History OlderThanTheyThink / LiveACtionTV

* Actor Creator/MichaelBJordan's role in the film ''Film/{{Creed}}'', about Apollo Creed's son being trained by Rocky Balboa made him a star in Hollywood. But this isn't the first time he played this role. In an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'', a younger Jordan plays a promising boxing prospect being trained by an ex boxing champion. But unlike Balboa in ''Creed'', this trainer is an EvilMentor who'll do anything to make his favorite prospect a champion in his image, [[spoiler: including murdering two of his friends using his signature, vicious body attack he was known for, because he felt they were a distraction to his prospect's career.]]

* OtakuOClock is something invented in the TurnOfTheMillennium as a place to put animated shows (usually Anime or adult-oriented cartoons), right? Nope. Even in the 1980s, some syndicated stations would start their broadcast day at 3 or 4am with cartoons they didn't want to put in prime time. Some of them were cheaply made {{DomesticOnlyCartoon}}s designed only to take up space. Others were old ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' or Creator/TexAvery reruns. A few, however, were anime or {{Animesque}} series that were unable to fit anywhere else.

*** Three New Who stories are adaptations of works from the expanded universe; "Dalek" (the Big Finish audio story, Jubilee), "Human Nature / The Family of Blood" (the Virgin New Adventures book Human Nature) and "The Lodger" (a Tenth Doctor [[Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine DWM comic]] of the same name).

* OtakuOClock is something invented in the TurnOfTheMillennium as a place to put animated shows (usually Anime or adult-oriented cartoons), right? Nope. Even in the 1980s, some syndicated stations would start their broadcast day at 3 or 4am with cartoons they didn't want to put in prime time. Some of them were the animated equivalents of {{Shovelware}}, cheaply made {{DomesticOnlyCartoon}}s designed only to take up space. Others were old ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' or Creator/TexAvery reruns. A few, however, were anime or {{Animesque}} series that were unable to fit anywhere else.

* ''Film/BattlestarGalactica1978'': The show is frequently mocked as a ''Franchise/StarWars'' ripoff even on this page, but the original script was written almost a decade before Creator/GeorgeLucas began developing his famous franchise.

* In the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise, the [[MemeticHandGesture Vulcan salute]], and its accompanying farewells, "Peace and long life" and "Live long and prosper", are both derived from Jewish benediction services. (This was confirmed by Leonard Nimoy when he hosted a retrospective on Star Trek in the early 1980s.)

* Because of Creator/JonStewart's famed "stop hurting America" appearance on Creator/{{CNN}}'s ''Crossfire'' in 2004, a lot of people now seem to assume it was a show specifically created as a vehicle for conservative pundit Tucker Carlson. In fact, it debuted in 1982 as a SoundToScreenAdaptation of a "left vs. right" Washington, D.C. talk radio show that was co-hosted by liberal Tom Braden (who was also the RealLife inspiration for ''Series/EightIsEnough'') and conservative Pat Buchanan, and went through a bunch of other co-hosts over the years. The iteration Stewart appeared on was a widely-loathed reboot to make the show YoungerAndHipper, including adding a studio audience. It was already limping along in the ratings when Stewart made his scathing appearance, and was canceled a few months later.

** Comedians Olsen and Johnson had been doing this sort of thing for years when they brought it onto the Broadway stage in 1938 with {{Theatre/Hellzapoppin}}. There was also a 1941 film version.

** Although, Toei does acknowledge that the Dino Megazord's design (technically the Daizyujin from ''Zyuranger'') was made as a homage to ''Voltron'' (''Go Lion''). [[http://www.toeihero.net/archive/rgl/omoide/main.html Source in Japanese]].

** The classic Disney cartoon ''WesternAnimation/LonesomeGhosts'', in which Mickey, Donald, and Goofy portray ghost-hunters ''decades'' before either the TV show or the movie. The little known Creator/DisneyChannel original series ''DTV'' even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] this fact by running a video in which scenes from that cartoon are shown with the Ray Parker, Jr., theme song from the movie playing in the background.

* Jon Stewart occasionally does a nasally, weasely voice on ''Series/TheDailyShow'' that many young viewers associate with his show (for an in-television example, Britta Perry does so on an episode of ''Series/{{Community}}''). However, older viewers will recognize it as a reference to a [[Series/TheTonightShow Johnny Carson]] voice / character, one that Johnny often went to when a joke fell flat ("Whoa, bomb-o!"). But here's the kicker, even older viewers will know that Johnny's voice was originally a reference to [[Series/TheHoneymooners Jackie Gleason's]] Reginald Van Gleason III character ("Mmmboy are you fat!", as mentioned in an episode of the Sopranos).

