I can't recall an exploding collar in THG either.
Either way, I think the author builds a fairly elaborate world that is different from BR. Also, at this point, you could probably look at any movie or any book and say 'wow, that has similarities to X'. I mean really, it's been a long time since I've seen something TRULY original.
I mean, someone could say twilight was based loosely on Dracula. Or LOTR was based on Star Wars. You can draw conclusions from anything.