Name shows with eps that featured unknown characters in hopes of spinning them off

[ThomasE]

As we know, there are many shows that have brought in characters that that we as viewers were not familiar with. These eps were proposed pilots in hopes of spinning off these characters. Can we name some? I remember Mac Davis guest starring on "Webster" as Unlce Jake. The show was featured around Webster visiting some boarding house and some man that separated himself from some kid that looked up to him. It has been a while so I don't remember much. I do remember as a child that the episode was pretty boring to me.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by ThomasE

As we know, there are many shows that have brought in characters that that we as viewers were not familiar with. These eps were proposed pilots in hopes of spinning off these characters. Can we name some? I remember Mac Davis guest starring on "Webster" as Unlce Jake. The show was featured around Webster visiting some boarding house and some man that separated himself from some kid that looked up to him. It has been a while so I don't remember much. I do remember as a child that the episode was pretty boring to me.

Vinnie and His Dad guest starring once on Married With children who were spinned off to "TOP OF THE HEAP"

[ThomasE]

I remember the show on FOX. I think that I saw like one or two episodes.

[GSU2004]

Originally Posted by ThomasE

I remember the show on FOX. I think that I saw like one or two episodes.

What an awful show, I get mad everytime I see that episode in the syndicated run of the show. Do you remember the backdoor pilots of Bud and Steve at his college in the episode "Radio Free Tremaine"? I think that show had some potential within it. They would have to give Bud some oompf within his character and seeing him score every now and then.

[GSU2004]

Some I remember:

"College Kid" on A Different World (season six). This episode went unaired during the original run but we see Billie Dee Williams and Lesile Oogams star with the new kids as a potential spinoff focusing on the new kids and Williams as their landlord who goes back to school to finish school. Oogams was supposed to be the woman he stood up several years ago.

"The Audit" on 227 (season two). This episode showed Mary and Lester at a diner discussing their taxes while focusing on the characters working at the diner.

Of course, we never knew about Flex's cousin and the barber shop on One on One. That pilot was picked up by UPN. Also, we had Joan's cousin Melaine that we only saw for one episode and then spun off into the Game.

[Child_of_the_80s]

Originally Posted by GSU2004

"The Audit" on 227 (season two). This episode showed Mary and Lester at a diner discussing their taxes while focusing on the characters working at the diner.

I remember this! I actually wished they did a spinoff on the diner. They were a lot more entertaining then the characters that later came on 227(Dylan, Eva, Stoney Jackson's no dancing character, Alexandria)

"The Facts of Life" did a number of attempts to spin off storylines/characters.

-Brian and Slyvia. The interracial couple in Tootie's family. Richard Dean Anderson played Brian and Ja'net DuBois played Slyvia's mother. I thought it was a cute episode.

-The Academy. An all boys military school that Jo's troublemaking friend attended. I thought it was the male version of the Eastland girls. Cute.

-Jo's Cousin. Boring and pointless
-The Beginning of the End. An sad attempt, think The Facts of Life: A Coed late '80's show Pt. 2.

The Cosby Show had one too with Tony Orlando about him running some center back in '85.
Martin also had one in the last season where Pam applies for a job at an record company.

[ThomasE]

What about Maude going into politics? Wasn't the last episode soley focused on her political career?

[Jude The Obscure]

On the Doris Day Show, season 3, last episode is a pilot for a show called "Young Love" with Meredith Baxter Birney. Very boring and does not match the tone of Doris Day at all. It was actually a separate pilot, that was re-edited with Doris and Meredith filming new wraparounds in order to make it seem like a Doris Day Show episode.

[ThomasE]

This is what I love about these boards. There is always someone that gives you that interesting trivia. Jude thanks for that info. I never knew that about the Doris Day Show. Merideth Baxter, huh? I wonder how that spinoff would have worked out if it was picked up.

I do have another one of my own, the ep of "Gimmie A Break" from spring 1986 that focused on two guys running some italian restaurant. If you ask me, that looked like a pilot attempt to me. I really did not find that episode interesting. Did anyone else see that episode and if so, what did you think about it?

[CHERISLAND]

one more to add:

"Kelly's Kids" episode #107 of the Brady Bunch was a proposed pilot for another Sherwood Schwartz series that never took off.
Ken & Kathy Kelly, played by Ken Berry & Brooke Bundy who end up adopting three boys. Todd Lookinland (Mike's younger brother) played 8 yr old Matt, William Attmore II played Dwayne and Carey Wong played Steve.

