Ugly Betty rips off Just Shoot Me - TV Programmes

Orion · 10-04-2007, 16:26

OK, I know there was much debate over whether Ugly Betty ripped off Devil Wears Prada, or if most of the similarities were just coincidence, given that the original Colombian TV show prefigured the movie.

Now, I watched Just Shoot Me this morning. One of the female staff came dressed up for Halloween, only to find out at the editorial meeting that she was the only one in the office to have done so. This was exactly the same as a recent episode of Ugly Betty! Both shows had the heroine pleading that she 'just loves Halloween'. Both are about a woman's fashion/lifestyle magazine. Both costumes had the same cumbersome big wings. Both episodes even featured very similar geeky accountant figures complimenting the heroine on the costume.

thats not cool · 10-04-2007, 16:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orion

OK, I know there was much debate over whether Ugly Betty ripped off Devil Wears Prada, or if most of the similarities were just coincidence, given that the original Colombian TV show prefigured the movie.

Now, I watched Just Shoot Me this morning. One of the female staff came dressed up for Halloween, only to find out at the editorial meeting that she was the only one in the office to have done so. This was exactly the same as a recent episode of Ugly Betty! Both shows had the heroine pleading that she 'just loves Halloween'. Both are about a woman's fashion/lifestyle magazine. Both costumes had the same cumbersome big wings. Both episodes even featured very similar geeky accountant figures complimenting the heroine on the costume.

AND!!!................
There are similarities in loads of films and tv programmes and there always will

gottago · 10-04-2007, 16:35

Who cares?! Ugly Betty had different jokes and both scenes worked differently. I doubt the idea was copied from them, it's quite a typical format.

Iain Chapman · 10-04-2007, 18:01

I suppose the question is who is copying who.....

Ugly Betty is based on a long running Colombian programme call "Yo soy Betty, la fea" - but I'm not sure whether the Episode we are seeing a re-works of scripts that have previously been used for the Colombian verison, or whether they are brand new.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_Betty

Squiggle · 10-04-2007, 22:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orion

OK, I know there was much debate over whether Ugly Betty ripped off Devil Wears Prada, or if most of the similarities were just coincidence, given that the original Colombian TV show prefigured the movie.

Now, I watched Just Shoot Me this morning. One of the female staff came dressed up for Halloween, only to find out at the editorial meeting that she was the only one in the office to have done so. This was exactly the same as a recent episode of Ugly Betty! Both shows had the heroine pleading that she 'just loves Halloween'. Both are about a woman's fashion/lifestyle magazine. Both costumes had the same cumbersome big wings. Both episodes even featured very similar geeky accountant figures complimenting the heroine on the costume.

You're still on the same jag Orion?

Since this series premiered you've been popping blood vessels over it. What is it with you and this series?

Orion · 11-04-2007, 08:53

I'd given up watching Ugly Betty. I caught Just Shoot Me by accident and was shocked that it showed up what a blatant steal the above episode was.

I doubt that "Yo soy Betty, la fea" had a plotline about dressing up in the office for Halloween, because I think that is a tradition particular to the US.

As for 'lots of coincidences happen in shows', yes I agree. But there are degrees. If a show started where a policeman went into a coma and woke up in 1972 and was working with a bloke called Dean Funt, and individual episodes had very similar plotlines to Life On Mars, you wouldn't just say:
"AND!!........ There are similarities in loads of films and tv programmes and there always will"

You'd say "jeez, what a rip-off!".

conmarcas3 · 11-04-2007, 10:04

Exactly how many shows and movies have you seen only one person show up dressed for Halloween???? Shall we talk about how many boy falls in love with girls, boy loses girl, boy wins back girl shows. How about old stale cop ready for pasture comes up against case of his life and solves it??? Or, new cop to the force, no one likes, by the time the movie or show is over, new cop has gained the respect of colleagues because he solved the case???

