Top 10 Characters Who Killed TV Shows
#10: Billie Jenkins
“Charmed” (1998-2006) Even amid all the magic and romance, what made this teen drama downright spell-binding was its focus on sisterhood. From that standpoint, it’s easy to see why cramming in a random, extra main character in the final season didn’t go over well with fans. The inexperienced Billie felt shoehorned into the show, and that’s because she was. The character was basically introduced as a behind-the-scenes ploy to artificially extend a series that was running low on new spells. But it was painfully obvious that Billie just didn’t fit in. Instead of a magical resurrection, her introduction only proved that these witches were ready for retirement.
#9: The Great Gazoo
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“The Flintstones” (1960-66) There’s nothing ‘great’ about this alien sighting. He invaded the final season of the original cartoon, and crash-landed in more ways than one. “The Flintstones” was never a realistic show, but there was a sense of home-y familiarity to its simplistic approach. But, unfortunately, that went extinct when this annoying, green pest forced the stories and overall tone into siller directions. The only good thing about the Great Gazoo’s abrupt entry was his unceremonious goodbye. After being written out, he wasn’t featured in the animated follow-up “The Man Called Flintstone” film - and that’s probably for the best.
#8: Paige McCullers
“Pretty Little Liars” (2010-17) In a show where everyone's a suspect, there’s nothing wrong with having a few villains in the mix. Paige fit the role all too well, and made quite the impression through her name-calling, intimidation tactics, and, oh yeah, when she tried to drown Emily. But, then, a few episodes later, the two start dating. Yeah, it’s weird. She has a lot she needs to work through, but instead of any sort of properly fleshed-out redemption arc, the show rushes her into a romance. The end result is a toxic, unpleasant relationship that the series tries to pass off as cute. Even as adults, “Pretty Little Liars” preposterously refuses to let Emily get away from the girl that almost killed her.
#7: April Nardini
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“Gilmore Girls” (2000-07) Every relationship has some baggage, but this was more than your average carry-on. Seemingly out of nowhere, the overly energetic April appears and reveals that she’s Luke’s long-lost daughter. That’s all fine on paper, however, the execution left a lot to be desired. The issue wasn’t just that she was insufferably annoying, but that the character was poorly conceived at a fundamental level. She felt less like a real person and more like a walking, talking plot device meant to create more contrived tension between Luke and Lorelai. “Gilmore Girls” never managed to convince audiences that she was more than that.
#6: Scrappy-Doo
“Scooby-Doo” franchise (1969-) There’s a good reason this franchise only has one canine lead. But, when the mystery machine hit a speed bump in the late ‘70s, poor ratings led to a haphazard adoption. Enter: Scooby’s nephew, Scrappy. Except, instead of a goofy, heartwarming best friend, Scrappy was an obnoxious twerp with a frustrating tendency of running head first into danger. Even worse, the pup’s excessive screen time turned Daphne, Fred, and Velma into glorified background characters – and even led to their temporary departures. Scrappy boosted ratings in the short-term, but it came at a cost story-wise. By the late ‘80s, he’d lost star billing, and he eventually became a thing of the past in “Scooby” shows. That should tell you everything you need to know.
#5: Hazel Wassername
“30 Rock” (2006-13; 2020) Not even Kristen Schaal’s impeccable delivery can sell these lame jokes. Of course, they might have been funnier if they were coming from literally any other character. “30 Rock” always examined pop-culture with its tongue firmly in cheek, but it balanced it out with relatable characters and grounded struggles. Yet it felt like Hazel walked out of a parody cartoon, and not in a good way. She was too zany to fit in, and not funny enough to stand out. Instead, her weird behavior often came across as brash and rude. That, and her late introduction to the series, left many feeling like the character was just a waste of time.
#4: Cousin Oliver
“The Brady Bunch” (1969-74) In what felt like an attempt to save itself from cancellation, this show decided to place an inordinate focus on one specific family member. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the one anyone expected. The Brady Gang got a new housemate in the form of the eight-year-old Oliver, who was reportedly supposed to bring back the youthful charm of the early seasons. The issue was that Oliver had no charisma, ate up screen time, and came across more irksome than endearing. Instead of opening up new exciting stories, he was a boring retread of the other kids without any of their heart. It’s something of a relief that he was only around for six episodes before the show got the ax.
#3: Nellie Bertram
“The Office” (2005-13) To be fair, no one could ever truly replace Michael Scott in this comedic ensemble. But the Scranton branch deserved better than Nellie. Even when she left that job, her presence still felt out of place. She wasn’t a bad character per se, but she was exceedingly flat compared to the rest of the cast. Unfortunately for her, in a show like “The Office,” “okay” isn’t good enough. She was nowhere near interesting enough to compete with, well, anyone else. Honestly, her shtick would have gotten old fast even if she had only occasionally been around. It’s a shame that the final seasons devoted so much time to a character that was clearly a lost cause.
#2: Seven
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“Married... with Children” (1987-97) Ah, another new kid unceremoniously shoved into an established family sitcom. When the writers seemingly decided to double-down on the show’s title, they gave the Bundys a third kid to take care of with little fanfare. It’s honestly quite apt given how little he contributed. Seven - yeah, the kids name was Seven - was so poorly received that he wasn’t just written off, he was essentially forgotten. He showed up during the seventh season and then vanished not long after. All there was left to remember him by was a passing mention and some photos being shown later on. You know it’s bad when the series itself decides to forget and move on.
#1: Walden Schmidt
“Two and a Half Men” (2003-15) Not many shows peak nine seasons into their run, but few completely fall off a cliff as dramatically as this. The series’ original star, Charlie Sheen, was fired at the end of season eight due to behind the scenes frustrations. Instead of rebranding to “One and a Half Men,” the show killed off his character and brought in entrepreneur Walden Schmidt as a replacement of sorts. Ashton Kutcher’s comedic chops ensured the character wasn’t hopelessly dull, but there was only so much he could do. In his best episodes, Schmidt still wasn’t as funny as Charlie Harper was on a regular basis. So despite the clear effort, “Two and a Half Men’s” final seasons were nothing more than a pale imitation of its glory days.
