John Ritter was nobody’s favorite actor.

He was not a brilliant theatrical mind. He was not a blockbusting silver-screen draw, and he was not a Neilson-toppling primetime attraction. He was not an actor-slash-singer, or actor-slash-governor, or actor-slash-environmentalist, nor was he one of those actor-cum-directors we’ve come to find ourselves surrounded by. If he was in fact any of these things, he certainly did not let on. Surely, John Ritter was nobody’s favorite actor.

That said, he will never be forgotten. He was loved by millions and entwined forever in the minds of the X (and Y) Generations. His role as Jack Tripper on one of the seminal sitcoms of our time has placed this not-terribly talented or overly ambitious physical comedian securely in the history books, not as a joker or buffoon, but as a beloved character in each of our lives.

At the time of his death, Ritter was in the third season of his current sitcom project, “8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter”. In fact, he was on set when he collapsed from an undetected heart problem. I won’t lie, my affection for John Ritter was not nearly powerful enough to convince me to give this stinker a fair shot. ABC and the show’s producers have recently announced that the show will indeed go on without Ritter, at least for the coming season. Whether this be a tribute to the man or an attempt to minimize studio losses is not mine to decide. Either way, I think I’ll tune in and see the three episodes filmed before Ritter’s death, and the fourth episode in which Ritter’s character is suddenly taken from his television family. Each of the first three episodes will open with a special introduction by members of the cast, and the format of the fourth is, as of yet, unannounced.

8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter will premiere this coming Tuesday, September 23rd at 8/7c on ABC.