# When the "A" brand rips off the "C" brand. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-a-brand-rips-off-the-c-brand/531367 "2010-03-05T01:56:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-a-brand-rips-off-the-c-brand/531367/1 "2010-03-05T01:56:32Z")
I have always like Modern Marvels. So much better than the Nazi/Martian slash fiction the History channel usually shows. But I just flipped past MM and saw they are doing a Start-to finish episode.(Which kind of feels like it is being floated as a new direction to the series. But it is totally a rip-off of _How it’s Made_, which I Also love(anybody else watch the 2 week marathon they had on Science channel a couple months ago, that was cool :)). However, How it’s made didn’t seem to make it on the A line-up for Discovery Channel. It got relegated to the Science channel which I think is their “C” channel. Modern Marvels is one of the mainstay big boys of the informational TV worlds. They get access to NASA and Air Force one and stuff that is restricted, because of their cache. As someone who has peripherally been associated with TV projects(all failures) it makes me Half-pissed and half-amused when the big guys rip off the little guys. ETA: How did it get formatted so annoyingly, I didn’t write it in Bullet point fashion. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-a-brand-rips-off-the-c-brand/531367/2 "2010-03-05T01:58:43Z")
IIRC, I am pretty sure that Modern Marvels has been running longer than How It’s Made. ETA: yep. [How It’s Made](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_It%27s_Made) premiered in 2001 [Modern Marvels](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Marvels) premiered in 1995 ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-a-brand-rips-off-the-c-brand/531367/3 "2010-03-05T02:06:01Z")
Sorry if I was unclear. I know MM has been around forever. But they are _now_ copying a lesser status show. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-a-brand-rips-off-the-c-brand/531367/4 "2010-03-05T06:35:31Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I have always like Modern Marvels. So much better than the Nazi/Martian slash fiction the History channel usually shows. I haven’t seen any. What time do they show it? I loves me some slash fiction, but have never seen Nazis paired with Martians before. Sounds interesting. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-a-brand-rips-off-the-c-brand/531367/5 "2010-03-05T09:04:32Z")
IMHO there’s no longer a great deal of difference between _Mythbusters_ and an older British show (starring Richard Hammond) called _Braniac: Science Abuse_. _Braniac_ was a little more upfront about the show’s aims (There was a section called _Explosive Of The Week_, if you were in any doubt), but MB appears to have swung very much towards “Here’s an improbable situation we read about on the interwebs. Let’s see if we can replicate it in some way that will involve an explosion!” ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-a-brand-rips-off-the-c-brand/531367/6 "2010-03-05T09:06:37Z")
Frankly I like the breadth and style of the Canadian Production over the other. One soothes, the other is bristly.