To quote the Other Wiki, recommended characters are "fan characters 'recommended' by fans of the series." In BFDI's eleven-year history, thousands of recommended characters have made their rounds on the show, mostly without speaking rôles but prominent enough to be noticed by even the most casual viewers.
But how does that translate to the years of RLBFDI, when there was no YouTube, Google, Reddit or Patreon? On this page, you can see how these people from all over the planet appeared in a show that was set in the middle of the world map.
Real-Life BFB |
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Main info • Production info
Yearly overview • Show timelines (Timeline of RLBFDI • RLBFDIA • RLIDFB • RLBFB before and after the split • RLTPOT • Extra scouting) • General timelines (pre- and post-1950) Differences from Pencil 2.O • Aesthetics • Methodology (Names • Nationalities • Heights • Ages • Colours • Accessories • Team portraits) • Beyond the 64 TL;DR: Info • Timeline of the final project (part 1 • part 2 • part 3) |
Season 1: RLBFDI[]
Episodes 9–11[]
If you're a fan of BFDI, you'll know that Bomby was the first recommended character to appear on the show after being recommended by jaysillyboy in 2010. This mimics the fact that the person whom Bomby is modelled after was the first non-contestant/host to appear on RLBFDI back in 1962.
Human name (1962) | Object name (2010) | Description | Credited |
---|---|---|---|
Kaboumogo, Bombi (Bomby) | Bomby | Bombi Kaboumogo was an expatriate from Upper Volta and a part of a short-lived international labour programme. In this scheme, people from newly independent African nations were encouraged to work elsewhere in Africa (many of which were still colonies) to promote a spirit of unity among the continent's peoples. In the summer of 1962, Bomby was a 15-year-old unpaid intern to the production crew, who had always wanted to be a stunt double. He was so popular behind the scenes that he was allowed to get a rôle in the show, first appearing as an unknown character in RLBFDI 9 and getting a speaking role in episode 11. Also a future contestant on RLBFDIA, RLIDFB, RLBFB and RLTPOT. | 4:35 (ep. 11) |
Episodes 12–13[]
It was soon realized that more extras were needed to make the series more lively. At that time, the system for finding extras was not as robust and systematic as it was later. In fact, the extras for episodes 12 and 13 were simply people who happened to be in Nairobi a month before filming began. In those episodes, you could count the number on your fingers and toes, and I've decided to list them by name here, as that will not be possible in future episodes.
Human name (1962) | Object name (2010) | Description[1] |
---|---|---|
Nonexisty | Nonexisty | Does not exist. |
Anastasiades, Dominik Ole | Marker [Orange] | Brother of Marc (see below). |
Anastasiades, Marc | Marker [Purple] | Future contestant on RLBFB and RLTPOT. |
Angola, Pascualina "Lina" | Basketball | Future contestant on RLBFB and RLTPOT. |
Domino, Simon "Simon D." | Domino | |
Hoareau, Anne-Marie | Seashell | First Seychellois to appear on RLBFDI. |
Jefferson, Carter | Quarter | Older cousin of Nick (see below). |
Labelle, Thomasina (Tommie) | Lightbulb | |
Malo, Marcia | Marshmallow | First Puerto Rican to appear on RLBFDI. |
Pape, Roy | Paper | |
Pape, Sydney | Sheet of Paper | |
Pembe, John Trinity "J.T." | Triangle | Father of Penelope and Nathalia. |
Reiserov, Washington | Dollar | |
