10 Best TV Characters Who You Never Actually Got To See

Mrs. Columbo is a strange enigma in TV. She was never once shown on screen or even heard off-screen. Yet, despite that, she felt like a fully fleshed-out character, with personality, a distinct relationship with the titular character, and relevance to the plot. Talk about a fly on the wall.

This character was the wife of the iconic lead character in the 1970s series Columbo. He would reference her frequently, talking about her life and their relationship. She seemed to be an active, healthy woman and often found herself involved in the story, most notably in episodes like "Rest In Peace, Mrs. Columbo", where she became the target of a deranged killer.

One fascinating aspect of the character was the theory that she never even existed and was simply a tool for Columbo to lower the defences of criminals. The beauty of her unseen presence was that you could decide this for yourself.

Then, in an odd turn, the character received a face for some time due to a spin-off series in 1979. However, the show was a total flop, and the creators even retooled it, turning "Kate Columbo" into an entirely different character with no connection to the famous detective. Overall, it seems best to forget that messy spin-off ever existed.