Favorite Minor Characters

Who are your favorite minor characters (and no I am not referring to the "supporting characters" such as Phil, Harold, Sid and Rhonda if anyone is wondering)? I really like Lorenzo and I also like Park as well (I think they're my favorite minor characters).

I think I'd also go with Lorenzo, I like that he's latino and I sort of wish he'd gotten more time with the other kids throughout the show. I know he gets his own episode and shares another with Sid but I can't recall much of him other than those two.

Mony wrote:I think I'd also go with Lorenzo, I like that he's latino and I sort of wish he'd gotten more time with the other kids throughout the show. I know he gets his own episode and shares another with Sid but I can't recall much of him other than those two.

Same! It really baffles me to be honest that Lila became a supporting character just to replace Ruth (I think because since Lacey moved on to do The Wild Thornberrys) and Lorenzo looks like he actually could have been a character with development but just got reduced down as a background character after his 2 episodes and after that he just appeared alongside the supporting characters with no purpose (like running in terror from Wolfgang in "Suspended", being on the playground and at the assemblies occasionally, and I think the biggest offender was his appearance was "Deconstructing Arnold" because there it looked like he could have been the other major problem in the episode, because Sid has to deal with Lorenzo and his phone, and Rhonda and Curly, and I'm a bit baffled why Lorenzo didn't get the same amount of screen time as Curly in it, Curly had like at least 2 minutes in the episode and Lorenzo like 10 seconds just to show him seeing Sid destroy his phone on accident and him being angry, like why couldn't we see him get back from his vacation and Sid being paranoid about it and some conversation with Sid and Lorenzo about the phone? Like that makes a bit more sense for his purpose in his episode other than that one scene).

(I don't know if Arnold Betrays Iggy is to blame but then again his voice actor Victor could have gone through puberty but he was like 12 years old or something and Park stayed despite not doing any other voiceover for Park after Cool Party and he hung out around S4 as well because one of Anndi's Hey Arnold cast photos that she posted on her site showed Marcus was around during S4, yeah I know I'm going off topic with all this stuff, sorry about that), and yeah I do like that he's latino as well.

Haha oh man, ya. Even though Lila became a supporting character they still didn't really use her as well as they could have. Like, the whole love interest thing went on way too long and imo just made Arnold look bad. They could have done so much more with her character but didn't. But ya, Lorenzo pretty much fell off the face of the earth which sucks because I always love when there's latino characters in shows since I'm Mexican myself and it's nice to see.

SHEENA'S UNCLE EARL.

Also Rex Smythe-Higgins III and Connie and Maria. I know we were supposed to get a Robert episode at some point, but like... we already have so many main/secondary dude characters, it'd be nice to if some of the lesser known girls got some spotlight. Siobhan is a big one, because she's actually pretty relevant in one of the books!

LeSkuh wrote:SHEENA'S UNCLE EARL.

Also Rex Smythe-Higgins III and Connie and Maria.  I know we were supposed to get a Robert episode at some point, but like... we already have so many main/secondary dude characters, it'd be nice to if some of the lesser known girls got some spotlight.  Siobhan is a big one, because she's actually pretty relevant in one of the books!

WAIT ROBERT WAS SUPPOSED TO GET HIS OWN EPISODE (he's more of a background character to me but I'm really shocked)? Where did you hear about this?

Old interview, I think? They'd apparently thrown around an ep idea of him starring and having a crush on Rhonda. My guess is because everyone and their mother already had a crush on Rhonda, it sort of made the concept redundant.

Oooh yes!!! Maria!!! I fucking loved Maria 'Hey vato, why don't you come over HERE?"

Mony wrote:Oooh yes!!! Maria!!! I fucking loved Maria 'Hey vato, why don't you come over HERE?"

I was always bummed that Phoebe Skips played Maria and Connie as villains. I mean, I guess they started out that way in their debut episode, but they also really seemed to genuinely like Gerald and Arnold.

Ya :/ Like they both turned out to be pretty decent by the end of the six grade girls episode. It sucks they played that role in Phoebe Skips.

Can I just adopt Maria and Lorenzo as my children and pretend they were given better roles in the show.

LeSkuh wrote:

Mony wrote:Oooh yes!!! Maria!!! I fucking loved Maria 'Hey vato, why don't you come over HERE?"

I was always bummed that Phoebe Skips played Maria and Connie as villains.  I mean, I guess they started out that way in their debut episode, but they also really seemed to genuinely like Gerald and Arnold.

LeSkuh wrote:Old interview, I think?  They'd apparently thrown around an ep idea of him starring and having a crush on Rhonda.  My guess is because everyone and their mother already had a crush on Rhonda, it sort of made the concept redundant.

Yeah I did like Connie & Maria in their first appearance, and when I watched Phoebe Skips yeah I was also bummed and it was a bit weird, like why couldn't those 2 boys be the antagonists of Phoebe Skips? Because to be honest Connie and Maria were kind of neutral in their first appearance.

