Found this on YouTube. I remember "Monsters" well, the opening brought back some memories from my early pre-teen and teenage years. This and Fredy's Nightmares as well as Friday the 13th: The Series fueled my horror-lust in my formative years.
Glim-Glim is featured here in 2 parts.
Watch Glim-Glim Here.
Glim-Glim is featured here in 2 parts.
Watch Glim-Glim Here.
“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum.”
Certified 100% Serious
[SIZE="3"]Thanks for finding it, Tony. I'm glad it's out there for people to see.[/SIZE]
FPW
FAQ
"It means 'Ask the next question.' Ask the next question, and the one that follows that, and the one that follows that. It's the symbol of everything humanity has ever created." Theodore Sturgeon.
[SIZE="3"]For those who haven't read The Barrens & Others, here is the intro I did to the "Glim-Glim" teleplay.[/SIZE]
For years, Tom Allen was a phone friend. I have a number of them. People I see only rarely—or, like Ed Gorman, never see—but with whom I have regular conversations about writing, reading, politics, families, life in general. Tom and I started our phone friendship one Friday night in 1987 when I was working late at my office. Tom was a story editor with Laurel Entertainment, George Romero's company. My previous contacts with Tom had been brief conversations about the annual editor-publisher receptions which I had been running for SFWA, when I’d invite the Laurel crew to stop by for a drink.
Tonight Tom was calling because he'd just read THE TOUCH and wanted to tell me how much he liked it. Here, obviously, was a man of great taste and discrimination.
During the ensuing months we had many late Friday phone conversations about books and authors we liked and didn't like (although Tom seemed to be able to find something of value in everyone), deciding who was overrated and who was under- appreciated. I was continually and increasingly amazed at the depth and breadth of his knowledge of the sf/fantasy/horror field, and his genuine affection for it. As story editor for Tales From The Darkside, part of his job was combing the old magazines and anthologies for stories with adaptation potential. But this man had read everything.
In the spring of 1988 he asked me to drop by the Laurel offices on Broadway for a meeting. There I finally met the voice on the phone and found that Tom Allen looked about as he sounded—a big, gentle fellow with an easy smile. The upshot of the meeting was that Tom and the others at Laurel wanted me to do something for Monsters, the new half-hour syndicated show Laurel was preparing for the coming fall season. The guidelines were simple but strict: one or two lead characters, one to three supporting characters, one monster; one or two interior locations, no exteriors; three scenes with a 5-8-8 minute breakdown.
I told Tom I'd try. The challenge of all those restrictions intrigued me. I like to believe that I can write under any circumstances, that no set of preconditions can keep me from telling a story. Trouble was, none of my old stories had a monster in it except for "Faces," and that was much too strong for TV. So I'd have to come up with something new. For years I'd been kicking around an idea for an sf/monster story but never had the impetus to put it down on paper. Now I did. I sat myself down on a Thursday night, wrote out just enough to fill one single-spaced sheet, and sent the precis of "Glim-Glim" to Laurel on Friday morning.
Tom called a week later: they loved it. He had a few suggestions for some logistical and structural changes within the story to make it hew closer to the guidelines—nothing that changed the story itself, nothing I couldn't live with. But on March 7, before we could make the deal official, the Writers Guild of America went on strike.
I have decidedly mixed feelings about the WGA. It has all the inherent weaknesses and abuses of that most repressive form of union, the closed shop—if you don't belong to WGA, you can't sell a script. But to be fair, it put an end to many of the ugly abuses inflicted by the movie moguls and their underbosses upon writers in the bad old days. I'm a member now (I had to join if I wanted to see "Glim-Glim" produced) but what infuriated me then was that during the strike Tom could not discuss anything about "Glim-Glim" with me. Nothing. I wasn't a member of WGA but somehow I was on strike too. For five months.
But they couldn't stop me from writing. I didn't have a contract but I knew Laurel wanted the script. To maximize the impact of the story's seasonal hook, “Glim-Glim” had to play in December, yet it was already July. I figured I'd better have it ready to go as soon as the strike was over.
