# Blatant rip-offs in TV and Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972 "2004-04-20T04:26:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/1 "2004-04-20T04:26:47Z")
Have you ever watched a movie or TV show and heard something said, or seen something done, that’s exactly the same as what somebody else said or did on another show/special/movie? I’ll give an example. Actually, I had two, but for the life of me, I can’t remember the other one ☹ . A long time ago, on an episode of night court, a woman was pregnant. I can’t remember if it was Christine or just someone who appeared on that episode. Anyway, she’s going into labor, and Bull starts cheer leading “Push him out, shove him out, waaaayyy out!” And I’m watching, thinking to myself, hey! That’s a blatant rip-off of a routine from **Bill Cosby Himself** :mad: . So, have any of you noticed any rip-offs yourself? And if so, what were they? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/2 "2004-04-20T05:47:40Z")
That new movie with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore looks like it should be _You’ve Got Mail 2_. ---
**Author:** ![hightechburrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f6c823/32.png) [@hightechburrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hightechburrito)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/3 "2004-04-20T05:55:45Z")
SNL ripped off Family Guy in the episode where Peter becomes head of the cigarette company. The part where he asks if Dick Armey’s wife is name Vagina Coastgaurd, SNL used the same line on a Hardball skit. ---
**Author:** ![AveDementia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@AveDementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AveDementia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/4 "2004-04-20T09:50:17Z")
I saw a comedian once do a little routine that was word-for-word identical to a story out of the first issue of Fat Freddy’s Cat, a comic book about a pot smoker hippy type and his cat. The punch line was the cat saying, “Wait till he puts on his stereo headphones,” because he (the cat) had just crapped on them in revenge. I wasn’t very impressed, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/5 "2004-04-20T13:09:20Z")
What about “Alien” being a complete rip-off of “It, the Terror from Beyond Space”? Alien on board, picks off crew, killed by outgassing the spaceship. I cringed in the theatre when I realized where the story was heading. Only thing Alien had goinf for it was a damn cool alien. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/6 "2004-04-20T13:14:36Z")
Everyone loves Forrest, but why does no one care That this same plot was used before in a film called “Being There?” Oh, Gump the magic movie please disappear Cause stupid is as stupid does, this picture of the year… from Gerard Alessandrini’s “Forbidden Hollywood.” ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/7 "2004-04-20T13:28:58Z")
Years ago I went to a comedy club in Sydney and sat behind a table of people who, I later discovered, were comedians/writers. For three quarters of the acts that performed this group would discuss who each joke was “stolen” from. It was quite bizarre - a comedian would begin riffing about something and these guys would look at one another and whisper “Cosby…To Russell”. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/8 "2004-04-20T13:38:59Z")
Well, as every review has pointed out, Nia Vardalos’ new movie _Connie and Carla_ is nothing more than _Victor/Victoria_ and _Some Like It Hot_ put into a blender. ---
**Author:** ![waits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df788c/32.png) [@waits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waits)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/9 "2004-04-20T19:31:55Z")
When I was a kid back in the '70s (lo these many years ago!), there was a TV producer named Glen Larson who was often accused of taking successful movies and “adapting” them for television without crediting the original source. Now, far be it from me to level these same accusations, but some examples: The 1968 film _Coogan’s Bluff_ concerns an Arizona sheriff who goes to New York City to track down a criminal. In 1970, Larson produced _McCloud_, a show about a New Mexico sheriff assigned to a New York City police precinct. In 1969, _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ was a big hit about two likable outlaws who try to put their past behind them. In 1971, Larson produced _Alias Smith and Jones_, a show about about two likable outlaws who try to win an amnesty from the governor by staying out of trouble for a year. In 1978, Clint Eastwood starred in _Every Which Way But Loose_ as a trucker with a pet orangutan. Larson’s 1979 show _B.J. and the Bear_ was about a trucker and his pet chimpanzee. But the one that really caused people to comment on the trend was when Larson came out with _Battlestar Galactica_ in 1978, about a group of rebels in a galaxy far, far away fighting against an evil empire. Seems there was a big hit movie about a year earlier that had a very similar theme. Coincidence? You be the judge. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/10 "2004-04-20T20:30:10Z")
