MetaChat - Characters mentioned on television shows that rarely if ever appeared?

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16 March 2007

Characters mentioned on television shows that rarely if ever appeared? →[More:]I was watching Scrubs last night, and I was thinking of how Ennid, Kelso's wife is mentioned but mostly never shown.

I know this has been used on other shows, but which ones?

post by: drezdn at: 09:04 | 29 comments

Maris (Niles' wife) on Frasier, Vera (Norm's wife) on Cheers, and Carlton the doorman on the Mary Tyler Moore Show spring to mind. Interesting question.

posted by iconomy 16 March | 09:29

Also, Charlie on Charlie's Angels, and some guy on Magnum PI that was always sending him letters or something.

posted by iconomy 16 March | 09:31

Donald Penobscot, Margaret Houlihans husband on M*A*S*H.
Stretch Cunningham, Archie's often reffered to pal on All In The Family, who only appeared in one episode if I recall correctly.

posted by jonmc 16 March | 09:32

Ugly Naked Guy.

posted by mike9322 16 March | 09:36

Mr. Zoblotnick on David Lynch's sitcom On The Air. He was the head of the TV network (ZBC), and when he was pissed he'd call the control room. They would pick up the phone, and a two-foot jet of flame would shoot out of the phone's earpiece.

There's an unaired episode that actually has Mr. Zoblotnick in it, but I thought it was better when they left him unseen and kinda menacing.

posted by BoringPostcards 16 March | 09:40

"The man who worked in the garden" on Bill and Ben.

posted by essexjan 16 March | 09:42

The actor who played George Steinbrenner (sp) on Seinfeld - you always only saw the back of his head.

Seems I used to watch a lot of tv...

posted by iconomy 16 March | 09:46

Carlton the doorman

*that's* who i was trying to think of!

posted by danostuporstar 16 March | 09:49

I am almost positive that George Steinbrenner was played by Larry David...for sure he was voiced by LD.

posted by richat 16 March | 10:00

Also, on Seinfeld, Kramer's pal Bob Sacamano (sp?).

posted by box 16 March | 10:04

You're right, richat! I just looked it up on imdb. No wonder they never showed his face, since he looks nothing like GS. Luckily for him.

posted by iconomy 16 March | 10:04

Jenny Piccalo in the early (good) years of Happy Days.
And Carlton was from Rhoda.

posted by chococat 16 March | 10:16

Tino, on My So Called Life.

posted by gaspode 16 March | 10:20

Morn on Deep Space Nine was always seen, but never heard, even though it was well-established that he was quite talkative. There's a twist for you.

posted by WolfDaddy 16 March | 10:28

Norm's wife Vera, on Cheers, whose soul appearance was made with her face obscured.

posted by Elsa 16 March | 10:29

On Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander's oft-mentioned belligerent dipsomaniac parents (and Uncle Rory) are pretty scarce; his father appears, shadowy and backlit, in a dream sequence in the fourth year, I think, and they don't reappear until the end of the sixth season.

I think I'm now officially a nerd.

posted by Elsa 16 March | 10:40

Wikipedia has a list of unseen characters

posted by TheDonF 16 March | 10:41

Donna's sister on That 70's Show.

posted by Mitheral 16 March | 13:27

Carlton the doorman on the Mary Tyler Moore Show

Actually, I believe that was on the spin-off Rhoda.

Donald Penobscot, Margaret Houlihans husband on M*A*S*H.

Nope. Donald was on at least one episode where they had the M*A*S*H Olympics (Episode 130).

posted by terrapin 16 March | 13:38

Someone mentioned Happy Days which reminds me that Ritchie and Joanie had a brother, Chuck. Chuck did nothing but bounce a basketball when he was on, but then he disappeared. I think the show wrote him as having gone to college, but I don't think he was ever mentioned again.

posted by terrapin 16 March | 13:44

terrapin, they said 'rarely,' too.

Also, I cling to my theory that Chuck was drafted and was an 'advisor' in the early days of Vietnam who went MIA. (Seriously, I'd love to see a 'reunion special of a show from the '60's where a major character died or was damaged in that war. Remember the rumors that Tony Dow (aka Wally Cleaver) had died there?)

posted by jonmc 16 March | 13:56

I stand corrected, jon. "rarely if ever" indeed.

In that case sooooo many M*A*S*H characters: Hawkeye's dad, Radar's mom, etc, etc. They were never seen but the helped develop the characters we did see.

posted by terrapin 16 March | 14:31

This is true. There is one episode where we actually see the oft-mentioned 'Sparky' that Radar is always talking to on the phone. Bonus points if you can give me his last name.

posted by jonmc 16 March | 14:40

Wow, I'd totally forgotten about "Chuck". Nostaglia is warm and slightly upsetting to the stomach.

posted by danostuporstar 16 March | 14:55

...OK, so, one time Randy Beaman's cat ate this fish from the fish tank but the fish was a piranha, it lived inside the cat forever, and the cat became Piranha Cat. K, bye...

posted by Wolfdog 16 March | 16:37

...and starring Weena Mercator as the Hopping Woman...

posted by Wolfdog 16 March | 16:55

You saw Radar's mom once in an 8mm home move that he showed. As I remember his mom was played by Gary Burghoff in a dress.

posted by octothorpe 16 March | 21:24

octothorpe's correct on both accounts. Wow, what esoteric info we store...

posted by Zack_Replica 17 March | 01:41

I used to wonder, when watching Adam-12 and Emergency!, what the radio dispatcher(s) looked like.

posted by PaxDigita 20 March | 12:16

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