Taylor, Alex "Allie" | Football | |
Watterson, Kendall "Ken" | Gumball | |
Zavala, Candace | Candle |
Human name (1962) | Object name (2010–11) | Description | Credited |
---|---|---|---|
Dierschl, Peter | Batteries | Twins; not the same as RLTPOT-hopeful Petra, though they are Austrian too. | 0:22–0:29 |
Dierschl, Piera | |||
Monteiro, Renata | Remote | Future contestant on RLBFB and RLTPOT. | |
Bethel, Elizabeth Ann "Liz" | Bottle | Future contestant on RLBFB and RLTPOT Bethel, here known by her first name. | 0:30–0:34 |
Cortes, Francisco "Chico" | Scissors | Future RLTPOT hopeful. | |
Kennedy, Elizabeth "Betsy" | American Flag | ||
Falk, Nanna | Snowflake | One of the many descendents of Simon. | 1:46–1:49 |
Thomsen, Torben Niels "T.N.T." | TNT | 2:55–2:58 | |
Kabua, Rose | Rose | First Ugandan to appear on RLBFDI, scouted shortly after its independence. | 3:02–3:10 |
Dee, Richard "Dick" | Dice [sic] | 3:23–3:25 | |
Leigh, Terence | Treeyee | Future contestant on RLBFB and RLTPOT Terry; here known by his full forename. | |
Fuentes, Joaquín | Fork | Not the only person with that first name to appear in RLBFDI; also the first Mexican to appear in the series. | 4:06–4:16 |
Taylor, Alex "Allie" | Football | Appeared in RLBFDI 12 as well (see above). | 4:33 |
Blaine, Jamie "James" | Balloon | First Scotsman to appear on RLBFDI. Also future contestant on RLBFB Blaine; here known by an extension of his forename. | 5:22–5:24 |
Schweppe, Candy | Candy | 5:27–5:30 | |
Henning, Wanda | Wandy | 6:11–6:14 | |
Ball, Ira | Ball | Not related to the Ball family; he comes by way of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. | 6:19–6:27 |
Conniff, Dirk | Knife | 6:52–6:57 | |
Iola, Karen | Crayon | 7:01–7:05 | |
Pambou, Pénélope-Grace "Penny" | Pencil Grip | First Congolese (from the Republic of the Congo) to appear on RLBFDI. | 7:05–7:08 |
Hua, Chi-Fei Marcella | Peanut Butter | First Chinese to appear on RLBFDI. | 7:13–7:17 |
Stevens, Job[2] | Phone | ||
Carver, Phinehas | Peanut | First Liberian to appear on RLBFDI. | 7:21–7:31 |
Illić, Klara | Nutcracker | First Yugoslavian to appear on RLBFDI. | |
Le Page, Claude | Cloudy | First Frenchman to appear on RLBFDI. Also a future contestant on RLBFB and RLTPOT. | 7:52–7:56 |
Episodes 14–25[]
- For a two-week period ending a month before filming began, as many crew members as possible were sent on a global field trip every month via two routes. Their aim was to hold auditions for potential RLBFDI extras from around the world. This tradition has continued for the other seasons, albeit in many different forms.
- Introduction to sponsorship: Once a contestant was selected to appear as an extra in RLBFDI, they were sponsored by a loyal viewer under a pseudonym with hopes of becoming a part of the show—sponsors of those that made it to a certain level of fame were paid rather well.[3] As of 1973, this tradition has continued every season.
- Some time after the final recommended character was accepted into the show, the extras were transported to Africa, where they learned the rules of the game. Before filming for RLBFDI 17 began in April 1963, it was revealed that thirty of them had had a chance of joining the show.
- Many extras left Kenya after their filming was over (unless they appeared more than once), but they were instructed to come back by the end of October 1963 to watch the final Cake at Stake in person.
Here is the general schedule for scouting recommended characters.
