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Harlan Ellison to sue over Crucible? (via Psi Phi)

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Folks, as ridiculous as this situation may seem (and I do agree it's ridiculous), let's remember to keep a civil tongue when discussing Ellison. People may not like him or agree with him, but let's not go about tossing crude comments about him. Thank you.
 
Rat Boy said:
TG Theodore said:
This is the same guy who went on television to hawk the Geo Metro, right? The three-cylinder beauty ...

--Ted
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They couldn't find the time to have an even number of them?
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Is it really a car if there are more tires than pistons? ;)
 
DaveGalanter said:
Scott Pearson said:Of course, I am just an unfrozen caveman writer . . . your entertainment law frightens and confuses me. ;)
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:guffaw: I love that.
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And now I want to make it all about me: I was supposed to call Marco this week to talk about some pitches. And Harlan has put him in just a great mood, I'm sure . . . :(

I better rethink my idea of "Beneath the Planet of the City on the Edge of Forever" where hobo Keelerites worship her corpse and plot the overthrow of the WPA. ;)
 
^Don't underestimate Marco's powers of calm. There are lawyers who will deal with this, if it even gets that far. It's reading his email from his time off that will take time. ;)
 
I'll put it like this.

If I don't get Crucible: Spock and Crucible: Kirk because of Ellison, I'll lead the pitchfork and burning torches brigade myself. It'll be just like the end of Frankenstein, only not in black-and-white. ;)
 
I had the same thought when he threatened that he'd 'decide' whether he'd 'let' the remaining two books be released.
 
This guy wants to have his cake, eat it, regurgitate it, cut it up ten thousand ways and send it to all his friends, have them eat it and regurgitate it, then have all the pieces sent back to him so he can tape it back together and put in the freezer so that he can eat it again next year.

First he complains about how terrible the TOS episode is. Now he wants to make money off it AFTER WRITING A BOOK COMPLAINING FOR 70 PAGES ABOUT HOW AWFUL THIS VERY SCRIPT IS AND HOW HE HAS NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY TOTALLY COMPLETELY 100% NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!

I, too, will be... let's say slightly irked if I don't get the other Crucible books because of this clown.
 
Allyn Gibson said:
I'll put it like this.

If I don't get Crucible: Spock and Crucible: Kirk because of Ellison, I'll lead the pitchfork and burning torches brigade myself. It'll be just like the end of Frankenstein, only not in black-and-white. ;)
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[Inspector Kemp] A rrrriot....is an ugly tink...![/Inspector Kemp]
 
Allyn Gibson said:
I'll put it like this.

If I don't get Crucible: Spock and Crucible: Kirk because of Ellison, I'll lead the pitchfork and burning torches brigade myself. It'll be just like the end of Frankenstein, only not in black-and-white. ;)
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Due to ever-increasing demand people who want to burn Ellison at the stake, eviscerate or otherwise abuse him unto his ultimate demise are now required to make appointments as much as five years in advance. When they reach the head of the line they're asked to take a number and get lost.
 
After all the lawsuits Ellison has filed (and won) over the years, you'd think he'd know enough to consult his attorneys first before shooting off his mouth. Let alone asking on a message board if anyone knows how to get in touch with the Paramount/Viacom higher-ups.

In this instance I don't think that he has a case. If I were in CBS's position I'd say, "Go ahead and sue." Then when the case is thrown out of court I'd motion for Ellison to pay all the incurred attorney and court fees.
 
Particularly knowing Ellison's legal tendencies, I'd imagine Pocket and CBS' lawyers go over everything with a fine tooth-comb before publishing anything that might have the remotest thing to do with him.

Between that, and the fact that elements of 'City..' have been used in a large number of novels before, it seems extraordinarily doubtful that this is anything other than a guy running off at the mouth.
 
I like how Harlan describes Marco as "out" until after Labor Day, as if Marco took the weekend off just to deliberately spite Harlan...
 
Allyn Gibson said:
I'll put it like this.

If I don't get Crucible: Spock and Crucible: Kirk because of Ellison, I'll lead the pitchfork and burning torches brigade myself. It'll be just like the end of Frankenstein, only not in black-and-white. ;)
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No, no -- what we should do is organize a campaign to have him pelted with jellybeans until he backs down and apologizes. Then we write a story about it and call it -- yes, you guessed it:

"Repent, Harlan!" Said the Star Trek Fan. :D
 
Okay, Christopher, I'll do the driving if you do the writing. You, me, cross-country road-trip. I've got nothing doing, what about you? :)
 
Christopher said:
Allyn Gibson said:
I'll put it like this.

If I don't get Crucible: Spock and Crucible: Kirk because of Ellison, I'll lead the pitchfork and burning torches brigade myself. It'll be just like the end of Frankenstein, only not in black-and-white. ;)
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No, no -- what we should do is organize a campaign to have him pelted with jellybeans until he backs down and apologizes. Then we write a story about it and call it -- yes, you guessed it:

"Repent, Harlan!" Said the Star Trek Fan. :D
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Pure. Gold.
 
Christopher said:
^^You have no idea how many years I've been waiting for an opportunity to use that line.
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If there's more like that, you could collect them and call it All the Lines That Are My Life.

Or not.

Meanwhile, I suspect Ellison's too boggled by reaction to his Connie Willis-groping incident at Worldcon to spend much time on this right now. There's a huge amount of commentary in the blogosphere about that, and very little about Trek.
 
If I remember my Trek Lore correctly, Ellison's beef is with the fact that the producer's reduced his vision to what ultimately became The City On The Edge Of Forvever. He had grand plans, that a 1960's budget couldn't support.
If I was him I'd be proud that a germ of my original idea had become one of, if not the, best loved Trek episodes. I've read some of his original work & I am not very impressed.
That is my opinion as a member of the free world. An opinion I am entitled to hold thanks to the men & women who fought for our freedom of speech during WW2. A fact that the entire world seems to be losing sight of.
 
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