Rip-off TV Shows

[on:]

Anyone know any deliberate rip-offs that were quite successful?
e.g.
the Simpsons = King of the Hill, the Family Guy

[Reply #1 on:]

Charmed. Buffy rip-off. 'cept worse.

[Reply #2 on:]

 

Originally posted by SlackJawedMoron:
Charmed. Buffy rip-off. 'cept with more cleavage.

Fixed 

[Reply #3 on:]

Not forgetting the dreaded Futurama rip-off 3001 or what ever its called.

[Reply #4 on:]

You all are forgeting the biggest ripp-off of
all time:
Flinstone=Jestons

[Reply #5 on:]

 I think they met each other so they might technically be in the same universe.

[Reply #6 on:]

Robot Wars = Battle Bots
Not sure which one came first, but I'm sure onw ripped the other off.

[Reply #7 on:]

Casualty = Holby City (both crap)

[Reply #8 on:]

 

Originally posted by nerdlingus:
Casualty = Holby City (both crap)

There is a difference between a rip off and a spin off.

[Reply #9 on:]

most gameshows, soap operas, reality shows, talk shows etc.
it's like incest, just worse...   

[Reply #10 on:]

 

Originally posted by Tweek:
There is a difference between a rip off and a spin off.

Holby is a spin off of Casualty?  I thought they were just replacing casualty as it went bad.

[Reply #11 on:]

In terms of Simpsons rip offs, Dinosaurs is allegedly a rip off although I don't think I watched a full episode myself.  "Don't have a stegosaurus, man!".  For the record King of the Hill and Family Guy are hardly rip offs of The Simpsons, particularly KOTH (I'll give it that Family Guy sometimes borrows a little liberally from The Simpsons).

Obviously there are plenty of rip offs of reality shows although the original ideas themselves were hardly complex or original.

[Reply #12 on:]

Family Guy basically borrowed the later Simpsons formula in which every episode starts off at one point and just magically builds upto different points climatically (ie no real discernable plot).  Case point an episode in which the simpsons visit the local nature park to find an indy 500 race and then maud dies.  Family Guy does a lot like this only thrown completely out the window with whacky timed jokes every 5 seconds.  KoTH isn't like the simpsons almost at all. 

For the record BattleBots is better 

And how about this for ripoffs?  Friends is created in America.  Britain says that's cool, let's make a show called Coupling except with more sex.  America says, damn they have a show with sex, let's rip that off and make a show called Coupling too, only it has the most sex ever....   

[Reply #13 on:]

Japanese Animated show Envolving Merchandicing Schemes->American Japansese style animation with bigger Merchandicing schemes.

[Reply #14 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nurdbot:
Japanese Animated show Envolving Merchandicing Schemes->American Japansese style animation with bigger Merchandicing schemes.

I know we've had disagreements in the past, but that was a great post.  Bravo.

[Reply #15 on:]

I hate people who accuse every show with a dysfunctional family of being a Simpsons rip-off. The Simpsons DID NOT invent that idea, it merely took it to different places. Family Guy is hardly a Simpsons rip-off either. If anything, it's basically just a bunch of wacky comedic skits connected together through a loose & meaningless plot. Sure, the show is as funny as hell - but it lacks any real substance or character development, which is what sets The Simpsons apart from it... unless you count the majority of the last 5 seasons. And I'm not insulting Family Guy - it's my third-favourite show behind Futurama and South Park. I'm just saying that it is NOT a Simpsons rip-off. The only similarity is that they both center around an animated dysfunctional family, and the father is a fat moron. Those ideas were around for a LONG time before either shows were made.

...

Rant over.

[Reply #16 on:]

I wasn't talking about the family.. I was talking about how each episode was convoluted nothingness.  Family Guy is the basic copy of YES the last 5 (more like 7) season of simpsons, in the way that the plot moves.  There really hasn't been much character development in the simpsons lately, that was all done much earlier.  Now it is just joke after joke, and Family Guy borrowed from that formula except they used wilder and more racy jokes.....

[Reply #17 on:]

Gimme Gimme Gimme  = Will and Grace. But Will and Grace seems to be better

[Reply #18 on:]

 

Originally posted by winna:
I wasn't talking about the family.. I was talking about how each episode was convoluted nothingness.

Whoops - my comment wasn't aimed at you. In fact, it wasn't aimed at anybody in particular. I'm just saying that I've heard a lot of people call Family Guy a Simpsons rip-off before, so my comments are more aimed at those general people rather than anyone specific. Sorry 'bout the confusion there.

[Reply #19 on:]

Family Guy's characters seem similar to the Simpsons though like the Dad seems similar to Homer.

[Reply #20 on:]

 

Originally posted by winna:
I wasn't talking about the family.. I was talking about how each episode was convoluted nothingness.  Family Guy is the basic copy of YES the last 5 (more like 7) season of simpsons, in the way that the plot moves.  There really hasn't been much character development in the simpsons lately, that was all done much earlier.  Now it is just joke after joke, and Family Guy borrowed from that formula except they used wilder and more racy jokes.....

Well its similar to 10-12 in a lot of ways.  Again I'll have to quickly defend 13 and 15 (and at least part of 14) as I think they are far different from 10-12 and do in fact have plots and character development.

I do sorta get what you're saying, and again I think Family Guy borrows a little liberally from The Simpsons, although I should note that it came out during Simpsons season 10 (and presumably was in production before season ten had started airing), and thus it would have been harder for them to directly rip off the style at the very beginning.  I'd say its more a case where they took what The Simpsons (and other shows did) and just made it as fast paced with as many random wacky jokes as they could possibly fit in.  The basic concepts of thye show aren't original at all, but it sets itself apart from other shows in the execution (even if the, for instance, flashback gags had already been done on other shows).  Maybe around 11/12 Scully and company tried to catch up with Family Guy.  Who knows.

[Reply #21 on:]

Scrubs = TLC, a thankfully short-lived British hospital sitcom that tried to capitalise on the success of Scrubs.