TV shows based on Movies.

One would think it’s a very successful genre.

Hardly.

Though a lot of them have been successful – “Stargate”, “Buffy”, “M*A*S*H”, “Ten Things I Hate About You”, “Friday Night Lights”, “Clueless”, “Tremors”, “Le Femme Nikita”, “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”, “Heartbreak High” – there have been just as many films based on TV series that haven’t gone anywhere. Most, it seems, are lucky to generate a dozen episodes before getting the axe.

The following list isn’t just made up of duds (like the short-lived ‘’Uncle Buck” and “Serpico” series), but also it’s a register of some somewhat successful TV spin-off’s (like “Weird Science” and “Harry and the Hendersons”) that you’ve likely forgotten about… or just simply never saw.

Here’s a few I remember….

1. Parenthood (1990)

No, I know you’re all quite aware of the current NBC offering of the same name – it’s the first TV spin-off of the Ron Howard film I’m referring to. What? You didn’t realize ‘’Parenthood” (1989) had spawned two TV series? True! And the original one featured Leonardo DiCaprio! In fact, 1990’s ‘’Parenthood” featured a pretty decent cast – Ed Begley Jr (in the Steve Martin role), David Arquette (in the Keanu Reeves role), Thora Birch (in the Alison Porter role) and then rising newcomer DiCaprio (who “Growing Pains” would pick up after this show’s cancellation) reprising the role Joaquin (then Leaf) Phoenix played in the film!

Though a low-rater, and consequently axed after only the one season, “Parenthood” (1990) was a pretty decent spin-off. No surprise to learn that a then newbie named Joss Whedon was a writer on it.

2. Uncle Buck (1990)

How do you make a TV show based on the heart-warming John Candy comedy “Uncle Buck”? Firstly, you start by killing the kid’s parents – gives the rowdy relative a reason to stick around (as opposed to simply looking after them for a few days, as he did in the film, Buck here is granted custody of Tia, Miles, and Maizy, when their folks – Buck’s brother and sister-in-law – die in a car accident). Secondly, you dump the film’s cast for complete unknowns – comedian Kevin Meaney played Buck – who’ll work for a IOU notes. Third, you save money by leaving creator John Hughes out of the development process. Needless to say, this short-lived disaster didn’t appeal outside of the Meaney family.

3. Ferris Bueller (1990)

Like “Uncle Buck”, 1990’s “Ferris Bueller” was based on a popular film by ‘80s teen-film wiz, John Hughes and like the former, it was in dire need of a distinct, appealing personality.

The series, starring Charlie Schlatter as Ferris and Jennifer Aniston as his sister Jeannie, isn’t actually a continuation of the 1986 film – it sets itself up as the ‘real story’ behind the movie; in other words, the movie Ferris was inspired by this guy… the real Ferris, if you will (In the pilot episode, Ferris, not pleased with the movie, takes a chainsaw to a Matthew Broderick cut-out). 

The series, which also starred Brandon Douglas as Cameron and Ami Dolenz as Sloan, wasn’t just a rather wearisome unfunny 22-minutes-a-week affair but more so, it was a complete rip-off of another sitcom that premiered just before it, “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose” – which continued to run for three seasons, as opposed to the couple of months that “Bueller” was on the air (before being replaced by a midseason replacement called “Blossom” – it went on for five seasons).

4. Fast Times (1985)

An adequate spin-off of the popular Amy Hecklering comedy, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, the short-lived “Fast Times”, like it’s antecedent, actually spawned quite a few stars – most notably, Courtney Thorne Smith (“Melrose Place”) and Patrick Dempsey (“Grey’s Anatomy”), who would both go on to have fruitful film and television careers. Returning from the film were actors Vincent Schiavelli and Ray Walston, as well as writer Cameron Crowe (yes, that Cameron Crowe!) who served as a creative consultant on the series.

Despite the good base of talent involved, not to mention a terrific theme song by Oingo Boingo, “Fast Times” – with it’s racy themes, swearing and drug use – just didn’t lend itself to broadcast television.

5. F/X  (1996)

A couple of years after the Bryan Brown-starring movie franchise came to a close, Rysher Entertainment convinced themselves folks out there were still hankering for more adventures of special-effects wizard Rollie Tyler – considering the show ran for two years, they may have been right. Unfortunately, Cameron Daddo – in the role of Tyler – is no Bryan Brown but more so, the show’s cut-corners and save-pennies-where-one-can attitude (it was filmed in Vancouver to save bucks) ultimately deterred enjoyment.

6. Weird Science (1994)

Yep, another series based on a John Hughes film! This one, unlike “Ferris Bueller” and “Uncle Buck”, actually developed quite a following, largely because it was a better-made show than it’s predecessors (funnily enough, considering the comments above, it was created by the duo behind “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose”). It also didn’t hurt that the stunning Vanessa Angel (“Kingpin”) played the Kelly LeBrock role.

