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1The Characters from ''Series/StepByStep''.
2
3[[foldercontrol]]
4
5!'''The Parents'''
6
7[[folder:Frank Lambert]]
8[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frank_92.jpg]]
9-> '''Portrayed by:''' Creator/PatrickDuffy
10
11* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's usually laidback...except in his PapaWolf moments.
12* BumblingDad: Sometimes, but he was also a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass.
13* ButtMonkey: Sometimes.
14* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Phlegmatic.
15* HappilyMarried: To Carol.
16* PapaWolf: In one episode a sneaky advertiser had videotaped her daughter in a beach scene, telling her and the girls that they were taping a suntan lotion commercial but instead it is for a 1-900 sex hotline; Frank is outraged and, during his visit with the producer, hangs him from a tall-story window and threatens to drop him unless he confesses and pulls the commercial off the air. He also has acted as protector to Dana several times, usually only after several acts of being the BumblingDad before playing things straight. (Although he would have stood up for Karen, usually those situations were left to Cody.)
17* SickeninglySweethearts: Both he and Carol are this, but Frank does everything in his power to make sure they have alone time with each other.
18* SiblingYinYang: Frank is generally a pretty laidback, cautious, and quiet fellow, whereas his brother Richard is something of an oblivious ControlFreak for every situation he encounters and won't take no for an answer.
19* SmartBall: He's pretty good at being a father in general, if with the occasional BumblingDad moment, but he is surprisingly competent when coming up with punishments on the fly.
20[[/folder]]
21
22[[folder:Carol Foster-Lambert]]
23[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carol_55.jpg]]
24-> '''Portrayed by:''' Creator/SuzanneSomers
25
26* ControlFreak: At times she can be controlling when it comes to her children and their lives. It's also lampshaded that Dana inherited her own control freak tendencies from her.
27* DumbBlonde: Avoided, she can be flighty at times, yet she is a capable woman who has raised 3 children by herself and runs her own business.
28* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine.
29* HappilyMarried: To Frank.
30* {{Hypocrite}}: She blasts Frank for his sexism/chauvinism in not wanting to hire a female construction worker. Then when he does and she turns out to be absolutely gorgeous, now she's just as upset about ''that'', despite the woman's competency and that she never makes any attempt at stealing Frank.
31* MamaBear: Don't mess with her family, even teachers and bullies' parents aren't spared.
32* MyBelovedSmother: Has her moments, especially to Dana and Mark.
33* NervousWreck: At her worst. Her pregnancy in season 4 turns her into such a neurotic mess that she needs therapy.
34* ThePerfectionist: Discussed many times in several episodes, especially during her pregnancy.
35[[/folder]]
36
37!'''Foster Family'''
38
39[[folder:Dana Foster]]
40[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dana_82.jpg]]
41-> '''Portrayed by:''' Creator/StaciKeanan
42
43* AllegedlyDateless: Although J.T. is usually the only one who makes fun of her for being dateless. Dana attracts numerous boys throughout the show.
44* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: JT and Dana have an interesting dynamic as step-siblings, constantly insulting each other, but by the later seasons it is obvious they do care about one another. In a final season episode, she goes as far as to willingly help him get back together with Sam.
45* BookSmart: She's a hard-working and brilliant student although, as lampshaded by her mother, she also has enough common sense to be StreetSmart too, unlike her nerdy brother [[DitzyGenius Mark]].
46* BreakTheHaughty: Often happens to her. In one episode Frank's dimwitted nephew Cody gets a higher SAT score than Dana, which caused her no small amount of distress. In another one her professor gives her a D and calls her paper "supercilious crap".
47* CharacterDevelopment: Dating Rich mellowed out her character to be less of a StrawFeminist to ''encourage'' rather than expectedly nag Rich into applying himself.
48* ClingyJealousGirl: She has her moments when dating Rich. When an old female friend returns to town and starts hanging out with him, Dana struggles to adopt more of Rich's interests so that she can stay close by him. When Rich secretly takes dance lessons and gets MistakenForCheating, Dana breaks down the door to the woman's house and screams about being betrayed.
49* CoolBigSis: Despite being her opposite, she gets along quite well with her younger sister Karen and rarely looks down on her.
50* DeadpanSnarker: Her defining trait. She snarks ''all the time'', with J.T being her favorite "victim".
