Chuck Cunningham syndrome

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Chuck Cunningham syndrome is a term of criticism applied when a regular character in a television series leaves with no explanation, and is never referred to again despite the character's previous importance either to the show or to the other characters.

The term derives from the Chuck Cunningham character in the American series Happy Days (1974-1984). Chuck, the oldest of the three children in the Cunningham family, first appeared in the pilot episode "Love and the Happy Days" (aired as part of the series Love, American Style). However, when Happy Days became its own series, Chuck appeared as a minor character (usually seen on his way to basketball practice). He was written out of the series at the beginning of the second season with the explanation that he was going off to college. After the second season, he was never mentioned again. Subsequent episodes referred to the Cunninghams as having only two children (Richie and Joanie). #redirect

Chuck Cunningham was played by two different actors during his short run in the series (Gavan O'Herlihy and Randolph Roberts). This also makes Chuck Cunningham an example of Darrin Syndrome. The Happy Days reunion special that aired on February 3, 2005 referred to the character's disappearance and both "Chuck" actors were then brought out as a surprise for Marion Ross and the rest of the Happy Days cast.

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Television

Television - Movies - Comics - See also

0-9

227:
*Rose's daughter Tiffany (Kia Goodwin) disappears halfway through the series' third season, never to be mentioned again.
24:
*Jonathan, the sniper assigned to kill then Senator David Palmer disappears after the first attempt fails in episode 8 of season 1.
*Milo Pressman disappears around 5 PM in season 1 and is never heard from again.
*Lynn Kresge is never heard from after her character falls down a flight of stairs and is rendered in critical condition. Her status is never clarified either.

A

All in the Family:
*At the start of the 1976–77 season the Bunkers took in a Puerto Rican boarder named Teresa Betancourt. She was featured in several episodes, but did not return the following season. No explanation was ever given regarding her departure.

All My Children:
*Joe Martin's son Bobby went upstairs to wax his skis one day in 1970 and was never seen again. The show has been known to poke fun at the incident, such as one episode in which Opal ventured into the Martins' attic and found a skeleton with a shirt bearing the word "Bobby" next to a pair of skis.

As the World Turns:
*When longtime actor Larry Bryggman left the show in a salary dispute in 2004, his character, Dr. John Dixon, simply went to check on a patient, and was never seen, heard from or mentioned again. The show made no effort to explain his absence, even though his daughter remained a major character in the series. John was referred to on the 50th anniversary episode on April 3rd, 2006, though it was not explained where he had been for the previous two years.

B

Babylon 5:
*Ambassador G'Kar's assistant, Na'Toth, disappeared without warning after the actress who played her had an adverse reaction to the prosthetics used in her makeup. Na'Toth's absence was later explained in season 5 episode 10 "A Tragedy of Telepaths". Apparently, she was captured and imprisoned by the rival Centauri race. The actress, Julie Caitlin Brown, also appeared sans make-up as the human character Guinevere Corey in Season 2, Episode 14.

Barney & Friends:
*The entire cast from seasons 1-3 suddenly vanish without a trace, and what happened to them was never explained. ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Battlestar Galactica (2003):
*Boxey, played by Connor Widdows appears in the miniseries and in one episode on season one. After being chased out of the pilots' meeting room by Colonel Tigh, he is never mentioned or heard from again during the series. Additional scenes featuring Boxey were shot, but ended up on cutting room floor. In a commentary track on the Season 1 DVDs, the producers claim - somewhat tongue-in-cheek - that sadly, Boxey has died of cholera.

Beast Wars:
*At the end of season 1, Predacons Terrorsaur and Scorponok fall into their base's lava pools, never to be seen or heard from again. Although we are lead to believe that they died, other characters have been shown to survive similar life-threatening incidents (including Terrorsaur being bathed with an extremely fatal overdose of Energon. Terrorsaur's ambitions pull a Chuck Cunningham during the first season, as well, his personality inexplicably altered from a would-be usurper to loyal servant.
*Similarly, Maximals Tigatron and Airazor are notorious for becoming 'out of sight, out of mind' in many episodes during the first and second season, most notably during episodes where their help would appear to be a great asset (none of the Maximals even suggesting contacting them for help, during these episodes). They eventually vanished completely halfway during season 2, eaten by an alien plant and sent to parts unknown. Technically, they appear again as Tigerhawk for the last few episodes of season 3, but as Tigerhawk is treated by the characters as his own character with his own personality, it's debatable whether their appearance as this character can be considered a 'rectifier' to their Cunningham disappearance.
*In the series' sequel, Beast Machines, no character who had died in the previous seasons is mentioned.

The Bill:
*The character of WPC Debbie Keane vanished in the late 1990s without explanation, and was never heard of again.

Bonanza:
*Adam Cartwright, played by Pernell Roberts, was one of three sons of Ben Cartwright and was a regular character for the first few seasons of the show. When Pernell Roberts quit the show in 1965, Adam simply ceased to exist and his disappearance was never explained until the 1994 TV movie Bonanza: The Return, where his son returns from Australia.

