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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snarky Oracle!" data-source="post: 54049" data-attributes="member: 57984">It's a myth, oft-repeated, that BBG sat at home that year jealously watching another actress in her role, and then called up producers and demanded her job back. BBG was fired because she asked for a temporarily reduced workweek due to coronary bypass recovery issues and (at the same time, I'm guessing unwisely) a raise.The producers saw Reed's scenes weren't working and they almost immediately starting shoving her off-camera as much as possible. Even Reed publicly complained about only appearing in 9 seconds of an episode.Near the end of the season, the producers quietly called BBG up and asked her to return.So somebody knew pretty quickly that BBG could or might return.Primetime recasts of core characters almost never work. Placing Miss Ellie in a hospice somewhere with health problems (until they'd worked out their issues with BBG contractually) should have been done. But executive arrogance, which this event seems to be, sometimes has little foresight to it.</blockquote>