Doctor Who
Ran: 36 Series (1963 to Current)
Episodes: 840 Episodes
The mad man in a blue box has been running for 55 years this year, or mad woman as it will now be. In the official canon fourteen actors have portrayed the Doctor, the Time Lord who stole the TARDIS and has spent the intervening one thousand years saving people from a wide array of monsters and schemes. Since its revival thirteen years ago, the show has largely enjoyed a resurged popularity that will this year see its eleventh series debut, showing there's no end for the show in sight despite the sheer volume of episodes produced.
K-9 and Company
Ran: 1981
Episodes: 1 Episode
The first spin-off focused on the robotic dog, K-9. The show would have followed the dog working alongside Sarah Jane Smith but despite strong viewing figures the BBC never took it to series and the concept lay dormant until years later.
Torchwood
Ran: 4 Series (2006 till 2011)
Episodes: 41 Episodes
The first successful spin-off came in the form of this darker toned series about the Torchwood team, a concept set up by the second revived series of the main show. Immortal Captain Jack Harkness led a team who prevented alien attacks in Wales on the occasions the Doctor wasn't around. The first two series form a pretty continuous format with a big finale, whilst the third and fourth series were early models on the recent trend for 'event' series, the third making a large splash on BBC1.
The Sarah Jane Adventures
Ran: 5 Series (2007 till 2011)
Episodes: 41 Episodes
The next spin-off revived the K-9 and Sarah Jane idea but led by Sarah in the first instance and geared the show towards child audiences. Sarah Jane fought off local threats whilst looking after her alien adoptive son. The show managed the rare distinction of having the Doctor appear as part of a storyline, doubly impressive here by having it happen twice with two different incarnations of the character. The fifth series was half in length and the final one due to Elisabeth Sladen's sudden death.
K-9
Ran: 1 Series (2010)
Episodes: 26 Episodes
The spin-off was born from Bob Baker who owns the rights to K-9 however, not owning the design or anything else meant the kids show had to not reference anything from Doctor Who. Baker considers the show canon, explaining that this K-9 is the Mark 1 left on Gallifrey though it's highly unlikely anything will ever ben pulled into the main canon from this near future set show.
Class
Ran: 1 Series (2016)
Episodes: 8 Episodes
Moffatt always disliked Harkness so when it came to making his own spin-off he kept the tone but jettisoned anything else with this darker themed show focused on the kids at Coal Hill Academy, the school from the '63 first episode. Once again, a Doctor appeared to help introduce viewers but unlike Torchwood this didn't take and the show failed to attract attention with its 18-25 targeted approach, resulting in its cancellation.
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