The funniest sitcom characters of the 1980s

On paper, Alex P. Keaton should be a mildly loathsome character. He's a Young Republican in the mid-'80s in Ohio, and nearly every episode involves a greedy or conservative scheme by Alex that he ends up apologizing for at the end. But Michael J. Fox was so charismatic and likable, he quickly became the show's main character (originally the parents were supposed to be the focus), and audience's barely noticed the dark undercurrent of the character, which the New York Times called "greed with the face of an angel." Emmy voters gave Fox three consecutive Best Actor statues, and it could have been more. 

Originally a by-the-book nurse and constant antagonist to the show's doctors, over the course of the "M*A*S*H" run, Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlilhan became a deeply complex (and highly promiscuous) character and ultimate ally to the doctors of the 4077th. Loretta Swit won two Emmys for her role, which like the show moved from broad comedy to a more nuanced comedy-drama, as seen in this disturbing dream sequence. Still her physical comedy chops and traffic signaling remained on point throughout all 256 episodes. (She was in all but 11 of them).

Bronson Pinchot's breakout role in "Beverly Hills Cop" led to his role as Balki Bartokomous, an immigrant from the fictional Mediterranean island of Mypos. The show relied on classic sitcom misunderstandings and shenanigans but resonated because of the chemistry between Balki and his hapless cousin, Larry, and the sweetness of their relationship. This was most evident when they did the Dance of Joy. The success of "Perfect Strangers" led to the creation of "Family Matters," as Harriette and Carl Winslow both appeared in supporting roles on the show. So you could argue that Balki gave us Steve Urkel.

The '80s were a golden age for sharp-tongued Italian women on NBC sitcoms. Rhea Perlman cleaned up at the Emmys playing Carla Tortelli on "Cheers," and Estelle Getty, who played Bea Arthur's Sicilian mother, Sophia Petrillo, on "The Golden Girls," despite being a year younger than her in real life. Getty went through three hours of hair and makeup to play Sophia, who was best known for frustrating her daughter with outlandish stories about Sicily in the 1920s.

Before "The Naked Gun" movies, there was its progenitor, "Police Squad!," a crime drama parody featuring Leslie Nielsen's Frank Drebin, a tough, by-the-book detective who goes through all of the show's ridiculousness with a deadpan seriousness. Nielsen is perfect because he actually played the kind of straightforward roles he's lampooning before this — a late-career transition into comedy that's as surprising as Tony Danza someday winning an Oscar. "Police Squad!" episodes are absolutely packed with jokes and gags, and it's perhaps why a sitcom canceled after six episodes managed to eventually yield three full-length feature films.

The concept of "Three's Company" was simple: a horny straight guy has to pretend to be gay so he can share an apartment with two attractive women. But John Ritter's comic timing and uncanny ability for pratfalls took the show to immediate, runaway popularity. Though most episodes revolved around misunderstandings, farcical confusion and Ritter "playing gay," he also had the gifts to spin a silent scene with an uncooperative hammock into gold.

Rudy was cuter, Denise was cooler, but Theo Huxtable had the greatest moments of any of "The Cosby Show" kids. From early on, Theo's hiding of his new earring is a masterpiece of physical comedy, but he also shines when his family forces him into "the real world," and whenever someone needs to lip-sync an R&B classic. He's the perfect character for the show, because a family with a lawyer mom and a doctor father really needs a son who's a little dumb for contrast — like when he orders a Gordon Gartrelle shirt from Denise. It sounds weird to say this about anyone associated with Bill Cosby, but Theo's greatest quality is his innocence.

In between her successful runs on Saturday Night Live in the '70s and "3rd Rock from the Sun" in the '90s, Jane Curtin won two Emmys playing Allie Lowell on "Kate & Allie." Curtin got the lion's share of physical comedy in a show that, at its core, was about two best friends living together. When Allie got married and the producers moved Kate into their new house, the show was finally canceled – it jumped the shark, and honestly, a shark moving into the apartment might have been more plausible. 

