Not an opera fan, this woman."
Chris Noth, "Sex and the City" and "Law & Order"
"The girl likes a challenge and might be attracted to unavailable men." What's more, "she's very independent herself, not necessarily looking to get tied down, but might have some issues in finding someone to commit to her."
Gary Dourdan, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
A fan of forensics guy Warrick Brown "likes a guy who's a little brooding, a little dark. But he's sensitive, culturally aware, hot -- and tall. He looks like he would know a lot about jazz."
Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"
"The woman who likes McDreamy is kind of a masochist. He can't make up his mind. Maybe she needs to look past the skin-deep part and realize this is a toxic relationship and stand up for herself and her needs. Run away."
Maureen Jenkins
SOURCE: CHICAGO TIMES
He's definately my tv boyfriend.
Or Jesse Spencer...i think I like the House boys better
Do more people watch soaps than I know of? 
David Duchovny circa X-Files seasons 3-6 is a Hall of Famer. And I adore Patrick from Coupling. And Timothy Daly - the man is 50, can you believe it?
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