Unseen character

Television shows and stage plays sometimes include continuing characters — characters who are currently in frequent interaction with the other characters and who influence current story events — who are never seen or heard by the audience and only described by other characters. Often this starts as or evolves into a running gag or inside joke. Radio shows and plays also feature characters who never speak, and books feature characters who are merely referred to.

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Unseen characters in television

Hidden characters appear in all varieties of fiction, but their prevalence is in televised programs. These can run for much longer than a movie or play (which usually last only a couple of hours), and unseen characters can take on special qualities. There are several levels of "unseenness." The most complete is never seen, only mentioned (sometimes pointed to, off screen), like Niles' wife Maris on Frasier. This means that any qualities of the character are only in the form of descriptions given by the other characters. The second most complete is heard but not seen. This allows the character to speak for him or herself, but allows the viewers to construct their own image of what the character looks like. After that are partially seen characters, such as Dr. Claw in Inspector Gadget, the only part of whom ever shown was his mechanical arms. Other parts of characters can be shown, like many adult supporting characters in cartoons, who are only ever shown from the waist down to bring the perspective on the child-size stars, the typical example was Mammy Two-Shoes in Tom and Jerry. The Cow and Chicken show parodies this particular convention of unseen characters with the characters of Mom and Dad, whose bodies actually have no upper half.

The best known unseen character in British television was Elizabeth, the wife of Captain Mainwaring, the main character in Dad’s Army; not showing her added a touch of whimsical fantasy to the programme. In Are You Being Served? the action almost never left the department store, so the odd mention of the characters’ lives outside the store tended to include unseen characters. The scriptwriters Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais included a large number of minor unseen characters in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? and Porridge, in the form of people the leading characters had known earlier in their lives who were mentioned briefly.

Just Shoot Me! probably retains the record for most unseen characters on a traditional sitcom: seven. Characters regularly spoken about (or to, via telephone) included Jack's wife, Ally, and his daughter, Hannah; Maya's mother (and Jack's ex-wife), Eve; Nina's best friend, Binnie; Elliot's negligent father; ubiquitous office worker Baxter; and Donald Trump, with whom Jack had several long-running feuds. (Most of these characters eventually appear briefly.)

Television programs

Heard but never seen

On the Batman TV series, the voice of Bonnie, who's the unseen (and even uncredited) secretary of Gotham City Police Headquarters, is often heard through the intercom in Commissioner Gordon's office.
Throughout the run of Australian police drama Matlock Police, all the regular characters communicated with radio operator Shirl. Her voice was regularly heard by viewers over the radio, yet she was never seen. In the show's final episode the radio signal broke up and the camera cut to a shot of her for the first time. However the actor shown, Margaret Cruikshank, had not actually provided Shirl's voice in earlier episodes.
Peg's mother (voice of Kathleen Freeman) in Married... with Children. According to Al's criticism of her, she is grotesquely obese. Twice viewers have heard her shake herself dry (creating an impromptu earthquake) and nearly crumbled the foundation of the house for trying to turn (pieces of the ceiling fell for clues) . Plus, at the end of one episode, the viewer sees a giant shadow coming at Al & his friends (with Al shaking his fist at her, irritated).
All adults in Peanuts comic strip and most of the animated specials (they speak unintelligibly, their voices emulated by a muted trombone). In some of the earliest drawn cartoons, however, they could be seen speaking intelligibly, and occasionally appeared in partial or full figure (see the strips from May 23 and 30, 1953).
The P.A. operator who announced the arrival of helicopters carrying wounded soldiers and other camp-wide announcements in the episodes of M*A*S*H.
John Beresford Tipton (voice of Paul Frees) in The Millionaire; only the back of his head, seated in a chair, was ever shown.
White Fang and Black Tooth in The Soupy Sales Show (seen as hand gloves of a dog paw, worn by Clyde Adler, who also supplied their voices).
Magic Voice, in Mystery Science Theater 3000 (presumably a computer).
The Thing Upstairs in The Trap Door.
Orson, Mork's boss who he reported to at the end of every episode, in Mork & Mindy.
Al, the cook at "Al's Wait & Eat", in ReBoot.
Margaret, Roy the shopkeeper's wife, in Little Britain.
Mr. Shotz, the boss of Shotz Brewery, in Laverne and Shirley. His voice is heard over the loudspeaker.
