Best and Worst Replacement Characters

[Cyke101]

This is slightly off-topic, but I mention it here because Cheers had been brought up a bit, but it's pretty amazing how the show brought Kelsey Grammer (S3) and Bebe Neuwirth later (S4 recurring, S8 main) on and both ended up nabbing Emmys for their work. Not a lot of shows can manage to change up the cast like that to critical acclaim.

So they're not replacement characters in any sense, but additions that only improved the product.

 

[Random_Spock]

Worst:
Annabeth Gish in X-Files. Robert Patrick was okay-ish, but the Reyes character was dreadful.

I thought Reyes was ok. The blame goes on Chris for the whale singing . And some of the other quirks.

The whole new-age neurotic thing really spoiled the last remaining vestiges of hope I had for the show. There was no character tension there--she already believed in everything so there was nowhere for her to really grow. I grant you this: the show was pretty bad in its final seasons, so it's not like a better imagining of that character would have done much to save it, and it didn't really make it much worse.

You bring up a good point on that. It's like he pretty much painted her into a corner by having her be that way. A damn shame tbh.

Reyes was a whole lot better than whiny-no-survival-instinct-bitch Scully and Jesus-mode Mulder from the last two seasons. Yikes.

Definitely. To a point. Hoping either of those don't make a comeback.

I think the choice between Reyes and the other two dumbasses was the choice between a knitting needle in the eye or the hand. Both suck, but one of them sucks a lot harder.

But seriously, what was up with the characterisation of Scully and Mulder in the last two seasons? Christ, that was annoying.

Yep.

I don't know. We'd have to open up the writer's minds in regards to that one.

Spoiler: my best guess

Maybe Chris was taking some major drugs back then (I remember reading an article back in 08' or so where he mentioned he took crystal meth at some point iirc, can't find the article again sadly though). That might account for some of the more out there writing.

I didn't mind Mulder being papa bear protective of Scully though, I thought that was kind of sexy . But having him be a jerk and dealing with her being SO whiny just felt over the top and out of character for them.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Also I strongly dislike the Stargate season 9 replacements.

 

[the G-man]

Bull. Why would I turn down Ted McGinley?

Happy Days with TM lasted four more years.

Love Boat with TM lasted four more years.

Hope and Faith starring TM lasted four years.

Married With Children with TM lasted eight more friggin' years.

Why would I not sign on an actor that would guarantee my show at least four years of run time, and possibly eight?

because there's no correlation between his presence and the production duration of any of those shows. In the case of Happy Days & Love Boat, it's just as likely they lasted those final 4 years on momentum alone

Look, don't take my post the wrong way. I'm not trying to indicate that the awful myth that's been attributed to him, of being a "Sitcom curse" has any validation whatsoever

Personally I don't think that's true. The curse of Happy Days, for example, is that Ron Howard left, not that Ted joined. That stigma that's been dumped on him is unfair. However, he nevertheless was given some of the worst replacement characters in tv history, & that was the principle behind this thread

I might be being too hard on him in regards to Married With Children, which is probably the most success he's ever had on tv. I just never cared for him on it

As for the other two, his characters were the most superficially crap move I've ever seen on tv. "Pay no attention to the lovable character being gone... Pretty boy is smiling"

McGinley is jokingly referred to as the patron saint of shark jumping.

It's not that he's terrible (in fact, in some ways, he was better than Steve on "Married"). Its that his presence typically indicated a show had lost a beloved character, was past its prime and, but for Hollywood greed, should have been cancelled. In that vein, I think his relative success on "Married" was precisely because the show was still fairly new and Steve wasnt a beloved character.

That being said, I remember when Sheen left "2 1/2 men" and there was a semi serious fan cry (most notably at AICN if I recall) to go meta and have him cast as Charlie's replacement. I think that would have been pretty cool.

 

[the G-man]

Other worsts:

John Astin for Frank Gorshin's Riddler on Batman
Eartha Kitt for Julia Newmar's Catwoman on Batman.

Both had the uneviable task of replacing actors who, to this day, are arguably the iconic version of both characters (especially Gorshin).

Astin, so good as the manic Gomez Adams, was a remarkably subdued Riddler.

Kitt faired better but the culture of the time meant that the producers "had" to jettison the romantic angle. As a result, a lot of what made the character interesting was gone.

 

[J.T.B.]

This is slightly off-topic, but I mention it here because Cheers had been brought up a bit, but it's pretty amazing how the show brought Kelsey Grammer (S3) and Bebe Neuwirth later (S4 recurring, S8 main) on and both ended up nabbing Emmys for their work. Not a lot of shows can manage to change up the cast like that to critical acclaim.

