List of Television Spin-offs

List Of Television Spin-offs

A spin-off in television is a new series which contains either characters or theme elements from a previous series. They are particularly common in situation comedy. A related phenomenon, not to be confused with the spin-off, is the crossover.

Many, if not all spinoffs, are produced by some of the original producers of the root show.

A remake of a pre-existing show is not a spin-off (e.g. The Battlestar Galactica series of 2003 is not considered to have spun off from the one made in 1978). An exception can be made to series such as The Transformers where the lines of continuity are blurred. If a television pilot was written but never shot, it is not considered a spin-off. When a show undergoes a name change, its successor is considered a spin-off from the original program. For example, Archie Bunker's Place is considered a spin-off from All in the Family.

Some spin-offs are "engineered" that introduce a character to one show just so that that character can anchor a new show (that episode of the original show is often known as a "backdoor pilot"). For example, the character Horatio Caine appeared on one episode of the Las Vegas-based CSI: Crime Scene Investigation before the premiere of CSI: Miami. Shows such as Enterprise and Deadline which have no immediate connection to previous series but are still known to exist within the same fictional sphere are also spin-offs.

Read more about List Of Television Spin-offs:  List of Spin-offs

Famous quotes containing the words list of, list and/or television:

    Religious literature has eminent examples, and if we run over our private list of poets, critics, philanthropists and philosophers, we shall find them infected with this dropsy and elephantiasis, which we ought to have tapped.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    Do your children view themselves as successes or failures? Are they being encouraged to be inquisitive or passive? Are they afraid to challenge authority and to question assumptions? Do they feel comfortable adapting to change? Are they easily discouraged if they cannot arrive at a solution to a problem? The answers to those questions will give you a better appraisal of their education than any list of courses, grades, or test scores.
    Lawrence Kutner (20th century)

    There was a girl who was running the traffic desk, and there was a woman who was on the overnight for radio as a producer, and my desk assistant was a woman. So when the world came to an end, we took over.
    Marya McLaughlin, U.S. television newswoman. As quoted in Women in Television News, ch. 3, by Judith S. Gelfman (1976)