TVSquad

We've talked about this a lot here at TV Squad: what are the worst spin-offs of all-time? Joanie Loves Chachi always makes such a list as does AfterMASH. So it's no surprise that both shows made Time's list of the 10 worst spin-offs of all-time. In fact, AfterMASH is in the number one slot.

Other shows on the list are good examples of bad spin-offs too, including The Ropers, the Three's Company spin-off that was rather unnecessary; Joey, the Friends spin-off that just couldn't recapture the magic of the parent series; and Baywatch Nights, which always amazed me with the fact that Mitch Buchannon never mentioned to the other lifeguards at his day job on the beach that he was fighting monsters and evil spirits in his night job.

I'm impressed that they not only picked the Spenser: For Hire spin-off A Man Called Hawk but placed it so high on the list, at number three. That really was a disappointing show. Some characters are just more effective in supporting roles.

Spin-off creation should be a betting sport because producers are really playing the odds when they shuffle a performer from a successful show into an untested one. That's why for every The Jeffersons, Laverne & Shirley, and Frasier, there's a Checking In, Joanie Loves Chachi and . . . wait for it . . . Joey. The odds are even greater against a spin-off when using a character that wasn't well established in the original show. The challenge this is to build them up as quickly as possible to give them something the viewers will like.

Because these factors exist, a huge pile of failed spin-offs have come and gone off of our television screens over the years. Our friends at Celebrity Hack have compiled a list of the 10 biggest spin-off bombs in the history of television. According to the site, of course . . . your list may differ greatly.

As normal, Hello, Larry is ranked as the number one spin-off bomb. This wasn't really a spin-off, it was just a show that took place in the Diff'rent Strokes universe. Others mentioned in the list are Joanie Love Chachi, AfterMASH, Enos and the embarrassingly bad The Bradys, which was ranked number six. I disagree with Celebrity Hack on this one as The Bradys should've been put ahead of Larry on the list. In fact The Brady Bunch Hour, which is perhaps the worst spin-off EVER, should have been number one.

In the coming years, people will probably remember Joey as one of the worst sitcoms of all time. Why? Because it took a character from a hugely successful series, Friends, and put him in a show that was about as bland as a sitcom could get.

This isn't the first time that a series that spun off main characters from a popular series has fallen on its face. In fact, aside from Frasier and maybe Archie Bunker's Place, the "falling on face" outcome seems to happen more often than not.

(UPDATE: To clarify, I'm talking about a show spun off from a hit show AFTER the hit show ends. I'm thinking of shows like The Golden Palace, Three's A Crowd, etc. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.)

Take the case of AfterMASH. After M*A*S*H ended its long run in 1983, people were still clamoring for tales of the people from the 4077th; so when plans were announced to follow three characters -- Col. Potter, Father Mulcahy, and Max Klinger -- back to life in the U.S. after the end of the Korean War, fans were overjoyed. In fact, ratings for the first half-season or so, which aired in the same Monday at 9 timeslot as M*A*S*H, were so high, the show ended the calendar year 1983 in the #1 slot.

There was a little problem, though: the show was boring as hell.