Cousin Oliver
As I mentioned in my Jumping the Shark post, the introduction of a new character often heralds the decline of a series. A term that is often used to describe this phenomenon is a 'Cousin Oliver.' It tends to be a rather desperate move by the writers or producers of a show, attempting to breath new life into a programme that is on the verge of dying.
The
term 'Cousin Oliver' is used as a metaphor to describe the addition of a cute child actor to improve the ratings of a show, or to replace young cast members who have aged as the show progressed. The concept is named after an early and famous example of a shark-jumping new character - Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch, portrayed by Robbie Rist. He was introduced into the Brady household, appearing in the show's final 6 episodes, and proved extremely unpopular with fans.
Some shows attempt to make this sudden introduction into a plot point, such as Dawn Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Michelle Trachtenberg. Her arrival was foreshadowed in both Seasons 3 and 4 before her eventual arrival in Season 5. Despite this attempt to make her appearance organic, she was still mostly disliked by the fans for her annoying teenage angst. However, many feel that she redeemed herself somewhat in the show's final season.
However, the irritation at Dawn is nothing compared to the hatred directed at Scrappy-Doo.
Originally voiced by Lennie Weinrib and later replaced by Don Messick, the pup was the nephew of the mystery-solving Scooby-Doo. During his run he managed to illicit an immense level of vitriol, and was eventually scrapped (no pun intended) from the television franchise in 1988. The disdain for the character was so great that he even appeared as the villain of the piece in the 2002 live-action movie of Scooby-Doo.
So, can a Cousin Oliver ever really work? I'm inclined to think not - the Buffy writers came close, but failed due to the character's annoying traits. Can you think of any other examples of the phenomenon? Did they add to the series or detract from it?
*Image courtesy of WIkipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary
**Image courtesy of TVTropes, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary
Information courtesy of Wikipedia and TVTropes
The
Cousin Oliver*
Dawn Summers*
Some shows attempt to make this sudden introduction into a plot point, such as Dawn Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Michelle Trachtenberg. Her arrival was foreshadowed in both Seasons 3 and 4 before her eventual arrival in Season 5. Despite this attempt to make her appearance organic, she was still mostly disliked by the fans for her annoying teenage angst. However, many feel that she redeemed herself somewhat in the show's final season.
However, the irritation at Dawn is nothing compared to the hatred directed at Scrappy-Doo.
Scrappy-Doo**
So, can a Cousin Oliver ever really work? I'm inclined to think not - the Buffy writers came close, but failed due to the character's annoying traits. Can you think of any other examples of the phenomenon? Did they add to the series or detract from it?
*Image courtesy of WIkipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary
**Image courtesy of TVTropes, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary
Information courtesy of Wikipedia and TVTropes
Film & TV on DVD
Film & TV on DVD
Its been said a million times but its a shame all shows dont leave on a high note like (Seinfeld).....but most great shows now get cancelled just at their peak anyway (Arrested Development, Dead Like Me, Deadwood etc)
Passionate Apathy
On Babylon 5 they swapped out COs beginning with the second season; and in many fans opinion the show started really taking off then.
On Star Trek: Next Gen they added Michelle Forbes to tha cast with no ill effects; between her being easy on the eyes and the coresponding absense of Westley, the fans were too happy to complain.
Of course, maybe it's different when someone new comes in to replace someoen who leaves? Like the Wolfe character on CSI: Miami, who came in after Tim Speedle was written out?
Or how about a character who's brought in for a specific mini-arc, like Lorien on Babylon 5, who appeared at the beginning of Season 4 but after a few weeks he left, along with all the other First Ones?
Postmodern Critic
Relativity Watch
Padsoc
I didn't mind Dawn that much, though it might have been interesting to add another male character for balance instead. I thought Season 5 was pretty good, and Season 6 was even better, so for me she's part of the seasons that stood out the most. That said, I can see why people found her annoying.
It's funny, I sat down to watch Buffy very disdainfully for an English assignment and was prepared to pay more attention to the page on my lap than the screen itself. I was surprised to realise that I hadn't written anything down by the time 'Intervention' was over... a few episodes later I was hooked despite myself.
Hi Francis,
"Dawn's in trouble; it must be Tuesday."
I think that was in Once More, With Feeling... and it's so easy to miss because it's in between some incredibly inventive musical numbers!
It reminds me of "I mean, what kind of name is Buffy?" in the first episode, and Anya's "... is this like one of your little pop culture references I don't get?" to Buffy in Selfless.
Epiphanie
Really Long Link