Author: Robert Greenberger

Fans of Harlan Ellison know that when he’s not happy, we hear about it.  It might involve his invoking the name Cordwainer Bird on a screenplay or writing about the horrendous experience or, in some cases, both.

Ellison was involved in the creation of The Starlost, a science fiction series for CTV in Canada and the experience was so bad, it has become legendary.  Now, VCI Entertainment is releasing the 16 episodes on four DVDs in a $49.95 box set due out November 4. Extras include The Starlost Sales Pitch: “This is a long-lost piece that was sent to the networks to sell Starlost for syndication. It stars Keir Dullea and Executive Producer Douglas Trumball. It’s only been seen by a few, this is a rare gem.”

Created in 1973 and starring 2001’s Dullea, the producers kept misunderstanding what science fiction was all about or let their budget limitations hamper their imaginations.  VCI describes the premise this way:

“After an Earth-destroying threat endangers the planet, Mankind builds a gigantic Earthship Ark spacecraft to save the last of humanity. After an accident takes place and kills the crew, the airlocks connecting the ship’s domes are sealed. Cut off from the outside world, many communities simply forgot that they were on a spacecraft. As the centuries pass, each culture evolves in an enclosed society, each a world unto itself that is fifty miles in diameter. Unbeknownst to the ARK’s inhabitants, they are drifting through deep space on a collision course with a sun. In 2790 A.D., a young man named Devon, a resident of a biosphere called Cypress Corners, discovers that his world is much larger than he was taught to believe and uncovers the Ark’s fate. Devon and friends Rachel (Gay Rowan) and Garth (Robin Ward) must learn all they can about the Ark if they are to save it and the colonists aboard.”

It aired in America on NBC stations, usually Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. before prime time programming began. The series featured guest appearances from John Colicos (Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek), Barry Morse (Space: 1999), and Walter Koenig.

Ellison’s experiences were so bad that he quit the series during production and insisted his pseudonym be used on the adulterated pilot episode, robbing the producers of his name value. The writer had the last laugh, though, when he won the Writers Guild of America’s Award for Best Original Screenplay in March 1974. By then, the series had been canceled. Edward Bryant used the original screenplay as the basis of Phoenix Without Ashes, a novelization that came out in 1975 long after the series was forgotten. The book contained a lengthy piece from Ellison about his experience which has become a textbook example of how not to make a television series.

Bova also got his revenge when he wrote the satirical novel The Starcrossed, which was also released in 1975.

Harold Perrineau is safely off the island and away from Lost so has signed to executive produce and star in a drama Case 219. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the independent production will be based on Walter Dean Myers’ Shooter. The trade says the 2005 novel “centers on the aftermath of a high school shooting from the perspective of three misfit teens.”

The cast will include Evan Ross, Leven Rambin and Taylor Nichols, and most likely Leslie Hope.

Since completing his role on the ABC hit series, he has completed similar duties on The Killing Jar, costarring with Michael Madsen.  As an actor, he will next be seen in ABC;’s forthcoming The Unusuals.

Myers is a well regarded young adult author of fiction and on-fiction titles.  His Fallen Angels made the American Library Association’s list of frequently challenged books, due to rough language and its depiction of the Vietnam War. He released a sequel, Sunrise Over Fallujah, earlier this year.

Here are some television tidbits we think you’ll find interesting:

• Fox TV Studios is moving ahead with Persons Unknown, having filled out its cast with Jason Wiles, Daisy Betts, Tina Holmes, Sean O’Bryan as Blackham, Lola Glaudini joining the previously announced Alan Ruck, Chadwick Boseman, Gerald Kyd and Kate Lang Johnson. The pilot will be directed by Michael Rymer (Battlestar Galactica) and the series has a 13 episode order. The series is an unusual co-production with Mexico’s Televisa and Italy’s RAI which explains why the pilot will be shot in Mexico City starting on Monday.  The premise may sound familiar as the cast, virtual strangers to one another, wake up in the middle of nowhere and have to figure out how they got there and why.

• Speaking of Battlestar, as reported previously, Mary McDonnell makes her Grey’s Anatomy debut on the November 13 episode.  She’ll be playing a doctor named Virginia Dixon, a surgeon who will do her best to bring “rules and order to the OR” according to ABC. Expect her to pop up in as many as four episodes throughout the remainder of the season. Other guest casting of note includes Alias veterans Carl Lumbly and Melissa George, the latter scheduled to appear in 11 episodes as a new bisexual intern.

