I’ve been waiting for this since last summer when I saw ads on the Showtime network pitching its newest show, “Californication” starring David Duchovny. As soon as I saw Mulder cruising down a California highway with the word “Californication” plastered on the screen, I had a thought. Well two thoughts actually. The first was, “whoa, David Duchovny is still around.” And the second was, “whoa, Showtime is totally gonna get sued for that.” Not for putting Duchovny in a series. While that’s a questionable business decision, it’s certainly not unlawful. But most music fans know that the name “Californication” is the title of a 1999 Red Hot Chili Peppers album, and a pretty great album at that. Anthony Kiedis, the band’s lead singer, said of the name, “Californication is the signature CD, video and song of the band’s career.” On Monday, the Red Hot Chili Peppers sued Showtime claiming the use of the name by the network constitutes unfair competition, dilutes the value of the name and unfairly capitalizes from an inherent association with the band. To add insult to injury, a character on the show is named “Dani California,” the name of the first single off of the Chili Peppers’ 2006 album “Stadium Arcadium.” The show’s creator said he took the name from a 70s bumper sticker that read, “Don’t Californicate Oregon.” It is unclear whether the name “Californication” was even an original when the Chili Peppers used it. The J. Geils Band had a song back in 1984 called “Californicatin’” and a TIME magazine story from 1972 was titled “The Great Wild Californicated West.” While this article, and the J. Geils Band for that matter, are perhaps not within the collective consciousness the same way the Chili Peppers album might be, the name still wasn’t an original thought on behalf of Kiedis and his bandmates. Monday’s suit is not the first time musicians have sued a television show for the use of a name. In 2003, the 90s hip-hop group Arrested Development sued Fox for using the name “Arrested Development” for the title of, what was then, a new show. And back in 1990, FOX had to alter the name and logo of its sketch comedy program “In Living Color” when the hard rock band Living Colour filed suit. The Chili Peppers have asked for a temporary injunction barring Showtime from using the name. If this goes through, maybe the title can become, “Whoa, David Duchovny Is Still Around.”
•AP: Red Hot Chili Peppers Sue Showtime
Despite the blatant title theft, Californication is not a very good show. It seems Showtime spent as much time thinking about a plot as they did thinking of an original title.