Creator Backlash/Live-Action TV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Dave Chappelle came to loathe how people started showing up to his stand-up comedy exclusively to demand that he replicate skits from his TV show. This even led to a nervous breakdown, ensuring that the third season (or any after it) of Chappelle's Show would never get finished. People would yell at him, "I'm Rick James, Bitch!". Took about two minutes for him to feel Dude, Not Funny. The significant Misaimed Fandom from his sizeably white audience who were there simply for the Uncle Tomfoolery and completely missing how Chappelle was satirizing and mocking such attitudes didn't help matters much, either.
  • Eddie Murphy refuses to acknowledge his old Saturday Night Live characters, though they are some of his most enduring legacy.
  • Both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (and to a lesser extent, most of the original cast; Galaxy Quest was based partially in reality, after all) had a period of Creator Backlash after Star Trek: The Original Series ended, mostly because they were being typecast as Kirk and Spock, and the rest of the crew. It seems that they all got over it, though. Having your angst, and the revived franchise make you richer 'n Croesus does tend to change your viewpoint.
    • In fact, the author of I Am Not Spock not only went on to write I Am Spock, but also has now officially become the original cast member with the longest on-screen association with the franchise, with his role in the 2009 film. And Shatner is not in the film only because there was no plausible way to bring Prime timeline Kirk back from his bridge-dropping.
    • However, there are some Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise alumni who are very much straight examples of this trope;
      • Robert Beltran (Chakotay) made disparaging comments about Voyager for years, even while the show was still running. He's often criticized the quality of the writing, the technobabble and the fact that he wasn't given a whole lot to do over the series' 7-season run. He's also expressed sincere disdain for the character of Chakotay during chats with fans [dead link]. It's believed that Beltran was given an out-of-nowhere relationship with Seven of Nine by the producers in order to shut him up long enough for the show to finish.
      • Jolene Blalock takes a similar tack with Enterprise. In fact, several members of the cast (including Scott Bakula, Connor Trinneer and Blalock) joined the chorus blasting the show in media interviews in the months following the series finale, "These Are The Voyages", which was roundly criticized by reviewers and fans.
    • The casts of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are fairly notable for generally avoiding this trope; for example, even though Patrick Stewart doesn't want to be Picard anymore, he doesn't regret his role in the slightest. Most of the other cast members hold a similar fondness for the show, and don't mind a little typecasting if only because they're touched by the love of the fans and are proud of the best moments of the shows.
      • The only one with real regrets about his time on TNG is Wil Wheaton: a large portion of his autobiography Just a Geek focuses on his coming to terms with his (in retrospect) ill-made decision to leave the show due to Fan Backlash and increasingly being sidelined by the show's creators. It probably didn't help that his character was one of the most hated on the show, either. Nowadays, he seems to look back on his time on TNG with real nostalgia, and doesn't seem above some good-natured ribbing of his old character, either.
      • Marina Sirtis felt that the worst of the Trek movies was Insurrection, saying that she fell asleep during its premiere.
    • Brannon Braga quite justifiably hates the Voyager episode "Threshold" (as do all the cast) - to the point it never happened, complete with later Discontinuity Nod. Equally, the TNG first-season episode 'Code Of Honor' has the same thing.
  • Is there a half-way point to this trope?? If so Richard Dean Anderson fits the bill. Before he was Colonel Jack O'Neill he was everyone's favorite mullet-sporting hero, MacGyver. Now, while Anderson has always been deeply appreciative of the show (going so far as to appear on the SNL spoof MacGruber and doing a well received Super Bowl ad for Visa as the character) he's been noted as having been greatly stressed out by it since he was THE star of the show and thus he never could take a break. It was one of the reasons he stated that SG-1 had to be an ensemble show, so that he wouldn't have to "carry" it by himself.
  • Amy Jo Johnson, the first Pink Power Ranger, has shown everything from visible discomfort to outright shame in regards to the role that made her famous (and probably typecast her forever). This has affected many of her fellow actors, but most of them were martial artists first and foremost and didn't have as great a desire to make it as serious actors as Johnson. Many of them have commented that they'd love to come back for cameo roles every year if asked, and look back fondly at their years on the show.
    • The best example of that is probably Jason David Frank, who played Tommy, the Green/White Ranger. He comes back for a cameo just about every third season and is apparently more than happy to stop and talk about Power Rangers to those who recognise him on the street. Plus he's gone on to own a martial arts dojo in LA, do MMA and invent a martial art style... He gets around for sure.
