is a term of criticism, applied when a regular character (ie: Main Character , Supporting Character , Recurring Character ) in a Television Series is removed with little or no explanation and is never referred to again despite the character's previous importance either to the show or to the other characters.
The term derives from the Chuck Cunningham character in the American series '' Happy Days ''. Chuck, the oldest of the three children in the Cunningham family, initially appeared in the episode "Love and the Happy Days" (in the show '' Love, American Style ''), which served as the pilot for what became the ''Happy Days'' series. However, in ''Happy Days'' Chuck appeared as a superfluous character (usually on his way to Basketball practice). He was written out of the series at the beginning of the second season with the explanation that he was going to College . After the second season, he was never mentioned again; subsequent episodes referred to the Cunninghams as having two, rather than three, children.
On the ''Happy Days'' reunion special that aired on February 3 , 2005 , a series of clips was introduced which pointed out that Chuck not only disappeared but also was played by two different actors over the course of the series ( Gavan O'Herlihy and Randolph Roberts ). Both Chuck actors were then brought out as a surprise for Marion Ross and the rest of the ''Happy Days'' cast. (This makes Chuck Cunningham also an example of "same Character Different Actor" .)
Chuck Cunningham syndrome can occur (or appear to occur) due to broadcasting issues. For example, if episodes of a series are broadcast out of order, viewers might miss a farewell episode and be surprised to discover a character's absence. The syndrome also often occurs when a pilot episode is aired as part of a show's regular run which includes characters not in the regular series. An example of this is the character of Dr. Mark Piper, chief medical officer aboard the '', " Where No Man Has Gone Before ". This pilot was broadcast as the series' third episode, leaving viewers briefly confused as to what happened to Dr. Leonard McCoy , the ship's doctor in the previous two episodes and all episodes following.
Chuck Cunningham syndrome seems to be particularly prevalent in children's animated programming, especially educational series aimed at preschool audiences. Often, characters will appear in the class that the main character attends from time to time, but be mysteriously absent in many or most episodes of the program. In other cases, the character will appear but not have any dialogue until later seasons of the program, when they somehow become part of the main character's group of friends without any explanation.
- ''''') disappears halfway through the series' third season, never to be mentioned again.
- '':
- ---President John Keeler was "injured" after an assassination attempt in the fourth season. The show's writers originally intended to kill the character, but the idea was rejected by the FOX Network. He disappears from the series regardless.
- '':
- ---After the later part of the 1976 season, the Bunkers' next door neighbors, the Lorenzos, were never seen or mentioned again during the remainder of the series.
- ---At the start of the 1976–77 season the Bunkers took in a Puerto Rican boarder named Teresa Betancourt. She was featured in several episodes, but did not return the following season. No explanation was ever given regarding her departure.
- ''''' and was never seen again. The show has been known to poke fun at the incident, such as one episode in which Opal ventured into the Martins' attic and found a skeleton with a shirt bearing the word "Bobby" next to a pair of skis.
- ''''' after he saved her from an attempted suicide involving pills and alcohol. She speculates on the possible significance regarding the act, as the vampire Angel was able to enter her home without an invitation while she was still alive, yet following this scene she is never seen or heard from for the duration of the series.
- ''''' left the show in a salary dispute in 2004, his character, Dr. John Dixon, simply went to check on a patient, and was never seen, heard from or mentioned again. The show made no effort to explain his absence, despite the fact that his daughter is a major character and would presumably miss him.
- s assistant, Ko'Dath, disappeared without warning after the actress who played her had an adverse reaction to the prosthetics used in her makeup.
- ', Michael has a younger sister named Amy and a friend called Adam. Though seen prominently in the movie series, both don't appear in the TV show. Although Michael is present, Amy and Adam are not seen nor mentioned. However, a character named Jason appears in the third season and is believed to be Michael's brother.
- ---Also, the entire cast from seasons 1-3 suddenly vanish without a trace and what happened to them was never explained.
- '': When a new detective joined the squad, he was highly suspicious of everything and, until proven wrong, believed all the detectives were crooked. He appeared in a number of episodes as a replacement for a departed cast member, then disappeared, never to be mentioned again.
- ''''' appears in the Miniseries and in one episode on season one. After being chased out of the pilots' meeting room by Colonel Tigh, he is never mentioned or heard from again during the series. Additional scenes featuring Boxey were shot but ended up on cutting room floor. In a commentary track on the Season 1 DVDs, the producers claim - somewhat tongue-in-cheek - that sadly, Boxey has died of cholera.
- '': The character of WPC Debbie Keane vanished in the late 1990s without explanation, and was never heard of again.
- ''''', was one of three sons of Ben Cartwright and was a regular character for the first few seasons of the show. When Pernell Roberts quit the show in 1965, Adam simply ceased to exist and his disappearance was never explained until the 1994 TV movie ''Bonanza: The Return'', where his son returns from Australia.
- '':
- ---For the first two seasons, Louisa Fenn ( Rashida Jones ) the secretary for Steven Harper ( Chi McBride ) made sporadic appearances. Her most significant appearance was dating a Shakespeare teacher, but that was it. After second season, she is never seen or mentioned again.
- ---At the end of the second season, Lauren Davis Jessalyn Gilsig expresses interest in dating Scott Guber Anthony Heald , but Jessalyn Gilsig leaves the show between the second and third seasons, and after that, Lauren Davis is never mentioned again, except for a brief remark that she had left to teach at a private school.
- '':
- ---In a first-season episode, Topanga has an older sister named Nebula Stop-the-War Lawrence. She never appears or is even mentioned again.
- ---Corey has two other best friends besides Shawn in the early episodes of the first season. The names of the two friends are never mentioned, but the two other best friends disappear and by the middle of the first season Shawn is Corey's one and only best friend.
- ---Corey's best friend, Shawn Hunter, also has two vanishing siblings: his older sister is mentioned briefly in an early episode, and his criminally-inclined half-brother Eddie appears in one episode in the third season. Years later, when Shawn's brother Jack is introduced as a series regular, no one seems to remember these other two siblings.
