History DuelingShows / LiveActionTV

|| ''Series/TheAmazingRace'' || ''Lost'' (2001) || Reality game show where teams travel to exotic locales. || ''Lost'' premiered one day earlier. || ''Lost'' premiered seven days before 9/11 and, because it featured UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity imagery [[TooSoon still featuring the Twin Towers]], it ended up with (in this case justified) ExecutiveMeddling to make it less triggering. This meant that only five of six episodes aired. ''The Amazing Race'' is still on. When asked, 99% of people will know a TV show called ''Lost'' [[{{Lost}} as...]] ||

|| ''Series/GrandmasHouse'' (2010) || ''Series/FridayNightDinner'' (2011) || Sitcoms about dysfunctional Jewish families meeting up regularly for a meal. || ''Grandma's House'' focuses on the generational clash and is written by and stars [[NeverMindTheBuzzcocks Simon Amstell]] AdamWesting. ''Friday Night Dinner'', written by Robert Popper of ''LookAroundYou'', focused more on simple {{Fawlty Towers Plot}}s, with a cast including Tamsin Greig and Mark Heap of ''Series/GreenWing'' and Simon Bird of ''Series/TheInbetweeners''. || ''Grandma's House'' came first and has recieved generally better reviews, although ''Friday Night Dinner'' has been fairly well recieved too. ''Friday Night Dinner'' was also the first of the two shows to be picked up for a [[TransAtlanticEquivalent US remake]]. ||

|| ''{{Lexx}}'' (1997) || ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' (1999) || SpaceOpera shows about a gang of weirdos on the loose in a LivingShip, with a bit more sex and moral ambiguity than usual for the genre. || ''Lexx'' was full of idea-driven weirdness and spent its budget mostly on space effects, ''Farscape'' stuck closer to the space opera formula and spent its budget mostly on creature effects. || Both lasted four seasons, ''Lexx'' ending with a relatively clear finale, while ''Farscape'' got cancelled on an extreme cliffhanger, finally resolved in a GrandFinale mini-series. Both continue to have loyal fanbases, although ''Lexx'' fans tend to be more defensive about it. ||

|| ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' || ''[[{{Series/Goosebumps}} Goosebumps]]'' || Horror anthologies aimed at children. || ''Goosebumps'' adapted most of its stories from [[{{Literature/Goosebumps}} the book series of the same name.]] ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' had original content and also had a FramingDevice, as every episode was a story told by the members of The Midnight Society as they sat around a campfire. || Hard to say. Both shows were very popular among kids during the 90's and are both fondly remembered to this day. ||
|| ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' || ''Series/ZNation'' || Shows about the ZombieApocalypse. || ''TheWalkingDead'' airs on Creator/{{AMC}} and is the DarkerAndEdgier of the two shows, and benefits from an established fanbase due to it being an adaptation of a comic by RobertKirkman, while ''ZNation'' airs on Creator/{{Syfy}} and is an original series made by TheAsylum. || In terms of first-run ratings and in being a household name, ''The Walking Dead'' is the clear winner. It's also much more of a critical darling. However, ''Z Nation'' has been getting a push from Netflix, and was heavily pirated. While it's unlikely ''Z Nation'' can ever overtake ''The Walking Dead,'' only time will tell whether or not it can hold its own. ||

|| ''Series/BeakmansWorld'' (1992) || ''Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy'' (1993) || Kids shows that focus on learning science, often in goofy and irreverent ways || Whereas Beakman was a fictional character, Bill was an actual scientist (an engineer to be more precise). Whereas Bill stuck with one topic throughout an episode, Beakman switched topics frequently. Whereas Bill focused on the science almost exclusively (if imaginatively), Beakman also had a small, wacky recurring cast and a little non-science-related zaniness. || Both lasted about 100 episodes, were very good edutainment shows (which is a rarity, as kids would rather eat their vegetables than watch anything educational. They already have enough problems with school, thank you), and were worthy of being Don "Mr. Wizard" Herbert's heir to the throne, though Bill Nye wins because the subjects were more in-depth than what ''Beakman's World'' touched on and even explored some stuff that wouldn't conventionally be considered science, but has scientific teachings behind it (communication, human transportation, population, probability and odds, music, and architecture). Nye also gets an additional edge by remaining a pop culture and science icon/personality after the show, though obviously at a reduced status. Honorable mention goes to you, the viewers who learned something from both shows, in and out of the classroom.||

