# Spin Offs that are a different Genre **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435 "2018-10-24T15:14:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/1 "2018-10-24T15:14:03Z")
I was talking with someone and they mentioned the show Lou Grant. That was the rare show that was a spin off but also a completely different genre than the parent show (MTM was a half hour sitcom and LG was an hour drama). Besides animated spin offs (animated versions of Happy Days or other shows) there aren’t many other examples of this. What are some other ones? ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/2 "2018-10-24T15:18:20Z")
“Trapper John, M.D.,” spun off from, “M_A_S\*H,” but was an hour-long medical drama instead of a half-hour war comedy. And somehow they made Wayne Rogers look like Pernell Roberts. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/3 "2018-10-24T15:19:27Z")
Wasn’t _The Lone Gunmen_ a largely comedic spin-off of _The X-Files_? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/4 "2018-10-24T15:20:23Z")
_The Simpsons_, an animated sitcom, is a spinoff of _The Tracey Ullman Show_, a sketch comedy/variety show. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/5 "2018-10-24T15:24:13Z")
Mama’s Family was a sitcom spun off from a variety/sketch show, The Carol Burnette Show. Close enough? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/6 "2018-10-24T15:24:44Z")
_Baywatch Nights_ was originally a detective show spun off from _Baywatch_ and eventually became a show about the supernatural. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/7 "2018-10-24T15:26:56Z")
Historical comedy “Happy Days” spun off the science-fiction comedy “Mork and Mindy”. “B.J. and the Bear” was an adventure show with a little bit of comedy about a trucker who was often hassled by corrupt cops. It spun off “Sheriff Lobo”, which was a broad comedy about a lovably corrupt cop. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/8 "2018-10-24T15:32:20Z")
The sitcom Alice was spun from the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, which is not at all a comedy. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/9 "2018-10-24T15:40:28Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Mama’s Family was a sitcom spun off from a variety/sketch show, The Carol Burnette Show. Close enough? _ **The Honeymooners** _ was spun off of the DuMont network’s\*\*\* Cavalcade of Stars\*\*\*, a variety/sketch show with Jackie Gleason. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/10 "2018-10-24T15:43:34Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Historical comedy “Happy Days” spun off the science-fiction comedy “Mork and Mindy”. _ **Happy Days** _ also spawned _ **Laverne and Shirley** _, a “female buddy” sitcom in the mold of Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/11 "2018-10-24T15:45:08Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > “Trapper John, M.D.,” spun off from, “M_A_S\*H,” but was an hour-long medical drama instead of a half-hour war comedy. And somehow they made Wayne Rogers look like Pernell Roberts. About the only thing the two series had in common was the name of the lead character. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/12 "2018-10-24T15:47:17Z")
The sitcom _ **McHale’s Navy** _ was spun off of a one-time “dramedy” titled _ **Seven against the Sea** _, where the main conflict was between pleasure and duty. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/13 "2018-10-24T15:50:38Z")
_Hill Street Blues_ was a serious drama series. The short-lived spin-off _Beverly Hills Buntz_ was much more comedic. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/14 "2018-10-24T16:01:22Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > “Trapper John, M.D.,” spun off from, “M_A_S\*H,” but was an hour-long medical drama instead of a half-hour war comedy. And somehow they made Wayne Rogers look like Pernell Roberts. For legal reasons, _Trapper John MD_ was supposedly a spin-off from the movie _MASH_ and not from the series _MASH_. So Pernell Roberts was supposed to Elliott Gould not Wayne Rogers. On a side note, Gould played Trapper John first but he is five years younger than Rogers and ten years younger than Roberts. And he is the only one of the three still alive. > [@terentii](#): > > About the only thing the two series had in common was the name of the lead character. Not completely. It was clearly established that Roberts was playing the same character as the one from _MASH_. Mary McCarty’s character was a nurse who had served with Trapper John in Korea. And Gregory Harrison’s character was a younger doctor who had also served in a MASH unit (in Vietnam rather than Korea). ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/15 "2018-10-24T16:09:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not completely. It was clearly established that Roberts was playing the same character as the one from _MASH_. Mary McCarty’s character was a nurse who had served with Trapper John in Korea. And Gregory Harrison’s character was a younger doctor who had also served in a MASH unit (in Vietnam rather than Korea). I always wanted to see a spinoff of \*\*\*Gunsmoke \*\*\*titled _ **Doc Adams, MD** _: \*"It’s 100 years after Dodge City, and your favorite GP is back! He’s a Civil War veteran … teamed with young Alonzo Gates, a Spanish-American War veteran. Together, they’ll try \*\*anything \*_to save a life!"_ ---
**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:** [October 24, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/16 "2018-10-24T16:16:34Z")
In 1961 Jackie Gleason hosted a game show called _You’re in the Picture._ The next week Gleason appeared on an empty stage and spent the entire second episode apologizing for the first episode. Episodes after that were called _The Jackie Gleason Show_ and featured him talking to celebrities. _The Brady Bunch_, a sitcom, became _The Brady Bunch Variety Hour_, complete with singing and dancing. Then it was reborn with Marcia and Jan as _The Brady Brides_, another sitcom; and finally as an hour-long family drama called _The Bradys_. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/17 "2018-10-24T17:35:24Z")
Dirty Sally was a half-hour drama-comedy spun off from the one hour drama Gunsmoke. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/18 "2018-10-24T17:38:43Z")
Lou Grant was an hour long drama. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/19 "2018-10-24T17:41:30Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Lou Grant was an hour long drama. Did you read the OP? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435/20 "2018-10-24T18:59:26Z")
The Fast Show, a UK broken comedy sketch show much loved by Johnny Depp ([The Fast Show - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fast_Show)), had a few quirky spin-offs led by recurring characters: "\*In 2001, Ron Manager, Tommy and the interviewer fronted a comedy panel game show on Sky 1 called “Jumpers for Goalposts”. The interviewer was the presenter while Ron Manager and Tommy were the resident team captains. Swiss Toni did a stand-alone series in 2003 and 2004 and broadcast on BBC Three\*." Not quite a spin-off but also odd, “_In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow quotes the show, the Rowley Birkin line “… and then they made me their chief!”. In a deleted scene of the movie, Sparrow also uses the Mark Williams catchphrase "I’ll get me coat_.” " j [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spin-offs-that-are-a-different-genre/823435.md?page=2)