History Main / TemporarySubstitute

** ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]'': Creator/WilliamHartnell was injured in an action scene in this story. So in the next episode, the Doctor is knocked out in an injury (played by a double), and his lines (and technical skills) are given to a freedom-fighter character from the story. (Hartnell was back in the next episode.)

** Creator/NicholasCourtney was unavailable for "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E4TheAndroidInvasion The Android Invasion]]", so the usual role of the highest-ranking UNIT officer was filled by Colonel Faraday, played by Patrick Newell. It was intended to be this trope, but "The Android Invasion" ended up being the last story to feature any of the recurring UNIT characters, so Faraday ended up being technically a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute.

* Tony Stark's role in ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' was originally meant for Nick Fury, which would have been similar to their relationship in the Ultimate comics and cartoon.

* ''Series/OurMissBrooks'': In a few episodes (e.g. "Wild Goose"), Mrs. Davis's sister Angela substitutes as Miss Brooks's landlady. Angela was said to be watching over things while Mrs. Davis visited relatives. Jane Morgan, the actress who played Mrs. Davis, suffered a stroke. Fortunately, she made a complete recovery and returned within a few weeks' time.

** With Jesse L. Martin committed to the filming of ''Theatre/{{Rent}}'' in 2005, his character Ed Green on ''Series/LawAndOrder'' was shot late in the season and spent the remaining four episodes recovering in the hospital. Michael Imperioli took over as Fontana's temporary partner Nick Falco for the duration. Unlike most other out-of-nowhere Temporary Substitute, Falco made an additional appearance the next season in a non-substitute capacity.
** A rather unique example, also from ''Series/LawAndOrder'': When Jill Hennessey’s character Claire Kincaid made a crossover appearance on ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'', conflicting and overlapping production schedules forced producers to [[MakingUseOfTheTwin recruit Jill's identical twin sister Jacqueline]] (a host and occasional actress on Canadian TV) to double for her sister in a few courtroom scenes. This unusual substitution, in the episode "Corpus Delicti," is not credited on-screen.
** Creator/ConnieNielsen, as Detective Dani Beck, replaced Creator/OliviaBenson for eight episodes on ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' while Mariska Hargitay was on maternity leave.

* At the end of the fifth season of ''Series/StepByStep'', the actor who played Cody was unavailable to shoot the two-part Disney World episode--quite a loss, since the episode revolved largely around Cody's effort to go on every ride in the park in record time. Instead, a new character named Flash (apparently Uncle Frank's employee) shows up unannounced and proceeds to do everything Cody was intended to do, making him the effective star of the show for these two episodes. He made one last appearance in the season finale which actually had him moving into the Foster/Lambert household, setting him up as a full-fledged SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, before being scrapped in favor of Bronson Pinchot as zany Frenchman Jean-Luc and Jason Marsden as J.T.'s friend Rich as new regulars. Cody was explained as having [[PutOnABus boarded a bus for Russia]], but he would return for a final season episode.

* ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'' had almost an entire season of Temporary Substitutes when Bo and Luke went off to race in NASCAR (or, in reality, contract disputes) and their strangely identical cousins turned up instead, hanging around until the other two returned. Toes the line between SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute and Temporary Substitute.
** Sheriff Rosco Coltrane also got a couple of of these when actor James Best boycotted part of the second season, citing unsafe dressing-room conditions. One of the Temporary Substitutes was Creator/DickSargent, best known as the literal [[TheOtherDarrin Other Darrin]].
*** Cooter also got a couple of different substitutes that same season, when Ben Jones boycotted the show after the producers asked him to shave off his beard.

* One episode of ''Series/{{Monk}}'' featured only Creator/TonyShaloub and none of the other regular cast members, as due to some trouble behind the scenes it was essentially written that way by the crew as a warning that they could still do the show without them. Since this meant Monk's regular assistant Sharona was absent, recurring character Kevin Dorfman served her usual role instead.

