History Main / SpinoffSendoff

** The annual crossover film between the current show and the previous one could even be considered this as they usually involve the previous team having to come back into action a while after their final victory and it usually ends with the narrator thanking the previous team for their actions and telling the current team to keep protecting the world in their stead. On the other hand, these movies are typically done right as the current show is wrapping up and the current team is about to be replaced themselves (since ''Kiramager'', the movies are released post-series and the current team has already been replaced).

* ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' acts as a bridge between ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' (although the movie came out a few months after ''TNG'' ended its run).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Parodied and lampshaded in "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" episode:

* The final chapter of ''Spaced Out'', the last graphic novel tie-in to and final piece of media made overall for the Shea Fontana incarnation of the ''WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'' franchise, has their Zatanna show their main cast an [[{{Multiverse}} alternate universe]] which turns out to be [[WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls their 2019]] [[IntraFranchiseCrossover incarnations]]. Amusingly, [[AdaptationalHeroism their versions]] of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are a little put off that they're villains in the new continuity. Frost meanwhile takes solace knowing at least she doesn't have an evil version of herself, ironic both because Killer Frost is traditionally a villain and because she doesn't appear at all in the Lauren Faust iteration of the franchise.

* The final issue of ''Spaced Out'', the last piece of media made for the first incarnation of the ''WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'' franchise, has their Zatanna show their main cast an [[{{Multiverse}} alternate universe]] which turns out to be [[WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls their 2019]] [[IntraFranchiseCrossover incarnations]]. Amusingly, [[AdaptationalHeroism their versions]] of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are a little put off that they're villains in the new continuity.

** The [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters of the week]] of ''Series/AvataroSentaiDonbrothers'' are all warped homages to a previous ''Super Sentai'' series. After all but one[[note]]''Zenkaiger'', its monster held back to ''Donbrothers''[='=] crossover film with it to serve as a CrossoverComboVillain[[/note]] preceding series were exhausted for monster representation, the last regular monster in the penultimate episode riffed on the next series, ''Series/OhsamaSentaiKingohger''.

** The [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters of the week]] of ''Series/AvataroSentaiDonbrothers'' are all warped homages to a previous ''Super Sentai'' series. After all but one[[note]]''Zenkaiger'', its monster held back to ''Donbrothers''[='=] crossover film with it to server as a CrossoverComboVillain[[/note]] preceding series were exhausted for monster representation, the last regular monster in the penultimate episode riffed on the next series, ''Series/OhsamaSentaiKingohger''.

** The annual Crossover film between the current show and previous one could even be considered this as they usually involve the previous team having to come back into action a while after their final victory and it usually ends with the narrator thanking the previous team for their actions and telling the current team to keep protecting the world in their stead. On the other hand these movies are typically done right as the current show is wrapping up and the current team is about to be replaced themselves.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''[='=]s pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint" has a visit from [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series']] Dr. Admiral [[Creator/DeForestKelley McCoy]], who inspects the Enterprise-D and gives it his blessing.

* Each of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' spinoff series has one.

** Averted with ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', as another prequel series, albeit taking place 10 years before TOS. The season 1 ending has the ''Discovery'' coming nose-to-nose with the ''Enterprise'' (under Pike's command) as the original theme is playing.

** For Wiggum's spinoff, ''Chief Wiggun, P.I.'', Troy [=McClure=] hints some familiar faces might drop by to wish Wiggum luck. In the episode, The Simpsons appear in Mardi Gras costumes and lampshade tropes going into the parody spinoff.
** In ''The Love-matic Grampa'', Abe Simpson's has Homer drop into the bar - at which point Abe furiously berates him for how outrageously cheap Homer was in providing for Abe's funeral. This ends when point Homer pulls Abe's plug out (again) and leaves.

* Parodied and Lampshaded on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' on the "Spinoff Showcase" episode:
** For Wiggum's spinoff, Troy [=McClure=] hints some familiar faces might drop by to wish Wiggum luck. In the episode, The Simpsons appear in Mardi-Gras costumes and lampshade tropes going into the parody spinoff.
** Abe Simpson's has Homer drop into the bar - at which point Abe furiously berates him for how outrageously cheap Homer was in providing for Abe's funeral. This ends when point Homer pulls Abe's plug out (again) and leaves.
--->'''Grandpa''': That's the second time he pulled the plug on me...

** Starting with ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'', several shows have actually ended their main stories early so the last episode or two can be dedicated to an actual crossover with the incumbent Rider; exceptions include ''Gaim''[[note]]Though its main plot ''does'' end in the penultimate episode, the final episode is just a post-script focusing on its own cast[[/note]], ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' which instead has its baton-passing moment in the first two episodes of CrisisCrossover ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'', ''Zi-O'' itself and ''Zero-One''.
** A more direct version of this occurs at the end of ''Film/KamenRiderXKamenRiderGhostAndDriveSuperMovieWarGenesis'', where the ''Ghost'' cast attends the wedding of ''Drive''[='s=] protagonist Shinnosuke, who tells Takeru "I'll leave the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Ganma]] to you." [[spoiler:Though this is also a practical move, since Drive's gear was sealed away after the battle with the movie's villains.]]
** The franchise almost played it completely straight, as Toei filmed a literal baton-passing sequence for ''Series/KamenRiderFaiz'' and ''Series/KamenRiderBlade'', with the two shows' stars meeting face-to-face. However, the sequence went unaired and fans only found out about it years later when still photos of it were published in a magazine.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Millennium" inverts this. The episode is designed to give some kind of closure to [[Series/Millennium1996 Frank Black]], as "Goodbye to All That" offered an open-ended finale for Frank and Jordan.

