Wikipedia:

breakout character

Henry Winkler as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli in Happy Days, one of the best-known breakout characters in television.
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Henry Winkler as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli in Happy Days, one of the best-known breakout characters in television.

A breakout character is a fictional character in different episodes, books or other media (tv, comics, literature, games etc) that evolves from a minor role to a major role, sometimes becoming the main character of the show. In television programs, movies and other episodic media, a character that becomes the most popular, talked about, and imitated is a breakout character.[1] Most often a breakout character in a series captures audience's imagination and popularizes it, sometimes inadvertently. Breakout characters are known to come from intended single appearances.

In some instances, particularly television, when characters have broken out from minor roles to become the center of the action, viewers have felt they received too much focus and were detrimental to the show,[2] sometimes leading it to jump the shark.

Examples

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Television

  • Alex P. Keaton (played by Michael J. Fox in Family Ties). The original pitch was for Meredith Baxter-Birney and Michael Gross to be the main characters, but very positive audience feedback in the first season shifted much of the show's attention to Fox. Despite this, Baxter-Birney and Gross continued to be main characters.
  • Alexis Carrington (played by Joan Collins in Dynasty). Dynasty began with Blake Carrington (played by John Forsythe) as the leading character. However, the show's ratings and reviews for Season 1 were dismal. In the second season Alexis was memorably introduced, and subsequently the show's ratings skyrocketed.[citation needed] This relaunched Joan Collins's career.
  • Amanda Woodward (played by Heather Locklear) was introduced on Melrose Place in 1993, midway through the first season, and quickly became the focal point of the series. Initially intended as a high-profile guest, Amanda was retained on the series on a permanent basis, but Locklear kept her "Special Guest Star" billing throughout the show's run.
  • Arnold Jackson (played by Gary Coleman) in Diff'rent Strokes. Diminutive actor Coleman played the wisecracking young African-American who was adopted along with his older brother Willis (Todd Bridges) by an older rich white man Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) and his teen daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato). Although the show was initially largely conceived as a vehicle for ex-Maude co-star Bain, the "adorable" young actor quickly dominated the series, with his memorable catch phrase: scrunching up his face and remarking in disbelief, "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, (character name, usually Willis or Mr. Drummond)?!" Arnold would appear on other related series, such as The Facts of Life. As Coleman started to age, the show's producers introduced another cute young kid, a naive white boy named Sam (Danny Cooksey). Coleman's character inspired Webster Long (Emmanuel Lewis) in the competing series Webster.[citation needed]
  • Arthur Daley (played by George Cole) in the United Kingdom comedy-drama Minder. Originally the series was designed as a vehicle for ex-Sweeney star Dennis Waterman, with Daley, in a somewhat secondary role, finding work for Terry (Waterman) in different areas each episode. But almost from the off, the comical shady deals of Daley, and Cole's rapport with Waterman caught the public's attention. Stories were soon introduced featuring Arthur and his various dodgy dealings much more. This was firmly in place by the late third/early fourth series, and by the end of the show's long run (in which Cole outstayed Waterman), nearly all episodes revolved around Arthur.
  • Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli (played by Henry Winkler) in the American sitcom Happy Days[1][3]. The character of Fonzie started out as a fringe character but quickly evolved into the focal point of the series. His character became best friend to the main character, Richie Cunningham, displacing the character originally intended for that relationship. Winkler's billing in the credits rose all the way to second (he refused to go before Ron Howard, the star) and then first after Howard left the show to pursue directing. At one point, network executives even hoped to call the show Fonzie's Happy Days. [4]
  • Barnabas Collins (played by Jonathan Frid) in Dark Shadows. Originally a short-lived character intended to spike ratings, he became the centerpiece of the show.[citation needed]
  • Barney Fife (played by Don Knotts) in The Andy Griffith Show.[5]
  • Bender Bending Rodriguez (voiced by John DiMaggio in the American animated comedy Futurama). In the first season of Futurama, the plot largely revolved around Fry's misadventures in the year 3000. After the first season (and Fry became used to many oddities of future living), Bender largely stood out as the show's anti-hero, and by fan demand, was pushed more into the center of the series.[citation needed] When Futurama was eventually canceled, Bender stood out as a "representative" for Futurama, including three appearances on The Simpsons (in "Missionary: Impossible", "Future-Drama" and "Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Third Grade", as well as an "appearance" as a toy in another episode).
