What decides who gets top or first billing on TV show credits?

[roadman65]

I was often wondering when a Television show is produced where it seems like there really is no main character, who gets first billing when alphabetical order is not used.

For example, I was noticing that on the CBS Drama The Waltons that Richard Thomas got top billing over either Ralph Waite or Micheal Learner.  The show was actually about the family in general and there really is no one in particular that the show focuses on more or less.  Thomas played John Boy (why a name like that if was used in real life with a child with that name would be picked on and abused) who was the oldest of many children and his father John (of course the name John Boy but Junior would have been better) played by Waite and mother Olivia played by Learned were more of the pivoting that the family revolved around.  Plus usually the patriarch or matriarchs are always generally the stars of the show anyway.  At least Richard Thomas should have got special billing at the end like Sorrel Booke did on Dukes of Hazzard or Tom Bosley on Happy Days.

Then on the Jeffersons I was just curious to know why Isabel Sanford got first billing over Sherman Hemsley, even though she and him both were equals.  I know on Good Times why Esther Rolle got top billing over John Amos was because she was the main character and the show was spun off from another sitcom that featured Rolle, but not Amos.  In the Jeffersons both moved off of All In The Family  equally during season 5 to form that show. In fact it was Mike Evans (Lionel Jefferson) that was main character of the Jefferson family on AITF when they all were sidelined to the main Bunker family. 

In Dennis The Menace it was Jay North, a young child, that got top billing which is very unusual for any TV show to have a minor be the star other than Shirley Temple.

In Starsky and Hutch, it was David Soul over Paul Micheal Glaser even though Soul played Hutch and not Starsky and his name is not before Glaser alphabetically.

In Lost In Space, though Dr. Smith, Will Robinson, and the Robot were the  main characters that the show focused on, one got credited as "Special Guest Star" even though hardly one, the second was second to last, and the other not credited.  That was later revealed as Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith) was not to be the lead character originally.  He was to be the evil villain, and in fact was an enemy (agent) hired to kill the Robinson family en route to colonize Alpha Centuri so that another country could be the first to charter another world outside of Earth.  Smith was to be killed off after 3 episodes, but  producer Irwin Allen changed his mind and over time Smith and his cowardly ways became a fan favorite and that is how the Special Guest Star got to be lead.  His character was revamped from cold blooded evil to cowardly anti- hero and to provide comic relief to the show.

However, Happy Days on the other hand is a really strange one as Henry Winkler who appeared in Seasons 1 & 2 as a recurring star credited at the end of the show, got the lead after Ron Howard left to pursue his directing career.  That is a first in that manner as other actors like Anson Williams, Marion Ross, and even Tom Bosley (although he was always the special star position in the end) had more seniority, and yet Winkler got first billing from last originally.

[oscar]

For Gilligan's Island, Gilligan (Bob Denver) was an obvious pick for top billing.  The puzzle for me is why the Professor and Mary Ann were initially left off completely, and only were added (as an obvious afterthought) for later seasons, even though both were among the seven core characters.

[roadman65]

For Gilligan's Island, Gilligan (Bob Denver) was an obvious pick for top billing.  The puzzle for me is why the Professor and Mary Ann were initially left off completely, and only were added (as an obvious afterthought) for later seasons, even though both were among the seven core characters.

What about WKRP in Cincinnati with only Gary Sandy and Gordon Jump getting their names in the front credits while the rest of the actors received credit in the closing sequence.  That show was oriented around all the characters with usually two story lines happening simultaneously in almost every episode. Only in Season 3 did they get it right and moved all actors to the front.

Gilligan was indeed the main character as the show was about his bumbling around being clumsy and trying to fit in with the rest of the gang who held his flaws against him including his best friend the Skipper who often took advantage of him.  You are right, that is a mystery why Dawn Wells and Russel Johnson were left out of the opening in the original black and white episodes, however it was Bob Denver who fought to have those two added later to the list.

One other note about TV shows is why on Season One of Mission Impossible that Martin Landau was left off the opening sequence, but billed in the first scene following the famous self destructing tape when Dan Briggs would put together his team to do the impossible pulling out pictures from a file folder of each team member.  When Landau's characters photo and portfolio was pulled is when he was billed as a Special Guest Star for every single season one episode when he was not.

Then in Law and Order when Sam Watterson (the communist DA Jack McCoy) got promoted on the show to actual DA to replace Fred Thompson who left the show to run for President.  They not only shifted his character around, but his credits around as well as it was placed in the line up to the same place Thompson was prior and newcomer Linus Roach got his place that he had for years.   Of course Law and Order had the most turnover of actors and none of the original line up existed when the series was cancelled. In most cases the actors replacing their predicessors got their billing the same way except for Jesse L. Martin (Officer Ed Greene) who was bumped forward when the short lived lady cop replaced Dennis Farina who was top billing with Martin as next previously. Then Martin got the top and then (I cannot remember the woman's name) got second after Farina's departure and, of course, S. Epatha Merkison was always third in line from the time she replaced Dann Florek who left to join the Law and Order spin off SVU after Season 4.