|| ''[[WebVideo/{{Fred}} Fred: The Show]]'' || ''[[TheAnnoyingOrange The High Fructose Adventures Of Annoying Orange]]'' || TV adaptations of popular web series which are [[CriticalDissonance popular with viewers, hated by critics]] [[LoveItOrHateIt (and other viewers, of course)]] and revolve around big-mouthed fast-talkers || ''Fred'' was broadcast on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} which advertises its shows ''more'' than Creator/CartoonNetwork which airs ''Orange'', however it has a larger fanbase. || While both received ''extremely'' negative reviews, ''Orange'' has been renewed for a third season whereas ''Fred'' was cancelled after the first season. It helps that Cartoon Network has ''lower'' ratings standards than Nickelodeon, which would have axed ''Fred'' anyways since its ''entire'' live-action line-up was scrapped for a new round of live-action shows. ||

|| ''{{Virtuality}}'' || ''Series/DefyingGravity'' || ''TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' [[InSpace With Girls!]] || ''Virtuality'' is from the writer of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'' while ''Series/DefyingGravity'' was written by a writer from ''Series/GreysAnatomy''. Both feature space crews of pretty people in a ship for a long duration of time, to unravel FTL-travel and explore every planet in the solar system, respectively. ''Virtuality'' has to deal with a possibly [[AIIsACrapShoot unreliable AI]] and possibly a hacker; it's implied that ''Defying Gravity'''s mission was at the behest of unknown forces. || ''Series/DefyingGravity'' wins by a nose. Although it was canceled after its first season, it still made it farther than ''{{Virtuality}}'', which was nothing more than a failed pilot turned into a TV movie. ||

|| ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' || ''Night Stalker'' || A pair of humans investigate paranormal and demonic activity while looking for clues about a particular demon. || ''Night Stalker'', a remake of ''KolchakTheNightStalker'', starred [[TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen Dorian Gray]] and was canceled after one season. || ''Supernatural'' is still around and torturing its two leads for our viewing pleasure. ||

|| ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' (1993) || ''Series/VRTroopers'' (1994), ''Series/MaskedRider'' (1995), ''Series/{{Beetleborgs}}'' (1996) || Adaptations of Japanese {{tokusatsu}} (live-action superheroics) with new footage with American actors. Of the many ''Rangers'' [[FollowTheLeader knockoffs of the time]], these three shows were the most prominent; being by ''Rangers'' producers SabanEntertainment and two aired with ''Rangers'' on FoxKids (''Troopers'' was syndicated instead). Yes, [[SelfPlagiarism it is possible to self-duel]]. || ''Power Rangers'' is based on the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' franchise, ''Masked Rider'' on ''Franchise/KamenRider'' (specifically, ''Series/KamenRiderBlackRX''), and the other two on various ''Franchise/MetalHeroes'' series (''VR Troopers'' on unrelated shows ''Series/ChoujinkiMetalder'', ''Series/JikuuSenshiSpielban'' and ''Series/SpaceSheriffShaider''; ''Beetleborgs'' on ''Series/JuukouBFighter'' and its sequel ''Series/BFighterKabuto''). || Despite [[UnCancelled a few close calls]], ''Power Rangers'' has continued nearly unbroken for coming up on twenty years now. ''VR Troopers'' and ''Beetleborgs'' each lasted two seasons before running out of usable footage. ''Masked Rider'' fairly-ok but could not continue due to Kamen Rider going on a decade long hiatus. ||

|| ''JoanOfArcadia'' || ''{{Wonderfalls}}'' || Short-lived MagicRealism [[{{Dramedy}} Dramedies]], each featuring a WeirdnessMagnet heroine, who's stuck in a dead-end job and starts hearing voices telling her to do things. || Both premiered in the same year. || ''{{Wonderfalls}}'' was canceled after one season (thanks to the FOX Network), while ''Joan'' managed to last a couple of seasons before ExecutiveMeddling [[SecondSeasonDownfall wrecked it]]. But really, both were good shows that got killed off, meaning that the real losers are the fans of both shows. ||

