Line #14 Main/FromSpecialToSeries


1	TV series that began life as one-off or recurring prime-time specials, sometimes related to holidays. Shows that already have a full series order count as well, if the first episode to air was a holiday special. This seems to particularly be the case with adaptations. Seemed to be very popular in TheEighties.
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3	Compare PoorlyDisguisedPilot, FiveEpisodePilot. Sometimes overlaps with PilotMovie.
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5	!!Examples:
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7	[[foldercontrol]]
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9	[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
10	* ''Franchise/OnePiece'':
11	** The Christmas special (''End-Of-Year Special Project! The Detective Memoirs of Chief Straw Hat Luffy'') wasn't the first episode of the anime, but it was originally supposed to be a one-off two-part filler episode where the cast lives in 19th century Japan. It proved so popular, however, that this setting would be returned to for several other filler episodes, both during the holiday season and throughout the year.
12	** ''Chopperman'' was given his own series. It began as a tiny short, then turned into some successful merchandise, and now it stands on its own two feet.
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15	[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]
16	* ''Series/TVsBloopersAndPracticalJokes'' was a merging of three previous NBC specials...''Johnny Carson's Funniest Practical Jokes'', ''TV's Censored Bloopers'', and ''TV's Greatest Commercials''. Reversed after the show was cancelled and ''TV's Censored Bloopers'' was presented again as an occational series of specials.
17	* TLC likes to test show concepts this way. That's how we got ''Series/JonAndKatePlusEight'', ''Series/NineteenKidsAndCounting'', and ''Series/TableFor12'', among others.
18	* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'' started out as a series of shorts during commercial periods, followed by full-length specials, then the regular series.
19	* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' began with a New Year's special, but was commissioned for a full series prior to the filming of the special.
20	* ''Series/BoSelecta'', or at least lead character Avid Merrion, started as filler shorts during ad breaks for one season of ''Series/BigBrother Live''.
21	* This is very much the purpose behind ''Series/ComedyLab''.
22	* The Australian show ''Series/GoodNewsWeek'' was canceled back in 2000. In 2008, a reunion special was planned, but the Writer's Guild strike in America caused Channel Ten to revive it fully.
23	* Another Aussie example, ''Series/HeyHeyItsSaturday'', was a variety show that was on air for nearly 30 years, starting as a children's program and eventually becoming a prime time variety show, in 1999 the show was wrapped up, but in 2009, 2 one off reunion specials were aired on consecutive Wednesdays. These specials were a runaway hit and this resulted in the show briefly being back on air every Wednesday until it was swiftly cancelled once again.
24	* ''Series/AmericasFunniestHomeVideos'' began as an hour-long special hosted by Creator/BobSaget and Creator/KellieMartin in November 1989; it was brought back as a weekly series two months later with Saget in tow, and has aired ever since with two host changes since then (with the minor exception of a period from the fall of 1998 to the summer of 2001, when in an inversion of this trope, it was reduced to a series of specials). The show's SpinOff, ''Series/AmericasFunniestPeople'', also began as a one-off special before evolving into a full show.
25	* ''Series/TheReallyLoudHouse'' began with a Christmas special, ''Film/ALoudHouseChristmas''.
26	* ''Series/TenOClockLive'' started out originally as ''Channel 4's Alternative Election Night''.
27	* ''Series/{{Wonder Woman\|1975}}'': The series began as a TV Movie, "The New, Original Wonder Woman", airing on November 7, 1975. The next two specials aired in April of 1976. The remaining WWII episodes were on the regular 1976-77 season from October to February. The 14 WWII episodes are retroactively considered the first season although they were aired over the course of two years. This foot dragging and budget concerns led to the move from ABC to CBS and updating it to present day (TheSeventies).
28	* The 1992 TV special ''[[Literature/TheSteadfastTinSoldier The Tin Soldier]]'' spawned a series called ''Series/TheToyCastle'' in 2000. The series uses the same characters, costuming, and setting as the special, but due to a production change from Ottawa Ballet to Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet, [[TheOtherDarrin the cast is completely different]].
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31	[[folder: Western Animation ]]
32	* ''WesternAnimation/CareBears1980s'' was predated by two specials: ''[[WesternAnimation/CareBearsInTheLandWithoutFeelings The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings]]'' and ''The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine''.
33	* ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas'', ''WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown'' and the other ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' specials in that sequence eventually led to ''WesternAnimation/TheCharlieBrownAndSnoopyShow''. Of course, this one is a case where the myriad of specials are more famous than the show they launched.
34	* ''WesternAnimation/HereComesGarfield'' and the other WesternAnimation/GarfieldSpecials eventually led to the titular cat getting ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends''.
35	* The 2007 ''WesternAnimation/{{George of the Jungle\|2007}}'' series started with a Christmas special.
36	* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' had two mini-series before the actual series began.
37	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra '' is a variant. It was initially meant to be a 12-episode mini-series before Nickelodeon ordered an additional 14-episodes in the middle of production.
38	* ''WesternAnimation/LifeWithLouie'' began with a Christmas special.
39	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'' (the animated series) started as a series of TV specials in the late 1980s-early 1990s. She had her own TV series from 1993 to 2001.
40	* The WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTVSpecials lead to ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie1986'', which led to [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends the first series]].
41	* ''WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies1980s'' began with a 1985 TV special before becoming a series.
42	* The first episode of ''WesternAnimation/PennZeroPartTimeHero'' was a half-hour ChristmasSpecial aired in early December, with the rest of the season premiering two months later.
43	* ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'' originally had four specials, the first one being about Christmas.
44	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' had its ten-anniversary special, ''All Growned Up'', which was so successful (to this day, it remains the most-watched premiere on the channel), that Nickelodeon passed over the producers' actual SpinOff ideas in favor of turning this one [[WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp into a show]].
45	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" aka "The Simpsons Christmas Special" is a downplayed example of this, as it was meant to be the eighth episode of the show's first season. However, production issues with earlier episodes had the producers convince Fox to delay the premiere to December and air the ChristmasEpisode first, so they had more time to fix the animation problems.
46	* ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake'' was originally just a series of specials. When she was revived in the 21st century, she got a proper TV series.
47	* ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'': The [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers original cartoon]] started out as a three-part serial.
48	** The same goes for ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'', which started out as a four-issue limited series. It was, and is, common for Marvel to test out a new book that way. Of course, TF became kind of a big deal, as [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} you might have noticed]]. The book's final issue gives us the caption, "#80 in a 4-issue limited series." (Except it was much more than 80 when you consider what Marvel UK added.) Eventually, Creator/IDWPublishing produced a 20-issue {{Revival}} called ''Transformers: Regeneration One''. Naturally, it finishes with "#100 in a 4-issue limited series."
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Context Main / FromSpecialToSeries