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[[File:bwi-bus.jpg|frame|Bye, bye! See you again someday ... [[Long Bus Trip|maybe]]. [[Bus Crash|We hope]].]]
A character is written out of a series in such a way that they can easily be returned later, if the producers so choose. They are [[Put
▲A character is written out of a series in such a way that they can easily be returned later, if the producers so choose. They are Put On A Bus.
A staple of the [[Prime Time Soap]] and particularly [[Soap Opera]] where casts are large and actor turnover is frequent. Conveniently, when such a character is brought back, it can be with a case of [[Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome]] or [[The Other Darrin]].
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See [[The Exile]] and [[Reassigned to Antarctica]] for when this is more directly a sentence of banishment.
Not to be confused with [[Sacrificial Lamb|being thrown ''under'' the bus]].
{{examples}}
* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': [[The Hero]] Kouji Kabuto himself and his [[Battle Couple]], Sayaka, were
▲== Anime & Manga ==
▲* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': [[The Hero]] Kouji Kabuto himself and his [[Battle Couple]], Sayaka, were [[Put on a Bus]] at the end of the series (to be exact, they were put on a plane and sent to America), and they were replaced by [[The Hero]] and the [[Action Girl]] from the next series, ''[[Great Mazinger]]'' (Tetsuya and Jun). In fact, all ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' characters but Shiro, Boss and his gang were [[Put on a Bus]] when ''[[Great Mazinger]]'' started, although a few of them returned in the last season for the [[Grand Finale]] (Kouji, Sayaka, Prof. Yumi and {{spoiler|Dr. Hell}}). In ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]'', Kouji was the only character from ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' and ''[[Great Mazinger]]'' was not [[Put on a Bus]] (although Boss made a cameo appearance). [[Go Nagai]] intended Sayaka returned, too, but [[Executive Meddling]] prevented this from happening. In the manga versions, though, more characters and settings from the original series show up.
* Hiei from ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' mysteriously disappears after the first few episodes in the Sensui arc, using the excuse that he doesn't care whether or not the human world is destroyed. He turns up several episodes to test Yusuke's strength. He goes on a temporary bus again when the team enters Sensui's hideout and battle Gamemaster. Hiei notes, "I know as much of games as I do hugs or puppies and care for them even less" and falls asleep. He remains like this for several episodes.
** A much more straight example would be Kuwabara in the final arc. While the other main characters travel to the demon realm he stays behind to focus on his studies and is only seen at the beginning and the end of the arc.
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** Brock was temporarily put on a bus so many times that his abrupt return was a running gag at every opportunity. His reappearances even go from awesome to laughable: During Hoenn he makes a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment when the cast is attacked by wild Pokémon (which would be completely unexpected if not for [[Spoiler Opening|his presence in the opening]]). The next time, when Ash and his group leave for the Battle Frontier, the narrator is about to close up the episode, but is [[Crowning Moment of Funny|promptly interrupted by Brock showing up to tag along.]]. Then in Diamond & Pearl, Brock just gets off a truck on the side of the road where Ash happens to be.
** This trope also applies to most of Ash's Pokémon. Some, like Squirtle and Charizard, are left with other trainers but will occasionally reappear, while others, like Pidgeot, Butterfree, Primeape, and Lapras, disappear entirely, although Lapras made one reappearance in late Johto. In fact, Ash has made it a habit to leave behind all of his Pokémon except Pikachu in Professor Oak's lab when he travels to each new region.
** One of the most egregious examples of this was when Heracross was
** Also applies to many of Team Rocket's Pokémon, such as Weezing, Arbok, and Dustox.
** Notable is James's Victreebel, who was put on a bus, and replaced with a new one in the same episode....who was ''also'' put on a bus by the end of the episode.
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** In a recent season of ''Pokémon'', {{spoiler|Ambipom}} ''is'' put on a bus.
** Though given [[Walking the Earth|the nature of the series]], it's less being put ''on'' the bus as much as being let ''off''.
** And all of the first 493 Pokemon except Pikachu and [[Took a Level
* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' did this to Chibiusa whenever they sent her back to the future, though after the first time the reasoning was dubious. Mamoru was put on a plane for a season, and whose fate remained unknown until the final showdown with the [[Big Bad]]. The [[Sixth Ranger|Outer Senshi]] themselves have a habit of showing up for arbitrarily specific dangers, mostly so the writers can prune down the cast manageably. Sailor Senshi Placeholder Naru was continuously put on a bus after the introduction of all the actual senshi, being brought back several times until she was just written out completely in the last season.
* In ''[[Slayers]]'', [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Zelgadis]] was put on a bus after the first arc wrapped up. He reappeared 8 episodes later, and stayed a main character for the rest of the franchise. [[The Medic|Sylphiel]] was also put on a bus in ''Slayers TRY'' (season 3), being replaced by the Golden Dragon [[Tsundere|Filia]], and doesn't return until the end of season 4 (''Slayers Revolution''). Filia herself was also bussed off immediately after ''TRY'' ended, along with all of the other characters exclusive to that season.
