Would Ernest T Bass have made a good Spin-off?

[GentlemanJim]

Ernest T Bass is by far my favorite TAGS character. So much so that when the show was in first run, I co-opted Ernest T's signature giggle. Much to my parent's dismay, I might add.

I could never get enough of that character. Does anyone think his character might have made for a good spin-off series. Or would his nature wear thin through repetition?

Admittedly I am biased, but I think there is a good two year run in there, at least.

[Chocolate Moose]

I would have watched!

[PracTz]

I'm not sure it would have worked- unless they'd moved Ernest to another town and they had a new character there be a straight man/woman to his zaniness. I also think it may have wiped out Mr. Morris to play such a force of nature on a constant basis.

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by PracTz

I also think it may have wiped out Mr. Morris to play such a force of nature on a constant basis.

You're probably right about that.
But here's the idea I had for a spin off.

Each week's episode would start with a close up of a window. You hear Ernest t's signature laugh and then a rock crashes through the window.
Then the camera zooms out, and you see that the "window of the week" was actually a window from a structure in another sit com you are familiar with.

One week it might be the Douglass' window on Green Acres, while the following week it might be Milburn Drysdales mansion.

With each episode dedicated to immersing Ernest T into that show's "culture".

I think devoted fans would tune-in just for the novelty.

After a couple seasons he would become over exposed, but I still think it would have beat R.F.D. in the ratings

[vitoscotti]

It's amazing the ETB character was only on a handful of times. Howard Morris was a busy guy. Maybe that played in to it. Every ETB episode is a classis TAGS episode. He was such a bigger than life character, it demanded a lot of an episodes time he was so brilliant. Maybe Howard Morris was happy with his few tags episode count. He was behind the camera in some episodes. He was the radio announcer on some episodes. I'm thinking a spin-off would have been thought of, but who knows?

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

You're probably right about that.
But here's the idea I had for a spin off.

Each week's episode would start with a close up of a window. You hear Ernest t's signature laugh and then a rock crashes through the window.
Then the camera zooms out, and you see that the "window of the week" was actually a window from a structure in another sit com you are familiar with.

One week it might be the Douglass' window on Green Acres, while the following week it might be Milburn Drysdales mansion.

With each episode dedicated to immersing Ernest T into that show's "culture".

I think devoted fans would tune-in just for the novelty.

After a couple seasons he would become over exposed, but I still think it would have beat R.F.D. in the ratings

That's actually a fairly good 'cross-pollination' idea but it might have been more effective as a means to promote each show since I'm not sure Ernest T would have been immersed in any other culture but his own. Maybe he could have gotten a job as a travelling salesman going to both rural areas and big cities but somehow ALWAYS thinking that throwing rocks through windows was the best way to get the customers' attention! Perhaps, his boss back in the home office could have been the straight man who kept threatening to and sometimes DID fire Ernest T but somehow Ernest T would always keep working for him against the boss's better judgement (as did Lucy Carmichael for Mr. Mooney).

Speaking of which, another place he could have thrown a rock might have Mr. Mooney's LA office in 'The Lucy Show'. Yep, ole Ernest T would have REALLY been phenomenal had he actually been able to throw a rock THAT high (and imagine Lucy Carmichael's and Mr. Mooney's reactions). Oh, and since Lucy [offcamera] was running Desilu, where TAGS was filmed, it would have worked well for both of them!

Yeah, not only would it have beaten RFD in the ratings but also the interest since the latter show often was like watching paint dry and hoping something funny (like in TAGS early years) would eventually happen but they rarely did (even less often than in TAGS later years).

[GentlemanJim]

Imagine the chemistry you could have with Ernest T. and Larry, Daryl, and Darrell on the Newhart show.

Or Ernest T and Mr Haney.

I think people would tune in, I just cant say how long it would last before it grew stale. Over exposure could be a problem.

[Sterling Holobyte]

I would have loved to have seen Ernest T. in a spinoff show! BTW, I love your idea for the opening theme.
I had often thought that I would like to have seen Ernest T. actually join the military, like he almost did in that one TAGS episode. Can you imagine the trouble he would get into because of his manic nature and craziness?! He would be the antithesis of Gomer Pyle(Whose show I also love!).

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by Sterling Holobyte

! He would be the antithesis of Gomer Pyle(Whose show I also love!).

Picture this: Ernest T. pulls in the cast of Gomer Pyle USMC for one of my spin-off anthology episodes, and gets a crush on Bunny, Sgt Carter's girlfriend.

Ernest T's chaos ties Sgt Carter in knots. Until Gomer realizes who the culprit is, and remembering Ernest T's vulnerabilities from back when they were kids, saves the day for Sgt Carter?

[someguy23475]

Ernest T was great in his small doses. Too many appearances, or a spin-off, and it would get stale. It’s the same with Otis Campbell (could you imagine him with a series?)

[Chocolate Moose]

Originally Posted by someguy23475

Ernest T was great in his small doses. Too many appearances, or a spin-off, and it would get stale. It’s the same with Otis Campbell (could you imagine him with a series?)

Maybe it would have been cute. You know, a wife with an apron on ... like the Honeymooners!!!

[Mayberry'sBadBoy]

Originally Posted by Chocolate Moose

Maybe it would have been cute. You know, a wife with an apron on ... like the Honeymooners!!!

If they paired him with Irene Tedrow (She played the lady in Opie's Newspaper whose Chicken Al A King tasted like Wallpaper paste) it could've gone somewhere. Hal Smith and Irene Tedrow would later play a small-town couple on the 1977 animated special Halloween is Grinch Night and IMO they had good chemistry on that show.

[Schmo]

Has anyone seen Howard Morris’s work on “Your Show of Shows”?

[showfan]

Originally Posted by someguy23475

Ernest T was great in his small doses. Too many appearances, or a spin-off, and it would get stale. It’s the same with Otis Campbell (could you imagine him with a series?)

I agree There are some characters and actors that are marvelous in small doses, but as the lead character, I think it would have gotten old very fast if his character was exactly like on TAGS.