Have you ever enjoyed a TV show and right when a new season begins they replace one of the characters with a new actor or actress? No matter how much you like or enjoy that show, the replacement is just never quite as good? Why don’t people ever give the new cast member a chance? I believe sometimes people get so used to the first person who played that role and don’t like the idea of change. When shows begin new seasons they sometimes add new characters to change things up, but when they completely recast that person, fans usually scream and moan about it. Let’s take a look at few while we’re at it.
Do you all remember Aunt Vivian from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? Originally played by Janet Hubert then eventually replaced by Daphne Reid. Janet played Aunt Vivian to the max. Her portrayal of the character was sassy, a talented dancer, and could also sing. She also didn’t play any games when it came to her family. Janet was the obvious person to play Aunt Vivian. Now Daphne on the other hand was more sensitive, less involved with the family, and never showed any other talent like Janet. Daphne was not a bad Aunt Vivian but could never just fulfill what Janet was able to.
Morgan Matthews on Boy Meets World never had a major role during the 7 season of the 90s sitcom. First played by Lily Nicksay and then reprised by Lindsay Ridgeway. Although Lily and Lindsay’s names would pop up during the opening credits, their character Morgan was not an every episode character. Lily took full advantage of her character and stole every scene when possible. Lily was just way too funny for her age, yes some of the jokes were cheesy but the majority of the time she came through and delivered. Lindsay on the other hand, at times I forgot she was even on the show. Lindsay’s role of Morgan was almost non-existent to where I felt they could have written that character out. Allow me to have one last gripe about Boy Meets World. What happened to Jason Marsden and Lee Norris?
Fans of the BET sitcom The Game are going to hate me for this one. Most fans of The Game have never seen the pilot episode because it was label under a different show. The Game originally aired as an episode of the BET sitcom Girlfriends. Making it a spinoff the character Derwin was originally played by Aldis Hodge and after 1 episode then replaced by Pooch Hall. Now Pooch isn’t a bad Derwin at all, but after watching Friday Night Lights, Aldis played a villain character named Ray ‘Voodoo’ Tatum. Aldis showed he had the look, the tone, and the experience of playing a football player. Aldis played Derwin a lot more serious while Pooch has turned the role into a comedian.
Everyone remembers the show Family Matters. This show actually had 3 casting changes during its 9 year run. I personally believe one change was unnecessary while the other benefited the show (the third was basically the change of the infant Richie Crawford). JoMarie Payton prized the role of Harriet Winslow but after 8 seasons, Payton decided to call it quits with the show. For the last season she was replaced by Judyann Elder and by the time she came in, no one cared anymore and was ready to see Urkel and Laura tie the knot once in for all. The other cast change was the character of Judy Winslow. First played by Valerie Jones for only 3 episodes then, the role changed to Jaimee Foxworth. Valerie never really had a chance to shine the character of Judy, she wasn’t there long enough and not given any chance to impact the show. Jaimee took full advantage of making Judy her own. Everyone remembers Jaimee as the person to play Laura’s little sister while Valerie as been long gone and forgotten. I personally feel Jaimee left the show too early and could have had a major impact even though the show was eventually going to turn into Urkel’s and Laura’s love for one another.
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