This thread mentions the old chestnut about Monica & Rachel’s apartment in Friends, and mentions how the other characters could have afforded their apartments.
Who are some TV characters that truly do live within their means?
I’ll put out a few for consideration:
Ray Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond): I read somewhere that the house he lived in would fetch $500K in the suburbs of New York. He’s also putting three kids through private school, and doing it on one income. However, I gather that his sports column is supposed to be nationally syndicated. I know precious little about journalism, but I would have to guess that a nationwide print syndication deal is rather lucrative.
Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor (Home Improvement): Tough call on this one. He appears to live in an upper middle class home in the Detroit suburbs. I know absolutely nothing about the Detroit housing market, so I can’t really speculate on how much such a home would cost. One would think that his TV Show would bring in a good income, but then again it looks to me like it’s a local show that is a step above cable access. However, the show hints at the fact that he made a killing as a tool salesman, and that he and Jill have some investments.
Charlie Harper (Two and a Half Men): This I can believe without any reservations. The premise is that he’s rolling in royalties from all of the commercial jingles he’s written.
Al Bundy. Although they played around with it, once having Al figure out he made a nickel per (infrequent) shoe sale and “How he hell do I live?”
Norman Lamb, in Leavitt and Moye’s previous sitcom IT’S YOUR MOVE, was a struggling writer who lived in a lousy apartment in Van Nuys, and sometimes had his phone turned off for lack of payment. Leavitt and Moye invented Tang Wipes (in Norman’s case, Peanut Butter Wipes) there and moved it to MWC.
Al Bundy. Although they played around with it, once having Al figure out he made a nickel per (infrequent) shoe sale and “How the hell do I live?”
Norman Lamb, in Leavitt and Moye’s previous sitcom IT’S YOUR MOVE, was a struggling writer who lived in a lousy apartment in Van Nuys, and sometimes had his phone turned off for lack of payment. Leavitt and Moye invented Tang Wipes (in Norman’s case, Peanut Butter Wipes) there and moved it to MWC.
Frank Grimes. He lived above a bowling alley and below another bowling alley. When he asked Homer how he lived in a palace, Homer replied “Don’t ask me how the economy works.”
Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew. They live on a government provided starship, with replicators that can make most anything they want and holodecks that can simulate just about anything. If anything, they live much more spartanly than they need too.
Captain Harmon Rabb Jr. has lived in a studio apartment in DC since he was a Lieutenant (which he was in the process of renovating in the first season or two of the show), looking at what studios go for in DC, it would seem that he would be able to swing that, especially since military officers get a Cost-of-living allowance in addition to their base and specialty pay. He also drives a Corvette (until it gets stolen, then he drives an SUV, and then later rebuilds a Corvette Stingray) and owns a Stearman Biplane (which his father originally bought, and Harmon restored to flying condition after his father went MIA), so I’m not sure what additional costs those would incur, or if they’d be beyond the means of a JAG O-3
Captain Benjamin Sisko, living in a culture where humans have no need for money, owns a baseball. I think he’s living within his means.
Commander Horatio Hornblower spends much of his career in relative poverty, with most of his prize commands either being lost at sea or recaptured by the Spanish or French. He came into some prize money after the incident aboard HMS Retribution, he ended up losing most of that during his two years of unemployment during the Peace of Amiens. At one point, he has to borrow uniform pieces from his fellow officers in order to be presentable when invited to dinner with the Governor of Gibraltar. Later on, he is shown buying pinchbeck buckles and buttons for his new uniform after being promoted to Lieutenant (Pinchbeck is a cheap alternative to silver). It’s safe to say that he and his wife Maria are living within their meager means.
The main limitation for Starfleet officers seems to be finding room for things on the ship, and some unspoken code of non-gaudy living. Also, some characters are shown owning posessions that are implied to be difficult to replicate (IIRC, Picard’s saddle was supposed to be authentic, and Spot probably didn’t come out of a replicator).
I don’t know the DC housing market, but the Cosby’s were a successful Ob/Gyn and a lawyer (trial attorney?) and could have probably afforded what I would assume to be a rather expensive home for their many children.
My Name Is Earl - Earl and Randy admittedly live fairly cheaply but they have had some big expenses in working on Earl’s list. And their sole income is a $100,000 lottery winning they received two years ago.
I actually came in to mention Roseanne and her electricity but since Annie beat me-
Archie Bunker and family lived within their means (a row house in Queens) as did most other characters on Norman Lear sitcoms (Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Sanford & Son). Something Lear did that was unique was clothing shopping: he took the budget that the family would have had and went to clothing stores and thrift stores to buy their wardrobes (thrift stores not because the characters necessarily would have shopped at them but to give them the ‘years old’ clothes we all have.) His shows uniquely recycled wardrobes- you’d often see the same characters in the same outfits on different episodes [e.g. Archie’s most frequent outfit was a faded white shirt and brown polyester slacks, James Evans wore mustard corduroy pants, a beige work shirt and heavy but inexpensive wool lined jacket, Edith wore two or three housedresses on most episodes, etc.]). He did the same with furnishings: Archie & Edith’s famous chairs came from Goodwill stores and are of course now in the Smithsonian.
I always thought Kramden lived below his means; bus drivers don’t get rich but they do make a living and that apartment was downright slummy (particularly considering they had no kids and just themselves to support and clearly didn’t spend it on clothes or furniture). Perhaps Alice had a smack habit.
When Tyne Daly was cast in Cagney & Lacey she did the exact same thing, taking co-star John Karlen who played her husband Harv with her to pick out their outfits in character. Tyne as Mary Beth and John as Harv would even make comments like “I don’t like you in that color” or “that’s too expensive- we’ve got kids to feed”.
Andy Griffith lived in a house that you’d associate with a sheriff in a small town (comfortable but not lavish and with decent furniture for the time- not the Lil’ Abner small towner at all) and I can see an up’n’coming ad exec living in Darrin and Samantha’s suburban NY house (one of my favorite on all television series and one of the few that actually makes sense as far as the floorplan).
While not asked for my nominees for Worst Offenders (i.e. shows whose characters live way above their means) would be Friends of course, Golden Girls (that huge and designer decorated house would probably cost $1 million or more in an upscale Miami neighborhood and save for Sophia they all wore expensive outfits for lounging around the house), Full House (that old Victorian must have about 15,000 sq. feet and Bob Saget, while a local anchor, still was the only source of income- maybe his wife left a $5 million insurance policy or something and this should be investigated ala Scott n Lacy) and Happy Days (that weird but enormous house bought with a small hardware store that was profitable enough to hire Hank Aaron to do an ad at the height of his success).
Another 70s detective, Harry Orwell (of the show Harry O) lived in an old ramshackle house that doubled as his office. He never had enough money to fix the boat he was working on for a hobby, and his car was a beater. When it didn’t run, which was often, Harry would take the bus.
Archie Bunker’s situation seemed reasonable, disregarding the opening theme song (a “LaSalle”, even an old one, isn’t a blue-collar car) – I recall that for a while after mortgaging his house to open the bar, it was rather touch-and-go.
