Harlan Ellison filed suit on Friday against Paramount and the Writers Guild of America over the Ellison script for the Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever.   Ellison alleged that he has received no accounting or payment from Paramount for uses of his teleplay, and that the WGA has failed to act on his behalf on the issue. 

Among the uses of the script for which Ellison wants compensation from Paramount are a trilogy of paperbacks, the Crucible series, which use elements of the script, and a Hallmark Christmas ornament in which a character speaks lines from the episode. 

Ellison is asking only $1 (plus fees) from the WGA, with which he’s been closely associated throughout his career.

Ellison described his motivation with his typical élan.  “…[A]t the moment some studio mouthpiece calls me a mooch, and says I’m only pursuing this legal retribution to get into their ‘deep pockets,’ tell ‘m Ellison snarled back, ‘F*****in’-A damn skippy,’” the announcement of his suit said.  “I’m no hypocrite.  It ain’t about the ‘principle,’ friend, it’s about the MONEY!  Pay Me!  Am I doing this for other writers, for Mom (still dead), and apple pie!  Hell no!  I’m doing it for the 35-year-long disrespect and the money!”