1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:04,559 Speaker 1: I guess what mango? What's that? Will? All right? So 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: the other day you and I were talking about albums 3 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:08,960 Speaker 1: that we wanted to buy, or like movies we wanted 4 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: to watch as kids. But you know, these are the 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: ones that our parents weren't so sure about. They were 6 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: a little nervous about letting us have them. So I 7 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: think my favorite was that you begged to go buy 8 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,959 Speaker 1: the DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince album with Yeah, 9 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: what was it? It was parents just don't understand that 10 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: was on as just don't understand. They really they still 11 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: don't be honest with it. It's such a tame song. 12 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: I love that you had to beg for it, but like, 13 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: I'm totally in the same boat because, like, my mom 14 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: didn't let me watch Silver Spoons for some reason. Apparently 15 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: she didn't like the fact that like you would just 16 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: cause all this trouble and then it was resolved with 17 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: like a sorry in the last two minutes or something. 18 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: That's pretty hilarious. So there was another one that was 19 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: my begging and finally getting to be Bart Simpson for Halloween. 20 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: I think this was fifth grade. It might have been 21 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: sixth grade, but I know it was around there, but 22 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: I was sure I was one of millions of kids 23 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: running around in that same ridiculously heavy and pretty much 24 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: suffocating rubber Bart mass saying things like don't have a 25 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: cow man, and eat my shorts and all the great 26 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: Bart lines. That is so funny. I had no idea 27 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: you were Bart Simpson for holloween was It is funny, 28 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: like how shocking Bart was when in those early years, 29 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: like like I remember some kid wore a shirt in 30 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: and I think it said like, who the hell are you? 31 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: And and a teacher put masking tape over the party. 32 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: Such a badass? Well, I mean, who knew that more 33 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: than twenty five years since then the Simpsons would still 34 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: be going so strong on TV. I mean, it's, of 35 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 1: course now the longest running scripted primetime series in American history, 36 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: currently in its thirtieth season, recently passing six hundred and 37 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: fifty episodes, So this puts it past gun Smoke, which 38 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:57,559 Speaker 1: ran for I think six thirty five. But it's just incredible. Yeah, 39 00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: you know, I saw this thing in Entertainment Weekly that 40 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: said something about how like the Simpsons were so off 41 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: putting to America initially and now they're one of the 42 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: longest going like church families. Like really, uh, it is 43 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: funny to think that it's spun off from the Tracy 44 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: Ullman Show. And it wasn't even the original idea that 45 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,679 Speaker 1: the producers of The Allman Show approach mac Grainig about, right, 46 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: you know, they'd originally actually approached him about his life 47 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: and Hell comic strip. But you know, he didn't want 48 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: to have to give up the rights to that, or 49 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: at least to the characters, and so he decided to 50 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: come up with a new concept and a completely different 51 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: cast of characters. And it's funny because most of them 52 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: were based on and even named after the people in 53 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: his own life, like mainly his family members. Oh, I mean, 54 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,119 Speaker 1: it was a smart call to go in that direction, 55 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: no kidding. Well, thinking about the spinoff made us want 56 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: to revisit some of the most successful or maybe the 57 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: most bizarre TV spinoffs in TV history. So that's exactly 58 00:02:52,200 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: what we're doing today. Let's dive in. H Hey, their 59 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson 60 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: and it's always I'm joined by my good friend Manes 61 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: Ticketer and on the other side of the soundproof glass, 62 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: not just wearing a Mark from Orc T shirt, but 63 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: fully dressed in the costume that Mark always were. That's 64 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. You know, I always 65 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: appreciate his commitment to these costumes, but it's pretty clear 66 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: that the show was like from before his time, and 67 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: he's not seen an episode because like everything he responds 68 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: to is just nanu. Nanu is kind of ridiculous. Do 69 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: you think he thinks that's that's all Mark said or 70 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 1: what I think? So all right, Well, Tristan is a 71 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: busy guy, so I guess we'll cut him a little 72 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: bit of slack now. And anyway, let's come back to 73 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: the topic of Mark later, because that's actually one of 74 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: my facts for today. And today, of course we're talking 75 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: about TV spinoffs, and it's easy to think that this 76 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: is a much more recent phenomenon, but we can actually 77 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: look way back to like the nineteen fifties when a 78 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: show like The Honeymooners would spin off from a variety 79 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 1: series called Cavalcade of Stars. And this is really one 80 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: of the first big sitcoms in America, So spinoffs are 81 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: definitely not a new thing. But anywait where do you 82 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: want to start? Well, I mean, why don't we talk 83 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,280 Speaker 1: about one of the most prolific spinoff machines in TV history, 84 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: and that is Happy Days. A good start. You know, 85 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: most people don't remember this, but Happy Days itself was 86 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: weirdly a spinoff. It was from a show in late 87 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: sixties and early seventies called Love American Style. So during 88 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: the run of that show, the TV producer Gary Marshall 89 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: had this idea for a sitcom about teenagers in the 90 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties, and he made a pilot. He shopped it around, 91 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: but unfortunately no one was biting, so he ended up 92 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: selling the rights to the pilot to be an episode 93 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: on Love American Style. And actually two big things happened here. 94 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: First off, George Lucas saw Ron Howard in this pilot 95 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: and he asked him to be in his film American Graffiti. 