Peter Allan Fields obit

RIP Peter Allan Fields, One of the Minds Behind Some of Star Trek‘s Most Powerful Episodes

 

He was not on the list.

Peter Allen Fields, the television screenwriter who helped bring some of the most iconic and dramatic chapters of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine to life, has passed away.

News of Fields’ death was first conveyed by Deep Space Nine showrunner and longtime collaborator Ira Steven Behr last night, offering condolences to Fields’ family and friends.

A writer and producer with credits across everything from the likes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., to Xena: Warrior Princess, to The Six Million Dollar Man, Fields is going to be best remembered by fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Fields co-wrote a total of 13 episodes for the franchise in his long association with it—three for TNG and 10 with DS9—and among them are some of the best remembered and heartwrenching episodes of each respective series. For Next Generation, Fields contributed to the Lwaxana Troi-centric episodes “Half a Life” and “Cost of Living” in seasons four and five, but also most notably to one of the most-lauded episodes of the show, season five’s “The Inner Light” with Morgan Gendel, the tragic tale of Captain Jean-Luc Picard finding himself living a life he never knew he had on an alien world, attempting to chase his way back to the Enterprise.

For Deep Space Nine, Fields’ contributions were myriad, but highlights include “Duet,” the remarkably powerful episode where Major Kira finds her beliefs challenged when she’s confronted with a former Cardassian slave camp worker dying of a terminal disease; “For the Uniform,” which explored the dangerous depths Captain Sisko was willing to go to hunt down terrorist fringe group the Maquis; and “In the Pale Moonlight,” arguably one of the finest hours of Star Trek ever written, a compelling, haunting examination of the true costs behind maintaining Gene Roddenberry’s utopia in a time of debilitating, catastrophic war.

He was also executive script consultant on Next Generation during the latter half of the fifth ("The First Duty" – "Time's Arrow") and during the sixth season. He then became a co-producer on Deep Space Nine during its first season and producer for its second season. Field contributed to three Deep Space Nine episodes after he left the writing staff. Showrunner Ira Steven Behr has credited Fields for the introduction of the Elim Garak character. (What We Left Behind)

Fields was interviewed by Terry J. Erdmann in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. ? and by Bill Florence for the article "Peter Allan Fields – Man of "The Inner Light", published in The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine issue 21, pp. 22-25.

Robert Hewitt Wolfe commented that he thought Fields had fought in the Korean War, having joined the Marine Corps at 16 after lying about his age. He was apparently taken prisoner, released by his captors and returned home, only to be drafted and sent back to Korea.

Our thoughts are with Fields’ family and friends in this sad time.

Writer

Michael Dorn, Terry Farrell, Colm Meaney, Nana Visitor, Avery Brooks, Armin Shimerman, Rene Auberjonois, and Alexander Siddig in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

8.1

TV Series

story by

written by

teleplay by ...

1993–1999

11 episodes

 

Lucy Lawless in Xena: Warrior Princess (1995)

Xena: Warrior Princess

6.8

TV Series

written by

1995–1996

2 episodes

 

Richard Dean Anderson and John de Lancie in Legend (1995)

Legend

7.6

TV Series

written by

1995

1 episode

 

Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Star Trek: The Next Generation

8.7

TV Series

teleplay by

written by

story by

1991–1992

3 episodes

 

William Conrad and Joe Penny in Jake and the Fatman (1987)

Jake and the Fatman

6.4

TV Series

story by (as Peter Allen Fields)

1988

1 episode

 

David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider (1982)

Knight Rider

6.9

TV Series

written by

1986

1 episode

 

Angie Dickinson in Cassie & Co. (1982)

Cassie & Co.

6.1

TV Series

writer

1982

1 episode

 

James Coburn in Darkroom (1981)

Darkroom

7.2

TV Series

teleplay by

1982

1 episode

 

William Conrad in Nero Wolfe (1981)

Nero Wolfe

7.2

TV Series

story

1981

1 episode

 

A Man Called Sloane (1979)

A Man Called Sloane

6.4

TV Series

teleplay by

written by

1979

2 episodes

 

Vincent Baggetta in The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1978)

The Eddie Capra Mysteries

7.0

TV Series

executive story consultant

teleplay by

1978

8 episodes

 

Patrick Duffy in Man from Atlantis (1977)

Man from Atlantis

6.5

TV Series

written by

1978

1 episode

 

Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner in Switch (1975)

Switch

7.1

TV Series

teleplay

1978

1 episode

 

Trisha Noble in Executive Suite (1976)

Executive Suite

7.1

TV Series

writer

written by

1976–1977

7 episodes

 

Lee Majors in The Six Million Dollar Man (1973)

The Six Million Dollar Man

7.1

TV Series

story

teleplay

written by

1974–1975

4 episodes

 

Teresa Graves in Get Christie Love! (1974)

Get Christie Love!

6.4

TV Series

written by

1975

1 episode

 

Heatwave! (1974)

Heatwave!

5.7

TV Movie

teleplay

1974

 

Richard Widmark in Madigan (1972)

Madigan

7.2

TV Series

story

teleplay

1973

1 episode

 

Dennis Weaver in McCloud (1970)

McCloud

6.9

TV Series

written by

teleplay by

1971–1972

4 episodes

 

The Name of the Game (1968)

The Name of the Game

7.6

TV Series

written by

1971

1 episode

 

Louis Gossett Jr., Richard Ely, Alex Henteloff, and Hilarie Thompson in The Young Rebels (1970)

The Young Rebels

7.5

TV Series

written by

1970–1971

3 episodes

 

The F.B.I. (1965)

The F.B.I.

7.4

TV Series

story

written by

1968–1970

2 episodes

 

Ted Cassidy, Lu Ann Haslam, Kevin Schultz, and Michael Shea in The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1968)

The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

7.2

TV Series

writer

1968

1 episode

 

It Takes a Thief (1968)

It Takes a Thief

7.5

TV Series

Writer (uncredited)

1968

1 episode

 

The Rat Patrol (1966)

The Rat Patrol

7.4

TV Series

written by

writer

1967–1968

4 episodes

 

Heroic Mission

4.8

TV Series

Writer

1967

 

Janet Leigh, Jack Palance, Robert Vaughn, and David McCallum in The Spy in the Green Hat (1967)

The Spy in the Green Hat

5.7

screenplay

1967

 

Robert Vaughn, Leo G. Carroll, and David McCallum in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

7.7

TV Series

teleplay

written by

story

1965–1966

11 episodes

 

Producer

Michael Dorn, Terry Farrell, Colm Meaney, Nana Visitor, Avery Brooks, Armin Shimerman, Rene Auberjonois, and Alexander Siddig in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

8.1

TV Series

producer

co-producer

1993–1994

44 episodes

 

Dennis Weaver in McCloud (1970)

McCloud

6.9

TV Series

associate producer

1971–1972

7 episodes

 

Script and Continuity Department

Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Star Trek: The Next Generation

8.7

TV Series

executive script consultant

1992

8 episodes

 

William Conrad in Nero Wolfe (1981)

Nero Wolfe

7.2

TV Series

executive script consultant

1981

3 episodes

 

Additional Crew

A Man Called Sloane (1979)

A Man Called Sloane

6.4

TV Series

executive story consultant

1979

9 episodes

 

Ian Ogilvy in Return of the Saint (1978)

Return of the Saint

6.7

TV Series

executive story consultant

1978–1979

6 episodes

 

Lee Majors in The Six Million Dollar Man (1973)

The Six Million Dollar Man

7.1

TV Series

executive story consultant

1974–1975

11 episodes

 

Self

MGM's Secret Operations

Video

Self - Writer, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

2008