TGIF, ABC's storied, family-friendly block of Friday night programming, gave us harmless TV that some would argue has amounted to classic programming: Full House, Perfect Strangers, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper and Sister, Sister all originated in that Friday block, which ran from 1988-2000 (with a resurgence from 2003-5). When I heard that ABC was revamping Boy Meets World in a spinoff series called Girl Meets World, where onetime teens Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel) raise their titular teen daughter together, I vroomed my motorcycle in approval like Jonathan Turner. Still, this raised a question: What other TGIF classics deserve a spinoff series?
Here are five options I'd be most psyched to see. Cross your fingers for a Patrick Duffy cameo.
Step By Step: Dana and Karen's Garage Salon
One thing that ruled about TGIF was the constant presence of funny women. On Step By Step, we were gifted by the fresh-faced, punchline-happy antics of Dana and Karen Foster played by Angela Watson and Stacy Keanan. For me, they were the funnest part of the show; Dana was deadpan and a master of the eye-roll while Karen was a gawking, utterly vain beaut who didn't mind looking spacey or self-absorbed. I also sort of liked in season one when Carol's (Suzanne Somers) sister Penny ran a salon out of her garage. In a spinoff series, I say Karen and Dana take over the old business and offer conflicting romantic advice to clients. I hope the first women in their chairs are Malibu Country's Lily Tomlin and Reba McEntire.
Family Matters: Laura's Law
Yes, Steve Urkel (and his fiiiiiine alterego Stefan Urquelle) was the undisputed phenomenon of Family Matters, but let's never forget that Kelly Shanygne-Williams was indispensible as the sassy, routinely annoyed Winslow sister Laura. Since Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson) has obviously retired from the force since the Urkel heyday of the '90s, surely Laura can step up as the newest Chicago policewoman. Picture this woman confronting baddies in a uniform. She could force a criminal to his knees using only the power of a smirk!
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: Hilda, The Adult Recovering Witch
Pardon me, but where is Caroline Rhea's TVLand series? Why hasn't this happened yet? As Aunt Hilda on the cartoonish Melissa Joan Hart series Sabrina The Teenage Witch, she combined Elizabeth Montgomery's charm with a standup comic's flair for sardonic one-liners, and I miss it. If it takes a Sabrina spinoff to bring her back to the airwaves, I support it. In this version, I picture Hilda trying to break from her witchy past and attempting to make it big as a comedy star -- yet she ultimately resorts to her tricks and spells to get her way. Oh, man. I seriously love this. It'd help me with the resentment I feel every time I watch that other host on The Biggest Loser!
Clueless: Amber Gets A Clue
Not only is Clueless one of the great artistic achievements of our time, but its ensuing TV series on TGIF was pretty damn watchable. Rachel Blanchard was no Alicia Silverstone, but that was an impossible task to approach. If any former high-schooler from the short-lived series should join the Beverly Hills faculty, it's the obnoxious, constantly elitist snob Amber (Elisa Donovan), who could outsnark her smart-alecky students without even tousling her perfect, deeply orange bangs. Stacey Dash, if you hadn't supported Paul Ryan, I might've considered you for this enviable spinoff. As such, you are nothing to me.
Candace Cameron Apologizes For Whatever Kirk Is Doing For 30 Minutes Every Week
Candace Cameron Bure isn't quite a proseltyzing terror like her brother Kirk, so I hope the Full House veteran is given a spinoff opportunity to apologize for how annoying he is on a weekly basis. Cameron Bure is a born-again Christian, but maaaaybe that means she can still spot how dumb, fear-based, and ultimately un-Christian homophobia is. In DJ's Growing Pains, she would don the overalls and scrunchies of her old Full House character and carp on the phone to Kimmie for a full 30 minutes about how infuriating Kirk's message is. Naturally, Andrea Barber will return as Kimmie and wear something polka-dotted and abrasive every week.
Which other TGIF staples deserve an update or reboot? OMG, what about Reboot?
