# Plotlines that were abandoned mid-series with no explanation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124 "2010-03-11T16:50:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [March 13, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/61 "2010-03-13T03:10:31Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > A former co-worker who watched “All My Children” used to always joke about a son of Joe and Ruth Martin who went to his room in 1975 to get his skis for a trip and hasn’t been seen since. That would be Bobby Martin. Years later another character went up to the attic to look for something and found a skeleton wearing a ski cap with “Bobby” embroidered on it. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/62 "2010-03-13T03:23:40Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Well the revival of **Battlestar Galactica** did incorporate Boxey. He was in the miniseries. A bunch of scenes were filmed with him for the first season and a subplot about him becoming an artful dodger black market type was developed. There were also plans for him, Boomer (fully aware of her Cylon heritage), and Tyrol to form a family unit. Thankfully this was all dropped, he appeared in two brief scenes that entire season, and was never mentioned again in any way shape or form. On one of the DVD commentary tracks, they (jokingly) explain that Boxey died of cholera off-screen. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/63 "2010-03-13T03:28:49Z")
Do I dare mention LOST? I never followed it so herhaps someone can set me straight. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/64 "2010-03-13T04:03:18Z")
Babylon 5 had a couple. Commander Sinclair’s girlfriend, a freelance prospector shows up at the station a few times, but gets dropped as a regular character. Even more puzzling is the fate of the station’s licensed telepath Talia Winters: In an earlier episode, Kosh the Vorlon hired her for an assignment that was actually a trick to get a psychic recording of her personality. Later, it is revealed that the Talia we thought we knew was a false persona and that her true self was an undercover agent for Psi Corp. Appalled at what has happend to Talia, Security Chief Garibaldi remembers the incident of the recording and rushes from the room to see if it can be used to restore the version of Talia they knew… and then nothing. They don’t even say it didn’t or couldn’t work. So the Talia Winters character is dropped and nothing further happens, except later it’s strongly implied that she was callously murdered by PsiCorp after she was of no further use. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/65 "2010-03-13T14:28:46Z")
I think I mentioned this in another iteration of this thread, but at the beginning of this season of Fringe they introduced a new character, a female FBI agent (a pretty hot one, at that) who took unusual interest in the main character’s cases and seemed to have some kind of weird fixation with religious prophesy, but after about 3 episodes she was gone, never mentioned again, and the season is almost over now. It seemed like they wanted to do something with the character, but the actress fell down a well or something. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/66 "2010-03-13T15:13:51Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I was always curious as to why and how George, on Grey’s Anatomy, coming from a family of simple-minded, borderline redneck galoots, came to be a doctor. As did Izzy, who came from her own special background. Little mysteries in life. This is doubly baffling. Background doesn’t mean squat if you have the drive. It happens all the time. My mother’s family were literally Okies. Moved west in the Depression with 6 kids in a Model A truck to take up new irrigated farm land. The oldest son worked to help the family. But: The next oldest became a college professor, the third became a high school principal, the last (and 7th born after the move) became a college president. (And in the next generation, the women started to go to college.) There are college degrees all over the place now. One’s upbringing isn’t a life sentence. Secondly, of the core group of interns, it is Alex that had by far the worst upbringing and you don’t mention him? WTHuh? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/67 "2010-03-13T15:25:53Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > So the Talia Winters character is dropped and nothing further happens, except later it’s strongly implied that she was callously murdered by PsiCorp after she was of no further use. Andrea Thompson wanted to leave the show. She has a history of moving around. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/68 "2010-03-13T15:44:56Z")
On the series _Queer as Folk_ the character Emmett, a flamingly gay promiscuous southern guy who usually works as a waiter of gofer and later a porn-star, became involved with a very rich much older man (Emmett was 30-ish and the old guy was around 70). The old man, George, wanted him as a kept boy but they actually fell in love. Unfortunately George died while they were trying to join the mile-high club. In his will George left Emmett $10 million. His family (he’d been married and had kids and grandkids who no longer spoke to him) challenged the will claiming undue influence and senility and the like and Emmett got a counsel to fight it (one of the lesbian characters who was a lawyer). The family entered negotiations and offered him $2 million in cash so long as he’d sign a statement claiming he and George had never been involved sexually or romantically (which they knew was a lie but it was to spare the family a scandal). Emmett considered it but refused and said “I’ll see you in court” or something similar; the jist was he’d rather not get a penny but tell the truth than lie about the man he loved for $2 million. # This was never _one time_ referred to again. Emmett entered two major relationships (Ted and the closeted football player) and had some other plotlines but they never mention the status of the lawsuit or give any indication that he might one day be rich or anything like. While it was a sweet-ish scene that love mattered more to him than principal, there’s no way in hell he or anybody else would drop a better than decent shot at $10 million or that his friend the lawyer would let him. Not exactly what the OP asked for but I’ll mention it anyway: on _Deadwood_ a troupe of actors come to town whose leader was played by Brian Cox. The show’s creator David Milch had plans for a story arc with them but learned halfway through Season 3 that there was to be no Season 4, and there were lots of plots in the air, so the actors, while not quite dropped, became a sort of “Why the hell mention them in the first place?” background characters whose fairly elaborate shenanigans (e.g. Cox evicting his longtime mistress to move one he just met in, the death of a very aged Shakespearean, Cox’s obvious close friendship and what-promised-to-be-an-interesting past with Swearengen were pointless to have referred to [they were originally to go in on a con together], were all just dropped. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/69 "2010-03-13T17:35:19Z")
