Yahoo News 8 short-lived TV characters who deserved so much more
Talk about an embarrassment of riches. Some of our favourite TV shows feature (or featured) not just a colourful and captivating cast of regulars, but also a handful of intriguing supporting characters we wish had been given more time to shine.
This lot could have, would have, should have flourished as major characters, but were written out way before their time. Here's to wishful thinking...
1. Julian Albert (Tom Felton) – The Flash
The Flash is a terrific series, but sometimes the superhero caper's All-American optimism can feel a little one-note, which is why the addition of Harry Potter veteran Felton as snarky scientist Julian Albert in the recent third season was so welcome.
Even better, the show didn't force Felton to stay in his grouchy-Brit box for 23 episodes – his character was allowed to grow and while Julian never lost his spiky demeanour, he became a valuable ally to Team Flash and even a love interest for Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker).
Still an integral part of the squad at the close of the season, news broke in the summer that Felton would not return to The Flash as a regular next season. Even worse, there are currently no plans for him to reappear as a guest star and his character will simply disappear from the show.
The #BringBackJulian campaign starts here, guys.
2. Larry Paul (Robert Downey Jr) – Ally McBeal
Before he was king of the superhero blockbusters, Downey Jr helped boost the ratings of frothy legal series Ally McBeal with a charismatic turn as the title character's new boyfriend.
With his suave stylings, Larry was almost a proto-Tony Stark and his relationship with Ally (Calista Flockhart) was her most dynamic and entertaining across the show's five-year run. Downey Jr won a Golden Globe for his performance and even received a standing ovation from the audience when he picked up the trophy.
Alas, the character was abruptly written out of the series following Downey Jr's two drug arrests in 2000 and 2001, with the original planned ending for season 4 – Ally's wedding to Larry – being scrapped as a result. A real missed opportunity.
3. Anna Stern (Samaire Armstrong) – The OC
Smart, stylish Anna was originally only supposed to appear in one episode of the sun-soaked noughties teen drama, but proved so popular with fans that she was brought back for several more appearances across the first season.
Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson) might've been the lifelong crush of nerd hero Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), but Anna, who shared Seth's love of comic books, was very much his kindred spirit and proved to be a far more formidable love rival for Summer than first anticipated.
Ultimately though, Seth / Summer was endgame, so Anna had to go and got booted back to her home city of Pittsburgh. She did pop up for a couple of appearances in The OC's third season, but the character had the potential to be so much more than just a guest player.
4. Oz (Seth Green) – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Seth Green was brilliantly deadpan as uber-cool outsider Daniel 'Oz' Osbourne, werewolf boyfriend to witchy Willow (Alyson Hannigan). Promoted from recurring to series regular for Buffy's third season, Oz was written out in season four in a misjudged storyline that saw the perennial nice guy cheat on Willow while in his bestial form.
He departed Sunnydale in the hope of better understanding his true nature, but when he returned some months later – having learnt to better control his animal urges – he learned that Willow was now dating Tara (Amber Benson) and left again, this time for good.
Rumours abounded that Oz was later due to join spin-off series Angel as a regular, only for that show to be axed by The WB before Green could be re-hired. (In case you were wondering, the canonical Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight comic series reveals that Oz returned to his haven in Tibet, where he married and had a son... so at least he got a happy ending.)
5. Kathy (Paget Brewster) – Friends
One of the best ever Friends storylines, funny and touching, saw Chandler (Matthew Perry) fall for roommate Joey's girlfriend. The mutual attraction between Chandler and Kathy (Paget Brewster) built until the pair shared an illicit snog, driving a wedge between him and Joey… but the big-hearted goof ultimately forgave them both, after seeing how strong the feelings between his ex-girlfriend and best pal were.
All's well that ends well, right? Wrong. No love interest on Friends could be anything but fleeting, no matter how charming, so actress Kathy was written off the show in a plot that saw her cheat (sensing a pattern here?) on Chandler with a co-star.
It's not just us that object to the dodgy twist either – Brewster would later reveal that Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow all wanted the cheating plot scrubbed because they'd grown attached to both her and the Kathy character. But the writers wouldn't budge.
6. Whistler (Max Perlich) – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Yep, Buffy's a repeat offender on this front. The enigmatic Whistler was a demon and servant of the almighty Powers That Be – introduced in the show's second season finale, he served as a mentor to a struggling Angel (David Boreanaz) and even introduced the tortured vampire with a soul to his beloved Buffy.
But despite fulfilling such a pivotal role in the whole Buffy / Angel mythos, Whistler vanished after the two-part 'Becoming' arc and was never seen or heard from again.
Joss Whedon has said he originally planned to have Whistler appear as a regular character on Angel, but Max Perlich's busy schedule meant the similar character of Doyle (Glenn Quinn) was created as a replacement. The actor himself, though, insists he was never contacted about the possibility: "If they had called, I would have probably accepted because it was a great experience, and I think Joss is very original and talented," he said in 2004.
7. Antoine 'Trip' Triplett (B.J. Britt) – Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
The laid-back, likeable Trip joined the SHIELD squad at the close of the first season, more or less as a replacement for scheming turncoat Grant Ward (Brett Dalton).
Continuing into season two, he became a valued, vital member of the team... only to be killed in action in the midseason finale, 'What They Become' – reduced to dust by the power of the deadly alien artefact known as The Diviner.
Fans weren't best pleased about Trip becoming a sacrificial lamb and even actor BJ Britt suggested that his character's arc was "cut short": "It just hurts," he said. "You want to see where Trip could go."
Britt did later return to the series as a virtual version of Trip, appearing in the simulated word of the Framework during season four, which helped to take some of the sting out of his premature exit.
8. Matthew Abaddon (Lance Reddick) – Lost
Lance Reddick brings a steely, immovable cool to every part he plays, whether it's Lt. Daniels in HBO's The Wire or the concierge Charon in the John Wick movies. So it felt like a big deal when Reddick showed up in Lost's fourth season as the inscrutable Abaddon, sharing a series of menacing encounters with both Hurley (Jorge Garcia) and John Locke (Terry O'Quinn).
But after just three appearances, Abaddon disappeared and wouldn't be seen again until season five's 'The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham', in which he was promptly killed off. Who was this fascinating figure, really? And what were his true motives? Two more unanswered questions left in Lost's wake.
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