Hanson Family | Other Characters
Other miscellaneous characters from throughout the series.
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Peter Lees
Ryan's childhood friend from Baltimore, who prides himself on his mischief.
- Best Friend: Of Ryan.
- Big Brother Bully: Is shown to be this partly to Joey, when after losing the basketball game to Ryan after Joey's distraction, he chases down his younger brother threatening to give him a wedgie.
- Big Brother Instinct: Looks after his younger brothers, but has a propensity to lead them as quickly into trouble as he does out of it.
- Childish Older Sibling: Though Peter is the older sibling of Joey, he shows a somewhat perverse sense of humour and is happy to lead his younger brother into shenanigans.
- Class Clown: Is shown to not take a single thing seriously, and also prides himself on being something of a practical joker.
- Cool Big Bro: Peter cares deeply about Joey, even if he leads him down some bad paths at times, though this is only done more out of entertainment rather than malice.
- Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments.
- Dirty Kid: Has a very crooked sense of humour, as demonstrated when he and Joey find Shirley servicing a client in a Cadillac, and decides that the best way to interrupt this moment is to drop his pants and take a pee on the windscreen.
- Satisfied Street Rat: While Ryan yearns to escape his miserable surroundings, Peter is clearly more inclined to make the most of his Baltimore roots.
- Street Smart: Compared to Ryan, Peter appears to be more savvy with the street environment of Baltimore, and shows a hint more cunning and audacity than his friend.
Joey Lees
Peter's younger brother and close friend of Mark's.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Is shown to be this marginally to Peter, as when he and Ryan are playing basketball, Joey roots for Ryan, which ultimately distracts his brother and leads Ryan to steal the ball and win.
- Ascended Extra: In the original incarnation of the series, Joey didn't appear until Part 7 and never said a word. In the revised version he appears from Part 1 and has his own lines.
- Dirty Kid: Is easily led by his older brother, as is the case when he and Peter find Shirley servicing a client in a Cadillac, Joey following his sibling's lead by dropping his pants and take a pee on the windscreen as a practical joke.
Danny Dyer
One of Mark's classmates who often espouses lurid stories of his dad's sexual escapades.
- Ascended Extra: In the original incarnation of the series, Danny was never shown and only mentioned by name on a few occasions. In the revised version he appears from Part 1 and has his own lines.
- Dirty Kid: Danny wears his knowledge of smut and filth almost as a badge of honour, enthusiastically regaling to his friends his dad's sexual exploits with his various girlfriends in a sickening amount of detail.
- Dysfunctional Family: Big time. All Danny ever talks about is how his dad has lots of weird sex with his various girlfriends, which, as described by Jinny, is all to compensate for the fact that his wife walked out on him for another man.
- Fan Disservice: His disgustingly detailed descriptions of what his dad and his girlfriends get up to at night can be off-putting.
- Fatal Flaw: His fixation on sex and need to share his experience with those around him, no matter how young.
- Freudian Excuse: Danny's almost fascination with sex can be attributed to the fact that his own biological mother left the family for a used car salesman, while his father fills the void left in his life with meaningless sex. To that end, Danny probably has a very low opinion of women, and thus sees them not as people and more just objects to be studied, especially in the sack.
- Jerkass: Shows elements of this in how he speaks to Mark, showing that their friendship may be based less on an actual accord, and more on Danny's experiences fuelling Mark's own sexual obsession.
- Parental Neglect: Danny is apparently the victim of this, as his dad appears to be more fixated on satisfying his sexual needs rather than raising his son properly.
Shirley Crispin
Ryan's next door neighbour who works as a prostitute in order to help bring in money for her son, Shaun.
- All-Loving Heroine: While she is a prostitute, this doesn't mean that Shirley has no heart to her at all, and is kind enough to look after Ryan and Mark when the occasion calls for it.
- Ascended Extra: In the original incarnation of the series, she had basically no character aside from a few appearances here and there. In the revised series, we get to see a lot more of her life and profession, as well as the pivotal role she plays in helping Jinny raise Ryan and Mark.
- Butt-Monkey: As a prostitute, she often faces the wrath of her clients, either because it's something they sexually enjoy, or because they're mad at her, as is the case when Peter and Joey pull a prank on her and her trick when she's servicing him in the car.
- Deadpan Snarker: She has her moments.
- Dumb Blonde: Totally inverted. While she is a hooker, she clearly has a brain in her head as she sees the whole situation with a real sense of objectivity, knowing that it's all for the money and that there's more to life than just servicing clients. She also has the good sense to take on looking after Ryan and Mark when the situation calls for it.
- Everyone Has Standards: Demonstrated in that, while she performs some of the most depraved acts imaginable and getting paid for it, she insists that she only services clients in their cars, and doesn't bring them into her house where Shaun is.
- Extreme Doormat: Only when she's at the mercy of her clients.
- Friend to All Children: Shirley is shown early on that, even though she's much older than the younger characters of the series, she takes the time to look after and interact with them, walking Ryan, Mark, Peter and Joey back from the park, looking after Mark when Jinny had to take Ryan to the hospital, and escorting Ryan and Simon to the park again.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: While she has to look the part of a girly girl for her clients, underneath she's quite a tomboy, but tomboys don't have the same attractiveness when it comes to being a hooker.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has long, blonde hair, and is one of the sweetest characters in the series despite her choice of career.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Played straight. Her profession is a prostitute, her attitude is kindly and generous to those closest to her.
- Nice Girl: While being a prostitute could make her embittered, and it does to a point, she never lets this get in the way of her being a genuine soul who cares for those closest to her.
- Single Mom Stripper: She keeps her son Shaun ignorant about what she actually does for a living, preferring to service her clients in their cars rather than bringing them inside her house.
- Smarter Than You Look: At face value, one would imagine that, because Shirley's a prostitute, there's absolutely nothing going on between her ears. In fact, she's a very intelligent and wise young woman with her own philosophy and outlook on life that has been directed by her past mistakes so as to do what's best for her young son.
