I find it a tad ironic that the only episode in this list that didn't include Alyssa Milano was the one that took place in San Francisco and was called "Charmed Life".
I am too but WHY is that? It is a silly show with all the "gags" that we hate in failed sitcoms. Yet for some reason they made it work on The Nanny. ❤❤
It seemed that the 80s and 90s were looking for that next big hit of a sitcom. There were so many back door pilots. Family ties that I can remember. So there are more to cover 🙂
Fortunately Fran found HER role. The Nanny was hilarious. My elderly aunt and uncle turned me on to The Nanny. I discovered it late in life in syndication.
I remember being obsessed with the theme song for "Living Dolls"! Tiny me held my tape recorder up to the TV speaker so I could listen to it over and over later!
I used to see Leah Remini on television pretty often in the 80's. Had no idea she'd one day co-star on my favorite sitcom, ever (King of Queens). The potential seems endless for these actors.
I worked at Kmart in 1991 and I remember the store was advertising CBS shows and a flyer for Princesses was hanging in the aisle when you first walked in.
After CBS pulled Princesses off the schedule and moved to USA Network with revised this version under the supervision of John Landis and his company, St. Clare Entertainment for Polygram Television with new cast and crew members. And of course, no more laughing tracks. Now it lasted longer for a total of 25 successful seasons from 1991 until 2016.
Speaking of "The Nanny"...there was a backdoor pilot from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (the Melissa Hart series) with Charles Shaughnessy as the headmaster of a school for witches & warlocks.
@@pladtoeputh I can’t find it on UA-cam but I do remember watching it when it 1st aired. Maybe it will turn up on the reruns on Pluto or another streaming service.
I still think Facts Of Life holds the record for the most failed spinoffs at six. The first involved Tootie's interracial aunt and uncle with conflicting careers. The second involved the four boys at Stone Military Academy (they tried this with two episodes, and the boys were simply male versions of the Eastland girls). The third involved Jo's widowed uncle with his two sons and one daughter. The fourth involved Blair and Jo enrolled as students at Langley College. The fifth involved Natalie moving in with a bunch of zany roommates in Manhattan while pursuing her writing career. (Just think, if this spinoff had worked, there would never have been a Friends). The sixth involved Blair buying out an about to be closed Eastland while becoming its headmistress and allowing boys to enroll in the school.
The Langly College episodes were not backdoor pilots. The first was to situate Jo, Tootsie and Nat above Edna's Edibles because Jo's housing fell through. There was another episode where Blair was hazing a fraternity, but decided to live with the girls. Langley college was as important to the story as Eastland. Another was when Nat was taking and advanced college course. But these weren't intended to be a spin-off. The Finally of The Facts of Life was proposed to Lisa Welchel as a spin-off, but she declided. But the story was a natural conclusion to end the series, so the filmed it. In that episode, Seth Green and Juliette Lewis can be scene in the two-part finally.
I second that the college years at Langley were not a back door pilot it was actually a part of the show they did a lot of episodes of the girls at college I believe even and Natalie eventually went to Langley. I love the sorority episodes I do remember the episodes about her aunt and uncle. I watched all those on me TV. Only true backdoor pilot was the one with the aunt and uncle. Make sense finale did not continue the story after 9 years I wanted to do it and I think it would have been the end would have only lasted a year. I think Natalie in New York was just a natural conclusion of what was next. The facts of life is my fave show but I can't wait for who's the Boss reboot super excited!
@@1Channel1 That actually would've been a great idea, sometimes when shows like these fail in their first season it's usually a missing ingredient like a miscast as Shannen would've been perfect in this, but we might not get BH 90210 which came out the season after Living Dolls.
@@retrowarehouse2554 Didn't Shannen last only 1 season in that? I think Models would have been a much better fit for her. As I recall, she disliked playing the good daughter anyway. I've always wanted to see what Leah and Shannen could have done together. Either playing rivals or BFFs, they would have been great!
@@1Channel1 Shannen was actually on BH, 90210 for around 4-5 seasons as she was definitely a major part in growing that show's popularity during the first few seasons. She became a bit of a bad girl in real-life which was one of the many reasons why she ended up leaving the show after the first few seasons. I think Shannen was definitely more interested in a bad girl role which fit her character better. Shannen likely would've been a better fit for Living Dolls especially next to Leah. They could've been like Blair & Jo on The Facts of Life where they were kind of frenemies on there. The best shows have character development and if they could've grown into a friendship that would've been great. It's very possible that Shannen could've helped save the show, but outside of the cast not getting along with each other, the timeslot killed the show too. Sometimes, I wonder if ABC was the best fit for it at that time. Probably should've been on Saturday mornings on NBC with Saved By the Bell or even FOX. This show in the right situation would've been mad popular overtime like Saved By the Bell or The Facts of Life definitely a missed opportunity on many fronts.
I think timing played a role. Donna's fiance was away when Dan was available AND Dan has/had an inexplicable charm that was quite appealing. And women love funny guys. We do😍
@@cjmiller6741 Not every celebrity marriage is modern whoremongering. It IS possible to find a nan attractive who doesn't look like 1980s Tom Cruise. Normies do it all the time.
Who's the Boss was a lot of fun. Fran Drescher was awesome and funny in The Nanny. You can even see her shine in this "Charmed Lives" episode, she wouldn't be out of place starring next to Lucille Ball in an I Love Lucy episode.
