RIP Harlan Ellison (1934-2018)

[MerelyAFan]

https://www.cbr.com/harlan-ellison-dies-84/

Its been reported that author Harlan Ellison has passed away.

No thread can do justice to how great a writer he was, but to anyone who hasn't read his stuff, there's no better time to get exposed to it than now. In addition, given the current discussions about toxic fandoms, the Xenogenesis essay he penned is even more resonant these days than when it was written.

[LittleRaven]

He was a giant of his era. Science Fiction's last angry man. Also, kind of a colossal dick from what I understand...but that's second hand. I never met him.

He certainly left us a treasure trove of work, though.

[ChiggyvonRichthofen]

I think one of the reason Ellison got so crotchety about his [/i]City on the Edge of Forever [/i] script is because its what he was most recognized for by a lot of people (along with a bunch of attempted lawsuits and maybe I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream and Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman). Which is understandable in a way, since it's arguably the best hour in all of Trek... but this is a guy who won eight Hugo Awards, four Nebula awards- including more "Best Short Story" wins than anyone else- five Bram Stoker Awards, and received a bunch of other honors and recognition in his prestigious career. In terms of accolades, Ellison could stand toe to toe with almost anyone writing sci-fi.

Ellison is infamous for his behavior, but I've heard more than once that he could also be generous in going to bat for his friends and supporting young talent. Obviously he wasn't one to suffer fools gladly. Certainly one of the more memorable characters in his field, and his stories will live on for a long time to come. Rest in peace.

[Beastro]

I think one of the reason Ellison got so crotchety about his [/i]City on the Edge of Forever [/i] script is because its what he was most recognized for by a lot of people

No, he's gotten bent out of shape in other similar ways, like the issues he had with James Cameron and what he feels he ripped off from one of his episodes of the original Outer Limits.

In that case he focuses on the similarities in the episode Soldier and discounts those in Demon with a Glass Hand, but I think he'd have included that one too if not his hatred of how it got rewritten.

IMO, however nice in ways he ways, he was a guy with a chip on his shoulder looking for things to be mad about while looking for piss people off.

It's an odd mindset, but I got a glimpse of it, at least the latter, in my father who made a hobby out of annoying the ever living hell out of anyone he ran into. He was a trucker. Once a cop demanding his radar detector and it took the several hours for him to finally relinquish it, then a few more to get him to run the thing over with his truck. Other times he'd notice people doing things on the road that weren't right and wait for them to get close enough to him for him to blast his horn and scream at them, like a old lady who once was making a turn in front of him, he waited for her to be right in the middle before went wild, humiliated the poor women while almost giving her a heart attack.

It's funny because he has a bit of a passing resemblance to Ellison feature wise, too.

The sad thing with Ellison is that his ego seemed to have blinded him when it came to others drawing inspiration from his work and taking joy in the influence he had on them. Watch those two episodes and you'll see where a young James Cameron could be influenced, but no, Terminator is not a rip off of either. Both are good episodes for the Outer Limits, but Soldier I rank is THE best of the series as being a very low action, wordy and idea heavy episode, but one that is so bloody interesting because it is to grounded in what it handles and how the characters act that are nothing like typical TV and more like they're taken straight from a short story.

Were I in his place, I'd have been honoured to have made such a mark on Cameron and seem my work not only appreciated but it also doing it's part in the cycle of culture where new is never born ex nihilo, but comes with one foot in what inspires it while the other steps off into something new and iconic which Terminator is.

[Eishtmo]

https://www.newsfromme.com/2018/06/28/h ... son-r-i-p/

[PerrySimm]

Most mean old coots live forever. Some are just ahead of their time.