TV Spin-Offs That Time Forgot: How Many of These Shows Do You Remember?

704 Hauser Street (1994, from All in the Family)

This was the seventh and final spin-off that has a connection to All in the Family, and it was definitely an intriguing one. Writer/producer Norman Lear came up with the idea in response to the rise of conservative radio, which was to have a black family move into the old home of Archie and Edith Bunker and flip the concept. Doing so gave him the opportunity to explore racism and other themes, but from a black family's point of view. John Amos is Ernie Cumberbatch, Lynne Godfrey his wife, Rose; T.E. Russel their adult son (still living at home) Thurgood Marshall, and Maura Tierney as his Jewish white wife Cherilyn Markowitz. Unfortunately, it didn't connect with audiences and was canceled after only a handful of episodes.

And for those who are wondering, here are the shows that All in the Family either directly or indirectly resulted in: The Jeffersons (spawning Checking In), Maude (which inspired Good Times), Gloria, Archie Bunker's Place, and704 Hauser Street.

After Mash (1983-85, from MASH)

Anybody trying to follow the success of MASH probably needed to have their head examined, but the attempt was made and it was actually a fairly noble one. Picking up back in America following the Korean War, Harry Morgan's Colonel Potter, Jamie Farr's Klinger and William Christopher's Father Mulcahy all end up coming together at General Pershing Veteran's Hospital. Like the first series, the attempt was made to balance humor and drama pertaining to the aftermath of war for veterans. The show lasted two seasons, but failed to connect with the audience.

A Man Called Hawk (1989, from Spenser: For Hire)

One of the stand-out characters of Robert Urich's '80s private eye series Spenser: For Hire, the character of Hawk was considered a resource that Spenser could tap into when necessary. In the 13 episodes of his own show, he became someone helping those who couldn't fight for themselves. He would later return in four Spenser TV movies. The character was played by Avery Brooks, who would spend seven years as Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, itself another spin-off.

Caprica (2010, from Battlestar Galactica)

Whereas the original Battlestar Galactica ended up being a noble failure, the 2003 reimagined version was a critical darling and adored by the audience as well as it chronicled the battle between humanity and the robotic Cylons. Caprica was a prequel series focused on a pair of families and their involvement with the creation and early development of the Cylons, which would ultimately lead to most of their destruction. Surprisingly Syfy channel didn't stick with the show for more than a season, its failure having a lot to do with continual conflicts between network and producers.

Fish (1977-78, from Barney Miller)

Abe Vigoda's borderline lovable curmudgeon from Barney Miller, Detective Phil Fish, was spun off into this show with his on-screen wife, Florence Stanley as Bernice. The two of them become foster parents of five racially mixed kids and the focus is on the interaction of all of them, Fish and Bernice doing what they can to keep them on the straight path. Guess they should have tried harder — the show lasted one season of 35 episodes.

Flo (1981, from Alice)

While it isn't as bad now as it used to be, many sitcoms came with a larger-than-life character who ends up getting a lot of attention (we're talking to you, Steve Urkel!). In the case of Linda Lavin's Alice, it was the character of Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry. A waitress at Mel's Diner, she moves back to Texas where she takes over a fairly dilapidated roadhouse she rechristens "Flo's Yellow Rose". It's cancellation after two seasons seemed ridiculous considering the show scored in the Top 20 in terms of ratings. Kiss our grits, CBS!

Galactica 1980 (1980, from Battlestar Galactica)

After the success of Star Wars, in 1978 ABC and producer Glen L. Larson launched a sci-fi epic for television called Battlestar Galactica (remade in 2003 for the Sci Fi Channel). The concept was great — a robotic race known as the Cylons wipes out almost all of deep space humanity, and the survivors try and make their way to a mythical world called Earth — but the execution didn't quite come off. The network cancelled the show after one season and, after the sets were destroyed, came to the conclusion that they'd made a mistake. The result the following season was Galactica 1980, in which the next generation of humanity comes to Earth and gets involved in new adventures. All of which were absolutely terrible. What a misfire.

Gloria (1982-83, from All in the Family)

Archie Bunker's little girl, Gloria (Sally Struthers) moves away with her son after Meathead (her husband) apparently ran off to join a commune with another woman. Now she's moved to Fox Ridge, New York where she goes to work for veterinarian Dr. Willard Adams, played by Burgess Meredith. The show lasted a single season.

