Yeah, but I guess they did need a young male character for that era and creating Hart was a more logical choice. Billy would've been in the same age bracket as Blake, Frank, Mallet, etc. so there would be no young male (unless you count Dylan) for Bridget and Julie to beef for down the road.
They still could've brought Billy back around this time though as Roger did need more allies around this time. It would've been more interesting to see Billy react to Hart, and like Blake, tried to solidify his position as Roger's golden child.
I heard somewhere that Deas stuck around as long as he did to just provide stability within his household and to allow his wife, Margaret Colin (ex-Margo, ATWT) the chance to audition for roles in Primetime more often.
Even though Peter Simon is the Ed I grew up watching, the more I bounce around watch older episodes with Hulswit in the role, I find myself wishing they would've kept him or brought him back when Simon left the first time. I know people didn't like Richard Van Vleet or Robert Gentry's versions of Ed either, but I find myself liking them more than Simon's version as of late...
Only Bridget!
I love Cassie and Bridget and feel like there could've been enough room for the both of them. Seeing as they were a bit similar, it would've been interesting to see their interaction. Especially, once Cassie got tossed into Hart's orbit. Adding in Dylan, who was with Bridget at the time and is Cassie's nephew, would've complicated matters even more. GL missed so many potential great stories by getting rid of the wrong characters for duds.
Another '91 episode featuring Hart: