FAME = American Idol RipOff

Fame Forum

Does anyone else think that NBC just ripped off American Idol? I realize that they want "the whole package" so to speak but the format is identical. They even have a black judge, the token female and the "critical" judge. They even say things like "you made it your own' what a complete copy. I am not saying that the show is bad but they could have done a better job at disguising it.

whatever will bring in the ratings and money. I would assume they will change the format a little after they get more air time.

I hope your right. It is hard to watch FAME with the current format. It is just too American Idolish. I will still watch because I enjoy talent shows but hope they find their own groove soon.

i totally agree. did u catch the way joey pants aped randy jackson by calling somebody's name 3 times? i cant believe he did that! it was a lame act. i think debbie allen is arguably the only original ingredient of the show.

it was kind of funny - I thought to myself while watching the show once more on Bravo (they are putting it again on Friday night- I think at 8pm est) the way the judges where positioned it was the randy jackson look a like the "woman" Carnie Wilson (that is definatly not a Paula with sooo much negativity) and the dark haired man....hmmmm Simon ? interesting lol I dunno if it has been said before but...just thought I would add it in....

Yeah I guess there is too much resemblance to AI that I can't help but to compare them. I mean even if they had just revamped the "judging" a bit it wouldn't "feel" like a cheap version of AI. I watch star search as well and even though I don't like it as much as AI I never feel like it is copying it. Fame is funny to watch though, mainly because I want to see the judges try and be original

hahahaha good one flapbreaker! now this will be one talent show where the judges are being watched as entertainment! LOL!

although i'm a fame fan, frankly speaking, i feel that fame is cashing in on the trend set by AI. if they are airing the show for a short 2 months, they could have put in more effort to be different so that the viewing public wont be referring to them as a rip off of something else. i was hoping fame would be different from the rest and not just something to pass the time while waiting for AI3.

true, AI is based on the long running Star Search format, but AI took the extra mile of creating a totally different twist and setting a trend for the modern talent reality show. i'm a fan of tv talent shows and i watch all 3 of them. but of course, if i am to choose which tv show entertained me the most, i would have to say AI.

I really dont think you can call it an american idol rip-off ok so its a reality show with talent....rip-off? oh and there are three judges...m k. honestly i understand why people are saying it but you have to give it a chance....already the show has way more energy, and enthusiasm than American Idol, i wont say that the talent level is better, but its only the beginning so i think its too hard to tell. The people n American Idol couldnt dance, nor did most of them have the personalities that these people do, i mean seriously the "star quality" shows in every single one of them....i say best of luck to the Show, give it a chance....these people are super talented.

fate4fame did you watch American Idol? I ask that because if you had you would know what I mean about ripping it off. It's not that there are judges and a talent contest it is more how they "packaged" it right down to the seating of the judges that's all. I didn't say I wouldn't watch I just said it is hard to watch without the similarities popping out.

As far as these people being more talented or not. Time will tell. There probably is better dancers on Fame but I don't know yet about the singing. Personality? I think the AI people had just as much but personality is a subjective thing. I don't really see the "star" quality that you see. I find it fascinating how people can get so attached to a group of people that they don't even know so early in a show. What's it been now 1 or 2 shows and now they are STARS? Please

This thread is about the plot or format of Fame as being a rip off of another more experienced show AI. This topic is not about the talents being showcased but how the tv show is being presented.

well said flapbreaker. you are indeed a crackerjack. (applause)

ok, i didnt mean for this to be some fighting competition on whos right or wrong, i was just saying that i dont think its a rip-off...its a talentshow of course there are going to be similarities. And im not "so attached" to the people...its just that a know a lot of the contestants, so yes there is a reason for my attatchment. anyways, thats all i have to say. And i didnt say Americna idol contestants didnt have personality, but they didnt catch your attention the way these people do, i mean on Fame its almost obnoxious because so many of them have the arrows pointing to them whereas on American Idol it was always pretty obvious who the top three would be

Fate4Fame please don't take my earlier post as an attack because it wasn't I merely wanted to explain what I meant about it being a rip off. I am not in anyway referring to the contestants or their abilities but rather the producers of the who.

Anytime you actually know the people involved (like you stated) it is going to be difficult to hear the opinions (like mine) of those people that don't know them. We have a few sound bites and maybe one song to get to know the contestants. So our information is limited. You, by knowing them have a different perspective than I do.

