History YMMV / Fillmore

** "[[Recap/FillmoreTestoftheTested Test of the Tested]]": Elliot Funston is the performer of the mascot Lobstee the Lobster who uses the consume to steal the reviled SATTY-9 standardized tests after they've been completed. He does so to impress Enid Quintara who's a very vocal protester of the test and has been secretly leaving her flowers often before that. To avoid suspicion, Elliot stages a scene that makes it look like he was mugged for the costume and plays up his goofy demeanour in order to divert attention too. When discovered, he impedes, tricks and outruns both Fillmore and Ingrid and nearly escapes in the process. Even after Elliot's caught and is facing huge karma for what he's done though, he's ultimately won Enid's admiration.

** [[spoiler:Lorraine's efforts to manipulate Everett aren't that dissimilar from her AlphaBitch friend Biana's efforts to manipulate her. This raises the question of whether Biana is acting that way to lash out in grief over Everett threatening their friendship or if she always acts that way and has been influencing Lorraine to act the same way, and that has been what is driving Lorraine away from her and making her hate her old life even as Lorraine still hasn't learned to stop following Biana's example.]]
** While Everett's obsession with his virtual pet Duappy is unhealthy to an UnintentionallyUnsympathetic degree, it's possible to view this as his way of coping with having been an unpopular loner ''before'' getting Duappy, who was desperate to get and give affection to something, even something artificial and then got too attached. This gets some support from his mother, commenting that "for the first time in his life, he has a friend," after Lorraine comes over.

* JerkassWoobie/{{Fillmore}}
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter/{{Fillmore}}

* JerkassWoobie: Being sympathetic criminals, some of the antagonists tend to be this:
** Randall Julian in "To Mar a Stall". Once a beloved and talented macaroni collage artist, Julian started placing lower and lower in art competitions, and in a desperate bid for attention, took up tagging. Under the name Flava Sava, he tagged nearly every bathroom in X Middle School, but Fillmore caught him before he could tag the teacher's lounge. After escaping from permanent detention, Julian tries to finish what he started, only for Fillmore to catch him again and talk him down, revealing him to be a sad, lonely kid who only wants his art and hard work to be appreciated again.
** [[spoiler: Harrison]] in "Cry, the Beloved Mascot". [[spoiler: All he's ever wanted to be is a serious reporter, but he's stuck following and reporting on alleged psychic Alistair Greystone, which he considered beneath him. He framed Vern Natoma out of a last-ditch effort to finally fulfill his dream, culminating in his begging Fillmore and Ingrid to let his mascot-napping slide.]]
** Malika in "Red Robins Don't Fly". [[spoiler: Originally a member of the safety patrol and Vallejo's partner, Malika was very much like Ingrid - smart, savvy, and a little odd. She went undercover to infiltrate and bust the Red Robins but was drawn in by finally feeling a sense of community with them, eventually quitting the force and becoming their leader. She clearly sees way too much of herself in Ingrid when the latter tries infiltrating the Robins again and is visibly betrayed when Ingrid reveals herself to be a plant.]]
** [[spoiler: Oscar]] in "Next Stop Armageddon". [[spoiler: His entire motive was to save his family's model train store and prevent the family from moving. Anyone who's ever had to give up a life and friends because of something similar would be able to relate.]]
** [[spoiler: Biana]] in "Nappers Never Sleep". [[spoiler: Lorraine was her best friend, and although she initially tries to play off Lorraine giving all her extracurriculars up as "pathetic", she was actually very hurt by it. She steals Duappy from Lorraine, hoping to drive her and Everett apart, and Lorraine back to her.]]
** George and his gang in "A Cold Day At X". Most of the members have something to lose if they fail the test (video game privileges, ski trips, and team eligibility), while George feels that he deserves a good grade after all the hard work he's put in. They all clearly struggle with Mrs. Cornwall's class and are under a lot of stress because of it.
** [[spoiler: Leo/Gustav Amadeus Douglas]] in "Masterstroke of Malevolence". [[spoiler: He vandalized his own painting [[ItMakesSenseInContext by drawing a mustache on it, because that was what he originally meant for it to have]]. He only agreed to sell it so his work could be appreciated for once once. This being his only real success, he would later disappear take up a new identity as a security guard at the museum to shamefully remind himself of how he became known for what he considered to be an unfinished painting. [[BecomingTheMask Having taken his job seriously for 30 years before being forced into retirement,]] he thought it was his last chance to show his original vision before he had to leave.]]
** [[spoiler: All the metal shop kids]] in "Two Wheels, Full Throttle, No Breaks". [[spoiler: Their reason for stealing the scooters is so they can afford a hip replacement for the metal shop teacher's dog as a token of appreciation for what he's done for them. The only reason they fall under 'Jerkass' is because they ''were'' stealing and admit at the end how they realized [[CutLexLuthorACheck there could have been other ways they could have gotten the money]].]]
** [[spoiler:Francine]], the culprit in "The Shreds Fell Like Snowflakes" is being driven by a desire to [[spoiler:give her depressed BrokenAce brother Frank back the job that he was traumatized by losing and get revenge on Vallejo for selfishly refusing to help Frank. Unlawfully detaining Vallejo in a very cold location costs her a lot of sympathy, but she isn't planning to detain him there for long, only endangers Fillmore and Ingrid by accident, and has also gone to a lot of trouble to create a fake crime spree rather than really destroy anyone's prized possessions. Consequently, it can feel sad that her garden of ice sculptures is mostly destroyed in the climax and Frank exposes her in spite of her actions on his behalf]].
** [[spoiler: Kipp]] in "Foes Don't Forgive". [[spoiler: Cripplingly shy, Kipp has almost no friends, outsider of Dewey, his dummy, and his dog's recent litter of puppies. But when Dewey starts talking about possibly taking one of the puppies for himself, Kipp can't handle the thought of losing one of his only companions, and decides to steal Dewey's robot dog, Barcode, to make Dewey's mother believe he's not responsible enough for a dog.]]
** Oskar Mabini ''and'' [[spoiler: Robert Chestnut]] in "Links in a Chain of Honor". Oskar just wanted to give his beloved younger sister a better future [[spoiler: hence why he agreed to [[TakingTheHeat take the blame for the Lobstee claws theft]] and spoiler: Robert couldn't take the pressure of having to live up to the Chestnut family legacy nor the potential ramifications of having it come out that he ruined the Lobstee claws by [[TheIllegible mangling the intended message]]; particularly heartwrenching is how he reacts to the idea of potentially damaging his beloved sunflowers, which he can't bring himself to do and collapses to be arrested.]]
** [[spoiler: Terri]] in "The Unseen Reflection" [[spoiler:is a subversion in that she's simply a straight-up Woobie whose seemingly malicious acts turned out to be her (eventually successful) efforts to save her and Tori from being associated with a book series that had just ''horribly'' [[JumpingTheShark jumped the shark]]]].
** [[spoiler: Yumi and Gladys/Alexis]] in "Codename: Electric Haircut". [[spoiler: Both began working on Electric Haircut because they resented the "haves" (popular kids) of X for looking down on, bullying, or outright ignoring them. Gladys, scared of the ramifications if they were caught and how the virus was corrupting Yumi, pretended to move away and changed her entire identity to hide, but Yumi found her out and blackmailed her into helping her finish the virus.]]
** [[spoiler: Arthur Stanley]] in "Play On, Maestro, Play On", who suffers from video game addiction.
** The vigilante perpetrators in "A Dark Score Evened" - all of them have genuinely been shafted by the system, and feel they have no other option but to take matters into their own hands.
** [[spoiler: Alexandria]] in "Field Trip of the Just", especially since [[spoiler: she ends up getting a '''huge''' case of DisproportionateRetribution for her crime of poisoning a ''spider'' (which, granted, is SeriousBusiness in this show, with Fillmore amusingly even using that exact term) despite deeply regretting the crime.]]

