![]() Contrast Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, in which a character disappears with no explanation. Can often occur in combination with Suspiciously Similar Substitute, when an actor is no longer available and a new character is quickly brought in with minimal introduction to fill the role. If the character is going to be killed off straight away, this trope can be used to turn him into a Mauve Shirt beforehand.Ĭompare Cain and Abel and Seth, Cousin Oliver and New Neighbours as the Plot Demands. (In fact, the term "Retroactive Continuity" was originally coined to describe this trope). Related to (no pun intended) Long-Lost Uncle Aesop, but while Long-Lost Uncle Aesop is usually a one-shot character to deliver an Aesop, Remember the New Guy? is basically a new main character retconned out of thin air. Among the most clumsy versions is the "Long-Lost Daughter/Son." This trope can be especially disruptive if the new addition doesn't fit the tone of the series.Ī subversion of this trope can come into play when a newly-introduced character actually wasn't there before, but the characters believe they were due to Fake Memories or a Cosmic Retcon. This can work if the character (and the actor) proves compelling enough for the audience to suspend their disbelief, or that it's possible nobody mentioned them "on-camera" before (like if the show is set in a school, and the character is a casual acquaintance of the others but hasn't done anything significant to the plot until now). In other words, this is a relative or a friend or even a rival whom we really should have met, or at least heard about before, since the other characters would have us believe they have been crewing the same starship, working on the same project or sitting on the other side of the same classroom for years. ![]() "Oh hey, that's my old rival!" "Oh, this is my brother/sister whom I've never told you about," etc. ![]() It comes about because the writers want to introduce a new character, but don't want to come up with a complex introduction where everyone meets them and learns what they're like- it's just plain easier (and lazier) to pretend that everyone automatically knows them, and the relationship is ready-made. A previously unmentioned character who suddenly appears without notice and who we are told was really there all along but just. ![]()
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