|| ''{{Weeds}}'' (2005-2012) || ''Series/BreakingBad'' (2008-2013) || Premium cable dark dramedies about middle-aged people turning to drug-dealing following a personal tragedy || ''Weeds'' is about a widowed soccer mom who deals pot, while ''Breaking Bad'' is about a chemistry teacher dying of lung cancer who cooks crystal meth. Also, while ''Weeds'' started out as a BlackComedy before it underwent CerebusSyndrome, ''Breaking Bad'' was very dark from the beginning... and things only got [[DarkerAndEdgier more bleak]] from there. || Both shows are critically acclaimed, though ''Breaking Bad'' has higher ratings and a much longer list of awards under its belt, while ''Weeds'' had eight seasons to its credit (versus ''Breaking Bad'''s five). Plus, ''Breaking Bad'' has made a much bigger cultural impact. The real winners here are TV viewers for getting two great shows. ||

|| ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' (2012) || ''Series/{{Daredevil 2015}}'' (2015) || Live action drama based on street level heroes with almost no superpowers trying to save their respective cities. || Both are touted as dark and gritty takes on comic book superheroes. However, Marvel decided to forego debuting Daredevil on network TV and instead ran it on Netflix. They've also firmly placed the series as part of their greater cinematic universe whereas Arrow isn't connected to DC's films. || While it only has 1 season compared to the other's 3, most people seem to be in agreement that ''Daredevil'' is the better show. Being on Netflix means that it can stay truer to its gritty roots without having to deal with the many teen angst subplots that Arrow is saddled with, being a show on the CW. ||

|| ''Series/ToddlersAndTiaras'' (TLC) || ''Little Miss Perfect'' (WE tv), ''DanceMoms'' (Lifetime) || Reality shows that premiered in 2009 about young girls in beauty pageants or dance competitions, and their {{Stage Mom}}s. || ''Toddlers and Tiaras'' has more girls from 1-5, whereas ''Little Miss Perfect'' is about girls from 5-10. ''Dance Moms'' is about preteen dancers in Abby Lee's dance studio. || So far, ''Toddlers and Tiaras'' seems to be more popular and gets clips shown on news networks. Has had 4 seasons as opposed to ''Little Miss Perfect'', which had only two. ''Dance Moms''[='=] popularity began to skyrocket in 2014 when Maddie Ziegler was feature in Sia's music video for "Chandelier", and its cast have perhaps become the biggest reality stars in the world outside of the Kardashians. So it looks like "Dance Moms" will come out on top when all is said and done. ||

|| ''Series/ToddlersAndTiaras'' (TLC) || ''Little Miss Perfect'' (WE tv), ''DanceMoms'' (Lifetime) || Reality shows that premiered in 2009 about young girls in beauty pageants or dance competitions, and their {{Stage Mom}}s. || ''Toddlers and Tiaras'' has more girls from 1-5, whereas ''Little Miss Perfect'' is about girls from 5-10. ''Dance Moms'' is about preteen dancers in Abby Lee's dance studio. || So far, ''Toddlers and Tiaras'' seems to be more popular and gets clips shown on news networks. Has had 4 seasons as opposed to ''Little Miss Perfect'', which had only two. It's too early to tell with ''Dance Moms''. ||

|| ''The View'' || ''The Talk'' || Talk shows hosted by a diverse group of (usually) five women who start with a roundtable discussion about current affairs. || For the most part, they're identical, though each show has something of a focus on material produced by their parent company (ABC/Disney for ''The View,'' CBS for ''The Talk.'') || Hard to tell. ''The View'' usually holds a slight lead in ratings thanks to a very large head start, but has courted controversy over a revolving door of hosts and an increase in heated and potentially-alienating political discussions. ''The Talk,'' after an awkward first season where there was a similar shake-up of hosts, has maintained a slow and steady upward momentum (which host Julie Chen attributes to a deliberate avoidance of said political discussions.) Discussions about the two often say it's not a matter of '''if''' ''The Talk'' overtakes ''The View,'' but '''when.''' ||

