# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/61 "2004-06-01T14:42:04Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > So Hermione is Harry’s sister?!? :eek: Ixnay on the oilerspay! That’ll be supposed to be a big revelation 🙂 To futher the correspondance, let’s try: Ewoks=Gobby Mace Windu=Kingsley Shacklebolt Death Star=Avada Kevadra Episode 1=Quiddich Through the Ages OK, I’m probably pushing this too far. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/62 "2004-06-01T21:40:41Z")
**Tengu** I’d meant to post those same shows and response, but it slipped my mind. Let me add- Medabots Cubix Fighting Foodons the current incarnation of Megaman ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/63 "2004-06-01T23:40:20Z")
Another one, to me at least, was _Sliders_. It wasn’t a bad show for the first bit, but then it was like the writers ran out of ideas and just started ripping off science fiction movies. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/64 "2004-06-01T23:44:54Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Because it’s a completely different series in the same genre. The similarities are obvious, the dissimilarities equally so. > > Among other things, Digimon has an over-arching storyline in each season, which spans 2 worlds. I probably shouldn’t say this, but I found Digimon to be the better of the two shows. I haven’t had time to watch or record the last couple of seasons, though. (It was easier when I was in high school and Fox was showing cartoons in the afternoon.) Plus, from what I’ve read, the attempt to censor out everything even remotely Japanese seen in Pokemon didn’t happen in Digimon. I keep naively hoping that someone will buy out Saban’s American license or maybe it’ll come out subtitled somewhere else in R2, R3, or R4 so that I can actually buy it without having to pay the astronomical prices for the Japanese R2s. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/65 "2004-06-01T23:55:56Z")
**Asterion** What’s wrong with admitting that? **Esprix** is a Digimon fan. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/66 "2004-06-02T00:23:11Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I probably shouldn’t say this, but I found Digimon to be the better of the two shows. Oh, it was. And even better, it got better as it went on - taking the first few episodes of season 1 to find its feet, and then just improving with each arc, whereas Pokemon slid into mediocrity and then into awfulness. > [@](#): > > Plus, from what I’ve read, the attempt to censor out everything even remotely Japanese seen in Pokemon didn’t happen in Digimon. They certainly toned it down, at least. While the characters names were angicised, they kept the original Japanese names and made the anglicised versions nicknames. (Until Tamers, where they inexplicably renamed Ruki to Rika…) IE: Tai Kamiya is left unchanged (Actually, ‘Kamiya’ is a transliteration mistake, apparently. Should be Yagami.), his sister Hikari is nicknamed Kari, TK is Takaishi Takeru. A few Very Japanese parts were removed - not so much because they were **Japanese** and they didn’t think the viewers would get it, but more because certain things that you could get away with in Japan were just a little Too Much as far as the American adaptors were concerned - copious amounts of poop being recoloured pink and referred to simply as ‘goo’, for instance. And a few Digimon got renamed for the same reason - a lot of religious or demonic references were removed, and Revolvermon became Deputymon. On a different note a few names had their spelling/pronunciation changed to clarify the reference (subbing an English word for a Japanese one, expanding it back to the full word, etc), or to change them to less obscure ones…then there are the inexplicable namechanges like Tailmon becoming Gatomon, or Tapirmon becoming Bakumon. But, yeah, for the most part, Digimon got off unharmed. The list of changes looks a lot worse without the ‘what went unchanged’ list for context. > [@DocCathode](#): > > **Tengu** > > I’d meant to post those same shows and response, but it slipped my mind. Let me add- > Medabots > Cubix > … > the current incarnation of Megaman Ah, the Robot Collector/Trainer subgenre! Now that we’ve opened that can of worms up, let me throw in the Collector/Giant Robot crossover: Transformers: Armada. (I am 100% unfamiliar with Fighting Foodons, so I removed it from your list, since I can’t comment.) And I’ll throw in Angelic Layer, too. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/67 "2004-06-02T00:45:55Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Oh, it was. And even better, it got better as it went on - taking the first few episodes of season 1 to find its feet, and then just improving with each arc, whereas Pokemon slid into mediocrity and then into awfulness. Clearly not a May and Max fan. 🙂 Personally I’ve liked the series the entire way through (yes, that includes the Orange Island episodes), but that’s just me. I have nothing to add to the topic of this thread so I’ll stop now. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/68 "2004-06-02T00:57:28Z")
> [@Wolfian](#): > > Clearly not a May and Max fan. 🙂 Apparently they were added sometime after I gave up on the series (early in the Johto arc.) I always liked Team Rocket, but with the ‘heroes’ annoying me, and the stories getting increasingly lame…Jesse and James just weren’t enough to hold my interest. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/69 "2004-06-02T01:06:40Z")
