So is "The Ted Knight Show" a spin-off?

[Adamantium]

Just like "Three's a Crowd" is considered a spin-off to "Three's Company". "Archie Bunker's Place" is a spin-off of "All in the Family". Since, I understand if "The Ted Knight Show" lasted longer, it would have been syndicated by itself. Is it considered a spin-off of "Too Close for Comfort" or not?

[alienkattuk]

Good question!

As far I am concern, I must say YES!

Archie Bunkie's Place changed format from the original - All In The Family.

the same thing goes for Ted Knight and Too Close For Comfort.

In a way, it is basicly the same show.

[TMC]

Pardon me if this has been asked before, by why was the title changed from Too Close for Comfort to The Ted Knight Show in the first place? Was it because with Jackie and Sara gone, the core premise of TCFC was essentially gone with it?

Either way, it just seems odd to just change the show's name that far in. Maybe had Ted Knight not passed away just after a year in with the new title (thus, retroactively being considered TCFC's final season), it would've had a better chance at standing on its own.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by alienkattuk

Good question!

As far I am concern, I must say YES!

Archie Bunkie's Place changed format from the original - All In The Family.

the same thing goes for Ted Knight and Too Close For Comfort.

In a way, it is basicly the same show.

I dug up this article from the New York Times from April 1986 and it doesn't explicitly say anything relating to Too Close for Comfort.

''The Ted Knight Show,'' which premieres tonight at 7:30 on Channel 5, is about a small-town newspaper that gives journalism, television-style, a bad name, and makes a strong case for repealing the First Amendment. It's a tossup which rings more hollow -the newspaper characters or the canned laughter.

The newspaper is called The Marin Bugler. That doesn't necessarily mean it takes place in lovely, laid-back Marin County, over the bridge from San Francisco, except for an opening stock shot and what looks like a painted mountain in the background. The locales may be real but they look like the same old Los Angeles studio set. The only thing missing is the chase on the freeway.

Ted Knight plays the role of the new editor of The Marin Bugler. Two actresses are wasted - Nancy Dussault as his sympathetic wife and Nancy Carroll as the widow of the publisher. They seem to talk a decibel or two higher than necessary, possibly to cover up for the shortcomings of the script. Mr. Knight's main contribution to the improvement of The Bugler is to wring his hands and roll his eyes. Miss Carroll doesn't like to change things on the old paper, and she's probably right. Leave worse enough alone.

Those responsible for this opening episode include the creator of the show, Brian Cooke; the producer and writer, George Yanok; the executive producer, Aaron Ruben, and the director, Peter Baldwin.

Some of the future newspaper episodes listed sound a little more promising - one on toxic waste, another on a Vietnamese family - but the first show looks like a typographical error. Someone should have stopped the presses on The Bugler.

[michelala]

^The storylines on that one season of the "Ted Knight Show" weren't that great. The supporting cast was weak. I thought the last handful of shows in Season 5 of TCFC were well done so it was a bummer to see the format change the next season. My guess is the show still garnered good ratings even after the title change mainly because people still wanted to tune in and catch Ted, especially the fans who had followed him since the MTM show. In the same way people also tuned into "Mama's Family" to catch the old Carol Burnett Show gang.

I would definitely say it was a spinoff in the same way that "Three's a Crowd" was a spinoff from "Three's Company." They were both DL Taffner shows too.

I just noticed the OP asked this question in 2005!