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{{trope}}
[[File:Clipboard01.jpg|link=Welcome Back, Kotter|
{{quote|'''Dog Poo:''' I think I deserve to [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|take Kenny's place]] the most, because, I've been hanging around these guys for like five years and I never get to say or do anything.
'''Eric Cartman:''' ...Yeah, I've only seen that kid in class, but he never does anything. He's more like a prop.
|''[[South Park]]'', "Professor Chaos"}}
{{quote|
▲{{quote|'''Dog Poo:''' I think I deserve to [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|take Kenny's place]] the most, because, I've been hanging around these guys for like five years and I never get to say or do anything.<br />
▲'''Eric Cartman:''' ...Yeah, I've only seen that kid in class, but he never does anything. He's more like a prop.|''[[South Park]]'', "Professor Chaos"}}
▲{{quote|'''Walter Harriman (The Chevron Guy):''' Chevron One, encoded. Chevron Two, encoded. Chevron Three encoded. Chevron Four Encoded. Chevron Five Encoded. Chevron Six Encoded. Chevron Seven Locked.|''[[Stargate SG 1]]'', "Heroes pt1", former trope namer.}}
There's the [[Recurring Character]], appearing more or less often beside the main cast. There's the poor [[Red Shirt]], who is usually introduced only to get killed off in the very same episode, and the [[Mauve Shirt]], who survives longer or at least gets a token amount of characterization before dying. There are [[Colonel Makepeace]] and the [[Bridge Bunnies]], who get to actually run the place from time to time while our heroes boldly go where no man has gone before.
Then there are those kinds of recurring characters who don't actually have any involvement with the plot except as [[Padding]], and whose only purpose is to create a certain sense of stability (after all, you wouldn't expect the bartender to be a different person every single time you visit the same bar, unless they all happen to have [[George Jetson Job Security]]) or to fill seats that would reasonably always be occupied by the same people (your classmates will remain the same throughout the school year.)
They have very few spoken lines, if any at all
They might also have been a [[Chekhov's Gunman]] the entire time. Or even [[The Dog Was the Mastermind|something more]].
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* The reporter from ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'' actually got into the character popularity poll for the manga, despite having no character and only showing up in a few panels to cover the [[Magical Girl
* In ''[[Keroro Gunso]]'', starting with episode 63, the 24 nameless students of Fuyuki's classroom receive unique designs which are carried over in any classroom scene after that episode. They even appear sometimes outside of classes too. A new extra was added in the 3rd season without any formal introduction. They're never credited or named, even when one of them actually gets a small active role, and, although Fuyuki has mentioned his school friends a few times, he's never shown actually hanging out with any of his classmates.
* In ''[[
* Pandaman from ''[[
** Though [[Lady Land|Amazon Lily]] has a Panda''woman''.
** Pandaman is a superhero, and [[Word of God|it's been said]] that he is [[Hero of Another Story|having his own epic adventure]] to win the heart of Pandawoman while being chased by the evil Tomato Gang.
* ''[[
** And Tenten, who [[Word of God]] says exists only to be the [[The Smurfette Principle|Token Female]] for Team Guy.
* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] StrikerS'' makes sneaky use of this character type's ability to be ignored by the audience by having one of these, {{spoiler|a girl secretary [[Meaningful Background Event|we're actually shown skittishly edging towards]] [[General Ripper|General Regius]] near the end of the season,}} turn out to be {{spoiler|the [[Master of Disguise|disguised]] [[Hollywood Cyborg|cyborg]] [[Psycho for Hire|assassin]].}}
* ''[[Working!!]]'' has Maya Matsumoto. She is seen doing her work and even appears in the OP, but has no interaction with anybody from the main cast. She's suspiciously absent during staff meetings and doesn't even seem to talk to her direct superior. That's some job independence there for a waitress, but it seems like there had to be at least ''one'' person who actually focuses on the main business. Then in the final episode we learn she {{spoiler|is obsessed with being "normal", thus goes out of her way to avoid all the abnormal people she works with.}}
** There is also some kitchen staff which never gets any mention.
* In the second season of ''[[K-On!]]'' the entirety of class 3-2 consists of distinct, individual characters, who can be seen in various scenes of the classroom and even in the opening sequence. Several of them have even gained their own fanbase, most notably Tachibana Himeko, previously known as "The Girl Who Sits Next To Yui".
** The full names of [http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/657065/ all the girls in the class are now known](Ads NSFW). While classmates with speaking lines in the show are still ahead in regard to the amount of fanart they have, every girl in the class is now getting her own fanart.
