Cousin Oliver Effect
August 31, 2006 12:02 PM Subscribe
Right up there with the Darrin Syndrome, the Cousin Oliver Effect is one of the most ridiculed devices in Sitcom-land. Until today, though, I didn’t know that Robbie Rist is still going strong.
Define "going strong." Did you mean "not dead yet?"
posted by illovich at 12:30 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by illovich at 12:30 PM on August 31, 2006
What do you call that thing on Family Matters where half the family (some young kids) just disappeared one season because Urkel had completely taken over the show?
posted by sonofsamiam at 12:35 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by sonofsamiam at 12:35 PM on August 31, 2006
Sonofsamiam, that's the Facts of Life Syndrome isn't it?
Is the Great Kazoo an example of the Robbie Rist syndrome?
What about the Ted McGinley syndrome, is that different or an adjunct to the Robbie Rist syndrome?
So many questions...
posted by psmealey at 12:37 PM on August 31, 2006
Is the Great Kazoo an example of the Robbie Rist syndrome?
What about the Ted McGinley syndrome, is that different or an adjunct to the Robbie Rist syndrome?
So many questions...
posted by psmealey at 12:37 PM on August 31, 2006
Robbie Rist's Wonderboy was a pretty solid power pop band, and their Napoleon Blown Apart album still gets play around the Slack household.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 12:46 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 12:46 PM on August 31, 2006
Don't forget Chuck Cunningham syndrome, although Wikipedia is trying hard to.
posted by dhartung at 12:47 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by dhartung at 12:47 PM on August 31, 2006
What do you call that thing on Family Matters where half the family (some young kids) just disappeared one season because Urkel had completely taken over the show?
They youngest one seems to have [cough] found alternative employment. (second link NSFW)
posted by jonmc at 12:48 PM on August 31, 2006
They youngest one seems to have [cough] found alternative employment. (second link NSFW)
posted by jonmc at 12:48 PM on August 31, 2006
Not only did Bewitched pull the switcheroo with the Darrens, but also with Gladys Kravitz. And once Chuck Cunningham disappeared from the Happy Days I no longer trusted the boob tube.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 12:55 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 12:55 PM on August 31, 2006
Not only did Bewitched pull the switcheroo with the Darrens
'First there was Dick York. Then there was Dick Sargent. You don't switch Dicks midstream!' - Taylor Negron.
(my theory re:Chuck Cunningham is that he got drafted and died in Vietnam)
posted by jonmc at 1:03 PM on August 31, 2006
'First there was Dick York. Then there was Dick Sargent. You don't switch Dicks midstream!' - Taylor Negron.
(my theory re:Chuck Cunningham is that he got drafted and died in Vietnam)
posted by jonmc at 1:03 PM on August 31, 2006
The worst example is the neighbor kid Ricky from The Partridge Family. Ratings plummeted when the entire viewing audience went into a diabetic coma. Wikipedia seems to be ignoring that one as well.
posted by George_Spiggott at 1:05 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by George_Spiggott at 1:05 PM on August 31, 2006
Dick Sargent is a nice sock puppet name (on a couple of different levels).
posted by xod at 1:07 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by xod at 1:07 PM on August 31, 2006
Didn't Family Ties try to pull some "Cousin Oliver" crap? And once Rudy Huxtable grew up, the Cosby Show had a new cute kid just about every season.
posted by jefbla at 1:11 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by jefbla at 1:11 PM on August 31, 2006
I've never understood the Ted McGinley effect myself. Sure, SportsNight didn't last long, but Married With Children continued ad nauseum, and his frequent guest appearances on The West Wing didn't seem to do them much damage.
posted by Navelgazer at 1:14 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by Navelgazer at 1:14 PM on August 31, 2006
Actually, the Cosby Show was bold enough to name their Cousin Oliver "Olivia."
posted by Navelgazer at 1:22 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by Navelgazer at 1:22 PM on August 31, 2006
That Chuck Cunningham thing is totally ruining my day. I had completely banished that from my memory for decades, yet I am now reliving the anguish of my youth in wondering what happened to him.
