Unchanging characters

[SDLagent]

Most characters in the Hardy World have changed somewhat over the years and series, some quite dramatically even, but there are a select few who have stayed more or less the same since their conception. Fenton Hardy is at the forefront of these characters, and I can't think of any other character who has stayed unchanged for so long.

A few years ago you could have added Frank to the list, but now with the UB he has defentily changed. And Joe, even before the UB changed somewhat, in the Casefiles.

Other candidates to this exclusive club could be Laura, Biff, and Iola. Those three could be said to have very little character to begin with, however. Of course there's many others that have stayed the same only because they appear so little, like Mr. and Mrs. Morton for example (although even Morton's career has changed a few times!)

Of course you can't take about the unchanged without bringing up the most changed. Who is the most changed? Well, for me Callie is right up there - her character is quite different in the Casefiles then in the Originals. Also, I consider the UB versions of Frank and Joe, vastly different then their predecessors. Phil is another character that has changed, although you could argue he has simply been modernized...but come to think of it he was originally a Jew. And that throws former Italian Tony Prito into the mix.

Anyway I had fun with this, and it makes some good food for thought.

[Olivia]

When you move characters between series and as the years go on, I guess it's to be expected.

I know this isn't a Nancy Drew thread, but I think everyone changed in there except Carson Drew, Hannen Gruen, and Ned Nickerson who always stay the same.

Chet a big one too.

[003Robin457]

In Litrature we call these unchanging Chacters Flat Chacters, and changing ones round chacters. Any one rember English Class?

[Olivia]

Yeah, we called unchanging characters "static" and changing "dynamic".

[003Robin457]

My school taught bouth but R&F was easyier to rember.

[SDLagent]

But characters are bit different, since they don't age, so don't change in that sense. They just change because of the many authors over the years.

[tomswift2002]

Actually I think Fenton has really changed in the UB series.  When you think of the past series, Clues Brothers, Originals/Digests, Casefiles, Fenton Hardy has been a working Private Detective who has asked his sons to help every once in a while, but there were times when he worked with the FBI, CIA, US Customs, etc.  Think of Danger Zone when he was asked to train some Federal Agents.  In a few books in those series mention is even made of an office that Fenton Hardy works out of that is somewhere in Bayport and a satellite office in New York.

Now then lets look at the UB series Fenton Hardy.  Fenton retired from the NYPD, moved to Bayport, started ATAC and then stepped down and retired from ATAC and essentially began living off his pensions from the NYPD and ATAC while having 2 teenage sons still at home.  Sure, there has been one occassion that we know of where he helped ATAC and the police round up the bad guy the Hardy's were chasing, but otherwise Fenton's role in the UB series is reduced to the father who knows what his sons are doing and steps in to offer advice, but does not do any investigating on his own.

[SDLagent]

True, Tom, still he probably is one of the least changed even if he is changed. The only UB book I can think of were he had a case was ''Running on Fumes''. Plus, he helped a bit in ''Rocky Road'', and ''Wanted'', and as you mentioned ''A Hardy Day's Night''.

I think a Fenton Hardy series would be very interesting.

[tomswift2002]

I've always been wondering what a Fenton Hardy series, possible set in the 1890's would be like.

[003Robin457]

I thought it would be cool if they had a Fenton seris that is before the HBs and he is a NY cop.

[NZone]

BTW, round and flat characters are different from static and dynamic characters. Round (or multi-faceted) characters are characters that have a lot of background information. Flat (or one-dimensional) characters have almost no background info. Static characters mean that they do not change throughout the story, but dynamic characters do.

[003Robin457]

Thanks Nzone, I compleatly frogot the diference.