“Weird Science” (Oh, and yeah, Oingo Boingo’s theme from the movie is carried over for the series) lasted five seasons on the USA Network.

7. Dirty Dancing (1988)

Short-lived TV spin-off of the hit film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

The 1988 series essentially told the same story as the movie, only in the show Baby (Melora Hardin) is actually the daughter of Max Kellerman, owner of the Kellerman resort, and Johnny (Patrick Cassidy) is the dancer in her – as the resort’s talent manager – employ. Its theme song was the Bill Medley/Jennifer Warnes hit “Time Of My Life”. The series lasted only 10 eps on CBS.

8. Delta House (1979)

John Vernon (Dean Wormer), Stephen Furst (Flounder), Bruce McGill (D-Day), and James Widdoes (Hoover) reprised their “Animal House” for this short-lived TV spin-off.
John Belushi’s character ‘Bluto’ was written out and in his place producers slotted Jim “Blotto” Blutarsky, Bluto’s brother, played by Josh Mostel.
Michelle Pfeiffer appeared as ‘the Bombshell’ in the show (which, ironically considering he had no involvement with the series based on his own films, a young John Hughes worked on as a writer) which, though initially a ratings winner, died quickly once audiences realized the raunchy humour, drug references, and foul language that helped make ‘’Animal House” a hit would not be returning for the small screen version. Jim Steinman (best known for writing a lot of Meatloaf’s music) wrote the theme song.

9. Serpico (1976)

Based on the movie starring Al Pacino, ‘’Serpico” ran for 14 episodes between September 1976 and February 1977.

David Birney plays the renegade cop who takes on corrupt cops whilst genre vet Tom Atkins (“Halloween 3”, “Escape from New York”) plays Lieutenant Tom Sullivan.

Elmer Bernstein wrote the theme song.

10. Baby Boom (1988)

A year after the release of the popular Diane Keaton starring comedy NBC greenlit a TV spin-off starring former Charlie’s Angel Kate Jackson.  The sitcom – which, strangely enough considering all sitcoms at the time used one, didn’t have a laugh track – only lasted a couple of months. You didn’t miss anything.

You also might have missed….

9 to 5 (1982) – Dolly Parton’s sister Rachel Dennison took over from her sibling in this short-lived spin-off of the hit laffer.

Baby Talk (1991) – Loosely based on the “Look Who’s Talking” movies with Tony Danza providing the voice of a baby. A then-unknown George Clooney starred in the series, as did Scott Baio.

Beyond Westworld (1980) – Continued on from the films “Westworld” and “Futureworld”. Despite being nominated for 2 Emmys, only 5 episodes were produced.

Dangerous Minds (1996)  – Annie Potts reprises the role Michelle Pfeiffer played in the film. The character the women play, LouAnne Johnson, hated the show.

Gung Ho (1986) – Based on the hit movie of the same name (aka “Working Class Man”) starring Michael Keaton. Scott Bakula, a couple of years before “Quantum Leap”, played the Keaton role. Lasted 9 episodes.

Harry and the Hendersons (1991) – Bruce Davison (“X-Men”) played the John Lithgow role in a spin-off of the popular 1987 film. Developed quite a following with young audiences, ultimately resulting in a surprising 3-season run.

The Outsiders (1990) – Its pilot served as a sequel to the Francis Ford Coppola film. Jay. R.Ferguson played Ponyboy, Rodney Harvey was Sodapop, and David Arquette was Two-Bit. A then unknown Billy Bob Thornton had a small role on the series – which lasted 13 episodes – as Buck Merrill.

Working Girl (1990) – A newcomer named Sandra Bullock (who!?) reprised the role made famous by Melanie Griffith in the hit film of the same name. ‘Let the River Run’ by Carly Simon (also in the movie) was the series’ theme song.

Timecop (1997) – Peter Hyams, director of the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie of the same name, returned to direct a few episodes of the TV spin-off. Show, starring Ted King, lasted 9 episodes.

Total Recall 2070 (1999) – Canadian series, starring Michael Easton, based on the Arnie film and Philip K.Dick book, respectively. Was set in the same world as both, but shared no major plot points. The two-hour pilot was released on DVD as a stand-alone movie.

Starman (1986) – Robert ‘Airplane’ Hays reprises the Jeff Bridges role in a series set fifteen years after the events of the 1984 movie. The show took on a “Fugitive” vibe with Paul (Hays) and his now grown-up teenage son (Christopher Daniel Barnes) jumping from town to town under false identities, trying to stay one step ahead of the authorities.

Police Academy – Very unfunny spin-off of the popular films. Michael Winslow was the only original cast member to return for the series, though some of the other “Academy” faves would occasionally appear (like Leslie Easterbrook).