[PHLBOS]

For example, I was noticing that on the CBS Drama The Waltons that Richard Thomas got top billing over either Ralph Waite or Micheal Learner.  The show was actually about the family in general and there really is no one in particular that the show focuses on more or less.  Thomas played John Boy (why a name like that if was used in real life with a child with that name would be picked on and abused) who was the oldest of many children and his father John (of course the name John Boy but Junior would have been better) played by Waite and mother Olivia played by Learned were more of the pivoting that the family revolved around.  Plus usually the patriarch or matriarchs are always generally the stars of the show anyway.

In the case of The Waltons, the reason why Richard Thomas/John Boy got top billing was because the beginning and ending of each episode involves a narration of an older John Boy (likely from the present day) recollecting his (& his family's) past.  The episodes are told from John Boy's perspective.  Granted, this got a bit tricky in later seasons when he left the show.

In Lost In Space, though Dr. Smith, Will Robinson, and the Robot were the  main characters that the show focused on, one got credited as "Special Guest Star" even though hardly one, the second was second to last, and the other not credited.  That was later revealed as Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith) was not to be the lead character originally.  He was to be the evil villain, and in fact was an enemy (agent) hired to kill the Robinson family en route to colonize Alpha Centuri so that another country could be the first to charter another world outside of Earth.  Smith was to be killed off after 3 episodes, but  producer Irwin Allen changed his mind and over time Smith and his cowardly ways became a fan favorite and that is how the Special Guest Star got to be lead.  His character was revamped from cold blooded evil to cowardly anti- hero and to provide comic relief to the show

Originally, Lost in Space was modelled as an intergallatic version of Swiss Family Robinson (Space Family Robinson was one possible title for the series) and Dr. Smith & the Robot weren't included in the cast and the original pilot (that never aired in its original form) that was filmed roughly a year before the show first aired in the fall of 1965 (in black-and-white).  This was likely the reasoning why Guy Williams (who played the father, Prof. John Robinson) got top billing.

When it was decided to add Dr. Smith & the Robot; a new title & pilot episode (The Reluctant Stowaway) was filmed and footage from the original unaired pilot was intertwined with the first few episodes of the series' first season.  This explains there are many scenes in those early episodes that don't have Dr. Smith & the Robot together w/the Robinson family when they're in the Chariot and camping out.

As a whole, episodes from the first season utilized the entire cast and was more of an adventure series.  The second season (the first season the show was in color) involved more utilization of Will, Dr. Smith, Penny to some degree & the Robot more than the other cast members and became very campy (the show was competing with the Batman series at the time).  Early episodes of the third & final season reverted back to using the entire cast more often & in the story lines but then veered back to using just Will, Dr. Smith, Penny & the Robot as the focal characters.

To be sure, Guy Williams was indeed upstaged by a robot (that was played by 2 non-credited individuals; Bob May (wearing the Robot costume) & Dick Tufled (who did the voice)).

[roadman65]

Good analogy of Lost In Space.  Do you happen to know when the Robot turned on Dr. Smith to become its own personality?  In the first few episodes, the Robot was totally under Smith's control, yet later on both Smith and the Robot hated each other with Dr. Smith always calling him names like  Tin Plated Ninny or Bubble Headed Boobie.  In Episode 2, Don had to hold Smith at choke point to get the robot to leave the deck to go down below as it would have killed the Robinsons if he did not threaten him as the Robot did not think on its own at all.

[PHLBOS]

Do you happen to know when the Robot turned on Dr. Smith to become its own personality?  In the first few episodes, the Robot was totally under Smith's control, yet later on both Smith and the Robot hated each other with Dr. Smith always calling him names like  Tin Plated Ninny or Bubble Headed Boobie.

The majority of those robot names were originally ad-libs from Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith). 

As far as when the Robot becoming its own personality is concerend; it wasn't really defined in any of the episodes.  The first hint of such was when Will would imitate Dr. Smith's voice when talking to the Robot and it would respond as appropriate.  Another hint was when the Robot ran off and came back on the verge of a nervous breakdown after seeing a giant cyclops (Data Inaccurate, Being over 60 meters tall not possible... etc.).  After the first few episodes (when footage from the original pilot was exhausted); the Robot became what it would be famous for personalitywise.

[nexus73]

Star Trek TOS had just Shatner and Nimoy in the opening credits originally.  DeForest Kelley would be added later.

