Shows that completely re-formatted - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

bookandfilmnut · 02-04-2013, 04:43 PM

I was wondering how many tv shows existed that went through such radical changes in their settings or personnel that they became basically entirely different programs.

The best (and probably most extreme) example I can think of is the Joey Bishop show: Season 1 Joey is a somewhat inept, milk-toasty assistant to a Hollywood PR firm in Los Angeles who lives with his somewhat dysfunctional parents and sister. Season 2-4, he became an ultra-hip, witty TV talk show host in New York with a "trophy wife" and a zany sidekick.

Or Mission:Impossible changed from it's orginal international spy theme to the point that in the last couple seasons it was mostly about fighting organized crime ("The Syndicate")

And the British show "The Avengers" went from a subdued first season about two men fighting criminals to become an iconic Swinging 60's show about a secret agent and his sexy female partner fighting science-fiction villains.

Some shows evolved slowly away from their orginal premise and the change in focus was less dramatic, but still apparent - like the current show Cougar Town - started out as a show about a 40 year old divorced woman who chased after guys in their 20's, but by the end of the forst season it became a more typical show about two firty-year-olds having a romance.

Buffyboy323 · 02-04-2013, 06:07 PM

Family Matters!

gilligan fanatic · 02-04-2013, 06:26 PM

I have never seen it, but I know that The Doris Day Show had a couple of format changes.

factsoflife · 02-04-2013, 11:10 PM

Well, Tea Leoni's sitcom "The Naked Truth" fits this bill:

In the first season it focused on Nora (Tea Leoni) post-divorce and working at a sleazy tabloid. It has more of a slap-sticky feel to it. In season two, it moved to another network (left ABC and moved to NBC) and it has various cast changes, and dropped the slap-stick vibe to be more like other NBC series like "Friends" and "Seinfeld". Lastly in the third season, the show as re-tooled again, basically got an entirely new cast, except for Tea Leoni and Holland Taylor, hold-overs from the first season.

One of the oddest occurrences of this show was the character named Dave, who in the first two seasons was portrayed as being mentally challenged, but by season three was somehow without explanation not mentally challenged any longer. (according to Wikipedia).

Another show that had frequent changes was the Jamie Lee Curtis series, "Anything But Love", which ran for four seasons, none of which even remotely resembled the previous season. The changes to that show were so extensive I can't keep track of them all, instead, here is a link to the Wikipedia page for the show: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anything_but_Love

Lastly, "Hanging with Mr. Cooper" saw it's fair share of changes too:

First off, the series started off as a show about three adult roommates, played by Mark Curry, Holly Robinson and Dawnn Lewis. But Lewis left the show after 1-season, and the show became more of a typical family-style sitcom. Sandra Quateramine was added as Mark's cousin, and her daughter played by Raven Symone became a major character. Nell Carter also had an arch on the show at one point.

treky · 02-05-2013, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilligan fanatic

I have never seen it, but I know that The Doris Day Show had a couple of format changes.

THE DORIS DAY SHOW had more than a couple format changes; it had a few!!
In the first season she played a widow living on a farm with her father and her 2 sons, then the next season she got a job in the city and would comutte back and forth between the farm and her job and some new characters were added to the cast. Then the next season she moved to the city (San Fransisco) with her 2 sons and 2 more charcters were added to the cast. Then the next season, she was still working at the same place (a magazine) but some of the cast was dropped, she was now a globe-trotting reporter and she had different co-workers and I think that was the last season.

Torgo · 02-05-2013, 11:55 AM

Bob Newhart's sitcom "Bob" was totally revamped in the second season.

McGillicuddy · 02-05-2013, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treky

THE DORIS DAY SHOW had more than a couple format changes; it had a few!!
In the first season she played a widow living on a farm with her father and her 2 sons, then the next season she got a job in the city and would comutte back and forth between the farm and her job and some new characters were added to the cast. Then the next season she moved to the city (San Fransisco) with her 2 sons and 2 more charcters were added to the cast. Then the next season, she was still working at the same place (a magazine) but some of the cast was dropped, she was now a globe-trotting reporter and she had different co-workers and I think that was the last season.

Starting with the 4th season, the kids and dog just disappeared, never to be mentioned again. And at some point, she went from being "Mrs." Martin, a widow, to "Miss" Martin, apparently never married before!

Ant-Lox · 02-05-2013, 01:07 PM

The Jeff Foxworthy show.