I've thought she was the closest thing we got to a modern a lucy. Also ravens best friend in that's so Raven, I can't remember her name rn, but she gave me I love Lucy vibes
With these networks having their own streaming services, I don’t know why they wouldn’t put these short lived or unaired shows up. Some had big stars and they could get lots of news space when they’re added.
I learned a lot in this :) Didnt know that alyssa milano was a singer, that there was a german version of "whos the boss", and what a backdoor pilot is! Thank you.
I've always been a fan of Judith Light, she's such a great actress. She was also great in her recurring role as Judge Elizabeth Donnelly on Law & Order: SVU.
Wahr odd Spinoffs, look up ALF: The Animated Series with was a spinoff and pre-sequel to ALF with led to a different spin-off ALF Tails. The Animated Series was where they took stories that ALF said in his sitcom and made them eps of The Animated Series. ALF Tails was they took characters from The Animated Series and made them do fairytales. ALF: The Animated Series lasted two seasons and ALF Tails lasted only one.
I didn't know Matt LeBlanc was in Married With Children or the spinoff! I do remember watching the backdoor pilot of Living Dolls. Leah Remini was great in it.
You forgot checking in, the Jeffersons spinoff. The premise was Florence (Marla Gibbs) leaves working for the Jeffersons and becomes the manager/owner of a hotel in New York.
I supported the recast for "Living Dolls". The blonde (not the actress' fault) was a copy of Blair Warner, and Vivica was too strong a presence for a supporting TV character. It's a shame, really, that the production focused on being a knock-off Facts of Life. Had they made it a show about fashion models doing fashion-y things, rather than the interpersonal relationships of teen girls living in a house together who occasionally have model gigs off-screen, it might have been more exciting.
@@Cakebattered Still is. Many would say it always was. If anything, we'd have had nothing but episodes about the casting couch, drugs, avoiding photogs shooting inappropriate photos and of course, eating disorders.
I can’t believe this video just keeps going! I really consider myself a tv encyclopedia, but I guess these don’t count as actual TV shows, just individual episodes that were quickly forgotten.
@@atomicabe the darkness of Punky Brewster was my favorite, and the female narrator had perfect comedic timing and delivery. Would love it if another style video came out that highlighted some of the other unnoticed or unquestioned oddness of sitcoms.
here's the thing about Fran Drescher - she's had a much longer career than you reported. She was in the classic 70s movie, "Saturday Night Fever" and later she had a minor role in "Ragtime".
TV history is one of my favourite things, thank you for making this, I enjoyed it immensely! Well presented, too, I'd listen to you narrate an audiobook any day of the week
The show could have explained it like Alyssa Milano’s character Sam had a dream that she went to New York to interview models, and it actually happened in the real Living Dolls spin-off. Or maybe she had a premonition and became clairvoyant like Phoebe Halliwell.
Wow! That was VERY informative. I remember Michael Learned replaced the late Jeanne Cooper on “The Young and the Restless” as Genoa City’s alcoholic socialite Mrs. Chancellor and longtime fans were outraged. They hated the switch, even tho it was temporary.
Wow, I actually remember all these backdoor pilots, but I loved Who's the Boss so I guess that's not too big a surprise. I keep getting Living Dolls and Models Inc.confused. And there were a lot of failed shows set in hotels in the late 70s and early 80s: Checking In (the spin off of The Jeffersons), and 2 American remakes of Fawlty Towers, one called Snavely with Betty White and the other called Amanda's By the Sea starring Bea Arthur. I also remember a show in a hotel with Dan Fielding from Night Court. I've never seen Fawlty Towers but I hear it's a classic. Great episode, I haven't thought about these spin offs since they aired!
Its funny that you mention David Moscow being in Newsies, because the boy who played Mona's brother in the flashback was also in Newsies! That's Gabriel Damon, who played Spot Conlon!
Last year I listened to an interview with Halle Berry talking about the Living Dolls show. She said that even though it was a great opportunity, she was really the Token Black girl. Sort've the one who just reacted to what the other white characters were saying or just the one stating stuff for the story like "c'mon guys, we gotta get to this place on time" or whatever. It's ironic that the one who didn't really get to do anything became the biggest name out of the cast. Same with Vivica A. Fox
Sometime during the 80's there was also a hotel based spin off series from The Jeffersons staring Marla Gibbs' called Checking In. Her character Florence was the manager of a hotel. It died a quick death. Producers really had a mad love for hotels. There was a successful movie based drama series on ABC called Hotel.
Not a Spin Off but The Jamie Foxx show was set in a hotel. The Hotel setting would appear to be fertile ground for plot possibilities with guests checking in and out. I get it.
I remember watching 'Living Dolls' once. Just once and only once. Never knew the show was related to 'Who's the Boss?' I remember the Halle Berry character as being absolutely stunning! That would be all that I could tell you about Living Dolls. Vivica Fox is very beautiful as well and could have done well in the role as the token Black girl but I do remember the 80s very well.
Looks like some of your biggest videos are about Black shows. I suggest making some more of those. The Cosby show had some failed backdoor pilots. I remember the John Ritter one vividly. Sanford and Son had a few also.
Altough I did know the show was setting up for spinoffs back then, but as a teenager growing up in the eighties and nineties I do remember the episode Living dolls. Watching Who’s the boss? was primarily for Alyssa Milano and got to meet her at German Comic Con last year with a photo op. ❤ I can’t wait for the sequel of the show.
