The 20 Greatest Television Spin-Offs Ever (Part One)

Television spin-offs have traditionally been more miss than hit, with the likes of Joey — a follow-up from Friends — bombing both creatively and with viewers.

Here we take a look at 20 of the best spin-offs to hit the small screen, starting with numbers 20 to 11.

20. Keenan and Kel (1996-2000)
Original show: All That

“Who loves orange soda…”

Catchphrase heavy kids-com which confirmed Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell were destined to captivate audiences from the get-go.

What on paper looked naff was carried by gusto-fuelled performances from a young cast, providing the pinnacle of late 90s teenage satire – with early 21st Century internet rumours of Kenan’s demise proving premature.

19. Going Straight (1978)
Original show: Porridge

Going Straight followed former jailbird Norman Stanley Fletcher as he attempted to adapt to life on the ‘outside’.

Despite relying excessively on a so-so support cast, and not coming close to emulating its predecessor Porridge, Ronnie Barker was able to provide fitting closure for fans of the protagonist, while periodically dropping memorable one-liners along the way.

18. Torchwood (2006-10)
Original Show: Dr Who

A year after Russell T Davies revived Doctor Who, he created this spin-off for the character ‘Captain Jack Harkness’ (John Barrowman), an immortal time-travelling former con man.

A distinctively Welsh twist on the original sees Captain Jack heading up the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood institute, which deals with incidents involving aliens.

A useful piece of trivia: The title is also an anagram of ‘Doctor Who'.

17. Xena Warrior Princess (1995-2001)
Original Show: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

Coming at a time when Spice Girls inspired ‘girl power’ was in full force, Xena started life on the dark side, before eventually realising the error of her ways and turning face.

With a strong, independent and alluring swagger, the series made up for some woeful scripts with enough action, titillation and engaging plot arcs to maintain it during a six-year run.

16. Angel (1999-2004)
Original Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The show about a guilt-ridden vampire with a human soul ran for five seasons and was a successful spin-off of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

David Boreanaz’s Angel and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy sparked with romantic tension, until Angel left to start his own series at the end of season three.

15. Mork and Mindy (1978-82)
Original show: Happy Days

This popular sitcom was born out of a dream by Happy Days’ Richie Cunningham in which alien Mork (played by an unknown Robin Williams) tried to take Richie back to his home planet of Ork.

Series producer, Garry Marshall, was so impressed by Williams’ comic ability that he gave him his own series about an alien who comes to Earth to study human behaviour and moves in with a woman he meets.

14. Summer Heights High (2007)
Original show: We can be Heroes

Chris Lilley nailed it with this mockumentary based within the confines of the fictional Summer Heights high-school based in Sydney.

The Australian comedian expertly portrayed all three of the main characters, allowing viewers an occasional window for empathy during the show’s otherwise relentless hilarity. 

13. The Colbert Report (2005-14)
Original show: The Daily Show

Political satirist Stephen Colbert took on cable-news pundits in this show’s decade long run, which centred around his essential rightness about the issues of the day.

Colbert portrayed a caricature of the conservative political pundits often seen on channels such as Fox News.

In addition, the show was known for coming up with new words to enter the lexicon, most notably “truthiness.”

12. Daria (1997-2001)
Original show: Beavis and Butthead

Under rated cartoon following acutely perceptive, acerbic tongued teenager Daria Morgendorffer.

Her self-esteem teacher can’t even remember her name, not that low self-esteem is a problem for Daria, who in one memorable exchange with her family explains that “I don’t have low self-esteem, it’s a mistake: I have low esteem for everyone else.”

11. Saved By The Bell (1989-93)
Original show: Good Morning Miss Bliss

This is one case where the spin-off was superior to the original.

Wise cracking Zach Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) leads up a cast of pretty young things and uber dorks, whose antics usually come with a life lesson attached.

In hindsight it looks a little cheesy, but was must see TV for 90s kids.

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Join us again tomorrow morning to see which spin-offs make our top ten.