| 1 | [[center:[-[[Characters/BoJackHorseman Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/BoJackHorsemanMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/BoJackHorsemanBoJackHorseman [=BoJack=] Horseman]]) | [[Characters/BoJackHorsemanTheMainGroupFamilyMembers Main Characters' Family Members]] ([[Characters/BoJackHorsemanBeatriceHorseman Beatrice Horseman]]) | [[Characters/BoJackHorsemanTheMainGroupSocialCircles Main Characters' Social Circles]] | [[Characters/BoJackHorsemanLAResidents Los Angeles Residents]] | '''TV/Movie Crews''' | [[Characters/BoJackHorsemanHollywooBusinesses LA Businesses]] | [[Characters/BoJackHorsemanOtherCharacters Other Characters]] | [[Characters/BoJackHorsemanWorksOfFiction Works of Fiction]]-]]] |
| 2 | ---- |
| 3 | This page covers actors and crew members involved in producing various [[ShowWithinAShow in-universe works of film and television]] in ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'', all of which happen to star [[Characters/BojackHorsemanBoJackHorseman [=BoJack=] Horseman himself]] in every leading role. |
| 4 | ---- |
| 5 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | !!''JustForFun/HorsinAround'' |
| 8 | |
| 9 | !!!'''''Horsin' Around'' cast''' |
| 10 | |
| 11 | [[folder:General]] |
| 12 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1434967307190.jpeg]] |
| 13 | [[caption-width-right:350:L-R clockwise: Bradley, Sarah Lynn, Joelle, [=BoJack=]. Not pictured: Herb and Goo...Rickert? Rick? Randy?]] |
| 14 | ->'''[=BoJack=]:''' Are you scared at all? That if the show takes off, everything's going to change?\ |
| 15 | '''Herb:''' No, I'm not scared, BJ. The future is bright. Just look at it. |
| 16 | -->--'''"[[Recap/BojackHorsemanS2E03StillBroken Still Broken]]"''' |
| 17 | |
| 18 | A quintessential show of TheNineties, ''Horsin' Around'' revolved around The Horse, a bachelor partner-to-be at Libertore & Associates, who's life is turned upside down when he adopts three little orphans: Olivia, a blonde girl and the eldest, Ethan, a ''literal'' redhead middle child and Sabrina, TheBabyOfTheBunch. Running from 1987 to 1996, it was the brainchild of Herb Kazzaz, struggling stand-up comic, starring his good friend [=BoJack=] Horseman and three child actors: Joelle Clarke (Olivia), Bradley Hitler-Smith (Ethan) and Sarah Lynn (Sabrina). Backstage, the show became the epitome of TroubledProduction, with constant fights on set, resentment and backstabbing from all sides, exposure for the child actors to drugs and alcohol and the gradual decay of any good will between the co-stars. By far and large, it stands as a prime example of Hollywood rinse-and-repeat: shows and projects who's emotional impact on its cast matters very little in exchange for instant hits. |
| 19 | ---- |
| 20 | * BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Of the child actors: Joelle is blonde, Sarah Lynn is brunette and Bradley is redheaded. |
| 21 | * BrokenBird: Each and every single one of them have ''had'' rough lives, which has only made the few that still remain alive and in the business bitter and self-deluded. |
| 22 | * CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Herb and Sarah Lynn have been the only two to have died out of the original cast.]] |
| 23 | * CelebrityIsOverrated: See the bad things that have happened to all of these former stars during their peak years listed in here? ''And those are just the ones that have been revealed.'' Only God knows what other skeletons in the closet occurred during those years... |
| 24 | * CorruptTheCutie: Before entering the show business, the cast was formed by caring, normal people who just wanted to make a show and have fun doing it, with the kids being innocent to the sordid business going backstage and [=BoJack=] being an actual NiceGuy, all together similar to a family. [[spoiler: Flashforward 20 years later and all of them, save for [[TheOneWhoMadeItOut Bradley]] and Herb, are attention-starving, selfish and pathetic washouts without any sign improving in the near future.]] |
| 25 | * DividedWeFall: After their fallout during TheNineties, they rarely see each other, with wounds and vendettas being out in the open. The closest thing that the cast has come to a reunion [[spoiler: was at Herb's funeral.]] And even they admit that they probably will only see each other in the funerals to follow. |
| 26 | * DwindlingParty: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Upon their reunion at Herb's funeral, the belligerent cast members can't help but bring up past wounds, even admitting they'll only keep reuniting each funeral. [[spoiler:Of course, Sarah Lynn's wake happens offscreen....]] |
| 27 | * FallenHero: They used to be looked up by people all around the world. Nowadays, they treated as a footnote at best, as a "Do you remember what happened to..?" |
| 28 | * FamilyOfChoice: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Herb, who clearly tries to make sure that they see each other as a surrogate family, making sure they remained together no matter what. [[spoiler: [[TearJerker He failed.]]]] |
| 29 | * FormerChildStar: All of the kid actors, and true to the trope, they're not the most functional beings. Exactly how truly screwed up they are varies. Ranging from mostly functional (Bradley, who casually is no longer an actor) to somewhat functional (Joelle, who opted for theatre and is a good actress) to '''complete and utter train wrecks''' (Sarah Lynn, who plays this so straight it almost hurts to look.) |
| 30 | * AHouseDivided: As the years passed and the program stayed on the air, tensions and rivalries started tearing up the cast of ''Horsin' Around'', not the least of which where the [[SiblingRivalry increasing antagonism between]] Joelle Clarke and Sarah Lynn over the latter's SpotlightStealingSquad focus her character was having over the former's, [=BoJack's=] [[TheCasanova rampant womanizing]] and [[KickTheDog mistreatment of his fellow cast members]], [[spoiler:to the point of [[IBangedYourMom sleeping with Bradley's mother]] and not remembering about later, despite causing Bradley's parents to divorce]]. With [[TeamDad Herb]]'s outing and exit of the show, things [[FromBadToWorse only got worse]]. [[spoiler: In the present day, they barely have any contact.]] |
| 31 | * JadedWashout: The few who have stayed in the business '''''have not acclimated to their current situation very well. |
| 32 | * NothingIsTheSameAnymore: No matter how hard they try or how much they want to mend the bridges, the things they did and said to one another have made impossible a reconciliation. They'll only see each other at another funeral of theirs. |
| 33 | * PartyScattering: After the show ended, each of them went their own separate ways and have refused or declined to reunite or talk to each other. As they say, they'll only see each other in the next funerals to come from now on. |
| 34 | * ThePrimadonna: The ones still in the business pretend to be important and relevant people and make demands as such, much to other people's chagrin. |
| 35 | * TokenGoodTeammate: Bradley, in the present. He's the only one who's not screwed and actually cares about how everything's been going on with everybody. |
| 36 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: All of them were decent and caring individuals, [[HorribleHollywood until Hollywood put them in the grinder]]. The only exception would most likely be [[TokenGoodTeammate Bradley]]. |
| 37 | [[/folder]] |
| 38 | |
| 39 | [[folder:'''[=BoJack=] Horseman''' (as The Horse)]] |
| 40 | [[Characters/BojackHorsemanBojackHorseman See here.]] |
| 41 | [[/folder]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[folder:'''Sarah Lynn''' (as Sabrina)]] |
| 44 | [[Characters/BojackHorsemanTheMainGroupSocialCircles See here.]] |
| 45 | [[/folder]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | [[folder:'''Herb Kazazz''' (as Mr. Libertore; also the Creator & Writer)]] |
| 48 | [[quoteright:122:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4_family.jpg]] |
| 49 | [[caption-width-right:122:[[labelnote:Herb in the present.]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/char_142979.jpg]][[/labelnote]] |
| 50 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/StanleyTucci |
| 51 | ->'''Debut:''' [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS1E04ZoesAndZeldas "Zoes and Zeldas"]]\ |
| 52 | '''Last appearance:''' [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS2E03StillBroken "Still Broken"]] |
| 53 | |
| 54 | [=BoJack's=] old partner in comedy. He created and wrote ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'' which boosted [=BoJack=] to his '90s fame. |
| 55 | ---- |
| 56 | %%Zero Context Example* AllForNothing: See ShootTheShaggyDog below. |
| 57 | * AllGaysArePromiscuous: {{Averted|Trope}}. While Herb is portrayed as gay, he's never really shown as having that much of an active sexual life. Part of why his cover as "straight" works is that one might confuse him as such and he never bothers correcting them. If anything, he's extremely ''discreet'' about it, partly because of personal reasons and partly to avoid unwanted attention brought to him from the public and the network alike. Of course, there's so much he can do to drown those primal urges and [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin the moment he gives in (a public toilet, nonetheless), he's discovered and outed]]. |
| 58 | ** Further evidence happens during his meeting with [=BoJack=] for support. Despite knowing him, the horse thinks this trope might be into play. Herb's reaction when he mentions a [[APartyAlsoKnownAsAnOrgy "party train"]] clues him otherwise. |
| 59 | * AmbiguouslyGay: Initially, since his origin story in "The Telescope" is told from [=BoJack=]'s POV and he comes across as strangely affectionate, but not in a sexual fashion. As the narration continues, Herb starts showing more and more signs of being ''uninterested'' in women and more eager to spend time with [=BoJack=]. It's further muddled when [=BoJack=] is almost kissed by him and Charlotte leaves Herb, arguing "she's not the one he's looking for". It's finally revealed he is '''at the worst possible time'''. |
| 60 | * AshesToCrashes: His ashes [[ItMakesSenseInContext end up going to Princess Carolyn after her speech at his funeral]], and the urn is broken at some point. |
| 61 | * BaldnessMeansSickness: Herb Kazazz is a bald man with cancer. Flashbacks reveal him to have had a full beard and a full head of hair. |
| 62 | * TheBear: The personification of a BigBeautifulMan (even if he was quite short) and with such a grip on his StraightGay persona nobody could predict until his own indiscretions caught up with him. |
| 63 | * BigBeautifulMan: In TheEighties, Herb was chubby but far from being overweight, with his jolly energy, acerbic wit and easy going personality giving him a larger than life aura that naturally would attract many toward him, either as admiration or just plain attraction, even if he'd often fail to care the appreciation others gave him or be blind to those who would be fond of him in different ways than those he'd prefer. |
| 64 | * BigFun: He used to be a little chubby and with an easy-going and friendly personality to accompany it. |
| 65 | * CelibateHero: {{Invoked|Trope}}. Herb never made much of love and sexuality, only having Charlotte as a girlfriend on-screen and as TheBeard to top it off. He did this by necessity as he needed to have a squeaky clean image to run his show and being gay in TheNineties was an death sentence for any career and social life. {{Deconstructed|Trope}} later on, as being aware of his sexuality and forced to repress it causes Herb to explode at the worst possible moment and the worst possible place. |
| 66 | * CowardiceCallout: When giving [=BoJack=] TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about what a horrible, pretentious person he is, Herb calls him a "selfish, goddamn coward", and [=BoJack's=] feeble effort to defend himself only proves Herb's point. |
| 67 | * DeathByIrony: He ends crashing into a truck loaded with peanuts just mere minutes after being informed that he no longer has cancer. |
| 68 | * ConfirmedBachelor: [=BoJack=] cites this as one of the clues for him finding out he was gay: Herb never married at any point, seems more interested at work and one-night stands and the only woman he had as a girlfriend was Charlotte, whom he barely paid attention. |
| 69 | * CoolOldGuy: In his later days, Herb hasn't really changed that much. |
| 70 | * CreatorBacklash: In-universe. By the time of season 2 (slightly before his death), he hates [[ClicheStorm "Horsin' Around"]] with a passion, wanting to leave something more meaningful as his legacy. |
| 71 | * CripplingOverspecialization: Seems like all of those years writing hacky comedy for his sitcom affected his writing style. Everybody agrees his novel is terrible. |
| 72 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[BlackComedy Played for dark humor]]. Crashing into a truck after proclaiming you're [[TemptingFate "Going to live forever"]], then surviving long enough to succumb to a peanut allergy while being unable to move - except apparently to ''tweet'' about it - is not a good way to go. |
| 73 | * DeadpanSnarker: An aficionado in his younger years, a master in his old age. |
| 74 | -->''Please, come in. You're letting out all the cancer.'' |
| 75 | * DeathByIrony: His cancer was finally in remission... and then he crashed into a truck full of peanuts, which he was deathly allergic to. |
| 76 | * DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheMentor, the OldMaster and the ObsoleteMentor. To be specific, how one goes from being the first to the second to the last. |
| 77 | ** Herb starts as ''only slightly'' more experienced than [=BoJack=] in the L.A. comedy scene, which doesn't take away the fact that he's far more mature and stable which enables him to learn the trade faster. As such, he sees himself as a guide for those who might have talent, but need encouragement. Both, as mentor and apprentice, navigate the waters to find success. |
