To nick.plummer...Nicholas...you're quite right, of course, that
ideas do not grow in a vacuum. Everyone in SF stands on the shoulders of
those who went before. Heinlein invented slidewalks; after that, they
were all OVER SF. But for the most part, they're background elements, or
sort of the collective unconscious of SF; the line comes when taking a
race wholecloth and just filing off the serial numbers (or, in this case,
some vowels).

We try to walk a fine line on this show, between being as original
and innovative as we can...while once in a while giving a nod of respect
and acknowledgment to those who preceded us (like the Prisoner). My
only suggestion, in future, is that such issues (as we say in Jeapordy)
be phrased in the form of a question, rather than an allegation.

jms