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** Finally, Zelgadis was absent without explanation in the ''Knight of the Aqualord'' manga; Lina, Gourry, and Amelia all have major roles in that story.
* Tenma went overseas and essentially out of the mainstream storyline of ''[[School Rumble]]''.
* In ''[[
** It happened to {{spoiler|her ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' counterpart}}, as well. She disappears after the midway point of the series to run off with her {{spoiler|newfound lover}}, only to return for the final showdown.
** Mai's friends Chie and Aoi leave the school after it shuts down, and are thus absent for the climax.
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** Giorno is last shown at the end of Part 5 and was later stated by [[Word of God]] to be in Florida during Part 6 after Pucci gained the Joestar birthmark. He should have been drawn to Pucci by the bloodline connection, but still doesn't appear.
*** If this editor remembers correctly, he wasn't necessarily stated to be there, just implied: "''Maybe'' he is already in Flordia??!!" or something similar. As for why the birthmark didn't bring them together, this editor also remembers some nonsense about how since Giorno had already "fulfilled his destiny," Pucci didn't draw Giorno to him. Or something to that effect.
* In ''[[Hitohira]]'', Mugi's best friend Kayo announces out of the blue that she will be studying photography
* In the ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]'' anime, Meiling returns to Hong Kong just before the climax of the first arc. She makes guest appearances near the end of the second arc and in the [[The Movie|movie epilogue]].
* A great deal of minor characters in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' are frequently brought back after being sent off, including Duke Devlin, Mai Valentine, Serenity Wheeler, and countless others. But then, almost every season a new duel tournament begins, so they have a semi-genuine reason to bring back the old characters all at once.
** In Season 3, the Ishtars board a plane home to Egypt and return in the final season.
* Daichi/Bastion Misawa of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'' got put on a bus partway through season 2, after freeing himself from the recruiting cult's [[More Than Mind Control|brainwashing]], done through a [[Shout-Out]] to the original [[Eureka Moment]]. [[Brain Bleach|At least the dub edited in a pair of underwear...]]
** He returned next season to give some [[Expospeak]] and a little [[Techno Babble]]... and got
* ''[[Chocotto Sister]]'' has {{spoiler|Ayano}} written out so seamlessly that Haruma's heartbreak over her [[Shaggy Dog Story|seems rather pointless]] in the end.
* In ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', when {{spoiler|Pen-Pen}} gets put on a bus, you know that the show [[Shoo Out the Clowns|won't have any more comic relief]].
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* Inverted in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. About half of Negi's class gets put on a bus when the magic world arc starts. Or rather, they're left behind when the main cast gets on the bus.
** Played straight with [[Magnificent Bastard]] {{spoiler|Chao}}, when she returns to {{spoiler|the future}}. Unlike many examples of this trope, she is still referenced often, and the likelihood of an eventual [[The Bus Came Back]] is especially good considering her...''unique'' insight into who the main protagonist will eventually end up with.
** To {{spoiler|[[Badass|Jack Rakan]]}}, being {{spoiler|erased from existence}} [[Beyond the Impossible|is being]]
* The {{spoiler|entire cast}} of ''[[One Piece]]'' not so much gets put on a bus but earn frequent flyer miles as {{spoiler|they are knocked to various locations. Though, everyone's location is given to you and it's assumed they will all return.}}
* In ''[[Bakuman｡]]'' {{spoiler|Nakai}}, after {{spoiler|in the course of a few days, alienating Aoki by asking her to be his girlfriend in order for him to draw for her, losing his job as assistant when the manga he's working on gets canceled, alienating his fellow assistant when his proposal for Aoki comes to light, and upsetting quite a few of his friends as a result}}, decides that he used his art skills for the wrong reasons, and leaves for home. Takagi considers having him come back and work for them as an assistant, but Mashiro suggests that if he comes back, it should be as a [[Mangaka]], before the scene cuts to {{spoiler|Nakai}} discontent with his life and looking a some manga volumes. It's also worth noting that {{spoiler|Fukuda}} asked him if he was willing to let things end the way they did as he left, which is some indication that he may not.
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** As of the new story arc, {{spoiler|nearly the entire cast of the series up to this point.}} Here's a list of characters who have appeared before and are accounted for in the most recent chapters: {{spoiler|Ichigo, his sisters, Isshin, Orihime, Chad, Ishida and Urahara.}} This out of a (formerly) main and supporting cast almost numbering on ''one hundred''. Considering {{spoiler|how Fullbring powers's connection to Soul Reaper and Hollow powers is tenous-at-best and the old-school Japan motiff has been absent since Aizen's defeat,}} it's as if Kubo wanted to write a brand new series altogether after finishing the Hueco Mundo arc.
