I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay, Harlan Ellison and Isaac Asimov, Ibooks, 2004
This is Ellison's script, written in the late 1970s, for a full-length movie incorporating several of Asimov's classic I, Robot stories.
The essay which begins this book is not as vitriolic as some others of Ellison's, but it pulls no punches in chronicling the script's journey through Hollywood. The process was characterized by delay after delay. The script was supposedly "impossible" to film. At one point, Ellison realizes that a certain studio executive, with the power to say Yes or No to the project, hadn't even read the script, despite being given many months to do so. At another point, Ellison is asked to make the robots cute like C-3PO (this is the era of "Star Wars"), something he refused to do. Eventually, all of the options are used up and the script is never put into production. It is decided to get some "use" out of the script and it is later published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
The story concerns robot psychologist Susan Calvin. Her life story is the history of robotics. A reporter named Bratenahl is told to find the answer to the question "{Who is Susan Calvin?" Now an old woman, she has become very secretive. Bratenahl talks to people who knew Calvin and worked with her in the past. One remembrance is when the Calvin family had a robot as a part time playmate for six-year-old Susan. Her father worked for US Robotics, but her mother was not convinced that a robot in the house was a good idea. The robot was seven feet tall, and could break Calvin like a toothpick if it so desired. One day, the robot is sent away, permanently.
Another remembrance is about a robot who could read minds, and who interpreted the Three Laws of Robotics (programmed into every robot) in an unexpected way. A third memory of Calvin is about the time she was part of a manned mission to Mercury. A certain element, available on the surface, is vital if the ship is going to leave Mercury, and return to Earth. It's far enough away so that a human will not make it back to the ship without burning up in the sunlight of Mercury, so a robot is dispatched. Having received unclear instructions, the Second and Third Laws of Robotics cause the robot to go temporarily cuckoo. Calvin goes out on the surface, and almost dies, but "fixes" the robot, and they are able to leave Mercury.
If filmed as written, this would have made a great film. It's interesting and complex, the characters are real people, and, best of all, it doesn't rely on sex, violence or car chases. Highly recommended.
Showing posts with label ellison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ellison. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Angry Candy
Angry Candy, Harlan Ellison, Mariner Books, 1998
This is a group of stories that are a combination of science fiction, fantasy and horror, loosely clustered around the theme of death.
A man finds that his aunt, supposedly dead for the last 40 years, is still alive inside a TV laugh track. After going to a Euthanasia Center to end his life, a person has his soul put into many different alien beings. A woman traveling on a bus has a private battle with a telepathic stalker. A man goes to an illegal memory removal place to have the memory of his wife's death removed from his head; later, the memory is put into someone else's head. At a hot dog vendor who reads Dostoevsky, a total stranger tells the story of having many girlfriends, all of whom die nasty or painful deaths.
Perhaps the best story of the book is "Paladin of the Lost Hour." Visiting the grave of his late wife, an old man named Gaspar is attacked by a couple of teen thugs, who almost steal his expensive pocket watch. They are chased off with the help of Billy Kinetta, who was visiting another grave nearby. The two become friends. One day Gaspar asks Billy to accompany him to the cemetery and tells him a story. Over 400 years ago, Pope Gregory XIII changed the world from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. All at once, eleven days vanished. Somehow, one hour was missed, and has been floating in limbo ever since. If that hour is ever used, it would mean the end of all life, everywhere. The hour is contained in the pocket watch that Gaspar gives to Billy. One minute is used for Billy to achieve some closure for a very painful Vietnam experience, just before Gaspar dies.
Ellison is one of my all-time favorite writers, so I can't claim to be totally impartial. I really enjoyed these stories. They are thought-provoking, well-done, and they put the reader right in the middle of the story. If I could, I would give this book three thumbs up.
This is a group of stories that are a combination of science fiction, fantasy and horror, loosely clustered around the theme of death.
A man finds that his aunt, supposedly dead for the last 40 years, is still alive inside a TV laugh track. After going to a Euthanasia Center to end his life, a person has his soul put into many different alien beings. A woman traveling on a bus has a private battle with a telepathic stalker. A man goes to an illegal memory removal place to have the memory of his wife's death removed from his head; later, the memory is put into someone else's head. At a hot dog vendor who reads Dostoevsky, a total stranger tells the story of having many girlfriends, all of whom die nasty or painful deaths.