Day | Route 1 | Route 2 |
---|---|---|
Day 1 | Nairobi, Kenya Colony
Represented country:
| |
Day 2 | Rest of Kenya
Represented country:
|
West Asia
Represented countries:
|
Day 3 | North Africa
Represented countries:
|
South-West Asia (Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan)
Represented countries:
|
Day 4 | India (and other South Asia)
Represented countries:
|
South-East Asia
Represented countries:
|
Day 5 | East Asia (and the Pacific)
Represented countries:
|
Australasia and Oceania
Represented countries:
|
Day 6 | South America (Hispanophone)
Represented countries:
|
Brazil
Represented country:
|
Day 7 | West Indies
Represented countries:
|
Mexico and Central America
Represented countries:
|
Day 8 | Southern United States
Represented country:
|
Western United States
Represented country:
|
Day 9 | Eastern/Northern United States
Represented country:
|
Canada
Represented countries:
|
Day 10 | Britain and Ireland
Represented countries:
|
Northern Europe
Represented countries:
|
Day 11 | Western Europe (Francophone)
Represented countries:
|
Central and Eastern Europe
Represented countries:
|
Day 12 | Iberian Europe and colonies
Represented countries:
|
Italy and the Mediterranean
Represented countries:
|
Day 13 | Francophone Africa
Represented countries:
|
Anglophone Africa
Represented countries:
|
Day 14 | Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar
Represented countries:
|
South Africa (and South West Africa)
Represented countries:
|
Extra-scouting schedules for individual episodes[]
This section indicates where each audition took place and who (if relevant to the competition) got in.
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Season 2: RLBFDIA[]
When RLBFDIA came out, recommended characters were not sought out in the same way as in the previous season, although many parallels seemed pretty obvious... at least in RLBFDIA 1: the first guest star, Boombox (a literal boombox) appeared by himself, just like Bomby in RLBFDI 9 or 11. Viewers noticed that the number of recommended characters was much lower than before, however, and here's why.
While the search began exactly one month before the start of filming for each episode (as before), the "monthly" global talent searches lasted for only one week (not one) and were supervised by only one crew member. Also, instead of rotating casting locations (i.e. a new city in each episode), auditions were only held in one location for each day per episode, with the venues becoming more obscure as the days went on.[14] While this practice may seem efficient, it was also very Western-centric, as the crew spent more time looking for potential extras in the U.S. and west of the Iron Curtain than in other countries. There was just too little time to look for extras (and have them get to the RLBFDIA set in Kenya) from most countries in Africa, Asia etc.
Here is an example of what a particular schedule looked like:
Day | Single route |
---|---|
Day 1 | Nairobi, Kenya (auditions for locals) |
Day 2 | Nairobi, Kenya (auditions for the rest of Africa)
Characters first scouted here:
|
Day 3 | Liverpool, England (auditions for Britain and Ireland) |
Day 4 | Saarbrücken, West Germany (auditions for Continental Europe)
Characters first scouted here:
|
Day 5 | David City, Nebraska, U.S. (auditions for the United States)
Characters first scouted here:
|
Day 6 | Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada (auditions for Canada) |
Day 7 | Graham Land, Antarctica (auditions for the rest of the world)
Characters first scouted here:
|
Day 8 | Return to Kenya |
Season 3: RLIDFB[]
Sponsored characters were not present in RLIDFB, at least not in the first episode of it. A system was proposed in which characters were sponsored in the same way that the votes were sent in, but because the second episode has yet to come out (as of 1973), we do not know how effective this system turned out to be.
Season 4a RLBFB[]
In early 1969, it was planned that the same system that was used to sponsor characters in RLBFDIA would be used in RLBFDI's fourth season. But due to the worldwide demand for civil rights through protests (the symbol of the late 1960s), a change had to be made to the series and the showrunners reintroduced the same audition process as in RLBFDI. They had even kept much of the same schedules. However, a fair quota system was also introduced, highlighting people who came from less affluent nations and excluding all people from South Africa and totalitarian countries from eligibility.
Here is the general schedule for scouting recommended characters for this and the next season.
