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Oliver
Oliver Barnes
Biographical information
Born

1970

Status

Alive

Alias
  • Ollie
  • Boliver (with Ben)
Title(s)

M.D.

Family information
Siblings
Parents
Grandparents

Grandma

Others
  • Ned † (grand-uncle)
  • Frieda (cousin)
Professional Information
Profession

Plastic surgeon

Workplace

St. Ambrose Hospital

Character information
First appearance

Pilot

Last appearance

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. And Do. And...

Portrayed By

Ty Burrell

.

Oliver Barnes is a plastic surgeon and the oldest child in the Barnes family.

History[]

Christmas 1982[]

At a Christmas party in 1982, Ben and Oliver stole a snow globe from the neighbor, Mrs. Veech, a crime for which Regina was accused. Regina maintained her innocence, even over 20 years later. When Lydia set up to remodel her apartment, where the snow globe had been hidden, the truth came out. ("If These Floors Could Talk")

Breaking His Arm[]

As a child, Oliver once broke his arm skateboarding down a slide and his parents had to spend the night in the ER with him. Stewart had let him try the skateboarding because Regina had done it and made it look so easy. The next morning, he wanted to go back to the park with Stewart. ("The Truth About Nerds & Dogs")

Dating Janice[]

When he was young, Oliver dated a family friend, Janice Meyers. They were together for a year when he proposed. She turned him down and they broke things off. Ben theorizes this as the reason why he doesn't let his relationships progress. ("The Wedding")

Thanksgiving 1998[]

Oliver was dating a woman named Sharon. Unbeknownst to him, she was also dating his sister. At Thanksgiving, the two of them were caught kissing and the truth came out. Sharon broke up with Oliver to be with Regina. ("Thanks")

Thanksgiving 2004[]

Lydia and Stewart were separated for Thanksgiving 2004, but hadn't yet told the kids, so they pretended to be still married. The kids knew something was up, but they figured that something was wrong with Stewart, since he appeared not to be able to remember things, like where things are located in the kitchen. When he got food on his shirt, Regina suggested he change, but he insisted club soda would take it out. However, a loud pop scared him, causing him to spill wine all over his shirt. Because he no longer had clothes there, he was forced to put on one of Lydia's. He then spilled dip on his pants when Oliver came through the door unexpectedly. Ben then noticed that all of Stewart's things were gone and they figured out that their parents had separated. They thought it would be the last Thanksgiving they all spent together. ("Thanks")

Oliver and Regina Setting Ben Up[]

When Ben started to get back into nerdy things with his friends from high school, Oliver and Regina hatched a plan to set him up with women to get him back into the dating scene. Because of their competitive natures, they made a bet over which woman Ben would choose. Regina said she wouldn't make a bet, but Oliver figured out that she had set Ben up with a co-worker and then tried to set his own date up with Ben. They fought and both women left. ("The Truth About Nerds & Dogs")

New Apartment[]

Oliver purchased a new apartment that was very fancy, even having a command center that controlled his appliances. It also had a fish tank in the floor. When Ben shorted out the system on his first day in the place, Oliver temporarily moved in with Ben while they worked on getting power restored. Oliver was able to buy the apartment because he did work on a famous actress, Claudia Penchant. Frustrated when she denied having plastic surgery, he confided in his family. His mother than inadvertently revealed the truth to a reporter, causing Oliver to get sued for breaking the confidentiality agreement he had signed prior to treating her. He decided to settle out of court, but the settlement involved giving her the new apartment, meaning he had to move in with Ben permanently. ("Brothers Grim")

Hospital Fundraiser[]

Oliver went to the hospital fundraiser with Sophie, a pharmaceutical sales rep he liked, but who had turned down every other person who had hit on her. Oliver decided to take a different route, pretending he wanted to be just her friend while waiting for her to make the first move. At the fundraiser, he bid on an apple-picking trip, hoping that that's when things would start moving. He got caught in a bidding war with a very rich man who had bought a new wing for the hospital, but ultimately won the auction. ("The Heartbreak Kid")

