TV Show Mash-Up

[Human without the bean]

On 1/5/2018 at 5:57 PM, WordWolf said:

I disagree with them as to whether it counts as a spinoff under 2 specific circumstances.

A) The show changes name- that is, "All in the Family" turning into "Archie Bunker's Place."

B) When a character's first appearance is in a single episode of a show-and their second appearance is a pilot of a new series that never interacts with the original show. So, I think it's fine to say Joey Tribbiani from "Friends" spun off into "Joey", and Frasier Crane and the Tortellis spun off "Cheers" into their own shows.  All those characters either were regulars or appeared several times.    IIRC, Matt Le Blanc appeared ONCE on "Married With Children" as Kelly's boyfriend, then his second appearance as that character was in the series pilot "Top of the Heap." If I'm correct, I don't count that as a "spin-off." The character was introduced briefly into one show, then their own show was introduced. 

Nobody counts DC's Arrowverse shows as spinning off each other. Barry Allen appeared in a 2-parter in "Arrow" before "the Flash" began, and that's not counted as a spin-off. "Legends of Tomorrow" began with most of the principal cast having been introduced in "Arrow" or "Flash", and that's not counted as a spin-off- and those characters were recurring or regulars.

The whole point of the one-appearance "spin-off" is to introduce the character to the viewing audience of a show before the new show airs.  Their existence there doesn't impact on either show in the long run.    Contrast that, say, with "Angel" spinning off "Buffy".  Even when the casts don't meet up, there's references back and forth, and telephone calls where we only hear one side (which saves money on actor salaries.) 

All of that, of course, is me disagreeing with them.

You're wasting your breath WordWolf.

[WordWolf]

9 hours ago, Human without the bean said:

You're wasting your breath WordWolf.

I'm speaking my peace.  What, now I can't even give my opinion about TV without being controversial?

[Human without the bean]

Like I said WordWolf I didn't want to debate anything. So move on.

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Boys, boys!  Don't make me come over there! 

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Like a number of shows, over the years, this show was originally broadcast on one network, and then picked up by another.

The main character's designation comes from old slang, meaning to refuse service to a customer.

The name of one of the main characters is never given, even after she marries the main character.

 

George (did I do this one already?)

[WordWolf]

I don't remember that first clue, so it may not have been posted before. Was Mel Brooks involved with this one?

[GeorgeStGeorge]

13 hours ago, WordWolf said:

I don't remember that first clue, so it may not have been posted before. Was Mel Brooks involved with this one?

He was, indeed.

George

[WordWolf]

This particular show is "Get Smart" (Superagente 86, Mini-Max,  etc, depending on the country and language.)

I thought 86 meant to scratch an item off the menu because it's run out or something.

*checks* Apparently, it's meant both.

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Yeah.  The diner I used to eat at had a whiteboard with items "86"ed for the day.  I guess you can refuse to serve something, if you don't have it.  :-)

George

[WordWolf]

I've been watching this show, on and off, lately. That made it a lot easier to get.

 

Ok, next one, let's see...

[WordWolf]

Ok, let's make this a little more vague.  Get any of these to take the round.

Some jobs show up a lot more than others on television.  Name the show where one of the main characters/ primary characters had this job:

A) Psychiatrist (practicing) 

B) Owner-Operator of a trucking business.

C) Beautician (practicing)

D) Advertising Executive

E) Shepherd/sheep-herder (retired or practicing-but the one I'm thinking of was formerly one/retired)

 

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Well, one might suggest "Mad Men" for (D), although it would be ruled out if ONLY one of the main characters could be an ad executive.

I would guess "Necessary Roughness" for (A).  The main character was a psychotherapist, which I think counts as a psychiatrist.

Both of these were cable network shows.  Were we to consider only broadcast networks?

George

[WordWolf]

38 minutes ago, GeorgeStGeorge said:

Well, one might suggest "Mad Men" for (D), although it would be ruled out if ONLY one of the main characters could be an ad executive.

I would guess "Necessary Roughness" for (A).  The main character was a psychotherapist, which I think counts as a psychiatrist.

Both of these were cable network shows.  Were we to consider only broadcast networks?

George

Strictly speaking, I did not disallow them. All the shows I was thinking of were broadcast network shows. However, if we don't get any of the others, I'd accept cable as the closest answer.  And I was specific about "psychiatrist" or I'd also accept "Psychologist" and the title character of "Frasier" would be included.

[WordWolf]

On 1/11/2018 at 11:07 AM, GeorgeStGeorge said:

Well, one might suggest "Mad Men" for (D), although it would be ruled out if ONLY one of the main characters could be an ad executive.

I would guess "Necessary Roughness" for (A).  The main character was a psychotherapist, which I think counts as a psychiatrist.

Both of these were cable network shows.  Were we to consider only broadcast networks?

George

So, we'll go with "Mad Men" as a correct answer.

 

[WordWolf]

On 1/11/2018 at 12:46 AM, WordWolf said:

Ok, let's make this a little more vague.  Get any of these to take the round.

Some jobs show up a lot more than others on television.  Name the show where one of the main characters/ primary characters had this job:

A) Psychiatrist (practicing) 

B) Owner-Operator of a trucking business.

