# Episodes without the main character(s) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144 "2015-06-22T12:28:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/41 "2015-06-22T18:16:45Z")
Oh, and the _ **Dick van Dyke Show** _ ep where Laura has her toe stuck in the bathtub drain the whole time. Yes, people will complain you could hear her, so she’s in the episode, but I’m saying it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/42 "2015-06-22T18:17:21Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > _Doctor Who_, the episode “Blink” which was broadcast on June 9, 2007. You don’t even have to know who Doctor Who is to understand it. It’s like a short movie that’s only loosely tied into the series. In the very early years when it was still filmed in Black & White, there would sometimes be episodes filmed without one or other of the main cast. This to give them a brief holiday, or because of illness/ injury. There was even [a story](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_to_the_Unknown)where none of the regular cast appeared at all. In \*Moonlighting \* there was an episode where the case was solved by secondary characters Bert & Agnes. Davis & Maddie only appeared in a typically 4th-wall breaking scene to complain about their lack of screen time. There have been a couple of episodes of South Park focusing on Terrence & Philip, the four main kids didn’t appear at all. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/43 "2015-06-22T18:34:51Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Michael Richards didn’t appear in 2 episodes of Seinfeld, [“The Chinese Restaurant”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chinese_Restaurant) and “The Pen”. Jason Alexander also didn’t appear in [“The Pen”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pen). Julia Louis-Dreyfus didn’t appear in the pilot episode and [“The Trip”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trip_%28Seinfeld%29). > > I read a story somewhere that I can’t seem to find that one of them, forgot who but it was one of the guys, was really angry at the writers for not including him in an episode and sorta yelled at them and told them to never leave him out again. Does anyone know who I’m talking about? I remember hearing Jason Alexander say something to that effect in the DVD extras, presumably for “The Pen.” To the best of my recollection, he told the producers something like “That’s not what I signed up for. I joined the cast with the understanding that I’d be a regular cast member, in every episode.” ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/44 "2015-06-22T18:41:57Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I remember hearing Jason Alexander say something to that effect in the DVD extras, presumably for “The Pen.” To the best of my recollection, he told the producers something like “That’s not what I signed up for. I joined the cast with the understanding that I’d be a regular cast member, in every episode.” Lol! George is getting upset! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/45 "2015-06-22T20:01:58Z")
That terrible “Married with Children” episode that was really a pilot for a [Matt LeBlanc sit-com](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_of_the_Heap). Al Bundy made a walk-by appearance presumably so we’d pause before changing the channel and that was about it. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/46 "2015-06-22T20:14:56Z")
There were several episodes in season 6 of [Murder, She Wrote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Murder,_She_Wrote_episodes#Season_6_.281989.E2.80.9390.29) where Jessica Fletcher only appeared at the beginning to introduce the mystery, to be solved by one her characters or friends. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/47 "2015-06-22T20:29:49Z")
That reminds me of the Saved by the Bell episodes that were really repurposed “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” episodes with only a younger Zach, Lisa and Screech but no Kelly, Jessie or Slater. “Modern” Zach would do a cold open each episode saying that it happened a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/48 "2015-06-22T20:42:23Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > [The Dick Tracy Show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dick_Tracy_Show) was an entire series where the main character only appeared in cameos. They started out with Dick Tracy saying, “OK, Chief. I’ll get on it right away,” then calling one of his detectives, who would then go out on the case. At a certain point, the detective would say “Hold everything” (forcing everything to freeze, including bullets in flight) and call Tracy, who would have a line or two. Then, at the end of the show, Tracy would call the detective to tell him “good job.” He had less than a minute of screen time and no more than five lines per episode. Funny how it never occurred to me at the time (I was … what, six?) just how odd it was to have a dog as a policeman. