A Few of My Favorite Television Show SPIN-OFFS!

A Few of My Favorite 

Television Show SPIN-OFFS!

This piece was originally published January 2nd, 2013.

The history and "family trees" of television series spin-offs can be as complicated and intricately detailed as a giant spider's web in a dark cave.

We are all familiar with a typical spin-off of a popular sitcom or drama series.

For instance, Happy Days giving us Laverne and Shirley and Mork and Mindy or Buffy the Vampire Slayer providing us with Angel, but those are the obvious, things can get more convoluted and far less easy to spot sometimes.

Some shows that we take for granted as always being around, such as The Tonight Show, with all of the many hosts and longevity that show has had, is technically a spin-off of a show called Broadway Open House which ran from 1950 - 1951, and was NBC's first late night series—with The Tonight Show making its debut in 1954.

A series may spin-off of itself, as in the case of say Rowan Atkinson's brilliant Black Adder, which would then give the world Black Adder II and Black Adder The Third, etc.

There are shows, especially of the variety or anthology type, that would spin-off something much greater than the original, with the most famous example of all being The Tracey Ullman Show providing the world with The Simpsons.

To really get detailed, the fun, goofy comedy anthology series Love, American Style (which ran from 1969-1974) is the show that originally spawned Happy Days (which gave us many spin-offs, mostly terrible, aside from Laverne and Shirley), as well as Wait Til Your Father Gets Home (1972-1974), the first prime time animated series to last more than one season since The Flintstones and before The Simpsons.

So in thinking about spin-offs, and the complexities involved in sticking to what constitutes a true spin-off (a re-boot of a series such as with Battlestar Galactica is not a spin-off) here, in no particular order, are a few of my faves.

Unpredictable are some, while others, perhaps not so much.

I will only be listing television shows that are with live actors, so no animated shows this time around, but I promise that Mystery Box column will come in the near future, and with something to look forward in this column, you would be amazed if you knew just how many spin-offs a few animated series like The Flintstones or The Archie Show spawned!

Lastly, I'm also not going to mention anything from the Star Trek world on this list, as it would take up several columns to discuss these shows. To put it simply, I worship the original classic series, loved Enterprise, really liked Next Generation and found the other two spin-offs to be a chore.

Will Ferrell’s Casa de Mi Padre: Muy Divertido Multiplicado Por Diez!

This piece was originally published April 9th, 2012.

In his earlier Saturday Night Live days, Will Ferrell was among my more disliked cast members.

I can recall those of us watching referring to him as "that annoying guy."

The dreaded Spartan Cheerleaders sketches he used to do with Cheri Oteri, another cast member I was never too fond of, were overly long and never that funny. For myself, the continuing antics of "Craig and Arianna" brought the show to a stand-still, despite some great guest hosts (Robert Downey Jr., Jim Carrey) appearing in the sketches.

Ron Burgundy 

GENIUS BEFORE THE ARTIST: Michel Hazanavicius And His OSS 177 FILMS

GENIUS BEFORE THE ARTIST: 

Michel Hazanavicius And His OSS 117 FILMS

This piece was originally published January 30th, 2012.


Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist has been garnering award after award and may very well end up sweeping the upcoming Academy Awards 
— well it should in any case.

Easily one of the best films that I have seen recently, I can honestly add it to the list of my favorite films of all time.

Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Béjo in The Artist

This story of a great fan fave silent film actor facing the oncoming changes that came with the new talkies era, is such a wonderful, skillfully crafted and entertaining homage to cinema's past, that it will doubtlessly continue to snowball into a huge mainstream success, and deservedly so.

The genius of Hazanavicius' filmmaking did not begin with The Artist however.

MAURICE GOSFIELD: From Private Doberman to Benny The Ball

MAURICE GOSFIELD: 

From Private Doberman to Benny The Ball

This piece was originally published June 7th, 2011.

There are few character actors in the history of television that can equal Maurice Gosfield.

He had a screen presence that is still unmatched and a voice so distinctive as to lend itself to that of a timelessly beloved cartoon character.

