Changes: Denise Okuda

Latest revision as of 06:26, 23 November 2023

Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

Denise Lynn Okuda, affectionately called "Neezee" by friends and close co-workers, living in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, Michael and their dogs, Molly and Tranya, started her official live-action Star Trek affiliation in 1993 as scenic artist on the entire run of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as on the Star Trek films, Star Trek Generations and Star Trek Nemesis. As computer and video supervisor, she served on the entire run of Star Trek: Voyager. Nevertheless, as fan and under her maiden name Denise Tathwell, she made an early contribution in 1979 when she made an uncredited appearance as an Enterprise crewmember in the recreation deck scenes in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. [1]^(X) Aside from this, she had Captain D. Tathwell of the USS Ahwahnee named after her under her maiden name, though the reference on the Operation Retrieve mission chart, incidentally created by her husband, was ultimately cut from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as released.

Star Trek career

Once married to Michael Okuda, her career largely mirrored that of her husband, as the couple closely collaborated from then on, most notably the co-authoring of the reference books, Star Trek Chronology, Star Trek Encyclopedia (both directly preceding her tenure on the live-action franchise), and the Star Trek Sticker Book. The Okuda couple was assigned in 2006 to serve as consultants to auction house Christie's, supporting them with the sale of the contents of Paramount's Star Trek warehouses. They helped cataloging the production assets and picking the choice items that were ultimately auctioned off in the highly publicized about 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection auction of October that year. Husband Mike also wrote the item background annotations for the accompanying two-tome auction catalog. Both Okudas were prominently featured in the documentary Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier that was made of the occasion.

She has served together with her husband as producer on the remastered Original Series, which started in 2006. On that occasion, Denise Okuda again made uncredited appearances in two remastered episodes as an additional extra, brought into the newly composited digital scenes. She appeared alongside her husband as a Operations division officer in the 2006 version of "The Menagerie, Part I", and again as such in the 2008 version of "Court Martial". She, again with her husband and now in the role of consultant, subsequently served on the follow-up remastered The Next Generation series project that started in 2012, and as co-producer on the 2016 Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault release.

In November 2014 Okuda again returned to the Star Trek franchise when she was invited to become a part as consultant of a team of experts – including a host of former Star Trek alumni, including her husband – to oversee a new restoration of the original eleven-foot Enterprise studio model, residing at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, for its 50th anniversary. [2] Having accepted the prestigious assignment, Okuda was flown in in May 2015 for the team's first work meeting on 13 May. [3]

Under her maiden name, Denise Tathwell, she has written a short story, "A Battle Won", where, tying in with TNG: "The Battle", Jean-Luc Picard finds something in his trunk from the USS Stargazer that he is able to share with Beverly, and Wesley Crusher. The story was published in the June 1988 issue of the fanzine NCC-1701-D. [4]

On 22 November 2021 it was announced that Denise Okuda, together with her husband, had been awarded the 2022 "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Art Director's Guild, predominently for their work on Star Trek. [5] In this, they followed in the footsteps of their former co-workers Herman Zimmerman and John Eaves, who had already been bestowed the honor, the latter as recently as the year previously.

Star Trek appearances

Career outside Star Trek

Originally a trained nurse by profession, Denise Tathwell, prior to her marriage to Mike Okuda and her official involvement with Star Trek, has worked in that capacity in a hospital in Orange County, CA., where she met and befriended Debbie Mirek (sharing her middle name), the future collaborator on the Chronology and Encyclopedia. [6]

Denise Okuda started her career in the motion picture industry in 1990, when she worked as computer graphics artist on the pilot episode of the television series, The Flash. During her years on Star Trek, she has, apart from her work for the franchise, also worked as "Computer and Video Supervisor" on the television series Threshold (1995, with her former Star Trek department co-worker Ben Betts), the television movie The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy (1998, with Star Trek co-workers and family fiends John Eaves and Greg Jein) and the special edition video release Buckaroo Banzai Declassified (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension – with several other Star Trek alumni including Greg Jein again, Mark Stetson, Christopher Lloyd, and Robert Ito, among others) (1984, 2002).

