Unseen Sitcom Characters

I loved where in sitcom, there was the characters you could not see. Sometimes they eventually gave the character an actor but some purposefully never showed their face. Sometimes they had a voice and other times no voice.

Maris Crane from Frasier
Maris Crane is Niles Crane's wife for the majority of the show Frasier until he divorces her. Though she is never fully seen onscreen (much like Norm Peterson's wife, Vera, on Cheers), she is the most notable of the show's never-seen characters, and often the subject of many jokes. Maris makes only two onscreen "appearances": "Voyage of the Damned" when her shadow is seen through a shower curtain, and in "Rooms with a View", where she appears in Niles' memory, almost completely covered by bandages after surgery. When David Hyde Pierce guest starred on the Simpsons, the writers wanted him to call a character 'Maris' but the Frasier writers didn't approve so it was changed to Bart covering his eyes and him asking if he was Maris. I liked this, Simpsons writers did not understand this. I liked both shows and followed both.

Vera Peterson from Cheers

Norm has a wife named Vera who is often mentioned but her face is never seen. When she is finally shown, her face is covered in pie thrown by Diane (season 5, episode 9 Thanksgiving Orphans), and the actress is uncredited. The only other times she is seen, viewers can see only her legs and at one time her waving from a car which drives past cheers on her and Norm's 15th wedding anniversary. Vera is the brunt of many of Norm's jokes, but on many occasions, Norm has professed secretly an undying love for his wife, or defended her honor. 

 Dick from Cybill

 Maryann Thorpe– Cybill's best friend had am unfaithful ex-husband, celebrity plastic surgeon Richard Thorpe (an infrequently and never fully seen character, to whom she always refers to with a sneer as "Doctor Dick"). Sometimes we did see the back of his head. I think a couple times we heard him speak. 

Stanley Walker from Will and Grace

Her husband, Stanley Walker, is described as an extremely wealthy and overweight man with some unusual sexual tastes, who gives a lot of business to Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Although Karen often insults Stan and implies she married him for his money, the truth is she was hopelessly devoted and in love with Stan. Sometimes we saw his feet or the back of his head. I am not sure if we heard his voice.

Mrs. Wolowitz from Big Bang Theory

She is voiced by Carol Ann Susi. Howard's overbearing Jewish mother, she is never seen on-screen but her deep voice is heard when he is at their house or when he talks to her on the phone. She talks to Howard always by yelling at him from another room, which results in awkward conversations with Howard yelling back at her. 

 Dorothy's Brother Phil on Golden Girls

Dorothy has a cross-dressing brother named Phil who has many kids and lives poor and always asking for money from Sophia. We never see him but he does die and we do meet his wife. He is often a running joke.

Jerry's cousin Jeffery in Seinfeld

Jerry's horse-faced cousin, about whom Uncle Leo always raves. Jeffrey once got Jerry tickets to a Paul Simon concert, and a glasses-less George once claimed to see Jeffrey kissing Jerry's girlfriend in the street (it turned out to be a policewoman patting a horse). The back of Cousin Jeffrey's head can be seen in the deleted scenes for the policewoman/horse episode on the season DVD.

Elizabeth in Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad

In this tokusatsu series produced by DiC in response to Power Rangers and used footage from Japanese series Gridman. Elizabeth was the little sister of the main character who we never saw. Her voice was played by Kath Soucie.

Child Versions of Popular Characters

 Muppet Babies

The first of these, inspired by a sequence in the movie Muppets in Manhattan. It aired from September 15, 1984 to November 2, 1991 on CBS and was extremely popular. The series is arguably one of the best and many fans wanted it on DVD but because the show used copyrighted movies and clips, it makes it difficult. Some episodes have been released. They took seven characters from The Muppet Show, added Skeeter as Skooter's sister to have another female. Other Muppets would appear from time to time like Dr. Bunsen, Beaker, Janice, Bean Bunny, Stalter and Waldof.

 Flintstones Kids

It aired from 1986 to 1988 on ABC, and was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It was sort of popular and spun off Captain Caveman. I liked watching it. Unlike Muppet Babies, it didn't really have educational basis. Before Pebbles and Bam-Bam, Fred, Barney, Wilma and Betty were school mates. Fred somehow owned baby Dino.

