Best TV series spinoffs

It’s an old idea, and usually a bad one: Take some of the elements of a successful television series, move them to another show, and double your ratings pleasure.

Most of the time, the secondary product is little more than a watered-down version of the first, and TV history is littered with many a short-lived and little-watched spinoff.

There have, however, been some notable exceptions. Here’s a list of just a few, with the original series listed first and the spinoff(s) in parentheses:

All in the Family (The Jeffersons, Archie Bunker’s Place)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Angel)

Cheers (Frasier)

Happy Days (Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy)

Law and Order (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit)

Mary Tyler Moore Show (Lou Grant)

The Practice (Boston Legal)

Soap (Benson)

Star Trek (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, Enterprise)

Tracey Ullman Show (The Simpsons)

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