51* DefrostingIceQueen: Especially towards Rich, she goes from hating him, to SlapSlapKiss, and eventualy to have a loving relationship with him. Also towards Cody, but in a platonic way, as she warms up to him more as the show goes on.
52* DisappearedDad: Carol's first husband has died about two years before the series, leaving behind the couple's three children.
53* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: The Responsible to both Karen and JT's foolish.
54* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Melancholic
55* GenerationXerox: She's a perfectionist just like her mother Carol.
56* GoGetterGirl: An ambitious overachiever who wants to be the best at everything, especially academics. Considering her attitude sometimes she borders on AcademicAlphaBitch.
57* GoneHorriblyRight: Getting Rich to apply himself gets him a better grade than ''her.''
58* InsufferableGenius: She's brilliant, obviously, has a smug and conceited attitude, and and tends to belittle anyone who is not as smart as her, especially the Lamberts.
59* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She can be ''very'' rude and arrogant, but deeply cares for her family. She was even instrumental in getting J.T. back together with Sam in the last season.
60* LikeMotherLikeDaughter: Besides hair tint, she and Carol share similar tempers and perfectionist instincts.
61* NotSoAboveItAll: While her main interests are school and career, she's shown to be just as boy-crazy as Karen (and later seasons Al) many times.
62* OfficialCouple: With Rich in the last two seasons.
63* ThePerfectionist: Very much so.
64* SlapSlapKiss: With Rich, much to J.T.'s horror.
65* TheSnarkKnight: She never bothers to hide her disdain for people she dislikes.
66* SoapBoxSadie: A proud feminist and openly becomes an activist in one episode.
67* StrawFeminist: This was basically her schtick. One time she tried to get a full-blown feminist group going, but it was derailed by Cody's hotness. She mellowed down a bit from this after beginning to date Rich.
68* SugarAndIcePersonality: Usually TheSnarkKnight, but she shows her warm and friendly side several times.
69* {{Tsundere}}: The Harsh type, but with many sympathetic moments.
70* VitriolicBestBuds: With J.T. and Cody.
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Karen Foster]]
74[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/karen_73.jpg]]
75-> '''Portrayed by:''' Angela Watson
76
77* AttentionWhore: Due to her vanity, she likes to make everything about hersef.
78* BrainlessBeauty: Karen is outright described as being very beautiful by everyone in-universe, but she's shallow and not very bright.
79* BrattyTeenageDaughter: In one episode she forces her mother to accompany her to a store, while Karen spends ''the entire day'' trying on dresses.
80* CoolBigSis: Not originally, but becomes this to Al in later seasons. She becomes her close confidant and they start to refer each other as "my sister" rather than "my stepsister".
81* DisappearedDad: Carol's first husband has died about two years before the series, leaving behind the couple's three children.
82* TheDitz: She's basically [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir Hilary Banks]], without being rich.
83* DudeMagnet: She's totally aware of her popularity with boys and really enjoys it.
84* EveryoneHasStandards: Every so often, she finds there are lines she won't cross, such as appealing to openly lecherous judges to win a BeautyContest. On another occasion, she went out on a date with a geeky student to secure his deciding vote for homecoming queen, but when he tried to kiss her against her wishes, she immediately slapped him.
85* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: The Foolish to Dana's Responsible.
86* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine
87* HeadTurningBeauty: Apparently every boy in her school drools over Karen.
88* InformedAttractiveness: People on the show talked about Karen as if she was the hottest girl in the world. While very pretty, she wasn't significantly more attractive than Dana, Al, or even Carol.
89* InnocentlyInsensitive: Generally fails to grasp how her narcissism often irritates the rest of the family.
90* LovableAlphaBitch: Karen is the most beautiful and popular girl in her school, and she's generally vain, ditzy, and ''extremely'' shallow, but she means well and is the sweetest of the three girls (compared to Al and Dana).
91* {{Narcissist}}: Openly admires herself and her beauty.
92* ObfuscatingStupidity: It is strongly implied that occasionally, she's not as [[TheDitz clueless]] as she appears to be with a lot of her ditziness being just an act to pull off some BatmanGambit by getting others to underestimate her.
93* ProudBeauty: Beautiful? Check. DudeMagnet? Check. Vain and narcissistic? Check.