*** Almost rectified in recent chapters, with {{spoiler|the return of a handful Shinigami, bringing with them confirmation of a whole bunch of others that end up still being relevant - at least when it comes to making Ichigo insanely powerful with the least amount of work possible.}}
* ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]'' has a curious variety, in that {{spoiler|Fuko}} gets written out of the story by {{spoiler|having people completely forget about her.}}
** Additionally, due to the Visual Novel Origin of the series, characters will often be put on short bus trips for the story arcs that don't concern them. Examples include Sunohara's whereabouts in the Kotomi arc, Nagisa at several points in the story, Kotomi, Ryou, and Kyou in the Miyazawa arc, and Miyazawa in almost every arc besides her own and the "Absent Nagisa" storylines.
* A lot of characters in ''[[Bakugan]]'' have been loaded onto buses.
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==
* Between the late 1960s and his return in the early '80s, J'onn J'onnz, the [[Martian Manhunter]] of the [[Justice League]], went off to find "New Mars" with the rest of the Martian people. This has since been [[
* Most of the Justice League members added to the team under [[Dwayne McDuffie|Dwayne McDuffie's]] tenure ended up being written out in this manner once James Robinson took over and decided he wanted to write his own characters. [[Zatanna]] seemingly had an emotional breakdown and quit offscreen, Vixen took a "leave of absence" to heal from some recent injuries and then was never seen or mentioned again in that series, Green Lantern left without an explanation, and [[Firestorm]] also quit offscreen after the death of his girlfriend. Each of those characters save for Green Lantern would later return in subsequent volumes of the franchise.
** Ironically enough, this happened to the majority of Robinson's new characters, who quit offscreen after his first three issues.
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* In the Denny O'Neil / Neal Adams run of ''[[Green Lantern]]'', Guy Gardner was hit by a bus to make way for John Stewart. After enduring several circumstances (having Hal's Power Battery explode, trapping him in the Phantom Zone, rescued from it, and rendered catatonic), he would then play a greater role in the Green Lantern comics following the ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]''.
* Did you know that [[Batman|Catwoman]] had a daughter in the ''One Year Later'' storyline of [[Infinite Crisis]]? No? Good, because DC would prefer you forget that ever happened.
* The [[Justice Society of America]] was
* Zap Zodiac a comic strip in ''[[The Beano]]'' ended in a way so that the strip was left open to return in the future. But as of 2011 bus has not yet returned to Beanotown.
* Practically every character gets put on a bus at some point in ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]''. Kim even gets put on a literal bus at the end of volume five and doesn't return till halfway through six.
* In the ''[[X Wing Series]]'' comics, [[Boisterous Bruiser|Plourr Illo]] had an arc which showed her to be a [[Badass]] [[Expy]] of Anastasia, the last princess of a line that had died in revolution. She returned to her homeworld and waded into the teeth of a new revolution that was even more violent than the last. At the end of it, she [[I Choose to Stay|chose to stay]] and rule her planet while the Rogues left. They left her her X-Wing and Wedge told her "You've saved your world. When you're ready, come back and save the rest of us." And she and a squadron of fighters from her homeworld did have a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment at the end of the very next arc, and she complained about how boring politics was. But the very next issue after that had her serving full-time with the Rogues again, flying into combat and getting into [[Boisterous Bruiser|fistfights]]. Weird.
==
* Too many characters to list in ''[[The Tainted Grimoire]]''. This is because Clan Gully and many of the people they meet do a lot of traveling.
** [[The Bus Came Back]]: Some characters are rather important to the story so they get a [[Day in The Limelight]] to show us what they have been up to. Either that or meet up with Clan Gully again.
** [[Commuting on a Bus]]: Micaiah and Francesca both have long periods of absence between their multiple re-
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* The ending of ''[[Ghost World]]''.
** With a '''literal''' bus, no less
* In the film ''[[Coal Miners Daughter]]''
* In the ''[[Back to The Future]]'' sequels, Marty's girlfriend Jennifer is passed out asleep quickly and (except for an incident where she discovers something important about Marty's future and promptly passes out again from encountering her future self) stays there until the end of the third movie. In the DVD commentary, the writers admit that if they'd known they were actually going to do a sequel, they wouldn't have had Jennifer get in the DeLorean at the end of the original movie, because they didn't know what to do with her.
* Right before the climax in ''[[Fight Club]]'' the Narrator forces Marla Singer onto a bus.
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== Literature ==
* This happens to many different characters in ''[[War and Peace]]'', as [[Loads and Loads of Characters|there are so many of them]], but the one who stands out most is Dolokhov, who is
* {{spoiler|Bean}} at the end of ''[[Ender's Game|Shadow of the Giant]]'' is put on a relativistic spaceship with {{spoiler|his genetically modified children}} so that they can live until the development of {{spoiler|a cure}}.
