We lost one of the greats of Science Fiction this week as Harlan Ellison dreamed his way into that great multiverse that he tapped into so well in his working life.

He was a great writer, novellist and editor, and a sharp critic, always outspoken and with an opinion to share, whether it was wanted or not.

This coming week I will be remembering Harlan Ellison with some of the gems of my DVD library. He contributed the amazing Demon With A Glass Hand to the second season of Outer Limits and I look forward to enjoying Robert Culp's gripping performance. Also in that same season I will be visiting again Michael Ansara's future warrior in Ellison's Soldier.

Time travel was obviously a big topic with Ellison. One of the great highlights of his screenwriting career was undoubtedly in Star Trek's first season: the intelligent and characterful City on the Edge of Forever. Joan Collins compassionate and forward looking social worker seems like a gift to humanity but the possible futures that her life or death could lead to give Kirk, Spock and McCoy a painful and human dilemma to solve.

And let's not forget that J Michael Straczynski's trully excellent series Babylon 5 benefited from Harlan Ellison's guiding intellect throughout.

This is just the screenwriting stuff. Go and read some Ellison books too. Your attitudes towards the Universe may be usefully challenged.