My living room is 11 feet wide, and so my viewing distance is 11 foot minus the back of the sofa, minus the width of my head. I was also wondering about a 37'' plasma, but i'm so glad I went for the 42'', after about a day you get used to the size and I've already wonder if I should have got a 50''. Tell you missus shes just plain wrong and get yourself a 42'' you'll love it.
maybe you should actually tell her she makes a very good point, and you've considered her point of view but the offical view distance for a 42' plasma is 10 -12 feet and 12+feet is a 50'' (which is something I read somewhere, probably this forum).
If you get a 37'' you'll forever be wondering if a 42'' would have been better.
dont cut your viewing pleasure short - for next to no money you would get a lethally good 42 - the size disappears after a few days! then you wish to god you had gone bigger!!! I ahve a 50" in my 12x 12 room and its cool..hang it on the wall.
Yes it amuses me now how when people see my 42 plasma for first time they are shocked by what to me now looks perfectly normal. For first day or so your eyes rove round the screen then you adapt and are so glad you didn't do what seemed sensible in shop and opt for 37 inch!
Size does matter in delivering the pleasure of the more cinematic experience that's now available with a high quality large screen and a decent sound set-up - otherwise you just have a loud TV! So long as you're not sitting so close that you can't see flaws in the picture (function of size highlighting lack of detail in standard definition TV) then I'm sure you'll be glad you went for 42inch. It's a matter of getting out of the mindset forged by years of convetional CRT TV where 26" was 'big'.
I would say Panasonic but then I would be biased If you're after a panel only then take a look at the TH-37PW7, if you want a full TV solution then Panny have two forthcoming models that are worth a look... TH-37PE50 (852x480 Standard Definition) or the TH-37PV500 (1024x720 High Def). You might also want to consider Hitachi, Sony, Philips who also do 37" plasmas, best view as many as possible and let your eyes tell you which one is best. As the others have suggested make sure you really want a 37" over a 42" before making a decision, it might be worth making cardboard templates to see if your room (or wife) will be suited to 42". I am one of those that plumped for a 37" plasma and don't regret it for a second but then I traded up from a 24" 4:3 CRT.