Glee creator Ryan Murphy’s announcement that the McKinley kids would be graduating and leaving the show at the end of this upcoming season (stated with a “isn’t-this-totes-obvs?” tone) caused a stir surprising to even Murphy himself. Gleeks are practically worked up into a lather of separation anxiety. And it makes sense: no one is excited about the prospect of Glee devoid of Rachel’s self-aggrandizing, Finn’s lumbering dance moves, Mercedes’s vocal runs, and Brittany’s non sequiturs.

But his rationale is valid. Unless the show abandoned all pretense at realism (and it’s already halfway there with the rock-concert-worthy production values that accompany each performance), it’d be hard to draw out the chronology enough to allow the characters to stay at McKinley for any more seasons.

But Gleeks need not worry. The original stars are fantastic in their own unique ways, and they are collectively responsible for selling us on the show, but the show is not defined by them. Rather, The show is defined by the concept, the tone, the theatricality, and the (overstated) themes. Let’s face it: if the show were to continue without the original kids, Gleeks would still watch and likely enjoy the show. After all, there were only six members of the Glee club in the pilot episode: Rachel, Finn, Mercedes, Kurt, Artie, and Tina. Quinn, Brittany, Santana, Puck, Mike, Sam, and Lauren were all added to the mix later. (Oh, yeah, and that Matt guy… but we barely remember him.)

Murphy’s challenge now will be to make the changing of the guard as seamless as possible. The reason we grew to like additions like Sam, Lauren, and our favorite Cheerios so much was that they weren’t billed as replacements but rather introduced organically and intriguingly. The same needs to happen with the new New Directions. We need to be so taken with them that we forget they’re taking the place of the original crew.

Television history is chock-full with examples of cast replacements done both well and poorly. Only a fraction of the Grey’s Anatomy cast are Season 1 veterans, but the newer doctors are all equally likable. ER was a revolving door of cast members, but the still stayed fairly popular. On the flip side, fans never took to Doggett or Reyes in The X-Files or Rachel and Tom in Alias because those characters weren’t introduced as smoothly and fans could neither forget nor forgive that they were the heirs apparent.

And it’s not like there won’t be holdovers. None of the adults have any particular reason to leave McKinley, so we’ll still have Mr. Schuester and Sue Sylvester, as long as the potential for Emma Pillsbury, Coach Beistie, and maybe Holly Holliday if we’re especially lucky.

Gleeks, I’m optimistic about the changeover. It’s not only necessary but also potentially reinvigorating for the show. Uh, hello, don’t stop believing, okay?

Completist Destiny, as defined by Wikipedia, is the belief that a television addict such as myself is destined—nay, divinely ordained—to watch a series completely and completely chronologically. Fine, I admit: that might just be a dogma of my own creation. But I stick to it. (This is where you, in solidarity, shout, “Leave no episode behind!”)

Of course, I have to compromise sometimes, like when networks boneheadedly air episodes out of order, or when I’m watching TV with someone who’s not as obsessive-compulsive devoted to the intended chronology as I am.

Anyway, I was thinking today about the series I’ve watched in their entireties—i.e. series for which I’ve seen every episode made available. Here they all are, from the most prolific to the shortest-lived… and even the ones I’m not so proud I watched!

• The X-Files (205 episodes)
• Dawson’s Creek (128 episodes)
• Alias (105 episodes)
• Battlestar Galactica (78 episodes)
• Veronica Mars (64 episodes)
• Roswell (61 episodes)
• Samantha Who? (35 episodes)
• Eli Stone (26 episodes)
• Summerland (26 episodes)
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (22 episodes)
• Aliens in America (18 episodes)
• Worst Week (16 episodes)
• The Office (U.K. version, 14 episodes)
• Kings (13 episodes)
• Miss/Guided (7 episodes)

Any show that I’ve watched that is not included on this list is a show that I’m still in the middle of, a show that I’ve given up on, or one of the (few) shows that I only watch occasionally.

The sad truth is that very few of these shows ended of the producers’ own accord; far too many were axed. And some of them aren’t even available on DVD for future enjoyment.

I’ll update this list periodically as I polish off more shows, starting with my dearly-beloved Pushing Daisies, for which I only have one more episode. (And parting is hardly ever such sweet sorrow.)

