Unexpected fan favorites who take over the show?

As with Wesley on Buffy, she was written to die at the end of her arc (Wesley was to have been killed by Faith). They rewrote the trilogy and kept her around, then spun her off. I'd argue that even now, Xena is more popular than Hercules.

As for Worf, yes. He was originally going to be in just the pilot, but the producers liked the character and kept him around. It was only when Denise Crosby decided to leave the series that the writers began to write for Worf.

 

Wasn't she meant to be a main character from the moment they first introduced her?

 

No more than Paris, B'Elanna, Chakotay and Kim, I think.
But she firmly stepped into the footsteps of Spock, Data and The Holodoc.
It could be argued it was pushed by the producers after she was introduced, though, and not simply because of fan reactions.

 

Except maybe Barnabas Collins, whom Starbreaker mentioned earlier. He didn't even appear on the show until episode #210, and was meant to be just a short-term villain, but he quickly became both the star and central focus of the show, eclipsing all the other characters.

I'm kicking myself for not thinking of him right away!

 

Arthur Daley in Minder.

John Steed in The Avengers.

 

So, I win the Internet, right?

 

I think Sylar being a increasingly annoying turd that wouldn't flush was more the symptom of the relatively rapid creative collapse of Heroes rather than the root cause.

Chiana from Farscape was intended to die off but had staying power and Scorpius was also originally intended as a one off, but impressed the writers and fans too. Ditto to a similar extent for Seven and the EMH on VOY.

Herrick was a fan favourite who nearly took over the UK version of Being Human but unlike the inept creative team behind Heroes keeping Sylar after his sell by date, the BH writers sensibly killed off Herrick permanently after the first time he was brought back from the dead.

 

George Peppard was supposed to be the star of The A-Team, but it was Mr. T that took over the spotlight.

Add B.A. Baracus to the list.

 

Ah, The Avengers, the show where no one even remembers what they started out trying to avenge anymore. I think all but 1 of the episodes with the original lead were wiped anyway.

I also kick myself for not thinking of Barnabas Collins. It got to the point where the DVDs initially avoided releasing any of the pre-Barnabas episodes. (5 years later, they finally released the 1st 209 episodes under the title Dark Shadows: The Beginning.) And, of course, the recent movie remake was all about Johnny Depp as Barnabas.

I suppose the big 4 in this category would be Barnabas Collins, Fonzie, Steve Urkel, & John Steed.

I've never seen Blake's 7. It's never been released in the U.S. It makes me feel all left out when the British people get to talk about it.

Yeah. I didn't start watching until the Pylea arc in Season 2. By that point, Wesley had stopped being such an overtly comic character. Going back, it's really wierd, especially since his more physical style of humor is very unique for a Joss Whedon series. He was more over the top buffoonish than pretty much any other character he's ever written. Interestingly, even as late as Season 3, the writers still hadn't completely dispelled themselves of that image of him. The DVDs include a deleted scene of Wesley doing this broadly comic ballet fantasy sequence in "Waiting in the Wings."

I wouldn't say that. Worf always remained squarely a part of the ensemble. Even when he joined the DS9 cast, he still didn't get any more screentime or plotlines than O'Brien, Bashir, Kira, or Odo. If anything, there are some episodes, in Season 4 especially, where his part seems nearly microscopic.

Oh, I know. IIRC, "Head Game" was originally written for Frasier but he was either in jail or doing court mandated community service at the time. As for "Moon Dance," I think that episode was specifically written for Frasier to have a minimal role because it was the first episode that Kelsey Grammer directed. But I doubt Grammer's legal troubles explain the heavy emphasis on the Niles/Daphne arc in Seasons 6 & 7.

Not really. He was the critical darling that got all the press & awards attention but the show always had major screentime going on for the other characters, especially Kellerman & Lewis.

If anything, the character that seemed to explode as the fan favorite was Munch. After all, the 1st Law & Order crossover they did featured Pembleton & Bayliss (the ostensible leads to the extent that Homicide had such a thing). But the two later Law & Order crossovers they did seemed to exist solely as an excuse to watch Munch & Briscoe snark off of each other.

Very true. This is partly because Lucy Lawless is awesome and Kevin Sorbo is an idiot. But also, never underestimate the fervor of a committed lesbian following. (Doccubus!!!!! )

I would very much argue that. Seven became a major leading character on the show long before fans had a chance to react to her. If anything, the Doctor was the breakout fan favorite there, which is surprising because it seemed to take a while. He'd been a regular on the show from the beginning but didn't really start to rise above the pack until Season 5. I suppose it just took that long for the writers to really become comfortable using the mobile emitter on a permanent basis.

