The Curse Strikes Again
NBC has announced the return of Joey… to Tuesday nights (it’s gratifying to know that NBC is reading this blog and taking my advice; anything for you, peacock network!). Anyway… Joey will land in the 8:00 slot on Tuesday, directly in the path of that programming steamroller known as American Idol. Needless to say, this is hardly a vote of confidence for former Friend Joey Tribbiani, as the network is obviously burning off its original episodes of the soon-to-be-officially-cancelled sitcom.
Behold the curse of the spin-off.
The spin-off that is also a good show is rare. Many times, spin-offs are proposed… and even make it to the pilot stage… but thankfully never receive a series order. Simply put, most
supporting characters cannot carry a show of their own. Remember Mona from Who’s the Boss? If the producers had their way, Mona would have left Connecticut and moved to New York to run a hotel with her brother. The boyfriend of Family Ties’ Mallory was being readied for his own series, The Art of Being Nick. One Day at a Time briefly flirted with the idea of having
super building-super Schneider set up shop in a new series built around his adoption of his niece and nephew. 227’s sassy Sandra was due to leave the apartment building for bigger and better things. Even Radar O’Reilly from MASH was set up for his own spin-off (on his family’s farm) entitled Walter (the character's real first name).
For the spin-offs that DO make it onto the air, very few actually survive past a season or two. The streets of TV Land are littered with the tattered televised remains of short-lived spin-offs: The Ropers, Flo, The Colbys, Fish, and Phyllis are just a few that immediately come to mind.
And so, Joey goes down in flames, yet another victim of the dreaded spin-
off curse. Overall, the spin-off success-to-failure ratio is not very good; for every Frasier, there’s an AfterMASH; for every Rhoda, there’s a Checking In. And for every Knots Landing, there’s a The Tortellis. Please raise your hand if you remember anything about the aforementioned AfterMASH, Checking In, or The Tortellis. What about Gloria? Living Dolls? Beverly Hills Buntz?? Grady???
I didn't think so.
Behold the curse of the spin-off.
The spin-off that is also a good show is rare. Many times, spin-offs are proposed… and even make it to the pilot stage… but thankfully never receive a series order. Simply put, most
supporting characters cannot carry a show of their own. Remember Mona from Who’s the Boss? If the producers had their way, Mona would have left Connecticut and moved to New York to run a hotel with her brother. The boyfriend of Family Ties’ Mallory was being readied for his own series, The Art of Being Nick. One Day at a Time briefly flirted with the idea of having
super building-super Schneider set up shop in a new series built around his adoption of his niece and nephew. 227’s sassy Sandra was due to leave the apartment building for bigger and better things. Even Radar O’Reilly from MASH was set up for his own spin-off (on his family’s farm) entitled Walter (the character's real first name).For the spin-offs that DO make it onto the air, very few actually survive past a season or two. The streets of TV Land are littered with the tattered televised remains of short-lived spin-offs: The Ropers, Flo, The Colbys, Fish, and Phyllis are just a few that immediately come to mind.
And so, Joey goes down in flames, yet another victim of the dreaded spin-
off curse. Overall, the spin-off success-to-failure ratio is not very good; for every Frasier, there’s an AfterMASH; for every Rhoda, there’s a Checking In. And for every Knots Landing, there’s a The Tortellis. Please raise your hand if you remember anything about the aforementioned AfterMASH, Checking In, or The Tortellis. What about Gloria? Living Dolls? Beverly Hills Buntz?? Grady???I didn't think so.
posted by TV Boy at 7:50 PM
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