Did ABC Make The Right Decision in Spinning Off 'Fish' INSTEAD of Horshack?!?

[Brian Damage]

Horshack

Ooh! Ooh! Guess which Sweathog almost graduated from Mr. Kotter’s class to his own series? The episode of Welcome Back Kotter entitled “There Goes Number 5” was the pilot for an Arnold Horshack series in which the geeky student becomes a surrogate father to his younger siblings after his mother’s fifth husband dies. ABC ultimately decided to green light the Barney Miller spinoff Fish instead.

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[TV_on_the_Porch]

Yes. They got two lackluster seasons vs. a presumed two disastrous months.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by TV_on_the_Porch

Yes. They got two lackluster seasons vs. a presumed two disastrous months.

Agreed. While Fish wasn't perfect, it was a solid show for a while (and it could have lasted longer had they done just a bit of tinkering). I never saw the Horshack show as having any legs; Horshack was a supporting, not a lead character. I suppose the same could be said of Fish, actually, but his character was less annoying in large doses.

If you made Horshack more responsible and 'take charge', which would have been necessary for such a show, you really would have made a character that just wasn't Horshack anymore.

[Skywalker]

I've only seen about 10 minutes of an episode of Fish and as bad as that was, it was still better than the entire Horshack pilot.

[TVFactFan]

Yes because he was the sweathogg I had no desire of watching due to his weirdness.

[Brian Damage]

LOL

Your comments are all hilarious!

I guess it is unanimous then....ABC got this one right.

How about Welcome Back Kotter: The New Class?

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

LOL

Your comments are all hilarious!

I guess it is unanimous then....ABC got this one right.

How about Welcome Back Kotter: The New Class?

Anything "Kotter" without Gabe Kaplan would have failed. Yes, you could have made Julie the "Kotter" but as attractive as she was, she really could not have replaced Gabe.

The truth is that WBK is probably the strongest example I can think of in describing a show that was like a falling star, burning very brightly for a VERY short amount of time and then burning itself out. When I think back of how popular this thing was for three years, its incredible to remember that by the fourth season nobody really cared anymore.

Can anyone else think of a show that burnt out so fast? (sorry, Brian, don't mean to hijack your thread...just thinking).

[TVFactFan]

The only spinoff opportunity I could see would be having Kotter teach at a college WITHOUT the sweathoggs

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

The only spinoff opportunity I could see would be having Kotter teach at a college WITHOUT the sweathoggs

Maybe.

I think it's possible that viewers were so invested in the original four (I don't count Beau or Angie) that they wouldn't have been interested, but by that point Travolta would have been gone for good and it was obvious that the remaining stars needed a strong lead, so replacing them all might have been, regrettably the best option, though I don't see that working too well either.

[Brian Damage]

I still say they should have backed up the Brinks truck and attempt a spin off of Barbarino living on his own and working in the hospital.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

I still say they should have backed up the Brinks truck and attempt a spin off of Barbarino living on his own and working in the hospital.

Actually, that might have worked, but...I have a feeling Travolta was concentrated on his film career at that point. What do you think?

[Brian Damage]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

Actually, that might have worked, but...I have a feeling Travolta was concentrated on his film career at that point. What do you think?

I absolutely agree with that, but I think ABC should have tried to keep him somehow. I mean it use to be like a job promotion to go from TV to film back in the day. Now a days we are seeing all these Oscar winning or nominated movie stars return to TV because, honestly, the creativity just isn't in movies now.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

I absolutely agree with that, but I think ABC should have tried to keep him somehow. I mean it use to be like a job promotion to go from TV to film back in the day. Now a days we are seeing all these Oscar winning or nominated movie stars return to TV because, honestly, the creativity just isn't in movies now.

Heh, I'd be hard pressed to say where that creativity is, period!

But yeah, I know what you mean. TV is kind of a hotter medium now than film, which says something about how horrible film is today.

Travolta was on a roll for a while there, with Saturday Night Fever and Grease, and Blow Out. As much as I usually decry stars leaving their shows for the lure of film (because it usually pans out), I really can't say I blame him. WBK was only good for another two or three years even WITH him, and if he had waited those opportunities would have been gone.

[TV_on_the_Porch]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

Can anyone else think of a show that burnt out so fast? (sorry, Brian, don't mean to hijack your thread...just thinking).

Mork & Mindy. An even bigger hit, it had an even longer and more agonizing flameout but was on the air exactly as long as WBK.

[Retro4Life]

You're right.

Personally, I don't feel that M and M fell quite as far in quality in the last year as WBK did, but it was undoubtedly a much weaker show than it was in the first couple of years.