Also about the Robert thing that would have been interesting and I would have liked to see how it would have gone because Curly is a creep and Rhonda's a bit of a jerk to Harold (and Harold is more into Patty and I see that), but Robert we don't know anything about him and that's why I think it could have been interesting (also I hope this wasn't meant to be the early concept of "Curly's Girl" where it's Robert instead of the obvious). Also I really wonder what interview you heard this from. Also (off topic) I don't know if I should have asked the thing about Lorenzo being reduced down when I sent a question to Craig for Arun's upcoming podcast.

Remind me again who Robert is, my mind is a blank.

Mony wrote:Remind me again who Robert is, my mind is a blank.

This kid

He was voiced by 3 people (Christopher Castile, Justin & Sam. Justin voiced him in one episode but it was in the background but you can see Robert speak with Justin's voice, and Sam voiced him in Hey Harold) and he's just a background character like I said (also he appeared alongside Arnold, Gerald and Stinky in Benchwarmer).

it's one of the written interviews, i'm pretty sure or like something in one of the old chats? i'd love to source it but i admit to not feeling up to sorting through all the old chats haha

LeSkuh wrote:it's one of the written interviews, i'm pretty sure or like something in one of the old chats?  i'd love to source it but i admit to not feeling up to sorting through all the old chats haha

Alright thanks (yeah I guess you don't have to source it and I can see why)!

i think that'd be a really good project though. going through old q&a's and chat logs with craig/franny/etc and organizing questions and answers. Would take awhile...

Sounds good then, but I found the interview with the Robert stuff (but I still wonder how that would have went and I don't know if it would have been better than Rhonda/Curly or Rhonda/Harold or about as bad as the former), but the thread now is becoming a "HEY THAT ONE BACKGROUND CHARACTER WHO WE NEVER CARED FOR WAS GOING TO BE IN LOVE WITH RHONDA? LET'S TALK ABOUT THE INTERVIEWS" topic now, so I think we should probably get back on topic.

I like Uncle Earl, he's funny.. I love the part in Crabby Author where Arnold is so bummed that Agatha was mean to him and on the way back, Earl is like "wanna hear a sea story?" and Arnold just says "no..." in such a bummed way, haha

BC1096 wrote:I like Uncle Earl, he's funny.. I love the part in Crabby Author where Arnold is so bummed that Agatha was mean to him and on the way back, Earl is like "wanna hear a sea story?" and Arnold just says "no..." in such a bummed way, haha

Yeah! Earl is pretty funny!

Haha yea, I also found it funny that he didn't know how to swim, in the "Buses Bikes and Subways" episode, after Harold pulled the plug on the boat.. you'd think spending most of his time on a boat that he'd know how to...

I read more of the interview after one of the wiki users removed my edit of Robert having a crush (after I found out from Leskuh) and he was actually going to have a makeover and I don't know if that would have hinted at a crush.

For me... it's probably Ernie.

His first episode in season one is oddly touching considering he can be irritable and has a hair-trigger temper... he asks Arnold if he wants to take part in his 500th demolition because it's a company tradition that the son sits in the wrecking crane with their father on that milestone.  The fact he considers Arnold close enough to be a son (especially after he says "I never did find the right woman") makes you really feel for him... despite any flaws he may have it shows he is still human and wants to share affection. I really wish there were more Ernie/Arnold episodes to expand on this, since I've always envisioned him as a bit of an uncle figure to Arnold.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, I'm starting to really appreciate how Craig fleshed out the adult characters - they aren't just plot devices, they actually have some personality.  Some days, I see a lot of myself in Ernie... I'm, admittedly, selfish and can be stubborn with a temper, but in my heart I always mean well and wish no ill will on anyone.  Even though I don't want kids, in the back of mind I always wonder if I'll meet "the right woman" because of my personality... I will say this, I'll be the absolute best uncle possible when my sister has a baby.

Well, this got quite a bit deeper than I thought it would... but it's a concern when someone gets older.  I'm sure anyone who has entered their 30s (or is coming close) can relate to having some self-doubt from time to time.

heh, yea, I kinda know what you mean there.. but yea, I like Ernie, as high-strung as he can be sometimes, he's still a great guy.. You know I think it's kinda funny how Arnold callls him "Mr Potts", living in the same house all the time you think he'd just call him Ernie..

Probably the #1 thing I like best about Ernie is that he's voiced by comedian Dom Irrera

BC1096 wrote:heh, yea, I kinda know what you mean there.. but yea, I like Ernie, as high-strung as he can be sometimes, he's still a great guy.. You know I think it's kinda funny how Arnold callls him "Mr Potts", living in the same house all the time you think he'd just call him Ernie..

Probably the #1 thing I like best about Ernie is that he's voiced by comedian Dom Irrera

Of course! And since he's from Philly, I'm sure you like that even more! It's like when I learn of a famous person who comes Sudbury - so far, most famous is Alex Trebek the host of Jeopardy Then we have hockey players like Todd Bertuzzi, Derek Mackenize, Rebecca Johnston, Randy Carlyle and Al Arbour (an uncle of one of my coworkers who was was gutted by the news).

EDIT: Just learned a Sudburian is the GM of the LA Dodgers - Farhan Zaidi... WUT LOL

haha, yes, I definitley do