Girl of the Week: Difference between revisions

{{quote|'''Elliot:''' Don't go too quickly, or like I said, you'll just end up with ''another'' beautiful girl!<br />

'''JD:''' "Dating my laptop."<br />

 

Like the [[Temporary Love Interest]], this is a way to give the hero some romance for the episode while still allowing the focus of the show to be on the plot or the arc, but the Girl of the Week does not have to [[Cartwright Curse|die at the end]]. The girl will be [[One-Shot Character|gone by the next episode]], possibly because of a wacky misunderstanding a la the [[Three Is Company]] plotline, or a [[Minor Flaw, Major Breakup|very minor flaw]], but sometimes just not showing up again, with [[Snap Back|no explanation offered]]. This relationship will generally be rockier or less passionate than that with the [[Temporary Love Interest]], allowing its end to be less dramatic. If someone is ''noted'' for getting extremely passionate about every Girl of the Week, sincerely believing each one in turn to be the love of their life but then forgetting all about them a week later, they're a [[Serial Romeo]]. Sometimes, particularly in a [[Walking the Earth]] series, there's ''no'' relationship, but the girl is shown having an obvious interest in the hero (which may be mutual) before he inevitably moves on.

 

== Anime & Manga ==

** Well, almost never. There have been some ''very'' rare instances of girls actually being interested in Brock, but they always go their separate ways by the end of the episode anyway.

** Also subverted in that half the girls are either Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny, who all look/sound/act the same.

** ''Girls of the Season'' of this series range from Misty, May, Dawn, etc. and [[Put On the Bus|some are never shown again.]]

* The anime series ''[[King of Bandit Jing]]'' offered this as a ''feature'', with a different pretty girl in each of the [[Adventure Towns]] the titular hero journeyed to.

* In ''[[Princess Tutu]]'s'' second season, this trope is combined with [[Victim of the Week]] to give {{spoiler|Mytho}} a new conquest in many episodes.

* Amelia in the ''[[Trigun]]'' [[The Movie|movie]] ''Badlands Rumble''.

* More of a ''Girl Of The Year'' than a [[Girl of the Week]]: In any of the [[Lupin III]] TV specials, at least one of the newly-introduced characters (whether good, evil or neutral) is female, starts building a relationship with one of the main characters and won't be mentioned in another special ever again.

* Cobra from ''[[Space Adventure Cobra]]'' often gets a new female sidekick/LoveInterest in each of the one-shot stories.

 

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Austin Powers]]''. As a Bond spoof, it, too, has its own Bond Girls.

** In the first film, Vanessa Kensington was a [[Love Interest]] with a full back story that made her complex and sympathetic. Because Mike Myers only intended the film to do modestly, Austin learned [[An Aesop]] about how life as a [[Casanova]] was far less satisfying in [[The Nineties]], and underwent significant [[Character Development]] to be with her. After the character became a phenomenon and sequels were planned, the franchise underwent [[Flanderization]] from a quirky, sentimental comedy into [[Denser and Wackier]] [[Farce]]. Vanessa was [[Retcon|Retconed]] out of the picture, and this trope was played straight with Felicity Shagwell, [[Punny Name|Ivana Humpalot, Dixie Normus]] and Foxy Cleopatra.

** ''Strikes Again'': Olga

** ''Revenge'': Simone

** It's even revealed {{spoiler|that her son is also his son}} and {{spoiler|they get married at the end of the film}}.

** There's also a line that justifies why it was played straight in the first three films. Indiana tells the love interest that it didn't last with any of the other girls because they all had the same problem: "They weren't you."

*** Although, both Vicki and Catwoman are given an explanation as to where they went. Bruce told Selina that Vicki couldn't handle his double life, and {{spoiler|as far as Batman knows Catwoman is dead}}.

**** A earlier draft of the script for ''Batman and Robin'' had {{spoiler|Poison Ivy killing Julie Madison}}

** Though The Twain both end up more or less as faithful (''more or less'') married husbands in the last stories, set on Rime Isle.

