Editing David Weddle

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| sortkey= Weddle, David
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'''David Weddle''' is a TV writer and producer who, before working on BSG, was best known for his work on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. He is a supervising producer for the [[Re-imagined Series]] as of the [[Season 4|fourth season]].

Weddle is the son of a former Marine who fought in some of the bloodiest Pacific battles of [[w:World War II|World War II]], such as [[w:Guadalcanal campaign|Guadalcanal]] and [[w:Battle of Peleliu|Peleliu]]. <ref> [http://members.tripod.com/john_larocque/tns/weddle.html Interview with David Weddle] </ref>

While Weddle was growing up, his family was close to several members of the renown film director Sam Peckinpah's family, including his sister, Fern Lea (Peckinpah) Peter and her husband, and the director's son, Mathew Peckinpah. Later, through the son, Weddle met the famous father and watched him direct some of his last movie, ''The Osterman Weekend''.

After Sam Peckinpah's death, Weddle used the director's thousands of production files and personal correspondence in possession of the Motion Picture Academy Library, as well as his contacts with family and friends, to write a major biography of the director. 

After the book was published, Ira Steven Behr, the head writer and executive producer of ''[[MemoryAlpha:Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''&mdash;and a major Peckinpah fan&mdash;invited Weddle to lunch at Paramount and a tour the DS9 sets. The two became friends, and eventually Weddle asked Behr if he and his writing partner [[Bradley Thompson]] could pitch story ideas for the show. 

Weddle had met Thompson in an acting class, where they discovered both attended the USC School of Cinema. Years later, Thompson asked Weddle if he could adapt Weddle's play "Memoirs of an Awkward Lover" into a screenplay. Weddle agreed, and the two ended up collaborating on the project together. But ultimately. nothing came of the adaptation.

Weddle and Thompson's first credited story for the series was was the fourth season episode "[[MemoryAlpha:Rules of Engagement|Rules of Engagement]]". The teleplay was written by [[Ronald D. Moore]]. Their first credited teleplay for ''Deep Space Nine'' was the fifth season episode "[[MemoryAlpha:The Assignment|The Assignment]]".

The two continued to write for ''Deep Space Nine'' through its final season, writing two episodes from the final tightly-plotted nine-episode arc of the series.

Weddle has stated that his and Thompson's best script for DS9 was "[[MemoryAlpha:Inquisition|Inquisition]]," which introduced an uncommonly dark element into the world of the generally utopian ''Star Trek''&mdash;namely, a covert black ops group known as "[[MemoryAlpha:Section 31|Section 31]]" which protects the Federation's interests using tactics that run counter to the noble philosophy and ideals of the organization. 

Weddle also claims there are many references to Peckinpah and his films in their episodes for ''Battlestar Galactica''.

Thompson and Weddle initially served as story editors on the first season of ''Battlestar Galactica''. They became co-producers as of the second season. They were given more responsibility as producers for the third season. They became supervising producers for the fourth season.

While initially slated to write the "movie of the week" (later entitled "[[The Plan]]") with Thompson, the two had to subsequently withdraw from this assignment due to being hired as writers and supervising producers for ''[[w:CSI: Crime Scene Investigation|CSI: Crime Scene Investigation]]'', the popular, long-running [[w:CBS|CBS]] series.<ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.syfyportal.com/news425187.html|title=SyFy Portal: Writing Duo Finds 'CSI' After 'Battlestar'|date=4 July 2008|accessdate=6 July 2008|last=Hinman|first=Michael|format=|language=}}</ref>

Weddle made an uncredited appearance as a patron of [[Joe's bar]] in the episode "[[Someone to Watch Over Me]]".

== Behind the scenes ==

In a 2008 interview, co-executive producer [[Mark Verheiden]] shared a comment from Weddle about the symbolism in "[[He That Believeth in Me]]," an episode Weddle co-wrote with Thompson. When asked about [[Saul Tigh]]'s hallucination in which he shoots [[William Adama|Adama]] in the same eye that Tigh had lost, Weddle responded through Verheiden with deliberate mystery: "I was waiting for someone to pick up on that telling detail. Congratulations. But I am disappointed you have not figured out its significance within the larger mythology of the show. It's all laid out for you. All you have to do is run the episode over again in slow motion, and the deeper truth will be revealed."<ref group="commentary" name="ullrich_comicmix_verheiden_weddle_tigh_eye_symbolism">{{cite_web|url=https://comicmix.com/2008/04/08/battlestar-galactica-interview-mark-verheiden-on-cylon-babies-and-season-four-secrets/#:~:text=Per%20one%20of%20the%20writers%20of%20that%20episode%2C%20Mr.%20David%20Weddle%3A%0A%0A%E2%80%9CI%20was%20waiting%20for%20someone%20to%20pick%20up%20on%20that%20telling%20detail.%20Congratulations.%20But%20I%20am%20disappointed%20you%20have%20not%20figured%20out%20its%20significance%20within%20the%20larger%20mythology%20of%20the%20show.%20It%E2%80%99s%20all%20laid%20out%20for%20you.%20All%20you%20have%20to%20do%20is%20run%20the%20episode%20over%20again%20in%20slow%20motion%2C%20and%20the%20deeper%20truth%20will%20be%20revealed.%E2%80%9D|title=Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Cylon Babies and Season Four Secrets|author=Chris Ullrich|publisher=ComicMix|date=8 April 2008|accessdate=16 February 2026}}</ref>

== Writer credits for "Battlestar Galactica" ==
*Season 1:
**[[Act of Contrition]]
**[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]
*Season 2:
**[[Scattered]]
**[[Valley of Darkness]]
**[[Flight of the Phoenix]]
**[[Scar]]
**[[Downloaded]]
*[[Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance]] - A series of webisodes bridging the gap between Seasons 2 and 3
*Season 3:
**[[Exodus, Part I]]
**[[Exodus, Part II]]
**[[Rapture]]
**[[Maelstrom]]
*Season 4:
**[[He That Believeth in Me]]
**[[Revelations]]
**[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]
**[[Someone to Watch Over Me]]

''See also: [[:Category:Episodes written by David Weddle|Episodes written by David Weddle]]''

== External Links ==
{{ext-ma|article=David Weddle}}

== References ==

=== Commentary and Interviews ===
{{reflist|group=commentary}}

=== General References ===
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Behind the Scenes]]
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[[Category:Crew (RDM)]]
[[Category:Former Star Trek Cast and Crew]]
[[Category:Producers]]
[[Category:Producers (RDM)]]
[[Category:Writers]]
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