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Unseen characters are a common device in drama.[1][2]The New York Times has called "unseen characters" "triumphs of theatrical invention."[3] They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in frequent interaction with the other characters and who influence current story events — who are never directly observed by the audience but are only described by other characters. Television shows and stage plays make use of characters who are not seen, and usually not heard, though some unseen characters are portrayed as an off-camera voice. Radio shows also feature "unseen" characters who never speak, while books can feature characters who are referenced by others, but whose actions and dialogue are never directly described. The work of Voltaire, for example, included the "unseen character."[4] The characters as a device are more commonly featured in television, since the length of a series and visual medium makes it more unusual for someone who has common interaction with a main character never to be directly involved in a scene with that character.[5] Image File history File links WICU-logo. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... A stage play is a dramatic work intended for performance before a live audience, or a performance of such a work. ...
Barney Fife's occasional fling, Juanita. She is spoken to by Barney (but never heard) in telephone conversations, usually overheard by Andy or Opie to Barney's chagrin.[6]
Frasier: Maris Crane, wife (and later ex-wife) of Niles Crane. While the producers once planned to reveal her, the list of Maris's unusual attributes and characteristics became so long that — despite plotlines as far-reaching as a murder — Maris was ultimately kept off screen. She is reported to have changed from excessively thin to excessively obese.[11]
Keeping Up Appearances: Sheridan, Hyacinth's son, who frequently calls by telephone but is never seen.[12]
Laverne and Shirley: Shirley's new husband, Walter Meany, whom she married at the beginning of the 8th and final season. He was only seen fully covered up like a mummy in the hospital where the wedding was held. He never spoke and just blinked when it was his turn to say "I Do", and the actor who portrayed him was uncredited.[13]
The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Lars Lindstrom, husband of Phyllis. When Phyllis got her own spin-off show, the pilot episode revolved around the death of Lars.[14]
Rocky King, Inside Detective: Rocky's wife; Rocky would often speak to his wife from one room, while she was busy in another. Her offscreen replies to Rocky were all the audience would ever experience of Mrs. King.[15]
Star Trek: Enterprise: the ship's chef, known as "Chef" was a mostly unseen character, though the lower part of his body was seen when he delivered meals in the episode "The Catwalk". Jonathan Frakes played the chef, in the final episode; via a holodeck program. Yet, "fanon" states Commander Riker might be a descendent of the chef. [16]
The Andy Griffith Show is an American television series that aired on CBS from October 3rd, 1960 to April 1st, 1968. ... Deputy Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show Bernard Barney P. Fife[1] is a fictional dramatic character in the American television program The Andy Griffith Show. ... This article is about a television show. ... This article is about the television series. ... Columbo is an American crime fiction TV series, starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. ... Columbo is an American crime fiction TV series, starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. ... Frasier is an American sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane. ... Maris Crane is a character on the American television sitcom Frasier. ... Dr. Niles Winslow Crane (b. ... Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom starring Patricia Routledge as social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket. ... Laverne & Shirley was a popular American television situation comedy which ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983. ... Mary Tyler Moore is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977. ... One of DuMonts most popular and lasting programs, this live crime series was set in New York. ... The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... The Catwalk is the 38th episode (production #212) of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. ... Jonathan Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and David Xanatos on Disneys Gargoyles. ... For the political scientist, see William H. Riker. ...
Other uses
See Pascale Bonnemere, ed., Women as Unseen Characters: Male Ritual in Papua New Guinea (Social Anthropology in Oceania) (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004).
References
^ See for example, Robert E. Byrd, Jr., Unseen Characters in Selected Plays of Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Edward Albee ((Dissertations, Academic, 1998).
^ See also GEORGE ADE, "INTRODUCING "NETTIE"; Who Is the Leading But Unseen Character in a New Princess Playlet," The New York Times (December 6, 1914): DRAMA MUSIC REAL ESTATE BUSINESS FINANCIAL, Page XX2
^ D. J. R. BRUCKNER, "THEATER REVIEW; The Unseen Characters Emerge by Invention," New York Times (9/16/1994): 26.
^ Theodore Besterman and J.L. Schorr, Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century (The University of Michigan, 1956), 195.
^ Alex Westthorp, "The Top Ten Unseen TV Characters: Here are the best-known TV characters you've never seen, from 'er indoors in Minder to the (presumably) ghastly Father Bigley...," Den of Geek! (20/06/08).
^ Mary M. Dalton and Laura R. Linder, The Sitcom Reader (SUNY Press, 2005), p. 75 ("..the show's social mosaic was enriched by characters often referred to but never seen, such as Juanita...")
^ Ken Beck and Jim Clark, The Andy Griffith Show Book (St. Martin's Press, 2000), p 123 ("We never see Sarah, the operator, but if there's anyone in town who knows what is going on, it's Sarah.")
^ Tara McPherson, Reconstructing Dixie (Duke University Press, 2003) p284 ("Suzanne's maid, Consuela, was never actually represented on the show, only referred to by others,")
^"Columbo" at the Museum of Broadcasts Communications
^ Brooks & Marsh, Complete (1999), op. cit., p366 ("Perhaps the funniest character in Frasier was not seen at all. Niles's rich, insufferable wife, Maris, was only spoken of or described...")
^ Alexander Doty, Making Things Perfectly Queer, p56 (U. of Minnesota Press, 1993) ("Up to this point, the program found a number of narrative excuses not to show Walter Meany to the audience...")
^ Marsh & Brooks, Complete (1988), op. cit., p494 ("Lars... was talked about but never seen")
^ David Weinstein (2004). The Forgotten Network: Dumont and the Birth of American Television. Temple University Press, 138. ISBN 1592134998.
^ Unnamed Enterprise (NX-01) personnel - Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki
Television shows and stage plays sometimes include continuing characters — characters who are currently in frequent interaction with the other characters and who influence current story events — who are never seen or heard by the audience and only described by other characters.
The earliest example of an unseen and unheard television character was Gladys Potter on the 1950s TV series December Bride; regular character Pete Potter, played by Harry Morgan, constantly complained about his wife Gladys, but she was never seen on that show.
The best-known unseencharacter in British television was Elizabeth, the wife of Captain Mainwaring, the main character in Dad's Army.
Characters on the command deck may be able to triangulate the exact location of the outgoing signal with a Computer roll, DC 10.
The character piloting has the most to do during the next portion of the story, though other characters have their hands full as well, such as returning fire at their pursuers.
If, on the other hand, the characters are not able to shake their pursuers, and they instead are cornered or trapped, they will quickly be surrounded by the surviving members of all three factions, and, perhaps, a few eager natives.
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