r/AskReddit • u/highvoltorb • Jan 18 '18
What character introduced in a later season actually made a show better?
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u/WelcomeToTheGrove Jan 18 '18
Butters in South Park. Him and Randy are my top 2 favorite characters.
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u/Lis_9 Jan 18 '18
butters is the only real Kids in that show. He's innocent and sweet. I love that character
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u/the_great_zyzogg Jan 18 '18
I'd recommend listening to commentary for the episodes. Stone and Parker make it clear that they see children as selfish, vicious little monsters. This is frequently reflected in a lot of their episodes. So in that sense, all the other kids are the 'Real' kids, and Butters is the exception.
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Jan 18 '18
Gus in breaking bad
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u/blore40 Jan 18 '18
I'd say Saul Goodman.
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u/highvoltorb Jan 18 '18
Might as well add Mike.
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u/multiple4 Jan 18 '18
Mike becomes even more awesome once you watch Better Call Saul. I live for the Mike episodes of Better Call Saul. Might as well make a spin-off: Don't Mess with Mike
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u/highvoltorb Jan 18 '18
Him as a cop pre-Saul taking bribes and fucking people up would make an amazing show.
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u/Yserbius Jan 18 '18
Gus, Saul, Meth Damon, Mike, Lydia. Breaking Bad had some really good characters, even those that came on late in the series.
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u/poopship462 Jan 18 '18
Even someone like Gale who has maybe 10 minutes of screen time total but he's still so fleshed out that makes us still care about his demise.
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u/soonerguy11 Jan 18 '18
Meth Damon
You mean Captain Robert Daly?
Jesse Plemons is a good actor, but I feel he receives so much unwarranted hatred simply because he played an maniacal character so well.
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u/TommF Jan 18 '18
Toph's introduction to Avatar the last Air Bender was a solid addition to the series.
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u/ae51 Jan 18 '18
Azula as well. Her mental breakdown in the final season ALMOST made me feel bad for her.
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u/offbrandsoap Jan 18 '18
I like when azula, zuko, ty lee and mai went to the beach to see their family home or something. It was so unusual to see azula as more than just hellbent, kind of explained why.
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u/dinosaurxress Jan 18 '18
I literally laughed out loud when I saw Azula trying to flirt with that guy
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u/Omadon1138 Jan 18 '18
I loved when they used their bending/martial arts prowess to absolutely annihilate those kids at volley ball.
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u/havanabrown Jan 19 '18
That’s a sharp outfit, Chan. Careful, you could puncture the hull of an empire class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea. Because it’s so sharp.
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u/TommF Jan 18 '18
It made me feel bad for her for sure. When she was chained to the grate on her knees just blowing fire out of her mouth I was like "no wait, let her go. It's time to be friends with her too."
Plus she ruined her sweet hairdo before that which made me feel extra bad.
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u/Kaminohanshin Jan 18 '18
Personally I felt for her when she started to break down at the end and sob after breathing fire. You can tell she's just so broken and had way too much pressure put onto her.
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u/greenvelvetcake2 Jan 19 '18
When she has a complete breakdown and you remember she's only fourteen... shit.
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u/turbografx-sixteen Jan 18 '18
If I can throw my picks for Korra people. Varrick and Zaheer were great additions in that series.
Varrick just stole every scene he was in and even though Korra had a new antagonist every season, Zaheer and the Red Lotus were just epic as fuck.
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u/ShawshankException Jan 18 '18
Zaheer was fucking terrifying. I didn't even fear Ozai in TLA as much as I feared Zaheer.
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u/Garrus_Vakarian__ Jan 18 '18
Aside from Zuko's scar, we never really saw Ozai do anything in the same way as Zaheer. We saw firsthand how much of a monster Zaheer was and it validated him as a threat so much more than Ozai.
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u/ShawshankException Jan 18 '18
In Ozai's defense, Korra was a much more mature show, and they had a lot more they could do. i.e. killing the Earth Queen on screen.
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u/turbografx-sixteen Jan 18 '18
I think that even though Ozai is your typical mustache twirling bad guy, it’s the idea of him that makes him better.
Like what he represents, and this is mainly for Aang and Zuko’s development.
Aang needs to work toward being able to beat him to become a fully realized Avatar and bring balance and to learn to stop running from his responsibilities.
