Talk:The ABC Comedy Hour

Research Notes

I just created the page for this television series. Coverage in printed sources is sparse. Various on-line sources (and another article in WP) indicate that the show was actually filmed in England and produced by Associated Television, a British company. But I couldn't find solid verification. Also, the Kopycats are often incorrectly referred to as the Kopykats. I've used the correct spelling (at least according to the printed sources that I have) and am correcting it in other articles. JimVC3 (talk) 04:14, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

You've done a good job of changing the spelling of Kopykats to Kopycats. But I have videos of the first seven episodes of this show and the original intros of each episode spell the title as Kopykats. I'll hold off on reverting the spelling in this and other articles until you respond, on the chance there's something I'm unaware of. Perhaps it aired in Great Britain with the alternate spelling? Did some or all of episodes 8-13 that I don't have spell it differently? Cyoso (talk) 22:40, 29 July 2011 (UTC)

This one's difficult. Both IMDb and the Brooks & Marsh book that I cite use "cats". In addition, Vincent Terrace's "Encyclopedia of Television Shows" also spells it "cats." At minimum, the two books would satisfy Wikipedia's requirement of using reliable, published sources (WP:IRS). On the other hand, both Rich Little's website and Marilyn Michael's website spell it "kats." While websites (including IMDb) can be considered questionable sources, I suppose one could argue that the people who starred in the show would have first-hand knowledge of the title of the show (assuming, of course, that the stars were directly involved in reviewing the material appearing on the website). Given the conflicting information, I went with reliable, published sources. However, I certainly understand that seeing the word spelled "Kopykats" in videos that you own would convince you otherwise. My style in editing Wikipedia is to research the issue as completely as I can, write the article based on the research, leave notes on the talk page and move on. At that point, the article is open for further editing by others. I do appreciate that you took the time to leave your message here. If you choose to make the change in spelling, I have no objection. JimVC3 (talk) 04:45, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

I've read your response to my discussion page comment about the spelling of Kopycats/Kopykats. Since the word "copycat" has long been in common usage, it's easy to understand how some of the sources you cited may not have looked beyond the first letter before concluding "Kopycats" was correct. While I initially mentioned I could revert the spelling once I saw your response, in hindsight I think the job is better left up to you -- if you choose to do so -- since you'll have a better idea what sources you've already changed.

In case you're curious about the way the show's title was presented on the program, I've posted a screenshot at http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/6/kopykats.jpg/ This was part of the animated opening sequence of each show. I don't know where an image like this would fall within Wikipedia's copyright boundaries, but if it were possible to use it on the ABC Comedy Hour page you created it might go a long way toward dispelling some of the confusion about the proper spelling of the word. Cyoso (talk) 19:55, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

I've moved your latest comment from my talk page to here so that others can follow the thread in one place. I appreciate being able to see the screenshot and certainly believe it makes a case for spelling the word with two "k"s. And your theory about how the reference sources could be wrong sounds plausible. But since those primary sources are the only things I have direct access to, I'd probably pass (at least for now) on making any changes. Again, if you choose to do so, I have no objection. JimVC3 (talk) 02:48, 14 August 2011 (UTC)