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Removing incorrect usage and natter
Changed line(s) 79,80 (click to see context) from:
* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season later, after hitting his big break in show business.
** The real reason Doc Shaw left the show was to become one half of a ''PairOfKings''
** The real reason Doc Shaw left the show was to become one half of a ''PairOfKings''
to:
* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season later, after hitting his big break in show business.
** The real reason Doc Shaw left the show waslater to become one half of a ''PairOfKings''
** The real reason Doc Shaw left the show was
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** She even ''appeared in the opening credits'' briefly!
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** A more recent example was Kizarny. The gimmick was that he was apparently a carnival/circus performer so he always spoke in Carny. Carny is a form of PigLatin commonly used by carnival folks ([[CaptainObvious duh]]) and wrestlers, where you put "iz" before the first (or maybe all) vowels of a word. This, of course, made nearly everything the guy said unintelligible and the character was dropped before he could even debut.
*** Actually, he had one match against MVP.
*** Actually, he had one match against MVP.
to:
** A more recent example was Kizarny. The gimmick was that he was apparently a carnival/circus performer so he always spoke in Carny. Carny is a form of PigLatin commonly used by carnival folks ([[CaptainObvious duh]]) and wrestlers, where you put "iz" before the first (or maybe all) vowels of a word. This, of course, made nearly everything the guy said unintelligible and the character was dropped before he could even debut.
*** Actually, he haddebut save for one match against MVP.
*** Actually, he had
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* Parodied in [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_188.php this]] ''[[DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]]'' strip. The character lasts 2 panels, maybe 2 and-a-half.
** Two half-sized panels and some anguished screaming in the third. Didn't even get to finish introducing himself.
** Two half-sized panels and some anguished screaming in the third. Didn't even get to finish introducing himself.
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* Parodied in [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_188.php this]] ''[[DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]]'' strip. The character lasts 2 panels, maybe 2 and-a-half.
** Twotwo half-sized panels and some anguished screaming in the third. Didn't even get to finish introducing himself.
** Two
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* Parodied in an episode of ''PinkyAndTheBrain'', with Larry, who got an awkward PromotionToOpeningTitles, and generated a {{Retool}} into a ''ThreeStooges'' knock-off. And plenty of MyFriendsAndZoidberg moments. In a LampshadeHanging, he left specifically ''because'' Brain pointed out that he didn't gel.
** Then, at the very end, just as it looked like that Pinky and the Brain will carry on as a duo again, a scientist placed another mouse into their cage, and the mouse introduces himself as [[TheMarxBrothers Zeppo]]. The ending reprise of the theme song was then reworked to have Zeppo's name in it in the same manner as Larry. Unlike Larry, however, Zeppo was promptly written out of the cartoon since his purpose was served.
*** ...and then [[FunnyAneurysmMoment it's a little less funny]] with [[ExecutiveMeddling Pinky And Elmyra And The Brain]].
** Then, at the very end, just as it looked like that Pinky and the Brain will carry on as a duo again, a scientist placed another mouse into their cage, and the mouse introduces himself as [[TheMarxBrothers Zeppo]]. The ending reprise of the theme song was then reworked to have Zeppo's name in it in the same manner as Larry. Unlike Larry, however, Zeppo was promptly written out of the cartoon since his purpose was served.
*** ...and then [[FunnyAneurysmMoment it's a little less funny]] with [[ExecutiveMeddling Pinky And Elmyra And The Brain]].
to:
* Parodied in an episode of ''PinkyAndTheBrain'', with Larry, who got an awkward PromotionToOpeningTitles, and generated a {{Retool}} into a ''ThreeStooges'' knock-off. And plenty of MyFriendsAndZoidberg moments. In a LampshadeHanging, he left specifically ''because'' Brain pointed out that he didn't gel.
**gel. Then, at the very end, just as it looked like that Pinky and the Brain will carry on as a duo again, a scientist placed another mouse into their cage, and the mouse introduces himself as [[TheMarxBrothers Zeppo]]. The ending reprise of the theme song was then reworked to have Zeppo's name in it in the same manner as Larry. Unlike Larry, however, Zeppo was promptly written out of He's gone by before the cartoon since his purpose was served.
*** ...andnext episode though.
** And then[[FunnyAneurysmMoment it's a little less funny]] used for real with [[ExecutiveMeddling Pinky And Elmyra And The Brain]].
**
*** ...and
** And then
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* The second ''Webcomic/ElectricWonderland'' comic ended with the introduction of Shroomy's boyfriend, a slacker named Parker. He did not appear in the following story for reasons unknown, although Shroomy still expresssed hope later that he would return. He finally did so in the sixth comic, written 11 months after his disappearance, but only to ask Shroomy for $50. As a result, Aerynn advised Shroomy to break up with Parker and find a more dependable boyrfriend. By the time the next comic came out, Parker was officially no longer a member of the ''Nettropolis Free Press'' staff, and he wasn't even included in a set of character bios written in July 2010.
to:
* The second ''Webcomic/ElectricWonderland'' comic ended with the introduction of Shroomy's boyfriend, a slacker named Parker. He did not appear in the following story for reasons unknown, although Shroomy still expresssed hope later that he would return. He finally did so in the sixth comic, written 11 months after his disappearance, but only to ask Shroomy for $50. As a result, Aerynn advised Shroomy to break up with Parker and find a more dependable boyrfriend.boyfriend. By the time the next comic came out, Parker was officially no longer a member of the ''Nettropolis Free Press'' staff, and he wasn't even included in a set of character bios written in July 2010.
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* Todd and Travis from ''ArbyNTheChief'' were introduced, and subsequently removed a few episodes later, because of the enormous backlash they recieved from the fanbase.
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* Todd and Travis from ''ArbyNTheChief'' were introduced, and subsequently removed a few episodes later, because of the enormous backlash they recieved received from the fanbase.
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* PearlsBeforeSwine had creator Stephen Pastis introduce a character named Leonard who wore a bear costume. He was actually a third roommate who lived with main characters Pig and Rat. He only appeared in about a week's worth of comics and WordOfGod said the character just wasn't working. As acknowledged in the strip itself, he was killed off by getting his head stuck in a toilet and drowning.
to:
* PearlsBeforeSwine ''PearlsBeforeSwine'' had creator Stephen Pastis introduce a character named Leonard who wore a bear costume. He was actually a third roommate who lived with main characters Pig and Rat. He only appeared in about a week's worth of comics and WordOfGod said the character just wasn't working. As acknowledged in the strip itself, he was killed off by getting his head stuck in a toilet and drowning.
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** Season 8 introduced several new cast members (Seven in total), but the Poochies were Kelly, Leia, and Blue. Kelly was the cool stoner roommate for Manny, Emma, and Liberty. Quickly put in a love triangle with Manny and Emma, then became Emma's new romance. He's never seen again when he breaks up with Emma in Season 9. Leia and Blue were never fleshed out, Leia's a pathological liar trying to fit in and Blue is a tall dreamy artist who can net himself any girl he wants. When Blue and Holly J don't work out Blue slowly fades into the background. Leia appears for two episodes in Season 10, but after that she's dropped from the credits.
to:
** Season 8 introduced several new cast members (Seven (seven in total), all), but the Poochies {{The Poochie}}s were Kelly, Leia, and Blue. Kelly was the cool stoner roommate for Manny, Emma, and Liberty. Quickly put in a love triangle with Manny and Emma, then became Emma's new romance. He's never seen again when after he breaks up with Emma in Season 9. Leia and Blue were never fleshed out, Leia's a pathological liar trying to fit in and Blue is a tall dreamy artist who can net himself any girl he wants. When Blue and Holly J don't work out out, Blue slowly fades into the background. Leia appears for two episodes in Season 10, but after that she's dropped from the credits.
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* DegrassiTheNextGeneration introduced multiple short-lived New Guys between Seasons 7 and 8. Thankfully as it's a school characters vanishing from the center stage is easily handwaved away.
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* DegrassiTheNextGeneration ''DegrassiTheNextGeneration'' introduced multiple short-lived New Guys between Seasons 7 and 8. Thankfully as it's a school characters vanishing from the center stage is easily handwaved away.
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Changed line(s) 83 (click to see context) from:
* DegrassiTheNextGeneration introduced multiple short-lived New Guys between Seasons 7 and 8. Thankfully as its a school characters vanishing from the center stage is easily handwaved away.
to:
* DegrassiTheNextGeneration introduced multiple short-lived New Guys between Seasons 7 and 8. Thankfully as its it's a school characters vanishing from the center stage is easily handwaved away.
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* Josie Sutton on ''ColdCase'' was given a mysterious backstory and complicated relationships with the regular cast before being PutOnABus four episodes later.
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* Josie Sutton on ''ColdCase'' was given a mysterious backstory BackStory and complicated relationships with the regular cast before being PutOnABus four episodes later.
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* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season later, after hitting his big break in show buisness.
to:
* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season later, after hitting his big break in show buisness.business.
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Changed line(s) 71 (click to see context) from:
** Lana Lang's real father was revealed to be Henry Small in Season 2. They managed to get along with each other, and Henry appeared ([[TrappedByMountainLions as a distracting subplot]]) in 5 episodes of that Season. Finally, Lana realizes their relationship is putting a strain on Henry's marriage and advises Henry that he should distance himself from her and put more focus on his own family. He must have REALLY taken that advice to heart, since he was never seen or heard from again.
to:
** Lana Lang's real father was revealed to be Henry Small in Season 2. They managed to get along with each other, and Henry appeared ([[TrappedByMountainLions as a distracting subplot]]) in 5 episodes of that Season.season. Finally, Lana realizes their relationship is putting a strain on Henry's marriage and advises Henry that he should distance himself from her and put more focus on his own family. He must have REALLY taken that advice to heart, since he was never seen or heard from again.
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Changed line(s) 49 (click to see context) from:
* Nikki Carpenter from season 3 of ''{{MacGyver}}''. She was written as a potential love interest for {{MacGyver}} only for the producers to discover that female fans did not want Mac to have a regular girlfriend. About halfway through the season, she is mentioned as being on assignment in South America and is then never heard from again.
to:
* Nikki Carpenter from season 3 of ''{{MacGyver}}''. She was written as a potential love interest for {{MacGyver}} the title character only for the producers to discover that female fans did not want Mac to have a regular girlfriend. About halfway through the season, she is mentioned as being on assignment in South America and is then never heard from again.
