d.c. fontana star trek episodes

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D.C. Fontana

D.C. Fontana ( 25 March 1939 – 2 December 2019 ; age 80) was a writer and script editor who had the distinction of being one of the few people to have worked on Star Trek: The Original Series , as well as Star Trek: The Animated Series , Star Trek: The Next Generation , and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Deep Space Nine was her favorite Star Trek spinoff. She especially liked the show's strong characters. When writing, Fontana often used pseudonyms, including Michael Richards and J. Michael Bingham .

Fontana worked as a writer for a few television series before Star Trek , then briefly worked as Gene Roddenberry 's secretary, before she became a writer on the show. The first episode she penned was " Charlie X ", based on a premise by Roddenberry entitled "The Day Charlie Became God". Fontana wrote several notable Original Series episodes, including " Tomorrow is Yesterday " and " Journey to Babel ". Also, after the departure of Steven W. Carabatsos , she was promoted to story editor (after successfully re-writing " This Side of Paradise "). At the age of 27, Fontana became the youngest story editor in Hollywood at the time, and also one of the few female staff writers. ( Star Trek: The Original Series 365 , introduction) She remained in this capacity until the end of the second season .

She left the story editor position before the third season went into production: " I had told Gene Roddenberry that I did not wish to continue on Star Trek as story editor because I wanted to freelance and write for other series. I did, however, want to continue to do scripts for Star Trek . Gene was agreeable to this, and I was given a contract in February of 1968 which called for a guarantee of three scripts, with an option for three more. Whenever anyone has asked why I chose to leave Star Trek 's story editorship, I have always given this reply. " [1]

However, Fontana was very unhappy with the rewrites done on her third season scripts, including " The Enterprise Incident " and " The Way to Eden " (originally submitted as "Joanna" by Fontana, featuring Doctor McCoy 's daughter ). [2]

Fontana's other noticeable contribution to The Original Series was her discovery and introduction to Gene Roddenberry of costume designer William Ware Theiss . [3] During her years on the Original Series she was an active contributor to the officially endorsed fanzine Inside Star Trek , for which she conducted interviews with several key production staffers, most notably the one with Theiss, the only published one on record.

Four years after the end of the Original Series , she became the associate producer and story editor of Star Trek: The Animated Series , for which she also wrote the episode " Yesteryear ".

In early October 1986, nearly two decades after leaving the original Star Trek , Fontana, together with her Original Series co-workers David Gerrold , Edward K. Milkis , and Robert H. Justman , were brought back by Roddenberry to form the original production nucleus to help out with the pre-production of Star Trek: The Next Generation . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission , pp. 9-11) Serving as Associate Producer on the first thirteen episodes of the first season , Fontana was – along with Gerrold – mainly responsible for being a story editor and story consultant. She co-wrote the pilot, " Encounter at Farpoint " with Roddenberry, earning a Hugo Award nomination, co-invented the " LCARS " concept, and wrote four other episodes of the season, before departing (along with all the Original Series production staff veterans) due to the meddlings of Roddenberry's lawyer, Leonard Maizlish . Unlike her fellow writer Gerrold, Fontana had chosen not to elaborate on the conditions under which she had left the production; that was until 2014, when she unequivocally identified Maizlish as the malefactor for her decision to do so, in William Shatner 's documentary, William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge . Then Research Consultant, Richard Arnold confirmed in the documentary, " I think he [Maizlish] thought he was speaking with Gene's voice, but I think Gene never heard the way he spoke to other people. Gene had these wonderful relationships with people who worked with him on the Original Series, like Dorothy Fontana, and Leonard was horrible to Dorothy. "

Returning to the live-action franchise for a short time later on, she also penned DS9 : " Dax ", her last involvement with Star Trek , in which a great deal of Jadzia Dax ' backstory was fleshed out. In the DS9 episode " Far Beyond the Stars ", the character Kay Eaton , who had to pose as a male to get her science fiction stories published, was an homage to Fontana. The Enterprise episode " First Flight " also honored her work on the episode " Tomorrow is Yesterday " by including her name (along with that of the episode's director, Michael O'Herlihy , on a mission patch for the Earth-Saturn probe (a copy of which was sent to Fontana by Michael Okuda ).

In 2006, she gave an interview in Star Trek Magazine  issue 128 , pp. 42-48 in which she talked about writing for three Star Trek series. She notes how unhappy she was with the way Roddenberry re-wrote the episodes they wrote together. She used the pseudonym "J. Michael Bingham" for " The Naked Now ", as she was especially unhappy with the episode. She liked writing " Dax " much more.

Outside of Trek , Fontana wrote scripts for dozens of shows, including Babylon 5 and Earth: Final Conflict . In a 1974 episode scripted for The Six Million Dollar Man , "The Rescue of Athena One", Fontana pays homage to Star Trek by having Lee Majors' character of Colonel Steve Austin speak the line " Space… it really is the final frontier, isn't it? " In 1974, she wrote the novelization of Roddenberry's TV pilot The Questor Tapes In 1977, she served as story editor for Logan's Run , which featured scripts written by a number of Original Series alumni including Harlan Ellison and John Meredyth Lucas (Fontana also co-wrote several episodes herself). The series featured a character named Rem, a sentient, very Human-like android. The character was not in the original film or novel but it bore a strong resemblance to Roddenberry's earlier Questor character, and elements of Rem were later incorporated into the character of Data in TNG.

Fontana wrote the stories of the video games Star Trek: Bridge Commander , Star Trek: Legacy and Star Trek: Tactical Assault all with Derek Chester, and an episode of the fan production Star Trek: New Voyages , the episode "To Serve All My Days" in 2006, on which she worked alongside Jack Treviño and Ethan H. Calk . She also contributed the basic concept for the unpublished video game Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury . When the game was cancelled, she still wanted to tell the story as a novel. [4]

• 1 Star Trek credits
• 2 Hugo Award nomination
• 3 Bibliography
• 4 Outside Star Trek
• 5 Star Trek interviews
• 6 External links

Star Trek credits [ ]

• " Charlie X " (teleplay)
• " Tomorrow is Yesterday "
• " This Side of Paradise " (teleplay; story with Nathan Butler )
• " Friday's Child "
• " Journey to Babel "
• " By Any Other Name " (teleplay with Jerome Bixby )
• " The Ultimate Computer " (teleplay)
• " The Enterprise Incident "
• " That Which Survives " (story, as Michael Richards)
• " The Way to Eden " (story with Arthur Heinemann , as Michael Richards)
• TAS : " Yesteryear "
• " Encounter at Farpoint " (with Gene Roddenberry )
• " The Naked Now " (teleplay; story with John D.F. Black , as J. Michael Bingham)
• " Lonely Among Us " (teleplay)
• " Too Short A Season " (teleplay with Michael Michaelian )
• " Heart of Glory " (story with Maurice Hurley and Herbert Wright )
• DS9 : " Dax " (teleplay with Peter Allan Fields )

Hugo Award nomination [ ]

• 1988 Hugo Award nomination in the category Best Dramatic Presentation for TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", shared with Gene Roddenberry and Corey Allen

Bibliography [ ]

