I just finished watching Season 4 and I have to say that Shelly got a bum rap. Tiffany was actually good. When she got a chance to shine, I thought she demonstrated leadership, wit, warmth, and bravery. To me, she definitely earned her angel wings. I also liked her chemistry with Kris, Kelly, and Bosley.

Season 4 as a whole is underrated. I actually like it better than Season 1. Though Seasons 2 and 3 are my favorite.

I just finished watching Season 4 and I have to say that Shelly got a bum rap. Tiffany was actually good. When she got a chance to shine, I thought she demonstrated leadership, wit, warmth, and bravery. To me, she definitely earned her angel wings. I also liked her chemistry with Kris, Kelly, and Bosley.

Season 4 as a whole is underrated. I actually like it better than Season 1. Though Seasons 2 and 3 are my favorite.

Agreed, but unfortunately, she was a replacement angel. People were losing interest by the 4th season. Kate's departure was the start of CA's death spiral. IMO, if Shelley had been part of the original 3, she would've done well.

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that although I thought Shelley was a decent actress, she just didn't have the charisma and presence that the other angels had.

http://www.fame10.com/entertainment/tvs-6-worst-character-replacements/3/

1. Tiffany Wells – Charlie’s Angels
The character Tiffany Wells (played by Shelley Hack) joined Charlie’s Angels during the show’s fourth season as Kate Jackson’s replacement. Producers were using Hack’s character to bring the glamour back to the show; however, it ended up having the opposite effect. Critics were not impressed with Hack’s performance and neither were viewers. Charlie’s Angels ended up losing 40% of its audience during her time on the show. Hack was let go from her contract in February 1980, three months before the series four finale aired. For season five, Hack was replaced with Tanya Roberts who played the character Julie Rogers, but even she couldn’t save the series from cancellation. Ratings continued to disappoint and the show was finally cancelled in the spring of 1981 after five seasons.

She was dull and didn't have chemistry with the others. Replacing Kate Jackson was a tall order, but Shelley wasn't the right person.

She was dull and didn't have chemistry with the others. Replacing Kate Jackson was a tall order, but Shelley wasn't the right person.

When you compare Kate to Shelley, she was dull. Familiarity and continuity are very important in a tv show. I really don't think anyone would've been the right person to replace Kate.

By the 4th season fans were losing interest. There are a few standout episodes, but it was mainly the same formula for almost every episode. Kate's departure was really the beginning of the shows demise. Even if Kate had stayed, I believe the show still would've lost ratings/viewers anyway.

So why did Cheryl replacing Farrah work so well?... besides the skimpy bathing suits... she was gorgeous, non pretentious and had a very likeable personality. Their chemistry (on screen) was instantaneous. Spelling could not have made a better choice. The show was still relatively fresh during the second season too.

When you compare Kate to Shelley, she was dull. Familiarity and continuity are very important in a tv show. I really don't think anyone would've been the right person to replace Kate.

By the 4th season fans were losing interest. There are a few standout episodes, but it was mainly the same formula for almost every episode. Kate's departure was really the beginning of the shows demise. Even if Kate had stayed, I believe the show still would've lost ratings/viewers anyway.

So why did Cheryl replacing Farrah work so well?... besides the skimpy bathing suits... she was gorgeous, non pretentious and had a very likeable personality. Their chemistry (on screen) was instantaneous. Spelling could not have made a better choice. The show was still relatively fresh during the second season too.

I second all that, plus...she pretty much wasn't an actress. All of the other Angels had more experience in acting, except maybe Jaclyn. That had to be a LOT of pressure on an ingenue; stepping in the fill the shoes of the second Angel to leave the show (a show which was still quite high in the ratings at the time) with basically only a modelling career on her resume.

Yeah, a sad situation. I hope she was able to come to terms with the fact that her obstacles were very hard to surmount; she really had a nearly impossible task, given her experience.

Before Shelley was cast, they were supposedly set on casting Barbara Bach. Maybe the network thought that she was too exotic looking and nixed her casting.

https://i.imgur.com/o1D8flB.jpg

Interesting article. A bait and switch there... they have Barbara Bach in the title, but the article is more about Kate. :confused:

Funny how they called it "jiggle tv". All of the Angels were thin and none of the really jiggled, even without their bras. Cheryl came close, maybe if she walked quickly.

I believe Lynda Carter would've been the best replacement for Kate... better than Bach. Wonder Woman was finished by the time Kate left. I wonder if she was ever approached about it.

Interesting article. A bait and switch there... they have Barbara Bach in the title, but the article is more about Kate. :confused:

Funny how they called it "jiggle tv". All of the Angels were thin and none of the really jiggled, even without their bras. Cheryl came close, maybe if she walked quickly.

I believe Lynda Carter would've been the best replacement for Kate... better than Bach. Wonder Woman was finished by the time Kate left. I wonder if she was ever approached about it.

