I Liked It When I Saw It The First Time, Index

This page is inspired by the comedy of David Spade. Yes, David Spade. During his stay on Saturday Night Live, he would occasionally put things down that seemed to copy things before them by saying something like "I liked 'Black Sheep' the first time I saw it, when it was called 'Tommy Boy'". So this is my attempt at ranking on the movies and television programs of the nineties (and present) by pointing out what they copied from the eighties. Since there always seems to be a lot or unoriginal ideas in Hollywood, this should be an easy page to fill up quickly.

This page currently edited by: Indy Gent. Past editor: Banasy



I liked "Power Rangers" when it was called Voltron
Fighting Japanese robots....hmmm..
I liked "America's Got Talent" when it was called The Gong Show
At least The Gong Show didn't have Hasselhoff and Sharon Osbourne.
I liked "Band Aid 20" when it was called Band Aid
They should have left well enough alone.
I liked "DVD" when it was called Capacitance Electronic Discs (CED)
I remember these old players and how cool they were. You put the disc holder in the front, it would pop back out and your movie would play!
I liked "Shout 2000" when it was called Shout 1985
I don't really like what Disturbed did to this song. I think they really should have left well enough alone.
I liked "Pilates" when it was called Push-ups and stretching
Pilaties is nothing more than foot push-ups and some deep knee-bends.
I liked "WALL*E" when it was called Short Circuit
WALL*E is like a miniature version of Johnny 5.
I liked "Don't Forget The Lyrics" when it was called Name That Tune
Although I still prefer Wayne Brady over Kathie Lee Gifford (who was Kathie Lee Johnson when she sang on Name That Tune).
I liked "Coke Zero" when it was called New Coke
Taste Coke Zero again, it didn't steal Classic Coke's taste. They simply recycled the New Coke and added more aspartame (Nutrasweet).
I liked "The Baltimore Ravens" when it was called The Cleveland Browns
Nothing against the current Browns team, but the older teams with Bernie Kosar, Kevin Mack and Eric Metcalf were much better before Art Modell moved the team. And yes, I would have rather the Colts stayed in Baltimore and Indianapolis had an expansion team, but both the Ravens and Colts won Super Bowls this decade. The same can't be said for the current Browns (not even close).
I liked "Disturbed's Shout" when it was called Tears For Fears' Shout
I don't even like this cover very much. I mean if you're going to cover a poppy kind of techno song you might as well be good at singing it.
I liked "Grey's anotomy" when it was called St. elswhere
No love drama but medical drama
I liked "Sailor Moon" when it was called She-Ra
There are even numerous videos on YouTube combining the audio of one with the visuals of the other to prove this!
I liked "Wall*E" when it was called Johnny 5 from the movie "Short Circuit"
They didn't even change the look of the "J5". Wall-e is just a cheap imitation.
I liked "Kyle X.Y." when it was called D.A.R.Y.L.
'A young boy is found wandering without any memory of who he is. A family takes him in and begin to look for clues to help him find his way home. In the meantime, they notice that the boy seems to have certain special abilities, not usually found in kids his age, or even fully-grown adults.' The movie is better. It has the action without all the Dawson-Creek angst.
I liked "Lizzy Maguire/Hannah Montana" when it was called Punky Brewster
Very popular among young viewers.
I liked "13 going on 30" when it was called Big
Story lines: a young kid makes a specific wish to be older, and VIOLA! Kid gets wish.
I liked "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" when it was called Solid Gold
Both shows had kids dancing the only difference between ABDC and Solid Gold is that one show has kids dancing in troops and the other had kids dancing solo.
I liked "wwe" when it was called wwf
I heard that the WWE had to change the name because the initials were the same as the World Wild Life Federation and was facing a lawsuit.
I liked "Ellen Page" when it was called Linda Cardellini
They both could be dead ringers to each other, but I am going for Linda because she played Lindsay Weir on Freaks and Geeks.


What else can you think of that is ripped off from the 80s?

Please check out the Liked It When It Was Called submission page.