Crossover (fiction)

{{Short description|Film and video terminology}} {{About|combinations of separate fictional universes in new works|unauthorised adaptations of existing works|Mashup (disambiguation){{!}}Mashup|unauthorised adaptations of existing novels but set in alternative universes|mashup novel}} {{Multiple issues|{{more citations needed|date = March 2008}} {{excessive examples|date = August 2013}}}} [[File:King Kong vs. Godzilla US poster.jpg|thumb|A poster for a crossover film, ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'']] A '''crossover''' is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders (known as '''intercompany crossovers'''), common corporate ownership or unofficial efforts by fans.

This is different from a spoof, where one discrete character, setting, or universe, copies another character, setting, or universe, often in a comedic manner.

== Background == === Official === [[File:Ivan Tsarevich and cameo appearances of Pepper and Carrot in Morevna Project episode 4.png|thumb|Ivan Tsarevich and cameo appearances of ''Pepper & Carrot'' in episode 4 of ''Morevna Project''|left]] Crossovers often occur in an official capacity in order for the intellectual property rights holders to reap the financial reward of combining two or more popular, established properties. In other cases, the crossover can serve to introduce a new concept derivative of an older one. Another intention is to give fictional characters more emotional credibility and thus increase immersion for the fans.

Crossovers generally occur between properties owned by a single holder, but they can, more rarely, involve properties from different holders, provided that the inherent legal obstacles can be overcome. They may also involve using characters that have passed into the public domain with those concurrently under copyright protection.

A crossover story may try to explain its own reason for the crossover, such as characters being neighbors (notable examples being the casts from ''The Golden Girls'' and ''Empty Nest'') or meeting via dimensional rift or similar phenomenon (a common explanation for science fiction properties that have different owners). Some crossovers are not explained at all. Others are absurd or simply impossible within the fictional setting, and have to be ignored by the series' respective continuities. Still others intentionally make the relations between two or more fictional universes confusing, as with ''The Simpsons'' and ''Futurama'', where each show is fiction in the other.

=== Unofficial === [[File:Bambi Meets Godzilla 1969.webm|thumb|''Bambi Meets Godzilla'', an early unofficial animated crossover film]] In contrast with legal crossovers, unofficial crossovers are created solely because of the artistic pleasure derived by their creators. Unofficial crossovers often take the form of fan-written fiction<ref>{{cite book |last=Coppa |first=Francesca |author-link=Francesca Coppa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S9xCDgAAQBAJ |title=The Fanfiction Reader: Folk Tales for the Digital Age |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780472053483 |pages=12–13, 206}}</ref> and fan art, but the trope is increasingly prevalent in amateur films and audio. Whereas official crossovers are frequently stymied by such concerns as copyright, royalties payments, quality of writing and ownership of the characters, unofficial crossovers are unfettered by such concerns, so long as property holders do not exercise their right to enjoin the distribution of such material. A good example would be the unauthorised live action fan film ''Batman: Dead End'' which brings together the properties of ''Batman'', ''Alien'' and ''Predator'' in one setting.

Unofficial crossovers can also occur in a "what-if" scenario. Roger makes frequent cameo appearances in ''Family Guy'', while Brian makes cameos on ''American Dad!''. Roger, Rallo Tubbs and Klaus Heissler were seen in the final ''Family Guy'' ''Star Wars'' spoof, "It's A Trap!", as Moff Jerjerrod, Nien Nunb and Admiral Ackbar, respectively. Stewie also appears as an interactive hallucination of Booth on ''Bones'' when the agent has issues over possibly becoming a sperm donor, with David Boreanaz (who plays Booth) repaying the favor in "Road to the North Pole". An appearance by Elmo, from ''Sesame Street'', was made, in a hallucination of Connie Ray's, on TV sitcom ''The Torkelsons''. Fan fiction fusions between different science fiction movies and series are often created, such as ''Star Wars'' and ''Star Trek'' or ''Babylon 5'' and ''Stargate''. ''M.U.G.E.N.'' is a fighting game engine that features many fan-created and fictional characters and stages from various television series, movies, as well as other video games.

