The Cleveland Show is a terrible idea

My opponent states that Family Guy fans don't see the Simpsons of a rip-off of Family Guy; my response is. .. yeah, so? Regardless of whether Family Guy fans think this or not, there are, in fact, similarities, as the video I posted highlights. They can argue that Family Guy didn't rip the Simpsons off until the cows come home, but that doesn't at all change the similarities, nor the similar jokes (since my opponent has agreed that the Simpsons rips-off Family Guy, it follows that he agrees with that point. ) So yes, it does rip-off the Simpsons; biased squabbling doesn't change all of the common ground between the two shows. Not only has Family Guy ripped the Simpsons off, though, but it has done so and *still* managed to do well, which strongly evidences my point that rip-offs can still be successful. In essence, my opponent hasn't really refuted my point, because what Family Guy fans think isn't at all relevant. Further, my opponent said Family Guy is a parody of the Simpsons. .. but this only assists my case, as parodies and rip-offs aren't mutually exclusive -- something can satirize something else, but still end using enough of the other shows material to constitute a rip-off. I believe that, with thanks to my opponent helping me establish what I've written above, I can safely refute this point: <"You say a rip off doesn't necessarily mean it will make little success but then again who actually supported or heard of the original. Maybe if we had known about that before hand we might of had less respect for the copy-cat program. "> Many, many people have heard of the Simpsons -- yet, Family Guy still has a large fan base. And, well, Family Guy clearly has an awful lot of similarities with the Simpsons; thus, making it a rip-off. So yeah, we can still know about the original and be a fan of the rip-off. Also, I can't see why fans of Family Guy would have "less respect" for the Cleveland Show because it's a rip-off. The Cleveland Show, as you stated, is pretty much a "black Family Guy," but the thing is, people generally seem to like Family Guy, so why wouldn't they like the Cleveland Show? Family Guy fans want to see Family Guy; the Cleveland Show is essentially Family Guy; therefore, Family Guy fans will want to see it. Considering Family Guy's popularity, and that many fans would clearly transfer over from Family Guy to the Cleveland Show, the aforementioned Cleveland Show would still clearly have a nicely sized fan base. I'd like to make a "tier" of shows: The Simpsons --> Family Guy --> the Cleveland Show. Each level is a rip-off of the show before it -- but even though the fan base will probably decrease a little, many fans would still be left over; therefore, making the last show listed (the Cleveland Show) still relatively popular. I'd like to use another analogy, as well -- we've all heard of Led Zeppelin, yes? And can agree that they, uh, did alright for themselves, right? Well, Led Zeppelin actually famously ripped-off material from other bands and artists. Here are some songs they ripped off other artists: . http://earfarm.com... So, it's well known and easily established that Zep used material that wasn't theirs (though a lot of it wasn't illegal at all. .. nor does it change how amazing I think they are), but they're still a household name, and have definitely given themselves a comfortably living financially. Thus, rip-offs can still be successful, which means being a rip off, in and of itself, isn't a valid reason why something (such as the Cleveland Show) is a "terrible idea. " My opponent then said this: <"As for friends of mine who were black and found that out were disappointed. In fact the first time I watched the trailer I was with a friend who was black and his two little brothers. They were all watching Family Guy at the moment when they saw this. None of them liked it, and as well thought it was a bad idea. "> Firstly, this is a biased sample fallacy; my opponent is making estimations about how the black population would perceive the show based merely on a few black people that supposedly knows well, and are therefore, biased, and consequently, not objective. Someone who's friends with you could be inclined to just reciprocate your feelings of disdain towards the Cleveland Show, and/or Family Guy, and clearly, a few black people don't at all come close to constituting a sufficient sample size. Also: I have many black friends who think the Cleveland Show is an amazing idea. See how easy it is to make such a claim? Such a wishy-washy claim clearly doesn't carry much merit in a debate. My opponent then said this: <"They just wanted a Black version of Family Guy, even if it means making character's fit the person they should be mimicking. I believe that they did this because they might have some episode ideas that would not fit the Family Guy family due to the fact they are white and may have some very miner differences, but a black version would fit just fine. "> Contradiction -- you clearly imply they have different plots; however, you've been saying they're the same show (except one has black characters. ) If the plots are different, then how are they the same at all? Furthermore, doesn't this just play into my hands. .. ? Seemingly, the main criticism of Family Guy is how repetitive it can get, so a new Family Guy-esque show with new plots would greatly appease Family Guy fans; thus, giving the Cleveland Show a relatively extensive fan base.