History TheBusCameBack / LiveActionTV

** Martha Jones was put on a bus when she left the TARDIS at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords "Last of the Time Lords"]], but then returned twice in series 4 ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E4TheSontaranStratagem "The Sontaran Stratagem"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky "The Poison Sky"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter "The Doctor's Daughter"]]; [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]]) for some more adventures. She also appeared in three episodes of Series 2 of ''Series/Torchwood''.

** Martha Jones was put on a bus when she left the TARDIS at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords "Last of the Time Lords"]], but then returned twice in series 4 ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E4TheSontaranStratagem "The Sontaran Stratagem"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky "The Poison Sky"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter "The Doctor's Daughter"]]; [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]]) for some more adventures. She also appeared in three episodes of Series 2 of [[Series/Torchwood]].

** Martha Jones was put on a bus when she left the TARDIS at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords "Last of the Time Lords"]], but then returned twice in series 4 ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E4TheSontaranStratagem "The Sontaran Stratagem"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky "The Poison Sky"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter "The Doctor's Daughter"]]; [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]]) for some more adventures.

* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': Troy makes a brief guest appearance at the end of "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS11E2 Blood Wedding]]", as a guest at Cully's wedding.

* ''Series/{{Tracker}}'' did this with Jess, a few eps after her departure.

** George Layton as Paul Collier left after ''Doctor in Charge'' to start in ''Series/ItAintHalfHotMum'' (Collier was said to have gone out for coffee and not come back until after his friends Waring and Stuart-Clark had also left the hospital to become ship's doctors), but returned as a regular for the final series in the franchise, ''Doctor at the Top''.

*** There was also a two-part episode featuring the Alien Rangers from the previous seaon teaming up with the Zeo Rangers.

** ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' featured Zordon and Alpha 5 returning to Eltar and leaving Dimitria and Alpha 6 in charge of the Turbo Rangers. They returned for the ceremony where Tommy, Kat, Tanya and Adam passed their turbo powers to another set of Rangers. Zordon also appeared in the two-part finale.

*** Karone, who took on the mantle of Astronema in the previous season, returns to become the new pink ranger after the death of Kendrix.

** ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' has Vypra return from the dead to team up with Ransik. The Lightspeed Rangers join up with the Time Force Rangers to stop this alliance. Ms. Fairweather also makes a cameo, revealing she married to Joel.
** ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce''

*** The episode "Forever Red" features a MilestoneCelebration episode with every prior Red Ranger up to that point (with Rocky being the only omission and Aurico appearing in his morphed form only) returning for one last battle. [[ThoseTwoGuys Bulk and Skull]] also appeared, running a resort called Bulkmeier's.
** Original SixthRanger Tommy returned in ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' as both the new team's Mentor and as the Black Dino Ranger. The [[Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm Ninja Storm Rangers]], as well as their allies and their enemies from their season returned for a two-part episode.

** ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' had Piggy from S. P. D. appear
** Similarly to the one in ''Wild Force'', the show's 15th anniversary episode (in ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'') features a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits mishmash team]] of past Rangers returning for a special two-parter, including EnsembleDarkHorse Adam, who hadn't been on the show in nearly a ''decade.''

*** one half of ThoseTwoGuys, Bulk, is back for the first time in nine years, and as a recurring character rather than a short cameo for the first time in ''thirteen to fourteen'' years. The other half, Skull, appeared in the finale for a cameo.
*** [[Series/PowerRangersRPM The Red RPM Ranger]] appeared as well for an extended episode. [[TheOtherDarrin Though JUST The Red RPM Ranger]].

** ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'''s crossover special "Dimension In Danger" featured several returning rangers.
** ''Series/PowerRangersBeastMorphers'' had perhaps the biggest number of returning buses in the franchise: [[spoiler:All three Dino Ranger teams, Sledge and his gang, '''Goldar''', Dr. K, and most shockingly of all, '''''Venjix''''']].

* In ''Series/KnightRider'', after Patricia McPherson had a disagreement with producer Glen A. Larson by the end of the first season, she was written off the show, and her character, Bonnie was never seen through Season 2. Due to lobbying by her co-stars, Creator/DavidHasselhoff and Edward Mulhare, she was brought back to the show for Season 3. In the Season 3 opener, where we learned that she decided to continue her studies upstate in San Francisco. After that, she would return to the Foundation to stay for the remainder of the series.

** Jason, the original Red Ranger, left the series during the second season of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' along with Zack and Trini. He would return two seasons later in ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'', when he briefly inherited the powers of the Gold Ranger. Rita, Zedd, Finster and the Tenga Warriors came back for an EvilVersusEvil against the Machine Empire. (Rito and Goldar don't count because they never left the series at that point) In the Tengas' case, it'd count as BackForTheFinale if the Power Rangers franchise ended with Zeo. Also, Zeo had a two-part episode featuring the Alien Rangers.

** ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'': Justin, Adam, and almost all major villains from previous seasons.
** ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'': The Astro Rangers and their [[EvilCounterpart evil counterparts]], ThePsychoRangers.
*** Not to mention Astronema/ Karone who became the pink ranger
** ''Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue'': The Galaxy Rangers and Trakeena.
** ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'': The Lightspeed Rangers, Ms. Fairweather (now Mrs. Rawlings) and Vypra.
** ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' features a MilestoneCelebration episode with every prior Red Ranger up to that point (with Rocky being the only omission and Aurico appearing in his morphed form only) returning for one last battle. [[ThoseTwoGuys Bulk and Skull]] also appeared.
** Before that, they had the Time Force Rangers and [[HeelFaceTurn former enemies Ransik and Nadira]] helping the Wild Force Power Rangers against a trio of Mut-Orgs.

** ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' had villain Zentrax and the Dino Thunder Rangers (Tommy only appeared morphed because Jason David Frank was absent).
** ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' had Piggy from S. P. D.

** And again in ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'', where one half of ThoseTwoGuys, Bulk, is back for the first time in nine years, and as a recurring character rather than a short cameo for the first time in ''thirteen to fourteen'' years.
*** The other half, Skull, appeared in the finale.
** [[Series/PowerRangersRPM The Red RPM Ranger]] appeared as well. [[TheOtherDarrin Though JUST The Red RPM Ranger]].

* ''Series/RedDwarf'': The hologram Rimmer is PutOnABus in the second episode of Series VII, going off to become the next Ace. Although the next series adds a nanobot-created human Rimmer to the cast, WordOfGod has since stated that the Rimmer seen in Back To Earth onwards is the original one, although why he returned and the fate of Nano-Rimmer (last seen on the seemingly collapsing Red Dwarf) remains unclear.

** On could also say that they came back because of ExecutiveMeddling, in that they didn't want to lose the Alex/Mason shippers to another franchise - and because TPTB wanted to stamp any hint of anything un-Disneylike between the siblings.

** Actress Elisabeth Röhm (Kate Lockley) left to be on ''Series/LawAndOrder'' and was a BrotherChuck in ''Angel'' from season 2, but makes a comeback in the Season 8 comics because of course, comics aren't hindered by pesky things like acting contracts. (She appears in ''Angel: After The Fall'' as a new member of AI in ''Aftermath''.)

** [[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor "The Power of the Doctor"]], being both the Thirteenth Doctor's swan song and a celebration of the BBC's centenary, naturally features several returning characters. The Master, Tegan Jovanka, Ace, Kate Stewart, and Vinder had their appearances in the special announced ahead of time. Within the special itself, [[spoiler:Graham O'Brien plays a significant supporting role; the First, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Doctors appear as manifestations of the Doctor's consciousness; the Fifth and Seventh Doctors also appear as holograms, as does the Fugitive Doctor; Mel Bush, Jo Grant, and Ian Chesterton appear in brief cameos (the last of which set a world record, with his last appearance being ''57 years earlier''); and David Tennant returns to the series, this time as the Fourteenth Doctor instead of the Tenth.]]

* ''Series/TheTraitors'': [[spoiler: The contestants are asked to place themselves in order from Most Likely To Win to Most Unlikely To Win in Episode 1. Amos and Kieran are removed from the show after placing themselves at the Most Unlikely To Win end of the line. They return to the show in Episode 5, where Claudia Winkleman reveals they were never [[ExactWords eliminated]] from the show, and that the only ways to be eliminated are banishment or murder.

* ''Series/{{Taskmaster}}'': after appearing OnceASeason for the first few series, Fred the Swede stopped appearing (due to moving back to Sweden and otherwise getting on with his life). [[spoiler:He returned "by genuinely popular demand," by means of videoconference onto an iPad strapped to the head of a patriotically coloured dummy, in the series 13 episode "You Tuper Super."]]

** Teasers for the Thirteenth Doctor's swan song episode indicate a return for [[spoiler: Tegan and Ace]].

* We get this in ''Series/NCIS'': Ziva, who'd left in season 10 and was later presumed dead 3 seasons later, when Tony [=DiNozzo=] leaves due to her leaving behind his daughter, eventually comes back in season 16 to warn Gibbs that he's in danger. She was eventually put on a bus again after her role in Season 16 was done.

* We get this in ''Series/NCIS'': Ziva, who'd left in season 10 and was later presumed dead 3 seasons later, when Tony [=DiNozzo=} leaves due to her leaving behind his daughter, eventually comes back in season 16 to warn Gibbs that he's in danger. She was eventually put on a bus again after her role in Season 16 was done.

* ''Series/Taskmaster'': after appearing OnceASeason for the first few series, Fred the Swede stopped appearing (due to moving back to Sweden and otherwise getting on with his life). He returned "by genuinely popular demand," by means of videoconference onto an iPad strapped to the head of a patriotically coloured dummy, in the series 13 episode "You Tuper Super."