Facts of Life had several backdoor pilots as well. One about Tootie's aunt and uncle who were an interracial couple, another one about Jo's cousins, another about the boy's academy, another about Natalie and her new roommates who were similar to the Friends gang, and the final episode was a back door pilot for Blair running Eastland I remember watching Living Dolls. I think I liked it at the time but I remember TV Guide calling them out on the eating disorder jokes and yeah I remember there were too many of them. Also considering that it was not too long after Karen Carpenter's death and eating disorders were far from unheard of looking back they were very much below the belt and inappropriate.
There was actually another one. Mona was supposed to get her own show with her brother and the hotel. They thought James CoCo would've been able to fulfill the role of a biological relative on the show in her absence, but he passed away. Katherine Hellmond discusses it in one of those interviews.
I loved Living Dolls! Wish that it would have lasted longer. I remember the Donna Dixon and Fran Drescher episode, but I never knew that it was supposed to be a spinoff. I vaguely remember Mona's episode.
I may not be an avid "Who's The Boss?" aficionado, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching this highly entertaining video detailing the stories of both the aborted "Charmed Lives" and "Mona" spinoffs, as well as learning the sad but still intriguing truth behind the history of the spinoff that ultimately did come to fruition in the autumn of 1989, the short-lived "Living Dolls." Thanks for sharing, and keep up the good work.
I love having only vague memories of sitcoms because learning about offbeat stuff like this makes my day. Leah Remini and Vivica A Fox in one show? Sign me up!
"Dan Aykroyd pimp comedy" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 That is the perfect description for Dr. Detroit, one if my fav movies from the 80s. Charmed Life was almost the Sam & Cat of it's day!😂
Right -- and that was one of three attempts to do an American version of the British sitcom FAWLTY TOWERS. (The others starred Harvey Korman and John Laroquette)
The crazy thing for me about Who’s the Boss is I remember every person by their real name and character name but I cannot remember one single episode that stood out.
My entire life I never knew what the hell the title "Who's the Boss" meant. Better late than never, I guess. Personally, I think "You're the Boss" is better.
This video popped up in my recommendations today... I'm really glad that it did... because... even though I've only seen this one video so far... I will be binging your videos until I can't keep my eyes open anymore... actually you know what? Who needs sleep? So unnecessary😂! Anyway...hello from your new subscriber¡ 👋
"Life's a Ditch" is interesting since it reboots the backdoor pilot and actually a better one because it adds some backstory and context to the characters instead of casually mentioned connections in the original. Melissa Willis is 1980s babe perfection though. Charmed Lives seems like it could have worked as a series, at least it would have charming leads.
I remember the Fran Drescher episode but had no idea it was supposed to be a spin-off. Never saw the Mona spin-off. (That looks weird enough that I would have remembered.) I watched Living Dolls and think I even liked it. In the ‘90s, Models Inc. seemed like a darker version of it and also, short-lived.
Models Inc was a nighttime soap that was a spin off of Melrose Place which was a spinoff of 90210, Grant Show played the same character Jake Hanson on all three shows as they exist in the same universe
Both Halle Berry and Vivica A. Fox are awesome. It's a shame that the Living Dolls spin-off couldn't incorporate them both, but, on balance, I think the sweeter, more wholesome Berry was a marginally better match for the brainy Emily over Fox, although both were good fits for the part (and kudos to the show for making the 'token' Black model the super-smart one!), and Fox looked great during the exercise scene, in her green and black lycra leotard, in the Who's the Boss episode. However, it's a massive shame that they replaced the stunningly beautiful Melissa Willis (who had the quintessential big, hair-sprayed late 80s/early 90s blonde look). She was superb in the Who's the Boss episode as the token bitchy bimbo model, and she'd have made an ideal contrast to Halle Berry, had the two shared the screen in the spin-off series. The red-haired Deborah Tucker was an odd choice for a replacement, since her auburn locks weren't a sufficient contrast to the two brunette hold-overs from the original episode, Alison Elliott and Leah Remini. It appears this was Melissa Willis' only acting credit, so maybe she simply didn't want to return, but it's a shame, since I personally think that she and Vivica A. Fox made a much bigger impression than their co-stars, Elliott and Remini, the two 'models' who did return (and, as an aside, surely Remini was too short and unconventional looking to play a big-shot model, and in view of what a handful her character was, I don't know why Michael Learned's modelling agent even bothered with her to begin with, unless she was treating the school-of-hard-knocks girl as some sort of charity case).
I barely remember Living Dolls. David Moscow, who played the son, had been the boy in Big from the previous year. After the first episode my parents decided the show was "too adult" for me (I was 14), so we didn't was it again.
According to the US Copyright Office, "Charmed Lives" is listed as being published on May 6, 1986, while "The Anniversary Show" is listed as being published on May 13, 1986. I wonder if Season 2 was originally supposed to conclude with "The Anniversary Show", before it was switched around.
The character of Charlie played by Leah Remini seemed to at first be like how "Jo" was on the Facts of Life when she started in 1980. Tough girl from a NYC borough living with a bunch of three other girls that are very different from her, ohh and yes, one of the girls is black. Sound familiar? Facts of Life also had a bunch of backdoor pilots :)
Apparently ‘Charmed Lives’ aired in the UK between seasons 1&2 of ‘The Nanny’ when there was a contractual delay for Season 2. Although I don’t remember this.
The creators also created the hit show Different Strokes. They wanted to create something different. Fran danced with Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. He left her on the dance floor!