Dirty Joe in The Cramp Twins.
Ludwig Von Drake's mother in Von Drake cartoons.
Dr. Kahn, the director of Camp Anawana, in Salute Your Shorts, is heard over the PA system nearly every episode but is never seen. The characters, who also seem to have never seen him either, sometimes muse about what he might look like.
Roger Bender's overbearing wife Ruth in Now and Again (voiced by an uncredited Christine Baranski).
Morganna from .hack//Sign and .hack in general is also known as "The Voice," which seems to come from nowhere. It is later hinted that she is actually The World's environment.
The Mysterons in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
During the first two seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise, a mysterious figure from a distant century (dubbed "Future Guy" by fans) is heard but never completely seen in several episodes dealing with the Temporal Cold War, and his identity is never revealed.
In the original TV series Mission: Impossible, the unidentified government official who gives Mr. Briggs (later Mr. Phelps) his assignment via self-destructing audio tapes and other devices.
Robin Masters (Orson Welles) the owner of Robin's Nest where Magnum lived on Magnum P.I. was never seen in the course of the show, although his voice was heard briefly on an answering machine. In the final episode, it is implied that Higgins is really Masters.
Danny, a resident of Sunnyvale Trailer Park, in Trailer Park Boys, who can be heard often yelling out the profane exclamation "What in the fuck!?" even during scenes where he can not possibly be present.
In some episodes of Megas XLR, we hear the voice of Coop's mom, and she's not seen.
Chloe Montez in The Weekenders.
Ted, Josh Radnor's character's older self in 2030, voiced by Bob Saget on the new CBS show How I Met Your Mother.
Alma Borland, Al's mother on Home Improvement.
In the Finnish TV Series Pulkkinen the show's head character Pulkkinen accuses his friend Koponen of doing mistakes or various things Pulkkinen himself had done. Koponen is never seen by the audience.
Carlton the Doorman in Rhoda (voiced by Lorenzo Music). (However, Carlton was once seen in animated form in the 1980 cartoon special Carlton Your Doorman.)
In 2005, the NBC soap opera Passions (which has produced a number of unseen characters over the years) introduced a mysterious female character dressed in a white fur coat and most specifically, painted red fingernails. Her identity has yet to be revealed to viewers, but interacting characters do get to view her, much the same as Alistair Crane was portrayed before his face was revealed. Not much is known about the character, other than she knows all about the residents of Harmony and has a strong dislike for Alistair Crane.
Cobra Commander from GI JOE had most of his face eventually revealed in the Marvel comic book series, and in the animated GI JOE film. However, the face of Destro was only revealed in the comic book series.
The village announcer heard over the public address system in The Prisoner, voiced by Fenella Fielding but uncredited.
Tabitha's Cat, Fluffy, on Passions.
In Deal or No Deal (UK), the Banker - who gives Noel Edmonds his bids for the contestant's box is never seen and often never heard. On occasions, Noel has held the telephone up to his microphone and we have heard the Banker laughing and many contestants have spoken directly to the banker.
Mr. Lawrence, the school principal on Degrassi Junior High, is always heard on the P.A. announcements, and occasionally when speaking to students as they're leaving his office.
The radio announcer on Gilligan's Island, performed by an uncredited Charles Maxwell, provided many plot-specific newscasts, but was never seen.
"The General" from Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (his arm can sometimes be seen reaching through Dastardly's telephone receiver to inflict discipline)
Carlton, the restaurant owner in Kerching! is heard in every episode speaking to his employees through speakers but is never shown on camera.
Gonard's Mother on Kappa Mikey. She lives in Gonard's apartment, but is never seen. Her voice is heard on two seperate occasions.
The Super Dave Band on The Super Dave Osborne Show. They're always heard playing the opening music, but when it comes time for them to appear on camera, they're always somehow doing a bar mitzvah, and send out a Jamaican steel drum band in their place, who only know how to play the Barry Manilow song "Copacabana".

Neither seen nor heard

(may be partially seen on rare occasions)

Abigail, in Mike Leigh's play Abigail's Party.
Roger, who is Nancy Olsen's boyfriend she often talks about on The Facts of Life.
Chief Strategist Otsuka and the other six members of the Big Nine in the anime Giant Robo. It is made clear that Taiso and Chief Chujo are members of the Big Nine and so is Chief Strategist Otsuka however we never see Otsuka and are told nothing of the other members of the group. This is in stark contrast to the fact that we meet all ten of the Big Nine's rival group The Magnificient Ten.
