Robert Hewitt Wolfe (born 1964) is an American television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as a writer on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and for developing and producing the series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.
Robert Hewitt Wolfe | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 28, 1964 Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Occupation(s) | Television producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | Celeste |
| Website | http://www.roberthwolfe.com [dead link] |
Early life
editWolfe was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. He was a writer from an early age. He attempted but did not complete several novels between the ages of ten and twenty.[1] He attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory.[2] He turned to film and television writing in college.[1]
Wolfe graduated from UCLA, receiving a bachelor's degree in Film and Television and a MFA in Screenwriting.[1] His first screenplay, Paper Dragons, placed second in the prestigious Goldwyn awards.[1]
Television career
editStar Trek series
editIn 1992, Wolfe sold the story for "A Fistful of Datas" to the series Star Trek: The Next Generation.[1] His writing of the screenplay for the episode secured him a place on the creative staff of the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which made its debut in the following year.
Wolfe worked on DS9 for five years, under the supervision of showrunners Michael Piller and Ira Steven Behr.[1] During this time, he wrote or co-wrote over thirty episodes in a wide range of styles. These included action-packed episodes with high story-arc importance such as "The Way of the Warrior" and "Call to Arms"; dramatic episodes that focused on character development such as "The Wire" and "Hard Time"; and comedies such as "Family Business" and "Little Green Men".[1]
Andromeda
editIn 1999, working from notes by Gene Roddenberry, Wolfe developed the syndicated series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.[3] The series premiered in the fall of 2000[3] as the number one original hour in syndication, a position it held for most of its five-year run.[4]
Wolfe served as head writer and co-executive producer on Andromeda for its first two seasons.[3] During this time, the series was nominated for two Saturn Awards for Best Syndicated Series and for a Leo Award for Best Dramatic Series.
During the production of the second season, Wolfe claims that he and the studio quarreled over the non-episodic nature of the show and the studio's requests for "more aliens, more space battles, and less internal conflict,"[5][6] eventually resulting in his departure. Actor Kevin Sorbo confirmed the statements, saying that Wolfe, "is a genius, but was developing stories that were too complicated."[5]
SyFy
editWolfe was an executive producer on the television series The Dresden Files, along with David Simkins, Nicolas Cage,[7] and others. Wolfe and Hans Beimler wrote the screenplay for the pilot and developed the series, which was based on the books by Jim Butcher. It was a production of Lions Gate Television and Saturn Films.[7] It premiered on January 21, 2007, on the Sci Fi Channel. Wolfe subsequently wrote or the teleplays for some episodes in the series.
He is an executive producer on the SyFy series Alphas which premiered in 2011. He also wrote several of the Alphas episodes in 2011 and 2012.
TV movies
editIn the period that followed his departure from Deep Space Nine, Wolfe wrote several television pilots. One of these, Futuresport, was released in 1998 as an ABC TV movie starring Dean Cain and Wesley Snipes.
Wolfe teamed up with Hans Beimler to write the 2006 TV movie Scarlett.[8]
Wolfe co-wrote the teleplay for 2010's Riverworld. The "epic adventure" was based on the books by Philip José Farmer.[9] The 178-minute[10] TV movie was released on the Sci Fi Channel.
Other television work
editWolfe has also written freelance scripts for The Dead Zone and UPN's revival of The Twilight Zone.
In 2004, he served as a consulting producer and writer on the first and fourth seasons of The 4400 on USA Network, helping launch the successful series.
It was announced in 2012 that Wolfe was developing a series titled Defender from Universal Cable Productions, set on the Starship Defender.[11] In 2014, Wolfe was hired as a co-executive producer on The CW show Star-Crossed.
Wolfe wrote sixteen episodes of the CBS drama Elementary over five seasons, from 2014 to 2019. Wolfe served as a Consulting Producer for the Fox Drama Prodigal Son in 2019-2020.[12]
Film career
editWolfe has written several unproduced features. These include Splicers for 20th Century Fox and Zero Gee for John Woo and Terrance Chang's Lion Rock Productions.
Personal life
editAs of 2022[update], he lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife Celeste and dog Mochi.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Biography". Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Official Website. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Star Trek & Elementary writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe '83 explores the life of the mind and the outer reaches of the galaxy" (PDF). Genesis. St. Ignatius College Preparatory. Winter 2016–2017. p. 16. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ a b c Pursell, Chris (September 9, 1999). "'Andromeda' clear for takeoff in 2000". Variety. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ Oei, Lily (January 31, 2003). "'Andromeda,' 'X' renewed". Variety. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ a b Hinman, Michael (February 15, 2002). "Wolfe dumped from Andromeda: The developer of the show becomes the latest Tribune Entertainment victim". Airlock Alpha.
'Basically, they want the show to be more action driven, more Dylan-centric, and more episodic,' Wolfe said. 'They also want more aliens, more space battles, and less internal conflict among the continuity so as not to confuse the casual or new viewer'.... Sorbo... made the first announcement in the British Cult Times Magazine. 'Robert is a genius, but was developing stories that were too complicated and too clever for the rest of us to understand...'
- ^ Lisa (November 23, 2001). "Robert Hewitt Wolfe Departs 'Andromeda'". TrekToday.
Wolfe left the show in late September, during the production of the twelfth episode of the season, 'Ouroboros.' Wolfe said the reason for his departure was a creative conflict over the direction the show was taking. Whilst he had always envisioned a complex arc-based storyline, production companies Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks as well as series star Kevin Sorbo (Dylan Hunt) felt the show had to be more episodic.
- ^ a b "Paul Blackthorne Casts a Spell Over Sci Fi" (Press release). SCI FI Channel. November 9, 2005.
- ^ Scarlett (2006) at IMDb
- ^ "4 Hour Riverworld Movie Premiere coming to SyFy in April" (Press release). New York, New York. March 12, 2010. Archived from the original on April 22, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ Riverworld (2010) at IMDb
- ^ "Syfy Ignites the Imagination With Most Original Primetime Programming Hours in History" (Press release). NBC Universal. April 24, 2012. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014.
Defender – In the aftermath of an intergalactic war between humans and transhumans, the starship Defender, populated by a combustible mix of former enemies, is sent on a seemingly simple goodwill mission, which turns into a fight for their lives and for the safety of the Universe at large. Executive producer/writer: Robert Hewitt Wolfe (Alphas). A production of Universal Cable Productions.
- ^ "Robert Hewitt Wolfe". IMDb. Retrieved July 23, 2022.