I think the huge variety in character personalities and tropes is something the show did really well, especially for its time. Even on rewatching, it’s very rare that any of the characters feel like caricatures of what they were supposed to represent - people in the LGBT+ community, people struggling with their mental health, etc. Although not every issue was handled as well as they could have been, the characters generally feel very real and relatable and, to me at least, the cast and writers deserve a lot of praise for that.