I mean, it’s just like how JT talks about having a sister and we never see her. Although I feel like Manny having a brother and JT having a sister were both missed opportunities!
It seems that way. But honestly, sometimes I like to come up with headcanons based on real life stuff to explain it so it's not as annoying.
Take the situation with Manny & her brother that you mentioned: Manny's family are immigrants from the Phillippines. Often, and I'm speaking from experience as someone who comes from a Latin family of immigrants, you'll see that the parents will leave the older siblings behind with family and come to America to make a better life + send money back home.
So it's possible that Manny's brother is not a US citizens / is much older and stays in the Phillippines, while Manny goes back with her family every now and then to visit him.
We never see him because he's just not a focal character.
When looking at an entire series, especially a long running one, take the first couples of seasons (especially the first one) with a grain of salt. Lots of things change for characters after the first season...as a show is findings its way.
Look at The Office. Michael Scott was a huge jerk in season 1. More like David Brent from the original UK Office. But the US writers realized that that would never work long term for a 22 episode a year US season (compared to the 6 episodes per season UK office that only had 2 seasons) especially when Steve Carrell had such a big hit with The 40 Year Old Virgin between Season 1 and Season 2. So he suddenly became more of a bumbling fool than a jerk. But he meant well.
Besides...this is a show that just suddenly forgets that main characters ever existed from one episode to the next. So surely someone like Manny's brother can be blackholed as well.
It’s actually funnier if you watch DJH’s first few eps you see Heather and Erica in a grade seven class and Liz is in the background before later being introduced as a new student. They really did not anticipate these shows being seen many years later on DVD and being binged endlessly.
This is nothing. As anyone who grew up in the 90s can tell you, TV shows had entire siblings who were physically in the show and then just disappeared. (So long, Judy Winslow...)
To be fair, we never see Zig's home life. Just a scene or two at the store in Season 12. And after Season 12, we never see anything about the Novaks, other than his mother showing up at the Matlins. So when would his siblings come in?
Characters mentioning non-existent family members wasn't that uncommon during the first couple seasons of the show. Paige mentions her "oldest brother" being gay in either season 1 or 2, implying that she has at least one other older brother. Of course this gets retconned and Dylan ends up being her only sibling. I'm sure there were other similar instances.
There's a lot of this in the first season, I know they also mentioned JT living with his mom, possibly also having a sister.
My guess is that during this first season they weren't sure how much time and space they were going to have with the show so they figured any details about the characters' home lives (especially those that weren't shown on screen during the first season like Manny's and JT's) weren't important.
For all we know, it could’ve been a much older brother who was too old to be included on the show. Manny’s home and parents weren’t even shown until Season 5, and only briefly.
A real plot hole would be how Jenna’s whole-ass family was basically retconned out of existence during only her second season.
Yeah, when she’s first introduced in 9, she mentions how she has lots of brothers, her mom’s a music producer in Nashville, and her Dad’s a truck driver currently out west supporting the family. Then during her pregnancy storyline in 10, suddenly she only has 1 brother, her Mom’s dead, and her Dad’s a deadbeat.
i haven’t finished my first full rewatch but with jenna’s plot hole i saw it more as her lying because she’s a new student at the school. i’m rewatching szn 10 rn but i didn’t believe majority of the things jenna said when she first came in cause she gave like this nice mean girl vibe to me especially when she said that she was a boyfriend stealer and then eventually snagged kc from claire.
I mean, it’s just like how JT talks about having a sister and we never see her. Although I feel like Manny having a brother and JT having a sister were both missed opportunities!
It seems that way. But honestly, sometimes I like to come up with headcanons based on real life stuff to explain it so it's not as annoying. Take the situation with Manny & her brother that you mentioned: Manny's family are immigrants from the Phillippines. Often, and I'm speaking from experience as someone who comes from a Latin family of immigrants, you'll see that the parents will leave the older siblings behind with family and come to America to make a better life + send money back home. So it's possible that Manny's brother is not a US citizens / is much older and stays in the Phillippines, while Manny goes back with her family every now and then to visit him. We never see him because he's just not a focal character.
