Baywatch Nights

David Hasselhoff simultaneously starred in Baywatch and this two-year-long spin-off in which he moonlighted as a private detective. The most fascinating aspect of the series is the way it turned into a completely different show during Season 2. Nights ditched the whole crime-fighting thing and focused on the supernatural. Vampires, demons and sea creatures suddenly and inexplicably began to appear around the beach in droves, scaring away bathers — and viewers. Then it was canceled.
Joanie Loves Chachi

The bad spin-off by which all subsequent bad spin-offs are measured. In this Happy Days stepchild, Chachi (Scott Baio), the Fonz’s younger cousin, moves to Chicago with Joanie (Erin Moran), Richie Cunningham’s younger sister, to start a band. They sang a lot, Joanie and Chachi. Not always very well, as is clear in this clip. There were stereotypically named characters — Mario, Rico, Bingo — and stereotypically cheesy songs. The main characters soon returned to Happy Days. After the show was canceled, that is.

