Boy Meets World:
*Johnathan Turner, the English teacher who played a prominent role in the series since the second season (Shawn Hunter even lived with him for a brief period), is involved in a motorcycle accident in the fifth season. Shawn proceeds to move in with the Matthews family, and Turner never appears on-screen again.
*Stuart Minkis, the nerdy kid from the first season, is never seen for most of Cory and Shawn's high school life. He makes a cameo during the graduation episode as the chief rival to Topanga's valedictorian status. When asked about his whereabouts, he simply nods to an area offscreen and says, "over there." In his final line, he calls out to Mr. Turner, presumably the missing teacher.

The Brady Bunch:
*The girls' pet cat Fluffy appeared in only the first episode. By the second episode, Fluffy had vanished (as Carol and her daughters were all living with Carol's parents in the first episode, perhaps Fluffy was the grandparents' cat).
*The boys' pet, Tiger the dog, first appeared in the opening episode and continued as a regular character, but eventually disappeared without explanation. Barry Williams, who authored the book Growing Up Brady about his experiences on the show, recalls in the book that the dog who played Tiger was killed in an accident the night before the shooting of a critical scene in the episode "Katchoo". Tiger continued to appear sporadically until midway through the second season (the episode What Goes Up), but was eventually written out when various replacement dogs didn't work out. Tiger's kennel remained in the backyard to cover a burn mark on the Astroturf purportedly caused when a hot light fell onto it.

The Brittas Empire:
* In the first series, Leisure Centre Manager Mr. Brittas had a personal assistant named Angie (played by Andree Bernard). From the commencement of the second series, Brittas had a new assistant, Julie (played by Judy Flynn). Angie's disappearance was never explained, she was never mentioned again, and in a later flashback episode, Julie was shown working at the centre from the time it opened.
*Two minor characters from the earlier series shared Angie's fate. These were Pam, a friend of Helen Brittas, and Councillor Dapping, an adversary of Gordon Brittas.

C

Cosby:
*When Madeline Kahn died halfway through the show's 4th and final season, there was a special episode where the rest of the cast (appearing as themselves) paid tribute to her. However, in the show's narrative, after her final appearance early in the season, her character was never mentioned again, even though she was the best friend and business partner of Phylicia Rashad's character.

The Cosby Show:
* Theo's best friend, Walter "Cockroach" Bradley (Carl Anthony Payne II), disappeared in the middle of the fourth season.
* Rudy had a friend named Peter (Peter Costa) who rarely spoke, was easily intimidated by Dr. Huxtable, and communicated largely in pantomime. He was gradually phased out of the show after Kenny (Deon Richmond) was introduced.

:
* Catherine Willows has a sister in the pilot episode with whom Lindsay stays while Catherine is at work. She even had a nephew who was shown sleeping in the room at the same time as Lindsay. However, they were both never seen or mentioned again.

D

Danger Man:
*For the first half of this spy series' second season, secret agent John Drake takes his orders from a somewhat similar figure named Hobbs. Midway through the season, Hobbs disappears and Drake begins taking orders from a succession of guest star performers.

Days of Our Lives:
* In 1985, Don Craig (Jed Allan, who had played the role since 1971) went out to mail a letter and never came back, and was never referred to again.
* In 1991, Neil Curtis (Joseph Gallison, who had played the role since 1974) announced to colleagues that he had to see to some of his patients, and also disappeared without an explanation.
* In early 2005, Cassie "DiMera" Brady (Alexis Thorpe), who had played the role of unidentified alien teen turned Roman and Kate's daughter via surrogate mother Marlena, returned safely from Tony DiMera's European castle along with Jack Deveraux, Victor Kiriakis, and Caroline Brady. Soon after returning to Salem, Cassie disappeared with no reason. Her twin brother Rex left Salem after a fallout with Mimi, but Cassie's whereabouts remain unknown.

:
* Terry disappeared after Season 3, later covered by the fact that she moved to a private school
* Kendra Mason disappeared after Season 3 also. She wasn't seen in season 3 until 314 Accidents Will Happen

A Different World:
* In the final season, Dawnn Lewis left the show for Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. Subsequently, Jaleesa and the baby she had with Col. Taylor disappeared with no explanation. (Her character was mentioned often, however. She was always at home with the baby or visiting her mother.)

Dragon Ball GT:
*Bulma's daughter Bra (Bura in the FUNimation dub) is a supporting character in Dragon Ball GT. In episode 47 of the series, she is shown to be with everyone else at her house. In the next episode everyone is there but she is not. She is not seen again or mentioned.

E

EastEnders:
*The character of Sasha Perkins (Jemma Walker) disappeared with no explanation in 2005.

El Hazard: The Alternative World:
*During the course of the series, Princess Rune Venus met and fell in love with Chibal, a farmer. The tenth episode of the series ends with a literal cliffhanger, with Chibal hanging onto the edge of a cliff. However, the cliffhanger was not resolved and the character was never even mentioned again (in this case, due to the series run being literally cut in half, causing the creators to scramble to jam in a resolution to a plotline that was to take twice as long).

ER:
*Many supporting characters have simply been dropped without explanation, a fate known within the ER fan community as "being Bobbed", after a supporting character who vanished early in the second season. A prominent example is the character of Charlene 'Charlie' Chiemingo played by Kirsten Dunst. Throughout the 3rd season, she was introduced as a major supporting character whose storylines intersected with Dr. Ross. She disappears after the 3rd series finale, despite Dunst admitting in interviews at the time that there were storylines being written for the character. Nurses, paramedics and desk clerks exist in an equally ephemeral state.

