What's a TV show to do when real-life distractions – contract problems, the loss of a beloved actor – prevent the return of a character who's integral to the series?
Simple: you slip in a similar substitute to keep the formula intact and hope no-one spots the difference. Call it Death In Paradise syndrome. Seriously, this happens more often than you'd think, with mixed results.
1. Dermot / Tony - Men Behaving Badly
After just one series, Harry Enfield opted to quit MBB as Dermot Povey, the dopey best friend and flatmate of Gary (Martin Clunes) who was hopelessly in love with upstairs neighbour Deborah (Leslie Ash).
He was promptly replaced by Neil Morrissey as Tony Smart, the dopey best friend and flatmate of Gary who was hopelessly in love with upstairs neighbour Deborah.
2. Coach / Woody - Cheers
The sad passing of actor Nicholas Colasanto aged 61 saw Cheers faced with the difficult task of replacing popular character Coach (no relation to the New Girl character with the same moniker).
So the sweet-natured, dim-witted old bartender was replaced by a sweet-natured, dim-witted young bartender – Woody Boyd, played by Woody Harrelson in one of his earliest screen roles. He and Coach were old friends, apparently (not that Cheers had ever mentioned Woody before).
3. Mulder + Scully / Doggett + Reyes - The X-Files
With first David Duchovny and later Gillian Anderson choosing to take a step back from The X-Files in the later seasons of its original run, Mulder and Scully were replaced by FBI special agents Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Reyes (Annabeth Gish).
The twist here was that it was the new male lead who was the sceptic, while his female partner was the believer – a reversal of the old Fox and Dana dynamic.
So blatant was this particular replacement that series creator Chris Carter wrote an early scene in which Scully throws water into Doggett's face, aware that new actor Patrick would be facing opposition from Duchovny loyalists.
4. Pike / Kirk - Star Trek: The Original Series
The original Star Trek pilot, 'The Cage', starred Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike, but when the sci-fi saga was picked up to series, Hunter was replaced by William Shatner as Captain James T Kirk.
Kirk was practically an exact replica of Pike in all but name, sharing not just his personality traits – both were square-jawed action heroes – but also his interpersonal relations – both shared a close friendship with the ship's doctor, and both were romantically interested in the Enterprise's female yeoman.
Pity poor Pike – 50 years on and it's Kirk who's become the television icon.
5. Sam / Will - The West Wing
In fairness, the Will Bailey character did evolve as time went on, but when Joshua Malina first joined The West Wing, his character was a clear stand-in for the departed Rob Lowe.
Will even filled the old position of Lowe's character Sam Seaborn at the White House – Deputy Communications Director – and shared similarly zippy repartee with Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff), who mentored both men.