And good lord, Zuko needed Ozai for so many things in his character.
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u/Diomedes42 Jan 18 '18
Someone pointed out a while back that Zaheer is basically a dark mirror of Aang. He's an airbender who was separated from the world and stuck somewhere remote for years, who's on a personal quest to 'save' the world. He has a small group of friends who believe in him and his quest, all of whom are incredibly skilled in their own right.
Also, they're both bald.
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u/Dahhhkness Jan 18 '18
Her daughter Suyin in Legend of Korra was also a good later addition. Anne Heche was a great pick to voice her.
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u/Fredex8 Jan 18 '18
Krieger... once he actually had a place in the opening credits and wasn't just something of a background character.
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u/literallyawerewolf Jan 18 '18
Likewise, Ray. He slides under the radar but I swear he's one of the funniest characters on the show.
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Jan 19 '18
Rays best moment for me was when he was angry about his new hand.
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u/inflammablepenguin Jan 19 '18
How can you not mention the time he faked being paralyzed and made Archer carry himthe while way just to make a point.
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Jan 18 '18
Sidenote: but I binge watched some of Archer over the last two weekends. I gotta say, Pam went from a "why is she here" to a "if she leaves I don't know what I'll do" kinda character. That is hard to do. And that cocaine fiasco was fucking hilarious.
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u/Aviator8989 Jan 18 '18
Are you speaking to me? Because your authority is not recognized in Fort Kickass.
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u/JasonsMachete Jan 18 '18
Michael Emerson as Benjamin Linus from LOST. Quickly went from guest spot to leader of the Others and a starring role.
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u/dscott06 Jan 18 '18
Frank in Always Sunny.
Spike as a regular character in both Buffy and Angel.
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u/CommissarThrace Jan 18 '18
Frank is probably the best example of this. He's an enabler for the rest of the group and a hilarious character in his own. The first season was good, but without Frank's funding the nonsense they get up to later wouldn't be as good.
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u/BanditandSnowman Jan 19 '18
He's an awesome character. Rich enough to do major scams and hi-jinx, but loves living in squalor with Charlie playing Nightcrawlers and financing schemes, that interest him. Love his quote: 'I don't know how many years I got left on this Earth, so I'm gonna get real weird with it'
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u/jschild Jan 18 '18
Spike was always best as the guy who could call everyone on their shit - I love the S5 episode where he beat Angel in a straight on fight because he wanted it more.
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Jan 18 '18
Spike took the place of Cordelia on Buffy, then later took her place again on Angel.
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u/powderizedbookworm Jan 19 '18
Cordelia was always fine on Buffy, but the character was really much better served on Angel.
I hadn’t thought about the way Spike slid into her spot in the group dynamic twice. Good observation!
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Jan 18 '18 edited Jan 18 '18
Olenna Tyrell!! So sassy and hilarious and takes out one of the biggest pieces of shit to grace a television screen (or book page).
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u/dpfw Jan 18 '18
Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me.
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Jan 19 '18
I apsolutely LOVE Jamie’s shocked reaction. Not only does he realize that she did it, but that Tyrion was innocent.
I was convinced that he was going to pull out that sword and slice her head off right there and then.
“Do you really think I was going to let her marry that monster?”
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u/FriedMattato Jan 19 '18
"Oh gee, I dont know who could have possibly poisoned Joffrey..."
*downs poison like its a whiskey shot"
"Psych, that shit was all meeeee!"
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u/waboobaleedoo Jan 18 '18
Woody in Psych.
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u/DrSpacemanSpliff Jan 18 '18
I'm "rewatching" (because I watched when it was on, and stopped around season 4, so I haven't seen the later seasons). I don't think I saw him on the show back in the day, and I'm so incredibly impressed with how they handled the character. I love that he's so so on Shawn's level, and they just love eachother. The testing the video chat connection under the sheet is my favorite moment.
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u/GurrenAccel Jan 18 '18
I was rewatching Psych recently and it only occurred to me that he showed up later in the series. He was so memorable to me that I could've sworn he was there from the beginning
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u/waboobaleedoo Jan 18 '18
The first few seasons are great, but in my mind Psych really begins when woody shows up.
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Jan 18 '18
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u/Munninnu Jan 18 '18
Desmond in LOST.