Bailing on Ben[]

Ben scheduled and paid for a cooking class for himself and Oliver. Angry at Oliver for repeatedly canceling their plans, Ben bailed on the cooking class and sent Lydia in his place, not knowing that Oliver was also planning to bail and had sent Regina in his place. They both ended up watching a pay-per-view fight with their father, who was hiding from Crystal. They coached him through his relationship troubles. ("Key Ingredients")

Janice Meyers' Wedding[]

Oliver, along with the rest of his family, was invited to the wedding of Janice Meyers, whom they had known since she was a child. After both of his dates bailed on him, he found a woman in the lobby of their hotel. Despite her not speaking English, he had her pretend to be his date. ("The Wedding")

Thanksgiving 2005[]

Despite them being divorced, Ben suggested that Lydia invited Stewart to Thanksgiving, so the five of them could celebrate together as a family. The three siblings set up an emergency page to get them out of dinner early. Things went south when Oliver accidentally pushed the turkey out the window. They then ordered Chinese food. The man who delivered it accidentally hit the turkey as he biked to them. As he was leaving, he collapsed. They later figured out it was because his wife had forgotten to pick up his blood pressure medication. They got him stable and had him promise to check in with his regular doctor before sending him on his way. After reminiscing about past Thanksgivings that hadn't gone so well, they ignored the emergency page and sat down to have a nice dinner together. ("Thanks")

Crystal's Follow-Up[]

Six months after having her implants placed, Oliver had to have her in for a follow-up visit. Hearing about it made Stewart jealous and Ben thought that meant he knew that Oliver had asked Crystal out. He didn't, but Ben then told him, which made him even more jealous. ("Guilt Trip")

Visiting Maria[]

Maria was the Barnes' housekeeper when the kids were little. For her 80th birthday, Lydia baked her a cake and planned to go visit her in the nursing home. However, Lydia decided to go the following morning and guilted the others into joining her. Stewart and Oliver rode in one car while Ben, Lydia, and Regina rode in the other. While they were driving, Ben hit something and the tire went flat. Lydia asked Regina to change it, but then remembered that she'd had the spare tire taken out to make room for the cake. They then all piled into Stewart's classic car, which he was restoring. However, the only thing he'd done so far was the horn, which he demonstrated. However, he hadn't done a very good job because the horn started honking continuously. It also rained the rest of the way, so when they arrived, they were soaked and upset. Lydia had even lost a shoe through the hole in the floor and the cake had been destroyed. Maria was sleeping when they arrived, so they decided to wait a few minutes rather than waking her up. Ben created a scene in Maria's room when he refused to rub her roommate's feet and then pressed her bed alarm by mistake. The ensuing chaos woke Maria. ("Guilt Trip")

Crystal's Poetry Reading[]

After Ben invited Crystal in, Stewart invited all three kids to go to Crystal's poetry reading and then to dinner together. They were all bored out of their minds, but didn't tell Stewart and ended up watching a DVD of her next poetry reading with him. ("Guilt Trip")

Christmas 2005[]

Ben and Oliver both went to two Christmas dinners: the first at Lydia's and the second at Stewart's, where Crystal cooked Christmas dinner. According to Ben and Oliver, she got every recipe off a marshmallow bag. ("New Year's Eve")

New Year's Eve 2005[]

After a long dry spell for all of them, Ben, Regina, and Oliver decided to throw a huge New Year's party in order to score. They accidentally invited both Lydia and Stewart. Stewart also mistakenly assumed that they would want his all-doctor singing group, The Medtones, to perform. Oliver ended up bribing a nursing home so they wouldn't perform, but they showed up anyway after they were done with the nursing home gig.