I started it on a Thursday and had it finished by the following Sunday night. By early August the strike was over. Soon I had a contract and was duking it out with Laurel about a third set. I wanted the penultimate scene to play out on the front steps of the library during a gentle snowfall.
No exteriors, they told me.
I explained that all you needed was a brick wall, a pair of doors, a set of steps, and some guy shaking snowflakes from the rafters.
But that makes three sets, they said. You're only allotted two. The budget won't allow more.
I felt like I was butting my head against the brick wall I wanted them to build.
So I moved the scene inside the library.
But all in all my experience with Laurel was a good one. I might even say excellent. The producers there actually read books and have great respect for writers and the written word. The director checked with me every time he wanted to change a word or two of dialogue or to shift the focus of a scene—light years away from my experience with the filming of THE KEEP.
Due to the strike, “Glim-Glim” didn’t run in December as originally planned. It first aired the week of January 30, 1989.
My only regret is that Tom Allen never saw “Glim-Glim.” He died suddenly on September 30, 1988. I miss his warmth and wisdom and quiet intelligence. I miss talking to him on Friday nights.
So here's the script for "Glim-Glim" as I wanted it, using the doubly forbidden third exterior set.
And "Glim-Glim" was, is, and always will be dedicated to the man who nudged me into writing it.
This one's for you, Tom.
For years, Tom Allen was a phone friend. I have a number of them. People I see only rarely—or, like Ed Gorman, never see—but with whom I have regular conversations about writing, reading, politics, families, life in general. Tom and I started our phone friendship one Friday night in 1987 when I was working late at my office. Tom was a story editor with Laurel Entertainment, George Romero's company. My previous contacts with Tom had been brief conversations about the annual editor-publisher receptions which I had been running for SFWA, when I’d invite the Laurel crew to stop by for a drink.
Tonight Tom was calling because he'd just read THE TOUCH and wanted to tell me how much he liked it. Here, obviously, was a man of great taste and discrimination.
During the ensuing months we had many late Friday phone conversations about books and authors we liked and didn't like (although Tom seemed to be able to find something of value in everyone), deciding who was overrated and who was under- appreciated. I was continually and increasingly amazed at the depth and breadth of his knowledge of the sf/fantasy/horror field, and his genuine affection for it. As story editor for Tales From The Darkside, part of his job was combing the old magazines and anthologies for stories with adaptation potential. But this man had read everything.
In the spring of 1988 he asked me to drop by the Laurel offices on Broadway for a meeting. There I finally met the voice on the phone and found that Tom Allen looked about as he sounded—a big, gentle fellow with an easy smile. The upshot of the meeting was that Tom and the others at Laurel wanted me to do something for Monsters, the new half-hour syndicated show Laurel was preparing for the coming fall season. The guidelines were simple but strict: one or two lead characters, one to three supporting characters, one monster; one or two interior locations, no exteriors; three scenes with a 5-8-8 minute breakdown.
I told Tom I'd try. The challenge of all those restrictions intrigued me. I like to believe that I can write under any circumstances, that no set of preconditions can keep me from telling a story. Trouble was, none of my old stories had a monster in it except for "Faces," and that was much too strong for TV. So I'd have to come up with something new. For years I'd been kicking around an idea for an sf/monster story but never had the impetus to put it down on paper. Now I did. I sat myself down on a Thursday night, wrote out just enough to fill one single-spaced sheet, and sent the precis of "Glim-Glim" to Laurel on Friday morning.
Tom called a week later: they loved it. He had a few suggestions for some logistical and structural changes within the story to make it hew closer to the guidelines—nothing that changed the story itself, nothing I couldn't live with. But on March 7, before we could make the deal official, the Writers Guild of America went on strike.