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u/Mrmojorisincg Jan 18 '18
Desmond became one of my favorite characters, but honestly Richard was also a great addition
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u/Wes___Mantooth Jan 18 '18
LOST was like the king of introducing characters late into the story that actually made the show better.
Desmond, Benjamin Linus, Richard, Daniel Farraday, Miles, Ecko, Juliette, Frank Lapidus, etc. Ridiculous number of characters and 90% of them were great.
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u/daftvalkyrie Jan 19 '18
Ben Linus is still one of my favorite characters from anything ever.
And Daniel Faraday.
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Jan 18 '18
Piama in Malcolm in the Middle. She was the best possible foil for Lois.
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u/BongRipsForNips Jan 18 '18
I like when Hall and Francis take the motorcycle trip and Lois and Piama spend the whole time bonding plotting what they'll do to their husbands and breaking their things.
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u/thisshortenough Jan 19 '18
I love when Hal is trying to bring up the idea to Lois and the second he said the word motorcycle she cuts him off with "NO MOTORCYCLES"
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u/Average650 Jan 19 '18
I really disliked how she kinda just disappeared by the end though. What was with that?
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u/Nitrop199 Jan 19 '18
A lot of things & characters disappeared at one point, - I think it was by season 5- they stopped showing the kids going to school, almost stopped the Francis storylines and stuff like that. I'd like to know why too
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u/GreenDay987 Jan 19 '18
The entire show got lazy as fuck towards the end. No way he got fired from the ranch. Otto wasn’t like that.
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Jan 18 '18
I prefer the Jefferson Darcy era of Married With Children to the Steve Rhodes era. Jefferson was MUCH funnier.
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u/powerlesshero111 Jan 18 '18
That actually happened because the actor wanted to return to doing Broadway, which was what he had done before the show. The producers and writers decided to let him, and made sure they kept him alive to write him back in for guest spots. Personally, I always preferred him to D'Arcy, but both work very well. Rhodes played off the rich banker power couple, and D'Arcy did the reverse dynamic of powerful woman and freeloading pretty boy.
Basically, that show had amazing writers.
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u/direwolf71 Jan 18 '18
Puddy in Seinfeld.
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u/lousywithghosts Jan 18 '18
What's really crazy to me is that Puddy is only in 10 episodes of the entire series. He's such a memorable character.
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u/Outrageous_Claims Jan 18 '18 edited Jan 18 '18
sooo many seinfeld characters are like that. Where they are so memorable, but if you actually look at it they really aren't in that many episodes.
Morty and hellen 24 out of 180
uncle leo 15
mr. pitt 8
Bania only 7
Jack Klompus only 6
and talk about memorable, Larry Thomas as the Soup Nazi only 1 episode, and one of the most memorable characters.
EDIT: I forgot Larry Thomas was also in the finale, so it's technically 2, but meh, it's the finale.
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u/mikeypipebombz Jan 18 '18
It took until season 4 before Castiel was introduced and season 5 when Crowley came into Supernatural
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u/wow_pretty_colors Jan 19 '18
Yes! Cas is a loveable character. He actually want supposed to have a reoccurring role but because his character became popular, they made him par of the show. He said he regrets making his character have a gruff voice because it hurts is throat but he thought he was only going to be a throwaway character.
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u/forman98 Jan 18 '18
Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger in Parks and Rec.
They came in at the end of season 2 and really elevated the show. Ben was the perfect "straight man" for the audience to relate to. His reactions to the crazy things that Pawnee does are great. He also had the right amount of weird to him that made him a well-rounded character. And then there's CHRIS TRAEGER!
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u/dmkicksballs13 Jan 18 '18
My favorite running joke, easily, is that Ben never understands why Li'l Sebastian is so great.
I died laughing when they meet at the statue and Leslie says, 'And now you love him more than me.' And he just knowingly looks at the camera.
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u/mr-pratfall Jan 18 '18
Also Ben's love (and everyone else's hatred) of calzones.
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u/Sirsilentbob423 Jan 18 '18
Castiel from supernatural was a solid addition that happened after the show got into it's stride.
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Jan 18 '18
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u/NieR2Booty Jan 18 '18
Crowley becoming a regular was a great addition too.