I find it a tad ironic that the only episode in this list that didn't include Alyssa Milano was the one that took place in San Francisco and was called "Charmed Life".
@davincent98 which forshadows her in the WB/CW tv series "Charmed. "🤗🙄📺👍
We need a Charmed reboot with the original cast
I thought of Charmed too I'm watching the series now. But just the last few episodes of the series that always gets me
🤯🤯🤯🤯
Charmed had been written in 80s
These failed Pilots are a gem to watch. Can't wait for more funny tv fails. Huge fan of The Nanny.
This show tried this and another spin off I think with a character from Sam's old neighborhood
I am too but WHY is that? It is a silly show with all the "gags" that we hate in failed sitcoms. Yet for some reason they made it work on The Nanny. ❤❤
It seemed that the 80s and 90s were looking for that next big hit of a sitcom. There were so many back door pilots. Family ties that I can remember. So there are more to cover 🙂
Fortunately Fran found HER role. The Nanny was hilarious. My elderly aunt and uncle turned me on to The Nanny. I discovered it late in life in syndication.
same!
I can't get enough of this sort of thing. As long as you keep making them, I'll keep watching them.
Here here 👏
Yeah they are gems
Same, TV history is my jam, especially when it's so charismatically presented
I remember being obsessed with the theme song for "Living Dolls"! Tiny me held my tape recorder up to the TV speaker so I could listen to it over and over later!
I would have loved to watch all these spin-offs. What a golden era of TV!
It was a magical time!
The Nanny wasn't a failure. It had 6 seasons. 6 seasons of pure laughter. And Fran Drescher is still hot!!!!
Not the nanny 🙄🙄
@@rjb1216 Online troll alert is now in effect!
I've met Fran at my job. She still looks beautiful & she is nice
That wasn't a direct spinoff from Who's the boss. It was just the same actress getting an unrelated Sitcom after the spinoff failed.
I used to see Leah Remini on television pretty often in the 80's. Had no idea she'd one day co-star on my favorite sitcom, ever (King of Queens). The potential seems endless for these actors.
I love Leah Remini on saved by the bell.
She was Carla's daughter on Cheers that got married in the bar 😏
@@derekwilliams1660 me too!!!
Well it'd be pretty impressive if you DID know in the 80s she'd one day costar in King of Queens.
She was definitely everywhere in the 80s lol
I worked at Kmart in 1991 and I remember the store was advertising CBS shows and a flyer for Princesses was hanging in the aisle when you first walked in.
After CBS pulled Princesses off the schedule and moved to USA Network with revised this version under the supervision of John Landis and his company, St. Clare Entertainment for Polygram Television with new cast and crew members. And of course, no more laughing tracks. Now it lasted longer for a total of 25 successful seasons from 1991 until 2016.
Speaking of "The Nanny"...there was a backdoor pilot from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (the Melissa Hart series) with Charles Shaughnessy as the headmaster of a school for witches & warlocks.
fascinating if true, and well structured anyway - if false.
@@pladtoeputh I can’t find it on UA-cam but I do remember watching it when it 1st aired. Maybe it will turn up on the reruns on Pluto or another streaming service.
Charles Shaughnessy as the headmaster of a magic school in a 90s show would have interestingly changed my prepuberty's fantasies.
Nice idea.
I still think Facts Of Life holds the record for the most failed spinoffs at six. The first involved Tootie's interracial aunt and uncle with conflicting careers. The second involved the four boys at Stone Military Academy (they tried this with two episodes, and the boys were simply male versions of the Eastland girls). The third involved Jo's widowed uncle with his two sons and one daughter. The fourth involved Blair and Jo enrolled as students at Langley College. The fifth involved Natalie moving in with a bunch of zany roommates in Manhattan while pursuing her writing career. (Just think, if this spinoff had worked, there would never have been a Friends). The sixth involved Blair buying out an about to be closed Eastland while becoming its headmistress and allowing boys to enroll in the school.
I don't remember the one with Tootsie's interracial aunt and uncle. The rest I do remember.
The Langly College episodes were not backdoor pilots. The first was to situate Jo, Tootsie and Nat above Edna's Edibles because Jo's housing fell through. There was another episode where Blair was hazing a fraternity, but decided to live with the girls. Langley college was as important to the story as Eastland. Another was when Nat was taking and advanced college course. But these weren't intended to be a spin-off. The Finally of The Facts of Life was proposed to Lisa Welchel as a spin-off, but she declided. But the story was a natural conclusion to end the series, so the filmed it. In that episode, Seth Green and Juliette Lewis can be scene in the two-part finally.
@@selenaphillips6971 it was revealed in a later season, that the aunt and uncle divorced.
I second that the college years at Langley were not a back door pilot it was actually a part of the show they did a lot of episodes of the girls at college I believe even and Natalie eventually went to Langley. I love the sorority episodes I do remember the episodes about her aunt and uncle. I watched all those on me TV. Only true backdoor pilot was the one with the aunt and uncle. Make sense finale did not continue the story after 9 years I wanted to do it and I think it would have been the end would have only lasted a year. I think Natalie in New York was just a natural conclusion of what was next. The facts of life is my fave show but I can't wait for who's the Boss reboot super excited!
@@alyciamariecomic I hope they don't pull a "One Day At a Time." That remake was awful.
I was a tween then and LOVED Living Dolls. Leah Remini was tween goals. ♥️♥️♥️
YES!!! They should have had Shannen Doherty as another model. Love them both!
