Ok, the core of this trope is that a child character is introduced out of nowhere in order to pull a younger demographic for a show with an ageing cast.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
I see the Awesomeness.
I'd suggest Sudden Bumble Bee Addition, but that's a terrible name.
Fight smart, not fair.
The New Kid? It's really too broad, but it gets "new addition" and "child" aspects across.
No. For one, it's the name of a film. For another, it sounds like a trope about there being a new kid in school.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
That's still just sounds like, hey, new character here. But that could just as easily be a Sixth Ranger as a Cousin Oliver.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
I previously suggested Adorable New Kid Castmember... How about Kid Added To Aging Cast?
edited 21st Jul '11 2:48:21 PM by MangaManiac
That last one would make a decent redirect.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Lost in Space
If it weren't too wordy, I'd suggest Demographic Appeal Character as a general concept, if not this specific trope.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I think that's the supertrope.
Wizard/Father of Tom
But does that supertrope have a page? I haven't seen it. I like the idea of it being broader. Then it would be more apt for characters like Danny (John Galecki) from Roseanne or Poochie from Itchy & Scratchy. Basically anytime they add a character in an obvious attempt to appeal to a different demographic. Can sometime manifest in the addition of Token Minorities, which something like Cute New Kid wouldn't cover. Unless it was a cute token minority kid.
I think the supertrope should go on YKTTW rather than trying to broaden an existing trope. It tends to work better that way.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Wizard/Father of Tom
Oh. I thought you were saying it actually existed. Definitely needed then.
Take it to YKTTW. Fighteer's title would make a decent working title.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Lost in Space
Actually I think Demographic Appeal Character is overly broad. Demographic Appeal Newcomer is a much more specific and applicable concept.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Either way, it belongs in YKTTW, not here.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Bump. I was reminded of this by a thread that just opened up on Cute Kids And Robots - has the issue here been fixed?
edited 19th Aug '11 11:13:14 PM by nrjxll
No, the issue has not been fixed, because this thread has been discussing redirects and none of those appear to have been agreed upon or created yet.
Unlike most character-named tropes, this term apparently has some traction outside T Vtropes, so it probably shouldn't get a different name. However, the common term for this phenomenon appears to be "Cousin Oliver Syndrome" so I think it'd be a good idea to add that word to the trope name.
Oh that one wont work people will just think of Moe, Cuteness Proximity or anything else in Rule of Cute index.
edited 20th Jul '11 3:37:34 PM by Raso
Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!