The Golden Palace (1992-93, from The Golden Girls)

When Bea Arthur made it clear that she was leaving The Golden Girls, the producers had three choices: bring in a new housemate for Sophia, Rose and Blanche; cancel the show, or attempt a reboot. They went with the third, and this spin-off has the three remaining Girls put their money into a Miami Hotel which looks like a better deal than it is. The focus on the series is on the interaction of the ladies, the staff, and guests. Everybody checked out after a single season.

Grady (1975-76, from Sanford and Son)

Whitman Mayo takes his character of Grady Wilson from Sanford and Son (one of the really big comedy hits of the 1970s) to his own show about the widower moving in with his daughter's family. Ten episodes later, he moved back out.

Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-83, from Happy Days)

The long-running Happy Days became a gateway drug of sorts for spin-off shows, giving the world Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy, the animated The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, Laverne and Shirley in the Army and (not to be repetitive) Mork & Mindy. And then there was this show, which took Erin Moran's Joanie Cunningham and Scott Baio's Chachi Arcola and put them in Chicago, where they attempt to make it as part of a rock band. It didn't work. Seventeen episodes later they were back in Milwaukee hanging with the Fonz.

Joey (2004-06, from Friends)

With Friends coming to a close, what's Joey Tribbiani gonna do? Move to Los Angeles to follow his acting career, and be with his sister, Gina (The Sopranos' Drea de Matteo). Although the show started off strongly with over 18 million viewers, the ratings continually dropped throughout its two-season run and was canceled by NBC. Matt LeBlanc's Joey was a lot of fun, but he just wasn't the same without his…friends.

Mrs. Columbo (1979-80, from Columbo)

Peter Falk's Columbo was a beloved detective, and when the show ended its first run in 1978 (returning years later in a series of TV movies), NBC decided to divorce the lieutenant and cast Star Trek: Voyager's Kate Mulgrew as his ex-wife, Kate, a newspaper reporter who finds herself immersed in mysteries while trying to raise their daughter. Over the course of its 13 episodes, the connections to Columbo were gradually severed, the show's title first changed to Kate the Detective and, then, Kate Loves a Mystery. Unfortunately the audience didn't love Kate.

The Ropers (1979-80, from Three's Company)

After selling their Three's Company apartment building, Stanley and Helen Roper (Norman Fell and Audra Lindley) move to Cheviot Hills. There Helen tries to fit in, Stanley makes no effort to do so and everything becomes a disaster. Jeffrey Tambor played their next door neighbor, Jeffrey P. Brookes III. The show had a two season run. Fell and Lindley attempted to come back to the original series, but Don Knotts had been cast as the new owner and the producers wouldn't change the situation.

Sanford (1980-81, from Sanford and Son)

Redd Foxx left NBC's Sanford and Son after six seasons for what became a failed variety show at ABC. NBC in the meantime tried and failed with a couple of spin-offs that didn't connect, and then Foxx came back in 1980 for this show as junkman Fred Sanford, but without "son" as Demond Wilson refused to come back. The show made it for two seasons, but the magic that had worked on the original series failed to happen again.

Sanford Arms (1977, from Sanford and Son)

With Sanford and Son off the air, NBC attempted a spin-off in the form of this show, which starred Theodore wilson as Phil Wheeler, who had purchased the Sanford home and was now running the rooming house next door. Eight episodes were produced, four of which were never aired.

Three's a Crowd (1984-85, from Three's Company)

In the last episode of Three's Company, Jack Tripper (John Ritter) meets and has an immediate connection with Vicky Bradford (Mary Cadorette). This show follows their romance as Jack tries to make it as a chef, all of this despite the intentional disruptions caused by her father, James (Robert Mandan). Surprisingly, the show didn't really work and was cancelled at the end of year one.

The Tortellis (1987, from Cheers)

Carla Tortelli, the abrasive waitress from Cheers, sees her ex-husband, Nick (Dan Hedaya), and his current wife, Loretta (Jean Kasem), off to their own show. Nick and Loretta's marriage hits the rocks, and much of the time of the show's 13 episodes was spent with him trying to woo her back. Anyone who knows Nick Tortelli knows that there doesn't seem to be a lot of woo there.