Invented Individual: Difference between revisions

* ''[[MASH|M* A* S* H]]'': One of the best examples seen on network television is the saga of "Captain Tuttle". Tuttle was Hawkeye's imaginary friend/scapegoat from childhood, who gained a commission in the Army and a position in the 4077th when Hawkeye needed to divert some attention from himself (to help a financially strapped orphanage). After a little judicious forgery and a couple of clever tricks, the entire camp (and the Army's paymaster!) were convinced Tuttle was a real person -- with many claiming to know him. Eventually Hawkeye and Trapper are forced to forge his official papers and eventually declare that he tragically died en route to an emergency field operation, jumping out of a helicopter with all the medical equipment he would need but forgetting the parachute. Hawkeye's on-the-spot ''eulogy'' for Tuttle is particularly brilliant (Frank complained that ''he'' should have given it, claiming that he knew him the best):

{{quote|'''Hawkeye:''' We can all be comforted by the thought that he's not really gone - that there's a little Tuttle left in all of us. In fact, you might say that all of us together [[Incredibly Lame Pun|made up Tuttle]].}}

* On ''[[Seinfeld]]'', a co-worker thinks that Elaine's name is Suzie which Elaine goes along with. Eventually "Suzie" becomes her own woman and is promoted to the position Elaine was aspiring for, ''despite not actually existing''. An annoyed Elaine follows Jerry's advice to kill Susie off, and tells her boss that she committed suicide. At her funeral Mr. Peterman reminisces about a passionate night he had with her. "It was pret-ty good." The service is interrupted by an enemy of Jerry who accuses him of murdering the imaginary woman to which he gleefully admits. George and Kramer's recurring alter egos, "Art Vandelay" and "Dr. van Nostrand", occasionally came close to this kind of thing.

* ''[[Friends]]'' has a co-worker of Chandler's believe that he's called Toby. He sabotages the man's attempt to get promoted to the same floor as Chandler as then he would be unable to keep up the deception, but this leads to a [[Fawlty Towers Plot]] with the man discovering that "Chandler Bing" was responsible for torpedoing his career. The episode ends with Chandler walking into his office to find the man trashing it and inviting "Toby" to help get revenge on Chandler - he shrugs and joins in.

* ''[[Eastenders]]'' had a subplot in 2002 where Paul Trueman invents a fictional tenant called "Miss Webster" so he can order electrical goods in her name for him to sell on without them being traced to him. When the companies start asking to speak to Miss Webster, he has to pay off Janine to pose as her.

* In one episode of ''[[The Red Green Show]]'', the members of Possum Lodge invent a person, Bernie Goodyear, to try to win a “Man of the Year” award. Things get out of hand when a rival lodge starts a smear campaign against Mr. Goodyear. There is even a woman who claims to have given birth to his child. Eventually, Red tells everyone the truth, but no one believes him.

 

== Video Games ==