Why Did George Eads Leave ‘MacGyver’? The Show Bids Farewell to Jack Dalton
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the February 1 episode of MacGyver, “Father + Bride + Betrayal.”]
MacGyver bid farewell to co-leader of the Phoenix Foundation Jack Dalton (George Eads) in the Friday, February 1 episode.
In “Father + Bride + Betrayal,” viewers learned that former CIA agent Dalton once tracked a terrorist named Tiberius Kovacs, who was believed to be dead but whose body was never found. So when Kovacs is discovered to be alive after another attack, the US government asks Dalton to head up a new task force to take him down.
Eads’ character’s goodbye was emotional, with a lot of hugs and sweet moments between him and the other team members. And luckily, the writers have left the window open for him to make a return, should he wish to.
In November, the CSI alum informed showrunner Peter Lenkov and other producers of his decision to quit the show and requested to be let out of his long-term contract early, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Eads has starred on the rebooted drama series — currently in its third season — since its debut in 2016.
Lucas Till, George Eads
THR is also reporting that Eads’ decision comes after voicing his desire to spend more time in Los Angeles with his daughter but the actor has also had some behavioral issues on set. He supposedly “stormed off” the show’s Atlanta set in October after an “altercation” and this isn’t the first incident Eads has been involved in.
During his 15-year career on CSI he took a leave of absence in 2013 because of an on-set argument with a pregnant writer over “creative issues,” per Deadline. The actor missed several episodes in the CBS procedural’s 14th season.
Eads also had issues with CSI in 2004 over salary renegotiations. He was briefly fired and then returned.
MacGyver, Fridays, 8/7c, CBS
Conversation102 Comments
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Hope they don't kill him off.Dalton & Mac have a great rapport & I for one hope he'll change his mind & want to return.
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Agreed! George Eads has always been a favorite. He makes the show. I hope he will continue!
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I just don't enjoy Asian chick 'Jack', so I STOPPED watching...now I read Angus dated her at season's end..ewww ...jack...Jack....JACK!
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He's the biggest reason I even watch Macgyver. Sorry but I find Mac very boring.
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**SPOILER** I'll miss Jack, and it sounds like they're going to replace him with a capable female agent. And of course that's going to lead to a "will they or won't they" sexual-tension filled atmosphere. Ho-hum, how predictable. I do hope Eads comes back... he's a good, fun character.
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Jack IS he show. the rest are just boring.
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I probably won't watch it anymore if George Eads is leaving for good. The episodes without him are less entertaining.
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If Eads wants to throw a temper tantrum then he needs to leave and grow up. once he grows up then he can come back.
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Did you read the article?
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Agree. Don't care for his replacement at all.
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I still watch MacGyver but it’s lost it’s appeal. The interaction between Mac and Jack made the show more interesting to watch to which I couldn’t wait to see what kind of trouble those two could get into.
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I watch still, but there are 4 shows recorded dvr. I like McGyver, but jack makes a big part of the show. Without him, I fear show will get cancelled, because I got one am losing interest in keeping up. Jack is funny. Like cool/ down to earth fun. Works good with mcgyver. Plus he is like a father/ uncle
the show is just isn’t great anymore. Cool people, but lacks eads.
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🙁 His character was one that helped us adjust to the change from the original series.
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I agree wholeheartedly. He made the show great. Without Jack, it's just soso. I'm not a big fan of his replacement.
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Bring in Clayne Crawford
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lol!
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Perfect!
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Right!!
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Exchanging one hot head for another would doom the show. Both actors have anger issues and Eads has had them for many years and a drinking problem. While I love him as an actor cast members shouldn't have to be the brunt of these issues. Not a great work environment
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Now you’re just spewing gossip & blatant lies. He does not have a drinking problem. As far as anger issues? He is not the first actor to have creative differences with the writers and he won’t be the last!
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This show will go into a death spin and be cancelled. For sure one more season(4) but season 5 would be on life support. The dialogue between George and Lucas is the show and will not be duplicated. Lucas nor anyone else on that show has the chops to carry it.
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With the old McGyver , Jack Dalton very rarely showed and so was not a huge part of what made the show, I watched that show because of macGyver. But the new McGyver A big part of why I watched it was due to the character of Jack DAlton and the spark that George Eads brought into the role and developed the character, but like all things , everyone is replaceable , just look how they replaced everYone on the British show “Top Gear” no one watches that show anymore.
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I honestly don't know if I will enjoy the show as much. I loved his character. Please don't kill him off, maybe he will come back. I'll give the show a chance, but I just don't know.
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I felt the same way about CSI.
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Yes...and CSI folded
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100 % agree. This is one of tge few shows my daughter & I watch together so very sad to see my favorite character go. I will so miss the Bruce Willis references. This may kill the show for me.
