# Spinoff from two different shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101 "2014-07-01T15:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [July 1, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/1 "2014-07-01T15:31:53Z")
I don’t follow Nickelodeon but I just heard about the TV series _Sam & Cat_. It apparently took two supporting characters from two previous series - _iCarly_ and _Victorious_ - and brought them together for a new series. Spinoffs where a supporting character is given a new series are fairly common. But has there ever been any previous series where two unrelated shows had a joint spinoff? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/2 "2014-07-01T18:11:33Z")
I think it happens with children’s cartoons from time to time, like [The Laff-A-Lympics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laff-A-Lympics) or [Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Birdman,_Attorney_at_Law) ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/3 "2014-07-01T19:06:02Z")
They aren’t exactly unrelated but wasn’t there an Elmyra and Pinky and the Brain show? One from Tiny Toons and the other from Animaniacs. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/4 "2014-07-01T19:13:12Z")
iCarly and Victorious weren’t entirely unrelated either. They had at least one crossover episode. ETA - the shows were separate. I just mean that the stage was already set for the two characters to meet. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/5 "2014-07-01T19:20:01Z")
Well, \*iCarly \*and \*Victorious \*were not entirely unrelated - they were both produced by the same guy, shared the same universe, and had at least one cross-over before their runs ended. My nominee is _NCIS_, part official spin-off of _JAG_, part rip-off of _CSI_. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/6 "2014-07-01T21:28:32Z")
In the world of daytime soaps, characters and settings have been spun around in a dizzying set of reboots. _Another World_ had a spinoff called _Somerset_, which was canceled and replaced by a soap called _Lovers and Friends_. That was retooled into something called _For Better, For Worse_ while still retaining the character of Amy Gifford from _Another World_. And then there’s the mysterious case of Earle Stanley Gardner. When CBS decided to bring his\* Perry Mason\* series from radio to TV, they had the brilliant idea of spinning off tsome elements and the general crime motif into a daytime soap opera. _The Edge of Night_ was originally designed to be a full-fledged spinoff, but Gardner had creative differences about the direction of the Perry Mason character. TEON used a different character, but he was played by the actor who played Perry Mason on radio, and both of the shows lasted for years, although they never acknowledged each other. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/7 "2014-07-02T00:43:38Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > They aren’t exactly unrelated but wasn’t there an Elmyra and Pinky and the Brain show? One from Tiny Toons and the other from Animaniacs. Quasi-nitpick: Elmyra appeared on Animaniacs a few times directly first. But I’d still call it a solid example. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/8 "2014-07-02T01:31:57Z")
I’ve got a really old example: _The Merry Wives of Windsor_, which features both Falstaff and Mistress Quickly. Since the former originated from the histories while the latter is from the comedies, I think it’s safe to say they were originally unrelated continuities. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/9 "2014-07-02T01:32:04Z")
This isn’t quite the same thing, but the character of Tenspeed Turner, played by Ben Vereen, who starred in the short-lived 1980 TV show _Tenspeed and Brownshoe_, showed up as a major character in the 1987-1988 TV show _J. J. Starbuck_. (Really what happened here was that the program _J. J. Starbuck_ wasn’t getting good enough ratings, which made it necessary to bring in the character of Tenspeed from the earlier show, so it was sort of combining pieces of both shows.) But if you count that, perhaps you should count the character of John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, who showed up in many shows. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/10 "2014-07-06T12:15:36Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > But if you count that, perhaps you should count the character of John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, who showed up in many shows. I give you, [The Munch-o-verse…](http://i.imgur.com/YxoLJQI.jpg) ---
**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:** [July 6, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinoff-from-two-different-shows/692101/11 "2014-07-06T12:34:50Z")
Yeah, there are people who have thoroughly documented all American TV crossover universes: [http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html](http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html) The group containing all appearances of John Munch is Group 2.