Jungle Red Writers: Spin offs

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Spin-offs: Characters Who Leave Us Wanting More

In Tuesday’s post celebrating the publication of Deborah Crombie’s newest book, THE GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS, I asked her if she had ever considered spinning off one of her supporting characters into a separate book. It doesn’t sound like that’s on the horizon for Debs’ London cast of characters, but it got me thinking: Are there characters who deserve their own spin-off? In books and on the smaller screen?

I did a little digging to refresh my memory about successful spin-offs, both on TV and in literature. Some were obvious including “Frasier” from “Cheers” and the many iterations of “Law and Order” that were spawned from the original series, which first aired in 1990. But did you know that “Mork and Mindy” was a spin-off from “Happy Days”? Or that “Torchwood” came from “Dr. Who?”

In literature, I found examples of authors being inspired by earlier works, as opposed to spin-offs created by the original writers. WIDE SARGASSO SEA, a wonderful book by Jean Rhys, was inspired by Charlotte Brontë’s JANE EYRE. It tells the tale of the first Mrs. Rochester, the one who went mad in the attic. AHAB’S WIFE gets her due in the book of the same name by Sena Jeter Naslund.

These riffs on earlier works are compelling, but there are some supporting characters who deserve to star in their own stories. The first who comes to mind is Winston Nkata, the detective sergeant who works alongside DI Thomas Lynley and DS Barbara Havers in Elizabeth George’s English detective series. DS Nkata’s Caribbean roots are mentioned in some of the books, but never explored in depth. Nor is much information given about the knife scar that traces a jagged line across his cheek. There is always the sense that a deep chasm separates Winston’s youth from his current role as a police officer. As a reader, I’d like to know more.

Aren’t all readers of Sue Grafton’s alphabet series just a little bit in love with octogenarian Henry Pitts? A retired commercial baker, Henry provides Kinsey Millhone with advice and cinnamon rolls, but it’s his roster of elderly siblings that piques my curiosity. Now fit and well into their nineties, what must it have been like in the Pitts’ household during Henry’s youth? And what of Henry’s romantic history? I’d love to peek into his life when he was a younger man, say 70-years-old.

George Fayne. Bonus points if you know who this character is without the context of her two BFFs. Nancy, George, and Bess solve crimes and find themselves knee-deep in trouble on a regular basis. Of course, I love Nancy Drew, but I’d really like to know more about George. How did she get that name? Is it short for Georgina or Georgia? Always described as a “tomboy,” what exactly warrants that description? Does she skydive when not teaming up with the girls? Does she join the guys for pick-up football games? At a time when Nancy Drew was breaking the mold, I wonder how much George might have pushed the boundaries even further.