History Main / FleetingPassionateHobbies

* The ''StarTrek Franchise'' has various examples:
** ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Sulu from had an interest in botany in one episode (ISTR) and in fencing in another. Also, antique firearms. The novel ''Death Count'' runs with this, claiming he picks up a new hobby on every shore leave. It's WordOfGod -- 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]] [[StarTrekXI movie]].

*** Chakotay was also particularly prone to this as well, eventually this was turned into a RunningGag by reviewer ''SFDebris'' "because this week Chakotay has always been into <sound of dice rolling> ANTHROPOLOGY!".

* Edina in ''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 Orren, [[FunnyAnimals otterfolk]] of the [[WorldTreeRPG World Tree]] setting, have this as one of their [[PlanetOfHats hats]]. They are stereotypically described as having many interests that they flit between and learning new skills easily, the latter of which is represented in the rules with a chance to gain extra skill levels.

* In the ''BigBangTheory'' episode where Sheldon looses 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!

* ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Sulu from had an interest in botany in one episode (ISTR) and in fencing in another. Also, antique firearms. The novel ''Death Count'' runs with this, claiming he picks up a new hobby on every shore leave. It's WordOfGod -- 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]] [[StarTrekXI movie]].

* Sure, Benjamin Sisko of ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had an interest in Bajoran history basically from day one, but putting aside a ''month'' to assemble an ancient Bajoran solar sailing ship by hand and actually trying to fly it in space? And then never mention it again?
* One episode of ''StarTrekVoyager'' has Paris getting obsessed with repairing a starship named Alice. It turns out that the ship (who was sentient) telepathically created the obsession so that she can be repaired and taken home. Also his constantly changing interest in various holodeck simulations. And his interest in "classical" American history. And his sudden desire to become a holo-novelist. And his...

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* Larry Butz of the ''AceAttorney'' series does this with ''jobs''.

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* Played straight in ''{{Adaptation}}'', where the plant expert was formerly an aquarium expert. "Done with fish," as he stated. He was a real person in the non-fiction book on which the movie was based. Sort of. Justified in that he has AspergersSyndrome, which has this trope as a core symptom.

Compare CompressedVice.

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* [[TheMelancholyOfHaruhiSuzumiya Haruhi Suzumiya]] tried out every club on campus, and quickly got bored with them.

-->'''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!

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* [[TheWindInTheWillows Mr. Toad]] is practically the poster boy for this trope. That makes this one OlderThanRadio.
* RootBeer Racinette A secondary character and later indispensable plot coupon from Gordon Kormans book, "Losing Joe's Place" has a running gag where he gets a new Hobby everyday and later is turned into a variety act by his desperate for money "Friends".
* [[TortallUniverse Keladry]] states that one of her brothers is like this in ''Protector of the Small'', jumping from great-seeming idea to great-seeming idea. There are some who think that Kel forming crushes on three different boys (Nealan, Cleon, and Domitan, though [[spoiler:she only dates Cleon and it never goes very far]]) fits too, but as this was over a period of eight years of her teenagerhood it's somewhat debateable.
* Chet Morton of the HardyBoys. To be more explicative, he has one [[OnceAnEpisode virtually one every book]], which usually ends up being [[ChekhovsGun very important to whatever case the Hardy Boys were investigating]].

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* Sulu from ''StarTrek: The Original Series'' had an interest in botany in one episode (ISTR) and in fencing in another. (Probably just a case of bad continuity, though.) Also, antique firearms.
** The novel ''Death Count'' runs with this, claiming he picks up a new hobby on every shore leave.
** It's WordOfGod, actually. 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]] [[StarTrekXI movie]].
* ''TheBradyBunch'': Greg had sudden hobbies of surfing and photography. Justified in the case of surfing, as Barry Williams was an avid surfer in Real Life; it had just never come up during a plot before.

* One episode of ''StarTrekVoyager'' has Paris getting obsessed with repairing a starship named Alice. It turns out that the ship (who was sentient) telepathically created the obsession so that she can be repaired and taken home.
** Forget not his constantly changing interest in various holodeck simulations. Or his interest in "classical" American history. Or his sudden desire to become a holo-novelist. Or his...

* Ellen of ''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 even vending machine repair in one episode.
* Edina in ''Absolutely Fabulous'' does this, in cycles of 3 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 ''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 BigBangTheory episode where Sheldon looses 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!

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* Larry Butz of the AceAttorney series does this with ''jobs''.

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* [[FamilyGuy Peter Griffin]], lampshaded in recent seasons where his family finds out they can distract him just by bringing up some obscure hobby.
** See also: the Petercopter and the Hindenpeter (exactly what they say on the tin)

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* Averted in ''HarryPotter''. Ron's chess prowess turns out to be [[{{Ptitle1b1m5fiycpie}} Chekhov's Skill]] in the first book, but it never becomes a plot point after that. Nevertheless, Ron's fondness for chess comes up in passing a few times in subsequent books.

* In the BigBangTheory episode where Sheldon looses his job. He claimed that his unemployment finally gave him the time he needed to pusure his interests, but he couldn't stick to one hobby!

* [[TortallUniverse Keladry]] states that one of her brothers is like this in ''Protector of the Small'', jumping from great-seeming idea to great-seeming idea. There are some who think that Kel forming crushes on three different boys over a period of eight years fits too.

* Gus from ''{{Psych}}'' gets new hobbies whenever the plot demands: spelling bees, comics, Spanish soap operas and frenoequionology are a few.

* Chet Morton of the HardyBoys. To be more explicative, he has one [[OnceAnEpisode virtually one every book]], which usually ends up being [[ChekovsGun very important to whatever case the Hardy Boys were investigating]].

* Averted in ''HarryPotter''. Ron's chess prowess turns out to be [[{{Ptitle1b1m5fiycpie}} Chekhov's Skill]] in the first book, but it never becomes a plot point again. Nevertheless, Ron's fondness for chess comes up in passing a few times in subsequent books.

* Played straight in ''{{Adaptation}}'', where the plant expert was formerly an aquarium expert. "Done with fish," as he stated. He was a real person in the non-fiction book on which the movie was based. Sort of.

* Tommy Oliver from the 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 TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete would show up with different passions and/or different jobs.

* [[TortallUniverse Keladry]] states that one of her brothers is like this in ''Protector of the Small''. Kel's love life seems like this too at times.