* One episode of ''Series/{{Monk}}'' featured only Tony Shaloub and none of the other regular cast members, as due to some trouble behind the scenes it was essentially written that way by the crew as a warning that they could still do the show without them. Since this meant Monk's regular assistant Sharona was absent, recurring character Kevin Dorfman served her usual role instead.

* In the first season of ''[[Series/ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]'', Jonathan disappeared for two episodes. A character called Matt filled in as Jack's assistant until Jonathan's return.

* ''The Memoirs Of Franchise/SherlockHolmes'' dealt with the illness of Creator/JeremyBrett by invoking both Watson and Mycroft as Temporary Substitutes. This gave Watson back some of the competence his traditional portrayals had lacked, and made Mycroft a lot more active than he ever was in the canon.

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber The Mind Robber]]": Creator/FraserHines got chicken pox during filming. A scene was quickly inserted where the Doctor has to reassemble Jamie (it really does [[ItMakesSenseInContext make sense in context]]) and accidentally used Hamish Wilson's face. Later in the episode, a second put-Jamie-back-together brought Hines back once he got better.

* ''The Memoirs Of Franchise/SherlockHolmes'' dealt with the illness of its leading man, Jeremy Brett, by invoking both Watson and Mycroft as Temporary Substitutes. This gave Watson back some of the competence his traditional portrayals had lacked, and made Mycroft a lot more active than he ever was in the canon.

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber The Mind Robber]]": Creator/FraserHines got chicken pox during filming. A scene was quickly inserted where the Doctor has to reassemble Jamie (it really does [[ItMakesSenseInContext make sense in context]]) and accidentally used Hamish Wilson's face. Later in the episode, a second put-Jamie-back-together brought Hines back once he got better.

* In the third ''Film/HarryPotter'' film, Goyle is replaced in several scenes by a random Slytherin boy. Apparently, Josh Herdman had suffered an injury and was unavailable when they had to shoot those scenes. Goyle resumed his usual role in all subsequent films and his replacement was never seen again. Fans like to imagine that the unnamed replacement character was Theodore Nott, a Slytherin student in the books who otherwise has never appeared in the movies.
** The same character also got to be on the other end of this trope. After Jamie Waylett's RoleEndingMisdemeanor, Crabbe was written out of the last movie and his big scene [[spoiler:(a death scene, ironically)]] was given to Goyle instead.

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' has done this once, in the episode "Head Game." Originally written for Frasier, it was rewritten for Niles due to Kelsey Grammer being in rehab. The opening scene featuring Frasier that explained his absence was filmed many weeks later.

** During filming of the episode "[[{{Recap/StarTrekS2E16TheGamestersOfTriskelion}} The Gamesters of Triskelion]]," Creator/GeorgeTakei was busy filming the movie ''Film/TheGreenBerets''. Chekov took his place in the script, with a barroom brawling style in the episode's fight scenes taking the place of the martial arts scenes planned for Sulu.
** Ditto "[[{{Recap/StarTrekS2E15TheTroubleWithTribbles}} The Trouble with Tribbles]]"; Chekov's instant recognition of quadro-triticale makes more sense knowing that the script was originally written for Sulu, as Sulu had an established background in botany.

* When Creator/LucyLawless was injured doing a stunt for ''The Tonight Show,'' a single episode of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' where Xena and Callisto [[BodySwap changed bodies]] became a two-episode-arc with Hudson Leick playing Xena (trapped in Callisto's body).

* On ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Wesley was absent for one Season Five episode, because Creator/AlexisDenisof was on his honeymoon with Creator/AlysonHannigan. He was replaced for the episode by another expert on occult lore, with the explanation that Wesley was taking some well-deserved time off after [[spoiler: killing a robot that he believed to be his father]].
** This one is unusual in that Joss probably knew about this months in advance, enough time to not only set up the reason for Wesley's absence, but write an episode that would not have worked if Wesley had been present - a major plot point was that the Substitute Expert was evil, and deliberately mistranslated a text, where Wesley would have given a faithful translation.

** ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]'': Star William Hartnell was injured in an action scene in this story. So in the next episode, the Doctor is knocked out in an injury (played by a double), and his lines (and technical skills) are given to a freedom-fighter character from the story. (Hartnell was back in the next episode.)
** ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath The Green Death]]'' has a case with the guest cast, Tony Adams, the actor playing Elgin fell ill between recording sessions, so in episode 5 a Mr James appears instead. This leads to a bizarre situation of a character being set up to betray the bad guys - then someone else turns up out of nowhere to do it instead.

** ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber The Mind Robber]]'': Fraser Hines got chicken pox during filming. A scene was quickly inserted where the Doctor has to reassemble Jamie (it really does [[ItMakesSenseInContext make sense in context]]) and accidentally used Hamish Wilson's face. Later in the episode, a second put-Jamie-back-together brought Hines back once he got better.
** Nicholas Courtney was unavailable for "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E4TheAndroidInvasion The Android Invasion]]", so the usual role of the highest-ranking UNIT officer was filled by Colonel Faraday, played by Patrick Newell. It was intended to be this trope, but "The Android Invasion" ended up being the last story to feature any of the recurring UNIT characters, so Faraday ended up being technically a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute.

** Connie Nielsen, as Detective Dani Beck, replaced Olivia Benson for eight episodes on ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' while Mariska Hargitay was on maternity leave.

* In one episode of ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'', "Do Not Forget Me Oh My Darling," V had Number Six's mind swapped into another man (played by Nigel Stock), since Patrick [=McGoohan=] was off filming ''Ice Station Zebra'' at the time.

* With Mary Jo Pehl busy in Los Angeles filming scenes with Leonard Maltin for the ''Film/{{Gorgo}}'' [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S09E09Gorgo episode]] of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', she was unable to play the role of Pearl in the ''Film/TheTouchOfSatan'' [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S09E08TouchOfSatan episode]]. Hence, it was explained that Pearl went on vacation and hired a babysitter to watch over Prof. Bobo and the Observer while also informing Mike and the 'Bots about the film they were going to watch.

* With Mary Jo Pehl busy in Los Angeles filming scenes with Leonard Maltin for the ''Film/{{Gorgo}}'' [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S09E09Gorgo episode]] of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', she was unable to play the role of Pearl in the ''Film/TouchOfSatan'' [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S09E08TouchOfSatan episode]]. Hence, it was explained that Pearl went on vacation and hired a babysitter to watch over Prof. Bobo and the Observer while also informing Mike and the 'Bots about the film they were going to watch.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible A Sitch In Time'', Monique acts as a substitute for Ron while he is in Norway.
* In Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', Marcie, better known as Hot Dog Water, replace Daphne in the Mystery Inc. Gang for few episodes. She's also in the altered opening credits (for the US episodes).

* When JJ Jareau (and her actress AJ Cook) took maternity leave on ''Series/CriminalMinds'', she picked Jordan Todd (played by actress Meta Golding) to fill in for her.

** Tara Lewis (played by Aisha Tyler) fills in for JJ in season 11 when she goes on maternity leave. Unlike Todd, she joins the BAU full time after JJ returns; she was originally planned to be Kate's temporary substitute, but Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt decided to leave the show instead of returning in season 12. So Lewis gets a PromotionToOpeningTitles in said season, after being the FakeGuestStar for all but four episodes of season 11.

