a ceratin actor/actress?


Ron Howard leaving Happy Days, John Amos Leaving Good Times or Suzanne Somers leaving Three's Company?



I will say it's a tie between Good Times/Happy Days

John Amos leaving Good Times. The show went downhill from there and when Esther Rolle took off from the show that put the nail in the coffin.

I think both Good Times and Three's Company improved with the cast departures.

However, Happy Days was never the same without Richie.



I think the show that suffered most from a cast departure was The Andy Griffith Show, when Barney left after Season 5.

Which cast departure made Good Times better???

Yes, Three's Company got better when Suzanne Somers was let go. The dumb blonde act was gone and Priscilla Barnes brought intelligence to the show.

I did not like Happy Days after Richie was one and Andy Griffith seemed lost without Don Knotts.

Without a doubt, Good Times. The show was never the same without John Amos.

John Amos. The other shows were still good.

ron howard

Suzanne somers

Good Times

Without a doubt, Good Times. The show was never the same without John Amos.

I am in full agreement and the show was hurt more by Esther Rolle's departure and when they brought her back for the final season the damage was done.

I'm in the small minority of fans that like GT better without John Amos, and even better without Esther Rolle. In fact, Season 5 is my favorite of the series.... I could never stand the Florida character.


Can you please explain why you didn't like Florida?

Ron Howard - the show was never even CLOSE to the same after he left

How could you have Happy Days without Richie?!?

Ron Howard/Happy Days. Close second, Suzanne Somers/Three's Company.
I didn't watch Good Times when it was on so I wouldn't know about that one.

She had an annoying voice and seemed very snobbish, which made no sense, as she was living in the projects.


She was just a confident woman

GOOD TIMES & THREE'S COMPANY. I won't mention HAPPY DAYS, because that "jumped the shark" in the 2nd season, when Gary Marshall added the live audience and made it into "the Fonzie show".

I've always thought, at that point, ABC should have reenamed it "Crappy Days".

She had an annoying voice and seemed very snobbish, which made no sense, as she was living in the projects.
WTF??????

Confident or not, she wasn't very funny. And with her gone the other cast members shined much more, especially Willona.

You know, Esther Rolle narrated a documentary on the stereotypes of Afro-Americans on screen and stage through the 19th and early 20th Centuries, and she compared J.J. Walker's antics to some of the stereotypes of the past. I never saw it that way at the time, but after seeing that, it kind of makes sense.

John Amos leaving Good Times.

Def. Good Times, b/c it was't the same w/out John Amos and Esther Rolle's departure sealed the deal.


Same goes for Happy Days, too much about Fonzie.

Also:

Andy Griffith - The switch to Color and the exit of Barney Fife.

All in the Family - When Meathead and Gloria moved on.

John Amos leaving Good Times. The show went downhill from there and when Esther Rolle took off from the show that put the nail in the coffin.
That's my pick, too.

http://usera.ImageCave.com/ur_next_ex/BetterStuff/sampa15eeb913f596ff2.jpg

that pic is kind of creepy to look at but udid good

Andy Griffith when Don Knotts left CHIPS when Larry Willcox left Bruce Jenner just didn't have the same chemistry with Eric Estrada that he did and it showed. Welcome Back Kotter once John Travolta and Gabe Kaplan left the show went down hill Battlestar Galactica once the Cylons were no longer the main antagonist the show was nothing more than wagon train in space.

Cindy Williams' exit from Laverne & Shirley. Tremendous loss.

I'm in the tiny minority but I still think Happy Days was worthwhile after Ron Howard and Don Most left. If that series became "crappy," then I don't know how you would describe most of the totally mediocre and crude series that have been released since then. Henry Winkler deserves some respect for maintaining his character well, regardless of what one thinks of the scripts.

Just an opinion, but as much as I like Ron Howard's work on the series, I get tired of the total dissing of the post-Howard years. I continue to watch and enjoy the later seasons. People like Lynda Goodfriend, Marion Ross, Erin Moran, and Tom Bosley made them worthwhile. And I love Linda Purl!

THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW without Don Knotts
BAYWATCH without David Hasselhoff
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST without Linda Hamilton
BEWITCHED without Dick York
BONANZA without the late Dan Blocker
CHARLIE'S ANGELS without Kate Jackson
CHICO AND THE MAN without the late Freddie Prinze
HAPPY DAYS without Ron Howard
LAVERNE & SHIRLEY without Cindy Williams
PETTICOAT JUNCTION without the late Bea Benadaret
WELCOME BACK, KOTTER without Gabe Kaplan and John Travolta
X-FILES without David Duchovny

7th Heaven - Without Jessica Biel, David Gallagher or Barry Watson
8 Simple Rules - Without John Ritter (RIP)
HOUSE MD - I know there all still there, but without the old team of Jennifer Morrison, Jeese Spencer and Omar Epps.

