When a TV show losing a main actor from death or other circumstances... - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 01-22-2019, 09:13 PM

What would you rather have the TV show do? Recast, kill the character off, kill and replace the character......Would you personally prefer to have the story end without trying to redo the story too much?

jimpickens · 01-22-2019, 11:06 PM

Have the main character either move away just not mention them except when someone asks of their whereabouts that way they can always be brought back.

icecream · 01-23-2019, 01:28 AM

If the actor dies in real life, their character should be killed off too, no recasts. Unless it is something like Aunt Clara on Bewitched, when Marion Lorne died her character wasn't killed but never mentioned again. If the actor has to leave for some other reason, would depend on the show if they could just be written off, or in Blue Bloods case, Danny's wife Linda was killed because of the family dinners being a weekly part of the show. Killing her was more honorable than starting a divorce storyline.

cfr1970 · 01-23-2019, 01:47 AM

A good example is when John Ritter died and they incorporated it into the sitcom with his character's death. I think that show (8 Simple Rules) stayed on for a few seasons afterwards so it was apparently a successful move for them.

Personally, I think it depends on the character. If it's a major character and main star like Ritter was, recasting is terrible to do and not wise, but for a minor character it would be more acceptable.

Bringing up Bewitched again, after actress Alice Pearce died, the Mrs. Kravitz character was successfully replaced with Sandra Gould. So a minor character like that would be an easier pill to swallow for viewers over a major star.

KatieAnn · 01-23-2019, 10:19 AM

Never mentioning Aunt Clara again after she was such a well established character seems strange, but I suppose it would have been strange if they mentioned her being on star somewhere or off with Hagatha or some other witch.

Mrs. Kravitz replacement did seem unnecessary to me and just terrible recasting. The only reason I could understand them doing that was for the actor who played Mr. Kravitz to continue on the show, but Gould's Mrs. Kravitz grates on my nerves, I never feel even a twinge of sympathy for her when no one believes her and I always wish she wasn't there, while I found the original Mrs. Kravitz to be so dear, even though she was a snoop.

I think the producers and actors did their best when Dan Blocker died unexpectedly while on hiatus from Bonanza, that must have felt so tragic to the audience as well as the people who worked on the show, but I can't think of any satisfying way to address the sudden death of a young man who's been part of a show for so many years and so beloved.

Merry24 · 01-23-2019, 10:55 AM

When the 1st Mr.Wilson (Joesph Kearns) passed away. I feel Dennis the Menace Sitcom should of ended.

Babalu · 01-23-2019, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merry24

When the 1st Mr.Wilson (Joesph Kearns) passed away. I feel Dennis the Menace Sitcom should of ended.

The problem with all this logic is that people make TV shows to make money - even though some pretend they don't - and they don't want to give up their high living to make way for someone else to have their show, death of the actors or not.

favoriteshow · 01-23-2019, 09:07 PM

When I was young, I didn't really know the circumstances of Valerie Harper's removal from Valerie.

Now that I review it, I realize there was sexism. Had the lead been a male, the producers would have given the main star the creative control and salary increases that was asked, and not dumped the main star as what happened to her.

glickmam · 01-26-2019, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by favoriteshow

When I was young, I didn't really know the circumstances of Valerie Harper's removal from Valerie.

Now that I review it, I realize there was sexism. Had the lead been a male, the producers would have given the main star the creative control and salary increases that was asked, and not dumped the main star as what happened to her.

I don't think it was sexism in this case. I mean, the producers of Miami Vice were planning to do the same thing to Don Johnson due to creative differences and were actually planning on replacing him with Mark Harmon, who had just come off a three-year run on St. Elsewhere.

RetroGuy2000 · 01-26-2019, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glickmam

I don't think it was sexism in this case. I mean, the producers of Miami Vice were planning to do the same thing to Don Johnson due to creative differences and were actually planning on replacing him with Mark Harmon, who had just come off a three-year run on St. Elsewhere.

But he wasn't replaced, and he returned to the set for an undisclosed amount of money. Which is what they didn't do for Valerie.

glickmam · 01-28-2019, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

But he wasn't replaced, and he returned to the set for an undisclosed amount of money. Which is what they didn't do for Valerie.

