Travicity
03-09-2011, 11:26 PM
TV Show That Successfully Survived Lead Character Replacements
You too can be successfully winning when you pump your tiger blood full of UGO's TV Shows That Successfully Survived Lead Character Replacements!
25
Spin City
Lost: Michael J. Fox
And Found: Charlie Sheen
Ha, Karma's a b*tch, ain't it Charlie boy?! The ever-winning and tiger-blood infused Sheen took over for Michael J. Fox after his departure to spread awareness for Parkinson's disease, and the show continued on for two more seasons under the remaining producers that left in the wake of creator Bill Lawrence's departure.
To be fair, we're going to continue not watching Two and a Half Men regardless of this warlock's eventual replacement.
24
The Dukes of Hazzard
Lost: John Schneider and Tom Wopat
And Found: Byron Cherry and Christopher Mayer
Coy and Vance. Sigh. Contract disputes saw Tom Wopat and John Schneider walking right off the set for the fifth season, lazily replaced with previously unknown cousins "Coy and Vance," little more than Bo and Duke clones.
Seriously. They just pencilled over their names in the script! After a season of low ratings, the real Duke boys were wooed back from their "Nascar ambitions" to drive the General Lee for another two seasons.
23
Charmed, or Really Anything with Shannen Doherty
Lost: Shannen Doherty
And Found: Rose McGowan for Charmed, Tiffani Amber-Thiesen for 90210
Bummer. Poor Shannen Doherty abandoned Charmed after its third season, and the show continued a successful run in five more seasons with Rose McGowan in her place.
Not to mention how Shannen left 90210 after its fourth season, and ended up with Tiffani Amber-Thiessen as "bad girl" Valerie Malone in her place for the majority of remaining seasons.
22
Singled Out
Lost: Jenny McCarthy
And Found: Carmen Electra
Sexy funny-girl Jenny McCarthy exited MTV's best reality dating show (Good lord, have you even watched Next?!) after two years, launching the post-Playboy career of Carmen Electra for its remaining two seasons.
21
Charlie's Angels
Lost: Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson
And Found: Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack and Tonya Roberts
The Angels' roster changed several times, most notably after the departure of Farrah Fawcett's Jill Monroe in the first season, though she'd go on to make guest appearances in the third and fourth.
Only Jaclyn Smith's Kelly Garret stayed for all five seasons to enjoy the show's wild, jiggling success.
20
Blues Clues
Lost: Steve Burns
And Found: Donovan "Joe" Patton
Blues Clues (which admit it, you totally watched) lasted for an additional four years after original host Steve Burns left follow his 100th episode, having never wanted to make a life in children's TV.
19
ER
Lost: Noah Wyle, Sherry Stringfield, George Clooney, Julianna Marguilles, Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle
And Found: A revolving door of actors, really
Because if you can lose Clooney and keep going, you can do anything! Stringfield and Wyle would return in differing capacities in later seasons, though Stringfield had started the trend of actors departing in the third.
Noah Wyle's departure in the eleventh made him the last of the originals to go, but ER continued to make stars out of actors like Goran Visnjic, Linda Cardellini, and a return to TV for John Stamos.
18
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Lost: Oh please. Look at this thing.
And Found: See above.
It's worth noting that nearly every character aboard Mystery Science Theater 3000 has undergone some change in portrayal, but fans find themselves torn between the robots' equally likeable human counterparts, first played by series creator Joel Hodgson (Robinson) and later by head writer Mike Nelson.
17
Superboy
Lost: John Haymes Newton
And Found: Gerard Christopher
Not only did the studio replace Newton with Christopher over his flat portrayal of the teenage superhero and public DUI, but the second season onward ended up replacing actors for Lex Luthor as well!
The show still managed to run for three season afterward, though ratings declined faster than a speeding bullet. Couldn't resist.
16
Talk Soup
Lost: Greg Kinnear
And Found: John Henson, Hal Sparks, Joel McHale
Greg Kinnear hosted the show for its first four years, before comedian John Henson took over. Henson's departure in turn gave way to Hal Sparks, and to Aisha Tyler, and to...a really, really ridiculous list of guest hosts.
Currently, the show lives on as The Soup with Joel McHale.
15
The Price is Right
Lost: Bob Barker
And Found: Drew Carey
One may never successfully replace the legendary Bob Barker as host of the game show forever etched in the public's collective consciousness, but Drew Carey's done a fine job in the years since Barker's retirement.
Pet spayings have declined, on the other hand.
14
Stargate: SG-1
Lost: Michael Shanks and Richard Dean Anderson
And Found: Corin Nemec and Beau Bridges
Citing underutilization of his character, Michael Shanks opted not to return for Stargate's sixth and seventh seasons before executives re-negotiated and brought him back, promptly dropping his replacement "Jonas Quinn."
