If this actor had injured himself 24 hours earlier than he did, you're right...their only choice would've been to either scrap the broadcast entirely or reschedule it to another time, which would likely have required a whole new rehearsal period, if not the replacement of cast members with other commitments.
Or they could have broadcast whatever version of the show the cast did live in the studio for the audience there while the rest of us were watching the tape...that is, a scaled down version with the actor playing his role from a wheelchair a la Danny Kaye in TWO BY TWO.
In any case, the producers here took an incredible risk and, ultimately, shot themselves in the foot for the sake of saving...what?...$25K for four or five people to cover the leads? |