94* TheResenter: Is very displeased in "Pretty Woman" when she gets passed over for a modeling job in favor of Al (who didn't even audition). This gets magnified when Carol mediates the fighting by treating them equally instead of giving the biological daughter preferential treatment over the stepsibling. She goes as far as to try to psych Al out ahead of the photoshoot so that she'll screw up. Seeing Al a bundle of nerves, though, causes Karen to feel guilty and be more supportive instead (which ends up being the start of their relationship becoming much closer as the series goes on).
95* SmarterThanTheyLook: While not on an academic level as Dana, there were shades that her overall ditzy persona hid that she was a lot smarter and wiser underneath. It may have been [[ObfuscatingStupidity intentional]] though.
96* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Girly Girl to Al's Tomboy.
97* ValleyGirl: She's not particularly rich, but otherwise fits the stereotype perfectly.
98* VitriolicBestBuds: With Al, especially early on. Even in the later seasons, when they are best friends, they occasionally fight over guys.
99[[/folder]]
100
101[[folder:Mark Foster]]
102[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mark_32.jpg]]
103-> '''Portrayed by:''' Christopher Castile
104
105* AdvertisedExtra: In season 7 he's credited as a main character but he only appears in 8 out of 19 episodes and is largely OutOfFocus in most of them.
106* AlwaysSecondBest: To the point where he's positively ecstatic over Dana getting a D on a college paper, as he feels that finally means he is the smartest one in the family.
107* BookSmart: When it comes to academics, he's as brilliant as Dana. Unlike Dana, he doesn't have much common sense and has NoSocialSkills, especially in early seasons.
108* ButtMonkey: Gets pushed around a lot by his stepsiblings in the early years.
109* DemotedToExtra: In the last two seasons (especially the final one) although, unlike Brendan, he continues to appear sporadically until the end of the series.
110* DisappearedDad: Carol's first husband has died about two years before the series, leaving behind the couple's three children.
111%% * FourTemperamentEnsemble: Melancholic
112* GeekPhysiques: Of the skinny geek variety.
113* HormoneAddledTeenager: Once he hit puberty he starts lusting after girls, along with equally hormone-addled friends.
114* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Feminine Boy to Al's Masculine Girl.
115* NerdGlasses: He's a science-oriented nerd who wears big glasses (similar to Steve Urkel's glasses).
116* ResentfulOutnumberedSibling: Downplayed. He doesn't express any real frustration with being the only male Foster, but he does take to Frank much faster than his sisters do out of need for a male role model. As he once says to Frank, he was raised by women and wants a better handle on how guys interact. He also spends a good bit of time doing activities with Cody and treats him like a surrogate older brother.
117* StrongGirlSmartGuy: Smart Guy to Al's Strong Girl. The contrast is especially prominent in early seasons, where CuteBruiser Al is often a foil to wimpy ChildProdigy Mark.
118* TeenGenius: It is revealed in one episode that Mark's IQ is 187.
119[[/folder]]
120
121!'''Lambert Family'''
122
123[[folder:John Thomas "J.T." Lambert]]
124[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jt_6.jpg]]
125-> '''Portrayed by:''' Brandon Call
126* AllegedlyDateless: Considered by everyone a dumbass who can't get girls. Despite this he still does manage to attract quite a few girls throughout the show, including his HotTeacher.
127* BetaCouple: With Sam, in the last two seasons.
128* BigBrotherInstinct: Towards Al.
129* BigBrotherWorship: Big ''Cousin'' Worship for Cody. In one of the early episodes, he refers to him as "the coolest guy in the world". But much like J.T.'s own immaturity eventually alienated Al, so too did Cody revealing his more sensitive and moralistic side start to alienate him in turn. Case in point: one episode ended with Cody lecturing the kids to act their age after walking into a Foster vs. Lambert food fight, J.T.'s response is to declare that everyone is sick of his acting as voice of reason and switches the fight to Everyone vs. Cody.[[note]]It quickly switches back after Cody joins the fight on the Lambert camp, but the point that J.T. was actively willing to pelt his "favorite" cousin still stands.[[/note]]
130* BookDumb: This is later attributed to dyslexia.
131* ButtMonkey: Tends to be mocked or humiliated more frequently than any other character.
132* CasanovaWannabe: Tries desperately to impress girls, but his attempts are often pretty unsuccessful.
