Follow the Leader/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

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* ''[[~~Sesame Street (TV)|~~Sesame Street]]'' is such a strong leader that it inspires rivals and hurts its own viewership.

* ''[[Sesame Street]]'' is such a strong leader that it inspires rivals and hurts its own viewership.

* ''[[CSI]]'' precipitated a host of forensic science shows involving (to quote the show) "beautiful people doing high-tech crime work", even to the point that shows ''not'' inherently about forensics now spend more time on the subject (e.g. the medical examiner on ''[[Law and Order]]: Special Victims Unit'').

** ''[[CSI]]'' itself was inspired by an earlier wave of forensic-science documentaries, on channels like Discovery and Court TV.

** ''[[Quincy]]''.

* ''[[Survivor]]'' opened the floodgates of competitive [[Reality TV]] in the early Noughties.

* ''[[Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?]]'' and ''Pop Idol'' inspired scads of [[Who Wants to Be Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?|prime-time million-dollar quiz shows]] and talent contests, respectively:

* ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]'' and ''Pop Idol'' inspired scads of [[Who Wants to Be Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?|prime-time million-dollar quiz shows]] and talent contests, respectively:

** The former always has dramatic lighting, bombastic music, [[Commercial Break Cliffhanger|Commercial Break Cliffhangers]] and a huge cash jackpot. Even stalwarts like ''[[Wheel of Fortune]]'' have found ways to offer a $1,000,000 prize.

*** This whole genre is called [[Who Wants to Be Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?]]

*** This whole genre is called [[Who Wants to Be Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]

** The latter which tend to always have a blunt English guy, a sympathetic woman, and some third wheel, most likely a 'cool' guy.

* The heavily character-driven, strangers-in-a-strange-land suspense formula of ''[[~~Lost (TV)|~~Lost]]'' inspired plenty of other shows, such as ''[[Invasion]]'', ''[[Jericho]]'', ''[[Heroes (TV)|Heroes]]'', ''Surface'', and ''[[Threshold]]''. Many of which were cancelled before they barely even began to delve in their [[Myth Arc]]. Coincidentally, there is a ''Lost'' episode titled "Follow the Leader."

* The heavily character-driven, strangers-in-a-strange-land suspense formula of ''[[Lost]]'' inspired plenty of other shows, such as ''[[Invasion]]'', ''[[Jericho]]'', ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', ''Surface'', and ''[[Threshold]]''. Many of which were cancelled before they barely even began to delve in their [[Myth Arc]]. Coincidentally, there is a ''Lost'' episode titled "Follow the Leader."

** After ''Lost'''s finale, a slew of new shows have started claiming to be "the next Lost" in order to round up the Lost fans looking for something new to watch. ''[[Flash Forward]]'', ''[[V-2009]]'', and ''[[The Event]]'' have both tried rather unsuccessfully to take Lost's place and new programs ''[[~~Stargate Universe (TV)|~~Stargate Universe]]'', Riverworld, and Terra Nova are making the attempt as well.

** After ''Lost'''s finale, a slew of new shows have started claiming to be "the next Lost" in order to round up the Lost fans looking for something new to watch. ''[[Flash Forward]]'', ''[[V-2009]]'', and ''[[The Event]]'' have both tried rather unsuccessfully to take Lost's place and new programs ''[[Stargate Universe]]'', Riverworld, and Terra Nova are making the attempt as well.

** The concept was sent up in a ''[[Mad TV]]'' skit. "You'll be asking yourself questions like, 'Who's the girl with the glasses, and why does she have scales on her leg?'"

** Lost was blatantly copied (in the vein of an [[The Asylum|Asylum film]]) by 2010's "Dark Island". A science team (totally not the freighties) is sent to deal with zombies and a SMOKE MONSTER on a mysterious island.

** JJ Abrams had already created a fair amount of the concept with his earlier ''[[Alias (TV)|Alias]]''.

** JJ Abrams had already created a fair amount of the concept with his earlier ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]''.

*** This goes all the way back to ''[[The Prisoner]]'', and maybe even before.

*** ''[[The Prisoner]]'' is the earliest inspiration, and ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' was the ''direct'' inspiration. ''[[Northern Exposure]]'' and ''[[The X Files]]'' also took a lot of notes from ''[[Twin Peaks]]'''s diary.

*** ''[[The Prisoner]]'' is the earliest inspiration, and ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' was the ''direct'' inspiration. ''[[Northern Exposure]]'' and ''[[The X-Files]]'' also took a lot of notes from ''[[Twin Peaks]]'''s diary.

* ''[[Friends]]'' resulted in a continuing string of ensemble [[~~Sit Com|~~Sitcom]]/[[Soap Opera|Soap Operas]], set in the city and populated by ([[Dawson Casting|supposedly]]) 20-somethings.

* ''[[Friends]]'' resulted in a continuing string of ensemble [[Sitcom]]/[[Soap Opera|Soap Operas]], set in the city and populated by ([[Dawson Casting|supposedly]]) 20-somethings.

** One might argue the Friends was one of the ensemble Sitcoms inspired by ''[[Seinfeld]]''. As George says in one scene set in Monk's coffee shop, "Every sitcom today just has four morons sitting around telling each other how bad their day was." Another would be ''Mad About You'' which co-creator Paul Reiser pitched to NBC as "Seinfeld, but Married".

** Among the ''Friends''-inspired: ''[[Partners]]'', a rather similar show about the lives, loves, and careers of 20somethings; ''[[Coupling]]'' (the British ''Friends''); and later possibly ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''.

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*** ''[[Beetleborgs]]'' absolutely TROUNCED ''[[Power Rangers]]'' in ratings and toy sales for both seasons it aired, and was only canceled due to exorbitantly high production costs and a lack of additional source footage. [[Cousin Oliver|Justin]] got introduced so Power Rangers could leech off the success of its own imitator; this didn't work so well.

** ''[[Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters From Beverly Hills]]'' is what you get when you rely entirely on your own footage.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmhRKU5zBS8\]

** [[Super Sentai]] itself is guilty of this. ''[[Mahou Sentai Magiranger]]'' (''[[Power Rangers Mystic Force]]'') was a fairly obvious cash-in on ''[[Harry Potter]]'', and the [[Pirate]] theme of the new series ''[[~~Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (TV)|~~Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger]]'' is cashing in on ''[[One Piece]]''.

