In addition, the Roseanne episode that marked Chalke’s first appearance ended with a reference to the mid-series switch of “Darrins” on Bewitched (replacing the ailing Dick Sargent with Dick York), with Chalke expressing a preference for the “new” Darrin.
The website jumptheshark.com has a list titled “Same Character, Different Actor”, with a picture of York and the subtitle “Becky, is that you?” From this, I’d guess that Bewitched and Roseanne are the two most famous instances of television recasting.
Anyhoo, this has gone pretty far afield, which seems kind of fitting in a Scrubs thread.
No, she’s been portrayed as over-the-top nasty pretty much from the get-go. She’s been softened for a scene here and there, but it’s pretty much “all hateful bitch, all the time!”
One more… when Lecy Goranson came back, her first appearance was her character coming back late from somewhere. Roseanne’s first comment was, “Where the hell have you been?!?” Got a lot of laughs.
Lecy Goranson (who now uses the name “Alicia”) went to Vassar. I guess it was easier to recast the character than try to write her out, even temporarily.
Oh, but we left out my favorite. IIRC the episode was a flash forward to DJ going insane. Roseanne talks to the psychiatrist about his childhood (while they play a bunch of clips of all the screwed up stuff that happened to DJ). Nothing really explains it, and the psychiatrist says something to the effect of I guess we’ll never know.
They cut to the waiting room, and old-DJ, played by John Goodman, is sitting, rocking in his chair (Rainman-esque) saying, “They say she’s the same, but she’s not the same. They say she’s the same, but she’s not the same…” while they show clips of the two Becky’s. Probably my favorite Roseanne moment.
You’re damned if you do. . .you’re damned if you don’t.
It’s not like they’re adding a laugh track.
The show needs change. The writers clearly have the guts to tackle new relationships and new dynamics. I’m sure it will keep the show fresh.
By the way, I thought the “I hate you” line was the funniest line of the episode. My wife and I just looked at each other, silently confirming that we heard what we thought we heard then busted up.
The problem is, the writers don’t seem to know what to do with Elliot, unless she’s JD’s love interest.
I noticed this in the time period where she was with Scott Foley’s character. They would seem to tack on some random subplot, just to get Elliot onto the show.
Maybe this getting her into a new environment is an attempt to give her something more interesting to do.
I believe after Goranson came back, in (a) later season(s), she and Chalke shared the role. (Also, I remember Chalke also once showing up as an elementary school teacher after Goranson’s return.)
I remember one episode where they were going on vacation (Disneyland I think) and the announcer on the plane says something like “This week, the part of Becky will be played by Sarah Chalke” and when she come on the scene she says something like “Gee I’m glad I’m here this week” since they were going to Disneyland. (or whereever they were going)