# most generations of spin-offs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919 "2016-06-09T14:48:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/21 "2016-06-09T20:14:26Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > No matter how hard we try … > > Another _All in the Family_ universe show was [704 Hauser](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108682/): About the _house_ the Bunkers lived in! The adult son of Mike and Gloria showed up in the first episode to provide continuity. It starred John Amos who was the dad for bit in the other spinoff _Good Times_. But not the same character. His last name in this show was the ridiculous and impossible name of “Cumberbatch”. No real person could ever have that name. > > It lasted 6 episodes. And yet another AITF spinoff was [Gloria.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083424/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5) The further advetures of Archie’s daughter after she and Meathead broke up. It lasted 21 episodes. So that gives AITF _The Jeffersons, Maude, Archie Bunker’s Place, Gloria_ the second generation spinoffs\* Good Times\* and _Checking In_ and a spinoff about the house (Hey, why not? The terlet was a major point in many AITF episodes), _704 Houser._ That makes seven. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/22 "2016-06-09T20:20:22Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > I think calling Happy Days a “spin-off” (as used in this context) of Love, American Style is a stretch. The latter was a series of unconnected one act plays, with the show’s title as the underlying theme. It’s not like the Happy Days characters appeared in more than one of these. It was also used as a dumping ground for pilots which is how Happy Days got there. Shortly after that, ABC was looking for a comedy and Gary Marshall had this available. Marshall just did an interview with Marc Maron on the WTF podcast. Fairly interesting stuff. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/23 "2016-06-09T20:29:09Z")
Wikipedia has a page on this > **[List of television spin-offs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_spin-offs)** > > A spin-off in television is a new series containing characters or settings that originated in a previous series, but with a different focus, tone, or theme. For example, the series Frasier was a spin-off of the earlier series Cheers: the character Frasier Crane was introduced as a secondary character on Cheers, and became the protagonist of his own series, set in a different city, in the spin-off. Spin-offs are particularly common in sitcom. A related phenomenon, not to be confused with the spi... It uses a looser definition of “spin-off”. The OP would consider many of them to be “sequels”. Especially among the reality shows and the Saturday morning cartoons. Make Room for Daddy —\> The Danny Thomas Show —\> The Andy Griffith Show —\> Gomer Pyle, USMC Four Generations Love, American Style —\>Happy Days —\> Laverne and Shirley —\> Laverne and Shirley in the Army —\> The Mork and Mindy/Laverne and Shirley/Fonz Hour Three or five, depending on whether you count those last two cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/24 "2016-06-09T20:57:58Z")
Does Detective John Munch count as his own spinoff? Richard Belzer played him on Homicide: Life on the Street, then he moved to Law & Order:SVU, and he popped up in the regular Law & Order, Arrested Development, The X-Files, The Beat, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, The Wire, 30 Rock, and as a Muppet on Sesame Street. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/25 "2016-06-09T21:01:50Z")
Plus there’s also [The Tommyverse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Westphall#The_Tommy_Westphall_Universe_Hypothesis). ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/26 "2016-06-09T21:35:57Z")
“Beverly Hills 90210” \> “Melrose Place” \> “Models, Inc.” “Dallas” \> “Knot’s Landing” “Cheers” \> “the Tortellis” and “Frasier” “The Carol Burnett Show” \> “Mama’s Family” “the Six Million Dollar Man” \> “the Bionic Woman” “the Love Boat” \> “Fantasy Island” (Perhaps I’m wrong about this one, but I vaguely recall that “TLB” made some trips to “FI” and deposited characters/actor-guest stars as a way to introduce the latter series.) “the Simpsons” \> “the Critic” (OK, this was a backdoor pilot, but I think that counts.) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/27 "2016-06-09T21:40:44Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > “the Simpsons” \> “the Critic” (OK, this was a backdoor pilot, but I think that counts.) Add “The Tracy Ullman Show” to the start and you have 3 levels. