My Real Daddy / Live-Action TV

• Sydney Newman may have comissioned The Avengers (1960s), but the people most associated with the series are writer, producer and script editor Brian Clemens and producer Albert Fennell, both of whom took over during season four. Also, when it comes to the music of the show, Laurie Johnson's theme is much more recognisable than John Dankworth's original.
• While Terry Nation created Blake's 7, it was script editor Chris Boucher who fleshed out his scripts and gave the characters personality. In fact, many of the series' best-loved episodes were written by Boucher.
• Although the original version of the film script was written by Joss Whedon himself, director Fran Rubel Kuzui made Buffy the Vampire Slayer The Movie what it is: a So Bad, It's Good "comedy/horror" that is actually neither. The TV series actually created by Joss Whedon is what the fans know and love, and people prefer to ignore the movie. This makes Joss Buffy's Dad at TWO points.
• Similarly to the DCAU Voice Actors examples below, even the most fervent detractors of Constantine would agree that Matt Ryan delivered as good a performance as there's ever going to be of Hellblazer's John Constantine. This positive word of mouth led to Ryan eventually getting the chance to reprise the role of Constantine in both Season 4 of Arrow (with Constantine becoming a recurring character on Legends of Tomorrow thereafter) and DC Animated Movie Universe entries starting with Justice League Dark.
• The Daily Show was originally started by Craig Kilborn as a "Weekend Update"-style comedy show. But in 1999, Jon Stewart became its new host, and under his guidance, the show changed from a light parody of local news to a deep and incisive political satire, held in higher esteem than many mainstream news outlets. In 2015, Jon stepped down as host and was succeeded by Trevor Noah, who acknowledged in his pilot episode how important Jon was by using a "step-dad" metaphor similar to the one made in Jon's first show.
• While Dexter was created by James Manos Jr., he had very little involvement in the series after the pilot, with the real figures behind the show's success being seen as initial showrunner Clyde Phillips and writer Melissa Rosenberg.
• Doctor Who, technically created by committee, has had many producers and head writers, but these are a few of the most commonly-cited examples.
  • Verity Lambert, the show's very first producer. For starters, she is the one who ensured that some aliens called the Daleks made it to air. In fact, the story "Human Nature", which sees the Doctor become a human with no memories of his Time Lord self, claims that his parents were named "Sydney and Verity".
  • TV theme composer Ron Grainer wrote the score for the Doctor Who theme, but it was Electronic Music pioneer Delia Derbyshire's production that made it stand out, so the piece is usually credited in modern times to her. Even Grainer regarded the theme as Derbyshire's, famously asking her 'did I write that?' after hearing her rendition (she responded, 'most of it'). Due to Derbyshire's contractual status within the BBC at the time, she was denied a credit and made no money other than her usual employee wage from the piece.
  • David Whitaker, the show's first script editor, managed to establish multiple things that became part of the series' DNA forever after - the first TARDIS team (the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan), the first companion-switchover ("The Rescue"), the first post-regeneration story ("The Power of the Daleks"), and the first novelisation (Dr. Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks). He also established several important canon points like the TARDIS being a Magic from Technology Eldritch Abomination Sapient Ship, the Doctor being 'cut off from [his] own planet' with his exact backstory a Riddle for the Ages, and incorporated mystical and psychedelic themes into the early show that would go on to influence later writers.
  • The Daleks are Doctor Who's most popular and enduring monster, and their invention is credited to Terry Nation - but many fans doubt it was his writing that was actually responsible for making the Daleks a hit. Fans inclined to credit the design for their success are likely to credit them to prop designer Raymond Cusick (who, like Derbyshire, was only paid his usual wage for the work). Other fans celebrate David Whitaker, script editor of the first couple of seasons of Doctor Who and Nation's uncredited cowriter, who also wrote the highly regarded Adaptation Expansion novelisation of the serial "The Daleks", ghostwrote much of the "Dalekmania" spinoff material and wrote several fan-favourite Darker and Edgier Dalek serials ("Power of the Daleks", "The Evil of the Daleks" and the second half of "The Daleks' Master Plan"). In Whitaker scripts Daleks tend to be a Magnificent Bastard race, while in Nation scripts they're The Grotesque and rather pathetic. Nation, for his part, disliked Whitaker's take on the Daleks and worked hard to end Whitaker's influence on the aliens in the 70s by such measures as having Whitaker creations Exiled from Continuity. However, that didn't stop Russell T Davies' take from being clearly influenced by the Whitaker Dalek material more than the Nation stuff.
