Shows that were not the same after a character left

[j9ac9k]

I understand thematically why it was done, but "Buffy" lost something then they killed spoilers:

her mom.

end of spoilers

[AdamFTF]

So, not "better" or "worse". Just "not the same".

Okay, so I just finished Ultraman Ace. This series started with the premise that Ultraman Ace had two hosts, one male and one female, Hokuto and Minami. But the writers on the show seemed to not know what to do with this dynamic other than the fact that they need to be close enough to touch so they can become Ultraman Ace. So, eventually they wrote Minami off the show by suddenly revealing she was a long lost princess of the Moon Kingdom and had to go back. Okay. So, now just Hokuto is Ultraman Ace. And they added in a little kid and his big sister to the cast, which made the show seem kind of like its predecessor Return of Ultraman. And the show seemed to focus on the fact that Hokuto was kind of impulsive and didn't think things through.

But yeah, I'm not going to say the show got better or that it got worse. Honestly, because I thought the show was kind of half-baked as it was (other Ultraman fans may disagree). But it was definitely a different show after Minami left.

[Powerboy]

I know I'm in the minority but I still love the color episodes of TAGS after Barney left. Mind you, I loved the Barney episodes but I liked the transition the show made about it being about the townspeople in the color episodes. And I loved Aunt Bee.

For me, it was Shelley Long leaving Cheers. I still thought the show was funny and it added some great characters. But nothing could replace that Sam and Diane dynamic of the first 5 seasons.

Oh, I still loved TAGS after Barney left, just not as much. There were other factors too, like Opie getting older and the Opie episodes being less about Andy and Opie as father and son and more about Opie doing other things.

[Powerboy]

Game of Thrones. Heh.

Northern Exposure, Happy Days, The X-Files, Bonanza. Supernatural lost a lot post-Bobby.

The show easily survived losing Adam. But I think losing Hoss, due to Dan Blocker's death, all but finished it.

[Powerboy]

Assuming "not the same" can be good or bad, Cheers certainly improved after Diane left, M*A*S*H improved after Frank left, and Barney Miller improved after Fish left (though that wasn't Fish's fault).

Sorry, just read the first post. Bewitched after Dick York left was not as good, even though that was an actor, not a character. It's actually difficult to think of a show where a character leaving diminished it, but Andy Griffith was certainly up there.

Definitely, M*A*S*H is the first show I think of that actually got better with every character that left and got replaced- except for Radar leaving.

[LordMikel]

Kevin can Wait when they decided to kill off the wife. That show while barely good just went to bad.

[Dr. Skeleton]

Sliders after John Rhys Davies, Sabrina Lloyd and Jerry O' Connell all eventually left.

[C_Miller]

Deep Space Nine after they killed off Jadzia Dax. Dax was far from my favorite character nor did the show really hinge on her. But the decision to bring in another Dax Host and spend key parts of the next season establishing that new character really altered the dynamic of the show and I'm not sure if it was in a completely good way. I actually liked Ezri overall, but I felt that the show put too much focus on this new character while trying to wrap up the story lines of what was one of the most expansive casts on TV at the time.

[ChrisIII]

Land of the Lost after Spencer Milligan left.

[Cel]

Optimus Prime in the original (Generation 1) Transformers series. His successor, Rodimus Prime, was a capable leader but he was no Optimus...

[Osiris-Rex]

That 70's Show definitely took a turn for the worse when Topher Grace and Aston Kutcher left the show.

[marshal88]

stargate sg-1 lost a bit of their mojo when richard dean anderson step down as the lead.

[Nods]

NYPD Blue - better when Caruso left worse when Smitts left

[AndrewCrossett]

The show easily survived losing Adam. But I think losing Hoss, due to Dan Blocker's death, all but finished it.

Yeah, Hoss was pretty much a non-negotiable part of the show.

[Nate Grey]

Stargate Atlantis, when Weir left. Carter wasn't a bad leader by any stretch of the imagination (she has that deferment style of commanding that reminds me of Captain Raydor from Major Crimes), but something still felt lost without Weir, can't quite put my finger on it. Then Woosley was just a weird fit altogether though he did grow on me.

Andromeda when Tyr left. His direct replacement Telemachus Rhade felt like a butt kisser to me. Couldn't stand him. And what's strange is the show needed a character like Tyr to test Dylan's philosophy. The Bones to his Kirk I suppose. What did Telemachus do? Spend all his time trying to prove to Dylan that despite being the genetic reincarnation of his ancestor Gaharis Rhade (lol an excuse to use the same actor but ok) that he's not Gaharis.