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/49 "2015-06-22T21:00:51Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > In \*Moonlighting \* there was an episode where the case was solved by secondary characters Bert & Agnes. Davis & Maddie only appeared in a typically 4th-wall breaking scene to complain about their lack of screen time. There were quite a few of those episodes. [Late in this interview Curtis Armstrong (Bert) explains why that was and why it eventually wrecked the series.](http://www.avclub.com/article/curtis-armstrong-supernatural-nerds-movies-and-bei-211215) ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/50 "2015-06-22T21:08:24Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Funny how it never occurred to me at the time (I was … what, six?) just how odd it was to have a dog as a policeman. :smack: What’s so odd about a police dog? 🙂 Now, a police _[cat…](http://braveandboldlost.blogspot.com/2014/07/cat-precinct.html) that_ would be strange. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/51 "2015-06-22T21:08:46Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > _Gunsmoke_ had episodes where Matt Dillon was out of town during the show and didn’t appear. As the series switched to essentially an anthology in its later years, there were quite a few episodes where both Marshall Dillon and Miss Kitty are secondary characters or not seen at all. In the first few episodes of one season of “All in the Family”, Archie Bunker has disappeared and doesn’t appear at all. Carroll O’Connor was in a major spat with showrunner Norman Lear and Lear was going to write Archie’s death into the script. When CBS heard of that, they said if Lear followed through the show would be cancelled immediately. Speaking of Lear shows, Fred Sanford doesn’t appear at all in some episodes of “Sanford and Son”. He’s off on business, and best friend Grady moves in with Lamont. Not surprisingly, it was during a contract dispute. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/52 "2015-06-22T21:15:34Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > What’s so odd about a police dog? 🙂 > > Now, a police _[cat…](http://braveandboldlost.blogspot.com/2014/07/cat-precinct.html) that_ would be strange. Not a “police dog.” A police_man_ who is a _dog_! And he was _British_, as I recall! :smack: As a cat owner, BTW, I find that comics cover hysterically funny for some reason! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/53 "2015-06-22T21:17:32Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Fred Sanford doesn’t appear at all in some episodes of “Sanford and Son”. He’s off on business, and best friend Grady moves in with Lamont. Not surprisingly, it was during a contract dispute. And then Lamont disappeared, never to be seen again, and was replaced by big Cal. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/54 "2015-06-22T21:28:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Funny how it never occurred to me at the time (I was … what, six?) just how odd it was to have a dog as a policeman. :smack: Believe it or not, [there was actually a live action show where a police dog went on patrol with his partner.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_(1978_TV_series)) And it was Jack Webb’s last show! ---
**Author:** ![MsKaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@MsKaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsKaren)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/55 "2015-06-22T21:52:28Z")
“Bones” had one of those “backdoor pilots” for “The Finder” which only had brief airtime with the main charcters. Nope. It did not take. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/56 "2015-06-22T22:15:45Z")
Although the animated series of _Star Trek_ from the early 70s isn’t considered canon, one stand-out episode, _[The Slaver Weapon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slaver_Weapon)_, is sometimes included. It was written by sci-fi legend Larry Niven and it is the only TOS-era episode or movie that doesn’t include Kirk… ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/57 "2015-06-22T22:39:18Z")
LOST had a few episodes over the years with none of the crash survivors appearing, mostly flashback eps for villains or explaining the island. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/58 "2015-06-22T22:39:50Z")
There was an episode of _ **House, M.D** _. which was completely from Wilson’s point of view (I think the ep was called _Wilson_). There was one very brief scene showing House and his team doing something stupid in the background, which was never explained. PS - \*The Finder \*was a decent show. I think it failed because Michael Clarke Duncan up and died. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/59 "2015-06-22T23:16:45Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Although the animated series of _Star Trek_ from the early 70s isn’t considered canon, one stand-out episode, _[The Slaver Weapon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slaver_Weapon)_, is sometimes included. It was written by sci-fi legend Larry Niven and it is the only TOS-era episode or movie that doesn’t include Kirk… Actually, the animated series is now considered canon. ---
**Author:** ![RobotDevilDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@RobotDevilDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobotDevilDog)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144/60 "2015-06-23T00:19:59Z")
When Tracy Gold was suffering from anorexia during the final season of Growing Pains, she didn’t appear in a few episodes. She did make it back for the final episode, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episodes-without-the-main-character-s/723144.md?page=4)