Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Difference between revisions

For ''very'' suspiciously similar substitutes, see [[Backup Twin]]. Compare [[Discard and Draw]], which does the same sort of thing with superpowers instead of characters. The [[Inverted Trope|inversion]], where the ''same'' character fills a ''different'' role, is [[Same Character but Different]].

{{examples}}

* Sergeant Baker replaced Sergeant Kinchloe as 'radio operator who happens to be black' on ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'' in the final season. Unfortunately, unlike Kinchloe, Baker didn't have much characterization outside 'radio operator who happens to be black' and wasn't the most satisfying of replacements.

* An interesting exception can be found on ''[[A Different World]]''. Originally it was a star vehicle created for Lisa Bonet by [[Bill Cosby]]'s production house, but after Bonet's 1988 pregnancy forced her from the program after the first season, no substitute for her was cast. Instead, it became an ensemble show, and eventually two minor characters—Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert—evolved into its real stars and carried the show for five more years.

** They also had the character of Flash, nicknamed because he was an adult with the hyperactivity of a 4 year old. Essentially another Cody given a justification.

* In ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', West's relationship with Claire leaves him as little more than a straight version of Zach. The writers tried to cover this up by giving him the power of flight/levitation but his lines and role as a foil character made it obvious.

** Also inverted - Rimmer is killed off in the first episode and replaced by a hologram, portrayed by the same actor. Hologram Rimmer was written out of the story in Series VII after Chris Barrie chose to leave the show. He returned in Series VIII to play the revived original Rimmer.

* After the death of Bea Benederet, the mother and hotel manager from ''[[Petticoat Junction]]'', June Lockhart was cast as a new town doctor who took up residence in the hotel. Although she was clearly not the girls' mother, and the girls were all well into adulthood by that point, she carried on Benederet's function as motherly advisor, and the town's most sensible resident.

** Jim was actually rather different in personality from Dan, a more friendly and avuncular sort whereas Dan was a hardass with a ruthless streak. Also, Dan sometimes supervised the missions remotely rather than joining them, whereas Jim was always part of the mission team. Jim was also more suited for romantic roles than Dan. However, Paris was an exact replacement for Rollin, with the exact same skill set (disguise, magic, cheating at cards, pickpocketing). In his first season (year 4), he was basically Rollin by another name, but in season 5, when the show got more character-driven for a time, he developed a distinct, more casual and "hip" personality.

** In addition, [[The Chick]] in the [[Five-Man Band]] started out as Cinnamon, who was replaced by a parade of guest stars in Season 4, Dana in Season 5, and Casey in Seasons 6-7 (with Mimi briefly serving as a [[Temporary Substitute]]). Averted somewhat with Casey, who was not just the femme fatale but also replaced Rollin and Paris as the team's makeup master, since budget cuts required reducing the cast size. The show also attempted to replace Willy with a doctor named Doug, but Willy was [[Saved by the Fans]].

** To quote Wyatt Cenacc on ''[[The Daily Show]]'': "WHY WOULD YOU THROW RUDY UNDER THE BUS?! SHE'S STILL THE SAME RUDY!!"

* Really head-spinning example from THE PAPER CHASE: When the study group is formed during the pilot episode, one woman is included. In the very second episode, that character's place in the study group, with no explanation, has been taken by another woman, Logan, who remains a major character throughout the series.

* [[Criminal Minds|Emily Prentiss and David Rossi]] were replacements for Elle Greenaway and Jason Gideon respectively. Both characters were initially hated by many fans, but gained pretty good fanbases the longer they remained on the show.

** The trope is played straight with Prentiss, but not Rossi. [[Word of God]] from creator Ed Bernero on the "About Face" commentary says they wanted to make him as least like Gideon as possible, so they made him an egotistical wannabe rock star of a profiler who doesn't really "do" teams, and the first thing he does is [[Take That|shoot a bird]].

* Annie replaced Fi as the protagonist in the final season of ''[[So Weird]]''. Like Fi, Annie had paranormal encounters which she posted on a website. The "twist" was that she was a [[Idol Singer|singer]].

* Averted and played straight by ''[[The Red Green Show]]''. The marina owner changed from the reasonably-built but lazy Glen Brachston to the overweight and even ''lazier'' Dwight Cardiff. However, they averted this with the role of animal control officer: the original one, Garth Harble, loved animals, while replacement Ed Frid was terrified of them.

* ''[[Primeval]]'' had Sarah Page, who {{spoiler|was killed because her actress couldn't continue acting for the show}}, and was replaced by Jess Parker. However, their roles are very different; Sarah was an expert in mythology and ancient cultures, while Jess is a techie and team coordinator.

** Sarah in turn replaced Jenny Lewis, who was an alternate-timeline duplicate of Claudia Brown, played by the same actress but with a completely different personality and role, an inversion of the typical Suspiciously Similar Substitute.

* Everytime [[The Legend of Zelda|Link]] get's an [[Exposition Fairy]] who actually ''is'' a [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|fairy]], she will be this to the original [[Exposition Fairy]] herself, [[Stop Helping Me!|Navi]]. Although Tatl is considerably less helpful. "It's a bombchu! you don't know how to defeat them?"

** There's also Maladus, the main villain of ''Spirit Tracks'', who greatly resembles the normal main villain of the series, Ganon.

** ''Continuum Shift'' later reveals that {{spoiler|Lambda-11 actually has Nu's soul.}} Expect this trope to happen again if a sequel to ''Continuum Shift'' is announced, because {{spoiler|Lambda also dies in the end of ''Continuum Shift''.}}

* In ''[[Rival Schools|Project Justice]]'', [[Large and In Charge]] school principal Raizo doesn't make a playable appearance, the storyline explanation being that he was hospitalized thanks to an assassination attempt on his life. When that assassin (Kurow) becomes playable, his movelist is basically Raizo's own, with a few completely new moves thrown in to differentiate the two.

** Pash, it's not just appearance and class. The latter has the same cheerful personality and similar alignment as the former, allowing {{spoiler|Imoen to become a much darker character.}}

** In terms of party utility, {{spoiler|Yoshimo also counts as Imoen's substitute. He is also a thief-type class}}, becomes available shortly before the need for replacement appears and right after he becomes unavailable, the original character returns.

* In ''[[Mortal Kombat 4]]'', Reiko replaced Noob Saibot early in development, although Noob could be found partially [[Dummied Out]] in the console versions. Kano was replaced by Jarek in the same game, who had mostly the same moves and fatalities, then Kano returned in ''Deadly Alliance'', only to be killed off and replaced by Kobra in ''Deception''.

* Lucca in ''[[Chrono Trigger]]''=>Luccia in ''[[Chrono Cross]]''

* ''[[Awkward]]'': The departure of Ernie and Henry resulted in new characters turning up to fill their shoes: Henry (the therapist) is replaced with Dexter (the sage), and Ernie (the douche) with Jermaine (the mega-douche).

* There's a Muppet Web tv show, [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Muppets_Kitchen_with_Cat_Cora The Muppets Kitchen With Cat Cora] that has Cora working with a new muppet, Angelo. Angelo is essentially the Swedish Chef, but with an Italian-a accent and comprehensible English and actually competent. Several people commenting on the series seemed to find Angelo a [[Replacement Scrappy]], since he is pretty much the Swedish Chef but absent his funny/interesting qualities.

'''Angelo''': That's-a the other guy! }}