In 1986 his idea was finally picked up as Together We Stand on CBS with Elliot Gould & Dee Wallace as the couple.

[repeatshistory]

Originally Posted by CHERISLAND

one more to add:

"Kelly's Kids" episode #107 of the Brady Bunch was a proposed pilot for another Sherwood Schwartz series that never took off.
Ken & Kathy Kelly, played by Ken Berry & Brooke Bundy who end up adopting three boys. Todd Lookinland (Mike's younger brother) played 8 yr old Matt, William Attmore II played Dwayne and Carey Wong played Steve.

In 1986 his idea was finally picked up as Together We Stand on CBS with Elliot Gould & Dee Wallace as the couple.

This is the one that immediately came to my mind as well!

Although, to be fair, there have been some GREAT 'backdoor pilots' that turned into hit shows as well. "Love in the Happy Day" from Love, American Style that became Happy Days. Heck, the Mork episode of Happy Days, for that matter!

[Jude The Obscure]

Originally Posted by ThomasE

This is what I love about these boards. There is always someone that gives you that interesting trivia. Jude thanks for that info. I never knew that about the Doris Day Show. Merideth Baxter, huh? I wonder how that spinoff would have worked out if it was picked up.

I think it was made right before Meredith landed "Bridget Loves Bernie"--not sure. It was more dramatic in tone and had very little laugh tracks used. The actual pilot(without the Doris/Meredith scenes) itself is included as a bonus to the Season Three set.

[Jude The Obscure]

Originally Posted by CHERISLAND

one more to add:

"Kelly's Kids" episode #107 of the Brady Bunch was a proposed pilot for another Sherwood Schwartz series that never took off.
Ken & Kathy Kelly, played by Ken Berry & Brooke Bundy who end up adopting three boys. Todd Lookinland (Mike's younger brother) played 8 yr old Matt, William Attmore II played Dwayne and Carey Wong played Steve.

In 1986 his idea was finally picked up as Together We Stand on CBS with Elliot Gould & Dee Wallace as the couple.

And that series was revamped into "Nothing is Easy" when Elliot Gould quit the series and they killed off the dad.

[GSU2004]

Originally Posted by Child_of_the_80s

I remember this! I actually wished they did a spinoff on the diner. They were a lot more entertaining then the characters that later came on 227(Dylan, Eva, Stoney Jackson's no dancing character, Alexandria)

"The Facts of Life" did a number of attempts to spin off storylines/characters.

-Brian and Slyvia. The interracial couple in Tootie's family. Richard Dean Anderson played Brian and Ja'net DuBois played Slyvia's mother. I thought it was a cute episode.

-The Academy. An all boys military school that Jo's troublemaking friend attended. I thought it was the male version of the Eastland girls. Cute.

-Jo's Cousin. Boring and pointless
-The Beginning of the End. An sad attempt, think The Facts of Life: A Coed late '80's show Pt. 2.

The Cosby Show had one too with Tony Orlando about him running some center back in '85.
Martin also had one in the last season where Pam applies for a job at an record company.

I think the diner thing was done in the event that Amen wouldn't work out. I recall reading somewhere that the series was only initially ordered for 13 episodes and as we know the rest is history. At least with Pam on Martin, we knew her so we have to give them credit. With Martin acting psycho back in the 90's and not showing up to discuss the renewal of his show (as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), the Pam spinoff probably would have been a go as Fox was ready to drop Living Single. LS was picked up when Martin was dropped.

That's interesting about the Cosby Show as Theo was seen alot at a community center in the later seasons and Malcolm Jamal-Warner had a short lived series about working at a center that was unrelated to Cosby in Fall 1992 on NBC.

[TJL]

Gilmore Girls had an epsiode where Rory's ex Jess ventured out to California to reconnect with his estranged Dad, and meets his Father's new family and all the other quirky folks who populated thier world. The idea was scrapped because it was too expensive to shoot on location on Venice Beach.

Smallville tried to set up two spinoff superhero shows.

One with Aquaman (which they did fiilm a two hour pilot movie that has never aired on TV) and the other with Oliver Queen (aka Green Arrow) and a mini "Justice League" of do gooders.