F

Family Guy:
*Although still in production, Cleveland Jr. has not been seen or mentioned ever since Cleveland Brown divorced his wife, Loretta Brown.
*Despite appearing semi-prominently in the first two seasons, Joe Swanson's son Kevin has not appeared at all since the show came back on the air in 2005.

Family Matters:
*Judy Winslow and Aunt Rachael Crawford disappeared from the series without explanation, with Aunt Rachael even abandoning her son (the real reason was that Telma Hopkins was given her own sitcom, Getting By, at the time). Aunt Rachael, however, returned for a few subsequent episodes after Getting By's demise. In Judy Winslow's last episode, she simply goes up to her room and never comes back down; actress Jaimee Foxworth's character was never popular, and after reducing her role steadily, she was written out during the series' fourth season.
*Several of Eddie Winslow's buddies disappeared without explanation. In the first two seasons, his best friend was Rodney Beckett (Randy Josselyn); in later seasons, he befriended Weasel (Shavar Ross). His longest-lasting best friend, Waldo Geraldo Faldo (Shawn Harrison), originally appeared as a sidekick to a bad guy named Willie (played by Larenz Tate), but then he befriended Eddie with no explanation and eventually was so popular that he became a series regular only to be dropped mysteriously a few seasons later.
*Bryton McClure, who played Richie Crawford, Rachael's son, appeared less and less once the character of 3J was introduced. By the last season, his character was completely dropped with no explanation.

Franklin:
*This program displays all forms of the syndrome. A number of 'best friend' characters have appeared only one time and were never seen again. Others are bizarrely only seen from time-to-time, despite the fact that Franklin and his friends attend kindergarten and therefore they should be in class. In another case, a character was seen in an early episode then reappeared in the third season and appeared to be completely unrecognized.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air:
*Three of Will's close friends disappeared after the first three seasons: Tyriq (Perry Moore), Jackie (Tyra Banks), and Kellogg "Cornflake" Lieberbaum (Michael Weiner).

Full House:
*Michelle's best friend Denise vanishes after the seventh season. Stephanie's friend Mickie vanishes and is replaced with Gia.

G

Gimme a Break!:
*After Uncle Ed, the Chief's older brother, gets married, neither he nor his wife are ever seen or mentioned again.

The Golden Girls:
*Coco, a gay housekeeper who helped out around the house where the women lived, disappears after the pilot episode, and is never mentioned again.

Good Times:
*At the end of Season 4, Florida Evans agrees to marry Carl Dixon and move with him to Arizona. They are unseen in Season 5, but when Florida returns at the beginning of Season 6 for Thelma's wedding, she is alone. Carl is never mentioned again, and Florida continues to be addressed as Mrs. Evans, not Mrs. Dixon.
*J.J. and his three best friends Poppo, Cool Breeze, and Head refer to themselves as the "Awesome Foursome". But after only one episode Cool Breeze disappears, never to be mentioned again, and the friends become the "Gleesome Threesome".

The Greatest American Hero:
*Ralph Hinkley's son Kevin went from being featured semi-regularly to appearing rarely to only being mentioned in passing by mid-season 2, after which he is never seen or heard from again (though it is possible that his mother somehow gained custody during events never shown onscreen).

Grounded for Life:
*Henry Finnerty, the youngest of the Finnerty children, disappeared in the last season. Though he was mentioned in one episode during the last season, he is never seen on screen again.

Guiding Light:
*Roxy Shayne,Kristi Ferrell Reva's younger sister, suffers a nervous breakdown and is never mentioned again. Samantha Marler Suzy Cote after helping solve the Daniel St. John mystery, is never seen nor heard from again.

H

Happy Days: Chuck Cunningham (see lead section).
*In addition to the Chuck Cunningham character, Fonzie had a young nephew named Spike who liked Joanie and was a young clone of the Fonzie character. After the character of Chachi was introduced, Spike disappeared.

Heartbeat:
* In Series 1, a young couple, Alan and Sandra, were major characters. They did not return for Series 2, and were never seen or heard of again.

Hey Dad:
*Nudge, the Kelly family's next-door neighbor and regular character vanished between seasons. No mention was ever made of the character again. While almost the entire cast would leave the show during its run, the departure of Nudge is the only case where no reason was given.

Hey Arnold:
*Some minor examples are Mr. Smith, a mysterious housemate who disappears, and Arnold's coach's son Tucker, who was absent even in his parents' remarriage.

Hogan's Heroes:
*During the final season of the series (1970–1971), Ivan Dixon did not appear as the character Sgt. Kinchloe and the producers replaced his character without any explanation with Sgt. Richard Baker, who also portrayed by an African-American actor, Kenneth Washington.

Hotel:
*In the pilot, Bette Davis plays Laura Trent, owner (or majority owner) of the hotel. However in the series that followed her sister-in-law Victoria Cabot (Anne Baxter) is at the helm. It is explained in the script she is minding the hotel while Laura takes care of troubled hotels she owns elsewhere. However, in subsequent seasons, Laura never returns; Victoria (rather than Laura Trent) is later said to have hired the general manager Peter McDermott (James Brolin) even though he was in place prior to the events of the pilot. Victoria is also said to share ownership with her family business Cabot Inns.

