2 Television shows: examples

2.1 Heard but not seen

• Andy Capp's Mother-in-Law
• CarltonLorenzo Music ( May 2, 1937 August 4, 2001) was an American actor, voice actor, writer, television producer and musician. Born Gerald David Music in Brooklyn, New York, he is best known for providing the voice of the animated cartoon cat Garfield. He was, the doorman on RhodaRhoda was a television spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. Valerie Harper played the lead role of Rhoda Morgenstern Gerard. The show ran on CBS from 1974 to 1978. Rhoda Morgenstern, recently departed from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, moved back home to (although he was seen in a cartoon spinoff of the show)
• Robin Masters, the novelist, on Magnum P.I.
• Peg's mother in Married... With Children. Knowing Al's criticism of her, we know she is THAT fat. Twice viewers have heard her shake herself dry (creating an impromptuFor information about impromptu speaking in public debate see individual events. An impromptu is a free-form musical composition with the character of an improvisation, usually for a solo instrument, such as piano. According to the New Grove Dictionary of earthquakeAn earthquake is a trembling or shaking movement of the Earth's surface. Earthquakes typically result from the movement of faults, quasi-planar zones of deformation within its uppermost layers. The word earthquake is also widely used to indicate the sourc) & nearly crumbled the foundation of the house for trying to turn(pieces of the ceiling fell for clues) .
• Captain Mainwaring's wife Elizabeth, in Dad's Army (only her footsteps were heard. A pronounced, downward 'bulge' is seen in the mattress above Cpt. Mainwaring, in a sleeping compartment on a train, suggesting she is a 'heavy' woman.)
• All adults on Charlie Brown cartoons (they speak unintelligibly, their voices emulated by a muted trumpet). In some of the earliest drawn cartoons, however, they could be heard speaking intelligibly, although they were never seen.
• 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
• Management on Carnivàle
• Magic Voice on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (presumably a computer)
• The Master (or 'him upstairs') on Trapdoor
• Orson, Mork's boss who he reported to at the end of every episode in Mork & Mindy.
• Curtis's cousins in the comic strip Curtis. (We hear of his vague details of them, though, during Thanksgiving week.)
• Dilbert's father in the comic strip Dilbert (However, in the TV series, we do see a part of him in one episode)
• Al, the cook at "Al's Wait & Eat" in ReBoot.
• Radio Announcer from The Adventures of Tintin.

2.2 Neither seen nor heard

(may be partially seen on rare occasions)

• Admiral Hunter in Robotech. Scott Bernard made frequent reference to him in the New Generation segment of Robotech and Admiral Hunter is, of course a much older version of Rick Hunter, the main character from the Macross segment. As the three original segments of the show were originally unrelated anime series, this was simply one of the ways the show was re-written to tie the three shows together.
• 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, wife, and later ex-wife, of Niles Crane, on Frasier
• Lewis Wyborn, husband of head nurse Margaret in Becker
• Bob Sacamano, Kramer's friend from Seinfeld.
• Lomez, Kramer's friend from Seinfeld.
• 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?
• 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 prequel, A Small Summer Party, was later made in which Marion and Geoff do both appear.)
• Admiral Nagumo in
• Naota Nandaba's older brother on FLCL
• Phantom Dennis on Angel (does appear on-screen, but is invisible and inaudible)
• Alex, the suicidal common friend of The Big Chill (played by Kevin Costner, but left on the cutting room floor)
• 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.
• Headless Horseman, from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
• Won Ton, the hospital chief in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
• The ship's chef in .
• Samantha the score-keeper in I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue, a long-running Radio Four comedy series.
• Serge Monsoon, Edina Monsoon 's son on Absolutely Fabulous
• Al's Mother in Home Improvement
• Mrs Alf Ventress in Heartbeat.
• Tibor, Homer's scapegoat at the powerplant in The Simpsons.
• Joan Mavis Trotter, Del Boy's beloved mother in Only Fools and Horses. Del often recalls his Mum giving 'advice' to his brother Rodney, although this is usually to bribe Rodney into doing something dodgy. We hear an overvoice of Del's mum in the episode "Time on our Hands".
• The spaceships SDF2 and SDF3 in Robotech. The SDF2 was reported as being destroyed alongside SDF1 in Khyron's final suicidal attack in the episode To the Stars. The original Macross did mention an SDF2 but it was still never seen and all of the details concerning it come from backstory. It is known, for example that this SDF2 was being built on the Moon, not Earth as in the Robotech version. The Comico comics adaptation depicts the SDF2 and SDF1 positioned back to back in lake gloval. This, of course is not supported in any animation. The first mention of SDF3 was at the end of that same episode as part of the surviving crew's future plans. The SDF3, also mentioned throughout Robotech's Southern Cross and New Generation was invented solely for Robotech and would have actually been seen in the aborted series Robotech II: Sentinels. Through comic book book adaptations and published production notes, the look and appearance of the SDF3 is well known, however.
• Old Man Sedgwick, Stinky Peterson and other members of Possum Lodge on The Red Green Show
• The Gooch, Arnold Jackson's long-time nemesis on Diff'rent Strokes.
• Charlie, the proprietor of Charlie's Restaurant on Sesame Street. In this long-running sketch, Grover works at Charlie's Restaurant as a waiter who always gives poor service to a blue Muppet known as "Fat Blue".