* Father Callahan from the [[Stephen King]] novel ''[['Salem's Lot]]'' went off on a literal bus near the end of the book, and rather unexpectedly reappeared years later in the loosely related ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' series as a church pastor in another dimension. It is explained he spent a lot of the intervening time killing vampires.
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* [[The Bold And The Beautiful]]: Taylor Hayes was a particularly egregious example. After being shot in 2002, and being discovered as [[Not Quite Dead]] in 2005, the character appeared in cameos as a silent ghost several times during the intervening three years.
* In "[[How I Met Your Mother]]" Victoria was put on a bus at the end of The Ducky Tie. She had been ''figuratively'' put on a bus in season 1 when she went off to Germany and became close to Klaus in her class.
* In ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'', Randy Taylor is
* In ''[[Monk]]'', Mr. Monk's original assistant, Sharona Fleming, left Monk to re-marry her husband. She makes a guest appearance in an episode in the final season, and is mentioned once more during the series finale.
* This is the standard way for ''[[Law and Order]]'' franchises to write out characters, especially over the last several years. Dick Wolf is said to regret that Jill Hennessy's Claire Kincaid was [[Killed Off for Real]], and thus could not be brought back.
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** After being trapped on a parallel Earth with no chance of return twice, Mickey returns to the Doctor's universe in "Journey's End" for more (so far unseen) adventures.
** This is also the standard way that companions have exited the series throughout its existence. Exceptions include Katarina and Adric, who were [[Killed Off for Real]].
*** In the case of Leela, Louise Jameson found her character Put on a Bus against her
** Having reintroduced K-9 in Sarah Jane's guest reappearance of ''Doctor Who'', the ''entire first series'' of Sarah Jane's subsequent spinoff ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' was then obliged to trap him in a black hole, since the [[Robot Buddy]]'s creator had sold a ''K-9'' series elsewhere. (He gives a token appearance in the season finale and Comic Relief special though). {{spoiler|Also, K-9 returned as a regular in ''The Mad Woman In the Attic'', only to be put on a bus again from ''The Nightmare Man''}}
*** Also in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', Maria Jackson and her dad left for America as the former's actress was in her GCSE year and wanted to concentrate on her studies, making a guest role in ''The Mark of the Berserker''.
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* In ''[[Lost]]'', the character of Walt had to be written out of the show because the actor who played him, 12-year-old Malcolm David Kelley, would have aged several years while his character would have only aged three months. Walt and his father Michael were written out of the show after Michael sold out his friends to get off the island at the end of season 2. However, Michael returned for Season 4, and Walt has made guest appearances in every season since.
** Claire would also find herself riding the bus for season 5, but was back in season 6.
* ''[[The OC]]'' actually cleverly subverted this (believe it or not). Everyone knew Mischa Barton was leaving the show at the end of the third season, and the episode had the plotline that she was going away to live with her dad, seemingly being
** This was quite a surprising twist when it originally aired in the US. For some reason, the Australian station on which the OC was playing felt that instead of allowing the viewers to experience this shock twist, it should start having ads three weeks before the finale saying "MARISSA... WILL... DIE". [[Trailers Always Spoil|Thanks, channel 10]].
** Cleverly subverted for a given value of clever. Many fans (even those who didn't especially care for Mischa) found it [[McLeaned|needlessly vindictive]].
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* ''[[Smallville]]''
** Pete Ross was sent off this way. Interesting because he was the show's sole prominent [[Token Minority|black]] character, and because, despite being a main character, he hasn't been missed by the viewers. This may be because [[Television Without Pity]] calls him "[[Product Placement]] Pete" for his annoying tendency to shill stuff. The episode in which he visits is an hour-long commercial for Stride gum. While still noticeable, not nearly as glaring on the DVDs when you don't have real commercials highlighting the in show placement
** Whitney Fordman is
** Perry White made his exit on an actual bus at the end of the one episode in which he appeared.
** [[Creator's Pet|Lana Lang]] was
* Rimmer went off to become the next "Ace Rimmer"(What A Guy!)in series seven of ''[[Red Dwarf]]''. The Rimmer seen in series eight is a clone created via nanotechnology, and the original Rimmer was never heard from again.
** The ship's AI, Holly, was put out of service by a flood before ''Back to Earth''.
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** In the 200th episode ('200'), the characters themselves point out the methods used to get around O'Neill being put on the bus, such as one-sided phone conversations.
* When Peter MacNicol did a stint on ''[[24]]'', his ''[[Numb3rs]]'' character was Put On A Space Station.
* Sara Sidle of ''[[CSI]]'' was recently
** Jorja Fox and show execs virtually guaranteed in interviews that she would be popping in for a guest spot sometime in the near future - and did just that in season 9.
*** And Grissom followed her off of CSI, too. Since both roles have been replaced by new rookie CSIs it's probably safe to assume that the bus will not be returning anytime soon.