I

It's Garry Shandling's Show:
*In the pilot episode, Garry spends a fair bit of time promising the arrival of his friend Lewis (Geoffrey Blake), who shows up too late to be part of the story. Lewis did make appearances in a few subsequent episodes, but disappeared halfway through the first season, never to be referred to again.

J

Just Shoot Me:
*In the first season, Maya had a goofy roommate named Wally, played by Chris Hogan. He usually had one scene per episode, and in one scene slept with an age-phobic Nina Van Horn. After the six episodes of the first season, Wally was never seen nor mentioned again. Some of Hogan's scenes were cut from re-runs as well. Fans of the show have some alarming theories as to what became of Wally. [1]

K

The King of Queens
*Doug's best friend Richie Iannucci, played by Larry Romano, only appeared during the show's first two seasons and one episode (Paint Misbehavin') in the third season. He has not been heard of since his last appearance. Richie was apparently replaced by Doug's cousin Danny, played by Kevin James' real-life brother Gary Valentine.

L

Life With Bonnie:
*The Molloys' oldest child, Samantha, disappeared from the show after the first season. According to series star Bonnie Hunt, this was due to "creative differences." The daughter seemed to have been replaced by a neighbor's son whose parents are never seen.

The Lucy Show:
*When the series began Lucy had two children, Chris and Jerry. In 1965, Lucy moved to Hollywood and her daughter Chris was said to have gone to college and afterwards was never mentioned again. A few episodes into the 1965/66 season, Jerry is sent to military school and, after a few occasional mentions, is never heard of again.

M

Mad About You:
*During the first half of the first season, Paul Buchman had a college buddy named Jay Selby. Selby was Paul's sidekick, though Jamie appeared not to like him much. Selby's character was never really developed and was written out of the show midway through season 1. He went off to escort his grandmother to the museum and was never heard from again. His role on the show was replaced by Paul's cousin Ira. In a fifth-season episode, Selby's sudden disappearance is referenced by Paul during a conversation with Jamie about how they don't seem to have that many friends: "Like Selby, what the hell happened to him?"

Malcolm & Eddie:
*Malcolm had a waitress employed at his bar named Holly (Angelle Brooks) that appeared in almost every episode of the first season. By the second season, she had disappeared.

Malcolm In the Middle:
*Malcom's classmates, the Krelboynes (Dabney, Lloyd, and Kevin), appear regularly in the series, but disappear completely after Season 4.

Mama's Family:
*During the first two seasons of the show, Mama's son Vinton had two teenage kids from his first marriage -- Sonja and Buzz. When the show returned for its third season, both kids were gone with only one fleeting reference made to them in the first episode of the third season. They are not mentioned at all for the remainder of the series. In the final season, while Vint and his second wife Naomi awaited the birth of their first child, it was implied that Vint had no other children.

Married... with Children:
*Seven (Shane Sweet) runs away to live with the D'Arcys and is never seen again. (The producers of the show realized they had made a mistake in introducing his character; his face was later seen on a milk carton.)
* Several of Al's buddies disappeared during the series' run. In the first few episodes, his buddy was Luke Ventura (Ritch Shydner), who was even listed as a series regular in the original pilot episode. He was never seen after the first season, although he was referenced one final time. Al also had an assistant at Gary's named Aaron (Hill Harper), who was briefly replaced by Dexter (Chi McBride) before the producers settled on Griff (Harold Sylvester). Many NO MA'AM characters were dropped, notably Roger and Officer Dan.

Matlock:
*Ben's assistants Tyler Hudson, Cassie Phillips, Michelle Thomas and Conrad McMasters, as well as his neighbour Les Calhoun, all left without explanation.

McLeod's Daughters
*Towards the end of Series 3, Becky Howard (Jessica Napier) left with her boyfriend Jake Harrison (Charlie Clausen) to go to College at Huggins (a fictional town in South Australia). After that she is never seen or mentioned again. While Claire McLeod (Lisa Chappell) who was killed off afterwards, still gets mentioned by the other characters on a regular basis.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers:
*Sometime between the end of Season 5 (Power Rangers Turbo's "Chase Into Space Part 2") and the beginning of Season 6 (Power Rangers In Space's "From Out Of Nowhere Part 1") the Youth Center (initially run by Ernie and then by Lt. Stone) disappears for no reason and is replaced with 'The Surf Spot' run by Adele. No mention is made of why this occurred.
*Throughout Season 1, one of Rita Repulsa's allies, Scorpina, has a prominent role, even teaming up with Goldar on several occasions. After Rita is banished into space by Lord Zedd, she is never mentioned again, save for reappearing during one episode in season 2. After this brief reappearance, she was never seen again.

Mork & Mindy:
*The producers radically made-over the series between the first and second seasons and the characters of Fred (Conrad Janis), Cora (Elizabeth Kerr) and Eugene (Jeffrey Jacquet) were dropped. While Fred and Cora eventually returned as regulars, Eugene was never mentioned again.

My Family:
*In the first series, dentist Ben Harper (Robert Lindsay) had an assistant named Brigette (Daisy Donovan), who did not reappear for Series 2. Throughout the rest of the show, Ben had a series of different, short lived assistants.
*"Stupid Brian", the boyfriend of Janey Harper (Daniela Denby-Ashe) in Series 2 also vanished without explanation. However, Janey had many different boyfriends, so this was perhaps not so strange.

