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Actors Important to Their Shows

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Actors Important to Their Shows

Old 05-19-06, 10:36 PM
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Originally Posted by movieguru
Simon Cowell is not really an actor so this one shouldnt count.
According to IMDB he is.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1101562/
Old 05-19-06, 10:52 PM
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Originally Posted by lookslikeme
Another one that became painfully obvious by this entire humorless season:
Topher Grace - That 70's Show
Even Ashton Kutcher's character was painfull to sit through when he was still on.
My wife and I were just talking about that last night. They should have ended the show when he left. More than half the show takes place in his basement.
Old 05-19-06, 10:59 PM
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I have to add the "actors" who do the main voices on The Simpsons. If Dan Castellaneta left that whould be it!
Old 03-14-09, 12:29 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

The Wire proved that NO actor was the focus of the show. Just when you thought McNulty was the lead, he disappeared into the barest of backgrounds in Season 4.

After Season 1 ended with the gang-bangers, it focused on the dock workers.
Old 03-14-09, 01:32 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Had Michael J. Fox left Family Ties after Season 5.......well, it's simple. No Alex P. Keaton, no show!

This was proved after he left Spin City - even though Charlie Sheen was funny as hell, the show was cancelled!
Old 03-14-09, 01:38 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

-Suzanne Somers of Three's Company
-Polly Holliday of Alice

Those shows would fold immediately if those two left their respective shows. Couldn't survive without em! No way, Jose!
Old 03-14-09, 01:39 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Interesting bump.

Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell for Prison Break

Lena Headey for Terminator

You can probably take William Petersen off the list for CSI. The show seems to be doing just fine without him.

Edward James Olmos for Battlestar Galactica

Even though the show is cancelled, I thought Lennie James was very important to Jericho and was probably IMO the best character on the show.
Old 03-14-09, 04:38 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

The "Chuck" guy from Chuck
The "Monk" guy from Monk
The "Burn Notice" guy from Burn Notice
The "Ghost Whisperer" girl from The Ghost Whisperer
The "Numb3rs" guy from Numb3rs
The "Ugly" girl from Ugly Betty
The "ER" guy from ER... er...
Old 03-14-09, 05:06 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Originally Posted by Tscott
The "ER" guy from ER... er...
Your being sarcastic with that one right? ER doesn't have a true lead to the show not since Clooney left. It's been pretty much an ensemble show.
Old 03-14-09, 05:06 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Hugh Laurie as House. Obviously.

I'd also say Meloni and Hargitay in SVU. They have some other characters.. and I'm sure they'll eventually leave, but it wouldn't be the same (to me, anyway).
Old 03-14-09, 05:09 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Yup, once Hugh Laurie calls it quits, House is done. He just signed a new contract prior to this season through 2011-12, so it's got at least 3 more years.
Old 03-15-09, 01:49 AM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Originally Posted by kms_md
can we include older shows? if so, i'll vote for alan alda on M*A*S*H -- everyone in this ensemble (except for klinger and hot lips) was replaced at one point or another.
I don't know...the show had awesome direction and creators behind it...the show would have staggered a bit if Alda had left, but I think it would have recovered. People thought Cheers would fail after Shelly Long left and I think Kristie Alley made for a much more enjoyable nemesis for Sam and really brought a new dynamic to the show. The creators of MASH had the incredible ability to not simply replace the actors who left, but bring in completely new characters that were original and something that we hadn't seen before and make it work. Alda would have been missed, but who's to say that wouldn't have made room for a great actor who could have added a new dynamic to the show?

And for my picks, I would say Jason Lee on My Name is Earl.

Tina Fey on 30 Rock.

In past shows, Phil Hartman on News Radio. I think we saw evidence of that with the final season. And John Ritter on 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter...the show really didn't recover after his death.