• Behind the camera: John Dwyer – issue 1, July 1968, pp. 12-14
• Behind the camera: William Ware Theiss – issue 6, December 1968, pp. 5-8 and issue 7, January 1969, pp. 4-8
• Behind the camera: Charles Washburn – issue 9, March 1969, pp. 3-6
• Behind the camera: Walter M. Jefferies – issue 12, June 1969, pp. 2-5
• Boarding the Enterprise: Transporters, Tribbles and the Vulcan Death Grip in Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek (2006) – collaborator
• Star Trek: The Original Series 365 (2010) – preface
• Vulcan's Glory (1989)
• Star Trek: Year Four - The Enterprise Experiment (2008)

Outside Star Trek [ ]

• The ABC Afternoon Playbreak: Season 2, Episode 2: A Special Act of Love (starring Diana Muldaur ) (1973)
• The Questor Tapes (1974)
• Logan's Run (story editor) (1977-78)

Star Trek interviews [ ]

• The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 2 , p. 8, "For the Love of Star Trek ", interviewed by Edward Gross
• William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge , 2014

External links [ ]

• D.C. Fontana, 1939-2019 at StarTrek.com
• D.C. Fontana at the Internet Movie Database
• D.C. Fontana at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• D.C. Fontana at SF-Encyclopedia.com
• Interview at EmmyTVLegends.org
• Remembering Legendary STAR TREK Writer D.C. Fontana at TrekCore
• D.C. Fontana at the ISBN Database
• D.C. Fontana at Wikipedia
• 2 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 Klingon augment virus

All 10 Star Trek: TOS Episodes Written By D.C. Fontana, Ranked Worst To Best

• D.C. Fontana's influence on Star Trek cannot be overstated, as she crafted iconic episodes as a writer and story editor.
• Fontana proved her writing skills through episodes like "Charlie X," where she executed Roddenberry's concept effectively.
• "Journey to Babel" showcases Fontana's storytelling prowess, introducing Spock's parents and diving into Federation politics.

Screenwriter and story editor Dorothy "D.C." Fontana wrote or co-wrote ten episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series and her Star Trek legacy cannot be overstated. Aside from creator Gene Roddenberry, very few writers had as much influence on Star Trek as D.C. Fontana. Dorothy went from being Roddenberry's secretary to one of the few women writers working in Hollywood at the time, and Fontana eventually became one of the youngest story editors in television. Fontana helped craft some of Star Trek' s most influential characters and storylines, including several elements of Vulcan culture.

D.C. Fontana's first official Star Trek script was for "Charlie X," based upon a story proposed by Gene Roddenberry. After Fontana proved herself to be a strong writer, she began to develop her own ideas into stories, gaining more freedom as a screenwriter. Notably, Fontana came up with the idea for "Journey to Babel," which introduced Spock's parents, Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard) and Amanda Grayson (Jane Wyatt). Although Fontana left Star Trek's production team before the show's third season, she continued to pen scripts on a freelance basis. Here are D.C. Fontana's 10 Star Trek episodes ranked worst to best.

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"The Way To Eden" (Story With Arthur Heinemann, Teleplay By Arthur Heinemann)

Star trek: the original series season 3, episode 20.

When the USS Enterprise rescues a group of travelers from a stolen shuttle, the newcomers take over the ship in pursuit of the mythical planet of Eden. Led by a man named Dr. Sevrin (Skip Homeier), the members of this group have rejected modern society and embraced a nomadic lifestyle as they search for Eden. Oddly, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) understands these space hippies, despite their seemingly illogical views.

At the end of Star Trek 's "The Way to Eden," Sevrin and his followers steal a shuttlecraft and travel to Eden, only to find the planet to be dangerous. Although the planet looks beautiful, the plants secrete powerful acids and grow poisonous fruit. D.C. Fontana is credited under the pseudonym Michael Richards , as she was unhappy with the many changes made to the script. Her original teleplay, entitled "Joanna," featured the daughter of Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley).

"That Which Survives" (Story, Teleplay By John Meredyth Lucas)

Star trek: the original series season 3, episode 17.

When Captain Kirk and a landing party are stranded on a strange planet, a mysterious woman named Losira (Lee Meriwether) attacks both the landing party and the crew aboard the Enterprise. In command of the Enterprise, Spock works to get back to Kirk and the landing party, while a version of Losira wreaks havoc on the ship's systems. Another version of Losira kills one of the landing party members and injures Lt. Sulu (George Takei) .

On the planet, the landing party eventually finds and destroys a large computer, which had been powering the various Losiras as a security measure for the planet. A disease had previously wiped out the planet's inhabitants, leaving their security system defending an empty planet. D.C. Fontana was apparently frustrated by the way her original story was changed, and she used the pseudonym of Michael Richards for her story credit.

"Friday's Child" (Story & Teleplay)

Star trek: the original series season 2, episode 11.

When the Starship Enterprise visits Capella IV to negotiate a mining contract, they discover that the Klingons have already made an offer. Although the Capellan leader, Akaar (Ben Gage), initially sides with the Federation, another Capellan challenges him and they begin fighting amongst themselves. After Akaar is killed in the fighting, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Spock, and Dr. McCoy help his pregnant wife, Eleen (Julie Newmar) , escape into the nearby hills.

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Dr. McCoy helps Eleen deliver her baby, and she returns to her people, eventually becoming her son's regent and allying with the Federation. D.C. Fontana came up with the storyline of "Friday's Child" because she wanted to explore a story about a strong female character who did not necessarily want children. The final version of the story remains very similar to the idea Fontana pitched, although the Klingon presence was added later.

"By Any Other Name" (Teleplay With Jerome Bixby, Story By Jerome Bixby)

Star trek: the original series season 2, episode 22.

In Star Trek' s "By Any Other Name," Captain Kirk and his crew encounter Rojan (Warren Stevens) and Kelinda (Barbara Bouchet) of the Kelvan Empire, who immediately take control of the Enterprise. Non-humanoid beings who have temporarily taken human form, the Kelvans threaten Kirk and his crew by turning some of the crew members into blocks of chalk. To combat the Kelvans, Kirk begins appealing to their new human emotions, eventually causing them to question their purpose.

When Kirk points out that Rojan and his descendants will be far more human than his ancestors, Rojan returns control of the Enterprise to Kirk. When writer Jerome Bixby's original script was deemed too dark, D.C. Fontana helped lighten the tone, and the result is a perfectly fine episode that relies a bit too much on tropes Star Trek has visited numerous times before.

"Charlie X" (Teleplay, Story By Gene Roddenberry)

Star trek: the original series season 1, episode 2.

Based on one of Gene Roddenberry's original pitches for Star Trek as a series, "Charlie X" follows an unstable 17-year-old boy with extraordinary powers. The USS Enterprise picks up Charlie Evans (Robert Walker), a teenage boy who had survived alone on the planet Thasus after his ship crashed there years before. With no knowledge of social interactions, Charlie quickly gets under the skin of the Enterprise crew.

Charlie soon displays telekinetic abilities, causing crew members to vanish when they upset him and eventually taking control of the Enterprise . The Thasians return to retrieve Charlie, forcing him to join their society of non-physical beings in a surprisingly dark ending for Star Trek . Although the concept for "Charlie X" came from Roddenberry, D.C. Fontana proved her skills as a writer in the execution, making the story frightening and memorable.

"The Ultimate Computer" (Teleplay, Story By Laurence N. Wolfe)

Star trek: the original series season 2, episode 24.

When Dr. Richard Daystrom (William Marshall) upgrades the computers on the USS Enterprise, the new M-5 Multitronic System takes over the ship's controls. Initially, the M-5 system runs through tactical maneuvers, expertly defending the Enterprise against attack drills. Before long, however, the system begins initiating actual attacks on other Federation ships, and Daystrom cannot disable it.

