Seven of TV's best replacements?

[Brian Damage]

1. Current cast of Law & Order: I know, I know, who could replace Lenny Briscoe? No one, really. But the current pairing of Anthony Anderson and Jeremy Sisto as NYPD partners is the best the series has produced. They changed the feel of the show. Perhaps because we're still getting to know them, they are less predictable then previous tandems, and both evoke a certain hard-nosed quality that seems a bit more gritty and real. Plus, Anderson has chops as a stand-up comic, and could easily fill the wisecracker role, if need be.

2. David Tennant as Dr. Who: No series has ever changed leads as often as Dr. Who. It's even built into the plot, and David Tennant will be replaced at the end of 2009 by a new Time Lord, Matt Smith. But his act will be hard to follow. Tennant has a maniacal charm and comic timing perfectly suited to the character.

3. Mike Nelson takes over for Joel Hodgson on Mystery Science Theater 3000: Joel Hodgson was the creator and central voice of MST3K, and thus will always be the best space captive the Satellite of Love ever held. But Mike Nelson was a writer on the show before he ascended to the silhouettes, and several of the series' classic episodes were under his watch. Space Mutiny, with its railing deaths and poorly timed utility vehicle jousting was funny from top to bottom.

4. Jon Stewart takes over The Daily Show from Craig Kilborn: Okay, so this isn't technically a "character" replacement, but handing Stewart the reins at The Daily Show certainly changed the character of the show. Under his influence, the show relied less on rube-bashing (although that remains a favorite sport) and more on newsmakers, both in the set pieces and the interview segment. Kilborn was funny, but it's hard to imagine the show mustering the same kind of staying power if he hadn't left.

5. Charles Emerson Winchester III in for Frank Marion Burns on M*A*S*H: Burns was one of TV's best targets, a wonderful ninny and the source of endless fun for "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Trapper John" McIntyre, but Winchester was less of a caricature and every so often, was part of the fun himself.

6. "Woody" Boyd takes over for Ernie "Coach" Pantusso on Cheers: Coach was a lovable, endearing presence on Cheers, but when Nicholas Colasanto, the actor who played him, died in 1985, Woody Harrelson stepped in. Woody was clueless and endearing, long before he was menacing or couldn't jump, and was a staple of the show for eight years.

7. Deborah Fiderer for Delores Landingham on The West Wing: It took a full season to hire a permanent replacement for Mrs. Landingham, but Lily Tomlin was a perfect fit. Lily Tomlin had the gravitas to face down a cast full of strong actors in well-defined characters, and complimented Martin Sheen nicely.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/02/20/se...-replacements/

[Marvo301]

[QUOTE]Charles Emerson Winchester III in for Frank Marion Burns on M*A*S*H.[
/QUOTE]
This was a great substitution by the producers of M*A*S*H. By introducing Charles to the swamp they gave Hawkeye and B.J. someone far more intelligent and far more their equal to deal with than Frank Burns could ever be. This of course served to bring out the best in Hawkeye and B.J. making those characters better. Of course M*A*S*H was one of the best shows ever at making substitutions. Replacing Trapper John with B.J. Hunnicut. Replacing Lt. Col. Blake with Col. Potter. It even trickled down to the supporting characters when Sgt. Zale was replaced by Sgt. Luther Rizzo.

[Chocoholic]

Even though I prefer the first three seasons of MASH, I like Charles much better than Frank. Replacing the brilliant Trapper with the whiny BJ was a huge mistake.

I prefer the Rebecca years of Cheers to the Diane years.

[TJL]

David Tennant will be a tough act to follow. He did a great job as Dr. Who.

I do wish they gave the previous Doctor Christopher Eccleston more than 13 episodes though. He was good too, but his time on the show was too short, IMO.

[Mr. Television]

I don't agree with L&O at all. I just can't get into the show anymore since Lenny's death. Nobody can replace him.

[TV-aholic]

MASH had lots of good good replacements
Trapper --> BJ
Burns --> Winchester
Black --> Potter

Barney Miller
Fish --> Deitrick(sp)

Night Court
Selma --> Florence --> Roz
Billie --> Christine (Upgrade)

[dawsongirl]

I liked Mike better than Joel.

Other ones I liked:

Emily for Elle - Criminal Minds
Rossi for Gideon - Criminal Minds

Lindsay Monroe for Aiden Burn - CSI:NY (huge improvement)

Scotti Valens for whoever Lilly's first partner was - Cold Case

[Zebra 3]

Conan O'Brien replacing David Letterman on Late Night and soon Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.

[Sal]

Here's seven of my own:


1. PETTICOAT JUNCTION - Lori Saunders replacing Pat Woodall as Bobbie Jo Bradley in Season 3 and Meredith MacRae replacing Jeannine Riley (Seasons 1 and 2) and Gunilla Hutton (Season 3) as Billie Jo Bradley in Season 4.

2. MY THREE SONS - William Demarest as Uncle Charley replaces William "Bub" Frawley and Barry Livingston (Ernie) replaces Tim Considine (Mike) , ironically, after Mike marries Sally Ann Morrison, played by the above-mentioned Meredith MacRae!

3. Happy Days --- Al Molinaro as Al Delvecchio replaces Pat Morita as Arnold as owner of Arnold's Drive-In, the only cast switch which didn't hurt the series.

4. Partridge Family --- Brian Forster replaces Jeremy Gelbwaks as Chris Partridge.

5. The Munsters --- Pat Priest replaces Beverly Owen as Marilyn Munster.

6. The Phil Silvers Show --- Sgt. Ritzik (Joe E. Ross) replaces Sgt. Sowici (Harry Clark) as the mess hall cook. Joe E. Ross was hysterical on this series and his next one, "Car 54, Where Are You?".

7. Bewitched --- Regarding the infamous Darrin switch from Dick York to Dick Sargent, I thought that York was the better Darrin, but the majority of my favourite episodes have Sargent in then, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here. Also, I liked the 2nd Gladys Kravitz, Sandra Gould, a lot better than the first, Alice Pearce.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Clint Eastwood Fan

I don't agree with L&O at all. I just can't get into the show anymore since Lenny's death. Nobody can replace him.

That makes two of us, Sonny. Nothing against Dennis Farina or the others, but I just couldn't get into it anymore.

[megamanj2004]

Rebecca replaces Diane - Cheers; Diane came off as blah to me. Rebecca started off as this Ice Queen, but soon warmed up to me and even sometimes got into the gang's antics at times, too.

Jefferson Darcy replaces Steve Rhoades - Married with Children; While Steve was more the straight man to Al's bumbling and silly antics, Jefferson played more like the sidekick to Al's bumbling and silly antics.

Clayton Edicott III replaces John Taylor - Benson; Both of them brought annoying presences around everyone that was present in the scene, but in the case of Clayton he molded into the cast a little better than Taylor, who sometimes came off as too stuffy at times.

[yankeesrj12]

Originally Posted by dawsongirl

Emily for Elle - Criminal Minds
Rossi for Gideon - Criminal Minds

I never watched the first seasons when they aired (I started with the third) but when I went back to watch the earlier seasons, I must say I'm glad they changed them. The two earlier characters were much more boring IMO.