* ''[[Dead Leaves]]'' has the prisoners who escape with Pandy and Retro. None of them are given names or developed as characters, except for [[Exactly What It Says
* Emiri Kimidori is a living prop in the anime of ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya
* Marron and Bra in ''[[
== Films -- Animated ==
* ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'' had Sulley and Randall's co-scarers on their scare floor. Similar to the ''Foster's'' example, all of them were eventually profiled for the DVD release. We can't say the same thing about their scare assistants (besides Mike, obviously), though...
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* Ethan, in the 2007 ''[[I Am Legend]]'' movie. He is not a speaking role (or an ''emoting'' role), but he's there for the second half of the movie, always in the background or foreground. He doesn't do anything, he needs rescued a couple times, and his only real reason for being in the movie is so he can watch Shrek shortly after appearing on-screen. No, really.
* ''[[Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy]]'': Wes Mantooth's Channel 9 Evening News Team cohorts. They stand around behind Wes, but contribute nothing to the verbal argument in the park. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] at the end.
{{quote|
* ''W'': In the autobiographical film of [[George W. Bush]], There is a scene where Bush is berating U.S Army commander Tommy Franks for not finding
== Live-Action TV ==
* The cashier in the coffee shop in ''[[Seinfeld]]''.
* Walter Harriman in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''. Originally [[Fan Nickname|nicknamed]] "Chevron Guy" because his only role in the series was to announce
** And once Walter started becoming a real person, they introduced Sylvester Siler to be the Prop guy in the background. And then Siler got a name and lines and [[Butt Monkey|characterization.]]
{{quote|
** For other examples of former Living Props later going on to play a bigger role, see Jonathan in ''[[
** ...and Miles O'Brien in ''[[Star Trek:
**
* For ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' Ricky's band members shown during night club scenes.▼
** A literal example - the baby chicks.▼
* Buffy did this a few times actually. [[Seth Green]] was just scenery for quite a while before his character Oz was given a name and a bigger role.▼
▲* Also from ''DS9'': Morn, the silent, morose-looking alien extra perpetually stationed at the far end of Quark's bar, who seemed so profoundly dedicated to doing nothing at all that he actually became the centre of fan attention.
** Morn even got his own episode ("Who Mourns For Morn?") and was ''still'' an uncredited extra with no lines!
*** The [[Running Gag]], of course, being that when Morn is ''not'' on camera, he's the life of the party. The viewers [[Informed Attribute|just never get to experience it]].
▲* For ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' Ricky's band members shown during night club scenes.
* ''[[Voyager]]'' has Lt. Ayala, a regular extra who appeared in all seven seasons. Formerly one of Chakotay's Maquis crew, he can often be seen filling in for Tuvok or Harry. We know a fair bit about him, but not from his mouth -- in 115 episodes, he had only four lines.▼
▲** A literal example - the baby chicks.
▲* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' did this a few times actually. [[Seth Green]] was just scenery for quite a while before his character Oz was given a name and a bigger role.
▲* ''[[Voyager]]'' has Lt. Ayala, a regular extra who appeared in all seven seasons. Formerly one of Chakotay's Maquis crew, he can often be seen filling in for Tuvok or Harry. We know a fair bit about him, but not from his mouth
* The silver-haired detective in ''[[The Shield]]''. Never got a line, but he was acknowledged when he got a round of applause for being the first person to use the newly-fixed men's toilets in season four (they broke just before the first ever episode of season one).
* ''[[The Bill]]'' calls such characters "Totally Reliable Extra Veterans" (TREVs).
* In ''[[Friends]]'', Gunther the barista started as one of these, but was elevated to a side character due to jokes based on his crush on Rachel.
* Lieutenant Leslie in ''[[Star Trek:
** Lt. Galloway also fits. Galloway has also kinda sorta returned from the dead; the writers remembered his death in time to change the character's name to "Johnson" at the last minute, but when he appeared again in the final episode, he was credited as Galloway (though not named on camera).
** There's also Lt. Hadley, who appeared in 62 of the series' 79 episodes (usually filling in for Sulu or Chekov when one of them was unavailable) but never got a single line of dialogue.
* The regular customers at ''[[Cheers]]'' whose names are not Norm, Frasier or Cliff. Some of them (such as Paul) were eventually promoted to [[Recurring Character
** One character was referred to in scripts as "The Man Who Said 'Sinatra'" because in his first speaking role...[[Exactly What It Says
* Most of the deck crew in ''[[Battlestar Galactica
** The tattooed pilot was a particular fan favourite.
* ''[[
** Hey! Hey!
*** Sorry. Snoop Dogg ''Resident''.
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** It's Snoop Dogg Attending now. He got promoted.