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Having failed to replicate his earlier successes and now having caused unnecessary deaths, Daystrom begins suffering a psychotic break. Captain Kirk eventually talks the M-5 system into disabling itself, saving the Enterprise from destruction. Laurence N. Wolfe's initial concept focused even more on Daystrom and his computer, and D.C. Fontana did heavy rewrites to shift the focus more to Kirk and the Enterprise .

"Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (Story & Teleplay)

Star trek: the original series season 1, episode 19.

When the USS Enterprise inadvertently travels back in time to the 1960s, Captain Kirk and his crew must ensure they do not disrupt the timeline. Upon arriving in the past, U.S. Air Force pilot Captain John Christopher (Roger Perry ) flies to intercept the Enterprise and is beamed on board. Kirk initially decides that Christopher must remain on the Enterprise, but later learns he must return to Earth due to the future importance of his son.

When Kirk is captured on Earth, Christopher helps Spock and the Enterprise crew rescue their Captain. Spock and Lt. Mongomery Scott (James Doohan) eventually devise a way for the Enterprise to travel back to the future and undo any changes they made to the timeline. Although D.C. Fontana had previously written the teleplay for "Charlie X" based on Gene Roddenberry's idea, "Tomorrow is Yesterday" was the first Star Trek episode written solely by a woman.

"This Side Of Paradise" (Teleplay, Story With Nathan Butler)

Star trek: the original series season 1, episode 24.

The Starship Enterprise arrives at Omicron Ceti III to find the people living a happy and healthy existence despite the dangerous Berthold rays bathing the planet. One of the colonists, Leila Kalomi (Jill Ireland), had previously been in love with Spock , although he had been unable to return her affections. When Leila shows Spock the plants that allow the colonists to thrive on the planet, he becomes affected by the plant's spores.

Captain Kirk realizes negative emotions counteract the spores, and he uses this theory to free Spock and the rest of the colonists from their influence. The colonists then agree to be evacuated to a new planet, and Spock laments that he felt true happiness for the first time in his life. It was D.C. Fontana's rewrite of "This Side of Paradise" that landed her a role as story editor in September 1966.

"The Enterprise Incident" (Story & Teleplay)

Star trek: the original series season 3, episode 2.

In Star Trek 's classic "The Enterprise Incident," Captain Kirk takes the USS Enterprise into Romulan space where Romulan ships quickly capture Kirk and Spock. Aboard the Romulan vessel, Spock declares that Kirk has gone insane, and he begins to ingratiate himself with the Romulan Commander (Joanne Linville). After Kirk is supposedly killed, he returns to the Romulan ship disguised as a Romulan in order to steal a cloaking device.

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The Enterprise's trip into Romulan space was planned from the beginning, and Spock aids Kirk in acquiring the cloaking device for the Federation. "The Enterprise Incident" ends with the Romulan Commander a prisoner on the Enterprise, as Spock acknowledges that not all of his feelings for her were feigned. "The Enterprise Incident" is the first Star Trek episode to feature a woman in command of a starship, and D.C. Fontana's script makes the unnamed Romulan Commander a fascinating guest character.

"Journey To Babel" (Story & Teleplay)

Star trek: the original series season 2, episode 10.

In one of Star Trek: The Original Series' most iconic episodes , several important dignitaries visit the USS Enterprise, including Spock's father, Ambassador Sarek . When one of the delegates is murdered, suspicion falls on Sarek and the stress exacerbates his heart condition. Dr. McCoy determines that Sarek needs emergency surgery, and Spock must act as a blood donor. The situation grows more complicated when Kirk is attacked and Spock must take over command.

In addition to introducing Spock's parents, "Journey to Babel" also includes the first appearances of the Andorians and the Tellarites.

The injured Kirk relieves Spock on the bridge so he can assist with his father's surgery, and Kirk uncovers that the Andorain delegate, Thelev (William O'Connell), was behind the attacks and was actually an Orion in disguise. After Sarek awakens from his successful surgery, he and Spock begin to reconcile their differences as Amanda lovingly expresses her exasperation with both of them. With insight into Spock's backstory and a look at Federation politics, "Journey to Babel" remains one of the most important episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series and the best example of D.C. Fontana's writing prowess.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Cast Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, William Shatner, George Takei, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

Release Date September 8, 1966

Showrunner Gene Roddenberry

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Our Favorite Dorothy Fontana ‘Star Trek’ Episodes

| December 6, 2019 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 50 comments so far

Dorothy Fontana’s death on December 2 nd was a huge loss for Star Trek fans everywhere. Her contributions to, and impact on, Star Trek were enormous, and cannot be overstated. Her stories bore a richness of theme, character and dialogue, and continue to resonate decades later. She, along with Gene Roddenberry, Gene Coon, and Bob Justman changed the television medium forever.

She also had an immeasurable influence on the development of Spock, a character who captivated fans, TV critics, and future generations of writers. And it was Fontana who introduced Gene Roddenberry to costume designer William Ware Theiss, who helped shape the look of The Original Series as much as anyone else involved.

In honor of Dorothy, we each chose one of the episodes she wrote to talk about what makes them so memorable.

Christine  –  “The Enterprise Incident”

Dorothy’s threads were woven throughout all of the Star Trek scripts she was involved with, and she was instrumental in developing Vulcan society and customs. This episode is the first mention of an alliance between the Klingons and Romulan Empires. We had seen Sarek and Amanda doing that sensual finger touchy thing in “Journey to Babel,” and then Spock and the Romulan Commander do it in “The Enterprise Incident.” I liked the seductive interactions between Spock and the Romulan Commander, even though later Fontana remarked that the scene was her biggest objection. It’s a side of Spock we don’t normally see, whether he is merely acting or actually allowing himself to feel his human feelings. And the way they parted leaves you wondering… did he indeed feel emotion/arousal, or was it all an act? Spock tells her that his interest wasn’t all pretend and “I hope you and I have exchanged something more permanent.” Fontana thought that the Commander would have suspected Spock of something shifty, but I like to think that she was simply smitten with Tall, Dark, and Pointy-Eared.

In this episode, we are told that Vulcans are incapable of lying, but that “it is not a lie to keep the truth to oneself.” Given that it’s an episode about subterfuge, we are left wondering if this is true. Spock not only puts on an act of ambition and flirtation for the Romulan Commander, but feigns a fake Vulcan Death Grip on Captain Kirk after telling the lie that Kirk is mentally unstable and saying, “I say now and for the record, that Captain Kirk ordered the Enterprise across the neutral zone on his own initiative and his craving for glory.”

An interesting background note from Memory Alpha states that Fontana was flooded with letters from fans. Aware of the pon farr and believing it meant Vulcans had sex only once in seven years (which was Theodore Sturgeon’s original idea), they complained that the scene was out of character. Years later, Fontana wrote sex scenes into the novel Vulcan’s Glory, establishing that the pon farr is only a fertility cycle and that Vulcans can have sex anytime.

Spock and the Romulan Commander get handsy in “The Enterprise Incident”

Brian – “The Ultimate Computer” (teleplay)

The reluctant installation of the M-5 aboard the Enterprise and the machine’s subsequent malfunction could have easily become yet another cautionary tale about technology run amok, and the episode does indeed show the effects of that, but it’s the quieter character moments that make this story so memorable. Kirk’s insecurities about having his livelihood threatened and Daystrom’s overwhelming need to prove himself gives the story a great deal of emotional weight and makes this episode a classic.  

