# Poor (additional) cast choices of good TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802 "2016-05-03T19:34:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![12mgdaily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/f08c70/32.png) [@12mgdaily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/12mgdaily)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/1 "2016-05-03T19:34:21Z")
I hate it when I enjoy watching a TV show regularly, and the producers suddenly decide to add horrible, new, regular cast members. A perfect example of this is Frasier. I liked the show originally, and continue to watch the re-runs. But I cannot stand to watch a single episode which features Daphne’s family members, imported from England (brother - Simon, and her mother - Gertrude Moon). On another old series, Star Trek the Next Generation, I hate watching every single one of the 8 episodes which feature the character Q. And on Andy Griffith, I turn off any show (6 episodes) starring the Mountain People, also know as the Darling family. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/2 "2016-05-03T19:44:10Z")
Moonlighting with Curtis Armstrong. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/3 "2016-05-03T19:52:00Z")
Bones. Sunnie Pelant and the Booth daughter. Possibly the worst child actor ever. And that includes the kid that played the young Anakin Skywalker. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/4 "2016-05-03T20:02:27Z")
Bellamy Young on _Scrubs_. I get the feeling they were trying to make a female counterpart to Dr. Cox (didn’t they already have one of those?) and the end result is that she is just hateful for no reason at all. Thankfully, they dropped her storyline pretty quick. And I agree that Daphne’s family on _Frasier_ was pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/5 "2016-05-03T20:04:32Z")
That Seven fuckass on _Married with Children_. Luckily the actor got fired after one season and was never seen again. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/6 "2016-05-03T20:20:07Z")
Wasn’t [Cousin Oliver](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CousinOliver) pretty much the poster child(ha!) for this? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/7 "2016-05-03T20:30:20Z")
Heh. I was going to mention Seven _and_ Cousin Oliver. 😃 _Little House on the Prairie_ kept adding kids to the show. When the oldest son left _My Three Son_s, they added a new “son” when they adopted Ernie. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/8 "2016-05-03T20:59:24Z")
LOST kept adding people. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/9 "2016-05-03T21:07:28Z")
There was a second season of HEROES. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/10 "2016-05-03T21:25:04Z")
Since the topic is _poor_ cast choices, I’d say any show Ted McGinley was grafted onto…except for _Married…With Children_. He was an anchor during the final seasons of _The Love Boat_ as “Ace the Photographer”, and the incredibly straight-laced teacher “Roger Phillips” on _Happy Days_. The man is a virtual poison-pill to any series. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/11 "2016-05-03T21:39:30Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Wasn’t [Cousin Oliver](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CousinOliver) pretty much the poster child(ha!) for this? The thread title says _good_ TV shows.😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/12 "2016-05-03T21:43:34Z")
Diana Muldaur as Dr Katherine Pulaski on ST:TNG Having a crotchety doc with an acerbic wit worked in TOS because DeForest Kelly was just that good with his character. Trying to bring on the same type of character in the new series just reeked. Early TNG had many issues, but watching Doc Kate fall down an open turbolift shaft would’ve solved a couple of them. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/13 "2016-05-04T03:05:29Z")
Rosanne’s mother and all of Seinfeld’s and George Costanza’s parents. Spoiled lots of episodes. Parents are usually fatal distractions in sitcoms, turning geat comedy into inane slapstick… ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/14 "2016-05-04T03:11:23Z")
OTOH Poochy worked out just fine. > [@12mgdaily](#): > > I hate it when I enjoy watching a TV show regularly, and the producers suddenly decide to add horrible, new, regular cast members. > … > On another old series, Star Trek the Next Generation, I hate watching every single one of the 8 episodes which feature the character Q. Q was in TNG from the very first episode. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/15 "2016-05-04T03:55:41Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Rosanne’s mother and all of Seinfeld’s and George Costanza’s parents. Spoiled lots of episodes. Parents are usually fatal distractions in sitcoms, turning geat comedy into inane slapstick… Disagree. Frank was one of the best characters on Seinfeld. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KHC1EJHljjc/maxresdefault.jpg "Frank Costanza Del Boca Vista") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHC1EJHljjc) ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/16 "2016-05-04T04:36:06Z")
Kirby and Lana on Frasier. Michael Imperioli’s character on Law and Order. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/17 "2016-05-04T13:27:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Disagree. Frank was one of the best characters on Seinfeld. > > [https://youtu.be/KHC1EJHljjc](https://youtu.be/KHC1EJHljjc) Well, there you go. In my opinion, you just proved my point. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/18 "2016-05-04T13:32:23Z")
Ron Carey (as Levitt) in Barney Miller was terribly inappropriate for the remainder of the original cast. James Gregory as Luger was also disappointing in his irregular appearances. Both were not part of the unit at all, and just wandered in and out, to no effect. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/19 "2016-05-04T13:49:17Z")
Summer Glau. She was good in Firefly and the Terminator series, but pretty much derailed anything else she showed up in. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802/20 "2016-05-04T14:02:30Z")
Chandler’s screechy sometime-girlfriend on _Friends_. Nails on a chalkboard, I tells ya. Agreed as to Daphne’s mom on _Frasier_. She really was odious. The rest of her family, I didn’t mind so much. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-additional-cast-choices-of-good-tv-shows/753802.md?page=2)