| 78 | ** As ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'' begins production, he takes upon himself to be the show runner and keep the show (and the cast) on track. Besides his friendship (and mentorship) with BJ, Herb gets to know the child actors Sarah, Bradley and Joelle and emphasizes the idea of the cast being a family with everyone having each other's back. However, as reality sets in, stress and responsibilities make Herb increasingly lose himself. He's getting fatter, balder and more demanding of each aspect of production: he's cut out to pull this through, but increasingly sees little reason to do so beyond the cast and the money. Eventually, he's kicked out by giving into weakness in a one-time, but major way. And little to nobody stands up for him because they need the jobs (practical reasons) and his status as the boss has cracked the relationships between him and the cast and crew (personal reasons). |
| 79 | ** Even as Herb was kicked out, he still kept in touch with everyone (except [=BoJack=]). As years went on, however, Herb's old fashioned values clashed with everyone's development as they leaned more and more to personal self-interest rather than ideals of "compassion" and "family": Joelle became resentful of being out of the spotlight, Sarah Lynn felt isolated and unloved and Bradley wished he had a meager light to flash on to him. All of this mashed up for them to ignore Herb and his solid, but unpractical advice. Of course, Herb may have gone for ideals, but he was never fully proved wrong as in spite of being exiled and seeing as his former friends didn't have use for him anymore, Herb just kept growing in other areas away from showbiz, even if he grew increasingly frustrated and bitter at his wasted years. Both sides were headed toward different directions and while one side learned to juggle his crappiness in an intimate level, the others could have done better balancing their EnlightenedSelfInterest with confronting their issues and hanging on to their better sides. |
| 80 | ** By the end of his life, Herb has become bitter, reclusive, a curmudgeon whose mirror reflexion lives on the L.A. hillside, forever resentful of who he was, the things he did and how he was screwed by people and life. His novel was in private a cringe embarrassment who'll burn to retain his "poor" legacy in his eyes: ''H.A.'', a sitcom from which he was fired and lost all form of control and effective contact with his castmembers. In paper, it sounds a bitter end to a bitter life. Except he never fully lost contact with the ''H.A.'' crew...even if he gradually saw little point in trying to do so and dish out advice unless he needed them. He took part in events and N.G.O.s...even if he went there to shoot the shit rather than any activism. He continued living...even if he made no secret how much of a snarky, grumpy ass he had become. Becoming a washout in the eyes of the public, Herb never really burn out or lost any of the much needed wisdom nobody might needed but could use to listen if they had the chance. Nor does this take away from his senseless death and meaningless body of work besides a classic sitcom. Not one or the other, just a mentor who'd grown old and learned his lessons very well, even if he knew nobody would ever pay attention. |
| 81 | * DepravedHomosexual: Far from the image, but the time period being TheNineties and the panic massive, this is how the public ends up perceiving Herb like. During the interviews shown in [=MSNBSea=], one of the conservative rallied people comments on how "[his] family should be able to watch [''JustForFun/HorsinAround''] without men like perv Kazzaz flaunting their alternative lifestyles and ruining America". |
| 82 | * TheDogBitesBack: He refuses to give [=Bojack=] the peace of mind that would come with forgiveness in life, saying he would have if the horse had just been his friend. And for what it's worth, Angela is implied to have become alone and miserable since she intimidated [=BoJack=] into saying nothing. |
| 83 | * DueToTheDead: Even if one hasn't seen him in a while, the other three intermittently and the last one wasn't welcome on his last days, Charlotte, Bradley, Joelle, Sarah Lynn and [=BoJack=] still show up to pay their respect to Herb. |
| 84 | * TheEeyore: Oddly mixed with SadClown (which he always was). Herb makes a big deal when BJ and Diane show up at the door, joking about his disease and just acting like it's just like old days. However, in between the lines, there's clear bitterness and resentment ooze in every line, even if he doesn't let it drag him down completely (key word: [[GrumpyOldMan completely]]). His decayed appearance and generally joyless disposition just hammers it home. |
| 85 | * AFatherToHisMen: Best shown in the flashbacks the cast of Horsing Around have of him after his demise. |
| 86 | * ForcedOutOfTheCloset: He never intended to reveal his sexuality, only doing so after being arrested on indecency charges. |
| 87 | * {{Forgiveness}}: Granted, it's part of a dream but [[spoiler:in the afterlife dinner party where [=BoJack=] learns that he is drowning in his old pool, Herb is very kind and reassuring to him. One interpretation is that if this is the real afterlife then Herb has made peace with his life and the people who hurt him. because it doesn't matter anymore. Another is that [=Bojack=]'s subconscious manifested Herb to help the horse come to terms with his impending death so he would have no regrets]]. |
| 88 | * FormerlyFat: He was rather bulky in the 90s only to become very skinny in his final years due to his body deteriorating from cancer. |
| 89 | * FormerlyFit: Relatively thin in the 80s, he gained a fatter appearance in the 90s. |
| 90 | * GayBestFriend: To [=BoJack=], although he was initially unaware of it. |
| 91 | * GetBackInTheCloset: The minute Herb's sexuality ends up being revealed in a quite unfortunate manner, thousands of people protest his employment and work on a family-friendly {{sitcom}} like ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'', arguing that [[ThinkOfTheChildren children shouldn't be exposed]] to the [[DeliberateValuesDissonance "kind of depravities homosexuals do"]], culminating in the studio firing Herb to save face. |
| 92 | * GiftedlyBad: He was deeply passionate about the book he was writing despite the fact that everyone who read the manuscript agreed that it was terrible. He even writes out ellipses as "Dot Dot Dot". |
| 93 | * HairTodayGoneTomorrow: His hairline was receding in the 90s, and in the present day his hair has fallen out from chemotherapy. |
| 94 | * HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: When he almost kisses [=BoJack=] after the studio executives pick up Horsin' Around, he immediately backpedals, arguing it was just the "excitement of the moment". |
| 95 | * TheHeart: Herb was the glue that held Joelle, Bradley, Sarah Lynn, and [=BoJack=] together as a sort of surrogate family. [[spoiler:After he was kicked out of the show and isolated from the Hollywoo bubble, each cast member's bitterness causes everything to fall apart. What's sadder is before that, BJ and he had drifted so far apart and the children had grown so far apart that this was bound to happen one way or the other.]] |
| 96 | * HomoeroticSubtext: With [=BoJack=]. It's one-sided, though, since he's gay. |
| 97 | * TheHeckler: Plays the part of one during [=BoJack=]'s first stand-up night to see if the NewMeat is gonna collapse the first chance he gets. |
| 98 | * HopeSpot: He managed to beat cancer, only to die in a car accident as he [[TooDumbToLive tweeted while driving]]. |
| 99 | * InMemoriam: In-universe example with the orphanage [=BoJack=] [[TyopOnTheCover (badly)]] names after him. |
| 100 | * IncompatibleOrientation: During the excitement of a network picking up ''Horsin' Around'', Herb [[AlmostKiss tries to kiss [=BoJack=].]] He declines, citing that he's heterosexual. |
| 101 | * InterruptedIntimacy: The reason behind Herb fall from grace in Hollywood and firing was being arrested for indecent exposure by going down in a lemur in a public bathroom. |
| 102 | * IWasQuiteALooker: Not handsome, but definitely attractive, at least compared to what he looks like now. |
| 103 | * JerkassHasAPoint: The points Herb made after his RejectedApology to [=BoJack=] become even more apparent after [[spoiler:TheReveal of how Sarah Lynn died and [=BoJack=]'s arrest]]: |
| 104 | ** Perhaps the most important point he brings up is that the mistakes [=BoJack=] make will NEVER be okay and he has to live with all the shitty things he did for the rest of his life. [[spoiler: Once all the details regarding his involvement in Sarah Lynn's death became public knowledge, [=BoJack=] becomes HatedByAll of Hollywoo, ruining his career in the process. Even during his trial after he got arrested, several MORE people brought up how he ruined their lives, meaning they never forgot about what he did to them after all this time, further cementing this.]] |
| 105 | ** Considering how often [=BoJack=] deflects blame onto others to the point even ''[[BadBoss Angela]]'' lampshades his NeverMyFault attitude, Herb is right to point out that [=BoJack=] is indeed selfish and uses people as a prop for him to feel better. |
| 106 | ** While it's not for a lack of trying as [=BoJack=] is genuinely trying to become a better person, him fracturing his relationship with Herb and Charlotte just to name a few, having to maintain more distance in his friendships with Todd, Mr. Peanutbutter and Princess Carolyn due to his toxicity, up to the point of DELIBERATELY [[spoiler: waiting 17 minutes to call an ambulance for Sarah Lynn]], [=BoJack=] is indeed not a good person, despite thinking otherwise. To make matters worse, the latter event eventually causes [[spoiler:Hollyhock]] to [[spoiler:change her phone number and go away from [=BoJack=]]], essentially cutting ties with him, and it even extends to [[spoiler:Diane]] about to do the EXACT same. |
| 107 | ** Again, not for a lack of trying as he genuinely regrets everything about [[spoiler:Sarah Lynn's death]], but [[spoiler:making a cover story just to cover for himself instead of calling the ambulance]] proves [=BoJack=] doesn't really care about who he hurts as much as he thinks. |
| 108 | * JustJokingJustification: When [=BoJack=] and Diane come to visit him while he is sick from cancer, Herb is obviously still ''very'' bitter about everything that happened between him and [=BoJack=] and is in full-on PassiveAggressiveKombat mode against him, but constantly tries to pass his barrage of extremely stinging and venomous insults off as being merely jokes and japes between old friends. |
| 109 | * KnightOfCerebus: While the series started out as a comedy with some dramatic moments, Herb Kazzaz was what started the show's transition into a dramedy that deconstructed television tropes and dealt with issues such as existentialism and mental illness. While not a villain per say, his refusal to forgive [=BoJack=] for stabbing him in the back all those years ago, even as he's dying of cancer, as well as calling him out on his behavior, was undoubtedly the heaviest the show had gotten at the time. And to make matters worse, this was their last interaction before Kazzaz died. Despite having passed away by Season 2, the encounter would stick with [=BoJack=] throughout the series and kick start his CharacterDevelopment, as well as his doubt as to if he's a good person; leading to even more depressing and devastating storylines along the way. |
| 110 | * LifeWillKillYou: Herb was originally diagnosed with rectal cancer and as he made a turnaround, he died in a (weirdly normal) car accident. Besides natural death, it doesn't get any more average than that. |
| 111 | * LooksLikeCesare: His appearance in later years. Cancer has done a job on his looks. |
| 112 | * TheMentor: He was this to [=BoJack=] on his early days of stand-up. |
| 113 | * NiceGuy: At least when he was younger, he was very kind and friendly to [=BoJack=]. He also had a soft spot for the child actors on his show. Even in the present, he admits that he was willing to accept being fired, and was genuinely crushed about being abandoned by everyone, [[EtTuBrute including [=BoJack=]]]. |
| 114 | * NothingButSkinAndBones: His appearance in 2014 is phantasmagorical to say the least. He is sickly pale, thin as a stick and has to hold on to his IV drop as a makeshift cane to even walk. |
| 115 | * NotTheIllnessThatKilledHim: After being told that his cancer is in remission, he crashes into a truck while [[TemptingFate tweeting that he's gonna "live forever"]] and is buried by its payload of peanuts, which causes him to suffer a fatal allergic reaction. |
| 116 | * OldMaster: Older than [=BoJack=] and more experienced, he took him under his wing for the art of stand-up and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] his status as one. |
| 117 | * ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: When [=BoJack=] and his former co-stars try to access his computer, Joelle has a flashback to a conversation she had with him over the phone shortly after he was let go from the show. In it, after he overhears Joelle blow Sarah Lynn away, he tells her to be nice to her, and to always remember the word "family". This leads her to have an epiphany and to confidently say out the correct password: ''password''. This technology still plays it straight, being a far more mundane example. |
| 118 | * PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:Season 6 reveals that Herb knew that Angela was planning on firing him and was going to try and talk [=BoJack=] into not leaving in protest. Had [=BoJack=] came to him and explained his meeting with Angela instead of distancing himself, it's likely that Herb would have explained that she was bluffing and their relationship wouldn't have been ruined.]] |
