Robert Hewitt Wolfe Departs 'Andromeda'

Former Deep Space Nine writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe today announced he no longer is executive producer of the show he helped create, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.

"You're probably wondering what the hell happened," Wolfe wrote at the Slipstream BBS. "Short answer: Television happened."

Wolfe left the show in late September, during the production of the twelfth episode of the season, 'Ouroboros.' Wolfe said the reason for his departure was a creative conflict over the direction the show was taking. Whilst he had always envisioned a complex arc-based storyline, production companies Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks as well as series star Kevin Sorbo (Dylan Hunt) felt the show had to be more episodic.

"Basically, they want the show to be more action driven, more Dylan-centric, and more episodic," Wolfe explained. "They also want more aliens, more space battles, and less internal conflict among the principal characters. Also, they want a lot less continuity so as not to confuse the casual or new viewer with too much back story. And finally, they wanted to rework the visual signature of several of the characters, most especially Trance and Rommie, but also Dylan (less uniforms, more civvies)."

The news was first announced by Sorbo, who also serves as executive producer on the show, in the latest edition of the British Cult Times magazine. "Robert is a genius, but was developing stories that were too complicated and too clever for the rest of us to understand," he said. "What we now have is a team of very talented people who write stand alone stories that can, on occasion, blend together to form a story arc. That simple 'turn-up-tune-in' attitude was what was missing. Now we have that, I really feel we're on track towards making Andromeda an outstanding show."

Wolfe began working on Star Trek with the popular the Next Generation episode 'A Fistful of Datas.' He was a co-producer on Deep Space Nine, where he wrote more than 40 episodes. He left DS9 in its seventh season, and soon began to develop Andromeda from notes left by Gene Roddenberry. As during his time on DS9, Wolfe remained very involved with online fans, often answering questions on bulletin boards and in newsgroups.

The departing Head Writer had a message for fans of Andromeda: "My hope is that you'll take a look at the remaining episodes (which won't even air until February) with an open mind. If you like what you see, keep watching, tell your friends, and make the show an even bigger hit than it already is. If you don't, change the channel. And as always, I encourage you to express your opinions about the episodes here and in letters and emails to Tribune, Fireworks and Kevin."

More information on his departure from Andromeda, fan reaction and his future plans, can be found in the original article at SlipstreamNews.

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