Now some of these characters did end up getting top billing on the shows. The reason why is because viewers like the underdog. The other characters on the show would usually make fun of them alot. This made the viewer want to root for the sidekick. A great example is Steve Urkel. In the first two seasons of Family Matters, Urkel would be in an episode once and awhile for a scene or two. He would constantly be told to "Go Home" or "Shut Up". However, other than being annoying, he was actually a very pleasant guy. He always had a smile on his face and he never said a bad word about anyone. Even though the family let it be known they found him annoying, he still showed nothing but love and compasion to all of them. Urkel ended up being the main character of the show because he never let the other characters knock him down. The viewer was able to look at the situation from the outside and see that they personally had nothing against Steve Urkel. It was the viewers job to root for Steve, because no one else would.
I grew up watching all of these shows with the underlying message that if you were eccentric or different, you fell in the sidekick role. D.J Tanner on Full House had a best friend that no one in the house liked. She was funny, different, and stole the show whenever she entered the scene. It really did not make any sense that the family did not like Kimmy Gibler. She was a good kid, but she was friends with D.J Tanner. D.J had the best hair, the best grades, and the cutest boyfriend. How could Kimmy even compare?
Since I could remember, I was always best friends with the "top dog". They were the ones that got first in the talent show, or got crowned prom queen. I was a normal kid. I had some accomplishments and some failures. I had some A's and some F's. I was good at many things, but never as good as the person that would sit next to me. I always fell just a little bit short in everything I did. I was the "Kimmy Gibbler" for everyone. I was the girl that had potential but never followed through. I was the best friend that made the other feel good about themself. In any comparison of who was better at anything, I would purposely fall short. I was there to make the other one look good.
At the age of 24, I have realized this challenge will never leave me. I will always be given the "top dogs" in my life. However my job is to not fall short to help them continue their sucess. I have learned that alot of teen "top dogs" fizzle when they get older. Why would they put effort in something if they never had to before?
I realize now that being " Kimmy Gibbler" had taught me alot for my future. I had to learn how to succeed with more effort than the "D.J Tanners" or the "Tapangas" had to. All the cries I had to my mother about how I had to spend 5 hours on homework to get the same grade that my best friend got for spending 20 minutes on, ended up helping me in the long run. I was learning the real world at a very young age. This sucked might I add. I had to watch my best friends throughout the years win awards, get boyfriends, and make honor roll while I sat in a sylvan labs and got teased by boys. I wished I had the amazing life my other friends seemed to have. However, I realized that I am thankful for never being the "top dog" in my life already, because that would mean my day would have already come and gone.
I like that I have my time still on its way. When it does come to me, I will not let it leave me. I have worked so hard to not be a "Kimmy Gibbler" and I am glad that I am now a girl that makes sure that everyday is better than the next. I am a girl that works hard for her sucesses and never lets them float away. I am not a 90's sitcom sidekick anymore. I am a main character in my own life. I am a "Shannon Seaback".
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