David Bischoff
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David F. Bischoff (December 15, 1951 – March 19, 2018) was an American science fiction and television writer.


General background

Born in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, Bischoff wrote science fiction books, short stories, and scripts for television. He began writing during the early 1970s and had more than 80 books published. Bischoff was known best for novelizations of popular movies and television series including '' Aliens'', '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', Star Trek: The Next Generation, and ''
WarGames ''WarGames'' is a 1983 American techno-thriller film directed by John Badham, written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays David Lightman, a ...
''.


Early career

Bischoff began writing science fiction and reviews of the genre while studying at the University of Maryland. His first publications were for ''
Thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that ...
'', a
fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...
offering science fiction commentary and criticism. The editor, Doug Fratz, later converted ''Thrust'' to a trade magazine, for which Bischoff was a regular contributor. His first novel, '' The Seeker'' (with Christopher Lampton) was published in 1976, and in 1978 Bischoff coauthored "Tin Woodman", a short story nominated for a
Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...
in that year,Nebula Nominee's 1978
and later adapted into both a novel and television episode for'' Star Trek: The Next Generation''.


Movies and television

Bischoff worked on various television series such as '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', where he coauthored the episodes " Tin Man" (with Dennis Putman Bailey) and " First Contact" (with Dennis Russell Bailey and Joe Menosky & Ronald D. Moore and Michael Piller) (not to be confused with the movie '' Star Trek: First Contact''). He also wrote the ''Star Trek'' novel ''Grounded'', which was a bestseller. Other TV work included ''
Dinosaucers ''Dinosaucers'' is a 1987 animated television series co-produced in the United States and Canada; developed and produced by DIC Animation City in association with Lightyear Entertainment and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The show was created b ...
'' (with Ted Pedersen) produced by
DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions, sometimes stylized as DİC) was a French American film and television production company that ...
. He also wrote the second of 24 books in the '' Time Machine'' series, ''Search for Dinosaurs'', which is actually about finding ''
Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird'') is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaîos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
'', the first
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
. In addition to some seventy-five original novels, Bischoff wrote tie-in novels for well-known movies and TV series such as '' Aliens'', '' Alien Versus Predator'', ''
Farscape ''Farscape'' is an Australian-American Science fiction on television, science fiction television series conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, originally for the Nine Network. It prem ...
'', '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', '' Space Precinct'', ''
SeaQuest DSV ''SeaQuest DSV'' (stylized as ''seaQuest DSV'' and also promoted as simply ''seaQuest'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon for NBC. It aired between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was re ...
'', and '' Jonny Quest''. He also wrote show-business related nonfiction using a variety of pseudonyms. In 2000, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' termed him the "greatest living wrestling writer" for his work as "Winchell Dredge" for ''Wild Rampage Wrestling'' magazine.


Teaching

Bischoff taught creative writing at Seton Hill University,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
.


Selected bibliography


Novels

* ''The Seeker'' (1976, with Christopher Lampton) * ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (1977) * ''Forbidden World'' (1978, with Ted White) * ''Tin Woodman'' (1979, with Dennis Russell Bailey) * ''Star Fall'' (1980) * ''The Selkie'' (1982) * ''Mandala'' (1983) * ''Wargames'' (1983) * ''The Crunch Bunch'' (1985) * ''A Personal Demon'' (1985) * ''The Manhattan Project'' (1986) * ''Some Kind of Wonderful'' (1987) * ''The Blob'' (1989) * ''The Judas Cross'' (1994, with
Charles Sheffield Charles Sheffield (25 June 1935 – 2 November 2002), was an English-born mathematician, physicist, and science-fiction writer who served as a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical ...
) * ''Hackers'' (1995) * ''Philip K. Dick High'' (2000) * ''The Diplomatic Touch'' (2001) * ''The H. P. Lovecraft Institute'' (2002) * ''Jack London, Star Warrior'' (2003) * ''J. R. R. Tolkien University'' (2003) * ''The Tawdry Yellow Brick Road'' (2004)


