spinoffs that never happened

[skippercollector]

With all the discussion about successful spinoffs, here are some that never made it beyond being included as an episode in another series:
Bonanza,"The Avenger," March 19, 1960
The Brady Bunch, "Kelly's Kids," Jan. 4, 1974
Battlestar Galactica, "Greetings from Earth," Feb. 25, 1979

 

[rnigma1]

Star Trek TOS: "Assignment: Earth"
The Twilight Zone: "Cavender is Coming"

 

[onairb]

Star Trek TOS: "Assignment: Earth"
The Twilight Zone: "Cavender is Coming"

'The Six Million Dollar Man' had an episode called 'The Ultimate Impostor' in 1977. Stephen Macht played a guy with a computer-brain who was sent on assignment when Steve just happened to have a week's vacation. (Majors appeared briefly, saving the guy's life in the opening scene, and returning to work at the end.)
The episode credits used a different, computer-generated font to distinguish it from other episodes of 'SMDM'.
The writers of this episode reworked it as a TV-movie in 1979, retaining the title, but with a different cast, and, obviously, no references to bionic lore.

 

[Joey1986]

If we include spinoffs that never made it past the planning stages, there was supposed to be a Small Wonder spinoff called Too Good to Be True, starring Tiffany Brissette (who played the main Small Wonder character Vicki the Robot), as Vicki's more advanced (and evil) twin, another robot named Vanessa Lawson, who appeared in two episodes over the last two seasons of Small Wonder: the ninth episode of the third season, titled "The Bad Seed;" and the fourth-season (and series) finale, titled "Hooray for Hollyweird!" Vanessa, who, unlike Vicki, doesn't speak in a monotone, takes Vicki's place for the duration of each of these episodes, until the end of each episode at which point Ted Lawson (the dad) takes Vanessa apart.

 

[RadioMan203]

Star Trek TOS: "Assignment: Earth"

Of course there would have been Star Trek Phase II, a late 70's adaptation of Roddenberry's original franchise.

 

[Marckd]

"Grandma Dynamyte" which was to be a spinoff the Flintstones in 1963 never happened. She aired on the episode "Foxy grandma" late in the 1962-63 season with plans for her own series of shorts which would be part of a new group of Hanna barbara shows but did not make the cut.

 

[cd637299]

Wow, I'd like to know more about the above one! I'll have to check out that Flintstones ep.

The last *two* eps of "Green Acres" were unfortunate pilots: one about a woman trying to keep a hotel safe and sane in Hawaii; the other about a ditzy secretary (played by Elaine Joyce). I learned that the former ep was to have been called "Pam" if it made the cut----the other (EJ) had the character name Carol Rush, but I'm unsure of the working title.

The humor in these was nothing like the classic surrealism of "Acres."

cd

 

[skippercollector]

In all the information I've read about The Flintstones over the years, I've never read that about Grandma Dynamite! I've often wondered if Gazoo was supposed to get his own show.

 

[bpatrick]

Star Trek TOS: "Assignment: Earth"
The Twilight Zone: "Cavender is Coming"

'The Six Million Dollar Man' had an episode called 'The Ultimate Impostor' in 1977. Stephen Macht played a guy with a computer-brain who was sent on assignment when Steve just happened to have a week's vacation. (Majors appeared briefly, saving the guy's life in the opening scene, and returning to work at the end.)
The episode credits used a different, computer-generated font to distinguish it from other episodes of 'SMDM'.
The writers of this episode reworked it as a TV-movie in 1979, retaining the title, but with a different cast, and, obviously, no references to bionic lore.

Wasn't there some talk at one time about a "Six Million Dollar Man" spinoff about a bionic dog?

I've also heard there was talk about a "Superboy" series around the time of George Reeves' death. There wasn't one until the late '80s.

 

[Braves2005]

There was a spinoff pilot from M*A*S*H which featured Gary Burghoff as his Radar character from M*A*S*H called W*A*L*T*E*R that aired around the time that M*A*S*H was about to go off the air and it was shown but it never got anywhere.

 

[onairb]

Star Trek TOS: "Assignment: Earth"
The Twilight Zone: "Cavender is Coming"

'The Six Million Dollar Man' had an episode called 'The Ultimate Impostor' in 1977. Stephen Macht played a guy with a computer-brain who was sent on assignment when Steve just happened to have a week's vacation. (Majors appeared briefly, saving the guy's life in the opening scene, and returning to work at the end.)
The episode credits used a different, computer-generated font to distinguish it from other episodes of 'SMDM'.
The writers of this episode reworked it as a TV-movie in 1979, retaining the title, but with a different cast, and, obviously, no references to bionic lore.

Wasn't there some talk at one time about a "Six Million Dollar Man" spinoff about a bionic dog?

I've also heard there was talk about a "Superboy" series around the time of George Reeves' death. There wasn't one until the late '80s.

There was also talk about a 'Super Pup' series, loosely based on the dog character 'Krypto'...a pilot was made, but not picked up...something with very low-budget production values..and actors dressed in dog costumes!
As far as other '6 Mil' spinoffs, Vincent Van Patten played a teenaged 'bionic boy' who was introduced on 'SMDM' and trained by Steve Austin. A planned spinoff never came to be.
The 'bionic dog' (Max)was introduced on 'The Bionic Woman' in 1977(after the show had switched from ABC to NBC and cut ties with 'SMDM'.) I don't know if Max was intended to be spun off, since the bionic franchise died out that season.