Perhaps the best story of the book is "Paladin of the Lost Hour." Visiting the grave of his late wife, an old man named Gaspar is attacked by a couple of teen thugs, who almost steal his expensive pocket watch. They are chased off with the help of Billy Kinetta, who was visiting another grave nearby. The two become friends. One day Gaspar asks Billy to accompany him to the cemetery and tells him a story. Over 400 years ago, Pope Gregory XIII changed the world from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. All at once, eleven days vanished. Somehow, one hour was missed, and has been floating in limbo ever since. If that hour is ever used, it would mean the end of all life, everywhere. The hour is contained in the pocket watch that Gaspar gives to Billy. One minute is used for Billy to achieve some closure for a very painful Vietnam experience, just before Gaspar dies.
Ellison is one of my all-time favorite writers, so I can't claim to be totally impartial. I really enjoyed these stories. They are thought-provoking, well-done, and they put the reader right in the middle of the story. If I could, I would give this book three thumbs up.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Ellison Wonderland
Ellison Wonderland, Harlan Ellison, Signet, 1974
Here is a group of imaginative (not just science fiction) stories first published in the late 1950s. When first published in 1962, this was one of Ellison's first fiction collections.
Included is the story of an absolutely foolproof do-it-yourself murder kit. What if you knew, with absolute certainty, that the world will end next Wednesday and you had never been to bed with a woman? A death row inmate, figuring that they will wait until he has finished his last meal, makes a deal with the devil to never stop eating his last meal. A robot is sent on a faster than light trip deep into the galaxy. Its creator planned things very well, having it made a civilian employee of the Space Patrol beforehand. When it returns, 365 years later, it demands payment of all back wages and interest. A commuter gets on the wrong train, and finds himself on an alien planet, one that considers earth the suburbs, all because his neighbor has this. . . thing growing in his garden.
I really enjoyed these stories. They're to the point, and they pack quite a punch. They are all types of imaginative stories, and they're highly recommended.
Here is a group of imaginative (not just science fiction) stories first published in the late 1950s. When first published in 1962, this was one of Ellison's first fiction collections.
Included is the story of an absolutely foolproof do-it-yourself murder kit. What if you knew, with absolute certainty, that the world will end next Wednesday and you had never been to bed with a woman? A death row inmate, figuring that they will wait until he has finished his last meal, makes a deal with the devil to never stop eating his last meal. A robot is sent on a faster than light trip deep into the galaxy. Its creator planned things very well, having it made a civilian employee of the Space Patrol beforehand. When it returns, 365 years later, it demands payment of all back wages and interest. A commuter gets on the wrong train, and finds himself on an alien planet, one that considers earth the suburbs, all because his neighbor has this. . . thing growing in his garden.
I really enjoyed these stories. They're to the point, and they pack quite a punch. They are all types of imaginative stories, and they're highly recommended.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
The City on the Edge of Forever
The City on the Edge of Forever, Harlan Ellison, White Wolf Publishing, 1995
To read the biographies and remembrances from various people involved in the original Star Trek series, one would discover that Harlan Ellison wrote only the first draft of "The City on the Edge of Forever", that it was basically unshootable and had to be "fixed" by several people. It was ultimately "saved" only through the writing talent of Gene Roddenberry. A person would also read that, in the episode, Scotty was portrayed as an interstellar drug dealer.
Not So, to put it mildly, says Ellison.
Read this book, and one will find out that the original "unshootable" version of the script won the Writers Guild of America award for Most Outstanding Teleplay. The version that eventually aired; according to Ellison, the messed-up, watered down, butchered version, is generally considered the best episode of Star Trek-the original, and one of the best pieces of TV ever shown.
Accepting the Hugo award from the World Science Fiction Convention for the aired version of the script, Ellison made it clear that he accepted the award on behalf of his original version, and not what was aired.
Roddenberry mentioned, not just once or twice, but many times, over the last 30 years that Scotty was portrayed as a drug dealer despite repeated declarations from Ellison that Scotty was not in the script.
