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'''John D.F. Black''' began his writing career in the late 1950s with the horror film ''The Unearthly''. After that, he worked on several television shows. In 1964, he won a Writer's Guild award for an episode of the television series ''Mr. Novak'' (in which [[Walter Koenig]] incidentally guested). [[Gene Roddenberry]] invited him to visit following the ceremony, a kind of impromptu audition that turned into a job offer. Black served as the first Executive Story Consultant, and was an Associate Producer (along with the more famous [[Robert Justman]]). He met his future wife, then Mary Stowell, while working there. His writing contribution to ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' was limited to a single episode, {{e|The Naked Time}}, that was later reprised as an episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. He once said the hardest part of his supervisory job was dealing evenhandedly with writers – both those who intimidated him, folks like [[Theodore Sturgeon (author)|Theodore Sturgeon]], and those he felt weren't living up to the show's standards. Following his tenure on ''Star Trek'', he continued working as a writer and producer until about 1978, returning only once after that: to collaborate on two ''Next Generation'' episodes.
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'''John Donald Francis Black''' {{born|30|December|1932}} began his writing career in the late 1950s with the horror film ''The Unearthly'' (1957, featuring [[Arthur Batanides]]). After that, he worked on several television shows. In 1964, he won a Writer's Guild award for an episode of the television series ''Mr. Novak'' (in which [[Walter Koenig]] incidentally guested). [[Gene Roddenberry]] invited him to visit his home following the ceremony, a kind of impromptu audition that turned into a job offer. Black served as the first Executive Story Consultant, and also worked as an Associate Producer (along with the more famous [[Robert Justman]]). He met his future wife, then Mary Stowell, while working there.
   
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His writing contribution to ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' was limited to a single episode, {{e|The Naked Time}}, that was later reprised as an episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. He once said the hardest part of his supervisory job was dealing evenhandedly with writers – both those who intimidated him, like [[Theodore Sturgeon]], and those he felt weren't living up to the show's standards. Black left the series when he got a big-money contract from Universal Pictures. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rPiQOU1mcg&p=B2246EE90736AB16&playnext=1&index=4] The last episode he worked on as associate producer was {{e|Miri}}, although as a writer he also contributed to the script of {{e|The Menagerie, Part I}} and {{e|The Menagerie, Part II}}.
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[[Wil Wheaton]] has claimed that Black deliberately wrote poor lines for his character Wesley Crusher: "''In fact, John D.F. Black – who I didn't realize at the time hated me – also wrote {{e|Justice}}, where he gave me the awesome line, "''We're from Starfleet! We don't lie!''" Thanks for that one, too, Mr. Black.''" {If Wheaton actually said this, which is doubtful, since writers' names appear on the script, he would have been incorrect. The "Justice" teleplay was written by Worley Thorne.) http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/09/08/star-trek-the-next-generation-the-naked-now/]
  
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Black was mainly responsible for the famous opening speech for ''The Original Series'', which was developed by him and Justman from Roddenberry's original idea. (''[[Inside Star Trek - The Real Story]]'')
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According to Justman and [[Herb Solow]]'s book, ''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'', Black didn't get along well with Roddenberry. He often felt badly that the ''Star Trek'' creator completely rewrote scripts by authors Black held in high regard, like [[Richard Matheson]] or [[Harlan Ellison]], especially as Roddenberry promised them their work won't be meddled with. A week after he finished the script for "The Naked Time", Black discovered that Roddenberry rewrote it, without consulting with him, or even telling him about it. Black was disappointed and never again had the same positive disposition for the series. When he left the show, he celebrated the fact that he no longer worked for Roddenberry. (''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'', p. 139; ''[[These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One]]'', p. 265-267)
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Black also wrote the original "envelope" script for "The Menagerie", originally titled "From the First Day to the Last". However, Roddenberry completely rewrote it and took sole on-screen credit for the two-parter. Black filed a Writers' Guild grievance over payment and screen credit, but his claims were denied. (''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'', p 251)
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Following his tenure on ''Star Trek'', he continued working as a writer and producer until about 1978, returning only three times after that: to collaborate on two ''Next Generation'' episodes, an episode of ''Hell Town'' (featuring [[Jeff Corey]]) and an episode of ''Murder, She Wrote''. The time repeated itself when Black left the production of ''The Next Generation''. Black questioned some rewrite instructions from Gene Roddenberry for the episode "Justice" and was asked to leave. [[Worley Thorne]] took over and rewrote "Justice". (''[[Creating the Next Generation: The Conception and Creation of a Phenomenon]]'', p. 46)
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In a 2006 review of {{e|The Naked Now}}, [[Wil Wheaton]] complained about the lines Black provided for his character Wesley Crusher: "''In fact, John D.F. Black – who I didn't realize at the time hated me – also wrote {{e|Justice}}, where he gave me the awesome line, "''We're from Starfleet! We don't lie!''" Thanks for that one, too, Mr. Black.''" [http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/09/08/star-trek-the-next-generation-the-naked-now/] In fact, Black got screen credit for {{e|The Naked Now}} only for his story, originally pitched for ''The Original Series'', dated {{d|12|May|1967}} on which the episode was based. {{Star Trek Minutiae|academy/literature329/103.txt}}
   