At the party, Ben began to flirt with a woman named Jennifer. When he got up to answer the door, Oliver stepped in and also flirted with her. When Ben and Oliver went to the kitchen to fight about them, Regina came in and said she had also flirted with Jennifer. After finding out that tequila makes her a wild woman, Regina left to get some after sabotaging Oliver, saying he had a pregnant wife. Oliver faked an injury to get Jennifer to massage his leg. They continued to take turns hitting on Jennifer until she left the party with Jennifer. Regina later came back and was going to brag, but admitted that Jennifer had gone to a bar with her for a drink, but left with another woman and two men from Cirque Du Soleil. Their parents both scored at their party, but they all ended up alone at midnight. ("New Year's Eve")

Cabin Trip[]

Lydia and Stewart had a week in a cabin, which they decided to split after the divorce. Lydia took the first half of the week with Ben and Stewart the second with Regina and Oliver. Lydia was planning to be out of the cabin before Stewart and Crystal showed up, but they ended up being snowed in. Lydia was shocked that Stewart and Crystal (along with Oliver and Regina, plus Oliver's girlfriend Trisha, were able to make it up to the cabin. Nevertheless, they tried to make the best of it. When Oliver, Ben, and Stewart found a pregnancy test while the ladies were out, they all panicked and speculated over whose test it might be, each of them hoping they weren't the father. Ultimately, it was discovered that the test belonged to Regina, who was thinking about using a sperm donor to become a mom alone and bought the test in case she might need it.

During the fight over the pregnancy test, Oliver found out that Ben had slept with his girlfriend while they were briefly broken up, which made him a contender for the father if Trisha were the one who was pregnant. ("Yours, Mine or His?")

Bet with Ben[]

Ben agreed to put in a good word with a co-worker of his for Oliver if Oliver agreed not to dump her as soon as he got what he wanted. Because of this agreement, he continued to date the woman, Debbie, even though she had the annoying habit of making sound effects for everything. When Ben finally conceded that Oliver wasn't as shallow as he thought, Oliver dumped Debbie. ("Model Behavior")

Valentine's Day 2006[]

Oliver had plans with Lola for Valentine's Day. However, he hit a snag when the restaurant where he had reservations closed because there was a mob hit there. He desperately searched for another place they could go. When his mother mentioned that she had a reservation for La Cucina, he was delighted and took her up on the offer to take it. However, she meant for him to have dinner with her, while he thought she was offering it to him to use with Lola. Once he figured out what had happened, Oliver tried to get out of dinner with his mom without hurting her feelings, but the truth came out and Lydia ultimately let him go on his date with Lola. ("Hot Water")

Competing with Regina[]

Oliver joined a new sports club and invited Regina there to play squash with him. When she discovered the amenities at his club, she lost to him in order to get him to keep paying the guest fee for her to come play. Oliver was then confused when he received a bill for multiple services he hadn't used, as Regina used them not knowing that the club charged for every individual thing. She apologized to him for what she'd done, but because she kept losing to him, he thought he was good and put money on a game with the club's pro. ("You Win Some, You Use Some")

Wooing Joanna[]

Oliver was attracted to a woman in his building, Joanna. He overheard her talking to her mom on the phone, indicating that they have a close relationship. He decided to take his mom to the bar where Joanna works, pretending that he's closer to Lydia than he actually is, in order to get her to go out with him. It worked for a while, but when he brought Joanna to a party his mother was throwing, the truth came out and Joanna left in anger. ("You Win Some, You Use Some")

Barking Dog[]

Oliver was bothered by a small dog that continuously barked in their building. He contacted the super and got the owner's number. Over Ben's protests, he called and left an angry message. Later, he met a girl, Elizabeth, at a party while playing with Monty who quickly informed him that she was the woman's granddaughter. Not wanting to ruin his chances with the girl, Oliver faked a British accent. However, his plan was foiled when he brought her back to his apartment and his answering machine came on, playing his own voice. Elizabeth stormed out in anger. ("Doctor of the Year")

Walking in on Lydia[]

