# Best TV crossover episode **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897 "2005-03-17T00:51:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/21 "2005-03-17T20:44:30Z")
Was talking to a friend who used to be on the Warner Brother’s TV lot during the late 50s about this thread and he said Warner Brothers was doing it all the time. Characters from \*\*77 Sunset Strip \*\*would visit **Hawaiian Eye** for an episode or visa versa, as would the detectives from **Burbon Street Beat** and **Surf Side 6**. As a matter of fact, he said that when Burbon Street Beat was cancelled one of the characters (played by Andrew Duggan) moved over to become a regular on **Surf Side 6**. He said it was also true among the Westerns from Warner Brothers. **Bronco Layne** (Ty Harden) would visit **Sugarfoot** (Will Hutchins) who would visit **The Lawman** which had a character (played by Peter Brown) that visited **Colt 45** (Christopher Colt’s character played by Wayde Presten) and periodically some of them would visit **Cheyenne** and **Maverick.** Sometime two or three would visit at the same time. He said his favorite crossover character, however, was played by Adam West. Yes, that Adam West. Despite not having a Western of his own at the time, he played Doc. Holiday in most of the Warner Brothers Westerns. He would go from Sugarfoot as Doc., to Bronco Layne, to Colt 45 almost as a unifying character among them. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/22 "2025-01-09T05:30:04Z")
_Abbott Elementary_ 4x09: crosses over with _Always Sunny in Philadelphia_, of all things. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/23 "2025-01-09T17:25:19Z")
Does the crossover with Abed from _Community_ on _Cougar Town_ count? When you gotta go, you gotta go. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/24 "2025-01-09T17:48:21Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > \*Does Kramer’s appearance on _Murphy Brown_ (or actually vice versa) count? There was some kind of crossover with Kramer on Mad About You. Don’t remember the details much. I think Kramer’s apartment used to be Paul’s and maybe his brother’s too. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/25 "2025-01-09T17:48:39Z")
The comments regarding _The Bob Newhart Show_ reminded me of one. On _Murphy Brown_ there was a running joke about how Murphy could never find a competent secretary. There was one episode where Marcia Wallace appeared as Carol, the receptionist she had played on _The Bob Newhart Show_. She is, of course, perfect for the job. Then Dr. Bob Hartley and Dr. Jerry Robinson come in and beg her to come back to her old job, because they haven’y been able to find anyone to replace her. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/26 "2025-01-09T19:46:32Z")
I liked the episode overall but didn’t care for the Critic’s appearance in it. I did like a joke at the end, though, when the Critic invited the Simpsons onto his own show. Bart said something like, “nah, we won’t be doing that.” ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/27 "2025-01-09T20:07:04Z")
There was an _Ally McBeal_/_The Practice_ crossover: the _Ally McBeal_ episode “The Inmates” was part one and then The _Practice_ episode “Axe Murderer” concluded the story. Each show was shot in its usual style (a bit shiny and fantastical for the former, gritty and serious for the latter) but it flowed quite well. Dylan McDermitt showed up on another episode of _Ally McBeal_ later on as well. This crossover was interesting as the shows were actually on different networks, but this was the power of David E Kelley in the 90s. (confirming the episode titles on wikipedia, I see that _The Practice_ also crossed over with _Gideon’s Crossing_ and _Boston Public_, forming a whole DEK Cinematic Universe of sorts) The Arrowverse shows all crossed over with each other, and it became a tradition for a few years that they were all on the air. The Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover was particularly great, and fan-service just oozed out of the screen. Not only did Green Arrow, the Flash, the Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman and Supergirl all team up over five episodes, the producers also brought in Black Lightning, not to mention characters from _Birds of Prey_ (which had been off the air for about eighteen years at that point), _Smallville_, the animated _Batman_ series, the original 1960s _Batman_ series (Burt Ward was one of the first people to appear), _Contantine_ and even _Lucifer_, which wasn’t even a superhero show but it worked. Most impressively, they tied in the 2005 Superman movie, giving Brandon Routh another chance to play Clark Kent, and Ezra Miller from the then-current DC Cinematic Universe, met his TV counterpart. To my mind, this five-parter multiverse story crushed the big screen ones like a grape. My all-time favorite, though has to be the two parter “The Stolen Earth”/“Journey’s End” that wrapped up the fourth season of the _Doctor Who_ relaunch, crossing over with both its spinoff shows _Torchwood_ and the _Sarah Jane Adventures_. David Tennant’s last (…right) day of shooting as the Doctor, before turning the TARDIS over to Matt Smith, was a cameo on the _SJA_ (“The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith”); Matt Smith dropped by a year later (“Death of the Doctor”) as well. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/28 "2025-01-09T20:10:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There was some kind of crossover with Kramer on Mad About You. Don’t remember the details much. I think Kramer’s apartment used to be Paul’s and maybe his brother’s too. It was established that _Mad About You_, _Seinfeld_ and _Friends_ shared a continuity. Phoebe’s identical twin sister was a recurring character on _Mad About You_, and Jamie in turn dropped by Central Perk at some point. I think there was a blackout across NYC that tied three episodes together. Oh, that reminded me of another. One episode of _Sports Night_ segued into _Spin City_, with Michael J. Fox and (maybe Carla Gugino? I didn’t watch that show often) watching the late-night broadcast while lying in bed. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/29 "2025-01-09T20:24:04Z")