Season 1 was in a suburban area, Jeff had to acclimate to his new surroundings with his wife and son running his HVAC operation.

Season 2, different network, Jeff's new wife now had to acclimate to Jeff's surroundings and learn to deal with a more southern feel. Jeff and his 2 sons, with apperances by Jeff's rowdy father. Jeff now ran a shipping company surrounded by his buddies who were not too sharp.

I love both seasons, and thankfully Sony put them out on DVD just as Jeff's stock was rising in the early 2000's.

Regulus · 02-05-2013, 01:23 PM

The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo In the first season he was in a Small Town, then for the second season he and his Deputies moved to Atlanta, Ga.

nerdstein · 02-05-2013, 05:39 PM

Wasn't Happy Days essentially a lighthearted single-cam series dealing with adolescences that morphed into a zany, lowest common denominator sitcom based on the broad appeal and popularity of Fonzi?

UMFaninMD · 02-05-2013, 07:53 PM

Mrs. Columbo - it went from being a spinoff of Columbo where he was mentioned and there were scenes of Kate Mulgrew talking on the phone to her husband. When people didn't take to the show, Mrs. Columbo became Kate Loves a Mystery and her last name was changed to Callahan and she had divorced the detective. The changes still didn't work and the show got cancelled.

Lakeboy · 02-05-2013, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Regulus

The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo In the first season he was in a Small Town, then for the second season he and his Deputies moved to Atlanta, Ga.

I was getting ready to say that and you beat me to it.

treky · 02-06-2013, 01:25 AM

and of course we all know what happened with MASH.

ThomasE · 02-06-2013, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treky

and of course we all know what happened with MASH.

The Lucy Show. She and Viv were two BFF's sharing a house with their kids. Vivian Vance leaves the series with the kids and then Lucy's kids are phased out and then Lucy moves from Connecticut to California where she eventually gets a roomate in Carol Burnett for a brief time.

All in the family/Archie Bunker's Place. When Jean Stapleton decides to leave the show, the action ends up taking place at the bar that Archie owned instead of at home.

McGillicuddy · 02-06-2013, 06:34 PM

Also, The Lucy Show was revamped again 3 years later to become Here's Lucy.

....and in 1957 I Love Lucy was reformatted to become The Lucy- Desi Comedy Hour.

02-04-2013, 04:43 PM	#1
bookandfilmnut Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 20, 2012 Location: Charleston, WV Posts: 157	Shows that completely re-formatted I was wondering how many tv shows existed that went through such radical changes in their settings or personnel that they became basically entirely different programs. The best (and probably most extreme) example I can think of is the Joey Bishop show: Season 1 Joey is a somewhat inept, milk-toasty assistant to a Hollywood PR firm in Los Angeles who lives with his somewhat dysfunctional parents and sister. Season 2-4, he became an ultra-hip, witty TV talk show host in New York with a "trophy wife" and a zany sidekick. Or Mission:Impossible changed from it's orginal international spy theme to the point that in the last couple seasons it was mostly about fighting organized crime ("The Syndicate") And the British show "The Avengers" went from a subdued first season about two men fighting criminals to become an iconic Swinging 60's show about a secret agent and his sexy female partner fighting science-fiction villains. Some shows evolved slowly away from their orginal premise and the change in focus was less dramatic, but still apparent - like the current show Cougar Town - started out as a show about a 40 year old divorced woman who chased after guys in their 20's, but by the end of the forst season it became a more typical show about two firty-year-olds having a romance.

02-04-2013, 06:26 PM	#3
gilligan fanatic Born to Be Bad Forum Fanatic Join Date: May 06, 2001 Location: down by the Lagoon Posts: 9,954	I have never seen it, but I know that The Doris Day Show had a couple of format changes.
	__________________ Matt Filmaf ~ Twitter ~ Last.FM