  • Even though William Hartnell was the first actor to interpret the character of the Doctor, many people feel the definitive 'first' Doctor performance was Patrick Troughton, who introduced many of the performance and character elements that would influence later Doctor performances - being funnier and warmer, being younger and more active, having a Catchphrase, getting Character Focus rather than being part of an ensemble cast, Comical Overreacting, being more of an Ideal Hero rather than The Trickster, and so on. He was also the first actor who was playing the Doctor as an unambiguous alien rather than as an Ambiguously Human 'future' person, and the first to play an incarnation of the Doctor rather than just 'the Doctor', an element of the character crucial to how he is perceived.
  • Even though he was the fourth television Doctor, Tom Baker's performance was massively defining and influential, and it's easy to argue that every Doctor since has been in some way a reaction to him. He lasted almost seven years in the role, the longest tenure of any Doctor, and was the first Doctor consistently portrayed as being mad rather than just eccentric, and the first to bring in elements of being a destructive force of cosmic justice, with a specific blend of darkness, whimsy and odd character quirks that became the 'default' take on character ever after. Due to his tendency to tinker with his scripts, add lines and occasionally entire unscripted scenes, and take charge of direction, he ended up being a heavy creative influence on the way the show was written and shot, with the result that much of the show's sense of humour is what he imprinted onto it. He was not the first Doctor whose performance was heavily based on his own personality, but he was the one whose performance was most based on his own personality, and due to the influence of his era many of Baker's real-life personality quirks run through the psychology of the character to this day.
  • Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts acted as the script editor and producer for the Jon Pertwee era of the show. Dicks is one of the franchise's most prolific writers, penning oodles of novelizations in addition to his TV work, which notably includes 20th anniversary special "The Five Doctors" and Patrick Troughton's swansong, "The War Games". Their era featured UNIT at its most prominent, and introduced such iconic elements of the show as the Master, the Sontarans, the Autons, and fan-favourite companion Sarah Jane Smith. Barry Letts is the only producer to return to the show in a similar capacity, when he acted as the executive producer for newcomer John Nathan-Turner's first year, and had also worked as a writer and director for a number of stories. Letts' influence bled past his run on the show and had a strong impact on the first year of...
  • Robert Holmes and Philip Hinchcliffe, who were respectively the script editor and producer between 1974 and 1977. The era when they were in charge is considered by many to be a Golden Age for the series due to a genuinely frightening "gothic horror" atmosphere, a fan-favourite Doctor (Tom Baker) and popular companions (Sarah, Harry, and Leela), as well as a seemingly endless streak of classic and beloved stories (including, but by no means limited to, "The Ark in Space", "Genesis of the Daleks", "Pyramids of Mars" and "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"). Holmes has written more individual TV episodes than any other writer, and in 2009 his story "The Caves of Androzani" was voted by the readers of Doctor Who Magazine as the all-time greatest Doctor Who story. Holmes is also almost solely responsible for the creation of much of what we know of the Time Lords - the 13 regeneration limit, the artefacts of Rassilon, much of their characterization...
  • Andrew Cartmel, script-editor during Sylvester McCoy era, is widely hailed by fans as improving the show's quality in its last two seasons by making the Doctor a mysterious character again, introducing one of the most popular companions in Ace (thus creating one of the most iconic TARDIS teams), having darker and more mature storytelling inspired by the resurgence in comic books of The '80s and having an anarchic, overtly political edge. His approach stayed with the show long after it went off the air, with the Doctor Who New Adventures being the face of the franchise for most of The '90s and arguably inspiring the revived series approach.