** TQ from the episode "The Unseen Reflection" garnered many fangirls ([[EvenTheGuysWantHim and even some fanboys]]) hit his character dies him, unflappability, and code of honor .

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
** Brad Parnassus, the main villain of the pilot. He gets away with his crime and is clearly set up to be a recurring nemesis in the vein of rich businessmen or politicians from cop shows who use their connections to escape justice, [[AbortedArc but he never appears again after the first episode.]]
** Tehama and Anza have some interesting quirks and are the only other ''named'' security patrol members around besides Fillmore, Ingrid, O’Farrell, and Vallejo, yet have never played a significant role in an episode, it's a shame that we never learn more about them.
** The {{Bully Hunter}}s from "A Dark Score Evened" and the way their actions bring up complicated issues regarding bullying and retaliation feels like it could have been brought up over multiple episodes, or at least had recurring characters involved.
** Francine Bishop from "The Shreds Fell Like Snowflakes" only gets one appearance despite being a compelling YoungEntrepreneur with her ice sculptures and acting as the loyal and protective sister of Vallejo's disgraced old partner. [[spoiler:Additionally, she attempts to get revenge on Vallejo for not standing up for her brother, using an impressively complex plan that she refuses to abandon even after her brother tells her to let the grudge go. Many fans would have loved seeing her continue that feud in future episodes and/or make peace with Vallejo, but neither ever happens.]]
** Robert Chestnut from “Links in a Chain of Honor”. He is the president of the AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil, an ex-safety patrol member, a secret CaringGardener, and someone pressured to live up the legacy of his older brothers while also pressuring his younger brother (who he does have some affectionate moments with) the same way. He could have been a good semi-regular, but only appears in one episode [[spoiler:as the culprit, with the series never even exploring the fallout of his actions and exposure]].
** Antonia and Nicky Larkin from "Cry the Beloved Mascot" are a pair of prankster siblings from a rival school who are always trying to one-up each other, with Antonia also being an accomplished mascot thief who brags about the amount of strategy her craft takes. They had the potential to be interesting guest or recurring characters, but only appear briefly on one episode, where they aren't even treated as serious suspects for longer than a minute.
** The members of B.A.G.A.S.T. from "Two Wheels, Full Throttle, No Breaks" are a VigilanteMilitia of skaters and wheelchair hockey players out to catch thieves that the safety patrol can't. It would have been interesting to see them as a regular presence, getting to show off their skills and sometimes helping, sometimes hindering the safety patrol while providing some in-depth commentary on vigilantism and its relationship with law enforcement. Instead, they are only in one episode, and neither their personality nor their skills get much showcasing.
** Randall, Augie, Tony, and Alistair are all characters who show up in the first four episodes of the show and have somehow been helped by Fillmore and Ingrid, (Although Augie was helped in the season two episode 'This Savior, A Snitch' and not his debut episode) how come the show never had them trying to repay either of them in future episodes? Considering the fact that season two was not meant to be the last season, it is arguably likely that they were meant to return, but the show got canned before they could do so. How awesome would it be if all of the people Fillmore and Ingrid helped ended up pulling a move similar to what the Safety Patrol did in 'Immune To All But Justice' and show up when Fillmore and Ingrid (And perhaps even the rest of the Safety Patrol this time) are fighting a losing battle, resulting in the tides being turned?
** Recurring cheerleader and school reporter Cheri Shotwell never has more than a minute or so of screentime per episode where she appears, not even in the episode where [[spoiler:her crush Oscar is the culprit]] or the heroes investigate another cheerleader's disappearance. She also barely talks to Ingrid again after overenthusiastically welcoming her to school and is completely absent from some of the episodes where it would have made sense for her to appear, such as "Nappers Never Sleep" (which features some of her fellow cheerleaders in notable roles) and "The Nineteenth Hole is a Shallow Grave" (where her possible brother or cousin Cuzzy Shotwell has his golf match followed by other school reporters, is threatened into throwing a miniature golf tournament and is questioned by the safety patrol). In the latter episode, her either helping or hindering the investigation into Cuzzy could have also provided some commentary on how police and the media can either help or hinder each other.