In 2000 she worked as graphic artist on Jonathan Frakes' Star Trek spoof Star Patrol!.

In 2007, Denise and Michael Okuda were hired as video supervisor and scenic designer, respectively, for a planned zombie series co-created by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens entitled Alive. John Billingsley and Gary Graham were set to star on this series, planned to debut in the summer or fall of 2008. However, the series was never made. [7]

In 2019, the Okuda couple joined the Apple TV+ production of the alternate historyseries For All Mankind as graphics and technical consultants, which reunited them with showrunner Ronald D. Moore and his Deep Space Nine and Battlestar Galactica writer/co-producer team Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, alongside Next Generation writer Naren Shankar and intended Star Trek: Phase II star David Gautreaux.

Credits

Blu-rays
- TNG Season 1 Blu-ray special feature Energized! Taking The Next Generation to the Next Level - Project Consultant
- The Best of Both Worlds special feature Star Trek: The Next Generation - Regeneration: Engaging the Borg – Project Consultant
- All Good Things special feature The Unknown Possibilities of Existence: Making "All Good Things" – Project Consultant

Bibliography

Star Trek Chronology, 1st ed. 1993 and 2nd ed. 1996 – Co-author
Star Trek Encyclopedia, 1st ed. 1994, 2nd ed. 1997 and 3rd ed. 1999 – Co-author
Star Trek Sticker Book, 1999 – Co-author
Star Trek: The Next Generation - On Board the USS Enterprise, 2013 – Co-author

Star Trek interviews

Star Trek DVD and Blu-ray special features
- TOS Season 1 Blu-ray special feature "Spacelift: Transporting Trek Into The 21st Century" (2009)
- TNG Season 1 Blu-ray special feature Energized! Taking The Next Generation to the Next Level (2012)
- Unification (Blu-ray) special feature "From One Generation to the Next" (2013)
- TNG Season 5 Blu-ray special feature "Requiem: A Remembrance of Star Trek: The Next Generation" (2013)
- ENT Season 1 Blu-ray special feature "To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise" (2012)
Print publications
- "Denise Okuda: Video Coordinator", David Hirsch, The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 8, pp. 42-47, September 1996
- "Michael and Denise Okuda: A Star Trek Love Story", Alec Peters, The official STAR TREK prop and costume auction catalog, 2010, pp. 24-27
Star Trek documentaries
- Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier, 2007
- In Conversation: The Star Trek Art Department, 2013
What We Left Behind
Text commentary:
- ENT: "Impulse" (ENT Season 3 DVD and ENT Season 3 Blu-ray)

External links

Denise Okuda – official site
Denise Okuda at StarTrek.com
Denise Okuda at the Internet Movie Database
Denise Okuda at Wikipedia
2012 three part interview with Mike and Denise Okuda at TrekCore
2012 two part interview with Mike and Denise Okuda at TrekCore