- ---Mr. Turner, first seen when the gang went on to high school, was a prominent figure, and was Shawn's guardian when Shawn's father searched for his wife. He also had a friend, Eli, who appeared on the show, however, they both disappeared.
- ---In the first couple seasons, Stuart Minkus is seen regularly, only to leave as the characters went on to high school. He is later seen in the graduation episode, with a reference to Mr. Turner, who also disappeared.
- ---For the first two seasons, Eric has a best friend named Jason, who then disappears without any explanation. One third-season episode has Eric talking to Jason on the phone, but that's the last we hear of him.
- ---Several second-season storylines were dominated by the school tough-guy Harley Keiner. Harley was hastily written out of the season (after being played by a different actor for one episode) and replaced by a new bully, Griff Hawkins. An early season-three episode sees a humorously anticlimactic meeting of these two characters (with the original Harley returning), after which neither is seen or heard from again.
- ''''' purportedly caused when a hot light fell onto it. While neither Fluffy nor Tiger were heard from again, they make joke cameos in a later Brady movie, in which they appear long enough for Bobby and Cindy to acknowledge their presence before abruptly running off camera with Cousin Oliver in hot pursuit, after which the children hear the screeching of car tires, shrug the occurrence off, and return to the party.
- '':
- ---In the first series, Leisure Centre Manager Mr Brittas had a personal assistant named Angie (played by Andree Bernard ). From the commencement of the second series, Brittas had a new assistant, Julie (played by Judy Flynn ). Angie's disappearance was never explained, she was never mentioned again, and in a later flashback episode, Julie was shown working at the centre from the time it opened.
- ---Two minor characters also vanished from the show in the earlier series. These were Pam, a friend of Helen Brittas, and Councillor Dapping, an adversary of Gordon Brittas.
- ''''' to UPN for the 1997 - 98 season, Mr. Hall and Miss Geist were dropped without explanation, never to appear again.
- ''''' died halfway through the show's 4th and final season, there was a special episode where the rest of the cast (appearing as themselves) paid tribute to her. However, in the show's narrative, after her final appearance early in the season, her character was never mentioned again, even though she was the best friend and business partner of Phylicia Rashad 's character.
- '':
- ---Theo ( Malcolm-Jamal Warner )'s best friend, Walter "Cockroach" Bradley (Carl Anthony Payne II), disappeared in the middle of the fourth season.
- ---Rudy had a friend named Peter who rarely spoke, was easily intimidated by Dr. Huxtable and communicated largely in pantomime. He was inexplicably replaced by Bud/Kenny, a fast-talker who often bemused Dr. Huxtable.
- '''': In the pilot, Catherine Willows has two children, Lindsay and Jeremy, although only Lindsay is shown on-screen. In subsequent episodes, no mention of Jeremy is ever made. (Note: this fact is disputed as there is no mention made in the episode that Jeremy is Catherine's son. Jeremy is possibly Catherine's sister's son.)
- ''''' takes his orders from a somewhat similar figure named Hobbs. Midway through the season, Hobbs disappears and Drake begins taking orders from a succession of guest star performers.
- '':
- ---In 1985 , Don Craig ( Jed Allan , who had played the role since 1971 ) went out to mail a letter and never came back, and was never referred to again.
- ---In 1986 , the short-term character Kevin Cates (played by Eric Schiff) was the teenaged son of crooked police chief Richard Cates. Richard was involved romantically with Dr. Marlena Evans, and died in a shootout following his involvement in a drug ring. Kevin was last seen being introduced to Jennifer Horton by her grandmother Alice; though the scene implied that Kevin's role may be extended despite the loss of his father, Kevin was never seen or referred to again after that scene.
- ---In 1991 , Neil Curtis ( Joseph Gallison , who had played the role since 1974 ) announced to colleagues that he had to see to some of his patients, and also disappeared without an explanation.
- ---In 2002 , the short-term character Caprice (played by Fuschia Walker), who supposedly had some past connection with Celeste Perrault, disappeared and was not mentioned again. During her time on the show, she bumped into Celeste (who she called Frankie) several times while showing some anger towards her, but her connection was never fully established.
- ---In 2003 , Dr. Colin Murphy ( Justin Melvey , who had played the role off and on from 2001), disappeared after he managed to escape Melaswen, Tony DiMera's island prison. Colin escaped the island before the volcanic eruption along with all of the other captives, although, it was never mentioned whether or not he lived or died. Since everyone else lived, there is a good chance that Tony still has him locked up somewhere, and he may return in the future.
- ---In early 2005 , Cassie "DiMera" Brady (Alexis Thorpe), who had played the role of unidentified alien teen turned Roman and Kate's daughter via surrogate mother Marlena, returned safely from Tony DiMera's European castle along with Jack Deveraux , Victor Kiriakis, and Caroline Brady. Soon after returning to Salem, Cassie disappeared with no reason. Her twin brother Rex left Salem after a fallout with Mimi, but Cassie's whereabouts remain unknown.
- '':
- ---In the Pilot episode, Martha Huber ( Christine Estabrook ) tells Susan Mayer ( Teri Hatcher ) that Edie Britt's ( Nicollette Sheridan ) son will be spending the night at her house. Edie's son hasn't been seen or referenced since.
- ---In the DVD extended episode of ''Who's That Woman?'' (4th episode of season one), Martha Huber sits next to her dying mother. She's never been seen or referred to since.
- ---In ''Your Fault'', (13th episode of season one) Tom Scavo's ( Doug Savant ) father, Rodney, ( Ryan O'Neal ), came for a visit. He was never referred to or seen afterwards.
- ---In ''Thank You So Much'', (15th episode of second season), Gabrielle Solis's ( Eva Longoria ), mother Lucia, ( Maria Conchita Alonso ), comes for a visit. Like Rodney, she hasn't appeared or been referred to since.
- ---Bob Rowland, ( Mark Harelik ) father of John Rowland ( Jesse Metcalfe ) only appeared in one episode.
- ''''') and her boss Mr. Nicholson ( McLean Stevenson ) were also dropped without explanation, as Doris, who'd previously been a secretary working for a magazine editor, was suddenly a journalist working for a different boss.
