History Main / TemporarySubstitute

* Max Schreck's role in ''Film/BatmanReturns'' was clearly meant for Harvey Dent, with Creator/BillyDeeWilliams reprising his role. The plan was that the explosion at the end of the film would turn him into Two-Face, thus setting up the next film.

* 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).

** Richard Franklin was unable to appear in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors The Three Doctors]]'', so Captain Yates' role was given to Sgt. Benton, whose role was assigned to a new character, Corpoal Palmer.

** During ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'', Valerie Vernon (Kendrix) was diagnosed with lukemia and had to be written out of the series. When her character was killed off, the plan was to have Cassie Chen from ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo' and ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' take her role. Patricia Ja Lee filmed at least one episode before quitting due to a contract dispute. As a result, Karone, aka the previous BigBad Astronoma, became the new pink ranger. Thankfully, Vernon made a full recovery and Kendrix was resurrected at the end of the series.

** Ben Jones temporarily quit the show during the second season over a dispute over whether Cooter should have a beard or not.In his absence, Cooter's place was filled by several of Cooter's supposed cousins who were never mentioned before or since.

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]": Creator/WilliamHartnell was injured in an action scene in part four, 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.)
** Hartnell sits out the third episode of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E2TheTenthPlanet The Tenth Planet]]" due to illness. As a result, his lines were assigned to Ben and other characters (aware of how ill Hartnell was, the scripts had been written with the possibility of this happening in mind, so it is not as noticeable as it might sound).
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber The Mind Robber]]": Creator/FrazerHines 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.
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E3TheSeaDevils The Sea Devils]]": The Royal Navy fill the role usually occupied by UNIT, with Captain Hart substituting for the Brigadier.
** Richard Franklin was unable to appear in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors The Three Doctors]]", so Captain Yates' role was given to Sgt. Benton, whose role was assigned to a new character, Corpoal Palmer.
** The Ogrons' role in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace Frontier in Space]]" was originally going to be filled by the Cybermen, in what would have been their only proper appearance in the Third Doctor era.
** "[[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.

** 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.
** The main villain of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang The Talons of Weng Chiang]]" was originally going to be the Master, as the story originally followed up on his escape in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]". Remnants of that idea include both being hammy, vampiric serial killers on the run with a time machine, dying and desperately looking for a way to cheat death. Magnus even talks about ''regeneration'' a few times.

* On ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Wesley was absent for "[[Recap/AngelS05E08Destiny Destiny]]", 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]].

** "[[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.)

* WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':

** When Cleveland left the show to get his own series, his role in Peter's group of friends was filled by Jerome Black. When ''Series/TheClevelandShow'' was cancelled, Cleveland returned.

** Geordi only appears via StockFootage in "[[Recap/StarTrekS4E4SuddenlyHuman Suddenly Human]]". Creator/LeVarBurton had surgery shortly before filming began on "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds The Best of Both Worlds]] (Part 2)" so his scenes for that episode were shot in post-production, and many of his lines were given to O'Brien. "Suddenly Human" was the first episode filmed after "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", but was switched in order and aired after "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E2Family Family]]" and "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E3Brothers Brothers]]".

** Sulu doesn't appear in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E22Space Seed]]". He was replaced by Makee K. Blaisdell as Lt. Spinelli.

* Paul left ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' during season eleven, feeling that it had "got stuck in a rut". He served as Ian Hislop's teammate for the first episode and the series carried on with different panelists before he returned.

** Kate Stewart and UNIT don't appear in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E7ThePyramidAtTheEndOfTheWorld The Pyramid at the End of the World]]", even though theoretically they would be better equipped to handle the threat of the Monks than Earth's conventional military forces. They had to be written out because Jemma Redgrave was unable to take part due to a scheduling conflict with her role in ''Series/HolbyCity''.

* When Creator/JasonDavidFrank took time off to visit his family in Texas, the producers of the New Zealand-filmed ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' were forced to first trap his character, Tommy Oliver, in Ranger form, and later, render him invisible for two episodes. Since Tommy is a high school science teacher by this point in the franchise, they also had to grab several Substitute Teachers. To make things significantly more interesting, one of the substitutes was the [[JekyllAndHyde human form]] of the BigBad.

