Conversation so far:
who were neil simon's characters?
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings".
what were the names of the characters?
CANNOTANSWER.
what were the characters from?
his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at.

Question: were these characters from a tv show?
Self-contained rewrite: were Neil Simon's characters from a tv show?