Gloria, Summer's stepmother (or "stepmonster") on The O.C.. Eventually Gloria divorces Summer's father in season three.
Ira Rosenberg, Willow's father on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Captain Nathan Bridger's son, Robert Bridger, who had originally been believed to be dead in the pilot episode of seaQuest DSV, is later revealed to have faked his death and goes on to have a son named Michael; who later is taken into the custody of Nathan.
Shirley's new husband, Walter Meanie, whom she married at the beginning of the 8th and final season of Laverne and Shirley. He was only seen fully covered up like a mummy in the hospital where the wedding was held. Never spoke. Just blinked when it was his turn to say "I Do". And the actor who portrayed him was uncredited.
Norm Peterson's wife Vera on Cheers. She was once heard when Sam tried to stay at Norm's on the couch and Norm nearly returned to his marital bed. She appeared in the Thanksgiving episode, but her face was covered in an errantly thrown pie from the food fight.
Captain Mainwaring's wife Elizabeth in Dad's Army. We did hear her footsteps on one occasion. Also a pronounced downward 'bulge' is seen in the mattress above Cpt. Mainwaring when they are sleeping in an air-raid shelter, presumably her large rear end.
The Ditmeyer family, neighbors to the Bradys, in The Brady Bunch, were frequently mentioned but never seen. Only Mr. Ditmeyer's face was shown briefly in one episode. In The Brady Bunch Movie all of the Ditmeyers were shown (they were the stereotypical dysfunctional American family). Mr. Ditmeyer was the film's villain.
Karen's husband, Stan, on Will & Grace. All we ever see of him is his feet when they are in the bath when Karen gets a call from Grace, and his hands when Karen and Will are working on legal issues in the islands. He is obese and has worn a toupee since his teens. Over the course of the series, Stan has been jailed, taken a mistress (Lorraine Finster), died, and then revealed that he faked his death.
Crystal Leslie, wife of Beverley Leslie, the arch rival of Karen Walker on Will & Grace. It is implied that Crystal is much older than Beverley and uses a wheelchair. Beverley, a closeted homosexual who has a relationship with a male "business associate," apparently married Crystal only for her money (she is extremely wealthy), and it is implied that he has tried to expedite her death (Crystal eventually dies during season 8).
Lord Southwold, Lady Marjorie's father, in Upstairs Downstairs.
Mabell Hefner, Barney's first wife on All in the Family. She was rarely mentioned from 1974 until late in 1976 when she left Barney. They divorced and Barney married again in 1977.
Ned Shimmelfinny, Doc's neighbor on Fraggle Rock.
Admiral Hunter, leader of the United Earth Expeditionary Force in Robotech. Scott Bernard made frequent reference to him in the New Generation segment of Robotech and Admiral Hunter is, of course a much older version of Rick Hunter, the main character from the Macross segment. As the three original segments of the show were originally unrelated anime series, this was simply one of the ways the show was re-written to tie the three shows together. The upcoming Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles series is expected to show the older Rick Hunter.
Al, of Al's Pancake World, in Gilmore Girls.
Maris Crane, wife, and later ex-wife, of Niles Crane, in Frasier. While the producers once planned to reveal her, the list of Maris's unusual attributes and characteristics became so long that — despite plotlines as far-reaching as a murder — Maris was ultimately kept off screen. She is reported to have changed from excessively thin to excessively obese.
Muriel Yates, wife of Derek Yates, in Me and My Girl.
Lewis Wyborn, husband of head nurse Margaret in Becker.
Bob Sacamano, Kramer's friend, in Seinfeld.
Lomez, Kramer's friend, in Seinfeld.
Beavis and Butt-head meet their fathers in Beavis and Butt-head Do America; however, their mothers are never seen and are only referred to as sluts.
Cousin Jeffrey, Jerry's never-seen cousin, whom Uncle Leo was always raving about, in Seinfeld. He worked for the NY Parks Department. He once got Jerry tickets to a Paul Simon concert, and a glasses-less George once claimed to see Jeffrey kissing Jerry's girlfriend. It turned out to be a horse.
'Er Indoors, Arthur Daley's wife, in Minder.
Mrs Axelby, Mrs Slocombe's friend, in Are You Being Served?
