On Dec 17, 2008, at 3:27 PM, Thomas Dalton wrote:
[[Chosen (Buffy episode)]] says "The core four share a moment talking about going to the mall after saving the world which causes Giles to say "the earth is definitely doomed," echoing the end of the second episode of the first season of Buffy." This echoing is transparently clear - the scenes have similar dialogue, the same set of characters (who are the core characters of the entire series), and the line about the Earth being doomed is repeated in each. This, however, is definitely not on the list of what's allowed by NOR.
NOR is a list of things you can't do, not a list of things you can. Noting that two things are the same when there is no way a reasonable person could fail to reach the same conclusion after seeing both sources is not on the list of unacceptable things, thus (unless prohibited by other policy) it is acceptable.
Actually, it is - the observation of similarities is acceptable, but the act of saying that there is an echo, reference, or other connection would be decried as OR (and has been, in fact, in past discussions)
-Phil