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2016, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/28 "2016-06-09T21:44:25Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > _The Andy Griffith Show_ itself was spun off from an episode of _The Danny Thomas Show_. > > _Mork and Mindy_ was similarly spun off from an episode of _Happy Days_, and a series about an angel on Earth that flopped was spun off from _Mork & Mindy_. These represent their own category of spin-offs, where a pilot is an episode in another series. Gomer Pyle was already a recurring character on the AG show before his sequel was spun off. Andy was only on the one episode of Danny Thomas, and it was intended to be a pilot for the new show. I’m not sure if Mork’s appearance on Happy Days was considered for a spinoff originally, it was first shot with Mork being only a dream but I think later the ending was changed to show they intended to spin off a new show. I’m not sure about Laverne and Shirley though, they seemed to be introduced with the possibility of being recurring characters on Happy Days. The spin-off pilot episode was used for NCIS New Orleans, not sure about the LA show. I’d consider shows like Gomer Pyle to be the true spin-offs, new shows based on regular and recurring characters on existing shows. ETA: Maude was a spin-off from All in the Family. The character had been on the show a couple of times before the spin-off was launched. The Roper’s represented a common problem with spin-offs, the characters may not be as popular out of their original environment. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/29 "2016-06-09T21:54:16Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Wikipedia has a page on this > > [List of television spin-offs - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_spin-offs) > > It uses a looser definition of “spin-off”. The OP would consider many of them to be “sequels”. Especially among the reality shows and the Saturday morning cartoons. > > Make Room for Daddy —\> The Danny Thomas Show —\> The Andy Griffith Show —\> Gomer Pyle, USMC _The Danny Thomas Show_ was essentially just a title change, not a sequel or spinoff. It was the TV equivalent of changing “The Supremes” to “Diana Ross and the Supremes.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/30 "2016-06-09T21:59:09Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > I think calling Happy Days a “spin-off” (as used in this context) of Love, American Style is a stretch. The latter was a series of unconnected one act plays, with the show’s title as the underlying theme. It’s not like the Happy Days characters appeared in more than one of these. That had me confused, too. I always thought “Happy Days” was kind of a TV version of “American Graffiti”. What do I know? I never watched it. How many spin-offs are there from “Family Guy”? Aren’t there about six versions of that rehashed crap? ---
**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:** [June 9, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/31 "2016-06-09T22:12:29Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > _Dragnet –\> Adam-12 –\> Emergency_ > > _The D.A._ was linked to _Adam-12_, but was not technically a spinoff. I’m not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou. While they all more-or-less\* inhabit the same universe, none of these are spin offs. None of the characters were regulars in the original shows. Not only that, Kent McCord played a similar but different police officer in a Dragnet episode before Adam-12. Emergency has no direct connection to either show backwards. \*More or less, because in one episode of Emergency, the characters are interacting with Reed and Malloy of Adam-12, then in another episode, they firemen are watching Adam-12 on TV! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/32 "2016-06-09T22:22:38Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The spin-off pilot episode was used for NCIS New Orleans, not sure about the LA show. There was an episode of _ **NCIS** _ where Gibbs and McGee visited the LA headquarters before the spinoff debuted. It differed somewhat from the form the show eventually took. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/33 "2016-06-09T22:29:07Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > That had me confused, too. I always thought “Happy Days” was kind of a TV version of “American Graffiti”. Garry Marshall’s “Love and the Happy Days” (that was the name of the episode) aired on 25 February 1972 as part of _ **Love, American Style** _. George Lucas’s _ **American Graffiti** _ (one of my favorite movies) was released on 1 August 1973. I think the only thing they had in common was the casting of Ron Howard and (later) Cindy Williams. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/34 "2016-06-09T22:30:19Z")
Married…With Children –\> Top of the Heap –\> Vinnie & Bobby Both spinoffs only lasted 7 episodes. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > _Dragnet –\> Adam-12 –\> Emergency_ Were these true spinoffs, though? There were several crossover episodes, but none of the characters appeared in the “parent” series prior to its debut. (Oddly, in a later episode of _Emergency!_, Johnny Gage was depicted as an obsessed fan of _Adam-12_, despite Reed & Malloy having appeared in the pilot.) [ETA: Or, what **JAQ** said…] ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/35 "2016-06-09T22:34:41Z")
