The Spin Off Thread

[Paul Raven]

Feb 77

ABC piloted a Starsky and Hutch spinoff 'Huggy Bear and the Turkey'

Huggy Bear and a strait laced white guy open a detective agency. It was aired as an episode of S&H but subsequent episodes ignored that plot and Huggy Bear resumed his former position in the show.

[Paul Raven]

Family Ties -  The Art of Being Nick a pilot featuring the Nick character played by Scott Valentine

The Tortellis the first spin-off of Cheers, starring Dan Hedaya and Jean Kasem. It aired on NBC from January 22 to May 12, 1987.

After it was cancelled Nick and Loretta Tortelli returned for appearances on Cheers

[kalbir]

With the recent news that NCIS: Los Angeles is ending, I was thinking about three of CBS's biggest dramas (at least during my lifetime) and their spin offs/franchises.

Dallas (14 seasons) spun off Knots Landing (14 seasons). 

CSI (15 seasons) franchise: CSI: Miami (10 seasons), CSI: NY (9 seasons), CSI: Cyber (2 seasons), CSI: Vegas (currently in its second season).

NCIS (currently in its 20th season) franchise: NCIS: Los Angeles (ending this spring after 14 seasons), NCIS: New Orleans (7 seasons), NCIS: Hawaii (currently in its second season).

The parent shows Dallas, CSI, NCIS all had three seasons as the #1 show.

A fun fact, Knots Landing run and NCIS: Los Angeles run are separated by 30 years. The first episodes of Knots Landing (December 27, 1979) and NCIS: Los Angeles (September 22, 2009) are separated by 29 years 269 days (so almost 30 years) and the final episodes of Knots Landing (May 13, 1993) and NCIS: Los Angeles (May 21, 2023) will be separated by 30 years 8 days.

Edited April 1, 2023 by kalbir

[Paul Raven]

How about Mrs Columbo-such an ill conceived idea. NBC soon realized that Columbo connection was pointless and rejigged the show as Kate Loves A Mystery -to no avail.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Paul Raven

[Khan]

I was telling a coworker about this show after she had binge-watched "Columbo" for the first time and she was apoplectic, lol.

First of all, it made no sense for Mrs. Columbo, who had been an off-screen character up to that point, to suddenly be solving whodunits like her husband, when nothing that Columbo ever said about her suggested she was the sleuthing type.  Second, Kate Mulgrew is a lovely actress, but she simply looked too young to be Columbo's wife.  Daughter, or daughter-in-law?  Maybe.  Wife?  No.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Khan

[j swift]

I wonder if the original title was based on an aspersion taken too literally. Like, "Take a gander at that nosey broad, she's a real Mrs. Columbo..."

I have fond memories of the show because the house used for the establishing shot was in my childhood neighborhood, and every time we'd drive by it we would always say, "Do you think Mrs Columbo is home?"

Edited May 17, 2023 by j swift

[Paul Raven]

ABC did an hour long Barney Miller that proposed a spinoff of the Wojo(Max Gail) character.

[Paul Raven]

After the Honeymoon

CBS spin off from My Three Sons. Robbie. Katie and the triplets move to a SF apartment complex with Pat Carroll as the manager and Richard X Slattery as her husband. Aired 3/20/71

The Blonde aka Carol

Aired as one of the final episodes of Green Acres. Oliver's ex secretary carol (Elaine Joyce) now works in a real estate office. frustrating and confounding her boss (Richard Deacon) With Emmaline Henry and Cliff Norton as her sister and brother in law.

Hawaiian Honeymoon aka Pam.

Another Green Acres spin off where Oliver and Lisa take a honeymoon at an Hawaiian hotel run by Don Porter who has a precocious daughter Pam (Pamela Franklin)

[Paul Raven]

May 87. Who's The Boss' aired an episode that was a possible spin off-'Mona' based around Katherine Helmond's character.

Premise was she goes to visit her brother (James B Sikking) in NYC where he has bought a down at heel hotel.

Other cast Joe Regalbuto, Paul Sand, Susan Walters,Robert Petkoff, Billie Bird.

[Vee]

Sorry - I did a search and had nowhere else vaguely appropriate to put this article about John Amos' troubling family situation.

[DRW50]

That's awful. I had no idea about everything with their mother.

[Paul Raven]

NBC had a 227 spin off in the works where Jackee's character went to NY to work in a health club.

That pilot aired in May 89 (?) b/w Cosby and Cheers and ranked #5 for the week. Despite those ratings it didn't proceed. Guess they realized that the timeslot was the main reason for it's success.

Edited April 20, 2024 by Paul Raven