133* ChickMagnet: J.T. was originally ''supposed'' to be this, if his roles in the episodes "Frank and Son", "Home Alone" and "Bully for Mark" are anything to go by.[[note]]"The New Car" doesn't count as the girl outright stated she was only interested in the vehicle in question.[[/note]] Then big cousin Cody came along, quickly proved to be the bigger catch with the audience, and it all went downhill from "Daddy's Girl" onward.
134* ChildishOlderSibling: Mostly in later seasons, his younger sister Al is smarter and more mature than him. This only happens after Al's CharacterDevelopment, and it's the reason why her BigBrotherWorship disappears.
135* CoolBigBro: Al and Brendan look up to him in early seasons. Averted in later seasons, as Al doesn't really think he's cool anymore (quite the opposite) and she gets along better with Dana and Karen.
136* DisappointingOlderSibling: He starts off as a CoolBigBro to the younger Lamberts and is only disliked by the Fosters, but becomes everyone's ButtMonkey in later seasons. In the last few seasons, even Al (his younger sister who used to admire him) finds him annoying and stupid.
137* DumbassTeenageSon: He's this in the eyes of everyone in his family and often proves to be one, especially due to his slacker tendencies and hormonal tendencies with girls.
138* DumbJock: It becomes a plot point in the episode "To B or Not to Be".
139* {{Foil}}: The main foil to Dana, since they are the same age, but have opposite personalities. They always argue and exchange insults, but deep down, [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther they care for each other]].
140* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: The Foolish to Dana's Responsible.
141* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Choleric.
142* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Rich, in later seasons. And to an extent, with Cody in early seasons (until Cody gets PutOnABus ).
143* HiddenDepths: He occasionally shows unexpected talents, though he always goes back being a loser in following episodes.
144** In a season 3 episode, he's excellent at mechanics, much to Dana's shock. This contradicts the season 7 episode where he works at Sam's garage and is a terrible mechanic.
145** In another season 3 episode, "Birth of a Salesman", he's such a good salesman that he thinks of it as a possible career choice. This is never mentioned again.
146* HormoneAddledTeenager: ''So much.''
147* JerkJock: To an extent. His favorite target of abuse is his stepsister Dana, whom he often calls "Barky" and also trades other various insults at her expense.
148* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's not that bad anyway. He gets plenty of PetTheDog moments, like when he comforts Dana after a boy ditches her, and also has other AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther moments with Dana.
149* KnightTemplarBigBrother: He beats up Rich when he learns the latter is taking Al to the drive in.
150* LIsForDyslexia: "Hey great news everyone, I have dyslexia!"
151* MissingMom: Frank's first wife has left him and her children, disappearing and having no apparent contact with any of them.
152* OnlyKnownByInitials: J.T.'s real name isn't even revealed until Season 3, specifically the episode "Hog Wild". Presumably he considers it too formal for his carefree, laid-back demeanor.
153* TheSlacker: He really doesn't care much about school or work.
154* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Chocolate milk, [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/00f3b58f-d9f7-431a-9175-30f8ba81c07e preferred straight out of the bottle & carton]]. [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/549417bb-f76a-46f7-a205-49e9a97d7fe8 It's apparently a family recipe.]]
155* TheUnfavourite: Seems to be this in later seasons, part of his ButtMonkey status.
156* VitriolicBestBuds: With Dana, at their best. He once pointed out to Carol that if he really hated Dana as much as he claims to, he'd just avoid her. He really sees the constant insults as a form of affection, as well as a challenge to try to top each other.
157[[/folder]]
158
159[[folder: Alicia "Al" Lambert]]
160[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/al_59.jpg]]
161-> '''Portrayed by:''' Creator/ChristineLakin
162
163* BadassAdorable: Much stronger than she looks.
164* BigBrotherWorship: For JT in the first few seasons. Completely inverted in later seasons: she thinks JT is an annoying idiot and makes fun of him just as much as Dana.
165* BrattyTeenageDaughter: In later seasons, she's boy-crazy and often acts like Karen, in a ThoseTwoGirls duo.
166* CharacterDevelopment: The only character with a real development, actually, as she gradually evolves into a totally different person.
167* CuteBruiser: When she was a tough girl in the early episodes, apparently able to beat up people older than her.
168* DaddysGirl: Due to being Frank's only daughter.
