They say timing is everything in life, and when it comes to the work I did for Hanna-Barbera, that was certainly true. It was timing that allowed me to write an episode of Space Stars … and it was also timing that meant I wrote only that single episode of Space Stars.
It was during a trip to California that I met the prolific animation scripter J. Michael Reaves. It was near the end of the season—all scripts are done within a period of only a few months—and he invited me to try my hand at pitching a story for one of the series he was working on. Which I did, in the time-consuming way all such scripts were commissioned.
First you’d submit a paragraph-long synopsis to Hanna-Barbera which, once approved, would be sent to the network, which would then give feedback to Hanna-Barbera, which would then give feedback to the writer. At which point you’d write a page-long synopsis, which would go through the same approval process. Only then would you write an actual script. (Though there might have even been another step with a longer synopsis in there, too. It’s been awhile, so I’m no longer sure.)
Anyway, about the timing—my script was one of the last few purchased that year, and no more would be bought until the season opened again nine months later … by which point, the allure of moving to California and trying to make a go out the animation business had faded. So my freshman effort for Hanna-Barbera was my only effort for Hanna-Barbera.
My only regret was that though my episode starred The Herculoids and the Teen Force, it did not star one of my childhood favorites, Space Ghost.
“Uglor Conquers the Universe,” first Aired on November 14, 1981.