Well, in that case, Johnson and the producers managed to overcome their differences.

Mr. Television · 01-29-2019, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merry24

When the 1st Mr.Wilson (Joesph Kearns) passed away. I feel Dennis the Menace Sitcom should of ended.

The show quickly died without him. It only lasted one more season. Love Gale Gordon but Joesph Kearns wasn't replaceable.

4starcashier · 01-30-2019, 02:20 PM

I'm glad they ended Too Close For Comfort/Ted Knight Show when he passed away...would have been weird without him! Though I DO like how Pat Carroll was in the latter show

01-22-2019, 09:13 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,621	When a TV show losing a main actor from death or other circumstances... What would you rather have the TV show do? Recast, kill the character off, kill and replace the character......Would you personally prefer to have the story end without trying to redo the story too much?

01-23-2019, 01:28 AM	#3
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,702	If the actor dies in real life, their character should be killed off too, no recasts. Unless it is something like Aunt Clara on Bewitched, when Marion Lorne died her character wasn't killed but never mentioned again. If the actor has to leave for some other reason, would depend on the show if they could just be written off, or in Blue Bloods case, Danny's wife Linda was killed because of the family dinners being a weekly part of the show. Killing her was more honorable than starting a divorce storyline.
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01-22-2019, 11:06 PM	#2
jimpickens Member Senior Member Join Date: Nov 01, 2007 Location: weston,wv Posts: 1,389	Have the main character either move away just not mention them except when someone asks of their whereabouts that way they can always be brought back.

01-23-2019, 01:47 AM	#4
cfr1970 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 13, 2017 Location: Kissimmee, Florida Posts: 3,368	A good example is when John Ritter died and they incorporated it into the sitcom with his character's death. I think that show (8 Simple Rules) stayed on for a few seasons afterwards so it was apparently a successful move for them. Personally, I think it depends on the character. If it's a major character and main star like Ritter was, recasting is terrible to do and not wise, but for a minor character it would be more acceptable. Bringing up Bewitched again, after actress Alice Pearce died, the Mrs. Kravitz character was successfully replaced with Sandra Gould. So a minor character like that would be an easier pill to swallow for viewers over a major star.

01-23-2019, 10:19 AM	#5
KatieAnn Member Forum Regular Join Date: Sep 15, 2011 Posts: 520	Never mentioning Aunt Clara again after she was such a well established character seems strange, but I suppose it would have been strange if they mentioned her being on star somewhere or off with Hagatha or some other witch. Mrs. Kravitz replacement did seem unnecessary to me and just terrible recasting. The only reason I could understand them doing that was for the actor who played Mr. Kravitz to continue on the show, but Gould's Mrs. Kravitz grates on my nerves, I never feel even a twinge of sympathy for her when no one believes her and I always wish she wasn't there, while I found the original Mrs. Kravitz to be so dear, even though she was a snoop. I think the producers and actors did their best when Dan Blocker died unexpectedly while on hiatus from Bonanza, that must have felt so tragic to the audience as well as the people who worked on the show, but I can't think of any satisfying way to address the sudden death of a young man who's been part of a show for so many years and so beloved.

01-23-2019, 10:55 AM	#6
Merry24 Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 10, 2017 Location: beach Posts: 2,041	When the 1st Mr.Wilson (Joesph Kearns) passed away. I feel Dennis the Menace Sitcom should of ended.

01-23-2019, 09:07 PM	#8
favoriteshow Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 08, 2018 Posts: 587	When I was young, I didn't really know the circumstances of Valerie Harper's removal from Valerie. Now that I review it, I realize there was sexism. Had the lead been a male, the producers would have given the main star the creative control and salary increases that was asked, and not dumped the main star as what happened to her.

01-30-2019, 02:20 PM	#13
4starcashier Cingular rules! Occasional Poster Join Date: May 04, 2007 Location: Churdan, Iowa USA Posts: 56	I'm glad they ended Too Close For Comfort/Ted Knight Show when he passed away...would have been weird without him! Though I DO like how Pat Carroll was in the latter show