History Main / WrittenInAbsence

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Look Before You Sleep" (which only has three main characters to begin with) showed Twilight explaining that Spike is away in Canterlot.

--->'''Dil''': Hey Grandpa. How's Grandma?[[note]]Grandpa Lou re-married in the second Rugrats movie, but the new Grandma, Lulu, only ever appeared sporadically. Her absence here ends up being a minor plot point since this means Grandpa Lou has an extra ticket for Angelica to go to a pop concert. Seriously.[[/note]]\\

* An odd variation occurs where an absence isn't stated in the episode itself but is hinted at by the viewers: In the WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}[=/=]WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} {{crossover}} episode "Hercules and the Arabian Night", Iago is notably the only Aladdin character who has not made an appearance in the episode. ''Aladdin'' fans who have seen ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves'' will know the reason is that [[spoiler:Iago left with Cassim, Aladdin's father, to start a new life]].

* In 1984's ''Film/{{Supergirl}}'', the producers couldn't get Creator/ChristopherReeve to make a cameo appearance, so the movie includes a radio news report that Film/{{Superman}} has just left Earth on an intergalactic peacekeeping mission. Reeve's Superman ''does'' briefly appear once in the movie (sort of), as a poster in Lucy Lane's dorm room.

* In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Dr. Crusher's absence (throughout season two) was explained as being "transferred to head Starfleet Medical". In real life, the writers were having trouble developing the character and tried a different approach in Dr. Pulaski. This didn't work out, and there was pressure to bring Crusher back, so she returned in season three, where she remained for the rest of the run.

Compare AbsenteeActor, where no explanation is given for the actor's absence (especially when their presence would likely be crucial to the plot.) A few of these are justified in that the actor died in the interim (and some are categorized in TheCharacterDiedWithHim). Also compare NotImportantToThisEpisodeCamp, where the character isn't there because they aren't important to the plot.

* During the Pain Invasion Arc in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', an ANBU named Ko Hyuuga mentions to Hinata that Hiashi and Hanabi are out of town on a mission, which is relevant since the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio is actively involved in the battle, and is Kiba's mom.

** Not bizarre at all when you consider that ''Ataru'' is the actual protagonist, was meant to be the actual "star" of the manga, and that that he was originally supposed to be in an {{O|neTruePairing}}TP with Shinobu. Takahashi originally wanted UY to be an anthology revolving around Ataru, with Lum as a throwaway gag character for that story. but Lum became [[EnsembleDarkhorse the most popular character in the series]] and so, barring one other story, she figured in all of the manga. (This is also why, for the first year or so, Lum is a lot more malicious in the manga than the later sweet-with-a-twist-of-Tsundere character she became. It seems that Takahashi toyed with making her at best an antagonist or, at worst, a borderline villain before realizing that just didn't work.)

** Carly was sent off to take care of her grandfather in Yakima and only seen at the beginning and end of the episode. This was because Music/MirandaCosgrove had broken her ankle in a bus accident while touring and had not healed enough yet.

--->'''Dil''': Hey Grandpa. How's Grandma?\\
'''Grandpa Lou''': Still off cruising the Nile. She sends her love. (to the others) Hang on kids, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!\\
''(Grandpa Lou re-married in the second Rugrats movie, but the new Grandma, Lulu, only ever appeared sporadically. Her absence here ends up being a minor plot point since this means Grandpa Lou has an extra ticket for Angelica to go to a pop concert. Seriously.)''

* ''Series/BirdsOfAFeather'': Sharon’s absence in the final ChrisrmasEpisode is explained as being due to being quarantined in Costa Rica during its events. The real life reason for this is because her actor had decided to retire from acting to focus on her performing arts academy.

* ''Series/BirdsOfAFeather: Sharon’s absence is explained as being due to being quarantined in Costa Rica during the events of the final ChristmasEpisode. The real life reason for this is because her actor had decided to retire from acting to focus on her performing arts academy.

** Finn's player was absent for a month when Finn was supposed to be talking with the principal. This was explained away as him going into a trance as he used his {{seer}} power on the principal, with other characters in the scene [[InnerThoughtsOutsiderPuzzlement commenting on how weird it is]].

Compare AbsenteeActor, where no explanation is given for the actor's absence (especially when their presence would likely be crucial to the plot.) A few of these are justified in that the actor died in the interim (and some are categorized in AuthorExistenceFailure). Also compare NotImportantToThisEpisodeCamp, where the character isn't there because they aren't important to the plot.

* ''Series/SeventhHeaven'': Barry Watson's character, Matt, was written out as having gone to medical school in New York with his wife because Watson was going into chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. Luckily, he recovered.

* ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'': The season 5 episode "Love Hurts" doesn't feature Kelly because her actress Jennie Garth had emergency dental surgery, which is referenced in the following episode.

** In the same season, Diane Farr (Megan Reeves) took a temporary leave of absence because she was pregnant. This was written into the script as Reeves being forced into a special assignment, which would form the basis for much of her character arc in Season 4.

Examples also exist in regular TV series, and often in this case the absence is only temporary. This is often an excuse to bring in a TemporarySubstitute in live-action, but some just acknowledge the absence and move on, especially in AnimatedSeries.

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' features Indy talking about how his father and Marcus have both died in the last year. Denholm Elliot, who played Marcus, died shortly after the third film was released. Creator/SeanConnery is still alive, but retired from acting and turned down a chance at a cameo.

* ''Literature/BlackWidowers'': The very first story, ''Literature/TheAcquisitiveChuckle'', notes that there are more members than just the five who appeared here. In ''Literature/TruthToTell'' (the third story), Gonzalo mentions that Drake will be absent due to family obligations, while welcoming Halstead (who'd been absent from the previous two). In ''Literature/TheObviousFactor'' (the sixth story), Gonzalo is mentioned as absent from that meeting; ''Literature/ThePointingFinger'' (the seventh story) explains why, while also having Avalon announce to the club that Halsted won't be present for that meeting.

A character who should be here ''isn't'' here, and the extent of acknowledgment of the absence is limited to a few lines in the dialog, as if to say, "Yeah, we know s/he's not here, so here's an explanation and let's move on." (Well, ''usually'' we get some sort of explanation for the absence).

Prevalent in movie sequels, when casting is just too lazy to rehire the actor of a significant character and don't feel like trotting out ThePoorMansSubstitute. (Or they ''are'' trotting him out, but as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute.)

* ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'': Retroactively for canon. During the events of "Boast Busters", Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. In this continuity, it's explained that she was at home caring for a sick chickadee at the time.