After 35 years, renowned writer Harlan Ellison is suing Paramount Studios over a contract dispute centered on the Star Trek episode he wrote entitled “City on the Edge of Forever”. The suit claims that since its airing in 1967, Paramount has licensed the rights to the episode and created derivative works from it without tendering compensation to Ellison.
For those who may be fuzzy on the title, “City on the Edge of Forever” is arguably the original series’ finest episode, featuring a time-traveling Kirk and Spock as they pursue a drug-addled McCoy through a mysterious portal to find themselves in 1930’s New York. This episode features Joan Collins as Kirk’s love interest, and contains a heartbreaker of an ending.
Ellison is also suing the Writers’ Guild of America for failure to properly represent him regarding this compensatory argument. In typical Ellison style, he has said “It ain’t about the ‘principle,’ friend, it’s about the money!” One wonders why it’s taken him so long to file this suit, though perhaps there is some sort of time-delayed article in place preventing prior action on this case. The suit does not name a specific dollar amount sought by Ellison, but it’s likely to be significant, given the 35-year wait.
Comments
lukas
March 17th, 2009 - 1:36:45 PM
was never much of a trekkie, but this episode sounds promising. will have to check it out
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