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I know that staff turnover on a long-running (and complicated) television show like "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" is common, but does anyone know any specific details behind the departure of producer Peter Allan Fields after season two?

I was browsing through an episode guide the other day and noticed that the episodes where he received writing credit are among DS9's best (e.g. "Duet", "The Circle", "Necessary Evil", "In the Pale Moonlight"). Did he leave to work on other projects? Was he more interested in writing than all of the other work that goes into producing TV?

To clarify, I am curious why he left his staff position as producer. I'm aware that he continued writing the occasional teleplay for the show. I just wonder if there was some behind-the-scenes reason for his departure.

The third season (and beyond) marked a shift in focus for the show (from the political and religious conflicts on Bajor to the Dominion); you have to wonder if that played any role in his departure.

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    In DS9, seasons 3 and 4 were the only ones he didn't write for; why do you say he left?
    – Izkata
    Commented Dec 17, 2012 at 23:53
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    @Izkata, see my clarification. :)
    – Matt Peterson
    Commented Dec 19, 2012 at 15:37
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    “The third season (and beyond) marked a shift in focus for the show (from the political and religious conflicts on Bajor to the Dominion); you have to wonder if that played any role in his departure.” Or if his departure helped cause the shift.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Jan 21, 2013 at 12:45

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There are several unsubstantiated rumours on the internet that he was removed as a staff writer and producer in 1994 as a consequence of Ira Behr becoming the show's Executive Producer and showrunner.

Clearly this wasn't something that resulted in their not being able to work together, as evidenced by his return to write several episodes of DS9 in 1997-1999 although it does beggar the question whether these were written prior to his departure and then recycled for later use.

With the exception of 2 co-writer credits in 1995 (Legend + Xena) and 3 writer credits in 1997-1999 (DS9) Peter Fields seems to have gone into a well-deserved retirement at the age of 81 after a long and successful career on shows like "The Man from UNCLE", "Knight Rider" and "The Six Million Dollar Man".

The DS9 companion specifically refers to him having "retired" from the writing staff (e.g. as opposed to simply leaving):

And, in fact, long after Fields retired from the show at the end of Season 2, the writing staff continued to throw in references to stem bolts, as well as create other terms that sounded "Fields-like," as an occasional tip of the hat to their former comrade

If you want to go full-on stalker, you're welcome to try to "friend him" on his facebook page and ask him directly :-)

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  • It would be pretty difficult for Fields to have written episodes like 'For the Uniform' and 'In the Pale Moonlight' before he left the staff at the end of Season 2. Especially 'Moonlight', which was predicated on a Dominion War when we hadn't really even met the Dominion by the end of Season 2.
    – Algernon_Asimov
    Commented Feb 16, 2014 at 10:11
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    @Algernon_Asimov - 'Moonlight' shares a writing credit with Michael Taylor. Fields may have written the story but it could just have been a generic one that they've adapted.
    – Valorum
    Commented Feb 16, 2014 at 10:17
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    “If you want to go full-on stalker, you're welcome to try to "friend him" on his facebook page and ask him directly” — what on earth do you mean, “if”?
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Sep 16, 2016 at 1:48
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    @PaulD.Waite: Perhaps Valorum was allowing for the possibility that normal people exist who observe basic etiquette and respect people's boundaries.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 18:29
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According to imdb he worked on DS9 from 1993 - 1999 except for 1995/1996, during which years he was writing for Xena: Warrior Princess, in 1995 he also wrote for Legend.

He was also Producer for 26 episodes of DS9 and co-producer for 18 episodes, some of which over-lap (he was writer and co-producer).

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    That doesn't really answer the question on why he left.
    – BBlake
    Commented Dec 18, 2012 at 14:30
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    @BBlake, I understood the question to be "why did he seemingly stop writing after season 2" he left (but returned, he wasn't fired) to work on other projects. Why he decided to take on other work whilst in the middle of writing (& co-producing) for DS9 is unknown (& a different question)
    – SteB
    Commented Dec 18, 2012 at 14:39

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