American Idol contestants caught a lot of peoples attention. Maybe not yours but there were multi millions of viewers. Not so with Fame (at least not yet). Anyway have fun with the show. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

that's an objective point of view flapbreaker. people who have the privilege to hear them perform perhaps a hundred times in person know them in a very personal view. while some of us who only hear them perform on tv them once, or twice at the most, see only their tv version which is a "make or break" point of their potential career. unfortunately for some performers, something happens (stage fright or nerves) and its just isnt their night. and that is how they are rated by the public eye -- their one night on stage. and since the public eye are individuals who have different preferences, their reviews are very mixed.

its a talent search. what is so unique about that. frankly, AI stole an idea done years ago by the Miss America pageant if you want to be technical about it. Miss America was the first talent competition to have the viewing audience call in and vote. When I look at american idol or any of the talent shows, they all remind me of watching a miss america pageant. The only difference is that the judges talk back and the girls are in swimsuits. AI didn't come up with this novel idea of a talent search, it has been around and they just built on the concept. Now fame has come along and built on the concept further. Why change what works? Why not just build on it and make the necessary changes to make it better? Fame has done just that. It is so fun to watch. The energy is amazing and It is exciting to me. Much more exciting than AI. I love the dance numbers and the song choices are much more difficult and entertaining. I liked AI, but I never got the exciting feeling watching AI that I get from Fame. When I watch Fame I feel like I am watching professionals, I feel like they are giving it all they have and really PERFORMING for us. I don't get that feeling as much from AI.

to each his own, i guess

Copying is a way of life in TV land. At one time, there were like 40 westerns on at once.

NBC realized the AI audience would be ambling around without their fave show on Wednesday nights, and they grabbed for it. They also got it. I hear first week ratings were above 20 million!

The show was obviously thrown together in a hurry. Auditions were held only a month before first airdate, and it looks like Joey Fatone wasn't signed as host until just before the show. Debbie really is the only one who knows what she's doing, as this was her idea in the first place.

They obviously didn't really think it through. Experienced talent is up against total amateurs. Serena toured with Gladys Knight for five years. She's in another league from high school kids, even if her age is similar. It appears contestant ages vary widely too.

Give it some time, though. They'll find their groove. It's not AI, but then AI's not around now, is it?

What I don't understand is how anyone can watch this so called show.. Its pitiful!! Too much energy, looks like a street gang dancing, nothing original just a lot of noise!
Well I did take ofence at the similarity to AI but you have to understand, AI was a $$$$ machine and there are going to be ripoffs. The Junior AI is so terrible, I can't bear to watch!

These are two shows I can't get myself in to, JMO.
Lata

Flapbreaker:

I sort of disagree. I personally liked Fame much better - until last nite, now they're both about the same - than this last American Idol. IMO judges on AI were paid off to go for Ruben. Ruben had been emotionally & vocally dead the whole way thru. It was BS that the votes were in the 20M's. They were more likely in the 10M range, with everyone being disgusted with the way the direction show was obviously going, & Ruben got a lot less votes than Clay! Clay was the best of them all, but even he was not much to choose. Fantastic voice, but no emotional/visual input to his songs. He was more Perry Como than an "American IDOL". Last years show had the best talent.

I WAS pleasantly surprised with Fame - at last, some kids with REAL talent - until last nite. Once again the judges are showing signs of being paid off. If they continue to show that they're obviously being paid off - or very, very stupid - this coming Monday will be the LAST time these shows get MY attention. Debbie Allen seems to be the only one with brains!

You wrote:
"Does anyone else think that NBC just ripped off American Idol? I realize that they want "the whole package" so to speak but the format is identical. They even have a black judge, the token female and the "critical" judge. They even say things like "you made it your own' what a complete copy. I am not saying that the show is bad but they could have done a better job at disguising it."

well, that's why its called showbusiness. the networks are out there to outdo each other. so, if it worked for AI, the "guys up there" in Fame thought it might work for them too! one illustration i can think of is women's fashion. if one girl sees an outfit on another girl that works for her, she will copy that other girl's outfit and maybe modify it a bit to achieve the look she wants. in showbusiness it they go to greater lenghts. that's the way i see it.