Day | Route 1 | Route 2 |
---|---|---|
Day 1 | Nairobi, Kenya
Represented country:
| |
Day 2 | Rest of Kenya
Represented country:
|
West Asia
Represented countries:
|
Day 3 | North Africa
Represented countries:
|
South-West Asia (Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan)
Represented countries:
|
Day 4 | India (and other South Asia)
Represented countries:
|
South-East Asia
Represented countries:
|
Day 5 | East Asia (and the Pacific)
Represented countries:
|
Australasia and Oceania
Represented countries:
|
Day 6 | South America (Hispanophone)
Represented countries:
|
Brazil
Represented country:
|
Day 7 | West Indies
Represented countries:
|
Mexico and Central America
Represented countries:
|
Day 8 | Southern United States
Represented country:
|
Western United States
Represented country:
|
Day 9 | Eastern/Northern United States
Represented country:
|
Canada
Represented countries:
|
Day 10 | Britain and Ireland
Represented countries:
|
Northern Europe
Represented countries:
|
Day 11 | Western Europe (Francophone)
Represented countries:
|
Central and Eastern Europe
Represented countries:
|
Day 12 | Iberian Europe and colonies
Represented countries:
|
Italy and the Mediterranean
Represented countries:
|
Day 13 | Francophone Africa
Represented countries:
|
Anglophone Africa
Represented countries:
|
Day 14 | Uganda and Tanzania
Represented countries:
|
Early return to Kenya |
Extra-scouting schedules for individual episodes[]
This section indicates where each audition took place and who (if relevant to the competition) got in.
|
Seasons 4b and 5: RLBFB and RLTPOT[]
The audition schedules were changed yet again for post-split RLBFB, in which the search ended one week (not one month) before the beginning of filming. One reason for this might be that many extras appeared in more than one episode, such as "Four and X Put Together". RLTPOT used the exact same process as this, except that apparently not as many characters were sponsored. Fewer extras appeared in RLTPOT 1 than in RLBFDI 13.[17]
Human name (1972) | Object name (2020–21) | Description[18] |
---|---|---|
Abdul, Philippe "Phil" | Falafel | |
Arisaka, Heika | Mochi | Appeared in RLBFB 15. |
Bergjord, Gunnlaug | Genderfluid Book | Distant relative of Astrid (see above), also appeared in RLBFB 24. |
Dam, Christine "Stine" | Steamy | Also appeared in RLBFB 23 with a speaking part (among other episodes). |
Hollis, Wanda | Wand | Also appeared in RLBFB 24 (among other episodes). |
Lincoln, Blas | Blue Shiny Coiny | Distant relative of Columbus, also appeared in RLBFB 24. |
Porter, Paul "Paulie" | Portable Music Player | Also appeared in RLBFB 23 with a speaking part (among other episodes). |
Roosevelt, Daniel "Danny" | Dime | Appeared in RLBFB 13 (among other episodes); was discovered in February or March 1963 to appear in RLBFDI 17. |
Wirmer, Amelia | Compass | Triplets, related to Compass (from P2O); also appeared in RLBFB 13 (among other episodes). |
Wirmer, Carlos | ||
Wirmer, Mauricio |
Extra-scouting schedules for individual episodes[]
This section indicates where each audition took place and who got in. Note that non-participants (and the handful of RLTPOT 1 extras) are included here for completeness; their object names are put in brackets so you know who they are.
Also, the casting locations have stopped rotating for each episode. Due to budget cuts, auditions could only take place at one location per stop on each route. A lot of thought had gone into where the final location should be, but it had to be cosmopolitan and accessible enough so that as many potential extras as possible could travel to the audition spot.
Day | Route 1 | Route 2 |
---|---|---|
Day 1 | Nairobi, Kenya
(City of Nairobi, auditions in English and Swahili) | |
Day 2 | Nairobi, Kenya
(the rest of Kenya, auditions in English and Swahili) |
Beirut, Lebanon
(West Asia, auditions in Arabic and English) Contestants first scouted here:
|
Day 3 | Cairo, Egypt
(North Africa, auditions in Arabic, French and English; commentary in Amharic) |
Tehran, Iran
(South-West Asia, auditions in Persian and English) |
Day 4 | Calcutta, India
(India and other South Asia, auditions in English and Hindi) |
Singapore
(South-East Asia, auditions in English) |
Day 5 | Tokyo, Japan
(East Asia and the Pacific, auditions in Japanese and English; commentary in Chinese and Korean) |
Sydney, Australia
(Australasia and Oceania, auditions in English) |
Day 6 | Caracas, Venezuela
(Spanish-speaking South America, auditions in Spanish) |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(Brazil, auditions in Portuguese) |
Day 7 | Miami, Florida, U.S.
