# Fiction's largest "Extended Universe"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075 "2004-05-14T05:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/1 "2004-05-14T05:09:00Z")
I have compiled a list of television shows which are spinoffs of each other or had crossovers with each other: St. Elsewhere Cheers The Tortellis (a failed Cheers spinoff of Carlas ex husband and his new wife…Jean Kasem) Wings Frasier Law & Order Law& Order: Special Victims Unit Law& Order: Criminal Intent Homicide: Life on the Street Chicago Hope Picket Fences X Files (and X Files: Reopened) The Lone Gunmen Theres gotta be about a half century worth of seasons in that universe! Can you think of any other shows that fit? ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/2 "2004-05-14T05:25:46Z")
Umm, that’s a lot of crossovers. Can you point me to someplace that explains when/where/who crossed over with who? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/3 "2004-05-14T05:38:57Z")
And _The X-Files_ did a cross-over with _The Simpsons_, which in turn has done crossovers with _King of the Hill_ and _The Critic_ (and probably several others). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/4 "2004-05-14T05:41:08Z")
I’ve found this, which might be helpful. [http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html](http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html) It’s a crossover list. It divides tv shows into 32 groups. If two shows crossover or one spins off from another, they’re put in the same group. Then, any show that crosses with either of them are put in the same group, and so on…leading to, so far on the page, 32 seperate TV “worlds”. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/5 "2004-05-14T05:41:24Z")
What’s X Files: Reopened? Do you mean the film, Fight the Future? ---
**Author:** ![Severian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Severian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Severian)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/6 "2004-05-14T11:40:55Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I’ve found this, which might be helpful. > > [http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html](http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html) > > It’s a crossover list. It divides tv shows into 32 groups. If two shows crossover or one spins off from another, they’re put in the same group. Then, any show that crosses with either of them are put in the same group, and so on…leading to, so far on the page, 32 seperate TV “worlds”. Neat site. The _Seinfeld_/\*Mad About You \* crossover is funny. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/7 "2004-05-14T12:13:33Z")
Groups 10 and 15 make me giggle. A lot. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/8 "2004-05-14T12:27:58Z")
Wow, would you believe I’d started working on documenting just this very thing a while back? I love a good crossover. ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/9 "2004-05-14T13:16:58Z")
Don’t forget Ursula in Mad About You is Phoebe’s twin sister in Friends. Also didn’t Lilith (a la Cheers and Frasier) also show up in Central Perk once? _off-topic_ I had a friend who didn’t ever realise that shows crossed over like this. I told him about the Ursula crossover above and he just went, _“What are you talking about? That’s not the same person.”_. Whatever, buddy. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/10 "2004-05-14T14:04:39Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > And _The X-Files_ did a cross-over with _The Simpsons_, which in turn has done crossovers with _King of the Hill_ and _The Critic_ (and probably several others). The Simpsons don’t do true crossovers…only spoofs. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/11 "2004-05-14T14:09:50Z")
One episode of _Caroline in the City_ had a cameo by Dr Niles Crane & Daphne Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/12 "2004-05-14T14:12:36Z")
We’ve had several threads about crossover universes before. Note that the largest one in the website cited by Captain Amazing is Group 2 (which is the universe that Enola Straight is trying to put together). I noticed this one years ago and mentally referred to it as the John Munch Universe, after Richard Belzer’s character, who appears in five different series. The most interesting thing is that this is a two- or three-level universe. On one level are all the shows that crossover into _The Bob Newhart Show_. On the bottom level are all the shows that crossover into _Newhart_, which (as is revealed in the last episode of that show) is just a dream of a character from _The Bob Newhart Show_. But perhaps there is a level above the higher level, since it’s revealed on the last episode of _St. Elsewhere_ that the entire show is just a dream in the mind of the child of one of the characters on that show. Most of the other universes aren’t very interesting. Group 1, for instance, is just the universe of Norman Lear’s productions. Group 10 is mostly the Star Trek universe. Group 11 is Jack Webb’s productions. Group 32 is David E. Kelley’s productions. Group 4 is Gary Marshall’s productions. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/13 "2004-05-14T14:19:38Z")
> [@Enola Straight](#): > > … > Homicide: Life on the Street > Chicago Hope > … Are there really crossovers between networks? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/14 "2004-05-14T14:33:36Z")
Yes, there are some examples of crossovers between networks. Go to the website cited by Captain Amazing and read the individual entries. They explain how each crossover happened. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/15 "2004-05-14T15:19:09Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I’ve found this, which might be helpful. > > [http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html](http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html) > > It’s a crossover list. It divides tv shows into 32 groups. If two shows crossover or one spins off from another, they’re put in the same group. Then, any show that crosses with either of them are put in the same group, and so on…leading to, so far on the page, 32 seperate TV “worlds”. HOLY MOTHER OF FUCK! That’s one big universe…lots more that I put up. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/16 "2004-05-14T15:48:32Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Yes, there are some examples of crossovers between networks. Go to the website cited by Captain Amazing and read the individual entries. They explain how each crossover happened. OK, I looked up the _Homicide: Life on the Street - Chicago Hope_ on that site. It is pretty tenuous … but I guess it kinda counts: > [@](#): > > This description is based on what I was told by a huge fan of Homicide: Life On The Street. Apparently there was an episode where someone was in great need of medical aid. They were shown being put into the care of a doctor played by Mandy Patinkin in a quick cameo and a piece of the doctor’s gear is clearly labeled “Chicago Hope”. Mandy Patinkin at the time was playing Doctor Jeffrey Geiger on Chicago Hope. > > I describe this as an almost official crossover because I think it was meant as a quick wink at the audience from the producers of the two shows. It is never actually said that Mandy Patinkin is playing the same role but between him and the Chicago Hope gear… come on. Given the shows were on different networks so they probably figured this was as close to a bona fide crossover as they were gonna get. CBS had previously nixed a cross network crossover between CBS’s Picket Fences and The X-files. Both Hope and Fences were David E. Kelly shows so he was already familiar with their feelings on these sort of crossovers. This crossover was just slight enough so as to not piss off CBS and also not piss off NBC. The idea that one of NBC’s critically acclaimed shows would have a big formal crossover with CBS’s Chicago hospital show instead of with their own Chicago medical drama ER probably wouldn’t have gone down too well. So they slipped it in under the radar. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/17 "2004-05-14T15:49:49Z")
Umm, not to be a fan-boy or anything, but Star Trek, has 5 series, totalling (after a couple more weeks) 27 full seasons and 10 feature films. Lot’s of cross-over between pretty much all of them. Oh, plus the animated one… I always forget that one. So 6 series and 28 seasons. thwartme ---
**Author:** ![robgruver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@robgruver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robgruver)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/18 "2004-05-14T16:50:14Z")
[http://www.poobala.com/standteam.html](http://www.poobala.com/standteam.html) Holy crap! :eek: :eek: 😕 :mad: 😕 :smack: ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/19 "2004-05-14T18:35:01Z")
> [@](#): > > X Files (and X Files: Reopened) There was never a show called X Files: Reopened. It was a plot point in an episode - there was a telegram for CSM that said X-Files Reopened - Please Advise, but other than that I really don’t understand what you could be talking about here . . . ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075/20 "2004-05-14T19:09:25Z")
I could’ve _sworn_ there was a short-lived extension to the series in which Mulder and Scully (and later on, the T-1000 dude) with two new no-name actors. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictions-largest-extended-universe/245075.md?page=2)