I'm not entirely sure. Maybe the universe is a holographic, conscious dream and Harlan's ghost is still hunting for the broken soul of poor Jack Warfel somewhere out there.
Dear Harlan, a couple of episodes earlier you wondered if people will remember you. As I am sure they do very well, I went to Google maps and marked the place you lived in Cleveland in 1952. And guess what, Joe will publish the finals DV this fall. Take care.
Harlan Ellison takes no crap and he tells it like it is - love hearing what he's got to say and his writing blows my mind! He's a beacon to people who value authenticity and I appreciate so much that he was so prolific and productive throughout his life on earth.
I was AT that World Science Fiction Convention and I remember that idiot running around and the resulting disastrous production. And even today, with the global acceptance of SF, the news stories continue to focus on the costumes and the stereotypes. Nothing changes...
rest in peace, weary warrior. it was a long haul. you had A GREAT run. you remain one of a kind. *sure, you were a cynic, .,.. but THERE WAS A LOT to be cynical about!!!*
One of these Ellison spiels give you more insight into SF than any documentary cobbled together by a team that's been tossed into the deep end of the pool, not knowing exactly what is worth their attention. "I have no idea what's at the heart of this gathering, so let's interview the wildest people we can find. Keep it interesting!" You'd get the same reporting of the Westminster Dog Show or a symposium celebrating the works of Beethoven: "I have no idea what's at the heart of this gathering, so let's 'interview' the funniest looking dog or some guy dressed as Beethoven. Keep it interesting!"
Hear, hear, Harlan. This perfectly illustrates the elitist attitude towards SF in the mainstream press that permeates to this day; and the misconception shared by the general public that science fiction fans are dorks and social misfits with no life instead of, bright, passionate people with healthy imaginations who dream of can be. At least the SciFi Channel actually devoted its programming block to SF when this aired in the mid-90s. Now since they caught the SyFy-lys, they run wrestling, Z-grade original movies and crappy reality TV shows geared towards the lowest common denominator---and one or two good shows that will inevitably be canceled.
It's sad to come to the end of 'Harlan Ellison's Watching' and know that he's no longer with us. I wonder if the Sci-fi channel let him go after that video?
This being Harlan's last "Watching" segment, anyone have any idea the air date? I know 1996, but...month and day? My search of the web proved fruitless. Just curious...
Apparently ep 63 was it for Harlan. Pity. Due to the criticism for the worldcon doc. Who knows. But there are other vids and his work lives on as long as people seek it out.
So since this is the last numbered "Harlan Ellison's Watching," does that mean The Sci Fi Channel pulled the plug on more segments after this criticism? Now of course they're "SyFy" and they run wrestling shows and the worst Monster of the Week movies imaginable.
As I recall he was gone for a long time after criticizing USA Network movie Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair circa 1993 but he came back eventually. I could be wrong. Im sure that episode is early on this list. Eventually scifi buzz was cancelled and Bonnie Hammer made the channel generic.
I had quit the convention scene by this time because too many were done by Creation, sort of the R.G. Canning Attractions of the SF cons, and not run by actual fans. And too many fans had become greedy little pigs who were spoiled by movie studios doling out freebies to promote their product. I had seen one too many tables bearing postcards, t-shirts, posters and other ephemera picked clean in seconds by fans, like a pack of jackals ripping into a fallen wildebeest.
Great insight into how to make a documentary! Always make sure you're explaining it as if the audience knows nothing, uing only vernacular that they undertand. I'm ure a documentary on pencils, if done properly, could be very revealing, interesting and entertaining. Professionals should know this!!
I think Harlan hit upon the central problem: the documentarians didn't do their homework! They were thrown into the mix without any guidelines or specific people to interview or do a profile on. It's like a video covering a sports event with a focus on the idiot fans who paint themselves green while enjoying their team play! It would be interesting to see a major corporation documented with only their "product conventions" and "rah rah sessions" on display to see how they feel about being visually misrepresented in public! Sure, Michael Moore has done corporate-focused documentaries like "Roger and Me" and has been either ridiculed or villainized by the ignorant members of the public for making them, but how many documentaries has he done lately?
And in not doing their homework, they just happened to stumble backwards into doing the shallow, most cliched, most condescending hack job? Quite a coincidence
KentAllard If you watch the 6:00 news when they have "live" coverage of a local SF/Fantasy/Media convention, you're going to see a "condescending hack job" like this for basically the same reasons: no knowledge of the subject matter and lack of prep time! However, they seem to be prepared for local sporting events and media-based award shows especially when a local TV news personality is receiving an award! So it's not a "coincidence" so much as lazy amateurs falling back on the same crutches that 'on-the-spot-reporters" always use when they don't do their homework while preparing a story! That should be obvious to anyone who has seen this shtick before unless YOU'RE being condescending!