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{realworld}}
+{{real world}}
-{{Sidebar crew|
+{{Sidebar crew
-| Name              = Denise Okuda
+|name       = Denise Okuda
-| image             = Denise Okuda.jpg
+|image      = Denise Okuda.jpg
-| Birth name        = Denise Lynn Tathwell
+|birth name = Denise Lynn Tathwell
+|awards     = 1 [[ADG Excellence in Production Design Award]]
-| Gender            = Female
+|roles      = Scenic Artist and Video Coordinator; Background performer; Reference book author; Special features staff
-| Date of birth     = {{d|27|September|1954}}
+|characters = [[USS Enterprise Vulcan crewmember 001|Vulcan ''Enterprise'' crewmember]]<br />[[USS Enterprise operations crew woman 007|''Enterprise'' operations crewmember]]
-| Place of birth    =
+| in-jokes          = [[Okuda Award]]<br />[[Okuda's Growing Seed]]<br />[[Denise Okuda (Starfleet)]]<br />[[D. Okuda]]
-| Date of death     =
-| Place of death    =
-| Awards for Trek   =
-| Roles             = [[:Category:Art department|Scenic Artist and Video Coordinator]], [[:Category:Performers|Movie and TOS renastered performer]], [[:Category:Star Trek authors|''Star Trek'' author]]
 }}
+'''Denise Lynn Okuda''' {{bdayremoved|full|Apr 21, 2021}}, affectionately called "'''Neezee'''" by friends and close co-workers, living in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, [[Michael Okuda|Michael]] and their dogs, Molly and Tranya, started her official live-action ''[[Star Trek]]'' affiliation in 1993 as scenic artist on the entire run of {{s|DS9}} and {{s|ENT}}, as well as on the {{Star Trek films}}, {{film|7}} and {{film|10}}. As computer and video supervisor, she served on the entire run of {{s|VOY}}. Nevertheless, as [[Trekkie|fan]] and under her maiden name '''Denise Tathwell''', she made an early contribution in 1979 when she made an uncredited appearance as an [[USS Enterprise rec deck crewmembers|''Enterprise'' crewmember]] in the recreation deck scenes in {{film|1}}. {{bl|therinofandor.blogspot.com/2007/08/faces-in-crowd-ive-wanted-to-do-this.html}} Aside from this, she had Captain [[D. Tathwell]] of the {{USS|Ahwahnee|NCC-2048}} named after her under her maiden name, though the reference on the [[Operation Retrieve]] mission chart, incidentally created by her husband, was ultimately cut from {{film|6}} as released.
-: ''You may be looking for [[Denise Okuda (Starfleet)]] or [[D. Okuda]].''
-'''Denise "Neezee" Lynn Okuda''' {{born|27|September|1954}} lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, [[Michael Okuda|Michael]] and their dogs, Molly and Tranya.
+== ''Star Trek'' career ==
-Under her maiden name '''Denise Tathwell''' she appeared as an [[Unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel#Rec deck crewmembers|''Enterprise'' crewmember]] in the recreation deck scenes in {{film|1}}. [http://therinofandor.blogspot.com/2007/08/faces-in-crowd-ive-wanted-to-do-this.html]
+Once married to Michael Okuda, her career largely mirrored that of her husband, as the couple closely collaborated from then on, most notably the co-authoring of the [[Reference works|reference books]], {{ste|c}}, {{ste}} (both directly preceding her tenure on the live-action franchise), and the ''[[Star Trek Sticker Book]]''. The Okuda couple was assigned in 2006 to serve as consultants to [[Star Trek auctions|auction]] house [[Christie's]], supporting them with the sale of the contents of [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]'s ''Star Trek'' warehouses. They helped cataloging the production assets and picking the choice items that were ultimately auctioned off in the highly publicized about ''[[40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection]]'' auction of October that year. Husband Mike also wrote the item background annotations for the accompanying two-tome auction catalog. Both Okudas were prominently featured in the [[Star Trek documentaries|documentary]] ''[[Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier]]'' that was made of the occasion.