I have decidedly mixed feelings about the WGA. It has all the inherent weaknesses and abuses of that most repressive form of union, the closed shop—if you don't belong to WGA, you can't sell a script. But to be fair, it put an end to many of the ugly abuses inflicted by the movie moguls and their underbosses upon writers in the bad old days. I'm a member now (I had to join if I wanted to see "Glim-Glim" produced) but what infuriated me then was that during the strike Tom could not discuss anything about "Glim-Glim" with me. Nothing. I wasn't a member of WGA but somehow I was on strike too. For five months.
But they couldn't stop me from writing. I didn't have a contract but I knew Laurel wanted the script. To maximize the impact of the story's seasonal hook, “Glim-Glim” had to play in December, yet it was already July. I figured I'd better have it ready to go as soon as the strike was over.
I started it on a Thursday and had it finished by the following Sunday night. By early August the strike was over. Soon I had a contract and was duking it out with Laurel about a third set. I wanted the penultimate scene to play out on the front steps of the library during a gentle snowfall.
No exteriors, they told me.
I explained that all you needed was a brick wall, a pair of doors, a set of steps, and some guy shaking snowflakes from the rafters.
But that makes three sets, they said. You're only allotted two. The budget won't allow more.
I felt like I was butting my head against the brick wall I wanted them to build.
So I moved the scene inside the library.
But all in all my experience with Laurel was a good one. I might even say excellent. The producers there actually read books and have great respect for writers and the written word. The director checked with me every time he wanted to change a word or two of dialogue or to shift the focus of a scene—light years away from my experience with the filming of THE KEEP.
Due to the strike, “Glim-Glim” didn’t run in December as originally planned. It first aired the week of January 30, 1989.
My only regret is that Tom Allen never saw “Glim-Glim.” He died suddenly on September 30, 1988. I miss his warmth and wisdom and quiet intelligence. I miss talking to him on Friday nights.
So here's the script for "Glim-Glim" as I wanted it, using the doubly forbidden third exterior set.
And "Glim-Glim" was, is, and always will be dedicated to the man who nudged me into writing it.
This one's for you, Tom.
This post was last modified: 04-28-2008, 09:14 AM by fpw.
FPW
FAQ
"It means 'Ask the next question.' Ask the next question, and the one that follows that, and the one that follows that. It's the symbol of everything humanity has ever created." Theodore Sturgeon.
It was a wonderful story, Paul. I'd say, among your best.
This post was last modified: 04-28-2008, 09:13 AM by fpw.
Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote:It was a wonderful story, Paul. I'd say, among your best.
Was great to finally be able to watch this. Along with the 80's twilight zone episode based on Roger Zelazny's "Last Defender of Camelot," Glim-Glim was one of two tv eps from that era I had never gotten a chance to view...and now, that number has dropped to one.
Mike
This post was last modified: 04-29-2008, 01:22 PM by Mike Hanson.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]MICHAEL H. HANSON
https://www.facebook.com/michael.h.hanson.3
http://www.copperdogpublishing.com
AsMoral Wrote:Found this on YouTube. I remember "Monsters" well, the opening brought back some memories from my early pre-teen and teenage years. This and Fredy's Nightmares as well as Friday the 13th: The Series fueled my horror-lust in my formative years.
Glim-Glim is featured here in 2 parts.
Watch Glim-Glim Here.
I tried to see it again, and was informed that: "This video has been removed due to terms of use violation."
I wonder who did that . . . and why.
Ken V.
Marc B. Wrote:Probably the copyright holder... i.e. the producer or production company.
That makes sense . . . thanks.
Ken V.
Ken Valentine Wrote:I tried to see it again, and was informed that: "This video has been removed due to terms of use violation."
I wonder who did that . . . and why.
Ken V.
Fortunately I saved the files & am just now in the process of saving them as one mpg file. For some reason the two separate files that were on YouTube were different qualities, although not REALLY noticeable when viewed separately. When splicing them together as one file, though, you will see a difference. Not my fault though. Still easy to view & enjoy...IMO.
Anyway, perhaps I will upload it to Veoh.com when it's done. I believe that the file size will probably be too big to send via e-mail.
Stay Tuned!
~Paul W. Sondersted, Jr.