I remember the guest stars who came, they were always trying to find a new plot for their characters because they wanted to stay. It was really a great working environment.
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
If the parties get too close together they lose their identities, if they get too far apart you're not going to get a whole lot done because you almost always need to have some folks on the other side of the aisle to accomplish anything.