Iola Boyland's mother and father (referred to as "Mother" and "Daddy," respectively) in Mama's Family.
Carl Harper, Thelma's husband in the Mama's Family sketches on The Carol Burnett Show. He was always in the bathroom. He was deceased by the time Mama's Family premiered, and was only mentioned.
Diane, Agent Cooper's secretary, in Twin Peaks. (Until Fire Walk With Me was released, some people theorised that Diane was the name of his dictophone!)
Sheridan, Hyacinth Bucket's son, in Keeping Up Appearances.
Truly's and Clegg's ex-wives in Last of the Summer Wine.
Kimmy Gibbler's family on Full House. D. J. mentioned Kimmy having 3 sisters on the pilot episode. Also mentioned was a brother named Garth, as well as her parents.
Mrs. Columbo, wife of Lieutenant Columbo, in Columbo. (A spin-off series entitled Mrs. Columbo was not endorsed by the makers of the original; later plot divergences in the spinoff indicated that this Mrs. Columbo was not actually Lieutenant Columbo's spouse.)
Marion and Geoff in Marion and Geoff. (In the series, the only character who appears is Keith, the pathetically optimistic ex-husband of Marion, and still best friend of Geoff who is now Marion's husband. However, an extended prequel, A Small Summer Party, was later made in which Marion and Geoff do both appear.)
Naota Nandaba's older brother Tasuku in FLCL.
Phantom Dennis, a ghost, in Angel (does appear on-screen, but is invisible and inaudible).
Consuela, Suzanne Sugarbaker's housekeeper, in Designing Women.
Kitty Chumley, Sir Bernard Chumley's sister, in Little Britain.
Father Bigley, who had many physical abnormalities described in passing over the course of several episodes of Father Ted. He was deliberately created as a composite for the viewer.
Local fisherman "Bucket", on SeaChange. He possibly has several artificial limbs, and definitely has a body odor problem. He is also constantly involved in practical jokes and scams.
Beverley Macca, the ex-girlfriend of Dave, in 'The Royle Family.
Duckers, a strange and dodgey character that lives in the neighbourhood in The Royle Family
Carol, Alan's wife, in I'm Alan Partridge.
Also in I'm Alan Partridge, Fernando and Denise, Alan's children.
Won Ton, the hospital chief, in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
The ship's chef in Star Trek: Enterprise (only his legs and hands were ever shown). (Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker posed as Chef in a holodeck simulation during the final episode of the series.)
Mrs Alf Ventress in Heartbeat.
Tibor, Homer's scapegoat at the powerplant, in The Simpsons.
Joan Mavis Trotter, Del Boy's beloved mother, in Only Fools and Horses. Del often recalls his Mum giving 'advice' to his brother Rodney, although this is usually to bribe Rodney into doing something dodgy. We hear an overvoice of Del's mum in the episode "Time on our Hands".
Also on Only Fools and Horses, Monkey Harris and Paddy the Greek, both mentioned as contacts of Del.
The Gooch, Arnold Jackson's long-time nemesis, in Diff'rent Strokes (although his growl was heard over the phone in the second season episode "Return of the Gooch).
Charlie, the proprietor of Charlie's Restaurant, in Sesame Street. In a long-running series of sketches, Grover works at Charlie's Restaurant as a waiter who always gives poor service to a blue Muppet known as "Fat Blue".
Bluster Kong's mother in Donkey Kong Country.
The Council in the first season of War of the Worlds, with whom their earthbound counterparts, the Advocacy, always made frequent contact (mainly to inform them of their positive progress).
Danny from The X-Files. A friend of Fox Mulder who provides information and runs various background checks.
Phil Petrillo, son to Sophia Petrillo and brother to Dorothy Zbornak on the Golden Girls. Phil is often referred to as a cross-dresser who lives with his wife and many kids in a trailer park in New Jersey.
Although he is desceased, Rose Nylund's husband Charlie Nylund was never seen even in flashbacks, as was Sofia's and Blanche's husbands, on The Golden Girls.
Captain Boday on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was talked about in many episodes, usually in conversations between Kira Nerys and Jadzia Dax. Dax went out on a date with him at least once, which Kira found repulsive due to Boday's transparent skull.
