Top 10: TVâ€™s Most Invisible Characters

Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 12:08 am

This is from a website called TV Rots Your Mind Grapes.

We hear all about these people (sometimes we actually hear them), yet we never see their faces. What are they hiding? Were they simply impossible to cast? So many questions.

10. Fake George Steinbrenner (voiced by Larry David, featuring the back of Lee Bearâ€™s head), Seinfeld

George Constanza had many an uncomfortable meeting with George Steinbrenner when he began working for the Yankees. We only saw the back of fake Steinbrennerâ€™s head as he yelled in Costanzaâ€™s general direction. Using Larry Davidâ€™s voice was a hilarious decision. The real Steinbrenner once filmed a cameo for the show, but it was cut in favor of the continued back-of-the-head lunacy.

9. Charlie Scully, The X-Files

We got to meet the parents, Mulderâ€™s sister Samantha (in either flashbacks, clone or ghost form anyway), Scullyâ€™s sister Melissa and her brother Bill, but never her brother Charlie. Diehard X-Philes always wanted to know if Charlie was the cool brother or a dick like Bill, but they never got to meet the youngest Scully sibling.

8. Future Ted (voiced by Bob Saget), How I Met Your Mother

We know what Ted looks like today but in 2030, will he look like Bob Saget? He sure sounds like him as he tells his kids the long story of how he met their mother.

7. Orson (voiced by Ralph James), Mork and Mindy

Orson was Morkâ€™s superior from Planet Ork. At the end of each episode, Mork would report back to Orson about what heâ€™s learned about human behavior on Earth. It was during their exchange that we got to hear the Orkan greeting â€œNa-Nu Na-Nu!â€

6. The adults, any Charlie Brown special

WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH! Isnâ€™t it strange that Charlie Brown and his little friends had such crappy adult supervision? When their parents or teachers were around, they were really non-communicative.

5. Wilson (played by Earl Hindman), Home Improvement

Tim Allen, the star of Home Improvement, claims that the character of Wilson was inspired by a next-door neighbor of his from childhood. Little Allen was too short to see the neighborâ€™s face over the fence. We were able to see Wilsonâ€™s eyes and forehead and hear Hindmanâ€™s voice, but never his whole face. Many jokes were made about this over the course of the series.

4. Diane, Twin Peaks

When Special Agent Dale Cooper stepped into the town of Twin Peaks to solve the murder of Laura Palmer, he often made notes into a tape recorder addressed to someone named Diane. We were never really sure if she was with the FBI, his assistant, or just plain non-existent. But we do know thisâ€¦in the Twin Peaks drinking game, when Cooper talks to Diane, take a shot!

3. Vera Peterson, Cheers

One couldnâ€™t help wondering what kind of woman would marry barfly Norm Peterson. The mystery grew bigger each time Norm would sidle up to his stool at Cheers and rant about his wife. We were only treated to glimpses of Veraâ€™s legs and one time, her face covered in pie filling.

2. Maris Crane, Frasier

Frasier was a spinoff of Cheers and perhaps they borrowed the idea of an elusive, never-seen wife from its parent show. She was almost a main character in the first few seasons since she was discussed so often. Several episodes were dedicated to her and Nilesâ€™ failing marriage. We know that sheâ€™s pale and thin, and once we saw her silhouette though a shower curtain but itâ€™s otherwise hard to conjure up a mental image of such an eccentric woman.

1. Charlie (voiced by John Forsythe), Charlieâ€™s Angels

â€œGood morning, Charlie!â€ As owner of the Charles Townsend Agency for private investigation, Charlie gave orders to his team via speaker phone. It may have been all about Farrah Fawcett and her legendary feathered hair, but there would have been no â€œangelsâ€ without Charlie.