History Main / FleetingPassionateHobbies

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1637897878035068400&page=1
%% Previous thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1394026934067469400
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

* Maon of ''Anime/{{Tamayura}}'' grew up changing dreams all the time.
* In the ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' prequel manga, "Little Army", Hitomi, one of the girls who is part of Miho's tank crew, has a habit of quickly switching her focus between hobbies, and her best friend Chihiro worries that tankery is just another phase. Thankfully, Hitomi manages to prove that she's more committed to tankery.

* Tamaki of ''Manga/MagicOfStella'' can't decide what interests her the most, thus resorting to changing her hobbies yearly.

* In the dark marital comedy ''Film/TheRef'', Lloyd rips into his wife for this (among many, many other things).

* Kyle Clayton from Film/WorldsGreatestDad, dialogue from his father Lance suggests during his younger years he liked things like going to the movies, listening to music, and building model planes and rockets, in the present when he’s an angry JerkAss of a teenager he hates everything except pornography, masturbation, and violent video games.

* This trope is OlderThanRadio; Mr. Toad from ''Literature/TheWindInTheWillows'' (published in 1908) with his various "manias" is practically the poster boy for this trope, as he constantly throws himself at every new fad before getting tired of it and taking up something else.
-->'''Ratty''': Once, it was nothing but sailing. Then he tired of that and took to punting. Nothing would please him but to punt all day and every day, and a nice mess he made of it. Last year it was house-boating, and we all had to go and stay with him in his house-boat, and pretend we liked it. He was going to spend the rest of his life in a house-boat. It's all the same, whatever he takes up; he gets tired of it, and starts on something fresh.
* ''Literature/LosingJoesPlace'': Rootbeer Racinette, a secondary character and later indispensable plot coupon from Gordon Korman's book. He has a running gag where he gets a new hobby every day and later is turned into a variety act by his desperate for money "friends".
* Keladry states that one of her brothers is like this in ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', jumping from great-seeming idea to great-seeming idea. (She also thinks that one of three girls that ask her advice about becoming knights could also be this type.) There are some who think that Kel forming crushes on three different boys (Nealan, Cleon, and Domitan, though she only dates Cleon and it never goes very far) fits too, but keep in mind that 1. it was over a period of eight years, almost a ''decade'' and 2. she's a teenager.
* Chet Morton of ''Literature/TheHardyBoys''. He has one [[OnceAnEpisode virtually one every book]], which usually ends up being [[ChekhovsGun very important to whatever case the Hardy Boys were investigating]].
** [[Literature/NancyDrew Nancy Drew]] and her friends seem to have them as well, and in the books from the 80s onwards, Bess, Chet's quasi-DistaffCounterpart, becomes similarly distinguished by them-- in the mystery at a health spa, she gets into being a health nut, in the one at a bookstore, she's trying to become a poet, and so forth. (Although writing romantic poetry did fit with her established trait of being a hopeless romantic.)

* In the ''Literature/GuardiansOfTheFlame'' series, Karl Kullinane was very much like this in his days as a college student, so much so that a prospective love interest wasn't comfortable dating him because she was afraid of becoming his passion of the week, and him not sticking with her.
* In ''Gallows View'', Peter Robinson's first Inspector Banks mystery, we learn that Banks is prone to this sort of behaviour. "That was how the house had come to be so cluttered with the novels of Charles Dickens, wine-making equipment, twenties jazz records, barely used jogging shoes, a collection of birds' eggs, and books on almost every subject under the sun -- from Tudor history to how to fix your own plumbing."
* Mad King Aerys, PosthumousCharacter from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', is revealed in ''Literature/TheWorldOfIceAndFire'' to have suffered from a royal variant of this in his youth. He would constantly devise grand and impractical projects such as turning a desert into farmland or conquering the worthless tundra north of the realm populated by savages. He'd always grow bored with the plans and drift off to some new scheme in a few weeks.

* In ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'s Revenge'', Ducos goes through a series of short-lived hobbies while hiding out in Italy with his ill-gotten gains.

* ''Literature/TheKitchenDaughter'': In addition to her lifelong love of cooking and food, Ginny has had a number of short-lived obsessions over the years, including round objects, bending spoons with ESP, Turkish rug patterns, letters written by nuns, and detailed drawings of fruit, that consumed her for months and then were forgotten.

