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Unseen character

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Television shows and stage plays sometimes include continuing characters — characters who are currently in frequent interaction with the other characters and who influence current story events — who are never seen or heard by the audience and only described by other characters. Often this starts as or evolves into a running gag or inside joke. Radio shows and plays also feature characters who never speak, and books feature characters who are merely referred to. Hidden characters appear in all varieties of fiction, but their prevalence is in televised programs. These can run for much longer than a movie or play (which usually last only a couple of hours), and unseen characters can take on special qualities.

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Unseen characters in television history

Never seen, only mentioned

There are several levels of "unseenness." The most complete is never seen, only mentioned (sometimes pointed to, off screen), like "Ugly Naked Guy" on Friends, Niles' wife Maris on Frasier, or Cosmo Kramer's friend Bob Sacamano on Seinfeld. This means that any qualities of the character are only in the form of descriptions given by the other characters.

The earliest example of an unseen and unheard television character was Gladys Potter on the 1950s TV series December Bride; regular character Pete Potter, played by Harry Morgan, constantly complained about his wife Gladys, but she was never seen on that show. She was, however, featured in the later spin-off series Pete & Gladys.

Heard, but not seen

The second most common phenomenon in this category is heard but not seen. This allows the character to speak for him or herself, but allows the viewers to construct their own image of what the character looks like. The wife of Rocky King on the 1950-54 Dumont series Rocky King, Inside Detective is the earliest TV example of this. Rocky would often speak to his wife from one room, while she was busy in another. Her offscreen replies to Rocky were all the audience would ever experience of Mrs. King. (For a time, Rocky also had a son, Rocky, Jr., who was an offscreen voice as well).

Partially seen characters

After that are partially seen characters, such as Dr. Claw in Inspector Gadget, the only part of whom ever shown was his mechanical arms. Other parts of characters can be shown, like many adult supporting characters in cartoons, who are only ever shown from the waist down to bring the perspective on the child-size stars, the typical example was Mammy Two-Shoes in Tom and Jerry. The Cow and Chicken show parodies this particular convention of unseen characters with the characters of Mom and Dad, whose bodies actually have no upper half.

Perhaps the earliest "partially seen character" was in the now semi-obscure TV police drama The Plainclothesman, a Dumont show which ran from 1949-1954. The show was filmed from the POV of the lead character, known only as The Lieutenant (played by Ken Lynch). Aside from brief glimpses in mirrors, or shots of his hand picking up a "clue", The Lieutenant was not seen, and he was never seen in full until a flashback episode aired in 1952.

Another early example of a perhaps more traditional "partially seen" character was that of John Beresford Tipton, on the 1950s series The Millionaire. Tipton (voiced by Paul Frees) was heard at the beginning of every episode giving instructions to his assistant Michael Anthony. However, the audience only ever saw the back of Tipton's head as he was seated in a chair.

Unseen characters in United Kingdom television

The best-known unseen character in British television was Elizabeth, the wife of Captain Mainwaring, the main character in Dad's Army; not showing her added a touch of whimsical fantasy to the programme. In The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Reggie's mother-in-law is never seen, but Reggie keeps thinking of her as a hippopotamus. In Are You Being Served? the action almost never left the department store, so the odd mention of the characters' lives outside the store tended to include unseen characters. The scriptwriters Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais included a large number of minor unseen characters in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? and Porridge, in the form of people the leading characters had known earlier in their lives who were mentioned briefly.

Television programs

Heard but never seen

  • Batman: the voice of Bonnie, the unseen (and even uncredited) receptionist of Gotham City Police Headquarters, is often heard through the intercom in Commissioner Gordon's office.
  • Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: the Mysterons.
  • Charlie's Angels: Charlie was heard but not seen.
  • The Cramp Twins: Dirty Joe.
  • Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines: "The General" (his arm can sometimes be seen reaching through Dastardly's telephone receiver to inflict discipline)
  • Deal or No Deal (UK): the Banker, who gives Noel Edmonds his bids for the contestant's box, is never seen and often unheard. On occasions, Noel has held the telephone up to his microphone and we have heard the Banker laughing. Many contestants have spoken directly to the Banker.
  • Degrassi Junior High: Mr. Lawrence, the school principal, is always heard on the P.A. announcements, and occasionally when speaking to students as they're leaving his office.
  • GI JOE: Cobra Commander had most of his face eventually revealed in the Marvel comic book series, and in the animated film. However, the face of Destro was only revealed in the comic book series.
  • Gilligan's Island: the radio announcer (Charles Maxwell, uncredited) provided many plot-specific newscasts, but was never seen.
  • .hack//Sign and .hack in general: Morganna is also known as "The Voice," which seems to come from nowhere. It is later hinted that she is actually The World's environment.
  • Home Improvement: Alma Borland, Al's mother.
  • How I Met Your Mother: Ted, Josh Radnor's character's older self in 2030, voiced by Bob Saget.
  • Kappa Mikey: Gonard's Mother lives in Gonard's apartment, but is never seen. Her voice is heard on two separate occasions.
  • Kerching!: Carlton, the restaurant owner, is heard in every episode speaking to his employees through speakers but is never shown on camera.
  • Laverne and Shirley: Mr. Shotz, the boss of Shotz Brewery. His voice is heard over the loudspeaker.
  • Little Britain: Margaret, wife of Roy the shopkeeper.
  • Magnum P.I.: Robin Masters (Orson Welles) the owner of Robin's Nest where Magnum lived, was never seen in the course of the show, although his voice was heard briefly on an answering machine. In the final episode, it is implied that Higgins is really Masters.
  • Married... with Children: Peg's mother (voice of Kathleen Freeman). According to Al's criticism of her, she is grotesquely obese. Twice viewers have heard her shake herself dry (creating an impromptu earthquake) and nearly crumbled the foundation of the house for trying to turn (pieces of the ceiling fell for clues) . Plus, at the end of one episode, the viewer sees a giant shadow coming at Al & his friends (with Al shaking his fist at her, irritated).
  • M*A*S*H: the P.A. operator who announced the arrival of helicopters carrying wounded soldiers and other camp-wide announcements.
  • Matlock Police (an Australian police drama): all the regular characters communicated with radio operator Shirl. Her voice was regularly heard by viewers over the radio, yet she was never seen. In the show's final episode the radio signal broke up and the camera cut to a shot of her for the first time. However the actor shown, Margaret Cruikshank, had not actually provided Shirl's voice in earlier episodes.
  • Megas XLR: Coop's mother.
  • The Millionaire: John Beresford Tipton (voice of Paul Frees) — only the back of his head, seated in a chair, was ever shown.
  • Mission: Impossible: in the original TV series, the unidentified government official who gives Mr. Briggs (later Mr. Phelps) his assignment via self-destructing audio tapes and other devices.
  • Mork & Mindy: Orson, the superior to whom Mork reported at the end of every episode.
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000: Magic Voice (presumably a computer).
  • Now and Again: Roger Bender's overbearing wife Ruth (voiced by an uncredited Christine Baranski).
  • Passions: Tabitha's cat Fluffy.
  • Peanuts comic strips and animated cartoons: all adults; they speak unintelligibly, their voices emulated by a muted trombone. In some of the earliest drawn cartoons, however, they could be seen speaking intelligibly, and occasionally appeared in partial or full figure.
  • The Prisoner: the Village announcer heard over the public address system, voiced by Fenella Fielding but uncredited.
  • Pulkkinen (Finnish TV series): the show's head character Pulkkinen accuses his friend Koponen of doing mistakes or various things Pulkkinen himself had done. Koponen is never seen by the audience.
  • ReBoot: Al, the cook at "Al's Wait & Eat".
  • Rhoda: Carlton the Doorman (voiced by Lorenzo Music). (However, Carlton was once seen in animated form in the 1980 cartoon special Carlton Your Doorman.)
  • Salute Your Shorts: Dr. Kahn, the director of Camp Anawana, is heard over the PA system nearly every episode but is never seen. The characters, who also seem to have never seen him either, sometimes muse about what he might look like.
  • The Soupy Sales Show; White Fang and Black Tooth in (seen as hand gloves of a dog paw, worn by Clyde Adler, who also supplied their voices).
  • The Super Dave Osborne Show: The Super Dave Band are always heard playing the opening music, but when it comes time for them to appear on camera, they're always somehow doing a bar mitzvah, and send out a Jamaican steel drum band in their place, who only know how to play the Barry Manilow song "Copacabana".
  • Trailer Park Boys: Danny, a resident of Sunnyvale Trailer Park, who can be heard often yelling out the profane exclamation "What in the fuck!?" even during scenes where he can not possibly be present.
  • The Trap Door: The Thing Upstairs.
  • Von Drake cartoons: Ludwig Von Drake's mother.
  • The Wayans Bros.: Shawn and Marlon's mother was never seen.
  • The Weekenders: Chloe Montez.
  • The Young And The Restless:
    • Back in the late 1990's, a mysterious lady invited Cole, Victoria, Ryan, and Nina to the collinade room. When they were all gathered, the lady spoke to them only from the speaker phone. It was never revealed who the lady was and why she gathered all 4 of them to a meeting.
  • Most babies in shows are rarely seen. They are usually only shown with a blanket over them, which is actually a baby-doll. When a baby is heard crying, it is from a machine sound-effects machine.