* The dog Vinnie in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' is a wise guy (well, wise dog) with an Italian accent and a streetwise attitude whom the Griffins take in after [[spoiler: Brian's death. Well, until he helps Stewie go back in time to save Brian's life.]]

* Music/TheBeachBoys: In January 1965, Music/GlenCampbell filled in for Music/BrianWilson when he dropped out of a tour due to a nervous breakdown, playing bass guitar and singing falsetto harmonies. He was then replaced by new member Bruce Johnston.

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' has done this once, in the episode "[[Recap/FrasierS4E5HeadGame Head Game]]". Originally written for Frasier, it was rewritten for Niles due to Creator/KelseyGrammer being in rehab. The opening scene featuring Frasier that explained his absence was filmed many weeks later.

* ''Series/OurMissBrooks'': In a few episodes (e.g. "Wild Goose"), Mrs. Davis's 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.
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' has done this once, in the episode "Head Game." Originally written for Frasier, it was rewritten for Niles due to Creator/KelseyGrammer being in rehab. The opening scene featuring Frasier that explained his absence was filmed many weeks later.
* The first five episodes of ''Series/StargateSG1'''s ninth season lacked Samantha Carter because Creator/AmandaTapping was nine months pregnant at the time of filming. As a result, all of the "sciency" dialogue was given to a recurring, relatively unimportant, base scientist.
* 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.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
** Sulu doesn't appear in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E22Space Seed]]". He was replaced by Makee K. Blaisdell as Lt. Spinelli.
** Scotty and Sulu are absent from "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E27TheAlternativeFactor The Alternative Factor]]". For unknown reasons they were substituted in the roles of engineer and helmsman by Charlene Masters and Leslie, respectively.
** During filming of the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E16TheGamestersOfTriskelion The Gamesters of Triskelion]]," Creator/GeorgeTakei was busy filming ''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.
** Uhura doesn't appear in "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E6TheDoomsdayMachine The Doomsday Machine]]", her duties assumed by Lt. Palmer, played by Elizabeth Rogers.
** For "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E24TurnaboutIntruder Turnabout Intruder]]", the final episode, Uhura takes the day off and is replaced by a Lieutenant Lisa. (Creator/NichelleNichols had a singing engagement that conflicted with the shooting schedule.)
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
** After Creator/GatesMcFadden quit the show after the first season, Dr. Pulaski took over as the Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise, with Dr. Crusher being explained as being transferred to a space station. Following the poor reception to Pulaski, [=McFadden=] was convinced to return.
** The final script draft for "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E10Haven Haven]]" contained several lines for Worf and Wesley that were either cut or reassigned to other characters.
** Geordi only appears via StockFootage in "[[Recap/StarTrekS4E4SuddenlyHuman Suddenly Human]]". Creator/LeVarBurton had surgery shortly before filming began on "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds The Best of Both Worlds]] (Part 2)" so his scenes for that episode were shot in post-production, and many of his lines were given to O'Brien. "Suddenly Human" was the first episode filmed after "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", but was switched in order and aired after "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E2Family Family]]" and "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E3Brothers Brothers]]".

* When Creator/LucyLawless was injured doing a stunt for ''Series/TheTonightShow,'' 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).
* Samaire Armstrong entered rehab in the fall of 2007 for undisclosed reasons and had to be written out of an episode of ''Series/DirtySexyMoney.''
* On ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Wesley was absent for "[[Recap/AngelS05E08Destiny Destiny]]", 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 Creator/JossWhedon 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.

* When Creator/JasonDavidFrank took time off to visit his family in Texas, the producers of the New Zealand-filmed ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' were forced to first trap his character, Tommy Oliver, in Ranger form, and later, render him invisible for two episodes. Since Tommy is a high school science teacher by this point in the franchise, they also had to grab several Substitute Teachers. To make things significantly more interesting, one of the substitutes was the [[JekyllAndHyde human form]] of the BigBad.

