Ralph Phillips

Ralph Phillips wrote the story for the Star Trek: The Next Generation fourth season episode. Phillips was interviewed by Lee Goldberg for the article "Ralph Phillips - Guide to Suddenly Human", published in The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine Vol. 21, pp. 52-53.

Phillips originally planned to make a career as an actor and even worked in a few industrials and as a comedian before he realized that writing was the better choice. He worked as staff writer on Benson and teamed up with staff writers Hans Beimler and Richard Manning for a short stint on Fame. Beimler and Manning led him then to his work for Star Trek. Phillips pitched a few stories to the producers including a "Rudolf Hess-type of prisoner, a very guileful character, sentenced to live a life of solitary confinement for crimes against humanity, who ingratiates himself with a very naive and willing Wesley."

Phillips previously wrote the "Jeffersons Greatest Hits" episode of the CBS situation comedy series The Jeffersons (1982) and the "Uncle Sam Malone" episode of NBC's Cheers (1983). He also wrote the story for the 1983 "It Ain't Sheik" episode of Benson, the sitcom series which starred Rene Auberjonois and Ethan Phillips. Later, he wrote an episode of the 1980s revival of The Twilight Zone entitled "The Crossing" (1988), which was directed by Paul Lynch.

His other writing credits include an episode of Fame directed by Michael Ray Rhodes and an episode of Beyond Reality directed by Allan Eastman. His most recent writing credit was a 1999 episode of the syndicated action/comedy series V.I.P. entitled "Mao Better Blues".

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Ralph Phillips