Face it: We, the viewers, cannot bear to watch our little TV darlings grow up.
It's hard to see a precious child go through those awkward stages of pubescence. What's even harder is seeing these kids become sexual beings: It's Little Sister Syndrome.
A telling example of Little Sister Syndrome can be found on "Party of Five." Is it just us, or did you get the heebie-jeebies when Claudia - the little sister on "Po5" (Lacey Chabert) - is considering becoming sexually active with her boyfriend Cody?
When "Po5" first aired in 1994, Claudia was an innocent 11-year-old. Suddenly, she evolved into a teenage vixen. Tight white T-shirts, dyed red hair, henna tattoos, budding breasts -- it's just plain gross. In fact, her hormonal infusion caused a gag reflex in "Po5" fans throughout the land. Though it's true that most 16-year-olds are exploring their sexual identities, watching the televised version of your little sister dating, groping and discussing condoms is just too much to stomach.
When a child star reaches puberty in the little girl role she originated, it can be a bit tricky for her burgeoning sexuality to gain acceptance with fans. And when former child stars try to move into new adult roles, it's even more difficult. Take, for example, Alyssa Milano, who got her start playing sweet Samantha Micelli on "Who's the Boss?" in 1983. Milano was just 10 when the show began. She grew into a teen as the show progressed, and finally departed at the age of 20 when the series ended in 1993. Afterward, Milano's resume is pockmarked by racy B-grade TV or video flicks: "Confessions of a Sorority Girl," "Poison Ivy II" and "The Long Island Lolita Story," and eventually a role on "Melrose Place." It's as if she was obliged to play innuendo-soaked, over-the-top, sleazy roles in order to transition from child to sexual adult.
We never had to watch promiscuous and self-destructive Jen (played by 19-year-old Michelle Williams on "Dawson's") as a baby-faced blonde Cindy Brady-type in some past TV series. Thus, it's acceptable for characters like Jen to exist as excessively sexual entities. They were never our little sisters to begin with.
Cindy Brady is the classic victim of Little Sister Syndrome. Susan Olsen (8 years old when the show started in 1969) is the only Brady cast member who never went on to play another role. Olsen starred in the original series from 1969-1974, and in the spin-off series "The Brady Kids" in 1972, "The Brady Bunch Hour" (1977) and "The Brady Girls Get Married" (1981).
Olsen says she got out of the acting business because she was indelibly cast as "little Cindy Brady." As the youngest star of the classic American TV family - closest to the age of innocence and farthest from pubescence - Olsen was locked into the role of the quintessential Little Sister: cute, lovable and chaste. It's not easy being the "youngest one in curls" for eternity.
Animated Immunity Clause:
Film actors may initially suffer from young-kid typecasting, but as evidenced by the oddly asexual Jodie Foster, they can grow into adult roles. Viewers expect the members of their favorite series to always be there for them. They don't want them to grow or change too much.
Animated families like "The Flintstones," "The Jetsons" and "The Simpsons" have been able to maintain widespread popularity because the kids don't age. And there's never a need for the writers to produce new ones to fill that little-kid quota. TV kids such as the Olsen Twins, Brandy and even Lacey Chabert are much more street smart than those of just 10 years earlier. We're beginning to see our TV Little Sisters in more adult terms as the rules of the game change. Although "Po5's" Chabert is initially repulsive in her newfound womanhood, all it will take is a hot TV soap, asexual aspirations or a simple name-change.