Even Richard Dean Anderson's departure in the eighth season didnt' stop the series from literally cranking it up to eleven, complete with made-for-TV movies.
13
Sliders
Lost: Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, John Rhys-Davies
And Found: Robert Floyd, Kari Wuhrer, Tembi Locke
John Rhys-Davies left the series first over dissatisfaction with the writing, and in turn forced out Sabrina Lloyd when her and John's replacement Kari Wuhrer didn't share the limelight well. Eventually Jerry O'Connell himself (and his brother) left the series, leaving a fused alternate duplicate "Mallory" in their wake.
Oh, and Tembi Locke was involved somehow.
12
Power Rangers
Lost: First half the cast, then all
And Found: Every subsequent generation
Contract issues between the first and second season saw the Red, Black and Yellow Power Rangers all being replaced with new characters, but eventually each lead character found themselves exiting the show as each new generation would introduce new rangers, and increasingly absurd premises.
Jason, Red Ranger 4 life.
11
Cheers
Lost: Shelley Long
And Found: Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley replaced the notoriously difficult Shelley Long as Sam's go-to waitress and potential love interest Rebecca, with Long's character Diane leaving to pursue her career elsewhere.
Long returned for the finale, but Cheers lasted a solid five years in her absence.
10
Law and Order
Lost: Chris Noth, Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, others
And Found: Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson...and it goes on like this
Up until its cancellation Law and Order (and by extension its various spin-offs) remained a haven for fresh blood, as actors came and went and offered high-profile spotlights for dramatic stars like Benjamin Bratt or Michael Imperioli.
By its end, only S. Epatha Merkerson, Leslie Hendrix and Carolyn McCormick remained from the early years.
9
Mission: Impossible
Lost: Steven Hill
And Found: Peter Graves
Steven Hill's Dan Briggs proved notoriously difficult to work with (and work around, given his religious requirements), so the series introduced Jim Phelps as the lead for the second season onward with little to no explanation.
8
Three's Company
Lost: Suzanne Somers
And Found: Jenilee Harrison and Priscilla Barnes
The departure of Suzanne Somers in the fifth season over salary negotiations did little to slow the series' popularity, which replaced her character with her character's cousin (played by Jenilee Harrison) and finally Priscilla Barnes' Terri Alden, amisdt a plethora of other cast changes.
7
The Daily Show
Lost: Craig Kilborn
And Found: Jon Stewart
The Daily Show has debatably found much more public success and acclaim with Jon Stewart at the helm, but plenty would becry the show's initial three years with Craig Kilborn's "cruel" and less politically-focused humor.
6
The Avengers
Lost: Honor Blackman
And Found: Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson
Three different counterparts to John Steed have seen The Avengers through to lasting success (provided you stop paying attention around 1998), first with Cathy Gale, and followed by Diana Rigg's Emma Peel (arguably the most popular), and finally Linda Thorson's Tara King.
5
Star Trek
Lost: Jeffrey Hunter
And Found: William Shatner
Jeffrey Hunter carried the original Star Trek pilot as Captain Christopher Pike, but saw himself replaced with William Shatner when the NBC executives decided to give the series another go.
As Stewie Griffin once said, Jeffrey was apparently good enough to die for our sins as Jesus, but not quite up to the task of seducing green women.
4
NYPD Blue
Lost: David Caruso
And Found: Jimmy Smits
Like Law and Order and a host of other "real-world" legal and procedural dramas, NYPD Blue underwent several notable changes, including the first-season departure of David Caruso's John Kelly (who up until that point had been seen as the show's main character).
The focus shifted to Dennis Franz' charcter, who over the years would partner with several departing series regulars including Jimmy Smits, Rick Schroder and Zack Morr, er...Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
3
*M*A*S*H*
Lost: Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevensen and Larry Linville
And Found: Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan and David Ogden Stiers
The tragic exit for Colonel Henry Blake provided one of the most memorable moments of the series, and some *M*A*S*H* fans argue that the addition of BJ Hunnicut and Sherman Tecumseh Potter from seasons four to eleven offered the show's best years.
2
Doctor Who
Lost: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith
And Found: Well, that's kind of the point!
Fantastic! What better way to accomodate a long-running science fiction staple and an actor wanting to move on with their career than having the Doctor occasionally undergo a "regeneration," which by its very definition changes his appearance and personality?!
1
The Tonight Show
Lost: Steve Allen
And Found: Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno (again)
Where to even start? Johnny Carson's legendary run as host far eclipsed the original turns of Steve Allen and Jack Paar, the latter of which had dastardly referred to a toilet on-air. The horror!
The rest, you know. Jay Leno saw wild success following Carson, and wild hatred following the public debacle that precluded Conan O'Brien from taking over full time.
