So let me see if I understand you: if an actor works in a series, and
creates a character, then he should never be used again because it would
destroy the illusion of the story? Actors build up their skills by doing lots
of work over time. An actor is a regular in one series one year in dramatic
TV series...a year or two later appears as a regular in another dramatic
series...William Conrad (for a bad example) is first Cannon, then something
else, then the Fatman...and that's okay. So why is it not okay in SF? Why
this feeling that an actor who's worked in one SF series should never appear
in another? Why don't the rules that the rest of the world applis to dramatic
series be somehow invalid for SF?

I sometimes think that this perception stems from the "the actor IS that
character" point of view. And as for the MST3K thing, that was a thought
about seeing the 'bots, which was only half-serious...and those are very
specific to their show. Which is why we're not doing it.

I'll confess I'm really astonished by this. Viewers of non-SF dramatic
series seem to have no problem accepting an actor playing another character,
as a regular, recurring or guest character in another series in the same
genre...why is this a problem for some SF viewers?

jms