# Individual Television Episodes Based on Famous Films/Books/Plays **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873 "2008-06-13T23:52:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/21 "2008-06-14T13:52:56Z")
The great but forgotten TV series [Wish You Were Here](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman/GBF/Wishyou.htm) had one episode set in Marrakesh that was a parody of **Casablanca**. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/22 "2008-06-14T16:29:20Z")
I think a few shows have done “The Most Dangerous Game.” _Sliders_ had one that reminded me a lot of “The Lottery.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/23 "2008-06-14T17:02:58Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] The Simpsons have done many episodes like this, riffing on classic movies (e.g. Mary Poppins, Cape Fear), or books (Lord of the Flies). Many of their “Treehouse of Horror” stories come from classic films or short stories (or, in one case, a poem). [/QUOTE] One of the best they did was “Rear Window.” Married with Children had Sam Kinnison as Al’s Guardian Angel, showing Al how everyone would have had a “wonderful life” had Al never been born. Al decides to stay alive so his family would stay miserable. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/24 "2008-06-14T17:25:48Z")
Several sitcoms have done episodes inspired by Kurosawa’s\* Rashomon\*, though only two come to mind (I know I’ve seen the device used more than that). One was an episode of _All in the Family_ in which Mike and Archie argue over the details of a black refrigerator repairman who came to the house (in Archie’s version he’s a switchblade carrying Black Panther militant while in Mike’s version he’s a Stepin Fetchit; in Edith’s version [presumably the true one] he was a little of both but mostly neither.) The other sitcom was \*Mama’s Family \*which actually called the episode Rashomama and featured the same story told by Eunice, sister Ellen (Betty White) and then by Mama (as I recall). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/25 "2008-06-14T17:29:52Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] One was an episode of _All in the Family_ in which Mike and Archie argue over the details of a black refrigerator repairman who came to the house (in Archie’s version he’s a switchblade carrying Black Panther militant while in Mike’s version he’s a Stepin Fetchit; in Edith’s version [presumably the true one] he was a little of both but mostly neither.) [/QUOTE] Trivia Time: The black repairman was played by a then-unknown Ron Glass, who later played Ron Harris on Barney Miller. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/26 "2008-06-14T17:38:38Z")
Another _Rashomon_ take was done by _Good Times_. It was the episode in which the couch caught fire and the story was told by J.J., Michael, Thelma and Willona, all including the fact that J.J.'s visiting girlfriend lit a cigarette and put it down. The denouement was Penny, after picking up the lit cigarette and pretending to smoke it, stuffed in the couch cushion when she heard someone coming. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/27 "2008-06-14T17:40:09Z")
8 Simple Rules parodied Three’s Company ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/28 "2008-06-14T20:33:16Z")
[QUOTE=Helena] I think a few shows have done “The Most Dangerous Game.” _Sliders_ had one that reminded me a lot of “The Lottery.” [/QUOTE] I recall that “The Incredible Hulk” did a “Most Dangerous Game.” Bixby is lured to an island and hunted by, iirc, Bradford Dillman. Not too shabby a treatment of the story. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/29 "2008-06-14T20:44:28Z")
The Seinfeld episode “The Betrayal” is based on Harold Pinter’s play of the same…as I recall it’s the one that goes backwards. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/30 "2008-06-15T01:37:45Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Slit] The Seinfeld episode “The Betrayal” is based on Harold Pinter’s play of the same…as I recall it’s the one that goes backwards. [/QUOTE] And as a bit of an in-joke, one of the characters name in that episode is Pinter. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/31 "2008-06-15T02:31:53Z")
In a sense, all episodes of **The Monkees** were a riff on **A Hard Day’s Night**. **Quantum Leap** did a lot of episodes based on movies (or close enough). They did **A Christmas Carol** , of course, but also **Driving Miss Daisy** and a show that was a response to **JFK**. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/32 "2008-06-15T17:08:35Z")
