10 TV Spin-Offs Better Than The Original

9. Mork & Mindy

Original Show: Happy Days

A classic American sitcom, Happy Days had a lot going for it (prior to literally jumping the shark), with a great cast, its 50s nostalgia, and a fun sense of humour, but one thing it (mostly) didn't have was Robin Williams.

The actor guest starred in an episode of Happy Days that sees him appear as Mork in Ritchie Cunningham's dream, which was planting the character to setup a spin-off. Mork came to Earth, was taken in by Mindy, and the show was born.

It didn't get the same reception as Happy Days, nor its other spin-off Laverne & Shirley, but it deserves a better legacy than it has. It didn't play things as safe as the other shows, and its plot offered up commentary on American culture and human nature that was as insightful as it was entertaining. The whole cast was solid too, but, of course, the magic ingredient was Williams.

He was a singularly gifted comedic talent, and this was one of the first showcases of it. He would frequently improvise his lines (so much so that gaps were left in scripts for this to happen), and while he'd go on to do much bigger and better things, everything great about him is on full display here, ensuring this was always guaranteed to make you laugh out loud.