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* Chano Amengual was put on a bus on ''[[Barney Miller]]'', but viewers weren't told for several seasons. Following his disappearance, no one mentioned him until a few years later when a new detective was transferred to the precinct to replace him, causing Barney to marvel at how long it took the department to send anyone.
** Also Barney's wife Liz, who had been [[He Who Must Not Be Seen|unseen]] on the show for several seasons after being played by Barbara Barrie in Seasons 1-2. (The producers actually came up with the separation storyline as a way of bringing Barrie, whose character had been deemed as not "working" in the context of the show, back before the viewers.)
* On ''[[Grey's Anatomy]]'', Addison Montgomery was put in a convertible to LA so that she could rediscover herself in her spin-off, ''[[Private Practice]]''. Theoretically she was going to involve herself in more mature things than hospital [[Love Dodecahedron
** Though since then Isaiah Washington ran off rather than marry Cristina Yang, Brooke Smith's newly lesbian character vanished the day after getting her first girl/girl orgasm from Callie O'Malley, then at the end of season five {{spoiler|TR Knight is hit by a bus because he complained too much about not getting enough screen time}}.
* The first time Katey Sagal (the actress who played Peggy Bundy) became pregnant during her time on ''[[Married... with Children]]'', the producers worked it into the storyline, only to have to backtrack when Segal tragically suffered a miscarriage by {{spoiler|making the entire season six storyline of Peg and Marcy being pregnant a dream. And on a dream episode, no less, where Al is a private eye out to clear his name when he's accused of murder}}. When Segal became pregnant again later in the show's run, the writers didn't go back to the "Peg is pregnant" well again, and, instead, wrote off Segal's frequent absences from the show as a storyline where Peg is traveling the world to get her parents back together after her father walks out on her.
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* After her actress' departure from the show at the end of the third series, ''[['Allo 'Allo!|Allo Allo]]!'' opted to explain why Maria had suddenly vanished when she was trapped in the prison camp for British soldiers with the majority of rest of the primary cast by explaining that she had attempted to escape by disguising herself as a package and getting mailed out. Unfortunately, she didn't have enough stamps and was as such "returned to Switzerland."
* First-Season character of the series ''[[Big Wolf on Campus]]'' Stacy Hansen is a prime example of this trope. It's revealed at the start of the Second Season that she had left for college. Though, she never did return and was never mentioned again. This is somewhat [[Truth in Television|based on real life]] in that the actress who played Stacy really DID go to college.
* Stan in ''[[On the Buses]]'' departs the series to drive buses [[Oop North]]. So he ''was''
* Alexis Meade of ''[[Ugly Betty]]'' was recently put on a bus. Reportedly, Rebecca Romijn didn't like the way the character was being written.
** Also the fate of Ashley Jensen's character Christina.
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* Played straight in [[McLeod's Daughters]], many times. Becky's one true love, Brett, is sent off an a bus to go find a job—then {{spoiler|comes back to propose to her, but [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|falls off a bridge and dies]] before ever seeing her.}} Becky later gets on a bus to go to college, and never comes back. Meg gets on a bus and goes off to the woods to write a book. Jodi's first love, Roberto, gets on a bus to get his visa straightened out in his home country, then comes back on the same bus {{spoiler|to marry her, until she gets cold feet}}. (And this is just what I've picked up from watching a few episodes here and there in the first couple of seasons when my mom has it on.)
** You'd think getting Put On A Bus was the only way to get out of Nowhereville, Australia. That or getting killed in a freak accident, which a lot of characters have also opted for.
* ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'': When stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat held out in a salary dispute prior to season 5, their characters of Bo and Luke were sent off to "join the NASCAR circuit" and given a pair of [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute
** Sheriff Roscoe was also
* ''[[All in The Family]]'': Henry Jefferson was devised as a sort of "placeholder" character to stand in for George Jefferson until actor Sherman Helmsley (who had been offered the role of George but [[Absentee Actor|wasn't available]] due to his commitment to the Broadway show ''Purlie'') finally became available in season 4. Once that happened, Henry "moved upstate" and was never heard from again, either on ''All in the Family'' or the spinoff ''[[The Jeffersons]]''.
* On ''[[M*A*S*H (television)|Mash]]'', Henry, Trapper, Frank, and Radar were all discharged and Put On A Plane back to the states. In Henry's case, [[Bus Crash|the plane crashed]].
* Junito from ''[[Noah's Arc]]'', who was put on a bus at the end of season 1, but returned later.
* On ''[[Spooks]]'', Zoe Reynolds is exiled to Chile. At the beginning of the next serious, a brief mention is made of Sam Buxton "being sedated" after the death of her love interest, {{spoiler|Danny}}, and never reappears in the series. In the fifth season, Ruth is Put On A Boat when she's implicated in a murder.