C) Beautician (practicing)

D) Advertising Executive

E) Shepherd/sheep-herder (retired or practicing-but the one I'm thinking of was formerly one/retired)

 

Ok, I'm sure there were multiple correct answers. What was I thinking of in each, which were possible correct answers if no others were named?

A) "Growing Pains." The Dad.

B) "My Wife and Kids."  The Dad.

C) "Hope And Gloria." - Gloria.  Oddly enough, I was thinking of something else, but I found this when I checked. I don't remember what the other one was.

D) "Who's The Boss?" -Angela.

E) "Perfect Strangers"-Balki.

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Although most of those shows were fairly popular, the only one I saw was "Who's the Boss?".

George

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Name two things that the following shows have in common (other than their genre):

The Cape

Firefly

Sarah Connor Chronicles

Dollhouse

Alphas

George

[Human without the bean]

I've only heard of Sarah Conner Chronicles.  Without any familiarity of these others I wouldn't know this one.

[GeorgeStGeorge]

They're all sci-fi/fantasy type shows (but I excluded genre as one of the choices).  Most were on broadcast networks (three, I think, were on FOX), but Alphas was a cable series.

Sadly, WW will be out of pocket for about a week.  Unless Raf chimes in, we may have to wait a while.  I don't want to give up on this, just yet.

A hint:  some people consider the two things correlated, though they may simply be coincidental.

George

[Raf]

Sumner Glau

 

free post

[Raf]

Oh, sorry, you said two things... hmm

 

[Raf]

The great spinoff debate:
Changing the name AND SETTING should count as a spinoff. All in the Family was about Archie's family. Archie Bunker's Place changed the premise of the show. So I would say yes, spinoff.

But Little House on the Prairie became Little House: A New Beginning. It lost a main character and nuclear -- Charles Ingalls -- but literally kept everything else intact, including the other main character, Laura. It was set in the same town. True, a new family lived in the Little House, but the show was never about the house. That should not count as a spinoff (and in video and syndication, it doesn't even bother: it's still Little House on the Prairie).

The second phenomenon you refer to is known as a "backdoor pilot." This establishes that the shows are "set in the same universe," but technically one is not a spinoff of the other. For example, The Incredible Hulk is not a sequel to Iron Man. And yes, Flash is not a spinoff of Arrow. But you can argue that Legends of Tomorrow is a spinoff of both Flash and Arrow, using key characters that were developed in both shows with no original intent to spin them off into their own show. So I disagree with WW on Legends.

Others are not as clear cut, but I would say yes, spinoff: Mork and Mindy. Laverne and Shirley. These were one-off characters that proved popular enough to get their own shows.

Anyway, interesting convo.

[GeorgeStGeorge]

12 hours ago, Raf said:

Oh, sorry, you said two things... hmm

 

I'm going to toss in the second thing.  None of the series made it past two seasons.  Summer is sort of the Flying Dutchman of TV series.  If she gets a main role, it's a portent of doom.  I was gratified that she was only on Arrow for a few episodes, apparently not enough to work her "charm."  Are Summer's appearances and quick cancellations cause-and-effect, or just coincidence?  You decide. 

As Raf said, FREE POST

George

[WordWolf]

On 1/27/2018 at 10:01 AM, Raf said:

The great spinoff debate:
Changing the name AND SETTING should count as a spinoff. All in the Family was about Archie's family. Archie Bunker's Place changed the premise of the show. So I would say yes, spinoff.

But Little House on the Prairie became Little House: A New Beginning. It lost a main character and nuclear -- Charles Ingalls -- but literally kept everything else intact, including the other main character, Laura. It was set in the same town. True, a new family lived in the Little House, but the show was never about the house. That should not count as a spinoff (and in video and syndication, it doesn't even bother: it's still Little House on the Prairie).

The second phenomenon you refer to is known as a "backdoor pilot." This establishes that the shows are "set in the same universe," but technically one is not a spinoff of the other. For example, The Incredible Hulk is not a sequel to Iron Man. And yes, Flash is not a spinoff of Arrow. But you can argue that Legends of Tomorrow is a spinoff of both Flash and Arrow, using key characters that were developed in both shows with no original intent to spin them off into their own show. So I disagree with WW on Legends.

Others are not as clear cut, but I would say yes, spinoff: Mork and Mindy. Laverne and Shirley. These were one-off characters that proved popular enough to get their own shows.

Anyway, interesting convo.

I'll give you "Archie Bunker's Place". but not "Mork and Mindy." Laverne and Shirley were in "Happy Days" before they spun off, IIRC, for a few appearances. but Mork ONLY appeared in his back-door pilot- which ended with him jumping forward in time to "the present" (as of original airing)  and Boulder, Colorado from Milwaukee. I may be operating with a much more strict definition of "back-door pilot."  (I.e. "Assignment: Earth" was a back-door pilot on "Star Trek (TOS)"  and we never saw Gary Seven again on ST:TOS before or after.)  For that matter, "Out of the Blue" also had one from "Happy Days"- where Random appears in 1 episode of Happy Days, then vanishes and the new show begins (an odd quirk in airdates meant that the actual appearance in "Happy Days" aired after the show began, but that was accidental.) 

In other news, who cares, really?

[WordWolf]

I suspected the shows were short-lived, but not sure they all died one season in, and I didn't know Summer got around to all of them.