* Hal from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' took up board games, skating, NASCAR, robot building, painting, and various others. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in one episode that features this happening with DDR: We learn that he and Lois have an agreement that Hal can indulge in these things as long as it doesn't interfere with his job, as they both know the obsession isn't going to last. It's implied that these obsessions contribute to the family's [[PerpetualPoverty ongoing financial difficulties]].
* The ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise has various examples:
** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Sulu has an interest in botany in one episode and in fencing in another. Also, antique firearms. The original 1960s ''Star Trek Writer's Guide'' describes Sulu as a serial hobbyist, but this personality trait was only really played up in the early episodes of the series. It's even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E4TheNakedTime The Naked Time]]" when Riley mentions that Sulu's passion for botany has switched to fencing. The botany hobby gets briefly mentioned again in the third season episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E20TheWayToEden The Way to Eden]]". The fencing also comes up in the [[ContinuityReboot rebooted]] [[Film/StarTrek2009 movie]]. It's also used to handwave EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, as Sulu was originally head of the Botany department, but was changed to helmsman to get him closer to the action.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Benjamin Sisko has an ongoing interest in Bajoran history, but the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E22Explorers Explorers]]" has him spending a ''month'' building a replica of an ancient Bajoran space vessel and then personally taking it on a voyage. The vessel is never mentioned again (despite helping him to make a major historical discovery) and he doesn't show any interest in building or historical replicas thereafter. (Though one could HandWave this by the fact that the [[EnergyBeings Bajoran Prophets]] are known to influence him and drive his focus from time to time, and this could possibly be an example.)
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The Doctor, deliberately tries out different hobbies in his quest for individuality.

* In each episode of ''Series/ThePretender'', Jarod would engage in fleeting obsessions with an episode-relevant skill and/or some childhood item previously denied him at The Centre, taking the time to learn everything he possibly can about it. This goes along with his talent of being able to become anyone he wants to, meaning he's a very very quick study.
* Tommy Oliver from the ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' metaseries suffers from this seasonally. He's had brief but intense interest in martial arts (he stays good, but he only did it purely for pleasure in the first season or two), American football, and ''racecar driving''. Most notably, he actually got a job doing that last one immediately following high school graduation, only to show up seven years later as a high school science teacher (with a Ph.D. in Paleontology) who'd retired from being a successful mad scientist who worked with biological experiments. It is unknown how, or if, he ever finds the time to sleep.
* Ellen of ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'' would show up with different passions and/or different jobs. She was absolutely fixated on each one for the episode it lasted for -- marching band, woodshop, and vending machine repair in one episode. Invariably, each one would disappear after it had lost its plot relevance -- except for marching band, which, in a surprising bit of continuity, was mentioned a season before she developed an obsession with it.
* Edina in ''Series/AbsolutelyFabulous'' does this, in cycles of three weeks according to daughter Saffie. Phases include Japanese decor, living through a personal organizer, colonic irrigation, modern art and adopting a Rumanian baby (the last, thankfully, a dream).
* The eponymous Joan from ''Series/JoanOfArcadia'' eventually developed this, as God's instructions lead her to adopt new hobbies every week, which would often be abandoned by the time the mission was over.
* In the ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' episode where Sheldon loses his job. He claimed that his unemployment finally gave him the time he needed to pursue his interests, but he couldn't stick to one hobby!
* ''Series/ModernFamily'': Cam is an avid spectator football enthusiast, a raquetball player, a handbell ringer, a clown, a choir director, a theater director, and someone who arranges Japanese floral arrangements. While his love of theater and football are fairly constant, his love of all the other things can often be temporary and very much fitting for the plot of the week. Phil is also cycling through hobbies somewhat erratically like magic or ultimate frisbee or male cheerleading or spectator sports.
* In the ''Series/ThirtyRock'' pilot, Jack Donaghy uses his market research knowledge to correctly guess that every two years Liz Lemon takes up knitting for a week.

-->'''Wilson:''' I'm looking for a new hobby. I've narrowed it down to channeling Aztec spirits or rollerblading.
* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', Hank Schraeder starts collecting minerals while recovering from a botched hit but loses interest once he can walk again.
* Joyce Barnaby in ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' had a tendency to start out episodes involved with some new hobby group. To be fair, given that this usually plays into the episode by revealing other members of the group to be various murderers, other criminals and adulterers it does make sense she doesn't stick to the hobby...

