Has Behind-the-Scenes Drama Ever Ruined Your Enjoyment of a Series?

[I Am A Swede]

I've actually experienced the exact opposite. When I learned that John Alderton was disliked by pretty much everyone behind the scenes of "Upstairs Downstairs" it didn't bother me at all. I never liked him or his character anyway, and knowing that a lot of people felt the same way made it easier for me to tolerate him.

[Khan]

I don't think there was any way you could resolve the situation at DW without shutting down the series altogether. More than anything else, the series' appeal rested on the chemistry shared between Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, and Jean Smart. Perhaps, if Smart had stayed, they MIGHT have been able to add another actress to fill Delta's place. But losing her AND Delta (and at the same time) was just one blow too many.

Ironically, my two all-time fave eps, "Julia and Mary Jo Get Stuck Under a Bed" and "Carlene's Apartment," were done in the post-Burke & Smart era...but even watching them makes me a little sad, because the original crew isn't there.

Meanwhile, I'm surprised no one has yet to mention the off-screen soap opera that was "Grey's Anatomy." For awhile there, I felt Oprah and Rev. Jesse Jackson needed to visit that set, lay hands on everybody and do some serious healing.

[ChitHappens]

No one could read a bitch like Julia Sugarbaker. Two scenes that I've committed to memory was when she heard that witch talking crap behind Suzanne's back, and ended with "and that was the night the lights when out in GEORGIA". Then there was the scene with the men and women at the cabin, and it was a battle of the sexes. Dixie killed it. She can do those scenes all day everyday!

I agree with you that the chemistry of the four was so wonderful that there few ways to fix it when you lose 1/2 the dynamic.

When Golden Girls tried to replace Bea with Debbie Reynolds, it didn't work at all. DR is great, but there was no substifute for Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia.

[YRBB]

:lol:

[Khan]

I remember those episodes! (Dorothy and Stan's aborted re-marriage, right?) I remember, too, thinking it would have been neat to have Debbie Reynolds (or some other, similar performer) join the show permanently -- not to replace anyone, but maybe as a new and newly widowed woman who moves into the house next door and gives Blanche some real competition in the "cheap, wanton slut" category.

[DRW50]

Juliajms thank you for the Kotter link. I never knew they worked things out or that Komack was the problem. I'd also forgotten that Kaplan was back for the last episode. I thought Della Reese replaced him.

[Khan]

I think you're confusing "Welcome Back, Kotter" with "Chico and the Man," Carl.

[DRW50]

I could swear Della was in a few episodes of Kotter as a new teacher or principal.

[Khan]

You're right. I had no idea she had joined "Kotter," too. James Komack must have really loved her.

[DRW50]

Looks like she was only in two. I guess I thought it was more. One of the episodes was one of the only last season episodes I remember. (I think it had a talent show)

[VirginiaHamilton]

Once it became clear that my Burktina would be no more and that this was fast becoming Gizzie's Anatomy because of the behind-the-scenes bullshit, I dropped it like a bad habit and never looked back.

[applcin]

Good Times would probably be on a lot of people's lists for this as I think many would agree that the John Amos years (prior to his departure over his unhappiness with the show's depiction of JJ) were better than what came later. I know I really don't like the show very much at all without him.

A little bit different as I was never really a fan of Dennis The Menace but when I heard Jay North's story about what that experience was like for him and how he was abused by his aunt and uncle, it basically cast a stigma on the show for me to where I won't even check it out.

Generally, though, if behind the scenes stuff ruins or makes a show less appealing for me, it doesn't have much to do with knowing about relationships (love or hate) as it does with how that drama leads to creative changes. For instance, with 2 series that Martin Landau was involved in:
Mission: Impossible: I liked the earlier episodes with Landau and Bain better than the later ones without them (ironic, because I love Leonard Nimoy but on MI I just like the earlier years better). It didn't bother me to find out that Landau left over a salary dispute and that Bain was basically caught up in that. It was just the show was different without them, kind of a succession of agents.

Space:1999: I'm not exactly sure what happened behind the scenes but something must have because from Season 1 to Season 2, several of the supporting cast were replaced, the main set was revamped, the lighting of the show seemed darker, the stories cheesier. It doesn't matter to me who may have been fighting with who, it was the shift in creative direction that disappointed me.

[Khan]

Ironically, my favorite episode from the series, "Rich is Better Than Poor...Maybe," is from the year after John Amos' departure. But, yeah, I definitely agree that GT as a whole lacked something without Amos and James at the center.

[saynotoursoap]

Absolutely. Ratings for the first series cooled in America, prompting ITC Entertainment's New York office to demand more "Americanisation" in the second series. Lew Grade hired Freddy Freiberger as showrunner. He had produced Star Trek's final season. Freiberger wanted more humor and action with less talk and character development. Freiberger and Landau did not get along particularly well, as Landau had accepted the job because it was very much a British product. It was a British series with a British sensibility. Changing it into a more commercial American product ruined it.

[Mathewson]

I liked Grey's Anatomy a lot til I heard about all the on-set clashes. No one seems to like Katherine Heigl or Isaiah Washington. Haven't exactly heard nice things about them anywhere.