* The [[Gor]] novels (when Tarl isn't pining for Talena or Vella) tend to have a Slave Girl Of The Book, who Tarl teaches to love her slavery. By the next book she's either in his slave harem and (almost) never mentioned again or sold off to someone who is her "ideal master."

** Justified in that there are huge gaps in time between many stories, and that they weren't written in chronological order. Conan had several lengthy relationships, and eventually married. Also before his marriage Conan is specified to run out of money a lot.

* Thomas Lewellyn, of Will Thomas's Barker and Lewellyn Victorian-era mysteries, will fall in love at least once a book, but it never works out. (Then again, it never gets far- twice he's warned off by the young lady's father or guardian and immediately gives up on the matte and twice it turns out she's seeing someone else and lied about it. The one time he manages to entertain serious thoughts of a relationship until the end of the book? Turns out {{spoiler|she's the [[Big Bad]]}}. Oops.)

* ''[[The Laundry Series|The Jennifer Morgue]]'' discusses, lampshades, and generally plays hell with this trope: the opposition is using a Hero-trap geas, meaning that all efforts to oppose him will be funneled into the [[Theory of Narrative Causality]]; since he cast himself as the villain, he can only be successfully resisted by a [[James Bond]] archetype, which is played by [[The Hero|Bob]]. He is quickly paired up with a female [[Eagle Land|Black Chamber]] agent, making her a Bond girl. {{spoiler|And then the trope is turned completely upside down: it turns out that [[The Chessmaster|Angleton]] was able to successfully end-run the geas by making Bob's girlfriend, Mo, the true Bond-figure in the geas, meaning that ''Bob'' is the [[Distressed Damsel|actual Bond girl]], allowing Mo to save the day in a Bond-worthy [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment. The narrative also notes that there's almost always two Bond girls, one "[[The Chick|light]]", one "[[Dark Action Girl|dark]]", thus making room for the Black Chamber agent in the geas.}}

* Bernie Rhodenbarr, Lawrence Block's [[Gentleman Thief]] protagonist, sleeps with at least one female love interest per novel, and none of them reappear or are mentioned again after that. The closest person in Bernie's life is Carolyn Kaiser, a lesbian pet-groomer who describes herself as his "minion", and is [[Platonic Life Partners]] with him.

 

 

* Virtually every [[Dom Com]] with teen-aged characters has or has had stories where one of the male or female teen-aged characters would become involved in a (almost always, temporary) relationship. The catalyst to the relationship's failure -- usually by episode's end -- provided that episode's [[An Aesop|Aesop]].

** Other times, the date would be successful, but -- since most of the family sitcoms didn't have story arcs -- the relationship would end without explanation and never be referred to again.

** Pretty much a staple of PI series from the 50's to the 80's (e.g. ''Vegas'')

* ''[[Knight Rider]]''.

* ''[[Seinfeld]]'' also often used Girl of the Week. Though the [[Minor Flaw, Major Breakup|increasingly petty reasons those relationships ended]] (liking a certain commercial, eating peas one at a time, having "man hands," etc.) could be considered [[Lampshade Hanging]].

** They actually did hang a lampshade in one episode where Elaine asked Jerry, who is worrying about his new girlfriend, "What are you worried about? You're dating a new girl, like, every week."

** Sometimes this would flirt with "[[Very Special Episode]]" territory, since most of the girls Brandon hooked up with had some kind of "issue" connected to them, eg., the girl with the baby, the [[Unfortunate Implications|black girl]], the racist girl--never let it be said Brandon wasn't an equal opportunity dater.

* ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]'' - Steve Austin made out with a lot more women than just Jamie Sommers and Farrah Fawcett....

* ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]].'' featured several Girls of the Week. Brisco got kissed by many beautiful women, but his heart always belonged to Dixie Cousins.