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* ''ThatsLife'' (the American dramedy, not the British consumer protection show) featured a variation with one of the original cast as The Poochie: Candy Cooper, one of the protagonist's best friends was written out half-way through the first season.
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* ''ThatsLife'' (the American dramedy, not the British consumer protection show) featured a variation with one of the original cast as The Poochie: ThePoochie: Candy Cooper, one of the protagonist's best friends was written out half-way through the first season.
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Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* One could argue Bree Tanner was this in [[{{Twilight}} Eclipse]]. She was introduced as a pacifist newborn who chose not to fight. She was mercilessly killed by the Volturi for no reason. Some thought she would be a better match for Jacob than Renesmee
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* ''{{Twilight}}''. One could argue Bree Tanner was this in [[{{Twilight}} Eclipse]].''Eclipse''. She was introduced as a pacifist newborn who chose not to fight. She was mercilessly killed by the Volturi for no reason. Some thought she would be a better match for Jacob than Renesmee
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Changed line(s) 28,32 (click to see context) from:
* Maggott and Marrow. Marrow in particular, who continued to exist within the XMen roster largely because editor Bob Harras wanted her to be both the next Wolverine and as a potential spoiler for the Rogue/Gambit relationship. Thankfully, she was put on a bus right before Chris Claremont returned to the X-Books.
** At least Marrow had a fair number of fans, Maggott on the other hand remained as a {{Scrappy}}.
** Likewise, sister book NewMutants had Rusty Collins and Skids, who were added to the book as part of a qroup of kids called the X-Terminators. While initially important, they were [[TrappedByMountainLions left behind to fend against Freedom Force and search for mutant children while the others went to Asgard]]. They were turned evil and joined the MLF, due to RobLiefeld deeming them lame!
*** Rusty was later killed in a crossover event. Skids, however, is alive and well and working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!
* Jeph Loeb's run on the Ultimates managed to have no less than three of these: Black Panther, Ka-zar and Shanna. All were introduced and removed in the same arc, without even doing anything significant to the plot, due to backlash from before the story was even published.
** At least Marrow had a fair number of fans, Maggott on the other hand remained as a {{Scrappy}}.
** Likewise, sister book NewMutants had Rusty Collins and Skids, who were added to the book as part of a qroup of kids called the X-Terminators. While initially important, they were [[TrappedByMountainLions left behind to fend against Freedom Force and search for mutant children while the others went to Asgard]]. They were turned evil and joined the MLF, due to RobLiefeld deeming them lame!
*** Rusty was later killed in a crossover event. Skids, however, is alive and well and working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!
* Jeph Loeb's run on the Ultimates managed to have no less than three of these: Black Panther, Ka-zar and Shanna. All were introduced and removed in the same arc, without even doing anything significant to the plot, due to backlash from before the story was even published.
to:
* Maggott and Marrow. Marrow in ''XMen''. Marrow in particular, who continued to exist within the XMen ''XMen'' roster largely because editor Bob Harras wanted her to be both the next Wolverine and as a potential spoiler for the Rogue/Gambit relationship. Thankfully, she was put on a bus right before Chris Claremont returned to the X-Books.
**X-Books. At least Marrow had a fair number of fans, Maggott on the other hand remained as a {{Scrappy}}.
** * Likewise, the sister book NewMutants ''NewMutants'' had Rusty Collins and Skids, who were added to the book as part of a qroup of kids called the X-Terminators. While initially important, they were [[TrappedByMountainLions left behind to fend against Freedom Force and search for mutant children while the others went to Asgard]]. They were turned evil and joined the MLF, due to RobLiefeld deeming them lame!
*** ** Rusty was later killed in a crossover event. Skids, however, is alive and well and working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!
* Jeph Loeb's run onthe Ultimates ''TheUltimates'' managed to have no less than three of these: Black Panther, Ka-zar and Shanna. All were introduced and removed in the same arc, without even doing anything significant to the plot, due to backlash from before the story was even published.
**
* Jeph Loeb's run on
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Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* Jeph Loeb's run on the Ultimates managed to have no less than three of these; Black panther, Ka-zar and Shanna. All were introduced and removed in the same arc, without even doing anything significant to the plot, due to backlash from before the story was even published.
to:
* Jeph Loeb's run on the Ultimates managed to have no less than three of these; these: Black panther, Panther, Ka-zar and Shanna. All were introduced and removed in the same arc, without even doing anything significant to the plot, due to backlash from before the story was even published.
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natter
Deleted line(s) 51 (click to see context) :
** Which was sad, IMHO, because her bickering interaction with Mac was fun.
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Natter and incorrect example.
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** One big problem with Tracey is that the character he replaced was the played-for-laughs CasanovaWannabe, while all he had going for him was ''[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway the ability to draw pokemon.]]''
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* In ''HappyDays'', Pinky Tuscadero and the "black drummer" from the band were both hyped in promos as new characters, but neither appeared for more than an arc before disappearing. Pinky's sister "Leather" was a stand-in for Pinky - whose actress apparently caused problems - but was again not common. Other examples include down-home hick cousin K.C. Cunningham and Fonzie's temporary girlfriend and her daughter for the first post-Richie season.
** RE: the black drummer...It's possible he disappeared because he had previously performed in porn. Not exactly the sort of thing you want hanging over a "family" show.
** RE: the black drummer...It's possible he disappeared because he had previously performed in porn. Not exactly the sort of thing you want hanging over a "family" show.
to:
* In ''HappyDays'', Pinky Tuscadero and the "black drummer" from the band were both hyped in promos as new characters, but neither appeared for more than an arc before disappearing. Pinky's sister "Leather" Leather was a stand-in for Pinky - Pinky-- whose actress apparently caused problems - -- but was again even she did not common.appear very often. Other examples include down-home hick cousin K.C. Cunningham and Fonzie's temporary girlfriend and her daughter for the first post-Richie season.
**RE: Regarding the black drummer...It's drummer: it's possible he disappeared because he had previously performed in porn. Not exactly the sort of thing you want hanging over a "family" show.
**
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Changed line(s) 82 (click to see context) from:
* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season later, after hitting his big break in-show.
to:
* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season later, after hitting his big break in-show.in show buisness.
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Changed line(s) 82 (click to see context) from:
* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season or two later, after hitting his big break in-show.
to:
* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season or two later, after hitting his big break in-show.in-show.
** The real reason Doc Shaw left the show was to become one half of a ''PairOfKings''
** The real reason Doc Shaw left the show was to become one half of a ''PairOfKings''
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Changed line(s) 135 (click to see context) from:
** Poochie does make a brief cameo without any lines in another Itchy and Stratchy episode.
to:
** Poochie does make a brief cameo without any lines in another Itchy and Stratchy Scratchy episode.
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adding redlink to give source to pic
Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_poochie_chainsawsuit_2451.png]]
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Changed line(s) 128 (click to see context) from:
* In ''SluggyFreelance'' Sasha is [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20001105 suddenly introduced]] as Riff's girlfriend (they'd apparently been dating for a while, but Riff never bothered to tell anyone). She pretty much instantly becomes part of the {{Nakama}}, but then, a little under two years later, she [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20020822 moves away with very little fanfare]]. An unusual example in that she was actually an EnsembleDarkhorse, and "when will Sasha come back?" threads became a staple on the forums. [[hottip:* :[[spoiler:And, seven years later, [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/090810 they got their wish]], after the main cast ended up with a couple vacant spots.]]]]
to:
* In ''SluggyFreelance'' Sasha is [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20001105 suddenly introduced]] as Riff's girlfriend (they'd apparently been dating for a while, but Riff never bothered to tell anyone). She pretty much instantly becomes part of the {{Nakama}}, but then, a little under two years later, she [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20020822 moves away with very little fanfare]]. An unusual example in that she was actually an EnsembleDarkhorse, and "when will Sasha come back?" threads became a staple on the forums. [[hottip:* :[[spoiler:And, seven years later, [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/090810 they got their wish]], after the main cast ended up with a couple vacant spots.]]]]]]
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Changed line(s) 14,15 (click to see context) from:
The easiest way to distinguish this trope is if the character is written out in a clumsy manner - if their [[PutOnABus departure]] or [[DroppedABridgeOnHim death]] makes no sense, this trope is usually in play.
to:
The easiest way to distinguish tell if it's this trope is if the character is written out in a clumsy manner - if their [[PutOnABus departure]] or [[DroppedABridgeOnHim death]] makes no sense, this trope is usually in play.
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Changed line(s) 14,15 (click to see context) from:
The easiest way to distinguish the Poochie is if he is written out in a clumsy manner - if his [[PutOnABus departure]] or [[DroppedABridgeOnHim death]] makes no sense, it's usually him.
to:
The easiest way to distinguish the Poochie this trope is if he the character is written out in a clumsy manner - if his their [[PutOnABus departure]] or [[DroppedABridgeOnHim death]] makes no sense, it's this trope is usually him.
in play.
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* DegrassiTheNextGeneration introduced multiple Poochies between Seasons 7 and 8. Thankfully as its a school characters vanishing from the center stage is easily handwaved away.
to:
* DegrassiTheNextGeneration introduced multiple Poochies short-lived New Guys between Seasons 7 and 8. Thankfully as its a school characters vanishing from the center stage is easily handwaved away.
