# Odd television facts **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 17, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833 "2011-06-17T14:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/201 "2011-06-22T13:20:00Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Good Times was a spinoff (with significant changes in the character of Florida, who was the one spun off) of Maude, which was a spinoff of All in the Family. > Checking In was a spinoff of The Jeffersons, which was a spinoff of All in the Family. > Nurses was a spinoff of Empty Nest, which was a spinoff of Golden Girls. > > There are likely others, but those 3 I know offhand. Happy Days – a spinoff of Love American Style – spun off everything from Mork and Mindy to Laverne and Shirley to Joanie Loves Chachi. That said, how about Star Trek: Voyager? It was arguably spun off from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, itself arguably spun off from Star Trek: The Next Generation, itself arguably spun off from Star Trek: The Original Series… ---
**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:** [June 22, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/202 "2011-06-22T13:22:39Z")
I’d consider all the Treks spinoffs of TOS, personally, though I can see an argument for the trail you make, but I think the Happy Days family counts. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/203 "2011-06-22T13:30:09Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Happy Days – a spinoff of Love American Style . . . 😕 In what sense? Was there a _LAS_ sketch with Richie and Fonzie in it or something? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/204 "2011-06-22T13:32:24Z")
I think NCIS was a spin-off of JAG, and NCIS: LA is a spin off of NCIS. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/205 "2011-06-22T13:34:52Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 In what sense? Was there a _LAS_ sketch with Richie and Fonzie in it or something? [Yes, there was](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love,_American_Style#Happy_Days). Or the Cunninghams, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/206 "2011-06-22T13:44:32Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Good Times was a spinoff (with significant changes in the character of Florida, who was the one spun off) of Maude, which was a spinoff of All in the Family. > Checking In was a spinoff of The Jeffersons, which was a spinoff of All in the Family. > Nurses was a spinoff of Empty Nest, which was a spinoff of Golden Girls. > > There are likely others, but those 3 I know offhand. Those are all spin-offs of spin-offs. I’m looking to go one level deeper, which I haven’t been able to do. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/207 "2011-06-22T13:59:41Z")
The character that has appeared on the most TV shows (where the same actor played the same character) is John Munch, played by Richard Belzer: > **[John Munch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Munch)** > > John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on the American crime drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street on NBC. A regular through the entire run of the series from 1993 to 1999, Munch is a cynical detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide unit, and a firm believer in conspiracy theories. He is originally partnered with Detective Stanley Bolander (Ned Beatty). Munch is based on Jay Landsman, a central figure in David Simo Up... Here is a list of all TV spin-offs: > **[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... The way it’s organized, you should be able to find the TV series with the longest chain of spin-offs. Here is a list of all TV crossover universes: [http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlistb.html](http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlistb.html) Group 2 (given at the bottom of the webpage) is enormous. ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/208 "2011-06-22T14:35:50Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I think NCIS was a spin-off of JAG, and NCIS: LA is a spin off of NCIS. Correct ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/209 "2011-06-22T14:37:53Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > I’d consider all the Treks spinoffs of TOS, personally, though I can see an argument for the trail you make, but I think the Happy Days family counts. For what it’s worth, factor in that the first VOY episode involves hanging out at Deep Space Nine before starting their voyage, complete with Quark trying to fleece young Harry Kim in typical DS9 fashion – sure as the first DS9 episode involves Ben Sisko talking things over with Jean-Luc Picard on TNG’s Enterprise-D – sure as the first TNG episode involves Leonard McCoy touring said Enterprise-D alongside Data. (_“I don’t see no points on your ears, boy – but you sound like a Vulcan!”_) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/210 "2011-06-22T14:40:46Z")
When Fox showed the pilot to their proposed new show “Teenage Wasteland,” many audience members responded that they really like “That 70’s Show.” So they changed the title. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/211 "2011-06-22T15:17:10Z")
During the first or second season of the Office Roy gets drunk during a cruise outing and suggest him and Pam get married right there by the boat captain, she protests with “I don’t want to get married in a boat! i want a real wedding in a church with dancing!”. Years later when she marries Jim it happens in a boat and then they have a fake wedding in a church with dancing. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/212 "2011-06-22T16:28:47Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > That seems unlikely to be true. > A dog with his collar nailed to the floor would struggle quite vigorously to get away, which would be far more damaging to any film shot. Agreed. It’d be easier just to have a vet dope the dog up. > [@kunilou](#): > > …Not as wrong, however, as _Deep Space Nine’s_ episode “Trials and Tribble-ations” where Worf and the crew are looking at the 75 year old recording of Klingons without ridges on their heads. Worf dismisses the different appearance, saying “We do not discuss it with outsiders.” ENT should never have tried explaining that. > [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > …Not illegal, but for years it was forbidden by part of the voluntary “code” that alcoholic beverage manufacturers designed for themselves, but apparently, there are a few manufacturers that do indeed have commercials that show actual consumption. When characters are shown drinking alcohol it’s very, very unusual for the actors to be drinking real booze as well (since they’d get plastered between all the retakes). However TV commercials are required to use the actual food/beverage being advertised (& _only_ the product being advertised must be real) so if they show somebody drinking the actor must drink a real alcoholic beverage, not coloured water or tea. Actors can of course spit it out between takes, but depending on how the shot is set up they might have to swallow it before the shot is over. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > For what it’s worth, factor in that the first VOY episode involves hanging out at Deep Space Nine before starting their voyage, complete with Quark trying to fleece young Harry Kim in typical DS9 fashion – sure as the first DS9 episode involves Ben Sisko talking things over with Jean-Luc Picard on TNG’s Enterprise-D – sure as the first TNG episode involves Leonard McCoy touring said Enterprise-D alongside Data. (_“I don’t see no points on your ears, boy – but you sound like a Vulcan!”_) In the script for Encounter at Farpoind Admiral McCoy is refered to only as “the Admiral” and DeForest Kelley did not appear in the credits for the original broadcast to avoid news of his cameo from leaking out. ENT managed to continue the tradition even though it’s set over a hundred years before TOS by having James Cromwell reprise his role of Zepfram Cochrane for the pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/213 "2011-06-22T16:59:17Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > More Hulk trivia: The Hulk’s growl was done by Ted Cassidy, who played Lurch on The Addams Family. Cassidy also appeared as an alien robot in an episode of _Star Trek_’s original series: [http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Ruk](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Ruk). In full makeup and costume, he impersonated Roddenberry in a practical joke played on a persistent insurance agent who kept trying to sell insurance to the show’s creator. The agent was a bit taken aback by “Roddenberry”'s appearance at first, but then launched right into his sales spiel for several minutes before the gag was explained to him. A nebula on ST:TNG was named after a fan: [Vodrey Nebula | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Vodrey_Nebula) And for those who want to see the short-lived Starfleet skant: [Starfleet uniform (2350s-2370s) | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Skant#Skant) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/214 "2011-06-22T17:21:54Z")
During the filming of _The Trouble With Tribbles_, Kirk talks via viewscreen to a Starfleet commander. In an outtake, the commander says “You’re in good hands with Starfleet.” The actor who played the commander was known for doing Allstate commercials. I tried Googling the story, but got lots of bad hits. It’s amazing how many Allstate employees have the last name Tribble! ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/215 "2011-06-22T17:24:09Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > During the filming of _The Trouble With Tribbles_, Kirk talks via viewscreen to a Starfleet commander. In an outtake, the commander says “You’re in good hands with Starfleet.” > > … I saw that about 30 years ago! It’s on the blooper reel. ---
**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 22, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/216 "2011-06-22T17:24:53Z")
> [@Crawlspace](#): > > Now if only someone could tell me if there has ever been a live action show that is a spin-off of a spin-off of a spin-off. The best I can do is one with an asterisk. The original Make Room for Daddy featured Danny Thomas as a nightclub entertainer and his wife and their two kids. After three seasons his wife was killed off. The show was renamed The Danny Thomas Show and focused on the widowed Danny and his kids. Danny eventually remarried and added a stepdaughter to the family, and there were stories about trying to blend the two families. Then Danny and his brood went on vacation and while passing through Mayberry, they met Andy Griffith as the small-town sheriff. Griffith got his own show, which eventually led to Gomer Pyle USMC and Mayberry RFD. It depends on whether you look at The Danny Thomas Show as a simple renaming of Make Room for Daddy, or as a genuine spinoff. If it’s the former, the Gomer Pyle and Mayberry RFD are spinoffs of a spinoff of a spinoff. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/217 "2011-06-22T18:30:57Z")
Kind of like how _All In The Family_ spun off _Maude_ which spun off _Good Times_. And the original show was just a copy from England. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/218 "2011-06-22T19:07:50Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > John Ratzenberger spent many years working in England (which is why he has small roles in _Star Wars_ and _Superman_). In England, actors generally don’t audition for roles by acting out scenes; they discuss with the director their ideas about the character and the show in general. > > Upon returning to the U.S., his first audition was for a new sitcom set in a bar. He was handed the script of a scene and sort of glanced over it, but was totally unprepared when the producers asked him to act it out. He did his best, but knew he had blown it pretty badly. > > As he was heading toward the door, he turned and asked, “Is there a know-it-all character in this show?” When told no, he said, “Every bar has a know-it-all in it.” He then did a quick riff from a stage act he and another comedian had done many times in England about a know-it-all in a pub. (I assume he used an American accent.) The producers were impressed, and wrote the role of Cliff Clavan for him. I think he was auditioning for Norm, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/219 "2011-06-22T19:18:43Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > However TV commercials are required to use the actual food/beverage being advertised (& _only_ the product being advertised must be real) so if they show somebody drinking the actor must drink a real alcoholic beverage, not coloured water or tea. Actors can of course spit it out between takes, but depending on how the shot is set up they might have to swallow it before the shot is over. Are you sure about that? I know that this is true in print advertising but is it also true in commercials? It’s been a long time but a friend of mine was in a 7-Up commercial and was surprised that the bottles were full of soda water. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/220 "2011-06-22T19:44:06Z")
Redd Foxx (born John Elroy Sanford) named Fred G. Sanford for his real life younger brother, Fred Garvin Sanford, who died in a car wreck a few years before the show started. As neither Redd nor the real Fred G. Sanford had kids Redd felt this was a way of letting the family name live on (which it did). Fred was childhood friends with Lawanda Page who became a blue-comedienne and [exotic dancer](http://www.feastoffun.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/bronzegoddess.jpg), which is why she was cast as Aunt Esther. Many of the other recurring and one-shot characters, including Bubba (Don Bexley) and Skillet and Leroy, were played by Redd’s friends from his days on the Chitlin’ Belt; of the regularly appearing character actors, only Whitman Mayo (Grady) had a background in theater and acting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833.md?page=12)