Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the years?

[Jayson]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Loved the addition of Ed Helms (as Andy Bernard) on The Office (US).

I thought Karen was a good addition as well. I wish they could have kept the character around. I think the new secretary is pretty good as well they added this season. Also am I the only person who prefers Mike Wallace(I think that's the characters name) over Pam when it comes to putting a face to corporate?

Jason

 

[Starbreaker]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Jerry Orbach to Law & Order
Joe Man
Woody, Frasier, and Lilith to Cheers
Joe Mantegna and Paget Brewster to Criminal Minds
Anybody that gets added to the Dexter Cast

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Comic-Book guy on the "Simpsons" I don't think he was around in the first few years of the show. I think he was a great addition to the cast.

I could be wrong, but I believe he showed up in season two, but it was a good couple of years before he was worked into the regular flow of the series.

Yeah. I remember a really early episode that I think was supposed to be a spoof of Treasure of the Sierra Madre or something where Bart, Milhouse, & Martin pool their money to buy Comic Book Guy's rare copy of Radioactive Man #1.

Law & Order has made many great cast changes over the years:
To me, the show doesn't even exist pre-Jack McCoy.
Mike Logan, Rey Curtis, & Ed Green were all equally good partners for Lennie Briscoe.
I know lots of people were heartbroken when Lennie Briscoe left but I really liked his replacement, Joe Fontana. Fontana brought an edge that Briscoe didn't quite have (at least during the episodes I've seen). Briscoe, for all his demons, was pretty by the book compared to Fontana.
Although Jack McCoy is still on the show, he's kind of a pussy now, so I'm glad that Michael Cutter has taken over the main lawyering duties. Cutter is like a young McCoy.

Saturday Night Live is so much better now that we don't have to suffer through Will Ferrell, Chris Kattaan, Cheri O'Teri, & Molly Shannon.

Veronica Mars made a couple very good changes in its final season. First, they got rid of Duncan, who was just dead weight from the start. Second, they added Mac to the main cast, something they should have done back in Season 2. Unfortunately, even after they added her to the opening credits, she was still barely on the show. But the gesture was still appreciated.

 

[LutherSloan]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Going to second adding Chloe to '24' and Worf to 'DS9'.

 

[paudemge]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

The additions of Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda really breathed new life into The West Wing. Of course, it also took the show in a completely different direction.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar was a pleasant surprise on NYPD Blue. Fortunately for him, the writing staff situation had settled down and he really benefited from that. Ricky Schroder, on the other hand, got the short end of the stick in regards to the writing staff turmoil.

Jimmy Smits also really added to the NYPD when he came on board.

Similarly Deadwood continued to build on it's cast as the series progressed. I don't think there was a bad bit of casting or a bad character addition in the history of that show. What a great show this was, gone too soon.

I just started watching this on DVD and know it ends soon, I want to quickly get the next dvd, but also don't want to finish the series to quickly.

 

[ClayinCA]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Also am I the only person who prefers Mike Wallace(I think that's the characters name) over Pam when it comes to putting a face to corporate?

Actually, it's David Wallace, and I think you mean Jan, since Pam has never worked for corporate. And didn't Charles, not David, replace Jan? I think David was already there when Jan was at corporate....

 

[Jayson]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Also am I the only person who prefers Mike Wallace(I think that's the characters name) over Pam when it comes to putting a face to corporate?

Actually, it's David Wallace, and I think you mean Jan, since Pam has never worked for corporate. And didn't Charles, not David, replace Jan? I think David was already there when Jan was at corporate....

Yep I meant Jan not Pam. While Charles, technically replaced Jan I have always felt that David Wallace has sort of replaced Jan when it comes to being the face of corporate from a dramatic perspective. Charles, simply hasn't been in a enough episodes yet IMo to really get a feel on what his role will be on the show, asuming they even bring him back next season. If Jan does return to the show next season like I heard, there might not even be much of a need for the character.

Jason

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Most of the current L&O cast. Jack McCoy works best as *the* DA, not as an assistant (wonder how long Sam Waterston's been gunning for that?). And Michael Cutter is teh coolness - I hope Linus Roache stays for awhile yet.

 

[Goji]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Most of my fellow Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans would lynch me for saying so, but I thought the show improved greatly when Mike Nelson took over as host. When Trace left and Bill Corbet assumed the role of Crow it was more of a lateral move in quality, IMO, whereas most people seem to greatly prefer Trace.

 

[Aragorn]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

The second family (with Nicole Eggert) in Charles in Charge!!!

