Flanderization/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

** This arguably applies to all the characters in general. However, their exaggerated, cartoony personalities are generally seen by many of the show's fans as more entertaining than their subtler, more down-to-earth versions.

** Bud, Bud Bud Bud. No matter how many times he had sex, no matter how [[Bishonen|attractive]] David Faustino became, [[Status Quo Is God|he was still a virgin]].

* This also applies to Dr. Frasier Crane's artsy, high society qualities, and his ignorant detachment from "the plebeians." For example, in his early seasons on ''Cheers'' he was shown watching football with his buddies. In a late episode of ''[[Frasier]]'' he didn't even know how football was played.

** Frasier's flanderization on ''Cheers'' was definitely a positive example of this trope, though. When he was introduced, he was far more restrained, normal, and, well, boring than the character he became by the time Cheers ended. Since he was meant to be a one-season [[Romantic False Lead]], his stuffiness and intellectuality was mainly used to make him seem rather dull and not someone the audience would shed tears for when Diane inevitably dumped him. Due in part to Kelsey Grammer's acting, though, he was well-liked enough to stay on past his arc with Diane, and his upper crust, pompous, snooty qualities were slowly enhanced to make him more interesting as well as making it seem that he was becoming more open and comfortable with his friends at the bar.

*** You would too if you had to manage that cast.

* Missy on ''[[Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide]]'' was originally just the [[Alpha Bitch]] who happened to have a crush on the protagonist, who escalated into a persistent [[Stalker With a Crush]], and then escalated even ''more'' into a dangerously obsessive [[Clingy Jealous Girl]].

** Justin was represented as a smart, collected [[Bookworm]], who loved rules and never broke them. Lately, he has become an almost vicious, revengeful [[Badass Bookworm|badass]] [[Mad Scientist]], who has used magic more than once. And that's [[Karma Houdini|because]] [[Jerkass|of]] [[Annoying Younger Sibling|Alex]].

** Max was at first a [[Plucky Comic Relief]] airhead, who had sometimes witty lines. In the last season [[Book Dumb|he doesn't even know how to spell his own name]] and all his lines are made of one or two words that don't even make sense most of the time.

** The cast stated in interviews that they are intentionally Flanderizing Frank. Their goal is "to make him even more depraved in each season, than in the previous one." The peak was reached in season five, with the episode "The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention" where every single character at least at one point mentions that he has become the lowest form of human being.

* ''[[Roseanne]]'''s characters suffered from this. The worst victims were Mark (who went from being a troubled teen with a hidden good streak and some hints of under-education from dropping out, to a complete idiot who actually burned his hand repeatedly in one episode because he was bored) and Jackie (who started out as a bit neurotic and insecure but generally a competent single female to a complete nutcase who would erupt in to nervous, annoying laughter at the drop of a hat. By the final seasons, it was no small wonder that she somehow managed to hold down a job, keep her house and not have child services take her kid away).

** Writer John Lutz started out as a normal, albeit undesirable member of the writing crew, but as time progressed became more and more of a ''[[Butt Monkey]]'' to the point that he now only appears on-screen to be humiliated or personally injured.

** Likewise, Kenneth started out as a slightly odd, small-town innocent with some strange behaviors (like his "gag skeleton"). In the latest season, the "innocent" has been discarded in favor of either creepy and evil or schizophrenic.

* In ''[[Lost]]'', Sayid's role in season 5 was to contemplate his past crimes, then commit some more so he can contemplate those crimes too. Season 6 "rectified" this by killing off Sayid and reviving him as a infected Sayid who literally can do nothing but kill.

** That was justified in-story though. When Sayid was revived, he was taken over by The Man in Black's "sickness" and thus was consumed by evil.

* In the first two seasons of ''[[Threes Company|Three's Company]]'', Chrissy was a rather intelligent character with only the occasional [[Dumb Blonde]] moment. By the time she left the show, she had evolved into the naive, rambling airhead that she's usually remembered as.

