5 Failed Sitcom Spin-offs

Ah, the beloved spin-off. Often a surefire hit, the spin-off sitcom
takes characters from hit sitcoms and attempts to make lightning strike
twice. The list of hits that spawned other hits is endless. All in the Family had a whopping five
other spin-offs,Happy Days gave way to both Laverne and Shirley and Mork and Mindy. Cheers gave way to Frasier, which was not only the most
successful spin-off in history, but also more successful than its
predecessor. If only the same could be said for the following five
failures, which went down in history as being five of the biggest flops
to be spun-off from hit shows.

5.
The Art of Being Nick (1986). This spin-off from the enormous
80s hit Family Ties proved that
people who loved Michael J. Fox didn't necessarily love Scott
Valentine. A show that centered around the lovable dimwit Nick,
boyfriend to Justine Bateman's character on Ties, this show has been mostly
forgotten about since its quick run in 1986. Also starring Julia Louis-Dreyfuss
(later of Seinfeld fame) and
created by one of the people who went on to success with Roseanne, this show was too oddball
for regular fans. The Nick character went right back to being a
recurring character and Valentine went off to be a very busy B-movie
actor.

4. Top of the Heap (1991). One of
three failed spin-offs of Married...with
Children, this show only lasted seven episodes. Mostly known
for being a failed show for Friends' star
Matt LeBlanc,
even appearances from random members of The Bundy household
couldn't keep his show afloat. Where Married
managed to make otherwise unlikeable characters downright
adorable, Top of the Heap took
sleazy people and made them look, well, sleazy. Oddly enough, the show
failed and yet managed to have it's own spin-off (!), Vinnie & Bobby, which also lasted
only seven episodes.

3. The Tortellis
(1987). Also known as the other
spin-off from Cheers. The one
that miserable failed. Full-time guest star Dan Hedaya (who has
been in almost everything) and Jean Kasem (wife of Casey Kasem) starred
in this show that told the story behind Carla's (Rhea Perlman)
ex-husband and new wife. Random appearances from Cheers characters (NORM!) didn't help
this awkward show with awkward characters, and it lasted only thirteen
episodes. Years later, it's mostly forgotten, especially by people who
actually saw it.

2. The Golden
Palace (1992). After seven successful seasons of The Golden Girls, several cast
members went directly into this ill-conceived spin-off that found them
suddenly living in a hotel. The original show aired on NBC for 180
episodes. Moving to CBS didn't help this one find an audience, and it
only lasted for 24. Bea Arther was sorely missed, and the show never
found its audience, despite the addition of Cheech Marin
to the cast. Most viewers thought it felt more like a rip-off of The Golden Girls rather than an
extension of the original series.

1. AfterMASH
(1983). Taking a few cast members from one of the most beloved
(and longest running) sitcoms in history might have seemed like a good
idea at the time, but this M.A.S.H. spin-off
didn't have either the humor or heart of its predecessor. Taking the
show out of the Korean War and putting it into the suburbs changed the
urgency of many of the situations, and reduced the drama that M.A.S.H. managed to mix so well with
comedy. It didn't help the fact that none of the most popular
characters from the previous show appeared on the new one. On top of
that, CBS had bold plans for the new show and put it up against some of
the biggest competition other networks had to offer, such as the
enormously popular The A-Team.
Although it was born of a fanatically popular show that spanned
numerous years and achieved tons of awards, AfterMASH
only lasted 30 episodes and became a footnote in failed TV
history.

The list of sitcom spin-off failures goes on as long as
TV history itself. These are only five examples, although many more
remain for another story at another time. After all, Alice was an enormous hit show...but
does anyone remember Flo?