I’m going to go against consensus here and state for the record that I liked MAS*H much, much better with Blake, Trapper and Maj. Burnes. After they left the show (and because of Alan Alda assuming a larger role in determining the direction of the show) it spent far too much time being maudlin and became much more drama orientated. It was still a comedy, but it was more of a comedy/drama. I didn’t like it as much.
I liked MST3k with Joel, but I thought it improved greatly after Mike took over. Joel sometimes seemed to think his audience was primarily children, Mike apparently knew better, so the zingers got sharper. He brought more tubular boobular joy to the show.
In the second season of Newhart, housekeeper Leslie Vanderkellen was replaced by her cousin Stephanie. It was in improvement: Leslie was too perfect to be funny.
I’ll echo the MASH comments, and add that Night Court was much improved when Charles Robinson took over the court clerk role, and more so when Markie Post took over the public defender role.
I actually lost interest in the show first with Stephanie and then completely when the little guy from Bosom Buddies showed up.
Worst “actress” I’ve ever seen. Including grade school plays. Nice to read farther down the thread she stinks up several joints, as well as L&O.
There was a clerk before Mac? I remember the previous lawyers, but I only remember Mac.
I do agree that it improved with the switch to Christine and someone else’s comment about it improving again with the addition of Ros, though.
There was a woman in the first season, Court Clerk Lana Wagner played by Karen Austin
Odd piece of Trivia I found today on Night Court, when Reinhold Weege was casting for Judge Harry Stone, he already had the character written as a Mel Torme fan. The fact that the role went to **Harry ** Anderson who is a Mel Torme nut was a happy coincidence according to Reinhold.
:smack: D’oh, I remember her now. I think I’d conflated her with the first defence attorney.
Funny, I’d have thought it was written for him - I’m guessing it was pretty quickly rewritten, given how much it resembles Harry the Hat and Anderson’s stage persona.
It gets weirder. It was hard to find, but there was a summer replacement series/tryout in the mid 70s that was the first try at making Night Court. It was by the people that did Barney Miller and Night Court. I finally found it, it was called “Sirota’s Court” and took place in a NYC Night Court. The judge was Michael Constantine and either the clerk or the PD was a cute Red Head that must have been played by Cynthia Harris. Her nickname on the show was Carrot Top. 
I remember the show being good and IMDB says it nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. I would guess from memory they had either 4 or 6 episodes. I think this was common in the 70s. They would try out shows in the summer. Even All in the Family might have starter this way.
I just remembered something. This was tried out at the same time as CPO Sharkey and for some reason that was picked up and this little gem was not until it was remade years later.
I can’t stand Suzanne Sommers and think Three’s Company was much better after she left.
Ditto, Shelly Long was annoying as all get out.
I was about to post just that. McLean Stevenson was irreplaceable and when Wayne Rogers left it became the Alan Alda Show in everything but title. Alda smothered the show with his unending preachiness.
Yes, all three were replaced by more interesting, more rounded characters.
Which made Frasier’s put down of her in his own show a bit more pleasing 
Blakes 7 is definitely better in the episodes where Avon took over as the lead. I think they wanted Tarrant to kind of replace Blake, but Avon was so much better of a character.
I’ve seen most of Frasier several times and I don’t remember the specific. Care to enlighten?
-Joe
MASH did take a turn for the preachy, but I don’t think it was the cast changes that did it. It was Alda’s doing and it would have gone that way regardless of who was in the supporting roles.
I really hated Frank Burns. He was a ridiculous cartoon, as subtle as a “Bush=Hitler” sign. Also, how could the hospital have such an exemplary record if one of it’s four surgeons is incompetent? Winchester made a much better foil. He was a snob and a dick, but also a great surgeon. And he got to show a compassionate side too, with the stuttering patient or the piano player who’d lost an arm.
Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Hoolihan went from being a shrew of a woman to being a subservient little nurse. She suffered the most from “Aldaism.”
See, I never saw Frank as incompetent. He was just totally outshined by the likes of Hawkeye and Trapper. On a scale of one to ten, a seven isn’t too bad, unless he’s sharing the room with a couple nines.
That said, of course Winchester was a totally superior character from pretty much every perspective. But I don’t think Frank was necessarily a bad surgeon.
-Joe