Ave atque vale

[selenak]

D.C. Fontana is dead - one of the most influential original TOS writers, full stop, and definitely the most influential female one for decades to come (until Jeri Taylor for ST: Voyager, arguably). Without her, there would be no dysfunctional Vulcan/Human family for Spock; she created the characters of Sarek and Amanda in her episode Journey to Babel. Here is a podcast devoted to her.

She also wrote several episodes for the first season of Babylon 5, including Legacies, to my mind one of the most interesting Minbari episodes, not least because of Delenn being shades of grey here, and not just in a literal fashion, and the introduction of Neroon. It doesn't surprise me that Fontana had an affinity for the Minbari as she did for Vulcans. Her episode War Prayer, otoh, shows she had less of an affinity for the Centauri. (andraste once pointed out that the entire "forbidden lovers" plot of Vir's never heard of again cousin and girlfriend arriving on the station conveniently ignores you can marry more than one person as a (male) Centauri noble.) Not so coincidentally, the one classic Londo scene in the episode - "my shoes are too tight, and I've forgotten how to dance" - was written by JMS. Otoh, the same episode introduces Delenn's friend Shaal Mayan; again, with Minbari, she is tops.

The female sci fi writer "K.C." in the DS9 episode Far Beyond the Stars who has to use her initials so that people can assume she's male, just as fellow writer Benny being a black man is hidden away, is a clear homage to Dorothy Catherine Fontana. The fictional future would be a far less interesting place without her. Hail and farewell.

Comments

[maia]

The fictional future would be a far less interesting place without her. Hail and farewell.

Indeed.

[oracne]

*raises a glass*

[yhlee]

*moment of silence*

[reverancepavane]

Vale. The world is poorer now.

[trobadora]

The fictional future would be a far less interesting place without her.

So very true.

[watervole]

I'm sure Kirk/Spock slash would never have become so popular without the background of her writing.

[nolivingman]

I had forgotten she had created Neroon! May she Rest In Peace, having given me (and all of us) many hours of entertainment.

[lilacsigil]

I remember finding out that "D.C. Fontana" was a women and being terribly excited (this would have been around the Fourth Doctor era of Doctor Who with few women involved other than as actors) because almost all the female SF writers I knew of were book only. And she created so much of the canon parts that later writers (fic, pro and the early Star Trek novels overlap!) built on!

[gehayi]

Oh, this is horrible. I'm so sorry she's dead. Why her?