Dorothy’s gifts for character and dialogue are on full display in this episode. Richard Daystrom could’ve easily been a one-note caricature, but she carefully created a well-rounded character whose longtime resentments ultimately drive him over the edge.

The moments where Kirk receives counsel from Spock and McCoy are very touching, and her inspired use of John Masefield’s “Sea Fever” leads the captain to reveal just how much being an explorer means to him:

You could feel the wind at your back in those days. The sounds of the sea beneath you. And even if you take away the wind and the water, it’s still the same. The ship is yours. You can feel her. And the stars are still there, Bones.

It’s one of my favorite moments in the series, and a lovely, romantic piece of writing, written by a great talent whose impact will be felt long after she’s gone. Godspeed, Dorothy Fontana.

Dr. Daystrom and his M-5 with a skeptical McCoy, Spock, and Kirk in “The Ultimate Computer”

Denes – “Tomorrow is Yesterday”

Written by D.C. Fontana from an uncredited treatment by Bob Justman, “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” marks Star Trek’s first proper foray into time travel.

There are a lot of things that make this episode great. I love that Captain Christopher’s first indication that he’s aboard a futuristic ship is the presence of female crew members. There’s a ton of humor in it, much of it through understatement, which is twice as fun in my eyes.

It’s a great Spock episode; Spock makes a number of jokes, is the straight man for several sight gags, and his relationship with McCoy is playfully acerbic. It’s a great Kirk episode; there’s a fantastic fight sequence where Kirk takes on three Air Force officers, and Kirk is by turns impishly humorous, commanding, exasperated, and insightful. There’s a poignant little moment where Kirk empathizes with the unconscious Capt. Christopher, “I know how he feels, but I can’t send him back.” True, there are some sexist moments mid-episode where Spock grimaces at the stereotypically-female new personality of the ship’s computer, but that scene also mentions a planet dominated by women who are skilled computer programmers—avant-garde, even while being sexist.

But the moment I always remember is the humanity of the scene in sickbay, while Spock, Kirk, and McCoy are debating the serious implications of time travel, where Capt. Christopher smiles in his own world as he realizes he’s going to have a son one day. It’s a powerful, counter-cultural message that has stuck with me all these years—it’s okay if your chief contribution to the history of the world is the children that you raise.

Humor, intelligence, advancement of women, and a true humanity amidst the science fiction: That’s what makes this episode a classic, and all are hallmarks of the lady who wrote it.

Captain Christopher finds out what the future holds in “Tomorrow is Yesterday”

Laurie – “Journey to Babel”

It’s easy to talk about this episode in terms of the information it delivered: we see Andorians and Tellarites for the first time and learn that they are founding members of the Federation, and get a look at how Starfleet diplomacy works. We hear about sehlats, find out that McCoy can’t do the “Vulcan salute,” and learn about tal-shaya, used by Vulcans for merciful execution.

But what this episode does best, and what Dorothy Fontana always did, was weave character and story together so expertly and seamlessly that every piece fits, and each scene reveals something new. Every revelation we get about Spock and Sarek, Sarek and Amanda, Kirk and Spock, Amanda’s life as a human on Vulcan, Spock as a Starfleet officer, is all revealed as the story moves forward, scene by scene. No need to stop down for character development or create an A and B story; it’s all happening at every single step along the way.

Fontana gives us the nuanced relationships between deeply fascinating characters inside a conflict-filled, event-packed mystery story. “Journey to Babel” is about friendship, family, battle strategy, politics, diplomacy, subterfuge, communication, sacrifice, duty, and love, all at the same time, all in a sci-fi setting, all with amazing subtlety.  It’s layered storytelling, with the characters of Sarek and Amanda so well-drawn that other writers (including Fontana herself) would come back to them in movies and other series for decades to come.

When I rewatched this episode, I was struck by all the subtler moments. Christine Chapel and Amanda both know what Spock’s plan is to save Sarek before McCoy figures it out, because they both see the emotional side of Spock that McCoy often doesn’t. Spock’s anguish when his mother leaves after he tells her he can no longer save his father’s life is palpable without a word of dialogue spoken. We don’t need to hear anecdotes about Amanda and Sarek’s courtship to see how they were drawn to each other. When Kirk comes up with a plan to get Spock to give up command and save Sarek, we see how deep their friendship is and how well he knows Spock. He knows he has to create a way for Spock to make the choice he wants to make but can’t, and does it for him in the only way he can.

And in that final scene in Sickbay, Spock and Sarek are reconciled without any sappy sweetness: it’s a shared joke and a raised eyebrow that tells us these two are on a new path, united by their love of Amanda and their understanding of each other.

Dorothy Fontana knew how to tell a story in the most powerful of ways, giving us big action (space battles! murder! pirates! peril!) along with deeply personal character moments, interweaving them in a way that feels organic and effortless. She is one of my all-time writing heroes, and an inspiration.

Kirk meets Sarek and Amanda and THEN finds out they are Spock’s parents in “Journey to Babel”

Iain – “Friday’s Child”

For all the talk of Trek’s “holy trinity” of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, episodes focusing on the good doctor are few and far between. Fontana’s “Friday’s Child” is one of the precious few where McCoy takes center stage, and she gives DeForest Kelley a great showcase for his talents. I love how the episode expands on his traditional role, showing him as an expert on Capellan culture, and his inspired bickering with guest star Julie Newmar (we’ll skip over that very non-PC slap he gives her). It has one of the all-time great “I’m a doctor, not a… ” lines (“an escalator” in this case), and of course, there’s his glee in the final scene when he reveals the baby was named after him and Kirk — it’s second only to his reaction in “Journey To Babel”’s tag (also a Fontana episode).

Elsewhere, Fontana gives others a chance to shine, from Kirk and Spock’s defense against the Capellans and the Klingon Kras, to Scotty — commanding the Enterprise — engaged in a battle of wits with a Klingon battle cruiser. Eleen (Newman) is one of the series’ strongest female characters, more than holding her own against both the trio of Starfleet officers and her own kind.

Fontana also skilfully sidesteps making the less technologically advanced Capellans seem simplistic, imbuing them with a detailed, fascinating culture. Trek’s portrayal of less advanced cultures can occasionally fall into the trap of coming off as patronizing (such as TNG’s notorious “Code Of Honor”), but in Fontana’s hands, we’re presented with a richly detailed, believable race.

Although both Genes Roddenberry and Coon polished the script, it’s Fontana’s episode through and through. It may not get the kudos awarded to her next script “Journey To Babel,” but it’s every bit a warm, humorous and exciting episode. Plus it’s got Catwoman!

He’s a doctor AND a midwife. McCoy with Eleen (Julie Newmar) in “Friday’s Child”

We’d love to read about YOUR favorite D.C. Fontana episodes in the comments.

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Books , Comics , DS9 , ENT , Interview , Star Trek (2009 film) , TAS , TOS

Interview: Dorothy Fontana Talks Comics, New Novel, Canon Challenges, and More

She was superlative. Those episodes not only have terrific personal scenes but fantastic action as well. It’s unusual for a writer to be as recognized as she is — usually it’s the main writer/creator like Gene Roddenberry, or Rod Serling or Kenneth Johnson who gets recognition — and that’s not to denigrate her great contribution. Her stuff is just that good. The double ending on “Tommorow is Yesterday” (they slingshot twice) gets me every time. I love the scene in “This Side of Paradise” where Kirk finally breaks the spore influence just before he beams down — that sets up Kirk’s stubbornness — an essential character trait of his. Thank you for terrific entertainment.