  • Benjamin Linus (played by Michael Emerson in Lost). Started life off as Henry Gale. Emerson wowed show creators so much that his contract was extended to the end of the second, and the third season, and he emerged a main character and leader of The Others.
  • Bob & Doug McKenzie (played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas respectively) were originally created as filler material to both satisfy and satirize Canadian content broadcast rules when the series Second City Television was on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television network. The characters became the most popular of the series in both Canada and the United States, later singing the hit single "Take Off" with Rush's Geddy Lee.
  • Borat Sagdiyev (played by Sacha Baron Cohen),a stereotypical Kazakh journalist from Da Ali G Show was originally planned as one of the two secondary characters on the show. However, Borat's segments seemed to be much more popular than those of the two other characters, Ali G and Bruno. When a movie was created for each character, the first, Ali G Indahouse was unsuccessful and received mixed reviews. However, Borat's movie, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, was a critical success and held the record for the biggest opening of a movie opening in less than 1000 theaters, causing it to expand to about 2000 more theaters.
  • Claire Bennet (played by Hayden Panettiere), an invincible cheerleader, was one of a large ensemble of characters in the TV series Heroes, with Peter Petrelli acting as the "true" main character. However, the character skyrocketed in popularity, as did Panettiere, and Claire played a major role in the later half of the first season. A live chat on the NBC website that took place just after the airing of the season finale let fans talk to the series' creator Tim Kring and only one cast member, which happened to be Panettiere. Most magazines featuring an article on Heroes used Claire's image on their cover.[citation needed] Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) has also become a breakout character, especially among geeks, but his image was not used as extensively as Claire's.
  • Cosmo Kramer (played by Michael Richards), Jerry's bumbling neighbor in the hit show Seinfeld, the character's popularity became so great that audiences began applauding every time he made his entrance. So much so that show Producer and Co-Creator Larry David felt this disturbed the show's flow and asked for it to be stopped.
  • Dylan McKay (played by Luke Perry) did not appear in the pilot of Beverly Hills, 90210 and in the first season had his salary paid for by Aaron Spelling directly until he became a breakout character who was involved in many central storylines.
  • Frasier Crane (played by Kelsey Grammer) from Cheers was originally meant to be a minor character for a few episodes,[citation needed] just meant to further Sam and Diane's relationship. Although this was the intention, Kelsey Grammer's acting made a large impression on the producers of the show, mainly because he made lines that weren't meant to be funny funny, that he later became a regular character, and got his own spinoff, Frasier, after Cheers ended.
  • Fenton "Gizmoduck" Crackshell (voiced by Hamilton Camp) from DuckTales. A supporting character invented by Tad Stones, originally planned to be a comic relief and introduction of a superhero in the series universe, an easy-to-hear-and-understand Donald Duck variation, he almost immediately gained the love of series fans. After his five-part introducton "Super DuckTales" the series became almost centered around him. From final twenty episodes of "DuckTales" he hadn't appeared in only one and in the rest of them he played a key role.
  • Greg Sanders (played by Eric Szmanda) on CSI. When the series originally aired, Greg was only a recurring lab tech. By season three he had become a cast regular, evidence that he had become a fan favorite.[citation needed] As the seasons progressed his character continued to be fleshed out and, eventually, he became the first lab technician to become a field CSI. Greg is considered one of the first breakout stars in the CSI franchise. He is portrayed by Eric Szmanda. A second lab tech, Archie Johnson (Portrayed by Archie Kao), has taken over the "geeky lab tech" role that Greg initially played, and is fast becoming a fan favorite in the same fashion.
  • GIR (voiced by Rosearik Rikki Simons on Invader Zim). The original premise of the show was the strange and insane antics of the egotistical Irken Zim and to simply have GIR as the comic relief and sidekick. However, GIR became extremely popular, having several episodes based entirely on him, as well as being featured on much of the merchandise spawned from the show.
  • Goldberg became a promising talent in World Championship Wrestling and went on to become the organization's most popular wrestler, and (along with the New World Order) contributed to WCW's long string of victories against the World Wrestling Federation in pro wrestling's infamous Monday Night Wars.[6]
  • The Janitor (played by Neil Flynn) in Scrubs was originally part of the secondary cast and only ever spoke to one character (with the idea that if the show failed, they could reveal the whole scenario only ever occurred in that character's head anyway). However, his popularity soon rose and he was added to the main cast in the second season. The only episode that the Janitor does not appear in is Episode 2.9, "My Lucky Day".