So they're not replacement characters in any sense, but additions that only improved the product.

And mention should also be made of the character of Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley five years after her Star Trek big break), replacing half of one of the most popular couples on TV. She got the show out of Sam and Diane's on-again-off-again rut, and became a very solid comedic character whose tenure show surpassed her predecessor's.

But I agree completely, the Glen & Les Charles shows, Taxi and Cheers, had great "eyes" for characters. Bringing in Frazier and Lilith as mentioned above, and Reverend Jim and Simka, and all the Cheers side characters (Paul, Kelly, Nick Tortelli, John Alan Hill, Al, Sid...). John Ratzenberger wasn't in the starring cast for the first season, either, though he was in every episode.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Best-- I agree that MASH did an excellet job whenever they replaced someone.

Worst --Coy and Vance Duke on "The Dukes of Hazzard".

 

[Goji]

I thought Jool was a bad enough replacement for Zhaan on Farscape, but then they replaced her with Sikozu, one of the most complete and utter abominations of a character ever created for any show.

I actually really liked Sikozu and was disappointed by her character in The Peacekeeper Wars. No Zhaan but a hell of a lot better than Jool.

I thought both were fine, though neither was really a replacement for Zhaan, at least in terms of their personality. If anyone was, it was Noranti, but even that would be a stretch. Rather, Jool felt like a replacement for seasons 1 & 2 Chiana. I guess Moya just always need a designated character who gets everyone else in trouble (and it can't be Rygel *every* week), and who everyone else barely tolerates as a presence on the ship.

My vote for best replacements:

Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett (as Crow), Kevin Murphy (as Tom Servo) and Mary Jo Pehl on MST3K.

Rob Lowe & Adam Scott on Parks and Recreation.

Nicole deBoer on Deep Space Nine.

Worst:

Whoever replaced Scully on The X-Files. Robert Patrick was a decent enough substitute for Mulder, they just didn't give him much that was interesting to do.

Kes for Seven of Nine on Voyager. If they'd knocked off Harry Kim or Chakotay instead, I wouldn't complain about it though.

Sliders never traded up, and they tried plenty of times.

 

[Cyke101]

Other worsts:

John Astin for Frank Gorshin's Riddler on Batman
Eartha Kitt for Julia Newmar's Catwoman on Batman.

Both had the uneviable task of replacing actors who, to this day, are arguably the iconic version of both characters (especially Gorshin).

Astin, so good as the manic Gomez Adams, was a remarkably subdued Riddler.

Kitt faired better but the culture of the time meant that the producers "had" to jettison the romantic angle. As a result, a lot of what made the character interesting was gone.

Aw, I liked Kitt

This is slightly off-topic, but I mention it here because Cheers had been brought up a bit, but it's pretty amazing how the show brought Kelsey Grammer (S3) and Bebe Neuwirth later (S4 recurring, S8 main) on and both ended up nabbing Emmys for their work. Not a lot of shows can manage to change up the cast like that to critical acclaim.

So they're not replacement characters in any sense, but additions that only improved the product.

And mention should also be made of the character of Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley five years after her Star Trek big break), replacing half of one of the most popular couples on TV. She got the show out of Sam and Diane's on-again-off-again rut, and became a very solid comedic character whose tenure show surpassed her predecessor's.

Ugh, I'm kicking myself for not mentioning Rebecca! It's because I'm currently watching Frasier on Netflix from start to finish, and Rebecca's the only main Cheers cast member not to appear on Frasier.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Not the worst, but deserve a shout-out:

Replacing Rick with Uncle Jack.
Replacing Bonnie with April.

I don't need to name the shows. You know who I mean.

And not the best, but again:
Replacing April with Bonnie again!

I don't.

 

[galleywest]

I thought Reyes was ok. The blame goes on Chris for the whale singing . And some of the other quirks.

The whole new-age neurotic thing really spoiled the last remaining vestiges of hope I had for the show. There was no character tension there--she already believed in everything so there was nowhere for her to really grow. I grant you this: the show was pretty bad in its final seasons, so it's not like a better imagining of that character would have done much to save it, and it didn't really make it much worse.

You bring up a good point on that. It's like he pretty much painted her into a corner by having her be that way. A damn shame tbh.

There were lots of bad choices made in those final seasons. Lots of bad choices.

I don't know. We'd have to open up the writer's minds in regards to that one.

Spoiler: my best guess

Maybe Chris was taking some major drugs back then (I remember reading an article back in 08' or so where he mentioned he took crystal meth at some point iirc, can't find the article again sadly though). That might account for some of the more out there writing.