+She has served together with her husband as producer on the [[TOS-R|remastered ''Original Series'']], which started in 2006. On that occasion, Denise Okuda again made uncredited appearances in two remastered episodes as an additional extra, brought into the newly composited digital scenes. She appeared alongside her husband as a [[Starbase 11 mall officers|Operations division officer]] in the 2006 version of {{e|The Menagerie, Part I}}, and again as such in the 2008 version of {{e|Court Martial}}. She, again with her husband and now in the role of consultant, subsequently served on the follow-up [[TNG-R|remastered ''The Next Generation'']] series project that started in 2012, and as co-producer on the 2016 ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault]]'' release.
-She was co-author of the ''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'' and video supervisor and scenic artist on ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', {{film|9}} and {{film|7}}.
+In November 2014 Okuda again returned to the ''Star Trek'' franchise when she was invited to become a part as consultant of a team of experts &ndash; including a host of former ''Star Trek'' alumni, including her husband &ndash; to oversee a new restoration of the original [[Constitution class model (original)#Eleven-foot model|eleven-foot ''Enterprise'' studio model]], residing at the [[Smithsonian Air and Space Museum]], for its 50th anniversary. {{trekcore|s=blog|2014/12/smithsonian-enterprise-update}} Having accepted the prestigious assignment, Okuda was flown in in May 2015 for the team's first work meeting on 13 May. {{trekcore|s=blog|2015/05/smithsonian-update-the-experts-have-arrived}}
-In 2007, Denise and Michael Okuda were hired as video supervisor and scenic designer, respectively, for a planned zombie series co-created by [[Judith Reeves-Stevens|Judith]] and [[Garfield Reeves-Stevens]] entitled ''Alive''. [[John Billingsley]] and [[Gary Graham]] were set to star on this series, planned to debut in the summer or fall of 2008. However, the series was never made. [http://trekmovie.com/2007/10/05/mmmm-brains-trek-vets-doing-new-zombie-show/]
+Under her maiden name, Denise Tathwell, she has written a short story, "A Battle Won", where, tying in with {{TNG|The Battle}}, [[Jean-Luc Picard]] finds something in his trunk from the {{USS|Stargazer|NCC-2893}} that he is able to share with [[Beverly Crusher|Beverly]], and [[Wesley Crusher]]. The story was published in the June 1988 issue of the fanzine ''NCC-1701-D''. {{el|fanlore.org/wiki/NCC-1701-D_%28Star_Trek:_TNG_zine%29}}
-She has served together with her husband as producer on the remastered ''[[TOS Remastered|Original Series]]'', which started in 2006. Okuda also appeared in several episodes as additional extra, who was brought into the new digital remastered scenes. She currently reprises the role as producer, again with her husband, on the remastered ''[[TNG#Remastering|The Next Generation]]'' series that started in 2012.
+On 22 November 2021 it was announced that Denise Okuda, together with her husband, had been awarded the 2022 "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Art Director's Guild, predominently for their work on ''Star Trek''. {{trekmovie.com|2021/11/22/mike-and-denise-okuda-being-honored-with-lifetime-achievement-award-from-art-directors-guild}} In this, they followed in the footsteps of their former co-workers [[Herman Zimmerman]] and [[John Eaves]], who had already been bestowed the honor, the latter as recently as the year previously.
-Apart from her work on ''Star Trek'', Denise Okuda has also worked as "Computer and Video Supervisor" on the television series ''Threshold'' (1995), the television movie '' The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy '' (1998) and the special edition video release ''Buckaroo Banzai Declassified (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'' &ndash; with several other ''Trek'' alumni including [[Gregory Jein]], [[Mark Stetson]], [[Christopher Lloyd]], and [[Robert Ito]], among others) (1984, 2002).
+== ''Star Trek'' appearances ==
