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Cousin Oliver: Difference between revisions
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If there's actually an in-series point to the character, compare [[Cain and Abel and Seth]].
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== 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.
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* 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".
* Chris Kent when he was introduced in [[Superman|Superman's Comics]]. It didn't help that [[Superboy|Kon-El]] had been killed off recently. Following the trope to the letter, he eventually caught a case of [[Plot-Relevant Age-Up]].
* Subverted with [[Fan Nickname|Kid-Loki]] who is just the normal Loki reincarnated as his kid self (with only his childhood memories and powers). He has avoided being [[The Scrappy]] by being just so much fun to read about (getting the best lines in any current{{when}} Thor comic), and because he is perfectly aware that he's doing things most kids shouldn't do (but, being Loki, doesn't care because he wants [[Big Brother Worship|to save Thor's life from The Serpent]]. D'awww).
** 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.
** Now{{when}}
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* The [[Trope Namer]] was added to ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' toward the end and was the last gasp of the show. He's also cited as the definitive proof of the franchise having [[Jump the Shark|jumped the shark]].
** 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]]''.
** And then he did it ''again'' when he played Doctor Zee in ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Galactica 1980]]'' - though he was replaced with another actor after the pilot.
* Stephanie on ''[[All in The Family]]'', arguably a case of [[Tropes Are Not Bad]].
* Somewhat parodied on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' with Dawn. Buffy comes home at the end of an episode and
** And a year later, Connor showed up on ''[[Angel]]''.
* Andrew on ''[[Family Ties]]''.
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** 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.
*** Incidently, Jenny, introduced a year after Nancy, may have been made the age she was in order to have a little girl around Nancy's age to butt heads with.
* ''[[Married... with Children]]'' had Seven, who started as a Cousin Oliver (since both "children" were college-aged at that point). The character proved ''so'' unpopular with viewers that after one season he became a [[Brother Chuck]] when he was removed with absolutely no explanation (though he had his [[Face on a Milk Carton]] for [[Lampshade Hanging]] effect).
* ''[[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.
* In ''[[My Three Sons]]'' they formally adopted Chip's orphan friend Ernie. Justified, sort of, by the need to maintain the accuracy of the show's title after Mike was [[Brother Chuck|chucked from the show]].
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** 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.
*** In all fairness,
*** For some, such as [[Atop the Fourth Wall|Linkara]], Justin wasn't hated because of his youth, but because he was only competent Ranger in the bunch, despite being a Cousin Oliver. Even in his early days, he was probably the smartest Ranger and one of the strongest (despite guys like [[Memetic Badass|
* 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}}.
* The Porters' foster child Declan in the last series of ''[[2point4 children|Two Point Four Children]]''. He also served as a [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]] for the departing Jenny.
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* 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.
* Sofi in ''[[Two Broke Girls]]''. While she doesn't adhere to the basic Cousin Oliver requirement - she's a 50-something post-cougar, rather than a kid or teenager - she otherwise fulfills a number of the other Cousin Oliver criteria; she upsets the dynamic between the two leads, and critics and fans have singled the character out for criticism. As this is written the series is still midway through its first season, so time will tell if Sofi catches [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome]].
* Alex on ''[[One Day At a Time]]'' was the orphaned son of Ann's recently-deceased boyfriend whom she took in. Unlike most Olivers, his presence, while changing the show dynamic, didn't ruin it, and he lasted four years on the show -- almost half its run.
== Video Games ==
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