 

[cardinal biggles]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Mark-Paul Gosselaar was a pleasant surprise on NYPD Blue. Fortunately for him, the writing staff situation had settled down and he really benefited from that. Ricky Schroder, on the other hand, got the short end of the stick in regards to the writing staff turmoil.

Jimmy Smits also really added to the NYPD when he came on board.

Agreed on all of the above, especially the introduction of Jimmy Smits in Blue's second season. I'm sure to folks who were there at the time and had watched since the beginning the prospect of David Caruso moving on to greener pastures was terrifying, but in retrospect it opened up new possibilities for Sipowicz's character and freed the show of the prima donna albatross it was carrying around its neck.

 

[Jayson]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

The second family (with Nicole Eggert) in Charles in Charge!!!

They really did this? I use to watch "Chales in Charge" but I don't recall this. Did his best friend stay on the show?

Jason

 

[Jayson]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Most of my fellow Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans would lynch me for saying so, but I thought the show improved greatly when Mike Nelson took over as host. When Trace left and Bill Corbet assumed the role of Crow it was more of a lateral move in quality, IMO, whereas most people seem to greatly prefer Trace.

I agree with everthing you said. I even liked Bobo and Brain Guy over TV Frank.

Jason

 

[tharpdevenport]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Aside from "M*A*S*H" and "Saturday Night Live"[/b], I can't think of any good ones. I can think of a bunch of band ones though.

 

[Aragorn]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

The second family (with Nicole Eggert) in Charles in Charge!!!

They really did this? I use to watch "Chales in Charge" but I don't recall this. Did his best friend stay on the show?

Jason

Season 1 credits

Season 2 credits

They basically rebooted the show after season one under the premise that the family had sold the house and moved out while Charles was away, but they new family gave him his old job. They also jettisoned Charles' girlfriend.

 

[Jayson]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

The second family (with Nicole Eggert) in Charles in Charge!!!

They really did this? I use to watch "Chales in Charge" but I don't recall this. Did his best friend stay on the show?

Jason

Season 1 credits

Season 2 credits

They basically rebooted the show after season one under the premise that the family had sold the house and moved out while Charles was away, but they new family gave him his old job. They also jettisoned Charles' girlfriend.

That's totally surreal. I had forgotten the first family. All this time, when I think of the show I would always think of the second family, which I thought had been there from the beginning. Of course I use to think the grandpa was the same actor who played Fraser's dad on "Fraser." I thought that for years for some reason.

Jason

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Charles was totally banging the mom of the second season. And probably at least one of the daughters.

 

[Level 2 Diagnostic]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

I'm pretty sure that Scott Baio banged Nicole Eggert in real life. She was on his reality show and I recall them talking about it.

By the way, the first season of Charles in Charge was on a network and from the second season on it was syndicated, which explains some of the cast changes. I never knew about the plot twist that the first family had sold their house, and the new family moving in decided to give the old family's male live-in nanny the same job. That's right up there in stupidity with the fake "guy has no insurance, gets into an accident, so he has to become the other guy's butler" premise from Seinfeld.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Jimmy Smits seems to be the sort of opposite to Ted McGinley, whose addition to a show is often the kiss of death (Happy Days, Married With Children). Jimmy showed that NYPD Blue could continue without Caruso/Kelly and was the perfect replacement for Sheen/Bartlett in the West Wing. I understand also that he's been great in Dexter (joining in the 2nd season).

My votes would go to:

24 - Chloe, Charles Logan, Michelle Destler/ Almeida, Bill Buchanan, none of whom were in the first season but all of whom were very watchable characters.

NYPD Blue - Simone was the first of many great characters to come through a revolving door of cast members.

ER - coped well with the loss of basically the entire original cast over the years. People like Luka, Abbie, Pratt, Archie and Sam were good replacements.

Cheers - lost two central characters in Coach and Diane, replaced them almost seamlessly with Woody and Rebecca.

The Sopranos - Big Bobby, Janice, Ralphie, Tony B, Johny Sack, etc - just loads and loads of great characters.

The Wire - introduced new characters every season, by dint of its focussing on a different part of the city every season (cops, workers, politicians, teachers, the press). The schoolkids introduced in season 4 stand out as particularly impressive.

 

[DevilEyes]

Re: Best cast changes in non sci-fi shows you have watched over the ye

Law & Order has made many great cast changes over the years:
To me, the show doesn't even exist pre-Jack McCoy.

McCoy was good, but I liked Stone better.