(West Indies, auditions in English, Spanish and French) |
Mexico City, Mexico
(Mexico and Central America, auditions in Spanish) |
Day 8 | Houston, Texas, U.S.
(Southern U.S., auditions in English) |
Los Angeles, California
(Western U.S., auditions in English) Characters first scouted here:
|
Day 9 | New York, New York, U.S. (odd episodes)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. (even episodes) (Northern/Midwestern U.S., auditions in English)Characters first scouted here:
|
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(Canada, auditions in English and French) Characters first scouted here:
|
Day 10 | London, England
(Britain and Ireland, auditions in English) Characters first scouted here:
|
Malmö, Sweden
(Northern Europe, auditions in English and Swedish; commentary in Danish, Finnish and Norwegian) Characters first scouted here:
|
Day 11 | Paris, France
(French-speaking Europe, auditions in French) Characters first scouted here:
|
Vienna, Austria
(Central and Eastern Europe, auditions in German and English; commentary in Dutch, Serbo-Croatian and optionally Russian) |
Day 12 | Madrid, Spain (odd episodes)
Lisbon, Portugal (even episodes) (Iberian Europe, auditions in Spanish or Portuguese; limited number of applicants) |
Rome, Italy
(Italy and Mediterranean Europe, auditions in Italian and English; commentary in Hebrew, Greek and Turkish) |
Day 13 | Dakar, Senegal
(Francophone Africa, auditions in French) |
Lagos, Nigeria
(Anglophone Africa, auditions in English) |
Day 14 | Zanzibar City, Tanzania
(Uganda and Tanzania, auditions in English and Swahili) |
Early return to Kenya |
Day 15 | Return to Kenya |
Notes[]
- ↑ All appeared from 6:58–7:07 except for Nonexisty, who first appeared 5:15.
- ↑ That's one for a reference.
- ↑ Possibly similar to the sponsorship system used by the National Spelling Bee in the U.S., but it's not newspapers; it's people (usually children).
- ↑ Roboty (then called Robot) would have been discovered on this date but was in fact added later.
- ↑ Formerly called Pie Man in BFDI.
- ↑ Formerly called Bracelet in BFDI.
- ↑ A special case: As he was very much underage (not even one year old), he couldn't go on the show, but a body double of Frederic was used instead with the word "Junior!" floating over him.
- ↑ Formerly called Taco Guy in BFDI. For all you Suite Life fans, she pulled a Bailey.
- ↑ Formerly called Mechanical Flower in BFDI.
- ↑ Previously called French Fries in BFDI.
- ↑ Alelsatan would have been discovered on this date but was in fact added later.
- ↑ Previously called Bolty in BFDI.
- ↑ Another special case: Bilal couldn't physically make it to the RLBFDI set, so his likeness was replaced with an actual black hole named Vortex.
- ↑ Part of this was because of budget cuts.
- ↑ Should have been scouted on this date but was not.
- ↑ Previously known as CRT Monitor in early BFB. "Monitor" is an old stage name; their surname was revealed to be "Turing" in December 1972.
- ↑ Not including Happy Flower and Sad Cake (who are just Flower and Cake, respectively), or Mangosteen, Plus and Flip Phone (who are recommended objects).
- ↑ All of these appeared near the end of the episode, starting 25:22.
- ↑ Should have been scouted 23 June 1972 but wasn't for whatever reason.