Oliver walked in on his mother in the shower one morning, thinking it was Ben. He was disturbed by the sight, but they both tried to forget about it. However, when Lydia later needed some confidence, Oliver talked to her about how beautiful and desirable she was. ("Doctor of the Year")

Doctor of the Year[]

Oliver was convinced he was the one when he was told that Dr. Barnes from St. Ambrose Hospital was named one of the doctors of the year. He was disappointed when they found out it was actually Stewart. ("Doctor of the Year")

Uncle Ned's Funeral[]

The whole Barnes family attended the funeral of Ned, Lydia's uncle. At the funeral, he and Ben were reunited with Kathy Kelly, who they both had had a crush on when they were younger. They lied and said they weren't close like they had been as kids and competed for her affection. When she left a message on their answering machine, they fought over which of them the message was meant for. After being tricked by Regina, they showed up at the same restaurant at the same time wearing the same outfit. They still fought over which of them Kathy liked. When she showed up, she told them the one she liked, she was liking a lot less and left. ("Restaurant Row")

Fighting With Ben Over Patients[]

When Ben left Oliver alone at the diner with his patient, Lou Pimsky, Lou spoke to Oliver about plastic surgery for his very large nose. He decided to quit therapy sessions with Ben in order to afford the plastic surgery. When Ben found out that Oliver had operated on Lou, he became upset with Oliver for stealing on of his patients. He went to Oliver's office to confront him, but while he was there, he spoke to a woman in the waiting room and convinced her not to get the breast implants that her boyfriend wanted and instead took the two of them on as clients for couples counseling.

The boyfriend heard a message that Oliver left on their machine begging Roberta to come back to him and later came to Oliver and Ben's apartment to confront them, but they defended themselves by pretending to be gay. The brothers ultimately made up. ("Losing Patients")

Bachelor Auction[]

Lydia asked Oliver to be one of the bachelors in the bachelor auction for the hospital. When he became nervous about doing well during the auction, he injected himself with botox. However, the botox paralyzed his face to the point where the audience thought he was mocking the bachelor ahead of him, who was deaf, and turned against him. He was bought for $50 in a pity bid from Lydia. ("Doctors Without Bidders")

Knicks Game[]

Oliver got tickets to the Knicks games when he covered for another doctor, telling his wife he went to Vegas with him. He planned to take Ben and Regina. Ben ultimately went with him, but Regina was too tired after working several double shifts. ("If These Floors Could Talk")

Conference[]

Oliver was invited to attend a plastic surgery conference. Despite it being in town, he decided to take advantage of them providing a hotel. He was shocked when he found out he was expected to give a speech at the conference. He was booed off the stage when he made some racist jokes provided by Stewart. ("The Lady Doth Protest Too Much")

Cabin Trip[]

Stewart won a raffle for a weekend at a very nice cabin and planned to take Crystal. However, when he couldn't because of his hernia surgery, Lydia took the key to use with Jack. When they broke up, Oliver took the key to use with Mary. When they ended things, Regina took it to use with Conner. When Conner went back to her ex-boyfriend, Ben tried to use it with Wendy, the nurse he'd been flirting with, but she turned him down after overhearing Oliver say he's crazy. Ben, Oliver, Regina, and Lydia ended up going out there together just the four of them. ("Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. And Do. And...")

Relationships[]

Romantic[]

Janice Meyers[]

Oliver's family and Janice's family have known each other for decades. When he was young, Oliver was involved with Janice for over a year. He eventually even proposed to her, but she turned him down and they broke things off. ("The Wedding")

Sharon[]

In 1998, Oliver was dating a woman named Sharon. Unbeknownst to him, she was also dating his sister, Regina. The truth came out when Oliver brought Sharon to their family Thanksgiving. During their relationship, Oliver bought Sharon diamond earrings, which she then gave to Regina.