* While most ''VideoGame/TheIdolmaster'' adaptations have characters cameo throughout their SharedUniverse, ''Anime/TheIdolmasterSideM'' manages to do a direct baton pass by simply flipping perspectives. The prequel, ''Episode of Jupiter'', caps off Jupiter's transition phase between 961 and 315 during ''Anime/TheIdolmaster MOVIE'' by showing their run-in with Haruka from that film. They see 765 Pro's first arena concert, come out from it with a stronger resolve to make time for their fans, and head towards their new start with higher hopes.
* Humorously {{lampshaded}} and {{subverted}} in this [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgYmtBIVQAACZjW.jpg mini-comic]] by Creator/HiroMashima, where [[Manga/FairyTail Natsu]] attempts to pass the baton to [[Manga/EdensZero Shiki]]...only for Shiki to snap it in half and give one piece back to Natsu as they race off together with smiles. This is meant to show that ''Fairy Tail'' would still be continuing alongside ''Edens Zero'' through the anime's final season and an official sequel manga supervised by Mashima.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Millennium" inverts this. The episode is designed to give some kind of closure to [[Series/{{Millennium}} Frank Black]], as "Goodbye to All That" offered an open-ended finale for Frank and Jordan.

* The final scene of ''Series/LabRats'' had the team split up, with Leo and Adam returning to the academy and Chase and Bree about to go on a new adventure with Donald, leading into the spinoff, ''Series/LabRatsEliteForce''.

* For ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes'' Charlton Heston was only in it as a favor to the director. He wanted to die in the first reel, but they compromised; he disappeared in the first reel and died in the last reel.
* ''Film/StarTrek2009'' gets one of these with Leonard Nimoy showing up to guide everything into place.
* ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' acts as a bridge between ''TOS'' and ''TNG'' (although the movie came out a few months after ''TNG'' ended its run).

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'''s pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint" has a visit from [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series']] Dr. Admiral [[Creator/DeForestKelley McCoy]], who inspects the Enterprise-D and gives it his blessing.

** In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s pilot episode "Emissary", Sisko arrives at his new posting to find the ''Enterprise'' already docked there, which becomes a problem since Sisko lost his wife at [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds Wolf 359]] and has difficulty separating Picard from the figurehead of that attack. At the end of the episode Sisko has some epiphanies, makes peace with Picard, and Picard gives him his blessing.

* Since ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', the ''Franchise/PrettyCure'' series has borrowed a trick used in ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' in which during a post-credits segment in the final episode (in lieu of the usual next-episode preview), the lead Pink Cure of the now-finished series [[ThankingTheViewer thanks the viewers]] for watching the past season, and in an inversion of this trope, meets and introduces the next Pink Cure. Prior to this, they just showed a "Thank You" sketch, though ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure'' did have three endcards where the casts posed together with the ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'' characters in the episodes prior to the GrandFinale. Presumably for the [[MilestoneCelebration 10th anniversary of the franchise]] that ''[=HaCha=]'' marked, they wanted to do something new.

* An interesting variant with ''Anime/SpacePatrolLuluco''. The show up to that point functioned as the production studio's MilestoneCelebration, so the final scene was naturally used to announce their next show, with Luluco and Akko from ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'' high-fiving as they fly past each other.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower She-Ra]]'' began with [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 He-Man]] journeying to Etheria to find Adora and give her the Sword of Protection allowing her to become She-Ra and do a HeelFaceTurn going from a Force Captain of the Horde to leader of the Great Rebellion.

* An interesting case happened with the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' episode "Teen Titans Roar": the episode aired right before the first episode of [[WesternAnimation/ThundercatsRoar the series it crosses over with]].

* ''Anime/SpacePatrolLuluco'' used this to announce the ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'' anime, with its final scene having Luluco and Akko high-fiving as they fly past each other.

* The last comic for the previous incarnation of WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls has their Zatanna show their main cast an [[{{Multiverse}} alternate universe]] which turns out to be [[WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls their 2019]] [[IntraFranchiseCrossover incarnations]]. Amusingly their versions of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are a little put off that they're villains in the new continuity.

* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'', "Let's Go To Music School", features the Explorer Girls, who appear in the sequel ''WesternAnimation/DoraAndFriendsIntoTheCity'' Unfortunately, in most parts of the world, this episode aired after that series had premiered. Not only that, but in the United States, the episode aired long after ''Dora and Friends'' had been cancelled.