** [[Super Sentai]] itself is guilty of this. ''[[Mahou Sentai Magiranger]]'' (''[[Power Rangers Mystic Force]]'') was a fairly obvious cash-in on ''[[Harry Potter]]'', and the [[Pirate]] theme of the new series ''[[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger]]'' is cashing in on ''[[One Piece]]''.

* Thanks to the success of ''[[Even Stevens]]'' and ''[[Lizzie ~~Mcguire~~]]'', and the eventual stardom of both shows' leads, [[Disney Channel]] is saturated with wacky, [[Stock Sound Effects|stock sound effect]]-laden children's [[~~Sit Com~~|sitcoms]] and shows with preppy [[High School]] settings.

* Thanks to the success of ''[[Even Stevens]]'' and ''[[Lizzie McGuire]]'', and the eventual stardom of both shows' leads, [[Disney Channel]] is saturated with wacky, [[Stock Sound Effects|stock sound effect]]-laden children's [[Sitcom|sitcoms]] and shows with preppy [[High School]] settings.

** Disney is actually quite the repeat offender. Apparently it comes written into all of their female tweenage stars' contracts that they will get to release a high-profit CD of cookie-cutter bubblegum pop music within two years of the show's inception, complete with overpriced tie-in merchandise. For examples, see Hilary Duff, [[Hannah Montana]], and The Cheetah Girls.

*** Before that was Annette Funicello and Hayley Mills, in [[The Sixties]]. "Tall Paul" or "We Belong Together", anyone?! Uncle Walt himself began the whole shpiel, to capitalize on the success of Ricky Nelson.

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*** Also with the Jonas Brothers.

** Almost every actress to come from Disney will be the [[Hilary Duff]] or [[Miley Cyrus]] model while looking like a previous star to boot! Nicole Anderson is a clone of [[Demi Lovato]], who along with [[Selena Gomez]], is a [[Vanessa Hudgens]] lookalike. Tiffany Thornton, [[Chelsea Staub]], and [[Bridgit Mendler]] are ringers for [[Ashley Tisdale]] (who is a Hilary Duff lookalike), and so forth. The Ultimate clone is [[Debby Ryan]], who is Miley Cyrus with Selena Gomez's facial features.

* Despite being cancelled years ago, ''[[~~Jackass (TV)|~~Jackass]]'' still has copies around, including ''Dirty Sanchez'', ''Crazy Monkey'', ''Rad Girls'', and the Finnish series ''Extreme Duudsonit'' (which actually came [[Older Than They Think|before Jackass]]).

* Despite being cancelled years ago, ''[[Jackass]]'' still has copies around, including ''Dirty Sanchez'', ''Crazy Monkey'', ''Rad Girls'', and the Finnish series ''Extreme Duudsonit'' (which actually came [[Older Than They Think|before Jackass]]).

** Even the ''stars'' of [[~~Jackass (TV)|~~Jackass]] have started to clone their own show, with Steve-O and Pontius' "Jackass, but with animals" show ''Wildboyz'' and Bam Margera's "Jackass, but a reality show" ''Viva La Bam''.

** Even the ''stars'' of [[Jackass]] have started to clone their own show, with Steve-O and Pontius' "Jackass, but with animals" show ''Wildboyz'' and Bam Margera's "Jackass, but a reality show" ''Viva La Bam''.

** Some of the ''Jackass'' guys helped produce an English language version of ''Extreme Duudsonit'' - which they list as the primary influence for ''[[~~Jackass (TV)|~~Jackass]]'' - for an American audience. The resulting show - called ''The Dudesons'' - was cancelled by Spike TV after only a couple of episodes, mostly because people didn't watch it because they thought it was a spineless Finnish ''Jackass'' clone.

** Some of the ''Jackass'' guys helped produce an English language version of ''Extreme Duudsonit'' - which they list as the primary influence for ''[[Jackass]]'' - for an American audience. The resulting show - called ''The Dudesons'' - was cancelled by Spike TV after only a couple of episodes, mostly because people didn't watch it because they thought it was a spineless Finnish ''Jackass'' clone.

*** ''Jackass'' itself was derived in part from the character off Super Dave Osborne, a [[The Parody|parody]] of 1970s stuntmen like Evel Kneivel, played by comedian Bob Einstein. Einstein himself detests ''Jackass'', pointing out in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa-Otn02mtY this interview] that ''Jackass'' is tragically easy to imitate, while the stunts he pulled were a lot harder for viewers to copy.

* ''[[The X Files]]'' inspired a number of series featuring alien invasions and supernatural hoohah, such as ''[[Dark Skies]]''.

* ''[[The X-Files]]'' inspired a number of series featuring alien invasions and supernatural hoohah, such as ''[[Dark Skies]]''.

** The success of ''[[The X Files]]'' mythology perhaps also inspired series, such as ''[[~~Twenty Four|~~24]]'' and ''[[Lost]]'', that used serialized storylines, which in turn led to more serialized thriller shows such as ''[[Prison Break]]'', ''[[Kidnapped ~~(TV)~~]]'', ''Vanished'', ''Reunion'', and ''[[Heroes (TV)|Heroes]]'', along with a few that ''also'' borrowed the alien invasion premise as well: ''[[Invasion]]'', ''Surface'', and ''[[Threshold]]''. Most of these series failed due to people being unable (or unwilling) to keep up with so many different ongoing stories -- and also due to generally being not very good.

** The success of ''[[The X-Files]]'' mythology perhaps also inspired series, such as ''[[24]]'' and ''[[Lost]]'', that used serialized storylines, which in turn led to more serialized thriller shows such as ''[[Prison Break]]'', ''[[Kidnapped]]'', ''Vanished'', ''Reunion'', and ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', along with a few that ''also'' borrowed the alien invasion premise as well: ''[[Invasion]]'', ''Surface'', and ''[[Threshold]]''. Most of these series failed due to people being unable (or unwilling) to keep up with so many different ongoing stories -- and also due to generally being not very good.

** There were tons of shows in Japan of this type long before X-Files. In 1964, we have Ultra Q, greatly involving Kaiju. Then, in 1968, two series: Operation Mystery (probably the most like X-Files out of the three) and Mighty Jack ([[Macekre|the movie]] was lampooned in [[~~MST3K~~]]). All 3three are made by the same company.

** There were tons of shows in Japan of this type long before X-Files. In 1964, we have Ultra Q, greatly involving Kaiju. Then, in 1968, two series: Operation Mystery (probably the most like X-Files out of the three) and Mighty Jack ([[Macekre|the movie]] was lampooned in [[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]). All 3three are made by the same company.

