Sitcom Neighbors: The Good and the Bad

Like many Americans who live in a residential area, I have both good neighbors and bad neighbors. The people who live to my right do not talk much, but the man shares my enthusiasm for mountain biking. The guy to my left is a single dad like me, so we understand the issues and joys that come with that status. The woman who lives behind me is always the first to administer to my daughters when one of them gets a boo-boo or isn't feeling well.

Then there's the guy across the street. He is an ex-marine and owns every gadget that makes a lot of noise. He has a motorcycle and a big pickup truck as well as the old Mercedes he has been fixing up for ten years. One of my neighbors swears that he abuses his wife, and the law was there one time shortly before his eighteen year old son moved out. Another neighbor calls him Rambo because of his need to prove his machismo through his loud yard machines and gun collection.

Overall, I guess I should consider myself lucky. Of the four neighbors I mentioned, three of them are pleasant. That percentage is better than the neighbors in TV sitcoms. I would move if a couple like Fred and Ethel Mertz were in my life as much as they were in that of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. The minute my daughter befriended a neighbor as annoying as Kimmy Gibbler in Full House, I would most certainly have a For Sale sign on my front lawn.

Though many of the neighbors on sitcoms are annoying, I did manage to come up with a balanced list of both good and bad people who live next door to some of my favorite sitcom families.

The Worst:

Kramer on Seinfeld: The guy (played by Michael Richards) barges in whenever he wants. He borrows whatever he wants. He is unemployed. He shorted out all of the electricity in the building. Worst of all, he was best friends with Jerry's archenemy Newman.

Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched Undoubtedly the nosiest neighbor in TV history, Mrs. Kravitz (played by Alice Perace) was the real witch, even though Samantha Stevens was the one with magical powers. Kravitz frequently abused her husband and was constantly looking out the window toward the Stevens' home.

Marcy D'Arcy on Married with Children: Next door to the Bundy family resides this snooty professional woman, who constantly puts down their home, their kids, their hygiene, their jobs, and nearly everything else. Al usually gets her back, though, eve if he has to resort to calling her a chicken.

George Jefferson on All in the Family: George (played by Sherman Hemsley) had the misfortune to move next door the bigoted Archie Bunker. Before anyone could feel sympathy for him, viewers found out that George the African-American was just as bigoted, narrow and opinionated as his white neighbor.

Mr. George Wilson on Dennis the Menace: Granted, it would be a little tough living next door to a brat like Dennis Mitchell, but this old guy (played by Joseph Kearns) is way too crotchety. He should be enjoying his retirement rather than obsessing over his bird feeders, hedges, and lawn.

The Best:

Barney Rubble on The Flintstones: This wise-cracking neighbor (voiced by Mel Blanc) took a lot of verbal and physical abuse from Fred, but he remained upbeat and loyal even when the regrettable Gazoo was added to the series.

Ed Norton on The Honeymooners: Ralph Kramden's neighbor and best friend (played by Art Carney) worked in the city's sewers, but the worst holes he ever got stuck in resulted from going along with Ralph's weekly schemes.

Jefferson D'Arcy on Married with Children: Ted McGinley is the slick, unemployed second husband of Al Bundy's snooty neighbor Marcy. Jefferson often served as a comrade for Al, especially as a member of the "NO MA'AM," the National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood.

Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show: This friendly neighbor (played by Valerie Harper), a single woman like Mary herself, ended up moving out and getting her own show.

Wilson on Home Improvement: Tim's neighbor (played by Earl Hindman) always had great advice, even though his face remained concealed below the eyes.