Ensign Vilix'pran on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was talked about in many episodes, usually because he was budding (having babies) and needed larger quarters. Vilix'pran was nonhumanoid, and the writers continued adding exotic features to his unidentified species each time he or his offspring were described (for instance, a mention that his babies had "little wings").
Felix was a holoprogrammer and good friend of Julian Bashir who programmed Julian Bashir, Secret Agent and Vic Fontaine's Las Vegas lounge in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
The mother of Nick Swainey, neighbour to Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave - a clear reference to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Mrs Warboys' husband Chris was another unseen character from this show.
Detective Quandt's superior on Ein Mord für Quandt (a German detective show).
Maureen, the supposed wife of Leslie Norris, the absent-minded barman from Harry Enfield's Television Programme. Leslie is forgetful to the point that he is frequently reminded that he isn't married, often after he has hailed his good lady wife to assist him in the running of the normally empty bar.
The Prime Minister, the head of the British government in Yes, Minister, eventually succeeded by Jim Hacker for Yes, Prime Minister
Mr. Butsavich, Doug's principal, in Doug.
Principal John Lazarus, in Welcome Back, Kotter.
Hugo Southwold on Upstairs Downstairs.
Vern, neighbour of Ernest P. Worrell, in the various "Ernest" productions. (The original Ernest commercials were shot from Vern's first-person viewpoint, with Ernest speaking directly to the camera while addressing Vern.)
Mrs. Raven's triplets in My Hero. She is sometimes seen arguing with them over the phone.
Larry Mondello's father and sister in Leave It to Beaver. His mother often mentions his father as being out of town on business; his sister is less often mentioned, but is also never seen.
Edna, the on-and-off girlfriend of Antonio, in the sitcom Wings. She supposedly has an unusually large face, which is always mentioned when she is referred to and earns her the moniker "the big-faced girl". The closest we ever come to seeing her is once when Antonio is talking to her and she remains silent, off-camera; other characters walk by and react to her strangely proportioned face.
Numerous characters in Samson en Gert: Bobientje, Marlèneke, Jean-Louis Michel, Fred Kroket, Alberto's mother, Marie, Boer Teun and Basil.
Chloe Montez in The Weekenders, often mentioned as getting herself into all sorts of trouble.
Lennie Briscoe's ex-wives in Law & Order, often mentioned by him.
Lars Lindstrom, husband of Phyllis, in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. When the character of Phyllis got her own spin-off show, the pilot episode revolved around the death of Lars.
Fred Sanford's deceased wife, Elizabeth, in Sanford and Son.
Heather Sinclair is frequently mentioned on Degrassi: The Next Generation but has never actually been seen or heard, a fact that is one of the show's running jokes.
Tammy, Ricky's mother and Ray's ex-wife, in Trailer Park Boys.
Jonathan, inspector Lea Sommer's boyfriend, in the German detective series Die Kommissarin.
Eddy's brother, in Ed, Edd n Eddy. Best known for achieving everything Eddy miserably fails at on a constant basis. Feared by many kids of the cul-de-sac. Other unseen characters include Rolf's parents and Nana, Ed's mother, their teacher and principal, Double D's parents, and Gerta.
Barney Fife's occasional fling, Juanita, in The Andy Griffith Show. She is spoken to by Barney (but never heard) in telephone conversations, usually overheard by Andy or Opie to Barney's chagrin.
Sarah, the Mayberry telephone operator, also in The Andy Griffith Show.
Dan the Van, in Chucklevision.
Michael Ellis, the continually-mentioned titular character of a Monty Python's Flying Circus episode. Throughout the episode, Eric Idle is continually mistaken for this person, but Ellis himself is never seen.
Joe Kaplan's Wife, Gladys, on Our House.
Deirdre Birchwood, Bob's ex-girlfriend in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, references to her became a running gag in the first series.
Mick Belker's mother on Hill Street Blues. He spoke to her on the phone in almost every episode in the first seasons, but she was never seen.
Brad and Tuck Carbunkle's parents on My Life as a Teenage Robot.
Chris' mother on Kenan and Kel.
Tino, supplier of Chinese food to Rayanne & Rickie, on My So-Called Life.
In Zoids: Fuzors, RD's father, Harris, is often mentioned. He never appears on screen and in flashbacks or photos of him, his face is allways obscured. Its not even clear if harris is his first or last name.