What I especially love about “Tomorrow is Yesterday” was how the episode takes an initially serious conundrum — our heroes trapped centuries in the past — and winds up treating it as a (mostly) lighthearted romp. The scene where the hapless Air Force Colonel interrogates an increasingly sarcastic Kirk ranks as one of my all-time favorites.

“That ought to be just about right.”

As much as Gene Roddenberry and Gene Coon, DC Fontana’s fingerprints were all over the original series. She will be missed.

Yesteryear from the animated show was another standout DC Fontana episode for me. It further fleshed out the character of Spock and even gave us a glimpse into his formative years.

“Yesteryear” is the episode I always think of when her name comes to mind.

I know it’s a popular choice but I think of Journey to Babel. But This side of Paradise kicked some serious ass as well.

Wonderful and amazing woman. Lessons lost on the current crop of Star Trek controllers. Now we get Red Matter, Magic Blood, Spore Drive and Red Angels…WTF happened?

To be fair, some or all of them may also be wonderful and amazing women. They’re just not particularly good writers.

“Now we get Red Matter, Magic Blood, Spore Drive and Red Angels…WTF happened?”

The comic book movie has happened. Red Matter, Superblood, Spore Drive, Red Angels etc. is the direct result of the CBM hype and Star Trek trying to compete with it. The other part is the rise of R-Rated movies and TV-MA shows that will soon infuse plenty of guts and gore into Trek as well…

Star Trek has always tried to incorporate contemporary elements… going to the big screen after Star Wars, doing a prequel after Star Wars, the semi-reboot end of the aughties… You may not always like the outcome but it is logical.

Blood and gore are sometimes quite appropriate, and I think Trek often didn’t go far enough in its depiction of violence. The first post-TMP PocketBooks Trek novel, Vonda McIntyre’s THE ENTROPY EFFECT, at one point has Kirk shot to death on the Enterprise bridge. There’s a reference reading something like ‘blood spattered the illuminated data screens’ that is as cinematic as anything I can recall offhand from the early novels (I think it is around page 70 or so if anybody has it and wants to check.)

Sometimes I think the McIntyre scene is why Spock’s death in TWOK isn’t 100% successful for me; I read Meyer wanted Spock’s hand to leave a trickle of green blood on the glass partition, but the makeup man simply didn’t get what he was being asked to do and just covered Nimoy’s hand with green pancake makeup, so they abandoned the idea on the spot. I’d say Spock’s death IS about 90% successful, which puts it 8 zillion percent and a Kessel Run ahead of Kirk’s miserably executed death in GENERATIONS (even the shot-in-the-back discarded one is bad. They needed to have everybody watch the end of Don Seigel’s THE SHOOTIST and then make sure everybody understood THAT is what they needed in the moment, not more slow-moving Shatnerisms.)

I know most will not agree, BUT the concepts behind Fontana’s Encounter at Far Point were pretty good. I know the acting was pretty wooden or just plain bad as the actors struggled in their new roles and some of the lines were less than Emmy-worthy, but just having Star Trek back on TV was more than memorable. Fortunately, the acting tremendously improved and the tales of the Enterprise D and its crew went on to become legendary. RIP D.C. Fontana. I hope that you found today’s world, despite its many problems, was an improved one where you would not have to hide your female names. Thank you so much for breathing life into the characters we cherish so much.

When our youngest came home from their middle school with a couple of DC Fontana’s TOS novels from the school library, it really sank in how enduring her legacy is.

It would be great to see a DVD set of remastered DC Fontana episodes and for Simon & Schuster to put out a set of omnibus volumes of her books in trade paperback, or cloth-bound for libraries.

This is the kind of coherent content marketing that the merged ViacomCBS should be going for to celebrate the franchise and DC Fontana’s contribution.

Encounter at Far Point was a good pilot. They got the characters established and created a classic antagonist with Q. The scene with Data and McCoy remains very moving and a fitting send-off to TOS (even though it would be revisited many times in subsequent episodes and series).

“Encounter at Farpoint” is great, in my opinion. A few bits here and there don’t work, but otherwise, it’s very good (provided one doesn’t expect it to not feel as if it was made in 1987).

I enjoyed Encounter at Farpoint. In fact, I was and like many people, was very excited that Star Trek was back on tv in a new setting, new crew, new sets, Visual FX by ILM to start with and all in glorious STEREO! As with any new series, it took a little time to find its stride.

I remember Tom Shales, former TV critic of the Washington Post poking a little fun at the storyline, but he did end his review as stating there is nothing else on tv that compares to it, which I thought was great praise for a first episode.

Our original TOS people are getting up there in age. *sigh* I hate to think of who is going to be next and when.

My dad and I watched Encounter at Farpoint together on Thanksgiving. He had just heard about ST:Picard and got the CBS app to look it up. Encounter at Farpoint came on automatically after the Picard trailer and we quickly became totally engrossed. I hadn’t seen it in ten years or so and as far as I know he hasn’t seen it since 1987. More so than any other Trek pilot, the action gets started immediately. I had never appreciated Farpoint quite so well. I think it’s underrated. It was a really fine piece of sci-fi

I been doing a lot of TNG rewatches since Picard was announced but I have not watched Encounter at Farpoint at all. Haven’t seen it in probably a decade or more either. I just added another episode to my list! :)

Like others said, I never had a big problem with Encounter at Farpoint. As a kid at the time it was just so exciting to have new Star Trek and I loved how it all looked. It felt like I was watching a movie. It is definitely the weakest out of all the other spin off pilots and yes not great in some places but I always liked it for what it was, introducing us to this new world of characters and era.

And it gave us Q! Although yes that came from Roddenberry and not Fontana.

When I watched EaF I was excited to see Trek back on TV. I still was unhappy about shifting the show into the future and it would be a while before I understood and accepted why that was done. I was not expecting it to be awesome. My memories of watching it was that my reaction was, “Meh. But let’s see what they do later.”

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I start my first rewatch of TNG since it aired. And I finally see EaF for the first time since 1987. And I am sorry to say it was way worse than I ever remembered. Funny thing, I rewatched Voyager for the first time years ago and liked it better than I remembered. I suspect the main reason behind this is probably because TNG was the first foray back into Trek in 20 years. And they did have their problems. Whereas Voyager (and DS9 and even Enterprise) had the tremendous advantage of being able to learn from TNG’s growing pains.

And for the record, I had forgotten about this, but the first handful of episodes very much look like they were essentially planning of either spinning off Wesley to his own show or were working at making Wes the lead character of the show.

Wow. I happen to regard all of these episodes highly — well, with the exception of “Friday’s Child,” as its Cold War-style allegory always struck me as stale and reductive for Trek, even without Roddenberry’s unfortunate rewrite. But, seriously, no love for “This Side of Paradise”? Beautifully written and directed, with every performer bringing their A-game to solidly ground a very human tale of longing and loss, for me it represents the gold standard not only of Fontana’s work, but of Trek in general.

Paradise is a fave of mine, but I went with Ultimate Computer. We all picked ones we had a particular fondness for.

Certainly, and no worries. We all have our favorites; I’m just surprised that “Paradise” didn’t make the cut with anyone connected with the site.