== Literature == [[File:Ile Mysterieuse 02.jpg|thumb|The Mysterious Island novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's famous ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (1870) and ''In Search of the Castaways'' (1867–68).]]

The first popular crossover in literature{{Citation needed|reason=Did someone forget about the Greek myths? Balzac? Jules Verne?|date=January 2026}} was the 1885 Mark Twain novel, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', which had an important guest appearance by Tom Sawyer. Similarly, Lady Glencora Palliser from the Pallisers series of Anthony Trollope appears towards the end of ''Miss Mackenzie'', a novel published between the first and second Palliser novels in 1865, a character first introduced in the novel, ''Can You Forgive Her?'' (1864). Andrew Lang's 1890 collection, ''Old Friends: Essays in Epistolary Parody'', contains letters combining characters from different sources, including one based on Jane Austen's ''Northanger Abbey'' and Charlotte Brontë's ''Jane Eyre''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Glosson |first=Sarah |title=Performing Jane: A Cultural History of Jane Austen Fandom |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9780807173350 |pages=49–51}} Project MUSE [https://muse.jhu.edu/book/76001 76001]</ref>

Kim Newman frequently uses this device, as does Stephen King. The works of James Branch Cabell, J. D. Salinger, William Faulkner, Margaret Laurence, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Mordecai Richler, Sir H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov also cross over with each other, linking different characters and settings together over a number of different works.

Illustrator Howard Pyle conceived his work ''Twilight Land'' as one such crossover. In it, a nameless narrator is transported to "Twilight Land" and meets famous fairy tale characters for a soirée in an inn: Mother Goose, Cinderella, Fortunatus, Sinbad the Sailor, Aladdin, Boots, the Valiant Little Tailor and others gather in the framing device and tell each other adventurous tales featuring other literary personages.<ref>Pyle, Howard. ''[https://archive.org/details/twilightland00pylegoog/page/n9/mode/2up Twilight Land]''. New York: Harper, 1894.</ref>

French author Jules Lemaître wrote a sort of sequel to ''Cinderella'', named ''Princess Mimi'', where Cinderella's daughter is courted by Polyphemus and Charles Perrault's ''Hop-o'-My-Thumb''.<ref>"Princess Mimi", ''The Living Age'' (1921).</ref><ref>"Cinderella's Daughter". In: The Ruby fairy book. Comprising stories by Jules Le Maitre, J. Wenzig, Flora Schmals, F.C. Younger, Luigi Capuani, John C. Winder, Canning Williams, Daniel Riche and others; with 78 illustrations by H.R. Millar. London: Hutchinson & Co. [1900] pp. 3–18.</ref>

== Anime and manga == Anime has also participated in many crossover events featuring characters or shows from the same company or network. One of the biggest projects down would be ''Dream 9 Toriko x One Piece x Dragon Ball Z Super Special Collaboration'' as it includes three ''Shonen Jump'' franchises, being ''Dragon Ball Z'', ''One Piece'' and ''Toriko'', crossed over into an hour long special-like most crossovers, this special is filler, a fan-service episode that follows the common plot line in most crossovers. What makes this crossover unique is when the characters from all three shows split into groups, where the members all share the same clichéd character archetypes, such the main characters Goku, Luffy and Toriko falling into the dumb, good-natured, strong character archetype.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/one-piece-and-dragon-ball-z-collide-in-this-tv-special-471121234|title=One Piece and Dragon Ball Z Collide in this TV Special|website=Kotaku|date=8 April 2013 |language=en-us|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref>

Manga artist Leiji Matsumoto has been known to cross over the characters of his various stories and characters such as ''Captain Harlock'', ''Galaxy Express 999'' and ''Queen Millennia'', all of which were originally written as separate, self-contained stories. In the ''Maetel Legend'', Queen Promethium is revealed to be having been Yukino Yaoi, the protagonist from ''Queen Millennia''. Matsumoto has also created various crossovers with ''Space Battleship Yamato'', an anime on which he served as director, although the rights to Yamato are actually owned by Yoshinobu Nishizaki.

