# Different movies and TV programs with the same names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843 "2008-06-05T04:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/21 "2008-06-05T23:08:11Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Bob Sagets “The Aristrocrats” and Disney’s “The Aristrocats” are the prime example. [/QUOTE] Nitpick: there’s ample room for confusion arising from a difference of one _r_ without introducing two more. _The Aristocrats_ v. _The Aristocats_. ---
**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 5, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/22 "2008-06-05T23:20:12Z")
There’s a whole slew of movies called The Kid… Four examples… The most famous, 1921’s Charlie Chaplin movie (featuring Jackie ‘Uncle Fester’ Coogan as the title kid). A 1997 made in Canada movie about a boxer. A 2000 Bruce Willis crapfest. A very vulgar 2001 animated flick with an all-star cast and created by Gahan Wilson. (Advertised by TMN as the Willis movie a few times… I wonder how many people got a nasty surprise…) ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/23 "2008-06-05T23:31:40Z")
[Waking the Dead](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127349), a 2000 US movie starring Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly, about a guy haunted by visions of his past love. Or something: I’ve never seen it. 😛 [Waking the Dead](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259733/), a 2000-2008+ UK crime drama on TV starring Trevor Eve and Sue Johnston, focusing on a cold case police squad. I have seen this one (and think it’s great). ---
**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:** [June 6, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/24 "2008-06-06T00:56:15Z")
**The General** – a Buster Keaton comedy **[The General](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120706/)** – the story of a Dublin crime boss. The title was also used on some obscure films. **[The Inspector General](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041509/)** – a Danny Kaye Comedy **[The Inspector General](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045084/)** – US Title of a couple of movies based on the Nicholai Gogol play. **[Hero](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104412/)** – Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, and Andy Garcia in a film about a man who becomes a media hero after a plane crash. **[Hero](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/)** – A Jet Li martial arts film. The IMDB lists several others with that name. **[Bon Voyage!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055807/)** – a Fred McMurray comedy. **[Bon Voyage](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310778/)** – A thriller about a scientist trying to escape Vichy France before the Nazis find him and his knowledge of heavy water. **[Bon Voyage](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310778/)** – a TV miniseries thriller. **[Bon Voyage](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036659/)** – a wartime semi-propaganda short film by Alfred Hitchcock. **[Bon Voyage](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216586/)** – a TV adaptation of a Noel Coward play. Additional films listed in the IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/25 "2008-06-06T03:10:53Z")
1966 brought Jack Palance and Lee Marvin to the big screen in [The Professionals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Professionals_(film)). Meanwhile, 1977 brought big hair and tight trousers to British TVs in [The Professionals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Professionals_(TV_series)). ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/26 "2008-06-06T03:17:16Z")
[QUOTE=TV time] Also in the early '80s, there was a television program called **ER** starring Elliot Gould. It was a comedy not unlike **Night Court** taking place in an Emergency Room. Other than the name and taking place in an emergency room, there was no similarity. [/QUOTE] No similarity other than George Clooney being on both shows. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/27 "2008-06-06T04:26:29Z")
[Chocolat](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094868/) (1988), a rich, dark, bittersweet confection directed by Claire Denis and based on her childhood in colonial French Cameroon, a few years prior to independence. [Chocolat](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241303/) (2000), a sweet (but at times cloyingly so) treat with a by-the-numbers plot, starring Juliette Binoche and with Johnny Depp in a small but heavily-advertised role. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/28 "2008-06-06T05:06:39Z")
[_Employee of the Month_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362590/) - a 2004 workplace comedy that starred Matt Dillon, Steve Zahn, and Christina Applegate. [_Employee of the Month_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424993/) - a 2006 workplace comedy that starred Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, and Dax Shepard. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/29 "2008-06-06T05:20:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Before today’s Lost, there was a short-lived reality series of the same name. Premiered just before 9/11, and The Amazing Race ate its lunch. Ironically, before there was a popular reality show called _Survivor_ (from the same producer who made _The Amazing Race_), there was a science fiction series called _Survivors_. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/30 "2008-06-06T05:48:02Z")
[QUOTE=Neidhart] Before today’s _Lost_, there was a short-lived [reality series](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0292816/) of the same name. Premiered just before 9/11, and The Amazing Race ate its lunch. [/QUOTE] Which is too bad, because from what little I know of both, _Lost_ seemed better. _The Amazing Race_ seems more geared towards “gimmicky challenges”, whereas _Lost_ seemed more like a “you are dropped off in the middle of nowhere, have fun getting back” type of scenario. Wikipedia seems to back me up: > [@](#): > > The premise was similar to The Amazing Race, except the three two-member teams knew only the final destination (thousands of miles away) and were given only a backpack full of clothes and other essentials. In addition, team members were not acquainted with one another prior to the show, and were assigned to teams. Contestants were blindfolded and dropped off in the desert of an unknown country to find their way back to the US. Seriously, how fucking cool would that be? You have no idea where the _fuck_ you are, other than “a desert,” and you have to find your way back to the US/UK. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/31 "2008-06-06T06:56:41Z")
[QUOTE=TV time] Also in the early '80s, there was a television program called **ER** starring Elliot Gould. It was a comedy not unlike **Night Court** taking place in an Emergency Room. Other than the name and taking place in an emergency room, there was no similarity. [/QUOTE] Technically, it was called **E/R**. At least that’s how it was shown on the title screen (I was watching some episodes a month or so ago). Not only was George Clooney in both _E/R_ and _ER_, but I also found it an amusing coincidence that Jason Alexander was a major supporting character in _E/R_, whose lead character was named Sheinfeld. edit: I see I’ve been beaten to my first point by **Annie X-Mas**. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/32 "2008-06-06T09:13:21Z")
[QUOTE=BiblioCat] No similarity other than George Clooney being on both shows. 😛 [/QUOTE] Ahem. Post #2. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843.md?page=1)