BLUE MAG

Here is the official description of ABC’s fall show “Dirty Sexy Money”

Power, privilege and family money are a volatile cocktail thrust on an idealistic lawyer when he inherits the job of tending to the legal (and sometimes illegal) needs of the absurdly wealthy Darlings of New York City. Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh and William Baldwin star in this younger, sexier, redheaded stepchild of Dallas and Dynasty.

It stars Peter Krause as the lawyer who takes over the family trust. William Baldwin plays a Senator. The youngest sibling is a male, and appears to be sort of a fuckup. The patriarch is played by a grizzled movie actor. The show is exec produced by Greg Berlanti.

In other words, a former “Six Feet Under” cast member is at the reins, one character is a Senator/Presidential candidate, one character is played by one of a famous pair of actor brothers, and it is exec-produced by Greg Berlanti. There are so many points where this is a ripoff of “Brothers and Sisters” that I almost don’t know where to start.

I know I’m not the first person to point this out, but this is where TV programming goes wrong. They take a hit show, and with all the marketing and focus grouping they do they still can’t figure out that what makes it a hit is that it is fresh and unique. See Lost, 24, even Brothers and Sisters. So they decide to copy it, instead of finding something else unique.

Where’s that book I was reading?…