* While the degree to which ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'' was inspired by/ripped off ''[[~~Babylon Five|~~Babylon 5]]'' is controversial ([[Fandom Rivalry|to say the least]]), there is less doubt that the former's "Dominion War" [[Story Arc|arc]] was inspired by the latter's intricate [[Myth Arc]] (although only the most rabid partisans of ''Babylon 5'' would claim that ''Deep Space Nine'' ripped it off outright). The ''B5'' myth arc was in turn inspired by story arcs used in foreign television series, and combining it with a long-time comic-book fan's [[Continuity Porn|love of continuity]] to take the concept [[Up to Eleven]].

* While the degree to which ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' was inspired by/ripped off ''[[Babylon 5]]'' is controversial ([[Fandom Rivalry|to say the least]]), there is less doubt that the former's "Dominion War" [[Story Arc|arc]] was inspired by the latter's intricate [[Myth Arc]] (although only the most rabid partisans of ''Babylon 5'' would claim that ''Deep Space Nine'' ripped it off outright). The ''B5'' myth arc was in turn inspired by story arcs used in foreign television series, and combining it with a long-time comic-book fan's [[Continuity Porn|love of continuity]] to take the concept [[Up to Eleven]].

* The success of the pithy, sarcastic ''[[Judge Judy]]'' spawned a whole slew of pithy, sarcastic judge shows: ''Judge Mathis'', ''Judge Joe Brown'', [[Playboy]] Channel's ''Judge Julie'' etc. Even the venerable ''The People's Court'' replaced Judge Wapner with a sarcastic, saucy Latina (after brief stints by former New York Mayor Ed Koch and Judge Judy's husband). To be fair, Jerry Sheindlin was a judge in his own right.

** The ''People's Court'' revival was originally planned as a vehicle for [[wikipedia:O. J. Simpson trial|Lance Ito]], who wisely declined.

* The ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' TV series was followed by a slew of modern-day [[Monster of the Week]] fantasy series (''[[~~Charmed (TV)|~~Charmed]]'', ''[[Supernatural]]'', ''[[Reaper]]'', and a number of others) as well as helping to spark a resurgence of action series with [[Action Girl|female leads]], though arguably the somewhat earlier ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' was more of a trendsetter in that field.

* The ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' TV series was followed by a slew of modern-day [[Monster of the Week]] fantasy series (''[[Charmed]]'', ''[[Supernatural]]'', ''[[Reaper]]'', and a number of others) as well as helping to spark a resurgence of action series with [[Action Girl|female leads]], though arguably the somewhat earlier ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' was more of a trendsetter in that field.

** It also inspired a lot of [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save ~~The~~ World]] series. ''[[Smallville]]'', ''[[Roswell]]'', and ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' being chief among them.

** It also inspired a lot of [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World]] series. ''[[Smallville]]'', ''[[Roswell]]'', and ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' being chief among them.

** It also had an influence on the revival of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', although Rose did not engage in any roundhouse kicks.

** It also helped kick off a revival of vampire movies, particularly ''Underworld''.

* ''[[Merlin (TV)|Merlin]]'' is quite an astonishingly direct emulation of the premise and format of ''[[Smallville]]'', to the point where most of the characters are even [[Expy|expys]] of the parent show's cast. Not that that's to say it's a bad show, just that it's clearly following the leader.

* ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' is quite an astonishingly direct emulation of the premise and format of ''[[Smallville]]'', to the point where most of the characters are even [[Expy|expys]] of the parent show's cast. Not that that's to say it's a bad show, just that it's clearly following the leader.

* The show ''[[Sliders]]'' became rather sad in its third season, as it started following any leader that presented itself, with episodes that were little more than cheap ripoffs of the movies ''[[Twister]]'', ''Nightmare on Elm Street'', ''Tremors'', ''[[Jurassic Park]]'', and ''The Island of Dr. Moreau''.

* After the publication of ''The World Without Us'', we've had not one, but ''two'' TV adaptations, released within three months of each other: ''Life After People'' and ''Aftermath: Population Zero''.

* Probably the most incredible chain of such events: ''[[The Sopranos]]'' was [[X Meets Y|Goodfellas: The Series]]. ''[[Deadwood]]'' was "''[[The Sopranos]]'' in the Old West", ''[[Rome]]'' was "''[[Deadwood]]'' in Ancient Rome", and ''The Tudors'' was "''[[Rome]]'' in Tudor England". Surprisingly, the quality of all of these shows vary only [[So Cool Its Awesome|from good to excellent]].

** Then the trend became "gritty expensive TV series in a historical setting with lotsa blood, sex and [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]" including ''[[Mad Men]]'', ''[[Boardwalk Empire]]'', ''[[Spartacus Blood and Sand]]'', ''[[The Pillars of the Earth]]'', ''[[The Borgias]]'', ''[[Camelot (TV)|Camelot]]'', ''[[~~Game of Thrones (TV)|~~Game of Thrones]]''...

** Then the trend became "gritty expensive TV series in a historical setting with lotsa blood, sex and [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]" including ''[[Mad Men]]'', ''[[Boardwalk Empire]]'', ''[[Spartacus: Blood and Sand]]'', ''[[The Pillars of the Earth]]'', ''[[The Borgias]]'', ''[[Camelot (TV series)|Camelot]]'', ''[[Game of Thrones]]''...

* There were so many similarities to ''[[~~Cold Squad (TV)|~~Cold Squad]]'' when ''[[~~Cold Case (TV)|~~Cold Case]]'' debuted that the makers of the former took the latter to court.

* There were so many similarities to ''[[Cold Squad]]'' when ''[[Cold Case]]'' debuted that the makers of the former took the latter to court.

* ''[[Myth Busters]]'' inspired a number of popular science shows and launched the [[Experiment Show]] genre. Fans complain that many of its decendents, like ''[[Brainiac Science Abuse]]'', simply don't match it in terms of quality. Or explosions. Or, for that matter, quality ''of'' explosions.

** One of the more popular sucessors was ''[[Time Warp]]'' which takes the viewers' glee at watching things in slow-motion on the high-speed cameras, but keeps the material fresh by using more than just [[Stuff Blowing Up]]. ([[Carried By the Host|And the hosts are far more entertaining than some of those other failed shows.]])