I presumed that he had become a heroin addict and became a street person in Milwaukee, or worse. I'll never know.
posted by psmealey at 1:29 PM on August 31, 2006
I presumed that he had become a heroin addict and became a street person in Milwaukee, or worse. I'll never know.
posted by psmealey at 1:29 PM on August 31, 2006
Actually, the Cosby Show was bold enough to name their Cousin Oliver "Olivia."
interesting
posted by caddis at 1:44 PM on August 31, 2006
interesting
posted by caddis at 1:44 PM on August 31, 2006
well, the guy who played Chuck is still getting work, maybe we should ask him.
posted by jonmc at 1:48 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by jonmc at 1:48 PM on August 31, 2006
"Olivia" is now Disney teen star Raven (she has given up her last name as part of her burgeoning celebrity).
posted by briank at 1:49 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by briank at 1:49 PM on August 31, 2006
and in true Jerry Lewis/Mickey Rourke fashion, he seems to be popular with the French.
posted by jonmc at 1:50 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by jonmc at 1:50 PM on August 31, 2006
Don't forget Chuck Cunningham syndrome, although Wikipedia is trying hard to.
Yeah, that's because Wikipedia and it's "no original research" policy is far too stuffy for this kind of thing. You need to head over to the TV Tropes Wiki for better cataloging and analysis of this kind of stuff. See Cousin Oliver, Brother Chuck, The Other Darren, Jonas Quinn, The Nth Doctor, and SORAS, for just a few entries relevant to this discussion.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:07 PM on August 31, 2006
Yeah, that's because Wikipedia and it's "no original research" policy is far too stuffy for this kind of thing. You need to head over to the TV Tropes Wiki for better cataloging and analysis of this kind of stuff. See Cousin Oliver, Brother Chuck, The Other Darren, Jonas Quinn, The Nth Doctor, and SORAS, for just a few entries relevant to this discussion.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:07 PM on August 31, 2006
Planet Krulik has a pretty entertaining video about Robbie Rist.
posted by Dr-Baa at 2:09 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by Dr-Baa at 2:09 PM on August 31, 2006
I heard Chuck Cunningham got involved with Pete Bondurant and died at the Bay of Pigs.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:55 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:55 PM on August 31, 2006
(my theory re:Chuck Cunningham is that he got drafted and died in Vietnam) posted by jonmc
His last appearance on Happy Days was in the second season or sometime around 1957, a little early to get drafted to Vietnam.
I like the reunion show joke that "Chuck had won a basketball scholarship to the 'University of Outer Mongolia'" myself.
posted by wendell at 4:17 PM on August 31, 2006
His last appearance on Happy Days was in the second season or sometime around 1957, a little early to get drafted to Vietnam.
I like the reunion show joke that "Chuck had won a basketball scholarship to the 'University of Outer Mongolia'" myself.
posted by wendell at 4:17 PM on August 31, 2006
Not only did Bewitched pull the switcheroo with the Darrens, but also with Gladys Kravitz.
They also featured two different Louise Tates.
posted by Oriole Adams at 5:57 PM on August 31, 2006
They also featured two different Louise Tates.
posted by Oriole Adams at 5:57 PM on August 31, 2006
Not only did Bewitched pull the switcheroo with the Darrens, but also with Gladys Kravitz, who replaced by Lenny.
posted by Joeforking at 6:24 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by Joeforking at 6:24 PM on August 31, 2006
I think Scrappy Doo is a close relative of Cousin Oliver.
posted by theredpen at 7:21 PM on August 31, 2006
posted by theredpen at 7:21 PM on August 31, 2006
I have a question. "My" generation, by which in this context I mean those of us in our mid 30s to mid 40s, grew up with these afternoon (after school) rerun syndicated TV shows like Bewitched and Brady Bunch. These mean a lot to us because they were on every day and most of us saw many episodes several or more times.
So, two questions, actually. What is the actual span of years that this is true for, either generally with any highly rerun TV shows shown for (mainly) afterschool children, and/or specifically this bunch of shows which seem so culturally important these days?
I think my watching of these shows must have been from when I was six or seven (which would be '70 or '71) until I was in high school ('77-'82); so for me this was a 70s thing.
It's hard to imagine that could ever have been any other time than that specific decade when these conditions would be "just so". First you had to have these TV shows which were popular prime-time shows but also suitable (and interesting) to children. Then you had to have the period of time before channel proliferation was widespread and there were only a few stations showing these shows during the afternoon. Nowadays, even if these sorts of shows are still available, I'd bet that there's lots of content created specifically for school kids on the afternoon cable television channels. That is, if the children are even home and not doing some scheduled "play" activity.