169* DeadpanSnarker: Easily the snarkiest character on the show, after Dana.
170* EnfantTerrible: In an unaired scene from the pilot, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LLPwe7kniU Al threatened to murder Dana in her sleep with rattlesnake venom if she touched any of her possessions]]-[[WouldHurtAChild with the same conditions presumed to also apply to Karen.]] [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/d9ad3437-5200-435e-b9f3-82d154ec18b5 Then]] [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/cf4167d1-a95b-4baf-93bf-75677088f829 there's]] [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/af864849-bb1d-4305-af2b-6e7e8deb885b Mark.]] [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/f0e45d58-7a39-48e6-8951-cdc3911aea57 Poor]] [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/3ab973b6-1f7e-4dc9-942b-9a9e1e37bfbf Mark.]]
171* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Choleric
172* GirlinessUpgrade:
173** She was originally an athletic tomboy with doesn't care about her looks, but becomes more feminine and boy-crazy as time goes by, as Christine Lakin entered puberty and the producers wanted to take advantage of her physical attractiveness.
174** Her interest in sports is very much forgotten onscreen by midway through the series. In the final season, she states that she was always overshadowed by Dana being "the smart one" and Karen being "the pretty one", and her acting talent is the only thing she excels at. That fact that she used to be "the strong/athletic one" (pretty much her entire character in early seasons) is not even mentioned.
175* HiddenDepths: Her acting talent revealed in the final season, which allowed her to star in a Hollywood movie. It provides the plot of at the least three episodes.
176* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's hot-tempered, rude, and rebellious, but she does have a moral center. Although she continues to be self-assured in later episodes, the negative aspects were toned down somewhat in later seasons
177* LittleMissBadass: Especially in early seasons.
178* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Masculine Girl to Mark's Feminine Boy.
179* MissingMom: Frank's first wife has left him and her children, disappearing and having no apparent contact with any of them.
180* OneOfTheBoys: Very much so in the early episodes, due to being the only daughter of a single father with two brothers & her interest in sports (as well as the apparent lack of girls-only teams in Port Washington).
181* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Al is only ever called by her full name in the pilot, and even then only by the doctor overseeing her appendicitis operation. Presumably she considers it too feminine for her and fears not being taken seriously because of it. That said, she still insists on only being called "Al" even after she otherwise softens herself.
182* OnlySaneWoman: More evident when she gets out of her aggressive tomboy phase, in later seasons. Especially in her trio with [[StrawFeminist Dana]] and [[TheDitz Karen]], she's by far the most normal and levelheaded. It's also lampshaded in season 6 that she's the only Lambert sibling who is not an idiot.
183* RaisedByDudes: Growing up in a house with a dad who owns a construction company, a Jerk Jock older brother, and a fart humor loving younger one, she became very much a tomboy who had trouble getting along with girls her age and got into fights fairly often.
184* ShesAllGrownUp: From a somewhat cute tomboyish pre-teen to a stunningly attractive young woman. J.T has a hard time accepting this with season 5 onwards. Most male viewers consider her the hottest girl on the show.
185* SheCleansUpNicely: '''And how'''. J.T. was even surprised when his friend Rich was attracted to her in one episode.
186* StrongGirlSmartGuy: Strong Girl to Mark's Smart Guy. The contrast is especially prominent in early seasons, where CuteBruiser Al is often a foil to wimpy ChildProdigy Mark.
187* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tomboy to Karen's Girly Girl. Before her GirlinessUpgrade, anyway.
188* TomboyishName: Al is short for Alicia.
189* TookALevelInKindness: She becomes much less aggressive in later seasons. She used to be openly hostile to Dana and Karen, but in later episodes she always hangs out with them.
190* VitriolicBestBuds: With Karen and, to a lesser extent, Dana.
191[[/folder]]
192
193[[folder:Brendan Lambert]]
194[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brendan_0.jpg]]
195-> '''Portrayed by:''' Josh Byrne
196
197* AdvertisedExtra: Before season 7, he is credited as a main character but he gets much less focus than all his siblings and is rarely involved in the plot of the episodes. In season 6, where Brendan is a teenager, he's mostly used as a LivingProp.
198* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: He disappears in season 7 and is removed from the opening credits, although Frank mentions his "seven children" in a season 7 episode, implying Brendan still exists somewhere.