** One of the more popular sucessors was ''[[Time Warp]]'' which takes the viewers' glee at watching things in slow-motion on the high-speed cameras, but keeps the material fresh by using more than just [[Stuff Blowing Up]]. ([[Carried by the Host|And the hosts are far more entertaining than some of those other failed shows.]])

* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' inspired many an inferior imitator (although to be fair the original set an extremely high standard.) Some were pretty good: ''The [[Kids in The Hall]]'' was an excellent comedy.

* Anytime a particular weapon or design in ''[[Robot Wars (TV)|Robot Wars]]'' became really successful it would be heavily copied in later seasons. Some examples;

* Anytime a particular weapon or design in ''[[Robot Wars (TV series)|Robot Wars]]'' became really successful it would be heavily copied in later seasons. Some examples;

** TRACIE from season 1 was designed to run both ways up. The feature caught on and was used by a lot of robots in later wars including Tornado and SMIDSY.

** Flippers, which briefly became something of a [[Game Breaker]] until people worked out how to deal with them. First used by Recyclopse in season 1, but made really popular by 1: Cassius (Recyclopse's successor) which used its flipper to right itself when turned over (this later became known as the self-righting mechanism, or SRIMECH) and 2: Chaos 2, winner of the 3rd and 4th season which had a very powerful flipper (and also was the first to flip another robot over the fence).

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** Crushers, first introduced by Razer in the second wars though these didn't start to catch on until the 5th season when the weight limit was increased.

** Spinning discs, first used by Hypno-Disc in the 3rd wars and produced heavy amounts of damage, however imitators rarely managed to succeed at this.

* The revival of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has led to attempts at bringing back several other shows, including ''[[Survivors (TV)|Survivors]]'' and ''Rentaghost'', as well as to the recreation of the "Saturday evening drama" slot, evidenced by ''[[Primeval]]''.

* The revival of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has led to attempts at bringing back several other shows, including ''[[Survivors (TV series)|Survivors]]'' and ''Rentaghost'', as well as to the recreation of the "Saturday evening drama" slot, evidenced by ''[[Primeval]]''.

** And in [[Eagle Land|America]], it hasn't brought back anything, it's simply ''added'' to the long-running "Friday night [[Sci Fi Channel|Skiffy]]" slot which has been going for at least 15 years...around the time the Saturday evening drama seemed to go away for a bit in England.

** It also lead to a string of TV shows in which classic British heroes were reinvented (''[[Robin Hood (TV)|Robin Hood]]'', ''[[Merlin]]'', ''[[Sherlock]]'', etc). Like ''[[Doctor Who]]'', some of these shows have been well-received. Others, not so much.

** It also lead to a string of TV shows in which classic British heroes were reinvented (''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'', ''[[Merlin]]'', ''[[Sherlock]]'', etc). Like ''[[Doctor Who]]'', some of these shows have been well-received. Others, not so much.

* The success of ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' led to a raft of other fantasy-adventure shows, including ''[[~~Roar (TV)|~~Roar]]'' and ''[[The New Adventures of Robin Hood]]''.

* The success of ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' led to a raft of other fantasy-adventure shows, including ''[[Roar]]'' and ''[[The New Adventures of Robin Hood]]''.

* ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'' was such a runaway hit in its US broadcast on the cable network Noggin that the channel's teen programming block, The-N, was spun off into its own channel. The-N has spent its entire existence making (or getting the rights to) shows that repeat the formula: a [[Soap Opera]] [[Dysfunction Junction]] of teenage (or slightly older) [[Star-Crossed Lovers]] whose love is threatened by either [[No Going Steady]] or a [[Love Triangle]], [[In a World]] where [[Adults Are Useless]] and a [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop]] is around every corner, and [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore|everything changes constantly]]. The-N even marketed them this way, with ''Degrassi'' actors guest-starring in them and [[Crossover]] commercials with characters from multiple shows. None of them gained the mega-popularity of ''Degrassi.'' They ranged from ''[[South of Nowhere]]'', (''Degrassi'' [[X Meets Y|meets]] ''[[Beverly Hills 90210]]''...[[Yu-Gi-Oh ~~the~~ Abridged Series|in America!]]), which managed a cult following, to ''Whistler'' (''Degrassi'' [[X Meets Y|meets]] watered-down ''[[Twin Peaks]]''), which was poorly promoted and barely noticed outside of Canada, to ''Beyond The Break'' (''Degrassi'' [[X Meets Y|meets]] ''[[Baywatch]]'', complete with a former ''[[Baywatch]]'' actor), which was exactly as cheesy and ridiculous as expected.

* ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'' was such a runaway hit in its US broadcast on the cable network Noggin that the channel's teen programming block, The-N, was spun off into its own channel. The-N has spent its entire existence making (or getting the rights to) shows that repeat the formula: a [[Soap Opera]] [[Dysfunction Junction]] of teenage (or slightly older) [[Star-Crossed Lovers]] whose love is threatened by either [[No Going Steady]] or a [[Love Triangle]], [[In a World]] where [[Adults Are Useless]] and a [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop]] is around every corner, and [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore|everything changes constantly]]. The-N even marketed them this way, with ''Degrassi'' actors guest-starring in them and [[Crossover]] commercials with characters from multiple shows. None of them gained the mega-popularity of ''Degrassi.'' They ranged from ''[[South of Nowhere]]'', (''Degrassi'' [[X Meets Y|meets]] ''[[Beverly Hills, 90210]]''...[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|in America!]]), which managed a cult following, to ''Whistler'' (''Degrassi'' [[X Meets Y|meets]] watered-down ''[[Twin Peaks]]''), which was poorly promoted and barely noticed outside of Canada, to ''Beyond The Break'' (''Degrassi'' [[X Meets Y|meets]] ''[[Baywatch]]'', complete with a former ''[[Baywatch]]'' actor), which was exactly as cheesy and ridiculous as expected.

** Part of the reason for the clones not getting better than cult status may be that the ''Degrassi'' writers were beginning to get weary with their creation, and doubly weary with imitations of it. ''[[The Best Years]]'', a clone created by the head of the ''Degrassi'' writing staff, was full of [[Take That]] against ''Degrassi'', and the [[Crossover]] commercials quickly changed from grimly earnest to [[Adam Westing]].

* Even Cartoon Network is getting in on the action, with ''The Othersiders'' (based on ''Ghost Hunters''), ''Dude, What Would Happen...?'' (based on ''[[Myth Busters]]''), ''Survive This'' (from the creator of and based on ''Survivorman''), and ''Brainrush'' (based on ''[[Cash Cab]]''). [[Network Decay|Curiously, all of these shows are live-action.]]