|| ''{{iCarly}}''/''{{Victorious}}'' || ''ANTFarm'' || {{Kid Com}}s about talented and/or creatively expressive children. || ''Victorious'' and ''[=ANT=] Farm'' have nearly identical premises -- talented and gifted children attend a high school and HijinksEnsue -- but oddly enough more people think ''[=ANT=] Farm'' has more in common with ''[=iCarly=]'' given the amount of character and especially relationship expies. || [=ANT=] Farm comes via the DisneyChannel -- if you haven't noticed by now, Disney and Nick tend to be cases of directly dueling ''networks''. In this case, you can make a case that ''[=ANT=] Farm'' is essentially ''Victorious'' [[XMeetsY meets]] ''[=iCarly=]''. Though ''iCarly'' and ''Victorious'' were both canceled (the latter after three years and the former after ''five'', a long run for a KidCom), each series is kept alive spiritually in the form of the spin-off series ''SamAndCat''; ''ANTFarm'' aired its last episode in early spring 2014 after a three-season run.||

|| ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' || ''Series/{{Reaper}}'' || Supernatural dramas focusing on hunting monsters from hell. || Both aired on TheCW at the same time, with ''Reaper'' premiering during ''Supernatural's'' third season. ''Reaper'' replied on comedic elements more heavily than ''Supernatural'', which was much [[DarkerAndEdgier darker and gritty]], and focused more on drama. || While both have strong, cult followings, ''Reaper'' lasted only two seasons, while ''Supernatural'' is currently entering its eighth. ||

|| ''Series/MasterChefAustralia'' (2009, Network Ten) || ''Series/MyKitchenRules'' (2010, Seven Network) || Aspiring chefs are pit against each other in a series of cooking challenges to find out who is the best in the kitchen. || One of the main differences between the two series is that the contestants in ''My Kitchen Rules'' works in pairs, while ''Masterchef'' focuses on individuals. ''MKR'' contestants are also not required to complete an on-screen audition, instead they are made to participate in an "Instant Restaurant" round, where they must serve a 3 course meal to the judges and opposing team, as a part of the preliminaries. || Hard to tell. On one hand, ''My Kitchen Rules'' has an average nightly viewer number of 1.5 million, whereas ''Masterchef'', for the most part, could barely reach 1 million. On the other hand, ''Masterchef Australia'''s Facebook page has almost three times the number of likes that ''MKR'' page has, and the latter seem to be a bigger SnarkBait magnet due to their tendency of designating hero-villain roles to create drama and controversy. ||

|| ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' (1972-current run) || ''Series/BargainHunters'' (1987) || Contestants use consumer/pricing knowledge – and skill – to win prizes. || ''[=TPiR=]'' was created in 1956 by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, under the basic premise of contestants guessing the actual retail price of a given item. The original program continued in this format through 1965, and was revamped into today's best-known format, where a variety of pricing games, based on skill and luck, are played. Each episode concluded with a Showcase round, where contestants bid on two final prize packages (one apiece, being the closest on his own showcase without going over). ''Bargain Hunters'' was created in 1987 by Merrill Heatter (best known for creating ''TheHollywoodSquares''), and patterned its own pricing-type games around the new home-shopping network fad. || ''The Price is Right''. ''Bargain Hunters'' was critically panned as a complete ripoff of [=TPiR=], and lasted 45 episodes. Host Peter Tomarken (best known for ''PressYourLuck'') was [[CreatorBacklash so disgusted by the finished product that, for the rest of his life, refused to talk about his experiences on that show.]] ||

|| ''Series/TheLyingGame'' (2011) || ''Series/{{Ringer}}'' (2011) || A girl steps into a twin's sister's life and identity. Discovery of dirty secrets and drama ensue. || Both mixed elements of mystery with CountryMouse vs. CityMouse. ''Series/{{Ringer}}'' has a DarkerAndEdgier storyline than ''Series/TheLyingGame'', which focuses more on social secrets a la ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' and ''GossipGirl''. || ''Series/{{Ringer}}'' started out strong and was hyped up as Creator/SarahMichelleGellar's return to TV, but its ratings plummeted and was eventually canceled. Despite lacking ''Ringer'''s star power, ''Series/TheLyingGame'' has been received better by viewers and critics alike and got renewed for a second season. Creator/ABCFamily[='=]s series wins this one. ||

