Ah, Hollywood. And in this case I don’t mean the land of palm trees, avacados and DUI starlets, but … take a whiff … ahh, the scent of lawsuits permeating the air. Seems there’s two prevalent smells, that of someone stealing something from someone and the flip-side: someone thinking they invented everything and that everyone is stealing from them. Take the case of U.S.D.C. CD California, No. 06-7055 which we’ll shorten the names down to “Zella and Crytsal versus The Food Network and the World As We Know It”.

These looney toons — ohmygawd, they’re going to sue me for saying that! — except there’ s no malice, they’re just nuts and the judge pretty much thought so too, so nyah! … Where was I? Ah, they seem to have thought they created the talk show or something. Ok, dig this:

Radio host Ross Crystal and attorney Jeffrey Zella sued the network and its producers, claiming defendants snatched their idea for a cooking show called “Showbiz Chefs.” The plaintiffs say they pitched their idea to Food Network president Judy Girard, who rejected their idea but allegedly kept a treatment and script of the show.

Plaintiffs claimed the defendants used their idea to launch Inside Dish, hosted by Rachel Ray, which led to a syndicated talk show spin-off called Rachel Ray.

That’s right. They came up with an idea for a show that through a chain of dominos made them think they created the format for the Rachael Ray show (and apparently every other show on television.) Or to tell it the way the judge put it:

The court found that the generic elements common to both shows – a host, guest celebrities, an interview and a cooking segment – are unprotected “scenes a faire” or “situations and incidents which flow naturally from the basic plot premise,” Every talk show looks similar to some extent.

We’re looking for these clowns to be back in court next week having created the “commerical”. Ah well, nice try folks. Now maybe you can go make a real show on your own? Or maybe you can sue Letterman for telling a joke. We know you invented that too. Wink-wink.

{28 Mar 2008}