- ''''', with Chibal hanging onto the edge of a Cliff . However, the cliffhanger was not resolved and the character was never even mentioned again. (In this case, due to the series run being literally cut in half, causing the creators to scramble to jam in a resolution to a plotline that was to take twice as long.)
- '''''. Throughout the 3rd season, She was introduced as a major supporting character whose storylines intersected with Dr Ross. She disappears after the 3rd series finale despite Dunst admitting in interviews at the time that there were storylines being written for the character. Nurses, paramedics and desk clerks exist in an equally ephemeral state.
- Kevin''' in early episodes, and is later known as '''Doug''' (the name of his character in '' The King Of Queens ''). This is because '''Kevin''' was Raymond's friend in earlier episodes, and in later episodes, even though it's the same actor, '''Doug''' is a supposed to be a different person in the series.
- '': Vicky claims to have a little brother, who is heard screaming over the phone, during one of the "Oh Yeah! Cartoons" shorts. Even in the episode that introduces her little sister, Tootie, at Vicky's house, he is not seen or mentioned.
- '':
- ---Judy Winslow and Aunt Rachael Crawford disappeared from the series without explanation, with Aunt Rachael even abandoning her son (the real reason was that Telma Hopkins was given her own Sitcom , '' Getting By '', at the time). Aunt Rachael, however, returned for a few subsequent episodes after ''Getting By's'' demise. In Judy Winslow's last episode, she simply goes up to her room and never comes back down; actress Jaimee Foxworth 's character was never popular, and after reducing her role steadily, she was written out of the series during the series' fourth season.
- ---Several of Eddie Winslow ( Darius McCrary )'s buddies disappeared without explanation. In the first two seasons, his best friend was Rodney Beckett ( Randy Josselyn ); in later seasons, he befriended Weasel ( Shavar Ross ). His longest-lasting best friend, Waldo Geraldo Faldo ( Shawn Harrison ), originally appeared as a sidekick to a bad guy, but then he befriended Eddie with no explanation and eventually was so popular that he became a series regular only to be dropped mysteriously a few seasons later.
- ---Bryton McClure, who played Richie Crawford , Rachael's son, appeared less and less once the character of 3J was introduced. By the last season, his character was completely dropped with no explanation.
- '': Skippy had a sister in one episode who never appeared, or was mentioned, again.
- ''
- ---Fred and Wilma have a pet sabre tooth tiger named Baby Puss who is always seen in the opening credits but is only seen in a Season 3 episode never to be seen again. (In The Flintstone Kids Wilma has a kitten, though.) Also, The Rubbles buy a pet kangaroo for Bamm-Bamm named Hopperoo that in later incarnations is never seen, except in the opening credits for The New Fred And Barney Show . In the The Pebbles And Bamm-Bamm Show , Pebbles had an elephant named Snooty while Bamm-Bamm has a snokesaurus named Snooty; they are never seen in other incarnations set after that and even Dino, who was first introduced in The Flintstones as a talking pet but changed to a barking house pet, wasn't part of The Pebbles And Bamm-Bamm Show .
- '': This program displays all forms of the syndrome. A number of characters have appeared only one time and were never seen again. Others are bizarrely only seen from time-to-time, despite the fact that Franklin and his friends attend kindergarten and therefore they should be in class. In another case, a character was seen in an early episode then reappeared in the third season and appeared to be completely unrecognized.
- '''''), Jackie ( Tyra Banks ), and Kellogg "Cornflake" Lieberbaum Michael Weiner.
- ''''', but all but disappear after 1989. Their last appearance on the series is in the 1991 episode detailing Jesse and Rebecca's wedding. Afterward, they are only mentioned sporadically.
- --- The character of Harry Takiyama, who was Stephanie Tanner's best friend and "boyfriend" during the second season, moved away after appearing in only one episode in the third season. but Michelle's best friend Denise vanishes after the seventh season
- ---In the series premiere, the character of Kimmy Gibbler supposedly has three older sisters. Although her family is never once featured on the series--rather, they are only alluded to--these three sisters are never mentioned again. From then on, the only Gibbler family members who are consistently referred to are Kimmy's parents and an older brother, who has alternately worked in a hotel swimming pool and at an ear piercing boutique.
- '': The 1-X robot is introduced in the episode Obsoletely Fabulous to help the crew of Planet Express, and was absent from the (final) two episodes that followed.
- '': Uncle Ed, the Chief's older brother, mysteriously disappeared.
- ''''' housekeeper who helped out in Blanche's house (where the women lived and the series primarily took place) disappeared after the Pilot Episode , with no further mention.
- '': Following husband James' death, Florida Evans marries Carl Dixon. Carl turns out to have a lung condition and the newly married couple move away to Arizona, hoping it'll improve his health. After being gone for a season, Florida moves back and no one explains where Carl went or mentions that Florida ever remarried.
- '': Ralph Hinkley's son Kevin went from being featured semi-regularly to appearing rarely to only being mentioned in passing by mid-season 2, after which he is never seen or heard from again (though it is possible that his mother somehow gained custody during events never shown onscreen).
- '': Henry Finnerty, the youngest of the Finnerty children, disappeared in the last season. Though he was brought up in one episode during the last season, he is never seen on screen again.
- '': Chuck Cunningham.
- ---Also Fonzie had a young nephew named Spike who liked Joanie and was a mini-clone of Fonzie. However, he is not seen after the introduction of Chachi.
- '': In Series 1, a young couple, Alan and Sandra, were major characters. They did not return for Series 2, and were never seen or heard of again.
- '': Nudge, the Kelly family's next-door neighbour and regular character vanished between seasons. No mention was ever made of the character again. While almost the entire cast would leave the show during its run, the departure of Nudge is the only case where no reason was given.
- '': Some minor examples are Mr. Smith, a mysterious housemate who disappears, and Arnold's coach's son Tucker, who was absent even in his parents remarriage.