== Television series ==

===Between established shows=== Crossovers involving principals can also occur when the characters have no prior relationship, but are related by time period, locale or profession. The ''Law & Order'' franchise for example, afford a commonality of setting and profession which lends itself to crossovers, both within the franchise and in a wider universe. Following the cancellation of the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'' and its high-rated finale, several characters crossed over into the network's remaining soap opera ''General Hospital'', remaining in the same timeline as their former show.

Characters Kyle Barker & Max Shaw from the sitcom ''Living Single'' made an appearance in ''Half & Half''. Their appearance came seven years after the end of ''Living Single'' and confirmed that Kyle and Max had remained a couple and were raising a family.

In 1992, sitcoms ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' and the short-lived ''Out All Night'' crossed over briefly when Hilary Banks appears as a customer at Chelsea's Club.

In 1993, British soap opera ''EastEnders'' aired a two-part crossover with ''Doctor Who'' for the annual ''Children in Need'' telethon. During the 2010 telethon, ''EastEnders'' crossed over with ''Coronation Street'', another prominent soap opera, for a special fifteen-minute episode, titled "EastStreet".<ref>{{cite web | title=When EastEnders crossed over with other shows | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z4nxcxs}}</ref>

===Between related shows=== Though most common on shows of the same production company (see, for example, "Hurricane Saturday"), crossovers have also occurred because shows share the same distributor or television network. A notable example of this kind of link is that between ''Murder, She Wrote'' and ''Magnum, P.I.'' These shows were made by different companies, but owned by Universal Studios and broadcast on CBS. Another case is that of ''Mad About You'' and ''Friends'', which share the character of Ursula Buffay. Neither show shares any production or distribution commonality, but rather an actress (Lisa Kudrow), a setting (New York City) and a schedule (''Friends'' initially followed ''Mad About You'' on NBC's Thursday night schedule).

''Mad About You'' and ''Friends'' share another type of "network crossover". On rare occasions, networks have chosen to theme an entire night's programming around a crossover "event". In one case, a New York City blackout caused by Paul Reiser's character on ''Mad About You'' was experienced by the characters on ''Friends'' and ''Madman of the People''.<ref>[http://epguides.com/MadAboutYou/season3.shtml epguides.com listing for ''Pandora's Box'', the episode which kicked off "Blackout Thursday" on NBC.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012135515/http://epguides.com/MadAboutYou/season3.shtml |date=2007-10-12 }}</ref> Such "event nights" can also be linked by a single character's quest across multiple shows on the same evening. ABC attempted this kind of "event night" crossover with its Friday night programming during the 1997 season. There, they proposed that the title character of ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' should chase her cat, Salem, through ''Boy Meets World'', ''You Wish'' and ''Teen Angel'' because it had run away with a "time ball" that was displacing each show through time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.poobala.com/timeball.html|title=Crossover Event: "The Time Ball"|work=poobala.com}}</ref>

In 2004, Shed Productions produced a crossover between the TV shows ''Bad Girls'' and ''Footballers' Wives'', where the ''Footballers' Wives'' character Tanya Turner was sent to HMP Larkhall in ''Bad Girls'' for three episodes of the sixth series from 17th May 2004 to 19th May 2004. In the storyline, Tanya is imprisoned for drug charges after her nemesis Amber planted cocaine in her bag during the third series. Her time in prison involved a mystery poisoning and other dramatic events, ending with her release after making a deal. To mark the crossover, ''Bad Girls'' aired over three consecutive nights before going on a three month hiatus.<ref>{{cite web | title=9 TV show crossovers you'd forgotten happened | website=Digital Spy | date=4 June 2018 | url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a858658/tv-show-crossovers-forgotten-brooklyn-nine-nine-roseanne/ }}</ref>

