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When it comes to crossover episodes, the end result tends to go one of two way. It’s either amazingly epic or epically bad. Trying to infuse multiple characters from two (or in some cases, three) different television shows into one story line is complicated, to say the least. But when the right amount of chefs are in the kitchen, the daunting task of turning a fan fiction dream into a small screen reality could seem almost effortless.
The latest addition to the long list of TV crossovers premiered on The CW earlier this week, when Nina Dobrev of The Vampire Diaries made her long-awaited debut on TVD‘s spinoff series, The Originals. Playing a young woman named Tatia, the brunette beauty will find herself caught in the middle between vampire brothers Klaus (Joseph Morgan) and Elijah (Daniel Gillies). While we don’t know for sure how the episode will pan out, for now tease your crossover taste buds with these memorable episodes from TV’s past.
'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' Meets 'Boy Meets World'
EPISODE: Boy Meets World, “The Witches of Pennbrook” (Season 5, Episode 5)
Back in the ‘90s when Sabrina and BMW were part of ABC’s essential TGIF lineup, it was a solid 60 minutes of network TV gold. And for the fifth season of “Boy Meets World,” the execs at ABC thought it would be a great idea for the peppy blond witch of Westbridge, Mass. to drop by Philly’s own Pennbrook University. In the episode “The Witches of Pennbrook,” Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart) scores a date with Cory’s (Ben Savage) adorably dim-witted brother, Eric (Will Friedle). After tussling with an evil coven of sorceresses, led by Full House alumna Candace Cameron Bure, Eric is swearing off the supernatural. Little does he know that his new gal pal dabbles in magic on the regular. [Stream “The Witches of Pennbrook” on Amazon Instant Video]
'Family Guy' Meets 'The Simpsons'
EPISODE: Family Guy Episode 232: “The Simpsons Guy”
No other animated series on Fox has made a Simpsons-sized splash quite like Family Guy. Peter Griffin (Seth MacFarlane) and Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta) are both iconic fictional figures in their own right, and the two finally met during the season 13 premiere of Family Guy. Cleverly titled “The Simpsons Guy,” the Griffin gang high tails it out of Quahog and heads to Springfield following Peter’s latest (and sexist) gaffe. The Simpsons and the Griffins manage to get along for the most part, until a chicken-style fight fest between Peter and Homer nearly tears them apart. But like most cartoon tales, this story has a happy (albeit unique) ending. [Stream “The Simpsons Guy” on Hulu]
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Meets ‘Private Practice’
EPISODES: Grey’s Anatomy Episode 163: “Have You Seen Me Lately?” and Private Practice Episode 91: “You Break My Heart” The first Grey’s/Private crossover aired in May 2008, and since then, a few others have aired. The best, the combination “Have You Seen Me Lately?” and “You Break My Heart,” premiered in February 2012. With Erica Warner’s (A.J. Langer) life hanging in the balance, Derek’s (Patrick Dempsey) sister Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) leaves Seaside Health and Wellness behind and heads to Seattle Grace, in hopes of a miracle. Spoiler alert, you may need a box of Kleenex to make it through the episodes. [Stream “Have You Seen Me Lately?” on Amazon Instant Video]
‘Mork & Mindy’ Meets ‘Happy Days’ Meets ‘Laverne & Shirley’
EPISODE: Mork & Mindy Episode 1: “Pilot”
Who would have thought that when Happy Days made its debut in January 1974 it would spawn multiple spinoffs? Among the most beloved of the bunch, Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy.” The loveable alien Mork (played by the late great Robin Williams) popped up on Happy Days during the show’s fifth season, but scored a series of his own soon after. During the pilot episode, Mork recounts his time on earth to new pal Mindy (Pam Dawber) through a flashback. The adorable Martian reminisces about his encounters with Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler) and Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall). The Fonz attempts to set Mork up with Laverne and naturally nothing goes to plan. [Stream the Mork & Mindy Pilot on YouTube]
'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Meets 'Angel'
EPISODE: Angel Episode 103: “In the Dark”
Appearing in a total of 24 episodes, Buffy The Vampire Slayer‘s Spike (James Marsters) is essentially the crossover king of the Buffy/Angel universe. The cunning vamp first ventured to Angel’s neighborhood during the first season of the series, in the episode “In the Dark.” After Oz (Seth Green) delivers the all-powerful Ring of Amara to Angel, Spike is determined to steal the precious piece of jewelry for himself. While I won’t give away the ending, you can probably guess that the undead twosome make it out O.K. in the end, considering there are 23 episodes left in the Angel-Spike “bromance” saga. [Stream “In The Dark” on Netflix]