My Hero:
*Avril, George's nervous assistant, simply faded away at the end of the first series, and was never referenced again.

My Three Sons:
*A clear-cut example of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome that actually predated Happy Days by a decade. From 1960-65, Mike Douglas (played by Tim Considine) was the oldest son of widower Steve Douglas. (The other two sons were Robbie and Chip.) When Considine left the series, Ernie Thompson (played by Barry Livingston)was adopted so that Steve still had three sons. While Ernie's adoption was referred to throughout the series, Mike was never mentioned again, and Steve Douglas mentioned several times that he had three sons, never four, and that Robbie was the oldest.

N

Neighbours:
*Marlene Kratz, who was a regular cast member from 1994 to 1997, announced that she was going away for a three-month cruise and was not mentioned again for several years. In a special episode airing in 2005 for the soap's 20th anniversary, which contained video clips from past characters, Marlene appeared briefly and praised her time on Ramsay Street, while standing next to a boat. Producers included this as an in-joke for fans who had been confused about Marlene's disappearance.

New York Undercover:
*Chantal Tierney was the mother of J.C. Williams' son, Gregory ("G"). After the massive cast shake-up at the beginning of Season 4, Chantal is never mentioned again (although G is seen several times).

The New Tomorrow:
*The fearsome and bossy character of Jag suddenly disappears, and no explanation is made.

Nip/Tuck:
*The pilot episode featured a character named Rosa who was the maid for the McNamaras. She has not been seen since and no explanation has been given for her absence. More noticeable would be Grace Santiago (Valerie Cruz) who was a main character in the first season. She just vanished by the second season and no one has mentioned her since. Though there was one small scene where Sean and Christian talk about firing Grace, but they never showed it as a serious matter.

O

The O.C.:
*Zack, a regular guest in the second season, disappeared at the end of the season. However, a reference was made to him working for George Lucas. Also in season three there is another reference to Zack, after Seth discovers the "VCast" of their joint comic "Atomic County".
*Holly, Marissa and Summer's old best friend, is never seen or mentioned again after the first season.

One Life To Live:
*Carlotta Vega's adopted son Eli Traeger disappeared in 1998, never to be spoken of again.

P

The Parent 'Hood:
*Robert's original best friend, Daryl (Bobby McGee), and a neighbor, Mrs. Wilcox (Carol Woods), were series regulars during the first season, but then they were dropped without explanation. Coincidentally, the same thing happened to Robert's second best friend (and Mrs. Wilcox's son), Wendell Wilcox (Faizon Love), who disappeared midway through Season 4.

Passions:
*Reese, who had a crush on Kay, one day disappeared from the show without explanation.

Punky Brewster:
*Eddie Malvin (Eddie Deezen), the building superintendent, went to fix the fuse box one day and never returned, nor was he mentioned again.
Phil of the Future:
*Seth Wosmer (Evan Peters), one of Phil's friends, appeared in various episodes in Season 1, but was not seen or mentioned again.
*Debbie Berwick disappeared without any explanation (The fact that Debbie was a cyborg in the year 2121 and melted in the Halloween episode of Phil of the Future from Season 1).
*Some of the characters, who played the teachers from H.G. Wells high school have been dropped from the show without any explanation from their absence.
*Bradley Benjamin Farmer, Debbie's ex-boyfriend, disappeared without any explanation.
*Mandy Teslow (Yeardley Smith), Keely's mom, was not seen or heard from again in the second season.
*Owen only appeared in 5 episodes of Phil of the Future in the second season, but was never mentioned again. Via only appeared in 2 episodes in the second season, but never returned.

Q

Quincy, M.E.:
*Actress Lynette Mettey played Quincy's on-again, off-again girlfriend Lee Potter in four first-season episodes and the first three episodes of the second season. After that she was never seen or mentioned again.

R

Rags To Riches
* On the 2 hour pilot episode, Nick Foley adopted six orphans. But when the first regular episode of the show aired, there were only five with Nick, with no explanation of what happened to Nina. Nick later mentioned to Patti's Mother that He adopted "six orphans". The end of the pilot episode showed Nina watching as the other orphans got in the car after he picked them back up at the orphanage. Nina was never mentioned after that.

Robotech
* In the first few episodes of the Macross Saga, Minmei spends much of her time babysitting her cousin Jason. After Rick saves her, the two are separated from Macross City and the plot focuses on them. When Minmei returns to her aunt and uncle on the SDF-1, Jason is gone and his absence is never explained.

Roseanne
* Bonnie Watkins (Bonnie Bramlett), a waitress at Rodbell's and close friend of Roseanne, disappears without further mention at the end of season four.

S

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch:
*Between the first and second seasons, the character of Sabrina's best friend Jenny Kelly (Michelle Beaudoin) was dropped with no explanation for her absence.

seaQuest DSV:
*Dr. Kristin Westphalen, Lieutenant Commander Katherine Hitchcock, Lieutenant Ben Krieg, and Chief Manilow Crocker mysteriously vanish following the first season finale "Higher Power", with only Hitchcock and Crocker given explinations as to their disappearance (Hitchcock assumed command of her own ship and Crocker retired from the navy). With the exception of Lieutenant Krieg who reappears in one third season episode, none of the departing characters are ever seen or mentioned again. Similarily, in the third season priemiere, "Brave New World", Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz and Dr. Wendy Smith (who replaced Dr. Westphalen) both mysteriously disappear, their absence only explained by a throwaway line from Captain Bridger who claims "We lost some very good friends."