* In the ITV adaptations of Agatha Christie's Literature/HerculePoirot mysteries, Poirot's sidekick Arthur Hastings is often engrossed in a new hobby that requires expensive equipment: golf, photography, sports cars...
* ''Series/FrontierCircus'': In "Calamity Circus", Tony is shown with an overwhelming desire to master other skills of clowning, and spends much of the episode learning how to be a clown. This is at odds with his personality in other episodes where he is happy being the advance man and shows no interest in actually performing.

* In one ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' episode, Ted uses Robin's now-empty room to explore several new hobbies, including pottery, woodworking, and grilling meat.

* Aki of ''Webcomic/AkiAlliance'' drops in and out of so many school clubs that the entirety of her class hates her for not sticking with them.
* This is PlayedForDrama with Tedd of ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''. [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1316 According to Ellen,]] this is a tendency with him. Tedd is horrified when he realizes she's right as the results of his current work is too important to risk burning out over.
* Played for drama with Melody Faire in ''Webcomic/TheRockCocks''. Since retiring from the music business she has bounced from project to project: film director, restaurateur, marine biologist, alpaca farmer, state senator, etc. Her former producer has a grudge against her because she announced her retirement on stage before telling him, violating her contract. Her current project - a nudist resort in the middle of the desert - is something she's long gotten sick of but, since it's been a total failure, she lacks the closure (and more importantly, the finances) to move on, leaving the resort critically neglected and her remaining employees in the lurch.

-->'''Hermes:''' Since when do you care, or even know, about fox hunting?
-->'''Bender:''' Fox hunting is an ancient and noble pursuit that's fascinated me ever since I first heard of it ten minutes ago.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Sulu had an interest in botany in one episode (ISTR) and in fencing in another. Also, antique firearms. The original 1960's ''Star Trek Writer's Guide'' describes Sulu as a serial hobbyist, but this personality trait was only really played up in the early episodes of the series. It's even {{Lampshaded}} in "The Naked Time," when Riley mentions that Sulu's passion for botany has switched to fencing. The botany hobby gets briefly mentioned again in the third season episode "The Way To Eden." The fencing also comes up in the [[ContinuityReboot rebooted]] [[Film/StarTrek2009 movie]]. It's also used to handwave EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, as Sulu was originally head of the Botany department, but was changed to helmsman to get him closer to the action.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Benjamin Sisko had an ongoing interest in Bajoran history, but one episode had him spending a ''month'' building a replica of an ancient Bajoran space vessel and then personally taking it on a voyage. The vessel is never mentioned again (despite helping him to make a major historical discovery) and he doesn't show any interest in building or historical replicas thereafter. (Though one could HandWave this by the fact that the [[EnergyBeings Bajoran Prophets]] are known to influence him and drive his focus from time to time, and this could possibly be an example.)

* Chet, from ''Series/TheHardyBoys'' series is prone to this. Shot Put, Ventriloquism, Scrimshaw, Spelunking...

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': In "The Gi", there's a flashback to when Gumball and Darwin quickly got tired of football, tennis, horseback riding and figure skating (in the case of the last one, only Gumball got tired of it). For each one, we get a cumulative counter of how much money they've wasted starting these things and going nowhere with them. When they manage to get their mother to sign them up for Taekwondo lessons, they skip the actual classes and keep the uniforms, acting as if they already knew martial arts.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In "D.W. Flips", D.W. decides she wants to do flips on the balance beam after seeing an athlete do it on television. When she tells Jane about this, Jane reminds her of the other times she wanted to do things, but didn't want to practice them, and gave up after just a few days. First, it was T-ball (D.W. claimed she could only hit balls that moved), then it was ballet (D.W. claimed to have weak knees), and finally, it was violin lessons (D.W. claimed she could have been good at it if her music teacher didn't make her use the bow). By the end of the episode, D.W. gives up after nearly falling off the balance beam in an attempt to do a cartwheel on it, but when she sees a horse, [[AesopAmnesia she decides she wants to learn horseback riding now]]. [[WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain Jane refuses to sign her up for lessons]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': In "The Gi", there's a flashback to when Gumball and Darwin quickly got tired of football, tennis, horseback riding and figure skating (in the case of the last one, only Gumball got tired of it). For each one, we get a cumulative counter of how much money they've wasted starting these things and going nowhere with them.

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'''s Izaya Orihara is evidentially very flighty when it comes to hobbies.