There are few synopses that haven't been tried before, the difference is how well they are written. Ugly Betty is a well written and well acted show. I don't understand it when people come on to slam shows. My mother always told me that if you don't have anything good to say then keep it zipped

Orion · 11-04-2007, 10:18

"Exactly how many shows and movies have you seen only one person show up dressed for Halloween?"
Two - Ugly Betty and Just Shoot Me. And both were set in Women's Fashion magazine, both costumes were very similar, and both costumes were complimented on by identical geeky accountants.

How many shows have you seen THAT happen in?

conmarcas3 · 11-04-2007, 10:26

Oh really!!!!

How many hostage situations have you seen in banks where the teller with the young family gets shot, how many office bosses have had affairs with their secretaries and been caught out, how many serial killers have been caught living in suburbia and their neighbours have said he was the pillar of the community?????

Let's face it, all of these scenarios have been done many many times. Do you honestly think that Ugly Betty should be singled out as the only one to have had the same scenario as another show???? As Ugly Betty is the Anglicized version of a long running Spanish show, did you ever think that maybe Just Shoot Me ripped that show off???

Not meaning to be rude, but get over yourself

dumdedum#1 · 11-04-2007, 11:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orion

"Exactly how many shows and movies have you seen only one person show up dressed for Halloween?"
Two - Ugly Betty and Just Shoot Me. And both were set in Women's Fashion magazine, both costumes were very similar, and both costumes were complimented on by identical geeky accountants.

How many shows have you seen THAT happen in?

it happened in bridget jones' diary as well - fancy dress at least

quackaquacka · 11-04-2007, 11:07

I've been a fan of Just Shoot Me for a very long time, but I don't think Ugly Betty is ripping it off, they're very different in tone for a start. The Halloween thing you mention I've seen happen all the time in books etc (someone already mentioned Bridget Jones', there's also Legally Blonde and a whole host of others). Sure, some of the stories may be similar - in all honesty, there's very little out there, modern or classical, that you can't compare to something else - but I don't think they're similar enough to say UB is ripping off JSM.

All IMO, of course.

Orion · 11-04-2007, 11:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by conmarcas3

As Ugly Betty is the Anglicized version of a long running Spanish show, did you ever think that maybe Just Shoot Me ripped that show off???

Well I've already answered that question above, so I don't really know why you say that. And the "long running Spanish show" wasn't 'long running' and wasn't Spanish either

. And as I said, I'm pretty sure it didn't use the Halloween plotline as no similar tradition exists in Columbia of costuming up on that day.

Anyway, all the examples you give are far less specific than the one I gave.

The only person turning up to a posh do in costume is an old idea. But this is specific in terms of:
1. Location (an office, not a party)
2. Business of office (woman's fashion magazine)
3. Occasion: Halloween
4. Not being based not on a misunderstanding but on the woman's 'love of Halloween'.
5. The costume itself: Big flimsy wings
6. Being complemented on costume by geeky accountant.

Show me another occasion in fiction where THREE of these things all happen, let alone all six. Obviously you can find other shows with geeky accountants, but it's all six elements coinciding above in both shows that struck me as so jarring.

conmarcas3 · 11-04-2007, 12:10

What it basically comes down to is the fact that certain places are synonymous with the people that work there. Geeky accountants for example, I don't remember the last time I saw a movie or a show where an accountant wasn't geeky. Sterotypes run rampant. We're talking fashion magazines here. Stereotype suggests that they are all shallow and bitchy, so therefore every movie or show that shows this behaviour should be then considered a rip-off of the original??? Good cop bad cop. Should we then state that every police show is a rip-off of the original stereotype of that??
What you are pointing out are ideas that have come from many shows and movies, sometimes more than one of them from the same script. There is not too much originality left in scripts anymore as most things have been done, and done to death in some cases. If you sit down and pick apart every single show then you will always find similarities to other shows or movies, it's inevitable. What you are doing with this though is beating a dead horse and ruining the show for yourself. Take it as it is offered, entertainment. That is it's value and that's how I and I'm sure many others see it. I'm not looking for deep meaning and comparisons. At the end of the day when I have peace and quiet and my kids are in bed, I just want to be entertained. Whether the idea has come up in another show, as long as it's well written and it entertains me, I really don't care as long as it makes me laugh. I too have seen Just Shoot Me and have to say I enjoyed it immensely and thought that was well written as well. I can also sit there and pick that show apart with similarities from other shows I've seen, but I don't. I take it as it's offered, entertainment, pure and simple. If I wanted more, I'd watch Discovery

simsy · 11-04-2007, 12:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orion

OK, I know there was much debate over whether Ugly Betty ripped off Devil Wears Prada, or if most of the similarities were just coincidence, given that the original Colombian TV show prefigured the movie.