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After how many seasons LOL To infer it folded because he left is daft.
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I don't really like Desi. She is a know it all, been there, done that kind of character! And as a romantic interest for Mac,,, no way! She is always trying to outdo him!!! Bring Jack back. I loved his character and he always believed that Mac could do what was needed to be done!!!
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George Eads was such a big part of why I watched MacGyver. I thought he was a great actor on CSI and his time on MacGyver only confirmed that opinion. I don’t care for the show now. I tried, but Dalton’s replacement just doesn’t cut it. I find the show boring and so I don’t watch MacGyver anymore. I just check in once in a while to see if he’s back.🙁
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I too love the show. Eads made that character. It's a tough decision to bring in a new actor for his part. I don't want him killed off the show either. Not sure I'm gonna want a new face, but will continue to watch cuz Macgyver is a good show with Lucas Till already.
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They don't kill him off, just planning on replacing him for now. Hopefully they can come to terms and he returns later.
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Pay him WHATEVER it take$
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They should have brought in a male character, not an I know everything female character. She is very unlikable!!
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McGovern was great with Dalton. They were good together and Dalton made the show exciting
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I don't watch MacGyver with George Eads gone. The two were fun to watch together. Not anymore.
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I wouldn't be surprised if he left because of Lenkov, who has finally been removed from the show. Lenkov has been proved to be guilty of emotionally abusing his actors, and I am PRAYING that means that Eads will come back in season 5. Also...Jack and Mac are a package deal. You can't leave that hanging.
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The show is probably doing well enough to be renewed, but it might get a closer, more skeptical, look now. Since it's facing better competition from 'Last Man Standing', CBS may opt to try something else out instead of taking a risk with a new character on a renewal. Not sure what Eads problem is anyways. He makes big money and gets a good amount of time off every year.
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He's missing his four year old daughter. And is a little hot tempered. 🙂
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And she is apparently the "adult" in the family.......
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George Eads appearance has keep the interest in the episodes. I miss his appearance &!hope he will return soon!!
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No need to watch it anymore. He was the bad ass and the rest is window dressing.
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So .... you seem to miss the whole point of the show. I mean, it isn't called "Dalton".
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Sorry but I find Lucas Till's Macgyver very boring. Jack adds humor and excitement to the show. I'll probably watch but not record anymore. if I miss it, I miss it.
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Watching a show you don't like just to see an actor you do like? Even when he is a support character that isn't even in every episode. That is dedication, or obsession.
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Eads added some light heartedness to the show; but his track record for temper flare-ups should not define this show. As good as he was, not many are irreplaceable!
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Dang!! This is sad!! He was one of my favorite characters!!
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Like any major actor who leaves a show, there's a chance his character could be killed off during a mission, as Fox did with Clayne Crawford's Riggs on Lethal Weapon. That move is, obviously, a permanent one. This writer has clearly never heard of Bobby Ewing.
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With George Eads leaving, Reign Edwards (Leanna Martin - Bozer's girlfriend), Tate Donovan (James "Oversight" MacGyver), William Baldwin (Elwood Davis - Riley's father), or Lance Gross (Billy Colton - Of the Colton Family Bounty Hunters and Riley's boyfriend) might get promoted to the Main Cast. Although hopefully they could bring Isabel Lucas (Samantha "Sam" Cage) back.
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I'd like to see Lance Gross on the team. I'll miss George. He was the reason I tuned in and I'm disappointed that he's leaving the show. BUT, family first!
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What does family first mean? Did you hear a reason for his leaving?
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The show is filmed in Alabama and his daughter is in LA so he wants to be close to her because he wants to be a present dad. Good for him.
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Thank you. I hadn't read or commented on this article. It was a different one that didn't mention the why. I just read this article.
Seems like a pretty thin excuse. Not only is there Skype & I don't know what other video chat services, but there has to be a way to work that out. He could fly back & forth, or fly her out to him.
Hope they don't kill him off. Also hope they can find somebody to have the fun back & forth he had with Mac.
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Sorry, I posted my reply to you above in the wrong spot.
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No worries. It happens. I'm a crazy bird lady.
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You neglect to mention his temper outbursts. And this wasn't the first show that happened with. I mean he walked off the set ... I understand getting frustrated, but considering the money actors make, be professional.
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From the report THIS latest temper flare was because of a danger on the set - the explosion was too close and he was knocked down. He was understandably pissed off that he was put in danger for no good reason. 2 other sources say he was told there was no danger, then the explosion went off and he had a loud angry conversation with the director and safety co-coordinator. Then the reports start to differ, one said Eads threw down his equipment and left, another said he threatened to beat one of them then stormed off.