* Most early seasons of ''[[Frasier]]'' rarely had Frasier Crane with a girlfriend who stayed around longer than an episode; sometimes they didn't even break up, she simply wasn't there any more an episode later. In later seasons, the girlfriend might stay for a mini-arc but would likely be gone after. Often a focus of [[Lampshade Hanging]] as Frasier obsessed about his inability to commit. In one memorable episode, most of the former love interests made a cameo in a [[Dream Sequence]] on the subject.

** Lies! Chekov once got a girl. She didn't even die.

** Scotty once got a girl too. Really, the only regular male character on TOS who ''never'' got a [[Girl of the Week]] was Sulu.

* ''[[Quantum Leap]]'' loved this trope - justifying it in that Sam's scrambled brain would pick up on the feelings of the person he replaced and that his pursuit would set the GOTW and the person Sam leapt into "on the right path".

** Besides which, unless it was a two-parter Sam would be forcibly "leaped" out of the situation, therefore he ''couldn't'' have an ongoing relationship with any of them. {{spoiler|(He had a wife in his "present" but didn't remember her. She decided that was for the best: because if he knew, she knew he'd feel obliged not to pursue any GOTW no matter how right it would be for the person he leaped in to.)}}

** Sometimes, it was one of the Monkees themselves who acted as the [[Girl of the Week]], whenever they so hilariously [[Disguised in Drag]].

* Most of the episodes of ''[[Flight of the Conchords]]'', mainly because most of the duo's songs are love songs. Mel is the only regular female character, and she's a stalker that they cannot stand. The only recurring girlfriends are Sally (3 episodes) and Coco (2).

** This was even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] at one point...

{{quote| Josh: Lucy might end up being the girl you date for more than three weeks}}

*** The rest of the gang have had: Valerie, Melanie, Griffin, Jake, Jonah, Shane, Pete and even Carly/Freddie (to each other) show up like this. Spencer has more than the [[Power Trio]] combined. One notable example was Pete, whom Sam could be argued to have succeeded in getting him, only for it to [[Snap Back]] next week.

* ''[[MacGyver]]'', especially in the early seasons.

* ''[[Time Trax]]'' had very few episodes without one of these.

* In the early seasons of ''[[Monk]]'', the title character's assistant, Sharona, would often have a Guy of the Week. He was usually revealed to be either the murderer or some other criminal.

* ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' is filled with this. Ascended Ancients, non-ascended Ancients, Princesses, Female Starship Captains, etc etc.

* In ''[[The Adventures of Pete and Pete]]'', Big Pete had several Girls Of The Week, especially in the last season.

* Milked for all it was worth in an episode of ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'' where everyone is thrilled that [[Hollywood Nerd]] Justin is dating someone, and he rattles off a list of [[Girl of the Week]]'s that's been with, only for his brother to say"Nope, don't rememember them."

* Frequently used in [[Disney Channel]] shows.

* Little Joe on ''[[Bonanza]]'' was an early example of this.

* ''[[Supernatural]]'' being a [[Walking the Earth]] series has quite a lot of this

* The cast of ''[[Buffy]]'' has a handful of these for both genders: Buffy's one date with Owen, who she has to dump because living in her world would get him killed; Cordelia has several of these in seasons 1 and 2. Not to mention Xander's tendency to have possible love interests turn out to be demons trying to kill him - one of the few instances where [[Girl of the Week]] and [[Monster of the Week]] are actually one and the same.

* In the last couple of series of the original run of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', Ace seemed to find a new young female best friend to hang out with almost everywhere (and everywhen) they went. The level of [[Ho Yay|subtext]] varied, but was [[Word of Gay|later confirmed]] to be deliberate with at least some of them.

* Really? ''[[Two and A Half Men]]'' anyone? Girl of the week is probably an understatement, seeing how Charlie has even had more than 1 per day.