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Changed line(s) 120 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Web originals]]
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[[folder:Web originals]]Originals]]
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* The TropeNamer is Poochie from ''TheSimpsons'', who is an in-universe example. [[ExecutiveMeddling Meddling executives]] create the TotallyRadical character (voiced by Homer) in a clumsy attempt to pander to kids. In his first episode of ''Itchy and Scratchy'', Poochie sidetracks the plot to introduce himself by rapping about all of the reasons kids should just love him. The audience overwhelmingly hates Poochie and the focus being put on him. In the very next episode, the president crudely alters the cartoon himself to [[BusCrash kill Poochie "on the way back to his home planet."]] Krusty then promises the audience that [[DeaderThanDead he will never be brought back]], to great celebration. The same episode got all meta and dropped a cool guy named Roy into the Simpson family's house, with no explanation. At the end, he moved into [[ThreesCompany an apartment with two sexy ladies]].
to:
* The former TropeNamer is Poochie from ''TheSimpsons'', who is an in-universe example. [[ExecutiveMeddling Meddling executives]] create the TotallyRadical character (voiced by Homer) in a clumsy attempt to pander to kids. In his first episode of ''Itchy and Scratchy'', Poochie sidetracks the plot to introduce himself by rapping about all of the reasons kids should just love him. The audience overwhelmingly hates Poochie and the focus being put on him. In the very next episode, the president crudely alters the cartoon himself to [[BusCrash kill Poochie "on the way back to his home planet."]] Krusty then promises the audience that [[DeaderThanDead he will never be brought back]], to great celebration. The same episode got all meta and dropped a cool guy named Roy into the Simpson family's house, with no explanation. At the end, he moved into [[ThreesCompany an apartment with two sexy ladies]].
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With the name change, this is just unnecessary.
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Not to be confused with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtMkti7hSUA this]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sepu2wJvapU Poochie]], or this [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland other Poochie]], or that [[{{Peanuts}} Poochie]], or ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poo-Chi that]]'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YqFAFNbKUA Poo-Chi™]].
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Changed line(s) 108 (click to see context) from:
* In the {{WWE}}, Kevin [[FanNickname "Big Poochie"]] Nash (nicknamed after this Poochie, but [[SpotlightStealingSquad not for this reason]]). Came in with lots of history (he was, after all, Diesel back in the early '90s, but [[FleetingDemographicRule wrestling fans aren't supposed to remember that]]) and an infamous RealLife friendship with ShawnMichaels, TripleH, Scott Hall, and X-Pac (his teammates in the [=nWo=]). His presence seemed to leave a bad taste in a lot of fans' mouths, and after his [[GameBreakingInjury second quad tear]], he left for another several years. Why Hall and X-Pac didn't get ThePoochie treatment is anyone's guess.
to:
* In the {{WWE}}, Kevin [[FanNickname "Big Poochie"]] Nash (nicknamed after this Poochie, but [[SpotlightStealingSquad not for this reason]]). Came in with lots of history (he was, after all, Diesel back in the early '90s, but [[FleetingDemographicRule wrestling fans aren't supposed to remember that]]) and an infamous RealLife friendship with ShawnMichaels, TripleH, Scott Hall, and X-Pac (his teammates in the [=nWo=]). His presence seemed to leave a bad taste in a lot of fans' mouths, and after his [[GameBreakingInjury second quad tear]], he left for another several years. Why Hall and X-Pac didn't get ThePoochie a ShooOutTheNewGuy treatment is anyone's guess.
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%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1323590703090361400
%%Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
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->''"[[ButNowIMustGo I have to go now]]. My planet needs me."''
-->-- '''[[TropeNamers Poochie]]''', ''TheSimpsons'' [[hottip:Note:Poochie [[BusCrash died on the way to his home planet.]]]]
A character is introduced into a show with a lot of fanfare, and almost at once moves up to main character status (if not necessarily the credits). He/she will often form a close relationship with the existing main characters, and may even have a prior history with a main character, even if this has [[RememberTheNewGuy never been mentioned before]]. Sometimes the character is a result of ExecutiveMeddling.
For some reason the character doesn't gel. Maybe [[TheScrappy the audience takes against him/her]], maybe the actor [[LargeHam over-]] or [[DullSurprise underperforms]], maybe the writers realize they have no idea what to do with him/her. Whatever it is, the character will end up [[PutOnABus leaving the show setting]], often for a fairly contrived reason (and they [[BusCrash probably won't be back]], even if logically they should be at certain points).
Different from ChuckCunninghamSyndrome in that the character's disappearance will be explained, even if in a fairly flimsy manner.
The easiest way to distinguish the Poochie is if he is written out in a clumsy manner - if his [[PutOnABus departure]] or [[DroppedABridgeOnHim death]] makes no sense, it's usually him.
Compare with AbortedArc and ChuckCunninghamSyndrome. Contrast with TheArtifact.
Not to be confused with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtMkti7hSUA this]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sepu2wJvapU Poochie]], or this [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland other Poochie]], or that [[{{Peanuts}} Poochie]], or ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poo-Chi that]]'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YqFAFNbKUA Poo-Chi™]].
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!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In the Orange Islands saga of the ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' anime, after Brock was replaced because [[http://pokebeach.com/2008/07/second-pokemon-interview-with-masamitsu-hidaka-many-interesting-points the producers thought that people would be put off by his eyes]] and partially due to a poll of popularity where Brock ranked the lowest (and contrary to popular belief, 4KidsEntertainment had absolutely nothing to do with Brock's removal, as the decision was made long before 4Kids started dubbing ''Pokémon''), they replaced him with a more Western-looking character, Tracey Sketchit. It didn't quite work, and many fans were put off by Tracey. Those in charge realized that the Western audience didn't mind Brock's eyes at all, so they chucked Tracey at Professor Oak's place and brought Brock back from presumably being dumped by Ivy in time for the Johto saga. Tracey still makes appearances from time to time when Ash and friends visit Pallet Town, but for the most part he's been retired from the cast.
** One big problem with Tracey is that the character he replaced was the played-for-laughs CasanovaWannabe, while all he had going for him was ''[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway the ability to draw pokemon.]]''
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'' had Magog, who joined the cast when Alex Ross was allowed to collaborate with Geoff Johns on his own "Kingdom Come" sequel. Magog made a huge splash, was subject to a MASSIVE multi-part storyline and ultimately given both his own comic book AND his own spin-off JSA team book! But fans didn't take to him and not only was his comic canceled, but was killed off in the pages of "Justice League: Generation Lost".
* Maggott and Marrow. Marrow in particular, who continued to exist within the XMen roster largely because editor Bob Harras wanted her to be both the next Wolverine and as a potential spoiler for the Rogue/Gambit relationship. Thankfully, she was put on a bus right before Chris Claremont returned to the X-Books.
** At least Marrow had a fair number of fans, Maggott on the other hand remained as a {{Scrappy}}.
** Likewise, sister book NewMutants had Rusty Collins and Skids, who were added to the book as part of a qroup of kids called the X-Terminators. While initially important, they were [[TrappedByMountainLions left behind to fend against Freedom Force and search for mutant children while the others went to Asgard]]. They were turned evil and joined the MLF, due to RobLiefeld deeming them lame!
*** Rusty was later killed in a crossover event. Skids, however, is alive and well and working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!
* Jeph Loeb's run on the Ultimates managed to have no less than three of these; Black panther, Ka-zar and Shanna. All were introduced and removed in the same arc, without even doing anything significant to the plot, due to backlash from before the story was even published.
* Thunderfox fron {{Femforce}} was introduced with much fanfare, but only appeared in eight issues before disappearing. The explanation occured five issues after her last appearance, telling us that her 'book' was cancelled.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* The StarWarsExpandedUniverse gave us Callista, a MarySue girlfriend for Luke who was quickly written out. She later came back, assimilated by Abeloth.
* One could argue Bree Tanner was this in [[{{Twilight}} Eclipse]]. She was introduced as a pacifist newborn who chose not to fight. She was mercilessly killed by the Volturi for no reason. Some thought she would be a better match for Jacob than Renesmee
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'': Poor Keffer, he was actually utilized fairly effectively during season 2 and was really quite likable not to mention it made more sense for there to be dedicated starfury squadron commander in Keffer rather than the senior command staff constantly jumping into fighters. Unfortunately for him though his creation was actually the result of ExecutiveMeddling (they wanted a "hotshot Top Gun kind of pilot") and the series creator/head writer J. Michael Straczynski never forgave him for that and subsequently killed him off even though he was fitting in just fine.
* Several characters in ''TheOC'' suffered this, but Lindsay Gardner was an especially glaring example as she was introduced as a love interest for Ryan and turned out to be a blood relative of three other main characters. She didn't even return for [[spoiler:Caleb's funeral]], despite discovering [[spoiler:he was her real father]].
* Likewise ''DawsonsCreek''. Nikki Green notably, who after a major initial appearance as a rival/potential love interest to Dawson was dropped only a few episodes later.
** In fact ''DawsonsCreek'' might have used this trope more than any other series. Many secondary characters vanished in between seasons, with flimsy reasons given for their disappearance. Gretchen Witter for instance, [[RememberTheNewGuy was introduced in Season 4 as Pacey's sister and Dawson's childhood crush]]. After spending the entire season as practically a main character she moved away and was never seen or mentioned again.
* ''ThatsLife'' (the American dramedy, not the British consumer protection show) featured a variation with one of the original cast as The Poochie: Candy Cooper, one of the protagonist's best friends was written out half-way through the first season.
* Megan Donner of ''CSIMiami'' had the same fate.
* In ''HappyDays'', Pinky Tuscadero and the "black drummer" from the band were both hyped in promos as new characters, but neither appeared for more than an arc before disappearing. Pinky's sister "Leather" was a stand-in for Pinky - whose actress apparently caused problems - but was again not common. Other examples include down-home hick cousin K.C. Cunningham and Fonzie's temporary girlfriend and her daughter for the first post-Richie season.
** RE: the black drummer...It's possible he disappeared because he had previously performed in porn. Not exactly the sort of thing you want hanging over a "family" show.
* Nikki Carpenter from season 3 of ''{{MacGyver}}''. She was written as a potential love interest for {{MacGyver}} only for the producers to discover that female fans did not want Mac to have a regular girlfriend. About halfway through the season, she is mentioned as being on assignment in South America and is then never heard from again.
** Which was sad, IMHO, because her bickering interaction with Mac was fun.
* In ''{{Scrubs}}'', Julie Miller was [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Brother Chucked]] after the writers realized that she was a Dr. Cox {{Distaff Counterpart}}, but with the key difference of not having any redeeming qualities, and his ex-wife Jordan already having that position, therefore making her a completely superfluous character.
* The Applewhite family from season 2 of ''DesperateHousewives'', and Kayla Scavo from season 4.
