Tweet
I think it's consensus that "City on the edge of forever" is the best episode of Star Trek.
RIP Harlan.
-
I think it's consensus that "City on the edge of forever" is the best episode of Star Trek.
RIP Harlan. -
A couple of months ago, I watched the latest Season of "Bosch" on Amazon and there were several scenes in the Bradbury Building and of course that made me think of "Demon with a Glass Hand". That and his other episode "Soldier" were among the best of "The Outer Limits".
RIP -
He did not write the version of "City on the Edge of Forever" that was filmed despite being credited.Comment
-
City on the Edge of Forever is Ellision's despite the fact it was re-written by several people. It has to be credited to him. The idea originated with him and the changes to the original story are not that far apart. It's like the differences between the Ant-Man film as scripted by Edgar Wright and the version that hit the screens. City on the Edge IS Ellison's no mater what. Both the screened version and his original went on to win awards. It all goes back to him.Comment
-
I have a copy of the book that includes Ellison's original story and script and the background on he making of the episode. It is also covered in the book Inside Star Trek by Herb Solow and Robert Justman.Last edited by phil; Jun 28, '18, 7:21 PM.Comment
-
According to Ellison he didn't want his name on the episode but Gene Roddenberry threatened to black ball in the TV industry if he didn't take credit. Roddenberry wanted the clout that Ellison's name had in the Science Fiction community attached to Star Trek.
I highly doubt Harlan Ellison wanted the first lines in his obituaries to mention Star Trek but he surely had to know it would happen.Last edited by phil; Jun 28, '18, 7:44 PM.Comment
-
He also had given a script for an episode of the 1966 Batman tv show with Two Face as the criminal, the episodes were to be called, "The Two Way Crimes of Two Face" but it got shelved and from what I understand had a falling out with Dozier over it and left ABC.
That's to bad since it sounded like an interesting story line, if they ended up creating the episode, I'd be curious to know
who would have played Two Face? I'm thinking since this story line was nixed, maybe the False Face character was substituted?Comment
-
A few years back, there was talk of bringing a movie based on "Demon With a Glass Hand" to the big screen. Scott Derrickson (Co-Writer/Director of "Doctor Strange") and C. Robert Cargill (Co-Writer on "Doctor Strange") were attached to the project but it looks like they have moved on to adapting "When Gravity Fails" to the big screen.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...rks-mgm-713214Comment
-
I'm a regular reader of Mark Evanier's blog and he has an interesting (if not a little difficult to interpret) write up about Ellison. If you're not familiar with Evanier, he's a writer (comics and TV, mostly) and has known/befriended/worked with a lot of well-known people over the years. I've always found him to be interesting and very down-to-earth in the stories he chooses to pass on about his friendships with people we would call "famous". He tends to be a person that focuses on good things but he's not one to gush about anything good and he is always very, very delicate about anything that might be interpreted as negative. I know enough about Ellison's temperment to know he could be difficult and I find it interesting that even a complimentary and amiable dude like Evanier seems to be struggling a bit to not step in something while he dances around it.
https://www.newsfromme.com/2018/06/2...ellison-r-i-p/Comment
-
Did you see the DC Comics Batman 66 Special? They turned Ellison's unused script into a comic with bonus features. I have heard they wanted to use Clint Eastwood for the character but the comic seems to use Lyle Waggoner as Two-Face. Funny because Lyle auditioned for the part of Batman.
Last edited by johnmiic; Jun 29, '18, 1:35 AM.Comment
-
sad news. no matter what you thought about the man and his personality, you cannot argue the raw talent. RIP!Comment
-
Having read Ellison's original "City" script, I have to say I still prefer the episode as filmed. Yeah, Scotty wasn't dealing drugs as Roddenberry often claimed, but the worst aspect was Kirk's indecisiveness at the crucial moment when Edith Keeler dies. If it had been filmed as originally written, Kirk's character and position as hero of the series would have been neutered for all time.
But, having said all that, I'm sure, as others have said, Ellison would be quite angry that his death dug up more Star Trek talk. He was of course a talented writer, and a force to be reckoned with behind the type writer, and in public. RIP.
ChrisComment
Comment