* When actress Lynda Day George was pregnant during Season 7 of ''[[Mission: Impossible]]'', her character was said to be working "deep cover" in Europe. A character played by Barbara Anderson filled in for several episodes.
* ''[[Doogie Howser, M.D.]]'': Dr. Jack McGuire, [[Hospital Hottie|the hunky (yet not too suave) doc]] played by Mitchell Anderson. Although an integral part of the show, Anderson quit the series at the end of season 2, and was subsequently written off. McGuire, after returning from a life-changing mission trip to [[Mexico]], decided to move across the border to continue pursuing his medical aspirations.
* Oscar Martinez from the American ''[[The Office]]'' was put on a bus for half of season 3, given a free vacation due to Michael's handling of Oscar's homosexuality. In his reappearance later in the season, he shows up to a Christmas party, but leaves before being noticed, claiming its "too soon". He returns for good three episodes later.
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* On ''[[Bonanza]]'', Adam Cartwright moved to Australia when Pernell Roberts left the show.
* On ''[[Veronica Mars]]'', Logan's girlfriend Hannah is sent to a Vermont boarding school when caught canoodling with him. This served to hit the reset button on his romance with Veronica.
* Toby in ''[[
* In ''[[Knots Landing]]'' Val's second (third if you count marrying the same guy twice as two marriages) husband Ben follows a woman named Jean Hackney to Central America to make her pay for threatening his family... or something... and is never heard from again. (In the next season Jill Bennett cruelly pretends to be Ben and tells Val that he's coming home.)
** Also, Karen and Mack become foster parents to a teenager named Jason in season 12. He leaves for a year studying abroad in Sweden the following season and is never seen (or even mentioned) again.
* Because of the lengthy time gaps between "days" and the high turnover at CTU and other government agencies, characters' disappearances on ''[[24]]'' are usually [[Justified Trope|justified]]. However, one notable exception is Milo Pressman, who vanished without any
** Kim Bauer leaves after season 3. She only makes guest appearances in 9 episodes for the rest of the series. Not that most people really cared though.
* Seems to have happened to Anna Wu in ''[[Chuck]]'', when she inexplicably vanishes from the entire show, with little more than a [[Hand Wave]] to acknowledge it.
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== Podcasts ==
▲* [[Potter Cast]]: Sue Upton left the show.
== Radio ==
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* One regular team member of BBC Radio 1's ''[[Scott Mills Show]]'', Mark Chapman, went to the toilet on Christmas Eve 2009 and hasn't been heard from since.
** He got given his own show on Radio 5.
* The ending of ''[[Have Gun — Will Travel]]'' has Paladin inheriting a small fortune and heading back East to handle the estate, though he does promise to be back for Hey Boy's wedding.
== Tabletop Games ==
* The Squats in [[Warhammer
* In [[Warhammer Fantasy]], the Dogs of War and Chaos Dwarves are former armies, with people even having the option of hiring Dogs of War units as rare choices. GW presumably realized what a [[Game Breaker]] that could be (essentially allowing you to hire units to get around your armies designated balancing weaknesses) and completely cut them from the fluff and army books. Chaos Dwarves are a little more complicated as the army is remembered fondly by veteran players and often sought after by new players, and they remain in the fluff (primarily due to the proximity of the newer Ogre Kingdoms army). Lately models and rules have begun popping up on Forge World, leading people to hope that the army might be due [[The Bus Came Back|for a revival.]]
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* In ''[[Mitsumete Knight|Mitsumete Knight R : Daibouken Hen]]'', all characters of the original ''Mitsumete Knight'' game save for [[The Hero|Sophia]], [[Emotionless Girl|Rai]][[Ensemble Darkhorse|zze]], [[Huge Schoolgirl|Leslie]], [[Bokukko|Hanna]], [[Rich Bitch|Linda]], and {{spoiler|[[Monster Clown|Carneau]]}} are reduced to mere cameos. Which is really baffling in [[Everything's Better with Princesses|Priscilla]] and [[Mysterious Waif|Anne]]'s cases, as both were poster girls in the original game [[Demoted to Extra|and vital characters for its plot]], as well as being well-liked by the fandom.
* Angela Cross from the ''[[Ratchet and Clank]]'' series. She only appears in ''[[Ratchet and Clank Going Commando|Going Commando]]'' and is briefly mentioned on a radio broadcast in ''[[Ratchet and Clank Future A Crack In Time|A Crack In Time]]''. As the only female Lombax in the series, some fans (particularly this one) have wondered why she was written out, especially considering the series' recent focus on Ratchet trying to find out what happened to the rest of his race.
* Drachma, Gilder, and Enrique in [[Skies of Arcadia]]. The Valuan Generals also get
* It has been confirmed that Bosco will not appear in ''[[Sam and Max]]'' season 3. The ingame explanation is that Bosco has gone on a road trip to Las Vegas. It is later revealed he has a large gambling debt, and is forced to be a male stripper.
