Copycatty

Variety blogger Andrew Wallenstein notes the similarities between a couple of upcoming shows, NBC's It's Worth What? (with the pictured Cedric the Entertainer) and Fox's Buried Treasure. He rehashes some copycat disputes involving the networks, like the throwdown between Singing Bee and Don't Forget the Lyrics. Or the back-and-forth between The Apprentice and The Billionaire.

Game shows have a long and feisty history of copying one another. You Don't Say got into trouble by too closely aping Password, for instance. Goodson-Todman even ripped themselves off with I've Got a Secret after What's My Line did okay. (Though over time Secret drifted further and further away from its stodgy WML roots.)

There's nothing new under the sun, as a cynic noted in Hebrew some time ago. Even the Variety blogger concedes that lots of shows are trying to muscle into Antiques Roadshow territory. As long as Pawn Stars rides atop the cable ratings, lots of people on TV will be pricing artifacts for fun and profit.