Tracy, the late wife of Michael Bluth (as well as George Michael Bluth's mother) on Arrested Development. She and Michael were married in 1989. Tracy died of ovarian cancer before the events of the show. She is alluded to often, but despite the show's frequent use of flashbacks, she has never been shown onscreen.
The American television series Hogan's Heroes (set in a German stalag during World War Two) retroactively acquired an unseen unheard character when the series was dubbed into German for transmission on German television. The dialogue was rewritten to make frequent references to Kelinka, the sexy chambermaid who attends to the quarters of Colonel Klink, the stalag's commandant. Kelinka was never mentioned in the dialogue of the original series. Kelinka is not the same character as Fraulein Hilda, Colonel Klink's sexy secretary, who appeared onscreen in many episodes.
All parents in the children's series Charlie and Lola are never seen even though children say sentences like "Mom took us to the park."
Ranjit in The Smoking Room.
Dr. Bob Kelso's wife, Enid, in the series Scrubs is never seen, although he constantly complains about her. She apparently is obese and unattractive.
Gus, an oddball resident of the trailer park where Julie Cooper and her daughters live during part of season three of The O.C..
Dominic "The Old Man" DiMeo on The Sopranos. He is mentioned in several episodes as being the former boss of the DiMeo Crime family (now Soprano family) prior to his indictiment. He was arrested in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison in 1997.
In the show Animaniacs, a character named Colin occasionally speaks to the audience and tells improbable stories about his friend Randy Beaman, who may or may not really exist.
Many named or unnamed teachers, principals, bosses, and other fellow classmates and co-workers people talk about on various shows.
Steve Urkel's parents on Family Matters.
Warren's therapist in This Life.
Suzanne Sugarbaker's maid Consuela on Designing Women.
Little Pussy on The Sopranos. It is mentioned in the first episode that there are two Pussies, and they are referred to as big and little to differentiate between the two of them. Uncle Junior intends to kill Little Pussy in the first episode. Little Pussy's last name was Malanga. In season 6, Junior suffers from dementia and thinks that Pussy Malanga is stealing his money and breaking into his home, causing him to shoot Tony
The family of Dame Edna Everage: Husband Norm, daughter Valmai, and sons Bruce and Kenneth.
Mrs. Roper's mother on Three's Company. She becomes a regular character in the spinoff The Ropers
Foxxy Love's son Timmy on Drawn Together. Foxxy mentions Timmy many times, each time implying a different tragic fate he supposedly suffered. The child's true fate is unknown.
In the 29th Series of CBBC school drama Grange Hill, students Abel Benson and Patrick 'Togger' Johnson talked about their girlfriends, the Marsham Twins. The twins never appeared throughout the series but were referenced to in almost every episode.
On The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, the hotel owner Mr. Tipton is often talked about by London and Mr. Moesby, and London is seen talking to him on the phone, but has yet to appear on the show.
Also on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, London has referenced her friend, Portia Tenanbaum, as being just as rich, spoiled, and dumb as she is on numerous occasions.
Sparky, on M*A*S*H, the army operator through whom Radar connects calls.
Carole's twins on The Brittas Empire. While her older child Ben was seen on rare occasions, the twins never were.
Many friends and relatives on The Brady Bunch:
- Carol's Aunt Martha, who sent her the Totem Pole.
- Oliver's Parents, Jack and Pauline.
- Mrs. Denton, Marcia's teacher, whom she supposedly drew a picture of in the episode "The Slumber Caper."
- Alice's 2 sisters.
- Carol's cousin Gertrude, who was getting married in the episode "The Teeter Totter Caper."
Ted Bullpit kept two greyhounds in Kingswood Country, but although the dogs were referenced frequently, they were never seen.
The Red Green Show has numerous unseen, but regularly mentioned characters, including Stinky Peterson, Junior Singleton, Moose Thompson, Buster Hadfield, Old Man Sedgwick, Flinty McLintock, Wally "Kickback" Kibbler (Red's rival in high school and the mayor of Possum Lake), and Red's wife Bernice.
Louis, from the Becker show. He is Margaret's husband and is mentioned frequently, but never seen.
Goodnight Sweetheart contained two such characters; PC Reg Dedman's wife Minnie in the early series, and Yvonne Sparrow's business partner Clive in the later series.
Dr. Wilson's wife in House is often mentioned, but has never been seen.
Laverne's husband, who later divorces her, on Empty Nest.
