Dick Clark doesn't like it when his new show "Do It Yourself TV" is accused of being a clone of "America's Funniest Home Videos."
"You can just as easily say that `Home Videos' is a clone of our `Bloopers and Practical Jokes,' which is a clone of `Candid Camera,' " he said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "There ain't nothing new under the sun."We just weren't smart enough to see that home videos were going to be this funny."
The deejay/host/producer doesn't deny that the success of "AFHV" made "Do It Yourself TV" possible.
"NBC looked at that and said, `Hmmm, can you do a show like that for us?' " Clark said. "I think ours has a little wider appeal and in the long run has more potential (than `AFHV')."
In addition to being executive producer, Clark is co-hosting the hourlong special, scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m., with comedian Darryl Sivad. Crystal Bernard of "Wings" will also appear.
Unlike its ABC counterpart, which accepts videos from viewers, "Do It Yourself" assigns its amateurs specific topics and sets them in motion.
"We'll send people out with a mission," Clark said. "It could be to cover a spaghetti-eating orgy by children: It's not particularly appetizing, but it's pretty funny.
"We sent people out to see how people pass the time in line at a movie theater. Then we got them to do the bunny hop while they were waiting."
And while "AFHV" has come under fire for the dangerous situations kids and pets have been exposed to in some videos, Clark said he won't have that problem.
"This way you have total control," he said. "There's no inducement to do anything dangerous."
Sunday's show will also feature celebrity home movies, a salute to public access programming and children offering Mothers' Day tributes to their moms.
Meantime back at ABC, they've been searching desperately for a show to pair with "AFHV." Last week's attempt, "Anything for Laughs," was also from dick clark productions. The show featured several radio deejays doing their bits on TV, and while the ratings were good, it lost a large share of the "AFHV" audience.
"We appreciated the opportunity to do the show for them," Clark said. "But common sense tells me that the time period will go to `America's Funniest . . . Part II.' "
Not a bad guess. "Part II" airs Sunday at 7:30 p.m. and is from the same production company as "AFHV" and even has another member of the cast of "Full House" as its host - David Coulier.
Not that dick clark productions doesn't have plenty going on. In July, a new "Let's Make a Deal" premieres on NBC. Another game show, "The Challengers," will go into syndication in September.
And we haven't seen the last of "American Bandstand." In addition to an upcoming anniversary special, both a situation comedy and a movie based on "Bandstand" are in the works.
"Sometimes even I can't believe all we have going on around here," Clark said. "I think I dreamed about it back in the early days of `Bandstand,' but I had no idea it would come to pass."