** And they're all Discovery shows. We've reached a network level of Follow The Leader!

* [[The History Channel]] [[Network Decay|has a tendency to air programs similar to whatever blockbuster movie is sweeping the world]]. ''[[~~Indiana Jones (Franchise)|~~Indiana Jones]]'' is big this year? Here's specials about real-life treasure hunters and lost civilizations. ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'' is popular? Have some documentaries about religious conspiracies and apocrypha. A disaster movie? We've got stuff that examines if the premise is plausible, as well as showcasing a few other possible apocalypses they might use for the next movie. Hitler rarely gets any airtime nowadays, although some might prefer at least some variety in the station again.

* [[The History Channel]] [[Network Decay|has a tendency to air programs similar to whatever blockbuster movie is sweeping the world]]. ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' is big this year? Here's specials about real-life treasure hunters and lost civilizations. ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'' is popular? Have some documentaries about religious conspiracies and apocrypha. A disaster movie? We've got stuff that examines if the premise is plausible, as well as showcasing a few other possible apocalypses they might use for the next movie. Hitler rarely gets any airtime nowadays, although some might prefer at least some variety in the station again.

* ''Britannia High'' is just ''[[High School Musical]]'' except, as the name suggests, set in Britain. It FARED rather badly - so badly in fact that even among its target demographic, it lost in the ratings war to ''[http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2008/11/younger_viewers_prefers_antiques_to_britannia_high.html Antiques Roadshow]''.

* USA released ''[[Psych]]'', a series about a hyperobservant amateur who solves crimes by pretending to have psychic powers. Shortly after it became a hit, CBS released ''[[The Mentalist]]'', a series about a hyperobservant solves crimes by pretending to have psychic powers. In fairness, the show is a lot angstier.

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** Another episode has Shawn saying that he has an idea about a psychic show & they should pitch it to CBS...

* USA also released ''[[Burn Notice]]'', a series about a small group of quirky ex-special operatives who use their skills to [[We Help the Helpless|help out the little guy]]. Shortly after it became a hit, TNT released ''[[Leverage]]'', a show about a small group of quirky ex-criminals who use their skills to help out the little guy.

** It's worth noting that the ''[[Leverage]]'' page used to have "[[Spiritual Successor]]" listed on it with no less than 4 examples, and both the ''Burn Notice'' and ''Leverage'' pages compare the shows to ''[[~~The A-Team (TV)|~~The A-Team]]''.

** It's worth noting that the ''[[Leverage]]'' page used to have "[[Spiritual Successor]]" listed on it with no less than 4 examples, and both the ''Burn Notice'' and ''Leverage'' pages compare the shows to ''[[The A-Team]]''.

*** Not sure how it goes in the States, but in Australia, there seems to be a legal requirement for reviewers to describe ''Burn Notice'' as "'''''The A Team''' for grownups'''".

** There's now a surge in intelligence community comedies (''[[Covert Affairs]], Chaos''), which according to the LA Times was started by ''Burn Notice''.

* After ''Caiga Quien Caiga'' became famous, "Los Raporteros" began fashioning themselves after Mario and co., with black suits, black glasses, an edgier song ("Como Estamos Hoy, Eh", replacing the softer and more rhytmical "Abarajame La Bañera") and more controversial lyrics.

* The success of [[Big Brother|Gran Hermano]] prompted a wave of Argentinian reality TV shows, including ''Solos en la Casa'', ''El Bar'' and ''Survivor Operación Robinson''.

* The success of ''La Niñera'' prompted more Argentinian remakes of American TV shows, including "Amas De Casa Deseperadas (''[[Desperate Housewives]]'')", "¿Quién es el Jefe? (''[[~~Whos the Boss (TV)|~~Whos the Boss]]'')" and the remake that was better than the original: "Casados Con Hijos (''[[Married ~~With~~ Children]]'')"

* The success of ''La Niñera'' prompted more Argentinian remakes of American TV shows, including "Amas De Casa Deseperadas (''[[Desperate Housewives]]'')", "¿Quién es el Jefe? (''[[Whos the Boss]]'')" and the remake that was better than the original: "Casados Con Hijos (''[[Married... with Children]]'')"

* The success of ''Rebelde Way'' prompted more Argentinian tween shows like ''Patito Feo'', ''Casi Angeles'' and ''Floricienta'' Also this, combined with the success of ''[[High School Musical]]'', prompted the Argentinian remake of that movie.

* After ''Perdona Nuestros Pecados'' got canned, a slew of imitators tried to take its place. However, most of them missed the point and mutated into talk shows. Only one of them, ''Ran 15'', actually does what PNP used to do.

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** And from Glee to other musical movies such as ''[[Joyful Noise]]'' and shows like ''[[Smash]]''.

* The success of ''[[Dirty Jobs]]'' and ''[[Deadliest Catch]]'' on [[Discovery Channel]] spawned a host of interesting/dangerous jobs [[Reality TV]] shows like ''Ice Road Truckers'' (History Channel), two about extreme loggers, one about lobstermen (although that might be the ''originator'' since a special about lobstermen was essentially a test run for ''Catch'') and ''Swords'', which is about sword fishermen.

* Perhaps attributable to the success of ''[[Monk]]'', a lot of "quirky investigative genius solves crimes" shows have popped up of late: ''[[Psych]]'' (the guy is a fake psychic), ''[[The Mentalist]]'' (the guy is a ''former'' fake psychic), ''[[Lie to Me (TV)|Lie to Me]]'' (the guy is a [[Living Lie Detector]]), ''[[Bones]]'' (quirky forensic scientist), ''[[~~Raines (TV)|~~Raines]]'' (the guy is haunted by hallucinations of the murder victims until he solves the case), ''[[~~Body of Proof (TV)|~~Body of Proof]]'' ([[Insufferable Genius]] medical examiner), ''[[Castle]]'' (the guy is a wisecracking mystery novelist), and arguably to a lesser extent ''[[Dexter]]'' (the guy is himself a serial killer) and ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' (the guy can bring the dead back to life).

