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Post by dayton3 on Jul 24, 2021 17:14:48 GMT -5
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Post by Easton on Jul 24, 2021 17:50:24 GMT -5
I don't think there were any breakout characters at all. I consider a breakout character to be one that literally becomes the focus of the show. I consider Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) from M*A*S*H and Fonzie (Henry Winkler) from Happy Days to be breakout characters, that their presence on the programmes were vital to the survival of the shows, but none of the Waltons nor any of the recurring characters ever gained such stature, not even Curt or Corabeth or, for that matter, John-Boy.
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Post by JessicaGirlSpy on Jul 24, 2021 18:15:01 GMT -5
I'm glad the article listed Ramona Quimby on its list of breakout characters. I love all of Beverly Cleary wonderful books. Especially the Ramona books. In the category of literary bestfriends, Ramona is certainly near the top. Beverly may of stopped her aging at ten, but to me she's 15 like me.😀
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Post by patriciaanne on Jul 26, 2021 8:08:43 GMT -5
I think one of the strengths of the show is that it's such a strong ensemble cast.
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Post by noplacelikehome on Jul 26, 2021 8:18:17 GMT -5
I would consider Don Knotts (Deputy Barney Fife) a break out character for his part in the Andy Griffith Show.
Not sure why he wasn't listed in the article above.
As far as I am concerned, he outshined Andy Griffith and made the show the success it is.
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Post by Easton on Jul 26, 2021 9:27:38 GMT -5
^ That was actually Andy's idea. In his first appearance on The Danny Thomas Show, he played comedy as the sheriff who gave Danny a ticket. His character was a hit and, when The Andy Griffith Show was created as a spin-off and with his success with No Time For Sergeants, Andy was supposed to be the comedian to Don's straight man performance, but he recognised Don's comedy genius and convinced the producers to switch the roles. He became the straight man to Don's sidekick.
Don left the show after a few seasons, but not as a spin-off. He just wanted to spread his wings, but, although he kept busy, he never regained the success he had with Barney Fife, even as Mr. Furley in Three's Company. He always seemed to be stuck in the role of second banana.
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Post by noplacelikehome on Jul 26, 2021 9:49:57 GMT -5
^ That was actually Andy's idea. In his first appearance on The Danny Thomas Show, he played comedy as the sheriff who gave Danny a ticket. His character was a hit and, when The Andy Griffith Show was created as a spin-off and with his success with No Time For Sergeants, Andy was supposed to be the comedian to Don's straight man performance, but he recognised Don's comedy genius and convinced the producers to switch the roles. He became the straight man to Don's sidekick. Don left the show after a few seasons, but not as a spin-off. He just wanted to spread his wings, but, although he kept busy, he never regained the success he had with Barney Fife, even as Mr. Furley in Three's Company. He always seemed to be stuck in the role of second banana.
I believe Don played the role of Barney Fife for 5 seasons, until his contract ran out. Then he returned as a guest in some additional episodes later on. I didn't remember it until I watched the John Ritter documentary, but John and Don starred together for a while in Three's Company.
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Post by dayton3 on Jul 26, 2021 13:24:40 GMT -5
I don't think there were any breakout characters at all. I consider a breakout character to be one that literally becomes the focus of the show. I consider Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) from M*A*S*H and Fonzie (Henry Winkler) from Happy Days to be breakout characters, that their presence on the programmes were vital to the survival of the shows, but none of the Waltons nor any of the recurring characters ever gained such stature, not even Curt or Corabeth or, for that matter, John-Boy.
Except the character becoming the focus of the show is not strictly speaking what a "breakout character" is. And on MASH, Alan Aldas character of HawkEye Pierce was always the focus of the show.
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Post by Easton on Jul 26, 2021 13:46:19 GMT -5
^ M*A*S*H was always an ensemble cast with Hawkeye, Trapper, and Blake as lead characters. McLean Stevenson left the show after 3 seasons because it was no longer an ensemble cast. Wayne Rogers simply never returned for the 4th season because it had become The Alan Alda Show. That's what I meant by 'breakout' as far as Hawkeye was concerned, but it was an egotistic, self-indulgent breakout similar to that of William Shatner on Star Trek.
The Fonz was a genuine breakout character.
