David Wise is a television and animation writer, tutored by writers such as
Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, most notably in the genres of fantasy and science fiction...
,
Frank HerbertFranklin 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 EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. He has written in many genres, but principally science fiction.His published works include over 1000 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering not only literature, but film, television, and print media...
and
Theodore SturgeonTheodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.He was known to use a technique known as "rhythmic prose", in which his prose text would drop into a standard poetic meter...
whilst attending the
Clarion WorkshopClarion is a six-week workshop for new and aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. It was founded by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College in Pennsylvania. Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm were among the first teachers at the workshop...
.
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, born Leonard Charles Huia Lye , was a New Zealand-born artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture...
, Francis Lee, and
Stan VanDerBeekStan 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.
David Wise is a television and animation writer, tutored by writers such as
Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, most notably in the genres of fantasy and science fiction...
,
Frank HerbertFranklin 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 EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. He has written in many genres, but principally science fiction.His published works include over 1000 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering not only literature, but film, television, and print media...
and
Theodore SturgeonTheodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.He was known to use a technique known as "rhythmic prose", in which his prose text would drop into a standard poetic meter...
whilst attending the
Clarion WorkshopClarion is a six-week workshop for new and aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. It was founded by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College in Pennsylvania. Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm were among the first teachers at the workshop...
.
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, born Leonard Charles Huia Lye , was a New Zealand-born artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture...
, Francis Lee, and
Stan VanDerBeekStan 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 MekasJonas Mekas is a Lithuanian 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:In 1944 Mekas left Lithuania to attend university in Vienna...
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 SecretI've Got a Secret is a weekly 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?. The original version of the show premiered on June 19, 1952...
with
Steve AllenSteve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen, American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3*Steve Allen, British musician, lead singer of Liverpool rock band Deaf School...
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 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 TrekStar Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the 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 is an American actress and singer. She is best known for the Amazonian title role in the fantasy-adventure television series Wonder Woman which aired from 1975 to 1979.-Early life:...
series
Wonder WomanWonder Woman is an American television series based on the DC Comics comic book character Wonder Woman, created by William Moulton Marston...
, Wise returned to animation in the 1980s, collaborating on many of the animated endeavours of that period such as
He-ManHe-Man is a heroic fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise. He is the alter ego of Prince Adam and also the twin brother of She-Ra...
and
Mighty Orbots.
Transformers
Wise was also responsible for writing some of the most controversial and memorable
Transformers episodes of all time during the second and fourth seasons, including the
Optimus PrimeOptimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. He is the main protagonist and leader of the "heroic" faction in most of the various Transformers continuities.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
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
JemJem, also called 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 PonyMy Little Pony is a line of colourful toy ponies marketed primarily to young girls and produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. These dolls can be identified by their colorful bodies and manes, and typically a unique symbol on one or both sides of their hindquarters.Following the related My...
.
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 TurtlesThe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four mutant turtles, who were trained by a giant, talking rat sensei, Master Splinter, in the art of Ninjitsu...
. 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 creating original characters like
KrangKrang is a fictional supervillain who appears in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe. An alien Utrom, a race of aliens in the Mirage comics, Krang appeared most frequently in the 1987 TMNT cartoon and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic book, as well as most of the classic TMNT...
, and Rocksteady and Bebop. Wise remained on board for most of its then-unbeaten lifespan of ten years (finally beaten by
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated television 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 eponymous family, 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 is an American animated series adaptation of the comic book series starring the DC Comics superhero, Batman. The series is noted for being the first to take place in the DC Animated Universe. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation.The visual style of the series is...
, "The
Clock KingClock 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'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 is a video game developed by Rare Ltd.. Starring three anthropomorphic toads named after skin disorders , the game was created to rival the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games. The first game was developed by Rare for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991...
animated pilot episode, as well as the two-part pilot for C.O.P.S. (TV series), "The Case of C.O.P.S. File 1." He wrote and story-edited such comic-based series as
Cadillacs and DinosaursCadillacs and Dinosaurs is an American Saturday morning animated television series which aired on CBS Kids in the United States from 1993 to 1994. It is the brainchild of Mark Schultz, who originally created the series in comic book format under the title Xenozoic Tales in 1986...
and
Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S.WildC.A.T.s is a half-hour animated television series by Jim Lee. It also had a comic book based on the series of the same name. WildC.A.T.s is about the universal war between two prehistoric alien races...
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
ZorroZorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by pulp writer Johnston McCulley. He has been featured in several books, films, television series, and other media....
.