199* DeadpanSnarker: Was reduced to delivering snarky one-liners in season 6.
200* DemotedToExtra: He wasn't given much to do during the first 5 seasons (he only gets ADayInTheLimelight in about two episodes), but at least he was usually included in the scenes involving the entire family. As of season 6 he was almost out of the picture, before being eliminated completely in season 7.
201* FlatCharacter: We have Dana the sassy GoGetterGirl, Karen the ditzy bimbo, Mark the StereotypicalNerd, JT the BookDumb slacker, Al the spunky tomboy and Brendan who was... [[TheBabyOfTheBunch the youngest one]]. And after Lilly's birth, not even that.
202* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Phlegmatic
203* TheGenericGuy: So generic, that he does not show up in the final season, and the family dynamic is not affected at all.
204* MissingMom: Frank's first wife has left him and her children, disappearing and having no apparent contact with any of them.
205[[/folder]]
206
207[[folder:Cody Lambert]]
208[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cody_09.jpg]]
209-> '''Portrayed by:''' Sasha Mitchell
210
211* TheAce: He can come out on top at just about anything. He is a ChickMagnet, has many hidden talents, is usually the one who saves the day, solves all the family problems, gives useful advice to everyone, and is adored by everyone except Dana (who cares for him too, deep down).
212* BewareTheSillyOnes: Cody is such a friendly, goofy guy, but he also knows kickboxing... very well.
213* BigBrotherMentor: To J.T. and, sometimes, Mark. Also qualifies as an EccentricMentor
214* BreakoutCharacter: Definitely. In the same way Steve Urkel was for ''Series/FamilyMatters''.
215* BunnyEarsLawyer: Despite being an eccentric weirdo, he's usually competent at whatever he does.
216* TheBusCameBack: In one episode of season 7.
217* CatchPhrase: "Dude!"
218* ChickMagnet: Very popular with girls, although he has a crush on Dana who isn't interested in him at all.
219* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The king of this trope. He is highly eccentric and lives in a van.
220* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Thanks to his kickboxing skills.
221* DidNotGetTheGirl: He never gets together with Dana, and the fact that she is his step-cousin doesn't help. He eventually starts treating her like a sister.
222* DoggedNiceGuy: in early episodes he's nice to Dana because he has a crush on her.
223* DropInCharacter: Technically, he lives at the same address, but he lives in his van.
224* DumbassHasAPoint: He sometimes ''did'' have good advice, it becomes sort of a RunningGag.
225* EruditeStoner: He often shows maturity and intelligence behind his eccentric {{Cloudcuckoolander}} nature.
226* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine
227* FreudianExcuse:
228** A lot of Cody's firm belief in the importance of family can be traced back to his own parents always being off working when he was growing up.
229** His father, Richard, was something of a ControlFreak. Cody doesn't begrudge him, but he's clearly at his happiest when he can live his life how he wants to. Frank points out that Cody would rather live in a van in the driveway than live at Richard's house.
230* FunPersonified: He's an easygoing and goofy guy, despite his age.
231* GeniusDitz: By many accounts he's dumb, but he also happened to outscore Dana on the SAT and often becomes the voice of reason in family crises.
232* HiddenDepths: Among his many skills is kick-boxing, though he openly has no idea ''how'' he learned it in the first place.
233* HopelessSuitor: He hits on Dana in early seasons, but she constantly rejects him.
234* ManChild: Cody is actually an adult but he doesn't really act like one.
235* TheNicknamer: In general, but most notably toward stepcousins Dana ("Danaburger") and Karen ("Kare Bear"). Cody considers each of these as an AffectionateNickname-but Dana openly thinks otherwise while Karen is seemingly neutral.
236* NiceGuy: Very friendly and easygoing and often acts as a BigBrotherMentor to all the siblings.
237* PapaWolf:
238** On one episode Dana goes to one of the toughest bars in town against her stepfather's orders and gets in trouble. Whereupon Frank and Cody, come to rescue her jointly beat up every ruffian there in a Bar Brawl and take her home.
239** Cody may have gotten on Dana's last nerves in the episode where he had a premonition that she needed to be protected from a guy. After she basically tells him to get out of her life, he refuses to do so and saves her from a legitimate attacker.