Gail Henson[]

After a chance meeting with model Gail Henson at the diner he frequents, Oliver asked her out. He was dismayed that she had a busy schedule, but she said she'd call if she had time. She had an availability and he immediately took it. Their date was interrupted when Lydia called him back to talk Ben out of reuniting with Naomi. When she overheard him telling how he gets over women, by finding other women, she storms out. ("We Wanna Hold Your Hand")

Tina[]

Oliver used Tina as an opportunity to show his mother how to flirt. They had some prior relationship according to their conversation, but hadn't seen each other in a while. ("And I'll Cry If I Want To")

Jasmine[]

Oliver went on a date with Jasmine. However, when he discovered that Regina was setting Ben up with a co-worker, he switched to trying to hook Jasmine up with Ben, not wanting to lose to Regina. As a result, he ended up losing Jasmine. ("The Truth About Nerds & Dogs")

Sophie[]

Sophie was a pharmaceutical sales rep at the hospital whom Oliver liked. Because so many others had hit on her and failed, Oliver tried another thing, befriending her and acting like he wasn't interested. He brought her along to the hospital charity event and bid on an apple-picking trip, hoping that's where she'd finally make the first move with him. However, when she made it clear that she wasn't going to make a move on him, he gave away the apple-picking trip to Stewart and stopped hanging out with Sophie. ("The Heartbreak Kid")

Holly[]

Oliver began dating a woman named Holly. They called themselves Holly and Ollie. However, when he was invited to the wedding of Janice Meyers, he knew it was too soon in their relationship for her to be his date, but he couldn't arrive without one, so he brought another woman. However, when that woman, Cynthia, bailed on him, he called Holly and begged her to come out to Philadelphia. She did, but when she arrived and found out what Oliver had done, she stormed out. ("The Wedding")

Cynthia Mann[]

Though he was dating Holly, Oliver knew that it was too soon in their relationship to make her his date to Janice Meyers' wedding, so he invited Cynthia, their yoga teacher. He made repeated hints to Janice that it as serious with Cynthia, which she overheard. The comments freaked her out, so she left. ("The Wedding")

Jennifer[]

At the New Year's Eve party the three siblings threw, Oliver hit on a woman named Jennifer. However, Ben and Regina were also interested and also hit on her. After passing the buck several times, Jennifer left with Regina, but Regina later admitted that they didn't hook up as Jennifer had left with another woman and two men from Cirque du Soleil. ("New Year's Eve")

Darla[]

Oliver dated a woman named Darla and bought her a necklace that he had personalized. He later gave the necklace to Trisha, ending their relationship when she saw that it had another woman's name on it. ("Yours, Mine or His?")

Trisha[]

Oliver dated a woman named Trisha. They broke up when he gave her a birthday gift he'd gotten for an old girlfriend. When Regina spotted her in the diner, she asked Oliver about her. Oliver could see her in the water glass, so he started saying nice things about her and they rekindled their relationship. However, their relationship hit another snag when Oliver suspected she was pregnant and then it came out that she had slept with Ben during their break up. ("Yours, Mine or His?")

Debbie[]

Debbie works with Ben and when Oliver saw her at the diner, he asked Ben to put in a good word for him. Ben refused and said she had a boyfriend anyway. When Oliver discovered that Ben was lying, he convinced Ben to put in a good word for him with Debbie. However, he quickly became annoyed at her habit of making sound effects for everything. He stuck with it despite that, because he wanted to prove a point to Ben. However, once Ben conceded that he could break up with her, he did. ("Model Behavior")

Lola[]

Oliver had a Valentine's Day date with Lola. When through mistaken conversation, he ended up agreeing to dinner with his mother, he frantically tried to get out of that dinner in order to go on his date. Lola became upset at the multiple delays and confronted him. When Lydia learned the truth, she allowed him to go on his date with Lola. ("Hot Water")

Joanna[]

Oliver was attracted to a woman in his building, Joanna. He overheard her talking to her mom on the phone, indicating that they have a close relationship. He decided to take his mom to the bar where Joanna works, pretending that he's closer to Lydia than he actually is, in order to get her to go out with him. It worked for a while, but when he brought Joanna to a party his mother was throwing, the truth came out and Joanna left in anger. ("You Win Some, You Use Some")

