History ReplacementScrappy / LiveActionTV

* Ben Mankiewicz has managed to be the replacement scrappy on no less than three different projects: replacing RogerEbert and Richard Roeper on ''At The Movies'', subbing for Cenk on ''TheYoungTurks'' and taking over afternoon introductions for Robert Osborne (while Osborne still does evenings) on TurnerClassicMovies. The general opinion of all three happens to be that he's not as good as the originals.

* Arthur Petrelli from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has a rather nasty backstory behind him. Originally a PosthumousCharacter, he was very suddenly brought in during Volume Three, revealed to have by far the most [[GameBreaker broken power]] in the series yet and personal designs on world domination. Further, the very first episodes introducing him were explicitly devoted to his killing off basically every non-Sylar villain the series had cultivated up to that point. Maury Parkamn, the "Nightmare Man" sold in Season 2 as being [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil worse than Sylar]], met his end by Arthur, as did the immensely popular Adam Monroe, widely regarded as ''the'' MagnificentBastard to beat. The thing was, though, Maury and Adam were products of Season 2, which was plagued by a writer's strike. While the writers were on strike, replacements were brought in who built up Maury and Adam. The original writers, upon returning, immediately set out to dismantle the work of their replacements, who they [[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19125 had a major grudge with]]. Thus, Arthur Petrelli was retooled as a Voldemort-esque BiggerBad. This didn't quite work the way the Volume 3 writers planned, due to Arthur being a BoringInvincibleVillain who regularly slipped into VillainSue territory.

* ''ElChavodelOcho'' did this numerous times, rather temporary or definetive replacements:

** DOnã Clodtilde was replaced by Doña Eduviges for two episodes in 1973.

* Diane Neal as Casey Novak on ''LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', replacing Stephanie March's beloved Alex Cabot. While the fanbase generally warmed to Novak - most fans consider her a pretty great character, with reactions that amount to "We actually like you, Casey, but we want half of our {{OTP}} back" - she was PutOnABus and replaced by Kim Greylek (Michaela [=McManus=]), who was so despised that the producers got rid of her before a full season was even up. (They brought back March. There was much rejoicing, particularly from the large section of the fandom who loved the Alex/Olivia LesYay.)
* ''LawAndOrder'' has had their share of cast replacements over the years, but most have been handled pretty well. Among the more notable Replacement Scrappies are Nora Lewin (Dianne Wiest) for Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), Joe Fontana (Dennis Farina) for Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), and Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm) for Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon).

* Bailey was this for Maddie in ''TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody''.

* Another inversion. Scott Beach was the first announcer on ''TheNewlywedGame'', but was kicked out because he would sing war protest songs to the audience during commercial breaks. He was replaced by Johnny Jacobs, who held his ''Newlywed'' role alone for 14 years and later went on to become a prolific announcer (besides many other shows by ''Newlywed'' creator Creator/ChuckBarris, he also handled ''TheJokersWild'' and ''TicTacDough'') until his 1980 death.

* ''FantasyIsland'' had this problem; in the final season they replaced the famous Tattoo with the forgettable Lawrence.
* ''BlueHeelers'' made the shocking move at the beginning of the seventh season to kill off the much beloved Maggie, and knowing they couldn't hope to match her popularity, the writers didn't try to. Instead, her replacement was the standoffish Tess, who lasted four seasons before {{Flanderization}} set in and she was written out for Susie.

* ''ChicoAndTheMan'': Raul (Gabriel Melgar), the 14-year-old "chico." Necessitated after the death of Freddie Prinze, the actor who played Chico, in 1977 ... and for NBC to continue a series that was still doing relatively well.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Tess Mercer isn't that bad, but it is hard to be favoured over [[spoiler:LexLuthor]].

* Some say this happened on WhoseLineIsItAnyway when Drew Carey replaced Clive Anderson as host. Of course, others say this is a subversion. It depends on which side of the BrokenBase you're on.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Robb's wife Jeyne Westerling from the [[ASongOfIceAndFire books]] was replaced with Talisa Maegyr in the show, who filled the exact same role yet was a completely different character. The fans of the books were generally a little less than pleased with this change.

