TOO many new characters :My choice would have to be "Family Matters"-It was okay with just the Winslows-Carl,Harriette,Mother Winslow,Rachel,Richie,Judy,Laura,....and of course,Steve Urkel.And Stefan Urquelle (Steve's alter ego,who Laura really loved)was okay,as well.But why did they add Eddie's jealous girlfriend who hated Myrtle Urkel,Myrtle Urkel,and Waldo?Know of any other shows?

And Myrna,who,toward the end,was Laura's rival for Steve's affection?And remember Eddie's friend in the early seasons named Rodney?Anyway,lnow of any OTHER shows where they added too many characters towards the very end of their network run?

The Cosby Show. The addition of cousin Pam and her ghetto friends was completely unnecessary and did nothing to improve the show. In fact I think it did quite the opposite.

'Happy Days' added Roger, Jenny, Ashley, Heather, Flip and K.C. after more interesting characters like Richie, Ralph, Joanie, Chachi, Lori Beth, and Al left the show.

I think "Ally McBeal" did this. I couldn't keep track of all the new characters in the final season.

The Cosby Show. The addition of cousin Pam and her ghetto friends was completely unnecessary and did nothing to improve the show. In fact I think it did quite the opposite."The Cosby Show"was good in earlier seasons,when it was just Cliff,Claire,Rudy,Theo,Sondra and Denise,AND NO ONE ELSE-

"The Cosby Show"was good in earlier seasons,when it was just Cliff,Claire,Rudy,Theo,Sondra and Denise,AND NO ONE ELSE-You forgot Vanessa! Or maybe you didn't, lol. I also hated the addition of Olivia and Martin.

I guess Boy Meets World could fall in this catergory. I didn't mind the addition of Jack, but didn't like Rachel, bringing back (and re-casting) Morgan or adding a new baby to the mix.

Oh,yeah.I DID forget Vanessa.And why they added Martin and that smart-aleck kid Olivia ,I'll never know

Oh,yeah.I DID forget Vanessa.And why they added Martin and that smart-aleck kid Olivia ,I'll never know
Or Dabnus!! What was that about!

X-Files. After David Duchovney basically left the show ( he still appeared in a few episodes after he stopped being a regular) they introduced two new FBI agents that added nothing to the show. The center of the show was the chemistry between Mulder and Scully. Once that was no longer the focus then the series should have come to an end.

X-Files. After David Duchovney basically left the show ( he still appeared in a few episodes after he stopped being a regular) they introduced two new FBI agents that added nothing to the show. The center of the show was the chemistry between Mulder and Scully. Once that was no longer the focus then the series should have come to an end.

:clap

First two shows that come to mind are Happy Days and Family Matters. That 70's Show, also, to a certain extent.

What I think it really boils down to, most of the time, is the fact that important cast members, for whatever reason, leave a show and since they were so significant can't be adequately replaced, no matter who is brought in. (Ex. Ron Howard leaving Happy Days, various characters leaving Family Matters, and Topher Grace leaving That 70's Show after season 7).

Looking at Retro4Life's avatar reminded me that we could add "Land of the Lost" to this category. At the beginning of the third season Rick Marshall is transported back to his own time at the same time his brother Jack (who had been searching for Rick, Will, and Holly) is transported to the Land of the Lost. Uncle Jack was an adequate if not great replacement for Rick. But at the same time Uncle Jack joined the cast the writing seemed to go way downhill. And the last season paled mightily in comparison to the first two.

'Happy Days' added Roger, Jenny, Ashley, Heather, Flip and K.C. after more interesting characters like Richie, Ralph, Joanie, Chachi, Lori Beth, and Al left the show.
I actually liked those new characters. I thought they were great. But by season 11, you can tell that Happy Days had run its course. It ended at the right time. It used up every storyline possible and everyone grew up. It was time to move on.

I actually liked those new characters. I thought they were great. But by season 11, you can tell that Happy Days had run its course. It ended at the right time. It used up every storyline possible and everyone grew up. It was time to move on.

Same here, I actually liked Jenny Piccalo and Roger. K.C. and Flip were good enough replacements for Joanie & Chachi when they left for Chicago, but that's just my opinion.

I also liked Beverly Ann as Mrs. Garrett's replacement on 'The Facts Of Life' and June Lockhart's character (Janet Craig) on Petticoat Junction.

