It is not really about repackaging as much as the successful dynamics of story telling redone in billions of ways.  Twists and turns are nothing new - just the number and complexity involved more recently.  Someone mentioned the 100 years of film.  Bah!  The 5000! years of theater - back to the earliest civilizations.  The stories are no different.  Even the gods of Mount Olympus couldn't be more human.  It is all about empathy, sympathy, and identification.  These are all human stories.  Even animal stories.  Ever watch those 'nature' programs. Note how the editing and narration seem to impart the humanistic element even to animals acting on their natural predilections.

It is quite possible that if we ever received the transmission of a 'story' from an alien sentient species light years away that we'd either find a common principle that flows through all or would be totally incapable of understanding it whatsoever due to its completely non-human nature.

Science, History, History International, BBCA, PPV movies (no commercials, no DVDs).  Not much quality otherwise.  Though I highly recommend NOVA's "Judgement Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" - just watched it and it is brilliant.

C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot. C++ makes it harder, but when you do, you blow your whole leg off.

 -- Bjarne Stroustrup

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