The upcoming NBC television version of Stephen King's first novel "Carrie" has a Star Trek pedigree, having been written for the screen and directed by two Star Trek veterans. Airing this coming Monday, the new "Carrie" screenplay was written by Bryan Fuller and directed by David Carson.

Fuller's first writing assignments on Star Trek began with "Story by" credits on the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "The Darkness and the Light" and "Empok Nor." He later joined the writing staff on Star Trek: Voyager, earning titles of Co-producer and Executive Story Editor during his tenure, while getting story and teleplay credit on numerous episodes.

Carson directed episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation (including "Yesterday's Enterprise" and "Redemption, Part II"), DS9 (including the series premiere "Emissary") and also for the big screen, with "Star Trek Generations."

Fuller was asked to adapt King's novel about a teenage girl with frightening powers after they saw Fuller's work on a potential Showtime series called Dead Like Me, about a young girl who dies and becomes a grim reaper, having not only to deal with taking souls every week, but also getting a job, looking for a place to stay and reconnecting with her family as a stranger in their lives.

"MGM approached me after I did Dead Like Me for them and asked if I would be interested in doing a remake of Carrie for NBC," said Fuller. "I leapt at the chance."

Longer than a theatrical film but shorter than a multi-night miniseries, "Carrie" runs about three hours. "It has always been the plan to spin it off into a series if there was enough interest in the tele-movie," said Fuller.

Fuller understands the uphill journey in remaking what many consider to be a classic. "The original movie had such a wonderful tone and energy," he said. "Brian DePalma really gave it a transcendent fairy tale quality. David Carson's job was to ground this Carrie in a post-Columbine reality where high school violence is not looked at in the same way as it was in 1976. The characters are much grittier and real in this version. Their motivations are a little clearer."

Fuller noted that author while King wasn't involved in the production, the prolific author's work is definitely the source and inspiration for the project. "Evidently he (King) wasn't terribly happy with "Carrie 2: The Rage," and really, who could blame him? Everyone involved in this project really set out to make it the best it could be and that all stemmed from being as loyal to the source material as possible. This version has a lot more of the book in it than the original. It also has new scenes that are neither in the book or the original movie."

"Carrie" airs on NBC on Monday, November 4. Check local listings for airtimes in your area.

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