| 119 | * ThePowerOfLegacy: His desires be damned, Winkler and Tina decide to steal and make sure Herb's novel is never published, to let people remember him fondly as the creator of ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'' instead of a shitty writer no one wants to read. Of course, the line between this and Horsin' Around is very thin, with public acceptance being the key difference. |
| 120 | * PrecisionFStrike: Gives one during his first TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to [=BoJack=] about how the horse is only apologizing to make himself feel better and how [=BoJack=]'s betrayal truly hurt him, before telling the horse to get the '''''fuck''''' out of his house. |
| 121 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: |
| 122 | ** Gives [=BoJack=] a particularly brutal one. |
| 123 | --->'''Herb:''' I'm not gonna give you closure. You don't get that. You have to live with the shitty thing you did for the rest of your life. You have to know that it's never, ''ever'' going to be okay! I'm dying! I'm not gonna feel better! And I'm not gonna be your prop so ''you'' can feel better! Do you know what it was like for me? I had nobody. Everybody left! I knew all those showbiz phonies would turn on me, sure. [[EtTuBrute But]] ''[[EtTuBrute you]]''? I don't care about the job! I did fine! I had a good life, but what I needed then was... a friend. And you abandoned me. [[RejectedApology And I will]] ''[[RejectedApology never]]'' [[ThisIsUnforgivable forgive you for that.]] [[GetOut Now get the]] [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] out of my house! |
| 124 | ** He also gives [=BoJack=] a second, more bitter one, before [=BoJack=] leaves, along with a comeback to his spiteful response. |
| 125 | --->'''Herb:''' Know what your problem is? You want to think of yourself as the good guy. Well, I know you better than anyone, and I can tell you that you're not. In fact, you'd probably sleep a lot better at night if you just admitted to yourself that you're a selfish goddamn coward who just takes whatever he wants and doesn't give a ''shit'' about who he hurts. That's you. That's [=BoJack=] Horseman.\ |
| 126 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' I don't know why I came here.\ |
| 127 | '''Herb:''' [[InsultBackfire Yeah]]... ''[[WrongGenreSavvy You do]]''. |
| 128 | * RejectedApology: Included in the speech. Wanting to teach [=BoJack=] the hard way that in real life, he can't expect what he's hoping for. |
| 129 | * RuleOfSymbolism: In "Still Broken", there are four individual flashbacks from the POV of the Horsin' Around cast about a heartfelt talk each of them had with Herb at different points in time. The earliest is the one with [=BoJack=], where both of them were still idealistic and free about making the show and the cast treating each other as family. The second one is with Bradley, when cracks have started to surface between the cast, Bradley's preoccupations about the closeness of his mother with [=BoJack=] implying darker days to come. The third one is with Joelle, as Herb has been fired from his show and his voice of reason is fading away with the vendettas between the cast only getting deeper. The last one is with Sarah Lynn, which shows Herb slowly decaying from cancer with Sarah Lynn too wrapped up with her business to pay him any attention to what he's trying to say. Beginnings, peaks and decay. |
| 130 | * ShipTease: Herb kisses [=BoJack=] in a moment of passion in a flashback and is seen trying to kiss him again in another flashback implying he had romantic feelings. |
| 131 | * ShootTheShaggyDog: He recovers from his cancer? He crashes into a truck and dies a painful death. His legacy? A crappy, yet beloved sitcom he grew to hate and a bunch of characters who despite his [[FamilyOfChoice best intentions]], haven't talked to each other in years. And his book, whom he hoped could revindicate him, is considered garbage and will probably burn in a fire, never to be published. Yeah. That last one was done by some big-name celebrities [[ShootTheDog who just wanted to keep his reputation from getting even worse]]. |
| 132 | * SmallNameBigEgo: Though he ''did'' get rich as a writer, something he's quite proud of, it eventually becomes apparent that he isn't a very good one, or got worse after years writing sitcoms, given that his only notable work were a schmaltzy sitcom, and a "serious" book so terrible that those who knew about it conspired to keep it hidden. |
| 133 | * SinkOrSwimMentor: Be it ordering Sarah Lynn to clean up for an important matter, giving space to Joelle for sorting out her issues with Sarah Lynn or just plain telling the truth to [=BoJack=] about not being a great actor, Herb never goes for temporary solutions. |
| 134 | * StraightGay: And the discovery of his sexuality led to him [[DeliberateValuesDissonance getting kicked out of showbiz]]. |
| 135 | * SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[KilledOffScreen Dies off-screen]] between seasons, but still appears in flashbacks. |
| 136 | * TeacherStudentRomance: It's [[ImpliedTrope implied]] that he was aiming for this with [=BoJack=] when he tried to kissed him. When rejected, though, they still remain friends. |
| 137 | * ThisIsUnforgivable: He refuses to give [=BoJack=] any closure due to [=BoJack=]'s abandonment of him. |
| 138 | * TooDumbToLive: Texting while driving? Really, Herb? |
| 139 | * TookALevelInJerkass: Years after breaking their friendship, Herb became ''very'' bitter towards [=BoJack=], [[BrutalHonesty and doesn't hide his deep disdain for him]], [[JerkassHasAPoint but not his reasons for why, either]]. |
| 140 | * ToughLove: In [=BoJack=]'s first night as a stand-up comedian, he [[TheHeckler booes and heckles him]] to see [[SecretTestOfCharacter how he handles the pressure]]. |
| 141 | * TransparentCloset: Even before being outed, Herb didn't make a lot of effort on putting appearances, as detailed on ConfirmedBachelor above. |
| 142 | * TrueCompanions: He tried to be this with the cast of Horsin' Around, emphasizing that they needed to be a family both on and off camera. |
| 143 | * WeUsedToBeFriends: Herb and [=BoJack=]'s friendship dissolved when the former was caught in a scandal and [=BoJack=] failed to convince the higher-ups from firing him. In Herb's words, it wasn't the fact that [=BoJack=] didn't stand up for him to the execs, but that afterwards he never supported him in his time of need that hurt the most. |
| 144 | * YouAllShareMyStory: Bradley, Joelle and Sarah Lynn's memories of their last talk to him help them discover what was the thing Herb wanted them to do after his death: publish his novel. |
| 145 | * YourDaysAreNumbered: He's dying of cancer, which is why [=BoJack=] wants closure before he loses the chance. |
| 146 | [[/folder]] |
| 147 | |
| 148 | [[folder:'''Joelle Clarke''' (as Olivia)]] |
| 149 | |
| 150 | [[quoteright:170:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a564eaef_3fbb_412e_9f7e_7bb384b6694f.png]] |
| 151 | [[caption-width-right:170:[[labelnote:Joelle in the present]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/88c550d9_de6e_4a18_835e_efa63065b0f8.png]][[/labelnote]] |
| 152 | |
| 153 | ->'''Played by:''' Alison Brie |
| 154 | |
| 155 | The actress who played Olivia, the Horse's teenage adopted human daughter, on ''Horsin' Around''. After the show ended she went to England to become a stage actress. |
| 156 | ---- |
| 157 | * AlwaysSecondBest: A constant in her life. Back when ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'' was just starting, Joelle didn't mind sharing the fame with Sarah Lynn, [=BoJack=] and Bradley, even acting as a surrogate sister toward Sarah Lynn; when the latter gained the public's love and adoration, Joelle grew resentful of her popularity and success because it meant she was often shoved into the spotlight and given the best material to work with. Nowadays, however, she's shown to still be second fiddle to other stars, something she has bitterly come to accept as her impossibility to be lead in any form. |
| 158 | * BaitAndSwitch: During [[TheFunInFuneral "Still]] [[MeaningfulFuneral Broken"]], Joelle remembers one of her last talks with Herb when trying to find the password to his computer. Herb ends up mentioning that [[DoubleSpeak "family" is the most important thing]], leading Joelle to discover the real password: [[ShapedLikeItself password.]] |
| 159 | * BigSisterBully: As her character Olivia receded into the background while Sabrina was given more focus, Joelle started behaving more condescending and dismissive of Sarah-Lynn, even as the latter tried to keep things friendly with her. Eventually, both mutually hated each other, with Joelle acting more cold and haughty and Sarah Lynn hot-tempered and hateful. |
| 160 | * BigSisterInstinct: How Joelle would feel and act in her relationship with Sarah Lynn in the early days of ''JustForFun/HorsinAround''. After Sarah Lynn's character started gaining popularity (despite Joelle's [[InformedAttribute acting talent]]), Joelle appeared to somehow take back her kindness, acting more condescending to her over the years. |
| 161 | * ChewingTheScenery: She always does this. '''At every opportunity.''' |
| 162 | * ClassicallyTrainedExtra: Ever since the end of the show, Joelle moved from the small screen to stage productions in London. Unfortunately, in spite of her taking on a British accent and boasting about her importance on any kind of theatre play, she's mostly relegated to supporting roles. |
| 163 | * CountryMatters: She insults Sarah Lynn this way. She defends its use by saying that [[YourNormalIsOurTaboo it's more common on England.]] |
| 164 | * CultureClash: No one took well Joelle's [[CountryMatters choice of words]] toward Sarah Lynn during their tense reunion. |
| 165 | * DramaQueen: Since the show ended, she's been making a living at theater. If she was already a bit melodramatic back in the day, her hammy tendencies and overreactive nature has been amplified. Add a little bit of ClassicallyTrainedExtra and resenting issues with her co-star Sarah Lynn and you've got a shrieking actress who thinks no kind of work is above her, regardless of how fit she's to play it. |
| 166 | * FakeBrit: In-universe, in her adult life as a stage actress she has adopted a British accent. |
| 167 | * FatBitch: Has gained a bit of weight in the present and become quite haughty. |
| 168 | * FormerlyFit: As Sarah Lynn notes in Season 2, Joelle has put on a significant amount of weight. |
| 169 | * GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: She smokes from a holster like a high class woman and she's a {{jerkass}}. |
| 170 | * TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: A strange version of this with her ''on-screen'' sister, Sarah Lynn, who was the extroverted, fan-favorite Pretty to Joelle's serious, more dramatically talented Smart. (even though both girls are attractive and intelligent). |
| 171 | * GreenEyedMonster: Her dismissive attitude towards Sarah Lynn can be seen as pettiness over her popularity during ''H.A.'' 's heyday. It doesn't help that Sarah Lynn's career skyrocketed since upon her shift into music, while Joelle mostly faded into obscurity (despite performing on the West End). |
| 172 | * ImmigrantPatriotism: Given her accent and defensive attitude towards the [[CountryMatters Country Matters]] above, she seems to have embraced the British way of life. A lot of good it has done to her career. |
| 173 | * JadedWashout: An actress with a poor résumé of stage roles, metric tons of self-delusion and a buried self-awareness of how much her life is but a shadow of her hopes when younger. |
| 174 | * LargeHam: Mostly by profession, always by choice. |
| 175 | * MilkingTheGiantCow: Courtesy of being a LargeHam by profession. |
| 176 | * ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: She finds out that Herb's password is simply "password". |
| 177 | * SiblingRivalry: With Sarah Lynn, due to the excessive (in Joelle's eyes) [[SpotlightStealingSquad focus]] the show had on her in [[SeasonalRot later years]]. Years later, they haven't let go and still behave like competitive sisters. |
| 178 | * YouAllShareMyStory: Bradley, Joelle and Sarah Lynn's memories of their last talk to him help them discover what was the thing Herb wanted them to do after his death: publish his novel. |
| 179 | * YouAreFat: It really says something about her relationship she has with Sarah Lynn that this is the first thing she tells her when they see each other after 17+ years. She's less than amused, to say the least. |
| 180 | ** Given a slight CerebusRetcon in Season 3 where after filming one episode built on fat-shaming jokes, she developed an eating disorder that got so bad she missed five episodes during her time in a clinic. |
| 181 | [[/folder]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder:'''Bradley Hitler-Smith''' (as Ethan)]] |
| 184 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9d2ab813_abb0_420b_9eb3_2f6aaae9053c.jpeg]] |
| 185 | |
| 186 | ->'''Played by:''' Adam Conover |
| 187 | |
| 188 | The actor who played Ethan, the Horse's adopted human son, on ''Horsin' Around''. After the show ended, he became the owner of the largest hardware store in Olympia, Washington. |
| 189 | ---- |
| 190 | * ArchEnemy: Jeff from Hammers and More, judging by his resigned tone when he thinks he's called him again [[spoiler:to mock him over his proposed idea of ''[[SequelSeries Ethan Around]]''.]] |
| 191 | * BackInTheSaddle: [[spoiler:He's pushing for a comeback at the small screen in season 3.]] |
| 192 | * ButtMonkey: Initially {{downplayed|Trope}}, this comes in full force when [[spoiler:he tries to pitch his idea for a SpinOffspring SequelSeries to ''JustForFun/HorsinAround''. It's clear he doesn't have what it takes to make it into Hollywoo and is often given false starts only to have the rug swept from underneath at the last moment, with bad consequences. As a certain veteran'd put it, he's [[Film/TheBigLebowski just out of his element]].]] |
