10 Best High Spin Golf Balls

Best High Spin Golf Balls in 2023

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

The Master Guide to Television: Sitcom Spinoffs

The conservative mentality that governs both spin-offs and sitcoms is simple: provide consistently familiar variations that are just different enough so as to be considered new.

To explore the relationship between sitcoms and sitcom spin-offs requires a categorical examination of spin-offs, their origins and history. Spin-offs are the construction of new television programs built around characters appearing in programs already being broadcast. The new program, a spin-off, contains a major change in narrative viewpoint from the program that spawned it.

One way to change narrative point of view involves the taking of secondary characters from successful, established programs and giving these characters shows of their own while the parent programs are still on the air. Indeed, one of the first spin-offs, if not the first, The Great Gildersleeve (1941 - 1957), followed this strategy when it was spun off from the popular radio program, Fibber McGee and Molly . The show, which premiered on NBC on August 31, 1941, made Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, a secondary character on Fibber McGee and Molly, the star of his own program and is also considered one of the first true situation comedies. That one of the first spin-offs is also considered one of the first modern situation comedies is indicative of the intertwined relationship between the two. While Gildersleeve may have been the first, it certainly wasn't the last of this type of spin-off. Taking supporting characters from established hits is one of the most common spin-off types. Maude (1972 - 1978) and The Jeffersons (1975 - 1985) were spun off from All in the Family (1971 - 1979) in this manner. Rhoda (1974 - 1978) and Phyllis (1975 - 1977) were spin-offs of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970 - 1977). Alice (1976 - 1985) gave us Flo (1980 - 1981). Sanford and Son (1972 - 1977) gave us Grady (1975 - 1976). Three's Company (1977 - 1984)spun off The Ropers (1979 - 1980). Even spin-offs generate spin-offs in this way: Maude begat Good Times (1972 - 1978), and The Jeffersons spun off the short-lived Checking In (1981).

Another way to change narrative point of view, and thus create a spin-off, is to give supporting characters their own shows after the original series ends (Spin-off (media)). Perhaps the most successful example of this type of spin-off is Frasier (1993 - 2004), which came from Cheers (1982 - 1993) and ran for eleven years. LouGrant (1977 - 1982) was spun off from TheMary Tyler Moore Show in this way and is unusual for shifting genres in the process - going from sitcom to drama. Joey (2004 - 2020) from Friends (1994 - 2004) is a less successful example of this type of spin-off.

Occasionally successful shows are renamed or retooled to create spin-off series. All in the Family was renamed into Archie Bunker's Place (1979 - 1983), shifting Archie from his living room to running his own bar. Mayberry R.F.D. (1968 - 1971) was a retooling of The Andy Griffith Show (1960 - 1968). After M*A*S*H* (1983 - 1985) was a retooled version of M*A*S*H* (1972 - 1983). Prior to the final season of M*A*S*H* the cast of the show voted four to three to end the series. The three cast members who voted to continue the show, William Christopher, Jamie Farr and Harry Morgan, went on to star in After M*A*S*H*, which lasted only two seasons.

Some spin-offs begin as segments or episodes of an anthology series. Two of the most successful spin-off series in television history began in this way. Happy Days (1974 - 1984) was launched as an episode of Love, American Style (1969 - 1974) entitled, "Love and the Happy Days." The Tracey Ullman Show (1987 - 1990) spawned the longest running spin-off in television history - The Simpsons, which began in 1989 and is still on the air as of 2020. The success of Happy Days can be measured in the number of spin-offs it generated. Happy Days produced two successful spin-offs, Laverne and Shirley (1976 - 1983), Mork and Mindy (1978 - 1983), and two not-so-successful ones, Blansky's Beauties (1977) and Joanie Loves Chachi (1982 - 1983), as well as a number of animated spin-off series. The Honeymooners (1955 - 1956) began as a segment of The Jackie Gleason Show (1952 - 1970).

Sometimes characters are placed in a show for the sole purpose of generating a spin-off. These characters are not supporting cast member or even recurring roles, but rather, they are characters placed in successful shows to test their marketability. The character of Mork was inserted into an episode of Happy Days for this purpose. Closely related to this spin-off approach is the backdoor pilot, in which a show's main characters take a back seat to secondary or brand new characters in order to test the waters for a new show. Diff'rent Strokes (1978 - 1986) spun off TheFacts of Life (1979 - 1988) and HelloLarry (1979) in this manner. The Golden Girls (1985 - 1992) gave us Empty Nest (1988 - 1995). Usually backdoor pilots have a somewhat disconcerting quality to them. The usual dynamic in a show is overturned to give a new set of characters center stage. This disruption of a show's normal chemistry can be disturbing to viewers, so the use of backdoor pilots has waned in recent years, shifting to the use of focus groups to judge and evaluate pilots.

Spin-offs, far from being the retreads of the television industry, have provided television with some of its most popular programs. Of course, for every Frasier, there is a Beverly Hills Buntz (1987 - 1988), but overall, spin-offs have proven to be an effective programming strategy to get new shows on the air and help those shows find an audience. However, to be successful, a spin-off must be able to stand on its own. It is one thing to find an audience but another to keep it. Many spin-offs begin with initially high ratings and then quickly fade. Phyllis is one such example. The Ropers is another. Norman Fell, who played Stanley Roper on the wildly successful Three's Company, expressed concerns about spinning off his character, along with Audra Lindley, into his own show. He felt that the Ropers were a one-joke couple that couldn't sustain an entire series. As it turns out, Fell's concerns were well-founded. The Ropers found an audience, the Three's Company/Ropers hour-block was the top-rated hour of television in the spring of 1979, but was unable to keep it. Ratings plummeted when The Ropers moved to Sundays, and the show was cancelled after a single season. Despite the risks, spin-offs offer numerous advantages to both the networks and television producers.

