Peter Allan Fields (May 12, 1935 – June 19, 2019) was a screenwriter and producer, best known for many episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Fields wrote some of the most acclaimed episodes of both series including "The Inner Light" for The Next Generation along with "Duet" and "In the Pale Moonlight" for Deep Space Nine.[1] He also wrote for The Six Million Dollar Man, including the episode "The Seven Million Dollar Man" (1974).

Peter Allan Fields
Born(1935-05-12)May 12, 1935
Died19 June 2019(2019-06-19) (aged 84)
Occupations
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active1965–1999
AwardsHugo Award

Early life

edit

Before becoming a screenwriter Fields worked as a lawyer while writing short stories in his free time, eventually two law clients told him of a new show seeking writers, namely The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which set his Hollywood career in motion.[2]

In a Twitter thread honoring Fields after his death fellow Star Trek screenwriter Robert Hewitt Wolfe relayed an unconfirmed story that Fields had lied about his age to join the US Marine Corps at 16 during the Korean War fighting at the Battle of Inchon after which he was captured and spent several months as a POW before being released because of his age. He returned to the US only to be drafted into the US Army at age 18 and supposedly sent back to Korea where he fought at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. After his service he then used the GI Bill to study at the University of Southern California. Wolfe said of the account "So what is true about him and what is a story? I certainly don’t know."[3]

Television Career

edit

After working as a lawyer Fields broke into Hollywood as a screenwriter working on the spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. for which he wrote 11 episodes. Over the next three and half decades he would write for shows such as The Rat Patrol, McCloud, The Six Million Dollar Man, Executive Suite, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, Knight Rider, Jake and the Fatman, and Xena: Warrior Princess.[4][5]

Beginning in 1991 Fields began working as a writer on Star Trek: The Next Generation writing three episodes including the season five episode "The Inner Light" which won the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.[6] Fields served as co-producer and later producer on the first two seasons of Deep Space Nine and wrote a total of ten episodes across the series including the acclaimed episodes "Duet" and "In the Pale Moonlight".[7][8]

Death

edit

Fields died on June 19th 2019 at the age of 84. His death was announced by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine showrunner Ira Steven Behr via Twitter.[9]

Star Trek filmography

edit

Other contributions

edit

Awards and Nominations

edit
Year Award Category Series Episode Result[11]
1993 Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation Star Trek: The Next Generation "The Inner Light" Won

References

edit
  1. ^ Whitbrook, James. "RIP Peter Allan Fields, One of the Minds Behind Some of Star Trek's Most Powerful Episodes". io9.
  2. ^ "Remebering TNG & DS9 Writer, Peter Allan Fields". StarTrek.com.
  3. ^ Hewitt Wolfe, Robert. "Robert Hewitt Wolfe Twitter Thread". ghostarchive.org.
  4. ^ Goodman, D. "Remembering Star Trek writer Peter Allan Fields". Red Shirts Always Die.
  5. ^ "Peter Allan Fields". mubi.com.
  6. ^ "Chronicle". The New York Times. 1993-09-07. p. B-6. Archived from the original on 2023-11-12.
  7. ^ "Veteran Star Trek Writer Peter Allan Fields Passes Away". startrekguide.com.
  8. ^ "Peter Allan Fields". IMDB.
  9. ^ Whitbrook, James. "RIP Peter Allan Fields, One of the Minds Behind Some of Star Trek's Most Powerful Episodes". Gizmodo.
  10. ^ Gregory, Chris (2000). Star trek : parallel narratives. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-230-59840-9. OCLC 742350507.
  11. ^ "Chronicle". The New York Times. 1993-09-07. p. B-6. Archived from the original on 2023-11-12.
edit