Rick

[txstateends]

Many of the daytime soaps listed their actors in the closing credits by their tenure--the one on the show the longest was first, all the way down to the newbies and one-offs.  Occasionally, you would see a regular given end-of-list special billing; such was the case with Eileen Fulton, who played the looonng-running role of 'Lisa' on As the World Turns.  IINM, I think this was a clause in her contract with the show.  A primetime example of this was on Dynasty, where no matter who was billed in the show's opening as part of the main cast at the time, "and Joan Collins as Alexis" came last (that may have been contractual for her, but I'm not sure).  In at least a couple of cases on daytime soaps, a primary actor was given star billing in the opening credits.  In one of those cases, that of Beverlee McKinsey, it was a contractual thing, as part of spinning-off her character, 'Iris', from Another World to Texas when the latter soap debuted in 1980.  Another way of billing has been alphabetically; one show big on this was the original run of Dallas, when its primary actors were introduced each week in the opening credits (the current run of Dallas on TNT doesn't do their opening billing alphabetically).

[Big John]

SNL is the only one i know that does it in alphabetical order of the regular cast members, then the "supporting" cast.

[roadman65]

Star Trek TOS had just Shatner and Nimoy in the opening credits originally.  DeForest Kelley would be added later.

Rick

The show primarily focused around Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.  The others were recurring and were not in every episode, however it was unclear why DeForest Kelley was billed as a guest star as well.

Star Trek TNG, was a bit different as every character got a bill, however it was different from the original as it always usually had two story lines simultaneously. Each week the show was about a different character focus, although some episodes usually only focused on one story and only one character as well and usually off the Enterprise.  Worf, when home on Klingon was about his visit exclusively and the one Season Five episode that had Picard go back hundreds of years and millions of light years away after being placed in a state of unconscious for twenty minuets.  During the twenty minuets Captain Picard lived for 30 years on a dying world having a wife and kids as well.  The other cast had only three scenes with one at the start, in the middle, and at the very end, but no usual multiple story lines as it was all on the other world.

[PHLBOS]

Star Trek TOS had just Shatner and Nimoy in the opening credits originally.  DeForest Kelley would be added later.

Rick

The show primarily focused around Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.  The others were recurring and were not in every episode, however it was unclear why DeForest Kelley was billed as a guest star as well.

Kelley wasn't billed as a "guest star".  The 2nd & 3rd Season opening credits list an And prior to his name.

The reasoning behind not listing him in the 1st season opening credits may have been due to the first episode filmed (but not aired first), Where No Man Has Gone Before, not featuring McCoy as the main doctor.  Kelley may not have signed a contract until the series was already underway. 

[NE2]

The Freemasons do.

[Stephane Dumas]

In Three's Company, Richard Kline (Larry) wasn't part of the opening credits of seasons 1-2, he was only added when the Ropers left and was replaced by Furley(Don Knotts).

Interesting to note in the Quinn Martin produced series (The untouchtables, the Fugitive,12 O'Clock High, the FBI, the Invaders, Dan August, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, Streets of San Francisco) excepted for 3 series got an announcer reading the opening credits.

[PHLBOS]

In Three's Company, Richard Kline (Larry) wasn't part of the opening credits of seasons 1-2, he was only added when the Ropers left and was replaced by Furley(Don Knotts).

The reasoning for such was probably similar to why Jamie Farr (Klinger) & William Christopher (Father Mulcahy) of M*A*S*H weren't added to the opening cast credits until the show's 4th & 5th season respectively; Kline likely didn't sign a formal contract with the show until the 3rd season and was only a day-actor (for hire) for the previous two seasons.

Similar was also true for Cheers cast members Kelsey Grammer (Fraiser), Bebe Neuwirth (Lillith) and John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin); they all appeared on the show well before they were added to the opening credits.   In Ratzenberger's case, he was on just about every episode during the 1st season but wasn't added to the show's opening credits until the 2nd season.  He may have signed his contract later than the rest of the main cast.

[US71]

DeForest Kelley was not in the original Start Trek opening credits. H was added later as his character became more prominent.

Jonathan Harris had it written into his contract that he would always appear as Special Guest Star

[PHLBOS]

DeForest Kelley was not in the original Start Trek opening credits. H was added later as his character became more prominent.

Such was already mentioned in an earlier post of mine (reposted below):

The reasoning behind not listing him in the 1st season opening credits may have been due to the first episode filmed (but not aired first), Where No Man Has Gone Before, not featuring McCoy as the main doctor.  Kelley may not have signed a contract until the series was already underway.

Jonathan Harris had it written into his contract that he would always appear as Special Guest Star

One has to wonder whether that was before or after the decision not to kill his character off (within the first few episodes) was made.

[US71]

Jonathan Harris had it written into his contract that he would always appear as Special Guest Star

One has to wonder whether that was before or after the decision not to kill his character off (within the first few episodes) was made.

As I understand it (based on an interview w/ Mr Harris), it was at the beginning of the show.

---
Then you have Bonanza where all 4 actors were considered equal, so each opening rotated among them regarding who was first, second, etc.

[roadman65]

The Ropers did that both on Three's Company  and their short lived spin off The Ropers where both Norman Fell and Audra Lindley rotated of who got to go first.