While the crossovers between Law and order and Homicide were numerous and bi-directional\* (and mentioned) I like the crossover (Homicide? SVU? maybe it was just a character crossover?) of Munch into the X-files. \*What I hate is the channels that show multiple L&O episodes a day will show the L&O half of the crossover but never the corresponding Homicide part. So we the audience never know the outcome. In bad crossovers I’ll mention the Magnum/Simon and Simon crossover, mostly because it revealed what assholes S&S really were when you take them out of their own context. It kind of ruined S&S for me. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/30 "2025-01-09T20:42:46Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > Phoebe’s identical twin sister was a recurring character on _Mad About You_, and Jamie in turn dropped by Central Perk at some point. I’m pretty sure Ursula was on more than one episode of Mad About You as a waitress. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/31 "2025-01-09T20:51:12Z")
Ursula was on _Mad About You_ before _Friends_ started airing. She was in 24 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/32 "2025-01-09T21:20:58Z")
Speaking of _Friends_, one of the relatively early episodes featured George Clooney and Noah Wylie as emergency-room doctors who met Monica and Rachel at the hospital when Rachel sprained her ankle. I don’t know if they were specifically their characters from _E.R_., though. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/33 "2025-01-09T21:23:07Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > > [@veryfrank](#): > > > > Phoebe’s identical twin sister was a recurring character on _Mad About You_, and Jamie in turn dropped by Central Perk at some point. > > I’m pretty sure Ursula was on more than one episode of Mad About You as a waitress. Hence “recurring.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/34 "2025-01-09T21:41:21Z")
The Star Trek _Strange New Worlds_ crossover with Star Trek _The Lower Decks_ is fantastic! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/35 "2025-01-09T22:46:42Z")
I was just coming here to say that! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/36 "2025-01-09T23:34:24Z")
In the Kramer appearing on _Mad About You_ episode, near the end Paul asks Kramer whether the neighbor across the hall still lived there. Kramer acknowledge he did. Paul rolled his eyes. Jerry doesn’t appear. But in one of the last episodes of _MAY_, Paul is hopped on a certain blue pill and runs into Jerry in the street. It’s clear that this Jerry is not the same Jerry that lives across from Kramer. Paul idolizes this Jerry How that works is puzzling. Note that the actor who played Kramer in the _Jerry_ pilot appears as a security guard in one _MAY_ episode. Some in some sense, Kramer appeared twice in the show. (And yes, he did steal the raisins.) _Friends_: Ursula became a porn star but used Phoebe’s name professionally. This caused a problem which resulted in a face to face confrontation using the usual over-the-shoulder shots, etc. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/37 "2025-01-10T07:47:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > But in one of the last episodes of _MAY_, Paul is hopped on a certain blue pill and runs into Jerry in the street. It’s clear that this Jerry is not the same Jerry that lives across from Kramer. Paul idolizes this Jerry How that works is puzzling. I thought, and I might be wrong or misremembering, that on _Seinfeld_ they watch _Mad About You_, or refer to it as a TV show. Meaning that in the _Mad about You_/_Friends_ universe Kramer, Jerry, etc. are people who live with them in the same city, but in the _Seinfeld_ universe, Paul, Jamie, etc. are characters in a TV show. I also thought _Seinfeld_ didn’t participate in the black out crossover event. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/38 "2025-01-10T19:42:54Z")
In animated shows, Ben 10 had a crossover with (the much superior show) Generation Rex. It was fun and had a good introduction of each IMHO. A pity they never did it again, but I think the showrunner didn’t care for it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/39 "2025-01-10T20:54:30Z")
Bob’s Burgers has done some with Simpsons, Family Guy, Archer and a few others, but I always liked this intro: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/txD4Mj3Ds2o/maxresdefault.jpg "The Simpsons - S30E03 - My Way or the Highway to Heaven [Bob's Burgers Couch Gag]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txD4Mj3Ds2o) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897/40 "2025-01-10T20:58:35Z")
At least it was better than the “Magnum”/“Murder She Wrote” crossover. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-crossover-episode/294897.md?page=3)