If Harlan Ellison was granted his own TV network the world would be sat on their behinds watching TV an awful lot more. The irony! On the plus side our minds will be constantly rewarded and enriched by the experience.
TV's kind of dead now, don't you think? I do. It's like it was when I was groing up. When I was growing up, I got reruns of Designing Women, the Golden Girls, Simon & Simon, Airwolf, Dynasty, and all kinds of good stuff. Nowadays, children's cartoons are laced with all kinds of over-the-top profanity & vulgarity. Then if you couldn't get any lamer, there's this "Reality TV' crap I can't stand. If I wanted 'reality', I could get it for FREE at home. Books & the net have killed TV!
The good thing about this he is not being a snob. He has worked in the business long enough to realize that there has to be a broad appeal but not everything has to be lowest common denominator. You gotta have some fertilizer to get a beautiful flower.
Nearly 40 years later and these views are still on the money. I've been rereading The Other Glass Teat and it's crazy how relevant Harlans opinions still are. Things wax and wane but there remains the common lowest denominator that Harlan points to and screams CRAP. I'm also blown away by Sleepless Night in the Procrustean Bed. Could have been written this year. It's amusing to see Harlan remain seated for this long with one person without walking out on them!
I've said that for years! Track down his collection of articles on TV criticism "The Glass Teat" and "The Other Glass Teat" and find his review on a show called "Those Were The Days" before it became "All in the Family" and his observations on a children's beauty pagent called "Our Little Miss," decades before JonBennet Ramsey was even born! Visionary is just another word for a one-eyed man living in the world of the blind!
I would throw all the money in the world at the Harlan Ellison televison channel.
MrRemorseless 2 months ago
Hmm. Interesting. At around 6:50 he speaks down toward the movie "Taxi Driver". One of my favorite movies. I wonder why he didn't like it.
tylerdurden3891 2 months ago
@tylerdurden3891 No, he didn't; go back to 6:20 and check the whole context again. cheers!
vapats1802 1 month ago
@vapats1802 Oh, ok, I had it backwards.
tylerdurden3891 1 month ago
@tylerdurden3891 Yeah, it's a quick transition; easy to miss, even if you're only distracted for a split-second (my cat is good at this). :-)
vapats1802 1 month ago
@vapats1802 No kidding lol. I don't know if it's my tv, but the volume is very low and distorted as well.
tylerdurden3891 1 month ago
breaking bad!
brandofunk 5 months ago
'Money is serendipity.' Great. Love it. So very true. 'tis an adjunk to fame.
johnnysbubbletop63 5 months ago
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johnnysbubbletop63 6 months ago
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johnnysbubbletop63 7 months ago
If Harlan Ellison was granted his own TV network the world would be sat on their behinds watching TV an awful lot more. The irony! On the plus side our minds will be constantly rewarded and enriched by the experience.
Danbotology 1 year ago
we should let this guy rule the world, he would probally do a good job.
corm1000 2 years ago
TV's kind of dead now, don't you think? I do. It's like it was when I was groing up. When I was growing up, I got reruns of Designing Women, the Golden Girls, Simon & Simon, Airwolf, Dynasty, and all kinds of good stuff. Nowadays, children's cartoons are laced with all kinds of over-the-top profanity & vulgarity. Then if you couldn't get any lamer, there's this "Reality TV' crap I can't stand. If I wanted 'reality', I could get it for FREE at home. Books & the net have killed TV!
CupisHomines 2 years ago
So is he saying that he's a goth? I'm not sure about Borges, but both Poe & Kafka wrote some pretty dark material.
CupisHomines 2 years ago
The good thing about this he is not being a snob. He has worked in the business long enough to realize that there has to be a broad appeal but not everything has to be lowest common denominator. You gotta have some fertilizer to get a beautiful flower.
DasGoldenBoy 2 years ago
Nearly 40 years later and these views are still on the money. I've been rereading The Other Glass Teat and it's crazy how relevant Harlans opinions still are. Things wax and wane but there remains the common lowest denominator that Harlan points to and screams CRAP. I'm also blown away by Sleepless Night in the Procrustean Bed. Could have been written this year. It's amusing to see Harlan remain seated for this long with one person without walking out on them!
Lianapoppingbubbles 2 years ago 5
"Greek drama in contemporary settings"...and 30 years later, we get "The Wire." The man was nothing if not ahead of his time.
endlessnice 3 years ago 8
I've said that for years! Track down his collection of articles on TV criticism "The Glass Teat" and "The Other Glass Teat" and find his review on a show called "Those Were The Days" before it became "All in the Family" and his observations on a children's beauty pagent called "Our Little Miss," decades before JonBennet Ramsey was even born! Visionary is just another word for a one-eyed man living in the world of the blind!
Elric33239 3 years ago 3