As long as one third of Team Rocket is a babe in a miniskirt and thigh high boots, it will hold my attention for quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/70 "2004-06-02T02:18:14Z")
In 1995 there was a made-for-TV movie called _The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space_. It was about a guy who starred in a Buck Rogers-type TV show. The show was fictional of course, but aliens from a far-off planet had seen it, and they thought it was real. So, when these aliens were under attack by some evil aliens, they enlist “Captain Zoom” (in reality just an actor) to save them. In 1999 there was a movie called _Galaxy Quest_. It was about some people who starred in a Star Trek-type TV show. The show was fictional of course, but aliens from a far-off planet had seen it, and they thought it was real. So, when these aliens were under attack by some evil aliens, they enlist the “Galaxy Quest” crew (in reality just actors) to save them. Oh yeah, and in both movies, the good guys win. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/71 "2004-06-02T03:01:27Z")
Re: Babylon5. I believe that JMS did indeed say it was an homage to Tolkien. I either saw it in a print interview or at a sci fi convention, you can be dang sure that the question would be asked at a sci fi con. > [@HeyHomie](#): > > … > Hagrid: Furry, lovable oaf who saves the day. > Chewbacca: Furry, lovable oaf who saves the day. I wouldn’t call a wookie an “oaf” unless you aren’t very fond of your arms. _slaps forehead_ I’m such a geek. And for further proof of geekitude. The “superhero” being kidnapped and forced to be a gladiator was also an episode of Star Trek (Original Series). No, Kirk wasn’t technically a superhero but close enough. ---
**Author:** ![Sarcastro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sarcastro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarcastro)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/72 "2004-06-02T21:20:16Z")
> [@Tiramisu](#): > > Re: Babylon5. I believe that JMS did indeed say it was an homage to Tolkien. I either saw it in a print interview or at a sci fi convention, you can be dang sure that the question would be asked at a sci fi con. I definitely have read him saying that, so perhaps we read the same interview. In any case, it’s so spectacularly obvious that it would be tough to argue that he was hoping it wouldn’t be noticed (as he’d do if it were a “ripoff”). ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/73 "2004-06-02T23:01:38Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > The _Star Trek_ franchise has ripped itself off many times over the past four decades. Even the original was conceived as a _Wagon Train_ to the stars with a _Horatio Hornblower_ type as the lead. Yep. The first Star Trek movie was essentially a rehashing of the TV episode “The Changeling”. A friend of mine in college used to refer to the movie as “Where Nomad Has Gone Before”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/74 "2004-06-03T01:07:41Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > As long as one third of Team Rocket is a babe in a miniskirt and thigh high boots, it will hold my attention for quite a while. I always thought James was better looking than Jesse, but, hey… Then again, he’s almost as likely to be in a miniskirt and thigh-high boots… ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/75 "2004-06-03T12:04:15Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > _The Fast and The Furious_ is essentially a remake of _Point Break_ with Honda Civics instead of surfboards. As for _Alien_ ripping off the A.E. van Vogt story, I think the writer openly admitted that he had adapted the (public-domain?) works of van Vogt that he had loved as a kid. Huh? Nothing public-domain about van Vogt … I believe he’s still with us, and as entitled to copyright protections as the next guy. His well-publicised lawsuit against the makers of _Alien_ hinged on the idea of the creature implanting its eggs in a human host … which was an element of the van Vogt story “Discord in Scarlet” (which wound up being part of the fix-up novel _The Voyage of the Space Beagle_; I think “Black Destroyer” was also incorporated into that one, unless I’m mixing up two van Vogt stories in my head … ) ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972/76 "2004-06-03T15:48:09Z")
Universal Studios is famous for recycling. In 1969 there was a TV movie and pilot for a series called **The Lost Flight**. Lloyd Bridges is pilot of a trans pacific airliner. The plane runs into a storm,lightning strikes. the plane and it is thousands of miles off course. The plane crashes on an uncharted island and the surviving passengers must make do with no hope of rescue. It did not go to series. The crash footage and plot turned up in a}The Six Million Dollar Man. b} The Bionic Woman. and c} The Hardy Boys Mysterys!. ( Footage from AIrport 1975 was used in The Incredible Hulk, Airport 1977 became an episode of Airwolf.) ANd looking at this seasons fall Schedule. **Lost** a tv series about a trans pacific airliner which runs into a storm, is driven off course and crashes on an uncharted island with the surviving passengers with no hope of rescue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blatant-rip-offs-in-tv-and-movies/240972.md?page=3)