9 Characters Who Saved Failing TV Shows

Mark Brendanawicz had to go. Anyone who suffered through the first season knew that this makeshift Jim Halpert clone -- pasted together using pieces of worn-in sweatshirts and the scraps of so many drab one-liners written on soiled bar napkins -- was not long for Pawnee. He simply wasn't right for the show, especially once it began to step out from The Office's shadow.

So it was goodbye, Bland-anawicz, and hello Ben Wyatt. Adam Scott's Ben was also a little drab, but his judgmental gaze always felt earned. And sure, he may have played the straight man 95 percent of the time, but the other 5 percent was spent weeping inside a Batman costume, inexplicably freaking out around police officers, and obsessing over calzones. Finally, Parks & Rec had found its relatable center.

Some may argue it was really Rob Lowe -- playing Ben's happy-go-lucky auditing pal, Chris Traeger -- that saved the show from cancellation, but his always felt more like a case of stunt casting gone remarkably well. It was Wyatt's presence, and his relationship with Deputy Director-turned Councilwoman-turned Governor Leslie Knope, that anchored the show in the later seasons.

It wasn't exactly an outright swap, but it definitely felt like Adam Scott's character had fulfilled a role the writers didn't quite know how to position Brendana-quitz into. The move no doubt saved the show.