Monday, November 30, 2009

Should Harlan Ellison Write the Next Star Trek Movie?

I'm intrigued, even if it's not likely to occur. The "it" in question is the possibility of veteran writer Harlan Ellison offering to write the next Star Trek movie. According to the web site Slice of Sci Fi, Ellison said he's ready, willing, and able to write the next Trek film if the powers that be (and they be spelled "J.J. Abrams") are interested.


It's not clear from the report where this offer was made (in an interview with Slice? elsewhere?), so the context isn't helpful. But for all of us Trek fans and Ellison readers, it is a fun idea to ponder.

Harlan Ellison, of course, wrote "City on the Edge of Forever," arguably (and it will get you an argument) the best episode of the original Trek. He's written a zillion other things -- books, articles, screenplays, short stories, etc. -- that also have given him the credibility to be a perceptive and oftentimes sharp-edged critic of media such as Star Trek. In one of his most memorable articles, he reviewed Star Trek: The Motion Picture for Starlog #33 in 1980. The review was very well done, but also very critical, and it brought a predictable landslide of feedback from readers.

Would Abrams be interested in working with Harlan Ellison? Would Ellison be interested in writing a Trek in its current hyper-action incarnation? Would viewers be interested in the new movie?

Oh, I hope to see more on this story.

UPDATE: The story's also reported at Sci Fi Squad. Not clear to me what part of the story is original, nor, again, where the comments were first made.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Okay, Trek Today has a more fleshed-out report, citing Ellison's blog. (Though the link at the end of the article goes to an Ellison bulletin board, and I can't find anything about this on that page.)

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