Now, I watched Just Shoot Me this morning. One of the female staff came dressed up for Halloween, only to find out at the editorial meeting that she was the only one in the office to have done so. This was exactly the same as a recent episode of Ugly Betty! Both shows had the heroine pleading that she 'just loves Halloween'. Both are about a woman's fashion/lifestyle magazine. Both costumes had the same cumbersome big wings. Both episodes even featured very similar geeky accountant figures complimenting the heroine on the costume.

Jeez, you'll find storylines like that in most US dramas/sitcoms. Most random comparisson EVER.

Squiggle · 11-04-2007, 14:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orion

"Exactly how many shows and movies have you seen only one person show up dressed for Halloween?"
Two - Ugly Betty and Just Shoot Me. And both were set in Women's Fashion magazine, both costumes were very similar, and both costumes were complimented on by identical geeky accountants.

How many shows have you seen THAT happen in?

Orion, you need to move on. You're obsessing.

Orion · 11-04-2007, 14:07

Hmm... by your criteria Ugly Betty wouldn't even be considered a remake of Betty La Foi, as all the similarities could just be explained away as 'storylines like you'll find in most US dramas/sitcoms'. I'd be interested in just how similar two shows would have to become for people to accept something weird was going on.

thats not cool · 11-04-2007, 14:09

what about greys anatomy ripping of ER they are after all both set in a hospital

scone · 11-04-2007, 14:10

Ugly Betty is pure tripe.

Orion · 11-04-2007, 14:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by thats not cool

what about greys anatomy ripping of ER they are after all both set in a hospital

Talk about a strawman argument

Norristar · 11-04-2007, 14:18

what about every single soap having characters that have affairs/killed/married? They arent ripping each other off, they are just using obvious story lines for there genre. Just like Ugly Betty. I watch just shoot me and there isn't 1 character that is simular to Betty.

IvanIV · 11-04-2007, 14:21

It's quite a usual situation, methinks, it's not necessarily a rip-off. It's how they use it and if they bring something original to it, what matters. To me anyway. And as for the original show Ugly Betty is based on, the similarity ends with the Betty's look. The former is full of melodrama and tears and ends up with Betty's transformation while the latter is a comedy set up in a fashion business.

Orion · 11-04-2007, 14:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norristar

what about every single soap having characters that have affairs/killed/married? They arent ripping each other off, they are just using obvious story lines for there genre. Just like Ugly Betty. I watch just shoot me and there isn't 1 character that is simular to Betty.

Like I said, find me another example of 6 very similar elements all occurring in the same episode, all connected. I didn't say the characters were similar, I said Ugly Betty made a very blatant rip off of several specific elements of a particular episode of Just Shoot Me.

astra19E · 11-04-2007, 15:41

It's hardly a very original storyline.
UB is going to be here for quite some time, so they're gonna have to have various plots and situations for Betty to be in. What else could you have seen happen to her? Everybody loves her costume? They all become friends? It's a simple plot done realistically to the characters.

Orion · 11-04-2007, 15:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by astra19E

It's hardly a very original storyline.
UB is going to be here for quite some time, so they're gonna have to have various plots and situations for Betty to be in. What else could you have seen happen to her? Everybody loves her costume? They all become friends? It's a simple plot done realistically to the characters.

Well they could have at least made the costume a bit different. Or had it a different occassion than Halloween. Have it a geeky IT person rather than Accountant. There are many ways they could have made it different.

Alternatively, if they must start ripping off stories from other shows, surely there are enough other shows that AREN'T also about women's fashion magazines? Why not rip off those instead of a show that's already thematically similar. OK, if you're making ER then some of your stories will be similar to Chicago Hope. But the storyline I'm talking about here isn't even related to the fashion magazine setting, so they don't even have that excuse!

