It's really not uncommon for multiple people to come up with the same ideas, especially when you're dealing with previously established characters, universes, genres, etc. "What if V'Ger was the Mirror Universe version of the Borg?"

Yep, the Strange New Worlds contest, which ran for several years, led to several authors getting contracts to write authorized Star Trek tie-ins.

The Wizard of Oz is different, since that was based on an American novel published in 1900. I believe it's in public domain now, but it wasn't always so. Snow White, on the other hand, is a traditional fairy tale dating back hundreds of years, so it probably predates the very concept of legally-copyrighted works. …

But Snow White has always been public domain. It's only the distinctive elements of the Disney version, like the names of the dwarves, that were copyrighted. The basics of the story: the poisoned apple, the wicked queen, the magic mirror, Prince Charming, Snow White have been public domain for centuries.

Interesting. Isn't there a kung-fu version in the works as well? Snow White and the Seven Warriors or something? And it's probably worth noting that the Snow in ONCE UPON A TIME has also been reinvented as a Robin Hood figure (in the fairy tale flashbacks). In fact, she first meets Charming while robbing his…

For what it's worth, the Temporal Cold War stuff has since been sorted out in the Star Trek novels. (That's the best part of such unanswered questions. They're a gold mine for tie-in writers!)

It's sad. I was watching one of the old Ray Harryhausen "Sinbad" movies the other day, in which every other line was "Allah be praised!" or something, and it dawned on me that you probably couldn't get away with that today. If an American studio made a kid-friendly action movie about a Middle Eastern hero who was…

My work here is done!

Just to nitpick: the original Mummy movies were made in the 1930's and 40's, not the 50's. 1950's monster movies were all about alien invaders and radioactive mutants. Gothic horror was out of fashion until Hammer came along near the end of the decade.

Beyond a doubt, the coolest thing I'll see all day.

"The Rainbow Connection"?

More: Basically, the Scarlet Pimpernel is a proto-superhero because he had a secret identity. The whole Clark Kent/Superman (and Zorro/Don Diego) dynamic comes from Pimpernel.

Actually, The Scarlet Pimpernel wasn't even masked. Unlike Zorro, he didn't have a distinctive mask or costume. Rather he was a master of disguise. And he wasn't really a "freedom fighter," which implies that he was on the side of the revolutionaries. Rather he was rescuing condemned aristocrats FROM the…

Charlie: I'm told hot soup is off the menu . . . .

One of my editors runs a nude dining club . . . .

Incidentally, that top piece of art really brings back memories. "Mastermind of Mars," I believe?

I'm probably showing my age, but I would have liked it to looked a little more Frazetta-ish . . . .

And it's not just Brits. I mentioned THE AVENGERS to a (non-fan) neighbor here in Pennsylvania and her first response was "Like that Uma Thurman movie?"

To paraphrase Cordelia: "Spiteful much?"

I hear that's actually the title in the UK, presumably to avoid confusion with John Steed and Emma Peel.