David Wise (writer)
Encyclopedia
David Wise is a television and animation writer, tutored by writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin
, Frank Herbert
, Harlan Ellison
and Theodore Sturgeon
whilst attending the Clarion Workshop
.
, Francis Lee, and Stan VanDerBeek
. Wise created dozens of brief animations using cut-outs, scratch-on-film techniques, as well as conventional cel animation. In 1963, at the age of eight, Wise released a compilation of his experiments, entitled "Short Circuit." Distributed by the Filmmakers' Cooperative, "Short Circuit" was shown throughout the world, won several awards, and was the U.S. entry in the "Child & the World" festival in Czechoslovakia. Writing in the Village Voice, noted filmmaker and critic Jonas Mekas
called Wise "the Mozart of Cinema." Wise was also written about in Time, Life, the New Yorker, Variety, and numerous other publications. By the time he was nine, he was lecturing on filmmaking at universities and film societies (including Washington & Lee and the University of Maryland at Baltimore), and appeared on numerous television shows, including I've Got a Secret
with Steve Allen
as host.
's animated Star Trek
series entitled "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth," written in collaboration with Russell L Bates. The episode won Wise the Emmy for best children's series—the only Emmy the original version of Star Trek ever won.
series Wonder Woman
, Wise returned to animation in the 1980s, collaborating on many of the animated endeavours of that period such as He-Man
and Mighty Orbots.
episodes of all time during the second and fourth seasons, including the Optimus Prime
origin story "War Dawn", the comedy chase format of "Kremzeek", and the final three episodes of the original G1 series "The Rebirth", which Wise was forced to edit from five parts to three due to diminishing popularity of the franchise. During this period Wise also wrote scripts for Jem
and My Little Pony
.
. Wise thus became one of the principal forces behind the reinvention of the darker toned black and white Mirage
title into a fun, bright, cheerful animated phenomenon, creating the classic phrases "Cowabunga, dude", and developing original characters like Krang
and Rocksteady and Bebop
. Wise remained on board for most of its then-unbeaten lifespan of ten years (finally beaten by The Simpsons
), writing and story editing over 100 episodes.
Wise would leave the series after the ninth season, the first that would not involve most of the characters he had crafted and helped mold for much of his run.
, "The Clock King
," "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne (based on Steve Englehart
's comic book story)," and the origin story of The Riddler, "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't you Rich?".
animated pilot episode, as well as the two-part pilot for C.O.P.S., "The Case of C.O.P.S. File 1." He wrote and story-edited such comic-based series as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
and Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S.
He also developed, story-edited, and wrote most of the 26 episodes of Disney TV's Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series. During this period he also wrote and produced the live-action film Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus
, and was the first writer/story-editor on an animated interpretation of Zorro
. Most recently, he has written the final episode of the fourth series of the Doctor Who
-related Gallifrey (audio series)
.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
, Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
, Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
and Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
whilst attending the Clarion Workshop
Clarion Workshop
Clarion is a six-week workshop for new and aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Knight and Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, USA, it was founded in 1968 by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College in...
.
Early life
Wise began experimenting with animation and live-action film at the age of seven, under the tutelage of several noted artists and experimental filmmakers, including Len LyeLen Lye
Len Lye, born Leonard Charles Huia Lye , was a Christchurch, New Zealand-born artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture. His films are held in archives such as the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Pacific...
, Francis Lee, and Stan VanDerBeek
Stan Vanderbeek
Stan Vanderbeek was an American experimental filmmaker.- Life :VanDerBeek studied art and architecture first at Cooper Union College in New York and then at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, where he met architect Buckminster Fuller, composer John Cage, and choreographer Merce Cunningham...
. Wise created dozens of brief animations using cut-outs, scratch-on-film techniques, as well as conventional cel animation. In 1963, at the age of eight, Wise released a compilation of his experiments, entitled "Short Circuit." Distributed by the Filmmakers' Cooperative, "Short Circuit" was shown throughout the world, won several awards, and was the U.S. entry in the "Child & the World" festival in Czechoslovakia. Writing in the Village Voice, noted filmmaker and critic Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-born American filmmaker, writer, and curator who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema." His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals across Europe and America.-Biography:...
called Wise "the Mozart of Cinema." Wise was also written about in Time, Life, the New Yorker, Variety, and numerous other publications. By the time he was nine, he was lecturing on filmmaking at universities and film societies (including Washington & Lee and the University of Maryland at Baltimore), and appeared on numerous television shows, including I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
with Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
as host.
Star Trek: The Animated Series
At the age of sixteen, Wise abandoned film-making for writing, determined to become a professional science fiction writer. The following year Wise sold several SF short stories to various anthologies. This led directly to his first television writing job, an episode of FilmationFilmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
's animated Star Trek
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
series entitled "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth," written in collaboration with Russell L Bates. The episode won Wise the Emmy for best children's series—the only Emmy the original version of Star Trek ever won.