** Jeffrey Sinclair, the first commander, had Carolyn Sykes in [[The Pilot]], with Catharine Sakai being another on-again-off-again girlfriend in the series proper<ref> interestingly enough, both had the same job, being prospectors [[Recycled in Space|IN SPACE]].</ref> Sakai notably had the ability to recite Tennyson and make it sound [[Geeky Turn On|incredibly sexy.]]

*** Catherine Sakai doesn't meet the strict definition of a Girl of the Week, as she appeared in 3 episodes and their story was continued in a novel.

** Completely averted in [[Sonic the Hedgehog|SEGA's Sonic]] for obvious reasons, where he has best-friend of the week instead.

* Solid Snake had a different potential love interest in the earlier ''[[Metal Gear]]'' games which culminated with Meryl in ''MGS1'' (the previous ones being Diane in ''MG1'' and Holly in ''MG2''). This was subverted in subsequent installments , with Snake having no real love interest in ''MGS2'' (going as far as to dismiss Olga as a potential love interest by claiming that he's "tired of tomboys") and in ''MGS4'' he loses Meryl to Akiba of all people ([[Die for Our Ship|which upset quite a few Snake/Meryl fans]]). He still got quite a few ladies after him in the non-canon games, if you count Chris Jenner, Teliko Friedman, and Venus. Out of all these girls, the only ones whose affections are truly reciprocated are Meryl, Chris and (depending on [[Implied Love Interest|how you interpret]] [[Sergeant Rock|their]] [[Action Girl|relationship]]) Teliko - Diane won't admit she admires Snake, Venus flirts with Snake but Snake turns her down, and while Snake agrees to go out with Holly he loses interest in her pretty much immediately afterwards and dumps her.

 

 

== Web Original ==

 

 

== Web Serial Novel ==

** Averted in Episode II. {{spoiler|Michiru}} would fit this trope, but {{spoiler|Alec refuses to fall for her, still waiting to be with Ivanka again.}}

*** {{spoiler|Although, Alec and Michiru eventually try to make love, but are rudely interrupted by Daisuke.}}

 

== Western Animation ==

** The abridged series has Sokka proudly declare "I got hos in different area codes" when this is brought up.

** Interestingly enough, {{spoiler|Suki}} was originally intended to be this, but was brought back and made a permanent love interest [[Ensemble Darkhorse|due to fandom demand.]]

* Irene, for Terry in ''[[Batman Beyond]]''. [[Dating Catwoman|Melanie]] comes off as this in her initial appearance, but came back a few times.

* On ''[[Daria]],'' Quinn could basically have a new boyfriend every week, along with her usual harem, the Three J's. Daria herself had one Boy of the Week in [[Ditzy Genius|Ted Dewitt-Clinton]], though it was more of just an [[Odd Friendship]] with rather obvious [[Ship Tease]]. Jane had one in Nathan the retrophile.

** The same is true for Brian, Stewie, Chris, and even [[Hollywood Dateless|Meg]] of ''[[Family Guy]]'', and Fry and Leela of ''[[Futurama]]'', although Fry and Leela have been in an on-again/off-again relationship since the post-movie seasons started (the on-again/off-again part was [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] at one point).

* The episode "That Sinking Feeling" from ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' features Baljeet and his childhood friend Mishti. The titular brothers attempt to create romance for the two during the episode ([[Toy Ship|even though Isabella mistakenly thinks it's for her]]), and it looks like it worked at the end (kinda). Too bad she's never seen again.

** Candace got one in "A Hard Day's Knight." Interestingly, he looked almost identical to her usual [[Love Interest]], Jeremy; since that episode takes place while the family is on vacation the writers presumably just realized they needed a replacement.

** [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] with Vanessa's boyfriend Johnny, who seemed like this at first but was revealed to be [[Official Couple|officially dating]] Vanessa a season and a half later. Stacy has also had Chad and Coltrane, though the latter is implied to be her on-and-off boyfriend.

 

{{reflist}}