@@1Channel1 That actually would've been a great idea, sometimes when shows like these fail in their first season it's usually a missing ingredient like a miscast as Shannen would've been perfect in this, but we might not get BH 90210 which came out the season after Living Dolls.
@@retrowarehouse2554 Didn't Shannen last only 1 season in that? I think Models would have been a much better fit for her. As I recall, she disliked playing the good daughter anyway. I've always wanted to see what Leah and Shannen could have done together. Either playing rivals or BFFs, they would have been great!
@@retrowarehouse2554 In fact, I lamented that alyssa milano wasn't the one let go in Charmed and Leah Remini should have replaced her. Imagine that! 🤩
@@1Channel1 Shannen was actually on BH, 90210 for around 4-5 seasons as she was definitely a major part in growing that show's popularity during the first few seasons. She became a bit of a bad girl in real-life which was one of the many reasons why she ended up leaving the show after the first few seasons. I think Shannen was definitely more interested in a bad girl role which fit her character better. Shannen likely would've been a better fit for Living Dolls especially next to Leah. They could've been like Blair & Jo on The Facts of Life where they were kind of frenemies on there. The best shows have character development and if they could've grown into a friendship that would've been great.
It's very possible that Shannen could've helped save the show, but outside of the cast not getting along with each other, the timeslot killed the show too. Sometimes, I wonder if ABC was the best fit for it at that time. Probably should've been on Saturday mornings on NBC with Saved By the Bell or even FOX. This show in the right situation would've been mad popular overtime like Saved By the Bell or The Facts of Life definitely a missed opportunity on many fronts.
How Dan Akroyd pull Donna Dixon is one of the greatest mysteries in Hollywood 😆 😂
Is it? I mean, he was a top earner in Hollywood around that time.
I think timing played a role. Donna's fiance was away when Dan was available AND Dan has/had an inexplicable charm that was quite appealing. And women love funny guys. We do😍
Have you read the gossip about Ackroyd in bed? Not hard to imagine why he dated such pretty ladies.
@@cjmiller6741 Not every celebrity marriage is modern whoremongering. It IS possible to find a nan attractive who doesn't look like 1980s Tom Cruise. Normies do it all the time.
Although they're divorced, both Donna Dixon and Dan Aykroyd were remained
together as excellent parents, great
friends and powerful business partners.
Wow! This brought back SO MANY MEMORIES. I have to say that I enjoyed the immensely. I can't wait to see what other gems you have for me.
Omg! That whole olive green look on Fran...😍😍😍😍
Who's the Boss was a lot of fun. Fran Drescher was awesome and funny in The Nanny. You can even see her shine in this "Charmed Lives" episode, she wouldn't be out of place starring next to Lucille Ball in an I Love Lucy episode.
I've thought she was the closest thing we got to a modern a lucy. Also ravens best friend in that's so Raven, I can't remember her name rn, but she gave me I love Lucy vibes
HOW ABOUT NO!!! fran drescher sux azz! That girl from Will & Grace looks like Lucille Ball. drescher is a COPYCAT & a wannabe!
i believe fran drescher herself said she took a lot of inspiration from Lucy for jokes and stuff! the resemblance is clear as day
With these networks having their own streaming services, I don’t know why they wouldn’t put these short lived or unaired shows up. Some had big stars and they could get lots of news space when they’re added.
Because they’d have to pay residuals...
I hope things work out for the careers of those Halle and Fran ladies.
Ain’t gonna ever happen ! 😂😂😂😂😂
🤣🤣🤣 nope both were failures in real life.
@@glennarcher986 All the people before you were just joking :-)
🤣🤣
@@glennarcher986 the joke about them being failures clearly went over your head. Doh!
I learned a lot in this :) Didnt know that alyssa milano was a singer, that there was a german version of "whos the boss", and what a backdoor pilot is! Thank you.
Fran Drescher can also be seen in 'Saturday Night Fever' briefly dancing with a young Vincent Vega lookalike.
"Are you as good in bed as you are on the dance floor?" her character asks Tony Manero.
Her line was - "Do you F..k as good as you dance"
Fran Drescher was a supporting player of the Wes Craven TV movie, Summer of Fear," starring Linda Blair.
I also loved her as Robin Williams girlfriend in "Cadillac Man".
I've always been a fan of Judith Light, she's such a great actress. She was also great in her recurring role as Judge Elizabeth Donnelly on Law & Order: SVU.
Can't stand her!!! She ruins every show. She can't act. She only got where she is due to NEPOTISM!!! FACT!
Can't stand her. WHO did she Harvey Weinstein to get to the top with a face like that?!
It was so cool to see her among the cast of The Menu
@@13blackcatzzz She was OVER the TOP on One Life to Live in the early 1980s .
Let's not forget Light in the Dynasty reboot... she was a great villain...
I miss the 80s. TV, music and movies were all so much better back then. More videos like this please 🙏
Yes 👍
Me too ! The nostalgia 😩
I love these Backdoor vids! Thanks and great work as always!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thanks so much. We've got more coming....
Wahr odd Spinoffs, look up ALF: The Animated Series with was a spinoff and pre-sequel to ALF with led to a different spin-off ALF Tails. The Animated Series was where they took stories that ALF said in his sitcom and made them eps of The Animated Series. ALF Tails was they took characters from The Animated Series and made them do fairytales. ALF: The Animated Series lasted two seasons and ALF Tails lasted only one.