Elizabeth[]

Oliver met Elizabeth at a party while playing with Monty. When he learned that she was the granddaughter of the women whose dog barked all the time (on whose answering machine Oliver had left an angry message), he faked a British accent to avoid being discovered. When he took her back to his place to continue their night, he was found out when his own answering machine picked up, playing his own voice. Elizabeth stormed out in anger. ("Doctor of the Year")

Kathy Kelly[]

When they were kids, Oliver salivated over Kathy when his family would visit Uncle Ned's beach house. He once swam out to a buoy to impress her and had to be rescued by his mother. When Uncle Ned died, she came to the funeral. After spending an awkward time with both Ben and Oliver vying for her, she left a message on their answering machine, not knowing they lived together, asking one of the brothers out. However, since she didn't specify while of them she wanted to see, each of them thought he was the one. Helped by Regina tricking them, they showed up at the same restaurant at the same time wearing the same outfit. When Kathy showed up, she told them that the brother she did like, she was liking a lot less and left. ("Restaurant Row")

Lana[]

Oliver went on a date with Lana, a UN translator. According to him, the date went well. ("Doctors Without Bidders")

Waitress at the Diner[]

Oliver went out with one of the waitresses at the diner. When it went south, she treated everyone who came to the diner with him poorly as revenge. ("The Lady Doth Protest Too Much")

Mary Tesh[]

Mary Tesh was a new doctor at the hospital. She hit on Oliver and surprised him by using his usual tricks. When Oliver invited her to go to the beach house with him after Stewart couldn't go, she wasn't enthusiastic, which started a fight. They ultimately broke up. ("Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. And Do. And...")

Familial[]

Regina Barnes[]

Oliver and Regina are very competitive, usually competing in athletic endeavors and occasionally over the same women.

Ben Barnes[]

When he and Ben were kids, they slept in bunk beds and wore the same clothes. ("Restaurant Row")

Oliver and Regina both tend to pick on Ben for his nerdy tendencies, such as reading comic books.

When they were children, Ben broke Oliver's air hockey game, something he never forgot. ("Brothers Grim")

When Lydia's mistake cost Oliver his new apartment, he moved in with Ben. ("Guilt Trip")

Crystal[]

Oliver, as a cosmetic surgeon, placed Crystal's breast implants. After the surgery, he asked her out, but she turned him down. Shortly thereafter, she started dating Oliver's father, Stewart.

After they started dating, Oliver felt that socializing with Crystal was being disloyal to their mom.

Friendships[]

He has a friend named Mark. He told Sophie he considered taking Mark to the fundraiser, but decided to take her instead. ("The Heartbreak Kid")

Career[]

Oliver is a plastic surgeon. He most notably did work on Crystal, his father's receptionist and girlfriend, though it was before they got together.

He also did extensive work on Claudia Penchant, a famous actress. However, when she attributed her change to diet and exercise, he became upset and obsessed over it. Lydia, coming to his defense, confronted the woman she believed to be Claudia, but it was actually a reporter, who then released the news. Oliver settled with Claudia to avoid a lawsuit and ended up giving her his fancy new apartment. ("Brothers Grim")

Notes and Trivia[]

Gallery[]

Appearances[]

Appearances

Pilot · We Wanna Hold Your Hand · And I'll Cry If I Want To · The Truth About Nerds & Dogs · Brothers Grim · The Heartbreak Kid · Key Ingredients · The Wedding · Thanks · Guilt Trip · New Year's Eve · Yours, Mine or His? · Model Behavior · Hot Water · You Win Some, You Use Some · Doctor of the Year · Restaurant Row · Losing Patients · Doctors Without Bidders · If These Floors Could Talk · The Lady Doth Protest Too Much · Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. And Do. And...

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