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In the same introduction, Ellison said that ''Star Trek'' "sententiously purports to be deep and intellectual when it is, in fact, superficial and self-conscious twaddle."
 
In the same introduction, Ellison said that ''Star Trek'' "sententiously purports to be deep and intellectual when it is, in fact, superficial and self-conscious twaddle."
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In March 2009, Ellison filed a lawsuit against [[Paramount Pictures]], [[CBS]], and [[Simon & Schuster]] for what he claims are unpaid residuals owed to him for the use of elements from "The City on the Edge of Forever". Ellison claims that the companies have refused to disclose sales figures on items derived from his work, which include the ''[[Crucible]]'' trilogy of [[novels]], Christmas ornaments, and any [[DVD]] sets containing his episode. Ellison's representative stated that the author "wants every penny of his long ago agreed-upon share of the revenue from Paramount's relentless Trek exploitations." The case has been filed in the Central District of California and is awaiting a hearing date.[http://trekmovie.com/2009/03/15/harlan-ellison-sues-paramount-alleges-unpaid-merchandising-royalties/]
   
 
== Credits ==
 
== Credits ==

Revision as of 09:29, 16 March 2009

Template:Realworld Harlan Ellison (born 27 May 1934; age 89) is an extremely prolific American author. Although he has written much that would be called science fiction, he disdains the use of that term. Considered one of the giants of the field by both fans and professionals, his body of work has touched movies, television shows, computer games, and of course that most venerable of media, books. Ellison does not suffer fools at all, much less gladly, and feuds have arisen over his mistreatment (perceived and real) at the hands of those for whom he has worked. The most famous of these is probably his feud with Gene Roddenberry, who Ellison believed ruined the story that became "The City on the Edge of Forever", arguably the most famous original series episode. Roddenberry added insult to injury by refusing to change the screen credit to "Cordwainer Bird", a nom de plume comparable to the venerable "Alan Smithee"; Ellison uses the Bird alias to signal works he feels have been impossibly compromised by others. On top of that refusal, Roddenberry claimed credit for saving the story for years.

The pseudonym "Cordwainer Bird" (sometimes spelled Cord Wainer Bird), first used by Ellison in the late 1950s for his "soft core" pornographic fiction, was also used on at least three occasions for various television episodes he wrote, but disowned due to rewrites. "Cordwainer" comes from Ellison's admiration for science fiction writer Cordwainer Smith; "Bird" is from the dismissive euphemism "for the birds," as well as "flipping the bird," the extension of the middle finger in the direction of someone or something that displeases.

Episodes bearing the pseudonym:

  • "The Price of Doom" (aired: 12 October 1964) for Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea (as Cord Wainer Bird). That episode was directed by James Goldstone and featured David Opatoshu, Jill Ireland, and Steve Ihnat.
  • "You Can't Get There From Here" (aired: 11 April 1968) for The Flying Nun (Ellison avows he wrote this episode only to get a chance to ask Sally Field on a date).
  • "Voyage of Discovery" (Ellison's original title was "Phoenix Without Ashes") (aired: 22 September 1973), the pilot episode of the series The Starlost, which Ellison created. The series carried the credit "Created by Cordwainer Bird."
  • Cordwainer Bird was also a character in Ellison's script "Who Killed Alex Debbs?" (aired: 25 October 1963) for the series Burke's Law. Bird was played by Sammy Davis, Jr.

Ellison also claimed that a top grossing science fiction film, The Terminator was derivative of two of his teleplays, Demon With a Glass Hand and Soldier, both produced as episodes of the 1963 television series, The Outer Limits. A lawsuit resulted in the appearance of a titlecard reading "Acknowledgement to the works of Harlan Ellison" at the head of the end credits for The Terminator. Arlene Martel (billed as Arline Martel) and Abraham Sofaer costarred in Demon With a Glass Hand. Michael Ansara and Tim O'Connor costarred in Soldier.

Most recently, Ellison served as a creative consultant to the series Babylon 5 for all five of its seasons, the post-apocalyptic film A Boy and His Dog is based on an Ellison story, and a computer game was recently written based on another story, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.

James Caan played Ellison's alter ego in a 1964 episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour entitled Memo From Purgatory, written by Ellison, based on his own autobiographical book Memos From Purgatory. That episode also starred Walter Koenig and was directed by Joseph Pevney.

Ellison won the 1967 Writers Guild of America television award for his original script for "The City on the Edge of Forever". He had previously garnered the award for his Outer Limits script "Demon With a Glass Hand". These mark the only two times the award was won during the 1960s by a writer for a predominantly science-fiction televison series. Star Trek writers Barry Trivers and John D.F. Black also won the award during the decade, both for their work on other series. Ellison won the award two more times during his career: for his original 1973 Phoenix Without Ashes script for The Starlost, and for his 1986 teleplay Paladin of the Lost Hour for the revival of The Twilight Zone. His four wins tie him with Howard Rodman for the most in WGA history.

In 1979, Ellison wrote an introduction for a series of American reprints of Doctor Who novelizations, in which he said:

"Star Wars is adolescent nonsense; Close Encounters is obscurantist drivel; Star Trek can turn your brains to purée of bat guano; and the greatest science fiction series of all time is Doctor Who! And I'll take you all on, one-by-one or all in a bunch to back it up!"
—Harlan Ellison. "Introducing Doctor Who", published in Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks and nine other Doctor Who novelizations. Los Angeles: Pinnacle Books, 1979.

In the same introduction, Ellison said that Star Trek "sententiously purports to be deep and intellectual when it is, in fact, superficial and self-conscious twaddle."

In March 2009, Ellison filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures, CBS, and Simon & Schuster for what he claims are unpaid residuals owed to him for the use of elements from "The City on the Edge of Forever". Ellison claims that the companies have refused to disclose sales figures on items derived from his work, which include the Crucible trilogy of novels, Christmas ornaments, and any DVD sets containing his episode. Ellison's representative stated that the author "wants every penny of his long ago agreed-upon share of the revenue from Paramount's relentless Trek exploitations." The case has been filed in the Central District of California and is awaiting a hearing date.[1]

Credits

External links