this is a rip off of the Australian tv show "The Games" ! hope the creators of "the Games" take these people to court!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165024/
I've never seen "The Games" so how does it compare? I hope it was funnier than
this first episode. The best part was the "countdown" clock.
Take them to court! LOL obviously you've never heard of a remake or a reinterpretation, if I had a pound for every US show that was "ripped off" based upon or inspired by a British original I'd be a rich man.
shareRemakes and reinterpretations are done with permission from the original creators. These crooks engaged Clarke and Dawe about an english version, got their input, then went ahead without them and without their consent.
Pure plagersim. The only thing that is different is that it is not as sharp.
Got to say that I would never have thought I would see the day that the english had to rip off comedy from Australia.
@ bohdia
Quoting you "These crooks engaged Clarke and Dawe about an english version, got their input, then went ahead without them and without their consent.
Pure plagersim. The only thing that is different is that it is not as sharp."
On what basis do you make this assertion. You seem very sure of yourself, yet you fail to indicate the source of your claim.
How do you know whether an agreement was made or not?
And to also allege plagerism, are you sure of this and do you have solid proof to support this claim?
My advice... be very careful!
Locked my wire coat-hanger in the car - good thing that I always carry spare keys in my pocket :)
On the basis that I, like alot of other people who had enjoyed "The Games", had been following the possibility of other series. After Sydney, Vancouver and London were really the first occasions for a new series as there would be no language or cultural barrier.
As far back as four years ago it was known that Clarke was looking at the idea of doing a Games series for London. He even had a short little clip on his website where he was waiting for the inspection of a grandstand at the atheletics warm up track in east london. This confirmed that something was in the works.
As we find out later they were approached by english producers about the show and in good faith, took the meeting. The rest of what happened is easily researched on he web.
The fact is, at the end of the day i'm not a contract lawyer and neither are you, which is where it would be if this was ever going to be settled.
Yet you don't need to be a contract lawyer to see plagerism in front of you.
I think it came down to the thought that the english public wouldn't swallow Australian's taking the piss out of them, but could take it if it were the english themselves, so they decided to ditch Clarke and Dawe.
The idea of taking the Mickey out of the behind the scenes 'delivery' of the Olympics was Australian.
Some British people did the same thing. But, none of the episodes bore any relation to the ideas in 'The Games'.
So, how is it a rip-off?
'Neighbours' is hardly a 'rip-off' of 'Coronation Street'!
You can read an account from one of the creators of The Games here:
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/45014.html
Rather than the BBC coming up with the idea independently, he says that his agent pitched the idea of an adaptation to the people who ended up producing an writing the UK show. They then found out that the BBC had decided to go ahead with the show without them.
So the two shows aren't exactly independent.
The Games was a great concept. I'm not sure whether the British would have had a similar idea without the idea first being put into practice by the Ozzies.
Now, if you are talking about the concept, then indeed you may be right. As for the programme itself, it is not a 'rip-off'.
The series is a mockumentary so in that case it rips off the creators of This is Spinal Tap.
However as London were awarded the 2012 Olympics and many people said it would be a shambles, I think making a programme about it does not seem to be a great stretch of the imagination.
Its that man again!!