(written from a Production point of view)
Donald R. Beck is a writer, producer, and director. On behalf of the franchise, Beck has worked on a number of Star Trek documentaries and DVD special features in the 1990s and 2000s. In that period of time he most frequently worked with colleague Stephen R. Wolcott and Patricia Rose Duignan, the by the franchise appointed supervising producer and liaison. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 1999 for his work on The PJs.
The character Prylar Bek, who appeared in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Collaborator", was named after him. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 148))
During his involvement with the Star Trek franchise, Beck plied his trade under the auspices of his own Beck-Ola Production company, credited as such for several Star Trek documentaries, specials, and promos. With the coming of UPN and the digital age, he organized a new company, Toolbox Productions.
Credits[]
- The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation To The Next (producer, director)
- Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special (producer, director)
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes (producer, director)
- Journey's End: The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation (producer, director, main titles designer)
- Inside Star Trek - The Real Story (director)
- "Starfleet Moments & Memories Year Seven" on TNG Season 7 DVD (executive producer, director); the special features staff was only credited in this special feature on the last DVD season box for Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it is safe to assume that they were also responsible for all such features included on the six previous releases.
- Star Trek: Voyager - Inside the New Adventure (producer, director)
- "The Last Goodbyes" on DS9 Season 7 DVD (executive producer, director); the special features staff was only credited in this special feature on the last DVD season box for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but it is safe to assume that they were also responsible for all such features included on the six previous releases.
- "Braving the Unknown – Season Seven" on VOY Season 7 DVD (executive producer, director); the special features staff was only credited in this special feature on the last DVD season box for Star Trek: Voyager, but it is safe to assume that they were also responsible for all such features included on the six previous releases.
- Aside from these specific items, he has served as director/producer on most of the special features produced for the 2001-2005 "Special Edition" DVD releases of nine of the first ten Star Trek films (Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director's Edition being the exception), in conjuncture with colleagues Wolcott and Duignan, his most frequent collaborators for Star Trek in that period of time.