First of all, they brought Julia back too soon in Season 4 -- it was just too soon, especially given the dramatic way she succumbed (almost) on screen). I would have brought her back somewhere in Season 5, a year that needed a new murder mystery -- and Julia is suspected.
Even if they sent her away as they did in early-Season 6, I'd have her back for Seasons 7 & 8 (she and Emma have brain tumors, which is why they'd been so troubled for so long in their lives -- poor saintly Angela unfairly-blamed for her sternness; Melissa probably has developed one, too, but refuses to get checked-out, nor will she have the surgery that Emma & Julia have agreed to undergo.... It all stems from that nuclear waste Jacqueline buried under the vineyards back in the '50s which had been seeping into the chardonnay -- and the family's brains -- causing customers to explode in Spontaneous Human Combustion, which promises to cause a scandal).
I'd have Tony back for Seasons 7 & 8 as well. Probably attracted to Maggie.
And Season 9? The show was so different that year, it's hard to know. Cole should never have been sent off to work for Perry Mason just to bring in Dan Fixx in Season 7. I accept Chase's exit. Even Melissa's exit as long as we could surmise her twin Samantha was actually Melissa pulling a scam of some sort. Maggie's death was also quite dramatic, but I'd have her behind the desk of Falcon Crest for a couple of episodes before drowning in the pool.
But, you know new producers: they always just want the best for all of us.
