You Stole My Show
The latest group of producers are crying and suing, claiming someone stole their show idea -- in this case, "So You Think You Can Dance." Well, they need to butch it up.
Hollywood is filled with bitter people who feel ripped off. I don't think there's been a single show on the air during the last ten years in which someone claimed they'd been had.
The fact is, TV is kinda like music -- there aren't all that many melodies, so a lot is derivations on a common theme. This business operates on pitch meetings. Day after day, studio execs meet with producers who claim they have the next big thing. The meetings start to blur, ideas collapse on top of each other, something gets on the air and feelings are hurt.
Stu Billett, the man who created reality television by producing "The People's Court" 25 years ago, once told me that the suits at studios do pilfer ideas and that it's really part of their job. As he put it, referring to the execs: "They're like scorpions. They don't mean to kill. It's just their nature."
The fact is, anyone relying on an oral promise -- as was allegedly the case with "So You Think You Can Dance" -- is dreaming; it's not worth the paper it's written on. Stu once said something funny: "If someone stole my show, I wouldn't sue. I'd look like a schmuck because I didn't protect myself."
As for the "So You Think You Can Dance" lawsuit, the plaintiffs list similarities between their show and the one on FOX, including: a 60 minute television show, the Concept recruits contestants from various cities, professional dancers instruct contestants, a panel of professional judges evaluate performances, the competition is an elimination style, yada yada yada. Sounds like ten other shows.
As they say on "Idol," "Welcome to Hollywood."