Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison is an American author , producer and writer credited with writing the episode ( something which is the subject of controversy ) . In addition to television work , Ellison has written prose fiction and nonfiction , screenplays , and computer games . Television work . In addition to his one story for " Star Trek " , Ellison has contributed stories and teleplays to many other television series . He wrote two 1964 episodes of ABC ' s anthology series " The Outer Limits " , " Soldier " ( featuring Michael Ansara and Tim O ' Connor and directed by Gerd Oswald ) and " Demon With a Glass Hand " ( co - starring Rex Holman , Arlene Martel , and Abraham Sofaer and directed by Byron Haskin ) . He also wrote four episodes of the ABC crime drama " Burke ' s Law " , two episodes of the adventure series " The Man from U . N . C . L . E . " , and single episodes of such shows as " Cimarron Strip " ( " Knife in the Darkness " , which featured Patrick Horgan , George Murdock , Ron Soble , and Grace Lee Whitney , " Logan ' s Run " ( " The Crypt " , featuring Liam Sullivan ) , and " Tales from the Darkside " . James Caan played Ellison ' s alter ego in a 1964 episode of " The Alfred Hitchcock Hour " entitled " Memo From Purgatory " , written by Ellison , based on his own autobiographical book " Memos From Purgatory " . That episode also starred Walter Koenig and was directed by Joseph Pevney . Later , Ellison and veteran " Star Trek " writer D . C . Fontana both contributed to the story of the 1973 " Ghost Story " episode " Earth , Air , Fire and Water " , which was directed by Alexander Singer and featured Brooke Bundy and Scott Marlowe . Ellison has written several more television episodes under his pseudonym " Cordwainer Bird " , including the 1964 " Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea " episode " The Price of Doom " , which was directed by James Goldstone and guest - starred Steve Ihnat , Jill Ireland , and David Opatoshu . He also used the pseudonym for the pilot episode of the short - lived science fiction series " The Starlost " , which he created . As such , the series carried the credit " Created by Cordwainer Bird . " Ellison served as a creative consultant on the 1980s revival of " The Twilight Zone " during its first season ( 1985 - 86 ) , since his short stories were used as source material for three episodes ( including one he adapted himself , " Paladin of the Lost Hour " ) . He also wrote two original segments for the series , including " Crazy as a Soup Sandwich " , which was directed by Paul Lynch . From 1993 through 1998 , Ellison was a conceptual consultant on the science fiction series " Babylon 5 " for all five of its seasons , in addition to contributing two original stories . Walter Koenig , Julie Caitlin Brown , Andreas Katsulas , Bill Mumy , and Patricia Tallman were among those who made regular appearances on this series . Ellison also held that position on the four " Babylon 5 " TV movies which aired in 1998 and 1999 . In 1999 , " The Human Operators " , a short story by Ellison and A . E . van Vogt was adapted by Naren Shankar as an episode of " The Outer Limits " revival series , starring Malcolm McDowell and narrated by Kevin Conway . In 2007 , Ellison wrote the teleplay for the " Masters of Science Fiction " production of " The Discarded " , based on his own short story . This production was directed by Jonathan Frakes . Controversies . Ellison occasionally wrote under the pseudonym " Cordwainer Bird " ( sometimes spelled Cord Wainer Bird ) to signal works he felt to have been impossibly compromised by others . The pseudonym was first used by Ellison in the late 1950s for works of softcore pornographic fiction . Later , he used the alias on four television episodes he wrote but disowned due to rewrites and once in place of his credit as creator of the series " The Starlost " . " Cordwainer " comes from Ellison ' s admiration for science fiction writer ; " Bird " is from the dismissive euphemism " for the birds , " as well as " . Ellison is also strongly disdainful of being described as a science fiction writer , along with the general shortening to " sci - fi " , and once walked out of an interview for being referred to as such . Ellison has been involved in a number of feuds during his career , over his mistreatment ( whether perceived or real ) at the hands of those for whom he has worked . In particular is his feud with Gene Roddenberry , who Ellison believed ruined the story that became " The City on the Edge of Forever " , and then refused to change the screen credit to the " Cordwainer Bird " pseudonym . On top of that refusal , Roddenberry claimed credit for saving the story for years . Ellison outlined his side of the story in his book " " , which reproduced his original teleplay . He later licensed the original teleplay to IDW Publishing , who also held the general " Star Trek " license , resulting in the " " miniseries . Ellison also claimed that the science fiction film , " The Terminator " , was derivative of " Demon With a Glass Hand " and " Soldier " . A lawsuit resulted in the appearance of a title card reading " Acknowledgment to the works of Harlan Ellison " at the head of the end credits for " The Terminator " . In 1979 , Ellison wrote an introduction for a series of American reprints of " Doctor Who " novelizations , in which he said : In the same introduction , Ellison said that " Star Trek " " sententiously purports to be deep and intellectual when it is , in fact , superficial and self - conscious twaddle . " 2009 " Star Trek " lawsuit . In , Ellison filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures , CBS , and Simon & Schuster for what he claimed to be unpaid residuals owed to him for the use of elements from " The City on the Edge of Forever " . Ellison claimed that the companies had refused to disclose sales figures on items derived from his work , including the " Crucible " trilogy of novels , Christmas ornaments , and DVD sets containing his episode . Ellison ' s representative stated that the author " want [ ed ] every penny of his long ago agreed - upon share of the revenue from Paramount ' s relentless Trek exploitations . " However , in October of that year , it was reported by " Variety " that a settlement had been reached . In spite of his rocky relationship with the franchise , in , Ellison offered to write the next installment of " Trek " , stating , " " If anyone out there thinks this melding has legs , let Abrams or anyone else with the chops to get in touch with me directly , " " Ellison said . " " I am without full - time film - agent representation , by choice , at the moment ; so if the job presents itself , I will work for pay . " " Awards and honors . Ellison has won numerous awards for his work , including eight and a half Hugo Awards , five Bram Stoker Awards ( including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 ) , three Nebula Awards , and two Edgar Awards . One of his Hugo Awards was for " The City of the Edge of Forever " , which won as " Best Dramatic Presentation " in 1968 . His " half - Hugo " was given to him when the film " A Boy and His Dog " won Best Dramatic Presentation in 1976 . The Hugo was given to the film ' s producers , but Ellison complained that , as the writer of the story on which the screenplay was based , he deserved to share in the award . With no extra Hugo statuette available , he was given the base of a Hugo , which he calls his " half - Hugo " . Ellison was also nominated for a Nebula Award for " A Boy and His Dog " . Ellison is the only author in Hollywood to win the for Most Outstanding Teleplay four times . One of these wins was for " The City on the Edge of Forever " . He had previously earned the award for his " Outer Limits " script " Demon With a Glass Hand " . These mark the only two times the award was won during the 1960s by a writer for a predominantly science - fiction television series . " Star Trek " writers Barry Trivers and John D . F . Black also won the award during the decade , both for their work on other series . Ellison won the WGA Award two more times during his career : for his original 1973 " Phoenix Without Ashes " script for " The Starlost " and for his 1986 teleplay " Paladin of the Lost Hour " for the revival of " The Twilight Zone " . His four wins tie him with Howard Rodman for the most in WGA history . In addition , Ellison was awarded the Silver Pen for Journalism by International PEN , the first Living Legend Award by the International Horror Guild , and the Bradbury Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America . He also won the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ' s " Distinguished Skeptic Award " , in recognition of his contributions to science and critical thinking .