** A better example would have to be Ana from season six. For some time, there was quite some buzz over her entrance, only for her to be reviled by many fans on message boards. She eventually got [[PutOnABus Put On A Bus]] to New York...literally.
* ''TheMuppetShow'' had Fleet Scribbler, tabloid journalist. One show, a few mentions later, and he vanished. The critics loved him. The writers hated him.
* ''JustShootMe'' had Vicki Costa, a brash hairdresser whom Jack brought in to help make the magazine hipper. Everyone else's story lines were sidetracked to revolve around her -- Jack immediately respects her, Elliot immediately falls for her, Nina feels threatened by her, Finch thinks she's really hot, and Maya is obsessed with getting Vikki to open up to her. All the while, Vikki's too cool to really participate in the plot and usually has to be pursued by the other characters. It's been suggested by somewhat dubious sources that forcing her character into the cast was an aggressive attempt by executives to give Rena Sofer a star vehicle. Rating plummeted after her introduction, she barely lasted half a season and they didn't even air her farewell episode.
* Nikki and Paulo from ''{{Lost}}'' were suddenly introduced in the third season as regular characters. The idea was to shine a light on what was happening with some of the other survivors who were not main characters. The characters were written to be somewhat unsympathetic at first to give them an arc, much like many of the other main characters. However, [[TheScrappy fans didn't like the new characters]] nor the artificiality of their sudden inclusion. Luckily, the writers had sensed the incoming backlash and "scrapped" the idea, chosing to give them a gruesome death in a single [[CharacterFocus character-centric]] episode. Happy now, Losties?
* West in ''Series/{{Heroes}}''. His much-trumpeted relationship with Claire ended in the final episode of Series 2, leaving a way for him to be left out in the future because he was [[TheScrappy poorly received by fans]]. The show's creator has stated in an interview that one of the mistakes he made with this series was writing the romance badly.
** West did, however, appear in the graphic novels that run concurrent to the television show, as [[spoiler:one of the freedom fighters working with Rebel]]. He's not nearly as annoying when he's not around Claire, but he did not reappear on the show.
** He also played a role, though off-screen, in the last season, when Peter visited him to gain his flying ability.
* Tori on ''SavedByTheBell'', whose presence was so jarring that Zack, Lisa, Slater and Screech went through their senior year again. (The producers wised up and brought Tiffani Amber Thiessen back for the College Years.)
** This is a zig-zag. The final season had its episode count doubled very shortly before shooting, and Thiessen (and Elizabeth Berkeley) refused to sign a new contract for the extra episodes.
* After the death of James Beck (Private Walker), ''Series/DadsArmy'' brought in a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute in the form of Private Cheeseman, who was part of a major storyline in which he joined the platoon so he could report on them for the newspaper he wrote for. He was not well liked by either viewers or some of the cast (John Laurie is on record as saying that both the actor and character were fast approaching SpotlightStealingSquad status) and was written out after the seventh series.
* Lauren Graham played efficiency expert Andrea for a few episodes of ''{{NewsRadio}}''. With [[WriterRevolt that writing staff]], the character was probably doomed to begin with. One story has it that Andrea was introduced as a potential replacement for Khandi Alexander's Catherine Duke. After a few episodes Graham got cold feet about joining the cast when another well-liked actress was being pushed out. Sadly, Catherine was written out anyway.
* The Ferrera family on ''EastEnders'' was introduced to compensate for the lack of South Asian characters on the show. They were introduced with a great deal of hype but became immensely unpopular despite at least one storyline that threatened to elevate them to SpotlightStealingSquad status. Viewers complained that these characters were deathly boring and the writers DidNotDoTheResearch into the Ferreras' ethnic background. Finally, one actor had to leave the show because of problems with his permit to work in the UK, and the rest of the family was then written out due to their unpopularity.
* Sadie from ''[[GreysAnatomy Grey's Anatomy]]'' is almost too perfect an example of everything mentioned at the top of the page: she shows up out of the blue in Season 5, where it's revealed that she was apparently Meredith's BFF in med school, despite having never been so much as mentioned by Meredith prior to this. Originally intended to become another major intern character as well as a lesbian romantic foil for one of the series regulars, she stuck around just long enough for her to prove she was not only crazy incompetent but also just plain crazy. Promptly [[PutOnABus quit her job at the hospital]] before the end of the season.
** And also an actual "Poochie" in season 2 with Doc. It seems that the only reason he [[spoiler: died from SoapOperaDisease]] was simply because the writers didn't want to deal with him anymore.
* Cousin Pam on ''TheCosbyShow''.
** Cousin Pam deserves special mention because she managed to bring in her rather shrill friend Charmaine and Charmaine's even more annoying boyfriend Lance, both of who embodied the very UncleTomfoolery that TheCosbyShow was meant to subvert.
* [[{{Supergirl}} Kara]] of ''{{Smallville}}'' is a "writers didn't know what to do with her" version. She was an interesting side character for about five episodes, then bigger and better ways are found of keeping her out of things. She spends a great deal of time wandering with amnesia, returns fully for an episode or two before it's revealed that [[spoiler: Brainiac is impersonating her and has her trapped in the Phantom Zone. When Brainiac is defeated, she is not freed]] and the show goes on without her as normal. She finally does come back for one episode before deciding at the end, "Hey, I'll just fly into space in a random direction and hope I run into some other Kryptonians." She was never seen or mentioned again to date.
** However, [[spoiler: they did bring her back in season 10, though this might be a case of a season-long {{Back For The Finale}}]]
** Also from ''{{Smallville}}'': Lex Luthor's long lost half-brother Lucas from season two. He appeared in one episode (which was almost ''painfuly'' bad) and was immediately PutOnABus ride from which he never reappeared; no one has ever even mentioned him again. Also something of an AbortedArc, given the amount of build-up to his appearance.
** Lana Lang's real father was revealed to be Henry Small in Season 2. They managed to get along with each other, and Henry appeared ([[TrappedByMountainLions as a distracting subplot]]) in 5 episodes of that Season. Finally, Lana realizes their relationship is putting a strain on Henry's marriage and advises Henry that he should distance himself from her and put more focus on his own family. He must have REALLY taken that advice to heart, since he was never seen or heard from again.
* The second season of ''{{Charmed}}'' introduced Jenny Gordon, neighbor to the main characters. Beyond living with her hot uncle (a convenient love interest for Piper), she was apparently important enough to get mentioned in the opening credits, but moved away to live with her parents before she actually did anything important, while her uncle remained a recurring character throughout the rest of the season (after season two, he also inexplicably disappeared).
** He was seen putting a For Sale sign up in the season 2 finale. He didn't much care to be around witches and warlocks. Being turned into an 80 year old man (albeit temporarly) can do that to a guy.
* ''{{Community}}'' mocks this mercilessly with Jack Black's appearance as "Buddy" a student who has allegedly been in the gang's Spanish 101 class this entire time. The entire main cast are either weirded out by his sudden, unexplained appearance in their lives or convinced he's a murderous psycho. [[spoiler: The episode ends with Owen Wilson suddenly appearing and offering Buddy a spot in the "[[InformedAbility cool]]" clique.]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' had one early in its long run. In the final part of ''The Myth Makers'' saga (set during the Trojan War) a Trojan handmaiden named Katerina snuck on board the TARDIS and became the First Doctor's latest companion. She was promptly killed off in the following adventure, the 12 part epic, ''The Daleks' Master Plan''...in part four. According to the actress who played Katerina, her death scene was ''the very first scene she was filmed in''. This means that the writers created the character, tried her out, decided she wasn't working, and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim dropped a bridge on her]] before ''a single scene of her had been filmed'' (and possibly before the character was even cast).
** The Fifth Doctor acquired another Poochie with Kamelion, a shape-changing robot who joined the Doctor and his companions on board the TARDIS. Kamelion was an actual RealLife robot...built by a guy who promptly died without telling anybody how to operate the blasted thing. Technically, Kamelion was a companion for nearly a full year. In practice, he only showed up in 2 adventures, the one where he came onboard the TARDIS and the one where the writers said, "Enough's enough," and DroppedABridgeOnHim.
* Josie Sutton on ''ColdCase'' was given a mysterious backstory and complicated relationships with the regular cast before being PutOnABus four episodes later.
* ''{{Married With Children}}'' had Seven, a little boy who was adopted by the Bundys. Seven was [[ExecutiveMeddling forced on the show by Fox execs]], who saw how popular the cute kids [[{{full house}} on other sitcoms of the time]] were and decided that's what the Bundys needed (even though their ratings were just fine.) Fox hyped the kid's arrival to no end, but Seven was resoundingly hated by fans and writers alike. The main problem was that the writers couldn't do anything with him: the show's humor came from mercilessly abusing the characters, but that wouldn't work with a little kid. So Seven just kind of stood around in the background doing nothing for most episodes. After half a season of this, the writers removed him from the show entirely. His picture shows up on a milk carton a few episodes later, as both a quick gag and an explanation for his absence.
* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season or two later, after hitting his big break in-show.
* Lana Sheilds on ''ThreesCompany'', the foxy older lady who was trying to get Jack in bed. They ran a few good episodes featuring her chasing after him then...nothing.
** She even ''appeared in the opening credits'' briefly!
* DegrassiTheNextGeneration introduced multiple Poochies between Seasons 7 and 8. Thankfully as its a school characters vanishing from the center stage is easily handwaved away.
** Season 7 gave us Damian who started off as Manny's love interest, quickly became Emma's love interest, then quickly became Liberty's love interest. And at the end of the season he's gone because he graduated... and all three girls want nothing to do with him.
** Season 8 introduced several new cast members (Seven in total), but the Poochies were Kelly, Leia, and Blue. Kelly was the cool stoner roommate for Manny, Emma, and Liberty. Quickly put in a love triangle with Manny and Emma, then became Emma's new romance. He's never seen again when he breaks up with Emma in Season 9. Leia and Blue were never fleshed out, Leia's a pathological liar trying to fit in and Blue is a tall dreamy artist who can net himself any girl he wants. When Blue and Holly J don't work out Blue slowly fades into the background. Leia appears for two episodes in Season 10, but after that she's dropped from the credits.
* ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had Shakaar, who was mentioned early in the show's run as being Major Kira's former resistance commander. After he actually appeared in person he went from being a dirt farmer to being head of the Bajoran government, then was revealed as the only man that Major Kira had ever loved[[hottip:* :This wasn't the most popular move, especially with fans of regular character Odo (who had a crush on her) or her recently deceased former boyfriend, Vedek Bareil]], before finally being PutOnABus, all the space of three appearances. In this instance the writers actually did like Shakaar (even if the fans didn't) and intended to make him an important recurring character, but actor Duncan Regehr's other work commitments put a halt to this plan.
* An odd example from ''{{Merlin}}'': in the first episode of season two a new knight called "Sir Geraint" in the credits was introduced, who seemed to function as Arthur's second-in-command and was given several promotional shots. He was never seen after the first episode, possibly because the ''second'' episode introduced... [[EnsembleDarkhorse Sir Leon!]]
* ''WhosTheBoss'': During the fall of 1990, a [[CousinOliver cute kid]] named Billy (Jonathan Halyalkar) briefly joins the Miceli-Bower household, purportedly as a comic foil to Tony Danza's male lead character; the idea was that Billy's parents had died several months earlier in a car accident, and that Tony (both he and Billy were from the same Bronx neighborhood) would be the perfect person to raise him. Although a promising actor, Halyalkar had problems meshing with the cast (according to Katherine Helmond in a series retrospective that aired on E!), plus he came off as annoying to audiences. By the end of the season, Billy had gone to live with a new foster family, and he was retconned out of existance.
* In ''TaiyouSentaiSunVulcan,'' the ''main hero'' gets a rather Poochie-ish exit, with an episode ending with him being informed that he's needed to fly a space shuttle, and his character being hastily replaced with someone encountered that episode. It's made worse by the fact that it wasn't RealLifeWritesThePlot, but the actor's contract expiring - they ''knew'' he wasn't going to be there for good and could have written a much better exit.
* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' had Riley Finn, introduced in season 4 to be Buffy's new love interest after ''{{Angel}}'' got his own series. He was never really accepted by the fans, and got written out again in season 5.
* ''[[LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Law & Order SVU]]'' added Kim Greylek in Season 10 to replace the disbarred Casey Novak. Her cold demeanor didn't win over fans so after 15 episodes she was quickly booted and replaced with the returning Alex Cabot.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Uncle Max in ''CalvinAndHobbes'', who had a brief storyline and then left the strip permanently, because Bill Watterson found it too awkward to write dialogue in which he never called [[http://www.calvin-and-hobbes.org/information/characters/calvins_parents Calvin's parents]] [[UnnamedParent by their names]].
* Somewhat prophetically, in 1973 a character named Poochie debuted in ''{{Peanuts}}''. She was a little girl who used to live in the neighborhood, who supposedly was the first to refer to Charlie Brown by his full name and who almost adopted Snoopy before choosing another dog. After appearing in a few Sunday strips, she disappeared without a trace.
** There was also Charlotte Braun, who appeared in a dozen strips in the 1950's before evaporating. She had [[NoIndoorVoice a loud voice]] and ... that's about it. Originally she was to be a female foil for Charlie Brown, but was no more interesting in the role than Lucy was. There's a hilarious [[http://www.cagle.com/hogan/webextras13/charlotte/home.html response letter]] that Schulz wrote to a fan who didn't like the character, featuring Charlotte with an axe in her head.
** Poochie was mentioned a couple of times later on, usually when Snoopy was adamantly refusing to accept her Valentine's Day card or send her a Christmas card.
* PearlsBeforeSwine had creator Stephen Pastis introduce a character named Leonard who wore a bear costume. He was actually a third roommate who lived with main characters Pig and Rat. He only appeared in about a week's worth of comics and WordOfGod said the character just wasn't working. As acknowledged in the strip itself, he was killed off by getting his head stuck in a toilet and drowning.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* In the {{WWE}}, Kevin [[FanNickname "Big Poochie"]] Nash (nicknamed after this Poochie, but [[SpotlightStealingSquad not for this reason]]). Came in with lots of history (he was, after all, Diesel back in the early '90s, but [[FleetingDemographicRule wrestling fans aren't supposed to remember that]]) and an infamous RealLife friendship with ShawnMichaels, TripleH, Scott Hall, and X-Pac (his teammates in the [=nWo=]). His presence seemed to leave a bad taste in a lot of fans' mouths, and after his [[GameBreakingInjury second quad tear]], he left for another several years. Why Hall and X-Pac didn't get ThePoochie treatment is anyone's guess.
** Nash's nickname of "Big Poochie" actually [[OlderThanTheyThink dates back to]] late-90s WCW, where he was [[RunningTheAsylum Head Booker]] and essentially forcing ''Nitro'' to revolve around himself, with increasingly absurd segments that seemed to be aired purely for the amusement of Nash himself.
* This is actually fairly common in wrestling. Whenever a wrestler debuts and is immediately hated by the fans, promotions will usually either retool him with a different gimmick, or [[PutOnABus put him on a bus.]] An example would be Beaver Cleavage, who was heavily hyped by the WWE prior to his debut and lasted all of a week before becoming Chaz.
** A more recent example was Kizarny. The gimmick was that he was apparently a carnival/circus performer so he always spoke in Carny. Carny is a form of PigLatin commonly used by carnival folks ([[CaptainObvious duh]]) and wrestlers, where you put "iz" before the first (or maybe all) vowels of a word. This, of course, made nearly everything the guy said unintelligible and the character was dropped before he could even debut.
*** Actually, he had one match against MVP.
** In 80's [[{{WWE}} WWF]] a lot of vignettes were filmed hyping a wrestler named Outback Jack. This was basically Vince's attempt to cash in on the success of CrocodileDundee. After months and months of hype, fans were treated to some of the worst "wrestling" ever performed in public. Jack was shown the door in short order.
** ECW and WCW tag team Public Enemy was brought into the WWF as a favor to there-for-a-cup-of-coffee-himself booker Terry Taylor in 1999. They managed to irritate both the fans and wrestlers in short order, and found their way out of the company after being legitimately beaten up during a match.
* The most infamous example though, is The Gobbledy Gooker. He had all of one match before he was never mentioned again, save for a gimmick battle royale at Wrestlemania X-7.
** He does get referenced by the WWE every now and then, albeit only to point out how horrible he was.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:VideoGames]]
* As much as [[UnpleasableFanbase fans complain]] about [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters all the additional]] ''SonicTheHedgehog'' characters the newer games have added, Sonic Team seemed to learn their lesson with [[TheScrappy Silver]]; after his debut in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' and prominent role in ''Sonic Rivals 2'', he's been demoted to extremely minor roles and is not missed.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web originals]]
* The guy from [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ohUVRVoXtY&feature=channel this]] short Cyanide & Happiness video.
* Todd and Travis from ''ArbyNTheChief'' were introduced, and subsequently removed a few episodes later, because of the enormous backlash they recieved from the fanbase.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Parodied in [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_188.php this]] ''[[DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]]'' strip. The character lasts 2 panels, maybe 2 and-a-half.
** Two half-sized panels and some anguished screaming in the third. Didn't even get to finish introducing himself.
* In ''SluggyFreelance'' Sasha is [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20001105 suddenly introduced]] as Riff's girlfriend (they'd apparently been dating for a while, but Riff never bothered to tell anyone). She pretty much instantly becomes part of the {{Nakama}}, but then, a little under two years later, she [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20020822 moves away with very little fanfare]]. An unusual example in that she was actually an EnsembleDarkhorse, and "when will Sasha come back?" threads became a staple on the forums. [[hottip:* :[[spoiler:And, seven years later, [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/090810 they got their wish]], after the main cast ended up with a couple vacant spots.]]]]
* The second ''Webcomic/ElectricWonderland'' comic ended with the introduction of Shroomy's boyfriend, a slacker named Parker. He did not appear in the following story for reasons unknown, although Shroomy still expresssed hope later that he would return. He finally did so in the sixth comic, written 11 months after his disappearance, but only to ask Shroomy for $50. As a result, Aerynn advised Shroomy to break up with Parker and find a more dependable boyrfriend. By the time the next comic came out, Parker was officially no longer a member of the ''Nettropolis Free Press'' staff, and he wasn't even included in a set of character bios written in July 2010.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The TropeNamer is Poochie from ''TheSimpsons'', who is an in-universe example. [[ExecutiveMeddling Meddling executives]] create the TotallyRadical character (voiced by Homer) in a clumsy attempt to pander to kids. In his first episode of ''Itchy and Scratchy'', Poochie sidetracks the plot to introduce himself by rapping about all of the reasons kids should just love him. The audience overwhelmingly hates Poochie and the focus being put on him. In the very next episode, the president crudely alters the cartoon himself to [[BusCrash kill Poochie "on the way back to his home planet."]] Krusty then promises the audience that [[DeaderThanDead he will never be brought back]], to great celebration. The same episode got all meta and dropped a cool guy named Roy into the Simpson family's house, with no explanation. At the end, he moved into [[ThreesCompany an apartment with two sexy ladies]].
** The sad thing is, Fox was at first actually '''serious''' about the idea of having a new 'hip' character in the Simpsons' household. Of course the writers were against it; and thus they created this parody instead.
** Poochie does make a brief cameo without any lines in another Itchy and Stratchy episode.
* [[MeaningfulName Ms. Choksondik]] from ''SouthPark'' seems to be designed to be intentionally unpleasant, and takes the empty teacher spot left by Mr. Garrison. Either out of mercy to the audience or simply because her jokes had run their course, the creators eventually [[KilledOffForReal kill her off]] by way of an instantly-resolved TonightSomeoneDies faux-cliffhanger where her death is little more than just a footnote, and restore Mr. Garrison to his previous post.
** That and they might as well fulfill her [[MeaningfulName prophetic name]]. She may have always been planned to be a [[StealthPun substitute teacher]] while Mr. Garrison took some CharacterDevelopment.