PARADISE would be tops for me on this list as well, though with ULTIMATE and BABEL right behind. In fact, PARADISE is my alternate or backup to ERRAND OF MERCY when introducing folks to TOS. Neither have got a ton of space stuff, which puts some people off (don’t ask me why.)

While Fontana didn’t make any public explosions over the revelation of Spock’s half bro that I can recall, I think that if GR’s notion for a TMP followup had actually gone into production, she would have been a vocal detractor, given that it included Amanda being gang-raped by klingons (one account of the story is that she is then eaten by them — this is the same time travel story that had other people up in arms over the JFK aspects.)

I’ve been troubled by her misleading statements about her involvement with CITY ON THE EDGE, which included a letter to CINEFANTASTIQUE denying her involvement. But that’s probably the only incident I’m aware of that has tarnished her standing as a person and writer.

Fontana always said, once the cat was out of the bag regarding her involvement in “City,” that her reticence was mainly due to her fear of how Harlan Ellison might react, given that they’d had a fairly cordial relationship. Can’t say as I blame her for that given his reputation.

I just yesterday spoke to one of your former colleagues at CINEFANTASTIQUE who informed me that Fontana refused him an interview some years back solely on the grounds that she didn’t see how it would advance her career. None of us walks on water.

Actually, I only ever did one piece for CFQ, and that was for the later iteration that came about for a short while this century. I did get a letter from Fred Clarke about six months before he killed himself asking me to write for the original mag, but the rates were ridiculous and I had a full-time staff writer job at that point. Plus the place I worked for frowned massively on moonlighting for ‘adjacent’ publications. They even gave me crap for freelance writing cinematography articles.

I’d like to know the context for her refusal there. It might have been a way of heading things off that just wasn’t as politely worded as would be considered ideal.

Could be. Around that same time my friend had written a (non-CFQ) article that mentioned in passing his distaste for the David Gerrold-penned TAS episode “BEM.” (Which was indeed — sorry, David — pretty awful.) The word quickly got back that Gerrold was not pleased. Given his close relationship with Fontana it’s possible he may have blackballed my friend with her; we’ll never know.

I actually think of “Friday’s Child” as perhaps the most underrated episode of TOS. The ending is a tad weak, but otherwise I think it works as a Cold War allegory every bit as much as “A Private Little War.”

True and it’s got a great score

God speed DC Fontana; you were one of the best. I loved all her TOS episodes. Reading “The Making of Star Trek” you really got the impression she was a world builder – working out the Vulcans; discussing the names of the twelve constitution class ships. She really got the fun of today’s humanity free to explore the universe. I don’t blame her for how bad Encounter at Farpoint was, I think she did the best she could with 90s Roddenberry bland anti TOS directives.

Re: Friday’s Child. She slapped McCoy first, he had every right to respond in kind.

I’m honestly surprised The Enterprise Incident was chosen over This Side of Paradise. Apparently, Fontana was not keen on the romance between Spock and the Romulan Commander. It was more of a gimmick show to showcase Shatner in Romulan make-up. Paradise triumphs over Incident by all accounts.

RIP ROBERT WALKER JR

Can’t agree on that Kamdan.

If I think about the TOS episodes that left the strongest imprint on my primary-grade child mind in first run, The Enterprise Incident and Journey to Babel are definitely in the top 5. The others would include Devil in the Dark, the Doomsday Machine, and the the Holman Web.

TG47, you must have been either in the bathroom or simply not paying attention during the scene when Kirk has to confront Spock in Paradise. That’s truly a defining moment for the series. Incident just had Shanter doing his stereotypical overacting “I’LL… KILL YOU!” screams until they slapped the pointy ears on him.

Completely agreed. “Incident” has its moments, and by third season standards it’s definitely a standout show. But in addition to the issues with Spock’s characterization it loses a lot of momentum in its second half, and as David Gerrold once pointed out, its ends-justify-the-means realpolitik is fairly awful.

I rewatched The Enterprise Incident last year and yes its definitely one of the best episodes in third season for sure but there is still a LOT about it that felt really really sloppy. The idea is great but it still pretty bad in some places.

A very good article. A lot of information and insight into the episodes D.C. Fontana wrote and how much of Star Trek was from her. She created a great deal of what we know of Spock and Vulcans, of course, but I did not think about, until I read this article, all the other episodes she wrote and contributed to, and her non-writing contributions as well. She really did bring a humanity and a perception that gave a great deal of richness and depth to Star Trek.

Godspeed Dorothy.

And just for the fun of it, go to IMDB and look at her other credits. Battlecat!

DC was a class act & a big part of why TOS endures to this day! I wonder if we will ever get to see & hear her Star Trek Secret Of Vulcan Fury scripted PC game which cost a lot of money & then ran out of budget in the late 1990s. It had most of the original cast recording their characters all we need is someone somewhere to bring it out of the vault its in & finish it off!

I am gonna go ahead and say this, Gene Roddenberry may have created Star Trek but without the contributions of names like Gene Coon and DC Fontana I don’t believe Star Trek would have existed into our current times. This legendary lady will always be remember by Trekkies. I raise my glass to her. May she Rest in Peace.

Agreed. Funny thing is you can say the exact same thing about the TOS movie era and then TNG. Roddenberry had concept and characters down but literally every era of Star Trek he oversaw, it was really others that came in that made it shine.

And that is why I have often claimed that Roddenberry is not the deity many have made him out to be. I give him credit for the concept but it was others who clearly made it work, IMHO.

so glad i had the chance to see her in person 3 years ago at a 50th anni screening of some of the trek movies here in hollywood… with a great panel of people who worked on the original series… she looked great, was totally sharp and had so many great memories and details… did not look her age… so shocked she passed away. she was a treasure trove of information. so smart. she will be missed.

A lovely tribute, thank you!

You already listed my favorite D.C. Fontana episode, Journey To Babel. The TAS episode Yesteryear is a close second. She truly enriched Star Trek.

She was a fabulous writer, and she was also very generous about giving interviews for the 50th anniversary, for the new book about the animated series, and for other works about the history of Star Trek.

It amazes me that she became the story editor of the show when she was all of 27, and that she was able to write with such subtlety and nuance before she even hit 30.

I’ve been hoping that Kurtzman would hire her to write for Discovery, but now that hope is dashed.

Rest well, dear Dorothy; we love you and miss you.

Dax. It always made me hope she’d write more DS9.

Bless her, she elevated Trek to the quality we know it for today. She’s one of the few writers who can say they changed the course of history with her work.

Those are all timeless episodes. She was way ahead of the curve. Would’ve been good to have someone with her talent and integrity in the STD writers room.

RIP DC Fontana…

D.C. Fontana, who helped shape 'Star Trek' as its first woman writer, dies at 80

D.C. Fontana, the pioneering TV writer who significantly shaped the "Star Trek" universe, in particular the character of Spock and his home planet, Vulcan, has died at 80.

Fontana died Monday night after a brief illness, the American Film Institute, where Fontana was a senior lecturer, said in a statement. CBS Studios and the "Star Trek" production company confirmed the announcement.

No further details were made public.

Dorothy Catherine Fontana — she used her initials, "D.C.," so producers during the 1960s wouldn't know she was a woman — was perhaps second only to Gene Roddenberry, the series' creator, in molding the sprawling "Star Trek" story-telling empire.

Fontana, the first female writer on the show, wrote or co-wrote some of the most notable episodes of the original series, which ran from 1966 to 1969, and, with Roddenberry, co-wrote the pilot for its revival as "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in 1987.