Though it's a bit offtopic, this makes me think of how I don't feel that all this scheduled play stuff that seems so prevelant is necessarily that great for kids, even though much of it is healthy physical activity. I was a latchkey kid, fully on my own, walking home from school to an empty house in the afternoon, beginning from, um, when I was in third grade. I'd as often as not go and find some friends to play with, but when no one was available I'd watch these TV shows and find other things to do. At the time I cherished my independence for those two or three hours, and I think I was the better for them. Of course, I grew up in a small town where no one locked their doors.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 10:14 PM on August 31, 2006
So, two questions, actually. What is the actual span of years that this is true for, either generally with any highly rerun TV shows shown for (mainly) afterschool children, and/or specifically this bunch of shows which seem so culturally important these days?
I think my watching of these shows must have been from when I was six or seven (which would be '70 or '71) until I was in high school ('77-'82); so for me this was a 70s thing.
It's hard to imagine that could ever have been any other time than that specific decade when these conditions would be "just so". First you had to have these TV shows which were popular prime-time shows but also suitable (and interesting) to children. Then you had to have the period of time before channel proliferation was widespread and there were only a few stations showing these shows during the afternoon. Nowadays, even if these sorts of shows are still available, I'd bet that there's lots of content created specifically for school kids on the afternoon cable television channels. That is, if the children are even home and not doing some scheduled "play" activity.
Though it's a bit offtopic, this makes me think of how I don't feel that all this scheduled play stuff that seems so prevelant is necessarily that great for kids, even though much of it is healthy physical activity. I was a latchkey kid, fully on my own, walking home from school to an empty house in the afternoon, beginning from, um, when I was in third grade. I'd as often as not go and find some friends to play with, but when no one was available I'd watch these TV shows and find other things to do. At the time I cherished my independence for those two or three hours, and I think I was the better for them. Of course, I grew up in a small town where no one locked their doors.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 10:14 PM on August 31, 2006
I was aware of this type of action but had no idea it had a name. How very clever.
See also Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome. Heh.
The best television shenanigan of all time has to be the entire season of Dallas that was all Pam's dream.
posted by Ynoxas at 10:42 PM on August 31, 2006
See also Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome. Heh.
The best television shenanigan of all time has to be the entire season of Dallas that was all Pam's dream.
posted by Ynoxas at 10:42 PM on August 31, 2006
No, that's topped by St. Elsewhere's series finale which revealed the entire series to be the product of the imagination of an autistic child.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 12:00 AM on September 1, 2006
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 12:00 AM on September 1, 2006
Which of course brings us to this.
(Previously linked here.)
posted by Cyrano at 7:18 AM on September 1, 2006
(Previously linked here.)
posted by Cyrano at 7:18 AM on September 1, 2006
There's a logical fallacy in the idea behind that page. If two fictional universes share a fictional chracteristic, that doesn't require that they are the same fictional universe. (It implies it, though, in the sense of increasing the probability that this is the case.) Therefore, another fictional universe which a characteristic of St. Elsewhere need not also be the product of the little boy's mind. It could be the product of the mind of someone who saw St. Elsewhere. It could be chance. This is a nice, though very strange, example of the correlation is not causation maxim.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:19 AM on September 1, 2006
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:19 AM on September 1, 2006
Of course, then Bob had to point out how silly it all was by making all of Newhart a dream he had one night while really sleeping with Suzanne Pleschette.
posted by djfiander at 8:30 AM on September 1, 2006
posted by djfiander at 8:30 AM on September 1, 2006
EB: I thought of St. Elsewhere, but I always thought that was done as an artistic flourish, whereas the Dallas thing was just a desperate, and confoundingly uncreative, hack job.
posted by Ynoxas at 9:38 AM on September 1, 2006
posted by Ynoxas at 9:38 AM on September 1, 2006
Good point, Ynoxas. They are very different in that way. And that's probably most relevant.
Even so, it was an clumsy and needless artistic flourish and rightly deserves ridicule. In my opinion.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 9:47 AM on September 1, 2006
Even so, it was an clumsy and needless artistic flourish and rightly deserves ridicule. In my opinion.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 9:47 AM on September 1, 2006
I regret to say that I have succeeded in persuading the community to delete Darrin Syndrome. Yeah, I know, I'm no fun anymore, and neither is Wikipedia ...
posted by dhartung at 3:31 PM on September 7, 2006
posted by dhartung at 3:31 PM on September 7, 2006
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Obviously, you don't watch much VH1. :)
posted by frecklefaerie at 12:17 PM on August 31, 2006