A weird one, but I think George Dzundza was really good for Law and Order and when he left the show (at the time most detective shows weren't the kind of procedural that L&O would create and he reasonably expected that as the lead cop he would be the star of the show and not just a cog in the machine) and they replaced him with Paul Sorvino and then Jerry Orbach, it started the pattern that the cast of Law and Order didn't matter as much as the pattern of the show. Season 1 was also the most experimental and if he had stayed maybe it wouldn't have settled into that "Law and Order" rhythm once they realized audiences didn't care about the characters as much as just the routine.

@ami_angelwings We got so close. So so so so close. To Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis recording together. They both wanted it and their managers were the only thing standing in the way but it was being worked on. Everybody just needed to stay alive and healthy a *little* longer.