I heard a story about one of Harlan Ellison's favorite writers, Ray Bradbury. This story might be apocryphal. I don't know. I heard this story many, many years ago. Here goes. Ray was at a party before the space program really got off the ground. (no pun intended)There were people talking about it when suddenly a man spoke up within earshot of Bradbury saying that man will never reach the moon; not in a hundred years. Bradbury went up to this man and got his name and phone number. Flash forward several years to July 1969 and Mr. Bradbury is watching the Apollo Moon landing as it happened. He reaches into a drawer, pulls out a piece of paper and calls the phone number written on the paper. When the man answers, Bradbury confirms his identity and says, "See? You dumb son of a bitch." Again, I don't know if this is a true account, but it would be Glorious if it was.
Well, we've come a long way then. Nowadays, every fan can make her/his own video and upload it. The insiders are in charge in many ways, but there will always be "outsiders." Who would have thought they could make CG global blockbusters with the properties we see nowadays? I do not know if I was ever a "sci-fi fan." I liked Ellison, but I read alot of stuff, some of it "genre" some not. I do recall a short story, "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin" which on the surface was about drug abuse, but was it true Ellison said the real subjects of that story were sci-fi fans, who were much worse than druggies in some ways? Hmm. I'm paraphrasing from a poor memory. I don't know, Cosplay started at comic and sci-fi conventions. It's not for everybody. I think it is not too much to say that there were "insider" things that over time have become absorbed by mass media. What was once a kind of niche market is now THE market. Often representation says as much about the speaker as it does the object of the speech.
"Unfortunately he escaped my wrath because he died".
That one made me crack a smile.
I'm not entirely sure. Maybe the universe is a holographic, conscious dream and Harlan's ghost is still hunting for the broken soul of poor Jack Warfel somewhere out there.
Dear Harlan, a couple of episodes earlier you wondered if people will remember you. As I am sure they do very well, I went to Google maps and marked the place you lived in Cleveland in 1952. And guess what, Joe will publish the finals DV this fall. Take care.
Harlan Ellison takes no crap and he tells it like it is - love hearing what he's got to say and his writing blows my mind!
He's a beacon to people who value authenticity and I appreciate so much that he was so prolific and productive throughout his life on earth.
I was AT that World Science Fiction Convention and I remember that idiot running around and the resulting disastrous production. And even today, with the global acceptance of SF, the news stories continue to focus on the costumes and the stereotypes. Nothing changes...
You tell 'em, Unca Harlan!
I miss that man so much...
lawdy he is good with words
such fun wit
"I said what I had to say. Thank you for listening."
To their credit, the Sci-Fi Channel ran it.
rest in peace, weary warrior. it was a long haul. you had A GREAT run.
you remain one of a kind.
*sure, you were a cynic, .,.. but THERE WAS A LOT to be cynical about!!!*
One of these Ellison spiels give you more insight into SF than any documentary cobbled together by a team that's been tossed into the deep end of the pool, not knowing exactly what is worth their attention. "I have no idea what's at the heart of this gathering, so let's interview the wildest people we can find. Keep it interesting!"
You'd get the same reporting of the Westminster Dog Show or a symposium celebrating the works of Beethoven: "I have no idea what's at the heart of this gathering, so let's 'interview' the funniest looking dog or some guy dressed as Beethoven. Keep it interesting!"
Hear, hear, Harlan. This perfectly illustrates the elitist attitude towards SF in the mainstream press that permeates to this day; and the misconception shared by the general public that science fiction fans are dorks and social misfits with no life instead of, bright, passionate people with healthy imaginations who dream of can be. At least the SciFi Channel actually devoted its programming block to SF when this aired in the mid-90s. Now since they caught the SyFy-lys, they run wrestling, Z-grade original movies and crappy reality TV shows geared towards the lowest common denominator---and one or two good shows that will inevitably be canceled.
"the misconception shared by the general public that science fiction fans are dorks and social misfits with no life "...but some ARE, some not all
I remember when that Sean Donnellan guy use to host a Food Network show in it's early days titled How to Boil Water.
It's sad to come to the end of 'Harlan Ellison's Watching' and know that he's no longer with us. I wonder if the Sci-fi channel let him go after that video?
The Sci-Fi channel never got their act together, so they changed their name.
Munnn-Minded LOL
I remember this one well. Nice commentary, Mr. Ellison.
This being Harlan's last "Watching" segment, anyone have any idea the air date? I know 1996, but...month and day? My search of the web proved fruitless. Just curious...
