There is a plethora of animated series based on live-action television shows and movies. Some of them are fantastic cartoons that are the staple of many peoples’ childhoods, like Muppet Babies or The Real Ghostbusters. But those are diamonds in the rough. For every gem, there are at least a half-dozen adaptations that really give viewers pause, making them wonder what the studio executives who green-lit the projects were possibly thinking.
Often, these shows employed the voice talents of their live-action counterparts to bring characters to life. But it was never enough to save them from quick cancellation and obscurity. Here are just a few of the most head-scratching, egregious animated spin-offs ever made. They’re relics from an age of television during which the motto was, “Eh, why not?”
‘The Dukes’
The Dukes of Hazzard is one of the best-known television shows of all time. It ran for years, reaching nearly 150 episodes. The Dukes, on the other hand, got 20 episodes spread over two seasons, and died a quick death in a single year.
Instead of confining the adventures of the Duke boys to Hazzard County, the cartoon took The General Lee on a race around the world. This spawned episode titles like “A Hogg In Hong Kong” and “The Dukes in Urbekistan.”
‘Gilligan’s Planet’
Everyone knows the story of Gilligan’s Island: three hour tour, storm, shipwreck, stranded on an island, Gilligan is an idiot. But now imagine that the castaways managed to escape…by building a rocket! And then they rode that rocket into space but, Gilligan being Gilligan, he goofed up and they crashed on an alien planet!
Gilligan’s Planet is the result. It had the benefit of featuring the entire cast of the original show performing the voices of their characters. It also featured an alien reptile creature as a new pet/sidekick for Gilligan. It had one blissfully short 13-episode season before it was canceled.
‘The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang’
Another famous show, another terrible animated spin-off. In The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, the Fonz, Richie, and Donny, all voiced by their original actors, are visited at the diner by Cupcake, a girl from the future whose time machine has broken. After Fonzie fixes it, there’s an accident, and they all get lost in time! Of course, Mr. Cool, the Fonz’s anthropomorphic talking dog (remember him from “Happy Days”?), is also there.
This series is Bill and Ted by way of Quantum Leap, but with more people. It got two seasons and 24 episodes before it was canceled. But that wasn’t the end of the adventures of the Fonz and Mr. Cool, because they soon showed up on another show….
‘Laverne & Shirley In the Army’
The title of this show pretty much tells you everything you need to know about it. Laverne & Shirley, itself a spin-off of Happy Days, featured the two women, who were loveable goofballs, living in their Milwaukee apartment and getting into shenanigans.
So, naturally, the animated spin-off featured the two titular characters joining the Army. The series ran for one 13-episode season. Then, the Fonz and Mr. Cool joined the cast! It morphed into Laverne & Shirley with the Fonz, and was basically the same show, except that the Fonz and Mr. Cool now worked in the Army camp’s motor pool.
The revamped series aired for eight episodes before it got the ax.
‘Hulk Hogan’s Rock ’n’ Wrestling’
If there was one thing Hulk Hogan needed in the 80s, it was more exposure. Enter Hulk Hogan’s Rock ’n’ Wrestling, in which the Hulkster and his band of heroes — like Andre the Giant and Captain Lou Albano — were trying to foil the villainous Roddy Piper and his henchmen, the Iron Sheikh, Big John Studd, and more.
The show had everything that wrestling fans loved…except for the wrestlers doing the voices of their characters. Oh, and there wasn’t much wrestling. It lasted two seasons and got 26 episodes.
‘Back to the Future: The Animated Series’
Remember the end of Back to the Future: Part III, when Doc Brown and his family fly away in their time machine train to explore history? Well, just imagine that last part never happened, and instead the family settled down in Hill Valley. And then Doc rebuilt the DeLorean so he and Marty could go on adventures through time with his family! And Einstein the dog talks now.
In the very first episode of this show, Doc’s sons wind up on opposing sides of a Civil War battle. But instead of fighting, they hug it out and make all the soldiers realize that they’re fighting their brothers. So they all walk away. It…also lasted two seasons and 26 episodes.
‘Rambo: The Forces of Freedom’
This list could go on forever, so in the interest of mercy, this will be our last entry. Rambo: The Forces of Freedom, based on 1982’s First Blood, was done in the style of G.I. Joe, a show that at least had its moments. Rambo ran for a whopping 65 episodes, but only for a few months — it was a daily show that burned bright and burned fast, premiering in September of 1986 and canceled just after Christmas.
The show focused on the fight between The Forces of Freedom and S.A.V.A.G.E. (i.e., the Specialist-Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy, and Global Extortion, naturally). But, since it was the first R-rated movie to be given the animated spin-off treatment, the producers had to make some concessions in order to make it acceptable for children. As such, the violence was toned down, no one ever mentioned Rambo’s time in Vietnam or his PTSD, and the events of First Blood and Rambo: First Blood, Part 2 were never mentioned.
I don’t understand, either.
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