In praise of the TV crossover…

One of TV’s greatest traditions is back with us this week…

Tonight’s “CSI: Miami” marks the start of a week-long crossover plot that will have Laurence Fishburne’s “CSI” character, Dr. Raymond Langston, appearing on all three of CBS’s “CSI” franchise shows between now and Thursday.

The crossover — tying separate series together via plot device or characters — has long been a staple of TV programming, particularly when ratings sweeps periods or season finales roll around. It’s a blatant ratings stunt if ever there was one — but that doesn’t mean it always has to be awkward or forced. And in one rare instance, it was brilliant…

In addition to the absurdity of the “Seinfeld” plot that had Kramer leaving for Hollywood and actually landing work as an actor, there were two other great and bizarre things about this crossover:

1. The sheer meta-ness of the entire moment: Michael Richards did more than play Kramer on another show, he played Kramer playing another character on another show — and he appeared on a fictional episode of “Murphy Brown” that wasn’t on CBS, but was only part of the “Seinfeld” episode, meaning that, while Kramer was crossing over to “Murphy Brown,” Murphy Brown was actually crossing over to “Seinfeld.”

2. The shows were on different networks; it’s the rare crossover between shows on competing networks. And speaking of competition, has there ever been a greater disparity between the success of two shows involved in a crossover? “Seinfeld” wasn’t even in the Top 30 at that point in 1992, but “Murphy Brown” was the Number 3 show of the season — and CBS’s most successful fictional program. That CBS would allow a lowly NBC sitcom to use its ratings powerhouse as a plot device boggles the mind.

Do you have a favorite TV crossover moment? There’s a frighteningly exhaustive list of TV crossover episodes here — have a look and then let me know in the comments…