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. 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

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Year

!Title

!Director

!Writer

|-

|1988

|Short Circuit 2

|

|

|-

|1996

|D3: The Mighty Ducks

|

|

|-

|1997

|Steel

|

|

|}

TV movies

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Year

!Title

!Director

!Writer

!Producer

!Notes

|-

|1969

|Alan King and His Buddy

|

|

|

|

|-

|1970

|An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe

|

|

|

|

|-

|1980

|Senior Trip

|

|

|

|Also composer

|-

|1993

|1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns

|

|

|

|

|-

| 1994

| Dark Horizon

|

|

|

|rowspan=5|Part of Alien Nation series

|-

| 1995

| Body and Soul

|

|

|

|-

|rowspan=2| 1996

| Millennium

|

|

|

|-

| The Enemy Within

|

|

|

|-

| 1997

| The Udara Legacy

|

|

|

|-

|rowspan=2|1999

|Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century

|

|

|

|

|-

|Don't Look Under the Bed

|

|

|

|

|}

TV series

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Year

!Title

!Director

!Writer

!Producer

!Creator

!Notes

|-

|rowspan=4|1973

|Alan King Looks Back in Anger:<br>A Review of 1972

|

|

|

|

|TV special

|-

|Alan King in Las Vegas

|

|

|

|

|Two-part TV special

|-

|Adam-12

|

|

|

|

|Wrote 2 episodes;<br>Directed episode "Training Division: The Rookie"

|-

|Griff

|

|

|

|

|Wrote and directed episode "The Framing of Billy the Kid"

|-

|1975–76

|The Six Million Dollar Man

|

|

|

|

|Wrote 10 episodes

|-

|1976–78

|The Bionic Woman

|

|

|

|

|Wrote and directed 3 episodes;<br>Wrote 7 episodes

|-

|1977–82

|The Incredible Hulk

|

|

|

|

|Wrote and directed 4 episodes;<br>Wrote 3 episodes

|-

|1979

|Cliffhangers

|

|

|

|

|Wrote and directed 3 episodes<br>Wrote 2 segments (in 2 episodes)

|-

|1984

|Hot Pursuit

|

|

|

|

|Wrote and directed episode "Pilot"

|-

|1984–85

|V

|

|

|

|

|

|-

|1985–86

|Shadow Chasers

|

|

|

|

|Wrote and directed episode "Pilot Part 1"

|-

|1987

|Disneyland

|

|

|

|

|Episode "The Liberators"

|-

|1989–90

|Alien Nation

|

|

|

|

|Wrote and directed episode "Pilot";<br>Also composer

|-

|1999–2001

|Seven Days

|

|

|

|

|10 episodes

|-

|2002–05

|JAG

|

|

|

|

|11 episodes

|-

|2009

|Easy Money

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|

|

|

|Episode: "BassMaster"

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|2009–11

|V

|

|

|

|

|Wrote story for episode "Pilot"

|}

Miniseries

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Year

!Title

!Director

!Writer

!Producer

!Creator

|-

|1983

|V

|

|

|

|

|-

|1984

|V: The Final Battle

|

|

|

|

|}

Bibliography

Johnson has published several novels, much of it based on his pre-existing TV works.

Novels

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Year of publication

!Title

!Notes

|-

|1974

|The Last Snows of Spring

|Novelisation of the Italian film

|-

|2007

|V: The Second Generation

|Sequel novel to the V miniseries

|-

|2008

|V: The Original Miniseries

|Novelisation of the V miniseries, co-authored by A.C. Crispin

|-

|2017

|The Man of Legends

|Original novel

|-

|2018

|The Darwin Variant

|Original novel

|-

|2022

|Holmes Coming

|Novelisation of 1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns

|-

|2025

|The Face in the Mirror

|Original novel

|}

References

  • Kenneth Johnson's page at Tor Books
  • Kenneth Johnson 2009 interview