Cousin Oliver: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

Sometimes they're introduced at the end of a character's season-long pregnancy arc. Once the new baby hijinks are up, they are then afflicted with [[Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome]]. This doesn't always make it better. Compare [[Kid Appeal Character]], who is generally there from the beginning. If the addition is a literal cousin, also [[Nephewism]].

 

If there's actually an in-series point to the character, compare [[Cain and Abel and Seth]].

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* Chibiusa's addition to the ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' cast wasn't initially for this reason, but the writers did end up using her for a younger demographic marketability in the retooled fourth series of the anime. Sailor Luna in the live-action series could also be an example of this trope in the same fashion.

* Timothy Hearst in ''[[D.Gray-man]]''.

* Subverted in ''[[Digimon Adventure]]''. Despite Kari appearing much later than the other Digidestined there was already a younger child on the team with T.K.

 

== Comic Books ==

*** At least they tried to be heroes; Chase tried to be holier-than-thou.

* Damian Wayne in the ''[[Batman]]'' Comics, made Robin at age 10, just as Tim Drake was growing out of the tights. Lampshaded in ''Red Robin'' #14, where the oldest and youngest of the first three Robins refer to each other as Marcia and Cindy, and lock Damian out of a file with the password "cousinoliver".

** Plus he somehow gets the two best parts of being a [[Kid Hero]]- he has the youthful idealism (as much as anyone is [[Crapsack World|is idealistic in Marvel, anyways]]), ''and'' the maturity to still actually get things done.

 

== Film ==

* The addition of [[Meaningful Name|Howard Phillips]] (Jason Barry) to the third film in the ''[[Re-Animator]]'' series, replacing the lead character of the last two films, Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott). Though not a kid, Phillips is significantly younger; producer/director Brian Yuzna admitted freely that Phillips' addition was due to Yuzna's desire not to make a film about "two middle-aged guys".

 

** Robbie Rist became a Cousin Oliver again a couple of years later when he was Ted Baxter's adopted son in ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]''.

* Stephanie on ''[[All in The Family]]'', arguably a case of [[Tropes Are Not Bad]].

** And a year later, Connor showed up on ''[[Angel]]''.

* Andrew on ''[[Family Ties]]''.

* Andy and Pippa on ''[[The Facts of Life]]''.

* In ''[[Family Matters]]'' the Winslows adopted 3J, a streetwise little orphan. Since there already was a kid in the show, little Richie, they merged into a single split-personality Cousin Oliver ("Maybe we shouldn't do this." "Oh, come on, it'll be fun!").

* Penny from ''[[Good Times]]''. Introduced to give Willona someone to care for, since the Evans kids weren't really kids anymore.

* ''[[Growing Pains]]'' had two: Chrissy, the youngest Seaver daughter, and then later Leonardo Dicaprio's homeless-kid character.

* ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House On the Prairie]]'''s final seasons featured a hilarious number of random "adorable" orphans shoehorned into the Little House after the original kids left home. Albert (adopted off the streets of the Big City), James and his sister Cassandra (parents killed in a wagon crash), Jenny (left on Laura's doorstep by her dying brother-in-law), etc. This is despite the show ''already'' having two younger Ingalls sisters in Carrie and Grace. Oddly enough, as more than one fan has remarked in alarm, Pa Ingalls never did build an addition onto his two-room shanty.

** Not to mention the Olesons' adoption of street urchin Nancy, [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|who just happens to look and act a lot like Nellie]]. This is a mild subversion, in that Nancy is added to be the ''[[Alpha Bitch]]'' as opposed to a beacon of cuteness. Even more interesting, this is an invoked example—Harriett Oleson deliberately adopted the brattiest, most misbehaved child in the local orphanage to replace Nellie.

* ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' sharply parodied the Trope with "Timmy Bobby Rusty", a lisping kid whom Dr. Forrester employed to help boost the show's sagging ratings. He lasted exactly one segment.

* Justin on ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]''.

** For some reason, the creators find it necessary to shoehorn young kids into their movies. The aforementioned Justin was introduced in the ''Turbo'' movie, but he has a predecessor in Fred from the ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' movie, who got nearly the same amount of screentime as the Rangers themselves, doing next to nothing and being all around useless until the very end of the movie.

*** ''[[Gosei Sentai Dairanger]]'' with Ko fits, except he is a bit of a pervert and relies on his [[Empathic Weapon]] to help him out.

* The diner in the ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' episode "[[Jump the Shark]]" is called Cousin Oliver's... and the plot is about a possible younger brother turning up. Subverted though, when it turns out that the character in question {{spoiler|''was'' actually their half-brother, emphasis on "was" because he was already dead before the start of the episode}}.

* Played with in ''[[The X-Files]]'' in which one episode had a man who assumed this identity because he associated with the original Cousin Oliver.

** That series played with other shows a great deal, and that in turn got played right back on them when the series ending for ''Strangeluck'' had Chance directed to seek out Mulder.

** Not to mention he wasn't shoved down our throats like some of the other aforementioned examples of this trope, having appeared in only five episodes. However, they were all in the same year and that could be evidence that the writers stopped before he got a chance to become a [[The Scrappy|scrappy]].

* Nicky and Alex in ''[[Full House]]''.

*** Though in their defense, he was a screw up and a [[Man Child]].

* Sky, a late addition to the cast of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', who appeared in the final three stories of the series as a regular before it was cancelled due to the death of its lead actress. Played straight and Sky is not necessarily a Cousin Oliver in the case of being an annoying addition, but she does qualify as far as being a young character added to a well-established cast that was growing older than their target demographic.

* Riff in ''[[Barney and Friends]]''.

* Adric in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', although elements of the trope are averted in that the character was simply one of a long line of transient companions, and the series itself continued for a number of years afterwards. Plus Adric's final episode was one of the most dramatic send offs for a character in the history of the series.

 

== Video Games ==

* Every once in a while an example comes along that defies the precedent, that's exactly what happened in ''[[Coming Up Violet]]''. As many readers know, the primary schick with ''[[Fur Will Fly]]'' was that Brad was the only human living a world filled with furries. ({{spoiler|Well, at least until Brad sets a whole mess of pandimensional aliens [like himself] free from a detention facility, but that's neither here nor there}}.) The comic's sequel changes this dynamic by introducing Dawn, a young—incredibly normal—teenaged girl to the mix. However, rather then being resigned to the Scrappy Heap, the fans love her and she adds quite a bit of character to the cast—indeed, being an even bigger [[Fish Out of Water]] than Brad ever was. (May overlap with the [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]].)

** This is surprisingly similar to ''[[Futurama]]'', where Fry was originally a [[Fish Out of Water]] who got used to the future relatively fast due to being a [[Cloudcuckoolander]]. In a later episode another human from his time was unfrozen and she couldn't cope with anything due to being more down-to-earth.

 

== Web Original ==

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police (animation)|Sam and Max Freelance Police]]'' added a [[Gadgeteer Genius]] character, who was [[Girls Need Role Models|also a little girl]], due to [[Executive Meddling]] insisting that they added a recurring female character to the show. Steve Purcell liked her, but wanted her kept out of the series as much as possible due to fear of her messing up the dynamic between the two main characters, so while the fandom's feelings towards her are mixed, she's generally considered not to harm the show too much.

* Corporal Capeman from ''[[Inspector Gadget]]''. He added nothing to the series when he was added and his chemistry with the others is zilch.

* Bat-Mite himself in ''[[The New Adventures of Batman]]'', to the extent that he basically wrecks the series by spoiling the Batman/Robin dynamic and taking screen time away from the more worthy third wheel, Batgirl.