* ''Series/GetSmart'' has "Ice Station Siegfried," where Don Adams' Maxwell Smart is replaced by Bill Dana's CIA Agent Quigley for an episode.
* 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/MysteryScienceTheater3000S09E08TheTouchOfSatan 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.
* When Lynda Day George became pregnant at the end of season six of ''Series/MissionImpossible'', ex-con Mimi Davis was written in for a handful of episodes the following season.
* In the older ''Series/RandallAndHopkirkDeceased'' series, there's one episode, "The House on Haunted Hill" in which Jeannie does not appear. Her sister Jenny had appeared in an earlier episode, so the characters mention right at the beginning that Jenny is filling in for Jeannie at the office, and then act exactly as usual for the rest of the episode.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' involved a debate over whether it was justifiable to infect the Cylons with a deadly disease. The script called for someone to [[StrawmanBall push very strongly in favor of it]]. Normally this would be established Cylon-hater Colonel Tigh, but due to another storyline Tigh was currently AchillesInHisTent. So the writers pressed Lee Adama into service to clumsily understudy for him.
* In the first season of ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Jonathan disappeared for two episodes. A character called Matt filled in as Jack's assistant until Jonathan's return.
* On ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'', Kari Byron went on maternity leave, and was replaced by Jessi Combs for a few months.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Monk}}'' featured only Creator/TonyShalhoub 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.
* ''Series/KamenRider'' is a rather famous example; star Creator/HiroshiFujioka was injured in a stunt gone wrong, which forced the writers to create a second Kamen Rider (Hayato Ichimonji) while the original (Takeshi Hongo) was fighting off-screen enemies. Fujioka eventually returned and took the reins back, but some episodes featured both Riders joining forces, and both heroes are viewed as equally iconic and popular by the franchise's fanbase.

** When James Best boycotted part of the second season, citing unsafe dressing-room conditions, Roscoe was temporarily replaced by several "one-off" sheriffs, the longest standing being Creator/DickSergeant's Sheriff Grady Bird, who appeared in two episodes

* ''The Memoirs of Series/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.
** 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.

* ''Series/HogansHeroes'' had at various times temporary replacements for Carter and Newkirk. Kinchloe was replaced by a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute in the last season.
* When JJ Jareau (and her actress Creator/AJCook) took maternity leave on ''Series/CriminalMinds'', she picked Jordan Todd (played by actress Meta Golding) to fill in for her.
** An interesting case, this one. Since everyone had lots and lots of prior notice about AJ Cook's leave (her pregnancy storyline started the season before), Todd's role is not just a re-writing of scripts written for JJ: she has her own character, arc, and thematics, all of which are very different from JJ's. At the same time, she fills the same role in the team bureaucracy that JJ does.
** Tara Lewis (played by Creator/AishaTyler) 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.

* Variation on ''Series/ForeverKnight'': Some of the scripts originally written with Captain Stonetree in season 1 were stashed away and used with Captain Reese in season 3. The two captains even both have the first name "Joe."

* Adrian Lester was unable to appear in season four of ''Series/{{Hustle}}'', so Mickey Briggs is said to be in Australia pulling off the ultimate con - selling the Sydney Opera House. Meanwhile, his role in the team was filled by Danny Blue. Lester returned for the remaining seasons.
* After Creator/EdwardWoodward suffered a heart attack that forced him to cut down on his acting for awhile, ''Series/TheEqualizer'' role was temporarily shared with Richard Jordan and Creator/RobertMitchum (also playing former members of the Agency).

* In June 1964, before Music/TheBeatles were scheduled to tour Denmark, the Netherlands, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Music/RingoStarr was stricken with a high-grade fever, pharyngitis and tonsillitis, and briefly stayed in a local hospital, followed by several days of recuperation at home. He was temporarily replaced for five concerts by 24-year-old session drummer Jimmie Nicol. Ringo was discharged from the hospital and rejoined the band in Melbourne.

** Richard Franklin was unable to appear in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors The Three Doctors]]", so Captain Yates' role was given to Sgt. Benton, whose role was assigned to a new character, Corpoal Palmer.

* After Creator/GatesMcFadden quit ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' after the first season, Dr. Pulaski took over as the Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise, with Dr. Crusher being explained as being transferred to a space station. Following the poor reception to Pulaski, [=McFadden=] was convinced to return.

** There are a handful of episodes in which Uhura fails to appear at the communications station and a temporary character takes her place.