"The galaxy will miss you," Dan and Kevin Hageman, the developers of a CBS/Nickelodeon animated "Star Trek" series scheduled to debut next year, said on Twitter.

So sad to lose D.C. Fontana. She will always be a huge voice in the Star Trek universe. The galaxy will miss you. pic.twitter.com/cFlx0fOMku — Dan & Kevin Hageman (@brothershageman) December 3, 2019

Michael Okuda, a graphic designer on several of the "Star Trek" properties beginning in the 1980s, said he was "heartbroken."

" Dorothy Fontana brought humanity to the world of Star Trek ," Okuda said Tuesday on Twitter, adding: "Star Trek's universe just got a little bit smaller with the passing of D.C. Fontana."

Fontana started as Roddenberry's secretary when he created the TV series "The Lieutenant," which ran for one season. When he created "Star Trek," he assigned her to write the teleplay for the series' second episode, "Charlie X," about a teenage boy with special powers who creates chaos aboard the USS Enterprise after he is rescued from a crashed cargo ship.

Fontana was especially significant in developing the character of Mr. Spock, the half-Vulcan, half-human science officer who struggles to repress his emotions.

" Spock kind of spoke to me because of his problematic interior," she said in a 2016 interview with the SyFy network. "'How do I be a Vulcan? How do I be a human?'"

Fontana further fleshed out Spock in the episode "Journey to Babel," which introduced the characters of his Vulcan father and his human mother, who would appear throughout the "Star Trek" stories personifying the warring halves of their son's interior life.

"I began to speculate what kind of Vulcan would marry a human, what kind of relationship did they have to each other and to their son," she said in an interview during the early 2000s with the comic book historian Marv Wolfman.

When, after almost 20 years, Roddenberry revived "Star Trek" on the small screen under the name "The Next Generation," he personally assigned Fontana to develop the teleplay for the pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint."

In a 2007 interview with Entertainment Weekly, she said she chose to include an unannounced appearance by DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy from the original series "because I thought we should have a connection with the old show ."

Fontana wrote two more episodes of "The Next Generation," along with episodes or stories for another "Star Trek" spinoff, "Deep Space Nine," as well as "Star Trek" video games and animated series.

Her other credits included dozens of episodes of other series, like "Bonanza," "The High Chaparral," "Kung Fu," "The Waltons" and "Dallas." But her primary work was in science fiction.

In addition to the "Star Trek" franchise, she was credited with writing or co-writing numerous episodes of "The Six Million Dollar Man," "The Fantastic Journey," "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," "The War of the Worlds," "Babylon 5," "Earth: Final Conflict" and, notably, "Logan's Run," for which she was the story editor.

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Her last writing credit was for "To Serve All My Days," a 2006 episode of the web series "Star Trek: New Voyages," in which Walter Koenig reprised his role as Chekhov from the original "Star Trek" series and movies.

In recent years, Fontana had been a senior lecturer at the American Film Institute. She was twice awarded lifetime honors by the Writers Guild of America, in 1997 and 2002.

She is survived by her husband, the Academy Award-winning visual effects cinematographer Dennis Skotak.

SCIFI for your WIFI

Remembering star trek’s d. c. fontana.

D. C. Fontana, (1939-2019), photograph taken February 2016, San Diego, C, {photo credit Larry Nemecek}

D.C. Fontana, the Queen of SciFi on TV

March 25, 2024, would have been Dorothy Catherine Fontana ‘s 85th birthday. The remarkable writer and mentor, and screenwriter of some of Star Trek’s most famous episodes, passed away in 2019.

Let’s take a minute to look back on her extraordinary career. Scriptwriter D.C. Fontana was one of the most important women in Sci-Fi television. She was story editor for Star Trek and wrote ten episodes for the show. She was associate producer and story editor for Star Trek: The Animated Series , although she wrote only one episode for the Saturday morning cartoon. She also wrote two episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man , one episode of Fantastic Journey , and one episode of the live action Saturday morning show Land of the Lost .

Ms. Fontana also wrote three episodes of Logan’s Run and one of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century . When Star Trek returned to our television screens in 1986, she became associate producer and story editor for Star Trek: The Next Generation , writing five episodes for Next Gen. Fontana wrote one episode each for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe , War of the Worlds , The Legend of Prince Valiant , and Star Trek: Deep Space 9 . She went on to write three episodes of Babylon 5 . She wrote one episode of Hypernauts , one of ReBoot , and one episode each of Earth: Final Conflict, Sulver Surfer, and BeastWars: Transformers . The last Star Trek related script D.C. Fontana wrote was an episode of the web-series Star Trek: The New Voyages .

Miz Dorothy and the Westerns

Although D. C. Fontana is best remembered today for her science fiction scripts, no TV scriptwriter can afford to limit herself to one genre. She also wrote a good many western scripts.

• The Tall Man two episodes
• Frontier Circus one episode
• Shotgun Slade one episode
• The Road West one episode
• The Big Valley two episodes
• Lancer two episodes
• High Chaparral two episodes
• Bonanza two episodes
• Here Come the Brides one episode (technivally a northwestern rather than a western, but it was set in the 1860s)
• Kung Fu one episode

Her first novel was a western Brazos River , with Harry Sanford. Her first interest had been horror.

D.C.’s Books

Dorothy Fontana had originally hoped to become a novelist. She became secretary to TV scriptwriter Samuel A, Peeples, this led to her becoming a scriptwriter herself. Her titles include:

• The novelization of The Questor Tapes .
• Murder in Los Angeles (co-written)
• Brazos River (co-written with Harry Sanford)
• The Star Trek novel Vulcan’s Glory ( Star Trek book #44)
• Futurus Rex, co-written with Lynn Barker

She also wrote and sang filk songs, and SCIFI.radio has some of her stuff in rotation.

Awards and Honors

In private life, D.C. Fontana was Mrs. Dennis Slotak. She was married to the Oscar-winning visual effects expert from 1981 until 2019. In 2002, the Writer’s Guild of America awarded D.C. Fontana the Morgan Cox Award posthumously. The Museum of Pop Culture inducted her into its Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the American Screenwriters Guild twice, in 1997 and again in 2002.

She is remembered as the writer who did the most to develop Vulcan culture, as well as a friend and mentor to many. We still miss her.

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.

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About the author, susan macdonald.

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children's book "R is for Renaissance Faire", as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in "Alternative Truths", "Swords and Sorceress #30", Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, "Cat Tails" "Under Western Stars", and "Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid". Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio's web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.

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An American writer best known for her work on Star Trek (1966-1968), Fontana wrote 11 episodes of the original series and went on to write for Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1988) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). Her other notable credits included Bonanza (1969-1970) and Logan’s Run (1977-1978).

Read DC Fontana's New York Times obituary .

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Trailblazing 'Star Trek' Writer D.C. Fontana Dies at 80: 'She Was a Pioneer'

Dorothy Catherine "D.C." Fontana is known for further developing the famous character, Spock

Dorothy Catherine Fontana, a writer on the original Star Trek series, has died. She was 80 years old.

Fontana, who went professionally by “D.C.,” passed away “peacefully” on Monday after fighting a brief illness, the American Film Institute, where she was a senior lecturer, announced Tuesday in a press release obtained by PEOPLE.