This would explain why he thought the demise of The Lone Gunmen was a good idea! This should totally be its own thread: WTF, X-Files?!

I thought of another character replacement a la The Other Darrin that I don't think anyone mentioned: Don Cheadle for Terrence Howard in the Iron Man movies. I like Cheadle better, but both were good in the roles. I find Cheadle to play a slightly more likeable character, but Howard's seriousness was a good foil to Tony Stark. Hmm. So neither the best nor the worst replacement. A lateral replacement.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Also for Parks & Rec, Mark for Ben & Chris might be one of the best trades ever.

And I think that Pete & Clark were very successful on the Office considering they came into a show on its 9th season and last season. I don't know if they should be classified replacement characters, though maybe they were replacements for Ryan and Kelly.

Though I think Robert California was a very poor replacement character for Mike, especially considering he was played by the best actor the show ever saw. It certainly was not James Spader's fault. The writers just mistakenly thought the awesomeness of his interview could somehow be extended for a full season.

Speaking of replacing the same character with a new actor, I think the original Becky felt a lot more real than replacement Becky.

 

[Silvercrest]

Not the worst, but deserve a shout-out:

Replacing Rick with Uncle Jack.
Replacing Bonnie with April.

I don't need to name the shows. You know who I mean.

And not the best, but again:
Replacing April with Bonnie again!

I don't.

What? You should be ashamed of yourself!

No, seriously, that was meant as more of an inside joke to those who do know.

Rick and Uncle Jack were members of the stranded Marshall family on "Land of the Lost" in the 1970s.

Bonnie Barstow and April Curtis were the maintenance techs for the talking car on "Knight Rider" in the 1980s.

 

[Tim Walker]

Best: Sheridan in Babylon 5

Yes, this character worked out well.

 

[N-121973]

Other worsts:

John Astin for Frank Gorshin's Riddler on Batman
Eartha Kitt for Julia Newmar's Catwoman on Batman.

Both had the uneviable task of replacing actors who, to this day, are arguably the iconic version of both characters (especially Gorshin).

Astin, so good as the manic Gomez Adams, was a remarkably subdued Riddler.

Kitt faired better but the culture of the time meant that the producers "had" to jettison the romantic angle. As a result, a lot of what made the character interesting was gone.

Let's also remember that for the film Julie Newmar was replaced as Catwoman by Lee Merriweather. If she hadn't been doing Time Tunnel I wonder if she would have been Catwoman in Season 3?

 

[the G-man]

I'm well aware that Meriweather replaced Newmar for the movie. However, unlike Kitt, she wasn't saddled with the no romance problem. Quite the opposite, in fact. As a result, I can't say she was one of the worst. There is also the fact that was confining my entries to replacement within the same media.

 

[cardinal biggles]

The previously mentioned Pulaski was interesting because she wasn't so suspiciously similar and might've been more fondly remembered if she was. I remember at the time I was really put off by how abrasive she was but in retrospect it was kind of a brave choice for a show that was as genial as TNG was.

Actually, Pulaski's abrasiveness was an interesting contrast to the more "evolved" characters, who tended towards blandness.

Her abrasiveness was TNG's ham-handed attempt to recapture the old Spock-McCoy banter by having her be something of a foil for Data. Add to that her mistrust of the transporter and her penchant for down-home remedies when all else fails, and it only makes the attempt more obvious. I don't fault Muldaur for doing her best with what she was given, and I even grew to like Pulaski over the years and subsequent rewatches, but the character was a mismatch for the show.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

The Uncle Jack season (3) of Land Of The Lost had a lot of other issues as well-most of the writers from the first two seasons were pretty much gone, and the mythology of the Land-fairly solid in the first two seasons-was kind of messed up a bit too (introducing stuff like Medusa, yeti, fire-breathing dragons etc. instead of the Dinosaurs, cavemen, Sleestak/Altrusians), time-displaced humans etc. who typically made up the "land")

 

[Redfern]

Well, Eartha Kitt certainly brought her wonderfully "trilling" quality to her dialog. Some may feel that was over the top, but the whole show was structured as such. In that respect, it fit perfectly.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Galileo7]

Best

Callum Keith Rennie as "Ray Vecchio" replacing David Marciano as Ray Vecchio in Season 3 of Due South. Not only did they work it into the story in a really effective way, but both of the characters had great chemistry with Benton Fraser, but were different enough to create a different but equally enjoyable dynamic between the leads.

Worst

Kent McCord and Barry Van Dyke as not Apollo and Starbuck in Galactica 80, failing to fill the shoes of Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict.

Agree on all thoughts. Excellent examples.