* Perhaps attributable to the success of ''[[Monk]]'', a lot of "quirky investigative genius solves crimes" shows have popped up of late: ''[[Psych]]'' (the guy is a fake psychic), ''[[The Mentalist]]'' (the guy is a ''former'' fake psychic), ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'' (the guy is a [[Living Lie Detector]]), ''[[Bones]]'' (quirky forensic scientist), ''[[Raines]]'' (the guy is haunted by hallucinations of the murder victims until he solves the case), ''[[Body of Proof]]'' ([[Insufferable Genius]] medical examiner), ''[[Castle]]'' (the guy is a wisecracking mystery novelist), and arguably to a lesser extent ''[[Dexter]]'' (the guy is himself a serial killer) and ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' (the guy can bring the dead back to life).

** The [[Living Lie Detector]] aspect of ''[[Lie to Me (TV)|Lie to Me]]'', to wit seeing if people are lying via micro-expressions and word choice, has already been used in ''[[NCIS Los Angeles]]''. Something similar was used in a memorable scene in the film ''[[The Negotiator]]'', long before ''Monk'' aired.

** The [[Living Lie Detector]] aspect of ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'', to wit seeing if people are lying via micro-expressions and word choice, has already been used in ''[[NCIS: Los Angeles]]''. Something similar was used in a memorable scene in the film ''[[The Negotiator]]'', long before ''Monk'' aired.

* The protagonist of the new ''[[~~Body of Proof (TV)|~~Body of Proof]]'' on ABC has been criticized for being a combination of House (brilliant doctor with mild pain problems who is usually right) and Temperance Brennan of ''Bones'' (quirky forensic scientist with poor social skills).

* The protagonist of the new ''[[Body of Proof]]'' on ABC has been criticized for being a combination of House (brilliant doctor with mild pain problems who is usually right) and Temperance Brennan of ''Bones'' (quirky forensic scientist with poor social skills).

** ''House'' might also be the inspiration for ''[[Nurse Jackie]]'', a [[Showtime]] show about a [[Jerk ~~With~~ a Heart of Gold]] health care professional with a drug addiction problem.

** ''House'' might also be the inspiration for ''[[Nurse Jackie]]'', a [[Showtime]] show about a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] health care professional with a drug addiction problem.

* The success of ''[[Twilight (~~Literature~~)|Twilight]]'' may have led to ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'' being produced for television. (It's a preexisting franchise example, since it's based on a series of books that preceded ''Twilight''.)

* The success of ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'' may have led to ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'' being produced for television. (It's a preexisting franchise example, since it's based on a series of books that preceded ''Twilight''.)

** It may have also influenced the MTV show ''[[Teen Wolf (TV)|Teen Wolf]]'', based on an [[The Eighties|eighties]] film of the same name. While the original movie was a comedy starring Michael J. Fox, the show has "a greater emphasis on romance, horror and werewolf mythology" and has a lead that more closely resembles Taylor Lautner.

** It may have also influenced the MTV show ''[[Teen Wolf (TV series)|Teen Wolf]]'', based on an [[The Eighties|eighties]] film of the same name. While the original movie was a comedy starring Michael J. Fox, the show has "a greater emphasis on romance, horror and werewolf mythology" and has a lead that more closely resembles Taylor Lautner.

** ''[[~~The Secret Circle (TV)|~~The Secret Circle]]'', about a band of teen witches, might also count, and probably ''[[~~American Horror Story (TV)|~~American Horror Story]]'' and [[Tim Burton]]'s film version of ''[[Dark Shadows (~~Film~~)|Dark Shadows]]''.

** ''[[The Secret Circle]]'', about a band of teen witches, might also count, and probably ''[[American Horror Story]]'' and [[Tim Burton]]'s film version of ''[[Dark Shadows (film)|Dark Shadows]]''.

* ''[[Survivorman]]'' was about survival expert Les Stroud being dumped into the wilderness and trying to make his way to civilization before a Rescue Chopper comes to him in a given period of time. ''[[Man vs. Wild]]'' features survival expert [[Awesome McCoolname|Bear Grylls]] being dumped into the wilderness and trying to make his way to civilization. There were several differences between the two shows, such as Bear's camera crew vs. Les toting around several dozen pounds of cameras, and Les pragmatic approach to Bear's more extreme version. ''M v W'' also stages situations for Bear to demonstrate unlikely or worst-case techniques. These points are explained in more detail on both pages.

* After ''[[Walking ~~With~~ Dinosaurs]]'', there came a whole onslaught of documentaries with CGI dinosaurs. ''[[When Dinosaurs Roamed America]]'', ''[[Dinosaur Planet]]'', and ''[[~~Jurassic Fight Club (TV)|~~Jurassic Fight Club]]'', to name a few.

* After ''[[Walking with Dinosaurs]]'', there came a whole onslaught of documentaries with CGI dinosaurs. ''[[When Dinosaurs Roamed America]]'', ''[[Dinosaur Planet]]'', and ''[[Jurassic Fight Club]]'', to name a few.

** Including ''[[Tyrannosaurus Sex|Tyrannosaurus ]]'''[[Tyrannosaurus Sex|S]]'''[[Tyrannosaurus Sex|ex]]''. Yes, really.

* ''[[Life After People]]'' became the highest rated program in the history of The History Channel when it aired in January 2008. Just a few months later, The National Geographic Channel aired ''Aftermath: Population Zero'' which was practically the exact same show. ''Both'' shows are practically the [[Adaptation Distillation|television adaptation]] of the explosively popular book "The World Without Us," published in 2007.

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* It seems more than likely that the remake of V was inspired by the success of the remake of ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined|Battlestar Galactica]].

** As well as the remakes of ''The Bionic Woman'' and ''Knight Rider'', though those didn't do so well.

*** And ''[[~~Stargate Universe (TV)|~~Stargate Universe]]'', the cancellation of many of these series has ineveitably lead to the death of the Science Fiction Genre on TV.

*** And ''[[Stargate Universe]]'', the cancellation of many of these series has ineveitably lead to the death of the Science Fiction Genre on TV.

* ''[[Star Trek ~~the~~ Original Series|Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Lost in Space]]'' both trod heavily, in their different ways, in the footsteps of the film ''[[Forbidden Planet]].''

* ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Lost in Space]]'' both trod heavily, in their different ways, in the footsteps of the film ''[[Forbidden Planet]].''

** And ever since ''[[Star Trek]]'', practically ''every single [[Space Opera]]'' has been a clone, [[Stargate SG 1]] and [[Andromeda]] being examples. This trend is averted in shows like ''[[~~Firefly (TV)|~~Firefly]]'', ''[[~~Farscape (TV)|~~Farscape]]'', and ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]''.

