Blake's 7, Taggart and...

[JoeZhang]

Pop quiz question - what other shows besides Blake's 7 (yes I know Blake came back at the end) and Taggart are named after a lead character who then leaves the show?

 

[auntiehill]

Sanford and Son? Valerie?

Edward Woodward had to bow out of The Equalizer for a season (or two?) while recovering from a severe heart attack, but he did come back.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Dangerfield.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122339/

 

[ManOnTheWave]

Valerie?

First one that popped into my head.

Valerie starred Valerie Harper, who was replaced by Sandy Duncan. The show was renamed The Hogan Family.

Gabe Kaplan only made a handful of appearances as Mr. Kotter in the final season of Welcome Back Kotter.

 

[auntiehill]

^Ah. Yes, I'd forgotten about Kotter. A very good example.

 

[Star Wolf]

Was the Dukes of Hazard about Bo and Luke or the entire Duke clan?

 

[Captaindemotion]

Murphy's Mob, a kids' show on ITV from the 1980s. The eponymous Murphy left for a series or two, though IIRC he did return.

Does Michael Praed leaving Robin of Sherwood count? Admittedly, he was replaced by Jason Connery but his character was Robin of Loxley?

 

[Marc]

Murphy's Mob, a kids' show on ITV from the 1980s. The eponymous Murphy left for a series or two, though IIRC he did return.

Does Michael Praed leaving Robin of Sherwood count? Admittedly, he was replaced by Jason Connery but his character was Robin of Loxley?

No Connery's character was Robert of Huntingdon before being called by Herne to become Robin Hood.

I believe that Loxley and Huntingdon are both part of Robin Hood's origins in that some stories claim he was the former while others claim he was the Earl of the later.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ That's right, I remember now. Some Robin legends have him as a commoner, as per Praed, some as a nobleman, as per Connery, so both aspects got covered by the same show.