Neither seen nor heard

(may be partially seen on rare occasions)

  • Abigail's Party (play by Mike Leigh): Abigail.
  • Alias: Milo Rambaldi, a homo universalis of the Renaissance, artist, alchemist, engineer and mystic, served as chief architect to Pope Alexander VI. As he lived in the 15th century, he is reasonably unseen. However, being a central character of the story, one could assume he would appear in flashbacks or paintings.
  • ALF
    • Many of ALF's(Gordon Schumway) Family and Friends from Melmac.
    • Willie Tanner's Parents and Kate's late Father.
  • All in the Family:
    • Mabell Hefner, Barney's first wife. She was rarely mentioned from 1974 until late in 1976 when she left Barney. They divorced and Barney married again in 1977.
    • Cousin Oscar, who entered the Bunker household in desperate need and stayed over for three weeks until he died on Archie's bed, prompting Archie to give a funeral.
    • Cousin Liz, Edith's cousin, whom she and Archie learn - after Liz's death - was a lesbian.
  • The Avengers: Mrs Peel's husband (long missing and presumed dead). He appears in the final episode in the distance.
  • The Andy Griffith Show:
    • Barney Fife's occasional fling, Juanita. She is spoken to by Barney (but never heard) in telephone conversations, usually overheard by Andy or Opie to Barney's chagrin.
    • Sarah, the Mayberry telephone operator.
  • Animaniacs: Colin occasionally speaks to the audience and tells improbable stories about his friend Randy Beaman, who may or may not really exist.
  • Are You Being Served?: Mrs Slocombe's friend Mrs Axelby.
  • Arrested Development: Tracy, the late wife of Michael Bluth and mother of George Michael Bluth. She and Michael were married in 1989. Tracy died of ovarian cancer before the events of the show. She is alluded to often, but despite the show's frequent use of flashbacks, she has never been shown onscreen.
  • Beavis and Butt-head: the boys' mothers.
  • Becker: Lewis Wyborn, husband of head nurse Margaret.
  • Benson: Jeanine who's the ex-wife of Pete Downey after their separation.
  • The Brady Bunch:
    • Carol's Aunt Martha, who sent her the Totem Pole.
    • Oliver's parents, Jack and Pauline.
    • Mrs. Denton, Marcia's teacher, whom she supposedly drew a picture of in the episode "The Slumber Caper."
    • Alice's two sisters.
    • Carol's cousin Gertrude, who was getting married in the episode "The Teeter Totter Caper."
    • The Ditmeyer family, neighbors to the Bradys, were frequently mentioned but never seen. Only Mr. Ditmeyer's face was shown briefly in one episode. In The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), all of the Ditmeyers were shown (they were the stereotypical dysfunctional American family). Mr. Ditmeyer was the film's villain.
    • George Glass, Jan's imaginary boyfriend.
  • The Brittas Empire: Carole's twins. While her older child Ben was seen on rare occasions, the twins never were.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ira Rosenberg, Willow's father.
  • The Carol Burnett Show: Carl Harper, Thelma's husband in the Mama's Family sketches. He was always in the bathroom. He was deceased by the time Mama's Family premiered and was only mentioned.
  • Charlie and Lola: All parents are never seen in this children's series, though children say sentences like "Mom took us to the park."
  • Chucklevision: Dan The Van is never seen apart from once when you see his hand come out of a car window and when he is covered head to toe in bandages. When ever we hear him speak, it comes out as grunts.
  • Columbo: Lieutenant Columbo's wife. (A spin-off series entitled Mrs. Columbo was not endorsed by the makers of the original; later plot divergences in the spinoff indicated that this Mrs. Columbo was not actually Lieutenant Columbo's spouse.)
  • Count Duckula: Heinrich, Dr Von Goosewing's assistant
  • The Cosby Show: Kenny's older brother.
  • Dad's Army: Captain Mainwaring's wife Elizabeth. We did hear her footsteps on one occasion. Also a pronounced downward 'bulge' is seen in the mattress above Cpt. Mainwaring when they are sleeping in an air-raid shelter, presumably her large rear end.
  • Degrassi: The Next Generation: Heather Sinclair is frequently mentioned but has never actually been seen or heard, a fact that is one of the show's running jokes.
  • Designing Women: Consuela, Suzanne Sugarbaker's housekeeper.
  • Diff'rent Strokes: The Gooch, Arnold Jackson's long-time nemesis (although his growl was heard over the phone in the second season episode "Return of the Gooch").
  • Donkey Kong Country: Bluster Kong's mother.
  • Doug: Mr. Butsavich, Doug Funnie's principal.
  • Drawn Together: Foxxy Love's son Timmy. Foxxy mentions Timmy many times, each time implying a different tragic fate he supposedly suffered. The child's true fate is unknown.
  • The Dukes of Hazzard: it is not clear whether Boss Hogg's nephews Hughey and Dewey are sons of Boss Hogg's twin brother Abraham Lincoln Hogg or of another unnamed brother.
  • Early Doors: Gyro Jim, a trickster and con-artist. His exploits are often mentioned by characters; for example, when he works at a cinema, he places the L and I of "Clint Eastwood" too close together on the marquee.
  • Eastenders: Mr Oupadoupoulos, the laundrette owner
  • Ed, Edd n Eddy:
    • all adults.
    • Eddy's brother. Best known for achieving everything Eddy miserably fails at on a constant basis. Feared by many kids of the cul-de-sac. Other unseen characters include Rolf's parents and Nana, Ed's mother, their teacher and principal, Double D's parents, and Gerta.
  • Dame Edna Everage's husband Norm, daughter Valmai, and sons Bruce and Kenneth.
  • Empty Nest: Laverne's husband, who later divorces her.
  • Ernest P. Worrell's neighbor Vern, in the various "Ernest" productions. (The original Ernest commercials were shot from Vern's first-person viewpoint, with Ernest speaking directly to the camera while addressing Vern.)
  • The Facts of Life: Roger, Nancy Olsen's boyfriend, whom she often mentions and talks to on the phone.
  • Family Matters: Steve Urkel's parents. (His mother's voice is heard in one episode.)
  • Father Ted:
    • Mrs Doyle's husband.
    • Father Bigley, who had many physical abnormalities described in passing over the course of several episodes. He was deliberately created as a composite for the viewer.
  • FLCL: Naota Nandaba's older brother Tasuku.
  • Fraggle Rock: Ned Shimmelfinny, Doc's neighbor.
  • Frasier: Maris Crane, wife (and later ex-wife) of Niles Crane. While the producers once planned to reveal her, the list of Maris's unusual attributes and characteristics became so long that — despite plotlines as far-reaching as a murder — Maris was ultimately kept off screen. She is reported to have changed from excessively thin to excessively obese.
  • Friends: Denise, Phoebe's roommate.
  • Full House:
    • Kimmy Gibbler's family. D.J. mentioned Kimmy's having three sisters on the pilot episode. Also mentioned was a brother named Garth, as well as her parents.
    • Danny's Father was only mentioned over the years, but never seen on the show. It is never mentioned if he is living or dead.
    • Danny's Brother, Father of His nephew, Steve(played by Kirk Cameron).
  • Garth Marenghi's Darkplace: Won Ton, the hospital chief.
  • Giant Robo (anime): Chief Strategist Otsuka and six other members of the Big Nine. It is made clear that Taiso and Chief Chujo are members of the Big Nine and so is Chief Strategist Otsuka however we never see Otsuka and are told nothing of the other members of the group. This is in stark contrast to the fact that we meet all ten of the Big Nine's rival group The Magnificient Ten.
  • Gilmore Girls: Al, of Al's Pancake World.
  • The Golden Girls:
  • The Good Life: Miss Mountshaft, leader of a music society of which Margo Leadbetter is a member, often joked about by Tom and Barbara.
  • Goodnight Sweetheart: PC Reg Dedman's wife Minnie in the early series; Yvonne Sparrow's business partner Clive in the later series.
  • Grange Hill: in the 29th Series, students Abel Benson and Patrick 'Togger' Johnson talked about their girlfriends, the Marsham twins. The twins never appeared but were referenced to in almost every episode.
  • Green Wing: Harriet Schulenburg's family in are mentioned in every episode. Her husband Ian is never seen. Her children sometimes appear for short moments. In one episode in series 2, seven-year-old Robbie comes into work with Harriet, and starts to mess up the office. Another character, Guyball player Markus Guisler, "The Big Austrian," is often mentioned by Guy Secretan, but never appears. For more see Recurring guest characters in Green Wing.
  • Happy Days:
    • Marion Cunningham's sister, who is the mother of Roger and Flip Phillips.
    • Richie's and Lori Beth's second child. Lori Beth is very pregnant when she and Ritchie return home during the last season. At the last episode, she is no longer pregnant, but the baby isn't seen. It isn't even mentioned in the show if she had a boy or girl.
    • the Hooper triplets, who often jointly dated Fonzie.
  • Harry Enfield's Television Programme: Maureen, the supposed wife of Leslie Norris, the absent-minded barman. Leslie is forgetful to the point that he is frequently reminded that he isn't married, often after he has hailed his good lady wife to assist him in the running of the normally empty bar.
  • Heartbeat: Mrs Alf Ventress.
  • Hi-De-Hi: Miss Cathcart, Peggy's boss.
  • Hill Street Blues: Mick Belker's mother. He spoke to her on the phone in almost every episode in the first seasons, but she was never seen.
  • Hogan's Heroes (set in a German stalag during World War Two) retroactively acquired an unseen unheard character when the series was dubbed into German for transmission on German television. The dialogue was rewritten to make frequent references to Kalinke, the sexy chambermaid who attends to the quarters of Colonel Klink, the stalag's commandant. Kalinke was never mentioned in the dialogue of the original series. Kalinke is not the same character as Fräulein Hilda, Colonel Klink's sexy secretary, who appeared onscreen in many episodes.
  • Jim Henson's Hoobs: Aunti Hatty Hoob.
  • House: Dr. Wilson's wife, often mentioned.
  • I'm Alan Partridge: Alan's wife Carol and children Fernando and Denise.
  • Judging Amy: Richard, Maxine's estranged brother and Kyle's father. He is alluded to in several episodes, and we learn that he is a respected and well-off doctor. He eventually dies during the show's last season, never having been seen or heard.
  • Keeping Up Appearances: Sheridan, Hyacinth Bucket's son.
  • Kenan and Kel: Chris' mother.
  • Kingswood Country: Ted Bullpit kept two greyhounds, but although the dogs were referenced frequently, they were never seen.
  • Die Kommissarin (a German detective series): Jonathan, inspector Lea Sommer's boyfriend.
  • Last of the Summer Wine: Truly's and Clegg's ex-wives.
  • Laverne and Shirley: Shirley's new husband, Walter Meanie, whom she married at the beginning of the 8th and final season. He was only seen fully covered up like a mummy in the hospital where the wedding was held. Never spoke. Just blinked when it was his turn to say "I Do". And the actor who portrayed him was uncredited.
  • Law & Order: Lennie Briscoe's ex-wives, often mentioned by him.
  • Leave It to Beaver: Larry Mondello's father and sister. His mother often mentions his father as being out of town on business; his sister is less often mentioned, but is also never seen.
  • Little Britain: Kitty Chumley, Sir Bernard Chumley's sister.
  • Little House On The Prairie:
    • Caroline's Aunt Tess, whom She spoke to on the telephone on the 2 hour finale "The Last Farewell". She took care of the Kids at Charles and Caroline's house while Charles and Caroline visited Walnut Grove.