| 193 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: Bradley is so interested in a ''Horsin' Around'' spin-off, he suffers this ''twice''. The first time, he insists [=BoJack=] about working on it, but he wasn't exactly interested. When they finally go through with it, [[spoiler: [=BoJack=] bails after going through a traumatic experience mid-recording, pretty much endangering the show.]] |
| 194 | * DistractedByTheSexy: Why he preferred being in the background during the episode where Series/{{Baywatch}}'s Erika Eleniak appeared....holding on his groin with a firm grip. |
| 195 | * FormerChildStar: He managed to avoid the pitfalls of this by getting out of show business after the show ended and ended up as a relatively successful business owner. |
| 196 | * ForgettableCharacter: Not on the level of Goobeaahh--Ricky? Reggie? Y'know, the other guy, but it's not difficult for him to tether closely with the Goob not part of the group anymore. |
| 197 | ** It takes a while for Sarah Lynn to remember who he was and why he was following them (though the ketamine was losing its hook, so it could be taken with a grain of salt) and [=BoJack=] has a hard time remembering who his mother was, let alone he did the deed in spite of having banged her somewhere like two decades ago. |
| 198 | ** [[spoiler:Ana actually [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this against him: Since he's so bland, there's no possible way for him to sell a show based around his character Ethan and she tells him in no finite amount of details.]] |
| 199 | * FormerlyFit: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. He's not fat, but he's gained some weight since his teenage years. |
| 200 | * HairTodayGoneTomorrow: In the present, he has a receding hairline. |
| 201 | * HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Besides having the role most could describe as their least favorite of the orphans in ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'' with an unpopular catchphrase to boot, his parents divorced when he was little due to his mom sleeping with [=BoJack=] (something the horse doesn't even remember!). Not to say of how he was ignored and humiliated by his co-stars, with the RagingStiffie incident on set an embarrassing example. |
| 202 | * IBangedYourMom: The reason why his parents divorced was because [=BoJack=] slept with his mom. When Bradley casually confronts him about it, he doesn't remember [[ButForMeItWasTuesday how his mother looked.]] |
| 203 | * MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Not as isolated as Goober and sadly not as wacky and more out of the game than the rest of the cast, Bradley is often the one left in the corner while the rest argue, talk or discuss inside Hollywoo(d) knowledge and/or rumors. It doesn't help that compared to them, he's been long out of the business, his character of Ethan was never as popular as The Horse, Sabrina or even Olivia (partly because of an awful catchphrase he often had to utter to the annoyance of the rest and his character being perceived as an uninteresting egghead) and because of his unassuming appearance (he looks more like a slightly chubby family man than the nerd he used to be). Tellingly, it takes for Sarah Lynn to come down to realize he's been following them and the rest often forget he's there (except [=BoJack=] who speaks to him to find out who was his mother and to see if they can get his pitch off the ground). |
| 204 | * NerdGlasses: A pair that only accentuate his "normal" or "average" status in Hollywoo, contrasting his image in TheNineties when he was a nerd. |
| 205 | * NotSoAboveItAll: [[spoiler:Season 3 reveals that despite his seeming acceptance of his new life outside acting, he's secretly been wanting to get back in the spotlight by writing a sequel series to ''Horsin' Around'' focused on Ethan and is willing to throw away his entire life to accomplish that dream.]] |
| 206 | * OnlySaneMan: Of all the former Horsin' Around cast, Bradley grew up to be the most well-adjusted of the group, lacking any real eccentricities compared to the others. Helps that he's the only one who's no longer an actor. |
| 207 | * TheOneWhoMadeItOut: The only one who retired as an actor after the show and as such, the one with the least issues. |
| 208 | * RagingStiffie: Apparently had a CelebrityCrush on [[Series/{{Baywatch}} Erika Eleniak]] and when she guest starred on an episode of one of the later seasons of ''Horsin' Around'' he had a boner for the entire episode. |
| 209 | * SelfMadeMan: He runs a pretty successful hardware store in Olympia. And he seems quite well off economically. |
| 210 | * TheSmartGuy: Of the group formed by Joelle, Sarah Lynn, [=BoJack=] and himself, he's the one who operates the computer. |
| 211 | * TheUnfavorite: ''Oh yes''. While Sarah Lynn and Joelle squabbled over first place, Bradley as Ethan was more tolerated than beloved by viewers. |
| 212 | * UnfortunateNames: '''Hitler'''-Smith. |
| 213 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:The fate of ''Ethan Around'' gets absolutely no follow-up in season 4 after [=BoJack=] ran off the set in the season 3 finale and vanished for over a year.]] |
| 214 | * YouAllShareMyStory: Bradley, Joelle and Sarah Lynn's memories of their last talk to him help them discover what was the thing Herb wanted them to do after his death: publish his novel. |
| 215 | * YouthfulFreckles: Had these as a child and teenager. |
| 216 | [[/folder]] |
| 217 | |
| 218 | [[folder:'''Richie Osborne''' (as Goober)]] |
| 219 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/richie_osborne.png]] |
| 220 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/FredSavage |
| 221 | |
| 222 | The actor who played Goober on ''Horsin' Around'', now the owner of Whale World. |
| 223 | ---- |
| 224 | * AffablyEvil: ZigZagged. He has come a long way from the LovableRogue Goober to a threatening drug dealer. His charm hasn't gone away, even it's diluted with a slimy aftertaste. Personable and professional, so long as he presents himself as such in an indirect way: TV ads can add a drop of friendliness to even the most brightly seedy of nightclubs. In person, his moral ethos can go either way: he can be disappointed someone he thought close doesn't remember him just as much as he can hold them hostage at gunpoint. |
| 225 | * TheAggressiveDrugDealer: In spite of handling large scale drug distribution, Osborne deals personally with threats and acts more like a low-level soldier with a anxious but nasty streak, even if he mostly uses proxies and handles out samples in his joints. |
| 226 | * ArcVillain: Of "[=BoJack=] Kills". |
| 227 | * BadBoss: He's very tight around his strippers/hookers' schedules (e.g. refusing to let Skinny Gina use her cellphone during working hours) and supplies them with drug samples (usually intended for customers) to sell to patrons without checking out their personal consumption. |
| 228 | * BaldOfEvil: Long gone is his teenage blonde mullet, replaced with a shaved head worthy of a skinhead. |
| 229 | * BeardOfEvil: A goatee with a contrasting shiny head, the perfect look for a strip club owner/drug dealer. |
| 230 | * BlackComedyRape: He became infamous (and a laughing stock) for his scandal of flashing a group of Laker girls. |
| 231 | * ButtMonkey: He's not really in a better position than the rest, despite appearing to be doing well: besides his scandals like the Laker girls indecent exposure incident, he was one of the few in the ''H.A.'' cast who never found any kind of support or legal and professional success like the others (tellingly, he's the only one Herb never really mentored or interacted with). His later actions suggest he grew desperate to get any kind of money beyond show royalties to the point of becoming a career criminal. To all of this, he's haunted by his failures, constant need to scrape cash and the fact nobody, even the cast he worked with for 9 years, remembers who he is. That, and his schemes keep him in a constant in-and-out of jail. |
| 232 | * ChekhovsBoomerang: His drug, [=BoJack=]. The actual horse keeps one of the samples in the glove compartment, [[spoiler:which is where Sarah Lynn finds it when she and BJ go on a bender and it's this precise dose that kills her. Nadia was right: [=BoJack=] kills.]] |
| 233 | * CoolShades: Still rocking them after all these years. Not so much in sunlight but an accessory is an accessory. |
| 234 | * DevilInPlainSight: From the moment he appears on-screen, there's no doubt he's a bad guy. When he turns out to be tangentially involved with Nadia's death and the drug [=BoJack=], it's only a matter of time before his full complicity is revealed. |
| 235 | * DueToTheDead: No matter how much they distanced from each other, Richie still shows up at Herb's funeral to pay his respects. |
| 236 | * EarlyBirdCameo: He first appears as an adult in [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS2E03StillBroken "Still Broken"]] at Herb's funeral. |
| 237 | * EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: "Goober". Always "Goober". He has even used it as part of his commercials for Whale World, but he doesn't really like it, being frustrated by the fact his co-stars have never learned his real name. |
| 238 | * EvilFormerFriend: Then again, he was never that much of friends with the rest of the cast. |
| 239 | * FormerChildStar: Went from a DropInCharacter on a cheesy sitcom to the owner of a ([[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids somehow family-friendly]]) strip club/drug ring. |
| 240 | * TheFriendNobodyLikes: After the show ended, everyone went their separate ways and rarely met for the next 20 years, fighting whenever they had to interact for more than 10 minutes. That Osborne was the only one never included in their reunions or discussion of future projects speaks by itself, not figuring as part of the "family". They didn't, don't and never care what he does and haven't even learned his real name, Richie, instead preferring to refer to him as "Goober". |
| 241 | * GivenNameReveal: As underwhelming as you can get. [[spoiler:When he's arrested, Officer Meow Meow Fuzzyface reveals Osborne's real name as he's handcuffed. [=BoJack=], failing to get it right the first few times, then remembers that was his name and then:]] |
| 242 | -->'''[=BoJack=]''': Oh, right, Reggie.\ |
| 243 | '''Richie Osborne''': ''(dismayed)'' Richie.\ |
| 244 | '''[=BoJack=]''': That's what I said. I said Rickie. |
| 245 | * HarmfulToMinors: He promotes his "gentleman's club" Whale World as a family affair where kids and adults can come to appreciate the curves and voluptuousness of scantily dressed orca whales, where they won't learn "commodification of gender" or any "kind of assimilation of the perceived roles in society", especially for little girls. It doesn't help the commercial is full of {{Preemptive Shut Up}}s to any critics and presented by a bearded sleaze ball whose record includes flashing a group of women. |
| 246 | * HairTodayGoneTomorrow: He may be fully shaved, but his receding lines don't trick anybody. |
| 247 | * IAmNotSpock: In-Universe, even his co-stars call him "Goober". |
| 248 | * LaughablyEvil: Mostly because of his paper-thin excuses for his shady businesses practices, his over the top actions and how pathetic, desperate and sad he can get even when holding someone hostage. |
| 249 | * MyFriendsAndZoidberg: He's always left out of any ''Horsin' Around'' meeting. |
| 250 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Of Creator/DustinDiamond, a FormerChildStar who was primarily known for his role as Screech in ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' and also had a contentious relationship with his former co-stars and problems with the law. |
| 251 | * ObviouslyEvil: Leather jacket, chains, handler of a kid-friendly strip club who seems involved in some drug trafficking, FormerChildStar? Yeah, this guy's clear. |
| 252 | * {{Slimeball}}: Yeah, he oozes every time he speaks and walks on-screen. |
| 253 | * TokenEvilTeammate: A borderline example. Richie is the only one of the cast involved in (openly) criminal activities, in as much as he can be defined as amoral rather than evil, yet he still remains pitiable and as much as a JadedWashout as the others. |
| 254 | [[/folder]] |
| 255 | |
| 256 | !!!'''''Horsin' Around'' crew''' |
| 257 | |
| 258 | [[folder:'''Angela Diaz''' (Executive Producer)]] |
| 259 | [[quoteright:214:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/06___5bvvotj.jpg]] |
| 260 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/AnjelicaHuston |
| 261 | |
| 262 | One of the chief executives of the network that produced ''JustForFun/HorsinAround''. She played a key role in [=BoJack=] and Herb's estrangement. |
| 263 | ---- |
| 264 | * BeingPersonalIsntProfessional: [[spoiler: It's heavily implied in Season 6 that she's actually a lesbian, making her decision to fire Herb for being gay all the more ruthless in retrospective.]] |
| 265 | * BigBad: How [=BoJack=] sees her, or pretends to remember her as, since it was her who talked him down from stopping Herb's firing. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that she did indeed manipulate him into not supporting Herb.]] |
| 266 | ** BigBadWannabe: [[spoiler:Season 6 reveals that her behavior while talking to [=BoJack=] about Herb was nothing but an act. She even admits that she repeatedly practiced her big BreakingSpeech to [=BoJack=] in the mirror fearing that he wouldn't buy it.]] |
| 267 | * BreakingSpeech: Folded alongside FalseReassurance and YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame on [=BoJack=]'s part. She gives one to [=BoJack=], which effectively shatters any illusions of Hollywood he may have held once: |
