The "Chuck Cunningham" Syndrome
- Thread starter TGTheodore
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Degrassi: The Next Generation is especially bad at this. Characters disappear all the time with no explanation.
They tried to explain it when Ted Danson guest starred. Frasier said it was during a time when he and his father weren't on speaking terms, so he told everyone he was dead. Sam finds out Martin was a cop, then says Frasier told him he was a scientist. Then Frasier yells, "You were dead! What difference did it make what your profession was?"
And Niles asks Sam what Frasier's said about him, and Sam replies nothing.
NOTE TO SELF: Write sitcom pilot whose lead character is named Bob Hitler.
As did Ugly John and Dago Red (the priest from the movie, replaced quickly by Father Mulcahy, also played by two actors).
--Ted
In addition to "The Chuck Cunningham" syndrome, there's also "The Cousin Oliver" syndrome. That kid from Married With Children is one of the rare examples of one character falling under both categories.
"Cousin Oliver" of Brady Bunch fame never got the chance to disappear, as the series was canceled just a handful of episodes after he joined it.
However, the character proved so unpopular that he was later retconned out of fictionalized real-life Brady history. The 2000 film "Growing Up Brady" makes no mention or portrayal of Robbie Rist's involvement with the show, even though a pivotal scene centers around the filming of the series' final episode which Rist was heavily involved in in real life.
"Cousin Oliver" of Brady Bunch fame never got the chance to disappear, as the series was canceled just a handful of episodes after he joined it.
However, the character proved so unpopular that he was later retconned out of fictionalized real-life Brady history. The 2000 film "Growing Up Brady" makes no mention or portrayal of Robbie Rist's involvement with the show, even though a pivotal scene centers around the filming of the series' final episode which Rist was heavily involved in in real life.
Yeah, Cousin Oliver represents a child character being introduced to keep the "cute" in the series when the other child actors are too old. When cousin Oliver appeared all of the Brady kids were in their preteens or older.
To a degree, Full House also did this as Michelle got older, they brought in Jessie's and Michelle's kids.
There's almost a "baby syndrome" where a baby is introduced to shake up the dynamic. Mad About You and to a degree Friends both suffered from this although the Friends baby (Ross and Rachel's) wasn't featured a whole lot.
Uhhh....why am I getting credit / blame for this quote?
I have no idea. I quoted Dave.Bowman's post and only that post, but it came out attributed to you. That's very odd.
Not exactly. "Dago Red" was the nickname of Father John Patrick Mulcahy in the book and movie, and he was referred to in the pilot episode of the series as "Father John P. Mulcahy" despite being played by a different actor. (Which led to a continuity glitch when he was later referred to as Francis Mulcahy. That's how he eventually became Francis John Patrick Mulcahy.)
In the special that became "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Larry mentions his children but in the actual series he doesn't have any kids.
Sort of similar is that Uncle Jesse's last name was different during the first season of Full House. (Crap, did I just admit to watching Full House?)
Sort of similar is that Uncle Jesse's last name was different during the first season of Full House. (Crap, did I just admit to watching Full House?)
This one is particularly disturbing. I mean, it's not like Chuck Cunningham where he's old enough that you can just send him off to college. She was a pre-teen who just vanished without an explanation or even a plausible theory that doesn't involve some great tragedy.
I love the episode of The Simpsons that touches on this.
"Hey, kids, I want you to meet your grandpa."
"But we have 3 grandpas already."
"But this one is a great jazz musician."
"Oh, they all are."
On Tru Calling, Tru & Harrison had a sister, Meredith, in the early episodes. But the audience hated her, for good reason. She was a self-centered bitch and a cocaine addict. They shipped her off to rehab and she only appeared one more time after successfully leaving rehab. No one mentioned her again after that, even when Harrison was shot in the Season 1 finale. (The show also had a morgue attendant named Gardez who disappeared without explanation except for Davis to say that they were hiring Jack Harper to replace him.)
I liked how Buffy/Angel played with all of these sitcom kid phenomena. First, in Buffy Season 5, a group of monks spontaneously create a teenage sister for Buffy named Dawn that everyone suddenly remembers as having always been there. Then, in Angel Season 4, Wolfram & Hart erases everyone's memories of Angel's teenage son, Connor. Also, while Connor was only born in Season 3, he "magically" became a teenager by the end of the season. (It's not usually this blatant but often sitcom newborns seem to age pretty rapidly from birth to about age 3.)
One of the later episodes of MASH, Hawkeye mentions that he has to share a tent with 3 other guys. I took that as Spearchucker was still around, but maybe working a different shift than Hawkeye, BJ, and Charles.
Is there a term for shows like MASH where the show lasts longer than the event it supposedly takes place around?
Tardisification: It's bigger on the inside.
NEVER MIND. This was already answered by another poster...
Apparently Frasier's mom did appear on Cheers. The one from The Sopranos, Nancy Marchand.
Another example is from Seinfeld. In the early seasons, George twice makes a reference to having a brother and later is revealed to be an only child.
Ben Sisko on DS9 had a couple of siblings but we never met them.
Are there any other shows fitting that category?
That 70s Show, for one. The series started, I believe, in 1976 (IIRC, the gang goes to see Star Wars at the end of the first season). However, the show ran for eight seasons, and, although I didn't see it, from what I hear the series finale sees the characters ring in the New Year on December 31, 1979.
It gets even more confusing when each season is pretty much treated like an entire year in the characters' lives.
Are you sure? I know Cliff's parents on the show were always played by the same people and I can't really remember Claire's parents but I know they were featured some and I don't seem to remember them being played by different actors.
Uhhh....why am I getting credit / blame for this quote?
I have no idea. I quoted Dave.Bowman's post and only that post, but it came out attributed to you. That's very odd.
Not exactly. "Dago Red" was the nickname of Father John Patrick Mulcahy in the book and movie, and he was referred to in the pilot episode of the series as "Father John P. Mulcahy" despite being played by a different actor. (Which led to a continuity glitch when he was later referred to as Francis Mulcahy. That's how he eventually became Francis John Patrick Mulcahy.)
And in the heat of triage and the O.R., Trapper called him "Red" at least once or twice.
--Ted
Actually, the creators started from the beginning with each season being half a year.
--Ted
That would almost make it fit, but it still doesn't quite work out. From the show's wikipedia page:
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