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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ClassyCo" data-source="post: 328997" data-attributes="member: 7">Yeah, I'd say revamps work.... sometimes. Take MELROSE PLACE, for example. The original show was about 20-somethings sharing their personal and professional lives while also living together in an apartment building. The stories were quite dull and the show itself was quite boring. Once they decided to amp up the melodrama and bring out the big soap opera traditions, the show found its audience. I'd even argue DALLAS had a revamp. David Jacobs had initiated the show as a modern-day take on the Romeo & Juliet story, but that wasn't getting CBS the ratings they wanted. Once they found that their audience loved-to-hate J.R. Ewing, they wrote to him, and DALLAS was reversed and became his show. You cannot even think or vision DALLAS without J.R. somewhere in the mix, can you? And to think he was originally a secondary character. As a tangent to that, even FALCON CREST and KNOTS LANDING could be considered revamped -- I guess anyway -- when they shifted from self-contained episodes to serialized drama. DALLAS, too, was originally self-contained, but once they all migrated towards serialized storytelling, they thrived for years. The revamp on THE FACTS OF LIFE from that chaotic, jumble-of-a-mess first season to what we all know and remember, is quite astonishing. That show was crap its first season, but NBC was in such a desperate state for comedies at the time that they decided to give it another shot. The severely trimmed the cast and brought in four different types of young girls to play off the mature Charlotte Rae. It worked like a dream. Speaking of shows that got a second chance in first-run syndication, we must discuss IT'S A LIVING. The concept of the show was quite neat and something a little different. Shows about a group of female friends have been successful previously (i.e. THE FACTS OF LIFE) and would prove to be in the years to come (i.e. THE GOLDEN GIRLS). IT'S A LIVING came along at a time when ABC was probably looking for some new comedies to be on their schedule. Shows like THREE'S COMPANY and LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, which had been ratings winners for years, were dying out, and I'm sure the network wanted to breathe some new life into their comedy department. The problem was IT'S A LIVING never found its footing during its tenure on ABC. The first season consisted of 13 episodes (1980-81) and starred Susan Sullivan as a likable head waitress Lois Adams. When that didn't go as planned, they fired Sullivan -- as well as Wendy Schaal -- and brought in Louise Lasser for the second season. The show still didn't bring in the ratings or tabloid buzz ABC wanted, so the network cancelled the sitcom in June 1982 after 27 episodes. IT'S A LIVING saw a reverse in their fortunes, however, when their 27 episodes exploded in popularity in off-network reruns. This prompted producers to align with Golden West Television and revive the series in first-run syndication in 1985. The revamp saw a more stable set-up of premise and tone. Ann Jillian had emerged as the breakout star and a sex symbol in her own right (she was also receiving publicity for her battle with breast cancer), and she was brought back for the initial syndicated season, this time receiving top billing. The rest of the cast from the previous version -- Barrie Youngfellow, Gail Edwards, Marian Mercer, and Paul Kreppel -- were also brought back. When Jillian exited the show in 1986 (she had agreed to do just one season in syndication), she was replaced by Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Youngfellow took over as the lead of the ensemble. Sure, IT'S A LIVING might not be to everyone's tastes, but it is an enjoyable little show. It has some sharp writing and the cast works well together. My personal favorite season is that initial season in syndication -- when Ann Jillian was still around -- and Crystal Bernard had just been brought on. For me, the show was never the same once Jillian was gone. Sheryl Lee Ralph was good, but it was a whole new show. Either way, the show went through many "revamps" over the course of its run. </blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?