TNN gets Bamboozled

There once was a boy named Shelton Lee. He never grew up to be tall, strong or good looking, but he swore that he'd make it big. \nOne day, he began to make movies. They were smart movies about real issues; they were raw and true. People began to call him a genius. People began to call him "the man." People began to call him Spike. \nToday, he has taken those principles he has fought to secure and raised them to a new level of prestige. His beef now isn't with the police, racism or the plight of the residents of the inner city. No, he is battling the real evil, the issue that keeps single mothers from sleeping at night, the issue that prevents young talented poverty-stricken immigrant youth from finding a better life. He's going toe-to-toe with one much, much worse.\nHe's fighting the new TNN.\nIn their attempt to change their name from The Nashville Network to Spike TV -- the first cable channel for men -- the new TNN has run into a roadblock with a vision problem and a basketball cap. \nOn June 12, State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub granted a petition by Spike and ordered Viacom Inc., to temporarily stop using the new nomenclature for the channel.\nSpike claims that the station is trying to capitalize on his name, image and likeness. \nThe TV station -- which will air such programming as new episodes of "Ren and Stimpy," "Gary the Rat" and a Pamela Anderson animated series, "Stripperella" -- hopes they'll win.\nHowever, I think Mr. Lee might have a case. \nSpike just about boasts the cartoon chihuahua's physique, both his mother and Pamela Anderson have made history by sleeping with a man named Lee, and the only thing I can smell in this story is rat. \nNow, Spike brings with him a lot of baggage. Love him or hate him for his attitude, his "image" certainly carries more clout than, say, late British comedian Spike Milligan, the WWE's Spike Dudley or Bruce Willis' latest roll as the Rugrats' canine companion.\nBut to say that all things Spike in the entertainment industry should belong to him, that's another story. He wasn't the first to come up with the name, and he certainly won't be the last, but for TNN, that might not matter much. \n"In addition to the name Spike, there are other indicia that defendants sought to exploit Mr. Lee's persona, most notably Mr. Lee's reputation for irreverence and aggressiveness," Tolub said in his ruling, according to the Bloomberg News.\nAll "indicia" aside, I'd like to tell Spike to get over it … but I doubt he'd be listening. I hear he doesn't particularly like Indiana very much.\n One thing's for certain though, this speaks of more than his career. \n The battles one chooses in life define the character of the soldier. For years, Spike has built a reputation for fighting the right fights in some circles, but as this latest turn of events might reveal, he seems to have developed into less of a soldier for the people and more of a soldier for Spike Lee. \n Spending such time and effort on this frivolous and self-indulgent case almost belittles the efforts he's spent in more substantive debates. He once had a cause; now it just seems he has money. It's sad to see how a man who once was so righteous has become as Hollywood as any other director out there whom he might have scoffed at in his more "in touch" years. \nSpike, in a sense, is the ultimate artist, capturing reality in its truest form. Unfortunately, it's not in his movies. His life speaks of the only veracity in Hollywood. \nUnder the limelight, the only color that shines true through the smog is green.