Ellison does his usual great job in the expanded essay, where he names names and gives honest opinions of the people behind, and in front of, the camera. He also includes his original teleplay, which would have been an incredible piece of television if it had been shot as written.
This will probably upset many Star Trek true believers. For everyone else, this is a great book on 60's television, it's a great book on screenwriting; all around, it's a great book.
To read the biographies and remembrances from various people involved in the original Star Trek series, one would discover that Harlan Ellison wrote only the first draft of "The City on the Edge of Forever", that it was basically unshootable and had to be "fixed" by several people. It was ultimately "saved" only through the writing talent of Gene Roddenberry. A person would also read that, in the episode, Scotty was portrayed as an interstellar drug dealer.
Not So, to put it mildly, says Ellison.
Read this book, and one will find out that the original "unshootable" version of the script won the Writers Guild of America award for Most Outstanding Teleplay. The version that eventually aired; according to Ellison, the messed-up, watered down, butchered version, is generally considered the best episode of Star Trek-the original, and one of the best pieces of TV ever shown.
Accepting the Hugo award from the World Science Fiction Convention for the aired version of the script, Ellison made it clear that he accepted the award on behalf of his original version, and not what was aired.
Roddenberry mentioned, not just once or twice, but many times, over the last 30 years that Scotty was portrayed as a drug dealer despite repeated declarations from Ellison that Scotty was not in the script.
Ellison does his usual great job in the expanded essay, where he names names and gives honest opinions of the people behind, and in front of, the camera. He also includes his original teleplay, which would have been an incredible piece of television if it had been shot as written.
This will probably upset many Star Trek true believers. For everyone else, this is a great book on 60's television, it's a great book on screenwriting; all around, it's a great book.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Slippage
Slippage, Harlan Ellison, Mark Ziesing Books, 1997
This is a group of new speculative, or imaginative, fiction stories from Harlan Ellison. Winner of many fiction awards, including lifetime achievement awards from The World Fantasy and World Horror Conventions, and several science fiction Hugo and Nebula awards, Ellison has put together some stories that are not specifically science fiction, fantasy, or horror stories, but a combination of all three, like Twilight Zone stories.
Included are two teleplays, including one that was shown on the '80s Twilight Zone. The other one, which almost made it to TV, is about a male social worker who taunts a couple of inner city children with tales of an anti-Santa Claus named Nackles who will take children away forever. The social worker then gets to meet Nackles in person.
Among the other stories in this book are the story of an ex-Nazi war criminal who is caught alone in a forest and punished, not by a Jew, but by a dryad, a member of the forest people. A black telepath is sent to a southern maximum-security prison to see if a convicted mass murderer is really guilty. A miniature dragon falls in love with its owner; a computer feeds on human blood.
If the $75.00 price tag on this limited edition is a little steep, Houghton Mifflin has published a less expensive edition of this Must Purchase of a book, which I really loved. The stories are fascinating and well done from beginning to end, with that extra little bit of weird. This is one of those books for which the description "first-rate" isn't good enough.
This is a group of new speculative, or imaginative, fiction stories from Harlan Ellison. Winner of many fiction awards, including lifetime achievement awards from The World Fantasy and World Horror Conventions, and several science fiction Hugo and Nebula awards, Ellison has put together some stories that are not specifically science fiction, fantasy, or horror stories, but a combination of all three, like Twilight Zone stories.
Included are two teleplays, including one that was shown on the '80s Twilight Zone. The other one, which almost made it to TV, is about a male social worker who taunts a couple of inner city children with tales of an anti-Santa Claus named Nackles who will take children away forever. The social worker then gets to meet Nackles in person.
Among the other stories in this book are the story of an ex-Nazi war criminal who is caught alone in a forest and punished, not by a Jew, but by a dryad, a member of the forest people. A black telepath is sent to a southern maximum-security prison to see if a convicted mass murderer is really guilty. A miniature dragon falls in love with its owner; a computer feeds on human blood.
If the $75.00 price tag on this limited edition is a little steep, Houghton Mifflin has published a less expensive edition of this Must Purchase of a book, which I really loved. The stories are fascinating and well done from beginning to end, with that extra little bit of weird. This is one of those books for which the description "first-rate" isn't good enough.
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