** ''Wheel'' was continuous. It began in 1975 as a daytime show for Creator/{{NBC}} hosted by Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford — current host Pat Sajak took over in 1981, and Vanna White almost exactly a year later. Pat and Vanna made the leap to nighttime in 1983, hosting both daytime and nighttime until Pat stepped down from daytime in 1989. Daytime ultimately fizzled out in 1991 after two host changes and two {{Channel Hop}}s, but nighttime is still locked firmly in place with Pat and Vanna. In ''Wheel'''s case, it doesn't help that the show constantly references what ''nighttime'' season it's on, and that Chuck Woolery would become more famous for his later work on ''Series/LoveConnection'', ''Series/{{Scrabble}}'', and ''Series/{{Lingo}}''.

* If you say ''Series/MatchGame'' to an average television fan, they will most likely think of questions pertaining to Dumb Dora, the snarky interactions of panelists Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly, every third question having the answer "boobs", and a bright orange shag carpet set for the ultimate in TheSeventies appeal. ''That'' was a revival of a 1960s show which, while more subdued and formal, still relied on trying to answer fill-in-the-blank questions.
* A menancing but bumbling character who utters "D'Oh!" as a CatchPhrase when frustrated. [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]], right? No, Skipper from ''Series/GilligansIsland'' 20 years earlier.

* From 1977-83, Creator/{{ABC}} and Creator/{{CBS}} aired select UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball games from the NCAA's lower profile divisions (I-AA, II, III) on a very limited regional basis (usually on just the affiliates in the home markets of the teams playing), as a ContractualObligationProject, since the NCAA (which controlled all regular season college football TV rights at the time) mandated these games as part of the package. A 1984 Supreme Court stripped the NCAA's monopoly over TV rights, which ended these telecasts. But looking back, the concept of a major TV network producing and packaging niche sporting events under their branding, for focused distribution to a small audience, makes these games a clear ancestor of Creator/{{ESPN}}3 and ESPN+.

** If you saw ''Series/MaskedRider'' and thought it was a ''Power Rangers'' ripoff, you should know that ''Kamen Rider'' is about two or three years older than ''Franchise/SuperSentai''. Undoubtedly its debut was met with the usual cynicism: "Oh, so they took ''Kamen Rider,'' made some stupid ripoff where there's [[FiveManBand five of them]] in [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience silly rainbow colors]] so they can [[MerchandiseDriven sell more toys]], then made it LighterAndSofter so kids will watch? {{Toku}} is ruined! ItWillNeverCatchOn!"

-->'''Alex''': That is such an obvious lie. It's the name from the Music/{{Rush}} song.
-->'''Harper''': And the classic ''book''.
-->'''Alex''': Wow. That song was good, I didn't know they made a book out of it.

* Some fans of Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration assume that series is the original and call Emma & crew the original Degrassi cast, ignoring the fact the show has ''Next Generation'' in it's name. Not only were the adult characters in that show part of a whole [[Series/DegrassiJuniorHigh previous]] [[Series/DegrassiHigh era]] of the show in the 1980s, the franchise actually [[Series/TheKidsOfDegrassiStreet began in 1979!]]

* Two game shows with 2007 debuts, ''The Singing Bee'' and ''Series/DontForgetTheLyrics'', asked for contestants to fill in missing song lyrics. This concept actually dates to the early 1960s with the game show ''Yours For a Song''. Additionally, ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' had the occasional Fill in the Blank/Next Line Please bonus category about songs from the mid-90s until the late 2000s.

** The episode "Dalek" was widely credited with making the Daleks scary again after a fairly lengthy period of having undergone VillainDecay; in particular, it demonstrated that the Daleks could actually fly, in reaction to the standard joke of the best way of defeating Daleks being to climb a flight of stairs. In fact, several of the elements that "Dalek" apparently "introduced" to the Daleks originated in the 1988 serial "Remembrance of the Daleks". And the [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/remembrancedaleks/detail.shtml Doctor Who Website page]] for "Remembrance of the Daleks" says it is a myth that the Daleks first ''flew'' here. Thought they don't mention it there, in the '''second''' Dalek appearance, though this was in a comic, they flew using transpolar discs. Additionally, a sequence in 1985's "Revelation of the Daleks" was intended to show a Dalek levitating, but the execution doesn't make it clear, and 1965's "The Chase" ''implies'' the Daleks have some way of getting up stairs when they are seen on both levels of the ''Marie Celeste'', although this could just have been a plot hole nobody thought to address.

* For most of the 2000s, ''Series/{{Lingo}}'' was a fixture on Creator/{{GSN}}, and arguably its most successful original game show. It was a revival of a little-known 1980s show that died off because its financially-troubled parent company wasn't able to pay contestants their winnings.

