History DuelingWorksLiveActionTV / VarietyShow

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** '''Implementation:''' ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' – initially known as the "Toast of the Town" was hosted by the New York entertainment columnist, and he presented every type of act imaginable – from burlesque comedy and opera to ballet and top popular music acts of the day; the best-known episodes are the ones that featured early national TV performances of Music/ElvisPresley, Music/TheBeatles, and Franchise/TheMuppets. Among the many competing shows of "various acts" bills was [=ABC=]'s ''Hollywood Palace'', taped at the eponymously-named venue in Hollywood, California. Unlike ''Ed Sullivan'', ''Hollywood Palace'' had guest hosts each week; the program is best known for the earliest performances of Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} and [[Music/MichaelJackson The Jackson 5]].

** '''Capsule Pitch Description:''' Both are [[VarietyShow variety]] [[SketchComedy sketch shows]] featuring a cast of young, unknown 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)
** '''Implementation:''' 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, a sketch about a priest who buys an inflatable sex doll modeled after a nun, and a talk show parody 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). 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 CrazyIsCool comedians and the best in popular music.

** '''Implementation:''' ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' – initially known as the "Toast of the Town" was hosted by the New York entertainment columnist, and he presented every type of act imaginable – from burlesque comedy and opera to ballet and top popular music acts of the day; the best-known episodes are the ones that featured early national TV performances of Music/ElvisPresley, Music/TheBeatles, and Franchise/TheMuppets. Among the many competing shows of "various acts" bills was [=ABC=]'s ''Hollywood Palace'', taped at the eponymously-named venue in Hollywood, California. Unlike ''Ed Sullivan'', ''Hollywood Palace'' had guest hosts each week; the program is best known for the earliest performances of Music/TheRollingStones and [[Music/MichaelJackson The Jackson 5]].

