Dandelion:::

The 3 times Rod Serling would be sued successfully for plagiarism of stories he had written himself, were:

"The Parallel"
...a story about a world parallel to Earth

"Short Drink from a Certain Fountain" ...about a man who regresses to infancy

"Sounds and Silences"
...about a man who tries to shut out his wife's constant chattering

I looked these episodes up in my trusty Twilight Zone Companion.

The Sounds and Silences settlement IS documented in the TZC. Apparently a very similar script had been submitted and rejected by Serling 2 or 3 years before this episode.

Short Drink...Zicree lists this as written by Serling and based on an idea by Lou Holtz. I wonder if the Holtz credit was added after the suit...? At the time the Companion was printed, this episode was not in syndication--probably because of the litigation.

There's no relevant information on Zicree's entry for Paralell, although it sounds like a dozen other TZ plots.

Thanks for the updates, guys. Someone on another forum just pointed out that a list and summaries of Rod Serling's scripts can be found at Internet Movie Database, which should provide a nice complete checklist to work from.

Two weeks ago I bought a copy of the combined stories of the Twilight Zone by Rod Serling in an used bookstore. They had been published before in two volumes, and this edition was bound as one published in 73. The paper cover is identical front, and back. Classic TZ I also picked up a copy of Again Dangerous Visions edited by Harlen Ellison. Both are in good condition. I might be able to check on titles or storylines in TZ for simularities if anyone is curious?

Is the teacher in Something Wicked Helen Foley, or just Miss Foley?

Thanks, dandelion:

See... write so darn gosh much stuff, one forgets what was previously discussed. Or written. Now, isn't that one of Serling's arguments?! He wrote so much that he didn't remember what he may have borrowed from others, like Ray? I say, confined in the little hot house of writing and the local perimeters that ensues, with the pressure cooker environments of everything that goes with such an ordeal...yeah, he could have borrowed and not known or remembered.

As to Helen Foley, perhaps the reason she is only named Miss Foley. Wouldn't "Helen" be, like, blatantly chummy?


[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 11-01-2004).]