★★★★★ 0/5

Twenty Twelve is the Commonwealth Games baton of comedy

The Commonwealth Games baton may not be the Olympic torch but we all know who was first.

13
Leave a comment

John Clarke has said that legal options are being considered in the wake of the BBC’s own Olympic comedy series Twenty Twelve, following revelations they had met the production team from The Games.

Producer Rick McKenna had previously met with BBC’s then Head of Comedy Jon Plowman and DVDs had been furnished to writer John Morton.

Since the claims have gone public the BBC has said, it “found no evidence to support the allegations of retort copying.

”No use has been made of any material deriving from The Games and we are confident that the allegations are without foundation.”

Baloney.

It’s true the basis of Copyright Law isn’t in having an idea, but in its execution. The Commonwealth Games baton isn’t the Olympic torch but we all know who was first.

But even though storylines and characters may not have specifically reflected those of The Games (as their quote suggests), the Aussies would surely have a solid case given conversations had taken place.

Clarke has carefully said, ”The BBC have investigated themselves and found the accusation of copying doesn’t hold,” he said. ”Well, we’ve investigated it too and found it’s very sound.

”We haven’t seen Twenty Twelve so it would be unreasonable of us to make an accusation of copying, but it’s pretty clear where they got the format.

”It is a serious issue for us. We worked very hard on that project and we had long conversations with these people who’ve now done a show like that in Britain.”

Exactly. Take ’em to the cleaners, guys.

Meanwhile the BBC’s own blog is now gathering complaints from Aussies about the shameless conduct if you want to contribute.

Source: The Age, BBC

13 Responses

  1. Your article would have read well if you had not used the moronic and un-Australian young persons’ incredibly annoying Yankism “guys”, in your penultimate sentence, Mr Knox.

  3. The BBC sells its formats around the globe and makes millions upon millions. Top Gear Australia or Top Of The Pops Germany could just as easily have different names and a few minor format tweeks and the BBC would miss out on all that cash. My point is that considering selling very basic program formats is now their bread and butter, they have a lot of cheek to then go and rip one off.

  5. Report in the UK Telegraph had a subtle jab at Clarke, suggesting his whole persona is a rip off…?

    “The 26 episode series, broadcast between 1998 and 2000, stared Gina Riley, the current star of the hit comedy show, Kath and Kim, and John Clarke, known for his Yes Minister style impersonations of blundering bureaucrats and Australian Prime Ministers. “

  6. This all seems like a huge over reaction. TV shows and formats feed off each other and put their own spin on the concept. Sorry but unless it is a carbon copy I am just that not outraged.

  7. It’ll be interesting to see whether ABC Television morally backs up John Clark & Co by not airing Twenty Twelve here because it looks like something they’d normally screen. Time will tell…

  8. This isnt much of a surprise they steal everything. Our coaches our players and even our singers. But atleast their economy is still in the crapper and they will have a massive debt to deal with after the 2 week games. Things arent all that bad.

Leave a Reply