VOX:
Harlan Ellison, the legendary, legendarily irascible speculative fiction writer who died this week at age 84, wrote the greatest episode of Star Trek ever made. And he hated it.
“The City on the Edge of Forever” aired on April 6, 1967, late in the original series’ first season, and won acclaim for capturing everything Star Trek could do at its best while suggesting weighty themes and emotional depths only hinted at in previous episodes. It won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Drama on Television. Ellison accepted both. Neither salved his bitterness that the episode had been rewritten.
Ellison passed away last week and there are condolences and obituaries of and for him all over the web. But this story encapsulates Ellison for me – a brilliant writer who pissed off almost everyone he came in contact with.
Excellent article.
By all means, read Ellison’s collection of tv-criticism columns for the LA Free Press (“The Glass Teat”), in which he relates a bunch of stories about his other Hollywood work. He was rarely happy with the execution of his ambitious writing. That Gene Roddenberry rewrote everyone was simply something that the show’s contributors had to get used to.
His original script for “City” is terrific, and can be enjoyed now in an excellent comics adaptation by IDW.
Harlan’s gone?
Sh*t, what rock have I been living under this last week?
At least I have Dreams With Sharp Teeth.
Christ, what an asshole!
Yes, there’s no doubt about that, but he was one of the greatest writers of the 20th century who was very protective of his and many other author’s legacies and body of work.
Although he could be a royal pain in the ass, his talent for both prose and non fiction output will be missed and, IMHO, his works will stand the test of time for future generations to enjoy.
Harlan Ellison*
As was said at the time, it wasn’t filmable. Also the characters are generally acting out of character. I consider the story an interesting sci-fi story in general, but not a good Star Trek episode.
It’s been awhile since I read it. But I remember Roddenberry having objected because the characters were out of character. Argue with him 😉
I loved Harlan Ellison, especially when I was a teenager and reading tons of the “Golden Age of Science Fiction”. A Boy and His Dog was my personal favourite. The news of his death brought back a lot of memories.
It wasn’t filmable as network television, but it would’ve made a hell of a movie. I disagree that anyone in the plot was “out of character.” Minor bits of nomenclature aside, they were written as noticeably more nuanced, and for a more modern audience that could accept some moral ambiguity in its protagonists.
No need. He was trying to protect his 1960s paragons, which I understand. But I’m a fan of the more-interesting, not-so-perfect Starfleet that came later. I like to imagine TOS as a sort of sanitized version of how events “actually” transpired.
Seriously, take a look at the comics adaptation. The artist is very good with likenesses. He even gave Ellison a vital part in the story. 🙂
http://issuu.com/idwpublishing/docs/st_cef_02-pr?e=1013407/8681854
Lots of artist couldn’t deal with the reality of the television business. Not that Gene Roddenberry wasn’t often wrong about things, but it was his show to do with as he saw fit. Even Beethoven wrote pot boilers he didn’t consider his personal best.
No need. I prefer my Trek with characters and institutions that are fallible and somewhat more complex. GR came from a different decade.
These days, I choose to imagine TOS as a “sanitized” version of what “really” happened. 😉
But do check out the comic adaptation.