I want to cosign all of those who said that Bill Bauer's death had no effect on the late 83 canvas afterwards. I didn't know who he was, I don't care when he came back, and I didn't care that he died, when I was watching the show at the time
I remember reading back in 1983 an article about the new openings that were airing, and Pamela Long said that she wanted the focus of the show to center around the five core families, the dynamics within those families, and the connections to the other families. Within a year almost each family was gutted, with the exception of the Lewises (a Long fav), I still think it was a mistake to get rid of Trish LOL