|| ''ManVsWild'' || ''WildRecon'' || See above. || For once, ''Wild Recon'' is actually on a ''different'' network this time -- specifically, AnimalPlanet, [[NetworkDecay for some reason]]. ''Wild Recon'' is also quite a bit closer to ''Man vs. Wild'' than ''Survivorman'' was, especially after ''Man vs. Wild'''s slight ReTool. || ''Wild Recon'' was canceled after six episodes after receiving official complaints from the governments of Australia and Sri Lanka about its host, Donald Schultz. Schultz was eventually [[http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/25/us-usa-california-schultz-idUSBREA2O1K520140325 busted selling endangered animals illegally]]. ||
|| ''SurvivingDisaster'' (2009, Spike) || ''WorstCaseScenario'' (2010, Discovery) || Ex-special forces teaches the audience how to survive unexpected disasters in an urban environment. || ''SD'' cast ex-Navy Seal Cade Courtley [[FollowTheLeader to do]] ''ManVsWild'' [[RecycledInSpace in an urban environment]]. ''WCS'' brought back ''ManVsWild'' host Bear Grylls to do ''SD'' on a lower scale (e.g. ''SD'' premieres with a plane hijacking modeled on 9/11, ''WCS'' with a burning vehicle). || Both lasted one season.||

|| ''Series/MasterChefAustralia'' (2009, Network Ten) || ''Series/MyKitchenRules'' (2010, Seven Network) || Aspiring chefs are pit against each other in a series of cooking challenges to find out who is the best in the kitchen. || One of the main differences between the two series is that the contestants in ''My Kitchen Rules'' works in pairs, while ''Masterchef'' focuses on individuals. Also, ''Masterchef Australia'''s format follows a daily schedule, where the challenges are categorized depending on the broadcast day. Its Seven Network counterpart follows a less strict format, which varies slightly from season to season. The latter also features a unique Instant restaurant round for its preliminaries. || Hard to tell. On one hand, ''My Kitchen Rules'' has an average nightly viewer number of 1.5 million, whereas ''Masterchef'', for the most part, could barely reach 1 million. On the other hand, ''Masterchef Australia'''s Facebook page has almost three times the number of likes that ''MKR'' page has, and the latter seem to be a bigger SnarkBait magnet due to their tendency of designating hero-villain roles to create drama and controversy. ||

|| ''Series/MasterChefAustralia'' (2009, Network Ten) || ''Series/MyKitchenRules'' (2010, Seven Network) || Aspiring chefs are pit against each other in a series of cooking challenges to find out who is the best in the kitchen. || One of the main differences between the two series is that the contestants in ''My Kitchen Rules'' works in pairs, while ''Masterchef'' focuses on individuals. Also, ''Masterchef Australia'''s format follows a daily schedule, where the challenges are categorized depending on the broadcast day. Its Seven Network counterpart follows a less strict format, which varies slightly from season to season. The latter also features a unique Instant restaurant round for its preliminaries. || ''My Kitchen Rules'' has an average nightly viewer number of 1.5 million, whereas ''Masterchef'', for the most part, could barely reach 1 million. ||

