“Writers Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova filed a lawsuit against Paramount Television, ex-Paramount exec Terry Keegan, and ABC-TV, alleging that Future Cop was plagiarized from their own pitch for a TV series, which was based on their 1970 short story ‘Brillo.’ The lawsuit was settled in 1980, awarding Ellison and Bova $182,500 in compensatory damages and $154,500 in punitive damages. The story’s title was allegedly a pun by Bova, as a robot policeman could be referred to as “metal fuzz”, like Brillo soap pads.” —Wikipedia
“Brillo” is the most well known of Ben Bova’s short stories. The story of a human cop and a robot resonated with John Campbell, legendary editor of Astounding (later Analog), who had never purchased one of Harlan Ellison’s stories, purchased “Brillo” and the rest is history.
I also liked “Vince’s Dragon,” a story about a low-level gangster who partners with a dragon to commit arsons. Loved the ending!
Ben Bova was a wonderful and prolific SF writer as well as a highly regarded SF editor. Future Crime is a great book to introduce Bova to new readers. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword — 1
City of darkness — 7
Vince’s dragon — 133
Brillo / Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova — 149
Out of time –195
Test in orbit — 215
Stars, won’t you hide me? –237
Diamond Sam — 255
Escape! — 283
Surprise, it sounds like something I’d like!
Bob, I started reading Ben Bova when I was about 10 years old. THE STAR CONQUERERS, with a great Mel Hunter cover, led me to become a Ben Bova fan for the next 50 years!
Sounds good. I put it on hold.
Jeff, I enjoyed FUTURE CRIME. But it’s the story of about “Brillo” that captivated me.
A man of great talent, scientific curiosity, and always a gentleman, with a great sense of humor. I have memories of him and his friend Gordon Dickson drinking weird concoctions during late-night sessions at various conventions before an adoring audience; they would mix various alcohols to come up with drinks never before seen by man and never before consumed by man — until then.
Jerry, Ben Bova and Gordon Dickson were favorite SF writers of mine when I was growing up!
I had not heard of the story or the lawsuit. Both sound interesting.
Tracy, the story Ben Bova tells about how “Brillo” got written is pretty funny, too!
I read a lot of Bova in junior high. For my tastes he’s the most readable of the hard science fiction authors out there. I was a big Ellison fan at the time of the FUTURE COP (awful show as was the even worse John Schuck comedic retread, HOLMES AND YO-YO, that followed it). Tom Snyder used to have Ellison on his talk show all the time back in the day and I remember the episode aired right after Ellison won his settlement. He was absolutely ecstatic.
Byron, Ellison was a very litigious writer and sued a lot of publishers and Hollywood studios over the years. He won several of those lawsuits for Big Bucks.
Ellison also made it very clear, in the prefatory material to this story in PARTNERS IN WONDER, that the pun that is the title was all Bova’s fault.
Hal Clement, Poul Anderson and Gregory Benford (and.. later on, Bruce Sterling) come to mind as among the better handlers of prose among “hard”sf writers, as well.
Todd, Ben Bova admits “Brillo” was his idea…Ellison reluctantly gave in.