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Post by dayton3 on Jul 27, 2021 18:22:38 GMT -5
So was Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Originally Gene Roddenberry didn't want to feature characters from any races from the original series (except humans obviously). But then someone pointed out that in the original series episode "Errand of Mercy" the Organians predicted that one day the Federation and Klingons would be "fast friends".
This inspired Roddenberry to add the character of Worf. Michael Dorn was familiar with Klingons, came in to audition, sat apart from everyone else, and only responded with short, sharp replies. In other words he nailed it totally. Michael Dorn played the character of Worf with such dash and elan that he became immensely popular.
So popular that years later when they needed to "save" DS9 that Worf was brought in to that series.
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Post by Easton on Jul 27, 2021 19:15:05 GMT -5
^ I don't remember the episode or even the series, but I loved when Worf and the crew went back in time to see the Klingons in the original Star Trek. All eyes fell on Worf who said, "It is a long story."
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Post by JessicaGirlSpy on Jul 28, 2021 9:59:32 GMT -5
Would Huckleberry Finn be considered a breakout character. He was in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and he was in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. And Twain later wrote Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer Detective.
Also would Shakespeare's Falstaff be considered a breakout character. He was in King Henry IV Part 1 and 2 and was also in the Merry Wives of Windsor.
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Post by Easton on Jul 28, 2021 10:38:54 GMT -5
^ I don't think so. They are both just characters used in more than one situation. Falstaff for sure. However, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer preceded The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by 8 years.
A breakaway character is a character (usually in a television series) who becomes more popular that the actual stars of the story to the point where the show becomes mess and less about the stars and more and more about the character. I used Alan Alda (Hawkeye) in M*A*S*H and Henry Winkler (the Fonz) in Happy Days. I didn't include William Shatner in this because his ego was the only thing that broke away from the rest of the cast.
As for Huck and Tom, you're thinking of 'spin-off', such as Maude or The Jeffersons from All In The Family or Good Times from Maude (?) or Benson from Soap. Spin-offs are nothing more than networks using the popularity of a character or two to create a new programme that they can make money from. It doesn't always work. Maude and Benson had good runs, but some simply couldn't hold their own. The Ropers lasted only 1 season after leaving Three's Company and Radar, after leaving M*A*S*H and after M*A*S*H came to an end and after 2 guest appearances in After MASH, went on to his own series - W*A*L*T*E*R - Playing the same character. He didn't even make it past the pilot.
So, there's an enormous difference between 'breakaway' and 'spin-off'.
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Post by JessicaGirlSpy on Jul 28, 2021 10:53:53 GMT -5
^ I don't think so. They are both just characters used in more than one situation. Falstaff for sure. However, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer preceded The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by 8 years.
A breakaway character is a character (usually in a television series) who becomes more popular that the actual stars of the story to the point where the show becomes mess and less about the stars and more and more about the character. I used Alan Alda (Hawkeye) in M*A*S*H and Henry Winkler (the Fonz) in Happy Days. I didn't include William Shatner in this because his ego was the only thing that broke away from the rest of the cast.
As for Huck and Tom, you're thinking of 'spin-off', such as Maude or The Jeffersons from All In The Family or Good Times from Maude (?) or Benson from Soap. Spin-offs are nothing more than networks using the popularity of a character or two to create a new programme that they can make money from. It doesn't always work. Maude and Benson had good runs, but some simply couldn't hold their own. The Ropers lasted only 1 season after leaving Three's Company and Radar, after leaving M*A*S*H and after M*A*S*H came to an end and after 2 guest appearances in After MASH, went on to his own series - W*A*L*T*E*R - Playing the same character. He didn't even make it past the pilot.
So, there's an enormous difference between 'breakaway' and 'spin-off'.
You explained it well. I guess I didn't think it through. I wonder if Will Geer would've made a good Falstaff?
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Post by Easton on Jul 28, 2021 11:07:04 GMT -5
^ It's a matter of semantics, I suppose. Even various dictionaries have different definitions for some words.
Nothing to be concerned about.
Oh, and as for Will Geer as Falstaff, I've never read nor seen any of the plays in which he appeared. Still, from what I've read about the character, with a little padding on his belly and less hair on his face, Will Geer might have made a fine Falstaff, especially in a stage production.
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