He was a jerk. He and Roddenberry, also a jerk, almost killed each other.
Harlan was talented, no doubt about it.
Unfortunately, he used his talent to attack normality and morality.
He appears to have hated western civilization.
Star Wars was not Sci-Fi any more than 1984 was Sci-fi. Okay, there’s a Death Star, and Han Solo is making his Kessel Run in record time or distance.
Star Wars is a FANTASY. Most of the planets look like they are either pre-hostoric or dark ages. There a re Princesses, and half of the droids are like Courtjesters.
It would take next to nothing to change the death star to a death catapult, and change Alderaan and Tatooine to different kingdoms on the same planet separated by an ocean, The Falcon becomes a ship, and make the light sabres into medieval fencing swords pr Katanas, and you have pretty much the same story.
You don’t need fancy science to get to the the idea ofd the hero’s journey, or the fatherof the hero turning bad, or any of that stuff.
A lot of science fiction that leans into the almost plausible and the science, often becomes tedious story-telling.
Sci Fi and cartoons are at their best when they expand the canvas of the story, but is still rooted in real human nature. Even if the characters are aliens or wascally wabbits rather than human.
Roddenberry got it right. Star Trek is Wagon Train in space. It can be enjoyed by normal humans.
Anybody could tell that as soon as they started watching it. It was fine for what it was, and I don't know anyone who thought it was, or needed to be, deep and serious. I guess Harlan Ellison was just being Harlan Ellison.
But his stories were mostly unpleasant people being unpleasant to everybody.
That is not adult. That is the play ground when the teachers are not looking.
‘Demon With a Glass Hand’ was cool.
I was about 10 when the first one came out. I hated it. All the other kids were crazy about it. I thought it was really stupid and not really SciFi. I had already read 2001 and other classic Science Fiction and was shaking my head at how stupid Star Wars was.
My main areas of dislike were the absolute ineptitude of the Stormtroopers and how they were basically cannon fodder. I kept wondering how did these idiots control anything? Then the major thing my 10 year old boy self hated was that it was in large part a lady in distress story, one step removed from a Disney Princess.
I dont blame him for not liking large companies stealing the little guys ideas and claiming them as their own.
Harlan Ellison .
I can still remember when Issac Asimov considered him a new , young , and angry writer.
It’s an understandable mistake to call Star Wars “science fiction.” There’s no real science in it. It’s more mystical. It’s really a fantasy adventure set in space with futuristic trappings.
I remember being disappointed upon discovering what a bitter prick he was. In the 80s, maybe on Sci-fi channel. A rude and boring snob, blinded by his intellect. I hate rudeness in a man.
Some of these bread-and-ciruses vendors take themselves far too seriously.
And everything else.
Sounds like my kind of guy.
At best, Star Wars is silly. An embarrassment to SciFi
I skipped my last day in High School for the opening night of Star Wars, the audience loved it. When we were filing out somebody said “I was so tired of meaningful movies.”
He was absolutely right about Star Wars. It’s the most overrated film in my adult lifetime.
Harlan loved Babylon 5. He was a creative consultant on the show, appeared in three episodes and wrote two. He and JMS were so close that Strazinski became the Executor of Ellison’s estate.
When Ellison makes a billion on a movie, then he can talk, until then...