Kenneth Culver Johnson (born October 26, 1942) is an American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist. He is known as the creator of the V science fiction franchise as well as The Bionic Woman (1976–78), The Incredible Hulk series (1977–82), and the TV adaptation (1989) of Alien Nation. His creative efforts are almost entirely concentrated in the area of television science fiction.
Early life A native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Johnson is a graduate of the Carnegie Institute of Technology.
Career
1970s His early TV work includes The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman and The Incredible Hulk. Johnson created the character of Jaime Sommers and The Bionic Woman, an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin-off from The Six Million Dollar Man.
1980s In 1983, he wrote and directed the original miniseries V, about an invasion of Earth by reptilian aliens, originally inspired by Sinclair Lewis' anti-fascist novel It Can't Happen Here (1935). The miniseries aired on NBC, and a year later was followed by a sequel, V: The Final Battle, which Johnson briefly worked on before leaving the project due to disagreements with the network. Johnson was subsequently credited as a co-writer of the sequel miniseries under the pseudonym Lillian Weezer, and was not involved at all in the weekly V television series that followed.
He directed Short Circuit 2 in 1988.
In 1989, he produced the television series Alien Nation based on the 1988 film of the same name.
1990s He wrote and directed 1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns in 1993, an American television movie about the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, that stars Anthony Higgins as Holmes.
He wrote and directed five TV movies that served as spin-offs to his Alien Nation series. They were: Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (1994), Alien Nation: Body and Soul (1995), Alien Nation: Millennium (1996), Alien Nation: The Enemy Within (1996), and Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy (1997).
In 1997, he wrote and directed the movie Steel, based on the DC comic book character Steel. It featured basketball player Shaquille O'Neal as John Henry Irons, the character's alter-ego. The film was a financial and critical failure.
He directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, starring Kirsten Storms as the eponymous heroine. The film was based on the book Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century written by Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen.
In 1999 he also directed Don't Look Under the Bed, a Disney Channel Original Movie.
2000s In 2006, Johnson announced his completion of a four-hour script for a new V mini series called V: The Second Generation. The storyline takes place 20 years after the original 1983 mini-series, ignoring the second mini-series (V: The Final Battle) and subsequent weekly television series. However, NBC told Johnson that they were more interested in a remake of the original V mini-series instead, which, if successful, might lead to his proposed sequel.
Since then, Johnson adapted his screenplay for V: The Second Generation into a novel. It was published by Tor Books and released on February 5, 2008. However, since his discussions with NBC, Warner Bros (who hold the television rights to the V franchise) have opted to produce a remake of V (written by Scott Peters) for the ABC Network, thus ending any prospect of Johnson's sequel being produced for television.
In April 2008, Johnson stated his intention to remake the original V mini-series and his new sequel V: The Second Generation into feature films. Johnson claimed to have been in discussions with producers interested in the project. Since this statement, Johnson's potential film production has not been developed further, although talks with potential backers are still ongoing. The Warner Bros. television remake for ABC premiered on November 3, 2009. It was canceled in 2011, after two seasons, due to low ratings.
2010s In 2017, Johnson published the novel The Man of Legends.
Personal life Johnson married Bonnie Hollaway on February 2, 1963; the couple had three children and divorced in 1975. On June 19, 1977 (the day after completing filming of the pilot movie of The Incredible Hulk series), he married Susan Appling; they have one child.
Filmography Film +YearTitleDirectorWriter1988Short Circuit 21996D3: The Mighty Ducks1997Steel
TV movies +YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes1969Alan King and His Buddy1970An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe1980Senior Trip Also composer19931994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns 1994 Dark HorizonPart of Alien Nation series 1995 Body and Soul 1996 Millennium The Enemy Within 1997 The Udara Legacy1999Zenon: Girl of the 21st CenturyDon't Look Under the Bed
TV series +YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerCreatorNotes1973Alan King Looks Back in Anger:A Review of 1972 TV specialAlan King in Las VegasTwo-part TV specialAdam-12Wrote 2 episodes;Directed episode "Training Division: The Rookie"GriffWrote and directed episode "The Framing of Billy the Kid"1975–76The Six Million Dollar ManWrote 10 episodes1976–78The Bionic WomanWrote and directed 3 episodes;Wrote 7 episodes1977–82The Incredible HulkWrote and directed 4 episodes;Wrote 3 episodes1979Cliffhangers Wrote and directed 3 episodesWrote 2 segments (in 2 episodes)1984Hot PursuitWrote and directed episode "Pilot"1984–85V1985–86Shadow Chasers Wrote and directed episode "Pilot Part 1"1987DisneylandEpisode "The Liberators"1989–90Alien NationWrote and directed episode "Pilot";Also composer1999–2001Seven Days10 episodes2002–05JAG11 episodes2009Easy MoneyEpisode: "BassMaster"2009–11V Wrote story for episode "Pilot"
Miniseries +YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerCreator1983V1984V: The Final Battle
Bibliography Johnson has published several novels, much of it based on his pre-existing TV works.
Novels +Year of publicationTitleNotes1974The Last Snows of SpringNovelisation of the Italian film2007V: The Second GenerationSequel novel to the V miniseries2008V: The Original MiniseriesNovelisation of the V miniseries, co-authored by A.C. Crispin2017The Man of LegendsOriginal novel2018The Darwin VariantOriginal novel2022Holmes ComingNovelisation of 1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns2025The Face in the MirrorOriginal novel
References
External links
Kenneth Johnson's page at Tor Books