Bubble Boy

Yes, I am still here, though I rarely have time to read everything on the list these days, and even less time to contribute. When I have dipped into the list of late, however, it has seemed a little strange at times. But perhaps that's just me. Anyway, on the happily vague subject of other works which might or might not have been inspired in some measure by the works of Gene Wolfe, has anyone here seen the extremely silly but rather amusing film "Bubble Boy"? I couldn't prove it, and it might just be coincidence, but I'm convinced in my own mind that there are a couple of episodes which were inspired by or intended as affectionate tributes to episodes in "The Eyeflash Miracles" and "Peace". At one point the stranded Bubble Boy - an innocent youth abroad in a dangerous world through which he nevertheless passes with miraculous safety - is rescued by (Hollywood's "comic" idea of) a Hindu ice-cream salesman driving a bus-like icecream van with a statue of a Hindu deity on the roof. Elsewhere in the film, the Bubble Boy rescues the members of a freakshow from a circus train belonging to a diminutive but despotic show owner. Hindus in busses? Disfigured freaks? All right, I can see you're unconvinced. But when the film next comes round on late night telly, give it a go and see for yourself then if there's anything to my wild theory of a lupine subtext. Even if you disagree, I think that you'll get a laugh or two, or maybe just a chuckle. Nigel