|| ''Series/{{Arrow}}''[=/=]''Series/TheFlash2014'' (2012[=/=]2014) || ''Series/{{Constantine}}'' (2014) || Live action drama based on DCComics properties. || Whilst ''Arrow'' & ''The Flash'' share a continuity & both air on TheCW, ''Constantine'' stands separately & airs on NBC. However, ''Arrow'' is an action series, whilst ''The Flash'' is more of a Sci-Fi series & ''Constantine'' is a supernatural[=/=]horror themed series. || Too early to tell, though the winner in this case is DC Comics/Warner Brothers. With four superhero series on the air, with a potential ''fifth'' in development (a ''Supergirl'' series for CBS,) DC/WB has gone from its previous reputation as "the company who is losing the superhero battle to rival company Marvel/Disney" to "the company who is absolutely dominating Superhero Television." ||
|| ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' (2012) || ''Series/{{Daredevil 2015}}'' (2015) || Live action drama based on street level heroes with almost no superpowers trying to save their respective cities. || Both are touted as dark and gritty takes on comic book superheroes. However, Marvel decided to forego debuting Daredevil on network TV and instead ran it on Netflix. They've also firmly placed the series as part of their greater cinematic universe whereas Arrow isn't connected to DC's films. || While it only has 1 season compared to the other's 3, most people seem to be in agreement that Daredevil is the better show. Being on Netflix means that it can stay truer to its gritty roots without having to deal with the many teen angst subplots that Arrow is saddled with, being a show on the CW. ||

|| ''MatchGame '' (CBS) || ''RhymeAndReason'' (ABC) || Two contestants predict how a panel of six celebrities complete funny phrases. || ''Match Game'' used fill-in-the-blanks while ''Rhyme And Reason'' used couplets from poems that the celebrity panel had to complete for contestants to score points. || ''Match Game'' broke -- and then rewrote -- the rules for game show comedy. ''Rhyme And Reason'' had its moments but only ran one year. ''Match Game'' wins, having run six years on CBS and three more in syndication. ||

|| ''Series/DualSurvival'' || ''ManWomanWild'', ''Series/NakedAndAfraid'' || ''ManVsWild'' [[XMeetsY meets]] ''Theatre/TheOddCouple''[[note]]Or if you go by the titles: ManVsWild vs. Survivorman -- Round 2[[/note]] || ''Dual'' involves two survival experts of vastly different backgrounds and philosophies (One is an ex-military hunter, the other is a hardcore naturalist). ''Man Woman'' involves an ex-military survival expert and his wife, an actress and field reporter. ''Naked'', finally, drops one male and one female survivalists, that are stranger to each other, in a tropical location and watches them struggle to survive for 21 days. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin In their birth suits.]]|| All are ongoing and have good ratings and fan followings. ||

|| ''Series/BlackSails'' (2014) || ''Series/{{Crossbones}}'' (2014) || The adventures of pirates during the GoldenAgeOfPiracy, probably both inspired by the success of the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' franchise. || ''Sails'' is a darker and edgier take while ''Crossbones'' is a bit lighter. || ''Black Sails'', it's just been renewed for a second season whereas ''Crossbones'' was cancelled after one.||

|| ''[[Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand Spartacus]]'' || ''Series/GameOfThrones'' || Shows introduced in the very beginning of TheNewTens that defined InterplayOfSexAndViolence in TV that also established the fact that AnyoneCanDie, ''including'' [[TheHeroDies the main characters]]. || ''Spartacus'' is an adaption of the historical Third Servile War set during AncientRome, while ''Game of Thrones'' was from the book ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' set (fictionally) in the medieval times. The main plot of ''Spartacus'' revolves around SlaveLiberation and opposing tyranny, while ''Game of Thrones'' revolves around politics and power struggle. || ''Game of Thrones'' has more awards and acclaim than ''Spartacus'' and one of, if not ''the'', most popular shows on television, though the latter is a respected show that also has a ''very large'' cult following. ||

|| ''RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'' || ''Turn-On'' || Comedy/variety show produced by George Schlatter || ''Laugh-In'' was the #1 show at the time for NBC. ABC decided to get in on the action by making their own irreverent sketch show that pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable at the time. || ''Laugh-In'' won, both with critics and in the ratings. ''Turn-On'', in contrast, was so bad that it either got [[BannedEpisode banned and replaced with alternate programming]], was canceled ten minutes into its first episode, or aired in its entirety... and never shown again.

|| ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (1975) || ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' (1995) || SketchComedy VarietyShow. || The first is a classic of the genre, despite its many ups and downs. The other is pretty much the same, only it's taped, an hour long, and comes off the heels of ''InLivingColor'' being cancelled after five years and ''House of Buggin'' and ''Saturday Night Special'' being taken off the air due to bad reviews and worse ratings. || Though both shows held their own (and have fans who will forever fight over which show is most superior), ''Saturday Night Live'' wins because it's more popular, it's still on the air, is in syndication on cable (VH1 and VH1 Classic), and is on DVD (the first five seasons and several "Best Of" clip shows and documentaries about the show's history), Internet streaming[[note]]mostly Yahoo Video and its show website[[/note]], and Netflix, while ''MADtv'' was canceled, hasn't been syndicated since 2010 (it was on in reruns on Comedy Central, but was canceled, and its alleged SpiritualSuccessor, ''MAD''[[note]]the Cartoon Network sketch show[[/note]] was canned in 2013 to make room for new shows), is only on DVD[[note]]seasons one to four are out[[/note]], and only has the final two seasons available on iTunes.||

|| ''Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam'' || ''BET's Comicview'' || Stand-up comedy series that showcase young, up-and-coming black comedians || Both debuted in the mid '90s, during the Stand Up Comedy Boom. ''Def Comedy'' tends to pull bigger names and uses its pay cable slot to get away with saltier language. ''Comicview'' tends to edit its shows, often splicing several comics together for themed segments. || ''Comicview'' has been on-air longer, running continuously from 1992 to 2008. ||
|| ''Series/TheMidnightSpecial'' || ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' || Ninety minutes of live music by a variety of acts, with occasional taped shows and comedy. || ''Special'' debuted six months before ''Rock Concert''. ''Special'' aired on NBC, ''Rock Concert'' was syndicated. The biggest difference between the shows were the hosts: ''Midnight Special'' had Wolfman Jack as the announcer and a series of guest hosts, ''Rock Concert'' was hosted by Kirshner himself. || Both shows ended in 1981, but ''Midnight Special'' wins here because the concerts are offered on DVD via NostalgiaFilter {{Infomercial}}s, which make them more familiar. ||
|| ''HaveIGotNewsForYou'' || ''MockTheWeek'' || Comedy panel quiz/[[ThePointsMeanNothing "quiz"]] focusing on recent news, featuring both regular panellists and guests || HIGNFY has been running much longer and is generally considered more [[SeriousBusiness cerebral and culturally valuable]], but MTW is a good contender [[RuleOfFunny comedy-wise]]. Frequently draw from the same pool of guests. || Everybody wins. ||
|| ''Series/TheDailyShow'' || ''Half-Hour News Hour'' || Comedy shows that mock the news. || ''Half-Hour'' was meant to be [[TheMoralSubstitute the conservative version]] of ''The Daily Show''. || People tuned in to ''Half-Hour'' to see if conservatives can be funny. They weren't in this case, and that show was cancelled after one season. Winner: ''Series/TheDailyShow''. ||

|| ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (1975) || ''Series/{{Fridays}}'' (1980) || Both are [[VarietyShow variety]] [[SketchComedy sketch shows]] featuring a cast of young comedians and comedy writers, popular celebrities of the day, popular musical performances of the day, and both air live on their respective coasts (''SNL'' in the East and ''Fridays'' in the West) || Creator/{{ABC}}'s ''Fridays'' started out as a crude and disgusting carbon copy of ''SNL'' (in fact, the third episode, which featuring a sketch about a zombie diner and a sketch about prim and proper women who spit, was the final episode in a lot of affiliates, as they received complaints about the show's content), but when ''SNL'' went through SeasonalRot in the early 1980s, ''Fridays'' came out on top as the edgy sketch show that had a young cast of CrazyAwesome comedians and the best in popular music. || While ''Fridays'' did prove to be better than ''SNL'' was at the time in terms of writing and acting, ''Fridays'' ended up [[ScrewedByTheNetwork getting screwed by ABC]] when the network moved it to midnight to make room for ''Nightline'' and extended the show from 70 minutes to 90 minutes. It also doesn't help that by 1982, ''SNL'' was slowly, but surely, turning itself around with a better cast and better writers. ''Fridays'' ended up getting canceled after ABC got the brilliant idea to make it a primetime sketch show -- and it tanked in the ratings thanks to ''Dallas'' (which was ''the'' show of the early 1980s). ||