Monday, April 14, 2008

What's Your Favorite TV Spin-off?

NBC is planning a spin-off for The Office. I'm usually wary of spin-offs, but anything with the creative team behind The Office has to be good, right? Rumor has it, the show will focus on another Dunder-Mifflin branch. Will the paper business ever cease to provide hilarious situations? I think not, friends.

This got me thinking. What are your favorite spin-offs? My all time favorite is a BBC show called Ashes to Ashes, but since it has yet to air in America, here are my top 5 favorite spin-offs people have actually heard of:

1. The Simpsons (spun-off from The Tracey Ullman Show) - Pretty much the greatest and most successful spin-off ever.

2. Project Runway (from Project Greenlight) - Obviously Top Chef fits here, too.

3. Melrose Place (from Beverly Hills, 90210) - I only liked this when it got good and effing crazy. Like when Kimberly died and came back. Good stuff.

4. Saved by the Bell (from Good Morning, Miss Bliss) - Do you remember Good Morning, Miss Bliss? What a piece of crap.

5. A Pup Named Scooby Doo (from Scooby Doo, Where Are You?) - What? Don't judge.

Your turn...

9 comments:

Liz said...

Happy Days had a zillion spin offs, but I don't think any of them were good. I'll be boring and say Frasier. That show was pretty funny when it first came out.

paperback reader said...

Good Morning, Miss Bliss was oddly off-kilter, as if anyone cared about a) Hayley Mills, b) kids in Indiana, or c) anything in Indiana.

And Melrose was so loony even I watched a few seasons. Good times.

Dave Harrington said...

"Scooooby, a pup named (Scooby) Scoooooby, a pup named Scooby Doo...sha la la la"

Falwless said...

Um helloooo. Is there any greater spinoff than The Real World/Road Rules Challenge?

Just kidding, I don't watch that crap. (I only watch The Real World)

Ummm, let me think. I'm gonna have to go with The Colbert Report, spin-off from The Daily Show.

Garney said...

Tiny Toon Adventures leading to Animaniacs and then Pinky and the Brain and Freakazoid. That's a pretty good lineup.

And you know I'm a big fan of The Colbert Report, and I think The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is tons better than The Daily Show (back in the Craig Kilborn days).

doorknob_dan said...

Colbert Report too.

But I hate the interviews.

BeckEye said...

Um helloooo. Is there any greater spinoff than The Real World/Road Rules Challenge?

Short answer: no.

Why are you acting like that's a joke. They could get rid of the Real World altogether and just keep doing these challenges. People are never more real when competing for money.

Oh, and let me just say...KENNY. Fresh Meat. Hell-yes-o.

Gifted Typist said...

Hmmmm, isn't The Office (US version) a spin off of the original UK version? So that would make the spinoff a spinoff of the spinoff.

Or something
;)

Malcolm said...

Aw man, I've found another pop culture hangout! My top five spinoffs are:

1. Frasier- One could argue that it was even better than Cheers.

2. The Jeffersons

3. Good Times

4. Gomer Pyle, USMC

5. The Facts of Life

I am one of the few who preferred the pre-Heather Locklear era of Melrose Place. However, I did continue to watch it up until Jo's baby got kidnapped like twice within a month span. After that, I washed my hands of it for good.