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In case you hadn't heard, Oprah's Big Give special, which aired on ABC March 2nd, was a hit in the smashiest hit kind of way. The debut attracted 15.7 million viewers, which HuffPo claims was the highest rated primetime show that week aside from American Idol. While it's no surprise that anything Oprah does is bound to reel in a massive audience, her latest profitable stunt may have been formulated under unethical circumstances. A Boston mother of four named Darlene Tracy is claiming Oprah stole the idea from a pitch she'd laid out for Oprah's producers, a nearly identical idea called The Philanthropist, "in which contestants are challenged to help the needy." And now she's taking legal action. But after reviewing the history behind these series of unfortunate events, we're putting on our thinking caps (boy were they hard to find!) to try and figure out whether or not Darlene has a case or not...

Although Darlene had no television experience to speak of, she managed to get a fully outlined pitch into the hands of Oprah producer Ellen Rakieten in early 2005, who then joined forces with another producer on the show to follow up with Darlene and "ask for more details." But four months later, Oprah's Harpo Production company decided to pass. Lo and behold, over a year later, the big (and sometimes small) O announced her plans to launch an altruism-themed show. Darlene immediately went into action, filing suit and attempting to halt production, but a judge sided with Oprah and her undoubtedly powerful legal guns.

But Darlene isn't finished fighting. She's since filed an appeal, which happens to coincide with Oprah's plans to release a Big Give book, and potential publisher Simon & Schuster is conflicted about putting out a book just as Oprah's team is under legal pressure. But aside from the drama and the details, is there really such a thing as "original" programming these days? Particularly in the daytime/reality show genre? Consider the Dance Doctor, who claimed ABC stole his idea for So You Think You Can Dance, the fashionistas who sued Brothers Weinstein and clueless Heidi Klum over Project Runway. Neither party had a chance up against the big guns at ABC and Bravo, and we fear Darlene is facing an even more daunting battle. Hell, Bill Clinton's been helping the poor kids in Harlem for years just by being there and throwing cash at every cause above 110th Street! Public philanthropy stunts performed by bold-faced names aren't the most unique "ideas" in TV executives' bags of tricks (as much as we secretly wish one of the little guys was finally capable of tripping Miss Winfrey's unstoppable gait). As usual, "developing..."