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Used in this context...

I don't like The Cleveland show because it is ****

It's a term we use in animation to say that we don't like this programme or idea because it is too similar to other ones out there.

Rebe
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    The first word that came to mind was "copypasta", but presumably not what you're looking for as it's a very recent word. Rip-off, maybe? – Flater May 29 '15 at 09:26
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    It's like rip-off but it's a different word, I've used it many times but I just can't remember it! – Rebe May 29 '15 at 09:27
  • Funnily enough, when I hear that kind of example sentence, it usually ends with "mainstream", but I'm sure that's not what you were looking for. – Linkyu May 31 '15 at 11:09
  • If it was a really bad knock-off, I suppose you could call it a "derplicate" – Stephen Byrne May 31 '15 at 12:25
  • For "bad copy" I'd use "Thermofax". – Hot Licks Jun 04 '15 at 21:36

8 Answers8

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Armchair pundits often like to level the accusation of a work being derivative:

  • Imitative of the work of another artist, writer, etc., and usually disapproved of for that reason. (ODO)

But beware: that's so overdone that it, itself, has become a cliche.

Dan Bron
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    @Rebe I figured. Please click the checkmark under the "0" in the top-left corner of this answer. – Dan Bron May 29 '15 at 09:42
  • +1. It's kinda annoying when you don't get an accept despite cracking it, right? Edit your comment so the '0' reads '1' :) – Tushar Raj May 29 '15 at 09:55
  • @TusharRaj Eh, I don't hang my hat on accepts/votes here. Especially for your run-of-the-mill questions like this. Thanks for the +1 though! – Dan Bron May 29 '15 at 09:56
  • @sarntheman: 'Knock-off' at the top was killing me. Had to do something! – Tushar Raj May 29 '15 at 09:57
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    @TusharRaj Yeah, the order of answers does bug/concern me more than the number of points! – Dan Bron May 29 '15 at 10:00
  • @TusharRaj lol did it really bother you? Anyway +1 to Dan Bron – kirovairship May 29 '15 at 10:03
  • @samtheman: Can't say it didn't. No offense. Appreciate your sportsmanship here, though. – Tushar Raj May 29 '15 at 10:04
  • I'm afraid I have to disagree here. As a native American English speaker, I would use the term knock-off. I would only use derivative if a) I wanted to sound like an art/literature/film snob or critic, b) were having a very academic/formal discussion, or c) I were discussing a legal case regarding copyright. In common, everyday usage I would absolutely say knock-off. – Chris W May 30 '15 at 23:14
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I would say "knock-off"

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knockoff

You could also use "copycat"

kirovairship
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    Knock-off describes a cheaply made product, would be bizarre if applied to a TV program or idea. – Yang May 29 '15 at 09:32
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    @Yang Knock-off is frequently used to refer to a piece of entertainment that imitates another. For instance, the first recent example I could find easily: (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/taken-fatigue-sean-penns-gunman-783554) accusing one film of being a knock-off of another. – recognizer May 29 '15 at 13:50
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    I might add the variant "cheap knock-off" to this answer. "knock-off" by itself does convey a lazy copy, with no real improvements, but given the desire to convey specific negativity from the OP, "cheap knock-off" may make it even clearer that it's likely worse than the inspiration. – Jaydles May 29 '15 at 14:19
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    I insist that this is an incorrect term for what the asker is looking for. "knock-off" implies taking short-cuts during the process in which something is made or produced, not the banality of the conception, idea or design itself. – Yang May 29 '15 at 18:04
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    The problem with the term knock-off or copycat is that, given the example of the Cleveland show, it was created by the same person as the show it was "copied" from. – Roger May 29 '15 at 18:29
  • @Roger, That's why it's called a spin-off. – Mazura May 29 '15 at 23:38
  • @Mazura A spin-off is not a clone, or copy - it evolves directly out of the original. Consider Joey from Friends, or Better Call Saul from Breaking Bad. – OJFord May 30 '15 at 13:36
  • I, too, would use knock-off, or possibly clone (and it is entirely possible for someone to knock-off or clone their own work - a spin-off is not necessarily either, but it could be). But I do note two problems. First, neither implies bad quality, but both do imply quality less than... The second is that both may imply a singular original as opposed to 'lots of other things.' But you could genericize a description enough to use both - for example 'of an action space opera. Also, I consider films/shows/etc. to be products, just not as tangible as the media they come/are stored on. – Chris W May 30 '15 at 23:23
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Since you said "lots of", how about pastiche, instead of a simple rip-off

1.1 An artistic work consisting of a medley of pieces imitating various sources:

Tushar Raj
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The word rehashed may be applicable.

According to Google:

reuse (old ideas or material) without significant change or improvement

Also, the word regurgitated may be of descriptive use.

PCARR
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Rip-off

From Longman:

  1. music, art, films etc that are rip-offs copy something else without admitting that they are copies
Catija
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Is it counterfeit (plural counterfeits)?

  • A non-genuine article; a fake.

  • One who counterfeits; a counterfeiter.

  • (obsolete) That which resembles another thing; a likeness; a portrait; a counterpart.

  • (obsolete) An impostor; a cheat.

mixture ?

Something that consists of diverse elements

hotchpotch/hotchpoge ?

A collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things.

jumble ?

A mixture of unrelated things.

Community
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Yohann V.
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Not sure whether it is negative enough but a 'copycat' maybe ?

  • a person or thing that imitates another persistently or exactly.

The Free Dictionary

Yuri
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  • It's basically an amalgam of lots of ideas but not copycat, because it's not a copy of one thing, it's a lot. We use it to describe unoriginal ideas we get sent in. – Rebe May 29 '15 at 09:31
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Maybe plagiarism?

It means to copy off of lots of other things.

ethanc
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