    • Johnny Yong Bosch also doesn't mind too much about his Power Rangers past either. In fact in it one of the main factors that propelled him into a successful career of voice acting.
    • For years, David Yost (who played Billy, the original Blue Ranger) seemed this way, but in a 2009 interview he admitted that the main issue was his getting gay-bashed behind the scenes, and that he didn't hate the show itself or the fans, who have been very supportive.
    • If Amy Jo is the best example of this from Power Rangers, Lost Galaxy's Danny Slavin is a very close second. It's believed that he only took the job to pay for law school, and has repeatedly turned down invitations to Power Morphicon. Not helping matters, reportedly the producers screwed Trakeena's actress out of most of her paycheck during the Lost Galaxy/Lightspeed Rescue crossover episode, which lead to him walking off the set in protest. It took a miracle for him to cameo in the 10th anniversary episode "Forever Red".
  • In an interview, the widow of Ray Goulding (of Bob & Ray) noted he didn't like to have the early episodes of the duo's 1951-53 TV show brought up in later years because "it was infancy for television" and he was "appalled at how really naive they were about what to wear and how to appear." Different times...
  • Tom Baker was reportedly keen to distance himself from Doctor Who after leaving the show, refusing to appear in the 20th anniversary episode "The Five Doctors", and for a long time refusing to do conventions and public appearances related to the show. This was at least partly due to the length of time he spent on the show and being quite burnt out about it and partly because his iconic performance largely overshadowed everything else he did since then. He seems a lot more comfortable being associated with the show in recent years, however.
    • It's worth noting that by 1980, sources show Baker as alcoholic, despondent, and nearly impossible to work with; executive meddling and heavy typecasting had taken a toll, his marriage was on the rocks, and he was not at all enamoured of newer writers like Christoper Bidmead or producer John-Nathan Turner. He was nearly 50, and had little career left.
    • In 1993, Baker filmed a small part for the short "episode" Dimensions In Time. It's said there was far more planned using a different script, but Executive Meddling and a primadonna host got in the way.
    • From 2009, Baker returned as the Doctor for three five-part series of audio dramas for BBC Audio, and in 2011 began to star in audio dramas for Big Finish Productions. He has shown some regret about not doing "The Five Doctors" and distancing himself from the series at large, but at over 70 years old his health will not allow more involvement.
    • It took a long time for Peter Davison to become comfortable with his tenure as the Doctor. With most of his career still ahead of him, he had been terrified of being typecast and did everything possible to prevent it, including insulting the show to the press. This doesn't seem to be an issue since Davison's Cameo in the mini-episode "Time Crash" as part of a charity drive. David Tennant used the short as a massive fan-gasm shout-out to Davison's tenure on the show. "You were MY Doctor." Tennant has repeatedly cited Davison's interpretation of the Doctor as his primary inspiration, and reason for becoming an actor.

Davison had always felt that he was too young for the role. In "Time Crash" he felt he was at a more fitting age to play the Doctor, and had a grasp on the character that he was happy with. Ironically, the role of the Doctor being played by a younger man (and the contrast between the character's physical age and his actual age) was one of the primary things that carried over into the new series, thanks in part to Davison's example.

      • Davison also has had no problems acting as the Doctor in the Big Finish radio dramas, having been there from the beginning and having had a long and prolific moonlight career (alongside his TV role on Law and Order: UK) as the Doctor in new audio adventures.
    • The Second Doctor Patrick Troughton quit the show in 1969 to avoid being typecast, and because he was rather sick of the job and wished to return to other programmes. He went as far as to urge Frasier Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) and Wendy Padbury (Zoe) to depart at the same time.
      • Troughton did make comebacks in The Three Doctors and "The Five Doctors", and finally alongside Colin Baker in The Two Doctors, and looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself in all of them. Of course Troughton didn't hate the character—he would make himself available at conventions, and any time he and Jon Pertwee were at the same convention, the two would appear at joint panels and jokingly mock-bicker as Two and Three did in The Three Doctors and the Five Doctors. Troughton also counseled Davison to stay on only 3 years, and this aided in his decision to leave the show in 1984.
    • Janet Fielding has stated that she was pretty bitter towards the show when she left because she wasn't happy with how she and her fellow companions were treated. She's since gotten over it and is much more comfortable with the show now.