* Played for drama with Melody Faire in ''Webcomic/TheRockCocks''. Since retiring from the music business she has bounced from project to project: film director, restaurateur, marine biologist, alpaca farmer, state senator, etc. Her former producer has a grudge against her because she announced her retirement on stage before telling him, violating her contract, and her current project - a nudist resort - is being critically neglected, leaving her employees in the lurch.

* A recurring plot on ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' is Bobby getting passionately, almost religiously into something for a short amount of time, only to drop it off soon after. This is justified in-series by Bobby being a teenager. Indeed, Bobby usually ends up acting much like an ill-informed adolescent would; [[KnowNothingKnowItAll knowing only the basics of his new hobby (if that)]], while constantly [[OldWindbag refusing to shut up about it]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** The Cutie Mark Crusaders do this a lot. They tend to approach pretty much every new activity with endless enthusiasm and put a lot of effort into it, and then abandon it as soon as it becomes evident that it won't get them their cutie marks. Some of the things they've tried include zip-lining, journalism, musical performance, and hairstyling. [[spoiler: They finally get their cutie marks in the season five episode "Crusaders of the Lost Mark", and their special talent turns out to be helping other ponies with ''their'' cutie marks. The Crusaders realize this only after they decide to [[SweetAndSourGrapes stop focusing so hard on getting their cutie marks]].]]
** In the episode "Flutter Brother", Fluttershy's brother Zephyr Breeze engages in several different hobbies and career paths, but always backs out at the end due to a massive fear of failure. The episode in question is centered around getting him to stick to one job and realize he's good at it. He eventually discovers he's good at mane-styling and dedicates himself to that. Apparently it doesn't stick, because in "Sparkle's Seven", he's later seen being recruited to the guard (for all of twenty minutes, just so he can fail at keeping ponies out of a restricted area).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': In "The Gi", there's a flashback to when Gumball and Darwin quickly got tired of football, tennis, horseback riding and figure skating (in the case of the last one, only Gumball got tired of it). For each one, we get a cumulative counter of how much money they've wasted starting these things and going nowhere with them.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'' episode "Fancy Prance", it's revealed that Dagget has had literally dozens of "life-long dreams". While helping Norbert with ''his'' life-long dream of performing with the Lipizzaner performing horses, Dagget concocts a new one of being "the crusty-but-lovable manager of the guy pursuing his life-long dream".
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' brings us Mr. Bickles. In every episode, he has a new "dream". Examples include running a seafood restaurant, being a Vegas magician, being a playwright and being a lifeguard. These are the tip of the iceberg. With each new dream, he invests his time and money. He is usually already at work and gushing about how he finally accomplished it. A word of advice: [[BerserkButton Do not ruin Mr. Bickles' dream]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'': In "Helen's All Thumbs", Helen takes up video gaming and becomes passionate about it. However, she has to give the games up because they make her see things and she neglects feeding her dogs.
* Bender in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' has been through a large number of these, though his love of cooking and folk music have persisted as part of his character.
-->'''Hermes:''' Since when do you care, or even know, about fox hunting?
-->'''Bender:''' Fox hunting is an ancient and noble pursuit that's fascinated me ever since I first heard of it ten minutes ago.
* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': In "Something Ricked This Way Comes" Rick gets into a feud with [[LouisCypher Mr. Needful]] which culminates with Rick starting a "uncursing" business to directly oppose Needful's cursed item store. However, once Rick feels he's won the feud - and the ''very instant'' the business starts to feel like actual work - he announces that he's bored and torches the place.

* Chapter 60 of ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' has Tohru trying to pick up a new hobby and asking everyone around her for advice (her previous hobby was traveling, but she can't exactly indulge her wanderlust as a live in maid). It ends with her fueling her Kobayashi obsession into creating various works of art, much to Kanna and Ilulu's annoyance.

* Part of the backstory in ''The Melancholy of LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' is that Haruhi tried out every club on campus, excelled in every one, and quickly got bored with them.
* ''{{LightNovel/Durarara}}'''s Izaya Orihara is evidentially very flighty when it comes to hobbies.
-->'''Izaya:''' That's why I make it my hobby to stomp on girls' cell phones. HA HA HA HA HA!...Bored now. Stomping on girls' cell phones is no longer my hobby!

* The manga version of ''Manga/BattleRoyale'' takes this to an extreme with Kazuo Kiriyama, who, due to a brain injury he suffered in utero, was unable to display any sort of passion. Hence, after mastering a particular hobby, he'd discard any interest in it. For example, he mastered a violin in a short amount of time, then threw the violin away. Likewise with a painting he created.