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Doctor Who: Podshock - Episode 17
Authored by: Louis on Friday, December 16 2005 @ 01:48 AM EST
I don't think we went overboard in praising Doctor Who at all. As a fan of Babylon 5 as well, I know that we are talking about apples and oranges in the comparison. When Bruce Boxleitner came onto the show in the second season, he was playing John Sheridan, not Jeffrey Sinclair who was portrayed by Michael O'Hare in the first season. There are two different characters altogether. Whereas in Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton took over the role of the same lead character previously played by William Hartnell. Sure there are similarities in that they were both (O'Hare and Boxleitner) heading up the ensemble cast of the show. Although different characters, it was the same 'role' so to speak, I will acknowledge that freely. The Hartnell to Troughton change took place well into the establishment of the series... Hartnell had been heading up the show for three years into it before the drastic change occurred. And sure, there have been other TV series which had recast actors/actreses mid-way playing the same character (i.e. Bewitched, Rosanne, etc.), but it can be argued that none had done in the same way and were as successful doing it in the process, let alone having it be the lead character that is recast in a well established series. No, I think Doctor Who is very much well deserving of the praise. The concept of the lead character 'regenerating' into another actor deserves a great nod of recognition in the journals of television history. Cheers, --- |
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While Who may certainly have been the first show to change horses mid-stream, there is one current TV show that's done it several times and is still a huge success.
And it's not Babylon 5. Sure, Sheridan left early in the show, but he came back later. Still, this is more like Star Trek whose pilot had a different bridge crew than the actual series.
No, the show I'm thinking of is...
Law & Order.
They were quite worried when the first major cast member left to be replaced. But this is another formula that can work if they get good actors in to replace old favorites. Since cops can change partners easily, they can turn the whole cast over as often as they like and as long as the writing is good, it will still work.
Sean.
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One solid hope is worth a cartload of uncertainties.