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I just told what I heard. If he's unhappy and misses his daughter I can understand his frustration. I wouldn't stay at a job if it made me unhappy.
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If he was told there was no danger, then it was probably an accident. I can understand getting mad, but he didn't seem to actually get hurt. Accidents and mistakes happen, if that was the case.
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From what I understand Eads had JUST expressed his concern for the stunt, and was pretty much told sit down and shut up we KNOW what we are doing. Then it happened, and he was PISSED. And I agree if I saw a concern and was ignored and told it is ok then it happens I would want to slap the stupid out of someone too. They pretty much didnt care he was at risk - at least to him, and I wouldnt want to work where they dont give a crap about my life.
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It's shot in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Thanks for the correction. Yep, but his daughter is still far away and he wants to be with her. I don't blame him.
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He didn't seem to get hurt, which suggests they did know what they were doing. What leaves more of an impression on me is the fact that he has a history with temper flare ups on set. Apparently he also had words with a writer because he didn't like how his Jack was progressing too. He did the same thing when he was on CSI. I have been reading stuff suggesting that CBS likely won't hire him back on any other series. When a channel won't hire on a popular actor, it tends to suggest some conflict issues.
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I believe he said he was knocked down by the explosion - and since Eads has been on action shows with some experience with the power of the explosions he felt it was an unwarranted risk to him. His point was he felt he was too close, he voiced his concern he was too close, then was told to shut the hell up and not be a sissy, then gets knocked on his ass by the very blast he was concerned about. That would lead me to believe they dont give a crap about his safety. I work with equipment that CAN be dangerous, if someone came to me and said I dont think this is safe I would take their concerns into account. Several other action shows in the last 2 years have had actors hurt so they can get that WOW factor in the scene. From high production shows like Hawaii 5-0 to Lethal Weapon... and it wasnt like he didnt say something previously about dangerous stunts from the 1st season when the stunt coordinator was so seriously injured they didnt think he was going to make it - or when Eads was clocked by a punch done wrong during a scene. EW also alleged one of the writer fights Eads had was over a stunt he didnt want to do.
Now a blast that is close enough to knock down a 200lb man isnt a squib charge - I got to detonate sea mines in the navy. The pressure wave can do serious damage too.
I dont know every detail, just the 4 reports on his actions on the set during this one event. They mesh up closely enough to what was reported elsewhere to see a pattern of a lack of safety on the set. 1 accident - ok, shit happens, 2, ok still not too bad, 3 well maaaaybe its a coincidence but now 5 and that is a pattern.
So you add in the multiple accidents, injuries and seemingly lack of concern for the actors health, with his temper and the fact he had just minutes before been told to shut the hell up about his concern for safety and you get an understandably upset person. I dont want to see anyone injured or killed for entertainment.
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I am in construction, so I also work with dangerous equipment. I have been injured and such ... but ehh, life goes on. You even clarified he got knocked down, no real injury. For the money entertainers get paid, they certainly are a whiny ass bunch. Between actors and professional athletes ... bunch of overpaid fluffballs.
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Good for him! Too many actors have died on-set.
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You don't know much about set safety, do you?
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Not really, but if getting knocked on your butt is their definition of "injured" ... they need to try a real job and see how it feels. Simple point for you as well, I doubt the vast majority of people know much about set safety. I doubt you know as much as you will claim to.
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Retired Certified Safety Professional here. You?
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I already stated I was in construction in previous comments. I notice you don't specify what profession you were certified for safety in. Because you can't claim to be that knowledgeable about movie safety if you were like a crossing guard or something. That is not a broad term that covers every profession.
Also to point out ... you are kind of trying to make it sound like safety professionals on set don't know what they are doing, while claiming to be one. Are you seeing the blatant hole in that argument?
That said, I know not all safety personnel are really that safety conscience. Once watched the safety guy at a plant almost walk onto a fiberglass skylight because he was to busy flapping his gums. One of our crew is all that saved him from a 40 foot drop.
My point being .... being knocked down is not an injury, besides maybe hurting his pride. If he were injured and this were really an out of place occurrence ... he wouldn't have kept going. They couldn't enforce his contract in unsafe working conditions, which actually being injured would have proved.
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Did George do his own stunts?
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Ever been near an explosion? No? Being close enough to be knocked down is still close enough to be in danger from the shockwave. Now the military folks who were near artillery are well aware of that fact as am I. For reference Shockwaves: After a blast wave strikes a surface or body, high-velocity shockwaves, or stress waves, will continue to pass through -- in the body, they travel through the organs and tissues. Shockwaves carry energy through the medium they pass through; they're supersonic and transport more energy than sound waves. This leads to this - Military neurosurgeons are reporting an increase in brain injuries caused by shockwaves and blast wind. The massive change in pressure can result in lasting neurological damage, but this damage can be difficult to diagnose because victims may appear physically unharmed. A 2005 report from Walter Reed Army Medical Center indicates that two-thirds of all wounded soldiers who are unable to immediately return to active duty suffer from injuries to the brain.
