# "Perfect Attendance Index" for TV shows
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 29, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420 "2016-08-29T18:05:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/21 "2016-08-29T20:10:33Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> What I said up-thread: IMDb is including the un-aired pilot in that total. The real total should be 686.
> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> Look for characters/actors listed as not appearing and compare that against IMDb.
So… The choice is between easily-obtainable but unreliable information, or a very labor-intensive way to get more complete information.
I may be on a fool’s errand here. :smack:🙂
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/22 "2016-08-29T20:13:02Z")
**Wheelz** , it’s Chinatown.
I don’t know why I said that. Sorry.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/23 "2016-08-29T20:23:40Z")
_Murphy Brown_: 988 - Candice Bergen, Faith Ford, Charles Kimbrough, and Joe Regalbuto appeared in all 247 episodes.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/24 "2016-08-29T20:30:51Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> Damn, not even Bob Barker (6719).
If a show goes off the air for a while, then gets revised and restarted, does that count as a new series? If it does, they _Jeopardy!_ might be a contender. IMDb lists 7295 episodes, with Alex Trebek in 7253, but I wonder if its data is incomplete for some reason. I’ve never heard of Trebek missing any episodes.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/25 "2016-08-29T20:35:40Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#):
>
> Out of curiosity, what are you basing the “perfect attendance” on? [imdb.com](http://imdb.com)? Because I don’t trust it - I was checking the stats for Married with Children, which lists Katey Sagal as appearing in all 263 episodes. That isn’t true - she missed several after suffering a miscarriage. They shipped her character Peggy off to Wanker county to account for her absence. True, she called back a few times, but there were a couple of episodes where she wasn’t seen or heard at all.
True. I was just checking Castle. They list seven actors as appearing in all 173 episodes (a PAI of 1211). But there were definitely episodes where Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn, or Tamala Jones didn’t appear. And I’m pretty some of the other cast members might have missed a few episodes.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/26 "2016-08-29T20:53:13Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> I’ve never heard of Trebek missing any episodes.
According to Wikipedia, Trebek missed one. He and Pat Sajak traded places for an April Fool’s joke.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/27 "2016-08-29T21:03:47Z")
Richard Dawson has to be up there for the original daytime “Family Feud”. Figuring every weekday for nine years @ 260/year, minus 22 for not going a full nine = 2318.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/28 "2016-08-29T21:57:07Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> According to Wikipedia, Trebek missed one. He and Pat Sajak traded places for an April Fool’s joke.
That should still count.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/29 "2016-08-29T22:42:22Z")
Found another example of IMDB shenanigans. They have John Spencer listed as appearing in all 155 episodes of _The West Wing_. This is, of course, not true. Spencer died during the recording of the seventh season and they had to rewrite the final episodes to account for his character’s sudden disappearance.
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### Author:  [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/30 "2016-08-29T23:07:53Z")
> [@Wheelz](#):
>
> I _Gunsmoke_ gets a 635 on the shoulders of James Arness alone.
Fred Rogers beats out James Arness with 895 episodes of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
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### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/31 "2016-08-30T01:19:42Z")
Does it count if one of the actors actually passed away? What if his son replaced him?
Anyway, Last of the Summer Wine: Bill Owen and Peter Sallis were both in every episode from 1973 until Owen’s death in 1999. Then Sallis went on to be in every one until 2010.
But those short BBC seasons may keep them out of the running. There was always a third character that swapped around a bit, but those were flighty. They traded off every ten years or so.
😉
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### Author:  [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/32 "2016-08-30T02:35:29Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> Sorry, there is [one episode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pen) without Jason Alexander.
[Jason tells the story.](https://youtu.be/z_AroH9Fq7g?t=206)
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/33 "2016-08-30T02:54:56Z")
[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044230/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_9) chugged along for 14 seasons, and while David and Ricky each missed two episodes, Ozzie and Harriet rack up 870 points together.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/34 "2016-08-30T03:13:55Z")
As best I can recall, all nine of the major characters appeared in all 53 episodes of the initial run of _Arrested Development_ (or at least the actors did - Jeffrey Tambor played twins Oscar and George senior, and there may have been episodes when “Oscar” appeared but the more significant “George” did not). Even if we don’t count Ron Howard’s voice-overs, that gives a respectable score of 53 x 9 = 477.
Things get messier if we count Netflix’s Season 4 (it probably reduces the score to zero, or at most 68, if Jason Bateman was in all the new episodes, and I think he alone was). If season 5 happens, and we all hope it will, well… never mind.