  • Jason Morgan (played by Steve Burton) in General Hospital was the son of Alan Quartermaine and was trying to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor. However an accident and memory loss transformed him into a mob enforcer, and the right-hand-man of Sonny Corinthos as well as a fan favorite
  • J. J. Evans (played by Jimmie Walker) in Good Times.[7] With his catch phrase "Dy-no-mite!", J.J. came to dominate the series as audiences couldn't get enough of him. This led to friction with stars Esther Rolle and John Amos, who played his parents, not so much because they resented being upstaged but because they felt he was becoming too stereotypical and not a good role model for African American youth[8][9]. Ultimately, they forced a showdown with the producers which led to some changes in J.J.'s character, Amos's character being killed off and later Rolle's temporary departure from the show (she returned at the beginning of the show's final season), after which J.J. became even more the focus of the show.
  • Josh Lyman (played by Bradley Whitford) in The West Wing. Although the series initially featured Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe with primary billing, by the third season the show had begun to feature the more humorous Josh in more and more prominent role, giving him the show's main romantic storyline and putting him into more situations, while Lowe's character of Sam Seaborn became one of the show's lesser characters, prompting Lowe to eventually leave the show. By the show's final season Josh had appeared in nearly twice the amount of episodes as the rest of the show's original cast.
  • J.R. Ewing (played by Larry Hagman) in Dallas. Originally intended simply as a nemesis for Pam and Bobby Ewing, his villainy made him so popular that by the end of the show's third season the story arc around his attempted murder put the show high atop the ratings.[10]
  • Kerr Avon (played by Paul Darrow) in Blake's 7. Originally one of the seven under protagonist Roj Blake, Avon's popularity grew due to his status as an antihero compared to Blake's straight delivery as a staunch moralist. He had top billing at the beginning of the third season replacing Blake as leader of the Seven after Gareth Thomas' departure from the show. Avon's popularity was at its highest during the fourth and final season (the second without the titular Blake character) as Darrow explored Avon's gradually deteriorating psychological state.
  • Leopold 'Butters' Stotch (voiced by Matt Stone) in South Park. Originally a background character with few lines, he quickly became involved in storylines before taking over as a main character from Kenny. When Kenny eventually did return, Butters popuality with fans ensured he was still a main focus of the show.
  • Logan Echolls (played by Jason Dohring) in Veronica Mars. Originally intended to be the antagonist to Kristen Bell's Veronica, the character's popularity grew, and by season three, Dohring was promoted to leading male.
  • The Lone Gunmen, a group of three conspiracy theorists in The X-Files, played by Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund and Bruce Harwood (as Frohike, Langly and Byers, respectively). The parts were originally written as minor comic relief in the first season's "E.B.E." episode, but writers Glen Morgan and James Wong, who had originated the characters, used them again in an important "mythology" episode of the second season, inspiring the show's writers to make the characters more central. The Lone Gunmen were eventually granted a short-lived spinoff show of their own.
  • Lou Grant (played by Ed Asner). Was Mary Richards' (Mary Tyler Moore) tough-as-nails boss on The Mary Tyler Moore Show sitcom, and later headlined his own dramatic spinoff series Lou Grant.
  • Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Marvin was only intended to be a brief character for the radio show, but his popularity lead to Douglas Adams writing him into later episodes and including him as a main character in the book series.
  • Max Klinger (played by Jamie Farr) from M*A*S*H was originally introduced as a bit character in the early first season episode "Chief Surgeon Who?" as a simple gag of a soldier who wanted out of the army and was trying to fake his way to a "Section 8" medical discharge, he made such an impression on the producers and audience that he became a recurring character throughout the season, and by the second season was a regular member of the cast.
  • Miss Piggy (performed by Frank Oz) on the The Muppet Show. She was initially intended to be only a bit character in the series, but her aggressive personality, expressed by her karate chops, intrigued the writers and she became a more prominent character to whom the viewers responded.[citation needed] Indeed, she was the character most preferred by the celebrity guest stars.
  • Mrs. Slocombe and Mr. Humphries (played by Mollie Sugden and John Inman, respectively) on the 1970s British sitcom Are You Being Served?. Though it had an ensemble cast, the series was originally devised largely as a vehicle for actor-comedian Trevor Bannister, but by the middle of the first season, it had become obvious[attribution needed] that haughty, sexually frustrated Mrs. Slocombe and flamboyant bisexual Mr. Humphries had become just as popular as Bannister's character, being the focus of an increasing number of episodes; Bannister left the series midway through its run, although this was not because of the change.
