Alan Brennert (born May 30, 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

author,

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

Career

Television

Alan Brennert's earliest television work was in 1978 when he wrote several scripts for the ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' series. He was story editor for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' and wrote seven scripts for that series. He won an Emmy Award as a producer and writer for ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'' in 1991. For fans of science fiction and fantasy, he might be best known as a writer for the revival series ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' and '' The Outer Limits''. One of his best regarded episodes was for ''The Twilight Zone'', "

Her Pilgrim Soul "Her Pilgrim Soul" is the first segment of the twelfth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the television series ''The Twilight Zone''. It is about a scientist named Kevin whose holographic projector manifests a newborn and rapidly aging ...

", which became a play. Brennert said that writing "Her Pilgrim Soul" was a deeply cathartic experience which allowed him to get past the death of a woman he had loved. He also wrote two ''The Twilight Zone'' teleplays based on stories by Harlan Ellison, who later said that Brennert was the only writer he would ever allow to adapt his works. Since 2001 Brennert has written episodes of the television series ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Coop ...

'' and ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...

'' under the name of Michael Bryant.

Prose

Brennert also writes short stories and novels. His first story, "City of Masques", was published in 1973. In 1975 he was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction. He won a

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short stor ...

in 1991 and had stories in

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the founding editor of ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of '' Asimov's Science Fictio ...

's Year's Best volumes. His 2003 book ''Moloka'i'' is a historical novel that focuses on life in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

and the leper colony at

Kalaupapa Kalaupapa () is a small unincorporated community on the island of Molokai, within Kalawao County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1866, during the reign of Kamehameha V, the Hawaii legislature passed a law that resulted in the designation ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

made famous by

Father Damien Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster ( nl, Pater Damiaan or '; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sac ...

, Mother

Marianne Cope Marianne Cope, also known as Saint Marianne of Molokai, (January 23, 1838 – August 9, 1918) was a German-born American religious sister who was a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, New York, and founding leader of its St. Jose ...

, and Lawrence M. Judd, historical people who appear in the novel set in the early 1900s. It received mostly favorable reviews. The decision to write ''Moloka'i'' came after a four-hour miniseries Brennert wrote for NBC was not picked up. According to his website, Brennert wanted to "write something that people would get to see." In 2009, Brennert returned to Hawai'i in ''Honolulu'', a historical novel centering on a Korean picture bride in the early 1900s. The story told in ''Honolulu'' came out of Brennert's research from ''Moloka'i''.

Comic books

Brennert's first work in the comics industry was conducting interviews with

A. E. van Vogt Alfred Elton van Vogt ( ; April 26, 1912 – January 26, 2000) was a Canadian-born American science fiction author. His fragmented, bizarre narrative style influenced later science fiction writers, notably Philip K. Dick. He was one of the ...

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are '' Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, '' The Mote in God's E ...

, and

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

which were published in

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

' ''

Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction ''Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction'' was a 1970s American black-and-white, science fiction comics magazine published by Marvel Comics' parent company, Magazine Management. The anthology title featured original stories and literary adaptations ...

'' comics magazine. His first comics story was plotting

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' ''

'' #231 (May 1977) and #232 (June 1977) which were scripted by

Martin Pasko Martin Joseph "Marty" Pasko (born Jean-Claude Rochefort; August 4, 1954– May 10, 2020) was a Canadian comic book writer and television screenwriter. Pasko worked for many comics publishers, but is best known for his superhero stories for DC Com ...

. Brennert and Pasko collaborated again on '' Star Trek'' #12 (March 1981) for Marvel. That same month, he and artist

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Early ...

crafted the lead Batman story for '' Detective Comics'' #500. This story, "To Kill a Legend", was included in DC's "Year's Best Comics Stories" of 1981 collection. Brennert then wrote four issues of ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varied ...

