Serial Numbers Filed Off



When a Follow the Leader seems to be almost exactly like the leader, just with "the Serial Numbers Filed Off". The blatant copying of characters and plot is on a level that would make even makers of The Mockbuster blush. Although that need not mean the quality is bad.

Sometimes this can be by the very creators of the source work, perhaps as a form of applying Captain Ersatz to an entire series. See Alternate Company Equivalent.

Named because some stolen goods (particularly firearms) would have the serial numbers filed off to make them untraceable.

Compare Mission Pack Sequel (when a follow-up is almost just like the first game), Better by a Different Name, Spiritual Successor, They Copied It, So It Sucks, Recycled Script, Divorced Installment.

Contrast Dolled-Up Installment, In Name Only (both are when a work seems to have the serial numbers of another work scribbled on), Shoddy Knockoff Product (a ripoff that seeks to look like a work, but is a very poor copy).