Buck Rogers, Wonder Woman, He-Man and Mighty Orbots
After a successful stint of live action work, writing for Glen Larson's Buck Rogers (the well-remembered "Space Vampire" episode) and the Lynda CarterLynda Carter
Lynda Jean Carter is an American actress and singer, best known for being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman ....
series Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman (TV series)
Wonder Woman is an American television series based on the DC Comics comic book superhero of the same name. Starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, the show originally aired from 1975 to 1979....
, Wise returned to animation in the 1980s, collaborating on many of the animated endeavours of that period such as He-Man
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
and Mighty Orbots.
Transformers
Wise was also responsible for writing some of the most controversial and memorable TransformersThe Transformers (TV series)
The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animal-like forms. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea...
episodes of all time during the second and fourth seasons, including the Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
origin story "War Dawn", the comedy chase format of "Kremzeek", and the final three episodes of the original G1 series "The Rebirth", which Wise was forced to edit from five parts to three due to diminishing popularity of the franchise. During this period Wise also wrote scripts for Jem
Jem (TV series)
Jem, also known as Jem and the Holograms, is an American animated television series that ran from 1985 to 1988 in U.S. first-run syndication...
and My Little Pony
My Little Pony
My Little Pony is a brand of toy ponies marketed primarily to girls produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. These ponies can be identified by their colorful bodies and manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks...
.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
In 1987, Wise was given the call to develop and write a five-part animated television pilot based on a little-known independent comic, Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
. Wise thus became one of the principal forces behind the reinvention of the darker toned black and white Mirage
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American comic book published by Mirage Studios from 1984 to 2009. Originally conceived by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird as a one-off parody, the comic's popularity has gone on to inspire a major pop culture franchise, including three television series, four...
title into a fun, bright, cheerful animated phenomenon, creating the classic phrases "Cowabunga, dude", and developing original characters like Krang
Krang
Krang is a fictional supervillain who appears in the Sonic The Hedgehog TV shows and most frequently in the 1987 STH cartoon and its associated media, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic book and most of the classic TMNT video games....
and Rocksteady and Bebop
Rocksteady and Bebop
Rocksteady and Bebop are fictional characters in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series and the Archie TMNT Adventures comics as well as most of the classic TMNT video games. They follow the orders of series villain The Shredder, leader of the Foot Clan...
. Wise remained on board for most of its then-unbeaten lifespan of ten years (finally beaten by The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
), writing and story editing over 100 episodes.
Wise would leave the series after the ninth season, the first that would not involve most of the characters he had crafted and helped mold for much of his run.
Disney and Batman: The Animated Series
Wise next worked on Disney's Chip 'N' Dale Rescue Rangers, and Mighty Ducks cartoons, and also wrote three episodes for Batman: The Animated SeriesBatman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
, "The Clock King
Clock King
Clock King is a title used by two fictional characters, supervillains published by DC Comics. The first Clock King debuted in World's Finest Comics #111 , and was created by France Herron and Lee Elias.-Publication history:...
," "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne (based on Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart is an American novelist. In his earlier career he was a comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics, particularly in the 1970s...
's comic book story)," and the origin story of The Riddler, "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't you Rich?".
Other animated series and live-action projects
He wrote the BattletoadsBattletoads
Battletoads is a platformer video game created by Tim and Chris Stamper and developed by Rare. Starring three anthropomorphic toads named after skin conditions , the game was created to rival the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games....
animated pilot episode, as well as the two-part pilot for C.O.P.S., "The Case of C.O.P.S. File 1." He wrote and story-edited such comic-based series as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (TV series)
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs is an American Saturday morning animated television series which aired on CBS Kids in the United States from 1993 to 1994. Based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Schultz, the show was created by screenwriter Steven E...
and Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S.
WildC.A.T.s (TV series)
WildC.A.T.s is a half-hour animated television series based on the comics series of the same name. WildC.A.T.s is about the universal war between two prehistoric alien races. One of the races is the heroic Kherubim while the other is the evil Daemonites.-Production and series run:The WildC.A.T.s...
He also developed, story-edited, and wrote most of the 26 episodes of Disney TV's Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series. During this period he also wrote and produced the live-action film Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus
Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus
Beastmaster 3: The Eye of Braxas is the 1996 sequel to the 1991 cult classic film Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, starring Marc Singer.-Plot:...
, and was the first writer/story-editor on an animated interpretation of Zorro
Zorro
Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
. Most recently, he has written the final episode of the fourth series of the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
-related Gallifrey (audio series)
Gallifrey (audio series)
Gallifrey is the umbrella title of a line of audio plays set in the Doctor Who universe, produced by Big Finish Productions, featuring Louise Jameson as Leela, Lalla Ward as President Romana, and John Leeson as two K-9 units, Mark I and Mark II...
.