David Weir (11 February 1934 – 25 June 2011) was a British writer, whose work was used primarily in television and film.

Early life and career

Born on 11 February 1934, Weir attended the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

in the 1950s, and began writing scripts for television in the 1960s and 1970s, including ''

The Plane Makers ''The Plane Makers'' is a British television series created by Wilfred Greatorex and produced by Rex Firkin. ATV made three series for ITV between 1963 and 1965. It was succeeded by ''The Power Game'', which ran for an additional three s ...

'' (1963–64) and ''

The Troubleshooters ''The Troubleshooters'' (titled ''Mogul'' for the first series) is a British television series made by the BBC between 1965 and 1972, created by John Elliot. It recounted events in an international oil company – the "Mogul" of the title. Th ...

'', (1966–69; known in the US as ''Mogul''), as well as '' The Lotus Eaters'' (1972). Weir also wrote occasional scripts for many other British TV series, such as ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' (US: ''Secret Agent'', 1964), ''

A Family at War ''A Family At War'' is a British drama Television program, series that aired on ITV (TV network), ITV from 1970 to 1972. It was created by John Finch and made by ITV Granada, Granada Television for ITV. The original producer was Richard Doubled ...

'' (1970–72), ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' (1971–80), ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

'' (1972–84), and '' Space: 1999'' (1975–78).

''The Water Margin'' and ''Monkey''

Weir's scriptwriting credits include English-language adaptations of ''

The Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is ...

'' (1976–78, based on the Chinese story ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is s ...

'') and ''

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

'' (1978–80, based on ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popu ...

''). These two series were produced in Japan using local actors and crew and dubbed into English using British voice over artists. The original English scripts were conceived and written by Weir without the aid of translations, using only brief plot synopses. Weir later wrote a novelisation of ''The Water Margin'', based on the BBC TV series. Weir's was interviewed for the BBC magazine ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' from 10 to 17 November 1979, to coincide with the start of the second series of ''Monkey''. During the interview, he expressed an interest in

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

culture and religion, which would remain with him for the rest of his life.

''Doctor Who''

Weir wrote scripts for six episodes of the BBC science-fiction TV series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' that were considered too expensive for the original series and were never made, although they were originally due to form part of the fifteenth season, starring

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

as the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...

, in 1978. The episodes, collectively titled ''Killers of the Dark'', would have introduced a race of cat people found to be living on

Gallifrey Gallifrey () is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, The Doct ...

, the homeworld of the

Time Lord The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, is a memb ...

s.''Doctor Who Magazine Winter Special 1992'', ''DWM Special Edition #8'', ''Doctor Who: The Seventies''

Later life

Weir retired and lived a reclusive life in rural Norfolk and then West Yorkshire. He died from lung cancer on 25 June 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, David 1934 births 2011 deaths British male screenwriters British television writers Deaths from lung cancer in England British male television writers