4 ms·

There are a lot of long-running TV shows where the same guest actor appears in more than one episode playing different characters. Murder, She Wrote is a good e

There are a lot of long-running TV shows where the same guest actor appears in more than one episode playing different characters. Murder, She Wrote is a good example of this. "Now, where have I seen that actor before? ... Oh, in a previous episode of this same show." Seeing through the illusion often enhances my enjoyment, actually.

mbg721 5y ago
That seems to be a feature in mystery shows; Columbo did the same thing. Some actors played three or four different murderers, but also more out of the spotlight, there were recurring bit-players.
- joshspankit 5y ago
  There are also a bunch in Star Trek, and even a few that hardcore fans miss!
  - parenthesis 5y ago
    Of course, in Star Trek different make-up can make it harder to spot. For example, James Sloyan ( https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/James_Sloyan https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/James_Sloyan ), who also appears in multiple Murder, She Wrote episodes, both as different characters and as the same recurring character!
    - thaumasiotes 5y ago
      There's one particularly galling one: Marc Alaimo has a major role as the primary villain of Deep Space Nine, Gul Dukat, appearing in 20% of the episodes. He also appears in various capacities as random single-episode characters in The Next Generation. This is mostly fine. But one of those random characters is a Cardassian Gul. (Gul Macet.) This takes place before DS9 starts airing. But it's incredibly jarring if you've already seen DS9.
      - joshspankit 5y ago
        Agreed. He is very recognizable in tone and mannerisms, so having him be two different Cardassian Guls raises some plot-line questions. Especially if you watched reruns on TV (for the youngins: they regularly showed episodes out of order, and if you were in to a show you would have to keep track of the timeline and story arcs yourself)
- parenthesis 5y ago
  Robert Culp always seems to play the murderer in Columbo.
  - mbg721 5y ago
    Him, Jack Cassidy, and Patrick McGoohan.
- bazzargh 5y ago
  Nero Wolfe made a feature of that, using a repertory cast for all the roles except the leads https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Wolfe_(2001_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Wolfe_(2001_TV_series)

mbg721 5y ago

That seems to be a feature in mystery shows; Columbo did the same thing. Some actors played three or four different murderers, but also more out of the spotlight, there were recurring bit-players.

joshspankit 5y ago
There are also a bunch in Star Trek, and even a few that hardcore fans miss!
- parenthesis 5y ago
  Of course, in Star Trek different make-up can make it harder to spot. For example, James Sloyan ( https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/James_Sloyan https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/James_Sloyan ), who also appears in multiple Murder, She Wrote episodes, both as different characters and as the same recurring character!
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    There's one particularly galling one: Marc Alaimo has a major role as the primary villain of Deep Space Nine, Gul Dukat, appearing in 20% of the episodes. He also appears in various capacities as random single-episode characters in The Next Generation. This is mostly fine. But one of those random characters is a Cardassian Gul. (Gul Macet.) This takes place before DS9 starts airing. But it's incredibly jarring if you've already seen DS9.
    - joshspankit 5y ago
      Agreed. He is very recognizable in tone and mannerisms, so having him be two different Cardassian Guls raises some plot-line questions. Especially if you watched reruns on TV (for the youngins: they regularly showed episodes out of order, and if you were in to a show you would have to keep track of the timeline and story arcs yourself)
parenthesis 5y ago
Robert Culp always seems to play the murderer in Columbo.
- mbg721 5y ago
  Him, Jack Cassidy, and Patrick McGoohan.
bazzargh 5y ago
Nero Wolfe made a feature of that, using a repertory cast for all the roles except the leads https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Wolfe_(2001_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Wolfe_(2001_TV_series)