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Originally Posted by crich70
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A shame. I have read some of his stuff, and his work formed the basis of "The Starlost" t.v. series.
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I guess we aren't likely to see
The Last Dangerous Visions after all.
I don't think he'd be happy that
The Starlost is how you remembered him
Quote:
Ellison grew disenchanted with the budget cuts, details that were changed, and what he characterized as a progressive dumbing down of the story. Ellison's dissatisfaction extended to the new title of the pilot episode; he had titled it "Phoenix Without Ashes" but it was changed to "Voyage of Discovery".
Before the production of the pilot episode was completed, Ellison invoked a clause in his contract to force the producers to use his alternative registered writer's name of "Cordwainer Bird" on the end credits.
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I first became aware of Harlan through the movie
A Boy and His Dog, a movie I've been meaning to watch again. It's still available free on Amazon Prime.
He also hosted a science fiction talk show called Hour 25 on my local Pacifica station. He might have been a crank, but he was a very smart man.
In the early days of the Sci-Fi Channel, there was a new magazine program called Sci-Fi Buzz. The show wasn't so great, but Ellison did the Andy Rooney-esque opinion pieces at the end of each episode, called Harlan Ellison's Watching. Those videos have been uploaded to
YouTube and are worth a watch.
I liked Ellison for his notorious temperament. He wouldn't be taken advantage of. His lawsuit against James Cameron (for swiping Terminator) and rants against book pirates were justified.
By the way, there's a good documentary on Ellison called Dreams With Sharp Teeth. Even if you don't care for Ellison, it's worth checking out for the footage of his house, which he called The Lost Aztec Temple of Mars.
Sorry if this post is a little rambly. I just sort of spit out my thoughts on Ellison as they came. Like Arthur C. Clarke a few years ago, I liked knowing Ellison was around.