Amateur talent competitons have been around for a loooong time. Each of them attempts to put their own twist on it. In fact, Star Search altogether re-invented itself.
--------

Here's [a few] celebrities whose first taste of fame came from national talent contests. Look at the dates and the fact that some had descendants and multiple "incarnations".

FRANK SINATRA: One of the Hoboken Four singing group on Major Bowles' radio show, The Original Amateur Hour, in 1937.

GLADYS KNIGHT: Appeared on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour, a TV descendant of Bowles' show that aired from 1948 to 1970.

TONY BENNETT: Seen on TV mainstay Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts show, which debuted in 1948.

MARE WINNINGHAM: The actor made her TV debut as a 16-year-old singer on The Gong Show, which aired from 1976 to 1980 on NBC and in syndication.

BRAD GARRETT: The Everybody Loves Raymond star was a $100,000 comedy winner on the first version of Star Search.

There's a whole lot more who made it big via a talent show/contest and the exposure. Hey ... even ELVIS PRESLEY was in a few talent contests.

My point is that talent shows are not a new idea, and they have all used different ways of showcasing the talent and selecting the winners, from audience applause meters to call-ins and now text messaging and on-line voting.
The Fame concept is a good idea, but there is something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. Possibly it is because the judges are making the decisions and I don't see enough of these contestants to become "invested" in them ?

Blah, blah, blah ... and thanks for listening

amazing info. thanks for sharing. you seem to know a lot about showbusiness. are u in someway in the same business? awesome.

It would have been an extraordinary thing to see all the people OLDBUTAFAN refers to, such as Frank and Elivis. One thing I have to mention, at the time these stars were performing the talent shows were not the renvenue giants that they are today. Also Does anyone remember any exploitian of the participants as is done today?

The people that OLdButa fan refers to are grown and looking for a break in thier careers. Today they are pulling the kids out of grammer school to parade in front of television cameras and be exposed to a type of life that usually ends up with drugs, alcohol ,sexual abuse and God knows what.

All you have to do is look at the parents on AIJr and it makes you sick to your stomach.

The days of the Ted Mack show were innocent days, not filled with the frenzy of similiar shows today.

The thing that I find missing on these new shows is Integrity!

I just was reading about the schedues for Ruben and Clay amazing !!!Both Ruben and Clay have not one minute to breathe. I only hope these young men have enough stability to take thier success in stride.

But children? I doubt it. Think about Judy Garland and her miserable life of diet pills and drugs. Elvis the same, dying on the potty of a heart attack after the gazilliion pills they allowed him to imbibe. He was so screwed up , the world lost a talent never to be replaced.

Michael Jackson, has gone off center so much its a sad tradegy.
No Childhood only practice, work, practice on ad infintim. What has happened to him. a beautiful talented child turned into "Wacko Jacko" .

I think what is missing is that no one c ares about these kids, they are money machines to most , and I would rather not be a party to it.

Yes I loved AI2, this was a blast, but remember the fuss after "our" Clay didn't win? One would think the world was going to come to an end. It was not a simple talent show, but a money making machine , fixed from the getgo.

What's missing from Fame? We are ( Idol fans) are accoustmed to , for the most part, TALENT!!

Watch Cnn and get a dose of what is going on in the world, the real world, not these sham of shows that are simply rip offs of American Idol, bad ripoffs at that.
Sorry to all you persons that enjoy these programs, but this is just MOO( My own opinion)

delta: thanks for driving home your point. that's exactly how reality bites you. you have definitely seen what's underneath all the glamor and ritz of showbusiness. on the one side, this industry exist and thrive because the public like to be entertained, however, they are remotely responsible if the stars end up being exploited and broken in spirit. its the pure lack of values of the people who handle them. thanks for your disarmingly honest view.

once again, i want to share this proverb for the supporters and critics alike: "Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong...because sometime in your life you will have been all of these."

thanks. and here's another one i equally like: "He who speaks the truth lives free."

I have to post my ancient Chinese proverb.

"Man who go through airport turnstile sideways, going to Bangkok"

sorry I know it's bad.

interesting blow by blow analysis. i hope to see more of that.

