Did Howard Want His Eldest Son Nuked?

[LittleRickyII]

It's bad enough that Chuck completely disappeared starting in S3 and nobody -- not even his family -- every noticed, but it's still just Season 1 when Howard decides to build a bomb shelter for his family. He organizes a drill for the family and insists that everyone participate . . . except Chuck!

[Dr. Thong]

Whatever happened to Chuck Cunningham?

The mystery still remains.

Will it ever be solved?

[antman67]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

It's bad enough that Chuck completely disappeared starting in S3 and nobody -- not even his family -- every noticed, but it's still just Season 1 when Howard decides to build a bomb shelter for his family. He organizes a drill for the family and insists that everyone participate . . . except Chuck!

Good Point! But I think Chuck was at school (college) or some excuse

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...inghamSyndrome
Generally, if writers want to remove a character from their ensemble, they will either kill that character off or put him on a bus (or both) to explain their absence. Sufferers of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, on the other hand, simply disappear into limbo. They will often be retconned right out of the story's history, and everyone still left on-screen will simply carry on as if the character never existed or had any impact on the story. This is sometimes caused by the writers gradually losing interest in the character and, without making a conscious decision to remove them, eventually forget about them entirely. More often, complications behind the scenes drive the decision to remove a character.

[PracTz]

IIRC, Mr. Bosley himself was heard to shout during a taping 'Chuck! Chuck! Where ARE you?' so I don't think the character's subtraction was his idea.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by antman67

Good Point! But I think Chuck was at school (college) or some excuse.

This episode is from the first season. Was Chuck already in college in the first season? I know in the second season he had his own apartment, but even then he was still in Milwaukee. And for crying out loud, this is Howard's son! It shouldn't matter whether he's in college, he should want him in that shelter with the rest of the family.

Early in the episode, Howard made a comment to Richie about Chuck being too busy bouncing his basketball. That seemed to be the excuse to allow him not to participate in the drill. Which is pretty lame.

[mets82]

They made light of it on the Happy Days Reunion show in 2005. They actually had both Chuck's on the show.

[Mr. Television]

Well Chuck insisted that his basketball be allowed in the shelter and when Howard said no, Chuck bowed out. lol

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

Well Chuck insisted that his basketball be allowed in the shelter and when Howard said no, Chuck bowed out. lol

On principle, he didn't participate and things were never the same.

Howard was so distraught by Chuck's betrayal that he not only never spoke of him again, but didn't allow anyone else to, either.

[Torgo]

Both Chucks' bodies are buried in the basement that appears in later seasons.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

On principle, he didn't participate and things were never the same.

Howard was so distraught by Chuck's betrayal that he not only never spoke of him again, but didn't allow anyone else to, either.

[Dr. Thong]

I think it would have been cool in the final episode to have everyone enjoying the reception and then have Marion suddenly become alarmed, going "Howard, look! It's him!"

We then see a distraught Howard, saying "It can't be him!"

Then we go for a close up on....Chuck, who doesn't look happy, with an off-camera Marion exclaiming "It's Chuck!"

Freeze frame and end credits.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

I think it would have been cool in the final episode to have everyone enjoying the reception and then have Marion suddenly become alarmed, going "Howard, look! It's him!"

We then see a distraught Howard, saying "It can't be him!"

Then we go for a close up on....Chuck, who doesn't look happy, with an off-camera Marion exclaiming "It's Chuck!"

Freeze frame and end credits.

I'd watch!

You know, it's so crazy that these sitcoms just wrote characters out like this, in such a lazy way. I'm glad TV shows nowadays handle missing characters so much better.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I'd watch!

You know, it's so crazy that these sitcoms just wrote characters out like this, in such a lazy way. I'm glad TV shows nowadays handle missing characters so much better.

Chuck would probably be a recurring character were the show on today.

I can see why they cut the character; he wasn't necessary and didn't add much to the show. But they could have at least referenced him occasionally or maybe had him guest once a season for the holiday shows.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

Chuck would probably be a recurring character were the show on today.

I can see why they cut the character; he wasn't necessary and didn't add much to the show. But they could have at least referenced him occasionally or maybe had him guest once a season for the holiday shows.

I would have liked that. Watching the show in reruns, the series feels creepy whenever Mrs. or Mr. C mention their "two children". Like they're trying to hide something sinister.

It's cool that Chuck won the TV Land Award in 2008 for the Favorite Character Who Went Missing. I agree there wasn't a whole lot to the character other than him being in college, playing basketball, and eating a lot, but it's so weird: on his first appearance (in Love American Style), Chuck was actually first-billed. Seeing the character whittled down from first-billed to non-existent is a strange experience for the viewer, and it makes me wonder what internal processes caused such a long series of decisions to make Chuck go from major character to "we want you, the viewer, to ignore the fact that this character was once part of the Cunningham family".

Writing out a character can be done with dignity: a farewell episode, a nod to the character in other episodes, a scene where we're told what happened... But the "they never existed" approach is a disservice not just for the character but for the viewer as well.

(So far, I'm quite displeased that that seems to be the direction they're going with The Conners, with Andy and Jerry.)

[DEH55]

I remember seeing a Happy Days Christmas flashback episode where Al mentions Chuck. Does anyone remember this? They flashback to the episode where The Fonz pretends he has plans for Xmas and ends up spending it with The Cunninghams. Al is talking with Chachi I think. It must have been a Holiday special.