* Another inversion. Scott Beach was the first announcer on ''TheNewlywedGame'', but was kicked out because he would sing war protest songs to the audience during commercial breaks. He was replaced by Johnny Jacobs, who held his ''Newlywed'' role alone for 14 years and later went on to become a prolific announcer (besides many other shows by ''Newlywed'' creator ChuckBarris, he also handled ''TheJokersWild'' and ''TicTacDough'') until his 1980 death.

* When ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' brought on Tara to replace Sophie in season two (due to Gina Bellman's pregnancy) she became this for many fans. Her insistance on being paid also irritated viewers who didn't like how it contrasted the [[JustLikeRobinHood charitable]] actions of the main cast. Some sections of fandom still hate her, while others warmed to the character and came to enjoy her as a temporary team member.

* After the death of Nicholas "Coach" Colasanto on ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', his place as not only bartender, but also TheDitz, was taken by Woody Harrelson. Coach was fun and lovable. Woody was hackneyed and annoying.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': Captain Roy Montgomery was replaced with Gates, who is pointlessly hostile, generally annoying, and much less interesting.

* Lampshaded by Colin Quinn on the first episode in which he replaced NormMacDonald in the Weekend Update sketches on ''SaturdayNightLive'': "You know how you go to your favorite bar, and your local bartender isn't there? You ask, 'Where's Jeff?' 'Jeff no longer works here, I'm Steve.' Then you're thinking, hey, who's this idiot? I like Jeff. But you still want your drink. And even though Steve doesn't mix your drink the same way you're used to, like Jeff, you still like the bar. You don't want to have to go to a different bar. And even Steve might feel kinda bad because Jeff trained him. Jeff showed him how to work the cash register, where the tonic was on the soda gun, who tips, who doesn't. Well, I'm Steve. What can I get you?" Although he was not considered a replacement scrappy, he still was not very popular and didn't last long in the position before being replaced himself.

* ''TheXFiles'': Agent Doggett, and later Agent Reyes. Doggett has his share of fans, but Reyes...not so much.
** Spender and Fowley were intentional examples. Fowley in particular wound up one of the most hated characters on the show.

* After the death of Nicholas "Coach" Colasanto on Cheers, his place as not only bartender, but also TheDitz, was taken by Woody Harrelson. Coach was fun and lovable. Woody was hackneyed and annoying.

* ''Series/Castle'': Captain Roy Montgomery was replaced with Gates, who is pointlessly hostile, generally annoying, and much less interesting.

* In ''{{Smallville}}'', Tess Mercer isn't that bad, but it is hard to be favoured over [[spoiler:LexLuthor]].

* ''{{Degrassi}}'' has a bit of this due to a refocus of the show. As a LongRunner set in a High School they had to either move up to college episodes or lose the older members of the cast... they eventually decided on the latter dropping most of the old cast and bringing in a bunch of new young cast members. Between Season 8 being a very weak season and the loss of so many fan favorites, the new cast was not taken well. Most have grown into their own but several never got past this and were dropped from the show. [[SatelliteLoveInterest Blue]] and [[FlatCharacter Leia]] being the poster children for this issue.

*** Many fans disliked Elizabeth Weir being killed off to make room for Amanda Tapping, as Col. Sam Carter, to hop series when [=SG1=] concluded. Most fans liked Carter -- it was, after all, ''Samantha Carter'', one of the most beloved characters in the entire franchise -- but felt that killing Weir off was unnecessary and killed the cast chemistry which made Atlantis enjoyable. To add insult to injury, Carter's character was much weaker on Altantis than she'd been on [=SG1=], as the writers tried to make her fill Weir's role instead of having her be herself. Amanda Tapping only remained on the show one season before leaving to focus on Sanctuary, and was in turn replaced by Robert Picardo, which worked out a little better, but was still not an adequate replacement for what Torri Higgenson brought to the show.

*** Many fans disliked Elizabeth Weir being killed off to make room for Amanda Tapping, as Col. Sam Carter, to hop series when [=SG1=] concluded. Most fans liked Carter, but felt that killing Weir off was unnecessary and killed the cast chemistry which made Atlantis enjoyable. To add insult to injury, Carter's character was much weaker on Altantis than she'd been on [=SG1=], as the writers tried to make her fill Weir's role instead of having her be herself. Amanda Tapping only remained on the show one season before leaving to focus on Sanctuary, and was in turn replaced by Robert Picardo, which worked out a little better, but was still not an adequate replacement for what Torri Higgenson brought to the show.