| 268 | -->'''Angela:''' Look, you're a star, but this is really just the beginning of the [=BoJack=] Horseman story. You can choose whatever path you want, but I'll tell you right now. You don't win awards and you don't get to be on the cover of magazines and you don't get to play the lead role in the Secretariat movie [[EvilPaysBetter by being a good friend]]. What's that old expression about how "TheShowMustGoOn"? Oh, right, [[HonorBeforeReason it's "Don't be an idiot"]]. So what do you think, [=BoJack=]? That's a courtesy question. I already know what you think because [[ButForMeItWasTuesday I have conversations like this five times a day]]. [[TheSocialExpert I know who you are and I know you've already made your decision]]. But if you want to surprise me, now's the time to do it. [[YouMonster That's what I thought]]. You're doing the right thing. [[ShootTheDog I know it's hard]]. [[MetaphoricallyTrue But if Herb's really your friend, he'll understand]]. Now, you've got a show to put on, so let's get you ready. [[SpockSpeak This was a good conversation. Productive.]] If you're lucky, I'll never talk to you again. |
| 269 | * BrutalHonesty: No beating around the bushes for her, straight and to the point. When [=BoJack=] tries to argue in favor of Herb, Angela shuts him down immediately: |
| 270 | -->'''Angela''': "I can't do that [fire Herb]" I'm not asking you. |
| 271 | ** [[spoiler:This later turns out to be a lie. Herb's career on ''Horsin' Around'' really was dependent on [=BoJack=] sticking up for him.]] |
| 272 | * ButForMeItWasTuesday: Her BreakingSpeech is one of the key contributions to [=BoJack=]'s jaded and pessimistic outlook on life and fame in the present, and ultimately convinces him to carry out the decision that ruined his friendship with Herb forever. By her own admission, she gives similar speeches regularly (her estimate is ''five times a day''), presumably all of them with the same uncaring, monotonous tone. [[spoiler:It's later revealed to be just an embellishment meant to intimidate [=BoJack=] into doing what she wants.]] |
| 273 | * ConsummateProfessional: Well dressed, authoritative demeanor and a detachment from all emotions in the workplace environment in order to make clear headed and harsh decisions. |
| 274 | * DeadpanSnarker: Her conversation with [=BoJack=] has degrees of this, albeit in more subtle, passive-aggressive ways, used more as a means to exert authority and make others feel inferior, as a sort of preemptive strike. |
| 275 | * EvilPaysBetter: [[spoiler:[[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by her to argue to [=BoJack=] why standing for Herb is a bad idea: Everything he's worked for would be taken away, plus being chased by the public as a result of the ensuing controversy, getting him fired as well as the people in the show; cast and actors included. Playing nice and letting his friend be fired would ensure the prizes would remain and everything would continue flowing smoothly. Though in practice, it's arguably subverted for both of them, since while both managed to accrue lots of material wealth from their decisions, they've otherwise ended up alone and miserable.]] |
| 276 | * FauxAffablyEvil: |
| 277 | ** [[spoiler:It's revealed in the final season that her ConsummateProfessional behavior was all an act; she pretended to in order to scare [=Bojack=] into abandoning Herb for her own benefit.]] |
| 278 | ** [[spoiler:Decades later, she acted like an nice old woman to get [=BoJack=] to visit her and proceeded to play upon his insecurities to get him into approving his removal from the ''Horsin' Around'' re-release.]] |
| 279 | * {{Foil}}: To [=BoJack=]. [[spoiler:She's basically what had he could have been if he stopped caring about trying to be good and just. Incredibly rich and successful but completely friendless and ultimately miserable.]] |
| 280 | * IdiotBall: Just as [=BoJack=] has [[spoiler:signed the contract to sell his rights for "Horsin' Around", she lets it slip that she was bluffing about his career being ruined]]. Understandably, [=BoJack=] threatens to [[spoiler:burn the contract and manhandles her]]. |
| 281 | * KarmaHoudiniWarranty: She shows no regret for threatening [=BoJack=] with his career to get Herb fired, which was [=BoJack=]'s StartOfDarkness. [[spoiler:What's more, her meeting with him after the Sarah Lynn scandal is the final nail in the coffin when his career is tarnished]]. On the other hand, she's now a bitter old lady with no friends and unable to enjoy the money with her poor health, and ''she'' has to live with the knowledge that [[spoiler:she drove [=BoJack=] to attempt suicide]]. |
| 282 | * KickTheDog: Firing Herb could be seen as a serious Kick The Dog moment, [[spoiler:especially when we see her side of it in Season 6.]] |
| 283 | * LonelyAtTheTop: In current day, she's super wealthy and lives in a massive mansion. However, she has no real friends speak of and her caretakers prevent her from truly going enjoying her riches in her old age. |
| 284 | * ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:It's revealed in Season 6 that her big speech was a complete falsehood. Had [=BoJack=] stood up for Herb she would have been forced to keep him on the show, so she gave him the big speech about how he would be ruining his own career, scaring him into abandoning his best friend. Later on, she would emotionally manipulate [=BoJack=] again into approving editing him out ''Horsin' Around'' by remarking how Sarah Lynn deserved a better legacy than being remembered as the girl he "killed."]] |
| 285 | * NothingPersonal: She comes off as this during her speech to [=BoJack=], that her firing Herb was a corporate decision and without any real malice. [[spoiler:It's later shown that it was entirely her decision as she wanted to sell the company to Disney and Herb was potentially risking that.]] |
| 286 | * AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Presented one to [=BoJack=]. [[spoiler:It turns out he ''could'' have refused it if he chose to.]] |
| 287 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler: After revealing that if [=BoJack=] had stood up for Herb she would have had to back down, she dismisses [=BoJack=]'s accusations that she was the root of all his problems as childish; manipulative she might have been, he was still responsible for making his own decisions and the consequences are all his own fault.]] |
| 288 | * SadisticChoice: [[spoiler: She forces [=BoJack=] in a verbal way, rather than actual threats, by appealing to the things he wants and how standing for Herb may hinder his dreams. His dreams or his friend.]] |
| 289 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: Notice how large this entry is? Now couple that with the fact that Angela has only appeared in two episodes. |
| 290 | * TheSocialExpert: [[spoiler:Her conversation with [=BoJack=] goes into detail showing how much is she able to perceive out of him, judging by his facial expressions and the situation in which he's trapped, as well as what he would like to do and how much does he want to have both things at the same time, but can only have one, as well as how to deal with him, convince him and get him to back down on his posture.]] |
| 291 | * ThereAreNoGoodExecutives: [=BoJack=] takes her actions and their consequences on his life, as well as [[spoiler:Turtletaub's]] as cue that every producer has underhanded motives and are nothing but untrustworthy money grabbers. [[spoiler:This eventually also leads him to have this thought about Wanda, which causes their breakup.]] |
| 292 | * VillainHasAPoint: |
| 293 | ** Regardless of what happened later and the very biased reasons why she was forced to announce the departure of Herb, Angela had a point in admitting that it ''needed'' to be done and there was little to be done otherwise, since other options would be of limited success. |
| 294 | ** [[spoiler:Once [=BoJack=] accused her of being the root of all his problems after learning how she manipulated him, she simply mocked him for being childish and pointed out that [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse all the decisions he made were his own and that his downfall is his own fault]].]] |
| 295 | [[/folder]] |
| 296 | |
| 297 | [[folder:'''Sharona''' (Make-Up Artist)]] |
| 298 | |
| 299 | She was the hair and make-up lady on ''Horsin' Around''. |
| 300 | ---- |
| 301 | * CoolBigSister: Comes across this way towards Sarah Lynn when she was young, especially when she calls out [=BoJack=] for taking his anger of the circumstances behind Herb being fired on Sarah Lynn. She also expresses horror and concern upon discovering that Sarah Lynn managed to get her hands on [=BoJack=]'s vodka on set. |
| 302 | * FallGuy: She ends up being convinced by [=BoJack=] to take the fall when the young Sarah Lynn was caught drinking [=BoJack=]'s vodka on set, which ends up costing Sharona her job. |
| 303 | * ImportantHaircut: Not Sharona, but [=BoJack=], when the latter makes amends with the former for how he treated her badly on the set of Horsin' Around and she cuts his hair one last time to symbolize this. |
| 304 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: She's the one to introduce [=BoJack=] to drinking vodka on set to help loosen him up and gain more confidence on set, but ends up helping him become an alcoholic as a result. |
| 305 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse?: Is never seen again after [=BoJack=] outs Sharona as an alcoholic on public TV, having mistook her for being the one to inform Biscuits Braxby of his crimes. Made all the worse when [[KickTheDog Sharona had already forgiven him for convincing her to take the blame for [=BoJack=] accidentally getting young Sarah Lynn drunk in the past]]. |
| 306 | [[/folder]] |
| 307 | |
| 308 | ---- |
| 309 | !!''Secretariat'' |
| 310 | |
| 311 | !!!'''''Secretariat'' cast''' |
| 312 | |
| 313 | [[folder:'''[=BoJack=] Horseman''' (as Secretariat)]] |
| 314 | [[Characters/BojackHorsemanBojackHorseman See here.]] |
| 315 | [[/folder]] |
| 316 | |
| 317 | [[folder:'''Corduroy Jackson-Jackson''' (as Secretariat's Coach)]] |
| 318 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brand_new_couch_bojack_horseman.jpg]] |
| 319 | ->'''Played by''': Brandon T. Jackson. |
| 320 | |
| 321 | The co-star in the Secretariat {{Biopic}}, starring as Secretariat's coach. Has a major weakness for EroticAsphyxiation, although he's overcome it by the time production begins. |
| 322 | ---- |
| 323 | * EroticAsphyxiation: Corduroy's third (and final) appearance is dominated by his concerns of relapsing into the habit and the effects it has on others. |
| 324 | * InMemoriam: In-universe. [[spoiler:After his death, the Secretariat biopic ended with a dedication to him and Debra's old face.]] |
| 325 | * NiceGuy: Despite his graphic erotic talks [[spoiler:and later suicide]], he is one of the few people who is able to work with a guy like [=BoJack=] and is quite friendly and just an all around good guy. |
| 326 | * OffTheWagon: He's terrified of falling back into his old habit, even giving all his old equipment to [=BoJack=]. |
| 327 | * OutWithABang: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. [[spoiler:He doesn't die from having sex with anyone, he dies from doing EroticAsphyxiation.]] |
| 328 | * RealMenLoveJesus: Becomes a devout born-again-Christian after he kicks the aforementioned addiction, [=BoJack=] finds him talking about Jesus to be more awkward than talking about erotic asphyxiation. |
| 329 | * RepetitiveName: ''Jackson-Jackson''. |
| 330 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: Despite his somewhat limited screen-time, he had a big enough impact on [=BoJack=]'s life to [[spoiler:make a "reappearance" in [=BoJack=]'s DyingDream in The "View From Halfway Down"]]. |
| 331 | * UndignifiedDeath: [[spoiler:His corpse still has an erection when [=BoJack=] happens upon it.]] |
| 332 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler:He's dead at the end of the first episode he has any focus in.]] |
| 333 | [[/folder]] |
| 334 | |
| 335 | !!!'''''Secretariat'' crew''' |
| 336 | |
| 337 | [[folder:'''Lenny Turteltaub''' (Producer)]] |
| 338 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/JKSimmons |
| 339 | [[quoteright:185:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1_new_direction.jpg]] |
| 340 | |
| 341 | The producer of ''Mr. Peanutbutter's Hollywoo Heist'' and later ''Secretariat''. |
| 342 | ---- |
| 343 | * AdaptationDecay: [[spoiler:Due to his influence in the Secretariat film, he changes the tone from being a serious, gritty biopic into a saccharine, bland [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory Very Loosely Based On A True Story]] mess of a film.]] |
| 344 | * AmbiguouslyJewish: He uses YiddishAsASecondLanguage, and has a clearly Jewish-sounding name. At the same time when [=BoJack=] asks him if he's actually Jewish, Turtletaub deflects and ends his sentence with shifty eyes before making sure to add on a bunch of Yiddish sounding words including "Haffenreffer Incorporated". |
| 345 | * AscendedExtra: Would you believe his first appearance was as an extra in the background? See EarlyBirdCameo for the context. |
| 346 | * AnimalStereotypes: As a turtle, he moves verrrrrry slowly. He also references his age often. |
| 347 | * AntiVillain: [[spoiler:He fired Kelsey without any concern, but she had disobeyed his orders. It wasn't like she could bail out on that.]] |
| 348 | * ControlFreak: While it can be mostly attributed to his desire to keep things in line, it's clear that Turtletaub doesn't enjoy when someone goes against his directions and orders. ''Everything'' must be according to planning and schedule and people must stay within those parameters. [[spoiler: When he fired Kelsey, he expresses more annoyance at the fact that she disobeyed him rather than the possible legal consequences of her actions.]] |
| 349 | * BigNo: Upon discovering that a mass shooting occurred at a mall (which, coincidentally, his movie Mis-Taken has a mall shootout scene) he has a huge one and throws his sandwich out the window. |
| 350 | * DeadpanSnarker: Extremely dry in his putdowns, making no secret of whatever he needs to say and always making sure that it's said in the most sarcastic form of speech possible. |
| 351 | * DodgyToupee: A very obvious one. Pointed out by [=BoJack=] in the first episode. |
