TMC
12-20-2017, 08:55 PM
https://www.the-fanboy-perspective.com/the-concept-of-a-shared-universe-is-old-news-a.html
Believe it or not, Make Room For Daddy would essentially expand its universe to include, I Love Lucy (retroactively), Susie, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Andy Griffith Show, The Steve Allen Show, Mister Ed, The Joey Bishop Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gomer Pyle USMC, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, Mayberry R.F.D, and a further three movies as well, spanning over three decades of TV. All these shows shared one universe with each other, but in the interests of simplicity, I'll refer to this one as The Andy Griffith Show shared universe, even though that's not technically correct.
All these shows were located in close proximity to each other, Gomer Pyle was from Mayberry, while Mayberry was close to Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. The Beverly Hillbillies made repeated references to regarding the characters and locations from Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. The granny from The Beverly Hillbillies even made an appearance on Mister Ed and Petticoat Junction.
Eb from Green Acres also appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies. Danny Thomas from Make Room For Daddy was arrested by Sheriff Andy Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show. The Danny Thomas Show also crossed over into The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, which was a continuation of I Love Lucy. Each show referenced and acknowledged the other shows in some way. It seems to me that this was the first ever shared universe on TV.
Funnily enough, Jose Jimenez, who was a main character of The Bill Dana Show, the same Jose Jimenez that originated on the Make Room For Daddy TV show, appeared in an episode of Batman in 1966. So a case could actually be made that all these TV shows were connected to Batman and The Green Hornet as well. I won't take it quite that far, but I could if I really wanted to be pedantic about the whole shared universe concept.
The Danny Thomas TV Family Reunion was the first TV reunion, and it's so old that I can't even find a poster or picture of it, it's lost to history now. The Return of The Beverly Hillbillies and Return to Mayberry TV movies all acted as a reunion for The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle USMC and Mayberry R.F.D. can both be seen as extensions of The Andy Griffith Show shared universe as well.
Believe it or not, Make Room For Daddy would essentially expand its universe to include, I Love Lucy (retroactively), Susie, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Andy Griffith Show, The Steve Allen Show, Mister Ed, The Joey Bishop Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gomer Pyle USMC, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, Mayberry R.F.D, and a further three movies as well, spanning over three decades of TV. All these shows shared one universe with each other, but in the interests of simplicity, I'll refer to this one as The Andy Griffith Show shared universe, even though that's not technically correct.
All these shows were located in close proximity to each other, Gomer Pyle was from Mayberry, while Mayberry was close to Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. The Beverly Hillbillies made repeated references to regarding the characters and locations from Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. The granny from The Beverly Hillbillies even made an appearance on Mister Ed and Petticoat Junction.
Eb from Green Acres also appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies. Danny Thomas from Make Room For Daddy was arrested by Sheriff Andy Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show. The Danny Thomas Show also crossed over into The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, which was a continuation of I Love Lucy. Each show referenced and acknowledged the other shows in some way. It seems to me that this was the first ever shared universe on TV.
Funnily enough, Jose Jimenez, who was a main character of The Bill Dana Show, the same Jose Jimenez that originated on the Make Room For Daddy TV show, appeared in an episode of Batman in 1966. So a case could actually be made that all these TV shows were connected to Batman and The Green Hornet as well. I won't take it quite that far, but I could if I really wanted to be pedantic about the whole shared universe concept.
The Danny Thomas TV Family Reunion was the first TV reunion, and it's so old that I can't even find a poster or picture of it, it's lost to history now. The Return of The Beverly Hillbillies and Return to Mayberry TV movies all acted as a reunion for The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle USMC and Mayberry R.F.D. can both be seen as extensions of The Andy Griffith Show shared universe as well.