- ''''' Bette Davis plays Laura Trent, owner (or majority owner) of the hotel. However in the series that followed her sister-in-law Victoria Cabot ( Anne Baxter ) is at the helm. It is explained in the script she is minding the hotel while Laura takes care of troubled hotels she owns elsewhere. However in subsequent seasons Laura never returns; Victoria (rather than Laura Trent) is later said to have hired the general manager Peter McDermott ( James Brolin ) even though he was in place prior to the events of the pilot. Victoria is also said to share ownership with her family business Cabot Inns.
- '': Various characters appear from time-to-time in JoJo's clown class or as friends of hers, then disappear with no explanation.
- '':In the early comics Josie had other friends Albert, Pepper and Sock; however, as soon as Josie formed the Pussycats, the three were phased out and replaced by Valerie.
- '''''. He usually had one scene per episode, and in one scene slept with an age-phobic Nina Van Horn. After the six episodes of the first season, Wally was never seen nor mentioned again. Some of Hogan's scenes were cut from re-runs as well. Fans of the show have some alarming theories as to what became of Wally. 1
- '' Carrie's sister Sara Spooner, played by Lisa Rieffel , appeared in only a few episodes (including the pilot) during early first season as a ditzy struggling actress who lived with her father Arthur. In the pilot, she moves, along with Arthur, into Doug and Carrie's home after her stepmother (Arthur's third wife) dies and their home burns down while Arthur is cooking with an old electric stove. Originally she moves into a spare bedroom, which a season later becomes Carrie's home office. However in later episodes, it appears that she is not living with Doug and Carrie and may have moved out. Ultimately, Rieffel was let go from the show after writers ran out of ideas for her role and has not been mentioned since. Doug's best friend Richie Iannucci , played by Larry Romano , only appeared during the show's first two seasons and one episode (Paint Misbehavin') in the third season. He has not been heard of since his last appearance. Richie was apparently replaced by Doug's cousin Danny, played by Kevin James ' real-life brother Gary Valentine . Doug also has a sister, Stephanie, played by former talk-show host Ricki Lake , who appeared in a few episodes during the third season. She has also not been heard of since.
- ''''', this was due to "creative differences." The daughter seemed to have been replaced by a neighbor's son whose parents are never seen.
- '''': During the first season, Cat Grant was a reporter for the Daily Planet. She had a rivalry with Lois Lane and repeatedly made passes at Clark, being portrayed as a woman of rather loose values. At the beginning of the second season, it is stated that she has quit the Daily Planet and left Metropolis to go work for the periodical Variety.
- '': When the series began Lucy had two children Chris and Jerry. In 1965 Lucy moved to Hollywood and her daughter Chris was mentioned to have gone to college and afterwards was never mentioned again. Within a few episodes of the 1965/66 season, Jerry went to military school and at first rarely mentioned then he was never mentioned again.
- '': During the first half of the first season Paul Buchman had a college buddy named Jay Selby. Selby was basically Paul's sidekick, though Jamie appeared not to like him much. References were made to their past adventures which included double-dating. Selby's character was never really developed and written out of the show midway through season #1. He went off to escort his grandmother to the museum and was never heard from again. His role on the show was replaced by Paul's cousin Ira. In a fifth-season episode, Selby's sudden disappearance is referenced by Paul, who's having a conversation with Jamie about how they don't seem to have that many friends: "Like Selby, what the hell happened to him?"
- ''''') that appeared in almost every episode of the first season. By the second season, she had disappeared.
- '': During the first two seasons of the show, Mama's son Vinton had two teenage kids from his first marriage -- Sonya and Buzz. When the show returned for its third season, both were gone without explanation, with only one fleeting reference made about them, during the episode back. They were not spoken of at all for the remainder of the series. In the final season, while Vint and his second wife Naomi awaited the birth of their first child, it seemed to be implied that Vint had no other children.
- '':
- ---Seven ( Shane Sweet ) runs away to live with the D'Arcys and is never seen again. (The producers of the show realized they had made a mistake in introducing his character; his face was later seen on a milk carton.)
- --- Several of Al's buddies kept disappearing. In the first few episodes, his buddy was Luke Ventura ( Ritch Shydner ), who was even listed as a series regular in the original pilot episode. He was never seen after the first season, although he was referenced one final time. Al also had an assistant at Gary's named Aaron ( Hill Harper ), who was briefly replaced by Dexter ( Chi McBride ) before the producers settled on Griff ( Harold Sylvester ). Many NO MA'AM characters were dropped, notably Roger and Officer Dan.
- '':
- --- Spearchucker Jones appeared during the first season as a doctor at the 4077th and the fourth tent mate in the Swamp. He quietly disappeared during the first season when the producers were made aware that in fact, there were no black surgeons in United States Army M---A---S---H units during the Korean War .
- ---Later on in the first season, the anesthesiologist Ugly John Black, who played a rather prominent role in the series, also disappeared. No explanation was ever given for his departure. However, the character of BJ Hunnicut was scripted to reference Ugly John in a much later episode, but the line was removed from the final cut. BJ was scripted to write a letter home, in which he told his wife that "It seems like they're all leaving us. Even Ugly John got shipped home."
- --- Odessa Cleveland played an African-American nurse in the first season & appeared in the M---A---S---H Christmas Episode. However, she was never seen again in the series.
- --- Ho Jon was an "assistant" to Hawkeye Pierce and "Trapper" John McIntyre who Hawkeye was able to get into medical school in the United States . However, he only appeared in the pilot and the episode Cowboy , then vanished.
- ---Nurse Margie Cutler (Marcia Strassman) was a prominent character in the first season, proving to be an object of romantic rivalry between Hawkeye and Trapper. After six episodes, however, Nurse Cutler disappeared and was never referred to again.
- '': Both of Ben's daughters Charlene Matlock and Leanne MacIntyre were written out of the show and were only mentioned once (Charlene also featured on a flashback) after their departure. Also, Ben's assistants Tyler Hudson, Cassie Phillips, Michelle Thomas and Conrad McMasters as well as his neighbour Les Calhoun left without explanation.
