RIP DC Fontana
- Thread starter Khan 2.0
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A shame https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Secret_of_Vulcan_Fury never got released
Fontana was a very big reason why TOS was as good as it was.
One thing I wish we could have seen was a proposed TV series she was working on in the 70's called The Winds of Space (mentioned in the original edition of David Gerrold's The World of Star Trek). It sounded interesting, and apparently got as far as a possible novelization (which is listed in the front of her novelization of The Questor Tapes)
One thing I wish we could have seen was a proposed TV series she was working on in the 70's called The Winds of Space (mentioned in the original edition of David Gerrold's The World of Star Trek). It sounded interesting, and apparently got as far as a possible novelization (which is listed in the front of her novelization of The Questor Tapes)
Regardless of the time table, that is great news. Some day the generation that shaped the show will all be gone, and then it will be too late.
I was always impressed with Fontana's storytelling mind. You could tell she had a good editor's logic and, perhaps from her administrative/secretarial background, a real practical and organizing side to compliment the creative. It's hard to imagine what the show would have been without her, I'm sorry she's gone.
RIP, DC Fontana.
I had been thinking recently that she was probably the last major behind-the-scenes person still alive from the original Star Trek. A sad day as Ms. Fontana was so important to the history of Star Trek and a real trailblazer.
I had been thinking recently that she was probably the last major behind-the-scenes person still alive from the original Star Trek. A sad day as Ms. Fontana was so important to the history of Star Trek and a real trailblazer.
As much as we love her for her Trek contributions I wish the various obits went deeper and gave a better sense of how varied her career was. So many people who worked on Star Trek end up being defined solely by it and their other accomplishments get forgotten.
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Will anyone write a biography of her?
Well, this is very sad. She was a legend, transcending the artificial limits of society to contribute to a lasting franchise that still endures.
Friday's Child is one of my very favorite TOS eps. It has her touch all over it and the dialogue is fantastic. Her teleplay for The Ultimate Computer is also superb. And beyond the ten credits she got for TOS, there are the numerous rewrites she did while on staff. I suspect she was the primary engine behind, and therefore credit her with, rescuing Ellison's unfilmable City script.
RIP, Ms. Fontana. Travel well.
Friday's Child is one of my very favorite TOS eps. It has her touch all over it and the dialogue is fantastic. Her teleplay for The Ultimate Computer is also superb. And beyond the ten credits she got for TOS, there are the numerous rewrites she did while on staff. I suspect she was the primary engine behind, and therefore credit her with, rescuing Ellison's unfilmable City script.
RIP, Ms. Fontana. Travel well.
As much as Gene Coon (and the Great Bird), D.C. was the voice and heart of TOS. 
Not to diminish her in the least, but in fairness Coon re outlined the story which she then executed, then Coon took a stab at it and somewhere in there GR got his mitts on bits.
(For the record I have Ellison’s final draft and it’s not unfilmable. It’s just not a good fit for the way the show evolved.)
Didn't Dorothy want to write the book, but the bigwigs wouldn't let her. I kind of hope that she did write it. I always wanted to read it.
Precisely the opposite. She was offered a contract to novelize the game, but Pocket couldn’t offer her a big enough advance to make it worth her while, so she declined.
That is a shame. I would have liked to read that novel. I also would have liked to play the game.
One of Star Trek's earliest and most talented writers. In particular importance is how she recognised early the appeal of the Spock character, and was arguably one of those responsible for nurturing that into the character who became a break-out, and who we know so well today.
Her career is definitely expansive, and underrated.
She wrote for an episode of 70s Buck Rogers - "Planet of the Amazon Women". The title is crass, typical for early season one in particular, but meant to lure a specific demographic for what I believe amounts to a "bait and switch" -- Watching the actual story is something far, far more interesting. For 70s glitzy television, it sprinkled in quite a few big ideas that were pretty bold, especially for the time and were certainly not found in later episodes (and certainly with a lot more depth than any Star Wars movie). I couldn't see this episode being done in TOS either... overlook the title and watch it, it's rather good. Jay Robinson (Petri from TOS, Dr Shrinker from Dr Shrinker) also has a prominent role. Also of note, Ron Gans would later play the voice of Armus in a very slick TNG episode... I recall Wilma having a couple fantastic one-liners as well. Definitely a must-see episode. Early season 1 had goofy story titles but some great plots with some substance, something that would be ditched in favor of all-out camp later on in season 1 (then reined in - and arguably too much in the other direction - for season 2!)
And very expansive -- some time ago, when I found out she wrote an episode of He-Man And The Masters of the Universe, I found and saw it online. I pretty much looked for the home video release of the series immediately afterward (Babylon 5's JMS also is a highlight for the cartoon). Glorified toy commercial or not, the series has quite a few good stories - even with the target demographic in mind (they're told for children, very simply, but still told well) - that don't insult the viewer (regardless of age). That's by far more worth supporting.
I see what you did, there... 
"I wouldn't write a bad story, no matter how much somebody else may want it."
- D.C. Fontana in a 1973 interview
Of all her quotes in her many interviews, this one is my favorite. She contributed mightily to Star Trek as we know it.
How sad that both she and Robert Walker Jr. passed away this week. Charlie X was her first script for the show, and he was brilliant in it.
- D.C. Fontana in a 1973 interview
Of all her quotes in her many interviews, this one is my favorite. She contributed mightily to Star Trek as we know it.
How sad that both she and Robert Walker Jr. passed away this week. Charlie X was her first script for the show, and he was brilliant in it.
Another icon gone. We must appreciate those originals that are still with us while we still can.
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