The Secret Life of Us:
*A large portion of the cast left the series at the end of the third season, and while the final episode revolved around the election of Sibylla Budd's character to parliament, the characters of Dan Spielman, Gigi Edgley, Spencer McLaren (a founding member) and Nina Liu disappeared without warning. The fourth season began with an almost entirely new cast and without explaining the disappearances of four key characters. The series was axed three episodes later.

The Shield:
*The character Tavon, played by Brian J. White, is last seen recovering in the hospital from a car accident. After season 3, no mention is made of the former Strike Team member.

Silver Spoons:
*Edward Stratton's business associate Leonard Rollins (Leonard Lightfoot) was a series regular only for the first season; afterwards, he was never mentioned again (the character had apparently been replaced by Dexter Stuffings, played by Franklyn Seales).

Sonic X:
*Big the Cat appeared in the first episode; he was fishing and was warped to the human world. He was then missing for the rest of the first season, until the beginning of the second season, but after a few episodes, he went missing again. Even when everyone went back to Sonic's planet, Big was never seen going back with them, nor was he seen on the planet ever again. He still appears in the video game world.

:
*Between the first and second seasons, Paul Morrow and David Kano disappeared from Moonbase Alpha without any explanation, a particularly glaring omission since there was nowhere they could have gone (both were let go by new producer Fred Freiberger in favor of new characters Tony Verdeschi and Maya in an effort to make the show's appeal a little broader).
*Victor Bergman (Barry Morse) also vanished between the first and second seasons. A throwaway line about a spacesuit malfunction was written, but not aired. Morse left due to a contract dispute with Freiberger.
*The Moonbase Alpha Technical Notebook timeline of the series not only includes Bergman's spacesuit malfunction but also attributes Morrow and Kano's disappearance to an Eagle crash.

Spin City:
*At the end of the fourth season, four principal characters departed: Mike Flaherty (Michael J. Fox), Nikki Faber (Connie Britton), James Hobert (Alexander Chaplin) and Janelle Cooper (Victoria Dillard). While Michael J. Fox's departure was set up over the course of several episodes, and he made guest appearances in later seasons, none of the other characters were ever mentioned again, and the reasons for their disappearances remain a mystery. Stacey Paterno (Jennifer Esposito) and Angie Ordonez (Lana Parilla) similarly vanished without comment at other points in the series' run.

SpongeBob SquarePants:
*In the pilot episode, SpongeBob has a pet scallop, Shelly, sitting by his bed. We only see him again in one more episode, and after that Shelly disappears completely, apparently replaced by Gary the snail.

Star Blazers:
*The chief engineer Orion who was a regular during the Quest for Iscandar and Comet Empire series was not seen in the third season, The Bolar Wars. He was replaced by another chief engineer. In the Japanese version of these series, Orion (Tokugawa) was killed near the end of the Comet Empire and his replacement, Joe Yamazaki was introduced in the movie Yamato: The New Voyage which was never released as part of the Star Blazers package. Orion's death was simply cut out of the English language Star Blazers.
*In the expanded universe of the American Star Blazers, Orion was originally referred to as having retired and his son Orion Jr. taking over under the new chief. More recent versions prefer to reconcile with the Japanese version even though his death was not seen.
*Another character, Talan, showed up regularly in the first two seasons as Desslock's aide de camp. He later showed up in Bolar Wars named Masterson. This inconsistency is explained as the company producing the Bolar Wars was a different company using different voice actors and they didn't realize that it was the same character.
*The fan theory behind Talan's name change is that his full name was Talan Masterson. However, the character in Bolar Wars was constantly referred to as Sergeant Masterson, a rank which is not only inconsistent with his function, but also inconsistent with his relationship to Desslock.
*In the original Space Battleship Yamato canon, the rookie characters of Sakamoto and Kitano are introduced as apprentices to Kodai and Shima during Yamato: the New Voyage which also introduces Tasuke Tokugawa (Orion Jr.). Tasuke continues in the further Yamato movies and series but Sakamoto and Kitano are never seen again. Sakamoto's place is taken over in the following film Be Forever Yamato by Shiro Kato (Conroy), brother of the late Saburo Kato (Conroy).

*Yeoman Janice Rand, who had been featured in many early season one episodes was ultimately phased out when the producers decided not to have a recurring love interest for Captain Kirk aboard the Enterprise. Rand did ultimately reappear in and a couple of the other films.

:
*The Romulans provided a cloaking device for the USS Defiant on the condition that the ship be acompanied by a Romulan officer, Subcommander T'Rul. After two episodes, T'Rul disappeared and no further mention was made of Romulan supervision of the cloaking device.

:
* During the second season, Diana Muldaur joined the cast as Dr. Katherine Pulaski, replacing Dr. Beverly Crusher, played by Gates McFadden as the Enterprise-D's chief medical officer. Crusher's absence is explained by her decision to leave the Enterprise to head Starfleet Medical (fairly unlikely for an officer holding as junior a rank as commander) Ironically, Dr. Pulaski herself would suffer the Cunningham syndrome as she left the show in the third year, replaced by the returning Dr. Crusher, and is never mentioned again, short of a brief reference to her memory altering technique in one episode.