- '': Sometime between the end of Season 5 (Power Rangers Turbo's "Chase Into Space Part 2") and the beginning of Season 6 (Power Rangers In Space's "From Out Of Nowhere Part 1") the Youth Center (initially run by Ernie and then by Lt. Stone) suddenly undergoes a change from the Youth Center to 'The Surf Spot' run by Adele. As Turbo and In Space follow on from each other, there was no time for the change to take place and no mention is made of why.
- '':
- ---In the first series, dentist Ben Harper ( Robert Lindsay ) had an assistant named Brigette ( Daisy Donovan ), who did not reappear for Series 2. Throughout the rest of the show, Ben had a series of different, short lived assistants.
- ---"Stupid Brian", the boyfriend of Janey Harper ( Daniela Denby-Ashe ) in Series 2 also vanished without explanation. However, Janey had many different boyfriends, so this was perhaps not so strange.
- '': Avril, the nervous assistant of George simply faded away at the end of the first series, and was never referenced again.
- '': For a number of seasons, Mike Douglas (played by Tim Considine) was the oldest son. When Considine left the series, Ernie was adopted so that there were still three sons. And, while Ernie's adoption was referred to throughout the series, Mike was never mentioned again, and Steve Douglas mentioned several times that he had three sons, never four, and that Robbie was the oldest.
- '': Marlene Kratz, who was a regular cast member from 1994 to 1997, announced that she was going away for a three-month cruise and was not mentioned again for several years. In a special episode airing in 2005 for the soap's 20th anniversary, which contained video clips from past characters, Marlene appeared briefly and praised her time on Ramsay Street, while standing next to a boat. Producers included this as an in-joke for fans who had been confused about Marlene's disappearance.
- ''''', was dropped from the show without any explanation after a third-season Finale that killed off two other characters.
- '': The fearsome and bossy character of Jag suddenly disappears, and no explanation is made.
- ''''') who was a main character the first season. She just vanished by the second season and no one has mentioned her since.
- '': Carlotta Vega's adopted son Eli Traeger disappeared in 1998, never to be spoken of again.
- ''''' after being assaulted in the prison kitchen. He never comes back to Em City, nor is it explained what happens to him, although his injuries were not life-threatening.
- '''''), and a neighbor, Mrs. Wilcox ( Carol Woods ), were series regulars during the first season, but then they were dropped without explanation. Coincidentally, the same thing happened to Robert's second best friend (and Mrs. Wilcox's son), Wendell Wilcox ( Faizon Love ), who disappeared midway through Season 4.
- ''''' played Quincy's on-again, off-again girlfriend Lee Potter in all 4 1st-season episodes and the first 3 episodes of the second season. After that she was never seen or mentioned again.
- '':
- ---Between the first and second seasons, the characters of Jenny Kelly ( Michelle Beaudoin ) and teacher Eugene Pool ( Paul Feig ) were dropped from the series, with no explanation of their absences.
- ---During the fourth season, two semi-recurring characters were "witch hunter" Brad Alcerro ( Jon Huertas ) and trainee witch Dreama ( China Shavers ). Both were dropped for the fifth season, again with no explanation.
- ---The character of Miles Goodman ( Trevor Lissauer ) disappeared without explanation between seasons six and seven.
- '':
- ---When Zack, Screech, and Lisa graduate from junior high to high school, along with an inexplicable shift in setting from Indiana to California, came the unexplained disappearance of best friends Nikki ( Heather Hopper ) and Mikey ( Max Battimo ). Also, the characters of Carrie Bliss ( Hayley Mills ), formerly the prime focus of the series, as well as Milo Williams ( T.K. Carter ) and Tina Paladrino (Joan Ryan) were all dropped without any explanation, and were never mentioned again. (It bears mention, though, that this is a unique case. The episodes preceding this shift were actually part of a different series, '' Good Morning, Miss Bliss '', which was cancelled early in its run. It was only years later that the producers decided to dust off this old series, add bookend speeches by Zack ("I remember once in junior high..."), and re-air these episodes as part of ''Saved by the Bell''.)
- ---Max, played by Ed Alonzo , the owner of the Max diner the gang hang out in mysteriously disappears.
- ---The final "Graduation" episode had already been shot when the network ordered additional episodes. Tiffani Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley were attached to other projects by that time, necessitating the creation of a replacement character Tori, played by Leanna Creel . The Tori episodes aired in the middle of the other final season episodes to sidestep continuity problems (though the disappearance and later reappearance of Kelly and Jessie, and vice versa for Tori, went unexplained).
- ---In the spin-off ''Saved by the Bell: The College Years'', Zack, Screech, and Slater move into a co-ed dormitory populated by three new female leads, one of whom is Danielle Marks, portrayed by Essence Atkins . However, in the second episode, Thiessen's character Kelly returns to the cast, and Danielle disappears without a trace and only a passing mention of a girl transferring out.
- ---Jessie had a stepbrother, Eric, who is featured in a two-part episode following the re-marriage of Mr. Spano. At the end of the episode, he wants to return to New York but is convinced to stay, however he is never referred to again.
- ---In ''Good Morning Miss Bliss'', Screech mentions having a brother but is later known as an only child.
- ---Screech has a nerdy girlfriend, Violet ( Tori Spelling ), who appears in a few episodes but is never seen again, presumably due to Spelling's work on '' Beverly Hills 90210 ''.
- ---Kelly has a younger sister who had a crush on Zack but after she finds out that Zack only likes Kelly she is never seen again.
- s character to parliament, the characters of Dan Spielman , Gigi Edgley , Spencer McLaren (a founding member) and Nina Liu disappeared without warning. The fourth season began with an almost entirely new cast and without explaining the disappearances of four key characters. The series was axed three episodes later.
- ''''' frequented by the show's other regular characters. This character is featured prominently in the Pilot Episode , but is not seen again in subsequent episodes. After production of the pilot, the waitress character was abandoned and replaced by the character Elaine, a friend and former girlfriend of Jerry. Also in the pilot was Kramer's dog, who was never seen again.
- s death in 1990, his character, David Robinson, was never referenced to again (although when Will Lee died prior to that, there was a special episode stating that Mr. Hooper was dead).
