…NO! That theme song…returning…to…MY BRAIN!
But isn’t the “quirky side character” a trope in-and-of-themselves?
From Urkel to Kramer and back again, even though they aren’t billed as such, they are always a main focus.
This includes a lot of people in this thread: Karen, NPH in HIMYM, etc.
And because they usually get the funny one-liners they are the ones who are quoted and therfore get more popular
The Canadian book series Anne of Green Gables is taken over by Anne’s children in the last two books and Anne herself becomes a secondary character.
Oh, come on. Patrick Ewing was always the star, both with Georgetown and the Knicks!
Are You Being Served? was supposed to be a vehicle for Trevor Bannister and his character Mr. Lucas, but Mr. Humphries stole the show early on.
JJ Walker pretty much took over Good Times.
Fonzie was a good example, taking over Happy Days after Chuck was put in witness protection.
In the “Guards” series of Discworld books by Pratchett, it seems clear that the story was originally supposed to be about CARROT [sub]and the rest of the guards[/sub]. Lady Sybil walked into the story and when Vimes met her–BOOM–you can actually SEE Vimes wrest control of the book from Pterry and kick Carrot to second male lead where he belongs as Vimes takes over.
JJ Walker hijacking Good Times drove John Amos off the show.
Actually, I think it was expected that Courtney Cox would be the breakout star from that series. She was the best known cast member when the series started. And she was the central character: the main set was her apartment, Ross was her brother, Chandler and Joey were her neighbours, Phoebe was her former roommate, Rachel was her high school best friend and new roommate.
I was going to say Popeye, but was beaten to it, so I’ll submit Captain Easy, who took over the comic strip “Wash Tubbs”.
I’m old.
If I recall correctly, Urkel was supposed to be a one-off character. He was received so well though (why, I have no earthly clue) that they started working him increasingly into the show until it pretty much became The Urkel Show by the end.
I believe Berkeley Breathed said that when Opus uttered the punchline “Pear pimples for hairy fishnuts!” he knew the strip had found its center. Once he retired from his daily strip and began the Sunday strip Outland it didn’t take very long for Opus to show up and steal the spotlight there as well.
Hill and Renko were supposed to die in the pilot episode of Hill Street Blues but they changed it to being wounded so they could come back. They stayed the run of the show, even when other characters got cut.
A British series about Oliver Habersham and his three-wheeled car was completely overshadowed by a nearly-mute jerk who kept running him off the road.
The West Wing was supposed to focus on the President’s staff, with only occasional appearances by their boss. But Martin Sheen was so good that he quickly became the first among equals in the ensemble.
I know this is a Whoosh about Mr Bean, but who’s “Oliver Habersham” supposed to be? Don’t recall any Mr. Bean episode even showing the driver of the blue Robin Reliant beyond a vague shadow inside the car, and that includes the cartoon series.
If things had gone as planned, EVERYONE would know the name Oliver Habersham.
I believe it was only Renko (Charles Haid) who was supposed to die. Hill (Michael Warren) was supposed to recover and be teamed with a new partner while he coped with his former partner’s death.
Outland started with a completely new set of characters, but I guess Berkeley Breathed ran out of ideas pretty quickly, because it wasn’t long at all before Opus showed up in Outland, and the strip quickly became a revamp of Bloom County, with the new characters very much marginalized.
I vote for Randy Marsh on South Park.
Sure the kids will always be focal point, but usually any epidsode heavy with Randy he becomes the star.
Kind of the same thing with Castiel in Supernatural. He’s not in every episode but when he is it’s usually about him.