 
== Writing credits ==
  
== Writing credits ==
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*{{TOS}}
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* {{TOS|The Naked Time}} (written by)
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* {{TNG}}
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**{{e|The Naked Time}} (written by)
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** {{e|The Naked Now}} (story by)
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*{{TNG}}
  
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** {{e|Justice}} (story by, shared with [[Worley Thorne]]; credited as Ralph Willis)
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**{{e|The Naked Now}} (written by)
  
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**{{e|Justice}} (story credit as Ralph Wills, shared with Worley Thorne who wrote the teleplay.)
  
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== Producing credits ==
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*{{TOS|The Corbomite Maneuver}} - {{TOS|Miri}} (Associate Producer / Story Editor)
   
 
== External links ==
  
== External links ==
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* [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/firstperson/article/142.html Interview with John and Mary Black] at [http://www.startrek.com StarTrek.com]
  
 
* {{wikipedia}}
  
* {{wikipedia}}
 
* {{IMDb-link|page=nm0085353}}
  
* {{IMDb-link|page=nm0085353}}
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* {{brokenlink|url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/firstperson/article/142.html|text=Interview with John and Mary Black}} at [[StarTrek.com]]
   
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Revision as of 17:05, 18 August 2015

Template:Realworld

John D.F

John D.F. Black

John Donald Francis Black (born 30 December 1932; age 91) began his writing career in the late 1950s with the horror film The Unearthly (1957, featuring Arthur Batanides). After that, he worked on several television shows. In 1964, he won a Writer's Guild award for an episode of the television series Mr. Novak (in which Walter Koenig incidentally guested). Gene Roddenberry invited him to visit his home following the ceremony, a kind of impromptu audition that turned into a job offer. Black served as the first Executive Story Consultant, and also worked as an Associate Producer (along with the more famous Robert Justman). He met his future wife, then Mary Stowell, while working there.

His writing contribution to Star Trek: The Original Series was limited to a single episode, "The Naked Time", that was later reprised as an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He once said the hardest part of his supervisory job was dealing evenhandedly with writers – both those who intimidated him, like Theodore Sturgeon, and those he felt weren't living up to the show's standards. Black left the series when he got a big-money contract from Universal Pictures. [1] The last episode he worked on as associate producer was "Miri", although as a writer he also contributed to the script of "The Menagerie, Part I" and "The Menagerie, Part II".

Black was mainly responsible for the famous opening speech for The Original Series, which was developed by him and Justman from Roddenberry's original idea. (Inside Star Trek - The Real Story)

According to Justman and Herb Solow's book, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, Black didn't get along well with Roddenberry. He often felt badly that the Star Trek creator completely rewrote scripts by authors Black held in high regard, like Richard Matheson or Harlan Ellison, especially as Roddenberry promised them their work won't be meddled with. A week after he finished the script for "The Naked Time", Black discovered that Roddenberry rewrote it, without consulting with him, or even telling him about it. Black was disappointed and never again had the same positive disposition for the series. When he left the show, he celebrated the fact that he no longer worked for Roddenberry. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, p. 139; These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One, p. 265-267)

Black also wrote the original "envelope" script for "The Menagerie", originally titled "From the First Day to the Last". However, Roddenberry completely rewrote it and took sole on-screen credit for the two-parter. Black filed a Writers' Guild grievance over payment and screen credit, but his claims were denied. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, p 251)

Following his tenure on Star Trek, he continued working as a writer and producer until about 1978, returning only three times after that: to collaborate on two Next Generation episodes, an episode of Hell Town (featuring Jeff Corey) and an episode of Murder, She Wrote. The time repeated itself when Black left the production of The Next Generation. Black questioned some rewrite instructions from Gene Roddenberry for the episode "Justice" and was asked to leave. Worley Thorne took over and rewrote "Justice". (Creating the Next Generation: The Conception and Creation of a Phenomenon, p. 46)

In a 2006 review of "The Naked Now", Wil Wheaton complained about the lines Black provided for his character Wesley Crusher: "In fact, John D.F. Black – who I didn't realize at the time hated me – also wrote "Justice", where he gave me the awesome line, "We're from Starfleet! We don't lie!" Thanks for that one, too, Mr. Black." [2] In fact, Black got screen credit for "The Naked Now" only for his story, originally pitched for The Original Series, dated 12 May 1967 on which the episode was based. [3]

Writing credits

Producing credits

External links

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