Comments on: Spinoff Doctors

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:12:37 +0000

Not so, MarkL. Matlock aired from 1986-1995. Jake and the Fatman ran from 1987-1992.

From IMDb:

â€¢ The year before “Jake and the Fatman” premiered, William Conrad (J.L. McCabe) appeared in a two part episode of “Matlock” (1986), titled “The Don”, in which he played prosecutor James L. McShane. Joe Penny (Jake Styles) appeared in the same two-parter as Paul Baron, the son of Matlock’s client. (Both shows came from Dean Hargrove Company.)

By: MarkL

MarkL — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 18:30:13 +0000

Jake and the Fatman was on long before Matlock, the two shows were not related.

By: JOHN BROWN

JOHN BROWN — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:35:07 +0000

YOU BETTER BE SITTING DOWN…. I’M GOING TO NAME A SPIN OFF… BEFORE I SAY IT PLEASE KNOW THIS IS USED AS PUNISHMENT IN 3RD WORLD COUNTRIES…
“JONIE LOVES CHACHIE/CHACHY/HOWEVER YOU SPELL IT. I’LL BET NAT KNOWS.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:42:18 +0000

Family Matters was originally a spinoff of Perfect Strangers. The mother was a security guard at the newspaper where Cousin Larry was a columnist.

Sadly, Steve Urkel was never inspired sufficiently to do a proper Myposian Dance of Joy.

By: Action Jackson

Action Jackson — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 17:01:07 +0000

I wish any other character from Soap made their own show other than Benson.

I wish After M*A*S*H was never given the green light.

I hope someone from The Office does something as good.

Joey? We won’t go there.

By: Mim

Mim — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:01:12 +0000

I would have enjoyed a Northern Exposure spin. That show was so well written and character driven.

By: Duane

Duane — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:57:48 +0000

The Wikipedia entry (which does not cite sources) says that Norman Lear started up the project at a time when conservative radio was on the upswing (think Rush Limbaugh) and “the time was right” to explore some of the issues being discussed. It only lasted 6 episodes.

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:12:35 +0000

Good stuff, Duane. Do you know what the thinking was behind “704 Hauser”? Was Archie involved at the beginning? Or was this just a case where the set had been taking up space for 15 years, and the network said, “Why not?”

By: Duane

Duane — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:29:26 +0000

I think All in the Family gets more spinoff credit than you give it. It also spun off “Archie’s Place” (where Edith has died and Archie owns the bar he used to hang out at), and “Gloria” where the daughter Sally Struthers goes to work as (or for? I forget) a veterinarian with Burgess Meredith. Technically “704 Hauser” was a spinoff about a minority family who purchased Archie Bunker’s house, but otherwise it was completely unrelated to the storyline or characters. And then the Jeffersons was spun off into “Checking In”, where maid Florence got to run a hotel.

TV Geeks don’t typically count Mork and Mindy as a true spinoff from Happy Days, since the whole Mork character was really more of a special guest star role and not a major character. It’s as if Cheers spun Frasier off into his own series after 2 visits with Diane, before he became a character of his own.
Even “The Tortellis” had appearances by a number of Cheers alum, including Carla, George and Norm. I don’t think any Happy Days people ever showed up in Colorado with Mork and Mindy.

By: Sheldon Siegel

Sheldon Siegel — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:14:08 +0000

I ALWAYS wanted to see a “Bewitched” spinoff with Uncle Arthur and Endora!