Apparently ep 63 was it for Harlan. Pity. Due to the criticism for the worldcon doc. Who knows. But there are other vids and his work lives on as long as people seek it out.
So since this is the last numbered "Harlan Ellison's Watching," does that mean The Sci Fi Channel pulled the plug on more segments after this criticism?
Now of course they're "SyFy" and they run wrestling shows and the worst Monster of the Week movies imaginable.
In the introduction video he mentioned doing something like 98 of these segments in 4 years, so hopefully they will be uploading the rest of them.
As I recall he was gone for a long time after criticizing USA Network movie Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair circa 1993 but he came back eventually. I could be wrong. Im sure that episode is early on this list. Eventually scifi buzz was cancelled and Bonnie Hammer made the channel generic.
"This is crap"immediately followed by COMMENTARY in large letters.
i laughed at that. very funny
I had quit the convention scene by this time because too many were done by Creation, sort of the R.G. Canning Attractions of the SF cons, and not run by actual fans. And too many fans had become greedy little pigs who were spoiled by movie studios doling out freebies to promote their product. I had seen one too many tables bearing postcards, t-shirts, posters and other ephemera picked clean in seconds by fans, like a pack of jackals ripping into a fallen wildebeest.
That's just tragic (all points you made). :(
So Sean Dunelin (sp?) wanted to be that guy who was in a movie based on stories by Clarence Buddington Kelland?
Cowboy bebop at his computer
Great insight into how to make a documentary! Always make sure you're explaining it as if the audience knows nothing, uing only vernacular that they undertand. I'm ure a documentary on pencils, if done properly, could be very revealing, interesting and entertaining. Professionals should know this!!
I think Harlan hit upon the central problem: the documentarians didn't do their homework! They were thrown into the mix without any guidelines or specific people to interview or do a profile on. It's like a video covering a sports event with a focus on the idiot fans who paint themselves green while enjoying their team play! It would be interesting to see a major corporation documented with only their "product conventions" and "rah rah sessions" on display to see how they feel about being visually misrepresented in public! Sure, Michael Moore has done corporate-focused documentaries like "Roger and Me" and has been either ridiculed or villainized by the ignorant members of the public for making them, but how many documentaries has he done lately?
And in not doing their homework, they just happened to stumble backwards into doing the shallow, most cliched, most condescending hack job? Quite a coincidence
KentAllard If you watch the 6:00 news when they have "live" coverage of a local SF/Fantasy/Media convention, you're going to see a "condescending hack job" like this for basically the same reasons: no knowledge of the subject matter and lack of prep time! However, they seem to be prepared for local sporting events and media-based award shows especially when a local TV news personality is receiving an award! So it's not a "coincidence" so much as lazy amateurs falling back on the same crutches that 'on-the-spot-reporters" always use when they don't do their homework while preparing a story! That should be obvious to anyone who has seen this shtick before unless YOU'RE being condescending!
Kind of funny how we don't call it "the net" now.
As usual, Harlan Ellison does some truth telling.
I heard a story about one of Harlan Ellison's favorite writers, Ray Bradbury. This story might be apocryphal. I don't know. I heard this story many, many years ago.
Here goes.
Ray was at a party before the space program really got off the ground. (no pun intended)There were people talking about it when suddenly a man spoke up within earshot of Bradbury saying that man will never reach the moon; not in a hundred years. Bradbury went up to this man and got his name and phone number.
Flash forward several years to July 1969 and Mr. Bradbury is watching the Apollo Moon landing as it happened. He reaches into a drawer, pulls out a piece of paper and calls the phone number written on the paper. When the man answers, Bradbury confirms his identity and says, "See? You dumb son of a bitch."
Again, I don't know if this is a true account, but it would be Glorious if it was.
Dang! The kid hosting the documentary looks like Jimmy Kimmel.
Well, we've come a long way then. Nowadays, every fan can make her/his own video and upload it. The insiders are in charge in many ways, but there will always be "outsiders." Who would have thought they could make CG global blockbusters with the properties we see nowadays? I do not know if I was ever a "sci-fi fan." I liked Ellison, but I read alot of stuff, some of it "genre" some not. I do recall a short story, "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin" which on the surface was about drug abuse, but was it true Ellison said the real subjects of that story were sci-fi fans, who were much worse than druggies in some ways? Hmm. I'm paraphrasing from a poor memory. I don't know, Cosplay started at comic and sci-fi conventions. It's not for everybody. I think it is not too much to say that there were "insider" things that over time have become absorbed by mass media. What was once a kind of niche market is now THE market. Often representation says as much about the speaker as it does the object of the speech.
"I got Shatner's wig!" is pretty funny.
"Unfortunately he escaped my wrath because he died"