# Movies/TV with characters that aren't in the source material. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 3, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930 "2012-06-03T13:53:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/21 "2012-06-03T18:37:48Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > They kinda had to do something, as this is the weakest of the novels, and needed something extra. Actually, I think that the TV version improves the story in several ways–but to elaborate here would be a hijack. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/22 "2012-06-03T18:54:36Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Wybie from the movie “Coraline” does not appear in the book. This was the example I came in here to offer. In fact, I think Wybie’s presence weakened one of the things that made the book so powerful – the idea that nobody (not her parents, not the other adults in the house) really SAW Coraline for what she was. She could count on no one for help, and managed to defeat the beldame with nothing more than her own cleverness. Indeed, it was by playing the part of the silly little girl that she was able to defeat the beldame’s hand once and for all. Having her get saved by Wybie instead of saving herslf traded all that for a much less original and interesting trope of how friendship is important, blah blah. Hrmph. Talk about trading magic beans for plain old beans. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/23 "2012-06-03T19:04:42Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Wybie from the movie “Coraline” does not appear in the book. And was an infuriating addition. > [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > This was the example I came in here to offer. > > In fact, I think Wybie’s presence weakened one of the things that made the book so powerful – the idea that nobody (not her parents, not the other adults in the house) really SAW Coraline for what she was. She could count on no one for help, and managed to defeat the beldame with nothing more than her own cleverness. Indeed, it was by playing the part of the silly little girl that she was able to defeat the beldame’s hand once and for all. > > Having her get saved by Wybie instead of saving herslf traded all that for a much less original and interesting trope of how friendship is important, blah blah. Hrmph. Talk about trading magic beans for plain old beans. Not just that, Wybie was infurating in a number of ways. His name was patently awful (“Whyyouborn” seriously?) and there’s a weird sterotypical racist trope with his family and grandma going on. He functions as Coraline’s “magical negro” in that he has no purpose or plot of his own but just shows up to deux ex for Coraline. The version that Coraline likes better (“Other-Wybie”) he’s been completely silenced and de-voiced, even! Plus, he took away from Coraline’s isolation (which is a good part of the scary strength of the story) and from the fact that she was a lone female protagonist. I guess they HAD to add a little boy in to save her :-/ I actually came here to add in Daryl (and several of the others, but Daryl is arguably the breakout star of the whole series) from The Walking Dead. Not only does he not appear in the comic, he’s wildly popular in the show and steals every scene he’s in. I’d actually be fine with them jettisoning most of the actual comic-crew at this point and just following him around! ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/24 "2012-06-03T21:01:48Z")
John Nash’s imagined roommate in A Beautiful Mind. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/25 "2012-06-03T21:12:45Z")
How about Daryl Dixon in the Walking Dead? A rather interesting character, at least the way Norman Reedus has played him, but not in the comic books. Never mind, I just read Feyrat’s post. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/26 "2012-06-03T22:14:06Z")
But without Wybie, you’d never get the best line of the film: “I’ve never been inside the Pink Palace”. Unfortunately, the internet community could never let that whopper of a straight line lie. So don’t google that phrase for your sanity’s sake. It’s sort of like a joke that loses its humor if you explain it too much. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/27 "2012-06-03T22:14:12Z")
Aunt Harriet on the _Batman_ TV series. Also many of the villains were created for the show, while others were from DC but had never appeared against Batman. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/28 "2012-06-03T22:31:44Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Aunt Harriet on the _Batman_ TV series. [Not actually the case. She first appeared in the comics in '64](http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Harriet_Cooper). An interesting Batman related character that’s tangentially related to the thread is Renee Montoya. She was created for the animated series in the 90s, but upon hearing about her the comics staff decided to bring her over to the comics…and because of the respective turnaround times of the comics and the series, she ended up appearing there, first. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/29 "2012-06-04T12:34:17Z")
Max Schreck, the principal villain of **Batman Returns** , was never in the comic, to my knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/30 "2012-06-04T13:35:12Z")
> [@DonLogan](#): > > Klinger in M_A_S\*H. There were also an extra nine years of the Korean War, but who’s counting? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/31 "2012-06-05T19:59:16Z")
It’s a while since I read it (_Watership Down_), and I have to admit that not much stuck with me, but: > [@Jophiel](#): > > the group who set out to start a new rabbit warren was all males. HOW THE HELL WAS _THAT_ SUPPOSED TO WORK? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/32 "2012-06-05T20:01:00Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Aunt Harriet on the _Batman_ TV series. I don’t care. She’s canon, now. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/33 "2012-06-05T20:07:19Z")
> [@bump](#): > > There probably ought to be some spoiler protection somewhere in this thread. Sure thing. It’s called “don’t click on a thread whose subject matter should reasonably lead one to assume there would be spoilers inside it.” ---
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/34 "2012-06-05T20:26:02Z")
Albert Ingalls in Little House On The Prairie. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/35 "2012-06-05T20:37:18Z")
Disney’s “The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh” had Gopher. And recent movies have had a “heffalump” as a character. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/36 "2012-06-05T20:58:09Z")
Homer’s three friends in **October Sky** were in the book, but they were an amalgam of five people. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/37 "2012-06-05T21:00:42Z")
The beauty salon owner BK in _The Ladies #1 Detective Agency_ series was not in any of the books. He was a tad over the top and I guess they threw him in for comic relief. I kind of liked him. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/38 "2012-06-05T21:04:16Z")
> [@LaurenIpsum](#): > > Disney’s “The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh” had Gopher. Amusingly, he says of himself in the movie “I’m not in the book” (meaning, in context, the phone book, but with obvious subtext) ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/39 "2012-06-05T21:36:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It’s a while since I read it (_Watership Down_), and I have to admit that not much stuck with me, but:HOW THE HELL WAS _THAT_ SUPPOSED TO WORK? Fabulously? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930/40 "2012-06-05T21:51:55Z")
Agent Coulson from the Iron Man and Avengers movies. Whistler from the Blade movies. Pubert from Addams Family Values (though Pubert was a potential name for Pugsley at one point) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-with-characters-that-arent-in-the-source-material/623930.md?page=3)