I agree with Cindy Williams because L and S just became the Laverne show following her leaving. For Dramas, ER was never the same after Anthony Edwards left and DALLas changed after Patrick Duffy left the show and even the famous shower scene never brought it back to its glory days

That 70s Show minus Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace.

THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW without Don Knotts
BEWITCHED without Dick York
BONANZA without the late Dan Blocker
CHARLIE'S ANGELS without Kate Jackson
CHICO AND THE MAN without the late Freddie Prinze
HAPPY DAYS without Ron Howard
LAVERNE & SHIRLEY without Cindy Williams
PETTICOAT JUNCTION without the late Bea Benadaret
WELCOME BACK, KOTTER without Gabe Kaplan and John Travolta


I'll go with these in addition to:
Good Times without John Amos
All In The Family without Mike and Gloria

After John Amos left Good Times that show went downhill for me. I also didn't like Happy Days without Ron Howard. Three's Company was ok after Suzanne Somers left because Priscilla Barnes did a good job as Terri. :)

I think Happy Days was still good after Ron Howard left. And ABC must have thought so too. HD lasted almost as long without Howard (5 seasons) as it did with him (6 seasons). Now the season where Joanie and Chachi left for their spin-off was weak.

Alice - some will say that this show suffered once Flo left and got her own horrible spin-off show. I disagree. I actually liked Jolene, though.

Petticoat Junction - show really dipped when Bea Benadaret died and along came June Lockhart. Even the changing of the lyrics at the end of the theme song sounded awful, too.

Empty Nest - once Kristy McNichol left, some of the show's charm left with it.

227 - the exit of Jackee in S5 made the show almost unwatchable in S5.

Empty Nest - once Kristy McNichol left, some of the show's charm left with it.

227 - the exit of Jackee in S5 made the show almost unwatchable in S5.

I missed Kristy she's the reason I watched the show. I stopped watching 227 when the white guy was introduced, he was so not funny.:rolleyes:

MASH exit Trapper John and Frank Burns enter BJ Honeycutt and Charles Winchester the comedic chemistry between Alan Alda and Mike Farrell just wasn't as good as was between him and Wayne Rogers and David Odgen Stires wasn't nearly the good straight man as Larry Linville was. As for Happy days goes I agree the show went downhill when Fonzie was the main focus instead of Richie along with the writers coming up with dumb storylines like the encounter with Mork, Fonzie nabbing counterfeiters, and of course the shark thing oh yeah let's not forget when the show cease to resemble the late fifties and early sixties and started to resemble the late 70s/early 80s.

Andy Griffith when Don Knotts left CHIPS when Larry Willcox left Bruce Jenner just didn't have the same chemistry with Eric Estrada that he did and it showed. Welcome Back Kotter once John Travolta and Gabe Kaplan left the show went down hill Battlestar Galactica once the Cylons were no longer the main antagonist the show was nothing more than wagon train in space.

First, it was Tom Reilly that paired w/ Estrada in S6. But b/c Estrada didn't like Reilly's work ethics and the fact that he was busted by the real-life LAPD for drug posessions, he was repalced w/ Bruce Penhall for the rest of S6.

First, it was Tom Reilly that paired w/ Estrada in S6. But b/c Estrada didn't like Reilly's work ethics and the fact that he was busted by the real-life LAPD for drug posessions, he was repalced w/ Bruce Penhall for the rest of S6.
Bruce Jenner replaced Erik Estrada for several episodes. I think EE was in the middle of a contract dispute at the time.

I would say Good Times because I think the other shows are still good.

I don't care about Richie, but when Ralph wasn't in "Happy Days" anymore, it wasn't HD anymore. And I hardly like the Seasons without him...

I don't care about Richie, but when Ralph wasn't in "Happy Days" anymore, it wasn't HD anymore. And I hardly like the Seasons without him...


ralph was always my favorite, and always felt he and richie should have went out on a date with laverne and shirely instead of richie and potsie

I did miss Ralph when he left, but the addition of Jenny Piccalo made up for it in my mind. Jenny reminded me of a female 'Ralph Malph'. Take her first scene on Happy Days, she was chasing Potsie (now that girl had good taste). The Fonz, Potsie, and Joanie were still there, so I still enjoyed the show.

As for Laverne & Shirley, the episodes after Cindy left were okay, but I missed Cindy (I always liked Shirley better than Laverne).

I vote for Ron Howard leaving Happy Days.