:
*In the episode "Equinox, Part 2", two of the USS Equinox's crew, Gilmore and Lessing are stripped of rank and become part of Voyager's crew. Janeway tells them that they will have to work hard to earn her trust. Despite this scene setting up potential future appearances, the two characters are never mentioned again.
*In the episode "Collective", the crew encounters a group of Borg children, one of which is an infant who is sent to sickbay. Although the Doctor saves the child, it is never mentioned again, although the other children remain on the show.

Stargate SG-1:
*Dr. Sarah Gardner, onetime love-interest of Daniel Jackson, served as a romantic interest and recurring villain in seasons four through seven. In season seven she was rehabilitated by the humans of Earth and presumably ready to play a romantic role again. She was last seen in the SGC infirmary and, though referenced numerous times since her last appearance, has not reappeared in the two seasons since.
*Dr. Carolyn Lam, daughter of Gen. Landry, was a recurring character meant to replace the late Dr. Janet Fraiser as the SGC's chief medical officer. However, she has not appeared since the plague outbreak in The Fourth Horseman. This was largely due to actress Lexa Doig's real life pregnancy.

Stargate Atlantis:
*Sgt. Bates, a frequent foil of Sheppard and Teyla in Season One, is not seen at all in subsequent seasons.
*Dr. Katie Brown, who was a love interest of McKay's in Duet, has not been seen since.

Step By Step:
*The youngest Lambert boy on the show, Brendan, saw his role reduced during the last few years of the show (especially after the birth of Lilly) until he was completely dropped from the show during the last season without explanation.
*In the first season, Carol owns a beauty salon attached to the Lamberts' house. The beauty salon employs two women, Carol's mother and sister, who are also main characters. After the first season, the two women are completely dropped.

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody:
*The Drew Crew was featured prominently in the Season 1 Episode "Hotel Hangout", but have yet to have any appearance or mention in the second season.
*Tapeworm, one of Zack & Cody's friends appeared in Season 1 episodes. He's not seen or heard from again in the second season.
*Muriel, an old and lazy hotel maid at the Tipton, appeared in several Season 1 episodes of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, but in the second season, Muriel is not seen or heard from again. (A possibility probably considered by Disney Channel, but as of yet ungiven: in the episode Free Tippy, the Tipton forces employees of age 65+ to retire. Muriel is well over 65 years old. Muriel has been working at the hotel since at least 1938. If she was 16 when she began working, she'd be 83 years old now.)
*Lance (the lifeguard) and Chuck (the waiter), two guys who worked for the Tipton, suddenly disappeared from the show without any explanation.
*Maddie mentions that she has brothers and sisters in the episode, "Footloser" in first season, but they never appeared on the show. But in the episode, "Not So Sweet 16", she has a younger brother name Liam. She does not mention any other brothers and sisters in "Not So Sweet 16". In the episode, "Poor Little Rich Girl", Mr. Moseby said that Maddie had a sister who she shared a room with; Maddie had never mentioned she had a sister in various episodes of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Her brothers and sisters were never seen or mentioned again.

T

Taggart:
*No further reference was made to the character of Superintendent Jack McVitie after the passing of actor Iain Anders in 1997.

Taxi:
*Cabbie John Burns (Randall Carver), a displaced midwesterner, disappeared after one season of being a regular character. Nothing was mentioned about it on the show, but the producers realized the character had run its course, and most jokes associated with his character could easily be transferred to Tony Banta.

That's My Mama:
*Two old fellows who visit Clifton's Barbershop, Wildcat (Jester Hairston) and Josh (DeForest Convan) disappeared after the first season, and were never mentioned again.

That's So Raven:
*Mr. Lawler appeared in Season 1 episodes of That's So Raven and 1 episode from Season 2 and was never seen or heard from again in Season 3 and 4.

The Thin Blue Line:
*While only two series of this sitcom were made in the mid 1990s, there were two cases of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, with the characters of DC Kray (Kevin Allen) & DC Crocket (Joy Brook) leaving without explanation. No mention was ever made of these characters again.

Three's Company:
*Next-door neighbor Lana Shields (Ann Wedgeworth) was added to the show at the beginning of the fourth season but disappeared without explanation after only a handful of episodes when the show's writers realized they had run out of ideas for her.

The Tomorrow People:
*During the 1990s version of The Tomorrow People, the show originally introduced Adam Newman, Lisa Davies, and Kevin Wilson as the shows three main characters with the ability to "teleport". Marmaduke 'Megabyte' Damon was originally a close friend of Kevin's with no teleportation ability. However as the shows later stories were broadcasted, both Lisa and Kevin disappeared and only Adam and Megabyte (now with teleportation abilities) remained steady as the shows main characters.

The Torkelsons:
*During their move from Oklahoma to Seattle (and the show's name change to Almost Home), the family mysteriously lost two children, Steven Floyd and Ruth Ann. Though these 2 children may have decided not to move with their Mother and stayed with their Grandmother.

Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends:

Several characters disappear from the TV Series for no explanation. Sir Handel, who was introduced in Season 4, did not appear in any future seasons. Boco, who was introduced in Season 2, was last featured in the Season 5 episode "Double Teething Troubles" and is not seen again.

U

UFO:
*At the mid-point of this cult science fiction series' first and only season, several major cast members drop out without explanation, most notably the character of Col. Alec Freeman (George Sewell) who is replaced as the first officer of the secret organization SHADO by Col. Virginia Lake (Wanda Ventham). (The dropping of several characters was sparked by a five-month break in production while the series changed studios, during which time several lead actors obtained roles in other series.)

W

The West Wing:
*The West Wing has an especially severe case of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome. Due to the show's large pool of secondary and tertiary characters, characters tend to disappear for no apparent reason. The show has even developed its own term for Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, "Mandyville", named for the first character to depart in such a manner.
*The character of Mandy Hampton was dropped after the first season without explanation, though the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin, has said that she was dropped because the character had run her course and Moira Kelly's departure was amicable. "Mandyville" is named for Hampton.
*Elsie Snuffin (Danica McKellar), Will Bailey's (Joshua Malina) sister. He insists that she join him when he comes to work in the West Wing since they are a team; she disappears without explanation after around 10 episodes. She is not mentioned again.
*Jordon Kendall (Joanna Gleason), Leo's lawyer, is set up as a romantic interest for him in mid-Season 3 and early Season 4. A couple of episodes later, Bartlett asks Leo how their romance is going, and he responds that it's going well. No mention of her is ever made again.

Y

Yu-Gi-Oh!:
*The character Miho Nosaka was a main character in the first anime series (who served as Hiroto Honda's (Tristan Taylor) love interest, although she preferred Ryo Bakura). In the second series (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters) she does not appear at all. Some fans who mistakenly believe the two series are one see this as a Chuck Cunningham occurrence, despite the fact that the two series are only connected by the fact that they were based off of the same manga.

Movies

Home Alone: In the first two installments, Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) has two brothers (Buzz and Jeff) and two sisters (Megan and Lainie). The third film focused on another family. When the franchise returned to the (recast) McAllisters in Home Alone 4, Buzz and Megan are his only siblings. The two missing characters haven't been "cut" so much as combined with the remaining brother and sister; one of many cases in which the film significantly deviated from established series continuity.
Poltergeist film series: The oldest daughter Dana Freeling (Dominique Dunne) was only seen in the first film. Dominique Dunne died on November 4th 1982, her ex-boyfriend was convicted of her manslaughter. As a result, no further reference was made to her character in the Poltergeist films.
Problem Child: In Problem Child 2 Ben Healey (John Ritter) met and fell in love with Annie Young (Amy Yasbeck), who had a daughter named Trixie. The conclusion of Problem Child 2 suggested a "happily ever after" ending. However, in Problem Child 3, Ben and Junior are alone: There is no trace of Annie or Trixie, and no explanation as to what happened to them.

"Cyclonus and his armada"

': In one scene, Bombshell and Skywarp are transformed into "Cyclonus and his armada"; and Thundercracker, Kickback, and Shrapnel, are transformed into "Scourge and the Sweeps'''". In the scene immediately following, however, the "armada", (in actuality, only one ship, Skywarp's altered form), is gone and never seen or mentioned again; also, there are 3 sweeps present, not 2.

Comics

Garfield: The character of Lyman, Odie's owner, was dropped after the first few years of the comic strip. Odie suddenly became Jon's pet. Cartoonist Jim Davis explained that the character of Lyman was created to give Garfield's owner, Jon, someone to talk to. As Garfield's character evolved into a more human-like persona, Jon's conversations became more centered around Garfield, making Lyman superfluous. While the strip doesn't explain Lyman's sudden disappearance, Jim Davis's humorous explanation was, "don't look in Jon's basement!". He also gives some humorous scenarios as to what happened to Lyman in the Garfield 20th Anniversary Book. On the official [Garfield site], in the [Scary Scavenger Hunt game], Lyman appears chained to the wall in the mansion's dungeon.
: The first time the unnamed Infernomancer appears [link], he is accompanied by a berserker named Brok. The Infernomancer and Brok then fight against the main characters for the life of a dryad. Partway through the battle, Brok chases away the supporting characters Stunt and Bumper. [link] Brok never appears and is only mentioned once in passing after this point: The battle is resolved without his presence, Stunt and Bumper never mention the outcome of that chase, and the Infernomancer works alone in every subsequent appearance. The comic's [FAQ page] states that the character of Brok was scrapped.
Sluggy Freelance:The character Sam Sein is seen plotting to set Torg up on a blind date and steal Zoe for himself in early January 1998. He then disappears completely from the comic with no explanation (the blind date proceeds as planned, though). His disappearance isn't even mentioned in continuity for several months until his pet ferret, Kiki, tells federal investigators of it. Kiki later leads the rest of the characters on a hunt for Sam, and they discover him back at his apartment with a new wife, Valerie. He claims that he met her while buying flowers for Zoe and the two ran off on a wild adventure and got married (it is later shown that he was kidnapped by vampires). Sam then becomes a minor recurring character, but eventually suffers Chuck Cunningham syndrome once again. He was last seen in the semi-canonical Saturday guest strips accompanying Deplora to Hell, but he disappears halfway through that arc. It is possible he's still stuck there.