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Ed note: we’re having a few technical difficulties here, so we’re highlighting a few best-of posts starting with this terrific one from Kara. Enjoy!
Things don’t always work out as planned in Television Land. A snappy catchphrase, an adorable mannerism, a bodacious bust line…there’s no telling what might capture the audience’s attention. The problem is, it often comes at the expense of another actor.
1. The Fonz Upstages Opie
The idea for a sitcom set in the 1950s was inspired by a vignette on the 1970s anthology series Love, American Style. One year after “Love and the Happy Days” aired, Ron Howard starred in the blockbuster film American Graffiti, which solidified his ability to play a retro-teenager. Howard had previously played “Opie” on The Andy Griffith Show, and with his recent film triumph under his belt, it was clear that he was the intended star of Happy Days. But the producers were caught by surprise when Fonzie, portrayed by Henry Winkler, who was only an occasional character during the first season started getting a substantial amount of press. Suddenly “Ayyyy” was on everyone’s lips and you couldn’t walk past a storefront without seeing some sort of Fonz replica giving the ol’ thumbs up. The ABC brass even suggested changing the name of the show to Fonzie’s Happy Days, but Henry Winkler himself vehemently opposed such a change. In fact, Henry has always staunchly credited the success of Happy Days to the work of entire cast, particularly Ron Howard and Tom Bosley.
2. Alex P. Keaton’s Hostile Takeover
When Gary David Goldberg was casting Family Ties, a sitcom about liberal 60s-era parents raising 80s-era children, he envisioned Matthew Broderick for the role of Alex P. Keaton. But Broderick didn’t want to leave New York for a long-term project, so Goldberg was left at square one. At the urging of a casting director, he gave a young Canadian actor named Michael J. Fox a second screen test, and reluctantly hired him (his infamous comment at the time about Fox was “There’s a face you’ll never see on a lunch box.”) Much to everyone’s surprise, Michael J. Fox had that on-screen charisma that quickly made him an audience favorite; he could deliver the most extreme right-wing political rhetoric and make it palatable because he was so darned cute. Meredith Baxter-Birney was miffed, because her understanding when she signed on for Family Ties was that the parents would be the focus of the series. But teen magazine profiles and posters can have a unique impact on a celebrity’s “Q-factor,” and soon many of the show’s plots revolved around Alex. During the taping of the episode where Alex lost his virginity, the audience’s laughter went on so long that the show ran 12 minutes overtime. Goldberg was standing backstage with Baxter-Birney at the time and commented, “If you want to leave the show, I’ll understand.”
3. Jack Tripper Gets Bested by a Blonde
When Three’s Company was being cast, John Ritter was the only actor hired who any sort of name recognition, having played the Reverend Fordwick on The Waltons. Luckily, he also had a knack for slapstick comedy, and managed to make the most out of what was basically a one-joke role (a closet heterosexual living platonically with two beautiful young women). But even though Ritter was the acknowledged star of the show (and won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Jack Tripper), it was Suzanne Somers who got her picture on all the magazine covers and had her own mega-selling poster. Actually, as soon as Somers landed the role of Chrissy, she contacted powerhouse manager Jay Bernstein and begged him to take her on as a client. She wanted to be “bigger than Farrah,” and although (according to Somers) Bernstein questioned her looks and her talent, he was impressed by her passion, and agreed to manage her. Of course, it probably helped that Somers also pledged to give him every penny of her salary from the first six episodes of Three’s Company. Nevertheless, thanks to Bernstein’s savvy promotion, soon every episode of Three’s Company, no matter what the plot, focused heavily on Chrissy prancing around in tight T-shirts and short-shorts.
4. Yes, Urkel Did That
Family Matters was officially a spin-off of Perfect Strangers (Harriette Winslow was the elevator operator at the Chicago Chronicle). The show was supposed to focus on the everyday trials and tribulations of a department store employee, her police officer husband, and their three children. Midway through Season One, their nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel (portrayed by Jaleel White) appeared, oversized glasses, suspenders, high-rise pants, squeaky voice and all. Urkel was originally intended as a one-episode character, but after White’s initial appearance, studio audiences started chanting “Urkel! Urkel!” during subsequent tapings. Several first-season episodes were hastily re-written in order to feature the whiny-voiced, clumsy character. Interestingly enough, Jaleel White had been acting (mostly in commercials) since the age of three, and just prior to being cast as Urkel had told his mother that he wanted to quit the business in order to play JV basketball when he entered high school the next fall.
