In last month's season finale of the wacky alien series, Hartman guest starred as a smart and smarmy villain who kidnapped alien Harry Solomon (French Stewart) and planned to exhibit him as a carnival freak. The plotline was supposed to carry over to the premiere episode of this fall season, but now a portion of the cliffhanging finale--titled "Eat, Drink, Dick, Merry"--will be reshot and then rebroadcast, with all traces of Hartman removed.
"We felt it would be a disservice to Phil to go into the second half of the cliffhanger and effectively write him out ," Terry Turner, co-creator and executive producer of 3rd Rock, told the Hollywood Reporter.
So, a new actor will now be found to portray the kidnapper, a role based on the master criminal created by Hartman on Saturday Night Live. Instead of having the new character mimic Hartman--which Turner terms disrepectful--the part will be completely rewritten.
However, only the scenes in which Hartman appeared will be replaced.
The new bits will be filmed in August when the cast returns from summer hiatus. The original episode featuring Hartman will not be shown in summer reruns, but the revised episode will air sometime prior to the fall premiere, which resolves the storyline.
Meanwhile, the creative team behind NBC's News Radio have gathered to try to decide how to handle the loss of Hartman, who played anchorman Bill McNeal on the sitcom. That series is scheduled to return to the network's Wednesday night lineup in the 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT) slot in late September, following 3rd Rock