| 352 | * EarlyBirdCameo: His first appearance was in the first episode as a background character in Elefante surrounded by two attractive ladies while [=BoJack=] and Princess Carolyn were breaking up. His friendship with Carolyn is discussed, though, as well as his status as a high-profile producer. |
| 353 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: Lenny Turtletaub first appears in the restaurant where Princess Carolyn and [=BoJack=] are dining with two women, as his status as a top producer becomes evident and his attitude of showing off his wealth. Princess Carolyn mentions him, as [[VillainousFriendship they know each other]]. |
| 354 | * ExecutiveMeddling: In-universe during filming of the Secretariat biopic. After having a screen testing during the hiatus, he becomes more involved in production to the point where if he doesn't like something, he'll use his power of veto to ban it. [[spoiler: Or to fire someone. In fact, after Kelsey is fired, he becomes convinced that should he slack up a bit, someone else would try to retake the film in another direction.]] |
| 355 | * ExecutiveVeto: InUniverse. Being the producer and main source of money for the film's budget allows him to have a bigger creative control over it, ensuring that his monetary investment has some form of remuneration in the box office department. Anything that may interfere with such (polemic scenes involving the debasing of a beloved figure and a much reviled president) can be excluded from the final product, regardless of continuity or artistic merit, per his will. [[spoiler: Such is what he does to a certain scene involving Secretariat and UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, which conflicts with some much more committed people's ideas for the movie...]] |
| 356 | * FatalFlaw: His dismissiveness. Being a producer, Lenny's main goal in making movies is on the business side and good recognition. |
| 357 | * FakeNationality: InUniverse. [=BoJack=] suspects as much about his supposed Jewish roots, since he seems to go out of his way to include Yiddish-sounding words everywhere he can to the point of overcompensating. Judging by his avoiding look when confronted about this, it may or may not be true. |
| 358 | * FurryReminder: It's often implied that he's been in the film industry ever since it first began, which would make him [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld at least a century old]]. However, he ''is'' a turtle and some species of turtle are very long-lived. |
| 359 | * IWarnedYou: [[spoiler: He '''''told''''' both [=BoJack=] and Kelsey not to film that scene with Secretariat and Nixon. They should have listened.]] |
| 360 | * {{Jerkass}}: Sort of. He's not out to cause malice or harm and he isn't a megalomaniac like how Hollywood producers are usually portrayed in TV shows but at the same time it is clear he is a pretty dismissive guy who is mostly motivated by money and good publicity. Granted, he is a top producer in an industry that needs to keep getting money in order to stand. |
| 361 | * JerkassHasAPoint: [[spoiler: His firing of Kelsey as director was cold but justified. Turtletaub was the higher up and he had turned down the possibility to shoot the scene, only for Kelsey and [=BoJack=] to go and film it behind his back. There were no arguments they could have made.]] |
| 362 | * ALadyOnEachArm: His first appearance involves him chatting with two attractive ladies on the other side of Elefante, with each on both sides. Given his fame for being a producer, it's also {{implied|Trope}} that there may be a CastingCouch involved. |
| 363 | * MotorMouth: He may walk slow, but does he talk fast. |
| 364 | * NerdGlasses: A pair of square ones. |
| 365 | * NothingPersonal: Per usual for Hollywoo executives, [[spoiler: the decision to fire Kelsey comes out of trust issues (he no longer believes she can remain in check when given an order) and disobedience (he specifically told her ''not'' to film that scene) and not because of any personal matters.]] |
| 366 | * OlderThanHeLooks: He does look old but not enough to be more than 100 years old, as he claims. |
| 367 | * OnlyInItForTheMoney: This is his main objective. He is one of the top movie producers in Hollywood, so it figures that would be one of the requirements for the job. Best shown when he [[spoiler: omits a scene with Secretariat and Nixon on the Secretariat biopic because, while explaining some of the darkness surrounding the center figure and shows him as a flawed person, it would hurt the people pleasing tone the studio would be aiming for.]] |
| 368 | * OscarBait: [[spoiler: His involvement turns the Secretariat biopic into this. He lampshades it by telling [=BoJack=] that his performance might make Daniel Day Lewis look like shit.]] |
| 369 | * PlayfulCatSmile: [[InvertedTrope Inverted.]] He has more of a frown typical of a turtle. |
| 370 | * ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Claims to have worked with Creator/BusterKeaton and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_S._Porter Edwin S. Porter]], implying he has worked as a producer for ''as long as cinema existed''. Doubles as a FurryReminder since some species of turtle really do live for centuries. |
| 371 | * SpeciesSurname: Lenny ''Turtle''taub |
| 372 | * SuckinessIsPainful: [[spoiler: [[ConsummateProfessional Kelsey]] and [[TheTeamBenefactor Lenny Turtletaub]] can't help but {{Facepalm}} and look with embarrassment when [=BoJack=] does his first shot in the set of the Secretariat {{Biopic}}.]] |
| 373 | * SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[spoiler:[=BoJack=] and Kelsey hoped he could be convinced to allow the scene with Secretariat and Nixon to stay in the final cut. He '''wasn't''' pleased when Kelsey showed him the scene and fired her on the spot.]] |
| 374 | * VillainousFriendship: With [[Characters/BojackHorsemanMainCharacters Princess Carolyn]], one of the top agents in [[Characters/BoJackHorsemanHollywooBusinesses Vigor]]. It's hinted by their interactions and banter that they go way back. |
| 375 | ** This is best seen when he recruited Princess Carolyn in trying to stop the assistant strike, and even when her concious got the better of her, he still kept her on to help with the negotation. |
| 376 | * YiddishAsASecondLanguage: Often integrates figures of speech or Yiddish phrases into everyday talk. It's [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by [=BoJack=], who suspects that some of those words might be made up. |
| 377 | [[/folder]] |
| 378 | |
| 379 | [[folder:'''Kelsey Jannings''' (Director)]] |
| 380 | [[quoteright:187:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kelsey.png]] |
| 381 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/MariaBamford |
| 382 | |
| 383 | The stern, yet ultimately kind director of ''Secretariat''. |
| 384 | ---- |
| 385 | * AcclaimedFlop: In-universe. She is an indie film director, famed for making this kind of movies. Precisely the reason why she chose to direct the Secretariat movie is because she ''needs'' the money. |
| 386 | * AdaptationDecay: [[spoiler: Without her in the director's chair and a kind, but uncaring director taking her place, the gritty Secretariat bipoic devolves into a generic, optimistically saccharine [[ClicheStorm Cliche Storm.]]]] |
| 387 | * AllWorkVsAllPlay: The '''All Work''' in account of her no-non sense attitude and anal retentiveness contrasting with her ex-wife's more relaxed, almost carefree approach and [=BoJack=]'s mood swings and passion for the project's '''All Play'''. |
| 388 | * AmicableExes: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. She constantly struggles to make ends meet and provide for her daughter, and she seems to be locking horns against her wife for custody. |
| 389 | * ArtisticLicenseFilmProduction: {{Discussed|Trope}} by her. In the case below in YouJustRuinedTheShot, it's less because she doesn't want anyone to allow their private lives to have some air, but because it shouldn't interfere when doing a take, especially not in the middle of one, since it means redoing it. The fact that no one seems to consider this causes her no end of frustration. |
| 390 | * AuthorityInNameOnly: In a way. She may be the director, but it's clear that Turtletaub being the producer is the one who calls the shot when it comes of how the film should come along. That's not to say she doesn't have any power, just not as much to have much of saying when he has made his mind about something. |
| 391 | * BeingGoodSucks: Without a doubt the most moral director in Hollywoo and probably one of the better ones...if she ever got control of a project. Hell, throughout her time post-''Secretariat'' it's shown that doing it for the art only ever got her directing commercials for fried chicken and getting no other jobs because of how Secretariat turned out. |
| 392 | * BrainyBrunette: Brown-haired, deadly serious and very intelligent and savvy. |
| 393 | * ButchLesbian: In personality, not in appearance. |
| 394 | * ButtMonkey: Kelsey is one of the most moral and decent people working in Hollywoo: committed, professional, serious and deeply involved in each of her productions, be it as a personal project or as paid director. This doesn't stop her from being the most screwed over out of the crew. |
| 395 | ** When she's introduced in season 2, Kelsey’s had to put aside doing her own work to work on ''Secretariat'', because she doesn't make enough money on her indie affairs to support her daughter Irving on top of having divorce settlements to cover, which means she's a pawn for the executives of the biopic to do as she's told and not complain about it. Furthermore, she’s forced to deal with lousy auditions, constant delays and cast members' deaths messing her shooting schedule. Finally, when [=BoJack=] convinces her to stand up for her idea of how the movie should be, she's fired as simple as that. |
| 396 | ** Her reappearance in season 3 only drives her further to the edge: no one cares to ask her about her movie in the Pacific Ocean Film Festival and when she's given a life saver for her project ''Jellie Belle'', she’s instead used as a patsy by Vanessa and Rutabaga (her agents, none others!) to crash Princess Carolyn's Pegasus deal (since BJ had the role). This burns her already crumbling project and dejected, she lashes out at [=BoJack=] and ends their friendship. |
| 397 | * ButNotTooGay: The only references to her sexuality comes from incidental comments, such as mistaking Diane for her ex-wife's divorce lawyer, making her sexuality incidental to her character arc. Her ex-wife is mentioned multiple times but there is no on-screen interaction between the two. However, Kelsey still stands out since she's one of the most influential characters in the 2nd season, especially in terms of being charge of the smooth flow of the ''Secretariat'' shooting schedule, and one of the only important characters in the series who's gay, despite not much of her personal life being shown. {{Justified|Trope}} even more since her importance is just delegated to being the director of the {{biopic}}. |
| 398 | * TheComicallySerious: Her no-nonsense personality and serious attitude contrast with the ludicrous situations she's put in, especially when playing opposite [=BoJack=]. |
| 399 | * ConsummateProfessional: She takes everything seriously about the things she puts her mind into, be it how to make a movie, how to be a mother or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking how to make a crossword puzzle.]] |
| 400 | * CutenessProximity: Towards Todd, of all people. Whenever she sees him, she declares how adorable his face is in her usual stern and angry tone of voice. |
| 401 | * CynicalMentor: She just wants to do her job and doesn't really care about your personal life, achievements or problems. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in that she can care, but it might take a while before she warms up to you. |
| 402 | * DeadpanSnarker: [[WorldOfSnark Seems to be pretty catchy all around]], but Kelsey easily takes the cake. |
| 403 | * DecoyDamsel: Her project ''Jellie Belle'' and lack of funds is used by Gekko/Rabitowitz as a guilt trip to lure [=BoJack=] into the movie and drop out of ''The Flight of Pegasus''. Needless to say, when it fails, the project goes down under as well, although for different reasons (PC overplaying her hand and stopping BJ from signing in). |
| 404 | * DefrostingIceQueen: Towards [=BoJack=], as she eventually comes to see him as committed to the project, reminding her of her passion for the job. |
| 405 | * DivorceAssetsConflict: Not only is she basically struggling to earn enough to provide for her daughter, but the fact that her ex-wife is apparently not helpful in any way doesn't do any favors, only mounting the workload on Kelsey. On top of that, it's implied that being able to care for Irving is the only reason why she can see her. Indie movies no longer do the trick with little revenue, so a big-budgeted {{Biopic}} like Secretariat will have to do. [[spoiler: Of course, getting conflicted over art and practicality one more time could have a fatal result...]] |
| 406 | * DragonInChief: To Turtletaub. He's the one who calls the shots, but Kelsey is the one who handles most of the day-to-day operations of filming. She's also given a tiny dose of creative control as long as it doesn't upset the investors or affect revenue. |
| 407 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: She makes [[spoiler:a successful superhero film on ''her'' terms with a realistic and inspiring lead character. What's more, she hires [=BoJack's=] ex Gina to play said lead and the movie is a hit, ensuring both of their careers are rebuilt]]. |
| 408 | * EducationMama: Kelsey is very intent on her daughter Irving making it in a prestigious university. Her lack of funds obstruct her, though, which is one of the reasons why she accepts directing ''Secretariat'' in the first place. |
| 409 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Her first appearance was during a meeting in person with [=BoJack=] to see if he's the appropriated person for the role of Secretariat. |