    • Surprisingly subverted by Colin Baker, who you would think—given that he was the only actor playing the Doctor to be fired from the role, that his era was for a long time not incredibly popular with fans and that, well, he had to wear That Coat—would have plenty of reason to not want to have anything to do with the show again. Instead, barring some rather understandable regrets, he's always appeared quite enthusiastic about the show, being associated with the show and returning to it in some form on occasion. Baker, long before David Tennant took the trope and ran with it, was the Ascended Fanboy on Doctor Who, having been a childhood fan of the show. He too has done numerous Sixth Doctor Big Finish dramas, and he (and the writers) went the extra mile to completely rehabilitate Six's reputation, leading to him being a poster boy for Rescued from the Scrappy Heap.
  • Robin Williams does not like being called "Mork", or being greeted with "Nanu nanu". Even as far back as "Reality, What a Concept..." (1979) he had to let the crowd (chanting "Mork! Mork! Mork!") know that he preferred doing stand-up. On his "Live 2002" album, something similar happened, and he actually said he'd rather forget Mork. Most notably, for years he's been unwilling to say "Nanu nanu" even as a reference... until recently, it seems (at around 2:18). Perhaps he has mellowed.
  • Actor and singer Danny Smith is rumored to be annoyed at people who still think of him as Merton Dingle from Big Wolf on Campus. It's unknown whether it's true or if he's over it.
  • Morgan Freeman does not want to be remembered for being Easy Reader, and has made as much clear when interviewers try to ask him about it. He's mellowing a little bit about it, but still feels that he stayed with The Electric Company for too long.
  • Tina Louise was NEVER Ginger on Gilligan's Island. Don't ask her about it, she won't talk about it anyway.
    • To the extent that she refused to reprise the role even for the Filmation cartoons (in one of them Dawn Wells voiced both Mary Ann and Ginger).
  • Gene Rayburn did not recall hosting the 1985 game show Break the Bank as a happy experience. Him being replaced in the next season didn't help matters either. Thus we'd never again see any reruns of Rayburn Break the Bank (less so since GSN can't/won't show that particular series).
    • The embargo of the Rayburn episodes goes all the way back to the late 80s, when CBN Cable Network only showed the Joe Farago episodes.
    • Rayburn was infuriated when Rolling Stone magazine revealed his real age in an article, claiming that the information would probably get him fired due to insurance problems. And he was right: shortly after the article appeared, he was fired. Making it even worse was that they told him to host the show seriously; never mind that he was known for being a total goofball on Match Game and Break the Bank was a stunt show which called for a goofy host.
    • A possible related Rayburn-embargo is the case of The Match Game - Hollywood Squares Hour. Gene Rayburn was not happy on the show, partially due to having to share hosting duties with the inexperienced Jon Bauman. But this is as likely (or less so) as it just being chalked up to a dual-ownership issue, as Fremantle Media and MGM have the rights to the respective shows now.
  • Chuck Henry will not allow his 1989 version of Now You See It to be seen in reruns, fearing that his credibility as a newscaster would be hurt if people remembered that he was a game show host at one point — consensus is, however, that Henry was a competent host. GSN does show the earlier Jack Narz version, off and on again.
  • Harlan Ellison publically denounces, to this day, The Starlost which he started out on as the writer/creator. Executive Meddling ruined it.
  • Contrary to rumors, Joe Odagiri, the lead in Kamen Rider Kuuga, doesn't despise his tenure as a Kamen Rider, but he tends to dodge the subject in interviews as he's been trying to make it as a serious actor. Milestone Celebration Kamen Rider Decade has an Alternate Universe Kuuga as a major character, played by another actor (Ryota Murai, who conveniently enough is a Promoted Fanboy of Kuuga).
    • Likewise Shigeki Hosokawa, who played the title character in Kamen Rider Hibiki, made a blog post just after the show ended in which he talked about how badly the second half of the show was mismanaged, in particular complaining about how they got rewrites for the final episode while filming it. Like Odagiri he apparently dodges the subject of Hibiki in interviews, and though in that same blog post he said he'd be glad to come back (if someone competent were in charge), he's practically the only main cast member who didn't return in Decade.