02-04-2013, 11:10 PM	#4
factsoflife Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Sep 11, 2000 Posts: 8,745	Well, Tea Leoni's sitcom "The Naked Truth" fits this bill: In the first season it focused on Nora (Tea Leoni) post-divorce and working at a sleazy tabloid. It has more of a slap-sticky feel to it. In season two, it moved to another network (left ABC and moved to NBC) and it has various cast changes, and dropped the slap-stick vibe to be more like other NBC series like "Friends" and "Seinfeld". Lastly in the third season, the show as re-tooled again, basically got an entirely new cast, except for Tea Leoni and Holland Taylor, hold-overs from the first season. One of the oddest occurrences of this show was the character named Dave, who in the first two seasons was portrayed as being mentally challenged, but by season three was somehow without explanation not mentally challenged any longer. (according to Wikipedia). Another show that had frequent changes was the Jamie Lee Curtis series, "Anything But Love", which ran for four seasons, none of which even remotely resembled the previous season. The changes to that show were so extensive I can't keep track of them all, instead, here is a link to the Wikipedia page for the show: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anything_but_Love Lastly, "Hanging with Mr. Cooper" saw it's fair share of changes too: First off, the series started off as a show about three adult roommates, played by Mark Curry, Holly Robinson and Dawnn Lewis. But Lewis left the show after 1-season, and the show became more of a typical family-style sitcom. Sandra Quateramine was added as Mark's cousin, and her daughter played by Raven Symone became a major character. Nell Carter also had an arch on the show at one point.
	__________________ "and to the fans. I was only supposed to be on every other Tuesday. But, thanks to you, I'm here, and I promise! I will try my best never to let you down. I am going back into that studio on Monday, and I'm going to play Erica Kane for all she's worth!"-- Susan Lucci, May 1999 Daytime Emmy Speech.

02-05-2013, 11:55 AM	#6
Torgo Omaha & Fritz Forum Star Join Date: Mar 06, 2004 Location: Oregon Posts: 19,033	Bob Newhart's sitcom "Bob" was totally revamped in the second season.
	__________________ "I'm going to go do something productive. I'm gonna go watch television." - Ray Peterson, The 'burbs "I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and Fries." - Stephen King "There's nothing wrong with G-rated movies, as long as there's lots of sex and violence." - Elvira

02-05-2013, 01:07 PM	#8
Ant-Lox Cloud Watcher Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2004 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,824	The Jeff Foxworthy show. Season 1 was in a suburban area, Jeff had to acclimate to his new surroundings with his wife and son running his HVAC operation. Season 2, different network, Jeff's new wife now had to acclimate to Jeff's surroundings and learn to deal with a more southern feel. Jeff and his 2 sons, with apperances by Jeff's rowdy father. Jeff now ran a shipping company surrounded by his buddies who were not too sharp. I love both seasons, and thankfully Sony put them out on DVD just as Jeff's stock was rising in the early 2000's.
	__________________ Currently Watching: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Sports Allegiances Philadelphia 76ers Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia Eagles Detroit Red Wings New York Football Giants

02-04-2013, 06:07 PM	#2
Buffyboy323 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jun 24, 2005 Posts: 6,102	Family Matters!

02-05-2013, 01:23 PM	#9
Regulus Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 07, 2011 Location: Port Orange, Florida Avatar - Poiuyt Posts: 3,374	The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo In the first season he was in a Small Town, then for the second season he and his Deputies moved to Atlanta, Ga.
	__________________ Grail Shows: *Doc Elliot, Owen Marshall-Counselor of Law, Here's Boomer, Three for the Road, Holmes and YoYo* Bucket List Shows: *Hot Wheels, Skyhawks, Run Joe Run, Westwood*

02-05-2013, 05:39 PM	#10
nerdstein Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 07, 2012 Posts: 23	Wasn't Happy Days essentially a lighthearted single-cam series dealing with adolescences that morphed into a zany, lowest common denominator sitcom based on the broad appeal and popularity of Fonzi?

02-05-2013, 07:53 PM	#11
UMFaninMD I love a mystery Senior Member Join Date: Apr 19, 2011 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,287	Mrs. Columbo - it went from being a spinoff of Columbo where he was mentioned and there were scenes of Kate Mulgrew talking on the phone to her husband. When people didn't take to the show, Mrs. Columbo became Kate Loves a Mystery and her last name was changed to Callahan and she had divorced the detective. The changes still didn't work and the show got cancelled.

02-06-2013, 01:25 AM	#13
treky star trek fan Eternal Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Feb 25, 2002 Location: Conshohocken, pennsylvania Posts: 14,490	and of course we all know what happened with MASH.

02-06-2013, 06:34 PM	#15
McGillicuddy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 28, 2002 Posts: 5,179	Also, The Lucy Show was revamped again 3 years later to become Here's Lucy. ....and in 1957 I Love Lucy was reformatted to become The Lucy- Desi Comedy Hour.