 

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo

This show ran for three seasons from 1988 to 1991, funny enough it premiered after Flintstones Kids ended. Following the show's first season, much of Hanna-Barbera's production staff, including Tom Ruegger, left the studio, and helped to revive the Warner Bros. Animation studio, beginning with Tiny Toon Adventures. Tom Ruegger's style used in this series carried on to the first season of Tiny Toons.

 Yo Yogi!

 Yo Yogi! is an animated series first aired on NBC on Saturday mornings during the 1991-92 season. Taking place in Jellystone Town, it features Yogi Bear and the other popular Hanna-Barbera characters including Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Yogi's own sidekick, Boo-Boo Bear and Yogi's Girlfriend, Cindy Bear depicted as 14-year-old adolescent children and were crime fighters. This series was not successful, only lasted a year.

 Disney Babies

Even though there has been no series, there has been no cartoon series with this. It has been an merchandise line since the late 80's. I am not sure which date but it has spawn off into Baby Winnie the Pooh and Baby Princesses. Disney Babies have had storylines in books where they are all in the same house similar to Muppet Babies.

 Tom & Jerry Kids Show

The show premiered in 1990 and continued airing until 1994 on Fox Kids. The series is about the adventures of Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse in their childhood and their friends Droopy and Dripple and Spike and Tyke. The series is somewhat similar to the "older" version of the original 114 H-B theatricals, partly akin to being produced by Tom and Jerry creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. In terms of violence level, they are far closer to the classic cartoons than previous television adaptions such as The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show although somewhat milder than Hanna and Barbera's original series.

 Jungle Cubs

 Jungle Cubs is an animated series produced by Disney for ABC in 1996. It was based on their 1967 feature film The Jungle Book, but set in the youth of the animal characters. The show was a hit, running for two seasons in syndication before moving its re-runs to the Disney Channel. I liked this one too. Jungle Cubs suggested that when they were younger, both the good and evil animals lived together in relative peace.

 

James Bond Jr

James Bond Jr. is described as the nephew of Ian Fleming’s masterspy James Bond. The name “James Bond Junior” was first used in 1967 for an unsuccessful spinoff novel. In this animated series, the character defeats threats to the safety of the free world. Produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson and United Artists Corporation, debuted on September 30, 1991 and a total of 65 half-hour episodes were produced syndicated. It lasted one year.

 

Baby Looney Tunes

The idea of baby Looney Tunes is rather older than the actual series. There was a lot of merchandise before the series aired. The show premiered on WB stations usually before or after the Kids' WB! block on September 7, 2002 and continued to air on Cartoon Network until 2006. The show is similar to Muppet Babies, with the main characters taken care of by Granny.

Money or Creativity leading to an Animated Spin-Off to Animated Film

As an animation buff, I was wondering of spin-off series from animated films and seeing why they chose those films and not others. In many cases, it was because of money or popularity.

Disney's The Little Mermaid
During its original 1989 theatrical release, Mermaid earned $84,355,863 at the North American box office. In 1992, an animated series was developed that aired on CBS on saturday mornings from 1992 to 1994 (three seasons, 31 episodes). Some of the voice actors of the film reprise their roles in the series, among them Jodi Benson as Ariel, Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, Kenneth Mars as King Triton, and Pat Carroll as Ursula. The animation was not the same as the original film but just as good, it wasn't bad.

Disney's Aladdin
Aladdin was the most successful film of 1992 grossing $217 million in the United States and over $504 million worldwide. As of 2010, it is the eighteenth highest grossing animated film and the third highest grossing traditionally animated feature worldwide, behind The Lion King and The Simpsons Movie. From the 1994 direct-to-video sequel came the animated series that lasted 86 episodes (2 seasons, 1994-1995). Many of the films' stars provided the voices of their TV counterparts, with the notable exception of Dan Castellaneta filling in for Robin Williams in the Genie role (like in The Return of Jafar). Unlike the Little Mermaid spinoff series, this series does not feature any musical numbers. It aired weekdays on syndication originally. It was part of the 'Disney Afternoon.' The animation was much like the second movie, low-grade compared to the original.