96 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: And then ABC executives took notice. And you know, when 97 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: when you fast forward a couple of years with American Graffiti, 98 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: the musical Greece had come out, and like those both 99 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: being such big hits, like it was clear that fifties 100 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: nostalgia was this super sellable thing. So they went back 101 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: to Gary Marshall and they said about that pilot like 102 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: we'd love to do it. Yeah. I mean it's weird 103 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: to think how different TV history would have been of 104 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: Happy Days had never been on the air, because, you know, 105 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: as you had said before, so many shows spun off 106 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:36,840 Speaker 1: from it. I was actually looking at the list and 107 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,160 Speaker 1: I didn't even remember some of them. But there were 108 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: at least five live action spinoffs and I think three 109 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: cartoons series all that's spun off from Happy Days. Yeah, 110 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: it's crazy, but I know I was setting you up 111 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: to talk about Morgan Mindy, but I do feel like 112 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: we should mention the first and most successful of the 113 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: Happy Days spinoffs. Oh, that would be Laverne and Shirley, right, exactly, 114 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: Laverne and Shirley. So Laverne who was played by Henny 115 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,280 Speaker 1: Marshall and Shirley, who was played by Cindy Williams. They 116 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,040 Speaker 1: they both showed up in the season three of Happy 117 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:10,040 Speaker 1: Days as friends of the Fons, and uh, within just 118 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: a year they actually had their own show. It was 119 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: a spin off that was so successful that it hit 120 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,239 Speaker 1: the top of the charts and it often outperformed Happy 121 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: Days during the run when both shows were on. It's 122 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: pretty amazing. The show actually lasted eight years, But there 123 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: was also a weird anime it spin off from that 124 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,799 Speaker 1: that most people don't remember. It's called Laverne and Shirley 125 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: in the Army. Where as you might imagine the duo 126 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: and listen to the military, they serve under the command 127 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: of a talking pig named Sergeant Squeally. And shockingly, that 128 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: show did not get a second season. That is so weird. 129 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: But actually I don't know if it's weirder than Mork 130 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,040 Speaker 1: and Mindy and and thanks for the setup on this one. 131 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:50,720 Speaker 1: But you know, the history of this one is one 132 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: that many people may not remember or even no And 133 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: this can actually be traced back to the Dick Van 134 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: Dyke Show. So in this one episode, Dick van Dyke's 135 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: character is watch seeing a sci fi movie and he 136 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: then dreams that this alien name Kolak I think it 137 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: is is trying to take over the Earth with walnuts 138 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: or something like that. And so here's where the Happy 139 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: Days part comes in. So the director of that episode 140 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: was a guy named Jerry Paris, who ended up directing 141 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: several episodes of Happy Days years later. Well, one day 142 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: he's on the set and Gary Marshall starts talking about 143 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: his son and how he's obsessed with Star Wars and 144 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: how he wishes there were more Aliens on TV. And 145 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: so this makes Paris remember the whole Walnut Aliens thing 146 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: and he decides to pitch a similar idea, and from 147 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: that Mark from Orc was born. That's really crazy. I 148 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: do feel like we could do a whole show on 149 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: Happy Days spinoffs. But since we've only got nine facts here, 150 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: I think we should talk about another one. So since 151 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: I shared to the first off the that like, I 152 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 1: feel like maybe you should take another stab of a 153 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: fact here. Yeah, I think I'll go with another Powerhouse 154 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: spinoff machine. And that's of course all in the Family. Now, 155 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 1: this legendary series about the Bunker family actually lead to 156 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 1: six spinoffs over its nine seasons, and a few of 157 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: them were very successful. There's of course Maud and Good Times, 158 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: and I thought about sharing some facts about that one, 159 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,640 Speaker 1: but you know, the biggest hit was obviously The Jefferson's, 160 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: debuted in nineteen and of course focused on the former 161 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 1: neighbors of the Bunkers, which were George and Louise Jefferson. 