The 7 Best and 7 Worst TV Spinoffs

76   5.7   7.6 

BEST: "The Jeffersons" (1975)
From "All in the Family" (1971)
"The Jeffersons" was one of many spin-offs generated by "All in the Family." The good writing and solid performances led to 11 seasons on air with the titular family. Although it is possible it stayed on the air for so long simply because its theme song was so durned catchy.

CelShader's rating:

2   10   2.6 

WORST: "The Bachelorette" (2003)
From "The Bachelor" (2002)
This really just represents every bad reality show that has ever spawned a spin-off. But we had to pick just one. And the guy who created this one is such a turd sandwich, it really made the most sense, even if "Real Chance of Love" is actually worse. Although after a certain degree of awfulness, they sort of all meld into one gigantic mass of crap that makes terrorists hate America.

682   6.4   8.5 

BEST: "Frasier" (1993)
From "Cheers" (1982)
Winning 37 Emmy's and being considered one of the greatest sitcoms of all time was impressive, but we know the truth. It was Eddie the tiny dog. Everybody loves that dog.

CelShader's rating:

0   0   5.2 

WORST: "Ally" (1999)
From “Ally McBeal" (1997)
Totally pointless "Ally McBeal" spin-off comprised of un-aired scenes! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!

405   7.6   9.2 

BEST: "The Colbert Report" (2005)
From "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (1996)
Colbert is like Jon Stewart's little non-Jewish, right-wing brother with a weird ear, and he takes punditry to the next level. Seriously, there's a treadmill in outer space named after him. Can Jon Stewart say that?

CelShader's rating:

8   7.3   0 

WORST: "The Cleveland Show" (2009)
From "Family Guy" (1999)
There may have only been a few episodes so far, but dear lord is this show terrible. Note to FOX: even if Seth MacFarlane's turds were made of gold they would still be turds.

76   5.9   6.8 

BEST: "Laverne and Shirley" (1976)
From "Happy Days" (1974)
It was so good, with the beer and the Lenny and the Squiggy. If you're going to do a "Happy Days" spin-off, it's a much better idea to do it with friends of the Fonz's rather than his lameass cousin Chachi.

80   5.6   6.5 

WORST: "The Facts of Life" (1979)
From "Diff'rent Strokes" (1978)
You can think what you want, but the sad truth is that almost everything you thought was awesome back when My Pet Monster was your favorite movie is actually just really, really bad. Sorry Tootie.

CelShader's rating:

146   6.8   8.6 

BEST: "Absolutely Fabulous" (1992)
From "French & Saunders" (1987)
So, good things can come from sketch comedy shows (as long as it isn't SNL). Just try to imagine 22 minutes of Deep House Dish without out cutting your own throat.

3   2   5.2 

WORST: "Booker" (1989)
From "21 Jump Street" (1987)
It's cop vs. corporate America in this show starring Richard Greico. He hates the rules and does what he wants when he zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Sorry, fell asleep for a second there.

586   6.9   8.8 

BEST: "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987)
From "Star Trek" (1966)
They're on a mission for peace, plus they have an android and the guy from "Reading Rainbow." Possibly the best Star Trek ever, with the exception of that period where they got all Holodeck-crazy and practically every other episode was a Sherlock Holmes Mystery.

CelShader's rating:

399   5   6.6 

WORST: "Joey" (2004)
From "Friends" (1994)
Of all the characters from Friends, why on Earth would you pick Joey for his own show. For ten seasons his whole thing was to say something stupid every now and then. They really should have given the show to Marcel. We need more live-action monkey television.

2216   8.2   9.2 

BEST: "The Simpsons" (1989)
From "The Tracy Ullman Show” (1987)
And to think, it all came from some crappy-looking, not-that-great shorts from "The Tracy Ullman Show." BEST.SPIN-OFF.EVER!

CelShader's rating:

8   4   3.9 

WORST: "Joanie Loves Chachi" (1982)
From "Happy Days" (1974)
The theme song speaks for itself, but in case you forgot, this is a show about Scott Baio and his girlfriend playing the kind of music nobody wants to hear when they go out to a restaurant.