Special: Genre Legend Diane Duane Talks 'Scooby Doo', 'Star Trek,' and Beating 'Harry Potter' to the Punch

The GeekDads

Talking with Diane Duane is like having a conversation with a wind storm; things keep coming at you from all directions, and everything blows you away.

If you are a fan of science fiction, fantasy, animation, and just genre entertainment in general, and you're of a certain age like me, you've probably bumped up against Diane's work, even if you don't realize it. In '80s she was at Hannah-Barbera, Filmation, DiC, Sunbow, and Walt Disney. Can you picture the shows she was working on? Captain Caveman, Dinosaucers, Transformers (the ORIGINAL), and Duck Tales to name a few. Then she co-wrote for Batman: The Animated Series (perhaps the Genesis of modern superhero cartoon shows), and Gargoyles. Gargoyles is remembered for having been a well-written series, with a lot of Star Trek: The Next Generation actors doing voice work.

And yes, Diane did a ST:TNG story: "Where No Man Has Gone Before."

She wrote a seminal series of Star Trek novels about the Romulans that informs fans to this day, and had young adult stories about wizards in the modern world on the racks a decade before J.K. Rowling.

There is more, much more, but in a way, that would be spoilers. If you know who Diane Duane is, you'll have a great time listening to this podcast, because the stories she tells about, every corner of genre entertainment in the last 30 years are great. If you don't know Diane, you'll really want to afterwards.