UGO
You too can be successfully winning when you pump your tiger blood full of UGO's TV Shows That Successfully Survived Lead Character Replacements!
25
Spin City
Lost: Michael J. Fox
And Found: Charlie Sheen
Ha, Karma's a b*tch, ain't it Charlie boy?! The ever-winning and tiger-blood infused Sheen took over for Michael J. Fox after his departure to spread awareness for Parkinson's disease, and the show continued on for two more seasons under the remaining producers that left in the wake of creator Bill Lawrence's departure.
To be fair, we're going to continue not watching Two and a Half Men regardless of this warlock's eventual replacement.
24
The Dukes of Hazzard
Lost: John Schneider and Tom Wopat
And Found: Byron Cherry and Christopher Mayer
Coy and Vance. Sigh. Contract disputes saw Tom Wopat and John Schneider walking right off the set for the fifth season, lazily replaced with previously unknown cousins "Coy and Vance," little more than Bo and Duke clones.
Seriously. They just pencilled over their names in the script! After a season of low ratings, the real Duke boys were wooed back from their "Nascar ambitions" to drive the General Lee for another two seasons.
23
Charmed, or Really Anything with Shannen Doherty
Lost: Shannen Doherty
And Found: Rose McGowan for Charmed, Tiffani Amber-Thiesen for 90210
Bummer. Poor Shannen Doherty abandoned Charmed after its third season, and the show continued a successful run in five more seasons with Rose McGowan in her place.
Not to mention how Shannen left 90210 after its fourth season, and ended up with Tiffani Amber-Thiessen as "bad girl" Valerie Malone in her place for the majority of remaining seasons.
22
Singled Out
Lost: Jenny McCarthy
And Found: Carmen Electra
Sexy funny-girl Jenny McCarthy exited MTV's best reality dating show (Good lord, have you even watched Next?!) after two years, launching the post-Playboy career of Carmen Electra for its remaining two seasons.
21
Charlie's Angels
Lost: Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson
And Found: Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack and Tonya Roberts
The Angels' roster changed several times, most notably after the departure of Farrah Fawcett's Jill Monroe in the first season, though she'd go on to make guest appearances in the third and fourth.
Only Jaclyn Smith's Kelly Garret stayed for all five seasons to enjoy the show's wild, jiggling success.
20
Blues Clues
Lost: Steve Burns
And Found: Donovan "Joe" Patton
Blues Clues (which admit it, you totally watched) lasted for an additional four years after original host Steve Burns left follow his 100th episode, having never wanted to make a life in children's TV.
19
ER
Lost: Noah Wyle, Sherry Stringfield, George Clooney, Julianna Marguilles, Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle
And Found: A revolving door of actors, really
Because if you can lose Clooney and keep going, you can do anything! Stringfield and Wyle would return in differing capacities in later seasons, though Stringfield had started the trend of actors departing in the third.
Noah Wyle's departure in the eleventh made him the last of the originals to go, but ER continued to make stars out of actors like Goran Visnjic, Linda Cardellini, and a return to TV for John Stamos.
18
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Lost: Oh please. Look at this thing.
And Found: See above.
It's worth noting that nearly every character aboard Mystery Science Theater 3000 has undergone some change in portrayal, but fans find themselves torn between the robots' equally likeable human counterparts, first played by series creator Joel Hodgson (Robinson) and later by head writer Mike Nelson.
17
Superboy
Lost: John Haymes Newton
And Found: Gerard Christopher
Not only did the studio replace Newton with Christopher over his flat portrayal of the teenage superhero and public DUI, but the second season onward ended up replacing actors for Lex Luthor as well!
The show still managed to run for three season afterward, though ratings declined faster than a speeding bullet. Couldn't resist.
16
Talk Soup
Lost: Greg Kinnear
And Found: John Henson, Hal Sparks, Joel McHale
Greg Kinnear hosted the show for its first four years, before comedian John Henson took over. Henson's departure in turn gave way to Hal Sparks, and to Aisha Tyler, and to...a really, really ridiculous list of guest hosts.
Currently, the show lives on as The Soup with Joel McHale.
15
The Price is Right
Lost: Bob Barker
And Found: Drew Carey
One may never successfully replace the legendary Bob Barker as host of the game show forever etched in the public's collective consciousness, but Drew Carey's done a fine job in the years since Barker's retirement.
Pet spayings have declined, on the other hand.
14
Stargate: SG-1
Lost: Michael Shanks and Richard Dean Anderson
And Found: Corin Nemec and Beau Bridges
Citing underutilization of his character, Michael Shanks opted not to return for Stargate's sixth and seventh seasons before executives re-negotiated and brought him back, promptly dropping his replacement "Jonas Quinn."