5. Mr. Kotter’s Lukewarm Welcome (in comparison to John Travolta)
Veteran comic writer Alan Sacks had seen stand-up comic Gabe Kaplan’s act a few times and thought that there might be a viable sitcom to be mined out of Kaplan’s tales of his days in remedial high school classes. When previewing Welcome Back, Kotter in front of test audiences, network brass noted that John Travolta (whose character was then known as “Eddie Barbarina”) elicited unsolicited random squeals from the crowd and decided on the strength of a possible teen heartthrob plus Kaplan’s jokes to green light the series. Travolta, for his part, didn’t discourage the Tiger Beat aspect of his fame, but he also craved acceptance as a bona fide actor, and he spent much of his Kotter salary on a high-priced agent, who landed him progressively larger film roles, from The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, to Carrie, to Saturday Night Fever. By the fourth (and ultimately final) season of Welcome Back, Kotter, John Travolta was billed as a “special guest star” and appeared in less than half of that season’s episodes.
Comments (67)
Comment
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For some reason, this article is breaking the front page for me.
posted by Ira on 6-4-2008 at 7:25 am
Fixed!
posted by Ira on 6-4-2008 at 7:49 am
Latka and Rev. Jim took over Taxi
posted by Hoo Hee on 6-4-2008 at 8:46 am
Here’s a modern upstaging of sorts – How I Met Your Mother’s Ted Mosby is the Focus behind the story, but on many occasions, Barney Stinson upstages him in “Fonzie-esque” fashion.
posted by shane on 6-4-2008 at 8:54 am
LOL, Welcome back Kotter, Boy that brings back memories.
JJ
http://www.FireMe.To/Udi
posted by Jason Tremble on 6-4-2008 at 9:17 am
If we’re going for bit players who have grabber part of the show for themselves, Scrub’s Janitor was a first episode bit player, but he snuck in the line at the end of the episode about the penny and has been a mainstay of the show since then. It’s not on the level of Urkel or Fox though, I never knew about those two.
posted by Kinglink on 6-4-2008 at 10:01 am
And let’s not forget that The Simpsons was supposed to center around Bart, not Homer.
posted by Danny on 6-4-2008 at 10:09 am
Actually, the Simpsons itself was a filler from the Tracey Ullman show in Fox’s first season. 20 years later, it not only stole the show, but the voice actors make $400k/episode now!
posted by rotll on 6-4-2008 at 10:27 am
On “Lost in Space,” Dr. Smith was originally the bad guy. But actor Jonathan Harris apparently was a better hijacker than his character was. Please see link.
posted by David H. on 6-4-2008 at 10:47 am
no Mr. T ?
A – Team
posted by anonymouse on 6-4-2008 at 11:10 am
Kratts’ Creatures on PBS was later renamed Zooboomafoo, because people liked the lemur puppet more than the Kratts.
posted by Ira on 6-4-2008 at 11:34 am
On the Drew Carey Show, the Mimi Bobeck character was only scheduled to appear for one episode, but she tested so well she ended up becoming a main character.
posted by Tyler on 6-4-2008 at 12:14 pm
What about Joan Collins’ campy Alexis Carrington on Dynasty?
posted by AC on 6-4-2008 at 12:32 pm
Don’t forget that show Jack and Karen, which had those far less interesting co-stars, Will and Grace. Or was it the other way around?
posted by Gay on 6-4-2008 at 1:16 pm
Any list that doesn’t mention Andy Kaufman ’s turn as Latke Gravas on “Taxi” is incomplete.
posted by leron on 6-4-2008 at 1:39 pm
ben linus on LOST.