In 2006, Disney Channel produced a crossover between three of their sitcoms titled "That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana". Episode one "Checkin' Out" aired as in the fourth season of ''That's So Raven''. Episode two, titled "That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana" aired in the second season of ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''. The third and final episode titled "On the Road Again" aired in the first season of ''Hannah Montana''. The storyline focused on both Raven Baxter and Hannah Montana being guests at the Tipton Hotel.<ref>{{cite web|title=That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana DVD Review |url=https://dvdizzy.com/thatssuitehannah.html}}</ref>

In 2013, the Canadian crime drama series ''Republic of Doyle'' and ''Murdoch Mysteries'' produced a crossover,<ref name=doylemurdoch>{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/television/stinson-celebrating-the-can-combo-of-republic-of-doyle-and-murdoch-mysteries|title=Celebrating the Can-combo of Republic of Doyle and Murdoch Mysteries|work=National Post|date=November 25, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131212035932/http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/11/25/stinson-celebrating-the-can-combo-of-republic-of-doyle-and-murdoch-mysteries/|archive-date=December 12, 2013}}</ref> which was complicated by the shows' incompatible historical settings; ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a historical series set in the 1890s, while ''Republic of Doyle'' is set in the present day. The problem was solved by having the actors cross over as ''relatives'' of their primary characters; Allan Hawco appeared on the November 25, 2013 episode of ''Murdoch Mysteries'' as Jacob Doyle, a 19th-century ancestor of his regular character Jake Doyle, while Yannick Bisson appeared on a January 2014 episode of ''Republic of Doyle'' as Bill Murdoch, a 21st-century descendant of his regular character William Murdoch.<ref name=doylemurdoch/>

In 2025, British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' celebrated its thirtieth anniversary and crossed over with ''Brookside''. ''Brookside'' had ceased production in 2003 and most of their sets had since been used in the production of ''Hollyoaks''. Many characters from ''Brookside'' appeared and the original closing storyline had been retconned. Both soap operas were created by Phil Redmond, and it was previously established that the programmes existed in a shared universe when ''Brookside'' character Matt Musgrove (Kristian Ealey) transitioned into ''Hollyoaks'' in February 2000.<ref>{{cite web | title=How good is your BROOKSIDE knowledge? - Free Online Library | url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+good+is+your+BROOKSIDE+knowledge%3F-a065831487 }}</ref>

The earliest example of a crossover in children's television was PBS's 1971 program ''The Electric Company''.

====Promotional cameos==== Crossovers can take the form of a promotional cameo appearance, used to draw attention to another work of fiction, with little rational explanation in the context of the hosting show's narrative. When not clearly presented as parody, this is frequently scorned by fans as blatant commercialism. A notable example of this is ''The Simpsons'' episode "A Star Is Burns", in which the character of Jay Sherman (from ''The Critic'') appeared. It originally aired on March 5, 1995, on FOX right before ''The Critic'' began its second season, its first season having aired on ABC. This episode was largely condemned by fans of ''The Simpsons'' as existing to promote ''The Critic'', an animated series considered inferior by comparison. Even ''Simpsons'' creator Matt Groening objected, preferring to remove his name from the credits of that particular episode in protest.<ref>[http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F31.html Various reactions, including Matt Groening's, to ''A Star Is Burns''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810215843/http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F31.html |date=2007-08-10 }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * [http://www.katspace.org/fiction/essays/crossovers/ Thoughts On Crossovers In General (Kathryn Andersen)] An essay musing on the numerous elements necessary to a successful crossover (primarily aimed at fan-written fiction). * [http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Chron.htm World Newton Universe Crossover Chronology] Crossovers which build upon and take place in Philip José Farmer's World Newton continuity. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927040525/http://www.whiterose.org/howlingcurmudgeons/archives/008910.html "On Crossovers"], Jess Nevins' history of the fictional crossover

Category:Crossover fiction Category:Comics terminology Category:Film and video terminology Category:Television terminology