MovieChat Forums > Paradise (1988) Discussion > The Unsung series that was copied

The Unsung series that was copied


I love this show, and still watch the episodes I have on betamax and DVD.

It's always irritated me, though, how blatantly CBS copied Paradise when they were making Dr. Quinn. It couldn't have been more obvious of a ripoff. Atypical, powerful woman, check. Uncultured, protective hunky male, check. Oldest daughter to provide substitute mothering skills, check. Oldest male child, to become surrogate father figure and protector when said hunky male is alone, check. The only change was the career, and merging the two younger children, Ben and George, into one, Brian.

Am I the only one to notice this?

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Hi,
YES, I always said DR.QUINN was a copy of Paradise even the fact of all the kids too.
I sent you aP.Mbut not sure if you read them but I would limeto ask ifyou have GUNS OF PARADISE season 3, I need this as England never screened this season,so I wonder if you could help??

Regards
Sue
Lee Horsley collector for 23 years

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Yeah, I remember thinking the same thing way back when.

And it annoyed me because I loved Paradise, didn't really care for Quinn and it was the one that was the high profile hit.

http://yetanothertvreviewpodcast.blogspot.com/

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[deleted]

The relationship between Sully and Brian in the early episodes is identical to the relationship between John Taylor and Ben.

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[deleted]

Maybe having a female lead made "Dr. Quinn" seem more modern??? I think it would have been interesting if Ethan's love interest had been a female doctor instead of a banker. That would have made for some interesting conflict in their relationship. Amelia would have been on his case even more than she already was.

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[deleted]

It's not like Paradise was completely original, itself, particularly the notion of a single man getting strapped with orphaned kids. That was done in the Disney movie, The Apple Dumpling Gang.

As for Dr. Quinn, the network originally wanted a period series that would appeal to a wide audience demographic, thus, character types that men, women and kids could identify with. This I was told by show insiders. Saying that it was a rip-off of Paradise is a bit of a stretch. Yes, there are similarities. That's the television world. Many things get "recycled" or re-imagined. There's not a whole lot that it completely original. Both shows stand on their own with their own individual appeal and merits. Quite clearly, Dr. Quinn touched a cord with many people and had a passionate following. Still does years after the show was cancelled. I'm sure Paradise would gain new fans if only it were available for viewing somewhere.

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yes a lot of the similarities can be dismissed as Western archetypes

what makes them stand out is that:

1. the two shows were only separated by 18 months GoP ended May of 91, DQ:MW launched January 93 and

2. aired on the same network (same night?) Plus

3. if I recall GoP was 'sold' to the fans based on Horsley's past TV work and DQ:MW was sold based on Seymour's film career...

so that is three or 4 non genre similarities you can add to the scale in favor of the argument that they are 'clones'... If ABC/NBC (Fox wasn't a player at the time) had launched a series with as many similarities while either show was on the air it'd have been treated as a copy

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Actually, I found it interesting that the actors who played Ben Carroll on Paradise and Sully on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman have the same last name. I often wondered if the two were related, since it isn't a very common name.

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I thought I was the only one who noticed the similarities between these two series! Glad to find out I'm not.

Paradise was terrific, and very underappreciated. The episode that stands out most in my mind was the allegory about Death, played by Joseph Campanella, coming to town, and John Taylor immediately recognized him and welcomed him and told him he was ready to go with him. But...Death hadn't come for John Taylor, he....well, you'll have to see the episode yourself.

Dr. Quinn, on the other hand, was Jane Seymour's baby start to finish, as star, producer, and wife of the director. And she was a big movie and tv movie star, so CBS promoted that show more, and even gave that show credit for "bringing back Saturday nights" on their network and on network tv in general. Well, they gave her credit for it until they abruptly cancelled it.

Please don't ever wish that a show will turn up on The Hallmark Channel, though! They butcher the shows, sometimes removing the secondary story entirely. I've seen them do it with Christy, The High Chaparral, and Here Come the Brides. The first time they show an episode, it is already cut. By the second time, it is c*strated. I was not sorry when The Hallmark Channel was removed from the basic cable lineup - and I couldn't believe that they would actually consider themselves a premium station, when they destroy the series that they show there!

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As a retired special effects man( although not listed on any credits along with Richard"Boom-Boom" Johnson) who worked on Guns of Paradise from Sept.'89-April '91,I agree that Dr.Quinn was a copy . Many DQMW shows had some of the
similar story lines of GOP. I was shocked and upset to see GPO shut down and DQMW start up so soon. I lived about 10 minutes from the Disney "Golden Oaks Ranch "in Newhall, Calif. where exterior shots for Paradise were filmed. It was a great pleasure to have worked on the show with beautiful exterior locations and so many tallented people from the film crew to the top executive producers.
I was able to tape all of the shows that I worked on in VHS format and still enjoy watching them when I get the time.

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