** And ever since ''[[Star Trek]]'', practically ''every single [[Space Opera]]'' has been a clone, [[Stargate SG-1]] and [[Andromeda]] being examples. This trend is averted in shows like ''[[Firefly]]'', ''[[Farscape]]'', and ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]''.

* And it cannot be a coincidence that ''[[Doctor Who]]'' debuted on TV only a couple of years after [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0657162/#producer1960 George Pal's] film version of [[HG Wells]]' ''[[The Time Machine]]'' won an Oscar.

* And it cannot be a coincidence that ''[[Doctor Who]]'' debuted on TV only a couple of years after [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0657162/#producer1960 George Pal's] film version of [[H. G. Wells]]' ''[[The Time Machine]]'' won an Oscar.

* ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' inspired a slew of tv shows set in perfect suburban settings, such as ''[[Weeds]]'', ''[[The Gates]]'', and ''[[Pretty Little Liars]]'', being touted as "''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' for teens." While this is a concept that has been around for years, many more premiered when DH did.

** ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' also inspired a series of reality series about actual housewives and their social circles called ''Real Housewives'' (of Orange County, Atlanta, etc.). Most of them run on the [[Rule of Drama]].

* ''Jerseylicious'' on Style is an obvious copy of ''[[Jersey Shore]]''. In general there have been a lot of New Jersey-related reality shows since ''Jersey Shore'' became incredibly popular.

* ''[[~~The Osbournes (TV)|~~The Osbournes]]'' jump-started the "everyday lives of celebrities" series of reality shows albeit mostly with B- to C-list tabloid fodder. It was followed by ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'', ''Living Lohan'', etc.

* ''[[The Osbournes]]'' jump-started the "everyday lives of celebrities" series of reality shows albeit mostly with B- to C-list tabloid fodder. It was followed by ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'', ''Living Lohan'', etc.

** It isn't. There have been whispers of a "reality show curse," and it isn't entirely unfounded. Almost every celebrity couple who has done a domestic reality show a la ''The Osbournes'' or ''Newlyweds'' has split up (only the original Ozzy and Sharon are still together.)

* After ''American Pickers'' took off, various shows about finding/selling old stuff suddenly emerged, such as ''[[Pawn Stars]]'' and ''Auction Kings''.

* ''[[Top Gear]]''. 3 overseas series for the official count, and several more with the same but different names.

* The success of ''[[Star Trek ~~the~~ Next Generation]]'' led to a slew of new Sci-Fi shows being made.

* The success of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' led to a slew of new Sci-Fi shows being made.

* ''[[Pawn Stars]]'' has inspired a host of imitators related to antiques and valuable artifacts:

** Other pawn shop shows, such as TLC's ''Pawn Queens'', which is essentially a [[Distaff Counterpart]] of ''[[Pawn Stars]]'', and TruTV's ''Hardcore Pawn'', focusing on Detroit pawnbroker/scumbag Les Gold and his sleazy family;

** Shows revolving around the purchasing of goods kept in storage lockers, like ''[[~~Auction Hunters (TV)|~~Auction Hunters]]'' and ''[[Storage Wars]]'';

** Shows revolving around the purchasing of goods kept in storage lockers, like ''[[Auction Hunters]]'' and ''[[Storage Wars]]'';

** Shows dealing with auctions, such as ''[[Auction Kings]]'';

** Shows where merchants visit ordinary people and buy things that seem like worthless junk but can be resold at higher prices, such as ''[[American Pickers]]'' and its Canadian [[Spin-Off]] ''Canadian Pickers''.

** And now, A&E has already launched ''Duck Dynasty'' already, with ''Barter Kings'' coming really soon.

* [[ABC Family]] is doing this to itself now. After the success of ''[[The Secret Life of an American Teenager]]'', it is releasing more melodramatic [[Teen Drama|teen dramas]], such as ''[[Pretty Little Liars]]'', ''[[Switched At Birth]]'', ''The Nine Lives of Chloe King'', etc.

* [[Animal Planet]] has given ''[[~~River Monsters (TV)|~~River Monsters]]'' this treatment by creating another fishing show called Hillbilly Handfishing::http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xztvUuonHuI&feature=channel_video_title

* [[Animal Planet]] has given ''[[River Monsters]]'' this treatment by creating another fishing show called Hillbilly Handfishing::http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xztvUuonHuI&feature=channel_video_title

* It's taken a while but five years after it's launch we're beginning to see ''[[Mad Men]]'' clones in the form of BBC 2's ''The Hour''<ref>As opposed to the CBC's ''[[The Hour (TV)|The Hour]]'', which is different</ref>, ABC's ''Pan Am'' (which could also be called ''Mad Men'' [[Recycled in Space|ON A PLANE]]!), and NBC's ''The Playboy Club''. These shows have the benefit of being released while their originator is on hiatus.

* It's taken a while but five years after it's launch we're beginning to see ''[[Mad Men]]'' clones in the form of BBC 2's ''The Hour''<ref>As opposed to the CBC's ''[[The Hour (TV series)|The Hour]]'', which is different</ref>, ABC's ''Pan Am'' (which could also be called ''Mad Men'' [[Recycled in Space|ON A PLANE]]!), and NBC's ''The Playboy Club''. These shows have the benefit of being released while their originator is on hiatus.

* The high ratings of NBC's broadcasts of the ''[[Peter Pan]]'' musical led to CBS hiring [[Julie Andrews]] and [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] to make them the even more successful and often-remade ''[[Cinderella (~~Film~~)|Cinderella]]''. Also, the acclaim Andrews received for her performance in ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' influenced CBS' decision to cast her in a [[Rags to Riches]] story.

* The high ratings of NBC's broadcasts of the ''[[Peter Pan]]'' musical led to CBS hiring [[Julie Andrews]] and [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] to make them the even more successful and often-remade ''[[Cinderella (film)|Cinderella]]''. Also, the acclaim Andrews received for her performance in ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' influenced CBS' decision to cast her in a [[Rags to Riches]] story.

* ''[[Lassie (TV)|Lassie]]'' inspired a number of [[Heroic Pet Story]] shows, including ''[[Flipper]]'' and ''[[Skippy the Bush Kangaroo]]''.

* ''[[Lassie (TV series)|Lassie]]'' inspired a number of [[Heroic Pet Story]] shows, including ''[[Flipper]]'' and ''[[Skippy the Bush Kangaroo]]''.