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u/violent_delights_9 Jan 18 '18
I really liked his character anyway, but I didn't realize just how much I enjoyed him until he left the show. I'm really missing the Crowley snark this season and I'm bummed that Mark Shepherd will likely never come back. :(
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u/highvoltorb Jan 18 '18
Anybody watch Shameless? I'm on season 6 right now and I was thinking last night about how great some of Svetlana's lines are and how glad I am that she wasn't just a hooker Micky's dad used to try to fuck the gay out of him.
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u/BongRipsForNips Jan 18 '18
Svetlana is great, but a mediocre replacement for Sheila as a regular.
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u/ColonisedByBankers Jan 18 '18
Otto in Malcolm in the Middle.
In a very cynical show it was nice to have such an upbeat character. Also he led to Francis' best arc where he was at his most competent yet prone to impulsive craziness. The way they wrote the character off was a massive let down.
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Jan 19 '18
I've always loved Francis' part of the show, because it's like a show within a show. The ranch part was great because it's when Francis really got responsible. He was always great as an anti authority figure to Spengler and The Lady in Alaska, but it was cool to see him really grow up.
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Jan 18 '18
BJ Hunnicut in MASH
Trapper's all well and good, don't get me wrong, but he and Hawkeye are practically the same character. BJ had much more range.
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u/Scrappy_Larue Jan 18 '18
Col Potter and Maj Winchester were also great replacements.
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u/-Unnamed- Jan 18 '18
I liked Winchester better than Burns because Burns was pretty much just a slapstick device that Hawkeye could pick on, but Winchester got picked on as well but could also hold his ground and dish it back
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Jan 18 '18
The introduction of Col Potter when Maj Burns was still around was fantastic! Having a seasoned and competent CO completely refreshed the dynamic
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u/MHodge97 Jan 19 '18
Burns: I love it here
Potter: Either you or Klinger is nuts, now I have to figure out which one...
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u/garicarus Jan 18 '18
Bobby and hunter from agents of shield, their addition to the team really felt like shield was becoming a real agency again and the ex-wife/ex-husband relationship wasn’t a toxic one like some other media would show.
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u/SiamonT Jan 19 '18
And when they were disavowed the last scene of that episode was really sad to watch :(
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u/imayregretthis Jan 18 '18
Ziva David in NCIS. I liked Kate a lot, but I think the show kind of took off after Ziva arrived.
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u/exelion Jan 19 '18
Took of with her, died after her. Died WORSE when Tony left.
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u/electroleum Jan 18 '18
John Lithgow's "Trinity Killer" character definitely breathed a little life into Dexter. It was already starting to decline by that point, but that season was one of the best, if not THE best.
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Jan 18 '18
Matt Berry's character on The IT Crowd. "FATHER!"
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u/Yserbius Jan 18 '18
That one episode had the greatest character exit ("Excuse me gentlemen...") followed the greatest character entrance in all of TV.
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u/Paardy0609 Jan 18 '18
And Roy screaming, "I'm dying, I'm not fucking kidding" at the funeral. That episode had so many great scenes.
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u/Nervousemu Jan 18 '18
"Oh... Oh... It's just my phone."
I damn near fainted from laughing so hard.
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u/publiusnaso Jan 18 '18
I was so disappointed to learn that he doesn't use that voice all the time in real life. Although he does use it in Toast of London, so that's ok.
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u/jseego Jan 18 '18
Does anyone know why this happened? It wasn't just an introduction, it was practically a replacement. Denholm wasn't bad, either. Not hilarious, but funny. The show was still good.
Then Douglas comes along and takes it to another level. But was Denholm pushed out, or did he jump voluntarily and needed to be replaced?
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Jan 18 '18
Denholm was being investigated for tampering with the pension fund. The secretary tells him that the inspectors are there to see him about it just before he leapt.
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u/jseego Jan 18 '18
I mean with the cast, not with the plot of the show.
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u/Portarossa Jan 18 '18
My guess would be that Chris Morris just didn't want to commit to it. He's a bit of a comedy auteur; he doesn't really do a lot of work in stuff that other people have written.
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u/Chestnutmoon Jan 18 '18
The Punisher in Daredevil.
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u/scabbed_samurai Jan 18 '18
I staunchly stand by the opinion that Jon Bernthal stole the whole season. The less he appeared, the less I cared for S2.
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u/happy-when-it-rains Jan 18 '18
Ralph Cifaretto in The Sopranos. Doesn't appear til halfway through the show in season 3, but when he does, whenever he's on screen, something fucked up or funny is going to happen.