-Originally a trained nurse by profession, Denise Tathwell, prior her marriage to Mike Okuda and her involvement with ''Star Trek'' has worked in that capacity in a hospital in Orange County, CA., where she met and befriended [[Debbie Mirek]], the future collaborator on the ''Chronology'' and ''Encyclopedia''. [http://www.trekplace.com/debbiemirek.html]
-== Uncredited ''Star Trek'' appearances ==
 <gallery>
-File:Denise Tathwell TMP.jpg|[[Unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel#After refit#Rec deck crewmembers|''Enterprise'' crewmember]]<br />{{film|1}}
+File:Vulcan crewmember, 2270s.jpg|[[USS Enterprise Vulcan crewmember 001|Vulcan ''Enterprise'' crewmember]]<br />{{film|1}}<br />(uncredited)
-File:TOS Crewmember in window.jpg|[[Unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel#Crewmember in window|Operations division crewmember]]<br />{{TOS|Court Martial}}<br />(remastered)
+File:Starbase 11 personnel.jpg|[[Starbase 11 mall officers|Operations division officer]]<br />{{TOS-R|The Menagerie, Part I}}<br />(uncredited)
-File:Starbase 11 personnel.jpg|[[Starbase 11 personnel#Various personnel|Operations division officer]]<br />{{TOS|The Menagerie, Part I}}<br />(remastered)
+File:Enterprise operations crew woman 14.jpg|[[USS Enterprise operations crew woman 007|Operations division crewmember]]<br />{{TOS-R|Court Martial}}<br />(uncredited)
 </gallery>
+== Career outside ''Star Trek'' ==
-==Origins as fan==
+Originally a trained nurse by profession, Denise Tathwell, prior to her marriage to Mike Okuda and her official involvement with ''Star Trek'', has worked in that capacity in a hospital in Orange County, CA., where she met and befriended [[Debbie Mirek]] (sharing her middle name), the future collaborator on the ''Chronology'' and ''Encyclopedia''. {{el|trekplace.com/debbiemirek.html}}
-Under her maiden name, Denise Okuda has written a short story, "A Battle Won", where, tying in with {{TNG|The Battle}}, [[Jean-Luc Picard]] finds something in his trunk from the {{USS|Stargazer}} that he is able to share with [[Beverly Crusher|Beverly]], and [[Wesley Crusher]]. The story was published in the June 1988 issue of the fanzine ''NCC-1701-D''. [http://fanlore.org/wiki/NCC-1701-D_%28Star_Trek:_TNG_zine%29]
+Denise Okuda started her career in the motion picture industry in 1990, when she worked as computer graphics artist on the pilot episode of the television series, ''The Flash''. During her years on ''Star Trek'', she has, apart from her work for the franchise, also worked as "Computer and Video Supervisor" on the television series ''Threshold'' (1995, with her former ''Star Trek'' department co-worker [[Ben Betts]]), the television movie '' The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy '' (1998, with ''Star Trek'' co-workers and family fiends [[John Eaves]] and [[Greg Jein]]) and the special edition video release ''Buckaroo Banzai Declassified (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'' &ndash; with several other ''Star Trek'' alumni including Greg Jein again, [[Mark Stetson]], [[Christopher Lloyd]], and [[Robert Ito]], among others) (1984, 2002).
+In 2000 she worked as graphic artist on [[Jonathan Frakes]]' ''Star Trek'' spoof ''[[Star Patrol!]]''.
+In 2007, Denise and Michael Okuda were hired as video supervisor and scenic designer, respectively, for a planned zombie series co-created by [[Judith Reeves-Stevens|Judith]] and [[Garfield Reeves-Stevens]] entitled ''Alive''. [[John Billingsley]] and [[Gary Graham]] were set to star on this series, planned to debut in the summer or fall of 2008. However, the series was never made. {{TrekMovie.com|2007/10/05/mmmm-brains-trek-vets-doing-new-zombie-show}}
+In 2019, the Okuda couple joined the Apple TV+ production of the alternate historyseries ''For All Mankind'' as graphics and technical consultants, which reunited them with showrunner [[Ronald D. Moore]] and his ''Deep Space Nine'' and ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'' writer/co-producer team [[Bradley Thompson]] and [[David Weddle]], alongside ''Next Generation'' writer [[Naren Shankar]] and intended ''[[Star Trek: Phase II]]'' star [[David Gautreaux]].