  • Lois and Clark: Perry White's wife is constantly mentioned but never seen.
  • Mama's Family:
    • Iola Boyland's mother and father (referred to as "Mother" and "Daddy," respectively).
    • Vint's first wife Mitzi; Ellen's husband Bruce.
  • Marion and Geoff: the title characters. (The only character who appears is Keith, the pathetically optimistic ex-husband of Marion, and still best friend of Geoff who is now Marion's husband. However, an extended prequel, A Small Summer Party, was later made in which Marion and Geoff do both appear.)
  • The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Lars Lindstrom, husband of Phyllis. When Phyllis got her own spin-off show, the pilot episode revolved around the death of Lars.
  • M*A*S*H: Sparky, the army operator through whom Radar connects calls. (Could be a generic nickname shared by several such operators.)
  • Me and My Girl: Muriel Yates, wife of Derek Yates.
  • Minder: 'Er Indoors, Arthur Daley's wife.
  • Monty Python's Flying Circus: in episode 41, Chris Quinn (Eric Idle) wanders through a department store and is repeatedly mistaken for Michael Ellis, whose name is also mentioned on the loudspeaker. A store assistant (Terry Jones offers a choice of several endings to the episode, mentioning that "there is one that ties up the whole Michael Ellis thing, but . . . ."
  • Ein Mord für Quandt (a German detective show): Detective Quandt's superior.
  • My Hero: Mrs. Raven's triplets. She is sometimes seen arguing with them over the phone. She once showed a photograph of the Triplets to George to prove that they really are "that bad"; the audience get a very VERY brief glimpse of the photo (don't blink or you'll miss it.)
  • My Life as a Teenage Robot: Brad and Tuck Carbunkle's parents.
  • My So-Called Life: Tino, supplier of Chinese food to Rayanne and Rickie.
  • The O.C.:
    • Gloria, Summer's stepmother (or "stepmonster"). Eventually Gloria divorces Summer's father in season three.
    • Gus, an oddball resident of the trailer park where Julie Cooper and her daughters live during part of season three.
  • One Foot in the Grave: the mother of Nick Swainey, neighbour to Victor Meldrew - a clear reference to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Mrs Warboys' husband Chris was another unseen character from this show.
  • Only Fools and Horses:
    • Joan Mavis Trotter, Del Boy's beloved mother. Del often recalls his Mum giving 'advice' to his brother Rodney, although this is usually to bribe Rodney into doing something dodgy. We hear an overvoice of Del's mum in the episode "Time on our Hands".
    • Monkey Harris and Paddy the Greek, both mentioned as contacts of Del. Also the Chinese kid who can apparently fix video recorders, aka "that stupid chinese kid". Also various others.
  • Open All Hours: Nurse Gladys Emmanuel's mother.
  • Our House:
    • Joe Kaplan's wife Gladys.
    • Gus's late wife, Mary, who is only seen in pictures.
  • Phil of the Future: Principal Tillywhack of H.G. Wells Jr./Sr. High School.
  • Quantum Leap: Nearly all the People Sam leaps into, only being seen as reflections in the mirror, since Sam was seen as the Person He leaps into. Some of the leapees are shown from the waiting room in the Future in Sam's body.
  • The Red Green Show has numerous unseen, but regularly mentioned characters, including Stinky Peterson, Junior Singleton, Moose Thompson, Buster Hadfield, Old Man Sedgwick, Flinty McLintock, Wally "Kickback" Kibbler (Red's rival in high school and the mayor of Possum Lake), and Red's wife Bernice.
  • RENT (musical and film adaptation): Alison (aka 'Muffy'), Benny Coffin III's wife.
  • Robotech: Admiral Hunter, leader of the United Earth Expeditionary Force. Scott Bernard made frequent reference to him in the New Generation segment of Robotech and Admiral Hunter is, of course a much older version of Rick Hunter, the main character from the Macross segment. As the three original segments of the show were originally unrelated anime series, this was simply one of the ways the show was re-written to tie the three shows together. The upcoming series Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is expected to show the older Rick Hunter.
  • The Royle Family:
    • Beverley Macker, the ex-girlfriend of Dave (her brother Tony is also unseen, is a friend of Dave's and is occasionally mentioned).
    • Duckers, a strange and dodgey character who lives in the neighbourhood.
    • Elsie, Nana's best friend (one episode in Series 3 is focussed on Nana's grieving when Elsie dies)
  • Samson en Gert: numerous characters: Bobientje, Marlèneke, Jean-Louis Michel, Fred Kroket, Alberto's mother, Marie, Boer Teun and Basil.
  • Sanford and Son; Fred Sanford's deceased wife, Elizabeth.
  • Scrubs:
    • Dr. Bob Kelso's wife Enid is never seen, although he constantly complains about her. She apparently is obese and unattractive. The couple has a son, also a partially unseen character (shown in a photograph in one episode), who is flamoyantly gay.
    • Dr. Elliot Reid's brother Barry. We know little about Barry other than the fact that he is gay.
  • SeaChange: Bucket, a local fisherman. He possibly has several artificial limbs, and definitely has a body odor problem. He is also constantly involved in practical jokes and scams.
  • SeaQuest DSV: Captain Nathan Bridger's son, Robert Bridger, who had originally been believed to be dead in the pilot episode, is later revealed to have faked his death and goes on to have a son named Michael; who later is taken into the custody of Nathan.
  • Seinfeld:
    • Kramer's friends Bob Sacamano and Lomez.
    • Cousin Jeffrey, Jerry's cousin, whom Uncle Leo (Jeffrey's father) was always raving about. He worked for the NYC Parks Department. He once got Jerry tickets to a Paul Simon concert, and a glasses-less George once claimed to see Jeffrey kissing Jerry's girlfriend; it turned out to be a horse.
  • Sesame Street: Charlie, the proprietor of Charlie's Restaurant. In a long-running series of sketches, Grover works at Charlie's Restaurant as a waiter who always gives poor service to a blue Muppet known as "Fat Blue".
  • The Simpsons: Tibor, Homer's scapegoat at the powerplant.
  • The Smoking Room: Ranjit.
  • The Sopranos:
    • Dominic "The Old Man" DiMeo is mentioned in several episodes as being the former boss of the DiMeo Crime family (now Soprano family) prior to his indictiment. He was arrested in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison in 1997.
    • Little Pussy Malanga. It is mentioned in the first episode that there are two Pussies, and they are referred to as big and little to differentiate between the two of them. Uncle Junior intends to kill Little Pussy in the first episode. In season 6, Junior suffers from dementia and thinks that Pussy Malanga is stealing his money and breaking into his home, causing him to shoot Tony.
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine:
    • Captain Boday was talked about in many episodes, usually in conversations between Kira Nerys and Jadzia Dax. Dax went out on a date with him at least once, which Kira found repulsive due to Boday's transparent skull.
    • Ensign Vilix'pran was talked about in many episodes, usually because he was budding (having babies) and needed larger quarters. Vilix'pran was nonhumanoid, and the writers continued adding exotic features to his unidentified species each time he or his offspring were described (for instance, a mention that his babies had "little wings").
    • Felix, a holoprogrammer and good friend of Julian Bashir, who programmed Julian Bashir, Secret Agent and Vic Fontaine's Las Vegas lounge.
  • Star Trek: Enterprise: the ship's chef (only his legs and hands were ever shown). (Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker posed as Chef in a holodeck simulation during the final episode of the series.)
  • The Suite Life of Zack and Cody:
    • the hotel owner Mr. Tipton is often talked about by London and Mr. Moesby, and London is seen talking to him on the phone, but has yet to appear on the show.
    • London has referenced her friend, Portia Tenanbaum, as being just as rich, spoiled, and dumb as she is on numerous occasions.
  • This Life: Warren's therapist.
  • Three's Company: Mrs. Roper's mother. She becomes a regular character in the spinoff The Ropers.
  • Trailer Park Boys: Tammy, Ricky's mother and Ray's ex-wife. (Might be dead)
  • Twin Peaks: Diane, Agent Cooper's secretary. (Until Fire Walk With Me was released, some people theorised that Diane was the name of his dictophone!)
  • Upstairs, Downstairs: Lady Marjorie Bellamy's father and brother Hugo, successive Earls of Southwold.
  • V: "The Leader" that the visitors are always talking about.
  • The Waltons: Ashley Longworth, whom the Baldwin Sisters were always talking about. Ashley's son, Ashley Jr., was later introduced in the series, played by Jonathan Frakes.
  • War of the Worlds: The Council in the first season, with whom their earthbound counterparts, the Advocacy, always made frequent contact (mainly to inform them of their positive progress).
  • The Wayans Bros.: Pop's wife, Marlon and Shawn's mom.
  • The Weekenders: Chloe Montez, often mentioned as getting herself into all sorts of trouble.
  • Welcome Back, Kotter: Principal John Lazarus.
  • Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?; Deirdre Birchwood, Bob's ex-girlfriend; references to her became a running gag in the first series.
  • Will & Grace:
    • Karen's husband Stanley. All we ever see of him are his feet when they are in the bath when Karen gets a call from Grace and his hands when Karen and Will are working on legal issues in the islands. He is obese and has worn a toupee since his teens. Over the course of the series, Stan has been jailed, taken a mistress (Lorraine Finster, played by Minnie Driver), died, and then revealed that he faked his death.
    • Crystal Leslie, wife of Beverley Leslie, the arch rival of Karen Walker. It is implied that Crystal is much older than Beverley and uses a wheelchair. Beverley, a closeted homosexual who has a relationship with a male "business associate," apparently married Crystal only for her money (she is extremely wealthy), and it is implied that he has tried to expedite her death (Crystal eventually dies during season 8).
  • Wings: Edna, the on-and-off girlfriend of Antonio. She supposedly has an unusually large face, which is always mentioned when she is referred to and earns her the moniker "the big-faced girl." The closest we ever come to seeing her is once when Antonio is talking to her and she remains silent, off-camera; other characters walk by and react to her strangely proportioned face.
  • The X-Files: Danny, a friend of Fox Mulder who provides information and runs various background checks.
  • Yes, Minister: The Prime Minister, the head of the British government, eventually succeeded by Jim Hacker for Yes, Prime Minister.
  • The Young and the Restless:
    • Michael Baldwin's father, Lowell Baldwin. His step-father and Kevin's father, Tom Fisher, was introduced in 2005 after a year of references.
    • Emma Gibson, who was sent to the hospital after using Jabot's tainted moisturizing cream, and later died (March–April 2006).
    • The real Brad Carlton, only seen in a photo.
  • Zoids: Fuzors: RD's father, Harris, is often mentioned. He never appears on screen; in flashbacks or photographs, his face is always obscured. It is not even clear whether Harris is his first or last name.
  • Many named or unnamed teachers, principals, bosses, and other classmates and co-workers people talk about on various shows.