** In his first appearance, Towelie appears to be a parody of this trope. He appears out of absolutely nowhere, the boys react just enough to get him to wander off periodically, and the episode features a fake commercial for Towelie merchandise (including, just in case, "I hate Towelie" T-shirts).
* Parodied in an episode of ''PinkyAndTheBrain'', with Larry, who got an awkward PromotionToOpeningTitles, and generated a {{Retool}} into a ''ThreeStooges'' knock-off. And plenty of MyFriendsAndZoidberg moments. In a LampshadeHanging, he left specifically ''because'' Brain pointed out that he didn't gel.
** Then, at the very end, just as it looked like that Pinky and the Brain will carry on as a duo again, a scientist placed another mouse into their cage, and the mouse introduces himself as [[TheMarxBrothers Zeppo]]. The ending reprise of the theme song was then reworked to have Zeppo's name in it in the same manner as Larry. Unlike Larry, however, Zeppo was promptly written out of the cartoon since his purpose was served.
*** ...and then [[FunnyAneurysmMoment it's a little less funny]] with [[ExecutiveMeddling Pinky And Elmyra And The Brain]].
* ''TheSmurfs'' cartoon show averts this trope by the fact that most of the Smurfs are basically FacelessMasses, identical to each other. A character can be brought in, given prominence for a while, and then be easily written out with no problem and without anybody really missing them.
[[/folder]]
[[caption-width-right:238:[-Looking for the nearest ride out of the show.-] ]]
->''"[[ButNowIMustGo I have to go now]]. My planet needs me."''
-->-- '''[[TropeNamers Poochie]]''', ''TheSimpsons'' [[hottip:Note:Poochie [[BusCrash died on the way to his home planet.]]]]
A character is introduced into a show with a lot of fanfare, and almost at once moves up to main character status (if not necessarily the credits). He/she will often form a close relationship with the existing main characters, and may even have a prior history with a main character, even if this has [[RememberTheNewGuy never been mentioned before]]. Sometimes the character is a result of ExecutiveMeddling.
For some reason the character doesn't gel. Maybe [[TheScrappy the audience takes against him/her]], maybe the actor [[LargeHam over-]] or [[DullSurprise underperforms]], maybe the writers realize they have no idea what to do with him/her. Whatever it is, the character will end up [[PutOnABus leaving the show setting]], often for a fairly contrived reason (and they [[BusCrash probably won't be back]], even if logically they should be at certain points).
Different from ChuckCunninghamSyndrome in that the character's disappearance will be explained, even if in a fairly flimsy manner.
The easiest way to distinguish the Poochie is if he is written out in a clumsy manner - if his [[PutOnABus departure]] or [[DroppedABridgeOnHim death]] makes no sense, it's usually him.
Compare with AbortedArc and ChuckCunninghamSyndrome. Contrast with TheArtifact.
Not to be confused with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtMkti7hSUA this]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sepu2wJvapU Poochie]], or this [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland other Poochie]], or that [[{{Peanuts}} Poochie]], or ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poo-Chi that]]'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YqFAFNbKUA Poo-Chi™]].
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In the Orange Islands saga of the ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' anime, after Brock was replaced because [[http://pokebeach.com/2008/07/second-pokemon-interview-with-masamitsu-hidaka-many-interesting-points the producers thought that people would be put off by his eyes]] and partially due to a poll of popularity where Brock ranked the lowest (and contrary to popular belief, 4KidsEntertainment had absolutely nothing to do with Brock's removal, as the decision was made long before 4Kids started dubbing ''Pokémon''), they replaced him with a more Western-looking character, Tracey Sketchit. It didn't quite work, and many fans were put off by Tracey. Those in charge realized that the Western audience didn't mind Brock's eyes at all, so they chucked Tracey at Professor Oak's place and brought Brock back from presumably being dumped by Ivy in time for the Johto saga. Tracey still makes appearances from time to time when Ash and friends visit Pallet Town, but for the most part he's been retired from the cast.
** One big problem with Tracey is that the character he replaced was the played-for-laughs CasanovaWannabe, while all he had going for him was ''[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway the ability to draw pokemon.]]''
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'' had Magog, who joined the cast when Alex Ross was allowed to collaborate with Geoff Johns on his own "Kingdom Come" sequel. Magog made a huge splash, was subject to a MASSIVE multi-part storyline and ultimately given both his own comic book AND his own spin-off JSA team book! But fans didn't take to him and not only was his comic canceled, but was killed off in the pages of "Justice League: Generation Lost".
* Maggott and Marrow. Marrow in particular, who continued to exist within the XMen roster largely because editor Bob Harras wanted her to be both the next Wolverine and as a potential spoiler for the Rogue/Gambit relationship. Thankfully, she was put on a bus right before Chris Claremont returned to the X-Books.
** At least Marrow had a fair number of fans, Maggott on the other hand remained as a {{Scrappy}}.
** Likewise, sister book NewMutants had Rusty Collins and Skids, who were added to the book as part of a qroup of kids called the X-Terminators. While initially important, they were [[TrappedByMountainLions left behind to fend against Freedom Force and search for mutant children while the others went to Asgard]]. They were turned evil and joined the MLF, due to RobLiefeld deeming them lame!
*** Rusty was later killed in a crossover event. Skids, however, is alive and well and working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!
* Jeph Loeb's run on the Ultimates managed to have no less than three of these; Black panther, Ka-zar and Shanna. All were introduced and removed in the same arc, without even doing anything significant to the plot, due to backlash from before the story was even published.
* Thunderfox fron {{Femforce}} was introduced with much fanfare, but only appeared in eight issues before disappearing. The explanation occured five issues after her last appearance, telling us that her 'book' was cancelled.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* The StarWarsExpandedUniverse gave us Callista, a MarySue girlfriend for Luke who was quickly written out. She later came back, assimilated by Abeloth.
* One could argue Bree Tanner was this in [[{{Twilight}} Eclipse]]. She was introduced as a pacifist newborn who chose not to fight. She was mercilessly killed by the Volturi for no reason. Some thought she would be a better match for Jacob than Renesmee
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'': Poor Keffer, he was actually utilized fairly effectively during season 2 and was really quite likable not to mention it made more sense for there to be dedicated starfury squadron commander in Keffer rather than the senior command staff constantly jumping into fighters. Unfortunately for him though his creation was actually the result of ExecutiveMeddling (they wanted a "hotshot Top Gun kind of pilot") and the series creator/head writer J. Michael Straczynski never forgave him for that and subsequently killed him off even though he was fitting in just fine.
* Several characters in ''TheOC'' suffered this, but Lindsay Gardner was an especially glaring example as she was introduced as a love interest for Ryan and turned out to be a blood relative of three other main characters. She didn't even return for [[spoiler:Caleb's funeral]], despite discovering [[spoiler:he was her real father]].
* Likewise ''DawsonsCreek''. Nikki Green notably, who after a major initial appearance as a rival/potential love interest to Dawson was dropped only a few episodes later.
** In fact ''DawsonsCreek'' might have used this trope more than any other series. Many secondary characters vanished in between seasons, with flimsy reasons given for their disappearance. Gretchen Witter for instance, [[RememberTheNewGuy was introduced in Season 4 as Pacey's sister and Dawson's childhood crush]]. After spending the entire season as practically a main character she moved away and was never seen or mentioned again.
* ''ThatsLife'' (the American dramedy, not the British consumer protection show) featured a variation with one of the original cast as The Poochie: Candy Cooper, one of the protagonist's best friends was written out half-way through the first season.
* Megan Donner of ''CSIMiami'' had the same fate.
* In ''HappyDays'', Pinky Tuscadero and the "black drummer" from the band were both hyped in promos as new characters, but neither appeared for more than an arc before disappearing. Pinky's sister "Leather" was a stand-in for Pinky - whose actress apparently caused problems - but was again not common. Other examples include down-home hick cousin K.C. Cunningham and Fonzie's temporary girlfriend and her daughter for the first post-Richie season.
** RE: the black drummer...It's possible he disappeared because he had previously performed in porn. Not exactly the sort of thing you want hanging over a "family" show.
* Nikki Carpenter from season 3 of ''{{MacGyver}}''. She was written as a potential love interest for {{MacGyver}} only for the producers to discover that female fans did not want Mac to have a regular girlfriend. About halfway through the season, she is mentioned as being on assignment in South America and is then never heard from again.
** Which was sad, IMHO, because her bickering interaction with Mac was fun.
* In ''{{Scrubs}}'', Julie Miller was [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Brother Chucked]] after the writers realized that she was a Dr. Cox {{Distaff Counterpart}}, but with the key difference of not having any redeeming qualities, and his ex-wife Jordan already having that position, therefore making her a completely superfluous character.
* The Applewhite family from season 2 of ''DesperateHousewives'', and Kayla Scavo from season 4.
** A better example would have to be Ana from season six. For some time, there was quite some buzz over her entrance, only for her to be reviled by many fans on message boards. She eventually got [[PutOnABus Put On A Bus]] to New York...literally.
* ''TheMuppetShow'' had Fleet Scribbler, tabloid journalist. One show, a few mentions later, and he vanished. The critics loved him. The writers hated him.
* ''JustShootMe'' had Vicki Costa, a brash hairdresser whom Jack brought in to help make the magazine hipper. Everyone else's story lines were sidetracked to revolve around her -- Jack immediately respects her, Elliot immediately falls for her, Nina feels threatened by her, Finch thinks she's really hot, and Maya is obsessed with getting Vikki to open up to her. All the while, Vikki's too cool to really participate in the plot and usually has to be pursued by the other characters. It's been suggested by somewhat dubious sources that forcing her character into the cast was an aggressive attempt by executives to give Rena Sofer a star vehicle. Rating plummeted after her introduction, she barely lasted half a season and they didn't even air her farewell episode.
* Nikki and Paulo from ''{{Lost}}'' were suddenly introduced in the third season as regular characters. The idea was to shine a light on what was happening with some of the other survivors who were not main characters. The characters were written to be somewhat unsympathetic at first to give them an arc, much like many of the other main characters. However, [[TheScrappy fans didn't like the new characters]] nor the artificiality of their sudden inclusion. Luckily, the writers had sensed the incoming backlash and "scrapped" the idea, chosing to give them a gruesome death in a single [[CharacterFocus character-centric]] episode. Happy now, Losties?