Hooper triplets, with Fonzie said several times he has a date with (all of) them in Happy Days.
Dick Cunningham, Howard's brother, and father of K. C. on Happy Days.
Marion Cunningham's brother, who is the father of Roger and Flip on Happy Days.
'Gyro Jim' a trickster and con-artist from the show Early Doors. His exploits are often mentioned by characters (a classic example being when he works at a cinema, he places the letters on the sign for Clint Eastwood, but sticks the 'l' and 'i' too close together, persumably speling cunt).
Emma Gibson, the woman who was sent to the hospital after using Jabot's tainted moisturizing cream, then who later died, on The Young and the Restless, March-April 2006.
Cousin Oscar, who entered the Bunker household in desperate need and stayed over for three weeks until he died on Archie's bed, prompting Archie to give a funeral, on All in the Family.
Michael Baldwin's Father on The Young and the Restless. His step-father, and Kevin's Father, Tom Fisher, was introduced in 2005 after a year of references.
"The Leader" that the visitors are always talking about on V
Miss Mountshaft, leader of Margot's Music Society, often joked about by Tom and Barbara, in The Good Life.

Heard but never completely seen

Dr. Peter Brady, in the 1958 TV-Series The Invisible Man. Although the main character, his face and body are never fully revealed during the whole series since he is, quite naturally, invisible.
Carlton, the doorman on Rhoda (You sometimes saw parts of his body, but never his face. Once you could see his whole body, but his face was covered by a gorilla mask. Additionally, a cartoon version of Carlton was seen in a 1980 animated television special).
Mindy's mother (face never shown, back of her head usually seen) in Animaniacs; her brown hair can be seen very briefly in Wakko's Wish.
Charlie Townsend, the head of the detective agency on Charlie's Angels (Charlie is frequently seen from behind, and in the series finale he appears in surgeon's mask and outfit. He is also seen from a distance in the 2000 film version).
Mom and Dad in Cow and Chicken. They are only ever seen from the waist down. In fact, Cow and Chicken makes a big joke of the idea of the unseen character, as it repeatedly implies that Mom and Dad genuinely have no upper body (in an episode after Cow woke up from nightmare that had Weasel & Baboon in I Am Weasel as well as the common generic character Red Guy). In the pilot episode, they are actually revealed as having no upper body.
Wizard Kelly in The Proud Family. He is only seen from the nose down or from behind. Maybe Disney wants to give the impression to the viewer that he is so tall that his eyes are always off from view. There is one episode in the series that shows him sleeping in his bed, but then the camera is blurry with him putting his hand over his eyes. In the Proud Family Movie, one can see his face as he falls over during a peanut butter explosion, but even then it is partly obscurred, and only lasts for a couple frames.
Harvey Nash, the father of Captain Nice. Always seated in his easy chair, his face is always completely buried in that day's newspaper.
Bill Brasky from a series of sketches in the 1996-1997 season of Saturday Night Live, whose only description is from the outlandish exaggerations given by a group of drunken businessmen and a closing shot in the sketches with the back of Brasky's head at a high angle, giving the impression that the man is a giant.
Big Al in Police Squad! and The Naked Gun (he is so tall his face is always cut off by the top of the screen)
"Nanny" in Muppet Babies (generally only her striped socks are seen, since the series is presented from a child's-eye view)
"Doc" in the animated version of Fraggle Rock (seen only from the neck down)
Miss Sara Bellum in The Powerpuff Girls (her face is either above the screen like Big Al's or otherwise obscured, most commonly by her enormous hairdo)
Dr. Claw in the Inspector Gadget cartoon series, who is always seated in a high-backed chair, facing away from the camera; only his fore arms and hands are ever seen. He was eventually seen in the action figure line and the theatrical movie; however, he remained absent for the entire cartoon. This is a deliberate spoof of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the villain in the early James Bond films, whose face was never seen until the fifth movie in the series; You Only Live Twice.
Victor Lewis-Smith in Inside Victor Lewis-Smith (possibly the only series whose star is never seen clearly; he or a body double appears wreathed in bandages after a car crash in the opening scene; he is also seen in highly distorted close-ups while making crank phone calls)
"Troy", the extra-terrestrial father in Out of This World. Voiced by Burt Reynolds.