Heard but never completely seen

  • A Garfield Christmas: Santa Claus has never had his face shown in the special. But you could see his arms, legs, and suit.
  • Animaniacs: Mindy's mother; face never shown, back of her head usually seen. Her brown hair can be seen very briefly in Wakko's Wish.
  • BB3B:
    • Mr. Weinberger, a wealthy but elusive bald gentleman who is the love of Nana's life. Her feelings for him are never reciprocated, as he always quickly leaves the scene at the first sight or sound of her. He seldom speaks, and is seen either from behind or with his face obscured.
    • Tipper, one of Lucy and Louis's four friends occasionally recruited to foil what they think are invasion plans by their baby brother Billy Bob. He is so much bigger than the rest of the children that only the lower part of his face is seen, the top half being either out of shot or obscured by a conveniently placed foreground object (such as a lampshade, for example).
  • Battlestar Galactica (original series): The "Imperious Leader" of the Cylons (voiced by Patrick Macnee) is seen merely as a shadow.
  • Captain Nice: Harvey Nash, the Captain's father. Always seated in his easy chair, his face is always completely buried in that day's newspaper.
  • Charlie's Angels: Charlie Townsend, the head of the detective agency, is seen only from behind; in the series finale he appears in a surgeon's mask. He is also seen from a distance in the 2000 film version.
  • Cheers: Norm Peterson's wife Vera. She was once heard when Sam tried to stay at Norm's on the couch, and Norm nearly returned to his marital bed. She appeared in aThanksgiving episode, but her face was covered in an errantly thrown cream pie from the food fight. On another episode, viewers could see only her legs, through the bar's front window, as she stood and sat on the steps that led down to the entrance to the bar.
  • Code: Lyoko: Xana, the main antagonist, being a computer, has no physical form. However, he does possess the ability to inhabit the bodies of others and create clones of other show characters, and on some occasions he speaks through them.
  • Codename: Kids Next Door: most parents (one distinct exception was Numbuh One's dad, who was shown in two eps). However, on Curious Pictures' official website, the faces are completely shown except Numbuh 5's parents.
  • Cow and Chicken: Mom and Dad are only ever seen from the waist down. In fact, Cow and Chicken makes a big joke of the idea of the unseen character, as it repeatedly implies that Mom and Dad genuinely have no upper body (in an episode after Cow woke up from nightmare that had Weasel & Baboon in I Am Weasel as well as the common generic character Red Guy). In the pilot episode, they are actually revealed as having no upper body. The upper half of Mom and Dad's bodies are seen in one episode, however not together with their legs, during which Cow is raiding a closet, and claims they are a science experiments. They are both stereotypical American Mom ands Dad lookalikes, which doesn't reflect in their personalities.
  • Cybill: Doctor Dick, Mary-Ann's ex-husband.
  • Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines: The General's arm is occasionally seen.
  • The Fairly OddParents:
    • Mr. and Mrs. Buxaplenty, Remy's parents, are seen only from the waist down, although their arms were shown.
    • Mr. and Mrs. Turner, Timmy's parents, were always shown with their faces obscured on the Oh Yeah! Cartoons series; in the later Fairly OddParents series, they were fully visible.
  • Family Matters: Steve Urkel's parents were spoken of in many instances, usually referring to how much they dislike him. Urkel referred to them many times, and Carl Winslow was heard talking to them on the phone a few times.
  • Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Mac and Terrance's mother is seen only from the waist down, although one can see her arms. (Actually, in one episode, you can see all of her except her face and the upper front of her body)
  • Fraggle Rock (animated version): "Doc", seen only from the neck down.
  • Futurama: Professor Hubert Farnsworth never showed his eyes, but Mom said "[Farnsworth's] eyes always were the most beautiful shade of milky white."
  • Home Improvement: Wilson Wilson, the Taylors' wise neighbor, who is usually seen with the lower half of his face obscured by his picket fence or other prop. On rare occasions, this would be reversed, such as a Halloween episode where Wilson dressed as The Phantom of the Opera, complete with half-mask obscuring the upper part of his face. His face is fully seen only in the very final moments of the last episode, as the actors of the series take a bow in sequence. Played by Earl Hindman, who once appeared on a talk show with a miniature fence to hide his face.
  • Inside Victor Lewis-Smith: Victor Lewis-Smith or a body double appears wreathed in bandages after a car crash in the opening scene; he is also seen in highly distorted close-ups while making crank phone calls.
  • Inspector Gadget cartoon series: Dr. Claw is always seated in a high-backed chair, facing away from the camera; only his forearms and hands are ever seen. He was eventually seen in the action figure line and the theatrical movie; however, he remained absent for the entire cartoon. This is a deliberate spoof of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the villain in the early James Bond films, whose face was hidden throughout four movies before being revealed in You Only Live Twice.
  • The Invisible Man: Dr. Peter Brady, the title character.
  • The League of Gentlemen:
    • David Tatsyrup. While he is seen as a normal human character at the end of the first series, he has become some kind of unseen beast in the attic of the local shop come series two.
    • Barbara the Transsexual's face is never seen.
    • Judee Levinson, unable to cope with the death of her husband Eddy, constantly speaks of him as if he were still with us; naturally he is never seen.
  • Muppet Babies: "Nanny" – generally only her striped socks are seen, since the series is presented from a child's-eye view.
  • Naruto: Hatake Kakashi's face is unseen (save for the eyes), which remains to the other characters' curiosity.
  • Out of This World: "Troy", the extra-terrestrial father (voiced by Burt Reynolds).
  • People Like Us, a spoof documentary: the presenter Roy Mallard (played by Chris Langham). A slight send-up of the "unseen character" concept, as some part of him (often one hand) gets in shot in every episode. In one episode, his full-length reflection is seen in a mirrored window.
  • Pokémon Junior series of short films: the heads of all trainers (who otherwise look just the same as in the anime) are never shown.
  • Police Squad! and The Naked Gun: Big Al is so tall that his face is always cut off by the top of the screen.
  • The Powerpuff Girls: Miss Sara Bellum's face is either above the screen like Big Al's or otherwise obscured, most commonly by her enormous hairdo.
  • The Proud Family: Wizard Kelly is only seen from the nose down or from behind. Maybe Disney wants to give the impression to the viewer that he is so tall that his eyes are always off from view. There is one episode in the series that shows him sleeping in his bed, but then the camera is blurry with him putting his hand over his eyes. In the Proud Family Movie, one can see his face as he falls over during a peanut butter explosion, but even then it is partly obscurred, and only lasts for a couple frames.
  • The Red Green Show: Dalton Humpries' wife Anne-Marie Humphries. After being spoken of on countless occasions, her voice is briefly heard confronting Dalton when he tries to sneak into their house after a long night out with Red.
  • Ren and Stimpy: Mr. and Mrs. Pipe are occassionally shown, but only from the waist down.
  • Rhoda: Carlton, the doorman. Parts of his body were sometimes seen, but never his face, which on one occasion was covered by a gorilla mask. A cartoon version of Carlton was seen in an animated television special in 1980.
  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective: Sam, the operator at the Hi-Fi Answering Service. Voiced by Mary Tyler Moore when introduced, she was usually shown only from the legs down as she exchanged innuendo on the phone with Diamond.
  • Saturday Night Live: Bill Brasky from a series of sketches in the 1996-1997 season. whose only description is from the outlandish exaggerations given by a group of drunken businessmen and a closing shot in the sketches with the back of Brasky's head at a high angle, giving the impression that the man is a giant.
  • Seinfeld: George Steinbrenner was always viewed from behind.
  • The Simpsons: God is shown from neck down while meeting with Homer in two episodes, however, in both episodes it is debatable whether or not Homer is actually meeting with God or simply dreaming. He wears a long white robe and sandles and has waist-length gray hair and a beard. Unlike any human in the world of The Simpsons, God has five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot.
  • Spaced: Amber Klein, Marsha's daughter.
  • Star Trek: Enterprise: The nameless Humanoid Figure (often referred to as "FutureGuy" by fans), a time-travelling villain responsible for manipulating events throughout the series, is seen only as a darkened and murky hologram giving orders to his henchmen.
  • Still Game: Navid's wife Meena is often seen, but her face is always obscured. She cannot speak English but is always subtitled.
  • The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Maddy's parents. They are known to fight a lot.
  • Tiny Toon Adventures: The parents of characters are ocassionally shown, but only from the waist down.
  • Tom and Jerry cartoons: the owner of the house, known to fans as Mammy Two-Shoes, is seen only below the neck.
  • The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Christopher Robin's mother; face never shown, back of her head usually seen.
  • "Wilson the Butler" (a supporting character during Children's BBC links from 1988-92) was never heard and only partially seen - usually white gloved hands and black sleeves, occasionally full body. But his face was never revealed.
  • Yugi Mutou - In the very first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, an older Yugi, who looks and sounds exactly like Yami no Yugi, is seen, given the Judai Yuki (Jaden Yuki in English) version the Hane Kuriboh dueling card. The top half of his face is never seen.
  • In the first series anime of Yugioh, Maximillion Pegasus eternally has the left side of his face covered by his hair. Only when he uses the Millennium Eye can his entire face be seen.