| 410 | * EnragedByIdiocy: She doesn't tolerate ignorance, much less stupidity. She's a pretty cold, but reasonable person; when stupidity is concerned, she can be downright mean. |
| 411 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: When [=BoJack=] arrives to the Secretariat audition that Kelsey (also the director) is helping judge, she's snappy and irritable with him; establishing her grumpy demeanor. Turtletaub then explains that she's just worn out from watching over fifty lackluster auditions, showing she tends to be EnragedByIdiocy. When [=BoJack=] gives the performance of his life, [[WhenSheSmiles she smiles]], showing not only the sugar part of her SugarAndIcePersonality, but how she can open up to people who earn her respect. Then, when Turtletaub gets the text that Andrew Garfield agreed to the role and the other judges gush about getting a big-name actor, only Kelsey doesn't celebrate. |
| 412 | * ExperiencedProtagonist: Unlike [[WrongGenreSavvy [=BoJack=]]]'s willingness to believe a no-holds-barred "true story" reel will be accepted by the producers and the studio in all of the stages or [[SkilledButNaive Diane]]'s over eagerness in doing a good job and proving herself useful to the higher-ups, Kelsey knows exactly what's she's getting herself into, plans to just keep her mouth shut, play nice and just do her job at the top of her capacity and not fool herself regarding what public this movie is being made for and how little control she has of the content should anyone wish to edit it. [[spoiler:Of course, spending more and more time with [=BoJack=] makes her idealism pop up again, leading to an almost career suicide move.]] |
| 413 | * {{Facepalm}}: Kelsey does this when in the first day of taping, [[spoiler: [=Bojack=] '''[[SuckinessIsPainful messes up his line badly.]]''']] |
| 414 | * FireForgedFriends: [[spoiler: With [=Bojack=] during "The Shot".]] |
| 415 | * {{Foil}}: To [[Characters/BoJackHorsemanHollywooBusinesses Pinky Penguin]]. Kelsey and Pinky are competent, reliable to do as they're told and are breathing {{Butt Monkey}}s whose lives worsen during the series' run. The main difference is their personalities: Pinky is a NervousWreck who's bad luck has taken a toll in his sanity and confidence, always devolving into a blubbering mess when things go wrong; Kelsey suffers just as much, but prefers to hide it and try to keep a calm façade, even if she still has a tendency to have a fury meltdown when reaching her breaking point. |
| 416 | * HealthCareMotivation: The main reason why she is doing this project instead of one of her own is to provide for her daughter Irving, thus keeping the part-time custody arrangement and allow Irving to enter a good university. |
| 417 | * IceQueen: Initially. She's cold, distant and stern to a T. |
| 418 | * IconicSequelCharacter: Introduced in the season 1 finale "Later", Kelsey's acerbic, yet caring personality as the unimpressed director [=BoJack=] wants to befriend due to mutual respect of the source material comes to the front during season 2 with the ''Secretariat'' shooting arc. This, along with her competence and comic seriousness in the middle of all kinds of wackiness, as well as averting DeskJockey status due to her active approach to filmmaking has made her very popular with fans. |
| 419 | * InternalReformist: She starts very much [[ByTheBookCop by-the-book]] with a teaspoon of BystanderSyndrome and NotYourProblem; she picked up directing ''Secretariat'' because she needed finances and means to fund other projects. What does she care the movie is butchered and redone for the sake of public pleasing? She did her job, that's it. Of course, once [=BoJack=] becomes more involved with her, Kelsey starts genuinely desiring to make a good movie regardless of its importance. To deliver a great final product, even if the higher-ups veto the idea. [[spoiler:Once the Nixon scene is removed by a focus test, Kelsey finally agrees that something must be done and along with [=BoJack=], films it through a series of borderline risky stunts. [[DeconstructedTrope And then, she's fired for the insubordination.]]]] |
| 420 | -->'''Kelsey''': (after filming the scene) ''Thanks for talking me into this. Just so you know, I'm really glad we're making this movie together.'' |
| 421 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Kelsey is not sunshine and rainbows, but do your job well, follow her instructions and show your commitment and she'll show her gentle side. |
| 422 | * KarmicJackpot: After being a ButtMonkey director for several seasons, she gets the green-light to do a superhero movie on her terms. Several directors warn her that a potential actress is a diva. It turns out that said actress is Gina, who is [[spoiler:traumatized by [=BoJack=] choking her]]. Since Kelsey knows that [[spoiler:women are labeled unfairly, she casts Gina anyway. The film ends up being a success, reviving both of their careers]]. |
| 423 | * LastEpisodeNewCharacter: She first appears in the last episode of season 1, testing [=BoJack=] for the role of Secretariat. |
| 424 | * LeftHanging: [[spoiler:Her plotline in Season 2. After being fired, she isn't seen again, leaving her money and divorce issues unknown. Her plotline is picked back up in the next season, and it causes serious grief to a guilty conscious [=BoJack=]. ]] |
| 425 | * MamaBear: To Irving Jannings, her daughter. [[spoiler: When she's pursued by the police, all she does is trying to find a way to save her.]] |
| 426 | * NoSenseOfHumor: She's always serious about something. In one episode, when [=BoJack=] tries to become friends with her, his attempt at a joke falls flat when Kelsey keeps her humorless façade. |
| 427 | * OnlyInItForTheMoney: She's very professional and still gives it all in every project, but she only agreed to direct the Secretariat biopic to get paid and maintain custody of her daughter. |
| 428 | * OnlySaneWoman: Of course, it's not that hard when your co-workers are a washed-up, needy jackass, an EroticAsphyxiation casual user [[spoiler: whose death ends up derailing the shooting schedule for over two weeks]] and a greedy producer. Even with all of that, Kelsey still shows herself as the most capable member of the crew as well as the one who is the least likely to make a big scandal: she just does her job, gets her check and that's all, folks. [[spoiler: The first time she slips out of this pragmatic approach, she ends up getting fired.]] |
| 429 | * OscarBait: [[spoiler: Without her involvement, Secretariat's biopic becomes this.]] |
| 430 | * PerpetualFrowner: She rarely smiles, always showing a serious demeanor with a frown and a scowl. |
| 431 | * PetTheDog: She's very fond of Todd, despite being irritable towards everyone else. She also loves her daughter Irving and [[spoiler: when the latter's involved in a dangerous situation, she tries to find a way to save her.]] |
| 432 | * RealitySubtext: In-Universe: Her actual pitch for the Fireflame movie is one about how powerful women aren't often seen as day-savers, they're seen as threats and targets by men with just as much power. No guesses as to where she got that idea given what she'd been going through. |
| 433 | * StraightGay: GenderFlipped. While she fits the butch lesbian personality to a T, Kelsey's sexuality wouldn't have been made clear unless she had come out and say it in a casual tone: up until then, she could have been mistaken as just a very grumpy woman. |
| 434 | * SuckinessIsPainful: [[spoiler: [[ConsummateProfessional Kelsey]] and [[TheTeamBenefactor Lenny Turtletaub]] can't help but {{Facepalm}} and look with embarrassment when [=BoJack=] does his first shot in the set of the Secretariat {{Biopic}}.]] |
| 435 | * SugarAndIcePersonality: Cold and disdainful on the outside, reasonable and caring on the inside. |
| 436 | * SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[spoiler: [=BoJack=] and Kelsey hoped Lenny Turtletaub could be convinced to allow the scene with Secretariat and Nixon to stay in the final cut. He '''wasn't''' pleased when Kelsey showed him the scene and fired her on the spot.]] |
| 437 | * ThrowTheDogABone: [[spoiler:She gets the Fireflame movie after she runs in on another interview and actually lays out a much ballsier movie than the execs were expecting or probably planning on running.]] |
| 438 | * UriahGambit: In order to get rid of Diane, Kelsey assigns her a seemingly unimportant task in the set: looking at a cable and warning people about it to make sure that people don't trip over it. While she does that, she will continue doing her work. [[spoiler: As things turn out, she may actually expected Diane to do her job, considering an actual serious matter.]] |
| 439 | * VitriolicBestBuds: Type 1 with [=BoJack=] at the beginning, with Kelsey acting as the jaded StraightMan to [=BoJack=]'s quirky MoodSwinger. As they eventually lime their differences and become closer, it evolves into a Type 2, by virtue of being a mutual understanding and respect on both sides even if the snark is still unilateral on Kelsey's part. |
| 440 | * WartsAndAll: [[spoiler: The reason why she was fired. Her sense of a faithful biopic clashed with the producers' wish for a feel-good, bland moneymaker of a blockbuster, and as a result, she was let go.]] |
| 441 | * YouJustRuinedTheShot: {{Discussed|Trope}}. When [=BoJack=] ends up breaking character in the middle of a dramatic monologue in order to talk to his girlfriend, Kelsey just [[{{Facepalm}} facepalms]] and sarcastically comments on how great it is that he stopped in the middle of the shot, since ''[[SarcasmMode there's absolutely no problem in fixing it afterwards]]''. |
| 442 | [[/folder]] |
| 443 | |
| 444 | [[folder:'''Abe D'Catfish''' (Director)]] |
| 445 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yes_and_bojack_horseman.jpg]] |
| 446 | ->'''Played by''': Creator/GarryMarshall. |
| 447 | |
| 448 | The replacement director of the Secretariat film [[spoiler: after Kelsey is fired.]] Complete opposite of Kelsey in terms of craftsmanship and quality, he's accurately described by [=BoJack=] as a "total hack. Good guy, but total hack." |
| 449 | ---- |
| 450 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: He's a genuinely nice guy who'll make your job easy for you, then invite you home for coq au vin and lemon meringue pie. But heaven help you if you insult his work. |
| 451 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: At first he appears to be a nice-if-incompetent director who's only really interested in making movies for fun and profit, rather than for artistic merit like [=BoJack=] and Kelsey. However, when [=BoJack=] mistakes what Abe means literally for a metaphor to imply he doesn't care about the movie's quality, he becomes a ''nightmare'' to work with, making the film increasingly more difficult and terrible (as well as longer, ensuring that [=BoJack=] misses opportunities to work on better things) just to spite him. |
| 452 | * BluntMetaphorsTrauma: At one point, he tells [=BoJack=] that "[they] ain't making ''Film/{{Casablanca}}''". Naturally, [=BoJack=] takes it to mean that he's aware the Secretariat movie is no masterpiece and is OK with it. Turns out, he meant that they ''literally'' are not making the movie ''Casablanca''. When [=BoJack=] openly says the movie is shit thinking he was OK with that statement, Abe is ''furious'' and he calls for a ton of reshoots out of pure spite. |
| 453 | * FatBastard: [=BoJack=] sure thinks so. It bears mentioning that [=BoJack=], being [=BoJack=], never does think to offer any kind of apology. |
| 454 | * {{Foil}}: To Kelsey. She is slender woman who wanted to makes an artistic merit from Secretariat and while she is at first mean to [=BoJack=], they come to be friendly to one another; Abe is a fat man only wants to make the biopic for fun and profit and comes off as an affable person before showing his more bastard side after [=BoJack=] insulted his work. |
| 455 | * KickTheDog: Forces [=BoJack=] to work long hours to make him miss opportunities after [=BoJack=] calls the movie a piece of shit. |
| 456 | * LiteralMinded: He seemingly derides the Secretariat movie as less-than-stellar by pointing out "[they] ain't making ''Film/{{Casablanca}}''", when in reality he was just stating that they literally were not making that film...for apparently no reason with no deeper meaning behind the statement. He makes a similar statement regarding his wife's pies later on. |
| 457 | * SpeciesSurname: He's a catfish and his last name is ''D'Catfish''. |
| 458 | * SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Turns out that calling someone's work "a piece of shit" is unlikely to end well, no matter how laid back and seemingly self-aware the person is. |
| 459 | * TrademarkFavoriteDrink: He always seen holding and drinking from a bottle of "Pesce Gatto"[[note]][[BilingualBonus Catfish]][[/note]] |
| 460 | [[/folder]] |
| 461 | |
| 462 | [[folder:'''Debra''' (Crew Assistant)]] |
| 463 | |
| 464 | An assistant around the set who [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten thanks to Diane]] ends up burning her face due to tripping on a cable. |
| 465 | ---- |
| 466 | * InMemoriam: In-universe, after her face is burned beyond recognition, the Secretariat biopic ends with a dedication to "[[spoiler:Corduroy Jackson-Jackson]] and Debra's old face." |
| 467 | * NightmareFace: From the expressions of the onlookers when she accidentally scalds her face with coffee, the result is not a pretty sight. |
| 468 | * OntologicalInertia: Although Debra never returns to foreground focus after her injury, background cameos reveal that she continued working and eventually received a face transplant. |
| 469 | [[/folder]] |
| 470 | ---- |
| 471 | !!''Philbert'' |
| 472 | |
| 473 | !!!'''''Philbert'' cast''' |
| 474 | |
| 475 | [[folder:'''[=BoJack=] Horseman''' (as John Philbert)]] |
| 476 | [[Characters/BojackHorsemanBojackHorseman See here.]] |
