# But for (fill in actor) this very successful ensemble show would be horrible! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777 "2009-03-25T18:53:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/21 "2009-03-26T02:34:48Z")
I can’t imagine the _Carol Burnett Show_ without Carol Burnett. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/22 "2009-03-26T03:07:28Z")
I nominate Ed O’Neil as Al Bundy. He bought something to the role that no one else could have, and easily carried Married with Children. Peggy was a trailer trash shrew without many unique qualities. Kelly’s function was to look hot and act stupid. Bud got better as he got older (the “Grandmaster B” stuff was hilarious), but was pretty generic early on. The only person who came close to Al was next door neighbor Steve, who I always thought was vastly under-rated. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@Red\_Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/23 "2009-03-26T03:18:26Z")
Coupling without Richard Coyle (“Jeff”) would be complete garbage, and infact it was when he wasnt a part of the cast after the third season. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/24 "2009-03-26T10:08:31Z")
**Deadwood** without McShane would not have been a fraction of the show; those “cocksucker Shakespearean” soliloquies and rants held it together and I can’t imagine Ed O’Neill (the original choice) or others delivering them in such a way that you can simultaneously believe 1) this is this person’s natural way of speaking 2) this person is capable of cutting you into ribbons with a fingernail file if he feels the needs 3) this person is by and large sane and not totally evil. Since there was name-only comparison between the historical Deadwood figures and those on the HBO version they could have written out Seth Bullock, Alma Garret, or any of the other star characters, but without Swearengen, no show. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/25 "2009-03-26T10:52:14Z")
Although only a few shows have been broadcast, there’s not a doubt in my mind that **Castle** would be unwatchable, were it not for the wonder Mr Fillion. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/26 "2009-03-26T12:57:23Z")
**Star Trek: TNG** would’ve been canceled faster than the original without Patrick Stewart. Dorn and Spiner couldn’t have kept it afloat on their own, and the rest of the cast was pretty much riding along with the three of them. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/27 "2009-03-26T13:01:10Z")
3rd Rock from the Sun would not have worked without John Lithgow. While everyone else was good, Lithgow made the show great. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/28 "2009-03-26T15:23:38Z")
_Newsradio_ is the perfect example for this OP. Tremendous ensemble cast (maybe the best ever), but when Phil Hartman died, the show was finished. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/29 "2009-03-26T15:27:42Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > _Newsradio_ is the perfect example for this OP. > > Tremendous ensemble cast (maybe the best ever), but when Phil Hartman died, the show was finished. This is the textbook example of the OP’s thesis. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777/30 "2009-03-26T15:28:57Z")
That also applies to “8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenaged Daughter” and John Ritter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-for-fill-in-actor-this-very-successful-ensemble-show-would-be-horrible/490777.md?page=1)