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### Author:  [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/35 "2016-08-30T03:30:10Z")
> [@Wheelz](#):
>
> \*Friends: \*6 actors
> Jennifer Aniston
> Courteney Cox
> Lisa Kudrow
> Matt LeBlanc
> Matthew Perry
> David Scwimmer
> x 236 episodes = PAI 1416.
>
> \*Cheers: \*4 actors
> Ted Danson
> Rhea Perlman
> John Ratzenberger
> George Wendt
> x 271 episodes = PAI 1084
I could be wrong, but weren’t there a few “Friends” episodes without Matthew Perry? He went to rehab for a while, so Chandler was sent out of town on a business trip IIRC.
John Ratzenberger doesn’t count for “Cheers”. He was not considered a “regular” cast member until the third season. Even though he appeared in the very first episode, he was considered just one of the background characters for a while and didn’t appear in all the early episodes. (By the time he was officially added to the cast, he was appearing the week though.)
**Buffy the Vampire Slayer** – Only Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan appeared in every single episode. (Nicholas Brendon was absent for one single s.7 ep.) 144 episodes total, for a grand total of 288.
**Star Trek: the Next Generation** – Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes are the only two cast members to appear in every last one of the 178 episodes. (That’s 356 total.)
**Doctor Who** - Ha!
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/36 "2016-08-30T03:59:39Z")
> [@kunilou](#):
>
> [The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044230/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_9) chugged along for 14 seasons, and while David and Ricky each missed two episodes, Ozzie and Harriet rack up 870 points together.
According to IMDb, Hugh Beaumont, Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow, and Jerry Mathers appeared in all 234 episodes of _Leave It to Beaver_, giving it a respectable PAI of 936. That’s according to the trivia entry, anyway; Billingsley and Mathers are listed as appearing in 235 eps, but that probably includes the unaired pilot.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/37 "2016-08-30T04:26:32Z")
Small, but consistent. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have appeared in every single episode of Supernatural, just heading into its 12th season. They are the only two leads.
241 episodes.
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### Author:  [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/38 "2016-08-30T12:31:59Z")
> [@TruCelt](#):
>
> Does it count if one of the actors actually passed away? What if his son replaced him?
>
> Anyway, Last of the Summer Wine: Bill Owen and Peter Sallis were both in every episode from 1973 until Owen’s death in 1999. Then Sallis went on to be in every one until 2010.
>
> But those short BBC seasons may keep them out of the running. There was always a third character that swapped around a bit, but those were flighty. They traded off every ten years or so.
>
> 😉
Yeah, even though _Last of the Summer Wine_ ran from 1973 to 2010, most seasons only had 6 episodes. There were 295 episodes total, and Peter Sallis is the only actor who appeared in all of them. That’s still a pretty good one-man total, though. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/39 "2016-08-30T15:51:54Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#):
>
> I could be wrong, but weren’t there a few “Friends” episodes without Matthew Perry? He went to rehab for a while, so Chandler was sent out of town on a business trip IIRC.
>
> John Ratzenberger doesn’t count for “Cheers”. He was not considered a “regular” cast member until the third season. Even though he appeared in the very first episode, he was considered just one of the background characters for a while and didn’t appear in all the early episodes. (By the time he was officially added to the cast, he was appearing the week though.)
Matthew Perry was indeed in every episode. I’m not sure if Chandler’s transfer to Tulsa in season 9 had anything to do with Perry’s rehab. I thought he had cleaned up before that. It’s possible; there were a few episodes where he was isolated from the rest of the cast. But he did appear.
I was going with imdb’s episode count for Ratzenberger, and it shows him credited in every episode; I don’t know first-hand if that’s accurate. I’d say he counts even if he’s just sitting there sometimes, but he doesn’t count if there were any eps that he wasn’t in at all.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-attendance-index-for-tv-shows/764420/40 "2016-08-30T17:08:20Z")
While I knew it wouldn’t rank as high as ones already mentioned, I went to IMDb and checked the score for the original run of _Perry Mason_.
Um. 0.
As in there are _two_ episodes where Raymond Burr didn’t appear. I figured there’d be some episodes where Barbara Hale or William Hopper might not be in. (I remember one episode that takes place when Mason is at a cabin out in the sticks, but he at least calls people to check into things.) But no Perry Mason on _Perry Mason_!
271 episodes. Not an anthology type show or anything. Scores a 0. Wow.
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