"Don't whisper — yell at me," Coach Eric Taylor retorted during a recent episode of "Friday Night Lights," after his wife, Tami, proved once again during a quiet, intense fight that she's the wiser half.

It was a funny line in its delivery, but it also highlighted a relationship that works for better and for worse, and has been heralded by critics and fans as the best portrayal of a marriage on television.

As played by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, Eric and Tami Taylor are not typical TV spouses. They argue without bickering. They support without resenting. And they are loyal instead of dishonest.

Chandler, 42, who is married and has two daughters, says the secret to the success of the Taylor marriage has little to do with the romantic part of the couple's relationship.

"A marriage is a bond between two people, and a friendship," Chandler said. "The way we do it, I think, is that the marriage part is secondary to the friendship between the two characters."

The couple's steady give-and-take is one of the cornerstones of a series built around the life of a town in which high school football means everything. "Friday Night Lights," which was created by Peter Berg, has a loyal audience of 6.2 million.

"I was afraid my character was going to be a supplemental, supporting good wife again," said Britton, 39. "But Pete said he wanted to do what he couldn't do in the movie — explore this role and this relationship. To me, what makes it special and what makes it unique on television is that it's a partnership. Any conflict that comes up we deal with, but that doesn't break the foundation of the partnership."