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<blockquote data-quote="Angela Channing" data-source="post: 374193" data-attributes="member: 33">I didn&#039;t really watch Sykes when it was broadcast and my memory of the show is just a bit more than almost zero so my following comment is a general one which may or my not be relevant in this particular case.When a prominent cast member of a long running series dies, it leaves a dilemma for those in charge and whatever they do well not satisfy everyone. If they ignore the character&#039;s absence, like they appear to have done in Sykes, then viewers will share your frustrations but mentioning it not always easy because death in a comedy, particularly one prompted by a real life one, isn&#039;t a great topic for generating laughs. They could do what they did in Dallas when Jim Davis died and just pretend that the character was still alive but many saw that as being disrespectful and that would also be the case if they recast the role (recasting is often my preference). Doing a time jump by setting the show in another location for a while before returning to their familiar location suggests that the remaining characters have moved on from the death with the passage of time allowing the show to proceed without getting too morbid. It&#039;s not an ideal solution but it not a terrible one either. It&#039;s not a million miles from what they did in Crossroads when Roger Tongue died. His character Sandy wasn&#039;t mentioned at all until an appropriate amount of time had passed and then in was covered in a brief but respectful scene, not making a big storyline out of it. However, it&#039;s easier to take that approach when there is a larger cast with characters disappearing and reappearing on a regular basis.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Angela Channing, post: 374193, member: 33"] I didn't really watch [I]Sykes[/I] when it was broadcast and my memory of the show is just a bit more than almost zero so my following comment is a general one which may or my not be relevant in this particular case. When a prominent cast member of a long running series dies, it leaves a dilemma for those in charge and whatever they do well not satisfy everyone. If they ignore the character's absence, like they appear to have done in [I]Sykes[/I], then viewers will share your frustrations but mentioning it not always easy because death in a comedy, particularly one prompted by a real life one, isn't a great topic for generating laughs. They could do what they did in [I]Dallas [/I]when Jim Davis died and just pretend that the character was still alive but many saw that as being disrespectful and that would also be the case if they recast the role (recasting is often my preference). Doing a time jump by setting the show in another location for a while before returning to their familiar location suggests that the remaining characters have moved on from the death with the passage of time allowing the show to proceed without getting too morbid. It's not an ideal solution but it not a terrible one either. It's not a million miles from what they did in [I]Crossroads [/I]when Roger Tongue died. His character Sandy wasn't mentioned at all until an appropriate amount of time had passed and then in was covered in a brief but respectful scene, not making a big storyline out of it. However, it's easier to take that approach when there is a larger cast with characters disappearing and reappearing on a regular basis. [/QUOTE]

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Who played Sue Ellen in Dallas?