_ **American Graffiti** _, BTW, was set in 1962, not the '50s. And _ **Happy Days** _ had about as much to do with the '50s as _ **The Jetsons** _ did. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/36 "2016-06-09T23:05:17Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Married…With Children –\> Top of the Heap –\> Vinnie & Bobby V&B was just a rebadged TofH, not a spin off. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/37 "2016-06-09T23:12:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **American Graffiti** _, BTW, was set in 1962, not the '50s. And _ **Happy Days** _ had about as much to do with the '50s as _ **The Jetsons** _ did. 1962 was in the '50s. The 60s didn’t start until the Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/38 "2016-06-10T00:15:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Garry Marshall’s “Love and the Happy Days” (that was the name of the episode) aired on 25 February 1972 as part of _ **Love, American Style** _. George Lucas’s _ **American Graffiti** _ (one of my favorite movies) was released on 1 August 1973. > > I think the only thing they had in common was the casting of Ron Howard and (later) Cindy Williams. Had no idea! Thanks for that. I recall “Love American Style” was (for the time) kind of raunchy (at least that was the vibe I got, but I was just a kid), so I find this kind of surprising. But I never watched much “Happy Days”, so what do I know? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/39 "2016-06-10T00:23:01Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’m not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou. > > While they all more-or-less\* inhabit the same universe, none of these are spin offs. None of the characters were regulars in the original shows. Not only that, Kent McCord played a similar but different police officer in a Dragnet episode before Adam-12. Emergency has no direct connection to either show backwards. > > \*More or less, because in one episode of Emergency, the characters are interacting with Reed and Malloy of Adam-12, then in another episode, they firemen are watching Adam-12 on TV! Hang on to your hat: Marco, of the “Emergency” firemen, is watching himself on that “Adam-12” episode! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/40 "2016-06-10T00:54:53Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I recall “Love American Style” was (for the time) kind of raunchy (at least that was the vibe I got, but I was just a kid), so I find this kind of surprising. I think the only episode I ever watched of _ **LAS** _ was the one where Connie Kreski (_ **Playboy** _’s Playmate of the Year, 1969) was a topless waitress :o (and of course, they only showed her from the back and the shoulders up :mad: ). **WARNING: NSFW!** [spoiler][https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;\_ylt=AwrB8pRkDVpXNm8A6lmJzbkF;\_ylu=X3oDMTIzYW4zdWVrBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAMxOGQ0ODc2YWE3OWVlYjIzNGI2ZTE5ZTQ5ZDMzM2ExMgRncG9zAzk4BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DConnie%2BKreski%26fr%3Dmcafee%26nost%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D98&w=294&h=640&imgurl=2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-IDVmGpEKIcw%2FUECmM5Q9M3I%2FAAAAAAAAS8s%2FSv-TqDcGycM%2Fs640%2Fjanuary.png&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fchelseagirl-m.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F09%2Fconnie-kreski.html&size=203.5KB&name=Chelsea+Girl%3A+\Connie+Kreski\<%2Fb\>&p=Connie+Kreski&oid=18d4876aa79eeb234b6e19e49d333a12&fr2=&fr=mcafee&tt=Chelsea+Girl%3A+\Connie+Kreski\<%2Fb\>&b=61&ni=108&no=98&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11sm9e07u&sigb=130b6qh76&sigi=12j7c7ubn&sigt=112n70rhj&sign=112n70rhj&.crumb=47r87rv33Lt&fr=mcafee](https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pRkDVpXNm8A6lmJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzYW4zdWVrBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAMxOGQ0ODc2YWE3OWVlYjIzNGI2ZTE5ZTQ5ZDMzM2ExMgRncG9zAzk4BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DConnie%2BKreski%26fr%3Dmcafee%26nost%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D98&w=294&h=640&imgurl=2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-IDVmGpEKIcw%2FUECmM5Q9M3I%2FAAAAAAAAS8s%2FSv-TqDcGycM%2Fs640%2Fjanuary.png&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fchelseagirl-m.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F09%2Fconnie-kreski.html&size=203.5KB&name=Chelsea+Girl%3A+%3Cb%3EConnie+Kreski%3C%2Fb%3E&p=Connie+Kreski&oid=18d4876aa79eeb234b6e19e49d333a12&fr2=&fr=mcafee&tt=Chelsea+Girl%3A+%3Cb%3EConnie+Kreski%3C%2Fb%3E&b=61&ni=108&no=98&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11sm9e07u&sigb=130b6qh76&sigi=12j7c7ubn&sigt=112n70rhj&sign=112n70rhj&.crumb=47r87rv33Lt&fr=mcafee) Here’s her segment: > **[Kaye Ballard in LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h7o_XvxmWU%5B%2Fspoiler%5D)** > > Kaye Ballard starring as Sally Miller in an episode of the anthology comedy series, LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE. This episode from 1970, entitled "Love and the V.I... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919.md?page=3)