Ever noticed... 4 distinct "female sitcom character" personalties

A friend and I were talking about our respective obsessions with the TV shows Sex and the City (me) and Desperate Housewives (her).

"Have you ever noticed," I asked her, "how, in every sitcom with women cast as the main characters, there are ALWAYS four distinct personalities?"

"OMG," my friend exclaimed. "Every 'girly' show we've watched since Golden Girls is basically descended from that concept."

It's true folks! There’s the “everywoman,” the one everyone can relate to and thinks of as herself; the sexy one who gets all the guys; the naïve or kinda dumb one; and then the bitchy practical one.

Starting with the original, Golden Girls:

• The everywoman: Dorothy
• The sexy one: Blanche
• The naïve one: Rose
  
• The practical/bitchy one: Sofia

Sex and the City:

• The everywoman: Carrie
• The sexy one: Samantha
• The naïve one: Charlotte
• The practical/bitchy one: Miranda
  

Imma be honest with y'all, I don't watch Desperate Housewives. But I can still apply this little finding based on what little I do know of the show:

• The everywoman: The blonde one to the right
• The sexy one: Eva Longoria's character
• The naïve one: I'm gonna go with Teri Hatcher
• The practical/bitchy one: The redhead
  

Living Single:

• The everywoman: Khadijah
• The sexy one: Regine
• The naïve one: Sinclair
• The practical/bitchy one: Maxine
  

Girlfriends:

• The everywoman: Joan
  
• The sexy one: Lynn
• The naïve one: Maya
• The practical/bitchy one: Toni

Nothing's new under the sun, especially on television where it seems every idea is recycled and reused. Though each of these shows follows the same character formula, I still recognize each show and each character on that show as unique and entertaining in their own right.

For example, Blanche from Golden Girls and Samantha from SATC are both the "sluts" of the show. But Blanche's sluttiness is endearing when paired with her age and charming Southern accent, while Samantha's sluttiness is more edgy, shocking, and... dare I say, empowering? Especially when taking into account her age (Samantha's the oldest of the SATC girls).

While the "everywoman/sexy/naïve/practical and sometimes downright bitchy" female sitcom character is a tried (and true?) formula, it's a formula that works, I guess...