posted by x34460 on 6-4-2008 at 1:40 pm
Ashton Kutcher as Kelso on That 70s Show.
posted by Frank on 6-4-2008 at 2:17 pm
Cheese on Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends.
posted by BlueBombardier on 6-4-2008 at 2:56 pm
Oh come on, nobody mentioned Kelsey Grammar as Dr. Frasier Crane? He took over the show and went on to have his own… classic
posted by Mark on 6-4-2008 at 3:12 pm
Don’t forget Tina Louise of Gilligan’s Island. She thought she should be the focus of the show — despite the show’s title.
posted by Alisa on 6-4-2008 at 3:45 pm
I never knew that Family Matters was a spinoff of Perfect Strangers…
posted by DYMongoose on 6-4-2008 at 4:10 pm
Originally, Spike on Buffy was going to be a throw-away character. He did so well, that they brought him back and made him a major part of the show. Even outlived BTVS by continuing on Angel after BTVS ended.
posted by Nat X on 6-4-2008 at 4:49 pm
Kramer on Seinfeld
posted by JC on 6-4-2008 at 5:22 pm
I don’t know if I’d say he totally hijacked the show from Veronica, but Logan Echolls made quite an impression.
posted by Melissa on 6-4-2008 at 6:14 pm
Hawkeye on M*A*S*H. There, I said it.
For the record, I think that character is great and Alan Alda did an amazing job BUT it was not /supposed/ to be “Alan Alda/Hawkeye’s Vietnam Analogy Show”
Still the best character ever though.
posted by byrc on 6-4-2008 at 6:48 pm
You guys need to see Omar from The Wire. Best show ever!
posted by fungus on 6-4-2008 at 6:55 pm
Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) from Lost. And I definitely agree about the suggestion for Omar for the Wire
posted by chris on 6-4-2008 at 11:31 pm
Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing on Dallas.
posted by Tdave on 6-5-2008 at 3:59 am
Bayley Quarters on WKRP totally stole the show from Jennifer.
posted by grumpyoldman on 6-5-2008 at 7:50 am
Nice article! The character John Travolta played in “Welcome Back Kotter” was called Vinnie Barbarino, not Eddie Barbarina.
posted by Valerie on 6-8-2008 at 11:20 pm
Originally, The West Wing was supposed to focus solely on the White House staffers. The President was going to make only rare appearances. That went out the window from the start and is one of the reasons that Rob Lowe (the Meredith Baxter of the series) left early.
posted by Michael Rebain on 6-9-2008 at 1:57 pm
OK, I’m a nerd: on the original Star Trek, the very wooden Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock frequently upstaged the shirtless ham… well, you know. Old dude on Boston Legal.
;)
posted by Theo on 6-10-2008 at 1:58 pm
How about Matthew Fox (Jack) from Lost?? Everyone seems to forget that he was supposed to be DEAD by episode two or three.
And, Tahmoh Penikett (Helo/Karl Agathon) from Battlestar Galactica? He was only supposed to appear on “Cylon-Occupied Caprica” and get killed off.
posted by Jamie on 6-17-2008 at 4:37 pm
Methos from Highlander. Another “bit” or one/two ep character who was supposed to be killed off, but who ended up having a much more central role in later plot arcs. kudos to the actor, Peter Wingfield who brought so much (after)life to a minor/throwaway character, as well as the writers & producers who recognized what they had started.
posted by Lisa on 6-18-2008 at 3:39 pm
Valerie beat me to it…it was Vinnie not Eddie Barbarino…
posted by Tony on 6-23-2008 at 8:02 am
Valerie (& Tony), in the original pilot script (and the pilot episode filmed) the character’s name was, in fact, Eddie Barbarina (I’ve got a clip of John Travolta’s screen test where he introduces himself by that name). It was changed to Vinnie Barbarino when the show was picked up.
posted by Kara on 6-23-2008 at 11:16 am
Another one is “A Different World.” The show was a Cosby spinoff which was supposed to be a vehicle for Lisa Bonet, but she was overshadowed by better actors (Jasmine Guy, for instance), and ended up being written off the show when she became pregnant with her and Lenny Kravitz’s child.
posted by Golden Silence on 1-27-2009 at 11:58 am
Omar definitely…for those of you who still have not seen The Wire you should…stick with it after the first few episodes because it only gets better and better.