  • The Mooninites, Ignignokt and Err of Aqua Teen Hunger Force are two of the most notable characters on the show and have become almost iconic with Adult Swim, appearing on most promotional art for the network. They are the most recurring antagonists of the show's quasi-villain of the week format and were even shown as the leaders of most of the villains in the episode "The Last One." Their popularity spawned a pilot for their own spinoff Spacecataz featuring their rivalry with the Plutonians. The Mooninites reached mainstream popularity when their images where used for guerrilla marketing advertisements for the movie Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters that were mistaken for bombs in what is referred to as the 2007 Boston Mooninite Scare.[11]
  • Pinky and The Brain, the rodent duo from the hit animated show Animaniacs. While not overshadowing the titular characters, the duo's consistent failed attempts to take over the world proved popular with the fans.[12] They would prove popular enough to get their own spinoff.
  • Servalan (Blake's 7), played by Jaqueline Pearce. Originally meant to be a male character and originally intended to only appear once.[citation needed] Pearce's portrayal caused producers to write her in as a regularly recurring villain.
  • Sophia Petrillo, (played by Estelle Getty) in The Golden Girls, was Dorothy Zbornak's mother, and meant to be an occasional recurring character; however, after terrific audience feedback after the pilot, the character stayed to live with the other girls, becoming the fourth Golden Girl. Sophia often got the most risque lines of the show, and it was explained that she was able to get away with it due to a stroke she had which made her lose the ability to censor her speech. Sophia was featured in every episode of the series (for which Getty won a Golden Globe and an Emmy), and continued as a character in the spinoffs The Golden Palace and Empty Nest.
  • Spike (played by James Marsters) evolved from villain to comic relief to hero in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he becomes the lover of the show's titular character, Buffy Summers, and comes to parallel Angel in terms of motivation. He became one of the show's primary focuses in its final season, and then moved to its spin-off Angel. He appeared on the Angel season 5 DVD covers alongside its titular character.[13]
  • Spock, (played by Leonard Nimoy) in Star Trek. While Gene Roddenberry had put a lot of effort into creating the first alien regular in a TV series, he was just one of an ensemble on the Enterprise. But Spock rapidly became the show's most popular character, indelibly bound to it in later years as it grew into a franchise. Nimoy, too, was so strongly identified with him that he titled his first memoir I Am Not Spock.
  • Steve Urkel (played by Jaleel White) in Family Matters. Originally just a one-time guest character, he was so popular he eventually became a regular and practically synonymous with the series.[14][15]
  • Stewie Griffin, (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) in Family Guy. Creator Seth MacFarlane reports being very surprised that Stewie turned out to be the show's breakout character, and that when this turned out to be the case he had to work out stories to do with the character.[16]
  • Theodore Bagwell, (played by Robert Knepper) in Prison Break. Only a guest star in the pilot, T-Bag has moved to starring status and has pretty much become the nemesis of main character Michael Scofield.
  • Todd Manning (originally Roger Howarth, currently Trevor St. John) on One Life to Live. The character, known for initiating the gang rape of Marty Saybrooke, was originally supposed to be short-lived, but once Howarth was cited as having drawn in notable positive viewer reaction, the character was slated to become a main focus.[17][18] The character's popularity continued even after St. John assumed the role in 2003.[19]
  • Dr. Thomas "Tommy" Oliver, (played by Jason David Frank) on the television series Power Rangers. Tommy originally started out as the evil Green Ranger under the direction of Rita Repulsa in a five episode arc titled Green With Evil. The character became a mainstay throughout the entire series becoming the longest serving Ranger in history as five different rangers on four separate shows.
  • Tobias Funke, (played by David Cross) in Arrested Development. Tobias was intended to be a minor role and in fact Cross took the part so he would have to spend less time in Los Angeles. However, he quickly became a fan favorite and became heavily featured throughout the series' run.[citation needed]
  • Will Robinson, Dr. (Zachary) Smith, The Robot (Billy Mumy, Jonathan Harris, Dick Tufeld/Bob May) in Lost In Space. The show, as its early episodes suggest, was originally supposed to be a serious action/adventure series showcasing Guy Williams. Fan response completely changed the nature of the show and the set of focal characters.[20]
  • Wolf, on the game show Gladiators. The Gladiators weren't meant to be characters as such, just the rivals to the contenders, but Wolf's rebellious personality lead to him being more popular than the rest of the Gladiators amongst the show's fans, and many people went to see the show being filmed in hope that Wolf would appear.
  • Worf, originally intended to be a recurring junior background officer on Star Trek The Next Generation, the Klingon Starfleet officer as played by Michael Dorn quickly gained popularity becoming the character of the Next Generation era to receive the most screen time and character development. He was the center of numerous story arcs in TNG and the spinoff Deep Space Nine.