240** In the episode where he takes Karen to a party at a frat house. Although Cody had earlier scoffed at Dana's suspicion that the frat brothers would try to take advantage of Karen, he is not pleased when Karen declines an offer of sex and is immediately taunted by all the boys for being a "virgin." The physically larger Cody confronts Karen's tormentor and indignantly demands: "What's wrong with being a virgin? I'm a virgin!"
241* ParentalNeglect: Growing up, his parents were always busy with work and thus missing the big moments in his life. He took to George (the local ice cream man) and Marge as surrogate parental figures and stayed in touch with them well-into adulthood.
242* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In season 2.
243* PutOnABus: He disappears late into Season 5, initially without explanation (actor Sasha Mitchell was accused of domestic abuse - though this turned out to be unfounded).
244* TheRunaway: [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/0cec8253-bc4e-43e4-add8-adbdfc3c1a8c Several]] [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/d9ad3437-5200-435e-b9f3-82d154ec18b5 episodes]] [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/82bc5f0e-1a03-44f7-bec2-26d869a33b92 indicate]] that Cody ran away from home halfway through high school due to a combination of [[https://www.hulu.com/watch/fc9aafb7-570e-4357-a019-58aed95f4412 his father unfairly pressuring him to join his real estate company]] and being a self-admitted social outcast. Fortunately, the three years spent living on the road between then and the start of the series presumably saw Cody teach himself demolition, martial arts and enough social graces to gain his aforementioned ChickMagnet status. All in all, pretty good for someone of his eccentric nature and limited booksmarts.
245* SarcasmBlind: Constantly, especially when talking to Dana.
246* SimpleMindedWisdom: For all his eccentricities, he often demonstrates a great deal of common sense and cautions the others on what they're doing. As the seasons go on, he's quick to point out that any ongoing antagonism between his cousins and stepcousins is needlessly petty.
247* StrangerInAFamiliarLand: Briefly touched on when TheBusCameBack, as he comments on Dana and Rich's relationship, Mark's growth spurt, and Lilly's SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome.
248* SurferDude: He has a Valley teen accent and vocabulary (such Valley-isms as "dude" and "cheesed off").
249* TotallyRadical: Look at his CatchPhrase.
250* UnexpectedVirgin: Freely admits in "Virgin Territory" that he is just that, which everyone is surprised by, due to his very healthy dating life and how most guys his age casually sleep around. Cody says he's saving himself for the right girl, though he admits it's not always easy to ignore temptation.
251* WellDoneSonGuy: He takes an executive position in "Great Expectations" at his father Richard's real estate company. He hates it since it's so different from the kind of work he likes and his general style, but he tries to stick it out because he thinks it would make the old man proud of him. Cody eventually cracks, though by that time, Richard has talked to Frank and already taken stock of the situation.
252[[/folder]]
253
254!'''Other Characters'''
255
256[[folder:Other Characters]]
257
258!!Penny and Ivy Baker
259-> '''Portrayed by:''' Patrika Darbo and Peggy Rea
260
261* AbhorrentAdmirer: Penny to Frank, despite being married to her sister.
262* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: They are just written out after season 1.
263* ObnoxiousInLaws: To Frank.
264* UglyGuysHotDaughter: It's clear where Penny has inherited her weight and style from, yet Ivy also has Carol as a daughter.
265
266!!Lilly Foster-Lambert
267-> '''Portrayed by:''' Emily Mae Young
268
269* AdorablyPrecociousChild: She's noted to be very smart for her age.
270* CousinOliver: The introduction of baby Lilly in season 4.
271* ItRunsInTheFamily: She got into a fight with classmates that wouldn't let her play with them and, when told by Carol to think about her actions, muses she should've hit them even harder than she did. Carol is disturbed by this, but Al is quite amused and says she and her brothers got aggressive at that age, too.
272-->'''Al:''' God, I love that kid!
273* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome: Lilly aged from an infant to a walking, talking preschooler in between seasons. This was lampshaded in Season 7 when Cody returned, as he says she was a baby when he left.
274
275!!Rich Halke
276-> '''Portrayed by:''' Creator/JasonMarsden
277
278* BelligerentSexualTension: Initially with Dana, but unlike most examples, it led to mutual CharacterDevelopment and a solid relationship.
279* BookDumb: The reason why he needs to be tutored by Dana.