* The staff (and several customers) of Cafe Nervosa in ''[[Frasier]]''. While no waiter lasted the full 11 years of the series, they did tend to stick around for a few of them. Similarly many of the extras portraying customers stayed there for many years.
* Some of the minor staff (orderlies, nurses and others) in ''[[M*A*S*H (
** The names "Nurse Able" and "Nurse Baker" are used, but not with any consistency. That is, "Nurse Able" will be one actress in one episode, and a different actress in another episode, even if the first actress is also in this one.
** Though Able and Baker are also part of the military alphabet at the time meaning Nurse Able and Nurse Baker may have been as much shift titles as anything else.
* On ''[[30 Rock
** Another writer is lucky enough to have the recurring name of ''[[No Name Given|Female Writer]]''.
*** Who was eventually given the full name of Sue LaRoche-Van der Hout when a joke called for someone to be offended in French and Dutch at the same time.
** Liz [[Lampshade Hanging|actually addresses]] them as "ones who don't talk" on one occasion.
*** In another episode, one of them said a line and then gasped "I did it! I talked!"
* Corporal Bell from the UNIT era ''[[
** Because the Doctor Who production team used the same stuntmen repeatedly in those days, you would get a recurring group of silent uncredited redshirts. Pat Gorman was one who got bits of dialogue and graduated to credited status near the end of the UNIT era, but even then he was still known as "UNIT Corporal" or "Soldier." One of them, Max Faulkner, appeared in a small capacity as a redshirt UNIT soldier in 1970, but by his next appearance in 1975, had gotten a rank and a last name "Corporal Adams." I wouldn't say Corporal Bell was much of a living prop. In her two appearances, the character had lines and was credited, and also advanced the plot somewhat.
* Larabee of ''[[
* All of the other members of the Sweathogs' class in ''[[Welcome Back, Kotter]].'' They were there simply because a high school class of only five students, especially in Brooklyn, would be unbelievable.
* In the early seasons of ''[[
** They made a great effort of keeping the show's background cast consistent throughout the years. While some faces inevitably came and went, many people kept appearing among the crash survivors for 5 or 6 seasons without any impact on the plot whatsoever. In addition, background cast of more seldom appearing groups (The Others, The Tailies, The Ajira folk) remained consistent as well, people were called over season-long gaps to reprise their brief non-speaking roles.
** Until they all got killed by random flaming arrows in a season 5 time-jump...
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* When ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' was about to be canceled, the staff writers completed a script that was intended to be the very last episode of the series, but which was ultimately not used. In this script, a mad bomber leaves a series of bombs in Minneapolis, and various clues indicate that the bomber is someone in the WJM-TV newsroom. The regular characters all start suspecting each other. The bomber turns out to be one of the dozens of faceless Human Props who were seen along the back wall of the newsroom throughout this series.
* Thanks to [[Creator's Pet|the producers forgetting they had other players]] in ''[[Survivor]]: Samoa'', several people who weren't outright [[Out of Focus]] were more or less living props. Mick gets this the hardest.
** Vecepia Trowley in ''Marquesas'' may also count.
** Recently, Purple Kelly was treated as one - chances are this was revenge by the producers.
** One of the sequels, [[Creator's Pet|The Rob and Phillip Show]] cast a couple of these.
* Brad the Pianist on ''[[
{{quote|
'''Brittany:''' [Gestures to Brad] What about him?
'''Santana:''' He's just furniture. Sorry, no offense. ''(Brad shrugs)'' }}
** Matt Rutherford and Mike "[[Lampshade Hanging|Other Asian]]" Chang count as well, at least in the first season. They were generally two of the most skilled dancers on the program, but neither spoke more than a line or two. They ended up going in opposite directions; Matt wasn't named until after several episodes, and then [[Put
** The Jazz band. They are always around when needed for a song. In one episode, two of them got to perform in Sectionals on stage with the New Directions. They still did not get any lines, though.
* Sienna Cammeniti (played by model and ''2006 Miss Australia'' ''Erin McNaught'') was added to [[Neighbours]] for the sole purpose of [[Everybody Remembers the Stripper|sexing-up the cast]] and helping boost ratings. It didn't work.
** Lisa Hayes seemed to exist for the sole purpose of getting dumped by Lucas.
* In ''[[Earth 2]]'', seventeen people crash land on G889, and for the entire series, three of them are never given lines. These three are also never or almost never mentioned by name, with the exception of one, whose death is a major plot point in the finale.
* ''[[
* Most of the fraternity and sorority members in ''[[Greek]]'' were this. Very few were given lines, and most of these were in the three main houses of the series; [[Hufflepuff House|the rest]] were lucky to get one member with lines.