@@atomicabe YAY! 🎉🎉🎉
8:44 the “Fran”-dela Effect was right there!
I didn't know Matt LeBlanc was in Married With Children or the spinoff!
I do remember watching the backdoor pilot of Living Dolls. Leah Remini was great in it.
God I love these videos! 80’s and 90’s tv was such garbage but it’s hard not to get nostalgic. It really was a simpler time.
Tell me about it. I caught myself watching Kojak with Telly Savalas the other day. Not cuz it was any good. But I did find it comforting 😂
Love this channel. This is all so fascinating. I hope they churn out more backdoor pilot episodes more frequently
You forgot checking in, the Jeffersons spinoff. The premise was Florence (Marla Gibbs) leaves working for the Jeffersons and becomes the manager/owner of a hotel in New York.
This spinoff lasted, literally, four episodes.
@@tjames9698 I know, however the very rare pilot did make it on to DVD not to long ago! Along with the Jeffersons complete tv series box set!
I supported the recast for "Living Dolls". The blonde (not the actress' fault) was a copy of Blair Warner, and Vivica was too strong a presence for a supporting TV character.
It's a shame, really, that the production focused on being a knock-off Facts of Life. Had they made it a show about fashion models doing fashion-y things, rather than the interpersonal relationships of teen girls living in a house together who occasionally have model gigs off-screen, it might have been more exciting.
Ok because I can't understand why they took Vivica off she is very talented AND BEAUTIFUL since that was the MAIN reason.
The model industry in the 1990s was toxic AF. No way they could attempt to sugar coat that industry.
I loved this and didn't for a second think it mirrored Facts of Life in any way. But I was just a kid, then.
@@Cakebattered Still is. Many would say it always was. If anything, we'd have had nothing but episodes about the casting couch, drugs, avoiding photogs shooting inappropriate photos and of course, eating disorders.
I used to love Models Inc. but it was a terrible show
I can’t believe this video just keeps going! I really consider myself a tv encyclopedia, but I guess these don’t count as actual TV shows, just individual episodes that were quickly forgotten.
gentlemen, you are master craftsmen at delivering this content. i lived through this and never knew about these pilots. thank you and very well done.
Yes! So glad I subbed. Been waiting for another spinoff episode!
I'm glad too. More spinoff videos coming soon.
@@atomicabe the darkness of Punky Brewster was my favorite, and the female narrator had perfect comedic timing and delivery. Would love it if another style video came out that highlighted some of the other unnoticed or unquestioned oddness of sitcoms.
I loved Who's the boss as a kid. I do vaguely remember Living Dolls too.
here's the thing about Fran Drescher - she's had a much longer career than you reported. She was in the classic 70s movie, "Saturday Night Fever" and later she had a minor role in "Ragtime".
she had consistent work as well, her credits are across the board and acting in every years of the 80s and 90s making her a prolific actress
She was in Weird Al’s movie “UHF” too, as I recall?
@@queenannsrevenge100 she was the station’s secretary/ wannabe reporter…
TV history is one of my favourite things, thank you for making this, I enjoyed it immensely! Well presented, too, I'd listen to you narrate an audiobook any day of the week
The show could have explained it like Alyssa Milano’s character Sam had a dream that she went to New York to interview models, and it actually happened in the real Living Dolls spin-off. Or maybe she had a premonition and became clairvoyant like Phoebe Halliwell.
suddenly all the disjointed puzzle pieces of my childhood have come together with this new information.
Wow! That was VERY informative. I remember Michael
Learned replaced the late Jeanne Cooper on “The Young and the Restless” as Genoa City’s alcoholic socialite Mrs. Chancellor and longtime fans were outraged. They hated the switch, even tho it was temporary.
I don't remember Michael Learned being in anything except The Walton's as the wholesome, unpretentious, steadfast Olivia Walton.
@@proceedwithcaution1846 Well, you are now.
MY GOD! SOO much trivia I never knew.. FUN!
Wow, I actually remember all these backdoor pilots, but I loved Who's the Boss so I guess that's not too big a surprise. I keep getting Living Dolls and Models Inc.confused. And there were a lot of failed shows set in hotels in the late 70s and early 80s: Checking In (the spin off of The Jeffersons), and 2 American remakes of Fawlty Towers, one called Snavely with Betty White and the other called Amanda's By the Sea starring Bea Arthur. I also remember a show in a hotel with Dan Fielding from Night Court. I've never seen Fawlty Towers but I hear it's a classic. Great episode, I haven't thought about these spin offs since they aired!
The John Laroquette one was titled PAYNE and it was also a FAWLTY TOWERS adaptation. Thanks for watching!
Its funny that you mention David Moscow being in Newsies, because the boy who played Mona's brother in the flashback was also in Newsies! That's Gabriel Damon, who played Spot Conlon!
Last year I listened to an interview with Halle Berry talking about the Living Dolls show. She said that even though it was a great opportunity, she was really the Token Black girl. Sort've the one who just reacted to what the other white characters were saying or just the one stating stuff for the story like "c'mon guys, we gotta get to this place on time" or whatever. It's ironic that the one who didn't really get to do anything became the biggest name out of the cast. Same with Vivica A. Fox
Sometime during the 80's there was also a hotel based spin off series from The Jeffersons staring Marla Gibbs' called Checking In. Her character Florence was the manager of a hotel. It died a quick death. Producers really had a mad love for hotels. There was a successful movie based drama series on ABC called Hotel.
