Quote: peter gazzard @ September 18 2009, 9:02 AM BSTthey had to replace Martin as the original actor died.
What you've done there Peter, is mix up Martin with Mark. 
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Vivian "Aunt Viv" Banks in Fresh Prince, I don't think they made any attempt to hide the fact and I seem to remember several comments/jokes and looks to camera.
Quote: Dolly Dagger @ September 18 2009, 11:56 AM BSTWho was the first female lead (before Kirsty Ally)? My half sister looks like her.
Diane Chambers played by Shelley Long.
Quote: Timbo @ September 18 2009, 11:45 AM BSTUltimate example has to be Potter where Robin Bailey replaced the deceased Arthur Lowe in the lead. I seem to recall he was actually the better fit for the part.
I've not got that far yet. Good to hear the replacement was better in the role though. I didn't manage to properly get into series 1.
Quote: WrongTale @ September 18 2009, 9:08 AM BSTI was gonna
I can never work out if I preferred the original or replacement Phoebe.
I prefered original.
The replacement looked just enough like her to make it feel weird.
Like when you see the sister of a celebrity. They look almost the same, just... wrong.
Quote: Jack Massey @ September 17 2009, 10:41 PM BSTLikewise thank goodness nobody played Rangi Ram after Michael Bates death.
They had no choice, Alec Guiness simply wasn't available.
Quote: zooo @ September 18 2009, 12:17 PM BSTWhat you've done there Peter, is mix up Martin with Mark.
So I did. Oh well, I knew who I meant.
As much as I love Father Ted, or maybe because of, I'm glad they never replaced Dermot Morgan.
I thought the third series of Father Ted was intended as the last anyway.
Quote: John M @ September 17 2009, 8:05 PM BSTI think there were three actors who played Malcolm in Terry and June. First, there was Terence Alexander in series 1 and 2, then Tim Barrett in series 3 to 7 and lastly John Quale in series 8 and 9.
Also two different actresses played their daughter in the show.
With Goodnight Sweetheart (my favourite ever sitcom) I was a bit peeved at first.
Dervla Kirwan left as she was advised to move on (she said in the DVD com.) and went to Ballykissangel. she also said that she wouldnt have left given the choice now. Her replacement Elizabeth Carling was hard to get used to at first but she soon settled into the role.
The same can't be said for Emma Amos who replaced Michelle Holmes as Yvonne. The Character went from being independent and strong minded to a complete airhead overnight. Luckily she had a hair cut and bought a thesaurus for series 5 and settled in a bit.
I prefer both originals, but after hating series 4 accepted the new ones better by series 5 & 6
Quote: Tursiops @ September 18 2009, 3:45 PM BSTUltimate example has to be Potter where Robin Bailey replaced the deceased Arthur Lowe in the lead. I seem to recall he was actually the better fit for the part.
Noooooooooooooooo !
Why do I not remember another Yvonne at all?
I've seen all of it.
Different Harry in the final specials in As Time Goes By - looked nothing like the original and was far too familiar from an advert for a loan if I remember rightly.
Private Walker replaced in the radio version of Dads Army by Larry Martyn and by Graham Stark - though that Martyn did a pretty good job considering he was on a hiding to nothing.
Quote: Greg @ September 14 2012, 8:45 PM BSTMartyn did a pretty good job considering he was on a hiding to nothing.
I know this is off topic, but what does that phrase mean?
The male characters in Birds Of A Feather come to mind - the unusual thing with that show is that two of the original actors returned in later series to replace the actors that they got replaced with!
I think both actors that played Chris were very good - I'd probably go for the second one if I had to pick a preference though. The first Chris then re-appeared in Series 7 and it worked fine.
The first Darryl was good, but the actor that replaced him in series 7 was pretty awful - no resemblance at all.
I preferred the second Garth, but that might be partly because the original Garth barely had any funny lines during his short stint in Series 1.
I suppose both Marcuses were good - not my favourite character though. The second Marcus was only used for the 1990 Christmas special and the original actor re-appeared in later series.
With this sitcom I tend to prefer the longest-serving actor in the role - regardless of whether they are the original or not.