** Tara Lewis (played by Aisha Tyler) fills in for JJ in season 11 when she goes on maternity leave. Unlike Todd, she joins the BAU full time after JJ returns; she was originally planned to be Kate's temporary substitute, but Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt decided to leave the show instead of returning in season 12. So Lewis gets PromotedToOpeningCredits in said season, after being the FakeGuestStar for all but four episodes of season 11.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Amandine Train, Saphir's actrice, was pregnant during the filming of Season 5 of ''Series/{{Noob}}''. However, Saphir also had the important task of [[spoiler:getting Omega Zell ready for high-level play]] during that portion of the story. One episode filmed during the last months of her pregnancy had her use and avatar looking just like Gaea, which made Gaea's actress play in the in-game scenes while some of her dialog had the camera do SplitScreen between the avatar and her player in front of the computer with only her face visible. Later episodes outright had Saphir need to complete an urgent quest off-screen and call in her sister to take care of her everyday work, including the stuff happening onscreen. The sister in question is also briefly seen in ''Film/NoobLeConseilDesTroisFactions''.

* ''Series/OurMissBrooks'': In a few episodes (e.g. "Wild Goose"), Mrs. Davis' sister Angela substitutes as Miss Brooks' landlady. Angela was said to be watching over things while Mrs. Davis visited relatives. Jane Morgan, the actress who played Mrs. Davis, suffered a stroke. Fortunately, she made a complete recovery and returned within a few weeks' time.

** ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath The Green Death]]'' has a case with the guest cast, Tony Adams, the actor playing Elgin fell ill between recording sessions, so in episode 5 a Mr James appears instead. Which leads to a bizarre situation of a character being set up to betray the bad guys - then someone else turns up out of nowhere to do it instead.

** To be clear, Mycroft was really only involved in "The Mazarin Stone", as Jeremy Brett was (to put it bluntly) dying. In other episodes, Watson does have more of a role, and even some of Holmes' lines (such as "The Solitary Cyclist") - this was not done for Brett's health, but to even the relationship and make it clear Watson wasn't the bumbling idiot that popular opinion holds so dear.

** When Kathryn Erbe got pregnant during Season 3 of ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'', the character of G. Lynn Bishop was brought in as a replacement. Unlike most examples, this was actually written into the show well in advance of Bishop's arrival, with the explanation that Erbe's character was acting as a surrogate for her sister and would need a temporary replacement in the later stages of the pregnancy. Erbe was still seen in several of the Bishop episodes, but she stayed behind a desk.

[[folder:Film]]
* In the third ''Film/HarryPotter'' film, Goyle is replaced in several scenes by a random Slytherin boy. Apparently, Josh Herdman had suffered an injury and was unavailable when they had to shoot those scenes. Goyle resumed his usual role in all subsequent films and his replacement was never seen again. Fans like to imagine that the unnamed replacement character was Theodore Nott, a Slytherin student in the books who otherwise has never appeared in the movies.
** The same character also got to be on the other end of this trope. After Jamie Waylett's RoleEndingMisdemeanor, Crabbe was written out of the last movie and his big scene [[spoiler:(a death scene, ironically)]] was given to Goyle instead.
[[/folder]]

** In the pilot episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', there was going to be a scientist by the name of Dr. Ingram, whose actor backed out late in the game. Reaching back into [=SG1=] Recurring Character Land, they found Rodney [=McKay=], called up David Hewlett, and gave him all of Ingram's lines.
* During filming of the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[{{Recap/StarTrekS2E16TheGamestersOfTriskelion}} The Gamesters of Triskelion]]," Creator/GeorgeTakei was busy filming the movie ''Film/TheGreenBerets''. Chekov took his place in the script, with a barroom brawling style in the episode's fight scenes taking the place of the martial arts scenes planned for Sulu.

* The ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode "Gum Drops" was originally going to have Gil Grissom thinking a missing child was still alive. When a death in the family took Creator/WilliamPetersen out of town, Nick Stokes became the lead investigator on the case.
** Much like "Gum Drops," the episode "Genetic Disorder" originally had Nick as the lead, but had to be hastily rewritten with Greg Sanders as the lead as George Eads was attending the funeral of his father.

* In one episode of ''Series/ThePrisoner'', "Do Not Forget Me Oh My Darling," V had Number Six's mind swapped into another man (played by Nigel Stock), since Patrick [=McGoohan=] was off filming ''Ice Station Zebra'' at the time.