 

It was shown on PBS where I lived. The cast were popular guests at cons.

 

Oh, very much so. He really became a mega-star practically overnight. From all accounts, Peppard never really got over having to play second fiddle on what he thought would be his show.

It not aired on local PBS stations, it was also released on VHS, so us old folks got to see it. Unfortunately, it has never been released on DVD for the US market. There are, however, "ways" (* cough* ) including watching them on youtube HERE. While I love it, mostly for producing Kerr Avon, the best character EVER (slight bias there), if you choose to watch, you must keep in mind that the budget for this show that ran from 1978 to 81 was roughly the US equivalent of $100. And I wish I was exaggerating.

 

I also think Avon is the best character in Sci-fi and his and Blake's 7 influence can be seen in later shows such as Farscape and Firefly.

 

ah, yes, Urkel syndrome. I think for me, my favorite was pretty much the rest of the cast of Picket Fences. Here we have a Twin Peaks level bizarre prime time show that was half crime drama, half medical drama who's original premise was "Big city sheriff and doctor move to quirky small town". Pretty much all the characters in this show got great development and the Brock family, Jimmy and Jill at least, got pushed into the background. (It didn't help that Don Cheadle got picked up for the second season and took the focus off of Skerritt)

 

Nope. It's a matter of well known record that the show was created for Mr. T:

• In 1982, NBC entertainment executive Brandon Tartikoff called Stephen J. Cannell and writing partner Frank Lupo in for a meeting about a proposed new action adventure series. Cannell had already had some television hits, most notably 'The Rockford Files' (1974-1980), and had an idea of a show he'd like to develop (something that would ultimately become 'Stingray' (1986)), but Tartikoff had a different concept for a series. Something he called 'The A-Team'. He gave Cannell and Lupo the assignment of developing a new show with the brief of "a cross between 'The Dirty Dozen' (1967) and 'The Magnificent Seven' (1960, a remake of 'The Seven Samurai' (1954))". He also guided them that it should have "vague elements of the 'Mad Max' movies".
  
  Tartikoff gave Cannell and Lupo free reign over how to develop the premise, with just one guideline - "That Mr. T drives the truck". Mr. T had risen to stardom playing boxer James 'Clubber' Lang in 'Rocky III' released earlier that year, and now television was looking for a vehicle for him to appear in.

Peppard may have thought it was going to be his show, but he was the only one.

 

I was thinking that same thing. You can also include The Doctor in that too.

 

I think Seven of Nine's takeover of VOY was planned, though, since they cast a beautiful woman and put her in skin tight clothin' by her third episode.

Sure, she showed up as a drone, but ya know they weren't gonna keep her like that.

Gotta get the male demographic, and that was the way they did it.

 

I never said it wasn't created for Mr. T; I said Peppard THOUGHT it would be his show. He had been in talks to be the star of a new show and had no idea what he was really walking into--hence his incredible dislike for Mr.T right from the start. He was supposed to "drive the truck" is hardly the description of the role of the lead character, but unfortunately for George, no one cared about that.

 

"J.J." in the 70's sitcom, Good Times, took over that show, lock, stock, and catchphrase -- "Dynomite"!!! The show was originally suppose to revolve around the parents trying to raise their family in the ghetto.

Seven of Nine didn't "take over" Voyager. Not the way "JJ", The Fonze, Alex P. Keaton, Urkel, took over their shows. Those were initially minor or background characters who became the only thing fans thought about when they heard the names of the shows. With Seven, it was only that way among a fraction of Voy fans. I think this is a "thing" among Voy fans, the debate about Seven and the Doctor "taking over" Voy. She was simply one of the more prominent castmembers.

 

Mr. Bennet /Horned Rim Glasses Man from season 1 Heroes

The episode "Company Man" turned him from villain to absolute hero and fan favorite in just 42 minutes.. testament to the brilliance that was season 1 Heroes


Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory

Though he was always one of the leads of the show (as much as anyone can be a lead in the beginnings of an ensemble show) he truly broke out and became a fan favorite simply because of the brilliant acting by Jim Parsons (who deserved all his awards)


Bud Roberts from JAG

Initially a bumbling, insecure noob alongside the outrageously heroic main leads he became a fan favorite over time with some brilliant, if hard to watch sometimes storylines. His background and skillset was devoid of any heroism or cool action but he has developed so much that it the end he got a dream family, true respect from all the heroes on the show and a very good career

 

Not quite take over but I gather that when the West Wing was first pitched, Bartlett was supposed to be very much a background character who would seldom seen (pretty much a guest spot) but then the audience like the character and things went from there.