YAHHHHHHH! (candyafter6 runs out of the room pulling her hair!)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Swtsngr87
[B]Flapbreaker:

I WAS pleasantly surprised with Fame - at last, some kids with REAL talent - until last nite. Once again the judges are showing signs of being paid off. If they continue to show that they're obviously being paid off - or very, very stupid - this coming Monday will be the LAST time these shows get MY attention. Debbie Allen seems to be the only one with brains!


This quote makes me laugh. I mean do you really think they would pay off judges for something like this..what exactly would nbc get out of it? They don't care who wins, all they care about is ratings and the public is going to vote after the fourth show so what would they being paying off the judges for? They are the ones who picked these finalists from the auditions in the first place. if they didn't like someone they could have gotten rid of them before the show. So far the people who have been chosen are all great in their own way, but frankly, they all were great so I think the decision had to be hard. I don't see how they could have gone wrong with anyone.

chattykathy: check out the thread by AI Smutty called "why not do a pollyana" . tell me what u think.

i just responded to it as you were probably posting your message...some people are just so bitter and bizarre..I just don't understand why they have to be so negative. Yuck...is what i think!

chattykathy: glad to hear positive views from someone who really knows. actually, these guys mean well, but they got it a tad, shall i say, twisted. im not singling out anybody in particular, its just that i've seen a lot of them my whole life. basic signs of pessimism and sweeping judgements. yes,

...to name just a few...

Lets take this one"Cofusious says person who shoot for moon, if he miss, land in Stars" Don't youi think this is a little more" for the tender minded among us?

how 'bout this:
There is no greater fun than be surrounded
with veteran posters like Delta and Oldbutafan!"

delta & oldbutafan: im always interested to know your views. keep it coming!

Well since Candyafter6 thinks Oldbut afan amd my self are "Veterans," let me give her some"sage" advice" The two hardest things to handle in life are failure and sucess.

That really sums up my true feeling on these latest "reality" shows. Enjoy, I will go find an old movie for an old "Veteran" like a Robert Redford show.!!!!

Delta: wooo! I didnt "think" u and oldbutafan are veterans as in "oldies", i just picked up the "veteran" from your message board user info. i meant that to be a compliment and you missed it by a mile.

Thats ok . I was just teasing anyway. I really didn't think you were trying to be impertinent. Thanks for the compliments.
Lata, d

meowww!!! purrrrrrr!!! (candyafter6 licks Delta's face)

hey guys, have you noticed AI Jr has been removed from InReview Hot Topics? looks like it didnt have much impact to the posters. is that also true with the viewers of the show? i never watched the show and i really cant comment if its any good.

You know my opinion. El Stinko. I just saw the Trailers, and that was enough for me.

Sweet Dreams
D

I watched the first show of AJ. It wasn't too bad but the age group of the contestants is very wide. From 6 on up to 13 I think. There could have been ones younger than 6 because there were some pretty small kids. The idea of this show is to narrow it down to a small group of kids and then go on a concert tour. The thing that kind of didn't sit well with me was watching these very young and small girls sing and dance in a provacative fation. It just don't know who would want to promote that in their children. Reminds me of that Jon Ramsey girl. Seems a little sad. There were some older kids though that were entertaining.

i smell exploitation in the idea that kids as young as 6 will be working on a stage on a tour because their stageparents made sure they will. this little kids should be playing with their friends and learn about the real world in their own pace -- not like the jon benet kids out there who do it becoz their parents want them to. good call flapbreaker.

I thought AI Jr was pretty good, but I just wish they would have focused more on the kids and their singing, but instead the camera is more on the parents and their reaction while watching their kids sing, than on the kids while they're actually singing!

reality voy: well i guess, its part of the AJr format. that is, to showcase the parents' self esteem, the show being a reality show and all. yeah, i agree with you, its the singing thats what we should be watching more.

watching the parents become hysterical is so sickening. i feel so bad for the kids who have to be embarassed by their parents' tirade on national tv!

Yeah sometimes it seems a shame that you can't decide who your parents are before being born! Some people just shouldn't procreate.

I've noticed a stage parent around here recently.

I'd better be careful. I've already said Brandon was a better dancer than her golden child . I'm probably bordering on sacrilege now.

shall i contact ur next of kin in case u couldnt make it through alive when the rain of fire falls upon you?

Would you, please? I'm an organ donor.

i'll be watching from a distance! :roflmao:

LOL