There are a lot of ways a character can be taken out of the story in the entertainment industry... it happens most often in film when a feature character gets edited out (It's what used to be called winding up on the cutting room floor when film was actually cut for editing) usually a character is deemed insignificant to the storyline or someone is trying to cut some time off the final film length. It happens more in a television series, so rather it might be easier to say written out of the story... because the flow of script or book moves forward to the ending and many characters leave, die or in some cases simply disappear into thin air. In the last ten years or so a lot of people have been written out of my story... and me out of theirs but I'll get back to this later
A little about characters....
- Lead characters --- the stars of the show or series
- Supporting Roles --- the characters who contribute to the storyline in smaller roles (think of David Doyle in "Charlies Angles")
- Feature characters --- maybe have a few lines or action in one or two scenes
- Guest Star --- A guest star is usually a focal point of a television series script and considered a lead role
- Recurring characters --- these characters usually return sporadically and often a focal point to the script (Colleen Dewhurst on "Murphy Brown" is a good example)
- Cameo or Walk On --- Usually a well known celebrity plying themselves for a gag or laugh with the script ( Cher on "Will & Grace" springs to mind)
- Extras or Background Players--- usually day players who fill in the scenes as people on elevators, restaurants and pedestrians etc...(I've been an extra more times than I can remember)
- Ensemble Cast--- this is the perfect balance of characters and script writing that make a movie, television series or theatrical production work perfectly... (if you have a favorite television show chances are it has or had a great ensemble cast)
I actually liked the Tiffany Wells character and I think Shelly Hack brought something to the cast but I think her Q-ratings were not good enough for the producers and they did not renew her contract and replaced her character with Tanya Roberts as Julie Rogers in season five... The show really started to suffer and the only thing that really captured my interest was they filmed five episodes in Honolulu... after that most of their audience became somewhat disenchanted the scripts suffered and it's one of those programs that were cancelled without enough notice to write a finale episode.
It's fun to watch the reruns of all the seasons but I have to confess that I only watch the Hawaii episodes of Season Five... it's usually not as evident as this in a television series... most characters are written for a specific purpose to the story arc or to build a background for another character... and are sometimes killed off or they move away... and sometimes they come back as a surprise to the story "House" is an excellent example of this.
The cast of characters in the story of our lives are sometimes just as complex and occasionally we have to make heart rending choices to write people out of our story or keep them in... and it's as equally a difficult decision with certain people to bring them back into the story... If you read back on a few of the things I've written previously I've said... sometimes so much time and space has elapsed that it seems like it's too late to bring back a previous character to the story because we missed all the important parts of the stories of each others lives to make a cohesive transition... but that's not always the case... in the same way that there are people who have been in my life story that we have been absent from all the day to day plot lines and laughter and tears of each others stories... but for some reason these special few people come back easily and beautifully back into the plot... these types of people are always my favorite in other stories and in my life story... All of the others it's important to look at what what they brought to a scene and added to the story and take the lesson and the experience for what it was intended and appreciate the laughter and tears and know that sometimes it's just as important to write people out of our life story as it is not to try to bring back something or someone that does work to move the story forward. You have to realize that some people are really only supposed to be in a chapter or two or a few scenes and others are part of the complete story. The beauty of our life stories as opposed to books, televisions and films is that there are as many endings as there are new beginnings to move the story along... I know I already wrote "If you don't like the way the story is going... write something new!" My own story really improved dramatically when I started seeing the other people or characters for who they actually are and what they have shown me rather than how I wanted them to be.
Sometimes in every story it's really important to have a little lull or pause to lead into the next sequence...The past in stories and in life really is only important so much as it gives a perspective of who we are in the here and now; it's often important to consider these perspectives before moving on to the next chapter. In life I've always called this laying low and being patient to to observe the scene and the other characters and making assessments on everything and everyone before deciding the next step or direction to take... Some people want to write their stories full of drama and intrigue or just action and adventure... I think they do themselves a disservice by not writing in everything life has to offer to make it balanced and interesting... This was explained to me very eloquently by someone who once said... "every day can't be a party... all the other things that lead up to the party and where you go after the party are what make the party and life interesting."
So with all of this one of the things you do have more control over than you may realize is who you are going to write into your story... if they don't add to the interest, knowledge and enjoyment to your character or the scenes...look for someone else. You also have control over the scenery and location... if you feel like you don't then that might be your first step in rewriting the script.
The most important thing I hope you get from reading this is understanding that bad chapters can still be a part of a great story... just as wrong paths can eventually lead to the right place... and failed dreams can create successful and happy people... sometimes you have to look at your own character and rewrite your actions and dialogue too. Falling down is part of every story in life... but getting back up and getting moving is what makes you and the story great.
And now back to that sublime ensemble cast... you find all the right people that fit together perfectly seemingly effortlessly...There are certain times in our life story where everything and every character seems to be working together in harmony and everything unfolds and moves forward the way you want it to... unlike movies, television and the theatre real life is not meant to always be like this (and it shouldn't be)... but that does not mean we can't try to make every word and gesture as masterful and full of meaning and promise as possible ... just keep in mind that rewrites are what keep life and almost everything in Hollywood at the top of it's game... but remember this... don't just focus on who you want to write out of your story... spend some serious time thinking about who you want to write in... and why and if you don't have the right fit... keep auditioning the talent until you find exactly who and what you are looking for to move your story forward... and then play to the house and take your deserved bow and applause.
Summer is my favorite season and I'm always sorry to see it end... but because it's followed by fall it always reminds me that things need to end before something new can begin... so now where will we go from here and what will be our next destination on the journey?... I'm really not sure but like everything else... I'll give it some careful consideration.
So in terms of the story... the script is just as important as the characters... take a few moments to write a scenario or two where you can actually heal and move forward from the things that were said and done and that no one ever apologized for... and if you need to make those apologies to someone else do it sooner rather than later and try at whatever cost to avoid being the toxic influence in someone else's story.
