When Guest Stars are Signs of Doom or Success

New Girl has been announcing guest stars left and right (Lake Bell, Natasha Lyonne, Katie Cassidy, Justin Long), so what's this mean for the show?  Is it not good enough that it has to rely on guest stars to have viewers from the start?  Let's take a look at how guest stars' roles have been a sign of trying to save a doomed show or of a highly sought after show.

Will & Grace
Classic example of how the show went to hell once Harry Connick, Jr., came on as a recurring character/cast member.  Cher, Ed Burns, Woody Harrelson, Britney Spears, and so many others guested on the later seasons of the show?  How did they snag those folks?  They were probably bribed with a crap ton of money or new cars...because that's what NBC got the cast of Will & Grace, right?  The characters got to be even more caricaturish of themselves.  Karen became a one-dimensional pill-popping boozehound with little to do but one-liners and bitchy remarks.  Her characters growth was quickly retracted with racist remarks to Rosario or heartfelt moments turned to mean jokes for laughs.  Plots became odd, sluggish, and very stale.  Viewership dwindled, so the guest star appearances went through the roof.

Inclusion of Guests: Negative





Modern Family
Even though my interest in the show has become more of disinterest, so many people love it, so much that people ask to guest star on it.  So far we've had James Marsden, Fred Willard, Nathan Lane, Danny Trejo, Shelley Long, and Mary Lynn Rajskub, among others.  But guest stars are few and not that big of names, so we know the show isn't in trouble.  It's just the opposite.  The cast is big enough so that it can juggle plenty of story lines with different characters interacting.

Inclusion of Guests: Positive




Any Sci-Fi show
It doesn't say anything about ratings or a show being in danger of cancellation; it's just that if you've worked in Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, Whedonverse, Sanctuary, or any Canadian-based sci-fi or fantasy show, you're going to be showing up on every other sci-fi/fantasy show.  They run in circles.  Once you're in, you never get out due to the loyal fan base.  Sci-Fi shows are like a big family, and it's awesome.

Inclusion of Guests: Positive




30 Rock
Here, guest stars were used, not because 30 Rock had low ratings and was on the verge of cancellation, but because NBC loves the show and wants it to succeed and wants more people to tune in.  So they made a marketing move for Season 3 and got high-profile guest stars like Oprah and Jennifer Aniston, even if they're on for 5 seconds.  And all guesst appearances are fabulous.

Inclusion of Guests: Positive




Chuck
Chuck has been nearly cancelled every year (and for some reason I still watch it).  And it has saved itself through guest stars and Subway.  From the original Sarah Connor Linda Hamilton, Bond...James Bond Timothy Dalton, Dr. Beckett (or Scott Bakula, if you will), and National Lampoon's favorite Chevy Chase.  Guests are always heavily advertised.  And plots always seem to get weaker and loonier.  The only thing going for it is the adorable goofiness of Zachary Levi, the hotness of Yvonne Strahovski (yeah, I spelled her name without looking it up), and the out-of-place grumpiness of Adam Baldwin.  I could do without the supporting cast, save for Ellie and Awesome.

Inclusion of Guests: Negative




Glee
Due to Glee's craptacular (and this is putting it mildly...I'm talking no-hot-sauce-at-all mild) second season, they counted on guest stars and artist-themed episodes to draw in viewers.  Ryan Murphy stated that the entire first half of the third season will not have any guest stars at all, as he is determined to make the season much stronger, and he's hoping the cast can do that without any guest stars.

Inclusion of Guests: Negative




The Office
The Office recently lost Steve Carrell, but before he was even gone, we got a bunch of guest stars in recent seasons.  And we all know it was a sign of weakness.  The show has been producing very sub-par episodes and some holes-in-one, and guests from Will Ferrell, Kathy Bates, Amy Ryan, and Ricky Gervais (who only is seen for approximately 3 seconds each time).  Not to mention the finale's guest stars.  Let's see what this season's guest stars will bring...

Inclusion of Guests: Negative