Rockne S. O'Bannon

The creator behind the space epic Farscape who pushed speculative TV boundaries and won multiple Saturn Awards.

Rockne S. O'Bannon is an American television writer, screenwriter, and producer who created the space epic Farscape for the Sci-Fi Channel from 1999 to 2003. As the show's executive producer and head writer, he crafted a narrative that ran for four seasons before spinning off into a mini-series and comic book series. His work on this project garnered critical acclaim and multiple Saturn Awards, including best series. O'Bannon is credited with creating original series that push speculative television boundaries, placing him in the rare company of writers like Rod Serling.

Quick Facts

Birthplace

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Occupation

Screenwriter
executive producer
director
writer

Genre

Science fiction, fantasy

Notable works

Farscape
Alien Nation
seaQuest DSV
Cult
Revolution

Lore & Background

Farscape originated from a specific directive given to O'Bannon by the head of the Sci-Fi Channel: "Just make it as weird as you can, because I just don't want a kids' show." O'Bannon later described these as "the greatest words I've ever heard" because they removed all restraints. A pivotal turning point was the decision to shoot in Australia, which O'Bannon credits with making the show a classic due to the incredibly creative Australian crew who embraced the show's insanity. The series concluded its four-season run when business conflicts arose after The Henson Company was sold to foreign investors. This occurred before an already-ordered fifth season could be produced, leading to fan campaigns that resulted in the three-hour mini-series Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, directed by Brian Henson and written by O'Bannon and David Kemper.

Reader's Guide

O'Bannon's career began with spec scripts submitted to ABC's Darkroom, which was canceled before production. He subsequently sold material to NBC's Amazing Stories and CBS's The Twilight Zone in 1985, becoming a Story Editor on the latter where he wrote more original episodes than anyone else, including "The Storyteller," nominated for a Writer's Guild Award. His first feature film, Alien Nation (1988), garnered critical attention before his next notable achievement, seaQuest DSV, which ran for three seasons starting in 1993. In the 2010s, he helped with ABC's reboot of V and created Defiance on Syfy, a project combining a TV series with an MMO developed by Trion Worlds Online. He also served as executive producer on Revolution and consulted on Constantine before becoming an executive producer for Evil on CBS as of 2019.