 

[onairb]

There was a spinoff pilot from M*A*S*H which featured Gary Burghoff as his Radar character from M*A*S*H called W*A*L*T*E*R that aired around the time that M*A*S*H was about to go off the air and it was shown but it never got anywhere.

That pilot aired preceding political convention coverage in the Eastern and Central time zones, and wasn't seen at all elsewhere, so it's perhaps the most obscure 'spinoff' from M*A*S*H ever made.

 

[Wright County Guy]

Wow, I'd like to know more about the above one! I'll have to check out that Flintstones ep.

The last *two* eps of "Green Acres" were unfortunate pilots: one about a woman trying to keep a hotel safe and sane in Hawaii; the other about a ditzy secretary (played by Elaine Joyce). I learned that the former ep was to have been called "Pam" if it made the cut----the other (EJ) had the character name Carol Rush, but I'm unsure of the working title.

The humor in these was nothing like the classic surrealism of "Acres."

cd

The Elaine Joyce non-pilot airs tomorrow morning (June 10th) at 5:30am on This-TV.

 

[cd637299]

^ I was just looking at my local This schedule & I wonder if This is missing some episodes of Acres. The ep right before "The Ex-Secretary" (Elaine Joyce) should have been "Hawaiian Honeymoon" (with the Pam character), but it's a different one. The next ep after EJ goes to the beginning again, from what I gather.

cd

 

[anotherguyTN]

There was an episode of The Cosby Show with John Ritter playing a coach whose wife was a patient of Cliff Huxtable's and the episode seemed to center more around them. I've always thought that it might have been a pilot for a new series with Ritter that didn't happen.

 

[cd637299]

There was an episode of The Cosby Show with John Ritter playing a coach whose wife was a patient of Cliff Huxtable's and the episode seemed to center more around them. I've always thought that it might have been a pilot for a new series with Ritter that didn't happen.

Wasn't that Tony Orlando instead of Ritter? If not, wasn't there a vehicle for T.O. as some kind of coach? Mind is fuzzy.....

cd

 

[onairb]

There was an episode of The Cosby Show with John Ritter playing a coach whose wife was a patient of Cliff Huxtable's and the episode seemed to center more around them. I've always thought that it might have been a pilot for a new series with Ritter that didn't happen.

Wasn't that Tony Orlando instead of Ritter? If not, wasn't there a vehicle for T.O. as some kind of coach? Mind is fuzzy.....

cd

Those were two different episodes; Ritter was a school sports coach whose wife was in labor, in yet another warming-over of every 'how many things can happen with a abby on the way?' plot(and I believe his real-life wife, Amy Yasbeck, co-starred in that episode). Orlando appeared later, as another ex-jock who was working at a youth center where Louise Jefferson...sorry, Clair Huxtable;-)...stopped in. The 'social worker' angle was later used for Theo, as well as a sitcom Malcom-Jamal Warner did after 'The Cosby Show' ended.

 

[Mark Giardina]

There was a proposed spin-off from the Harry O series featuring, I believe, an amateur detective and an oriental gentleman who may have been an ME or doctor (sorry I can’t remember). Anyways that spin-off never occurred because Fred Silverman, then president at ABC cancelled the Harry O series after the showed has from CBS to ABC.

And of course there was the Star Trek spin-off featuring Robert Lansing and Terri Garr that never materialized. Lansing was an earthling kidnapped by aliens and returned to safe Earth. Garr was his secretary/sidekick. I believe there was a black cat also featured who had some mysterious abilities.

 

[HamptonRoadsMediaFan]

There was an episode of The Cosby Show with John Ritter playing a coach whose wife was a patient of Cliff Huxtable's and the episode seemed to center more around them. I've always thought that it might have been a pilot for a new series with Ritter that didn't happen.

Wasn't that Tony Orlando instead of Ritter? If not, wasn't there a vehicle for T.O. as some kind of coach? Mind is fuzzy.....

cd

Those were two different episodes; Ritter was a school sports coach whose wife was in labor, in yet another warming-over of every 'how many things can happen with a abby on the way?' plot(and I believe his real-life wife, Amy Yasbeck, co-starred in that episode). Orlando appeared later, as another ex-jock who was working at a youth center where Louise Jefferson...sorry, Clair Huxtable;-)...stopped in. The 'social worker' angle was later used for Theo, as well as a sitcom Malcom-Jamal Warner did after 'The Cosby Show' ended.

I remember reading about the Tony Orlando episode being a backdoor pilot; but not the Ritter one.

 

[FredLeonard]

And of course there was the Star Trek spin-off featuring Robert Lansing and Terri Garr that never materialized. Lansing was an earthling kidnapped by aliens and returned to safe Earth. Garr was his secretary/sidekick. I believe there was a black cat also featured who had some mysterious abilities.

That was Assignment Earth mentioned in Reply #1.

The "cat" was a shape-shifter who often took the shape of a cat.

Gary Seven was born and raised on an alien planet. He was descended from people from Earth who were brought there (it was never said they were taken involuntarily) and over generations served as agents to avoid catastrophes on Earth.

In the Eugenics Wars novels, Seven tries to train young Kahn to work with him (with some help from Guinan).