The hit show as launch pad

As the television networks get ready to unveil their fall lineups next month, producers behind some of the aspiring series are giving those projects a boost by teaching old shows some new tricks.

Using a time-honored strategy that has had significant success -- but also more than a few misses -- the creators of “JAG,” “Crossing Jordan” and “The Gilmore Girls” are using sweeps episodes as launch pads for “planted spinoffs.” These are shows that are hatched, not always effortlessly, from existing hits. So rather than building a spinoff from scratch, these episodes use familiar characters and premises as springboards to introduce new concepts.

Tonight’s installment of CBS’ “JAG” is the first of a two-parter centering on the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, and its investigation of a murder on the JAG staff. Monday’s episode of NBC’s “Crossing Jordan,” which stars Jill Hennessy as tough medical examiner Jordan Cavanaugh, focused on Jerry O’Connell as Det. Woody Hoyt, a recurring character who is one of Cavanaugh’s colleagues. And the May 13 episode of the WB’s “The Gilmore Girls” will spotlight Jess Mariano, the character played by Milo Ventigmiglia, and his relationship with his estranged father (Rob Estes).

The tactic of “planted spinoffs” was used last season when an episode of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” served as a pilot for “CSI: Miami.” The episode scored with viewers, and the spinoff has become one of the huge hits of the current season.

Some of TV’s most notable series began as episodes of existing shows. The characters of Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney of “Laverne and Shirley” began life on “Happy Days.” “The Jeffersons” and “Maude” came out of the landmark “All in the Family.” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” gave birth to “Angel.” The syndicated “Xena: Warrior Princess” brought life to the syndicated “Hercules.”

But there have been plenty of flops. All the popularity of “Cheers” couldn’t help “The Tortellis,” a short-lived 1987 spinoff starring Dan Hedaya as TV repairman Nick Tortelli, former husband of “Cheers” barmaid Carla (Rhea Perlman). The magic of “Three’s Company” didn’t rub off on “The Ropers.” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” yielded one moderate hit (“Rhoda”) and one miss (“Phyllis”). “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” couldn’t hold a candle to “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”

Tim Kring, creator of “Crossing Jordan” as well the O’Connell spinoff, said the tactic has advantages and drawbacks.

“We can use the 12 million viewers we have to sample our show,” Kring said. “The majority of pilots that are produced never see the light of day. This pilot will. We can sell advertising, and it will be profitable, where most pilots can’t pay for themselves.”

But he added that the strategy might not give him an edge over other pilots.

“I’m not so sure what the deciding factor is, but my guess is that we’re on an equal playing field” with other pilots, he said. “The problem is we can’t promote the episode as a spinoff. We can only promote it as an episode of ‘Crossing Jordan.’ ”

While making a link with the established show is important, the producers need to demonstrate that the spinoffs will have their own identities that can pull in new viewers as well as loyal fans. “Once there is a separation,” Kring said, “there will be no similarities between the two shows.”

“JAG” creator Don Bellisario said he has considered a “JAG” spinoff for about three years but was too busy with other projects. He said he believes that “JAG” fans tuning in tonight and next week will be satisfied, but also surprised by several creative shifts indicative of the spinoff -- tentatively titled “NCIS” -- if it is picked up by CBS.

The episodes, which star Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly and David McCallum, are lighter in tone, sprinkled with black humor and a grisly quality that recalls “CSI.” The second of the two parts introduces two new “JAG” cast members.

“The episode and what we’ve done with it doesn’t look anything like ‘JAG,’ ” Bellisario said. “It’s quick and it’s fast, there’s just a whole different style to it. And hopefully we’ll pick up some younger viewers because of the cast.” He singled out Weatherly, an alumnus of James Cameron’s “Dark Angel” series, as a lure for viewers younger than the typical “JAG” demographic.

Kring, in association with Damon Lindelof, developed the “Crossing Jordan” spinoff for O’Connell because of concern about losing the actor to another show.

“Jerry had this interest in doing his own show, and as soon as it was apparent he was going to do it, we thought we could keep it in the family rather than lose him,” Kring said.

In Monday’s episode, Hoyt (O’Connell) investigated the murder of an ex-girlfriend’s father. His travels led him to Los Angeles, where he worked with the city’s “Sunset Division,” a secret, high-tech department of the police force.

Added Lindelof: “This show with Jerry would be a lot more tongue-in-cheek than ‘Crossing Jordan.’ It’s a cop show. There’s a whole different color and editing style, a whole different vibe.”

Amy Sherman-Palladino, executive producer of “The Gilmore Girls,” said of the Mariano pilot: “This is an intriguing character, and there are a bunch of stories we could tell about him that just were not appropriate to ‘Gilmore Girls.’ ”

Unlike other planted spinoffs, the episode focusing on Mariano will devote half of its story line to the key “Gilmore” characters. Insisting that it’s a story they would’ve done even if they weren’t trying to launch a spinoff, Sherman-Palladino quipped, “Besides, who has time to do an original pilot?”