Movies

Literature

Comics

  • Popeye became the central character of the Thimble Theater comic strip in 1929, displacing Castor Oyl as the strip was eventually renamed after him.
  • Snoopy in Peanuts became, in the strip's later years, the focus of the strip, displacing Charlie Brown, as his character began to do more and more fantastic things, got his own sidekick, Woodstock, and proved to be a huge seller in the strip's merchandising. In the 1970s he, like Spock in Star Trek, was practically synonymous with the strip.

"#wp-_note-all_kinds_of_stuff_comment">[22][23]

  • Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing was introduced as the first kid sidekick superhero in comic book history in 1940. After forty-four years as Robin, his popularity in the Teen Titans series and his increasing popularity in the Batman monthly books caused him to extend beyond his sidekick role and become solo hero Nightwing. Many have called him the "heart and soul" of the DC universe.[24]
  • Mary Jane Watson was introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man as a flighty rival of Gwen Stacy for the affections of Peter Parker. However, Mary Jane's energetic and confident personality drew considerably more reader interest than expected and she evolved into one of the central supporting characters of Spider-Man. [25]
  • Wolverine began as an enemy of the Incredible Hulk. He shortly after joined the X-Men but editors decided that he and Thunderbird were too similar in abilities and temperament and almost killed off Wolverine instead of Thunderbird. Even after, he was a minor character, but he grew in popularity to become one of Marvel Comics' most popular and marketable characters.[26]
  • Blink, another X-Men character, was not just a minor character but a throwaway, dying in the same story arc in which she debuted. Most later, she was revived in the alternate reality storyline “Age of Apocalypse,” leading to a barrage of fan letters requesting her return. Marvel eventually launched the series Exiles in which she played a central role.[citation needed]
  • Opus started out as a bit player in Bloom County, but quickly became a popular and beloved character and replaced Milo Bloom as the strip's central focus.[citation needed]
  • The Green Goblin: Initially when the Spider-Man comics first took off, Doctor Octopus was the titular character's main nemesis. The Green Goblin, however, dealt Spider-Man his first major defeat and later killed Gwen Stacy, usurping Doctor Octopus to become the major villain of the Spider-Man franchise.[27]
  • Dagwood Bumstead, husband of the flapper comic strip character Blondie (who originally did not have a husband). Dagwood eventually lent his name to the huge Dagwood sandwich.
  • Nancy, who became more popular than her flapper aunt, Fritzi Ritz, and eventually became the namesake of the comic strip.[citation needed]
  • Silver Surfer of The Fantastic Four comic book series, was originally not in the script but added by penciler Jack Kirby figuring Galactus would need a herald, however, his popularity brought forth a spin-off comic book series, and a focus and main role in the 2007 movie Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
  • Blade, African American supporting character in Marvel's Tomb of Dracula series. The comic centered around Quincy Harker's vampire hunters with Blade and others occasionally providing assistance. Blade appeared on and off starting with issue #25 but disappeared soon after his story arc regarding revenge for his mother's death was concluded. Blade later appeared with two other supporting characters in a Nightstalkers comic, then his own limited series' of which there have been three so far. Finally, Blade was the star of a trilogy of movies where he was played by Wesley Snipes and a television series starring Kirk Jones.
  • Kiki, talking ferret in the webcomic Sluggy Freelance. Kiki started out to be the "cute talking animal" (a role originally intended for Bun-bun, but instead of being cute, he turned out to be a homicidal maniac instead). Kiki's popularity grew with her mischievous antics. She is the focus of the Sluggy sub-series "No Content on Saturdays" since she "has the least content of all."

Computer and video games

  • Mario was the hero in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, and was the antagonist in Donkey Kong Jr. Both games proved so popular, that Mario eventually starred in his own franchise, and became Nintendo's mascot.
  • Luigi in the Mario Bros. series, was originally just a palette swap of Mario intended to be the 2nd player character.[citation needed] Eventually, as Luigi's appearances became more numerous, his popularity began to rival Mario's, and he eventually starred in his own game, Luigi's Mansion.
  • Donkey Kong appeared as the villian in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, and in Donkey Kong Jr. where he was trapped by Mario. And, like Mario, he eventually developed a more protagonist role in his own franchise, starting with Donkey Kong Country, and is one of Nintendo's most recognized characters.
  • Toad in the Mario Bros. series, was not even really a character originally. However, when the localization team for Doki Doki Panic needed a fourth character to replace its original characters as the sprites for the USA release as Super Mario Bros. 2, they used a Mushroom Kingdom Citizen and named him Toad. Since then, whenever a featureless mushroom kingdom citizen appears in English versions of Mario games, it is referred to as Toad, even when multiple copies are present. Eventually the idea of this mushroom kingdom citizen being an actual character migrated back to Japan, and multiple copies of Toad rarely appear at once now.
  • Yoshi first appeared in Super Mario World as merely a sidekick to Mario. But he became popular enough to star in his own game Yoshi's Island, and eventually started his own franchise.
  • Wario was the villian in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, and eventually had his own franchise in a similar way as Yoshi & Donkey Kong with Wario Land, and also with the WarioWare, Inc. series.
  • Murray, a talking skull in the LucasArts game The Curse of Monkey Island (voiced by Denny Delk) was originally meant to appear only in the preview.[citation needed] However, he was a hit with the fans and was added to the game (at one point the player needs Murray's help to overcome a puzzle). He also has a cameo appearance in the sequel, Escape from Monkey Island
  • Scorpion and Sub-Zero from the Mortal Kombat series became the most popular with the fans[citation needed] although Liu Kang was depicted as the main hero. They are now considered the icons of the series.[citation needed]
  • Guile from the Street Fighter series was just another playable character but became so popular with fans[citation needed] that in the Street Fighter motion picture, he was cast as the lead character.
  • Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic the Hedgehog series was meant to appear once (in Sonic Adventure 2) but became so popular with fans that he was brought back for multiple appearances, eventually starring in his own game.[citation needed]

