| rdfs:comment | - These are extras that hardly ever interact with the main characters, even though logically they ought to do just that. For instance, a Cop Show might focus on six cops who are often seen doing their jobs at a police station. Lots of other cops and staffers walk around, carrying papers or whatever, but none of these other people actually talks to or interacts with the main characters. Nor do they talk to each other, at least not in a way that the audience can really see. They're just filling out the background, making the police station seem more realistic. Examples of Ghost Extras include:
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| abstract | - These are extras that hardly ever interact with the main characters, even though logically they ought to do just that. For instance, a Cop Show might focus on six cops who are often seen doing their jobs at a police station. Lots of other cops and staffers walk around, carrying papers or whatever, but none of these other people actually talks to or interacts with the main characters. Nor do they talk to each other, at least not in a way that the audience can really see. They're just filling out the background, making the police station seem more realistic. There are practical reasons for this trope. If the extras start talking to the main characters, then the extras themselves will become characters. This will require higher wages and proper crediting. Besides that, the writers might not want to bother keeping track of so many extra names and faces, or they might not want to make the audience bother. Sometimes a Ghost Extra will get promoted and become a proper character. This is a nice trick for the writers, because they don't have to explain where the new character came from; they can just say she was "there all along" but nobody previously talked to her on camera. Often paired with The Main Characters Do Everything, if the main characters are part of some larger group. See also: Lower Deck Episode, Faceless Masses and Living Prop. Contrast Unknown Character. Examples of Ghost Extras include:
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