Yahoo News Why 7 TV stars didn't show up for the spin-offs
When a telly property is successful enough to inspire a spin-off show to be fast-tracked into existence, it seems inevitable that some of the original series' main stars will turn up at some point.
Whether it's Cheers' Sam Malone on Frasier, Buffy in Angel, or Mulder on The Lone Gunmen, every single spin-off show contains a cameo from someone significant, right?
Wrong. Here's all the times spin-off shows missed out on guest-turns from significant stars.
1. Alan Alda - AfterMASH
There's a pretty simple reason Alan Alda didn't appear in AfterMASH, the sitcom spin-off of M*A*S*H: he didn't even want it to happen.
The cast of M*A*S*H were asked to vote on whether the show should continue after the finale, and only three people involved in the original show voted yes – Colonel Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan), Maxwell Klinger (Jamie Farr) and Father Francis Mulcahy (William Christopher).
Those minority voters (Morgan, Farr and Christopher) were immediately given their own spin-off, AfterMASH, which was set following the end of the Korean War.
We're pretty sure that's not how voting's supposed to work.
2. Julianna Margulies - The Good Fight
At one stage, it looked like Margulies was going to show up on The Good Wife spin-off The Good Fight, with executive producer Michelle King saying, "We might [see Alicia]. It's all being conceived right now.".
Sadly for fans, Alicia won't appear – and Margulies has a pretty honourable reason for dodging the series. "The reason I declined was because I thought it would be a disservice to those women and they will carry that torch," she said.
3. Roseanne Barr - The Connors
Sure, The Connors hasn't aired yet, but the Roseanne spin-off contractually won't feature the original show's star, despite the fact she was the original show's title character. That's because Roseanne Barr almost caused Roseanne to be completely cancelled, thanks to a horrendously offensive tweet.
The spin-off's only going ahead because Barr's promised not to be in it.
"I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne. I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved," Barr said.
So, yeah, don't expect her to show up on The Connors.
4. Chris Evans - Agent Carter
Okay, okay, we know, Chris Evans was an icicle by the time Peggy Carter got to work, but this is telly, anything is possible: flashbacks, dream sequences, hallucinations. There's any number of ways Evans could've cameoed if he wanted to.
Sadly, his Marvel contract only covers movies, and he had more than enough of those to make. And the show got around the issue in a smart way – having the character 'cameo' in the form of a radio serial's exaggerated take on Captain America's adventures.
5. Friends cast - Joey
The official story behind Joey's friendship group completely vanishing after he moved to LA is that the show's producers wanted Joey to stand on its own two feet for the first season, but we have to imagine that the Friends' cast's million-dollar fees had to have played a part in the decision-making process, especially as they didn't show up for the second season either.
Still, at least David Schwimmer sort-of cameoed, by directing two episodes: 'Joey and the Perfect Storm' and 'Joey and the Taste Test.' Shame he didn't cast himself in them.
6. Jim Breuer - Buddies
Possibly the most bizarre entry on this list, Buddies was a spin-off of Home Improvement that was literally only commissioned to capitalise on the chemistry between Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer.
The real-life friends appeared in a single episode as a couple of pals ('Dave' and 'Jim') who get pulled from the Tool Time audience to discuss their relationships. The scene was such a success, they were given their own show.
However, during the rehearsal process for that show, Jim Breuer was fired and replaced by Christopher Gartin, which destroyed the chemistry that made Buddies a thing in the first place.
According to rumours, executives got worried Breuer would overshadow Chappelle, who was the person they really wanted to turn into a star – only trouble was, Chappelle was so annoyed that his friend got fired, Buddies ended up being cancelled after five episodes. What a mess.
7. The cast of That '70s Show - That '80s Show
One of the rare examples of a spin-off show that didn't feature a single character from the original series, even though the central character Corey Howard (It's Always Sunny's Glenn Howerton) was the cousin of Eric Forman (Topher Grace) from That '70s Show.
The only problem was, That '70s Show was still running when That '80s Show aired, which meant that the original cast were too busy with their own show to apply the prosthetics they would need to send them 10 years into the future. And, as That '80s Show only lasted for 13 episodes, there wasn't time to crowbar them in.
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