Frank Kelly

**Frank Kelly** is a supporting character in the HBO television series Avenue 5. He is portrayed by the actor Andy Buckley.

## Personality

Frank comes across as a somewhat dimwitted man who is easily led, mostly by his wife. Despite what he lacks in smarts Frank is a fairly positive person. He is normally quite pleasant and kind to those around him which is an extension of his mostly happy demeanor. He is inclined to take things at face value and makes the best of any situation.

## Appearance

He is relatively tall and lean, middle-aged man, with dark eyes, deep set wrinkles and short, black hair, likely to be part of Generation Z. Frank is usually in some sort of patterned shirt and tracksuit style jacket, though his style is steadily evolving.

## Character Biography

### Avenue 5

The only reason Frank and his wife, Karen, are aboard the Avenue 5 is that Karen's sister - Joyce - was unable to use her 'non-refundable' ticket due to an operation on her toe. The Kelly's then used it themselves for a vacation. This transfer of Joyce's ticket wasn't authorized or technically allowed, as a result they have been referred to as 'stowaways' by the head of Customer Relations, Matt Spencer.

During Wait a Minute, Then Who Was That on the Ladder? it is decided by Herman Judd that Frank will push a button - which isn't hooked up to anything - as part of a moral raising scheme to make things look better than they are to those back on Earth. He's very excited about the prospect of having everyone's eyes on him and describes it as like being ready to loose his virginity. The plan fails when the ship's wetsuit ruptures and Frank blames himself thinking he somehow managed to push the button incorrectly. Karen also believes it to be his fault and clams she knew she 'should have done it'. A short time later Karen concedes that it's everyone's fault. A lot of the passengers also blame Frank for the damage to the ship, one woman goes so far as to refer to Frank as 'button dick' and while walking with his wife various insults are yelled.

During the Half Way Home party Frank is nearly tossed out the airlock by an angry crew. Karen does her best to save him but her words fall on deaf ears until Captain Clark steps in as the voice of reason. He calms people down and has Frank released from Security essentially saving his life. Karen insists that her husband thanks Ryan by going up on stage and giving him a handshake, however due to everything he's heard that day about Ryan Clark, and his own worries he ends up punching Ryan in the face and being dragged away by Security.

In Was It Your Ears? Frank is brought into the conversation between Ryan, Billie, Iris, Karen and Rav Mulcair back on Earth. Thanks to the meeting and Mia's continued presence with Judd, Doug is kicked out of his cabin and it turns out that Frank allowed him to shower in his, this results in Doug overhearing everything Rav had said and adding to the pile of people who know things they shouldn't.

He points out to Doug and Spike Martin in Are You a Spider, Matt? that he thinks he can see the face of Pope John Paul II in the ring of faecal matter that Judd had lit up with glitter and lasers. This quickly spreads to many of the passengers who believe they can see the image as well and a crowd forms until it turns into a sort of religious event. Karen tries to convince Frank that it has all gone a little far and that it needs to stop but Frank remains adamant that he can see The Pope and that he's enjoying himself.

In Eight Arms But No Hands when Matt Spencer goes missing he is sent with Mads and Mia to search the ship. After Mads starts talking about how good looking he is while in a darkened room Mia announces that they need to take a break leaving Frank to console point out that women don't like vanity in men. He also tries to point out that it was something Doug never would have done in a small attempt to help Mia's and Doug's marriage but Mia doesn't take the bait.

With a great deal of free time, Frank takes to broadcasting a cooking show called Frank's Kitchen from his cabin, which is said to be very popular with children. During this show Frank prepares various recipes he's invented with makeshift cooking equipment such as an upside down iron. Ryan Clark even admits to being a huge fan of the ridiculous show. While filming his show, it turns out he's also been lying to Karen about how much the passengers hate her. While she understandably thinks everyone knows about the eight years they'll now be in space, Ryan is yet to tell them and Frank has been keeping her inside the cabin under the assumption that everyone despises her. His lies are later revealed when Matt and Rav come seeking his assistance in informing everyone they won't be home in a month.

After demanding to see Ryan about the situation, Karen attacks Frank in a mini meltdown which ends when Karen collapses in Ryan's arms. Later he watches through the television as Ryan tries to tell everybody only to learn that a child has changed their course for the Sun.

## Relationships

### Marriage

Frank has been married to Karen Kelly for many years. Though he first appears as somewhat tyrannized by his wife, the pair do care for one another greatly. Frank is always quick to come to Karen's verbal aid should it be needed but doesn't have the drive to get into a fight unless truly provoked. He usually tries to be rather gentlemanly towards her and is seen helping her down in And Then He's Gonna Shoot Off... after she turns down Spike's offer of aid. Though Spike is offended Frank isn't fazed in the slightest by his wife's words or actions.

During He's Only There To Stop His Skeleton Falling Over Frank gets it into his head that there is something going on between Karen and Captain Clark - which is untrue - and ends up assaulting him in front of everyone. Karen scolds him for his actions but does claim it was 'hot'.

### Friendships

#### Matt Spencer

Frank and Matt Spencer are pretty casual friends and, while separated by several years, have similar senses of humor which they occasionally use to back and forth to one another. Matt encouraged Frank to be more outgoing and even assertive by throwing caution to the wind and doing 'something crazy' in Wait a Minute, Then Who Was That on the Ladder? This results in Frank wearing a leather necklace with a shell which had been a secret fantasy of Frank's for some time.

#### Spike Martin

While Frank and Spike Martin aren't firm friends they are certainly friendly with one another and spend increasingly more time with one another while in the company of either Matt or Doug. Frank seems unaffected by Spike's strange takes on things and isn't easily repulsed, confused or concerned about the former astronaut.

#### Doug

Doug becomes fairly good friends with Frank after the gravity shift incident occurs. When Mia, Doug's wife, has Judd kick him out of his own cabin Frank is kind enough to let Doug shower and change in his own. The pair are also later seen in Are You a Spider, Matt? with Spike as they discus what they think of the glittery excrement floating around the ship and whose face they could see.

## Quotes

* "I know how to work a button." (Frank to Karen)
* "J.P was one of the good ones too, wasn't even a Nazi in his youth." (Frank to Spike and Doug)

## Trivia

* He believes the wildest thing he's ever done to be taking out a bridge loan.
* Frank likes jazz music and raisins according to his wife.
* Frank made a haggis using a condom.
* He is the host of Frank's Kitchen.
* He's very easy to forget.
* He has soft teeth.