I've been reading Under the Dome. For me, it seems like the idea's better than the execution, as with a lot of King's novels.
While there have been plenty of Town Under A Dome stories in the past, I think that what makes this so unusual is two things:
One: that they were released so close together; and Two: that they're both big, not a relatively obscure episode of a TV show or a not-too-well-known writer. The Simpsons is arguably the most known TV show, and King is arguably the most known thriller writer.
I personally don't think that one copied the other. But it's interesting that they were both thought of at around the same time. Whatever we create is influenced by the world we live in, so it's possible that certain influences combined in both King and Groening's minds, causing each to create a Dome story.
It's the same as Dante's Peak/Volcano, Deep Impact/Armageddon, Tombstone/Wyatt Earp... all started with a similar core idea in different people's heads at around the same time. It's only through execution that they become different.
While there have been plenty of Town Under A Dome stories in the past, I think that what makes this so unusual is two things:
One: that they were released so close together;
and Two: that they're both big, not a relatively obscure episode of a TV show or a not-too-well-known writer. The Simpsons is arguably the most known TV show, and King is arguably the most known thriller writer.
I personally don't think that one copied the other. But it's interesting that they were both thought of at around the same time. Whatever we create is influenced by the world we live in, so it's possible that certain influences combined in both King and Groening's minds, causing each to create a Dome story.
It's the same as Dante's Peak/Volcano, Deep Impact/Armageddon, Tombstone/Wyatt Earp... all started with a similar core idea in different people's heads at around the same time. It's only through execution that they become different.