On _Big Bang Theory_ what ever happened to Bernadette? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/70 "2010-03-13T19:16:18Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > On _Big Bang Theory_ what ever happened to Bernadette? She appeared on the show three episodes ago the last time they focused on Howard. She didn’t disappear, she’s just not a regular. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/71 "2010-03-13T19:54:23Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > When Dennis Farina came to _Law & Order_ after Jerry Orbach left, he was always dressed to the nines and in his first episode he carried a wad of cash as big as a fist. Was he on the take? Were we meant to think he was on the take? It’s hard to watch the reruns on TNT in order though, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen his last episode. Was his standard of living ever explained, and how did his character leave the show? He also wore the most expensive clothes available and drove a very expensive car, I think a Mercedes. Greene raised his eyebrows and Farina scoffed, with the implication being that he was way to openly spendy to be on the take and was very wealthy, without an explanation of whether he always was or came into it. Farina was a police officer before going into acting. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/72 "2010-03-13T19:59:38Z")
At the end of season 2 of “Scrubs,” J.D. was dating “Tasty Coma Wife,” played by Amy Smart. As season 3 began, there was no mention of it. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/73 "2010-03-13T20:20:43Z")
> [@The\_Shroud](#): > > At the end of season 2 of “Scrubs,” J.D. was dating “Tasty Coma Wife,” played by Amy Smart. As season 3 began, there was no mention of it. Her husband died and they broke up because “Tasty Coma Wife” was only with JD because she got off on the thril of it being wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/74 "2010-03-13T20:58:17Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And talking about vanishing: > > \ > > In other words, she was in a future that suddenly ceased to exist. That means that she probably ceased to exist along with it. Maybe not a fate worth than deat, but still kind of final. You know, if that was purposeful, that’s really rather clever. I.e. some sort of deal with the time travel made it so that he returned to an existence where she never was, so while as viewers we see her absence, neither he nor anyone else would. And since no one knows that she ever existed, none of them can comment on it to explain the situation to the audience. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/75 "2010-03-13T21:05:57Z")
In season 1 of _The Bill Engvall Show_, they had a dog. There was even an episode that dealt with the dog being old and sick and needing an operation. After a while, they didn’t have a dog anymore, with no explanation. Hey, look over there! A race car! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/76 "2010-03-14T00:49:45Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Her husband died and they broke up because “Tasty Coma Wife” was only with JD because she got off on the thril of it being wrong. Actually, [they don’t break up](For the next few times he meets her, he does something dramatic which makes her want to continue with the relationship, before pointing out to her that she only likes dramatic relationships and they both agree to stay together in a quiet, dramatic-free relationship. Read more: [My Drama Queen | Scrubs Wiki | Fandom](http://scrubs.wikia.com/wiki/My_Drama_Queen#ixzz0i6j15mnj)). [QUOTE=Scrubs Wiki] For the next few times he meets her, he does something dramatic which makes her want to continue with the relationship, before pointing out to her that she only likes dramatic relationships and they both agree to stay together in a quiet, dramatic-free relationship. [/QUOTE] As I recall, Zach Braff also mentions that they dropped the plot line in the DVD commentary track for this episode. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/77 "2010-03-14T02:27:34Z")
David Chase,who created the Sopranos, said he got asked a lot about the Russian but before the last season Chase said he was not coming back. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/78 "2010-03-14T02:53:07Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > You know, if that was purposeful, that’s really rather clever. I.e. some sort of deal with the time travel made it so that he returned to an existence where she never was, so while as viewers we see her absence, neither he nor anyone else would. And since no one knows that she ever existed, none of them can comment on it to explain the situation to the audience. Actually, the writers said they were going to address it, but the writer’s strike screwed it up. Now their excuse is “we went too long without mentioning it, so we’re just gonna ignore it.” ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/79 "2010-03-14T03:32:22Z")
> [@HelloNinja](#): > > Does the Russian from the Pine Barrens in “The Sopranos” fit? A lot of people waited and waited to find out whatever happened to that character but it was never addressed. Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri: You’re not gonna believe this. He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator. Christopher Moltisanti: His house looked like shit. Yeah, always wondered about him, too. He should have popped up again later. In the _Alien Nation_ TV series, they had a storyline where Matthew’s Sykes’ partner wasn’t killed by a Newcomer with a shotgun, but by a sniper who killed him just before the AP slug drilled him. There was supposed to be this shadowy conspiracy going on, and Sykes and Francisco were stumbling into it. Then they dropped it. I rather liked the idea of playing off the movie’s events, but they never developed it. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124/80 "2010-03-14T03:53:10Z")
Watching boxsets tends to show up things you might not otherwise notice. Christopher in The Sopranos is near death from a gunshot wound in a couple of episodes and then it is dropped and seldom if ever mentioned again afterwards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plotlines-that-were-abandoned-mid-series-with-no-explanation/532124.md?page=5)