Norristar · 11-04-2007, 16:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orion

Like I said, find me another example of 6 very similar elements all occurring in the same episode, all connected. I didn't say the characters were similar, I said Ugly Betty made a very blatant rip off of several specific elements of a particular episode of Just Shoot Me.

Find them yourself!! Do you think any 1 is that bothered other than yourself to find 6 examples? Get a grip! ITS TV ITS NOT REAL!!!

11-04-2007, 12:10	#13
conmarcas3 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Realityville, UK Posts: 4,425	What it basically comes down to is the fact that certain places are synonymous with the people that work there. Geeky accountants for example, I don't remember the last time I saw a movie or a show where an accountant wasn't geeky. Sterotypes run rampant. We're talking fashion magazines here. Stereotype suggests that they are all shallow and bitchy, so therefore every movie or show that shows this behaviour should be then considered a rip-off of the original??? Good cop bad cop. Should we then state that every police show is a rip-off of the original stereotype of that?? What you are pointing out are ideas that have come from many shows and movies, sometimes more than one of them from the same script. There is not too much originality left in scripts anymore as most things have been done, and done to death in some cases. If you sit down and pick apart every single show then you will always find similarities to other shows or movies, it's inevitable. What you are doing with this though is beating a dead horse and ruining the show for yourself. Take it as it is offered, entertainment. That is it's value and that's how I and I'm sure many others see it. I'm not looking for deep meaning and comparisons. At the end of the day when I have peace and quiet and my kids are in bed, I just want to be entertained. Whether the idea has come up in another show, as long as it's well written and it entertains me, I really don't care as long as it makes me laugh. I too have seen Just Shoot Me and have to say I enjoyed it immensely and thought that was well written as well. I can also sit there and pick that show apart with similarities from other shows I've seen, but I don't. I take it as it's offered, entertainment, pure and simple. If I wanted more, I'd watch Discovery Last edited by conmarcas3 : 11-04-2007 at 12:11.

11-04-2007, 14:09	#17
thats not cool Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: carribean Services: thread closer Posts: 1,477	what about greys anatomy ripping of ER they are after all both set in a hospital Last edited by thats not cool : 11-04-2007 at 14:12.

10-04-2007, 16:26	#1
Orion Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,588	Ugly Betty rips off Just Shoot Me OK, I know there was much debate over whether Ugly Betty ripped off Devil Wears Prada, or if most of the similarities were just coincidence, given that the original Colombian TV show prefigured the movie. Now, I watched Just Shoot Me this morning. One of the female staff came dressed up for Halloween, only to find out at the editorial meeting that she was the only one in the office to have done so. This was exactly the same as a recent episode of Ugly Betty! Both shows had the heroine pleading that she 'just loves Halloween'. Both are about a woman's fashion/lifestyle magazine. Both costumes had the same cumbersome big wings. Both episodes even featured very similar geeky accountant figures complimenting the heroine on the costume.

10-04-2007, 16:35	#3
gottago Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Wirral/Leeds Services: Freeview Posts: 5,096	Who cares?! Ugly Betty had different jokes and both scenes worked differently. I doubt the idea was copied from them, it's quite a typical format.

10-04-2007, 18:01	#4
Iain Chapman Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Barnstaple, North Devon Services: Sky HD, NewNet ADSL Posts: 436	I suppose the question is who is copying who..... Ugly Betty is based on a long running Colombian programme call "Yo soy Betty, la fea" - but I'm not sure whether the Episode we are seeing a re-works of scripts that have previously been used for the Colombian verison, or whether they are brand new. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_Betty

11-04-2007, 08:53	#6
Orion Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,588	I'd given up watching Ugly Betty. I caught Just Shoot Me by accident and was shocked that it showed up what a blatant steal the above episode was. I doubt that "Yo soy Betty, la fea" had a plotline about dressing up in the office for Halloween, because I think that is a tradition particular to the US. As for 'lots of coincidences happen in shows', yes I agree. But there are degrees. If a show started where a policeman went into a coma and woke up in 1972 and was working with a bloke called Dean Funt, and individual episodes had very similar plotlines to Life On Mars, you wouldn't just say: "AND!!........ There are similarities in loads of films and tv programmes and there always will" You'd say "jeez, what a rip-off!".