Fiction series

* Aliens **''Genocide'' (1994), repr. in: **''Aliens Omnibus Volume 2'' (1996) * Aliens vs. Predator **''Hunter's Planet'' (1994), repr. in: **''Aliens vs Predator Omnibus'' (1995) * Bill, the Galactic Hero **''Bill, the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Tasteless Pleasure'' (1991) **''Bill, the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Ten Thousand Bars'' (1991) * Daniel M. Pinkwater's Melvinge of the Megaverse **''Night of the Living Shark!'' (1991) *Dr. Dimension **''Dr. Dimension'' (1993, with John DeChancie) **''Masters of Spacetime'' (1994) * Dragonstar **''Dragonstar'' (1980) nominated for the AnLab Award in 1982 for best Serial **''Day of the Dragonstar'' (1983) **''Night of the Dragonstar'' (1985) **''Dragonstar Destiny'' (1989) *
Farscape ''Farscape'' is an Australian-American Science fiction on television, science fiction television series conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, originally for the Nine Network. It prem ...
**''Ship of Ghosts'' (2001) *Gaming Magi **''The Destiny Dice'' (1985) **''Wraith Board'' (1985) **''The Unicorn Gambit'' (1986) *
Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voic ...
**''The New Batch'' (1988) *Mutants Amok **''Mutants Amok'' (1991) **''Mutant Hell'' (1991) **''Rebel Attack'' (1991) **''Holocaust Horror'' (1991) *Nightworld **''Nightworld'' (1979) **'' Vampires of Nightworld'' (1981) *
SeaQuest DSV ''SeaQuest DSV'' (stylized as ''seaQuest DSV'' and also promoted as simply ''seaQuest'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon for NBC. It aired between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was re ...
**''SeaQuest DSV: The Ancient'' (1994) * Space Precinct **''The Deity-Father'' (1995) **''Demon Wing'' (1995) **''Alien Island'' (1996) *Star Fall **''Star Fall'' (1980) **''Star Spring'' (1982) *Star Hounds **''The Infinite Battle'' (1985) **''Galactic Warriors'' (1985) **''The Macrocosmic Conflict'' (1986) * Star Trek: The Next Generation **''Grounded'' (1993) *
The Crow ''The Crow'' is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancà ...
**''A Murder of Crows'' (1998) **''Quoth the Crow'' (1998) *The UFO Conspiracy **''Abduction'' (1990) **''Deception '' (1991) **''Revelation'' (1991) * Time Machine **''Search for Dinosaurs'' (1984)


Short story collections

*''Tripping the Dark Fantastic'' (2000)


Anthologies edited by David Bischoff

*''Quest'' (1977) *''Strange Encounters'' (1977)


Short fiction

*"The Most Dangerous Man in the World" (1974) *"The Sky's An Oyster; The Stars Are Pearls" (1975) *"Feeding Time" (1976) *"Heavy Metal" (1976) *"Tin Woodman" (1976) nominated for a
Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...
in 1978 *"The Apprentice" (1977) *"Top Hat" (1977) *"In Medias Res" (1978) *"Alone and Palely Loitering" (1978) *"All the Stage, A World" (1979) *"Outside" (1980) *"Waterloo Sunset" (1982) *"The Warmth of the Stars" (1983) *"Wired" (1983) *"Copyright Infringement" (1984) *"Cooking with Children" (1989) *"(Excerpt) Mutant Hell" (1991) *"Spare Change" (1991) *"High Concept" (1993) *"The Big Nap" (1993) *"Dr. Dimension" (1993) *"Santa Ritual Abuse" (1995) *"Be Still My Heart: The Bartender's Tale" (1995) *"Cam Shaft" (1996) *"Brigbuffoon" (1996) *"Vicious Wishes" (1996) *"Fade" (1996) *"The Xaxrkling of J. Arnold Boysenberry" (1997) *"In the Bleak Mid-Solstice" (1997) *"The S-Files" (1998) *"Tooth or Consequences" (1998) *"Tooth or Consequence" (1998) *"Bongoid" (1998) *"Mushroom Tea" (1999) *"Sittin' on the Dock" (1999) *"Joy to the World" (1999) *"A Ghost of a Chance" (1999) *"I Have No Blimp and I Must Dream" (2000) *"Love After Death" (2000) *"Fat Farm" (2000) *"Side Effects" (2000) *"May Oysters Have Legs" (2000) *"CD OM" (2000) *"Rounded by a Sleep" (2000) *"The Last Full Measure" (2000) *"A Game of Swords" (2000) *"The Whiteviper Scrolls" (2001) *"Mutant Mother from Hell: A "Fizz Smith" Story" (2001) *"The Tenth Wonder of the World" (2001) *"Books" (2002) *"The Sorcerer's Apprentice's Apprentice" (2002) *"Die, Christmas, Die!" (2004) *"Lonesome Diesel" (2004) *"Heathcliff's Notes" (2004) *"Enter All Abandon, Ye Who Hope Here" (2005) *"Quoth the Screaming Chicken" (2006) *"Further" (2006) *"The Man Who Would Be Overlord" (2007) *"Young Sun Ra and the Strange Celestial Roads" (2012) *"Hi Ted" (2012)


Death

Bischoff died on March 19, 2018. The cause was complications from liver disease, according to his former wife, Martha Bayless.pressreader.com
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References


External links

* *
Bibliography
at SciFan
David F. Bischoff papers, 1970-1991
at the
University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bischoff, David 1951 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American male novelists American science fiction writers Novelists from Oregon American science fiction editors Seton Hill University University System of Maryland alumni Writers from Eugene, Oregon Writers from Washington, D.C.