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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Daniel Avery" data-source="post: 362849" data-attributes="member: 27">When a recast occurs, many writers/producers see it as an opportunity to do a "soft reboot" of the character.  Whether the character needs to be tweaked is not really the point.  Writers might be bored with the constraints (real or imagined) that the former actor placed on the character, and recasting said character can often be viewed as their golden opportunity to go new places with the character, to have fun with a character they might not have liked before this.  A more cynical person might add that such experimentation, when done poorly, can then be blamed on the recast, allowing the errant writer to pass the blame away from themselves.  Had Julie Harris not been hired years before to play Ewing-adjacent Lilimae Clements on Knots Landing, I think she could have played Miss Ellie well, especially if they wanted her to be closer to how Barbara Bel Geddes played her.  But as I said above, I think the writers wanted something different so they could put a new spin on Miss Ellie to entertain themselves.</blockquote>