List of Decent Rip-Offs

I like to converse with you about entertaining, yet blatant, rip-offs.

Because people seem to think that if something is a rip-off, it is equivalently a bad series. I don't like that logic.

These are established rip-offs (not parodies nor inspired series; nor genre shows, like Pokemon and Power Rangers, that have grown so popular that they have a whole genre derived from them) that are quite entertaining to watch.

I personally enjoyed Goober and the Ghost Chasers regardless of the blatant cash-in of Scooby-Doo. In fact, it's so much a rip-off that it could get sued for copyright infringement if it wasn't produced by the same company!

I liked it, it showed me how Scooby-Doo would be imagined without the Scooby-Doo cast.

The question here is how do you define a ripoff?

Would it be something that bears a similarity to a well-known show? Or is it something that tries to pretend it is something popular to fool nearsighted grandmas at the cash register, like the work of Video Brinquedo?

I define it in the same way people define plagiarism. To steal ideas from another and claim them as their own.

I'm not talking about mockbusters as those of Asylum or the other rubbish you named.

Your first way of putting it isn't far off, but it's less emphasis on coincidental similarities and more on presumably intentional similarities.

But plagiarism is intentional.

Yes... miscommunication here. Be sure to read twice for reading comprehension. I think you misunderstand something in the line there.

No, I'm sorry; just because something uses a lot of the same tropes as something else doesn't really make it a ripoff.

I know. I'm talking about essential similarities; intentional ones as well.

Not tropes, but characteristics that makes a show stand on its own. Another one steal that characteristics. I didn't say anything about tropes.

How About Dino-Mutt? That seemed to rip off both Scooby Doo and Batman (The TV show.)

Or how about Captain Caveman and the Teenage Angels?

In fact Hanna-Barbera recycled its "mystery solving team + one silly/supernatural character" idea plenty of times.

edited 13th Jun '15 6:07:17 AM by Sijo

Bimbles Bucket was essentially a Denser and Wackier remake of The Dreamstone by the same creative team. However, while a tad blander, it is streamlined and carefully setup so it doesn't seem nearly as infuriatingly imbalanced and flawed as the first show.

I do admit I would have rather they just continued to improve on The Dreamstone than make a new one though, especially since it was ironically Growing the Beard just as Bimble's Bucket was being made.

Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog is essentially Sonic The Hedgehog ripping off of Looney Tunes and The Ren And Stimpy Show with very little subtlety. It at least does it well a lot of the time though.

edited 13th Jun '15 5:53:41 PM by Psi001

For that matter, Scooby Doo was designed specifically to mimic Josie and the Pussycat (who then guest starred on Scooby Doo some years later). Hanna Barbera did indeed copy the Scooby Doo formula several times over, with the likes of Speed Buggy, Captain Caveman, Jabberjaw, etc. They even did one with Al Capp's Smoo character. In this case, they were all done by the same studio. I think there was even an episode of Mystery Inc that guest-starred all of the Scooby Doo copies.

But yeah, it's questionable. While this is an example from anime, are all those shows that copy Gatchaman's character line-up ripping them off?

Oh, and plagiarism can be intentional OR unintentional.

edited 13th Jun '15 10:35:47 AM by Robbery

The Pussycats came after Scooby, though...

I beg your pardon, I was misremembering. They were trying to mimic The Archie Show, with a mystery element thrown in.

As far as good rip-offs go, I've always felt that Ra's Al Ghul and Ming the Merciless were pretty effective rip offs of Fu Manchu. That example might be a tad off topic, though...

edited 13th Jun '15 11:13:57 AM by Robbery

Actually, SD started as a derivative of the archie cartoon. With the band aspect to boost sales of possible singles. That was QUICKLY DROPPED AND THEY TURNED THEIR DOG INTO MORE OF A CHARACTER.

The Cleveland Show was a pretty redundant adult sitcom from Seth Mcfarlene, using the exact same animation style, similar humour and even a lot of the basic archetypes as Family Guy and American Dad. However it was very funny in places and didn't degrade as often into cheap shock value or mean spirited humour as the previous two. At some points it actually takes funnier turns with the previous shows' ideas (eg. real time cutaways).

I almost wished The Cleveland Show had continued instead of Family Guy which has blatantly been run to the ground.

edited 13th Jun '15 5:52:31 PM by Psi001

The Lion King.

(Ba-da-bump!)