In a strongly and colorfully worded press release, Ellison and his lawyer alleged that Paramount had failed to pay the author  royalties on derivative works such as tie-in novels based on the story as well as merchandise based on the episode such as a 2004 talking Christmas ornament which recited lines from the episode. Roddenberry, who died in 1991, stated in numerous interviews that Ellison's original script was unsuitable for reasons of content and budget, and rewrote it heavily  . The episode as aired won the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, while Ellison's original script won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Hour-Long Script.
In a strongly and colorfully worded press release, Ellison and his lawyer alleged that Paramount had failed to pay the author , who wrote the 1967 television episode under the pseudonym "Cordwainer Bird", royalties on derivative works such as tie-in novels based on the story as well as merchandise based on the episode such as a 2004 talking Christmas ornament which recited lines from the episode. Roddenberry, who died in 1991, stated in numerous interviews that Ellison's original script was unsuitable for reasons of content and budget, and rewrote it heavily ; a dissatisfied Ellison chose to have a pseudonym appear on the final version . The episode as aired won the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, while Ellison's original script won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Hour-Long Script.
A
, who wrote the 1967 television episode under the pseudonym "Cordwainer Bird",
A
; a dissatisfied Ellison chose to have a pseudonym appear on the final version