David Tatsyrup on The League of Gentlemen (while he is seen as a normal human character at the end of the first series, he has become some kind of unseen beast in the attic of the local shop come series two)
Amber Klein, Marsha's daughter in Spaced
All trainers in Pokémon Junior series of short films, who look just the same as in the Pokémon anime; their heads are never shown.
Mammy Two-Shoes in Tom and Jerry cartoons.
Mr. and Mrs. Turner, Timmy's parents in The Fairly OddParents who were always shown with their faces obscured on the Oh Yeah! Cartoons series; in the later Fairly OddParents series, they were fully visible.
Roy Mallard, played by Chris Langham: presenter of the spoof documentary People Like Us. A slight send-up of the "unseen character" concept, as some part of him (often one hand) gets in shot in every episode. In one episode, his full-length reflection is seen in a mirrored window.
Barbara the Transsexual from the League of Gentlemen. Her face is never seen.
Sam, the operator at the Hi-Fi Answering Service, on Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Voiced by Mary Tyler Moore when introduced, she was usually shown only from the legs down as she exchanged innuendo on the phone with Diamond.
Vera Peterson, wife of Norm Peterson, on Cheers. She was only heard a few times, but was talked about a lot. (She twice appeared on screen. However, on the first occasion, was hit with a cream pie which covered her face entirely before her face could be seen. And on the second occasion, viewers could see only her legs, through the bar's front window, as she stood and sat on the steps that led down to the entrance to the bar.)
Most of the time, the parents of the Kids Next Door fall under this category (one distinct exception was Numbuh One's dad, who was shown in two eps). However, on Curious Pictures' official website, the faces are completely shown except Numbuh 5's parents.
The General in Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines; usually only his voice is heard, but occasionally his arm would be seen.
George Steinbrenner's face was never shown in Seinfeld. He was always viewed from behind.
Doctor Dick, Mary-Ann's ex-husband from Cybill
The "Imperious Leader" of the Cylons in the original Battlestar Galactica is rarely if ever seen in full light, but is seen merely as a shadow. (Voiced by Patrick Macnee.)
Christopher Robin's mother (face never shown, back of her head usually seen) in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
The Humanoid Figure (often referred to as "FutureGuy") on Star Trek: Enterprise. The character was the time-travelling villain responsible for manipulating events throughout the series, but he was only seen as a darkened and murky hologram giving orders to his henchmen.
Meena, Navid's wife in Still Game makes frequent appearances in the series, although her face is always obscured. She cannot speak English but is always subtitled.
Wilson, the Taylors' wise neighbor in Home Improvement, who is usually seen with the lower half of his face obscured by his picket fence or other prop. On rare occasions, this would be reversed, such as a Halloween episode where Wilson dressed as The Phantom of the Opera, complete with half-mask obscuring the upper part of his face. His face is fully seen only in the very final moments of the last episode, as the actors of the series take a bow in sequence. Played by Earl Hindman, who once appeared on a talk show with a miniature fence to hide his face.
Mac and Terrance's mother from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Only seen from the waist down, although one can see her arms.
Steve Urkel's parents from Family Matters were spoken of in many instances, usually referring to how much they dislike him. Urkel referred to them many times, and Carl Winslow was heard talking to them on the phone a few times.
Dalton Humpries' wife Anne-Marie Humphries, on The Red Green Show. After being spoken of on countless occasions, her voice is briefly heard confronting Dalton when he tries to sneak into their house after a long night out with Red.
"Wilson the Butler" (a supporting character during Children's BBC links from 1988-92) was never heard and only partially seen - usually white gloved hands and black sleeves, occasionally full body. But his face was never revealed.
Mr. & Mrs. Buxaplenty, Remy's parents in The Fairly OddParents.
Eddy Levinson, Judee's husband in The League of Gentlemen, is constantly referred to by his wife, but never actually seen. This is for the simple reason that he is dead - a fact that Judee seems unable to cope with, causing her to discuss him as though he were still with us.
Santa Claus in A Garfield Christmas has never had his face shown. But you could see his arms, legs, and suit.
Xana, the main antagonist from Code: Lyoko. Being a computer, XANA has no physical form. However, he does posess the ability to inhabit the bodies of others and create clones of other show characters, and on some occasions he speaks through them.
Mr. and Mrs. Pipe in Ren and Stimpy are occassionally shown, but only from the waist down.
All the characters' parents in Tiny Toon Adventures have never had their faces shown, but you could see their legs and arms.