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From: tom@utcsri.UUCP (Tom Nadas)
Newsgroups: net.tv,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Harlan Ellison quits TWILIGHT ZONE
Message-ID: <1843@utcsri.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 21-Dec-85 07:59:21 EST
Article-I.D.: utcsri.1843
Posted: Sat Dec 21 07:59:21 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Dec-85 08:22:05 EST
References: <783@rtech.UUCP> <674@hou2b.UUCP> <1797@utcsri.UUCP> <2520@colossus.fluke.UUCP>
Reply-To: tom@utcsri.UUCP (Tom Nadas)
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
Lines: 34
Summary: 


How very thoughtful of Jeff Meyer to come so resoundingly to the 
defence of Harlan Ellison.  Evidently he has more information about
the approach Ellison was taking to the Santa Claus TZ story than
the rest of us, since he sees fit to tell us how it was going to 
end.  You would think he would have at least headed his rebutal
with a spoiler warning message, in that case.  

I see no evidence of TV shying away from difficult issues.  Therefore,
I must conclude that Ellison's treatment was yanked not because it
discussed prejudice (hardly a taboo topic on the tube), but rather
because iwasn't worth wading through his ugly scenario to get to 
his rather feeble moral.  Asking the question "Does Santa Claus
like blacks and hispanics?" just hso he can answer "Yes" hardly
makes Ellison the new champion of civil rights.  

Jeff then goes on to suggest that there is no difference between
TV accurately and movingly portraying the persecution of Jews and
Ellison writing a fantasy about a mean-spirited Santa Claus.  I
suppose Rod Serling would say that the only place where those
had anything in common was ...

   ... in the Twilight Zone.

:-)

RJS in Toronto
c/o
-- 

					Tom Nadas

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