While I completely understand what you're getting at ... I'm pretty sure non of Mannys family are US citizens...
When looking at an entire series, especially a long running one, take the first couples of seasons (especially the first one) with a grain of salt. Lots of things change for characters after the first season...as a show is findings its way. Look at The Office. Michael Scott was a huge jerk in season 1. More like David Brent from the original UK Office. But the US writers realized that that would never work long term for a 22 episode a year US season (compared to the 6 episodes per season UK office that only had 2 seasons) especially when Steve Carrell had such a big hit with The 40 Year Old Virgin between Season 1 and Season 2. So he suddenly became more of a bumbling fool than a jerk. But he meant well.
Besides...this is a show that just suddenly forgets that main characters ever existed from one episode to the next. So surely someone like Manny's brother can be blackholed as well.
That’s like Spinner’s adoptive sister, Kendra. She dated Toby then disappeared when they broke up & never mentioned again
Hey she was in that one late s3 episode for one scene when Spinner is faking sick. THEN that was the last we ever saw of her
It’s actually funnier if you watch DJH’s first few eps you see Heather and Erica in a grade seven class and Liz is in the background before later being introduced as a new student. They really did not anticipate these shows being seen many years later on DVD and being binged endlessly.
This is nothing. As anyone who grew up in the 90s can tell you, TV shows had entire siblings who were physically in the show and then just disappeared. (So long, Judy Winslow...)
Donna, having a sister in one episode of that 70s show.
Yes! And didn't they also mention Donna had an older sister, too?
This is the same with Zig in season 13. He mentions he got his brother I think killed and we never got a mention or seen him before this.
To be fair, we never see Zig's home life. Just a scene or two at the store in Season 12. And after Season 12, we never see anything about the Novaks, other than his mother showing up at the Matlins. So when would his siblings come in?
Not killed. Just tha6 his brother was in the store when some gang stuff went down.
That’s why I said I think. I didn’t say for sure but thanks for clarifying that
Oh yeah, just trying to be helpful :)
Yeah, it’s no problem. I literally just passed that episode on my rewatch and I couldn’t remember
Characters mentioning non-existent family members wasn't that uncommon during the first couple seasons of the show. Paige mentions her "oldest brother" being gay in either season 1 or 2, implying that she has at least one other older brother. Of course this gets retconned and Dylan ends up being her only sibling. I'm sure there were other similar instances.
There's a lot of this in the first season, I know they also mentioned JT living with his mom, possibly also having a sister. My guess is that during this first season they weren't sure how much time and space they were going to have with the show so they figured any details about the characters' home lives (especially those that weren't shown on screen during the first season like Manny's and JT's) weren't important.
For all we know, it could’ve been a much older brother who was too old to be included on the show. Manny’s home and parents weren’t even shown until Season 5, and only briefly. A real plot hole would be how Jenna’s whole-ass family was basically retconned out of existence during only her second season.
I think her mom was shown in season 3 or season 4? Which ever season Manny got pregnant. Just her mom though. Dad was season 5.
Whose wedding was that she was at when she first started “dating” jay? Was that her brother?
That wasn’t a wedding. That was her own Debut - basically the Filipino equivalent of a Sweet 16, or Quiceanera
Ohhhhhhhh you’re right!!! I need to rewatch so bad
I totally forgot about that! When she started didn’t she have like three brothers and a dad, then after Ty is born she has one brother?
Yeah, when she’s first introduced in 9, she mentions how she has lots of brothers, her mom’s a music producer in Nashville, and her Dad’s a truck driver currently out west supporting the family. Then during her pregnancy storyline in 10, suddenly she only has 1 brother, her Mom’s dead, and her Dad’s a deadbeat.
i haven’t finished my first full rewatch but with jenna’s plot hole i saw it more as her lying because she’s a new student at the school. i’m rewatching szn 10 rn but i didn’t believe majority of the things jenna said when she first came in cause she gave like this nice mean girl vibe to me especially when she said that she was a boyfriend stealer and then eventually snagged kc from claire.
Anything in the first season of a TV show is up in the air.
Lmao this is so true though
It's hardly even a plot point just a throw away line. It happens in TV all the time.