|| Original || Clone || Description || Implementation || Winner? ||
|| ''Series/TheEdSullivanShow'' (1948) || ''The Series/HollywoodPalace (1964)'' || {{Vaudeville}}-style variety show, with acts spanning every genre and generation. || ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' – initially known as the "Toast of the Town" was hosted by the New York entertainment columnist, and he presented every type of act imaginable – from burlesque comedy and opera to ballet and top popular music acts of the day; the best-known episodes are the ones that featured early national TV performances of Music/ElvisPresley, Music/TheBeatles, and Franchise/TheMuppets. Among the many competing shows of "various acts" bills was [=ABC=]'s ''Hollywood Palace'', taped at the eponymously-named venue in Hollywood, California. Unlike ''Ed Sullivan'', ''Hollywood Palace'' had guest hosts each week; the program is best known for the earliest performances of Music/TheRollingStones and [[Music/MichaelJackson The Jackson 5]]. || ''Ed Sullivan''; even more is that the show was in the same time block for almost its entire 23-year run (1948-1971) – Sundays at 8 p.m. EST. For its part, ''Hollywood Palace'' had a six-year run (1964-1970) and was able to attract most of the same big-name acts as Sullivan did, including (most notably) The Rolling Stones and The Jackson 5. ||
|| ''Series/AmericanBandstand'' (1952) || ''Series/SoulTrain'' (1971) || Teens dancing to the popular music of the day. The day's hottest musical acts appeared as well. || To put it bluntly -- ''American Bandstand'' was for white kids and emphasized the music, and ''Soul Train'' was for black kids and emphasized the dancing. A difference that was highlighted by both shows' signature segments: ''Bandstand''[='=]s song ratings ([[MemeticMutation "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it!"]]) and the Soul Train Line. || Both lasted the same amount of seasons, with ''Bandstand'' having a 13-season headstart and ''Train'' lasting thirteen seasons after ''Bandstand''[='=]s cancellation. ''Soul Train'' seems to be more fondly remembered, though both have their NeverLiveItDown factor: ''Bandstand'' for [[AcceptableTargets its overwhelming whiteness]] and ''Train'' for its [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece inescapable link]] to [[DiscoDan '70s fashion, music, and afros.]] ||
|| ''Shindig!'' (1964) || ''Hullabaloo'' (1965)\\
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''Shivaree'' (1965)\\
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''Hollywood a Go-Go'' (1965) || Prime-time musical variety shows featuring the Top 40 acts of the day singing their hits, accompanied by go-go dancers. || ''Shindig!'' debuted on Creator/{{ABC}} in September 1964 and was hosted by Jimmy O'Neil. Creator/{{NBC}}'s answer, ''Hullabaloo'', premiered in January 1965 and was hosted by various guest hosts. ''Shivaree'' and ''Hollywood a Go-Go'' were local programs that were nationally syndicated around the same time; they were hosted, respectively, by Sam Riddle and Gene Weed. || All four of them were cancelled by 1966. Over-saturation of such shows[[labelnote:†]](beside these four, there was also ''Series/AmericanBandstand'' and ''Where the Action Is'' on afternoons on ABC, as well as many locally-produced shows)[[/labelnote]] might've been a factor in their eventual failure. Nevertheless, they're all fondly remembered for the musical acts they featured. ||
|| ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'' (1968) || ''Turn-On'' (1969) || 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. ||
|| ''Creator/MorecambeAndWise'' (1968) || ''Series/TheTwoRonnies'' (1971) || Two British comedy shows heavily inspired by music hall/vaudeville comedy and featuring two pairs of [[TrueCompanions very good friends]] || Both shows ran on BBC-1 for most of the 1970s, garnering high ratings. The Rons had also some solo works while M&W concentrated in their show. || A biggie. Both teams are still very popular and influential to this day. And while Eric and Ernie had a much longer career, The Two Ronnies are likely more popular overseas. ||
|| ''Series/TheMidnightSpecial'' (1972) || ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' (1973) || 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. ||
|| ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (1975) || ''Series/{{Fridays}}'' (1980) || Both are [[VarietyShow variety]] [[SketchComedy sketch shows]] featuring a cast of young, unknown 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, a sketch about a priest who buys an inflatable sex doll modeled after a nun, and a talk show parody 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). 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 CrazyIsCool comedians and the best in popular music. || ''SNL'' wins because it's more remembered and (for better or worse) still popular, while ''Fridays'' is more of a CultClassic that isn't remembered much (though it does have a DVD release from Creator/ShoutFactory and is on Hulu Plus). However, between 1980 and 1982, ''Fridays'' was clearly the winner, because ''SNL'''s quality was severely lacking and ''Fridays'' was deemed better by comparison (even if some of the detractors still thought it was a bad show). ||
|| ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (1975) || ''Series/TheNewShow'' (1984) || SketchComedy VarietyShow || Both shows have guests and musical guests and were produced by Lorne Michaels. || ''SNL'' still won. ''The New Show'' failed to capture an audience of its own, only lasting for 9 episodes, broadcast over the course of two months (January-March, 1984). Its ratings were among the lowest of the season. It did so bad that it prompted Creator/LorneMichaels to return to ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in 1985. On the up side, ''The New Show'' had a lot of up-and-coming writers who would later work on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''...after working on ''SNL'' during its near-CreatorKiller 11th season and most of its new GoldenAge seasons (seasons 12 to 15). ||
|| ''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, pared down to an hour long, and comes off the heels of ''Series/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, is 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. ||
|| ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' (1990) || ''Series/MockTheWeek'' (2005) || 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. || It's a tie! ||
|| ''Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam'' (1992) || ''BET's Comicview'' (1992) || 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. However, ''Def Comedy Jam'' has a stronger cultural impact, so ''Def Comedy Jam'' wins. ||
|| ''Comedy Inc'' (2003) || ''Big Bite'' (2003)\\
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''skitHOUSE'' (2003) || Australian sketch comedy series launched by commercial networks in the first half of 2003 || Seven had ''Big Bite'', Nine ''Comedy Inc'' and Ten ''skitHouse'' || ''Comedy Inc'' lasted until 2007, whereas both ''Big Bite'' and ''skitHOUSE'' both ended in 2004 ||
|| ''Series/{{Tosh 0}}'' (2009) || ''Series/WebSoup'' (2009) || ''Series/TheSoup''-[[FollowTheLeader inspired]] snarky weekly rundowns of viral videos. || Creator/ComedyCentral's ''Tosh'' sticks mostly to Website/YouTube stuff and viewer submissions and its signature "Web Redemption" segment. G4's ''Series/WebSoup'' is more ''Series/AttackOfTheShow'''s "Epic Fail" segments [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Series/TheSoup'', using AOTS-style graphics. || It really depends on your style of comedy, with ''Tosh'' being more straightforward and [[BlackComedy meaner]], while ''Series/WebSoup'' delves into sketch comedy and absurdist comedy. It also has the all-important blessing of [=McHale=], along with Chris Hardwick, who has been on TV for years and has built a good Internet following. However, ''Tosh'' is [[AdoredByTheNetwork adored by Comedy Central]], and ''Web Soup'' was cancelled. ||
|| ''Series/TheNotTooLateShowWithElmo'' (2020) || ''Series/MuppetsNow'' || Spinoffs/revivals of the two most well-known Creator/JimHenson series (''Series/SesameStreet'' and ''Franchise/TheMuppets'') that bring the characters into a different style of variety series (a talk show and web videos, specifically). Both series marked the characters' debut on [[Creator/HBOMax streaming]] [[Creator/DisneyPlus television]]. || ''The Not-Too-Late Show'' and ''Muppets Now'' have both been compared to the original ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', with their emphasis on sketch comedy and [[SesameStreetCred celebrity cameos]]. Both series had new episodes released weekly with a generally similar format episode-to-episode; ''Not-Too-Late Show'' boasted 13 episodes in its first season while ''Muppets Now'' only had 6. || Unclear. Regarding reviews, ''Elmo'' has the edge over ''Muppets'', with slightly stronger scores from critics and noticeably higher scores from audiences. However, ''Muppets'' almost certainly has the edge in terms of viewership, due to Disney+'s popularity and HBO Max's poor early subscriber numbers; in fact, after just one episode, ''Muppets Now'' had more ratings on Website/{{IMDb}} than ''Elmo'' had garnered after 12[[labelnote:*]]though this could also be attributed to ''Elmo'' more explicitly targeted at children compared to ''Muppets''[[/labelnote]].||

|| ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (1975) || ''Series/TheNewShow'' (1984) || SketchComedy VarietyShow || Both shows have guests and musical guests and were produced by Lorne Michaels. || ''SNL'' still won. ''The New Show'' failed to capture an audience of its own, only lasting for 9 episodes, broadcast over the course of two months (January-March, 1984). Its ratings were among the lowest of the season. It did so bad that it prompted Creator/LorneMichaels to return to ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in 1985. On the up side, ''The New Show'' had a lot of up-and-coming writers who would later work on ''TheSimpsons''...after working on ''SNL'' during its near-CreatorKiller 11th season and most of its new GoldenAge seasons (seasons 12 to 15). ||

|| ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (1975) || ''Series/{{Fridays}}'' (1980) || Both are [[VarietyShow variety]] [[SketchComedy sketch shows]] featuring a cast of young, unknown 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, a sketch about a priest who buys an inflatable sex doll modeled after a nun, and a talk show parody 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). 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. || ''SNL'' wins because it's more remembered and (for better or worse) still popular, while ''Fridays'' is more of a CultClassic that isn't remembered much (though it does have a DVD release from Creator/ShoutFactory and is on Hulu Plus). However, between 1980 and 1982, ''Fridays'' was clearly the winner, because ''SNL'''s quality was severely lacking and ''Fridays'' was deemed better by comparison (even if some of the detractors still thought it was a bad show). ||

|| Original || Clone || Capsule Pitch Description || Implementation || Winner? ||

|| ''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, pared down to an hour long, and comes off the heels of ''Series/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. ||

[[folder:Variety Show]]