* Adrian [[Monk]]. He went from having an (admittedly rather severe) case of OCD but still being ''very'' good at his job to accusing someone of murder just because he was a nudist and being unable to perform simple tasks. For example, in Season 1 we're told that Monk wasn't reinstated because Stottlemeyer withheld his recommendation. In Season 3 all he has to do is complete a multiple-choice test. He physically couldn't complete the test.

*** Hand-waved at one point. Stottlemeyer explained once that Randy is very very good at paperwork (an important part of actual police work) and because he's not quite as dumb as he looks, good at getting suspects to talk and accidentally reveal too much (if he doesn't reveal too much himself first).

* A blend of [[Flanderization]] and [[Character Development|Anti-Character Development]] happened to poor Much in ''[[Robin Hood (TV)|Robin Hood]]'', as he went from the unappreciated servant of a lord who nevertheless demanded respect and stood up for himself, to the completely whipped slave of a bratty peasant girl. After two seasons of being the [[Butt Monkey]], Much finally [[Calling the Old Man Out|lets loose]] with a passionate rant to Robin on how he's sick and tired of being treated like crap. The fans rejoiced! Surely Season Three would involve Much coming out of Robin's shadow and regaining some self-respect. Instead Much takes the pride that he's wrestled back from Robin and sacrifices it all to Kate, who treats him even ''worse'' than Robin ever did. He spends the entirety of Season Three running around after her, (even ''spoon-feeding'' her at one stage), and is then forced to watch as [[Jerkass|Robin and Kate hook up]], despite both of them knowing about Much's feelings.

** It also makes the [[Fridge Logic]] more apparent: if it weren't for the banker, the players would have no offers and simply be forced to keep whatever was in the case they picked, making for an uninteresting game with no safety net.

* Drake from ''[[Drake and Josh]]'' just got dumber and dumber as the show progressed. At the start of the series, he was a teenager who admittedly wasn't too bright, but wasn't too dumb either. Eventually, it got to the point where he couldn't pronounce the word 'America'. As in, ''the country he lived in.''

** Jade was one of the more sane people on the show despite her callous tendencies and had some decent depths to her. Now she's a borderline [[Manipulative Bastard]] and has stooped to lows such as {{spoiler|stealing a pint of blood that Tori donated just to keep her from performing in the school play}} or attempting to kill the first ever Hollywood Arts prom.

** Cat started off as down to earth, not too smart but not too stupid either. Come season two, she's a basically useless [[The Ditz|ditz]].

* ''[[The Cosby Show]]'''s Denise started out as a funky, spunky, spirited, independent, intelligent young woman. Somewhere along the line, she turned into a flaky, clueless, freeloading moron. Additionally, despite being willing to leave New York travel to Africa for a photojournalism assignment (the actress was written out for maternity leave), she somehow freaked out at the notion of leaving New York, for the wilds of. . .Rhode Island.

* [[Oh My Gods|Oh gods]], ''[[Psych]]''. Where do we begin? Shawn went from being a happy-go-lucky average-intelligence charmer to a genuinely stupid, somehow universally attractive, lovable [[Jerkass|asshole]], while poor Gus went from Shawn's slightly uptight but more traditionally competent and knowledgeable buddy to a total loser whose areas of expertise are mostly [[Informed Ability|informed abilities]] and exists almost solely to finish Shawn's pop cultural references. Jules went from being your average cop stand-in with a little bit of [[UST]] with Shawn to [[The Chick]], and Lassiter went from being Shawn's [[Foil]] with a little bit of hidden bigotry to such a gigantic creep that it is honestly a wonder why anyone lets the man near them. Buzz McNab ([[Ensemble Darkhorse]], anyone?), meanwhile, has all but disappeared. He's mostly rescinded back to his original place as a figure in the background of certain scenes. The [[Flanderization]] of all of the characters is actually many fans' biggest complaint.