+== Credits ==
+* [[Blu-ray]]s
+** [[TNG Season 1 Blu-ray]] special feature ''[[Energized! Taking The Next Generation to the Next Level]]'' - Project Consultant
+** ''{{dis|The Best of Both Worlds|Blu-ray}}'' special feature ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation - Regeneration: Engaging the Borg]]'' &ndash; Project Consultant
+** ''{{dis|All Good Things|Blu-ray}}'' special feature ''[[The Unknown Possibilities of Existence: Making "All Good Things"]]'' &ndash; Project Consultant
-==Bibliography==
+== Bibliography ==
-* ''[[Star Trek Chronology]]'', 1st ed. 1993 and 2nd ed. 1996 &ndash; Co-author
+* {{ste|c}}, 1st ed. 1993 and 2nd ed. 1996 &ndash; Co-author
-* ''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'', 1st ed. 1994, 2nd ed. 1997 and 3rd ed. 1999 &ndash; Co-author
+* {{ste}}, 1st ed. 1994, 2nd ed. 1997 and 3rd ed. 1999 &ndash; Co-author
 * ''[[Star Trek Sticker Book]]'', 1999 &ndash; Co-author
+* ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation - On Board the USS Enterprise]]'', 2013 &ndash; Co-author
 == ''Star Trek'' interviews ==
+<div class="appear">
-* [[TNG Season 1 Blu-ray]]-special feature "Energized! Taking The Next Generation to the Next Level"
+* ''Star Trek'' [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]] special features
-* "Denise Okuda: Video Coordinator", ''[[The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine]]'', issue 8, September 1996, pp. 42-47, interviewed by David Hirsch
+** [[TOS Season 1 Blu-ray]] special feature "Spacelift: Transporting Trek Into The 21st Century" (2009)
-* "Michael and Denise Okuda: A Star Trek Love Story", ''[[Star Trek auctions#The official STAR TREK prop and costume auction|''The official STAR TREK prop and costume auction catalog]]'', 2010, pp. 24-27, interviewed by [[Alec Peters]]
+** [[TNG Season 1 Blu-ray]] special feature ''[[Energized! Taking The Next Generation to the Next Level]]'' (2012)
+** [[Unification (Blu-ray)]] special feature "From One Generation to the Next" (2013)
+** [[TNG Season 5 Blu-ray]] special feature "Requiem: A Remembrance of Star Trek: The Next Generation" (2013)
+** [[ENT Season 1 Blu-ray]] special feature "To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise" (2012)
+* Print publications
+** "Denise Okuda: Video Coordinator", David Hirsch, {{STV|8|42-47}}, September 1996
+** "Michael and Denise Okuda: A Star Trek Love Story", [[Alec Peters]], ''[[The official STAR TREK prop and costume auction]] catalog'', 2010, pp. 24-27
+* [[Star Trek documentaries|''Star Trek'' documentaries]]
+** ''[[Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier]]'', 2007
+**''[[In Conversation: The Star Trek Art Department]]'', 2013
+*''[[What We Left Behind]]''
+*[[Text commentary]]:
+** {{ENT|Impulse}} ([[ENT Season 3 DVD]] and [[ENT Season 3 Blu-ray]])
+</div>
 == External links ==
-* [http://web.me.com/michaelokuda/michael_okuda/Denise.html Denise Okuda] - official site
+* {{el|web.archive.org/web/20120411173409/http://web.me.com:80/michaelokuda/michael_okuda/Denise.html|Denise Okuda}} &ndash; official site
-* {{startrek.com|okuda}}
+* {{startrek.com|database_article/okuda||external}}
-* {{IMDb-link|page=nm0645759}}
+* {{imdb|name/nm0645759||external}}
 * {{Wikipedia}}
+* {{trekcore|s=blog|2012/07/exclusive-mike-denise-okuda-tng-remastered-interview-part-1|2012 three part interview with Mike and Denise Okuda|external}}
+* {{trekcore|s=blog|2012/11/exclusive-mike-denise-okuda-talk-season-2-interview-part-1|2012 two part interview with Mike and Denise Okuda|external}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Okuda, Denise}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT|Okuda, Denise}}
 [[de:Denise Okuda]]
 [[es:Denise Okuda]]
@@ Line 61: / Line 87: @@
 [[Category:Special and Visual effects staff]]
 [[Category:Performers]]
-[[category:Movies performers]]
+[[Category:Film performers]]
 [[Category:TOS remastered performers]]
+[[Category:CBS Digital staff]]
+[[Category:Special features staff]]
+[[Category:ADG Excellence in Production Design Award winners]]
+[[Category:Engage guests]]