It's impossible to choose between George and Louise "Weezie" Jefferson, who graced our TV sets for 15 years on "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons," and later on stage and even Old Navy commercials. The couple, played by Sherman Helmsley and Isabel Sanford, also appeared on the final episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" as the couple who buys the Banks family's home. They originate their characters as Archie Bunker's neighbors and eventually "move on up" to Manhattan, where beans don't burn on the grill. Their performances were so sharp, from George's walk in the opening credits to Weezie's banter with their maid, Florence, to George's artful door slamming, to the amazing dance moves. Plus, Helmsley is the only performer on this list to record a prog rock album.

Danny DeVito became a star with his portrayal of taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma on "Taxi." Standing 4-foot-10, Louie was the most domineering character on the show — literally sitting above the rest of the drivers in his office, insulting them and disrespecting their dreams. He once said, “There's only one person who ever made it out of this garage, and that was James Caan...and he'll be back!!” Though he had no morals when it came to gambling, ripping people off and relationships with women, that made his rare moments of kindness and humanity all the more powerful, and DeVito has been able to play a variation of this guy for the last 40 years.

Decades before Roseanne Barr discovered QAnon, "Roseanne" was a hilarious comedy about working class Midwesterners dealing with the 1980's version of economic anxiety. Roseanne was a fantastic standup, but not an actress, so the show surrounded her with fantastic actors like Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman. Even from his initial audition, Goodman and Barr had amazing chemistry and felt like an authentic married couple. And he really did it all, from singing Elvis songs to rapping to taking a frying pan to the head like nobody's business. Best of all, John Goodman doesn't have a Twitter account.

Another lovable misanthrope, John Larroquette's Dan Fielding was a narcissistic assistant district attorney whose main pursuits were hitting on every woman he saw and making sarcastic remarks about his co-workers. The portrayal was so successful that Larroquette won four consecutive Emmys, with the streak only stopping when Larroquette removed his name from the ballot. Of course, as awful as Dan's behavior was, that just made it all the sweeter when he got horribly disappointed.

Though the cast of Diff'rent Strokes  had a ton of off-screen problems, on-screen Gary Coleman was a special performer. He held his own against Muhammed Ali and the First Lady, carrying a network sitcom despite being a 10-year-old — and it was so successful, ABC ripped off the premise for its own "diminutive African-American boy adopted by rich white people" sitcom, Webster. It's especially impressive given the show's glut of "very special" episodes, meaning Coleman had to be funny while also fighting bullies, saying no to drugs, avoiding a lecherous bicycle repairman, dodging kidnappers, avoiding con artists, etc. Somehow leaving Harlem for a fancy Park Avenue apartment did not make these kids' lives any safer.

"A Different World" was initially a vehicle for Lisa Bonet, but the breakout star was Jasmine Guy as Southern belle Whitley Gilbert. (A close second was Dwayne Wayne's flip-top sunglasses.) She increasingly became the show's main character, with her combination of haughtiness and vulnerability. Long before Migos existed, Whitley Gilbert was TV's first truly black and bougie heroine.

"Growing Pains" was, like "Family Ties," a show originally designed to showcase parents but instead a charismatic teenager took over the show. There was just something about a cute, assertive teenage boy that audiences found irresistible in the Reagan era, and ABC even doubled down on its infatuation with Kirk Cameron by casting his little sister, Candace, in "Full House." Even though he was obsessed with chasing girls, there was a sweetness to Cameron's performance which almost made you forget his best friend's name was Boner — although the born-again Cameron has in real life denounced all "Boners."

The heart of "Designing Women" was the relationship between the Sugarbaker sisters, former beauty queen Suzanne (Delta Burke) and more responsible, liberal-minded Julia (Dixie Carter). While Suzanne was the flashier, more over-the-top character, it was Julia who had the speeches. Dixie Carter's monologues were tremendous, particularly when she laid into a beauty queen for insulting Suzanne in "The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia" speech. They were so popular, Carter managed to cut a deal with producers where she got to sing a song for every Julia speech she delivered.

