(FORTUNE Small Business) – Oscar and Felix's contentious relationship made for great TV comedy. But bickering with your business partner isn't a laughing matter. Signs that your relationship's going from sitcom to prime-time drama:

1. Survivor scenarios You know there's trouble when the office begins to feel like a corporate version of Survivor. Partners begin to talk behind one another's back, and competing alliances pop up among the cubicles. "Deep down somewhere we are all of tribal ancestry," says Talane Miedaner, author of Coach Yourself to Success (McGraw-Hill, $14.95). "When things between two partners become unstable, they may try to create communities of their own."

2. Tuning out Business partners are a lot like married couples, says Miedaner. "If one wants to have kids and the other doesn't, that's a [deal breaker]. They need to have a shared realization of what their relationship is about." If your arguments move from the micro to the macro, it may be time to throw in the towel. Or just change the channel.

3. Office ER If tension is starting to take a toll on your health, it might be time to realize that the show just can't go on. "People can become so stressed out from working with someone that they develop a physical aversion to work," says Karen Cates of the Kellogg School of Management. --Angela Marek