Mrs Columbo

[MsD]

I was a little dismayed to find that my Columbo boxset includes an episode of the spin-off, Mrs Columbo.

I have such a strong image of Mrs C that I didn't want to risk ruining it. The last Columbo episode I watched is the one where they're on the cruise that Mrs C has won; one of the stewards knocks the Lt up in the middle of the night to ask him to help out with a murder case, and he says "is it about my wife? I'm sorry, I know she likes to enjoy herself, and sometimes she gets a little carried away ...".

I watched the episode to get it out of the way, and it is terrible, luckily so bad that it won't alter my mental picture at all.

I didn't know whether to start a Columbo thread, or "characters who are best unseen", like 'er indoors, Fat Elvis in Eastenders and Fat Brenda in Corrie.

Both, I guess.

[ian.64]

Mrs Columbo

I feel the same way. The mental picture I have of Mrs. C is that of a similarly world-weary lady of unglamorous appearance yet a cheery and somehow patient individual who likes enjoying herself. What the dramatised reality presents is a young, fresh-faced and all too glamorous woman who looks as if she could never shack up with a walking pile of untidyness. I could never really bring myself to sit through that pilot episode.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Mrs Columbo

Charlie in Charlie's Angels (continuing the OP).

[3 Colours Red]

Mrs Columbo

I think the only show to have handled that situation to perfection was Drop The Dead Donkey.
Finally seeing Sir Royston only for him not to recognise Gus in the slightest is exactly how you'd picture him and how he'd behave towards his subordinates who worship him in a most concerning way.

Likewise with George's wife - having him look after her in her hour of need despite her treatment of him, just emphasising how put-upon, browbeaten but ultimately decent and principled he was.

[gavc23]

Mrs Columbo

One of the best was the depiction of Mrs Mainwaring in Dad's Army - I think the only time she was ever seen was as a shapeless heavy weight in a top bunk bed.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Mrs Columbo

Maris Crane for me.

Probably better to ask which sitcoms didn't have unseen characters; I think every writing team feels compelled to write one. Seinfeld had loads, aside from the obvious ones like Cousin Jeffrey and Bob Sacamano.

[Benjm]

Mrs Columbo

Magnum PI had the mysterious estate owner, Robin Masters, with Orson Welles providing the voice for the character in some episodes, literally phoning it in.

With an admirable lack of consistency, the series later ran with a recurring subplot in which Magnum became convinced that Higgins was Robin Masters. I'm not sure how it ended: by then it had disappeared so far into the regional variations section of the TV listings as to be almost unlocatable.

The estate in Magnum PI was called Robin's Nest, offering a slightly more luxurious experience than Richard O'Sullivan's sitcom bistro of the same name.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Mrs Columbo

See also Carlton the doorman in Rhoda.

[Bored Of Education]

Mrs Columbo

In a similar vein, the Archers has a load of "silent characters" - Derek Fletcher, Edgar Titcombe, Freda Fry, Nathan Booth, Fat Paul, Sabrina Thwaite and, brilliantly recently, Barry the Bull crisp packet exploder. The oddest thing was the mass outpouring of grief when Freda Fry died in March. Actually, that isn't the oddest thing about the Archers but it is emblematic of all that is odd about the Archers.

Agreed about an appearance of Mrs Columbo. It's just not on.

Although not quite the same, the neighbour in Home Improvement never showed his whole face which they took to illogical extremes in the end.

[Kevin S]

Mrs Columbo

Points for anyone who can name the sitcom:

Wally Bazoum (works at the bank)
Dennis and Ursula (live next door)

[Kevin S]

Mrs Columbo

A different sitcom:

Veronica; boss who makes demanding phone calls or emails at bad times.

[G-Man]

Mrs Columbo

Norm's wife in Cheers is an obvious absentee.

We hear the teacher in the Peanuts, but do we ever see her?

[treibeis]

Mrs Columbo

gavc23 wrote: One of the best was the depiction of Mrs Mainwaring in Dad's Army - I think the only time she was ever seen was as a shapeless heavy weight in a top bunk bed.

Did Dolly and/or Cissy Godfrey ever appear in Dad's Army?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Mrs Columbo

Wally Bazoum was from Game On. I used to like that series, but I'm possibly the only other one who remembers it.

[Jon]

Mrs Columbo

G-Man wrote: Norm's wife in Cheers is an obvious absentee.

We hear the teacher in the Peanuts, but do we ever see her?

I don't think we ever see any of the adult characters in Peanuts.

Can't answer any of kev's but here's one of my own, from a favourite sitcom of mine:

Miss Mountshaft and Mrs Dooms-Patterson (leading lights of the local pony club and musical society).

[MsD]

Mrs Columbo

Lucy in Gavin and Stacey, grounded except for gymkhana and other horse-based activities.

[3 Colours Red]

Mrs Columbo

The Thing Upstairs from The Trap Door - again, heard but not seen.

Unsurprisingly TV Tropes has a section on this kind of thing.

[MsD]

Mrs Columbo

treibeis wrote:

One of the best was the depiction of Mrs Mainwaring in Dad's Army - I think the only time she was ever seen was as a shapeless heavy weight in a top bunk bed.

Did Dolly and/or Cissy Godfrey ever appear in Dad's Army?

I seem to remember one or two of Godfrey's sisters turning up with a dish on one occasion?

[Kevin S]

Mrs Columbo

Rogin the Armchair Fan wrote: Wally Bazoum was from Game On. I used to like that series, but I'm possibly the only other one who remembers it.

Good man (the next door neighbours are from the same programme, in case that was unclear). An underrated sitcom I reckon.

[Kevin S]

Mrs Columbo

Kevchenko wrote: A different sitcom:

Veronica; boss who makes demanding phone calls or emails at bad times.

TV Tropes has the answer to this one, and adds that the unseen boss in the second series is Tyson (who turns out to be a con-artist).

[Patrick Thistle]

Mrs Columbo

Howard's Mom, Mrs Wolowitz. Voice only, from off-stage.

I had hoped that after all the fat, hairy, ugly jokes at her expense the big reveal at Howard's wedding would be of a very glamorous supermodel. With Mrs Wolowitz's voice of course.

Instead she stood in the shadows at the back of the venue and heckled.

[Gangster Octopus]

Mrs Columbo

And now we'll never see her...

[Bored Of Education]

Mrs Columbo

G-Man wrote: Norm's wife in Cheers is an obvious absentee.

We hear the teacher in the Peanuts, but do we ever see her?

Similarly, Mammy Two Shoes in Tom and Jerry but apparently she appeared full face in, erm, "Saturday Evening Puss"

[Beatle Simon]

Mrs Columbo

MsD wrote:

Did Dolly and/or Cissy Godfrey ever appear in Dad's Army?

I seem to remember one or two of Godfrey's sisters turning up with a dish on one occasion?

Twice, iirc. Once in 'The Battle Of Godfrey's Cottage' and 'Branded'.
I won't spoil the plot of 'Branded', but if you only ever see one episode of 'Dad's Army', thats the one.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Mrs Columbo

The male owner of the voice on the tape at the beginning of each episode of Mission Impossible was never seen (to my knowledge.)

BTW: "Your mission — should you choose to acccept it..." Did they ever say "Nah, don't fancy that one?"