# Examples of secondary characters completely taking over a TV or book series? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493 "2014-07-31T15:24:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/1 "2014-07-31T15:24:48Z")
Admit it: Did you watch _Will & Grace_ for Will and Grace? Or was it Jack & Karen that really carried the series? Ramona Quimby was introduced in Beverly Clearly’s Henry Higgins series as a little sister to Henry’s friend Beezus. As the author wrote > [@](#): > > “Someone should have a sibling, so I tossed in a little sister to explain Beezus’s nickname. When it came time to name the sister, I overheard a neighbor call out to another whose name was Ramona. I wrote in “Ramona,” made several references to her, gave her one brief scene, and thought that was the end of her. Little did I dream, to use a trite expression from books of my childhood, that she would take over books of her own”. Hannibal Lecter was a minor character in Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon, and the protagonist is his next three books. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/2 "2014-07-31T15:27:20Z")
Urkel. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/3 "2014-07-31T15:28:28Z")
For me, Joey and Phoebe stole “Friends” fairly early on, and ran like hell with it! ^ Will & Grace: Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen… “Just Shoot Me”: Finch walked off with it (not hard to do). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/4 "2014-07-31T16:21:32Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Admit it: Did you watch _Will & Grace_ for Will and Grace? Or was it Jack & Karen that really carried the series? Well…Karen. > [@](#): > > Hannibal Lecter was a minor character in Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon, and the protagonist is his next three books. Not entirely true; Lecter is at best a supporting character in _Silence of the Lambs_. That story is about Starling, and she gets pretty much equal time with him in _Hannibal_. I shan’t comment on _Hannibal Rising_, as I was far too vexed by _Hannibal_-no-adjective to read the former. > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > For me, Joey and Phoebe stole “Friends” fairly early on, and ran like hell with it! I’m not sure I’d call them supporting characters, though. _Friends_ was a show with six leads. Answering the OP’s question, the first show that occurs to me is _Happy Days_, and Fonzie. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/5 "2014-07-31T16:23:56Z")
The Fonz. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/6 "2014-07-31T16:28:35Z")
Det. Rizzoli was a very minor character in the first book about ME Maura Isles. I’m not sure if that’s what you’re going for, though. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/7 "2014-07-31T16:35:13Z")
Michael J Fox in Family Ties. This was supposed to be Meredith Baxter-Birney’s show. Alex P. Keaton quickly stole the lead. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/8 "2014-07-31T16:36:57Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’m not sure I’d call them supporting characters, though. _Friends_ was a show with six leads. Normally, I would agree with you, but it seemed they were trying to push Aniston into the “lead” slot, and the Joey and Phoebe characters were secondary to the others. I dunno, I need a nap. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/9 "2014-07-31T16:37:16Z")
Popeye was a minor character when his strip first appeared. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/10 "2014-07-31T16:41:46Z")
Loki, in Thor/Avengers/Thor II. Captain Jack Sparrow; to me, it read as if the girl was supposed to be the main character, but it didn’t turn out that way… Spock was a much bigger hit than they ever expected him to be. Willow kind of outdistanced Buffy once she got her magic up to addiction levels. Richard Pryor’s character in Silver Streak. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/11 "2014-07-31T16:54:55Z")
It was fairly common in newspaper comic strips. Snuffy Smith was a minor character in the _Barnie Google_ strip. Now that particular Google appears in the strip only every couple of years, if that often. _Big Chief Wahoo_ was a newspaper comic strip that was part humor, part mystery. Wahoo met up with Steve Roper in one episode Slowly, Wahoo was reduced to being a sidekick and the title of the strip was changed to _Steve Roper_; Wahoo was shown less and less. But Roper had the same thing happen to him: another, younger adventurer, Mike Nomad, took over the lead and the strip retitled to _Steve Roper and Mike Nomad_. Despite second billing, it was Nomad’s strip. The most famous in comics, though, was George Herriman’s _The Dingbat Family/The Family Upstairs_, Herriman started doodling an additional strip at the bottom showing a mouse throwing bricks at a cat. These quickly spun off to be _Krazy Kat,_ often considered the acme of comic strip art. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/12 "2014-07-31T17:31:24Z")
That reminds me-- I remember reading that Opus was just supposed to be a one-off character to show what a weird kid Binkley was because he had a penguin for a pet. By the time it ended, _Bloom County_ might as well have been called “Opus and Friends.” ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/13 "2014-07-31T18:03:18Z")
Lord John seems to be taking over the Outlander books. I guess Jamie and Claire are getting… well… long in the tooth. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/14 "2014-07-31T18:03:46Z")
Steed was the partner of the main character in the original “The Avengers,” who eventually took over the series. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/15 "2014-07-31T18:10:19Z")
When I was a kid, I thought that the title of the Peanuts strip was “Snoopy”, because he was obviously the main character. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/16 "2014-07-31T18:48:11Z")
Snoopy, Spock, Fonzie, Alex Keaton and Urkel are all good examples of this. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/17 "2014-07-31T18:53:00Z")
Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/18 "2014-07-31T18:57:02Z")
Although Fonzie is pretty much the prototypical answer, Barney Fife is an earlier example. Originally, the show was much more about Andy, but the show’s producers (including Andy Griffith) saw how great Don Knotts was, and also saw the public reaction, and significantly increased Barney’s role. Barney never took over the show to the extent Fonzie did in Happy Days, but it is an earlier example. Somewhat ironic that a later Barney took over How I Met Your Mother in a similar fashion, due largely to the talent of the actor. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/19 "2014-07-31T19:29:26Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory. He was always one of the three main characters, and he hasn’t overshadowed Penny and Leonard - Howard, Raj, and the ladies other than Penny are closer to being examples, though they’re not very good examples, either, since they still sit behind the main three. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493/20 "2014-07-31T20:21:04Z")
Seven of Nine in Voyager. Elmo on Sesame Street. Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show. She was supposed to be a one-shot, who slapped Kermit. Instead, Frank Oz karate-chopped him, and a star was born. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-secondary-characters-completely-taking-over-a-tv-or-book-series/694493.md?page=2)