Results: The Strange Case Of The Disappearing Sibling
Published on 02/15/2017
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1.
1.
In TV land, it is not uncommon for a television character to mysteriously disappear, never to be heard from again. We're not talking about characters being written out of shows like 87 cast members from "ER" or even when Jonathan Taylor Thomas left "Home Improvement" to travel abroad. What we are talking about are the mysterious disappearances that are never really referenced again. No explanation, no farewell. One of the most famous "disappearing acts" happened on "Happy Days" back in the beginning of the second season. Richie and Joanie Cunningham had a brother, Chuck, who just disappeared. It was explained that he went off to college, but after that, the family never mentioned him again. Interestingly enough this phenomenon of disappearing cast members has come to be known as "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome". Do you remember seeing big brother Chuck on "Happy Days"?
Yes, I remember him
31%
614 votes
No
40%
806 votes
Remember something about this
9%
176 votes
Have not watched the show
20%
401 votes
2.
2.
How many of these other TV characters do you remember who also suffered from "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome"?
The Fresh Prince of Bell Air had a few characters just disappear, most notably Will's best friend Ty and girlfriend Jackie -- both vanishing without explanation
18%
363 votes
Tina Pincotti from That '70s Show is another TV sibling that got the axe. She was Donna's sister, who takes the award for most neglected sibling as she only appeared in one episode of the show. And like many before her, Tina was never addressed again, while Donna seemed to adjust to being an only child pretty quickly.
11%
219 votes
In Boy Meets World, Topanga originally had an older sister named Nebula, who appears only in season one. But seemingly forgetting that they had created her, not only did the show's creators never feature her again, but scripts later referred to Topanga as an only child.
10%
201 votes
Scrubs creators introduced headstrong surgeon Dr. Grace Miller. But as often happens, the character wasn't as successful as writers hoped, and so they just stopped writing for her.
4%
83 votes
Parks and Recreation famously updated audiences on the most obscure of characters, leaving no story left untold. But for some reason Mark Brendanawicz, the city planner and love interest of both Ann and Leslie in the early seasons, is one of the few characters to disappear and never come back.
4%
81 votes
Judy Winslow was the poor, forgotten younger daughter of the Winslow family on Family Matters. But budget cuts and the rise of the more popular character of Urkel meant that Judy was axed after four seasons. Moreover, not only was the 13-year-old never seen from again, but her on-screen parents actually seemed to forget that she ever existed. In fact, they later claimed to only have two children!
15%
291 votes
None of these
62%
1241 votes
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3.
Even drama series, who usually delve into their characters' backstories and personal lives with detail, have had some disappearing acts. How many of these characters do you remember?
Yeoman Janice Rand was played by actress Grace Lee Whitney and was first introduced to Star Trek audiences as Captain Kirk's love interest. But to the dismay of fans, her character was axed with no explanation after just a few episodes.
12%
239 votes
Moira Kelly had a starring role in the first series of The West Wing as Mandy Hampton. And not only did her random disappearance after seasonone confuse fans, but Mandyville became a popular term used to describe a place where TV characters go when they disappear without a trace.
8%
168 votes
On The Big Valley, there was a fourth Barkley son, Eugene Barkley, portrayed by Charles Briles, who appeared in eight episodes of the first season. Briles was forced to leave the show midway through the first season when he was drafted. The brother Eugene was never really referred to again.
9%
184 votes
Dr. Erica Hahn, on Grey's Anatomy was a major character. When it came time to take her character off of the surgical team, she was cut out as if she was an extra. The audience sees her walking off to get into her car…and that's it. We never see or hear from her again.
9%
178 votes
In what had been an industry joke for years, Bobby Martin, the teen son of Dr. Joe Martin on All My Children, went up to the attic and just disappeared, never to be mentioned again -- or turn up years later (as is common on soap operas)
5%
100 votes
None
68%
1360 votes
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