By Paula Green

In September we finally get to say goodbye to summer reruns on television. New shows premiere as well as fresh episodes of old program favorites.

Debuting new content in the fall makes sense because fewer people tend to watch TV during the summer because they are often on vacation or busy doing other recreational activities. When fall arrives, people tend to gravitate back into their homes and television viewership increases.

There have been many successful shows that have premiered over the years. Often times, good ideas turn into “great ideas.” Some shows are so good they spawn other programs from them, thus the birth of the “spin-off.”

A TV series in considered to be a “spin-off” if one or more of the regular characters has been taken from the cast of a previous series. Let’s take a look at few of these television creations.

Make Room for Daddy spun-off The Joey Bishop Show, Make Room for Granddaddy and The Andy Griffith Show. Then The Andy Griffith Show turned around and gave us Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and Mayberry R.F.D.

Four different shows debuted thanks to the success of All in the Family. We saw the dawn of Archie Bunker’s Place, Gloria, The Jeffersons and Maude. The Jeffersons spun-off Checking In and Maude launched Good Times

Happy Days also spun-off four shows: Joanie Loves Chaci, Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy and Out of the Blue. Incidentally, Happy Days came from the program Love American Style.

Three different programs resulted from the success of the The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Those shows were Lou Grant, Phyllis and Rhoda. M*A*S*H also launched a trio of shows. They include Trapper John. M.D., AfterMASH and W*A*L*T*E*R. The TV series Law & Order gave us Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: Trial By Jury, Law and Order: SVU, which spurred the show Conviction.

Some shows launched two different programs. Three’s Company gave us the shows The Ropers and Three’s a Crowd. The Golden Girls began the shows Empty Nest and The Golden Palace. Cheers gave us The Tortellis and Frasier, which is considered one of the most successful spin-off series in television history. The program ran for 11 seasons and won 37 Emmy Awards.

We also saw successful night time soaps that spun-off progeny. Dallas started Knot’s Landing, while Dynasty began The Colbys, and Party of Five premiered Time of Your Life. Beverly Hills 90210 introduced us to Melrose Place, and in turn, Melrose Place began the series Models, Inc.

The list of these of beauties could keep spinning. Since we have come full-circle with some familiar “spin-offs” we must now revolve our thoughts around these classic TV questions…because it is time to get a little trivial...

1. The show Benson spun-off from what TV series?

2. The Tracey Ullman Show launched this long-running program?

3. Saved By the Bell launched The College Years and The New Class. What show did Saved By the Bell spin-off from?

4. Flo came from which television show?

5. Diff’rent Strokes gave us this television series.

6. The Cosby Show introduced this TV program.

7. The success of Friends was followed up with this show.

8. Abe Vigoda played the character Fish on the show by the same name. Which series did this spin-off from?

9. The Bionic Woman originated with this program.

10. Star Trek: The Next Generation spun-off this series.

11. The truth is out there with The X-Files, which gave us this show.

12. Matlock spun-off Jake and the Fatman, which in turn launched its own spin-off.

13. Buddy Ebsen’s stint as Barnaby Jones got its start from this program.

14. Perfect Strangers spun-off this TV series.

15. Boston Legal got its start from this show.

Sources:

http://crazyabouttv.commiscpages/spinoffs.html

http://www.wikipedia.com

http://www.slate.com/id/2126589

Answers:

1. Soap 2. The Simpsons 3. Good Morning, Miss Bliss 4. Alice 5. The Facts of Life 6. A Different World 7. Joey 8. Barney Miller 9. The Six Million Dollar Man 10. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 11. The Lone Gunmen 12. Diagnosis Murder 13. Cannon 14. Family Matters 15. The Practice

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