  • Russell T Davies and/or Steven Moffat for those who started with the 2005 revival. RTD brought back the show for a whole new generation and is known for his sense of fun, adventure, and emotion, while those who prefer Moffat appreciate his more complex storylines that place greater emphasis on time travel and the Doctor himself. Moffat is also the only person to write at least one episode for every series of the revival up through Series 10, calling it a day with "Twice Upon a Time". Like his stories or hate them, no one can deny that he's brought a lot of great characters to the show, such as Captain Jack, River, the Weeping Angels, Rory, and Missy, amongst others.
• Hannibal does not have Thomas Harris attached, but is much better received than Harris' Hannibal Lecter continuation (Hannibal) and the prequel he was basically forced to do, (Hannibal Rising).
• Heroes fans hold the opinion that Season 1's success was due largely to the involvement of Bryan Fuller, a belief that really gained steam after Fuller left to do Pushing Daisies and the show hit Seasonal Rot in his absence.
• Lost was created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof - Lieber wrote the original pilot script before Abrams and Lindelof drastically reworked it. While Lindelof is (along with Carlton Cuse) the man who rightly takes the credit or blame for the series among the fans, to the general public Abrams is the name most associated with the series even though he had little to do with it after the first season and in fact only co-wrote one episode other than the pilot (see also most series Abrams produces - how often is Revolution called a J. J. Abrams show in spite of Eric Kripke being the real main man?).
• Anthony Yerkovich is given the sole credit as creator of Miami Vice but it was executive producer Michael Mann who was behind the groundbreaking look and the show, incorporating feature film-style cinematography and editing and using then-current hit songs on the soundtrack.
• Regardless of the whole debate about whether he or creator Joel Hodgson was the better host of the show, many agree that Michael J. Nelson's arrival as the head writer of Mystery Science Theater 3000 was one of the biggest factors in helping the first full season of the show take on a much more structured and sophisticated style than the rather loose approach the team used in the "Season 0" broadcast on local channel KTMA.
• Power Rangers fans informally divide seasons by showrunner or writers at the time. While the contributions of Haim and Cheryl Saban, Shuki Levy, Tony Oliver and others have been noted for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, any PR fan will say that the shows that Judd "Chip" Lynn and Jonathan Tzachor produced, alongside head writer/story editor Jackie Marchand, are among PR's Golden Era (1995-2001) and may also include Eddie Guzelian's RPM in the mix (with Lynn returning to wrap up RPM in 2009). Later, what they started considering PR's real daddy is Judd Lynn, as at the beginning of Neo Saban era since Samurai, Jonathan Tzachor, who was called back to direct that and Megaforce, didn't fare very well to the fans and fans were getting sick of his Sentai fanboyism. So... when Judd Lynn was called back for Dino Charge to replace Tzachor, cue fans giving a mass Squee
• Saturday Night Live:
  • In the 25th anniversary special, the trope was played for laughs during the Weekend Update segment with three popular, former anchors. It begins with Chevy Chase talking about how he originated the sketch and how he did it "the best ever." Then Dennis Miller enters and takes issue with that, comparing Chase's one season to his six. ("You might've knocked her up, but I married her.") And then Norm MacDonald shows up. (Though in a nod to his infamous firing, Norm says he didn't know about the special and just saw them on TV.)
  • The fortieth anniversary Weekend Update seems to settle on Jane Curtin (Chevy Chase's immediate successor and host for Seasons 2 through 5, largely considered some of the show's best), as well as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (whose mid-oughts run regularly caused the segment Internet popularity.)
• Sesame Street:
  • Contrary to popular belief, Jim Henson was not actually the creator (that honor goes to Lloyd Morisset and Joan Ganz Cooney). However, the use of his Muppet characters became one of the defining elements of the show.
  • A lot of people just credit Cooney with the creation of Sesame Street, especially the media.