So again when someone who has been around explosives on set, and has been in action scenes says they are concerned it should be taken into account. Not to be dismissed and ignored.
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Not generally, but they often will stage the actors close to an explosion or other flashy event so they can show the actors face in the scene and not the back of a stuntman.
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Well it is kind of funny that only one actor seemed to have complained about it. The same one who wanted out of his contract ...
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Except you are wrong. LA Times article said he was the 3rd actor on this series that has complained about safety. Especially after the stunt coordinator was nearly killed. When multiple injures have been reported, and multiple people complaining, it isnt an isolated thing. That is a TREND. But hey you know it all even tho so many reports have said the exact same things, backing up the claims made. Dont like it, that is fine, but those report back up each other. Hey how fun would it be to have an actor killed on set because some asshole thought it was all good. They know best right?
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/macgyver-stunt-coordinator-injured-1202914187/
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I think Jack for MacGyver is coming back
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Bring him back...PLEASE. And George, please BEHAVE.
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Jack Dalton was my favorite on the show. He was older as am I. He brought experience, sympathy and comic relief to the series. I love diversity but the show doesn't have a mature representative that is a main character.
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I'm just finding out about this! Sucks! Why didn't that god awful "Bozer" leave instead. What an idiot.
Dalton was the best
This will be like when Michael Weatherly's Rony left NCIS. The show never regained it"s swagger. Neither will this one. Bet they stupidly put a woman with McGyver. Idiots.
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Why doesn't his daughter just move where he is working?
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I still watch MacGyver because I like the show and the other actors on it but it definitely leaves a void without Jack's character cuz he was such a kick his personality was great on the show so it does leave a hole they haven't found a replacement that would be able to fit that natural wit and craziness
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Bring back Jack Dalton! Just not the same without him. Bring back the show.
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I think Jack is coming back to MacGyver
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Jack needs to come back. Please 🙏
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why is the real reason that jack left the crew?
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I like Maddie a lot but she is not jack by any means miss jack PLEASE come back!!!!!!
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I miss the old Phoenix foundation crew and I kinda hate s4 so far, but I'm gonna keep watching I guess. yknow if jack returns I wanna see that.
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to be honest i tape the old macgyver shows and i like them better than the remake
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I believe that his replacement should have been a male for not its lover boy Macgyver with three girls and they wanted him on the show to get more of audience
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Jack please dont go...Macgyver will be losing allot of viewers if you do including me..even though I like the team but without Jack in it..will no be the same anymore..I need that funny humour of yours in the show..TBH I always look forward to how you react to things happening in the show..so please maybe for just some episodes but please do come back
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but but but but but.... booooo
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I never likes Eads in this role. Always acting stupid. Glad he’s gone. Hope they have a good replacement.
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Considering that he Eads wanted more money and they didn't want to pay him, seems rather straight forward to me!! There are several shows this season that he was written out of!! I wish him the best!! BTW, I think that they could have paid him more!!
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Entertainers making more money than people out working necessary jobs is already ridiculous.
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The idea is that their presence increases viewership and that can mean millions of dollars. The millions could go ALL to the corp, or some could go to the actor. I think it is fair that the actor gets a part. Each of us watching might contribute $2 to the show in some way by watching, the necessary jobs are paid for by much fewer people, so paying them the same would cost us way more than we could afford.
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He was too masculine they would have to get rid of him sooner or later. The will most likely replace him with a transvestite so they can cover all the sjw bases.
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Ha ha!! You're so funny, telling silly jokes about this.
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So sad to see him go . He really brought a lot to the show and they all seamed to fit together really well . Love the show and will still watch . I don't want to see him killed off. Why couldn't they keep the character and cast someone else to play the part ?
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That's such a bummer since the show is doing well. When you start to kill off characters, the show eventually suffers. I wish there was a way to work out this problem as Eads has a good thing going. HOpe they can find a good named actor or actress to bring interest to the show.
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They can easily replace him with an already existing character. What was the name of his colleague from season 1? The undercover agent that got married? Replace JD with her!
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I believe you are speaking of Amy Acker (Sarah Adler)
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Some people can't be replace....Jack is one of them. Sorry ....without Jack...I want be watching the rest of them stumble around.
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Thanks to Eads getting out I can watch the show now. I would never watch a show with Eads again after he punched a pregnant script writer over script differences on CSI.
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