Honorable mention:

Miss Michael Learned leaving The Waltons
Neal Marlens and Carol Black (writers) leaving The Wonder Years
Norm MacDonald leaving Saturday Night Live

Tisha Campbell-Martin leaving Martin. The show really sucked without Gina.

Dick York getting replaced by Dick Sargeant. I couldn't watch Bewitched after that.

Kelly and Jessie being replaced by Tori on Saved By The bell.

John Amos leaving Good Times. You rarely saw black sitcoms of that time with a strong patriarch. I loved how he protected his family.

Matt and Jenny leaving California Dreams.

I know this doesn't really count but any show that Lucille Ball did was not very good without Desi Arnaz, in my opinion.

What he said...

I will say it's a tie between Good Times/Happy Days

How could you have Happy Days without Richie?!?

Joannie loves chachi? The original are you being served was never the same after Mr. Granger and Lucas left

Nurses - The exits of Markus Flanagan and especially Stephanie Hodge in favor of Loni Anderson by S3, really did it in.

What's Happening Now!! - The exit of Fred "Rerun" Berry saw this revival of What's Happening!! on the bubble every season after S1. Martin Lawrence's presence in S3 did nothing but matters worse.

ALL IN THE FAMILY - when both Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner left the show. With them gone, there was no 'family' left.

The Golden Girls did a good thing by canceliing the show when Bea Arthur left. The mistake they made was making The Golden Palace. The absence of Bea Arthur was felt and it showed, the show lasted only one season. It just wasn't the same without the four of them.

I agree about 8 Simple Rules, once John was gone, it wasn't the same. I know it couldn't be helped because he died but the show suffered after his sudden death.

I also agree after Suzanne Somers left, Three's Company wasn't the same. As much as I liked Priscilla Barnes, she wasn't Suzanne. Chrissy was the original and the best and she couldn't be replaced.

With Bewitched after Dick York left and Dick Sargent came on, it didn't bother me. I know Dick York was the better Darrin, but the show wouldn't have made it if they had killed off Darrin. They had to make a quick decision. After all Dick Sargent was the choice to be the first Darrin until they found Dick York.

When Charlotte Rae left The Facts of Life.

When Andre Braugher left Homicide: Life on the Street and when Stacy Ferguson left Kids Incorporated.

There is a major, major difference between John Amos leaving Good Times and Ron Howard leaving Happy days.

John Amos left GT in both his character's and the show's prime.

By the time Ron Howard left HD, he had outgrown the role of Ritchie.
But yes, HD changed drastically without him

Another difference is one left voluntarily, the other didn't.

So the answer: John Amos

A lot of people don't like Happy Days after Ron Howard left but I do. While Roger is no Richie he was an adequate replacement, and Fonzie was more than capable of being the lead. The characters I could have done without were Flip, Jenny Piccalo, and Lori Beth. Consider this: Ron Howard was a regular on the first 6 seasons but it lasted almost as long (5 seasons) without him.

A lot of people don't like Happy Days after Ron Howard left but I do. While Roger is no Richie he was an adequate replacement, and Fonzie was more than capable of being the lead. The characters I could have done without were Flip, Jenny Piccalo, and Lori Beth. Consider this: Ron Howard was a regular on the first 6 seasons but it lasted almost as long (5 seasons) without him.


What was Lori Beth on the show for if Richie was.gone

Designing Women really suffered after Delta Burke left; the casting of Julia Duffy was a big mistake. The final nail in the coffin is when Jean Smart left. As charming as Jan Hooks and Judith Ivey were, they couldn't save the show.

These four really stand out for me:
Don Knotts leaving TAGS: a complete change in the chemistry of the show.
Dick York leaving Bewitched: the Sargent shows are just unwatchable for me.
Shelley Long leaving Cheers: I know the ratings stayed high, but Sam/Diane was the heart of the show for me.
Wayne Rogers leaving MASH: I liked Wayne, but another actor could have done as well, just not the unfunny Mike Farrell.

When Corey Monteith died Glee was never the same.

Cheers- Never the same without Shelly Long

The Jefferson's- Mike Evans departure

"Happy Days" was never the same once the "Fonz" took over. Ron Howard was still there for several seasons and I'm surprised he never seemed upset about no longer being the main character.

"Good Times" was over when John Amos left. Esther Rolle did okay in carrying the show but it just wasn't the same.

As mentioned "the Andy Griffith" show seemed to be set in another universe once Don Knotts left. The show was never the same again even when Don visited Mayberry occasionally. Had they ended it when Don left it would have been a 100% classic instead of almost everyone saying "after Don left" about the later seasons.

The Golden Girls/The Golden Palace. The spin-off just didn't work w/out Bea Arthur holding it all together. They should never have done the spin-off.

And I for one think that Empty Nest never recovered from the exit of Kristy McNichol.