In the fourth-wall-breaking, self-referential sitcom that was "It's Garry Shandling's Show," Garry Shandling showed incredible range in taking on the role of standup comedian and sitcom star Garry Shandling. Shandling constantly talked to the studio audience to explain events or simply summarize episodes, as all the characters were aware they were on a TV show and even the show's theme song was about writing the show's theme song. In fact, the set of the show was designed to match Shandling's actual condo. This was not a show about nothing, like "Seinfeld." This was a show about Garry Shandling.

Along with the movie "Cocoon," Blanche Devereaux in "The Golden Girls" heralds the beginning of the "horny senior citizen era" of the mid-'80s, which eventually continued into the '90s until it was replaced by the "rapping grandma era". Rue McClanahan won an Emmy while playing Blanche for a decade, but her greatest moment came in an episode where she mistakenly thinks the girls' new friend is not a lesbian, but Lebanese. She's not offended by her sexuality; only that she's not the object of the woman's desire.

Sledge Hammer was an over-the-top, hard-boiled Dirty Harry type who loved shooting people so much, he even talked to his gun. He's the kind of cop who dealt with a rooftop sniper by blowing up the building with a bazooka. David Rasche has made a career out of playing handsome, authoritative Sledge types ever since on shows like "Veep" and "Succession." While the show was a cult classic, the ratings were usually poor, which is why the first season ended with a dark series finale where Hammer accidentally detonates a nuclear bomb. Then the show got renewed, and they had to pretend it never happened.

Robert Guillaume played butler Benson DuBois on "Soap," then played the character on his own spinoff, aptly titled "Benson." Benson was a wise-cracking servant on "Soap," but he doesn't stay a butler, however, moving up the ranks at work until he's running for governor by the show's final, cliffhanger episode. Guillaume won an Emmy for his role, the first African-American to ever win a Best Comedy Actor trophy, and the only one until Donald Glover last year.

Candace Bergen's Murphy Brown was a tour de force performance — a smart and flawed newswoman who at the series' start is coming back from rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic. She's like an updated version of Mary Richards — where the workplace comes ahead of the romance plots. Murphy is single, and she's totally OK with it. After all, she has Elden the house painter in her life, and honestly there's not room for more. Murphy didn't tangle with real-life political figures until the '90s, but she was already one of the strongest, sharpest women on TV from the time the show premiered in 1988.

"ALF" was fortunate enough to take place in an era before PETA was so powerful, because ALF's constant attempts to eat cats wouldn't have gone over well. ALF (it means alien life form, not something akin to MILF) was an alien who went to live with an ordinary family. Production of the show sounded like a nightmare, as shooting setups and the puppeteer's demands meant it took 20-25 hours to shoot one half-hour episode. But it was popular enough that the show got two different cartoon spinoffs. And as will eventually be the case for all sitcoms, ever, there's going to be an "ALF" reboot soon! Guard your cats!

The first few years of Cheers were dominated by the relationship between Sam Malone and Diane Chambers, but the heart of the story came from Coach. Sam's old pitching coach turned co-bartender, Coach was both the dumbest and sweetest person in the bar, with actor Nicholas Colasanto giving coach multiple dimensions despite his limited brains. When Colasanto died suddenly, the producers never recast the role, instead adding Woody Harrelson, but Coach's picture remained at the bar the rest of the run.

Anchoring the ABC lineup for nine seasons, "Horsin' Around" featured three adorable children, but the breakout character was The Horse, the equine bachelor who agreed to raise three human children. Not only did actor Bojack Horseman show incredible comic timing with his wisecracks, but he captured the heart of the character, particularly in the series finale, when The Horse dies of a broken heart because the children didn't appreciate him enough.