Background
David was the nephew of legendary film director Sam Peckinpah and son of Denver "Denny" Peckinpah, a Fresno County Superior Court Judge.
David was the nephew of legendary film director Sam Peckinpah and son of Denver "Denny" Peckinpah, a Fresno County Superior Court Judge.
He was the writer and producer of several series including the cable television shows Drug Enforcement Administration, Silk Stalkings, and Beauty and the Beast. He also had a number of series in development at the time of his death. Fox brought Peckinpah onto the television series in its third season.
Peckinpah has been derided by fans, who argue that his involvement (and by extension Fox"s more hands-on involvement) caused the show to "jump the shark".
Peckinpah is believed to be responsible for the departure of cast member John Rhys-Davies. While John Rhys-Davies had been an outspoken critic of the show"s writing quality since the first season, Fox supported him.
Only David Peckinpah, who was assigned to the show in its third season, wanted him out. John later vowed that he would not return to as long as Peckinpah had a hand in the show. co-creator Tracy Torme was highly critical of in its third season.
When the show was cancelled and the show was picked up by the Sciences-Fi Channel, Torme attempted to retake control of the series.
One of Torme"s conditions was the removal of David Peckinpah from the series. Peckinpah had already signed a two year contract with Universal, and Universal elected to keep Peckinpah. Torme left the series.