162 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: So you know, I had definitely watched The Jeffersons a 163 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: little bit when I was a kid, but I remember 164 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: seeing Sherman Helmsley on David Letterman, and you know, he's 165 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 1: the guy who played George Jefferson if if you're listening 166 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 1: and weren't familiar with the show. But you know, what 167 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: I didn't realize was it was on the air for 168 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: a really long time, right like they were talking about 169 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: it and and it was a stunning amount of time 170 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: that that show continued. Yeah, it was actually on longer 171 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 1: than the show that inspired it. It It was on for 172 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: eleven seasons, two hundred and fifty three episodes. It's it's 173 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: actually second only to Tyler Perry's House of Pain in 174 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:57,440 Speaker 1: terms of the longest running American sitcom TV shows that 175 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: have a majority African American cast. So it was a 176 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: pretty incredible run. And actually, interestingly, Sherman Helmsley's last acting 177 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: job was on an episode of House of Pain. He 178 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: appeared as George Jefferson on that episode. That's pretty cool. Okay, 179 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 1: So I know we've talked a good bit about successful 180 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,319 Speaker 1: spinoffs of legendary shows, but there's actually one that I 181 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 1: had totally forgotten about, or maybe I blocked it out 182 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: because it was a colossal flop and that is Golden Palace. 183 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: Golden I don't even know what that is. It's the 184 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: follow up to Golden Girls, which you know, was one 185 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: of my friend Adam's favorite shows. He loved all the 186 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: ladies and I feel like he could give you words 187 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: to live by from each of them. But if you remember, 188 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: the show ended after seven seasons with the Arthur's character 189 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:47,240 Speaker 1: Dorothy getting married and moving to Atlanta. So uh. The 190 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: spinoff apparently followed Rose Blanche and Sophia as they moved 191 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: to Miami and then tried to run a really nice 192 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 1: motel there. I guess the gimmick was that they invested 193 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: in this place, they ended up having to get involved 194 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: in the day to day work because things go wrong. 195 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: And you know, as I mentioned earlier, the show was 196 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: not a success. It only lasted one season. It's so 197 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 1: weird because I have no memory of that. But I 198 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: do feel like if you're going to talk about spinoffs 199 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:13,560 Speaker 1: from the Golden Girls, you do have to talk about 200 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: the one successful spinoff from the show. I know, Empty 201 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: Nest the best. Well, that show actually followed the lives 202 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: of the girls neighbors and also ran seven seasons, and 203 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 1: all of the Golden Girls appeared multiple times on the show. 204 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: But here's something I had no memory of, and this 205 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 1: goes back to Golden Palace, But that's that Don Cheatle 206 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,840 Speaker 1: was actually the manager of the hotel on that Golden 207 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 1: Palace show. It's kind of a shame because he got 208 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: type cast. He was later the hotel manager in uh 209 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 1: Hotel Rwanda, which is totally different. Maybe was his training 210 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: right to be ready for that one, I think so? 211 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: But what what do you have next? Well, all right, well, 212 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: I wanted to talk about a show whose creative team 213 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:58,480 Speaker 1: actually didn't intend for it to be a spinoff. And 214 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:00,319 Speaker 1: this one sounds weird when you hear about it because 215 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: it's Frasier, which seems like such an obvious one, But 216 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: in fact, this was one of the many things about 217 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,199 Speaker 1: Dr Frasier Crane that were not intended to be long term. 218 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,880 Speaker 1: So his first appearance was on Cheers and its third season, 219 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: and he was really just meant to be this temporary character, 220 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: but fans fell in love with him, and so by 221 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: the fifth season he was pretty much a regular cast member. 222 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 1: So you fast forward to the creative team working on 223 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: a show concept for Kelsey Grammer to kind of do 224 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: as his next project, and they were worried about the 225 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 1: show always being compared to Cheers, and so they actually 226 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: didn't want to make the show about Frasier for that reason, 227 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: and instead they had this plan for him to play 228 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,160 Speaker 1: some sort of like magazine media mogul and he'd been 229 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: paralyzed after some sort of accident. Yeah, it's a very 230 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: different concept. But the studio wasn't having any of this idea, 231 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: and they insisted that the show be a spin off. 232 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: And you can actually still tell that this was scaring 233 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:00,079 Speaker 1: the creative team, so they did as much as I 234 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: could to separate it. I mean, starting with moving the 235 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: character all the way across the country to Seattle from Boston. 236 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,560 Speaker 1: But that said, most of the major cast members did 237 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 1: appear on the show at some point during its eleven seasons. Well, 238 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: Fraser was definitely one of the most successful spinoffs ever. 239 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: But we've got two more facts to get to. Before 240 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:35,240 Speaker 1: we get to those, let's take a quick break. Welcome 241 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,320 Speaker 1: back to Part Time Genius. We we're talking about TV spinoffs. Okay, Well, 242 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: what is your last fact of the day going to be? 243 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: All Right? Well, I started with one animated series that 244 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 1: made parents uncomfortable, and I think I'll end with another 245 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,839 Speaker 1: one that made them even more uncomfortable. And I've talked, 246 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: of course about Beavis and butt Head, which I spent 247 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 1: many middle school hours watching and thinking was just hilarious. 