I think, frankly, that part of the problem here is the misperception that
all Hollywood writers ever do is rip off other stuff, that nobody out here
ever has an original thought, that if there are ANY common themes, it MUST be
because so-and-so ripped off so-and-so. Which is one reason why I flipped out
a bit in the Soul Hunter topic; I'm tired of that crap, because it's simply
not true.

Look at all the *thousands* of books that've been published in the last
few years in SF...particularly the sword and sorcery/fantasy books, where you
can't swing an elf without hitting a unicorn, a short fellow with great
wisdom, and a princess trying to reclaim her throne. Common themes all over
the place. Nobody thinks twice. But god forbid somebody should produce a TV
episode that deals with the same issue as some other series, and it's
*immediately* considered to be a rip-off. It's biased, skewed, untruthful,
insulting to anyone who works in the field, and just contributes to the
accepted cliche, which doesn't touch reality at any two contiguous points.

jms