Unseen characters who were spoken of for a long time and then eventually seen

  • 2point4 Children: Mr. & Mrs. Grimes, Bill & Ben's next door neighbours. Initially, apart from their foreheads over the garden fence, they were never seen in the show, only their voices were heard. They eventually appeared in later series of the show.
  • 3rd Rock from the Sun: The Big Giant Head was unseen for several seasons but finally appeared, played by William Shatner.
  • Absolutely Fabulous: Serge Monsoon, Edina Monsoon's son, was frequently referred to, and he finally made an appearance in the Christmas episode 'Gay'.
  • All in the Family:
    • George Jefferson finally appeared two seasons after his wife Louise and son Lionel began as regulars. George was mentioned numerous times before his first on-screen appearance. (Later, the characters received their own spin-off series, The Jeffersons.)
    • "Stretch" Cunningham, Archie Bunker's friend and co-worker on the loading dock, was originally only spoken of, then was portrayed onscreen (by James Cromwell) in several episodes before reverting to offscreen status for an episode where the character dies and it is revealed, to Archie's consternation, that he was Jewish.
  • Are You Being Served?: Mr. Humphries' mother. Mr. Humphries could frequently be seen talking to his mother on the phone. Mrs. Humphries finally made three appearances: two in episodes of the show and a third on the PBS special, The Best of Are You Being Served?, each time being played by John Inman, the same actor who played Mr. Humphries.
  • Blackadder Goes Forth: Field Marshal Haig, a prominent figure of the Great War, was mentioned several times and was actually seen in the final episode, played by Geoffrey Palmer.
  • Blossom: Maddie Russo, Blossom's mother, was introduced two years after the show premiered, played by Melissa Manchester. She had, however, previously been seen in some flashbacks, played by different actresses.
  • Blue Heelers: Nell Croyden, the wife of Tom Croyden, died in a car accident late in the first series, and was only seen years later in a dream sequence of Tom's.
  • The Brittas Empire: Horatio Brittas, the twin brother of Gordon Brittas, was referenced but not actually seen until Series 3.
  • Carnivàle: Management. It was revealed that he was a legless, one-armed Russian named Belyakov who fought in the first World War, who stayed behind a curtain until late in the second season, when he lured Ben & Scudder into his trailer & attempted to stab Scudder to lure Ben into killing him to pass on all his worldly knowledge as a "creature of light".
  • Cheers: Cliff's mother, Ester Clavin, was mentioned many times before finally appearing in season 5, played by Frances Sternhagen.
  • Coronation Street:
  • The Cosby Show: Mrs. Westlake, Theo's math teacher during the second season, was eventually seen a couple of times towards the end of that season.
  • Dad's Army: Private Godfrey's sister Dolly, who makes a brief appearance at the end of one episode.
  • Darkwing Duck: arch-nemesis Dr. Slug was often mentioned but never seen until the episode "Inside Binkie's Brain", where he made a small appearance at the start of the episode.
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show: Carl Reiner's character of Alan Brady was heard but not seen fully (once he appeared with his back towards the camera and a second time with shaving cream on his face) in the first two seasons. He eventually became a semi-regular. Reiner made a guest appearance as Alan Brady years later in Mad About You.
  • Doug: Skunky Beaumont, who was mentioned often, but only heard once saying "hi" to Doug as Doug passes the guidance counselor's office in the episode with the Yodeling Trophy. When the show moved from Nickelodeon to Disney, Skunky joined the other guest-characters and was fully seen thereafter.
  • The Drew Carey Show: Mr Bell. For the show's first season he existed only as a voice on Drew's speaker phone. He was fully revealed in the first episode of the second season, seen leaving his office after being fired from Winfred-Louder, thus marking it as his final "appearance." He was voiced and played by Kevin Pollak.
  • Drop the Dead Donkey: Sir Royston Merchant, as the tycoon owner of Globelink, was mentioned in practically every episode, but never seen. Phone conversations with him sometimes took place, but could only be heard from the side of one of the characters. He was finally seen in the very last episode of the series, when Gus Hedges broke into his house to confront him. He was played by Roger Hammond.
  • Dynasty: Alexis Carrington was seen on the last episode of the first season, played only by a model whose face wasn't seen (since the role wasn't yet cast). She was seen in person at the beginning of the second season, played by Joan Collins.
  • Friends: The Ugly Naked Guy, a fat and ugly nudist living opposite Monica and Rachel's apartment. The gang always commented on what they saw him do through the apartment's window. Parts of his body are only seen in two episodes: his stomach and arms in "The One With the Giant Poking Device" and his back in "The One Where Everybody Finds Out."
  • The Fugitive: After mentioning him several times, The One-Armed Man is seen in a late first-season flashback episode, and in several episodes thereafter. The one-armed man is confronted by Dr. Richard Kimble in the final episode, which is among the highest-rated TV shows of all time.
  • Full House: Kathy Santone, one of D. J.'s friends, was spoken of during the second season and finally given a face in season 3.
  • Grace Under Fire: Jimmy Kelly, Grace's ex-husband and the father of her children, was not seen for a long time (except once his arm reached out from under the bedcovers on Grace's dream). Later, he bacame a regular on the show.
  • Happy Days:
    • Arnold, the original owner of the drive-in restaurant where the gang hangs out, was often mentioned in the first two seasons of that show, but he did not appear until the third season when he was played by Pat Morita.
    • Al often mentioned his love interest Rosa Coletti with his famous line, "Did I ever tell you about Rosa Coletti?" She finally appeared in the eighth season, played by Nancy Marvy.
    • Clarence, the new cook at Arnold's restaurant, was frequently mentioned by Al Delvecchio with a series of bizarre characteristics and behaviours described, but he never appeared on screen. In season 10, Clarence suddenly became a conventional regular character in the series and was fully seen, and it was revealed he was a dwarf. Clarence was portrayed by Gary Friedkin.
    • Jenny Piccalo was for a number of seasons only talked about as a neighbourhood friend of, and bad influence on, Joanie. Later she became a series regular, played by Cathy Silvers.
    • Dick Cunningham, brother of Howard and father of K.C., appeared once in the Christmas episode of the next to last season. Played by Richard Paul.
    • Mother Kelp, Marion Cunningham's mother, finally appeared once in the last season. Played by Billie Bird.
  • Hey Arnold!:
    • Arnold was raised by his grandparents. His parents were mentioned briefly, and seen only in flashbacks. Their current whereabouts are unknown.
    • Gerald's associate Fuzzy Slippers, who gives him insight on any situation. It was because of "Fuzzy Slippers" that Gerald knows the streets well.
  • Hi-De-Hi: Joe Maplin, proprietor of the Maplin group of holiday camps to which that in which the sitcom is set belongs. He finally shows up in the very last episode to explain why the camp is closing.
  • Home and Away: Amanda Vale, ex-wife of town favourite Dan Baker. She and Dan divorced after she had an affair with his brother. She was talked and recognised since Dan came to the Bay. She has since then became a series regular. Played by Holly Brisley.
  • The Jeffersons: Mr. Whittendale the landlord appeared later in the series played by Jack Fletcher.
  • Just Shoot Me! probably retains the record for most unseen characters on a traditional sitcom: seven. Characters regularly spoken about (or to, via telephone) included Jack's wife, Ally, and his daughter, Hannah; Maya's mother (and Jack's ex-wife), Eve; Nina's best friend, Binnie; Elliot's negligent father; ubiquitous office worker Baxter; and Donald Trump, with whom Jack had several long-running feuds. Most of these characters eventually appear briefly.
  • Keeping Up Appearances:
    • "Daddy" is almost perpetually asleep, thus maintaining a certain air of 'unseenness'.
    • Violet and Bruce. Hyacinth frequently talked to Violet on the phone (with Hyancinth's side of the conversation being the only one which was seen) about Bruce. Both were finally seen in latter seasons of the show.
  • M*A*S*H:
    • Dr B. J. Hunnicutt's wife Peg, who he talked about many times, was seen briefly in an episode where family members sent the enlisted home movies of themselves. She was played by Catherine Bergstrom.
    • Radar's mother is seen in a home movie sent to the folks in Korea. "She" was played by the same actor, Gary Burghoff, dressed in drag.
    • Sparky, the eternally on-duty I-Corps radio operator, is spoken of (and spoken to, in numerous one-way radio 'conversations') repeatedly throughout the series's entire 11-year run, but only makes a single brief cameo appearance in one first season episode. Many other characters in the series are similarly heard (but not seen), or spoken of/to but neither seen nor heard.
  • Magnum P.I.: Robin Masters, the novelist who hires Thomas Magnum. Masters' voice is provided by Orson Welles in a number of episodes; however, the final episode revealed that one of the main ongoing characters of the series was actually Robin all along. Viewers are left wondering if this is true.
  • Mama's Family: Carl Harper, the deceased husband of Thelma Harper, the show's titular character. He was frequently referred to throughout the series before finally appearing in a flashback on the series finale, played by Ken Berry (who also played the character Vinton Harper).
  • Married... with Children: Gary, owner of Gary's Shoes, finally appeared in the ninth season and, to everyone's surprise, turned out to be a woman. Janet Carroll continued to play the role throughout Married's tenth and eleventh seasons.
  • Men Behaving Badly: Clive, an old (and only) friend of Gary's, was mentioned several times, and finally appeared behind a camcorder at Gary and Dorothy's wedding. Played by the series' writer, Simon Nye.
  • Mother and Son: Damien & Teonie, the children of Robert & Liz Beare, were referenced frequently but not seen in the early episodes. They made one appearance.
  • The Nanny: Morty, Fran's father, was unseen or heard from until he suddenly appeared during the final season, played by Steve Lawrence. Previously, all you saw was the toupee on the back of his head.
  • Neighbours (Australian soap opera): Len Mangel (played by John Lee), husband of Nell, was mentioned frequently and his name was often heard called by his wife. Len divorced Nell in 1987 (off-screen), but finally put in an an appearance in 1994 when he tried to con Helen Daniels out of her money.
  • The Odd Couple: Felix Unger's ex-wife, Gloria, was only talked about but was never seen during the entire first season. Then starting in the second season, Janis Hansen made occasional appearances as that recurring character throughout the remainder of the series.
  • Only Fools and Horses: Marlene, the wife of Boycie, was referenced but not actually seen until Series 4 in 1985. The reverse was the case for Denzil's wife Corrine; she was featured in Denzil's first appearance in Series 3, but from then on was only referenced, and not seen or heard.
  • Our House:
    • Ben Witherspoon, Gus's second son, played by William Katt.
    • Johnny Witherspoon, Gus's oldest son, and Jessica's deceased husband, was only seen in pictures. He appeared in the second season in his son's dream, played by Patrick Duffy.
  • The Parkers: Shiquan, Kim's friend, is seen only in the last episode.
  • Passions:
    • Alistair Crane.
    • Martin Fitzgerald and Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald.
    • Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald and her guardian Maria Lopez, Pilar's sister, were seen after five years of references.
    • Noah Bennett, seen after 6 years of references.
    • Two of Julian and Ivy Crane's three children, Fox and Fancy. They were unnamed until they were each introduced on the show. Fox was introduced in 2002, and Fancy in 2006. Julian and Ivy have another daughter who hasn't been seen yet in the seven years since the show's premiere.
  • Pelle Hermanni (Finnish children's show): Sylvia the fortune teller and Max the magician.
  • Pokémon: Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, was shown mostly shadowed up during most of the first season until the episode "Battle of the Badge", in which he was fully revealed. This same practice was used with Cloaked Nightmare in Kirby: Right Back at Ya (he was fully seen in the series finale).
  • Power Rangers: Mystic Force: Octomus, the Supreme Master of the Underworld, was only seen in a white pool in the pit which glowed red when he came.
  • The Prisoner: Number One. Whether Number One's appearance in the finale should be interpreted as a literal occurrence remains debated.
  • Promised Land: Joe Greene, Russell's brother and Nathaniel's father, was introduced on screen in an episode of Touched by an Angel that then concluded on the 2nd season premiere of Promised Land; played by Richard Thomas.
  • Quantum Leap: Ziggy, the computer that works out what Sam needs to do in order to 'leap', is mentioned in every episode by Al, who communicates with Ziggy via a hand-link device. In the first three series the show is nearly always seen from Sam's perspective with Ziggy and the rest of the 'present day' remaining off-screen. At the start of season four, Sam briefly 'leaps' back home and Ziggy's interface console and voice are seen and heard directly.
  • Rugrats: Jonathan, Charlotte Pickles' executive assistant, was often on the other end of the phone when Charlotte was working, but eventually appeared in two episodes.
  • seaQuest DSV: Lucas' father, Dr. Lawrence Wolenczak, is mentioned several times before finally appearing in the first season finale.
  • The Smoking Room: Ben The Post Boy.
  • The Sopranos: "Feech" La Manna
  • Space Cases: Suzee, Catalina's invisible friend. She was seen in the second season.
  • Space Pirate Captain Harlock (animated series, 1977): Tochiro Oyama. The architect of Captain Harlock's pirate ship Arcadia and the father of Maya, the young girl Harlock pledged his life to protect, Tochiro's grave is visited in the first episode and Harlock often spoke briefly of his great friend in his more reflective moods. Some of these reflections took the form of a silent vigil in the ship's massive computer room. Tochiro is also sometimes referred to as the forty second soul on the Arcadia although the enemy has only ever counted forty one living beings aboard. Tochiro was finally seen and referred to by name in a flashback during the episode Mystery of the Arcadia. It is also revealed as to why the Arcadia seems to have a mind of its own. Tochiro, upon his death, found a way to transfer his soul into the ships computer. A totally different version of this event was seen in the 1979 movie version of Galaxy Express 999 in which Harlock and crew made guest appearances. Tochiro appeared as a living, active character and crewmember in subsequent Harlock anime placing those somewhat roughly before the events in Space Pirate and Galaxy Express 999.
  • Star Trek: Voyager: The Delaney Twins, eventually shown briefly in one episode
  • The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Mr. Tipton was spoken about in many episodes or someone was heard talking to him on a phone. It wasn't until the episode "Suite 16" that most of him was shown. His face was never shown.
  • Sunset Beach:
    • Armando Deschanel Jr was only mentioned in the beginning of the soap in 1997. He was finally introduced on the soap in 1998, portrayed by Gordon Thomson, and stayed on until the show ended on December 31, 1999.
    • Maria Torres-Evans, Ben's presumed-dead wife, showed up after more than a year of references.
  • That 70's Show: Jackie's mother was often referred to as beautiful and materialistic. She was never seen until the fifth season, played by Brooke Shields. She was actually seen in the first season in the episode where the kids steal a keg and have a party, but that seems to have been forgotten; she was played by a different actress (Eve Plumb of The Brady Bunch), and did not fit the character descriptions later attributed to her
  • Three's Company:
    • Eleanor, Janet and Chrissy's first roommate, was married off-screen before the pilot episode. She was eventually seen on-screen later in the first season.
    • Ralph Furley's brother Bart.
  • Unfabulous: Randy Klein was first seen in the first season finale.
  • Valerie: Peter Poole, husband of Patty Poole, was introduced during the second season, after the show was renamed Valerie's Family, played by Willard Scott of The Today Show.
  • Wings:
    • Casey's estranged husband Stuart finally showed up at the end of the seventh season, played by John Ritter, the real life husband of Amy Yasbeck, the actress playing Casey.
    • Roy's mother finally appeared in one of the very last episodes, played by Rose Marie.
  • The Wonder Years: Kevin Arnold as an adult, voiced by Daniel Stern, made a brief appearance during the voice-over at the end of one episode, showing him and Paul as adults playing a game of driveway basketball.
  • Zoids: Guardian Force: The "Dark Kaiser", the supposed master villain of the show, appeared only as a shadowy figure for most of the series. In the penultimate episode, he was revealed to be Gunter Prozen, the villain from Chaotic Century - and then killed off.