* West in ''Series/{{Heroes}}''. His much-trumpeted relationship with Claire ended in the final episode of Series 2, leaving a way for him to be left out in the future because he was [[TheScrappy poorly received by fans]]. The show's creator has stated in an interview that one of the mistakes he made with this series was writing the romance badly.
** West did, however, appear in the graphic novels that run concurrent to the television show, as [[spoiler:one of the freedom fighters working with Rebel]]. He's not nearly as annoying when he's not around Claire, but he did not reappear on the show.
** He also played a role, though off-screen, in the last season, when Peter visited him to gain his flying ability.
* Tori on ''SavedByTheBell'', whose presence was so jarring that Zack, Lisa, Slater and Screech went through their senior year again. (The producers wised up and brought Tiffani Amber Thiessen back for the College Years.)
** This is a zig-zag. The final season had its episode count doubled very shortly before shooting, and Thiessen (and Elizabeth Berkeley) refused to sign a new contract for the extra episodes.
* After the death of James Beck (Private Walker), ''Series/DadsArmy'' brought in a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute in the form of Private Cheeseman, who was part of a major storyline in which he joined the platoon so he could report on them for the newspaper he wrote for. He was not well liked by either viewers or some of the cast (John Laurie is on record as saying that both the actor and character were fast approaching SpotlightStealingSquad status) and was written out after the seventh series.
* Lauren Graham played efficiency expert Andrea for a few episodes of ''{{NewsRadio}}''. With [[WriterRevolt that writing staff]], the character was probably doomed to begin with. One story has it that Andrea was introduced as a potential replacement for Khandi Alexander's Catherine Duke. After a few episodes Graham got cold feet about joining the cast when another well-liked actress was being pushed out. Sadly, Catherine was written out anyway.
* The Ferrera family on ''EastEnders'' was introduced to compensate for the lack of South Asian characters on the show. They were introduced with a great deal of hype but became immensely unpopular despite at least one storyline that threatened to elevate them to SpotlightStealingSquad status. Viewers complained that these characters were deathly boring and the writers DidNotDoTheResearch into the Ferreras' ethnic background. Finally, one actor had to leave the show because of problems with his permit to work in the UK, and the rest of the family was then written out due to their unpopularity.
* Sadie from ''[[GreysAnatomy Grey's Anatomy]]'' is almost too perfect an example of everything mentioned at the top of the page: she shows up out of the blue in Season 5, where it's revealed that she was apparently Meredith's BFF in med school, despite having never been so much as mentioned by Meredith prior to this. Originally intended to become another major intern character as well as a lesbian romantic foil for one of the series regulars, she stuck around just long enough for her to prove she was not only crazy incompetent but also just plain crazy. Promptly [[PutOnABus quit her job at the hospital]] before the end of the season.
** And also an actual "Poochie" in season 2 with Doc. It seems that the only reason he [[spoiler: died from SoapOperaDisease]] was simply because the writers didn't want to deal with him anymore.
* Cousin Pam on ''TheCosbyShow''.
** Cousin Pam deserves special mention because she managed to bring in her rather shrill friend Charmaine and Charmaine's even more annoying boyfriend Lance, both of who embodied the very UncleTomfoolery that TheCosbyShow was meant to subvert.
* [[{{Supergirl}} Kara]] of ''{{Smallville}}'' is a "writers didn't know what to do with her" version. She was an interesting side character for about five episodes, then bigger and better ways are found of keeping her out of things. She spends a great deal of time wandering with amnesia, returns fully for an episode or two before it's revealed that [[spoiler: Brainiac is impersonating her and has her trapped in the Phantom Zone. When Brainiac is defeated, she is not freed]] and the show goes on without her as normal. She finally does come back for one episode before deciding at the end, "Hey, I'll just fly into space in a random direction and hope I run into some other Kryptonians." She was never seen or mentioned again to date.
** However, [[spoiler: they did bring her back in season 10, though this might be a case of a season-long {{Back For The Finale}}]]
** Also from ''{{Smallville}}'': Lex Luthor's long lost half-brother Lucas from season two. He appeared in one episode (which was almost ''painfuly'' bad) and was immediately PutOnABus ride from which he never reappeared; no one has ever even mentioned him again. Also something of an AbortedArc, given the amount of build-up to his appearance.
** Lana Lang's real father was revealed to be Henry Small in Season 2. They managed to get along with each other, and Henry appeared ([[TrappedByMountainLions as a distracting subplot]]) in 5 episodes of that Season. Finally, Lana realizes their relationship is putting a strain on Henry's marriage and advises Henry that he should distance himself from her and put more focus on his own family. He must have REALLY taken that advice to heart, since he was never seen or heard from again.
* The second season of ''{{Charmed}}'' introduced Jenny Gordon, neighbor to the main characters. Beyond living with her hot uncle (a convenient love interest for Piper), she was apparently important enough to get mentioned in the opening credits, but moved away to live with her parents before she actually did anything important, while her uncle remained a recurring character throughout the rest of the season (after season two, he also inexplicably disappeared).
** He was seen putting a For Sale sign up in the season 2 finale. He didn't much care to be around witches and warlocks. Being turned into an 80 year old man (albeit temporarly) can do that to a guy.
* ''{{Community}}'' mocks this mercilessly with Jack Black's appearance as "Buddy" a student who has allegedly been in the gang's Spanish 101 class this entire time. The entire main cast are either weirded out by his sudden, unexplained appearance in their lives or convinced he's a murderous psycho. [[spoiler: The episode ends with Owen Wilson suddenly appearing and offering Buddy a spot in the "[[InformedAbility cool]]" clique.]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' had one early in its long run. In the final part of ''The Myth Makers'' saga (set during the Trojan War) a Trojan handmaiden named Katerina snuck on board the TARDIS and became the First Doctor's latest companion. She was promptly killed off in the following adventure, the 12 part epic, ''The Daleks' Master Plan''...in part four. According to the actress who played Katerina, her death scene was ''the very first scene she was filmed in''. This means that the writers created the character, tried her out, decided she wasn't working, and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim dropped a bridge on her]] before ''a single scene of her had been filmed'' (and possibly before the character was even cast).
** The Fifth Doctor acquired another Poochie with Kamelion, a shape-changing robot who joined the Doctor and his companions on board the TARDIS. Kamelion was an actual RealLife robot...built by a guy who promptly died without telling anybody how to operate the blasted thing. Technically, Kamelion was a companion for nearly a full year. In practice, he only showed up in 2 adventures, the one where he came onboard the TARDIS and the one where the writers said, "Enough's enough," and DroppedABridgeOnHim.
* Josie Sutton on ''ColdCase'' was given a mysterious backstory and complicated relationships with the regular cast before being PutOnABus four episodes later.
* ''{{Married With Children}}'' had Seven, a little boy who was adopted by the Bundys. Seven was [[ExecutiveMeddling forced on the show by Fox execs]], who saw how popular the cute kids [[{{full house}} on other sitcoms of the time]] were and decided that's what the Bundys needed (even though their ratings were just fine.) Fox hyped the kid's arrival to no end, but Seven was resoundingly hated by fans and writers alike. The main problem was that the writers couldn't do anything with him: the show's humor came from mercilessly abusing the characters, but that wouldn't work with a little kid. So Seven just kind of stood around in the background doing nothing for most episodes. After half a season of this, the writers removed him from the show entirely. His picture shows up on a milk carton a few episodes later, as both a quick gag and an explanation for his absence.
* Marcus from ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', a former hip-hop star who came to the ship to try and live a (fairly) normal life, was introduced to the series with a decent amount of fanfare, quickly receiving a PromotionToOpeningTitles and becoming a RegularCharacter soon after. He left the show a season or two later, after hitting his big break in-show.
* Lana Sheilds on ''ThreesCompany'', the foxy older lady who was trying to get Jack in bed. They ran a few good episodes featuring her chasing after him then...nothing.
** She even ''appeared in the opening credits'' briefly!
* DegrassiTheNextGeneration introduced multiple Poochies between Seasons 7 and 8. Thankfully as its a school characters vanishing from the center stage is easily handwaved away.
** Season 7 gave us Damian who started off as Manny's love interest, quickly became Emma's love interest, then quickly became Liberty's love interest. And at the end of the season he's gone because he graduated... and all three girls want nothing to do with him.
** Season 8 introduced several new cast members (Seven in total), but the Poochies were Kelly, Leia, and Blue. Kelly was the cool stoner roommate for Manny, Emma, and Liberty. Quickly put in a love triangle with Manny and Emma, then became Emma's new romance. He's never seen again when he breaks up with Emma in Season 9. Leia and Blue were never fleshed out, Leia's a pathological liar trying to fit in and Blue is a tall dreamy artist who can net himself any girl he wants. When Blue and Holly J don't work out Blue slowly fades into the background. Leia appears for two episodes in Season 10, but after that she's dropped from the credits.
* ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had Shakaar, who was mentioned early in the show's run as being Major Kira's former resistance commander. After he actually appeared in person he went from being a dirt farmer to being head of the Bajoran government, then was revealed as the only man that Major Kira had ever loved[[hottip:* :This wasn't the most popular move, especially with fans of regular character Odo (who had a crush on her) or her recently deceased former boyfriend, Vedek Bareil]], before finally being PutOnABus, all the space of three appearances. In this instance the writers actually did like Shakaar (even if the fans didn't) and intended to make him an important recurring character, but actor Duncan Regehr's other work commitments put a halt to this plan.
* An odd example from ''{{Merlin}}'': in the first episode of season two a new knight called "Sir Geraint" in the credits was introduced, who seemed to function as Arthur's second-in-command and was given several promotional shots. He was never seen after the first episode, possibly because the ''second'' episode introduced... [[EnsembleDarkhorse Sir Leon!]]