I had an english teacher who told me that there’s been nothing original since Shakespeare. The most recent one I can think of is _Mona Lisa Smile_ which can be easily (and has been) compared to _Dead Poets Society_. For all I know the writers had every intention of doing a remake (with a few twists) of dead poets society. This sort of thing never bothers me though. They lose a few points on originality I suppose but I’m always curious about another artists take on a subject. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/11 "2004-04-20T20:42:03Z")
> [@drm](#): > > I had an english teacher who told me that there’s been nothing original since Shakespeare. She only went back as far as Shakespeare? Even Old Willie got most of his plots from Ovid’s _Metamorphoses_ and history. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/12 "2004-04-20T21:20:56Z")
There was an episode of _Quantum Leap_ that had a scene straight out of the movie _Always_. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/13 "2004-04-20T21:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Lisa-go-Blind_ > She only went back as far as Shakespeare? Even Old Willie got most of his plots from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and history. It _was_ just high school english. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/14 "2004-04-20T22:20:16Z")
This may not be in the same category, but I was once a little shocked and appalled when i realized the panel of one comic book I was reading had literally been photocopied from a rival company’s comic book. And it wasn’t a parody or anything like that. All I can assume is the artist thought it would be too hard to draw a guy in a hospital bed hooked up to tubes and machines and such, so he just swiped someone else’s image. Yeah, it was a cheap ass independent stealing form another cheap ass independent, but still, that seemed awfully lazy and nervy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/15 "2004-04-20T22:37:35Z")
My least loved rip off; and every show is history has done it at least once. The “very special” Christmas show that turns out to be some sort of version of Dicken’s Christmas Carol. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/16 "2004-04-20T22:55:08Z")
John Grisham’s _A Time To Kill_ was a blatant rip-off of the movie _Anatomy of a Murder_. In _Anatomy of a Murder_, a popular citizen of a small town attempts to rape the beautiful wife of a soldier. The husband goes out and kills the would-be rapist, and is subsequently put on trial for murder. An idealistic attorney is called upon to defend the husband, and uses the strategy of claiming temporary insanity. In _A Time to Kill_, a couple of good-ol-boys in a small town rape and beat a little black girl. Her father goes out and kills the rapists, and is subsequently put on trial for murder. An idealistic attorney is called upon to defend the father, and uses the strategy of claiming temporary insanity. It’s been a while since I’ve seen either movie, but there were far more parallels between the two than just these. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/17 "2004-04-21T00:41:33Z")
> [@Helena](#): > > There was an episode of _Quantum Leap_ that had a scene straight out of the movie _Always_. Several episodes of _Quantum Leap_ were remakes or responses to popular movies. There was a version of “Driving Miss Daisy,” and another that was David Belisario’s response to Oliver Stone’s “JFK.” ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/18 "2004-04-21T01:41:48Z")
Anyone else remember that show _Seven Days_, from a couple of years ago? They ripped off _everything_. I mean EVERYTHING! From _The Abyss_, to _Species_, to _Rain Man_…I think they even did _Fail Safe_ and _Night at Camp David._ ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/19 "2004-04-21T01:51:01Z")
An earlier thread on the subject: > **[Was (this) inspired by (that)? Similar plots in movies/TV](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=241085)** > > Occasionally I’ll see a common theme from two unrelated sources and I’ll wonder: Did the makers of movie/TV show X take their inspiration from earlier movie/TV show Y? For example, was Lost In Space (a family journeying through space in a... ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/20 "2004-04-21T01:51:21Z")
Does the new movie with Jennifer Garner… **13 going on 30** look familiar? Anyone remember **Big**? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972.md?page=2)