I know that there is a sizeable community of AD fans on here, and this has been bugging me for a while, so here goes:
There’s an episode where George Michael and Ann are protesting outside a movie theatre, but their protests actually draw people in and the movie becomes more successful:
This is very close to the plot in this episode of classic sitcom Father Ted, aired in 1995 on Channel Four in the UK. The first minute and a half of this clip will give you the idea:
So, I guess what I’m asking is - how likely is it that the AD writers saw this episode of Father Ted, and decided to “pay tribute” to it, thinking that no one would ever watch both shows? Or is it just coincidence?
Have I uncovered the most important case of plagiarism since well, pretty much every single episode of Family Guy? Is there some kind of reward available?
I’m not proposing that Father Ted invented “no such thing as bad publicity”. But they did have a plot that involved characters protesting outside a movie theatre, then the movie they were protesting against saw an increase in sales. It’s a bit more specific than the concept in the Tropes article.
OK, maybe just a coincidence!
I’m just happy to have received two replies to my debut thread…
For what it’s worth, the Tropes article mentions that – two years before there was a Father Ted – the concept was already so well-known as to be intentionally exploited “in Matinee, when SF B-movie producer Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman) hires two guys to pose as Moral Guardians and picket the opening of his new film.”
I’m not going to say that the writers of AD weren’t paying homage to Friar Ted, but the concept being lampooned is nothing original. It happens all the time in real life.
For instance, I remember an interview I did with David Chan, at the time one of the lead photographers for Playboy. He was telling me that at every college campus he goes to, there are always protests. And he loves it. How else are people going to know that Playboy is in town to find models?
I remember an episode of Car 54: Where Are You? that used this. Due to misunderstandings the department causes major controversy about a failing and particularly lame Broadway play that accidentally makes it both the most successful and most controversial show in years.
IIRC, Maeby was intentionally trying to cause controversy because the movie was, indubitably, a bomb.
In 1995, there was a “Rockford Files” TV movie in which Angel (Rockford’s criminal friend) was running a church, and selling his church’s services as attention-getting protesters to movie moguls who had movies that needed attention, which is pretty close to the AD plotline (Ann Veal wasn’t in on the scam but she was certainly helping Maebe by getting attention for “Dangerous Cousins”, and Maebe knew it)