  • Tamao Satou, the actress of Oh Pink in Chouriki Sentai Ohranger, had shown dislike for the role since the season ended. It took time, but she's apparently had a change of heart since then, taking part in a photo shoot for the theater premiere of one of the recent Sentai VS Movies in-uniform, and most recently performed a cameo role of the character alongside Oh Red actor Masaru Shishido amongst other Sentai alumnists in the 35th anniversary series Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.
  • Most of the adults of Full House did not like the show and hated its Tastes Like Diabetes nature, with Bob Saget and John Stamos being the most vocal (Dave Coulier appears to be the only adult male lead who has expressed no regret over his role). Unusual for this trope, the entire cast got along extremely well and remain close friends to this day. Stamos has mentioned on talk shows about having a psuedo-Revival where him, Saget and Coulier would be roommates after the kids had grown up and left. Saget has joked about an event where him and Stamos were near a car accident, and speculated on what the driver must have thought when they saw "Danny and Uncle Jesse" coming to the rescue.
  • The Star Wars Holiday Special. George Lucas said of it, "If I had time and a hammer, I'd smash every copy."
  • John Moschitta Jr. dislikes being known for his fast-talking Micro Machines commercials, and has called Micro Machines "some of the lamest toys" in interviews.
  • It was rumored around the fandom of Lexx that Michael McMannus loathed playing Kai, since the character was an actor's worst nightmare, someone who, as mandated by plot, always looks exactly the same and can't even show a facial expression. He stuck it out for the show's entire run, though.
    • This does seem fairly plausible because he does seem to be having a lot of fun on the few occasions that he gets to play Kai as anything other than the dead assassin.
    • Eva Habermann, however, was an aversion; she left the show because it took so long for news of whether or not season two was coming that she would've had to have given up other work to stay. She was under no obligation to come back for the first two episodes, and did it just to give them time to work The Nth Doctor into the plot instead of forcing the writers to just drop it on the audience out of nowhere.
  • "Weird Al" Yankovic hates most of The Weird Al Show because of all of the Executive Meddling behind it.
  • An in-universe example: in Extras, Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais) finally achieves his dream of writing and starring in his own sitcom, only to see Executive Meddling and Fan Dumb turn the whole thing into a total (though very successful) embarrassment.
  • Although he doesn't outright hate it like most examples of this trope, John Cleese has stated he always had a mixed reaction to Fawlty Towers most famous episode The Germans because of all the Memetic Mutation surrounding the episode and the loss of its original meaning.
  • Patrick McGoohan seemed to bounce back and forth in his opinion on his creation, The Prisoner, embracing it at times (witness his participation in "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" on The Simpsons) and refusing to talk about it at others. He reportedly declined an invitation to appear in the 2009 remake, though this was likely due to poor health (he died before it was broadcast).
    • He did allow himself to be quoted as saying he was pleased with the remastered DVD (and later Blu-Ray) version of the original series.
  • Henry Winkler hated being remembered only as Fonzie, and refused to answer to fans who called him that. However, some references in Arrested Development suggest he's mellowed over time.
  • Robert Reed absolutely hated The Brady Bunch (but not the Brady Bunch - he loved the kids), feuding with creator Sherwood Schwartz throughout the run, trying to get out of his contract and flat-out refusing to appear in the final episode because the script was so bad (had the show been renewed for a sixth season, Schwartz would have seen to it that the family would be without Mike Brady). However, he returned for the later TV movies and series (and the TV movie adaptation of Barry Williams' memoir Growing Up Brady is dedicated to Reed's memory).
  • Margaret Cho has expressed regret and frustration over her short-lived sitcom All-American Girl, which was very loosely based on her stand-up comedy. She was reportedly told that she had to lose weight, and then was told she wasn't acting Asian enough and was made to work with an "Asian consultant." When that didn't work, they got rid of most of the Asian family members and replaced them with white friends. Unsurprisingly, the show failed, and she spiraled into drug and alcohol problems as a result.
  • Ashley Pharaoh, co-creator of the much-derided Bonekickers, penned a "letter to my younger self" article containing sage nuggets of advice... one of which was "Do not write Bonekickers".
  • Castle has an In-Universe example when the title character, a novelist, got bored with his current hero (Detective Derrick Storm) and Dropped a Bridge on Him at the end of his last book. He then starts up a new series about Detective Nikki Heat, based on Beckett.
  • James Gurney joined in the backlash against the miniseries and TV series versions of his Dinotopia books.
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