Stage plays

Movies

  • Big Al from Shaun of the Dead is mentioned several times for saying dogs can't look up, but is never seen nor heard.
  • The Wicked Witch of the East from The Wizard of Oz, who was the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West, was crushed to death when Dorothy's house landed on Munchkinland from the Kansas cyclone. The only part of the witch who was seen is her feet sticking out from beneath Dorothy's house where she got those ruby slippers from.
  • Sean Regan in The Big Sleep (1946), whose life and disappearance is central to the plot.
  • Addie Ross in A Letter to Three Wives (1949). This character is crucial to the film's overall story, is constantly referred to by characters throughout the film, and her portrait is viewed by characters but never shown to the audience, however only her voice is heard (provided by an uncredited Celeste Holm).
  • The hunter in Bambi (1942). It is later implied in Disney's Beauty and the Beast that Gaston is the hunter.
  • Jesus Christ in Ben-Hur (1959) is shown from behind, and although he is shown apparently speaking, is never heard by the audience. In The Life of Brian (1979) Jesus is seen from a great distance preaching The Sermon on the Mount.
  • The prophet Muhammad in the film The Message. (Strict Islamic law prohibits depictions of the human form, so any attempt to visually portray the Prophet would be considered a very severe transgression.)
  • Charlie Townsend in Charlie's Angels (the back of his head is seen closely and his full body is seen from a distance in the first film, and not at all in the second).
  • Guffman in Waiting for Guffman
  • The truck driver in Duel
  • Rusty Nail, the truck driver, in Joy Ride
  • Harvey, a human-sized invisible rabbit, in the 1950 film adaption of the stage play of the same name. Although the rabbit is invisible, some scenes were shot widely to give the impression that the invisible rabbit is included in the scene, and at the end of the film a gate is apparently opened by the rabbit.
  • Henne in Kein Pardon -- Throughout the movie, the main character's relatives speak fondly of him. In the last scene, Henne is greeted by the door just when the screen begins to blacken, so he is not seen even once.
  • Oscar – The entire movie revolves around the title character, a chauffeur. But he makes his appearance only in the last scene.
  • Bill in Kill Bill vol. 1 – only his arms or legs are shown. He is later seen full-bodied in Kill Bill vol. 2.
  • Emperor Palpatine in the original Star Wars trilogy. He is mentioned in A New Hope, seen as a hologram in The Empire Strikes Back and finally shown, in person, in Return of the Jedi. The character has appeared in person in all the prequel movies, but the true identity of his alter ego Darth Sidious was not revealed until Revenge of the Sith; as Darth Sidious, he kept a hood over his head to conceal all his face except his mouth and double-chin.
  • Darth Vader has been known for years only with his mask. In the 5th episode we get a glimpse of his unmasked head from behind. Finally, in the final chapter of the saga, we see 'redeemed Anakin's' face unmasked. However, in the DVD release of Return of the Jedi, the "redeemed Anakin" is the Anakin of the prequel trilogy. Still, Luke removes Vader's mask aboard the Death Star, and Anakin's face is revealed. Additionally, Anakin Skywalker is seen (but not as a villain) in the prequel trilogy.
  • Boba Fett, also seen only in mask and full body armor, an example of a minor but unproportionally famous character of Star Wars. His (probable) face is seen in Attack of the Clones when we see his clone origin's appearance, which hints that during the time of the movies, he was identical. We also see Boba in a young age.
  • Jabba the Hutt in the original version of A New Hope; he later appeared in Return of the Jedi. A new scene was introduced in the special edition of A New Hope which featured Han confronting Jabba on giving him more time to pay him back.
  • Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the most famous James Bond villain, is seen only in silhouette or from the back in his first appearances in From Russia with Love and Thunderball. He is finally seen in You Only Live Twice.
  • The Blue Voice (voiced by Fenella Fielding) in the 1972 feature film of The Magic Roundabout, Dougal and the Blue Cat, was the disembodied voice situated in the treacle factory who gave orders to Buxton (the blue cat of the title) to take over the colours of the world, and replace them all with the colour blue. It is rumored that she was based on Margaret Thatcher, and the character is a political comment about the beginnings of Thatcherism - the colour blue being the colour of the Conservative Party.
  • Korben Dallas' mother and friend, Finger, from The Fifth Element are both heard but not seen.
  • Father in Equilibrium. The character never appears in public except as a hologram or on a video screen, and in the end it is revealed that the real Father died years before the events of the film, although the rulers of Libria, the fictional country the movie is set in, continue to use Father's image for their propaganda.
  • Morris Frye, Cameron Frye's father in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
  • Russian Premier Dimitri Kissoff in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
  • Alex, the suicidal common friend of The Big Chill (played by Kevin Costner, but left on the cutting room floor)
  • The Man In Black, from Halloween 5 - we don't get to see his face until the next movie.
  • Horseflesh in Time Bandits.
  • In the Alfred Hitchcock film Rebecca, based on the Daphne du Maurier novel of the same name, the title character is constantly referred to but never seen, having died before the beginning of the film.
  • Deep Throat appears in the film All the President's Men but his face is never visible.
  • In Finding Nemo, Sandy Plankton is the source of neighborhood wisdom, but is never seen on screen. Although the young fish all believe him, most of the information he dispenses is apparently incorrect.
  • Leia's Father, Bail Organa, in the Star Wars Trilogy. He is given a part in the radio version. He is not seen until the Prequels, where he is played by Jimmy Smits.
  • Biff's Grandma Tannen on Back To The Future Part II in 1955. She is only heard talking to Biff from inside the house while Biff is leaving.
  • Julie Dwyer is often mentioned in the movies of Kevin Smith (View Askewniverse).
  • Mrs. Doubtfire's Husband Winston and the Smythe Family of England that She worked for for 15 years(which were people that didn't actually exist, since Mrs. Doubtfire was a persona created by Daniel Hillard in disguise). Daniel's Mother is heard over the phone speaking to Daniel's Brother, Frank, but is never seen.
  • Wash's Wife, Cora Hogwallop, on O Brother Where Art Thou, who up and r-u-n-n-o-f-t. Wash also mentions some other cousins of His and Pete's at the table.
  • Jonathan Brisby in The Secret of NIMH is frequently referred to and appears as one of the main driving forces of the film, yet the film starts on the day of his death and he never appears except in a brief flashback. he has no spoken role and communicates with none of the other characters, although Nicodemus speaks to him (possibly rhetorically) frequently. he was also the apparent first owner of the mysterious Red-stone amulet, which like him holds an important but totally unexplained part of the films plot
  • In Wedding Crashers, Jeremy mentions a wedding-crashing guru by the name of Chazz a few times throughout the movie. John actually meets him towards the end.
  • Frank Beardsley's first wife, Frances, and Helen North's first Husband, Dick, on Yours, Mine and Ours(1968).