- ', Daphne returns. The following year, Fred and Velma return as semi-regulars, with the explanations that Fred is now an author and Velma works at NASA .
- '': The character "Skipper", a friend of Carrie's and a short-lived boyfriend of Miranda, disappeared after the second season. Though he was never a big character, he was in quite of few episodes and had a relationship with Miranda. Though most of the guys are never seen again, he was friends with Carrie, so it seems odd that he was just cut out of her life. One reason for his 'demise' may be that he was a character from the book that the show was based on, and by that time the producers were probably trying to take the show in its own direction, and stop taking situations from the book.
- ''''') was a series regular only for the first season; afterwards, he was never mentioned again.
- '': Allstar Seaworthy's best friend, an orange snork named Dimmy Finster, disappeared midway through the 1985 season and was never mentioned again (yet he still appeared in clips for the 1987 season's opening credits). Also, Junior Wetworth's little brother was not seen again in the later episodes.
- ''''', which also introduced Butters. Trey Parker and Matt Stone stated on the DVD commentary for the episode that Pip disappeared because they discovered that Butters was a much better character to take his place.
- ''''') also vanished between the first and second seasons. A throwaway line about a spacesuit malfunction was written, but not aired. Morse left due to a contract dispute with Freiberger. (The ''Moonbase Alpha Technical Notebook'' timeline of the series not only includes Bergman's spacesuit malfunction but also attributes Morrow and Kano's disappearance to an Eagle crash).
- '''''), James Hobert (Alexander Chaplin) and Janelle Cooper (Victoria Dillard). But while Michael J. Fox's departure was set up over the course of several episodes, and he made guest appearances in later seasons, none of the other characters were ever mentioned again. Stacey Paterno ( Jennifer Esposito ) and Angie Ordonez (Lana Parilla) similarly vanished without comment at other points in the series' run.
- '': In the Pilot episode, SpongeBob has a pet scallop, Shelly, sitting by his bed. We only see him again in one more episode, and after that, Shelly disappears completely.
- ''''' of the American Star Blazers, Orion was originally referred to as having retired and his son Orion Jr. taking over under the new chief. More recent versions prefer to reconcile with the Japanese version even though his death was not seen. The fan theory behind Talan's name change is that his full name was Talan Masterson. However, the character in Bolar Wars was constantly referred to as Sergeant Masterson, a rank which is not only inconsistent with his function, but also inconsistent with his relationship to Desslock. In the original Space Battleship Yamato canon, the rookie characters of Sakamoto and Kitano are introduced as apprentices to Kodai and Shima during Yamato: the New Voyage which also introduces Tasuke Tokugawa (Orion Jr.). Tasuke continues in the further Yamato movies and series but Sakamoto and Kitano are never seen again. Sakamoto's place is taken over in the following film Be Forever Yamato by Shiro Kato (Conroy), brother of the late Saburo Kato (Conroy).
- '''': In two early episodes, a Starfleet security officer named Primmin is part of Sisko's crew, but he disappears without a trace.
- ''''' made several appearances as a young crewmember named Elizabeth Cutler . Despite her brief appearance, the character became extremely popular with fans. After Waymire became involved in a TV series project and other productions, she was no longer available to play the role, although the character continued to be mentioned from time to time up until the start of the third season. Waymire died in 2003, but the series did not establish what happened to the character. Similarly, another popular recurring character, an Engineering assistant named Rostov, appeared early in the series but vanished without trace after the start of the fourth season; he was "name-dropped" numerous times thereafter however.
- '''':
- --- During the first season, four different actors were seen playing the ''Enterprise's'' chief engineer at various times. At the start of the second season, Geordi La Forge had become chief engineer, and these characters (Argyle, Logan, MacDougal and Lieutenant Commander Leyland T. Lynch) were never heard from again.
- --- During the second season, Diana Muldaur joined the cast as Dr. Katherine Pulaski , replacing Dr. Beverly Crusher , played by Gates McFadden as the Enterprise-D 's chief medical officer. Crusher's absence is explained by her decision to leave the Enterprise to head Starfleet Medical (fairly unlikely for an officer holding as junior a rank as commander) . At the beginning of season three, McFadden returns to the cast, and Muldaur is gone. Dr. Pulaski's absence remained unexplained for the remainder of the series' run.
- --- A doctor on board the Enterprise-D , Dr. Selar (played by Suzie Plakson ) was seen only once in the second season. Even though she was never seen again, she was frequently referred to in dialogue and paged over the ship's PA system. Plakson went on to portray K'Ehleyr in the series.
- --- Several secondary characters were introduced with the implication of becoming regulars, only to disappear after one or two appearances. Most notably, this occurred with Ensign Sonya Gomez ( Lycia Naff ), introduced as a naive new member of LaForge's Engineering staff (and potential love interest for LaForge), and Ensign Robin Lefler (a pre-stardom Ashley Judd ), a brilliant young officer with a rule for everything. Both characters would later be revived in the ''Star Trek'' novels.
- ' since, no explanation has ever been given for her departure ( William Shatner claims that Grace Lee Whitney was let go because of serious drug and alcohol problems; while that was true, the producers have said that they just didn't think it was a good idea for Kirk to have a love interest on the ship).
- '''': The series had a habit of repeatedly introducing new members of the crew who never appeared again.
- ---In the episode "Equinox, Part 2", two of the USS Equinox's crew, Gilmore and Lessing are stripped of rank and become part of Voyager's crew. Janeway tells them that they will have to work hard to earn her trust. Despite this scene setting up potential future appearances, the two characters are never mentioned again.
- ---In the episode "Collective", the crew encounters a group of Borg children, one of which is an infant who is sent to sickbay. Although the Doctor saves the child, it is never mentioned again, although the other children remain on the show.
- ---The episode "Good Shepherd" introduced three new crewmembers, Mortimer Harren, Tal Celes and William Telfer, whom Janeway takes on an away mission in order to improve their performance. Only Celes received a followup appearance (a single, brief cameo). (The Chuck Cunningham Syndrome in reverse could also apply here - See Below ).
