Just hearing the theme music for Franklin & Bash Season 4 Episode 1 made me smile, but there was a lot after the opening that made me less than happy. 

Let's begin with what we've lost. Carmen is gone. Pindar is gone! I kept hoping there had been some mistake. Franklin and Bash will never be the same without their plucky sidekicks and I missed them throughout the entire hour. 

Watch Franklin & Bash Season 4 Episode 1 Online

So far they've been replaced by Dan, a new investigator for the firm. Let's just say I've decided to give Dan some time to grow on me. He's weird and quirky but as of this first episode, I'm simply not feeling the love for the new guy. 

Rachel King (Heather Locklear) is also gone. Apparently Rachel embezzled funds from the law firm, framed Infeld and fled to Croatia. 

For a brief, horrifying moment I wondered if Damian was gone as well. Thankfully that wasn't the case. He's just left to become senior partner at another firm.  Like many of the attorneys, he bailed when Infeld was arrested.

Speaking of Infeld, he's now working as a car mechanic which supplied some of the funniest moments of the hour. I loved how his boss kept calling him Stan and that he filled out the customer service survey for the boys before handing it in. 

Before Rachel ran off, she uploaded some malware to Damian's computer, making it appear as though he was was in on the embezzlement scheme with her. When Infeld realized it, he decided to take a plea deal in order to save his nephew…something Damian has no clue about. I'm guessing this will be a season long arc as Peter and Jared try to figure out how to get their boss back.

On the upside, Ellen Swatello, formerly of the DA's office has now teamed up with Franklin & Bash and was stuck doing "weediation" which the boys were all too happy to indulge in. I enjoyed Ellen's screw ball chemistry with Jared last season so I'm glad we're going to get to see more of it.

Thankfully, Peter and Jared didn't disappear on us too. Despite my disappointment at seeing that many of my favorite characters have been ditched, the boys still had their mojo.

Specifically Jared calling out Mason, the wanna-be archeologist on picking The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as his favorite Indiana Jones movie. That's sacrilege to any true Raiders of the Lost Ark fan. 

And it was great to be reminded of the boys' origins when the student on campus recognized them in this Franklin & Bash quote…

You spoke at career day at my sorority. I still have the beer cozy.

Student

• Permalink: You spoke at career day at my sorority. I still have the beer cozy.

Now they get 20% off Botox treatments because they're renting out office space to a plastic surgeon. Maybe they can offer the doctor a free beer cozy in return. 

This episode was an odd start to the season and I'm still reeling from the loss of my favorite characters. Will the newbies fill the void? Are Peter and Jared still man-child enough to keep me coming back for more? Only time will tell.

Which character will you miss the most on Franklin & Bash?

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.