One of the most fun and unique traditions in all of television is the crossover episode. No other medium can pull off a story like this, which merges two universes of television storytelling together and prompts numerous character interactions among those whom fans never thought would meet.
Often times, crossovers are a ploy to boost ratings for either show. Sometimes, they share some creative DNA and settings and it only makes logical sense to bring the two series together. Other times, it's a fun Easter egg for fans. No matter the intent of a crossover episode, they always make for worthwhile television experiences.
New Girl
Obviously, as the title suggests, one of the more forgotten crossovers is the one between Brooklyn Nine-Nine. While this was a heavily promoted occurrence on Fox at the time, it's even more shocking for those who binge the shows now.
The two-part crossover consisted of Brooklyn's "The Night Shift," which united Jake Peralta with Jess Day. The second part, New Girl's "Homecoming" ed Jess with more characters and Nick and Winston with Charles Boyle! For lovers of stellar network comedy, this was a solid event.
The Office
In the early days of the American Office, the show's creative staff wanted to distance the program as much as possible from its British predecessor and counterpart. Over time, as the identities diverged, this became a more forgivable act.
By season seven, Ricky Gervais' David Brent character is outwardly interacting with Michael Scott. They share a hug outside of the Dunder Mifflin elevator and later, in the season finale, Brent interviews for Michael's job. They were sparse collision courses, but thrilling ones all the same.
The Simpsons
One of the most highly anticipated crossover events of all-time came in the form of "The Simpsons Guy," an episode of Simpsons' home of Springfield.
On the surface, it seems like an adult animated nuclear family comedy premise is all they had in common. But the truer motivation behind the crossover was soon revealed. It was an opportunity for the writers of The Simpsons to flex their humor muscles and showed they still had brilliance in their corner.
Scandal
In the seventh season of ABC's How to Get Away with Murder fame.
The episode was more than just a crossover, though. It was also a seminal systematic study of the problem with the incarceration of black civilians in the United States. A worthy topic to address, Scandal ensured that its crossover was also socially responsible and exceedingly relevant.
Hannah Montana
Are there greater crossover events than Disney Channel assembly might give the superhero epic a run for its money.
"That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana" saw the universes of Hannah Montana together in a way that shaped an entire generation. Wizards of Waverly Place later ed the crossover fun, but the first time is the most memorable.
Jimmy Neutron
The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour took the crossover event to the next level when uniting well-established Nickelodeon arsenal of series. It wasn't just a single crossover episode; it was an entire film trilogy.
As both series were animated, as well, it allowed for a fun swap of the styles on both series. To see Jimmy Neutron in 2D animation and Timmy Turner in CGI was novel in itself. The names that rhymed just pushed the experience over the top.
Laverne & Shirley
Mork & Mindy to Laverne & Shirley, few comedies have been as externally prolific as Happy Days.
Fortunately, the spin-off series also left room for crossover episodes between the characters, as it tracked that they'd want to visit one another from time to time. The best of these was in the two-part event, "Shotgun Wedding," that reunited Laverne and Shirley with Richie and Fonzie on an episode of Happy Days and an episode of Laverne & Shirley.
Hawaii Five-0
There is a long history of quality, lengthy procedural productions ongoing in Hawaii. While Magnum P.I. is still going strong.
Back in January, they experienced a two-hour crossover special with one Hawaii Five-0 episode and one Magnum P.I. episode back to back. When a list of undercover CIA agents is stolen, the two investigative teams forces to find the suspect. Of course, Steve and Danny stole the show, even if they only appeared in half of it.
Full House
Full House is exactly the kind of show that seemed like it'd be privy to as many crossover installments as Happy Days was back in the day. At the very least, the season four episode, "Stephanie Gets Framed," brought one of TV's most popular characters into Stephanie's bedroom.
Nervous about sporting a pair of glasses, it was Steve Urkel, of Family Matters fame, who came to the rescue. Sitting Stephanie down, he convinced her glasses weren't all bad. Even if the hijinks got out of hand, it was still an iconic crossover.
Cougar Town
Finally, the crossover between Cougar Town was one of the most fun, hidden background instances television has ever seen. It started with "Critical Film Studies," a season two episode of Community.
It's an homage to My Dinner with Andre, but it also sees Abed mention that he was invited for a background role on an episode of Cougar Town. In the second season of the latter, the episode, "Something Good Coming," actually sees Abed in the background of one scene. It's this attention to detail that can make crossover episodes so astonishingly good.