MovieChat Forums > The Outer Limits (1963) Discussion > ''Soldier'' -- Ellison deserved the cred...

''Soldier'' -- Ellison deserved the credit he got

posted 14 years ago by karsten_nord
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No question that The Terminator executed the idea with much more humanity, excitement, and interest. It's the superior work in every way.

However, there is also no question that the foundation of the first Terminator movie is Ellison's episode, "Soldier." From the opening with the laser beams to the materialization in the alley, to the idea of one "future soldier" stalking another, to the psychiatrist element, to the protection-of-the-humans bit... there simply would have been no Terminator movie without this episode. There are even bits of interaction with the Soldier and the kids that anticipate T2.

Is S2 really inferior to S1? I'll offer my assessment when I see more of it, but this first episode of S2 certainly seemed as good as all but the very best S1 episodes; better than 90% of them, especially towards the end of S1, when quality was clearly slipping badly.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] karsten_nord 14 years ago

That's a fair point. And there are certainly things in his writing that seem forced, especially in "Soldier," in the too self-consciously hip dialogue.

However, the indebtedness of T1 to "Soldier" was so glaring that it shocked me. It almost seemed as if the movie were simply a conscious expansion of the episode into movie form.

I am a big believer in the proprietary nature of ideas. Perhaps Ellison takes it too far, but I also believe that ideas are artists' prime capital, and they deserve recompense. Ideas are precious.

There are many writers whose strengths are in generating ideas, and then many other writers whose strengths are in fleshing ideas out. The two skills don't always go together. Ellison seems to be the first sort, Cameron the second. I think writers of the first sort, the idea-generators who lack the other kind of talent to flesh out the ideas, deserve more recognition, because without them, the second kind of writers wouldn't have anything nearly as creative or original to build on as they do.

None of this changes the fact that Ellison may indeed be impossible to work with. But where credit is due, it's due, and boy, was it ever due here.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] ydobon-1 12 years ago

However, there is also no question that the foundation of the first Terminator movie is Ellison's episode, "Soldier."

I also have little doubt that Ellison's script was probably heavily re-worked to make it into something that could be filmed. From the little of his work that I've read, most of his stories don't make a whole lot of sense. They're more like looking into the brain of someone on acid.

This is a THREADED message board. Please reply to the proper post!

[–] cljohnston108 11 years ago

From the little of his work that I've read, most of his stories don't make a whole lot of sense. They're more like looking into the brain of someone on acid.

Thank you! I thought I was the only one who'd noticed.
Everybody else just talks about him as though his writing's flawless.