Canon One-Shot Characters
(Redirected from Canon One Shot Character)
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Tropes and genres | |
---|---|
Synonym(s) | Minor Character, One Off |
Related tropes/genres | Supporting Character |
See also | Mary Sue, fanon |
Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Canon is filled with one-shot characters who make an appearance and then disappear, often for fairly minor and forgettable reasons. The nature of the original source text, specifically those in a regular series, seems to require that a character have a life-changing moment, only to appear the next week with no mention of the previous incident.
But every fandom has a paddock of characters that, for some reason, strike a fannish chord and go on to make a reappearance in many, many fanworks giving a fan the opportunity to explore the what if and possible motivations.
What Do These Characters Provide?
- missing pieces from a main character's past
- bringing back a bad guy/gal to inflict more stress and mayhem
- characters that make a main character reveal parts of him/herself, either not previously seen or given more exposure
- exploring other parts or timeframes of the canon universe
Why Do Some Canon Characters, and Not Others, Beget Fanworks?
Some Examples
Television
- Carnell, Deva and Anna Grant from Blake's 7
- Fleur de Brabant, Aristotle, Sydney, Divia (two episodes), and Alma from Forever Knight
- Lee Brackett, Incacha, and Eli Stoddard from The Sentinel
- Miko and Parrish [1] from Stargate Atlantis
- Gary Mitchell and Edith Keeler from Star Trek: The Original Series
- Terry Roberts, Vanessa Hutchinson, and Gillian Ingram from Starsky and Hutch
- Carter in Robin Hood (BBC 2006)[2]
- Terry Roberts, Vanessa Hutchinson, and Diana Harmon from Starsky & Hutch
Film
- "Figwit" in The Lord of the Rings films
- Gaila from Star Trek Reboot
Books
- Imrahil, Finduilas, Elrohir, Elladan, Haldir and many others in The Lord of the Rings
- Anne de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice
- Irene Adler and arguably James Moriarty (appeared in only one canon story, but was mentioned in several others) from the Sherlock Holmes canon.
References
- ^ See Lorne/Parrish page for more
- ^ Carter (Robin Hood BBC 2006) tag on the Ao3