Line #866 Main/ChuckCunninghamSyndrome


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/BanjoTooie https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tooty.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:[[Creator/{{Rare}} They]] were [[LampshadeHanging well aware of this]] and [[{{Pun}} milked]] it [[FaceOnAMilkCarton for all its worth]].]]
6
7	->''"Let us pause to reflect on the sacred mystery of Richie's elder brother Chuck, who ascended the stairs with his basketball in season one, and never came down again."''
8	-->-- '''Peter Griffin''', ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS4E18TheFatherTheSonAndTheHolyFonz The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz]]"
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10	Generally, if writers want to remove a character from their ensemble, they will either [[KilledOffForReal kill that]] [[DroppedaBridgeOnHim character off]] or [[PutOnABus put them on a bus]] ([[TakeAThirdOption or]] [[BusCrash both]]) to explain their absence. Sufferers of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, on the other hand, simply disappear into limbo. They will often be {{retcon}}ned right out of the story's history, and everyone still left onscreen will simply carry on as if the character never existed or had any impact on the story. This is sometimes caused by the writers gradually losing interest in the character and, without making a conscious decision to remove them, eventually forgetting about them entirely. More often, complications behind the scenes drive the decision to remove a character. Sometimes, the character being removed may also be because the actor has died. Alternatively, the character may not have had an important role despite being part of the main cast, in other words; being a SatelliteCharacter or FlatCharacter.
11
12	The {{Trope Namer\|s}} is Chuck, who was Richie and Joanie Cunningham's older brother in the first two seasons of ''Series/HappyDays''. Remember him? No? Neither did the show. In later seasons, both Cunningham parents said they only had two children and Chuck was wiped from existence. With Fonzie [[BreakoutCharacter becoming a main character by the second season]], and now firmly in the big brother role for Richie, the little-used Chuck wasn't needed.
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14	A closely related slang term (and an alternate name for the trope) is "Mandyville" (or "Mandyland")--a reference to Mandy Hampton, a supporting character played by Moira Kelly on the first season of ''Series/TheWestWing'', who was inexplicably never seen again after Season 1 ended. In reality, Kelly and series creator Creator/AaronSorkin came to a mutual agreement that the character wasn't gelling with the rest of the cast, and agreed that she wouldn't be returning for Season 2. But when Sorkin didn't bother to write in an in-universe explanation for her absence, fans joked that Mandy [[PutOnABus caught a bus]] bound for "Mandyville", said to be the home of all television characters who vanish without explanation.
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16	Over the years, as media has become more meta, playful references to the ignominiously departed have become common, either as {{lampshade\|Hanging}}s within the series itself or in parodies or satires of it.
17
18	A subtrope of UnPerson, although this isn't necessarily intentional. Similar in spirit to TheOtherDarrin, wherein a character's actor or voice is replaced and nobody in-universe seems to notice or care. Ironically, Chuck Cunningham suffered from this as well since he was played by two different actors. Gavin O'Herlihy in season 1 & Randolph Roberts in season 2. Also see OutOfFocus (when a character is gone but not ''quite'' forgotten), SequelNonEntity (a subtrope concerned with a character not returning for a sequel in particular rather than vanishing from the series as a whole), and [[ShooOutTheNewGuy Shoo Out The New Character]] (where a character gets at least an excuse in the show for disappearing). Contrast with [[RememberTheNewGuy Remember the New Character]] where someone comes in out of nowhere sometime midway through and the series acts as though they've been there the whole time. For characters who are written out of the main story but are still hanging around in view, see DemotedToExtra. For characters who are specifically brought in for a one-shot purpose, see LongLostUncleAesop. For characters that are given a reason for their departure ''and'' an onscreen send-off, see PutOnABus. Compare ForgottenFallenFriend. If a character appears in the pilot or very early episode of a show and [[DroppedAfterThePilot then vanishes]] it may be a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness. See also WrittenInAbsence. PresentAbsence is when this is averted and a character's absence is not only noticed in-story, but is often a major driver of the plot. WhatHappenedToTheMouse is this for minor aspects like side characters or subplots. AbsentAnimalCompanion applies this (in most cases) to pets and/or animals that disappear once their plot relevance is gone. Not to be confused with anyone who has the last name "Cunningham" (including Cara Cunningham).
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20	This is only applicable to genuine members of the ensemble who would otherwise seem to be a little more permanent, not characters who appear out of nowhere for one or two episodes and vanish just as swiftly.
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22	When this happens in-universe, with the character having their existence literally erased, it's a {{Retgone}}.
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24
25	%% '''Note:''' When adding examples, this is specifically about characters who disappear ''entirely'' without explanation. If they reappear even briefly, or if their absence is explained in-show even flimsily, it is more likely one of the alternate tropes listed.
26
27	----
28	!!Examples
29	[[index]]
30	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/{{Advertising}}
31	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/AnimeAndManga
32	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/ComicBooks
33	** ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/TheDCU
34	** ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/MarvelUniverse
35	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/ComicStrips
36	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/FanWorks
37	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/{{Film}}
38	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/{{Literature}}
39	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/LiveActionTV
40	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/{{Music}}
41	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/ProfessionalWrestling
42	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/{{Radio}}
43	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/TabletopGames
44	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/{{Theatre}}
45	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/VideoGames
46	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/{{Webcomics}}
47	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/WebOriginal
48	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/WesternAnimation
49	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome/OtherMedia
50	[[/index]]

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