There was a time when the departure of a leading character meant the death of a TV series. M*A*S*H, for example, was one of the most successful series of the 1970s; but as soon as the man regarded as its star, Alan Alda, made it clear that he wanted out, the show finished rather than carrying on without him - even though other actors would gladly have stuck with it. Actors were tightly contracted into shows for years to prevent such disasters. But nowadays, writers for ensemble shows are much smarter. Constructed with several major storylines to match a large core cast, the shows are able to absorb additions - and dealing with "subtractions" has developed into a fine art.
Viewers are seen as more sophisticated, coping with the comings and goings in the same way as they cope with change in real life. So, when George Clooney, aka Dr Doug Ross of ER fame, works his last shift, the show will most certainly go on. Dr Ross wasn't always the prominent figure he's become in recent years. But things changed. Doug got a cool haircut and grew up. And then he fulfilled every babe's ultimate fantasy by getting back with the ex.
And, if that wasn't perfect enough, he fumbled his way through what must be the most magnificent marriage proposal in TV history - whole nations wept.
Tuning in for a bit of Doug every week was marvellous for a while, but ER wasn't all about him. Any number of stories were going on at any one minute, and plenty of smut. If it isn't Elizabeth and Benton, it's Carter and Lucy, and there's no end to the suspense with these illicit shenanigans.
Meanwhile, there's a litany of ongoing personal crises among the staff, and where would you begin with the astonishing situations that crash through the emergency-room doors every week - from female Nigerian torture victims plunging knives into themselves to little children dying of incurable genetic disorders?
Strengthening your addiction.
Still, if you're addicted, it's hard when someone leaves an show. You miss the character for a while, and wonder what will have become of them - in TV land, that is. In real life some go on to be famous film stars, but most TV actors, no matter how much hype we hear about "pursuing film roles" etc, end up with little or no career.
Producers have now come to think that, in fact, the loss of leading characters can actually help the shows involved. It may, for example, create a whole new interest for the audience in the people who stay behind, perhaps traumatised themselves by a character's departure. It also opens up the story potential for writers and saves actors from playing the same scene, with the same people, over and over. The cast of Law and Order, for example, has undergone an almost complete turnover since the shows inception almost 10 years ago, but it remains extremely popular. The anticipation of a character's departure can also engage the audience. According to one of the executive producers of ER, viewers knew for a year that Clooney would be leaving, "and they are invested greatly with the other characters."
Negative reactions.
Other TV executives admit to quite a negative audience reaction when important characters leave. According to Steven Bochco, producer of a string of ensemble dramas including NYPD Blue, LA Law and Hill Street Blues, when the character played by Jimmy Smits was killed off in NYPD Blue, "we got some outraged mail, almost to the point of being abusive . . . They were so angry that they lashed out. It's a kind of grieving." Some may mourn the loss of Doug Ross. But there are all sorts of issues to get caught up in on ER; Doug was only one of them - yeah, yeah, but he's drop-dead gorgeous . . .