* Dr. Madison Li in ''[[Fallout 3]]'' gets this treatment in the ''Broken Steel'' expansion. Once you turn on the purifier, Dr. Li leaves the Capital Wasteland for the Commonwealth, even though she just witnessed a major breakthrough in her work.
* During the [[Time Skip]] between the first two ''[[Golden Sun]]'' games and the third, six of the original eight heroes mysteriously vanish from the plot. Ivan, Mia and Jenna are seemingly just offscreen, given that their children are the new protagonists, but Piers and Felix have gone travelling and Sheba's whereabouts are not even mentioned. Since the game ends with yet another [[Sequel Hook]], we hopefully haven't heard the last of them.
* In the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' series Bowser's children The Koopalings were gone for nearly 20 years before they finally reappeared in ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]''.
** Not true. Their last appearance before that was in the first ''Mario & Luigi'' game.
** Diddy Kong, Toadette, Dry Bones, King Boo, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi share the trope in the ''[[Mario Kart]]'' series (so far).
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* In the first [[.hack|.Hack://]] games for [[PlayStation 2]], in volume 2 Mistral admits she is nearing the end of her pregnancy and can't do anything stressful so she has to log off for a while. She is not seen or heard from again until she magically reappears in the 4th volume. Aura pulls this as well, appearing frequently in volumes 1 and several times in 2, but seems to have forgotten to aid you in your quest in 3 and only appears a couple times in 4.
** .Hack://GU does this with the majority of the characters in the game who are not Morganna factors or turned into Lost Ones. Although all of the characters are still selectable and can be adventured with at any time, none of the majority of them, for example Matsu, will ever have importance in the story again until the end of the 3rd game, and then it's optional.
* Grant DaNasty from [[Castlevania III:
* [[The Elder Scrolls]] IV Oblivion does this with most of the prominent figures from Morrowind, despite only taking place 6 years later. Although you couldn't possibly expect to see so many major characters when they were in a whole different province, you only hear of vague rumors that Vivec "disappeared" and the Nerevarine left on an expedition to Akavir. A former living god and a previous hero sound like exactly the kind of people you'd want to have around to help repel a demonic invasion.
** Furthermore, halfway through Morrowind, your first quest giver Caius Cosades gets reassigned... to Cyrodiil (for those who haven't played an Elder Scrolls game, the latter is where Oblivion takes place). You would ''think'' he would be in the game, considering he was a Blade that was known to be around the Emporer. Even a cameo as the [[Red Shirt]] Blade that gets cut down in your first battle would have been nice.
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* Happens a lot in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' due to the [[Loads and Loads of Characters|sheer number of characters]] it's introduced over its [[Long Runner|long run]]. Characters very rarely ''stay'' on the bus, however. Even if it takes over a decade, it seems like every character who isn't explicitly killed off is bound to make a second appearance.
** Recently, {{spoiler|Sasha, who had moved away}} seven years ago, made a return to the comic.
* ''[[Kevin and Kell]]'' has done this with several of its supporting characters over time. Candice and her family were once nearly as important to the strip as Kevin and Kell themselves, but eventually she was outsourced to New Zealand and hasn't been heard from since. The Ursuls, of whom Marjorie was Kell's best friend for the early years of the strip, moved to Florida and new best friend Aby moved into their
* Done to every character at the end of ''[[Boy Meets Boy]]'', to make room for two side characters who got their own spinoff in ''[[Friendly Hostility]]''.
* In ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'', Dragoon was teleported to the Moon and has not been seen since.
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** Actually, it seems like the bus dropped Raven off just in time for her college physics class. Amir got off the bus for a cameo as well, but has probably caught another one at this point. Also, since Sarah was apparently "eaten by an Allosaurus," this may be more of a [[Bus Crash]] scenario.
* [[Lampshaded]] [http://booksdontworkhere.thecomicseries.com/comics/56/ here] in ''[[Books Don't Work Here]]'' when the Main character and her room mate head to the mall at the same time as the author has to move and get a new job. The author's avatar also makes an appearance getting on the bus as they get off. Which gives Robin an opportunity to {{spoiler|punch him in the face}}.
* In ''[[Darths and Droids]]'', one of the players, Sally, wants her character Jar Jar to be hit by a bus. In the next strip she is playing Guitar Hero, and has mostly been playing bit part [[NPC
** In episode 4, Ben disappears for an unspecified reason.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130203020845/http://girlyyy.com/go/83 Done] in ''[[Girly]]'' when Officer Policeguy gets fed up with Detective Clampjaw.
** More like '''strapped to''' the bus!
* In ''[[General Protection Fault]]'', Trish goes into a coma after being attacked by her impostor, who proceeds to impersonate her until she is unmasked.
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* Tepoz from ''[[Wapsi Square]]'' is put on a bus [http://wapsisquare.com/comic/01232002/ to Utah] shortly after his introduction. He returned later and played an important role in the plot.