Jack was supposed to be dead on Lost and Ben has definitely upstaged almost every one else on that show at this point as well.
Great article.
posted by Mike James on 6-8-2009 at 11:31 am
I know the thread is old but what the heck….
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was originally titled Solo until David McCallum (”Ducky” Mallard from NCIS) stole the show as Illya Kuriakin. In CHiPs (yes, the i is lowercase) Jon was supposed to be the star. Audiences loved Ponch much more, though.
posted by Tom Lake on 6-8-2009 at 11:35 am
Jennifer Love Hewitt – Party of Five
Chevy Chase – SNL
Pamela Anderson – Baywatch
Pinky and the Brain – Animaniacs
Sasha Mitchell (Cody)- Step by Step
posted by Chris on 6-8-2009 at 12:28 pm
The ultimate TV show theft was a late 80’s sitcom called “Valerie’s Family”. It was originally centered around Valerie Harper (named Valerie Hogan in the series) and her family, with all the standard adventures. However, Jason Bateman, who played the oldest son, quickly began getting a FAR better reaction from audiences (fan mail, ratings, etc.) than any other character, so the writers refocused the show on him. Valerie Harper threw a hissy fit and put out the ultimatum that it was Jason or her.
Next thing you know, the first episode of the new season opens with the remaining family members coming back from Valerie’s funeral, and the show is retitled “The Hogan Family”.
posted by Anthony on 6-8-2009 at 1:34 pm
“…he could deliver the most extreme right-wing political rhetoric and make it palatable because he was so darned cute.”
Keep politics out of your articles. If you have to then try to actually say something that isn’t so idiotic and obvious. We get it, Alex was “extreme” becuase he’s a republican. Damn those evil republicans. Better to be a couple of hippy parents who believe in love and peace and rainbows and unicorns…
posted by Hurricane on 6-8-2009 at 1:52 pm
@Hurricane: I certainly meant no offense of support of any political party with my comment. An example of what I would consider one of Alex’s “extreme right wing but cute comments” was when he visited Andy’s preschool. Andy won a ribbon because he’d learned how to share. “All the toys in the class belong to everyone,” the teacher explained. “What is this, the Karl Marx pre-school?!” an outraged Alex responded.
posted by Kara on 6-8-2009 at 2:15 pm
Jimmie Walker from Good Times.
posted by Pandora Spocks on 6-8-2009 at 2:18 pm
In addition to Spike in the Buffy/Whedon universe, some of my favorite characters were Anya from BTVS and The Host aka Lorne aka Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok Clan (I love that name). Both became show regulars due to their popularity.
RIP Andy Hallett.
posted by Jonny on 6-8-2009 at 5:45 pm
What about Tobias Fuke in Arrested Development… excuse my spelling.
Or maybe I’m on my own with that.. Hehe.. Good times.
posted by Chrystani on 6-8-2009 at 5:53 pm
Phoebe and Chandler were originally supposed to be only recurring characters on Friends.
posted by Eric on 6-9-2009 at 3:23 am
Garcia on Criminal Minds! She charmed her way to a regular role.
posted by J.Mo on 6-9-2009 at 3:37 am
John Larroquette’s Dan Fielding on Night Court
posted by Mitch on 6-9-2009 at 5:57 am
Can’t imagine Night Court without John Larroquette’s Dan Fielding… who was alot like Neil Patrick Harris’s Barney Stinson. I guess much of America still has a soft spot for politically incorrect horndogs.
posted by Mitch on 6-9-2009 at 6:12 am
@ Chrystani: LOL :)
I have to say that Arrested Development was one of the best shows ever because nobody could ever outshine anybody else in the cast (just like Reno 911)…every family member has their own quotable lines or awkward movements (my co-worker and I seem to mimick at least 3 family members’ “chicken dances” bimonthly)…
posted by Brandy on 6-9-2009 at 6:25 am
Bender of Futurama was never intended to have a role as big as he did/does (freshly renewed! wheeee! ^_^). He was supposed to be a minor supporter, but, through fan popularity, pretty much became the show’s mascot. He has the most episodes/movies named after him.