- ''''', served as a romantic interest and recurring villain in seasons four through seven. In season seven she was rehabilitated by the humans of Earth, and presumably ready to play a romantic role again. She was last seen in the SGC infirmary, and has not been mentioned in the two seasons since.
- ''''' was captured by the humans of Atlantis in the episode "The Eye". She was never mentioned again and was presumably returned to her people as an offscreen part of a deal negotiated in the episode "The Siege, Part 2".
- '':
- ---The youngest Lambert boy on the show, Brendan, saw his role reduced during the last few years of the show (especially after the birth of Lilly) until he was completely dropped from the show during the last season without explanation.
- ---In the first season, Carol owns a beauty salon attached to the Lamberts' house. The beauty salon employs two women, Carol's mother and sister, who are also main characters. After the first season, the two women are completely dropped.
- '''''), a displaced midwesterner, disappeared after one season of being a regular character. Nothing was mentioned about it on the show, but the producers realized the character had run its course, and most jokes associated with his character could easily be transferred to Tony Banta.
- ''''') and Josh ( DeForest Convan ) disappeared after the first season, and were never mentioned again.
- '': Donna's younger sister, Tina, is shown once and never mentioned again. Donna also apparently had an older sister, Valerie, who was mentioned once but never seen or mentioned again.
- ''''', there were two cases of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, with the characters of DC Kray ( Kevin Allen ) & DC Crocket ( Joy Brook ) leaving without explanation. No mention was ever made of these characters again.
- ''''') was added to the show at the beginning of the fourth season but soon disappeared several episodes later when the show's writers realized they had run out of ideas for her.
- '), the family mysteriously loses two children, Steven Floyd and Ruth Ann.
- ''''' series' first and only season, several major cast members drop out without explanation, most notably the character of Col. Alec Freeman ( George Sewell ) who is replaced as the first officer of the secret organization SHADO by Col. Virginia Lake ( Wanda Ventham ). (The dropping of several characters was sparked by a five-month break in production while the series changed studios, during which time several lead actors obtained roles in other series.)
- ''''') last appeared during season 3 and was never seen again.
- '': ''The West Wing'' has an especially severe case of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome. Due to the show's large pool of secondary and tertiary characters, characters tend to disappear for no apparent reason. The show has even developed its own term for Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, "Mandyville", named for the first character to depart in such a manner.
- ---The character of Mandy Hampton was dropped after the first season without explanation, though the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin , has said that she was dropped because the character had run her course and Moira Kelly 's departure was amicable. "Mandyville" is named for Hampton.
- --- Ainsley Hayes ( Emily Procter ) vanished slowly from semi-regular appearances in season 2, and her position in the White House was taken over by Matthew Perry 's character in season 4. A later episode had Josh Lyman lamenting that Republicans who looked like Ainsley Hayes weren't seen around the West Wing any longer since she took a private sector job. Hayes returned in the run up to the series' finale.
- --- Elsie Snuffin ( Danica McKellar ), Will Bailey 's ( Joshua Malina ) sister. He insists that she join him when he comes to work in the West Wing since they are a team, she disappears without explanation after around 10 episodes. She is not mentioned again.
- --- Jordon Kendall ( Joanna Gleason ), Leo's lawyer, is set up as a romantic interest for him in mid-Season 3 and early Season 4. A couple of episodes later, Bartlett asks Leo how their romance is going, and he responds that it's going well. No mention of her is ever made again.
- '''''). Other M.I.A.s included Heather ( Mena Suvari ), Vicki Lathum ( Tara Reid ), and Jessica ( Natasha Lyonne ). ( Shannon Elizabeth also failed to reprise her role as Nadia, but she was briefly mentioned.)
- '; and Foxy Cleopatra ( Beyonce Knowles ) in '' Austin Powers In Goldmember ''. But while Vanessa was killed off at the start of the second film, no explanation was given for the departure of Felicity Shagwell. Also, Will Ferrell 's character, Mostafa, was never mentioned in the third film. However, Mostafa and Felicity Shagwell are in the deleted scenes of the movie.
- ''''')'s best friend Smokey ( Chris Tucker ) was obviously missing in the sequel '' Next Friday ''. Ice Cube references the missing Smokey has gone into Rehab within the first 30 minutes of the film. After this Smokey is never mentioned again.
- ''''') has two brothers (Buzz and Jeff) and two sisters (Megan and Lainie). The Third Film focussed on another family. When the franchise returned to the (recast) McAllisters in '' Home Alone 4 '', Buzz and Megan are his only siblings. The two missing characters haven't been "cut" so much as combined with the remaining brother and sister; one of many cases in which the film significantly deviated from established series continuity.
- ', nor is there an explanation of their whereabouts.
- ''''') was only seen in the first film. Dominique Dunne died on November 4th 1982, her ex-boyfriend was convicted of her manslaughter. As a result, no further reference was made to her character in the Poltergeist films.
- ' Ben Healey ( John Ritter ) met and fell in love with Annie Young ( Amy Yasbeck ), who had a daughter named Trixie. The conclusion of ''Problem Child 2'' suggested a " Happily Ever After " ending. However, in '' Problem Child 3 ,'' Ben and Junior are alone: there is no trace of Annie or Trixie, and no explanation as to what happened to them.
- s owner, was dropped in the first few years of the comic strip. Odie suddenly became Jon's pet. Jim Davis explains that the character of Lyman was created to give Jon someone to talk to. As Garfield's character evolved into a more human-like persona, Jon's conversations became more centered around Garfield, making Lyman somewhat obsolete. While the strip doesn't explain Lyman's sudden disappearance ''per se'', Jim Davis gives some humorous scenarios as to what happened to Lyman in the Garfield 20th Anniversary Book.
See Also: Lazarus Cunningham
Perhaps because it creates even more credibility problems, producers are much less likely to suddenly introduce characters whose presence should have been at least alluded to or explained earlier. But it has happened on a few occasions.
- ''''' ( Eileen Fulton ) had given birth to a son off-camera nearly thirty years prior, whom viewers had never been made aware of until he tracked his mother down as an adult. The show's writers were applauded at the time for doing their homework, as Lisa's newfound son's age roughly corresponded with a several-month period in 1965 during which Fulton actually did temporaily leave the show (in which Lisa could have conceivably given birth without the audience finding out).