The writer is credited with developing the Spock character’s backstory and “expanding Vulcan culture,” SyFy reported of her massive contribution to the beloved sci-fi series. Fontana was the one who came up with Spock’s childhood history revealed in “Yesteryear,” an episode in Star Trek: The Animated Series , on which she was both the story editor and associate producer.

As the outlet pointed out, Fontana was also responsible for the characters of Spock’s parents, the Vulcan Sarek and human Amanda, who were introduced in the notable episode “Journey to Babel.”

In fact, Fontana herself said that she hopes to be remembered for bringing Spock to life.

“Primarily the development of Spock as a character and Vulcan as a history/background/culture from which he sprang,” she said in a 2013 interview published on the Star Trek official site, when asked what she thought her contributions to the series were.

With Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, she also penned the episode “Encounter at Farpoint,” which launched The Next Generation in 1987. The episode introduced Captain Picard, played by Patrick Stewart , and earned the writing pair a Hugo Award nomination.

Not only was Fontana responsible for creating much of Star Trek canon, she also “helped blaze a trail for female writers in sci-fi television,” the official website said in its obituary. “Fontana’s credits to Star Trek cannot be understated, both as a writer of great stories and as a trailblazer for other women.”

Fontana’s agent, Cary Kozlov, tells PEOPLE that while she is recognized as a trailblazer in the industry, she “considered herself a writer first and foremost.”

“I was Ms. Fontana’s film and TV literary agent for more than a dozen years,” Kozlov says. “Although, she has been often recognized as a trailblazer for women in screenwriting during a time when the industry was still considered strictly a ‘boys’ club, she usually would just shrug that off or the idea of a ‘glass-ceiling’ and never really embraced that when I’d raise the subject. For the most part, she just considered herself a writer first and foremost and just one of the guys. But deep down inside, I think Dorothy really enjoyed the recognition.

“I will miss her dearly not only as a client, but as a true friend,” Kozlov adds.

In the 2013 interview, Fontana said that though she was a writer in Hollywood in the 1960s, she didn’t necessarily think of herself as a rarity — but instead felt she was part of “an elite” group.

“At the time, I wasn’t especially aware there were so few female writers doing action adventure scripts,” she said. “There were plenty doing soaps, comedies, or on variety shows. By choosing to do action adventure, I was in an elite, very talented and very different group of women writers.”

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And for her work in the genre, Fontana is remembered for breaking ground for women in science fiction.

William Shatner , who famously portrayed Captain James Kirk in the Star Trek universe, mourned the loss of Fontana on Twitter on Tuesday, calling her a “pioneer.”

“ She was a pioneer ,” he said. “Her work will continue to influence for generations to come.”

In addition to her many Star Trek contributions, Fontana’s writing credits include episodes on The Waltons , Bonanza , Babylon 5 and The Six Million Dollar Man.

The writer is survived by husband Dennis Skotak, Variety reported , and the family is asking that donations be sent to either the Humane Society, Best Friends Animal Society or the American Film Institute in lieu of flowers.

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Dorothy Catherine Fontana, a writer on the original “ Star Trek ” series who had a long association with the franchise, died Dec. 2. She was 80.

Fontana’s death was confirmed by the official “Star Trek” website, which described her as “the legendary writer who brought many of ‘Star Trek’s’ greatest episodes to life.” The website reported that she died after a brief illness but offered no other details.

Fontana was active in the Writers Guild of America for many years, and most recently worked as a lecturer for the American Film Institute.

A native of New Jersey, Fontana was the rare example of a female scribe on the original NBC edition of the enduring sci-fi franchise, although she used the gender-blind screen credit of “D.C. Fontana.” She was credited with creating key elements of the “Star Trek” mythos, including the details on the backstory of Mr. Spock’s upbringing by his human mother Amanda and Vulcan father Sarek.

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All told, Fontana had writing credits on 11 episodes of the original “Star Trek,” which ran for three seasons from 1966-69. The list included the standout 1967 installments “Journey to Babel” (which introduces Spock’s parents) and “This Side of Paradise” (in which Spock and other members of the Enterprise crew get goofy after being sprayed with flower spores). Some of Fontana’s episodes were credited to a pseudonym Michael Richards.

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Fontana decided to mask her gender with her screen credit in order to avoid discrimination as she sought work in what was then a decidedly male-dominated business. Her introduction to TV writing came after she landed a job as a secretary to Roddenberry in 1961.

“I wrote a ‘Ben Casey’ spec script, with the byline ‘D.C. Fontana,’ ” Fontana told NorthJersey.com in 2016. “Figuring they can’t turn me down because I’m a woman, because they wouldn’t know. And I had my agent turn it in, and it was bought. From then on I thought, ‘You know what, this is the best way to go. I’m going to go with D.C. Fontana.’ “

Fontana went on to work as a writer and associate producer on the 1970s animated “Star Trek” series. In 1987 she teamed with “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry to write “Encounter at Farpoint,” the two-hour premiere episode for “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” She wrote additional episodes of “Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” She also penned “Star Trek”-themed novels, including “Questor Tapes” and “Vulcan’s Glory.”

Writers on the latest incarnation of the “Star Trek” universe — “Star Trek: Discovery” — paid tribute to Fontana, calling her “a huge part of the Trek family” in a tweet.

We're sad to hear of the passing of Dorothy Catherine "D.C." Fontana. She was a remarkable writer and a huge part of the Trek family, having worked on TOS, TAS, TNG, and DS9. https://t.co/m3TOewrQVv https://t.co/SWz4i2KWWf — Discovery Writers (@StarTrekRoom) December 3, 2019

Earlier in her career, Fontana penned episodes of such series as “The Wild Wild West” and “Ben Casey.” After the original “Star Trek” ended, she worked on a range of 1970s primetime series including “The Streets of San Francisco,” “Bonanza,” “Kung Fu,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “Logan’s Run,” “The Waltons” and “Dallas.”

Fontana was feted for her years of service to the WGA with honorary awards in 1997 and 2002.

Fontana is survived by her husband, cinematographer Dennis Skotak. The family requests that donations be made in Fontana’s name to the Humane Society, Best Friends Animal Society or the American Film Institute.

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D.C. Fontana (1939-2019)

• Script and Continuity Department

IMDbPro Starmeter See rank

• 3 wins & 2 nominations

• 1987–1988 • 5 eps

• 1966–1969 • 11 eps

• 2006 • 1 ep

• 1969 • 1 ep
• In-development projects at IMDbPro

Personal details

• France's national library catalogue
• Star Trek_homage
• J. Michael Bingham
• March 25 , 1939
• Sussex, New Jersey, USA
• December 2 , 2019
• Los Angeles, California, USA (after a brief illness)
• Dennis Skotak October 17, 1981 - December 2, 2019 (her death)
• 2 Interviews

Did you know

• Trivia Was advised by Gene Roddenberry to use her initials (D.C.) on her initial scripts for Star Trek (1966) instead of her first name (Dorothy), because at the time, networks were often biased against female writers. She ended up becoming one of the show's most prolific writers with 11 episodes to her name, as well as contributing to several Star Trek spin-off series.
• When did D.C. Fontana die?
• How did D.C. Fontana die?
• How old was D.C. Fontana when she died?

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From the Vault | D.C. Fontana Reflects on 'Yesteryear'

The legendary series' associate producer and story editor on her approach to the classic episode.

Diving into the Star Trek archive, for its golden anniversary, StarTrek.com highlights an interview with the legendary Star Trek icon D.C. Fontana discussing her approach to the Spock-centric story she penned in "Yesteryear."