* The success of ''[[Weeds]]'' has led [[Showtime]] to do a number of very similar shows with the same base (acclaimed actress stars in show about normal person with a dilemma), such as ''[[Nurse Jackie]]'' (''Weeds'' with prescription drugs), ''[[The Big C]]'' (''Weeds'' with cancer) and ''[[The United States of Tara]]'' (''Weeds'' with multiple personality disorder). In fact, this seems to be most of their series output.

* ''[[The Bachelor]]'' touched off a slew of dating shows. Then ''[[Joe Millionaire]]'' came along and tweaked the formula, so in addition to the progenitor, we have about a million versions with a slight twist (he's not rich, he's average-looking, he's a geek, et cetera).

* Colombian [[Soap Opera|telenovela]] ''Sin tetas no hay paraíso'' (''There Is No Paradise Without Breasts'') started the trend, apart from a remake with a bigger budget and a movie, of [[Darker and Edgier]] soaps in Latin Amerca (such as ''El Capo'', ''El Cartel de los Sapos''). These usually have a smaller duration, and are focused on drug lords, prostitution, corrupted politicians and being a soap disguised as a "serious drama".

* The huge success of ''[[Saved By the Bell]]'' led to NBC executives eventually ordering a line of copies, including ''[[California Dreams]]''. It eventually killed cartoons on Saturday Mornings for the network.

* The huge success of ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'' led to NBC executives eventually ordering a line of copies, including ''[[California Dreams]]''. It eventually killed cartoons on Saturday Mornings for the network.

* After ''[[Hot in Cleveland]]'' became a runaway hit, TV Land has been attempting to have lightning strike twice, creating a string of three-camera sitcoms featuring classic sitcom and Film veterans. ''Retired at 35'' (George Segal, Jessica Walter), ''Happily Divorced'' (Fran Drescher, Rita Moreno), ''The Exes'' (Kristen Johnson, Wayne Knight, Donald Faison). It's contributed to TV Lands [[Network Decay]](instead of showing classic sitcoms, it shows new sitcoms with classic sitcom ''actors''), but they've been well received for the most part, so no one's really complaining too much.

* [[Nickelodeon]]'s ''[[Double Dare 1986|Double Dare]]'' spawned a whole [[Stealth Pun|mess]] of kids' [[Game Show|Game Shows]] in the U.S. with the intent of getting kids (and in some cases adults) [[Covered in Gunge]]. Amongst some of them: ''[[Fun House]]'', ''Slime Time'', ''Treasure Mall'', ''[[Skedaddle]]'', ''Uh Oh!'', ''Family Challenge'', ''[[Wild and Crazy Kids]]'', ''[[Figure It Out]]'', ''[[What Would You Do Nickelodeon|What Would You Do?]]'', and countless others.

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* When it was announced that [[Showtime]] was considering a TV adaptation of ''[[Chew]]'', some thought it was inspired by hit Showtime series ''[[Dexter]]''. Both Dexter and Tony Chu work in law enforcement and have disgusting side-activities that help them fight crime. But that's about as far as the similarities go.

** ''Dexter'' may have also paved the way for ''[[United States of Tara]]'' and ''[[Nurse Jackie]]''. Both are dark dramedy shows concerning a person struggling with a mental problem, split personality disorder in the former and drug addiction in the latter.

** ''Dexter'' may have inspired BBC's ''[[~~Luther (TV)|~~Luther]]'', which is about a psychotic killer who partners with a cop to fight crime. ''Luther'', in turn, may have inspired NBC's upcoming ''Hannibal'', which is about psychiatrist/serial killer Hannibal Lecter partnering with an FBI agent to solve murders.

** ''Dexter'' may have inspired BBC's ''[[Luther]]'', which is about a psychotic killer who partners with a cop to fight crime. ''Luther'', in turn, may have inspired NBC's upcoming ''Hannibal'', which is about psychiatrist/serial killer Hannibal Lecter partnering with an FBI agent to solve murders.

* This happens a great deal with Singaporean television, especially the childrens' programming. ''My Classmate Dad'' is a [[Body Swap]] [[~~Sit Com~~]] that is ''[[Freaky Friday]]'' with a lower standard of spoken English. ''Cosmo and George'' is about an alien who befriends a human who shows him the ropes of living on earth, [[Mork and Mindy|which is a startlingly]] [[Sarcasm Mode|original concept]]. The Chinese-language drama serials are almost as bad in this respect. ''CID'' is ''[[CSI]]'', ''The Time Machine'' is [[The Time Machine|uh...]], ''Baby Blues'' is [[Baby Blues|uh...]], ''[[Fan Service|Beach. Ball. Babes.]]'' is ''[[Dead or Alive]]'' (specifically volleyball tournament game, that is), and a really new one, ''Mrs P.I.'', is ''[[~~Scarecrow and Mrs. King (TV)|~~Scarecrow and Mrs. King]]''. The best part is that even if the shows are ''tenuously'' original, the English translations of their names, as you can gather, ruin everything.

* This happens a great deal with Singaporean television, especially the childrens' programming. ''My Classmate Dad'' is a [[Body Swap]] [[Sitcom]] that is ''[[Freaky Friday]]'' with a lower standard of spoken English. ''Cosmo and George'' is about an alien who befriends a human who shows him the ropes of living on earth, [[Mork and Mindy|which is a startlingly]] [[Sarcasm Mode|original concept]]. The Chinese-language drama serials are almost as bad in this respect. ''CID'' is ''[[CSI]]'', ''The Time Machine'' is [[The Time Machine|uh...]], ''Baby Blues'' is [[Baby Blues|uh...]], ''[[Fan Service|Beach. Ball. Babes.]]'' is ''[[Dead or Alive]]'' (specifically volleyball tournament game, that is), and a really new one, ''Mrs P.I.'', is ''[[Scarecrow and Mrs. King]]''. The best part is that even if the shows are ''tenuously'' original, the English translations of their names, as you can gather, ruin everything.

* Not only was ''[[ABC]]'s [[Wide World of Sports]]'' one of American television's longest of [[Long Runners]], it inspired a raft of imitators both domestic ([[CBS]]'s ''Sports Spectacular'', [[NBC]]'s ''Sportsworld'', even [[ESPN]] itself) and internatonal as well as several spinoffs (''The American Sportsman'', ''The Superstars'', the Pro Bowlers Tour).