*** The murderous snow and killer, razor-toothed snowmen controlled by a collective intelligence from "The Snowmen" are almost identical to murderous snow and killer, razor-toothed snowmen controlled by a collective intelligence battled by [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld Susan Foreman and her school friends]] in the Telos novella ''Time and Relative'' (the primary difference being that the book's snowmen originate from Earth itself and the story is much BloodierAndGorier).

* While the insignia for the evil Federation in ''Series/BlakesSeven'' looks almost like the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' Starfleet arrowhead insignia turned 45 degrees[[note]]Which has helped, in many fans' mind, to perceive the show as the "Anti-Trek"[[/note]], it should be noted that ''Blake's 7'' began in 1978, a year before Trek's movie era began. It wasn't until ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', that the signature arrowhead insignia would gain the oval or circular background. Also, originally in TOS, the arrowhead was an insignia exclusive to the starship Enterprise, not the symbol of Starfleet [[note]]However, this detail has been quietly retconned as few viewers actually noticed in TOS that other starship officers, when seen, had different insignia on their uniforms; And in the episode ''Court Martial'', officers who were not conncected with the Enterprise appeared to be wearing the Enterprise insignia on their uniforms. Recently a document has surfaced which seems to say that the intent was always for the arrowhead to represent Starfleet, and the episodes with different insignia were, respectively, one indicating a rank of Commodore, one indicating a non-Starfleet Federation vessel, and one mistake.[[/note]]. The real inspiration for the evil Federation's insignia appears to be the "sun and spaceship" insignia from Issac Asimov's Foundation novels where it was the insignia for the crumbling Galactic Empire.[[note]]Not an evil empire, per se, like the one in ''StarWars'' but an empire that had grown stagnant and soft with bureaucracy and weak leadership.[[/note]]

* The concept of a virtual reality called "The Matrix" was used earlier in ''Series/DoctorWho'' in the 1976 serial "The Deadly Assassin", twenty three years before its better-known movie namesake. The concept was first used in ''Simulacron 3'', a novel by Daniel F. Galouye, written in 1964.

* People thought that the first {{Creator/ABSCBN}}/Dreamscape Entertainment child/values-oriented teleserye that was released on odd number of years is ''{{Series/MayBukasPa May Bukas Pa}}'' as the trailers of child-oriented teleseryes following this such as ''Honesto'' first state ''May Bukas Pa'', but actually the trend of releasing child/values-oriented teleseryes on odd number of years was started in 2005 with ''Mga Anghel na Walang Langit ''featuring the original Goin' Bulilit members Carl John Barrameda, Nikki Bagaporo, Miles Ocampo, Sharlene San Pedro and John Manalo, and the late Johnny Delgado and was aired from May 9, 2005 to February 24, 2006. ''Mga Anghel na Walang Langit'' was followed by ''Princess Sarah'' in 2007, also featuring Sharlene San Pedro and was aired from November 12 to December 21, 2007. Thus, ''May Bukas Pa'' is actually the third teleserye in the lineup of child/values-oriented teleseryes of ABS-CBN/Dreamscape Entertainment that were released on odd number of years, after ''Mga Anghel na Walang Langit'' and ''Princess Sarah''.

* People thought that the first {{Creator/ABSCBN}}/Dreamscape Entertainment child/values-oriented teleserye that was released on odd number of years is {{Series/MayBukasPa}} as the trailers of child-oriented teleseryes following this such as ''Honesto'' first state ''May Bukas Pa'', but actually the trend of releasing child/values-oriented teleseryes on odd number of years was started in 2005 with Mga Anghel na Walang Langit featuring the original Goin' Bulilit members Carl John Barrameda, Nikki Bagaporo, Miles Ocampo, Sharlene San Pedro and John Manalo, and the late Johnny Delgado and was aired from May 9, 2005 to February 24, 2006. Mga Anghel na Walang Langit was followed by Princess Sarah in 2007, also featuring Sharlene San Pedro and was aired from November 12 to December 21, 2007. Thus, May Bukas Pa is actually the third teleserye in the lineup of child/values-oriented teleseryes of ABS-CBN/Dreamscape Entertainment that were released on odd number of years, after Mga Anghel na Walang Langit and Princess Sarah.

* The first {{Deconstruction}} of the HenshinHero tokusatsu genre is said by many to be ''Film/ShinKamenRiderPrologue''; however, in 1973, P Productions made TetsujinTigerSeven, a dark for the time show that has a lot of the tropes from the then new ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise taken to their darker extremes. The hero's [[ClarkKenting alter ego]] is seen by his friends as a DirtyCoward who runs from monsters, and this causes significant strain on his personal life. TransformationIsAFreeAction is given a beatdown too, as Tiger Seven's henshin sequence is usually done on his motorcycle. His gesticulating and inattention during his henshin sequence causes him to [[RealityEnsues lose control of his cycle and run over a young child.]] This may have been why it isn't that well remembered, however.