Had Barbara Bach been cast then she would've technically, been the first Bond Girl to be an Angel, not Tanya Roberts. With that being said, the basic or most common criticism that I've heard and read about Shelley Hacks' tenure is that:

It would've made more sense had her character been brought in to replace Jaclyn Smith instead of Kate Jackson. As it already stood, Jaclyn/Kelly already fit the role as the classy, elegant, and sophisticated Angel.

The writers gave her nothing to do as they may have been only a single episode centered on her character during the entire season she was on. She was in essence, basically a glorified extra with billing in the opening credits but that was about all. After Kate Jackson left, Charlie's Angels for all intents and purposes, became the "Jaclyn Smith & Cheryl Ladd Show". Just about every episode centered on those two with Shelley and subsequently, Tanya Roberts merely there to keep the three-girl premise of the show going.

It took so long the producers to hire a replacement for Kate Jackson, the writers had to do the first 10 scripts without knowing who the new Angel was. So when Shelley started, instead of having a big introduction episode where everyone learns and begins to care about her, they had an episode where she barely speaks. By the time they got around to writing specifically for her, it was mid-season it was too little too late. The viewers had pretty much already made up their minds that she wasn't a good addition to the show.

Shelley Hack had the same hair coloring as Cheryl Ladd and even had a physical similarity. While Cheryl was cast as Farrah Fawcett's sister, Shelley arguably actually looked more like Cheryl.

Not only did Shelley not have the experience to play the role (as Kate Jackson's replacement), she did not have the skills for it. She had a weak breathy voice and usually a dizzy expression on her face. Her acting always seemed as stiff, ornery, and low-energy. Simply put, Shelley was never believable as a former cop.

There was just no chemistry between her and the established characters.

I second all that, plus...she pretty much wasn't an actress. All of the other Angels had more experience in acting, except maybe Jaclyn. That had to be a LOT of pressure on an ingenue; stepping in the fill the shoes of the second Angel to leave the show (a show which was still quite high in the ratings at the time) with basically only a modelling career on her resume.

Yeah, a sad situation. I hope she was able to come to terms with the fact that her obstacles were very hard to surmount; she really had a nearly impossible task, given her experience.

Of course, I don't absolutely know for sure, but it appeared that the producers were trying to be a tad bit "cute" with Shelley Hack (http://shelleyhack.blogspot.com/2014/07/complete-updated-biography.html)'s casting (https://www.macleans.ca/uncategorized/damn-its-a-shelley-hack-thats-like-gettin-a-shemp/). At the time (https://drunktv.net/2020/05/01/charlies-angels-season-4-1979-1980-tv-series-review/), she was best known (https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2010/06/shelley_hack_interview.html) as the spokesmodel (https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_HCJlgaXcl8J:https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-09-18-9409180162-story.html+&cd=62&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us) for Revlon's Charlie perfume (https://books.google.com/books?id=7GN0E_diWbAC&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&dq=shelley+hack+charlie%27s+angels&source=bl&ots=XD2O2CYd6r&sig=ACfU3U0t2U3KomXDs9L14k5HkwUy6FFeiA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjiy-qL_7vyAhWRbs0KHcYaAVE4RhDoAXoECCYQAw#v=onepage&q=shelley%20hack%20charlie's%20angels&f=false). So naturally, it seemed way too on the nose to have the Charlie perfume girl join (https://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/gh1ru6/how_come_shelley_hack_gets_such_a_bad_rep_for_her/) the cast (https://www.looper.com/148234/what-all-the-charlies-angels-look-like-today/) of a show (https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/12/archives/tv-charlies-angels.html) called Charlie's Angels (https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/19419/5-charlies-angels-facts-revealed). It didn't really matter too much if this girl (https://moviechat.org/tt0073972/Charlies-Angels/58c731565ec57f0478f6f174/About-the-Shelley-Hack-Argument-Going-on-Here?reply=) could actually act (https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:1zLE0uMGBBUJ:https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1986-10-26-2553636-story.html+&cd=29&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us) competently as long as she looked good (https://www.angelfire.com/ms/shelleyhack/) in the costumes.

Before Shelley was cast, they were supposedly set on casting Barbara Bach. Maybe the network thought that she was too exotic looking and nixed her casting.

https://i.imgur.com/o1D8flB.jpg

I don't understand the concern over one the Angels being "too exotic" looking. In hindsight, maybe they should've tried something "outside of the box" when replacing Kate Jackson. It was as if the wanted to play things too safe and conservatively (like they don't want to rock the boat and upset Middle America too much) by getting another blonde haired, blue eyed white woman, since it worked so well the first time with Cheryl Ladd. What made Kate Jackson stand out is that while she herself was an attractive woman, she wasn't obviously a "glamour queen" like Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett, or Cheryl Ladd. I suppose that Kate was more "tomboy"-pretty if that makes sense.