A Star is Gone

So with last year’s television season coming to an end, and preparations being made for the next one, we’re seeing a lot of news about whether some big stars will be returning to their shows. We’ve already learned that Lisa Edelstein won’t be returning to House, Laurence Fishburne won’t be returning to CSI, and Christopher Meloni won’t be returning to Law & Order: SVU. These losses will undoubtedly impact their respective shows, but it got me thinking about instances where an actor leaving a show – due to contractual and unnatural issues – completely altered the landscape of the television series. Here are a few examples that come to mind – can you think of any other?

JOHN RHYS-DAVIES AND SLIDERS:
I used to be a big fan of Sliders, but right around the time that the beloved Professor died, the show never seemed to be the same. The central premise of the show shifted from a crew of group of people sliding from one dimension to the next, hoping that the next slide would be the one that brings them home, to a group of people tracking Rickman, and finally – believe it or not – an intergalactic war against the Kromaggs. By the end of it all, Sliders barely resembled the series it started off as, and to me it all began with the departure of John Rhys-Davies. The comrade was gone, and with the introduction of Maggie, Quinn and Wade (the emotional center of the show) drifted to such an extent that her “death” and his eventual departure barely seemed to mean anything to either character.

It was years later that I would discover that John Rhys-Davies left the show because of creative differences with one of the show runners. Therefore, his character’s death wasn’t an example of organic storytelling, instead it was a concerted effort to get the actor off of the show. I cannot help but wonder if Sliders would have descended so far from its original vision if the Professor had stuck around (for what it’s worth, rumors also circulated that Wade left the series because she didn’t get along with the actress who portrayed Maggie, who replaced the Professor).

ADEWALE AKINNUYOE-AGBAJE AND LOST:
When Lost introduced the Tailies at the beginning of the second season (and swiftly discarded of them within the same season), it seemed like Mr. Eko was the only one destined to make an impact on the show. He was seen as the Tailie Locke – the man who understood the island and its unbelievable abilities. And during Locke’s crisis of faith, Eko’s role was even more important, as the official avatar for the writers who could explain everything significant to the audience. Eko came in with a roar but left in a whimper (well, a Smoke Monster, tree bashing induced whimper) when he was suddenly and unexpectedly killed off in an early season three episode. The death of Eko actually had people considering the entirety of season two to be a waste, as it focused so much on the Tailies, yet by the beginning of the third season, virtually all of them were dead.

It would later come to light that Eko was written off because the actor was very difficult to get along with. Terry O’Quinn, who seems to be very professional and diplomatic based on what I’ve read about him, stated in an interview that he wasn’t sad to see the actor go. While, in the grand scheme of things, I’m sure Eko’s absence didn’t have a significant impact on the end game, but I can’t help but feel like the journey would have been dramatically different if Eko hadn’t died. How would he have reacted to the war with the Others? Or the time traveling? Or, perhaps most significantly, how would he have responded to the Smoke Monster/Man in Black/Locke Ness Monster? I don’t know if Eko would have survived to the very end, particularly when the series started to dwindle the cast down to the absolute essentials, but I have no doubt that there were bigger plans for this character had the actor meshed better with the rest of the cast.

It’s worth noting that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje may very well be the only one-time regular to never once return to the show, if I’m not mistaken.

MIRA FURLAN AND LOST:
After appearing sporadically throughout the first few seasons of Lost, Danielle Rousseau finally began to play a larger role when she was reunited with her daughter at the end of the third season. Just when it seemed like this story was going to be properly resolved and we’d finally get a flashback Rousseau episode that would answer some very significant questions, the character was abruptly killed off in a very nonchalant, inconsequential fashion. It would later come to light that the actress requested that she be written off, as she didn’t wish to continue traveling to Hawaii to film her scenes.

Sure, we did essentially get Rousseau’s flashback episode the following season, through the magic of time travel, but I also can’t help but feel like aspects of the story were altered significantly due to Mira Furlan’s exit. Would Alex have been killed so quickly afterwards? If so, how would she have played into that tragic turn of events? And if Mira Furlan hadn’t decided to leave the show, would we have seen a proper character-centric flashback episode (which surely would have avoided that “did she recognize Jin?” question)?

NESTOR CARBONELL AND LOST:
Unlike all of the examples above, where an actor leaves a show and completely alters its plans, the case of Nestor Carbonell on Lost takes the opposite stance, where a twist of fate allows an actor to stay on the show. As you may recall, Nestor Carbonell, who plays Richard Alpert, was cast in Cane, which would have made him unavailable for Lost. As “luck” would have it, the writer’s strike shortened Lost’s season and resulted in Cane getting canceled. Thus, Carbonell was able to return to Lost.

It’s actually quite difficult to imagine what Lost would have played out without Richard Alpert. The fifth season focused almost exclusively on time travel – which was a polarizing decision – and that simply would not have worked so well if it weren’t for Alpert’s character. Quite simply, he was the glue that held the story arc together. Whether they were in the present or in the past, the characters’ ability to communicate with Alpert brought everything together. He unquestionably became one of the most intriguing (and popular) characters in the span of 17 somewhat episodes.

In fact, the Richard Alpert flashback episode was most likely the most anticipated episode of the last season, which is quite feat considering the significant episodes that were promised that season.

MICHAEL ROSENBAUM AND SMALLVILLE:
Thankfully, Smallville was able to recover from the loss of Michael Rosenbaum by introducing new villains like Doomsday, Zod, and Darkseid. And while Smallville was officially promoted as the story of Clark Kent becoming Superman, it was just as much about how Lex went from being Clark’s best friend to the Man of Steel’s sworn enemy. As such, Michael Rosenbaum’s departure surely impacted the show’s plans.

In the years that followed, the writers did a phenomenal job of completing Clark’s journey. And gratefully, Rosenbaum agreed to return for the finale, where some loose ends were tired up. But still, a whole lot of story had to be told in those few scenes, leaving some to feel a bit cheated, as everything felt rushed. You can’t but feel like things would have played out different – and more consistent with their original plan – if Rosenbaum hadn’t opted to leave.