| 477 | [[/folder]] |
| 478 | |
| 479 | [[folder:'''Mr. Peanutbutter''' (as Fritz)]] |
| 480 | [[Characters/BojackHorsemanMainCharacters See here.]] |
| 481 | [[/folder]] |
| 482 | |
| 483 | [[folder:'''Gina Cazador''' (as Sassy Malone)]] |
| 484 | [[Characters/BojackHorsemanTheMainGroupSocialCircles See here.]] |
| 485 | [[/folder]] |
| 486 | |
| 487 | %%[[folder:'''Wesley D. Morgo''' (as ???)]] |
| 488 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 489 | |
| 490 | !!!'''''Philbert'' crew''' |
| 491 | |
| 492 | [[folder:'''Flip [=McVicker=]''' (Creator & Writer)]] |
| 493 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6c0646a4_ebd2_45b8_97a4_1a88f1e4acba.jpeg]] |
| 494 | |
| 495 | ->'''Played by''': Creator/RamiMalek |
| 496 | ->'''First appearance''': [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS4E10lovinthatcalilifestyle "loving' that cali lifestyle!"]] |
| 497 | |
| 498 | An ambitious screenwriter whose aspirations exceed his talents, [=McVicker=] pitches the ''Philbert'' pilot script to Princess Carolyn as a possible series. Against all expectations, PC agrees to produce along [=WhatTimeIsItRightNow.com=] who are on the lookout for original production as a way to expand their company. |
| 499 | ---- |
| 500 | * ArcVillain: One could argue he's the main antagonist of Season 5. On top of being a horribly smug {{Jerkass}} who has Gina perform gratuitous {{fanservice}} scenes, forces [=BoJack=] to do the same when he stands up for her, and takes credit for essentially having Diane write the entire story of ''Philbert'' for him, Flip's sheer incompetence as a director leads to [[spoiler:[=BoJack=] being allowed to do his own stunts, which causes him to develop a [[AddledAddict severe opioid addiction]] and nearly kill Gina in a drug-fueled rage -- an act Flip not only [[CallousnessTowardsEmergency dismisses with a sarcastic "oh, no"]], but asks the crew to ''keep filming''.]] At the end of the season, [[spoiler:when ''Philbert'' gets canned, Flip [[VillainousBreakdown quietly snaps]] and is never seen again.]] |
| 501 | * AuthorAppeal: InUniverse; for him, it's sexy women whose {{Fanservice}} is "justified" by grimdark situations and {{Jerkass}}es being forgiven for their behavior. |
| 502 | * AuthorCatchphrase: He literally can't stop himself from writing literally into every character's dialogue. |
| 503 | * CallousnessTowardsEmergency: [[spoiler:When filming a strangling scene for ''Philbert'', [=BoJack=] is [[AddledAddict under the influence of drugs]] and has become LostInCharacter, so he ends up ''actually'' trying to strangle Gina. Rather than get help, Flip's response is to coldly resume shooting the scene, which could have seriously injured or even killed Gina if Mr. Peanutbutter didn't step in.]] |
| 504 | -->[[spoiler:'''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' I think he's... [[OhCrap really strangling her]].\ |
| 505 | '''Flip:''' Oh no! [[EnforcedMethodActing Turn the camera back on]].]] [[invoked]] |
| 506 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The stories he comes up with can be... weird. Let's just say that ending the first season of a show that's supposed to be a detective drama with missiles that destroy the entirety of USA is not exactly a coherent way to write a story. And that's not even mentioning the whole [[spoiler:"Maybe I was Princess Carolyn all along" thing...]] |
| 507 | * CreatorCareerSelfDeprecation: Like so many things with ''Philbert'', he's a self-depreciating take on ''[=BoJack=] Horseman''[='s=] out-of-universe writing staff. |
| 508 | * EnforcedMethodActing: InUniverse, he asks his camera crew to film [[spoiler:a drug-addled [=BoJack=] ''strangling'' Gina Cazador, which demonstrates a shocking CallousnessTowardsEmergency as Gina could have easily died during the shoot]]. |
| 509 | * ExactWords: [[ArcWords "This is going to be a sensational season of television"]]. He's referring to ''Philbert''[='s=] premiere, but either way, yes Flip, [[GoneHorriblyRight it will be]]. |
| 510 | * FlipFlopOfGod: InUniverse, he freezes when deciding major plot points, seeing ambiguous situations as a way to continue the story rather than writing with concrete answers in mind. It takes Diane yelling at him just to decide that a character on ''Philbert'' is actually dead. |
| 511 | * {{Foil}}: He serves as one for both [[NiceGuy Herb Kazzaz]] and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kelsey Jannings]]. While Herb and Kelsey were nice and kind to [=BoJack=] and rest of the cast and crew of their projects, Flip disregards him and others and is extremely selfish. |
| 512 | * FriendlessBackground: He assumes [=BoJack=] is his friend based on three discussions they've had about the script. His attitude and [[{{Workaholic}} "social skills"]] on set don't leave much space to wonder if he even has any conception of a "friend". |
| 513 | -->''I have done nothing, but be a friend to you. I actually called my mom last night and told her that I made a friend on set.'' |
| 514 | * GiftedlyBad: He spent a lot of time writing the ''Philbert'' pilot and believes full-heartedly it's something worth pursuing, yet [=BoJack=]'s reaction to reading the script implies it's.....not very good. |
| 515 | * AGodAmI: When [=BoJack=] hesitates to do the nude scene he requested, Flip flips out and starts ranting that he is a god. |
| 516 | -->'''Flip:''' You signed a contract, and that means I am your God. You will please your God, and if I don't see your ass on set, then I ''will'' see your ass in court. ''Do you understand?'' |
| 517 | * HateSink: There is nothing remotely likable about Flip. As a director, he [[PrimaDonnaDirector treats his actors terribly]] and subjects attractive actresses to gratuitous {{Fanservice}} scenes, and when [=BoJack=] calls him out on this, he goes on a [[AGodAmI god-complexy]] power trip and forces ''him'' into one. He's also [[WickedPretentious incredibly pretentious]], and considers ''Philbert'' a masterpiece in the making even though he is a [[GiftedlyBad terrible writer]]. [[spoiler:His eagerness to [[EnforcedMethodActing film]] [=BoJack=] strangling Gina ''for real'' takes him far beyond the usual PrimaDonnaDirector by making him an active threat to his talents' lives, which only makes him more loathsome.]] [[invoked]] |
| 518 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: He made the mistake of ordering the cameraman to film [[spoiler: [=BoJack=] strangling Gina for real. The footage later ended up online, necessitating damage control because while the horse would be arrested, there'd be a question of why Flip was taping it]]. |
| 519 | * InsufferableGenius: [[SubvertedTrope Cross the genius part]] by having the writing talent be mostly in his head and amp the insufferable bits by bragging about his art in the most passive-aggressive mellow voice. |
| 520 | * {{Jerkass}}: Contrary to first impressions, Flip turns out to be this – difficult to work with, prone to lashing out at any kind of criticism and just enough of a pretentious hard-ass to kiss his own "genius" ass. |
| 521 | * JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: At first his OhCrap reaction when [[spoiler:[=BoJack=] strangles Gina]] seems to show a EveryoneHasStandards moment for him, until he immediately [[spoiler:asks the cameraman to keep rolling for the show]]. |
| 522 | * LackOfEmpathy: His reaction to [[spoiler:[=BoJack=] strangling Gina ''for real'' on set? Asking the cameraman to continue recording as normally for the shot.]] |
| 523 | * LaserGuidedKarma: All that matters to him is his show. He shows no regard for his actors' well-being. This comes back to bite him [[spoiler:when a random scandal derails the show. It kills his career as a writer and director]]. |
| 524 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In the season 5 trailer. See ExactWords. |
| 525 | * MisaimedFandom:[[invoked]] His love of "dark" characters is implied to be this. There's also the quotes on his wall which highlights his misplaced attitude: |
| 526 | -->''"[[HeWhoFightsMonsters And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.]]"'' |
| 527 | --->—'''Creator/FriedrichNietzsche''', ''Beyond Good and Evil'' |
| 528 | -->''"If you just look at the abyss real quick while it's distracted, you can get a good peek!"'' |
| 529 | --->—'''F. [=McVicker=]''' |
| 530 | * NaiveNewcomer: Sort of. He's new in the business and has just sold his first script, so he doesn't know the basics yet. However, he doesn't have any problem sweet-talking the heads of the network to convince them of his vision. |
| 531 | * {{Narcissist}}: He really enjoys the authority and attribution that comes with being the creator and showrunner of ''Philbert'', and while threatening [=BoJack=] to follow everything his contract tells him to do or else, [[AGodAmI he even calls himself "God"]]. Also, Flip couldn't give a damn about any suggestions that [=BoJack=] or Diane give him, unless they can convince him that their ideas are something he himself thought of. |
| 532 | * NervousWreck: He's very obviously suffering from constant anxiety over his responsibilities for the show. |
| 533 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: While Flip doesn't really look like Nic Pizzolatto, "Philbert" comes off as an obvious caricature of ''True Detective''. |
| 534 | * PlagiarismInFiction: He lands himself in hot water when he uses a joke he read on a popsicle stick in his show, ''Philbert''. |
| 535 | * PrimaDonnaDirector: As the creator, writer, and director of ''Philbert'', he wants the show to be made exactly according to his ever-changing whims, it's either his way or the highway. So unsurprisingly, Flip gets along very terribly with ThePrimaDonna actor [=BoJack=]. |
| 536 | * RandomEventsPlot: His writing usually involves something like this. The most glaring example is Philbert's season 1 finale in which WorldWarIII takes place and it is implied that the United States is completely conquered by Russia. Season 2 continues with almost the [[CosyCatastrophe same status quo as season 1 but with ruined-looking backgrounds.]] |
| 537 | * SanitySlippage: Always a little on the edge, but [[spoiler:after ''Philbert'' is canceled and Princess Carolyn leaves in the middle of a conversation while Flip was distracted, [[TomatointheMirror Flip inadvertently concludes that Princess Carolyn was a figment of his imagination.]] He proceeds to smear lipstick on his face and screech out "OH FISH."]] |
| 538 | * SicklyNeuroticGeek: An odd cross-breeding of this character type with the preppy, smug know-it-all look. Just a thing of notice: that slight hunch, silent condescension and fidgety nitpicking at everything he doesn't consider worthy of the show (or written by himself) sure does bring a pseudo-intellectual vibe. |
| 539 | * SmallNameBigEgo: While it's clear this is a passion project for him, Flip does the pitch to the [=WhatTimeIsIt=] investors as a deep, intellectual affair rather than the badly pretentious, messy and sexist project it might be. Adding to that is the way he commands the reunion away from PC's control by affirming ''[=BoJack=] will star in the project'' when even that might be up for debate[[labelnote:*]]courtesy of Princess Carolyn's horrid handling of the contract situation[[/labelnote]] with the only confirmation being he signed a contract and he saw BJ doing it. |
| 540 | * TakeThat: His character, as well as his in-universe show, are this towards pretentious storytelling that relies on making things incomprehensible and overly metaphorical to avoid doing any actual writing. Flip is clearly a terrible writer who believes he is a genius for writing a show nobody can understand or appreciate; the only thing that kept ''Philbert'' from fully tanking was Diane writing the show by herself after he breaks down. |
| 541 | ** ''Philbert'' itself seems to be this mixed with a parody of ''Series/TrueDetective''. |
| 542 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Is quite fond of blue popsicles, which would probably explain why he got accused of plagiarizing one of the jokes found on the sticks. |
| 543 | * UltimateJobSecurity: In spite of all his awful and incompetent actions as a director, including forced {{Fanservice}} scenes, verbally abusing the actors, allowing [=BoJack=] to perform his own stunts, taking credit for Diane's writing, and [[spoiler:callously ordering the cameramen to film a drugged-up [=BoJack=] [[SinisterSuffocation strangling Gina]]]], it's never enough to get Flip fired. Only [[spoiler:the show's cancellation]] does it, and that wasn't even because of anything Flip did. |
| 544 | * VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:After ''Philbert'' is cancelled, Flip desperately pleads to Princess Carolyn to try and pitch the show to another network. When she leaves the room, he seemingly loses his mind, as he becomes convinced that [[InsaneTrollLogic he was Princess Carolyn all along]] and smears lipstick on his face, grinning madly into the camera as he recites her catchphrase.]] |
| 545 | * WaitingForABreak: He worked as a dishwasher while writing ''Philbert''. |
| 546 | * WickedPretentious: He's a [[{{Jerkass}} total tool]] who considers his faux-intellectual, pretentious writing style the best thing since sliced bread. [[spoiler:The "wicked" part of the trope comes out in full force when he does nothing to help Gina even as an opioid-addled [=BoJack=] is actively strangling her, and instead [[EnforcedMethodActing tells the crew to start filming it]].]] [[invoked]] |
| 547 | * WritersBlock: A large portion of ''Philbert'' ends up set on a submarine after he can't bear to finish the word "Subway" in a script. |
| 548 | [[/folder]] |
| 549 | |
| 550 | [[folder:'''Diane Nguyen''' (Writer)]] |
| 551 | [[Characters/BojackHorsemanMainCharacters See here.]] |
| 552 | [[/folder]] |
| 553 | |
| 554 | [[folder:'''Princess Carolyn''' (Executive Producer)]] |
| 555 | [[Characters/BojackHorsemanMainCharacters See here.]] |
| 556 | [[/folder]] |
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