Glenn O’Brien Asks Arden Wohl About Her Favorite TV Character

Arden Wohl, Alex P. Keaton. Both prefer sleeveless.

 

In this installment of Question of the Week, Glenn O’Brien asks Arden Wohl: Who is your favorite TV character and why?

 

ARDEN WOHL: A girl always has a crush on the rebel, no matter what!

 

I believe the television show Family Ties came onto the air the year I was born, 1983. When I started to watch it about four years later, it was on right after The Cosby Show. It was my favorite thing to watch when I was a little pipsqueak for I had an intense crush on Michael J. Fox. He was incredibly adorable and hilarious as Alex P. Keaton, the staunch Republican character. He was a total “square.” I have always been attracted to rebellious people, the odd ones out: this crush just took on the inverted form of a radical. His parents were major hippies leftover from the social liberalism of the 1970’s, but Alex rebelled against his family by getting caught up in the Reagan-era conservatism of his time. His dorky, crisp, little suits and his ridiculous convictions turned me on; not necessarily his narrow focus. I did not (and do not) share his political beliefs, but as a pre-K student, I wasn’t even aware of what his politics actually were. I remember my family, mostly my sister, teasing me years later for having a crush on this character. Thinking about it now, I understand it as an important show: showing the rise of the new wealth inspired Wall Street-headed youth, and the cultural divide of the generations. I mean, Reagan ripped off the solar panels that Carter had put on the Whitehouse. Yikes!

 

To read the response to Glenn’s last question click here. Who’s your favorite television personality?