The story of Autopsy Room 4 is exactly the same as a Twilight Zone episode where a man who can't move at all but is still alive talks to himself the whole time. I was shocked when I saw this that Steven King would do something like that!
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When did you see the Twilight Zone episode? If it was one of the new ones, THAT could be the ripoff, seeing as Autopsy Room 4 was a short story included in "Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales" by Stephen King, published in 2002. If it was one of the old TZ episodes, then...Shame on Mr. King.
Hermione: Is everyone clear on the fact that I know EVERYTHING?
Battleground rips off TRILOGY OF TERROR with Karen Black and Agnes Moorhead TWILIGHT ZONE episode!
Looks like Stephen King is a THIEF a plageriser!!!!!!
The Agnes Moorehead episode of Twilight Zone was called "The Invaders" and featured 2 robots that landed on Moorehead's roof in a UFO. Do you consider little raging plastic army men to be ripoffs of 2 alien robots? I sure as hell don't. The only similarity is their sizes.
Three things concerning Trilogy of Terror:
1) Do you think the army men were ripoffs of the Zuni doll? Because that doll is even less similar to the commandos than the alien robots were.
2) You can see that Zuni doll on a shelf in Battleground. If I were to plagiarize something, I wouldn't want people to see the very item I'm ripping off.
(3) Honestly, it doesn't really matter what part of Trilogy of Terror you compare Battleground to. Trilogy originally aired in March of 1975. Battleground was first published in Cavalier magazine in 1972. Unless King built a time machine and used it to travel to 1975 to ripoff a short story idea, he couldn't have plagiarized anything from Trilogy.
--Douche Nozzle tormentor since 1867--
People have been writing stories for ages upon ages. To see a plot similarity between two stories is something that's bound to happen. Because Stephen King was a fan of the works you've mentioned, its likely he will use elements that have stuck with him. Writers do it all the time. Using an element from something you've seen or read and making it your own is not a crime at all. Let's see you make a half decent show without using any plot elements that could have come from another movie, story or TV show... go ahead, prove me wrong.
shareThere is also an old episode of Tales From the Crypt called Abra Cadaver which is very similiar to Autopsy, although it isnt as neat or as well written as it.
Its on the Vault of Horror collection.
Well I believe that when I read the introduction to Autopsy Room 4 in "Everything's Eventual," it said something about an old TV episode that inspired the story and I believe it was from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."
Paranoia, Paranoia
Everybody's coming to get me
Just say you never met me-Harvey Danger
It's not like it's a secret, though. The show is playing on the TV in the background of one scene.
shareIt was definately from the 60s Twilight Zone, not the 80s or 2000s series.
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If you read the book in which the story came from, King says that the movie was inspired by an alfred hitchcock movie, I'm pretty sure if he'd gotten the idea from an episode of the twilight zone he would have said so in the book. On a lighter note, "Battleground" is my favorite of his short stories, is it portrayed well in Nightmares and dreamscapes?
shareIt's in the collection NIGHT SHIFT. Not all of the stories are from the same book.
"Battleground" was pretty good, both the story and the episode.
There is no night as deep as this
Inevitable mind's abyss
Where I now dwell with foes alone
The Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode was Breakdown from season 1. November 13, 1955.
shareKing has been writing stories based on and inspired by other author's works for ages! He admits in the intro to Autopsy Room 4 that he got the idea for the story from an episode of TZ or Alfred Hitchcock Presents (I forget which). And what about 'salem's Lot? King admits he got the idea directly from Dracula and some old vampire comics.
I, personally, am a huge fan of King and am not complaining. Just wanted to set you guys straight that its no secret that not all of King's work is original.
"We all go a little mad sometimes."
Indeed. There was a small foreword to AUTOPSY ROOM FOUR where he brings up Joseph Cotten and the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS episode with the exact same plot that Cotten was in. It's also shown briefly in the background in the Nm&Ds episode.
I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean.
"Indeed. There was a small foreword to AUTOPSY ROOM FOUR where he brings up Joseph Cotten and the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS episode with the exact same plot that Cotten was in. It's also shown briefly in the background in the Nm&Ds episode."
Exactly!
As for The Twilight Zone, He said that he sort of got the idea for Hell of a Band from an episode of TZ where a couple winds up in a strange little town. I just recently watched that episode from the 5th season of TZ. I decided to watch Hell of a Band today....... still my favorite SK short story!
I do enjoy Autopsy Room because SK put a new spin on the story.
I also like Richard Thomas in pretty much anything.
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