11-04-2007, 10:04	#7
conmarcas3 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Realityville, UK Posts: 4,425	Exactly how many shows and movies have you seen only one person show up dressed for Halloween???? Shall we talk about how many boy falls in love with girls, boy loses girl, boy wins back girl shows. How about old stale cop ready for pasture comes up against case of his life and solves it??? Or, new cop to the force, no one likes, by the time the movie or show is over, new cop has gained the respect of colleagues because he solved the case??? There are few synopses that haven't been tried before, the difference is how well they are written. Ugly Betty is a well written and well acted show. I don't understand it when people come on to slam shows. My mother always told me that if you don't have anything good to say then keep it zipped

11-04-2007, 10:18	#8
Orion Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,588	"Exactly how many shows and movies have you seen only one person show up dressed for Halloween?" Two - Ugly Betty and Just Shoot Me. And both were set in Women's Fashion magazine, both costumes were very similar, and both costumes were complimented on by identical geeky accountants. How many shows have you seen THAT happen in?

11-04-2007, 10:26	#9
conmarcas3 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Realityville, UK Posts: 4,425	Oh really!!!! How many hostage situations have you seen in banks where the teller with the young family gets shot, how many office bosses have had affairs with their secretaries and been caught out, how many serial killers have been caught living in suburbia and their neighbours have said he was the pillar of the community????? Let's face it, all of these scenarios have been done many many times. Do you honestly think that Ugly Betty should be singled out as the only one to have had the same scenario as another show???? As Ugly Betty is the Anglicized version of a long running Spanish show, did you ever think that maybe Just Shoot Me ripped that show off??? Not meaning to be rude, but get over yourself

11-04-2007, 11:07	#11
quackaquacka Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Preparing for The Fishcake War Services: Shoelace tying, meditation, following SatNav instructions and Going West Posts: 9,164	I've been a fan of Just Shoot Me for a very long time, but I don't think Ugly Betty is ripping it off, they're very different in tone for a start. The Halloween thing you mention I've seen happen all the time in books etc (someone already mentioned Bridget Jones', there's also Legally Blonde and a whole host of others). Sure, some of the stories may be similar - in all honesty, there's very little out there, modern or classical, that you can't compare to something else - but I don't think they're similar enough to say UB is ripping off JSM. All IMO, of course.

11-04-2007, 14:07	#16
Orion Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,588	Hmm... by your criteria Ugly Betty wouldn't even be considered a remake of Betty La Foi, as all the similarities could just be explained away as 'storylines like you'll find in most US dramas/sitcoms'. I'd be interested in just how similar two shows would have to become for people to accept something weird was going on.

11-04-2007, 14:10	#18
scone Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Nottingham Posts: 6,959	Ugly Betty is pure tripe.

11-04-2007, 14:18	#20
Norristar Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: work :0( Posts: 1,487	what about every single soap having characters that have affairs/killed/married? They arent ripping each other off, they are just using obvious story lines for there genre. Just like Ugly Betty. I watch just shoot me and there isn't 1 character that is simular to Betty.

11-04-2007, 14:21	#21
IvanIV Forum Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 13,039	It's quite a usual situation, methinks, it's not necessarily a rip-off. It's how they use it and if they bring something original to it, what matters. To me anyway. And as for the original show Ugly Betty is based on, the similarity ends with the Betty's look. The former is full of melodrama and tears and ends up with Betty's transformation while the latter is a comedy set up in a fashion business.

11-04-2007, 15:41	#23
astra19E Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: S. Lanarkshire Services: SkyHD, FTA Digital 19.2E, Freeview IDTV & Box. Posts: 2,095	It's hardly a very original storyline. UB is going to be here for quite some time, so they're gonna have to have various plots and situations for Betty to be in. What else could you have seen happen to her? Everybody loves her costume? They all become friends? It's a simple plot done realistically to the characters.