With his 5'4", 200 lb. stature, and devil may care good looks, Maurice Gosfield took over Hollywood and became a man that women swooned over, children called their hero and men dreamed of emulating.

I Dream Of Shoedini…

This piece was originally published January 17th, 2011.

By now the world of infomercials and As Seen On TV products have been written and talked about, goofed on and parodied endlessly.

Yet, there seems no end to the inventions that these shadowy wizards are able to come up with.

Like modern day snake oil salesmen, the ever growing LLC of the fast buck is a school of commerce that continues to pull the punters in.

Here then, are a few favorites that have been piling up in the viewing lounge at Mystery Box HQ, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do...

SIRIUS RADIO: SATELLITE OF LOVE

This piece was originally published July 26th, 2010.

I finally had the chance to dive into Sirius Satellite Radio this year after my girlfriend gave me one of their personal players as a birthday present.

Little did I realize just how much I would love Sirius.

I know, this thing has been around for years now, but really, I haven't seen much written about it that pinpointed my listening tastes, so it has been on my wishlist for some time.

Since the merger of Sirius and XM Radio, the two have been almost interchangeable aside from a few channel differences, and you can add either to your subscription at a low cost. I have yet to find a strong enough need to add the XM channels so far.

THE THREE STOOGES CHRONOLOGICAL COLLECTION…COMPLETE!

This piece was originally published June 7th, 2010.

There was a time in the mid nineties when I was attempting to collect every short made by The Three Stooges. 

I sat patiently every evening with my snappy VHS recorder while tuned to WSBK Channel 36, the local independent UHF station out of Boston, which not only ran a nightly serving of Stooge laughs, but also held their annual Three Stooges New Years Eve "Countdown" all night marathon, and most of the time a healthy dose of afternoon Stooges shorts as well.

Hey Arnold Stang!

Hey Arnold Stang!

This piece was originally published January 25th, 2010

If ever there was a legend worthy of writing about here at The Mystery Box, then Arnold Stang is one of those legends.

On December 22nd Forces Of Geek ran an obit on this great man which you can find here.

I grew up with such admiration for Stang that I felt the indebted to include him as one of my Great Comedians Of The Past.


Arnold Stang migrated from his 1918 birthplace of Chelsea, MA to Brooklyn and grew up as as a young kid chasing showbiz, stardom and everything else that a lifestyle in the big city could offer him. He was savvy from the get go, winning an audition for a children's radio show at the age of nine.

Unlike say, the naive child actors who would become the Brady Bunch kids, Stang had drive, focus and adult ambition.

FRANK NELSON: Comedy's Original Yeeeesssss Man

FRANK NELSON:  Comedy's Original Yeeeesssss Man

This piece was originally published October 5th, 2009.

Welcome to a new column feature that I will be often revisiting here at The Mystery Box...Great Comedians Of The Past.

With this feature, I look forward to paying tribute to the many wonderful actors and actresses of comedy who have helped me to laugh throughout my life, with the hopes that you may find a particular one that you may have not known of before and will add to your own list of favorites.

Warning: Obscure and yet, not so obscure, comedic character actor alert!

GREAT COMEDIAN OF THE PAST #1: FRANK NELSON

Frank Nelson was an early radio and later, television comedy great. He not only earned a permanent place in the illustrious history of both mediums, but also has forever become one of those singular talents with a memorable and legendary catchphrase that will forever be known for generations to come.

Rube Goldberg + The Three Stooges = 1930's SOUP TO NUTS

Rube Goldberg + The Three Stooges = 1930's SOUP TO NUTS

This piece was originally published August 10th, 2009

Most folks are familiar with the famously talented Rube Goldberg.

Goldberg's iconoclastic comic strip drawings for his character, Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts'-better known simply as his "Inventions"-still delight, bemuse, entertain and provide the inspiration for competitions worldwide for their attempt to make complex, the very simple.

The Three Stooges comedy team need no introduction.