* ''WhosTheBoss'': During the fall of 1990, a [[CousinOliver cute kid]] named Billy (Jonathan Halyalkar) briefly joins the Miceli-Bower household, purportedly as a comic foil to Tony Danza's male lead character; the idea was that Billy's parents had died several months earlier in a car accident, and that Tony (both he and Billy were from the same Bronx neighborhood) would be the perfect person to raise him. Although a promising actor, Halyalkar had problems meshing with the cast (according to Katherine Helmond in a series retrospective that aired on E!), plus he came off as annoying to audiences. By the end of the season, Billy had gone to live with a new foster family, and he was retconned out of existance.
* In ''TaiyouSentaiSunVulcan,'' the ''main hero'' gets a rather Poochie-ish exit, with an episode ending with him being informed that he's needed to fly a space shuttle, and his character being hastily replaced with someone encountered that episode. It's made worse by the fact that it wasn't RealLifeWritesThePlot, but the actor's contract expiring - they ''knew'' he wasn't going to be there for good and could have written a much better exit.
* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' had Riley Finn, introduced in season 4 to be Buffy's new love interest after ''{{Angel}}'' got his own series. He was never really accepted by the fans, and got written out again in season 5.
* ''[[LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Law & Order SVU]]'' added Kim Greylek in Season 10 to replace the disbarred Casey Novak. Her cold demeanor didn't win over fans so after 15 episodes she was quickly booted and replaced with the returning Alex Cabot.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Uncle Max in ''CalvinAndHobbes'', who had a brief storyline and then left the strip permanently, because Bill Watterson found it too awkward to write dialogue in which he never called [[http://www.calvin-and-hobbes.org/information/characters/calvins_parents Calvin's parents]] [[UnnamedParent by their names]].
* Somewhat prophetically, in 1973 a character named Poochie debuted in ''{{Peanuts}}''. She was a little girl who used to live in the neighborhood, who supposedly was the first to refer to Charlie Brown by his full name and who almost adopted Snoopy before choosing another dog. After appearing in a few Sunday strips, she disappeared without a trace.
** There was also Charlotte Braun, who appeared in a dozen strips in the 1950's before evaporating. She had [[NoIndoorVoice a loud voice]] and ... that's about it. Originally she was to be a female foil for Charlie Brown, but was no more interesting in the role than Lucy was. There's a hilarious [[http://www.cagle.com/hogan/webextras13/charlotte/home.html response letter]] that Schulz wrote to a fan who didn't like the character, featuring Charlotte with an axe in her head.
** Poochie was mentioned a couple of times later on, usually when Snoopy was adamantly refusing to accept her Valentine's Day card or send her a Christmas card.
* PearlsBeforeSwine had creator Stephen Pastis introduce a character named Leonard who wore a bear costume. He was actually a third roommate who lived with main characters Pig and Rat. He only appeared in about a week's worth of comics and WordOfGod said the character just wasn't working. As acknowledged in the strip itself, he was killed off by getting his head stuck in a toilet and drowning.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* In the {{WWE}}, Kevin [[FanNickname "Big Poochie"]] Nash (nicknamed after this Poochie, but [[SpotlightStealingSquad not for this reason]]). Came in with lots of history (he was, after all, Diesel back in the early '90s, but [[FleetingDemographicRule wrestling fans aren't supposed to remember that]]) and an infamous RealLife friendship with ShawnMichaels, TripleH, Scott Hall, and X-Pac (his teammates in the [=nWo=]). His presence seemed to leave a bad taste in a lot of fans' mouths, and after his [[GameBreakingInjury second quad tear]], he left for another several years. Why Hall and X-Pac didn't get ThePoochie treatment is anyone's guess.
** Nash's nickname of "Big Poochie" actually [[OlderThanTheyThink dates back to]] late-90s WCW, where he was [[RunningTheAsylum Head Booker]] and essentially forcing ''Nitro'' to revolve around himself, with increasingly absurd segments that seemed to be aired purely for the amusement of Nash himself.
* This is actually fairly common in wrestling. Whenever a wrestler debuts and is immediately hated by the fans, promotions will usually either retool him with a different gimmick, or [[PutOnABus put him on a bus.]] An example would be Beaver Cleavage, who was heavily hyped by the WWE prior to his debut and lasted all of a week before becoming Chaz.
** A more recent example was Kizarny. The gimmick was that he was apparently a carnival/circus performer so he always spoke in Carny. Carny is a form of PigLatin commonly used by carnival folks ([[CaptainObvious duh]]) and wrestlers, where you put "iz" before the first (or maybe all) vowels of a word. This, of course, made nearly everything the guy said unintelligible and the character was dropped before he could even debut.
*** Actually, he had one match against MVP.
** In 80's [[{{WWE}} WWF]] a lot of vignettes were filmed hyping a wrestler named Outback Jack. This was basically Vince's attempt to cash in on the success of CrocodileDundee. After months and months of hype, fans were treated to some of the worst "wrestling" ever performed in public. Jack was shown the door in short order.
** ECW and WCW tag team Public Enemy was brought into the WWF as a favor to there-for-a-cup-of-coffee-himself booker Terry Taylor in 1999. They managed to irritate both the fans and wrestlers in short order, and found their way out of the company after being legitimately beaten up during a match.
* The most infamous example though, is The Gobbledy Gooker. He had all of one match before he was never mentioned again, save for a gimmick battle royale at Wrestlemania X-7.
** He does get referenced by the WWE every now and then, albeit only to point out how horrible he was.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:VideoGames]]
* As much as [[UnpleasableFanbase fans complain]] about [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters all the additional]] ''SonicTheHedgehog'' characters the newer games have added, Sonic Team seemed to learn their lesson with [[TheScrappy Silver]]; after his debut in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' and prominent role in ''Sonic Rivals 2'', he's been demoted to extremely minor roles and is not missed.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web originals]]
* The guy from [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ohUVRVoXtY&feature=channel this]] short Cyanide & Happiness video.
* Todd and Travis from ''ArbyNTheChief'' were introduced, and subsequently removed a few episodes later, because of the enormous backlash they recieved from the fanbase.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Parodied in [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_188.php this]] ''[[DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]]'' strip. The character lasts 2 panels, maybe 2 and-a-half.
** Two half-sized panels and some anguished screaming in the third. Didn't even get to finish introducing himself.
* In ''SluggyFreelance'' Sasha is [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20001105 suddenly introduced]] as Riff's girlfriend (they'd apparently been dating for a while, but Riff never bothered to tell anyone). She pretty much instantly becomes part of the {{Nakama}}, but then, a little under two years later, she [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20020822 moves away with very little fanfare]]. An unusual example in that she was actually an EnsembleDarkhorse, and "when will Sasha come back?" threads became a staple on the forums. [[hottip:* :[[spoiler:And, seven years later, [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/090810 they got their wish]], after the main cast ended up with a couple vacant spots.]]]]
* The second ''Webcomic/ElectricWonderland'' comic ended with the introduction of Shroomy's boyfriend, a slacker named Parker. He did not appear in the following story for reasons unknown, although Shroomy still expresssed hope later that he would return. He finally did so in the sixth comic, written 11 months after his disappearance, but only to ask Shroomy for $50. As a result, Aerynn advised Shroomy to break up with Parker and find a more dependable boyrfriend. By the time the next comic came out, Parker was officially no longer a member of the ''Nettropolis Free Press'' staff, and he wasn't even included in a set of character bios written in July 2010.
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The TropeNamer is Poochie from ''TheSimpsons'', who is an in-universe example. [[ExecutiveMeddling Meddling executives]] create the TotallyRadical character (voiced by Homer) in a clumsy attempt to pander to kids. In his first episode of ''Itchy and Scratchy'', Poochie sidetracks the plot to introduce himself by rapping about all of the reasons kids should just love him. The audience overwhelmingly hates Poochie and the focus being put on him. In the very next episode, the president crudely alters the cartoon himself to [[BusCrash kill Poochie "on the way back to his home planet."]] Krusty then promises the audience that [[DeaderThanDead he will never be brought back]], to great celebration. The same episode got all meta and dropped a cool guy named Roy into the Simpson family's house, with no explanation. At the end, he moved into [[ThreesCompany an apartment with two sexy ladies]].
** The sad thing is, Fox was at first actually '''serious''' about the idea of having a new 'hip' character in the Simpsons' household. Of course the writers were against it; and thus they created this parody instead.
** Poochie does make a brief cameo without any lines in another Itchy and Stratchy episode.
* [[MeaningfulName Ms. Choksondik]] from ''SouthPark'' seems to be designed to be intentionally unpleasant, and takes the empty teacher spot left by Mr. Garrison. Either out of mercy to the audience or simply because her jokes had run their course, the creators eventually [[KilledOffForReal kill her off]] by way of an instantly-resolved TonightSomeoneDies faux-cliffhanger where her death is little more than just a footnote, and restore Mr. Garrison to his previous post.
** That and they might as well fulfill her [[MeaningfulName prophetic name]]. She may have always been planned to be a [[StealthPun substitute teacher]] while Mr. Garrison took some CharacterDevelopment.
** In his first appearance, Towelie appears to be a parody of this trope. He appears out of absolutely nowhere, the boys react just enough to get him to wander off periodically, and the episode features a fake commercial for Towelie merchandise (including, just in case, "I hate Towelie" T-shirts).
* Parodied in an episode of ''PinkyAndTheBrain'', with Larry, who got an awkward PromotionToOpeningTitles, and generated a {{Retool}} into a ''ThreeStooges'' knock-off. And plenty of MyFriendsAndZoidberg moments. In a LampshadeHanging, he left specifically ''because'' Brain pointed out that he didn't gel.
** Then, at the very end, just as it looked like that Pinky and the Brain will carry on as a duo again, a scientist placed another mouse into their cage, and the mouse introduces himself as [[TheMarxBrothers Zeppo]]. The ending reprise of the theme song was then reworked to have Zeppo's name in it in the same manner as Larry. Unlike Larry, however, Zeppo was promptly written out of the cartoon since his purpose was served.
*** ...and then [[FunnyAneurysmMoment it's a little less funny]] with [[ExecutiveMeddling Pinky And Elmyra And The Brain]].
* ''TheSmurfs'' cartoon show averts this trope by the fact that most of the Smurfs are basically FacelessMasses, identical to each other. A character can be brought in, given prominence for a while, and then be easily written out with no problem and without anybody really missing them.
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