Other

  • Char Aznable (Mobile Suit Gundam): In the original 1979 series, Char was part of an ensemble cast of "enemy characters" on the Zeon side of the conflict. While having a striking and disticnt appearance, he was absent from several story arcs while other Zeon officers took turns at fighting Gundam and White Base. He went on to star as a major protagonist in Zeta Gundam while Amuro Ray, the main character of Mobile Suit Gundam only made scattered guest appearances. and returned as the major antagonist in Char's Counterattack.
  • Strong Bad of Homestar Runner fame, initially was intended to be a villain and enemy of Homestar. However, he now has the center spotlight in the most frequently updated segment, "Strong Bad Email".
  • Tex, a mercenary from the machinima series Red vs. Blue. She first appeared to only assist the Blue Army, [28] but her role was expanded to the point that the series mostly focused on her struggle against a rogue A.I., and she starred in her own mini-series, Red vs. Blue: Out of Mind.
  • Flippy (voiced by Aubrey Ankrum) from Happy Tree Friends: Despite his few appearances on the show, Flippy is considered by many fans the best HTF character and has show extreme popularity on internet polls and internet videos. The writers of the show have said that they are aware and surprised of Flippy's popularity and that they don't use him too much because they don't want fans to get sick of him.

References

  1. ^ a b Raymond Weschler (2000). Man on the Moon. English Learner Movie Guides.
  2. ^ Break-out characters discussion thread at Sitcoms Online, started May 10, 2006; retrieved July 28, 2006.
  3. ^ Ron Miller. My Happy Days with "Happy Days": They really were a great bunch of happy people. TheColumnists.
  4. ^ missingauthor. Happy Days. TV Land.
  5. ^ Allen Johnson (2006-02-27). An Ode to Barney. News and Record.
  6. ^ The Monday Night War. WWE home Video, 2004.
  7. ^ Moore, Frazier; September 15, 2005;Hurricane made TV see the underclass; Associated Press; retrieved at MSNBC.com July 28, 2006.
  8. ^ "Bad Times on the Good Times Set", Ebony, September 1975
  9. ^ Mitchell, John L.; April 14, 2006; Plotting His Next Big Break; Los Angeles Times; retrieved July 26, 2006.
  10. ^ What Larry Hagman Brought to the Character, J.R. Ewing! discussion thread at soapchat; started December 22, 2002; retrieved July 28, 2006. This discussion thread refers to J.R. as the show's breakout character.
  11. ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/02/01/froth_fear_and_fury/?page=full
  12. ^ http://www.poobala.com/animaniacsandpinky.html
  13. ^ August 3, 2005; Movie File: Jon Heder, Ryan Reynolds, Alyson Hannigan, Mike Judge & More; MTV Movie News; text refers to Spike as a breakout character.
  14. ^ Joel Keller, The TV Squad Interview: Fred Goss and Nick Holly of Sons & Daughters, TV Squad, 2006-05-14.. Fred Goss and Nick Holly, creators of Sons & Daughters, describe their hopes that that show's Carrie will be "our breakout character ... our Urkel"
  15. ^ missingauthor, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, MSN Movies, [[]]. This MSN review of the DVD set of second-season episodes of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper refers to "Marquise Wilson, a new regular who was evidently intended to be the series 'breakout' character, a la Urkel on Family Matters".
  16. ^ Nathan Rabin (2005-01-26). Seth MacFarlane. The A.V. Club.
  17. ^ Gail. Dines, Jean McMahon Humez (2003). Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-reader. Sage Publications Inc. ISBN 076192261X. 
  18. ^ About the Actors: Roger Howarth. soapcentral.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  19. ^ ""Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live", About.com, 2003-09-15. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. 
  20. ^ Mark Phillips. The History of Lost In Space, Part I. Official Series Site.
  21. ^ Derek M. Germano (2004). The Pink Panther film collection. The Cinema Laser DVD Review.
  22. ^ comment by lastangelman; March 5, 2006; The Barber Shop 3: The Funny Pages Ain't Funny No More; All kinds of stuff; retrieved September 10, 2006.
  23. ^ Author not identifiable; undated; cb; Roseville Times Online; retrieved September 10, 2006
  24. ^ Hardback release of Infinite Crisis, as stated in an interview by Geoff Johns.
  25. ^ Spider-Man 2 DVD, Disk 2, Women in Spider-man, stated by Stan Lee.
  26. ^ DeFalco, Tom. Comic Creators on X-Men. Titan, 2006. Pg. 110
  27. ^ Spider-Man The Movie DVD, stated during Green Goblin Segment
  28. ^ Red vs. Blue, Season 1, Episode 10

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