227 - The departure of Jackee Harry in the 5th and final season saw not 1, not even ,but 4 new cast members join the show. Toukie A. Smith, Barry Sobel, Stoney Jackson, and Paul Winfield all joined 227 and they did little to nothing to help this show and 227 crashed and burned after 5 seasons.

First two shows that come to mind are Happy Days and Family Matters. That 70's Show, also, to a certain extent.

What I think it really boils down to, most of the time, is the fact that important cast members, for whatever reason, leave a show and since they were so significant can't be adequately replaced, no matter who is brought in. (Ex. Ron Howard leaving Happy Days, various characters leaving Family Matters, and Topher Grace leaving That 70's Show after season 7).i agree about that 70s show while i dont hate season 8 as much as some fans it really was an unnescerry season with no point whatsoever

i agree about that 70s show while i dont hate season 8 as much as some fans it really was an unnescerry season with no point whatsoever

Yeah, I don't hate it either. It's just they could have done a bit more to not make his departure so obvious.

-They changed the appearance of the opening credits to have the cast members in the circle.

-Addition of the Randy character.

If they just would've left the characters as is, maybe people wouldn't have noticed as much? I don't know but it just seemed awkward that Eric was gone and the whole premise of the show was hanging out in HIS basement and so why are they still friends with the parents once he's gone. It's just sort of wishy-washy and, agreed, it was pretty unnecessary.

Oh,yeah.I DID forget Vanessa.And why they added Martin and that smart-aleck kid Olivia ,I'll never know

Wasn't Olivia basically there to replace the puberty approaching Rudy as the "resident cute kid"?

Wasn't Olivia basically there to replace the puberty approaching Rudy as the "resident cute kid"?
Yes Olivia was The Cosby Shows version of cousin Oliver!

First one that comes to mind for me is the addition of Rose, Jeffrey and Serena on The Waltons. The show went downhill after Michael Learned left and these characters didn't help matters any.

I also didn't care for Howard Sprague nor Emmett Clark on The Andy Griffith Show.

Also 'Little House on the Prairie' when they added James, Cassandra, Nancy Oleson, Shannen Doherty and the Carters.

First one that comes to mind for me is the addition of Rose, Jeffrey and Serena on The Waltons. The show went downhill after Michael Learned left and these characters didn't help matters any.

I also didn't care for Howard Sprague nor Emmett Clark on The Andy Griffith Show.i liked emmett well enough but i couldnt stand howard and his sniveling and whining every time he entered a room

The Love Boat when they added Ace (Ted McGinley), and the "Love Boat Mermaids". I hated those additions.:(
On the plus side, I loved Michael Winslow's character...can't remember his name though...

And ANOTHER "excess baggage" character who appeared towards the end of "Home Improvement"(thank god he only was on for one season),was that dour,not-very-nice always surly and sulky friend of Mark,named Ronnie.

Looking at Retro4Life's avatar reminded me that we could add "Land of the Lost" to this category. At the beginning of the third season Rick Marshall is transported back to his own time at the same time his brother Jack (who had been searching for Rick, Will, and Holly) is transported to the Land of the Lost. Uncle Jack was an adequate if not great replacement for Rick. But at the same time Uncle Jack joined the cast the writing seemed to go way downhill. And the last season paled mightily in comparison to the first two.


The show went for what I'd say were more kid based stories, featuring yetis, cavemen, a medusa, etc. Gone were the more thought provoking science fiction of the first couple of seasons.

That said, I did enjoy the third season, and liked Uncle Jack. I thought he meshed well with the kids and Chaka.

I'll add The X=Files when they added Doggett, Reyes, the new assistant director, and Director Kirsh, as well as others.

And what was the reason that they added the late Nancy Walker as Emily the cleaning lady on the last season (1970-1971)of "Family Affair"?If they did for ratings,it didn't work.

One Tree Hill which was never a great TV show has been suffered for the past few years because of added characters and allowing characters that were minor characters in the early season to have bigger roles on the show.

Actually, I'm going to go ahead and list "Lost" here too. While I enjoyed many of the characters the show added, it always detracted from the much more interesting core group that they started with. All the different factions they threw in at the end just were confusing and unnecessary (and often unlikeable).