Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Cooley
I think it completely takes the drama out when you realize anyone who dies
can come back at any time.
Death is supposed to be dramatic. And final.
But I suppose it's inconvenient to get new actors for your TV show every week 
--Mike |
One option that the series "Doctor Who" has employed is regeneration, where a new actor can take over the role without the character dying (the current Doctor is his 10th regeneration). There's still some drama since there's no guarantee that the Doctor will survive regeneration (he barely survived his 5th regeneration) and he is limited to 12 regenerations.
Although it wasn't a death, in the series "Bewitched" they brought in a new actor (Dick Sargent) to take over the role of Darren Stevens when the original actor (Dick York) was no longer able to continue in the role. They simply transitioned from one actor to another without comment.