Comic strips, comic books, webcomics, and graphic novels

  • In the Disney comics, some relatives are absent and rarely talked about, for example, Huey, Dewey and Louie's father.
  • Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man comic book series was spoken of for several issues, and in her first "appearance", was glimpsed by other characters only, and not finally revealed until the next issue.
  • The Adversary in Vertigo comics's Fables, who's recently revealed as Pinocchio's father, Gepetto.
  • Carlyle, the suave cabbie/adventurer from the webcomic Sam and Fuzzy.
  • The comic strip Peanuts featured several unseen characters:
  • Charlie, Rosalyn's boyfriend in Calvin and Hobbes. He is talked to by a few characters (notably Rosalyn and Calvin), over the phone.
  • Andy Capp's mother-in-law. Sometimes heard but never seen. Sometimes the strip has had other one-time joke pub customer characters, who are off-panel but they talk.
  • J.P. Pembrooke, Roger Fox's boss in FoxTrot. His arms and cigar are seen, but never his whole body.
  • Charlie Noodles (mentioned but never seen) and Stella (face never seen) from The Goon.
  • Mrs. Feeny, the next door neighbour, and her little dog, who Garfield likes tormenting. Mrs. Feeny keeps phoning Garfield's owner Jon telling him what his pet has done to hers.
  • Ellen, a girl Jon Arbuckle keeps phoning to try to get her to go out with him in Garfield.
  • Lord Deadcross in the Astro Boy manga, where his face was always out of view or masked.
  • In Maison Ikkoku, the face of Soichiro-san, the late husband of the boarding house's manager is obscured in flashbacks and photographs.
  • The Commissioner in the Sam & Max comics.
  • R.L., Kell's boss in Kevin and Kell. Only his drooling muzzle is usually ever seen. His whole body was recently shown, but his face was still hidden by a wrestler's mask.
  • Curtis's cousins in the comic strip Curtis. (We hear of his vague details of them, though, during Thanksgiving week.)
  • Dilbert's father in the comic strip Dilbert (However, in the TV series, we do see a part of him in one episode).
  • Roger, in Safe Havens. Roger is terminally shy, and his appearance has been hidden since the start of the strip, first inside a box, and more recently inside various mascot costumes.
  • The nameless, troublesome family upstairs in George Herriman's Dingbat Family (later retitled, appropriately, The Family Upstairs).
  • The title characters in Pop Momand's Keeping up with the Joneses.
  • Haydon in the comic and novelizations of the aborted Robotech series Robotech II the Sentinels. He was finally revealed in the Jack McKinney novel End of The Circle as a godlike being trying to reach the next level of existence.
  • The full head and eyes of Judge Dredd is never seen, almost always covered by his vizored helmet and if not, covered with a towel, bandages or something else. Once, he is knocked out and his enemies take his helmet off, but this is not seen by the reader, and all of the people who saw his whole face are later killed by Dredd. (This is a trait not kept in the Judge Dredd film, starring the well-known actor Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd.)
  • Clow Reed from Cardcaptor Sakura is mentioned in xxxHolic by Ichihara Yuuko but is never heard, mostly due to the fact that he is dead when the series begins. He does, however, have one splash page.
  • Marty from the webcomic Count Your Sheep
  • Jean-Charles, the "bumbling, Clouseau-esque" Frenchman from "Jerkcity".
  • Professor Science, a diplodocus wearing a mortarboard, from Dinosaur Comics.
  • "It", the final and most frightening monster in a Clever and Smart issue where robbers were disguised as scary monsters.
  • The face of "V," the titular character in Alan Moore's graphic novel "V for Vendetta" is never shown. Through flashbacks and character recollections, "V" may have been of any race, burned beyond recognition, or transformed into a different anatomical sex.
  • The farmer from U.S. Acres is often mentioned by the characters, but was only seen once, and from the legs down, as was his daughter.
  • In the manga Ranma ½, the parents of Ryōga Hibiki are never seen, since like their son they are frequently lost. Ryōga's father calls him on the phone once, and Ryōga's mother leaves notes for him in the house.
  • The Belgian comic strip Gaston Lagaffe features the company's real-life president, Jean Dupuis. He's heard sometimes, but when seen only one foot ever shows up.
  • The Finnish comic strip creator, Jope (Jorma Pitkänen) is famous of his nonseen characters. Invisible Viänänen is invisible all the time. The main characher in Puolipohja is always drunk and under the table, only his foot are visible. The bureaucrats in Cabaree työnvälitys have no heads.
  • The Creature in the Shadows, in the webcomic The Order of the Stick. The Creature is an ally that the villain, Xykon, is keeping hidden to dramatically reveal at the last moment; he/she/it speaks in several strips but is always in the shadows or hidden beneath an umbrella.
  • Staff members from Neopets. Adam can be seen by typing in "asparagus" in the "search neopets" option. Also, in "Whack-a-staff-member", most staff members are seen, but not named. An editor in an orange shirt, blue pants, blond hair and a thin beard can be seen in some games.

Radio programs

Naturally, no characters are ever seen in any radio programming. However, several programs have featured recurring characters who were never heard and characterized through one-sided phone calls, letters, or references to them in conversations. Notable examples of this type, often called "silent characters," include the following:

  • Duffy, the owner of Duffy's Tavern. Every episode, Duffy telephoned Archie, the bar's manager. Listeners heard only Archie's side of the conversation.
  • Samantha the score-keeper on I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue, a long-running Radio Four comedy series. She is sometimes replaced by her likewise unheard Swedish counterpart Sven.
  • Mrs. Trellis from North Wales is often heard via her confused letters to Humphrey Liddleton on I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue. She always mistakes Humph for another media personality.
  • Frank Remley, the guitar player on The Jack Benny Program (though he was later heard on The Phil Harris and Alice Faye Show)
  • Pierre, husband of Mrs. Nussbaum on The Fred Allen Show
  • Mrs. Bloom, neighbor on The Goldbergs.
  • Mr. Pullen, an elderly (and frequently suggested to be incontinent) character on The Archers.
  • Other Archers characters, including Titcombe the gardener, Bert Fry's wife Freda, Matt Crawford's wife Yvette, and until recently, Owen the cook (given a voice in the summer of 2004, by Jonathan Keeble).
  • Several characters on Fibber McGee and Molly: Myrt the telephone operator, Molly's drunken Uncle Dennis (later heard briefly, voiced by Ransom Sherman), Wallace Wimple's overbearing wife "Sweetie Face", and Fibber's pals Fred Nitney and Willie Toops.
  • Nearly all of the supporting characters on Vic and Sade (until late in the run, when several were given voices), notably Aunt Bessie and Uncle Walter, the Hink family (who called long distance), Fred and Ruthie Stembottom, and Uncle Fletcher's landlady Miz Keller.