• Doctor Who’s Billie Piper and husband Laurence Fox welcomed their first child, Winston James Fox, 6lb 11oz , after 26 hours of labor and an emergency Caesarean procedure.

• Buffy veteran and current star of How I met Your Mother, Alyson Hannigan, has reported she is pregnant with her first child.  She married Angel co-star Alexis Denisof in 2003.

In a somewhat unique manner, BOOM! Studios cofounder Andrew Cosby took to <a href=”

to announce that the Sci Fi series Eureka will become their latest title. The comic adventures will be co-written by Crosby, who created the series, and Brendan Hay (The Daily Show) with art by Diego Barreto, son of DC mainstay Eduardo Barreto.

 "I see this as Season 1.5," Cosby says on the video. The story will fill in gaps between the first and second season and be considered part of the show’s mythology.

The first issue will be out in December with a covers by J.K. Woodward (Fallen Angel).

Eureka debuted on the Sci Fi Channel in 2006 and was a ratings and critical hit.  The first two seasons are currently available on DVDThe third season will comprise 21 episodes and began airing July 29.  In August, a soundtrack album was released.

In time for Halloween, the editors of Weird Tales debuted a newly enhanced version of their website, WeirdTalesMagazine.com.

According to a press release, the following elements have been added:

1. Downlaod a complete issue, free. For readers who’ve heard of Weird Tales but want a closer look before they plunk down their hard-earned cash, they’re offering — for a limited time only — a free, full PDF download of the July/August issue, chock full of strange sorcery, angelic gangster wars, and mecha-telepathic orphans. Featuring original fiction from Norman Spinrad, Nick Mamatas, and Karen Heuler; an in-depth interview with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola; a journey into H.P. Lovecraft’s dreamlands; an exclusive excerpt from Stephen Hunt’s steampunk epic The Court of the Air; and lots more!

2. ONE-MINUTE WEIRD TALES. Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, they’re launching a new series of embeddable micro-flash stories that unfold in 60 seconds or less! The debut piece, currently live, is by J.M. McDermott, author of the novel Last Dragon.

3. Sculptor Callie Badorrek of Monster Hollow Studios is offering six original, one-of-a-kind ceramic gargoyles and goblins for purchase at WeirdTalesMagazine.com.

4. INTERNATIONAL FICTION SPOTLIGHT. The current issue of Weird Tales is devoted to weird stories from authors living all around the world. Tune into WeirdTalesMagazine.com over the next several weeks to read web-exclusive posts from this new global generation of authors.

What sort of pop culture website would ComicMix be if we did not salute the 50th anniversary of The Smurfs? That’s right, it was on this day that Belgian cartoonist Peyo’s (a.k.a. Pierre Culliford) first published drawings featuring those blue cuties.

It all began in 1952 when the artist began a strip called Johan et Pirlouit (translated as Johan and Peewit), in Le Journal de Spirou.  On this date in 1958, the Smurfs appeared in the storyline, “La flûte à six trous”. While seeking a magic flute, Johan and Pirlouit encountered a being called Schtroumpf. Audiences were enchanted and within a year, Smurf solo stories began appearing in Spirou followed almost immediately by the first merchandising.

Over time, the society and culture of the Smurfs took shape from the look of Smurf Village to the personalities of the various and seemingly endless supply of inhabitants.  They weren’t as well known in America until Hanna-Barbera corrected the oversight with an animated series.  The show debuted September 12, 1981 and ran without break until December 2, 1989.  By then, a total of 421 stories were crafted, totaling 256 total half hour programs. 

The 1980s were filled with Smurf merchandise and memorabilia and then, as with all things, the fad faded and they were relegated to American nostalgia while the Smurfs continued to be immensely popular in throughout Europe. They have been associated with UNICEF for years, adding a humanitarian element to the property.

Sony recently announced there would be a live-action/animated feature film to be written by David Stem and David Weiss, the men behind Shrek 2 and Shrek The Third and produced by Jordan Kerner (Charlotte’s Web). Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman-CEO Michael Lynton grew up with Les Schtroumpfs in the Netherlands, promoting the studio to pick up the rights when they became available.

“The Smurfs are one of the best-known franchises, and among the most beloved collection of characters in the world,” Columbia co-president Doug Belgrad said. “We’re very excited to introduce a new generation to Papa Smurf, Smurfette and the other smurftastic Smurfs in all of their ‘three-apple-tall’ glory.”

As part of the celebration, a new giant Smurf helium balloon and float will appear in the 82nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.  A new wave or merchandise will be available at the February Toy Fair, meaning 2009 may well be the year the Smurfs return to American prominence.