posted by Savannah on 6-10-2009 at 9:06 pm
Hurricane, give me a break. Do we really have to get offended by EVERYTHING?? If you ever watched Family Ties you know that Alex was in fact Republican and they purposely made him ridiculously extreme. The reason would obviously be because the parents were on the other extreme. Sometimes there really is no offense meant.
posted by Shannon on 6-11-2009 at 1:25 am
And we mustn’t forget Christine Baranski as the hard-drinking lush Maryanne Thorpe in Cybil, and winning an Emmy as best supporting actress for the role.
posted by Helpless Puppy on 6-11-2009 at 11:09 am
Let’s not forget FRED MACMURRAY – I heard he was REALLLLLLLLLLLLLY tight with his money! LOL
posted by Chip on 6-11-2009 at 6:59 pm
I don’t agree with Chevy Chase on SNL. He was only on the show the first year.
posted by Richard on 6-20-2009 at 9:33 pm
Duh, Valerie. It said Eddie Barbarina was Travolta’s character’s name in the test audience stage. Read much?
posted by Jan on 6-22-2009 at 5:58 pm
This is kind of the opposite of the topic, but when Barney Miller debuted, it was meant to split time between Barney at work and at home.
It only took a few episodes for them to dump the homefront stuff and stay in the squadroom.
posted by The Mutt on 6-26-2009 at 10:41 pm
Jeez hurricane, sensitive much?
posted by allysaurus on 6-28-2009 at 5:07 am
Betty White as Sue Ann Nivens…The Happy Homemaker on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. So Funny.
posted by Late Again on 6-28-2009 at 3:30 pm
You can argue that Louise Jefferson and especially her brash husband George kind of hijacked All In The Family for a while. The Jeffersons were a couple that actually stood up to Archie on numerous occasions. Heck, George even convinced his brother-in-law to pretend he was him for a good while. But they moved on up to the East Side and stayed on a good 10 years, still the longest-running series with a predominately Black cast.
And then there’s Maude, Edith’s more-progressive cousin and one of the few people to put Archie Bunker in his place was a one-shot, one-episode character. Audience (and executive) reaction to Bea Arthur’s character was so strong that she was given her own show.
posted by KaiZen on 7-1-2009 at 12:27 am
Also, now that I think about it, you could also put President Josiah Bartlet from The West Wing. Yes, he was the President of the United States, but the show really wasn’t about him, but rather the people around him, the men and women who made up the man. Martin Sheen was supposed to make sporadic, limited appearances of the series, but the writers saw that President Bartlet was a great character.
posted by KaiZen on 7-1-2009 at 12:37 am
Gary David Goldberg never made the lunchbox comment about Michael J. Fox — it was Brandon Tartikoff, the head of NBC’s entertainment division at the time, who made the comment to Goldberg at the time Fox was hired.
posted by Mike on 7-2-2009 at 5:45 pm
When “TGIF” would air, my mom always asked “Is Cody on?”
posted by Sara in AL on 7-4-2009 at 7:43 pm
posted by byrc on 6-4-2008 at 6:48 pm:
This is a bit late, but M*A*S*H was NOT based on the Viet Nam war – it’s Korea.
Also, how could the list not include Johnny Depp from “21 Jump Street” or ‘Aunt Esther’ from “Sanford and Son”?
posted by Mel on 7-8-2009 at 2:51 pm
I totally agree with adding Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White) and Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page)to the list. I’d also add Jamie Gertz (Muffy Tepperman)from Square Pegs. She was so snobbily funny!
posted by Nathan on 7-13-2009 at 11:27 am
I saw a “making of” documentary about Family Ties on PBS many years ago that showed NBC entertainment chief at the time Brandon Tartikoff saying that Michael Fox’s face would never be on a lunch box, not Gary Goldberg the creator.
posted by Steve on 9-25-2009 at 6:55 pm