And Marla Gibbs character Florence Johnston, had a boss that she disagreed with. And he was played by Larry Linville (Frank Burns) from M.A.S.H.
@@catherineerwin8269 Shirley from What's Happening also had a failed spinoff titled One In A Million as a taxi driver. 🙄🤗📺🚗
Not a Spin Off but The Jamie Foxx show was set in a hotel. The Hotel setting would appear to be fertile ground for plot possibilities with guests checking in and out. I get it.
@@proceedwithcaution1846 This is the comment I was looking for. Jamie's show lasted four seasons on the WB network. It still plays in reruns today.
You deserve an Emmy for the "Nandela effect" line
I remember watching 'Living Dolls' once. Just once and only once. Never knew the show was related to 'Who's the Boss?' I remember the Halle Berry character as being absolutely stunning! That would be all that I could tell you about Living Dolls. Vivica Fox is very beautiful as well and could have done well in the role as the token Black girl but I do remember the 80s very well.
I remember watching Living Dolls, too. I thought so many of these pop up shows were interesting.
Living dolls is on youtube
"Token"??? aren't you charming!
Wow what shit back handed last comment.
4:05 scientific proof that the fabulous Fran Drescher, doesn't age.
Looks like some of your biggest videos are about Black shows. I suggest making some more of those. The Cosby show had some failed backdoor pilots. I remember the John Ritter one vividly. Sanford and Son had a few also.
Sanford and Son had two: Grady and Sanford Arm; Then there was reboot of Sanford without Lemont, Donna, and Esther.
RIP Katherine 🙏
This by far is one of my favorite videos! Amazing job!
Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it.
These are excellent!
2:10 Katherine Helmond actually made a appearance in a season four episode of The Upper Hand called Tunnel of Love playing Madame Alexandra.
Great video!
I love how you have the had the Community reference. That's where my brain went.
I recently binged Who's the Boss and remember these backdoor pilots quite well. They're so jarring, you can't help but remember them. Thanks!
love these videos
Altough I did know the show was setting up for spinoffs back then, but as a teenager growing up in the eighties and nineties I do remember the episode Living dolls. Watching Who’s the boss? was primarily for Alyssa Milano and got to meet her at German Comic Con last year with a photo op. ❤ I can’t wait for the sequel of the show.
Facts of Life had several backdoor pilots as well. One about Tootie's aunt and uncle who were an interracial couple, another one about Jo's cousins, another about the boy's academy, another about Natalie and her new roommates who were similar to the Friends gang, and the final episode was a back door pilot for Blair running Eastland
I remember watching Living Dolls. I think I liked it at the time but I remember TV Guide calling them out on the eating disorder jokes and yeah I remember there were too many of them. Also considering that it was not too long after Karen Carpenter's death and eating disorders were far from unheard of looking back they were very much below the belt and inappropriate.
I'd love to see that covered.
Thanks for the video. It was very informative. Fran was also in the movie UHF with Weird Al Yankovic
As was Michael Richards, Kramer from Seinfeld.
There was actually another one. Mona was supposed to get her own show with her brother and the hotel. They thought James CoCo would've been able to fulfill the role of a biological relative on the show in her absence, but he passed away. Katherine Hellmond discusses it in one of those interviews.
I loved Living Dolls! Wish that it would have lasted longer. I remember the Donna Dixon and Fran Drescher episode, but I never knew that it was supposed to be a spinoff. I vaguely remember Mona's episode.
NORMAN LEAR IS STILL ALIVE?!?!?!?!??!?!?! The guy has to be 100 years old.
Just looked it up and you were right one the money. He is 100 years old
This is so nostalgic ☺️🤗. I thoroughly enjoyed this video. 💜
The Mona spinoff in a hotel setting reminds me The Bob Newhart Show where he ran an inn.
As a kid I simply could not believe Who's The Boss was ever going to end.
The premise for the spinoff 'Mona' was also used for the premise of 'The Jamie Foxx Show'
It was also STOLEN and plagiarized by Golden Palace (Golden Girls spinioff)
I may not be an avid "Who's The Boss?" aficionado, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching this highly entertaining video detailing the stories of both the aborted "Charmed Lives" and "Mona" spinoffs, as well as learning the sad but still intriguing truth behind the history of the spinoff that ultimately did come to fruition in the autumn of 1989, the short-lived "Living Dolls." Thanks for sharing, and keep up the good work.
I love having only vague memories of sitcoms because learning about offbeat stuff like this makes my day. Leah Remini and Vivica A Fox in one show? Sign me up!
Wow never knew about all these spinoff show. To see see Halle Berry and Vivica Fox and Don Cheadle on sitcoms amazing 👏
I think they're doing television movies and mini-series of the week, I believe.
the hotel one was an American version of a popular British sitcom
"Dan Aykroyd pimp comedy" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 That is the perfect description for Dr. Detroit, one if my fav movies from the 80s.
Charmed Life was almost the Sam & Cat of it's day!😂
Don't forget Beatrice Arthur pre golden girls did a show called Amanda by the sea which also revolved around a old hotel
Right -- and that was one of three attempts to do an American version of the British sitcom FAWLTY TOWERS. (The others starred Harvey Korman and John Laroquette)
The crazy thing for me about Who’s the Boss is I remember every person by their real name and character name but I cannot remember one single episode that stood out.