Timon & Pumbaa
The Lion King earned $422,783,777 in North America and an estimated $528,800,000 in other territories for a worldwide total of $951,583,777. It is the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide and the highest-grossing film of Walt Disney Animation Studios. The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa is an American animated television series made by the Walt Disney Company. It centers on Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog from the Disney film franchise The Lion King, without most of the other characters in the franchise. The show ran for three seasons from September 16, 1995 to 1999 (5 seasons, 85 episodes on CBS). By the fall of 1995, 13 episodes premiered on Friday afternoons on the syndicated Disney Afternoon block, and 12 more episodes aired on Saturday mornings on CBS at the same time.  By the fall of 1996, 13 new episodes aired on The Disney Afternoon and Family Channel, with 8 more premiering on CBS and in. 1998, 39 new episodes were produced due to overseas demand. These episodes began airing on Toon Disney on January 1, 1999. From episode 47 onwards, the show was produced by Studio B Productions for Walt Disney Television Animation. The animation was considerably low-grade compared to the film.

The Penguins of Madagascar
 In the United States, the film Madagascar grossed $193,595,521, and in foreign areas grossed $339,085,150 with a summative worldwide gross of $532,680,671. As of July 2010, the film is the eighth highest-grossing DreamWorks animated feature. The Penguins of Madagascar is an American CGI animated television series airing on Nickelodeon since 2008. So far it has 138 episodes. Although the series occasionally alludes to the rest of the franchise, The Penguins of Madagascar does not take place at a precise time within it. McGrath, who is also the co-creator of the film characters, has said that the series takes place "not specifically before or after the movie, I just wanted them all back at the zoo. I think of it as taking place in a parallel universe." The animation is noticeably low-graded from the films but it has its own quirks.

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is a 2001 American computer-animated film based on a few three-minute animated shorts shown on Nickelodeon between the years 1999-2002, and a pilot in 1998. The film was financially successful, bringing in $13,832,786 on its opening weekend for an average of $4,407 from 3,139 theaters, and ended up with a total of $80,865,848 domestically, but the film did not do nearly as well outside of the US where it only made $22,056,304 which made a total of $102,992,536 worldwide. It had a budget of roughly $30 million. It originally aired on Nickelodeon for three seasons from July 20, 2002, to November 25, 2006. The shows ended in 2006, when its parent company, DNA Productions, became defunct. he movie's second spin-off series Planet Sheen premiered on October 2nd, 2010 on Nickelodeon. The series was originally produced by C.O.R.E. in Toronto, but production moved to Bardel Entertainment in Vancouver after C.O.R.E shut its doors. Nicktoons aired new episodes starting on May 4, 2012.

Back at the Barnyard
Barnyard is a 2006 computer-animated film, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures was released on August 4, 2006. The film is the second Nickelodeon movie spun-off into a TV series, the first being Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Barnyard grossed $16 million on its opening weekend and made $73 million in its domestic theatrical release. It has made $108 million in its worldwide theatrical release. On January 22, 2010, Nickelodeon ordered 16 more episodes extending it to a third season. In March 2011, the show was in hiatus, due to the more recent Omation show "Planet Sheen" pausing production of "Back at the Barnyard" episodes. The hiatus stopped in August 2011 when they announced the remaining episodes will air on Nicktoons starting on September 12, 2011. This is Steve Oedekerk's second animated series for Nickelodeon, as he was one of the executive producers (but not the creator) of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The show ended on November 12, 2011, with 52 full episodes aired.

Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda topped the box office in its opening weekend, grossing $60,239,130 for a $14,642 average from 4,114 theaters and performing much better than analysts had been expecting. It also was the highest-grossing opening for a non-sequel DreamWorks Animation film at the time. Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness has a total 52 episodes have been produced in 2011 and so far with 27 episodes have aired. None of the original cast voice the animated series except for Lucy Liu. The animation is obviously low-graded from the films.

Dragons: Riders of Berk
How to Train Your Dragon topped the North American box office with $43.7 million in its first weekend of release. The film grossed $217,581,231 in the United States and Canada and $277,297,528 in foreign countries with a worldwide total of $494,878,759. Unlike the other Dreamworks film spin-offs, HTTYD series airs on Cartoon Network.  Dragons: Riders of Berk is an American computer-animated television series airing on Cartoon Network. The series is based on the 2010 film How to Train Your Dragon. One hour preview consisting of two episodes aired on August 7, 2012, with the official premiere of the series on September 4, 2012. A total of 20 episodes will air during the first season, and a second season has already been confirmed. The series features some of the original voice cast of the How to Train Your Dragon film, including Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and T. J. Miller. The animation is not as vivid as the ones from the original film but not bad. The newer dragons look more low grade.