'' featuring Batman team-ups with the Creeper, the

Hawk and Dove Hawk and Dove are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates, they appeared in ''Showcase'' #75 (June 1968) during the Silver Age of Comic Books. The duo has existed in ...

, the Robin of Earth Two, and the

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she is ...

. Editor

Dennis O'Neil Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...

had him write '' Daredevil'' #192 (March 1983), which followed Frank Miller's run on that title. Due to his television schedule, Brennert did not have the time to write any additional comic books for several years. A

Deadman Deadman or Deadman's may refer to: * "Deadman" or "dead man", are alternative terms for a dead man's switch * "Deadman's foot" is another name for a Salamander in metallurgy * "Deadman anchor" is a buried object (log, concrete, block, etc.) used ...

story in ''Christmas with the Super-Heroes'' #2 (1989) was his next work in the comics industry, followed by a Black Canary tale in '' Secret Origins'' vol. 2 #50 (Aug. 1990). He wrote '' Batman: Holy Terror'', the first DC comic book to feature the Elseworlds logo. His final comics story was a "

Batman Black and White ''Batman Black and White'' refers to the comic book limited series published by DC Comics featuring 8-page black and white Batman stories. Volumes 1, 4 and 5 of the series feature all-new stories (published in 1996, 2013–14, and 2020–21, res ...

" backup feature in '' Batman: Gotham Knights'' #10 (Dec. 2000) drawn by José Luis García-López. In 2014, Brennert "requested equity in the arbara Kean Gordoncharacter and compensation for her use" in the '' Gotham'' television series due to having introduced the character in ''Detective Comics'' #500. DC Comics and parent company

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

denied the request claiming that the character was "derivative" of an already existing DC character. ''Tales of the Batman: Alan Brennert'', a hardcover collection of Brennert's work for DC Comics, was published in 2016. He has named "The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne" from ''The Brave and the Bold'' #197 (April 1983) as his personal favorite of his DC stories.

Bibliography

Novels and short story collections

*''City of Masques'' (1978) *''Kindred Spirits'' (1984) *''Time and Chance'' (1990) *''Her Pilgrim Soul: And Other Stories'' (1990) *''Moloka'i'' (2001) *''Honolulu'' (2009) *''Palisades Park'' (2013) *''Daughter of Moloka'i'' (2019)

Comic books

DC Comics

* '' Batman: Gotham Knights'' #10 ("

") (2000) * '' Batman: Holy Terror'' ( Elseworlds) (1991) * ''

'' #178, 181–182, 197 (1981–1983) * ''Christmas with the Super-Heroes'' #2 (

) (1989) * '' Detective Comics'' #500, 600 (1981–1989) * '' Secret Origins'' vol. 2 #50 ( Black Canary) (1990) * ''

'' #231–232 (1977)

Marvel Comics

* '' Daredevil'' #192 (1983) * '' Star Trek'' #12 (1981) * ''

'' #4–5, ''Special'' #1 (text articles) (1975–1976)

Television and film

*''

'' (1978–1979) *'' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' (1979–1980) *''

The Mississippi The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

'' (1984) *''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who oper ...

'' (1983–1985) *''

'' (1985–1989) *''

China Beach ''China Beach'' is an American war film, war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by Amer ...

'' (1989) *''

'' (1991–1992) *'' The Outer Limits'' (1995–1997, 2001) *'' The Lake'' (1998) *''

Odyssey 5 ''Odyssey 5'' is a Canadian science fiction series, which was shown in 2002 on Space in Canada and on Showtime in the United States. The premise involves five space travelers who witness the destruction of the Earth; they are given the opportu ...

'' (2002) *''

'' (2005)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Biography from Bookbrowse
* * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennert, Alan 1954 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers American comics writers American male novelists American male screenwriters American science fiction writers Emmy Award winners Living people Nebula Award winners Novelists from New Jersey People from Englewood, New Jersey Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from New Jersey UCLA Film School alumni Television producers from California Television producers from New Jersey