** Wayne in the episode where Fillmore visits his new school. He's pretty much broken by the time he and Fillmore reunite and was ready to give up entirely after he got kicked off of the force. [[UndyingLoyalty Only Fillmore getting into real trouble snapped him out of it.]] Also, Emily Kinsey is an off-camera version since we don't know what the rest of the Safety Patrol did to her, but it was bad enough to make her transfer out and devastate Wayne.

* In "Foes Don't Forgive," Kip, the ventriloquist, claims that he never wanted to win the talent show due to his shyness and [[spoiler:his motive for framing his magician rival Santiago of theft (stealing Dewey, the magic show's volunteer's toy dog so his mom won't get a real one from Kip's dog's litter) is seemingly unrelated to the talent show itself. But could it have been a two-birds-with-one-stone gambit? Kip goes to a ''lot'' of trouble to specifically frame Santiago, and regardless of how uncomfortable he feels about the attention from winning the talent show, it did come with a large money prize. It's notable that after his HeelRealization, he strives to make amends to both Santiago and Dewey.]]

%%** [[spoiler: Penny]] in "Immune To All But Justice".

** TQ from the episode "The Unseen Reflection" garnered many fangirls ([[EvenTheGuysWantHim and even some fanboys]]).

** In “A Dark Score Evened” the safety patrol is investigating attacks on bullies. When known bully, Rochelle, identifies more bullies in exchange for protection, Fillmore assigns O’Farrell as her bodyguard despite his ineptitude in almost everything except photography. It’s clear that Fillmore has no sympathy for bullies, judging by the way he and Ingrid intervene when Rochelle is tormenting a classmate. The question is: Did Fillmore assign O’Farrell to bodyguard Rochelle because he honestly thought she was low risk (given the number of potential targets) or was he secretly hoping that Rochelle would be the next victim and get a taste of her own medicine?

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In “A Dark Score Evened” the safety patrol is investigating attacks on bullies. When known bully, Rochelle, identifies more bullies in exchange for protection, Fillmore assigns O’Farrell as her bodyguard despite his ineptitude in almost everything except photography. It’s clear that Fillmore has no sympathy for bullies, judging by the way he and Ingrid intervene when Rochelle is tormenting a classmate. The question is: Did Fillmore assign O’Farrell to bodyguard Rochelle because he honestly thought she was low risk (given the number of potential targets) or was he secretly hoping that Rochelle would be the next victim and get a taste of her own medicine?

* RootingForTheEmpire: About half of the villains have sympathetic (or at least understandable) motives and engaging personalities and face serious punishments if they are caught (as best shown in the finale), which can sometimes make it tempting to root for the Safety Patrol to fail their investigation.

** Wayne in the episode where Fillmore visits his new school. He's pretty much broken by the time he and Fillmore reunite and was ready to give up entirely after he got kicked off of the force. [[UndyingLoyalty Only Fillmore getting into real trouble snapped him out of it.]] Also, Emily Kinsey is an off-camera version since we don't know what the rest of the Safety Patrol did to her, but it was bad enough to make her transfer out and devastate Wayne.
* WTHCastingAgency: Getting ''[[{{Series/Survivor}} Jeff Probst]]'', of all people, to voice Raycliff.