* 90% of the students in ''[[Saved
* Same with ''[[
* Jeff, Louie's assistant on ''[[Taxi]]'', and sadly, the only black character on the show. [[Nick
** Subplot? He actually was the lead of one episode...
* Non-fiction example: On ''Great British Menu'', each competing chef is provided with an assistant to, uh, assist. These assistants are on camera throughout the cookery scenes, but are never referred to, and just about the only time you ever hear them speak is to say "cheers" when the winning chef shares the champagne at the end of the week.
* ''[[
* The students in Justin's delinquent class on ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'' that aren't Alex, Felix, or Nelvis. They never speak and are not credited for their appearances.
* Bobby Draper in ''[[Mad Men]]''. On his [[The Other Darrin|third actor]], with only a handful of lines per season in increasing contrast [[Promotion to Opening Titles|to his big sister]].
* [[Batman (TV series)|Batman TV series]]: In a [[Crowning Moment of Funny]], [[Large Ham]] King Tut madly screams his dialogue to the ear of one of the beautiful mute
* ''[[Big Brother]] 13'' had cast eight completely new people. You would not know this by watching the series.
* Likewise, ''[[Survivor]]'' has also had this happen in seasons with [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|very]] [[Creator's Pet|poor]] [[Out of Focus|editing]]. In ''Samoa'' and ''One World'', the ''season winner'' could have been called a
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== Web Animation ==
* The Poopsmith in ''[[
** Also, in the 20X6 mock-Japanese 'spin-off', Pan Pan and Cheatball. Pan Pan really only serves to show that 1-Up isn't a loner, and Cheatball really ''is'' treated as a prop!
* The Cro-Marmot from ''[[Happy Tree Friends]]'' who shows up occasionally.
== Webcomics ==
* ''[[Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff]]'': Geromy. While he's ostensibly the [[Black Best Friend]], he's literally a Living Prop in that he never even ''moves''...
* Several of the background members of [[Schlock Mercenary
== Western Animation ==
* Downplayed in ''[[Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
* Many main cast's classmates in ''[[South Park]]''. Some characters, like Butters, used to be Living Props before becoming major players.
* Several people from ''[[
** One background character who fit the stereotype of a butch lesbian earned the [[Fan Nickname]] "Alex Sapphic." Eventually she was scene standing with another random extra, deemed her girlfriend "Leslie Bean."
* Cow in ''[[Word World]]''.
* ''[[Freakazoid!]]'' has Emmitt Nervend, a strange guy who shows up in odd places and just stands there. Most likely the ultimate living prop. Except for that one time where he's a salty dance hall chanteuse.
* Not surprisingly, ''[[The Simpsons (
** This was lampshaded in an episode where Chief Wiggum becomes commissioner:
{{quote|
Eddie: "Who's the new Eddie?"
Chief Wiggum: We don't need an Eddie." }}
** Those two guys at Moe's bar. No, not Homer and Barney. And no, not [[Those Two Guys|Lenny and Carl]] either, those ''other'' two guys. For the record, they're called Sam and Larry. Sam (cap) gets a few lines in early episodes, Larry (balding)... not such luck.
* Most of the students in Casper High in ''[[
* Heavily [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] as THE MAIN PLOT OF TWO EPISODES of ''[[Harvey Birdman, Attorney
* ''[[
* Yasha Mousekewitz, the baby in ''[[An American Tail]]'', is a textbook example of a living prop. In the later DTV sequels she's hardly ever even shown awake.
* In ''[[Spider-Man:
* Tim from ''[[The Magic School Bus]]'', even by [[The Generic Guy]] standards. He usually just sits or stands around, occasionally drawing what he sees (which is even ''more'' superfluous than it sounds), making very few useful observations, and never "learning" anything from his experiences.
* A Walrus and few of his friends from ''[[Camp Lazlo]]'' have also been in the background. There is an episode that lampshades this and gives the walrus a day in the limelight.
* There are a number of such characters in ''[[Arthur (
** ''Arthur'' also deserves special mention for having promoted some of their former Living Props to actual named, voiced characters. Fern, George, and Jenna have all been present in Arthur's classroom since the beginning. This trope was retroactively justified by all three turning out to be shy, introverted, or both. In George's case, it's even lampshaded by the others having only ever known him as "that shy, goofy kid with the big horns."
* When the Justice League expanded in ''[[Justice League (
* ''[[Codename
* The Number Nine Guy in ''[[
* In ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'', most of the students are only there as living props seen walking around the main cast at school.
* The usual ensemble of background ponies in ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
* Most of [[
* ''[[
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[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Cast Filler Tropes]]
[[Category:
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