Edits:

• Pushing Daisies (22 episodes, finished 9/12/09)
• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (31 episodes, finished 9/16/09)
• Dollhouse (26 episodes, finished 1/29/10)
• Nip/Tuck (100 episodes, finished 3/30/10)
• Ugly Betty (85 episodes, finished 4/15/10)
• Lost (121 episodes, finished 5/23/10)
• 24 (193 episodes, finished 5/24/10)
• FlashForward (22 episodes, finished 6/12/10)

When you watch as much television as I do, you see familiar faces all the time, and then you have to ask yourself (or IMDb), “Where have I seen him/her before?” For example, I’m watching the first season of House, and I’ve recognized guest stars from elsewhere in thirteen of the first fifteen episodes.

And then there are actors like Michelle Forbes and Željko Ivanek who show up on many of my favorite series. The phenomenon came to a head recently when I saw both of them on the same episode of True Blood.

Pictured above is Forbes in the roles she’s played in some of my favorite shows. From left to right: presidential advisor Lynne Kresge on 24, Oceanic Airlines representative Karen Decker on Lost, tough-as-nails admiral Helena Cain on Battlestar Galactica, beleaguered wife Kate on In Treatment, “social worker”/maenad Maryann Forrester on True Blood, and abducted physicist Maggie Sinclair on Alias.

And here is Željko Ivanek in his roles: Juliet’s ex-husband Edmund Burke on Lost, the sadistic Magister on True Blood, closeted attorney Ray Fiske on Damages (a role which earned him an Emmy), Serbian terrorist Andre Drazen on 24, Homeland Security agent Emile Danko on Heroes, and mentally-handicapped murder suspect Roland on The X-Files.

So both actors have been on 24, Lost, and True Blood, as well as the short-lived series The Inside. And True Blood wasn’t even the first time the two have appeared on a show simultaneously: they also shared the screen for eleven episodes of Homicide: Life on the Streets.

Luckily, I think both are fine actors, so they’re welcome additions to any show I watch. (I say that now—soon I might be complaining about Željkoverload!) And I see that both have made appearances on other shows I’ve been meaning to watch: Forbes has been on Seinfeld, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Prison Break; and Ivanek has been on Oz, Big Love, and—coincidentally enough—House.

The following actors are all alumni of some of my favorite shows, and I want them back on television. Post haste!

Merrin Dungey Dungey is one of my beloved Alias actors and probably one of the most under-appreciated. She spent two seasons playing Francie Calfo and then made a couple of repeat performances later in the series. She spent two seasons on the sudsy, frothy mess known as Summerland. And then good news! She was cast as Addison Montgomery’s best friend Naomi Bennett in the backdoor pilot for Private Practice. And then bad news! She was replaced by Audra McDonald for the actual series. Even though McDonald seems perfect for the part of Naomi, Dungey needs a role elsewhere.

Gillian Anderson I don’t care if she’s playing Dana Scully or not, Anderson should return to American television. (Actually, that’s a lie: I’d love to see a Scully comeback.) The X-Files alum has had a fair share of success with the miniseries Bleak House and with The X-Files: I Want to Believe, but it’s not like she’s crazy busy. And she did vow to come live in America again if Obama won, so she is in the country…

The Senior Staff of the West Wing And by that, I mean Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, and Josh Molina. I’m even going to throw in Janel Maloney and Stockard Channing. The whole cast of The West Wing is enormously talented, and the actors deserves more roles—preferably on the same show, preferably on one created by Aaron Sorkin. (I’m not including Dulé Hill and Rob Lowe because they have regular jobs, and I’m not including Martin Sheen because he’s had a long career and deserves a break.)

Sam Jones III Why has he not returned to Smallville? People should know when they can jump-start a big-screen career and when they can’t. (I call it the David Caruso Question.) If Sam Jones III can’t make the transfer, he should return to the burg of Smallville to have more dangerously awesome, awesomely dangerous adventures with his old high-school chums.

Almost the entire cast of Roswell But not Katherine Heigl, that diva! No, this one goes out to Shiri Appleby, Jason Behr, Brendan Fehr, and all the rest who need jobs. I miss them. Unless they’ve been abducted by real aliens, they’re around, and probably looking for work.

Lee Pace & Anna Friel I’m sad that Pushing Daisies was cancelled, and I’m remiss for not having seen all of the available episodes! But I loved what I saw, and these two were masters of innocent, cutie-patootie love. I’d love to see them portray the same types of characters. Then again… it could be cool seeing them as serial killers…