Some things in life are best kept “short and sweet,” and the same should apply to dragging out particular TV shows by putting another in its place.

Once the first story is over, we should smile at the funny or meaningful memories, not fear our love for a universe that had once pleased us so much may go stale.

The people behind the upcoming “Breaking Bad” spinoff, “Better Call Saul,” could be playing their cards skillfully. Or on the other hand, they could not be.

Saul, a relatively static character who stood behind Walter White as a constant soothing presence, has much room in terms of backstory. He’s clever, intelligent, and curiously knows how to say the right thing at the right time — the origins of a man like that have a lot of leeway in terms of fictional believability.

And with ’90’s favorite “Boy Meets World” also getting round two treatment (“Girl Meets World,” the story of Cory and Topanga’s daughter, premieres sometime in 2014), it seems that producers are capitalizing on using familiar worlds as a shortcut to great ratings.

But familiar characters can also be double-edged swords — they can’t be the only things that make up a good show.

Take “The Originals” as a case study: with characters of the CW’s “Vampire Diaries” fame, it originally rode almost solely on the success of its mother show.

Showrunner Julie Plec spun a weak story for the first season; the only way I could watch it is through prior knowledge of its main characters. It’s going well now, but if not for my original (no pun intended) background, the actions and storylines of the Mikaelson family (which “The Originals” is centered around) would be confusing and, ultimately, uninteresting enough to kill off any potential fanbase.

Even shows with extensive cult followings like “Friends” can experience spin-off failures. After all, we all know how its ill-fated spinoff “Joey” turned out. Although the character is still beloved, the dud of a show left the audience bored and with less room to imagine alternative, happy fanfiction.

But while Joey was a “Friends” character already loved and, most of all, known intimately, Saul is more mysterious and thus has room to grow into a novel TV staple in his own right.

Two-dimensional comic book legend Superman was also seen as a character enigmatic enough for the WB’s spin on a classic, “Smallville,” to be successful.

Granted, not all spinoffs run into bad luck. “Frasier” enjoyed considerable success after “Cheers” ended, and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” birthed another Joss Whedon classic, “Angel.” It’s not unheard of for shows with recycled characters to be relatively well-received — but a lot of strategic planning goes into it.

Showrunners can also play off a concept rather than use an entire universe: CBS recently cast Greta Gerwig and Drew Tarver in “How I Met Your Dad,” which will apparently not focus on the “legen…dary” world of Barney and friends.

Instead of potentially butchering the legacy of the original, “HIMYD” is staying true to the indications its linguistically inconsistent name gives about the nature of the show: it will play on a concept of a group of friends finding love in New York, but it won’t be about the same group of people.

With hit-or-miss history involving spin-offs of varying degrees, showrunners should shake off all bias about a current show’s holistic success, and ask themselves, “As a standalone, how compelling is the character or storyline the spinoff would be based off? Does this potential basis have enough creative juice for an entire show?”

Shonda Rhimes launched “Private Practice” after fans vocally expressed their devotion to secondary “Grey’s Anatomy” heroine Addison Montgomery. The show did well before coming to a graceful end (interestingly, before “Grey’s” did); when there was a natural lull and opportunity for Montgomery’s story to end, she said goodbye. Rhimes fleshed Montgomery out into a believable spinoff protagonist, and the showrunners for “Better Call Saul” should take a page out of her book.

If everyone behind the scenes in the TV world can take all successful spinoff factors into account, all hope for semi-original shows may not be lost.