Was discussing twists and plots that TV shows use to boost ratings, such as vacation episodes (Brady Bunch), dream sequences (Dallas), and introduction of new characters (Happy Days).
Then, tried to ID shows that joined up with other shows for an episode. There are a ton of spin-offs, but all I could think of was the cartoons Jimmy Neutron and Fairly Odd Parents joining up for the Jimmy Timmy Power Hour.
Any ideas?
Don’t know if it is what you’re looking for - but Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies were all in the same universe and dropped into each other’s stories occasionally. None of them were spinoffs IMO.
Sy-Fy did that a lot. Eureka, Alphas and Warehouse 13 all had characters do guest appearances on each others show. Eureka and Warehouse 13 did a two episode story, one episode in each show.
Magnum PI crossed over with Murder, She Wrote for an episode apiece.
CSI showed up on Two and a Half Men to investigate Teddy’s death.
The Simpsons and Family Guy and American Dad and those Sunday night shows on Fox will have characters go in and out of each others universes once in a while.
There has been many cross-overs over the years. 6 Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman had them.
CSI franchise has had several. I’m pretty sure Murder She Wrote & Magnum PI had a cross over. Simon & Simon also got involved with one of those others.
Kramer showed up on Mad About You and Murphy Brown.
Norm & Cliff of Cheers went on a fishing trip that was mostly about drinking beer but involved flying onto Wings.
Friends & Mad About You crossed over thanks to Lisa Kudrow playing characters that were twin sisters on each show.
There was some cross over between the Dick Van Dyke Show and Danny Thomas Show. It think Buddy performed on DTS and Danny on DVDS.
Oh, I remember the Green Hornet & Kato showing up on Batman, I think more than once. Not sure if that counts, I think Green Hornet was a spin-off.
Maybe the best on was Carl Reiner as Alan Brady on Mad About You. Basically 3 decades later.
Back in their glory days, there was considerable crossover between the different CSIs, and at least once between them and Without a Trace.
On the recommendation of Dr Erlich, Drs Craig and Westphall from St Elsewhere once paid a visit to Cheers!
Hawaii 5-0 and NCIS:LA had a crossover special last year (I think). I thought it was apt since they are probably the two most disconnected-from-reality cop shows on TV now (that aren’t intentionally disconnected).
For that matter, one episode had Helen getting back at Frasier Crane for “wrecking her life” while he was giving a seminar on the island.
Same producer, same network, same time slot (on Fridays), but not a spinoff. In the real world, Batman is a DC hero; the Green Hornet (like the Lone Ranger, to whom he was related) originated on Detroit’s WXYZ radio.
Homicide crossed over with Law and Order a number of times. John Munch of Homicide became a character in Law and Order: SVU
The Poobah.com Crossover page is the definitive list.
Law and Order and Homicide: Life of the Street had a few crossovers.
I know Simon & Simon crossed over with Magnum, not sure about Murder, She Wrote.
And of course Bob and Emily Hartley showed up in Newhart.
Ninja’ed. Munch showed up on a lot of shows.
Came in to mention his appearance on “Arrested Development.” Would’ve been nice to have seen a GOB cameo on SVU.
From the way I read the OP, he/she’s looking for shows that crossed over to actually form a whole new show, not one-off episodes.
It always annoyed me how Friends ruined the Ursula character, who was hilarious on Mad About You for her recurring bits.
There was a night where a blackout started on Mad About You was supposed to crossover to all the “Must See TV” shows but Seinfeld refused to go along with it. I can’t recall what the fourth comedy was, though.