Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan, as if anyone didn’t know)
Even though he was the titular character, the show was intended as a starring vehicle for Stephanie Zimbalist - as reflected in the fact that she had star billing throughout the series’ run. The fact that Brosnan and his portrayal of Steele became so wildly popular allegedly resulted in considerable offscreen tension, with the two stars said not to get along off-camera, though they both denied it. Doris Roberts, another member of the cast, has alluded to this in interviews, calling working conditions on the set “unpleasant”.
Does Night Court really count though? It was more of an ensemble than focussing on one particular main character. Harry may have gotten more time than anyone else, but pretty much everyone had equal time.
Not only was Reverend Jim a character who went from doing a one-shot appearance to being a regular, but Christopher Lloyd essentially created the character himself. There was an episode where Latka married a prostitute in a paper marriage so that he could stay in the U.S. The producers of the show needed someone to play the minister for this wedding. They auditioned a number of actors who did fairly standard stereotypes of ministers. Lloyd though came into the audition with the character of Reverend Jim all worked out. The producers liked his ideas and cast him for that episode and, after seeing his performance in the show, decided to make him a regular.
So far in this thread sidekick could mean the secondary member of a pair of characters, or any member of an ensemble, or a recurring character, or an insignificant character.
And *steal the show *could mean the sidekick becoming the primary character, or being more popular (funny) than the primary character, or being more popular than the character was intended to be, or just an increase in significance of the character.
So with the different opinions, we’re getting a list of non-primary characters that we like. Did you have a more precise definition of **sidekick **and **steal the show **in mind?
You could probably say the same thing about Moonlighting, while you’re at it. When the show started, Sheppard was an established (albeit C-list) movie star, while Willis was a bartender who’d been on *Miami Vice *once. Even the show’s title referred to the fact that it was supposed to be about a model “moonlighting” as a detective.
Homer on the Simpsons. There s no doubt that, in it’s early run, Bart was the title character.
Also, Allison Mack completely stole the show in Smallville. She w barely meant as Clarck Kents sidekick, but her character was one of the best on the show. If comic book geeks weren’t so stuck on canon, ive no doubt Chloe would become a comic book character.
Actually I think she did make it into the comics at some point…I don’t know if they ret-conned her as a childhood friend Clark never talked about until now, or if she was just introduced as an adult.
Well, if we define “sidekick” as “secondary member of a pair of characters”, and “steal the show” as “being more popular or funny than the primary character”, then I think Christine Baranski’s portrayal of Maryann Thorpe in Cybill counts.
It would almost be more interesting to talk about shows where the supporting cast DIDN’T steal it. Only ones I can think of off-hand are The Cosby Show and the above-mentioned I Love Lucy.
I think Michael Bluth is considered the main character of Arrested Development, and while he is quite funny, it’s really GOB, George, Buster and Tobias that make the show.