Pathology wherein a protagonist becomes annoying or disinteresting, but cannot be removed from a show because his/her name is in the title.

Common Mistreatment: Producers seek the short-term high of quirky new characters, forsaking responsibility to existing ones. Unfortunately, these foreign bodies displace primary characters, attaching themselves to the portion of the brain where primary characters would normally bond. In severe cases, chronic appearance of fresh faces leads to series regular positions.

Clinical Cases: Grey’s Anatomy, Dawson’s Creek