Successful spinoffs?

[Guartho]

Someone up in the Trek XI forum posted "I'm really sorry this is not about the adventures of Captain Riker on the USS Titan or whatever the hell you imagined." and it got me thinking about spinoffs.

I've been racking my brain and I can only think of two successful spinoffs so far, Gomer Pile USMC and Frasier.

I know, some of you are thinking "Hello! TNG" but to me TNG is a sequel or even a reboot. I'm looking for shows like "Joey" where one character gets their own new show. So were there any other spinoffs that could be considered successes? (All the notable horrendous failures like "The Brady Brides" are welcome here too.)

 

[Zulu Romeo]

There's always that spinoff from the Tracey Ullman Show... "The Simpsons".

Heck, you could also include "Rab C Nesbitt" (from "Naked Video") too.

Interestingly, both sitcoms would go on to become more famous than their parent sketch show roots.

 

[CaptJimboJones]

"The Jeffersons" spun off from "All In The Family" and was on for many years.

Also I think "Trapper John M.D.," which spun off from "M*A*S*H" was a fairly successful show.

 

[Aragorn]

Legally speaking, Trapper John, M.D. is considered a spinoff of the MASH movie so that the MASH TV show producers couldn't collect any royalties. Plus it was a different actor anyway.

Three's Company had two failed spinoffs -- The Ropers and Three's a Crowd.

What about a minor character that wasn't originally part of the show getting a spinoff, like Xena: Warrior Princess?

Or when a character appears on a hit show for the purpose of setting up the spinoff, like CSI: Miami, CSI: NY and NCIS?

 

[Takeru]

Frasier was a spinoff from Cheers
Angel from Buffy
Rhoda and Lou Grant from Mary Tyler Moore
Mork & Mindy and Laverne & Shirley from Happy Days
NCIS from JAG
Melrose Place from Beverly Hills 90210
Family Matters from Perfect Strangers

 

[JonathonWally]

Do all the Law & Orders count?
Stargate: Atlantis

 

[auntiehill]

All in the Family spun off The Jeffersons and Maude, and then Maude spun-off Good Times. All were pretty successful.

 

[Aragorn]

Do all the Law & Orders count?

I think SVU counts with the OP's guidelines (of characters continuing onto a new show) since it costars the original L&O captain and a Homicide detective. CI was all original leads until Mike Logan though.

 

[Kryton]

Frasier was a spinoff from Cheers

Which also spawned the short-lived "The Tortellis".

Rhoda and Lou Grant from Mary Tyler Moore

Also "Phyllis".

Mork & Mindy and Laverne & Shirley from Happy Days

Which also spawned "Joanie Loves Chachi"...and what about the Laverne & Shirley saturday morning cartoon? It's worth noting that the "pilot" (titled "Love and the Happy Days") aired as a segment of "Love American Style", so it's ALSO a spin-off.

Also I think "Trapper John M.D.," which spun off from "M*A*S*H" was a fairly successful show.

also the failed "sequel" spin-off "AfterM*A*S*H".

Wasn't Jack Webb's "Emergency" a spin-off from "Adam-12"? Perhaps the other way around, or perhaps they just crossed over like the Hooterville characters did on CBS in the '60s.

 

[Flibble]

Ashes to Ashes was a spinoff in the UK from Life on Mars.

 

[captcalhoun]

Torchwood and Sarah-Jane Adventures span off from Doctor Who

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I know, some of you are thinking "Hello! TNG" but to me TNG is a sequel or even a reboot. I'm looking for shows like "Joey" where one character gets their own new show.

Unlike TNG, the same cannot be said of Deep Space Nine, which actually is a true spin-off under those definitions - the continuing adventures of Miles O'Brien, if you will.

 

[Kelthaz]

There's a lot of successful spinoffs

Angel from Buffy
Xena from Hercules
Jeffersons from All in the Family
Maude from All in the Family
Good Times from Maude
Torchwood from Doctor Who
Sarah Jane Adventures from Doctor Who
Frasier from Cheers
Batman Beyond from Batman: TAS
Justice League from Batman:TAS / Superman: TAS
Pinky & The Brain from Animaniacs
The Andy Griffith Show from The Danny Thomas Show
Gomer Pyle USMC from The Andy Griffith Show
Darkwing Duck from Duck Tales
Tiny Toons Adventures from Looney Tunes
Rhoda from The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Lou Grant from The Mary Tyler Moore Show

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

SVU and CI from the original Law & Order

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Do all the Law & Orders count?

I think SVU counts with the OP's guidelines (of characters continuing onto a new show) since it costars the original L&O captain and a Homicide detective. CI was all original leads until Mike Logan though.

Then there's Trial by Jury, which may be the only instance of one actor being a regular on 2 series as the same character at the same time. Arthur Branch was the New York D.A. on both Law & Order: Trial by Jury and the original Law & Order during Seasons 13-17 (I think). Plus, we got to see the continuing adventures of Lennie Briscoe on Trial by Jury for 2 episodes before Jerry Orbach suddenly died.

Then there's Conviction, which, IIRC, was also a spin-off of Law & Order since the older prosecutor on it was one of Jack McCoy's former ADAs.

But then, Conviction and Law & Order: Trial by Jury were both cancelled after only 1 season, so I guess they weren't that successful.

Stargate Atlantis was mostly new characters but Dr. McKay had been a memorable recurring foil for Major Carter on Stargate SG-1 prior to that. And Dr. Weir had been introduced on a pair of SG-1 2-parters ("Lost City" & "New Order") before Atlantis premiered. (Granted, she was played by a different actress in "Lost City.")

 

[PKTrekGirl]

NCIS from JAG

And personally, I believe that NCIS is much more popular than JAG ever was. So I would call that success.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Stargate Atlantis From Sg1 which is a spin off from the film.
Green Green grass spin off from the great only fools and horses.
Max and paddy spin off from phoenix nights.
The Royal was a spin off from heartbeat.
And was Boston legal a spin off?

 

[Kryton]

Boston Legal was a sort of spin-off in that the two lead characters were introduced in the final season of The Practice.

Of course, they pretty much abandoned both the original characterizations AND any references to the first series.

 

[JoeZhang]

Green Green grass spin off from the great only fools and horses.

That's a bizarre show, it's set in Shropshire yet the accents seem to be from places like Somerset and Norfolk! Like a show set in New York but all the characters have accents like they are from Texas...

 

[Vanyel]

Mama's Family from The Carol Burnett Show.
A Different World from The Cosby Show.
The Facts of Life from Diff'rent Strokes.
The Honneymonners from Cavalcade of Stars.
Here's Lucy from The Lucy Show (Well not really, but close.)