What is not often known is that these two famous names came together in a 1930 Goldberg scripted feature film entitled, 'Soup To Nuts.'

SEINFELD: My 13 Favorite Episodes

SEINFELD: My 13 Favorite Episodes

This piece was originally published November 12th, 2012. 

There is nothing like viewing a great, multi season television series by having it all compiled into one big box set.  

It becomes my favorite way to view the entire series, chronologically, with an episode or three every night until I make my way through the whole thing.

For such an incredible show as Seinfeld, I passed on purchasing the single season sets, knowing that at some point all 180 episodes would be available as one huge boxed collection. 

Little did I know that a couple of years ago, not only would this box finally come out, but I could purchase an exclusive version that included a fun refrigerator sleeve wrapped around the box, goofy magnets of show related items as "The Fusilli Jerry," and a beautiful hardbound tribute book. 

It took awhile to crack the set open, at least a year, knowing the magnitude that getting through nine seasons would involve, but finally, last Fall and into Winter, I watched each and every episode. 

From the pilot of July 5, 1989 "The Seinfeld Chronicles" all the way to 179/180 May 14, 1998's "The Finale." 

For anyone who is already a Seinfeld fan, has never seen the show, or for anyone that has seen a few episodes out of order and wishes they could enjoy it more than they have, well...this is really the way Seinfeld should be appreciated.

MAD Magazine 500th Issue Celebration!!

MAD Magazine 500th Issue Celebration!!

This piece was originally published November  10th, 2012.

MAD Magazine: Fine purveyors of outstanding highbrow literature, anthropological exploration, critical analysis and scientific socio-political satire for over 55 years, now gives their fans a reason to be cheerful (and dumbfounded).

Currently on newsstands and available at overpriced booksellers everywhere is their...drumroll please... 500th issue!

That's right folks, the "What Me Worry?" kid a.k.a. Alfred E. Neuman, and "the Usual Gang of Idiots" are still going strong and surviving in 2009.

Take that, Cracked Magazine!

Sam Raimi's Stooges: Celebrating The Director's Earliest Films

Sam Raimi’s Stooges: Celebrating The Director’s Earliest Films

This piece was originally published June 1st, 2009

Everything in life always comes back to The Three Stooges...

We all know how much Sam Raimi loves a good, old fashioned, ancient and horrible curse. The type that has been unleashed by some unsuspecting chump.

Nothing like a good curse plot to wrap a film around. Curses seem to bring out some of the best in Raimi's work, from his early first feature, Within The Woods, through all of the Evil Dead masterpieces, to his newest film Drag Me To Hell.

The other major influence on Raimi's work has always been the ultra violent Columbia comedy shorts of The Three Stooges: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, and who can forget that most underrated of all Stooges, Shemp Howard.

The release of a new Sam Raimi directed film is usually a cause for celebration.

The Great Horror Family: Yet another wacky tv horror sitcom (!?) and one you may have missed...

The Great Horror Family: 

Yet another wacky tv horror sitcom (!?) 

and one you may have missed…

This piece was originally published March 23rd, 2009

There have been plenty of horror and supernatural television series that have had a great deal of wit and/or a tongue in cheek aspect to them (think The Night Stalker and its offspring, The X-Files) but an all out goofy, slapstick filled, bloody horror / monster sitcom?

You can pretty much count the television sitcoms that could be listed under "horror" on one hand.
In the sixties, when television genres really started to loosen up and take chances begetting successful shows involving witches, genies, spies and animated cavemen or flying squirrels, you had two of the best loved—and primarily the only ones most people can think of as straight up horror comedies: The Munsters and The Addams Family. Both of these classic shows exemplified the love and obsession with monsters that had viewers flocking to cinemas and drive-ins throughout the '50s and '60s and reading magazines such as the ones that help spawn the love, Famous Monsters of Filmland or the omnipresent kid staple, MAD.

For awhile it was monsters, monsters and more monsters—at least until the mid sixties James Bond spy craze took over and everyone needed a briefcase that contained a pop out throwing dagger.