  • Jon Stone, Sesame Street's Showrunner from 1969-94, isn't as well-known as Cooney or Henson but everyone who worked on the show says Stone was the one responsible for the show's signature style, especially the balance of comedy and heart.
  • Ryan Dillon may be playing Elmo now, but Elmo's characterization is largely owed to Kevin Clash, whose colleagues reportedly had no idea what to do with the Muppet before Clash got his hands on it.
• Star Trek:
  • Gene Roddenberry created the series and wrote numerous episodes (as well as rewriting scripts by others) but it was later revealed that a co-producer on original series, Gene L. Coon, was nearly as important to the series' narrative excellence, with his contributions including creating the Prime Directive, the Klingons and Khan Noonien Singh in his own stories, as well as (also) doing rewrites for others. (In fact, many of the best known elements of Star Trek were devised by writers other than Roddenberry, such as the mind meld and the nerve pinch.) Later, it's generally agreed by the fans that Next Generation and the movies got better once Roddenberry was promoted to executive consultant. While the Trek shows have all had numerous writers, Michael Piller and Ron Moore are typically credited with setting the bar for Next Generation and Deep Space Nine respectively. Later, Manny Coto would do a similar thing for Star Trek: Enterprise (with some help from Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens), but in that case it sadly proved too late to save the series from a curtailed run.
  • John M. Ford is (or was) regarded by many as the real daddy of the Klingons, via his novel The Final Reflection and his work on the Klingon supplement for FASA's Star Trek roleplaying game. While many of the specifics of Klingon culture he invented have since been rendered non-canon, many still credit him with deepening the Klingons, shifting them from duplicitous Cold War-era Russian Expies into Proud Warrior Race Guys and setting the stage for further development in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• While Shouzou Uehara was the original head writer of Super Sentai and the franchise was conceived by Shotaro Ishinomori, Hirohisa Soda was responsible for it Growing the Beard in 1985 and then keeping its beard for years. Soda was head writer of every Super Sentai series from 1982 to 1990, and the shows of 1985-1990 are widely considered to be the definitive Super Sentai, far more than Uehara's shows.
• The Ultra Series is generally credited as the brainchild of Eiji Tsuburaya, who most certainly created the idea for Ultraman. However, some fans would argue that equal credit should be given for several others. Tetsuo Kinjo (the head writer of Ultra Q, Ultraman, and Ultraseven), Tohl Narita (who designed Ultraman and almost all of the monsters in the early shows), and Eiji's son Hajime Tsuburaya (who would further develop the franchise after his father's death with Return of Ultraman and Ultraman Ace) — all of whom also worked very closely with Eiji on the nascent development of the Ultra Series.
• As The X-Files wore on, episodes written by creator Chris Carter were regarded as less and less worthy by both critics and fans. By the time of the 2016 revival, Carter-penned episodes were consistently regarded as extremely poor on all fronts, but especially in terms of both inept plotting and dull characterization; any critical praise for the show was strictly for episodes written by pretty much anyone else. Darin Morgan, who only wrote a handful of episodes throughout the series run, is often regarded by fans as the best 'pure' X-Files writer, while numerous other series writers (Frank Spotnitz, Glen Morgan, Vince Gilligan) also have strong fan bases.
• In Russia, the children's game show Zvyozdniy chas (roughly "Time to Shine") was created by Vlad Listyev in 1992 and initially fluctuated between hosts — before 1993, there was Alexey Yakubov, soon replaced by Vladimir Bolshov, and in the beginning of 1993, there was a duo of Igor Bushmelev and Yelena Shmeleva (Igor and Lena). It was not until April 1993 that Sergei Suponev (of Dendy: The New Reality fame) took over the hosting duties, and only then did the show really find its legs and skyrocket in popularity. Suponev ended up taking over the showrunner position, and Zvyosdniy chas was his show until his unfortunate death in 2001. Nowadays, when they talk about the show, they mean the Suponev-hosted programs; no one talks about the first two hosts, and Igor and Lena are only brought up to talk about their inferiority to Suponev.

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