A number of shows cloned _Romeo and Juliet_, including Mork and Mindy, Saved by the Bell and Happy Days, but the one that really sticks in my mind doing it was **The Andy Griffith Show**. I remember Andy feeling sorry for Friar Lawrence by the end of it. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/33 "2008-06-16T16:19:26Z")
And in an early scene, Andy tells Opie the story of R&J, translated in to southern dialect. One of the funniest scenes in the episode. The \*Star Trek \* episode “Arena” is based on the classic story by Fredric Brown. "The Trouble with Tribbles was based on a subplot from Robert Heinlein’s _The Rolling Stones_. _Magnum, P.I._ had an episode where the guest star was an aging detective, whose girlfriend had just gotten out of prison. Essentially a sequel to _The Maltese Falcon._ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/34 "2008-06-16T16:34:38Z")
[QUOTE=mbh] The \*Star Trek \* episode “Arena” is based on the classic story by Fredric Brown. "The Trouble with Tribbles was based on a subplot from Robert Heinlein’s _The Rolling Stones_. [/QUOTE] “Wolf in the Fold” was based on “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” by Robert Bloch. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/35 "2008-06-16T16:44:47Z")
The movie **Roxanne** with Steve Martin is a retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. This plot device has been used in countless films and tv episodes. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/36 "2008-06-16T17:02:27Z")
> [@](#): > > The Star Trek episode “Arena” is based on the classic story by Fredric Brown. "The Trouble with Tribbles was based on a subplot from Robert Heinlein’s The Rolling Stones. Not really true in either case, I understand. The Star Trek episode bears the name “Arena” and credits Brown (always a good thing), but I’d heard that the story was already in the works when someone pointede out its resemnblance to Brown’s story. That’s credible – the idea has been ripped off before and since (The Outer Limits had an episode entitled “Fun and Games” that was very similar on;ly a few years before Star Trek’s), and TV and movies like to cover their bases before any potential problems. That would also explauin the considerable differences between the story and the show, which go far beyond the requirements of TV produxction nd keeping things faithful to one’s visions of the characters. As for “The Trouble with Tribbles”, as David Gerrold points out in his book of the same name, he didn’t intentionally base it on thec “flatcat” episode from Heinlein’s “The Rolling Stones”. He did read the book years before, he admits, and his subconscious may have dragged it up, but he was unaware of the similarity until after the episode aired, and mail started coming in. They didn’t ask Heinlein’s permission beforehand, despuite the stories. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/37 "2008-06-16T17:06:06Z")
Did not Heinlein consider plagiarism charges over this? I seem to remember reading that he did consider Tribbles a rip off. I may be mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/38 "2008-06-16T17:12:03Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Several sitcoms have done episodes inspired by Kurosawa’s\* Rashomon\*, though only two come to mind (I know I’ve seen the device used more than that). One was an episode of _All in the Family_ in which Mike and Archie argue over the details of a black refrigerator repairman who came to the house (in Archie’s version he’s a switchblade carrying Black Panther militant while in Mike’s version he’s a Stepin Fetchit; in Edith’s version [presumably the true one] he was a little of both but mostly neither.) The other sitcom was \*Mama’s Family \*which actually called the episode Rashomama and featured the same story told by Eunice, sister Ellen (Betty White) and then by Mama (as I recall). [/QUOTE] ST/TNG did a Rashomon-style episode, with a trial that finally proved that the murder victim had effectively killed himself while trying to kill Riker. Gotta watch them victims. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/39 "2008-06-16T17:17:34Z")
Family Guy did Blue Harvest…which is Star Wars, mostly. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873/40 "2008-06-16T17:18:22Z")
[QUOTE=Icerigger] Did not Heinlein consider plagiarism charges over this? I seem to remember reading that he did consider Tribbles a rip off. I may be mistaken. [/QUOTE] IIRC Heinlein decided that it was a coincidence and acknowledged that he himself may have been influenced by the short story “Pigs is Pigs.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-television-episodes-based-on-famous-films-books-plays/452873.md?page=3)