Last edited by calhoun07; 03-15-09 at 01:53 AM.
Old 03-15-09, 02:10 AM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Originally Posted by DJariya
Originally Posted by Tscott
The "ER" guy from ER... er...
Your being sarcastic with that one right? ER doesn't have a true lead to the show not since Clooney left. It's been pretty much an ensemble show.
Grrrr. Notice the visual pun of "er..." (indicating confusion) which followed the "ER..." (name of the show)


Sigh, it's never as funny after it's explained. But at least I know people read my posts...
Old 03-15-09, 02:26 AM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O'Quinn and Naveen Andrews

I'd say LOST would suffer without any one of these actors. It wouldn't necessarily fail, but it would certainly suffer.

Alexis Denisof certainly fits for ANGEL. He was so fantastic, he was practically critical to the series.
Old 03-15-09, 07:02 AM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Rube from Dead Like Me - point proven when his "absence" resulted in a very dismal movie.

Alan Shore from Boston Legal - I think it's been said already but he really makes the show.

Barney from How I Met Your Mother - Ditto

Emerson from Pushing Daisies - I can't imagine the show without Emerson's sarcastic and witty comments.

I'm trying to refrain from from adding main characters that either have their show titled after them or where the show revolves around them but yes characters such as

Jack Bauer "24", Gregory House "House" Michael Scott "The Office", Charlie Crews "Life", Adrian Monk "Monk" and many others are essential to their shows and would be lost without them.
Old 03-15-09, 07:24 AM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Alec Baldwin and Tracey Morgan on 30 Rock

Tina Fey is great but the show would not be the same without them.
Old 03-15-09, 08:53 AM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

It was smart for The Sopranos to kill off Christopher Moltasanti when they did - towards the very end of the series - otherwise, I think it would have hurt a great deal if he had been bumped off ala timeline Big Pussy. Quite the vital supporting actor, he. Some characters are irreplaceable.
Old 03-15-09, 09:04 AM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

John Hamm for Mad Men.
Old 03-15-09, 09:27 AM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Originally Posted by Cartload
John Hamm for Mad Men.
I'll second that, and go one more with Vincent K. (as Pete Campbell) - the producers of that show better kiss both their asses and adhere to any and all demands that are uttered from their lips!
Old 03-15-09, 01:39 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

I stand by my L&O CI comment from before
and although I originally probably agreed about CSI, the episodes since Peterson left have still been good
Old 03-15-09, 03:15 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Originally Posted by Nick Martin
Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O'Quinn and Naveen Andrews

I'd say LOST would suffer without any one of these actors. It wouldn't necessarily fail, but it would certainly suffer.
I disagree. I think they proved fairly well this year that the island is the main character and everything that happens off island brings the show to a grinding halt. i.e. all the Jack, Kate, Sayid, O6 plotlines.

As for Locke, he's up in the air for me.
Old 03-15-09, 03:40 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Hugh Laurie on House is the obvious one. I also like the Jeremy Piven (Entourage) comment earlier

Tony Shalhoub - Monk
From a new show (since it's new it might take some time to prove it): Simon Baker in the Mentalist
Old 03-15-09, 04:56 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
I disagree. I think they proved fairly well this year that the island is the main character and everything that happens off island brings the show to a grinding halt. i.e. all the Jack, Kate, Sayid, O6 plotlines.

As for Locke, he's up in the air for me.
Very interesting point.

I hadn't thought about it that way, but it's really true - it's all about the island itself.
Old 03-15-09, 06:24 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

I think Bruce Campbell in Burn notice probably the most important "supporting" actor on tv right now.
Old 03-17-09, 07:06 PM
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Re: Actors Important to Their Shows

Originally Posted by Which Button?
Rube from Dead Like Me - point proven when his "absence" resulted in a very dismal movie.
I missed Rube from the movie, for sure. But I think it was just handled wrong.

Spoiler:
they should have gotten Roxy to take over. She kind of seemed like the back up for Rube at times in the series. At least until the powers that be decided who should ultimately be in charge.

I like Henry Ian Cusick on Lost, but he was just wasted in this movie. The only interesting thing that resulted in him being in the movie is we got to see the answer to the question of can you kill a reaper? (To which I say, NO, you cannot. I think it's like trying to kill Wolverine...even if you reduce him to ashes and grind him up into itty bitty parts, he will eventually recover and heal and become whole again.) I didn't really hate the movie as much as some, but the replacement head reaper in the movie was pretty pointless.

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