Networks like spin-offs because they offer a modicum of predictability. The television industry is volatile. Audiences are both fickle and fiercely loyal at the same time. The Simpsons has been on the air for 17 seasons based on the strength of its relatively small, but fanatically faithful fan base. In contrast, the character of Joey from Friends, arguably the most popular character from one of the most popular sitcoms of the last ten years, did not bring that popularity into his on show. The audience abandoned him. Networks may not know if an actual spin-off will be successful, but at least they know which characters are popular, which benefits spin-offs featuring supporting characters getting their own shows, or they know the concept works in the case of spin-off retoolings. This veneer of predictability placates advertisers and helps sell a show. Successful producers often favor spin-offs as well because they frequently are contracted for future commitments from studios or networks. New shows built around already popular characters offer numerous advantages. In addition, spin-offs enable producers to explore new aspects of a concept. While All in the Family explored racism from a white perspective, TheJeffersons explored the same concept from an African-American point of view. Many producers like to work with the same actors, and spin-offs give some of these supporting actors the opportunity for stardom, which increases their value and adds star power to a show. When Fonzie emerged as a breakout character on HappyDays, Henry Winkler soared into super-stardom and took the show along with him. Spin-offs benefit both networks and producers because the parent program offers a ready-made billboard to advertise a new work. The advantages here are obvious. In an industry where the largest number of viewers equals success, the increased visibility engendered by tying a show to an existing, successful show helps networks get a spin-off exposed to a large number of viewers while not cutting into the precious advertising time ordinarily required to launch a new show. While the connection to an existing show offers a spin-off some initial advantages, it can also pose problems.

When supporting characters get their own shows, this sometimes disrupts the chemistry on the parent show. The Mary Tyler Moore Show began declining in the ratings after Rhoda and Phyllis were spun off into their own shows. The initial chemistry between characters, which was the strength of Mary Tyler Moore, began to suffer. The spin offs faced similar problems. As secondary characters in an ensemble cast, Phyllis and Rhoda were perfect complements to Mary Richards. However, as leads in their own shows, both floundered. Phyllis faced the problem of making an essentially unpleasant character an appealing lead. This issue was never really resolved and the show was cancelled after two seasons. Rhoda was more successful, but Valerie Harper's streetwise character essentially served as a counterpoint to highlight Mary Richards' naïveté in the original show. Once Rhoda left Minneapolis for New York, Mary was no longer in the picture, and Rhoda was all counter with no point.

A spin-off's main advantage is its connection to its parent show; however, this can also be its greatest liability. Mayberry R.F.D. was not necessarily a bad spin-off, but it was always compared to its parent, The Andy Griffith Show, and always came up short. It was therefore perceived to be worse than it actually was, simply because it failed to achieve the greatness of the show that spawned it. A similar fate befell After M*A*S*H*, which was not a good show, but seemed particularly abysmal compared to its parent program, M*A*S*H*. These comparisons may also lead to heightened expectations that a spin-off simply cannot deliver. Joey, in particular, had to measure up to the still-fresh memories of Friends. While spin-offs can be problematic, networks continue to invest in them, demonstrating their belief that the advantages outweigh the risks, and as with any business, risk management is a key component to success.

The television industry operates like any large business. It is a system of competitive risks and rewards. Spin-offs are the industry's attempts to minimize risks and maximize rewards. Norman Lear, arguably the king of spin-offs, equates the television industry to any other American industry in that both do whatever they can to maximize profits by giving the public what it wanted the previous year. Television shows are just another product that is tested, refined and researched prior to being put on the market. If a particular sort of program was popular last year, you will get more of the same the following year.

Spin-offs represent this mentality. As much as audiences claim to want something different, in reality they simply want a different spin on an existing product. Consider the radical departure taken by one of Lear's own shows - All in the Family. The show tackled issues heretofore untouchable on network television: rape, menopause, racism, sexism, abortion, evolution. This show pushed the boundaries further than ever before, and yet, if you look at the structure of the show, you will find it firmly rooted in traditional sitcom trappings. The show features an intact, two-parent family with two children living at home. Archie is the breadwinner. Edith takes care of the house. Granted Mike, is actually Archie's son-in-law, but the archetypical family structure of sitcoms remains unchanged from its earliest forms. Herein lies the link between spin-offs and sitcoms. Each relies on establishing and maintaining familiarity and consistency. Predictability in a sitcom doesn't bore the audience, but rather it actually enriches the humor. Sitcom spin-offs provide opportunities to provide instant predictability from characters; after all, the audience already knows these characters, and this familiarity dovetails perfectly into the inner workings of sitcoms. In contrast to many dramas, no one in situation comedies is ever alone. Sitcoms rely on a large family of supporting characters, which are natural candidates for their own spin-off series. The conservative mentality that governs both spin-offs and sitcoms is simple: provide consistently familiar variations that are just different enough so as to be considered new. This is not a condemnation of either, but rather an affirmation of the strengths of both.