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#299194 - 11/06/2007 15:00 Re: The Sopranos [Re: wfaulk]
Dignan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12318
Loc: Sterling, VA
Quote:
Quote:
the one where Tom is given an entire life in a split second

Which itself was a total ripoff of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Inner Light".

Oh, I'm aware that the concept of the episode was not original in the least, but that wasn't my point. Anyone watching it knew how it would play out, because you knew they weren't going to get rid of Tom. I didn't like it for the gimmick, but how it was handled.

I also want to add that, particularly given the last several episodes of Heroes, The 4400 doesn't require me to take as many leaps of logic.
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Matt

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#299195 - 11/06/2007 15:06 Re: The Sopranos [Re: LittleBlueThing]
Dignan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12318
Loc: Sterling, VA
Ah, sorry. I wasn't aware that you were watching from the UK. The way you stated it in your post seemed to indicate that you were accusing The 4400 of too closely copying Heroes.

I will agree that The 4400 has its problems, which I still attribute to a smaller budget than Heroes. Still, I think they're doing a better job at telling their story than Heroes is.

And who is the "time-traveling 4400"? Collier? If so, I wouldn't say it's quite the same ability.
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Matt

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#299196 - 11/06/2007 15:11 Re: The Sopranos [Re: peter]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Quote:
I haven't seen either the Star Trek or 4400 episode (I hadn't even heard of 4400 until just now) but the concept sounds very much like both Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" (1890) and Borges's "The Secret Miracle" (1944).

Well, the difference between the ST and 4400 stories, and Owl Creek, Secret Miracle, Jacob's Ladder, and Last Temptation of Christ is:

Spoiler:
Gur ynggre fgbevrf ner nyy erirnyrq nf yvsr unccravat va gur zbzrag bs qrngu, jurernf gur sbezre ner nyy nobhg "gur yvsr lbh'ir yvirq hagvy abj unf orra snagnfl naq guvf vf lbhe erny yvsr", hagvy gur arj erny yvsr vf erirnyrq nf n snagnfl, naq gura nssrpgf gur erny erny yvsr sebz gung cbvag sbejneq. Hygvzngryl, gur ynggre unir ab vasyhrapr ba nalbar ohg gur crefba rkcrevrapvat gur snagnfl, jurernf gur sbezre vaqverpgyl vasyhrapr rirelbar ryfr, gbb.

Anyway, regardless of all of that, the ST and 4400 stories were incredibly similar, almost to the level of plagiarism, IMO.

Quote:
I hadn't even heard of 4400 until just now

If you have any interest in scifi, it's worth checking out. It's got a low-budget feel to it, and it can be a little overly episodic, a la The X-Files, at times, but there's more to it than you might expect.
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Bitt Faulk

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#299197 - 11/06/2007 20:00 Re: The Sopranos [Re: wfaulk]
schofiel
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
My impression of the one episode(about a marriage when Pa was let out of prison) I saw recently (after having absorbed all the good press):

Is That All There Is?

(sorry)
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One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

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#299198 - 11/06/2007 20:51 Re: The Sopranos [Re: schofiel]
webroach
old hand

Registered: 23/07/2003
Posts: 869
Loc: Colorado
Quote:
My impression of the one episode(about a marriage when Pa was let out of prison) I saw recently (after having absorbed all the good press):

Is That All There Is?

(sorry)


Assuming you're talking about the Sopranos, here, the thing to keep in mind is that, again, this is so not the type of show where you can just catch an episode here and there. It would be like reading a single chapter of Proust (comparison for the sake of scope, not style or anything). Taken out of the larger context, your response to the episode is totally sensible.
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Dave

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