# Sitcom gimmicks. ex: You never saw Vera **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-gimmicks-ex-you-never-saw-vera/125303 "2002-08-23T22:10:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![dwmacg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwmacg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwmacg)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-gimmicks-ex-you-never-saw-vera/125303/161 "2003-01-23T17:17:35Z")
The Chief’s first name was eventually revealed in Get Smart. It was Thaddeus. Someone (Max, I believe) pressures him into revealing it, and he gives in. The response is something like “Wow, no wonder you keep it secret.” On All in the Family, two characters would often get stuck going through a door together. Also, there’s Edith’s line “Oooh [looking puzzled]. Oooh [dawn breaks over Marblehead]. Ooooh [shocked].” ---
**Author:** ![Loneraven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c0e974/32.png) [@Loneraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loneraven)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-gimmicks-ex-you-never-saw-vera/125303/162 "2003-01-23T17:20:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hatshepsut \* > \*\*I haven’t seen every episode, so I might be wrong, but on **Will & Grace** you never see Stan, Karen’s husband. Even if he’s around, there’s always some reason for him not to be visible. \*\* That’s right! I’d forgotten that completely… There was an episode on a few days ago, in which they show Karen on the phone in the bath. The camera’s facing her, so you can see her head and Stan’s feet. You hear her talking to him, but you never see or hear the man himself… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-gimmicks-ex-you-never-saw-vera/125303.md?page=8)