Even Richard Dean Anderson's departure in the eighth season didnt' stop the series from literally cranking it up to eleven, complete with made-for-TV movies.
13
Sliders
Lost: Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, John Rhys-Davies
And Found: Robert Floyd, Kari Wuhrer, Tembi Locke
John Rhys-Davies left the series first over dissatisfaction with the writing, and in turn forced out Sabrina Lloyd when her and John's replacement Kari Wuhrer didn't share the limelight well. Eventually Jerry O'Connell himself (and his brother) left the series, leaving a fused alternate duplicate "Mallory" in their wake.
Oh, and Tembi Locke was involved somehow.
12
Power Rangers
Lost: First half the cast, then all
And Found: Every subsequent generation
Contract issues between the first and second season saw the Red, Black and Yellow Power Rangers all being replaced with new characters, but eventually each lead character found themselves exiting the show as each new generation would introduce new rangers, and increasingly absurd premises.
Jason, Red Ranger 4 life.
11
Cheers
Lost: Shelley Long
And Found: Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley replaced the notoriously difficult Shelley Long as Sam's go-to waitress and potential love interest Rebecca, with Long's character Diane leaving to pursue her career elsewhere.
Long returned for the finale, but Cheers lasted a solid five years in her absence.
10
Law and Order
Lost: Chris Noth, Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, others
And Found: Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson...and it goes on like this
Up until its cancellation Law and Order (and by extension its various spin-offs) remained a haven for fresh blood, as actors came and went and offered high-profile spotlights for dramatic stars like Benjamin Bratt or Michael Imperioli.
By its end, only S. Epatha Merkerson, Leslie Hendrix and Carolyn McCormick remained from the early years.
9
Mission: Impossible
Lost: Steven Hill
And Found: Peter Graves
Steven Hill's Dan Briggs proved notoriously difficult to work with (and work around, given his religious requirements), so the series introduced Jim Phelps as the lead for the second season onward with little to no explanation.
8
Three's Company
Lost: Suzanne Somers
And Found: Jenilee Harrison and Priscilla Barnes
The departure of Suzanne Somers in the fifth season over salary negotiations did little to slow the series' popularity, which replaced her character with her character's cousin (played by Jenilee Harrison) and finally Priscilla Barnes' Terri Alden, amisdt a plethora of other cast changes.
7
The Daily Show
Lost: Craig Kilborn
And Found: Jon Stewart
The Daily Show has debatably found much more public success and acclaim with Jon Stewart at the helm, but plenty would becry the show's initial three years with Craig Kilborn's "cruel" and less politically-focused humor.
6
The Avengers
Lost: Honor Blackman
And Found: Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson
Three different counterparts to John Steed have seen The Avengers through to lasting success (provided you stop paying attention around 1998), first with Cathy Gale, and followed by Diana Rigg's Emma Peel (arguably the most popular), and finally Linda Thorson's Tara King.
5
Star Trek
Lost: Jeffrey Hunter
And Found: William Shatner
Jeffrey Hunter carried the original Star Trek pilot as Captain Christopher Pike, but saw himself replaced with William Shatner when the NBC executives decided to give the series another go.
As Stewie Griffin once said, Jeffrey was apparently good enough to die for our sins as Jesus, but not quite up to the task of seducing green women.
4
NYPD Blue
Lost: David Caruso
And Found: Jimmy Smits
Like Law and Order and a host of other "real-world" legal and procedural dramas, NYPD Blue underwent several notable changes, including the first-season departure of David Caruso's John Kelly (who up until that point had been seen as the show's main character).
The focus shifted to Dennis Franz' charcter, who over the years would partner with several departing series regulars including Jimmy Smits, Rick Schroder and Zack Morr, er...Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
3
*M*A*S*H*
Lost: Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevensen and Larry Linville
And Found: Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan and David Ogden Stiers
The tragic exit for Colonel Henry Blake provided one of the most memorable moments of the series, and some *M*A*S*H* fans argue that the addition of BJ Hunnicut and Sherman Tecumseh Potter from seasons four to eleven offered the show's best years.
2
Doctor Who
Lost: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith
And Found: Well, that's kind of the point!
Fantastic! What better way to accomodate a long-running science fiction staple and an actor wanting to move on with their career than having the Doctor occasionally undergo a "regeneration," which by its very definition changes his appearance and personality?!
1
The Tonight Show
Lost: Steve Allen
And Found: Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno (again)
Where to even start? Johnny Carson's legendary run as host far eclipsed the original turns of Steve Allen and Jack Paar, the latter of which had dastardly referred to a toilet on-air. The horror!
The rest, you know. Jay Leno saw wild success following Carson, and wild hatred following the public debacle that precluded Conan O'Brien from taking over full time.
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