2.3 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.)
• Mom 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 Mom and Dad genuinely have no upper body (in an episode after Cow woke up from nightmare that had Weasel & Babboon in I Am Weasel as well as the common generic character Red Heiny) .
• J. P. Pembrook in Fox Trot (only hands visible resting on desk)
• Bill Brasky from a series of sketches in the 1996- 1997 season of Saturday Night Live, whose only description is from the outlandish exaggerations given by a group of his drunken friends and a closing shot in the sketches with the back of Brasky's head at a high angle, giving the impression that the man is a giant.
• 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, who is always seated in a high-backed chair, facing away from the camera; only his fore arms and hands are ever seen. This is a deliberate spoof of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the villain in the early James Bond films, whose face was never seen until the fifth movie in the series; You Only Live Twice.
• 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; Voiced by Burt Reynolds.
• 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. Voiced by Larry David.
• Amber Klein, Marsha's daughter in Spaced
• Mammy Two-Shoes in Tom and Jerry cartoons.
• Mr. and Mrs. Turner, Timmy's parents in The Fairly OddParents who were always shown with their faces obscured on the Oh Yeah! Cartoons series, except for having them who were fully visible in the regular cartoon series.
• Roy Mallard , played by Chris Langham: presenter of the spoof documentary People Like Us. A slight send-up of the "unseen character" concept, as some part of him (often one hand) gets in shot in every episode. In one episode, his full-length reflection is seen in a mirrored window.
• R.L., Kell's boss in Kevin and Kell. Only his drooling muzzle is usually ever seen. His whole body was recently shown, but his face was still hidden by a wrestler's mask.
• Wilson, the wise neighbor in Home Improvement, who is always seen with half of his face obscured, usually by a fence. Except in the series finale episode where his less than perfectly photogenic face was fully exposed.
• Sham-Fu the Magician, from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.
• Barbara the Trans-sexual from the League of Gentlemen. Never see her face.
• Sam, the operator at the Hi-Fi Answering Service, on Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Voiced by Mary Tyler Moore when introduced, she was usually shown only from the legs down as she exchanged innuendo on the phone with Diamond.

2.4 Unseen characters who were spoken of 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. He is almost perpetually asleep, however, thus maintaining a certain air of 'unseenness'.
• 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 series, 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.
• 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. Played by Earl Hindman.
• The Ugly Naked Guy, a fat and ugly nudist living opposite Monica and Rachel's apartment in Friends. The gang always commented on what they saw him do through the apartment's window. He was finally seen when he moved out and Ross visited him to persuade him into giving him his apartment. Even then, we only saw his (naked) back and he did not speak.
• Mr. Bell on The Drew Carey Show (Seen only in his final appearance)
• Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald, on the soap opera Passions. She was seen after five years of references.
• Jenny Piccalo on Happy Days was only talked about before she became a series regular.
• Naraku, from Inuyasha. The early episodes show him wearing the skin of some sort of animal, thus hiding him from view.
• Gary, the owner of the shoe store that Al Bundy from Married with Children was seen once in the first season in the 12th episode. It's not until the ninth season, that Gary is seen again. However, this Gary is a woman.

3 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, arguably a type of 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.)
• Falstaff in William Shakespeare's Henry V
• Godot in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, although it is debatable as to whether this character actually exists except in the minds of Vladimir and Estragon.
• Reg in Kevin Elyot 's My Night with Reg
• Rosaline in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

4 Movies

• The hunter in Bambi
• Charlie in Charlie's Angels
• Henne in Kein Pardon -- Throughout the movie, the main character's relatives speak fondly of him. In the last scene, Henne is greeted by the door just when the screen begins to blacken, so he is not seen even once.
• Oscar -- The entire movie revolves around the title character, a chauffeur. But he makes his appearance only in the last scene.
• Bill in Kill Bill vol. 1 -- only his arms or legs are shown. He is later seen full-bodied in Kill Bill vol. 2.

5 Comic strips and graphic novels

• The Adversary in Veritgo comics's Fables
• The "whorehopper", Spider Jerusalem's editor in Transmetropolitan.
• Charlie, Rosalyn's boyfriend in Calvin and Hobbes.
• Andy Capp's mother-in-law.
• Parents and teachers in Peanuts comics. In animated shows, they are heard going "blah, blah, blah". Note: In some shows, adults are fully seen and talk clearly, but only for roles such as newscasters.

Unseen characters

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