Penny (The Big Bang Theory)
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The Big Bang Theory just wouldn’t have worked with Penny. The character is fundamentally on the opposite end of the spectrum of Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj in nearly every conceivable way. Attractive and socially capable while they are stereotypical nerds, lacking in higher education versus the boys’ vast collection of post-graduate degrees — Penny is a waitress at Cheesecake Factory with dreams of acting which is borderline antithetical to the academic and scientific world of CalTech. While she can be the butt of some jokes, she is also hugely useful in checking the egos of her next-door neighbors. The will-they-won’t-they between her and Leonard is a tired TV trope, but The Big Bang Theory managed to freshen it up in many ways.
Marcy Rhoades/D’Arcy (Married With Children)
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Though Marcy was effectively Peggy’s best friend, she worked best as a character whenever she fell into Al’s orbit. An educated, successful woman who believes in feminism and protecting the environment, Marcy often found herself in direct opposition to many of Al’s hair-brained schemes and chauvinist beliefs.
Marcy had two husbands for the series, also opposites. Steve Rhoades was a hugely successful but overbearing man while Jefferson D’Arcy was a pretty boy layabout who delighted in living as a kept man to a more powerful woman. Actress Amanda Bearse had great chemistry with both actors and was an excellent foil to Ed O’Neill’s Al Bundy.
Ethel Mertz (I Love Lucy)
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In addition to being the best friend of the titular Lucy, Ethel Murtz is also her landlady having purchased the brownstone where the show is set with her husband Fred. Despite having previously been a vaudeville performer, Ethel is seemingly content with living her life as a housewife and is lovingly devoted to her husband. Her loyalties are often tested when she inevitably gets sucked into one of Lucy’s schemes, and their plan tends to unravel once Ethel confesses to Fred who then relays the information to Ricky. Still, as far as landlords go we could all be so lucky than to have to cut a monthly check to the Murtz’s.
Mr. Feeny (Boy Meets World)
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It is something to look at the incredible journey through teaching that Mr. George Feeny enjoyed to remain a constant presence in the lives of the young Matthews brothers and their cohorts. From a humble grade school teacher to the high school principal and then finally as a professor at Pennbrook University, all of this in addition to being their next-door neighbor — Cory, Eric, and even occasionally their father Alan were all able to turn to the venerable academic whenever they required kind words, tough truths or just a fresh perspective. He’ll even throw in a couple of gardening tips if that’s something that you’re into.
Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)
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Homer Simpson has a real love-hate relationship with his oldest and closest neighbor. Sometimes, he and Homer are thick as thieves. Often, though, Ned Flanders is a source of envy and vitriol. Ned might not intend it this way, but his holier-than-thou lifestyle is exactly the kind of thing that just gets right under Homer’s skin. That doesn’t stop him from borrowing (and often never returning) things, but hey – that’s what neighbors are for!
Ned has gone through a lot in the Simpson’s thirty-five-plus seasons, including tragically losing his wife and opening his own small business (we’ll miss you Leftorium). He’s not only a great neighbor but one of Springfield’s most memorable citizens.
Ed Norton (The Honeymooners)
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Though by today’s standards, the 39-episode run of The Honeymooners seems surprisingly short, the 1950 sitcom had a massive cultural impact and remains a funny if not understandable dated comedy about two working-class families in New York.
Art Carney’s Ed Norton was the upstairs neighbor and best friend of Jackie Gleason’s Ralph Kramden, and much like with Lucy and Ethel, Ed was always finding himself pulled into one of Ralph’s hair-brained plots.
This double act (often including their wives as well) was popular enough that the entire premise was effectively lifted the whole cloth and dropped into prehistoric Bedrock, with Norton serving as the inspiration for Barney Rubble aside from Ralph’s Fred.
Kimmy Gibbler (Full House)
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One of the staples of any family sitcom of the 1980s and 1990s was the annoying neighbor. In Full House’s case, that position was filled by D.J. Tanner’s best friend Kimmy Gibbler. Sure, Kimmy isn’t the brightest bulb in the pack and her struggles with foot odor are well documented on the show, but that doesn’t forgive the amount of verbal abuse she suffers at the hands of D.J.’s Uncles and her little sister Stephanie.
Actress Andrea Barber does her best making the character quite endearing, and you’re always rooting for her and D.J. to make up any time they have a brief falling out.
Wilson (Home Improvement)
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Dr. Wilson Wilson Wilson Jr. is the neighbor with all of the answers. He shares a fence with the Taylor clan and spends the entirety of the series’ eight seasons dispensing advice and wisdom to Tim, Jill, and even their young boys. Famously, we only ever see half of Wilson’s face, though by the end of the show they were getting increasingly lax with that rule as they tried to find new ways to incorporate the character into the show. The late Earl Hindman was the man behind the fence, and he turned what could have been a thin, one-note joke into a beloved character.
Steve Urkel (Family Matters)
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“Did I do that?” Yes, you did, Steve, and you know darn well that you did.
Urkel is one of television’s great stinkers, an obnoxious nerd who insinuated himself into every facet of the Wilson family’s lives on Family Matters. Despite the shrill voice and borderline uncomfortable obsession with eldest daughter Laura Winslow, Urkel became the most popular character on the show, and within a season or two he went from supporting player to the full-blown main character.
Also, shout out to Stefan Urquelle, Steve’s alter ego he becomes thanks to his special serum that straight up Nutty Professor’s the nerd into a smooth and handsome charmer.
Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld)
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You can’t discuss the best neighbors in television history without including the beloved aging ‘hipster doofus’ (Elaine’s words, not ours) who transformed the friendly pop-in into an art form. There have been attempts to calculate the amount of food and drink Kramer mooched off of Jerry over the show’s ten seasons, but honestly, if Seinfeld doesn’t seem bothered then why should we be?
Of the four main characters, from a moral perspective, Cosmo is unquestionably the best person. Even his worst schemes are rarely at the expense of others and are often part of earnest attempts to help a friend in need. If you can afford to keep stocking the refrigerator, you can’t find much better in a neighbor than Kramer.