280* BrilliantButLazy: "Making the Grade" shows he could've rivaled Dana at college, if he applied himself more often rather than goof off. He even got a better grade on the big test than she did. He makes more of an effort to apply himself going forward to keep her happy.
281* DivergentCharacterEvolution: Was essentially "J.T. #2" until dating Dana, who encourages him to apply himself more to his studies. This not only sticks, but to the extent he realizes how much he's outgrown J.T. though remains friends with him.
282* TheDragAlong: Being "J.T. #2" meant he didn't need much coaxing for a ZanyScheme, but the CharacterDevelopment he got from his relationship with Dana turned him into this. On one occasion, J.T. and Rich hard up for money ahead of a ski trip vacation with their girlfriends and the only option for quick cash is auditioning to be male strippers. J.T. is all in and has to literally drag Rich down to the venue.
283* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Phlegmatic
284* HeterosexualLifePartners: With J.T. in later seasons. They (usually) get along because they are very similar.
285* HiddenDepths: He's a decent pool player. He also proves to be quite gifted at making pottery.
286* MistakenForCheating: On one occasion, he starts coming up with excuses for why he can't make time for Dana, and he's later seen dancing with another woman. When Dana finally confronts him, it turns out he was taking dance lessons so that he wouldn't embarrass her at an upcoming wedding reception.
287* OfficialCouple: With Dana, starting in early season 6. They are still dating by the end of the show.
288* OppositesAttract: With Dana. Dana is very smart and serious and Rich is not all that different from J.T.. They even mention the trope name when they discuss why they get together.
289* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In season 6.
290* RememberTheNewGuy: He never appears before season 5 (although Rich's actor played JT's friend "Doug" in one of the early episodes) but he and J.T. act like they have always been best friends.
291* SlapSlapKiss: With Dana, in the episode where they hook up for the first time. It was actually insult-insult-kiss.
292* TheSlacker: Initially, but grows out of due to Dana's influence.
293* ThatCameOutWrong: Has a tendency to fall into this, such as when Frank questioned why he was holding a pair of Dana's panties. She had simply dropped them while doing laundry, and he was returning them to her, but his brief attempt to explain himself makes it sound like they had sex. His attempts to clarify led to [[DiggingYourselfDeeper digging himself even deeper]], to the point where he just opted to let Frank return the panties and walked away as quickly as possible.
294
295!!Samantha "Sam" Milano
296-> '''Portrayed by:''' Alexandra Adi
297
298* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: There's one episode where she seems to always beat her boyfriend JT at everything. Surprisingly, JT's issue with it isn't that he wants to feel superior over her, it is that he feels like he doesn't deserve her, which she points out couldn't be further from the truth.
299* BetaCouple: With J.T.
300* CuteBruiser: A pretty girl, but also very strong and tough.
301* DeadpanSnarker: She can be this in response to JT's antics.
302* TheLadette: She's interested in sports and is great at every manly thing.
303* {{Tomboy}}: A new tomboyish female character introduced after Al's GirlinessUpgrade.
304* TomboyishName: She's first mentioned by JT who heard about a guy named "Sam", the best mechanic in town...
305* WrenchWench: She works as a mechanic in a garage.
306
307!!Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux
308-> '''Portrayed by:''' Creator/BronsonPinchot
309
310* AndStarring: "And Bronson Pinchot as Jean-Luc".
311* CampStraight: A flamboyant male hairdresser with an exaggerated french accent but he is portrayed as a womanizer who comes on to at least one woman in every episode he appears in.
312* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: To Cody. They're both very quirky and have a knack for demonstrating useful skills and imparting lessons, but Jean-Luc is Carol's business partner rather than a relation in the extended family. He also lacks many of the common interests and sensibilities that Cody shared with Frank, making their interactions more strained.
313* {{Expy}}: The character is basically a combination of Pinchot's two most well known characters: Serge from Film/BeverlyHillsCop and Balki from Series/PerfectStrangers.
314* FunnyForeigner: A French eccentric guy.
315* IntergenerationalFriendship: Spends a lot of time playing games with Lilly.
316* ShooOutTheNewGuy: He was brought in to take the place of Cody's character on the series. He disappears after the end of season 6, and doesn't show up in the final season.
317* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: To Cody.
318* ThatCameOutWrong: His catchphrase (along with his daughter) anytime he says something that could be taken the wrong way.

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