Monsters Vs. Aliens

Not that popular with fans and failed with critics. On its opening weekend, the film opened at No. 1, grossing $59.3 million in 4,104 theaters. The movie made $198,351,526 in the United States and Canada making it the second-highest grossing animated movie behind Up. Beside the main film, Monsters vs. Aliens franchise also includes a short film B.O.B.'s Big Break, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space and Monsters vs. Aliens: Night of the Living Carrots. A TV series based on the film will air on Nickelodeon. Despite its success in the United States market, DreamWorks Animation's CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg was quoted in the Los Angeles Times that a sequel would not be made because of the film's weak performance in some key international markets. "There was enough of a consensus from our distribution and marketing folks in certain parts of the world that 'doing a sequel' would be pushing a boulder up a hill." Jeffrey Katzenberg announced that Nickelodeon has ordered a pilot for a Monsters vs. Aliens cartoon series. Eventually, the series was announced at the 2012 annual Nickelodeon upfront, being green-lit for 26 episodes.

There was a Top Cat movie?

Top Cat was an animated series by Hanna-Barbara that aired from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. A frequent plot-line revolved around the local beat policeman, Charles "Charlie" Dibble, NYPD and his ineffective attempts to evict the gang from the alley. The only reason that he wanted to be rid of them was that Top Cat and his gang were constantly attempting to earn a quick dollar—usually through an illegal scam.

 But there was a movie? And only released in Mexico and the UK?! Top Cat: The Movie is a 2011 3D Mexican flash-animated action-comedy film. The original Spanish dub was released throughout Mexico and Latin America in 2D and 3D selected theaters on September 16, 2011 and it was a critical and box office success, and the English version released in the United Kingdom in June 2012. It is also to be released in Australia and already released in Spain. Maybe the creators didn't think Americans would remember it but it is surprising that they chose Mexico. It is almost unheard of for a major American animation studio to make a film exclusively for Mexico.

Actors who age badly

 Sean Connery

Women might still find him sexy but I don't. I am 30 and growing up I just saw the old Indiana Jones' dad, I didn't see James Bond. He's 81. It wasn't drugs, fat or plastic surgery, just age.

 Marlon Brando

He was born in 1924 and passed on in 2004. I only saw him as the old fat coot. But was surprised when I first saw him in Rebel Without a Cause. He was damn sexy. But I can't get that old man image out of my head.

 Nick Nolte

He is 71. I have nothing against white hair but I can't keep that mugshot image out of my head. Some people might not agree that he used to be handsome, but he was in the movies wasn't he? He played leading men didn't he?

 Clint Eastwood

He's 82. People say how hot he was back in the day but I can't get the image of the crusty skeleton he has become these days. He is now a director and more touted for that these days. It was just age, no drugs or fat or anything like that.

Jack Nicholson

I know very few people that found him attractive. I see him more in a comedic sense. He just got old and fat, no drugs or plastic surgery. He has always been a big star. He's 75.

Mickey Rourke

I was so surprised how hot he was in that Harley Davidson movie, but plastic surgery and drugs and so many other factors played into his current appearance. But after Sin City and The Wrestler, he has had a 'comeback.' He's only 59, my dad is 56 and looks so much better!

Actors who don't seem to age

I thought I'd make a list of actors and celebrities who look forever young.

 

 Elijah Wood

He was born in 1981 and he is 31. Conan O' Brien even commented on how he doesn't age and asked if his secret was something like eels or babies. Elijah just has a baby face.

Dylan McDermott

He was born in 1961 and is 50, he doesn't look like it. And he looks EXACTLY the same he did in the 90's!

 Rider Strong
Best known for Boy Meets World, he says he hates that he is recognizable and looks exactly the same as back then.  was born in 1979 and is 33.

Johnny Depp

He is also said to look young. He is 43.

James Marsters

He's 49 and best known as Spike in Buffy. He didn't even look 40 when he was on Buffy!

Chris O'Donnell

42 years old and has five kids and hasn't aged a day over 30!