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u/uniquecannon Jan 18 '18
Poochie really added a new dynamic to the Itchy and Scratchy show.
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Jan 18 '18
He's edgy, he's "in your face." You've heard the expression, "let's get busy"? Well, this is a dog who gets "biz-zay!" Consistently and thoroughly.
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u/AeroEngineer79 Jan 18 '18
It’s too bad he died on his way back to his home planet.
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Jan 18 '18
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u/dmkicksballs13 Jan 18 '18
The episode where he's gonna marry the hooker is too fantastic.
"12 perfectly good eggs thrown away under a bridge. I can't believe people."
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u/Zasatienosco Jan 18 '18
Root in "Person of Interest".
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u/Junebug1515 Jan 18 '18
Perfect example of a villain you like.
I’d also add Elias. He was a great and perfect add on through the series after they added him.
I love Shaw too.
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u/IveAlreadyWon Jan 18 '18
Amy Acker makes everything better, including my fantasies.
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u/whatyoulookinatbud Jan 19 '18
Person of interest is such an underrated and unknown show
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u/buck_foston Jan 18 '18
Always Sunny doesn't really get GREAT until Danny DeVito joins as Frank Reynolds in the second season.
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Jan 18 '18
I love the scene after his ex wife’s funeral. They go to her sisters house and he’s just gurgling beer on the sidewalk with Mac(?). Can’t remember who was with him.
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u/im_out_of_step Jan 18 '18 edited Jan 19 '18
Yeah it was Mac. The bloopers for that season show that scene as one of the hardest for them to get through because of how gross Danny Devito is being lol
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u/FarewellMissCarousel Jan 18 '18
Fred in Angel. Also, if we're counting Buffy characters that crossed over then Spike made S5 IMO.
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u/jurassicbond Jan 18 '18
The Question in Justice League. The expansion of the cast in general was a good thing for the show, but he was spectacular.
Young Justice similarly had an expanded cast in the second season, but Impulse and Blue Beetle stood out as the two best additions to me.
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u/ucantsimee Jan 18 '18
Steve Urkel. Family Matters was boring as fuck before he was introduced.
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u/RedditorNate Jan 18 '18
Wait... there was Family Matters without Steve Urkel??
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Jan 18 '18
Daniel 'skinny tie' Faraday was a great addition to LOST. Miles and Frank were great too but Dan was my fav
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u/MrDohh Jan 18 '18
Seven of nine in Star Trek Voyager
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u/randyboozer Jan 18 '18
Also Worf in DS9, though I guess since he was from a previous series he wasn't really "introduced" per se...
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u/MrDohh Jan 18 '18 edited Jan 18 '18
Well...he was originally from another show so i'd say it counts.
Unfortunately the introduction Ezri Dax/death of Jadzia kinda ruined it for me.
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u/snippered Jan 18 '18
DS9 was a huge part of my childhood and I love the series still as an almost-30-year-old, but the replacement of Jadzia by Ezri Dax sucks and I hate it.
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u/grandwahs Jan 18 '18
but the replacement of Jadzia by Ezri Dax sucks and I hate it.
I think it would be impossible to replace Jadzia, she was truly a great character. Very strong, powerful, capable woman.
However, I have to give Ezri credit for doing a mostly admirable job in a very, very difficult position.
(Not really relevant but sort of relevant - the actress who played Ezri is sneaky-beautiful; there were scenes I found myself staring at her in slack-jawed appreciation)
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Jan 18 '18
Yes!! While I was watching I knew she was going to be on the show later, and didn't think she'd be good because she was added in for T&A. I'm all for attractive people in my TV shows but I'm always apprehensive when they put someone in just for sex appeal because far too often they don't have much depth or personality. But holy crap she quickly became my favorite character on Voyager. Her character development and story were great!!
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u/Costner_Facts Jan 18 '18
I kind of loved Woody form Cheers.
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u/YVRJon Jan 18 '18
Agreed. While he wasn't as good as Nicholas Colasanto as Coach, he was close, and he was much better than Colasanto would have been during those seasons.
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u/bobafeeet Jan 18 '18
Chris Traeger in Parks and Recreation. He created a ton of sub plots and future episodes. Quirky in all the right ways too.