History Main / UnreplacedDeparted

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The subversion of this trope is a staple among tabletop [=RPGs=], where the death of one character will often result in the party meeting a freelance adventurer at the next tavern, who coincidentally has the same stats, name, and equipment size as the dead character.
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* Whenever a member of Music/TheMonkees left or was unavailable, his slot would remain open and he'd be welcomed back once he decided to return. This most applied to Peter Tork (who could be moody and had a love[=/=]hate relationship with the group and its place in pop culture) and Michael Nesmith (who was usually busy with other musical pursuits and business ventures after the initial breakup and could only make sporadic appearances for reunions).

Most likely to be seen in music groups as a member's departure can be covered by hiring session instrumentalists and vocalists to work in the studio and on stage without having to bring in an official replacement. Only the official members typically appear in promotional photos and album covers. They may even use the departure as the opportunity to experiment and release a NewSoundAlbum.

* Music/PinkFloyd soldiered on after Music/RogerWaters left the band in 1985, and while Waters had been the LeadBassist, the group has not had a full-time bassist since. At first they played officially as a duo with David Gilmour and Nick Mason, with Richard Wright appearing as a guest musician on ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason''. Wright, who himself had been fired during the recording of ''Music/TheWall'' and replaced by session musicians on ''Music/TheFinalCut'' and the vast majority of ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason'' (only contributing tangential keyboard and backing vocal parts), was reinstated as a full band member for ''Music/TheDivisionBell'', and the classic lineup with all four band members reunited for Live 8 in 2005, the last performance before Wright's death in 2008.

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' replaced many of its characters over its eleven-season run. However, when Gary Burghoff left the series, the producers simply moved Klinger (Jamie Farr), already a regular character, into Radar's job of company clerk.

** When the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' launched, Grace Lee Whitney, portraying Yeoman Janice Rand, was intended to be a series regular as a recurring love interest for Kirk, was featured even more prominently than ''Spock and [=McCoy=]'' in promotional materials, and indeed was a major fixture of the first half of season one. Whitney also directly contributed to a number of design elements, from the incredibly short female uniforms[[note]]a dancer, Whitney wanted a short skirt to show off her legs[[/note]] and even the development of the tricorder. She was eventually cut from the show by the halfway point of the series.[[note]]It's unclear precisely why Rand was removed. The reasons vary from NBC looking to cut costs and argued that random nameless characters could fulfill her same role for cheaper than a regular, showrunners deciding they wanted Kirk to remain single and free to hook up with the random GirlOfTheWeek, a sexual assault by an NBC executive leading to her termination, or even blaming Whitney having personal or substance abuse problems as the reason.[[/note]] Although Rand's role as Kirk's aide was taken up by the occasional background extra, there was never a permanent replacement. And while Roddenberry long regretted her termination and Janice has remained a popular character (and Whitney was a regular fixture at conventions) ever since, this ''did'' clear the way for perhaps the most iconic PowerTrio in television history by giving more room for the Kirk-Spock-[=McCoy=] dynamic. Whitney later returned as Rand in several of the films, (having made the jump from a lowly yeoman to the officer track, eventually rising to the Executive Officer position aboard ''Excelsior'').
** After Denise Crosby's character was killed off in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'''s first season, Worf (Michael Dorn) was promoted to Security Chief to consolidate the ensemble to the core we know now.

* Drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory were dismissed during Music/{{Journey|Band}}'s original run in 1986. The remaining members toured with hired musicians (including Randy Jackson, later of ''Series/AmericanIdol'', on bass) until they went on hiatus in 1995.

* Bill Wyman was the Music/TheRollingStonesBand' bassist from 1962 to 1993. After he departed, the remaining members brought Darryl Jones in to play bass on records and tours as a hired musician and not as a replacement to Wyman within the group. If the Stones continue on their current course, their time without Wyman will exceed the time he spent with them in 2024.

* Some long-running bands that lose a member hire a replacement musician, but this new person has to play hidden offstage, so that the public won't perceive that the official lineup has changed. The other wiki has an article entitled "[[Offstage musicians and singers in popular music https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offstage_musicians_and_singers_in_popular_music]]" which gives examples.

* Some long-running bands that lose a member hire a replacement musician, but this new person has to play hidden offstage, so that the public won't perceive that the official lineup has changed. The other wiki has an article entitled "Offstage musicians and singers in popular music" which gives examples.

* Some long-running bands that lose a member hire a replacement musician, but this new person has to play hidden offstage, so that the public won't perceive that the official lineup has changed. The other wiki has an article entitled "Offstage musicians".

Ensembles are tricky things to get right. Each member brings something different to the table and all of them have to gel together if they want any chance at success. Shaking things up too much can mean trouble.

Sometimes, though, one member departs, for personal or professional reasons (sometimes both). When that happens, the remaining members might look for a replacement to try and maintain the dynamic they're known for. Other times, though, they'll decide that they can continue with the remaining members and not hire anyone new. For some groups, this works fine and they continue with their careers down one member.

In the case of some LongRunners, a group's time without the departed member may last longer than the time that member spent with the group. This can come as a shock to those who become fans of a group later in their run and begin exploring their back catalog, only to discover that there used to be an extra member.

Most likely to be seen in music groups as a member's departure can be covered by hiring instrumentalists and vocalists to work in the studio and on stage without having to bring in an official replacement. Only the official members typically appear in promotional photos and album covers. They may even use the departure as the opportunity to experiment and release a NewSoundAlbum.

It can also be seen in works like TV and movie series, where a member of the cast doesn't return and the-powers-that-be decide to retool with who's left rather than find someone new.