- ''''', previously established to be an only child, suddenly acquired a teenage sister Dawn in the first episode of Season 5. Although this was planned by the writers, who had dropped hints (in the form of dreams) in three earlier episodes, and explained four episodes later, it was at first jarring to many viewers. should be noted that the sudden and unexplained appearance of Dawn WAS eventually explained as a major revelation of the season's story arc; to explain further here would give away plot spoilers. Apparently writer-creator Joss Whedon wanted to fake viewers out as if he had pulled the reverse Chuck Cunningham.
- ''''' was first featured on her final day working at the factory - we were told that she had been there for some time, however she had never been seen nor mentioned in the series previously. Soon afterwards she returned to working at the factory and became a regular character.
- ''''' made an appearance as Sondra Huxtable in a first-season episode, but was not listed on the Opening Credits until the second season. There was no explanation in the series for the addition of Sondra, though after the series ended Bill Cosby explained that the character of the eldest, collegiate daughter was added to provide a positive role model for black youth.
- ''''' replaced Jean Smart at the beginning of the sixth season, playing Carlene Dobber, the sister to Smart's Charlene Frazier character. Despite several previous episodes giving details about Charlene's family, her sister Carlene was never mentioned.
- '':
- ---In the twenty-third season story '' The Trial Of A Time Lord '' a glimpse into the Doctor's future shows him travelling with Melanie Bush , but no explanation is ever given in the series for how she came to be his travelling companion. In a seeming paradox at the end of the story the present day Doctor leaves in the TARDIS with Melanie, who has been brought back in time from the future. Various Spin-off Media have offered both an explanation of how she first met the Doctor and also run with the theory that the Doctor returned her to his future self.
- ''''' is replaced by Stanley Kowalski for the third season, who has been told to impersonate Ray (who has been sent undercover in the mob) - to the confusion of Benton Fraser . Presumably the impersonation is due to the script already having been written for the original Ray, but subtle tweaks could add to the humour of the scenario by playing on Fraser's confusion. All the other characters are aware of what is going on, but Fraser doesn't find out until the end of the episode that the real Ray is under-cover elsewhere, and that Kowalski is imperonsating him to protect the real Ray. Ray returns briefly at the end of the fourth season.
- ' Spin Off introduced many concepts about the life of the Frasier character that were never alluded to in the original show. Frasier had never mentioned his Brother , or that he was born and raised in Seattle , or that his Father , a retired cop, was alive - on ''Cheers'' he'd said both his parents were dead and that he'd been an only child. A season 2 episode explained that he had told friends on Cheers his father was a dead scientist (in reality he was a living police officer) because they'd fallen out, so it didn't matter.
- '': Hermes' son, Dwight, appears in the fourth season, with no explanation to where he had been the past 12 years or why Hermes never mentioned him.
- '': Azusa's younger sister Makoto was never mentioned until she suddenly appeared in an episode because Azusa was kidnapped and detained by Teshigawara. Onizuka being too stupid to investigate it himself, Makoto uses her very advanced detective skills to find her.
- '': In the last episode of the series, "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever", Zim is shown going about his business with a new sidekick: a purple, floating moose called "Minimoose". Minimoose is revealed to be robotic in origin and highly powerful, with a "Vortian Doomsday device hidden in his Nubs of Doom". Part way through the episode, Dib, held captive by Zim, notices Minimoose and asks "What is that?" to which Zim responds "Oh, uh, that's MiniMoose, my other sidekick, yeah. Yup, been with me the whole time!". Minimoose's origin episode had been written, but due to the show being cancelled by Nickelodeon was never produced. The X-Mas episode was originally scheduled to appear later in that series, after many of the unproduced episodes (including Minimoose's introduction), but the series was delayed, and the Christmas episode was shown at Christmas that year anyway - hence the disparity in the timeline, and (in true Zim style), making light of the unintended error rather than rewriting the whole episode without Minimoose.
- '': During the entire first season, Jeff's wife Karen was pregnant with their daughter, which she gave birth to in the last episode of the first season, and they already had a son. On the first episode of the second and final season, they have another son who looks about four years old, but there is no sign of a daughter. Also, the first son hasn't aged at all since the first season.
- ''''', 1986 , three years into the show's run. But according to the show she had lived next door to the Harpers her entire life -- flashbacks even showed her as a tiny girl playing in their kitchen -- but provided no explanation as to where she had been for the past three years. The fact that she seemed to be in the Harpers' house all the time made the situation even more unusual. Although, viewers only see a small fraction of a sitcom family's lives — leaving many relatives, friends, acquaintances and enemies unseen — Iola's absence is notable because her closeness to the family implies she would likely have figured into a number of scenes in the first three seasons.
- '': For the 7th season, Ben's second daughter Leanne MacIntyre joined the cast, despite never being referred in the series before.
- ''''' and with no original characters remaining amongst the prisoners, new characters Lou Kelly ( Louise Siversen ) and Alice Jenkins ( Lois Collinder ) were portrayed as having been in the cell block since the story events of the very first episodes from 1979. Siversen had played several bit parts in earlier years (though not as a prisoner) and had spent about a year as a cell block extra while Collinder had made a few brief appearances as a prisoner, but they had not been around nearly as long as the scripts later stated.
- '''''.
- '''''). Tony and he grew up together, thought of each other as brothers, used to pick on Christopher, etc. And even though we'd seen Tony go through his whole life in his therapist's office for five years, Tony B. was not mentioned until he joined the cast. This was acknowledged when Bobby Jr. asked Tony B. "How come I've never heard of you until now?" in the episode "Rat Pack"
- ''''') is a regular character, part of the command staff and treated by the other regulars as if he has always been. However, not only his character had never been seen before, but also no dialogue was written to even include a plausible explanation as to how he had somehow been promoted to that level. Alpha hadn't even had a security chief in the first season. By contrast, an entire episode was devoted to the introduction of Maya, the other new regular that season.
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