Although it didn’t quite make the initial splash executives hoped for, it’s clear that MSNBC’s “The Cycle” took a page or two from Fox News Channel’s playbook in an effort to replicate the success of Fox’s runaway hit “The Five” — an effort that didn’t go unnoticed by at least one of the actors on that program.

Bob Beckel, a longtime fixture in cable news, likened MSNBC to Casey Anthony’s former attorney Jose Baez, who is now pushing his book about Anthony’s acquittal on murder charges, “Presumed Guilty: Casey Anthony: The Inside Story.”

According to Beckel, there is “shame and injustice” in Baez’s self-promotion reminiscent of MSNBC’s 3 p.m. show, which he called “Recycle.”

“I’ll tell you, the shame and injustice is that attorney, the dude who is writing a book about this,” Beckel said. “He is ripping off the system trying to make a whole lot of money. It’s sort of like that show ‘Recycle’ on MSNBC, I think it is, that stole our format. You haven’t seen it probably because nobody watches it, but that’s OK. Good luck. You got no prayer. Anyway, I was not supposed to say that, the producer said. But I’m in a rough mood today.”

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