Animation As executive story editors on the short-lived but highly influential
Phantom 2040, they contributed to the show's unique creative direction, developing the writers' bible and scripting many key episodes (including the two-part pilot,
Generation Unto Generation). Following
Phantom 2040, produced by
Hearst Entertainment Productions, the Reeves-Stevenses did additional development, wrote the writers' bible and pilot episode, and served as executive story editors for an updated
Flash Gordon animated series, also from Hearst. Among their other works in animation is
Van Helsing: The London Assignment, the direct-to-DVD animé prequel to the
Stephen Sommers blockbuster, for
Universal Animation Studios. The DVD was released the week following the movie's opening and praised by
Variety as "an excellent animated prequel... the intelligent story moves at a rapid clip and the action is nail-biting."
Television In August, 2010, Impossible Films announced that the Reeves-Stevens would be delivering scripts for a
Primeval spin-off television series as part of a franchise deal with
Omni Film Productions. In a posting on their Facebook fan page, the Reeves-Stevenses stated that they were first asked by the producers if they would be interested in pitching a concept for the spin-off series in May, 2009. Being fans of the original series, the Reeves-Stevenses responded positively. Eleven months later they were invited to pitch, and subsequently were asked to write the first two scripts and the bible for the series they had described, a development process that lasted fourteen months. In September, 2011, two months after the Reeves-Stevenses had delivered their scripts and bible,
Space: The Imagination Station greenlit the series, eventually titled
Primeval: New World. On February 8, 2011, the Reeves-Stevenses submitted a letter to the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in support of an application by
CTVglobemedia Inc. to renew the broadcasting license of the Canadian science-fiction channel,
Space: The Imagination Station. In the letter, the Reeves-Stevenses describe their involvement with the
Star Trek franchise, and also discuss other science-fiction related projects, including their writing of the "critically acclaimed miniseries,
Race to Mars," the dramatic story of the first human mission to
Mars in the year 2031, for which they worked with more than seventy scientific and technical advisors. The
Toronto Star praised the
Discovery Channel miniseries as "a tautly written tale that simply zings with tension… a dramatic winner."
NASA Space Policy Workshop Other projects to which they refer in the CRTC letter include their involvement in a NASA Space Policy Workshop of "distinguished forward-thinking individuals to bring new perspectives and new ideas into the debate" to produce a new vision for America's future goals in space. The couple joined with sixteen other participants to meet with top
NASA officials, including NASA Administrator
Sean O'Keefe, Director of the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dr.
Charles Elachi, NASA Associate Administrator for Science,
Ed Weiler, and NASA Chief Scientist, astronaut
John Grunsfeld. Other members of the committee included filmmakers
James Cameron and
George Butler,
Segway inventor
Dean Kamen, astrophysicist
Kip Thorne, and
Steve Squyres, lead scientist for the
Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and
Opportunity. Work with the Disney Imagineers The letter concludes with the Reeves-Stevenses mentioning their then-current position as Lead "Land" Writers for the Walt Disney
Imagineers, helping to plan the rides and attractions for the new
Shanghai Disneyland which opened in June, 2016. Most recently with the Imagineers, they have been involved in creating entire park concepts and future attractions for Disney Asia, as well as working as Lead Story Consultants for the 40th Anniversary of
EPCOT, for 2022.
Phoenix Rising On September 28, 2012,
Ain't It Cool News reported that the Reeves-Stevenses had been enlisted to develop "the next evolution" of the hit cult television series,
Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. In the video accompanying the report, the Reeves-Stevenses are credited with having delivered a one-hour "premise pilot" and bible for the new version of the series, now titled
Phoenix Rising.
Features In October, 2013, the
IMDbPro site reported that the Reeves-Stevenses had written the screenplay for the movie adaptation of
Jerry Pournelle's classic military science-fiction novel,
Janissaries. The movie is listed as "In Development" with Lay-Carnagey Entertainment. In January, 2016, the official website for
Andre Norton announced that the Estate has entered into a deal to turn the first two
Witch World novels into a movie. The announcement included a statement from the film's producers, Kirin Media Ventures, stating "The Producers are happy to announce that they have developed a new
Witch World script that they are very excited about, written by award-winning screenwriters Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens (
Janissaries, Star Trek: Enterprise). This script forms the basis of the first movie in a new film trilogy based on the classic
Witch World book series by Andre." The Reeves-Stevenses have also written the screenplay for
Furnace, based on the young adult, horror sci-fi novel series,
Escape from Furnace, written by
Alexander Gordon Smith. In March, 2018,
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released
Aliens Ate My Homework, a suspenseful family comedy written by Judith and Garfield, based on the book by
Bruce Coville. The live-action movie stars
William Shatner as the voice of Phillogenous Esk Piemondum, the talking plant who pilots the Galactic Patrol Starship
Ferkel. The book is the first in a four-book series and the Reeves-Stevenses have reported they "are now at work on the sequel,
I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X."
Novels In addition to their ongoing work in features and television, the Reeves-Stevenses most recent novel is
Wraith, from
Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of
St. Martin's Press.
Publishers Weekly praised the book, saying, "Speculative fiction fans will welcome this cataclysmic thriller featuring zombies, disembodied psychics, and undead armies... The Reeves-Stevenses (
Freefall) sharpen the pulp theatrics with deft characterization, rich atmosphere, and sly condemnations of present-day American culture." Their previous novel, also published by
Thomas Dunne Books, was
Search, billed as a novel of "forbidden history."
Publishers Weekly called the novel a "...fine archaeological quest novel [that] smoothly blends a fast-moving fantasy plot with a solid scientific backdrop... Smart, suspenseful writing and a clever concept add up to a compelling read." Among their other novels are the connected techno-thrillers,
Icefire, Quicksilver, and
Freefall. The first novel in the series, about a terrorist act that causes the collapse of the
Ross Ice Shelf to create a devastating tsunami, was praised by
Stephen King as "a hardwired, totally riveting, dare-you-to-put-it-down story of disaster, heroism, and suspense. There's no need for techno-thriller fans to wait for the next Clancy or Coonts;
Icefire is the best suspense novel of its type since
The Hunt for Red October." Before branching into Star Trek, fantasy, and mainstream thrillers with Judith, Garfield wrote five novels blending horror and technology, prompting
Stephen King to say, "Garfield Reeves-Stevens is the
Tom Clancy of horror." One of those novels,
Children of the Shroud, is credited by
New York Magazine as being the first to feature a storyline based on cloning Jesus. ==Bibliography==