By Koh Hui Theng

AS ANYONE will tell you, the road to love and happily-ever-after never did run smooth.

But fear not. This week's Telly Buddy looks to different TV shows for tips on finding The One.

In The Ex-List, thirty-something florist Bella Bloom (Grey Anatomy's Elizabeth Reaser) has an extra incentive to get hitched.

That comes when a psychic tells her that she has already dated her future husband, and that she'll remain single for the rest of her life unless she locates him again within a year.

Bella embodies the frustration of the single girl by wailing: "I know I'm supposed to be all contented and whatever, but I want to get married!"

It's a hilarious ride as she re-visits the guys she had dumped, from a wannabe rock star to an exercise freak.

But the heart of the show lies in this simple message: Love is not about how hot someone is, or how fantastic their online profile looks. It's about how mutual interests and honest communication take you, fingers crossed, one step closer to the altar.

Now, sexed-up historical show The Tudors Season Two (which premiered earlier this month and is now in its encore telecast) teaches viewers about getting what you want, in a more conniving manner.

King Henry VIII (a bearded, bulked-up and intense Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a busy man. In between bedroom trysts, he's trying to get the world's first divorce from Catherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy).

Waiting in the wings to wed him is his mistress, Anne Boleyn (a nubile Natalie Dormer).

Dismissed as "the king's whore", Boleyn offers lessons on how to snare a guy.

She uses everything in her arsenal - like past lovers, in a bid to make Henry jealous - to try and boost her chances of an impending nuptial, which she gets in the end, to her own detriment.

In 16th-century England, the ability to produce a male heir was still key to marital bliss. And, there, Boleyn was not so lucky. (You know she gets beheaded, right?) Sigh, the hazards of patriarchy.

Thankfully, the stakes are less deadly in Korean music drama, Beethoven Virus.

The hit show - it swept seven awards at Korea's MBC Drama Awards last year - follows a ragtag, quirky group of musicians in their quest to form an orchestra.

The real reason to watch it, though, is the love triangle between violinist Du Ru Mi (Lee Ji Ah), trumpeter Kang Gun Woo (newcomer Jang Geun Seok), and a prickly conductor, also named Kang Gun Woo (Kim Myung Min).

The guys provide a couple of tips for those searching for love. Serenading the object of your affections with any form of musical prowess is always good.

Rescuing the object of your affections from the drudgery of household chores will hit all the right notes, too.

So, there you have it. Snagging The One requires communication and honesty, a little plotting and, perhaps, some housework. And I guess a little luck never hurt anyone, either.