* The now decidedly unnecessary "human characters" in ''[[Comic Shorts]]'': Spriteoverse are removed in episode 26 possibly the least subtle way imaginable: by interrupting the comic's dialog to announce that they're going to blink out of existence. They may or may not come back if it's convenient enough to the plot.
* In ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'', this happens most notably to [https://web.archive.org/web/20131026072301/http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2006-01-01/ Der Thris], who resigns to help out the police on Mahuitalotu.
* ''[[Sonichu]]'' has a number of characters be tossed on the bus, due to the author's ever-shifting focus. Saramah Rosechu, who was supposed to be part of a big prophecy, is married off not even two issues after her appearance and the prophecy ignored; Meg-chan (aka Sailor Megtune) disappeared without a trace another two issues later; Metal Sonichu makes an appearance and is launched to the Moon, never to be seen again (he was supposed to return, but so far, no show).
* ''[[Girl Genius]]'' with to-be-revived Zulenna. Of course, now that the legitimate rulers of Holfung-Borzoi [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20161221 apparently] [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20150608 are] dead or wasped, we may guess ''how'' her return will look like.
== Web Original ==
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** A {{spoiler|temporary}} example in the second RP. [[The Smart Guy|Shelton]] is deported to Austria after the events of the first RP.
* For episode 100 of the video game music podcast [[Nitro Game Injection]], Audun "[[Akumu Hau]]" Sorlie joined the show as a new co-host. The show went on a lengthy hiatus after episode 112, and when it came back, nary a mention of Akumu was made and he was replaced by Larry Oji of [[OverClocked Remix]]. Akumu has returned as a guest a few times, however.
* In the fourth year of ''[[The Questport Chronicles]]'', the elf
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** More permanently done with A.M.A.Z.O, who's still out on the edge of the universe trying to figure out how to beat Solomon Grundy.
*** [[Word of God]] was he would return in the last episode as a [[Brick Joke]], but they forgot about him.
* ''[[Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law]]'' takes this to the extreme by having the character, Phil Sebben, not only be
** Only to return driving the bus himself BACKWARDS, across North America and under water no less, then runs over Harvey with it thus putting the entire show on the bus. "HA HA HAAAA! Final episode stunt casting!"
* William Dunbar of ''[[Code Lyoko]]'' gets put on a very interesting (and painful) sort of bus. After being attacked and possessed by XANA on his first mission as a Lyoko Warrior, he's [[Not Himself|effectively put out of commission]] for the entire season. He does return, but only just in time for the series to end two episodes later. There's no real explanation as to why this happened, though he was [[Romantic False Lead|disliked]] [[Die for Our Ship|a bit]].
** [[Word of God]] is that he'll return for the fifth season.
* ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' has a rather weird use of the bus. At the end of the third season opener "Transwarped" Sari {{spoiler|is shut down by Ratchet in a desperate attempt to keep her over-upgraded body from destroying both herself and the city.}} Not only did she not appear for the next four episodes, no one even seemed to think about
** As of "Human Error" she's back off the bus, {{spoiler|now taller, more mature, and able to make blue balls of floating electric... stuff. The coma hasn't been mentioned again.}}
** {{spoiler|Ultra Magnus}} was also put on the bus in season 3. {{spoiler|If by 'bus' we mean the ICU.}}
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* Little Miss Calamity disappeared offscreen in Season 2 of ''[[The Mr. Men Show]]''.
** Probably due to feminists accusing a female [[Butt Monkey]] who doesn't care if another gets hurt.
** The reason is, she was
*** Goes straight into [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome]] when the characters never even '''MENTION''' Little Miss Calamity. They didn't even '''react to the statues''' including the one that looks like Little Miss Calamity. What a calamity!
* Happened to {{spoiler|Zhalia}} in the end of episode 17 of ''[[Huntik Secrets and Seekers]]''. {{spoiler|She comes back in the next two episodes}}.
* Tak was a victim of a bus ride in ''[[Invader Zim]]''. She {{spoiler|was lost in space after the fight between her and Zim.}} However, in an [[What Could Have Been|unfinished episode,]] she would have returned and become Zim's secondary rival. Unfortunately, [[Too Good to Last|the series ended before that could happen.]]
* In ''[[X-Men: Evolution|X-Men Evolution]]'' Spyke went to live with the Morlocks and was [[Rescued
* ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' did this with Harry for eight episodes. However, it wasn't so much a convenient way to get him out of the way as part of his personal [[Story Arc]], as his father took him to Europe to {{spoiler|[[Fantastic Drug|get over his addiction to]] [[Psycho Serum|Globulin Green]]}}.
* ''[[Pearlie]]'' antagonist: Moe the daisy-cutting pixie.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]
[[Category:Put on a Bus]]▼
[[Category:Tropes on a Bus]]
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