Play the TV Spinoffs Crossword

We love our stories. Every week we tune in to our favorite shows, both comedy and drama, to watch our favorite characters make us laugh or cry or maybe both. Just a few years ago, we were able to look forward to at least 22 episodes of a series every season, especially on broadcast. But even when there were plenty more episodes, it still wasn’t enough! We were happy, and excited, to watch our favorite characters on spinoffs of successful shows, to get even more time with them. (The first official spun-off character was not human, though. Gene Autry’s Champion the Wonder Horse, from The Gene Autry Show, got his own series, The Adventures of Champion, in 1955.)

We could watch more of The Colbys after Dynasty, more of Frasier in Seattle after leaving Boston and Cheers, and a lot more of Lou Grant, Rhoda, and Phyllis when they got their own shows after spending so much quality time with Mary Tyler Moore. And if you loved M*A*S*H, there was Trapper John, M.D. If you loved Dallas, there was Knots Landing. If you loved Happy Days, there was Laverne & Shirley AND Mork & Mindy. And it was always the most fun of all when cast members from the original show visited the spinoff. And don’t forget about arguing over which was better, the original or the spinoff! I think Emergency! was in fact better than Adam-12. —Michael Fell, Editor-in-Chief of TV Guide Magazine