Ancient Geeks

Ancient Geeks, episode 67: Harlan Ellison, part 3, the TV episodes

We continue our in-depth look at Harlan Ellison, the man and his works, with some of his most famous television scripts. "City On The Edge Of Forever" is, of course, one of the most famous and beloved episodes of the original Star Trek TV show. "Soldier" and "Demon With A Glass Hand" are two episodes written by Ellison for the science fiction anthology show, The Outer Limits. All three are at the apex of Ellison's writing for television, a medium with which he had a...how to say it...complicated relationship. He battled with Roddenberry over his Star Trek script. His Outer Limits episodes were the basis of a law suit against James Cameron.  We cover those backstories, but we also review the episodes themselves. Both of us enjoyed the heck out of these shows when we first saw them. How well do they stand the proverbial test of time (which is something, considering all three episodes involved time travel)? Were these quintessential Ellison stories? And which version of "The City On The Edge Of Forever" do we prefer, the one that Ellison wrote, or the modified version that was filmed? We also cover Ellison's TV appearances, playing himself, on talk shows at the height of his career. Time-traveling soldiers! Time-traveling robots! Time-traveling aliens! Time-traveling Shatners! A demure Joan Collins! Tom Snyder! Glorious black and white TV! Even more glorious color! It's all here. And stay tuned for the next episode, the last in this series, where we discuss first, a movie adaptation, and second, a TV series that Ellison completely disavowed.   Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of popular culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572850675636], Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientGeeks/], and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/ancientgeeks.bsky.social]. Also, check out the Ancient Geeks blog on Substack [https://someancientgeek.substack.com/]! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice. © 2026 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 66: Harlan Ellison, part 2, the writing

Last time, we talked about Harlan Ellison, the writer. This episode, we cover his writings. Tom and Steven review short stories, novellas, and essays that best exemplify his written work. How did we respond to his fiction, then and now? Was Ellison one of the best short story writers of his time? Can you separate the writer from the writing? Tune in to find out. Harlequins! Five year-olds! Doppelgängers! Murderers! Timekeepers! Telepaths! Telepathic dogs! Whipped dogs! It's all here.   Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of popular culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572850675636], Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientGeeks/], and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/ancientgeeks.bsky.social]. Also, check out the Ancient Geeks blog on Substack [https://someancientgeek.substack.com/]! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice. © 2026 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 65: Harlan Ellison, part 1, the writer

And so begins our multi-part look at Harlan Ellison, one of the most influential writers, editors, and personalities in the realm of "speculative fiction." In this first episode, we look at Harlan Ellison the public persona: the guy we knew from TV and radio interviews, convention appearances, writings about himself, and other avenues. Force of nature, pugnacious champion for a more serious take on the genre, nemesis of TV producers, editor of groundbreaking SF anthologies, champion of fellow writers, vocal critic of everything that he deemed wrong about the world — call him what you will, he left a deep imprint on science fiction and fantasy. He won dozens of awards, and earned the respect and affection of his fellow SF&F writers. Most of them. As Robert Bloch said about him, "He is the only living organism I know whose natural habitat is hot water." In later episodes, we'll cover Ellison's writing, as well as adaptations of his works to the screen. Typewriters! The Southern California SF scene! Dead gophers! Tom Snyder! Creative writing professors! Beloved TV scripts! Fights with TV executives! Fights with editors! Fights with other writers! Fights with fans! It's all here.   Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of popular culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572850675636], Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientGeeks/], and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/ancientgeeks.bsky.social]. Also, check out the Ancient Geeks blog on Substack [https://someancientgeek.substack.com/]! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice. © 2026 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 64: Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Don't panic! The jokes are still funny, decades after we first heard them. Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy combined dry British humor with science fiction tropes. Why did that chemistry work? Which of the different incarnations of the Hitchhiker's Guide was the best? And how many Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters could we consume? Super-computers! Two-headed aliens! The end of the Earth! Bad poetry! Bureaucracy! Out-of-work philosophers! Improbability! It's all here.   Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of popular culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572850675636], Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientGeeks/], and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/ancientgeeks.bsky.social]. Also, check out the Ancient Geeks blog on Substack [https://someancientgeek.substack.com/]! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice. © 2026 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 63: 2001 A Space Odyssey

One of the best SF movies ever made. Directed by one of the greatest directors ever. Co-written by said director and one of the most respected "hard" science fiction authors of the classic era. The movie that, in the last Sight & Sound poll, other film directors rated as their top movie, period. How have we not covered Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey before now? Perhaps we had not evolved enough... Journey back with us when we were scratching our heads, trying to figure out this movie the way the Australophithecines were trying to understand the monolith. Jump forward in time to how we now see this classic film, and how we understand its meaning (including the final sequence). 2001 inspired a lively debate between us, so strap into your shuttle pod! Monoliths! Murderous machines! Moon bases! Manipulating aliens! Progress from monkey to man to...My God, it's full of stars! It's all here.   Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of popular culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572850675636], Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientGeeks/], and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/ancientgeeks.bsky.social]. Also, check out the Ancient Geeks blog on Substack [https://someancientgeek.substack.com/]! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice. © 2026 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor