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  • He was one of a kind!

  • He certainly was. I only recently started reading his stuff. But he was an amazing special guest at HeroesCon in 1999 (I think: I had a little trouble verifying the year). Best rants I have ever heard, and I love rants. ;)

  • Aw. rats!

  • Well, that's too bad.

    I wonder if the so-called "Victims of Ellison" (formerly "Enemies of Ellison") will publish their smear letter against him at last.

  • The  Ellison documentary "Dreams With Sharp Teeth" is worth a watch if you can track it down.

    "Demon With The Glass Hand" may be the best Outer Limits episode ever. It's unfortunate he spent so many years and so much energy railing against "City On The Edge Of Forever". The basic idea and plot was still his and it stands as one of the best ever from Star Trek.

  • I'll have to look for that documentary. I completely agree with you on the Outer Limits and Star Trek episodes you mention. I know he sued about The Terminator being inspired/ripped off from "Demon with a Glass Hand." His main objection to  "City On The Edge Of Forever," IIRC, was that Kirk intervened instead of Spock. I think the revision was better because Kirk looked very heroic while Spock would have looked more robotic and less relatable. 

    doc photo said:

    The  Ellison documentary "Dreams With Sharp Teeth" is worth a watch if you can track it down.

    "Demon With The Glass Hand" may be the best Outer Limits episode ever. It's unfortunate he spent so many years and so much energy railing against "City On The Edge Of Forever". The basic idea and plot was still his and it stands as one of the best ever from Star Trek.

  • I read the original script for "City on the Edge of Forever" when it was published in the '90s shortly after Gene Roddenberry's death. Fully half of the book was Ellison's venemous introduction. To be fair, quite a bit differed from the aired version; it's more than just simply who let Edith Keeler die at the end. For example, in the very first scene, Kirk is leading a landing party which is a firing squad about to execute on of his crew. that simply does not fit Gene Roddenberry's vision of Star Trek. Many of the first season scripts, including "City on the Edge of Forever," were commissioned when the only Star Trek that existed was "Where No Man has Gone Before." Under the circumstances, Roddenberry was perfectly justified in making the changes he did.

  • I read that book also. Some of the changes had to be made due to budget. If I remember correctly, the Guardians were living beings, not just a gateway with a deep voice, and they lived in a city that was on the edge of forever - out of phase with the normal time stream.

    Jeff of Earth-J said:

    I read the original script for "City on the Edge of Forever" when it was published in the '90s shortly after Gene Roddenberry's death. Fully half of the book was Ellison's venemous introduction. To be fair, quite a bit differed from the aired version; it's more than just simply who let Edith Keeler die at the end. For example, in the very first scene, Kirk is leading a landing party which is a firing squad about to execute on of his crew. that simply does not fit Gene Roddenberry's vision of Star Trek. Many of the first season scripts, including "City on the Edge of Forever," were commissioned when the only Star Trek that existed was "Where No Man has Gone Before." Under the circumstances, Roddenberry was perfectly justified in making the changes he did.

  • Netflix has it in rental disk form. I'll probably have it to view in a couple of days.

    doc photo said:

    The  Ellison documentary "Dreams With Sharp Teeth" is worth a watch if you can track it down.

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