Unseen character
Television shows and stage plays sometimes include continuing characters who are never seen or heard by the audience, but only described by other characters. Radio shows and plays also feature characters who never speak, and books feature characters who are merely referred to.
Television shows: Examples
Heard but not seen
- Carlton, the doorman on Rhoda (although he was seen in a cartoon spinoff of the show)
- Robin Masters, the novelist, on Magnum P.I.
- Captain Mainwaring's wife Elizabeth, in Dad's Army (only her footsteps were heard)
- All adults on Charlie Brown cartoons (they speak in a weird, unintelligible way)
- John Beresford Tipton in The Millionaire
- White Fang and Black Tooth in The Soupy Sales Show
- The regular PA announcer in M*A*S*H
- The Village PA announcer in The Prisoner (voiced by Fenella Fielding)
- The radio announcer on Gilligan's Island
- Mr Bell on The Drew Carey Show (seen only on his final appearance)
- Management on Carnivàle
- Magic Voice on Mystery Science Theater 3000
- The Master (or 'him upstairs') on Trapdoor
- Orson, Mork's boss who he reported to at the end of every episode in Mork and Mindy.
- Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget
- Curtis's cousins in the comic strip Curtis(We hear of his vague details of them, though).We hear that during Thanksgiving week.
Neither seen but not heard
(may be partially seen on rare occasions)
- Abigail in Abigail's Party (originally a stage play)
- Godot in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (originally a stage play)
- Vera, Norm Peterson's wife on Cheers (seen once with her face obscured by a thrown cake)
- Maris Crane, ex-wife of Niles Crane, on Frasier
- Karen's husband Stan and her children on Will & Grace
- 'Er Indoors, Arthur Daley's wife in Minder
- Mrs Axelby, Mrs Slocombe's friend in Are You Being Served?
- Mrs Slocombe's pussy, the source of much innuendo in Are You Being Served?
- Diane, Agent Cooper's secretary, on Twin Peaks
- Sheridan, Mrs. Bucket's son in Keeping Up Appearances
- Mrs. Columbo, wife of Inspector Columbo in Columbo (a spin-off series entitled Mrs. Columbo was disowned by the makers of the original)
- Marion and Geoff in Marion and Geoff (In the series, the only character who appears is Keith, the pathetically optimistic ex-husband of Marion, and still best friend of Geoff who is now Marion's husband. However, an extended episode was later made in which Marion and Geoff do both appear.)
- Admiral Nagumo in Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Phantom Dennis on Angel (does appear on-screen, but is invisible and inaudible)
- Alex, the suicidal common friend of The Big Chill
- Consuela, Suzanne Sugarbaker's housekeeper on Designing Women
- Kitty Chumley, Sir Bernard Chumley's sister on Little Britain
- Father Bigley, who had many physical abnormalities described in passing over the course of several episodes of Father Ted
- Beverley Macca, the ex-girlfriend of Dave in The Royle Family.
- Carol, Alan's wife in I'm Alan Partridge.
- Also in I'm Alan Partridge, Fernando and Denise, Alan's children.
- Colonel Sherman Potter's wife Mildred on M*A*S*H.
Heard but never completely seen
- Charlie Townsend, the head of the detective agency on Charlie's Angels (In fact, Charlie is frequently seen from behind, except in the series finale where he appears in Surgeons mask and outfit.)
- Mum and Dad in Cow and Chicken. They are only ever seen from the waist down. In fact, Cow and Chicken makes a big joke of the idea of the Unseen Character, as it repeatedly implies that Mum and Dad genuinely have no upper body.
- J. P. Pembrook in Fox Trot (only hands visible resting on desk)
- The "lady" in Tom and Jerry cartoons (legs only)
- Big Al in Police Squad and The Naked Gun (he is so tall his face is always cut off by the top of the screen)
- "Nanny" in Muppet Babies (like Big Al, her face is always cut off by the top of the screen, since the series is presented from a child's-eye view)
- Miss Sara Bellum in The Powerpuff Girls (her face is either above the screen like Big Al's or otherwise obscured)
- Dr. Claw in the Inspector Gadget cartoon series (always seated in a high-backed chair, facing away from the camera; only his fore arms and hands are ever seen)
- Victor Lewis-Smith in Inside Victor Lewis-Smith (possibly the only series whose star is never seen clearly; he or a body double appears wreathed in bandages after a car crash in the opening scene; he is also seen in highly distorted close-ups while making crank phone calls)
- "Troy", the extra-terrestrial father in Out of This World
- Alistair Crane on the NBC soap Passions
- David Tatsyrup on The League of Gentlemen (while he is seen as a normal human character at the end of the first series, he has become some kind of unseen beast in the attic of the local shop come series two)
- George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, speaks to his employee George Costanza on Seinfeld, but only the back of his unmoving head is ever seen.
- Amber Klein, Marsha's daughter in Spaced
- Wilson, the Taylors' neighbor, in Home Improvement. His face is seen only in the last episode, having previously been always obscured (from the nose down) by picket fence or various other props.
- Mammy Two-Shoes in Tom and Jerry cartoons.
- Mr. & Mrs. Turner, Timmy's parents, in The Fairly Oddparents. Their faces are never shown in the early episodes of the series, Remember. Oh Yeah! Cartoons & Comics
Unseen characters who were spoken off for a long time and then eventually seen
- Mary Jane Watson in the Spider Man comic book series
- Frasier's mother, on Frasier (she appeared in Cheers anyway)
- Number One on The Prisoner (debated)
- Fran's father, Morty on The Nanny who was unseen or heard from until the final season, when he suddenly appeared during the final season of the show, played by Steve Lawrence. Previously, all you saw was the toupee on the back of his head.
- Emily, the "other sister" on Empty Nest, who was often spoken of, but never seen or heard during all the early years the show was on the air. Then several seasons later, Kristy McNicholl's character left the show, and Emily suddenly appeared and became a regular on the show.
- The Big Giant Head on 3rd Rock from the Sun was unseen for several seasons but finally appeared, played by William Shatner.
- Daddy from Keeping Up Appearances .
- Clive from Men Behaving Badly. An old friend of Gary's, he was mentioned several times, and finally appeared at Gary and Dorothy's wedding, albeit behind a camcorder.
- Sir Royston Merchant from Drop the Dead Donkey. As the tycoon owner of Globelink, he was mentioned in practically every episode, but never seen. Phone conversations with him sometimes took place, but could only be heard from the side of one of the characters. He was finally seen in the very last episode of the seriess, when Gus Hedges broke into his house to confront him. He was played by Roger Hammond.
- Field Marshal Haig, being a prominent figure of the First World War, was mentioned several times in the series Blackadder Goes Forth, and was actually seen in the final episode, played by Geoffrey Palmer.
Stage Plays: Examples
- Harvey, the title character of the play Harvey. Elwood P. Dowd, who is the only character in the play who can see him, describes him as a six-foot tall rabbit, a pooka. Some directors show shadows of Harvey, but it is part of artistic licence. (This play has been made into a film several times, most famously with Jimmy Stewart playing the role of Dowd.)
- Godot in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, although it is debatable as to whether this character actually exists except in the minds of Valdimir and Estragon.
- Reg in Kevin Elyot's My Night with Reg
- Rosaline in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet