Lawsuit on the Edge of Forever
Variety is reporting that Harlan Ellison, the writer who penned the teleplay behind one of Star Trek’s all-time classic episodes has filed suit with CBS to recoup royalties he says the media giant owes him. Ellison alleges that Paramount and it’s parent company, Viacom owe him money for the merchandising, publishing and other exploitations of “City on the Edge of Forever“.
Since I’m not familiar with the legal arrangement Desliu Studios originally set up with the author, it’s difficult to say if Ellison has a case, but it does seem that 30 years is a long time to wait to set your phasers on “sue”. It would be easy to assume that Ellison just wants a slice of the huge Star Trek merchandising pie that is has been building for the past few months in preparation for the new movie. It’s also true that Harlan has never been happy with how his script was treated by Roddenberry when it was adapted for the screen. All this aside, we’ll have to let the wheels of justice turn before a verdict is rendered. I just hope that when all is said and done, Gene’s not spinning in his sub-orbital grave.
Hat tip to Jen for this post.
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