My entire life I never knew what the hell the title "Who's the Boss" meant. Better late than never, I guess.
Personally, I think "You're the Boss" is better.
Thanks for upload - enjoyed this.
These are pretty much tv history! Love it
This video popped up in my recommendations today... I'm really glad that it did... because... even though I've only seen this one video so far... I will be binging your videos until I can't keep my eyes open anymore... actually you know what? Who needs sleep? So unnecessary😂!
Anyway...hello from your new subscriber¡ 👋
hello! thanks for the great feedback. Very glad to hear the videos are to your liking.
"Life's a Ditch" is interesting since it reboots the backdoor pilot and actually a better one because it adds some backstory and context to the characters instead of casually mentioned connections in the original. Melissa Willis is 1980s babe perfection though. Charmed Lives seems like it could have worked as a series, at least it would have charming leads.
Dixon would appear in an episode of "The Nanny" as an actress who Fran ends up babysitting her child...
yes, that's right. thank you.
@@atomicabe even though you plainly pointed that out...lol...
"She's a certified platinum recording artist...
...in Japan."
LoLoLoLoLoL
I remember the Fran Drescher episode but had no idea it was supposed to be a spin-off. Never saw the Mona spin-off. (That looks weird enough that I would have remembered.) I watched Living Dolls and think I even liked it. In the ‘90s, Models Inc. seemed like a darker version of it and also, short-lived.
Models Inc was a nighttime soap that was a spin off of Melrose Place which was a spinoff of 90210, Grant Show played the same character Jake Hanson on all three shows as they exist in the same universe
Drescher was in "Saturday Night Fever"
TRIVIA: FRAN DRESCHER’S FIRST ROLE WAS WITH LINDA BLAIR -YUP THAT HEAD TURNING GIRL- IN A MADE FOR TV HORROR SUMMER OF FEAR IN THE 1970S 🔥🔥🔥
Both Halle Berry and Vivica A. Fox are awesome. It's a shame that the Living Dolls spin-off couldn't incorporate them both, but, on balance, I think the sweeter, more wholesome Berry was a marginally better match for the brainy Emily over Fox, although both were good fits for the part (and kudos to the show for making the 'token' Black model the super-smart one!), and Fox looked great during the exercise scene, in her green and black lycra leotard, in the Who's the Boss episode.
However, it's a massive shame that they replaced the stunningly beautiful Melissa Willis (who had the quintessential big, hair-sprayed late 80s/early 90s blonde look). She was superb in the Who's the Boss episode as the token bitchy bimbo model, and she'd have made an ideal contrast to Halle Berry, had the two shared the screen in the spin-off series. The red-haired Deborah Tucker was an odd choice for a replacement, since her auburn locks weren't a sufficient contrast to the two brunette hold-overs from the original episode, Alison Elliott and Leah Remini. It appears this was Melissa Willis' only acting credit, so maybe she simply didn't want to return, but it's a shame, since I personally think that she and Vivica A. Fox made a much bigger impression than their co-stars, Elliott and Remini, the two 'models' who did return (and, as an aside, surely Remini was too short and unconventional looking to play a big-shot model, and in view of what a handful her character was, I don't know why Michael Learned's modelling agent even bothered with her to begin with, unless she was treating the school-of-hard-knocks girl as some sort of charity case).
Remini was my fav and the point of her was that she was unconventional!
Michael Learned ALSO was an actual T.V. mom, btw.
She came back to do a series of "Waltons" reunion TV movie specials from 1982 until 1997 for both Warner Bros. Television
Distribution and CBS.
Forget all this. The Nanny has stood up and is basically timeless.
I did have Teen Steam and I remember being SO excited for Living Dolls, tho I don’t remember much about watching it
These are so good! Thanks
I barely remember Living Dolls. David Moscow, who played the son, had been the boy in Big from the previous year. After the first episode my parents decided the show was "too adult" for me (I was 14), so we didn't was it again.
According to the US Copyright Office, "Charmed Lives" is listed as being published on May 6, 1986, while "The Anniversary Show" is listed as being published on May 13, 1986. I wonder if Season 2 was originally supposed to conclude with "The Anniversary Show", before it was switched around.
Do the back door pilots for Supernatural...🧐🧐
Totally the set of Golden Girls.
Charmed Lives Never Aired
You can tell when a show is in its first season. Everyone sounds so rehearsed and high-pitched.
The character of Charlie played by Leah Remini seemed to at first be like how "Jo" was on the Facts of Life when she started in 1980. Tough girl from a NYC borough living with a bunch of three other girls that are very different from her, ohh and yes, one of the girls is black. Sound familiar? Facts of Life also had a bunch of backdoor pilots :)
Donna Dixon is bestie's with Fran Drescher in real life! I love Fran and I love The Nanny ❤
Apparently ‘Charmed Lives’ aired in the UK between seasons 1&2 of ‘The Nanny’ when there was a contractual delay for Season 2. Although I don’t remember this.
Surprised Who's the Boss hasn't hit streaming. I've seen 2 seasons were on crackle but not the full series.
It's on freee which use to be imbd
The creators also created the hit show Different Strokes. They wanted to create something different. Fran danced with Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. He left her on the dance floor!
Fran was nice on the nanny. Prince was even trying to holla and asked her for a date.
I think I noticed Amanda Bearse from Married with Children in that pilot.
I remember Living Dolls it’s a trip that Halle Berry replaced Vivica A Fox and I thought Leah Remini was adorable!!