248 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: And I actually never forget going to the movie that 249 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 1: they eventually did, and and and just as the lights 250 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: were getting darker after the previews kind of indicating the 251 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,439 Speaker 1: movie was about to start, it seemed like the entire 252 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 1: crowd immediately went into their best Beavis and butt Had impressions. 253 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:19,800 Speaker 1: It was just a weird experience that sounds like incredible 254 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 1: for the time and like a nightmare. Yeah, it was 255 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:26,160 Speaker 1: exactly both of those. But what a lot of people 256 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: don't remember is that Beavis and butt Head was actually 257 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: a spin off in itself. So it came out of 258 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 1: this anthology show called Liquid Television, which featured all these 259 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: different animated segments, and he was also on MTV, and 260 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: you know, it was by far the most successful creation 261 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:44,679 Speaker 1: to come from that series. So it was eventually spun 262 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: off as its own thing, and it was such a 263 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: stupid but you know, I have to say, wonderful show, 264 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 1: running for eight seasons, But of course it spun off 265 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: another show, Daria. Yeah, that's right. And you know, Daria 266 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,480 Speaker 1: actually wasn't part of the original Liquid television series. I 267 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: mean she was actually added to Beavis and butt Head 268 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 1: at the request of MTV, and this is because they 269 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: wanted kind of more of a female presence on the show. So, 270 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,560 Speaker 1: as Mike Judge explained, he created a character that was 271 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 1: kind of this mix of Darlene from Rosanne, which you 272 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: can definitely see, but also a high school girlfriend of his. 273 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: And and the name Daria came from someone he knew 274 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: in high school, apparently somebody that he used to call diarrhea, 275 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: which sounds about right when you think about and also 276 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: a reminder of how horrible high school students can be. 277 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 1: But anyway, it's a mega what what's your last fact 278 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,120 Speaker 1: of the day. Well, I think I'm going to end 279 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: the show with a show that wasn't really a spinoff, 280 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: but could have been considered a spin off maybe for 281 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 1: for like a weird and funny reason. And this is 282 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: the relationship of The Office to Parks and Wreck. So 283 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:54,720 Speaker 1: if you go back to the peak of the Office 284 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: is popularity. NBC asked the showrunner Greg Daniels and and 285 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: the writer Michael Shure first some spinoff ideas, and they'd 286 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: actually already been kind of hatching on this, Like at 287 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 1: first there was the possibility of a show with Jim 288 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:09,760 Speaker 1: and Pam, but then of course they didn't want to 289 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: take their two most popular characters off the show. And 290 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: they also thought about Dwight and his family beat Farm, 291 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: which I would have loved that show. They actually did 292 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 1: make an episode about exactly about a few years later, 293 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: but it never turned into a spinoff, but ultimately Daniels 294 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: and Sure decided they would go and do just a 295 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 1: totally different mockumentary. One thing I loved is that there 296 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:33,960 Speaker 1: was actually this idea of how to connect the two shows, 297 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 1: and it was the idea of the writer Paul Leverston, 298 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: who plays Um Toby on The Office. But here's how 299 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: a TV Guide described it. Quote On the Office, a 300 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 1: copy machine breaks and throughout the episode, wh repairman tries 301 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: to fix it. At the end of the episode, the 302 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 1: machine is loaded on a truck and refurbished in a warehouse. 303 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 1: Then the copier is loaded onto another truck and taken 304 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 1: to Pawnee, Indiana, where it's dropped off in the parks 305 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: and Wreck office. So in a twist on spinoff traditions, 306 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 1: the character spun off would have been the Coffee Machine, 307 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: but producers briefly considered the idea of ultimately Parks and 308 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: w rec was its own creation. That is hilarious. I mean, 309 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:15,280 Speaker 1: I'm not sure why they wouldn't just go with this idea, 310 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 1: but but I love that anyway. It takes a lot 311 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: of guts to talk about a spinoff that's not really 312 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 1: a spinoff and even close the show with a manga. 313 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: So for just that bravery, I'm going to give you 314 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: the trophy today. And I mean I know that we 315 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: have a thing for coffee machines. Back in Mental floss 316 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 1: or Machine was called Shyde because she was such a 317 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 1: smooth operator. I'll happily grab the trophy this week. Anyway. 318 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 1: There's so many great and weird spinoffs out there, from 319 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: you know, the Perfect Strangers family Matters connection to the 320 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: Mash follow up which was called Aftermash. But if you've 321 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: got a terrible favorite spinoff, tell us all about a 322 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 1: part time genius at how stuff works dot com. We'd 323 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 1: love to talk about it. And from Kristan gave Will 324 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: and me thank you so much for listening. Tre