Books

  • In Charles Dickens' novel Martin Chuzzlewitt, Mrs. Gamp's friend Mrs. Harris is often spoken of but never seen. None of Gamp's friends can ever recall seeing her either, and the only documentation of her existence is a picture on Mrs. Gamp's mantlepiece.
  • Joan Walden, Sally and Conrad's mother in Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, who was always shown with her face obscured. In the live-action film adaptation, she was fully visible.
  • Big Brother and Emmanuel Goldstein. In the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, it is not clear if either actually exist (or existed) as a person, or are images crafted by the state, or the personification of the Party and its enemy, respectively.
  • Dulcinea del Toboso (and her alter ego Aldonza Lorenzo) in Cervantes' novel Don Quixote. Don Quixote falls in love with peasant Aldonza and imagines she is a princess, Dulcinea. Although in stage and film adaptations there is usually someone acting as Dulcinea, neither Dulcinea nor Aldonza really appear in the original novel.
  • The main villain (Sauron) of The Lord of the Rings. Although the book is named after him, he is never seen in the novel (except indirectly when he speaks through the Palantír), and his movements and tactical thoughts of the war are assumed by his enemies. His nature is not explained. Finally, in 1977 with the publishing of The Silmarillion, by Tolkien, his major roles in the history of Middle-earth became known, as well as his nature (a Maia, an 'angelic' spirit - in this case corrupted).
  • Mudd aka The Dead Man in Yossarian's Tent. In the novel Catch-22, Mudd drops his things off in Yossarian's tent, gets assigned to a mission before he checks in, and is killed in combat. No one who saw him survived, and since he never 'officially' arrived, his possessions cannot be disposed of.
  • The Soldier in White. Another Catch-22 character, he's seen in the hospital, completely encased in plaster. The viewer knows nothing about him, and it is speculated that there is actually no one under all the bandages.
  • Eccentrica Gallumbits, the Triple-Breasted Whore of Eroticon Six in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series of books. She is referenced in every book in the series but never actually appears in any of them. The BBC TV version of Hitchhiker's does include a detailed diagram of her erogenous zones.
  • In The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, the Emperor-Over-Sea is mentioned as Aslan's "father." While Aslan is seen with some frequency, the Emperor never is, presumably because he is an allegorical representation of God. Mr & Mrs Pevensie, the parents of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are referenced in the books, but have no active role (Mrs Pevensie is shown in The Chronicles of Narnia movie, however). Susan Pevensie provides a rare example of a seen character becoming unseen; she appears in the earlier books, but is only referenced in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Last Battle.
  • Also by C. S. Lewis, the implied human in The Screwtape Letters is referred to constantly by the demon Wormwood's uncle Screwtape but never given an active voice.
  • In Harry Potter, Eloise Midgen is often made reference to by name about her poor acne and off center nose. Ron Weasley does not find her attractive. She is seen in the movie adaptations.
  • Also in Harry Potter, Ron Weasley's two eldest brothers, Bill and Charlie, were often mentioned but never seen. Both eventually appeared in Goblet of Fire (the book), but have yet to make an appearance in the film adaptations.
  • The Once-ler and his relatives in The Lorax. Only their arms are seen in the book.
  • Jane Gallagher, in The Catcher in the Rye, is often mentioned by the novel's main character, Holden Caulfield, but never seen by the reader. Described as one of the few girls he'd ever really felt close to, Holden almost calls her on multiple occasions, but always backs down.
  • Chloe King's Father is constantly referenced in the book series The Nine Lives of Chloe King, but never appears in the books, leaving a large plot hole.
  • Danidin is one of the most popular children book series in Israel,published between 1961-2001 by Shraga Gafni (who signed as 'On Sarig'). After drinking purple medicine, the young guy Danidin Became unseen. As an unseen child, he fought against Arab armies (or aliens) and always won.
  • Mother in the bookseries Remnants. Although Mother is, in actuality, the entire spaceship, she is never seen for the first half of the series. When she is seen by the characters, it is only a projection of how she sees herself: once she appears as a Shipright, and another time as an old woman in a cloak.

Video games

Heard but never seen

  • Ness' father in EarthBound. Ness can save the game by calling his dad on the telephone. In fact, during the end credits where all the characters are shown, Ness' dad is shown as a ringing telephone.
  • Tony Cipriani's mother in the Grand Theft Auto series is frequently heard yelling at her son, and in Liberty City Stories actually sends assassins after him, but is never seen in person.
  • Mario in Pac-Man Vs. In the game, Charles Martinet is the announcer, but he uses Mario's voice.
  • In the Resident Evil series, Ozwell E. Spencer, the founder of Umbrella is mentioned in various documents and by a few characters as the mastermind behind many of the tragedies that occurred through the series (such as the murder of James Marcus and the transformation of Lisa Trevor), but has not been featured in any of the actual games (with the last game, Resident Evil 4, taking place years after Umbrella's demise).
  • In Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, a voice is heard talking to and advising one of the main characters, but the speaker is never identified.
  • In Backyard Basketball 2004, Sally and Ronny Dobbs's mother calls "Kids! Time for dinner!", but never seen. The kids do not hear her since they are playing basketball.
  • Dr. Elizabeth McNeil in Doom 3.
  • Euzeth Gozzo in Super Robot Wars Alpha, like many Balmarian nobles, is masked throughout the entire game, but during battle his voice is heard. However, his face was shown in another game, Super Hero Sakusen.
  • Genevieve Aristiede in F.E.A.R. has an important role in the plot and her voice can be heard on phone messages yet she never appears in person.
  • Elimine, Barrigan, Hanon and Hartmut in Fire Emblem 6 and 7. Only their weapons are featured. On the other hand, the player can meet the other heroes: Athos, Roland, Durban and Brammimond.
  • Diana, from IO Interactive's Hitman: Codename 47 games. As the so-called Operator, Diana is heard giving briefings, and is only ever seen as an extremely vague silhouette otherwise. The Mystery Man is a similar kind of unseen character from the same series.
  • Sora's mother was never actually seen in the Kingdom Hearts series.
  • Roy's mother in Fire Emblem. She is mentioned in some supports. In Rekka no Ken, the mother is either Ninian, Lyn, or Fiora.

Unseen characters that are later seen (usually final bosses)

  • Ansem and King Mickey in Kingdom Hearts (Ansem appears earlier in the game wearing an all-concealing brown cloak)
  • Yu Yevon in Final Fantasy X
  • Sorceress Ultimecia in Final Fantasy VIII
  • Mary Sheperd-Sunderland in Silent Hill 2 (although Maria looks exactly like her)
  • Dr. Sidney Ruffleberg in The Secret of Evermore. Ruffleburg is briefly seen in the opening sequences of the game, and does not appear again until the end of the game.
  • Shodan in System Shock 2.
  • Smithy in Super Mario RPG. Although his minions are constantly causing trouble, Smithy himself is never seen until the end of the game.
  • Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Ganon appears in the game as the sorcerer Aganihm, who appears twice. Ganon is also referenced by the imprisoned maidens, and statues of him appear in some dungeons. Ganon is his true form is not seen until the final battle.
  • Princess Peach in the original Super Mario Bros. Afterwards, she is no longer considered such.
  • Mundus in Devil May Cry
  • Sigma in Mega Man X (appears multiple times in all subsequent games)
  • Janos Audron in the Legacy of Kain series (He appears late in Soul Reaver 2, although there is a mural of him in the Sarafan Stronghold which is seen in the beginning of the game and does not reappear again until late in Defiance)
  • Solidus Snake (aka George Sears), the third Son of Big Boss and President of the US in Metal Gear Solid, speaks with Revolver Ocelot in the end of the game, but is not seen until the sequel (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty). Likewise, the character Sergei Gurlukovich is also mentioned in the first game before actually appearing in the second.
  • A character known only as "That Man" in the Guilty Gear series.
  • The character Ada Wong was first mentioned in the original Resident Evil before appearing in Resident Evil 2.
  • The Sorrow in Metal Gear Solid 3 although, he is seen wearing a coat near the start.
  • Samus Aran in Metroid, only seen in a suit of full-body armor until the end of the game, where Samus is revealed to be a woman.
  • Regent Cid on Final Fantasy IX. He is first seen as an Oglop, then gets turned into a frog on disc 2. He is finally back to his true human form on disc 3.
  • Lady Hilda, Regent Cid's wife on Final Fantasy IX. She is finally introduced on Disc 3 of the game after the characters rescue her from Esto Gaza.
  • Meta-Knight in the Kirby series. Wears a mask that only allows the eyes to be seen. When defeated, his mask falls before he flees.
  • Gordon Freeman, protagonist in the Half-Life series, is not seen in the first game; it is seen entirely through Freeman's eyes, as is Half-Life 2. However he is fleetingly glimpsed in both Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift. The character was, however, prominently featured on the box of the game-of-the-year edition of the original game.
  • Giygas, final boss of EarthBound is never seen until the end of the game.
  • Lionel Starkweather, the director in the video game Manhunt. His voice is heard numerous times throughout the first half of the game, but he is never actually seen until the very end.
  • Decoy Octopus in the video game Metal Gear Solid, who is only seen briefly disguised as the DARPA chief Donald Anderson, then has his identity revealed after his death by Vulcan Raven.
  • In Strife, Blackbird contacts the player via a commnicator, transmitting advice and orders, but is not seen until the ending screens.
  • Helen Morgendorffer, the mother from the cartoon Daria is constantly talking on the phone with her boss, Eric. Eric appears in episode 408 titled 'Psycho Therapy'.
  • Eith Gozzo of Super Robot Wars Alpha 3: To the End of the Galaxy, like many Balmarian nobles, remains masked throughout most of the game until he reveals his identity.
  • Shivah Gozzo of Super Robot Wars Alpha 3: To the End of the Galaxy is masked until he is defeated in the latter stages of the game.
  • Keisar Ephes telepathically speaks multiple times to the protagonist in Super Robot Wars Alpha 3: To the End of the Galaxy, but his face is never shown until the final confrontation.
  • In the first Eye of the Beholder, the main villain Xanathar is frequently mentioned in the game, and the player can deduce from various hints that he is a beholder, but he is confronted only at the very end.
  • Black Doom in Shadow the Hedgehog. He appears during cutscenes, but his true form is not revealed until the very end of the game.
  • Tikal the Echidna in Sonic Adventure. Her soul appears in Action Stages, but Tikal herself does not appear until a while before Super Sonic fights Perfect Chaos.

See also

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