Peter Lauritson

Peter James Lauritson was involved in the Star Trek franchise between, when  debuted, and , when  ended. From the start Lauritson, as (co-) producer, occupied one of the senior managerial production staff positions, but was also given the opportunity to acquire hands-on skills over the years as (second-unit) director on three television episodes and two movies. While all producers had a say in all the managerial aspects of the productions, it was Lauritson who was the producer to whom the visual effects – after Edward K. Milkis left early in the first season of the Next Generation –, editing, sound and art departments usually answered to, him signing off on legal and financial aspects regarding propositions of theses departments, while colleague Rick Berman usually had the final say regarding the actual use of these departments' propositions. On the backside of the below-mentioned trading card, he has himself described his responsibilities as follows, "I am in charge of all post-production aspects of the show. This includes: film transfers to videotape, sound effects, visual effects, music, sound mixing, and final delivery of the finished episode. I supervise a staff of fourteen people." The workload however, increased substantially after more than one Star Trek production were added to the array, starting in 1993 with the addition of, and the decision was made to elevate Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Curry to the newly conceived rank of visual effects producer, to alleviate the work pressure on Lauritson. Lauritson's work on the franchise earned him a Hugo Award in 1993 as director, supplemented with a 1994 Emmy Award nomination for The Next Generation as producer.

Lauritson had already had an earlier brush with the franchise when he performed some preliminary (uncredited) pre-production work in 1981 on. When he heard six years later that a new Star Trek television series was being developed, he offered his services so he could take advantage of recent developments in post-production technology on the new show, upon which he was subsequently hired.

In addition he had a small cameo role as a still image of Thomas Raymond on a computer display in the TNG episode. Lauritson also received special thanks in the end credits of the video game Star Trek: Invasion, and has over the course of his tenure on the franchise been interviewed for several magazines including, , ; and.

Lauritson was honored by SkyBox International with an individual card entry, no. 34, in their 1993 specialty Star Trek: The Next Generation - Behind the Scenes trading card set.

His name was referenced throughout the run of the Star Trek series.

In the process Peter Lauritson has become one of the very few Star Trek staffers in any function (the exclusive assembly including among others Rick Berman, Ronald B. Moore, David Takemura and Michael Okuda), to have officially served uninterrupted for the full eighteen years on the entire run in the "Berman-era" of the modern television franchise, having worked on all series at one time or another, with the four Next Generation movies added to his Star Trek resume.

Career outside Star Trek
Prior to his involvement with the television franchise, Peter Lauritson had worked at Paramount Television for eight years as head of the television post-production department, and it was during this time he had his brush with The Wrath of Khan. 

Following the end of Star Trek: Enterprise, Lauritson worked as post-production supervisor on the television drama Sixty Minute Man (2006) and as associate producer on the television series The Starter Wife (2007) and The Mentalist (2008-2009).

Star Trek credits
(This list is currently incomplete.)
 * As Unknown:
 * – Uncredited
 * As Producer:
 * Season 1 – Associate Producer
 * Season 2 – Associate Producer
 * Season 3 – Co-Producer
 * Season 4 – Co-Producer
 * Season 5 – Co-Producer
 * Season 6 – Producer
 * Season 7 – Producer
 * – Producer/Consulting Procucer
 * – Producer
 * – Producer
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 * – Consulting Producer
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 * – Consulting Producer
 * – Consulting Producer
 * – Consulting Producer
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 * – Consulting Producer
 * – Consulting Producer
 * – Consulting Producer
 * Season 1 – Producer
 * Season 2 – Producer/Consulting Producer
 * – Producer
 * – Producer
 * – Producer
 * – Producer
 * – Producer
 * – Producer
 * – Producer
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 * – Producer
 * – Producer
 * – Consulting Producer
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 * – Consulting Producer
 * Season 3 – Producer
 * Season 4 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 5 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 6 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 7 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 1 – Producer
 * Season 2 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 3 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 4 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 5 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 6 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 7 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 1 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 2 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 3 – Supervising Producer
 * Season 4 – Supervising Producer
 * – Co-Producer
 * – Co-Producer
 * – Co-Producer
 * – Co-Producer
 * As Director:
 * – Second Unit Director
 * – Second Unit Director
 * – Co-Producer
 * – Co-Producer
 * – Co-Producer
 * As Director:
 * – Second Unit Director
 * – Second Unit Director
 * – Second Unit Director
 * – Second Unit Director
 * – Second Unit Director
 * – Second Unit Director
 * – Second Unit Director
 * – Second Unit Director

Star Trek awards
Peter Lauritson has received the following award win and nomination:

Emmy Award nomination
As Supervising Producer, Lauritson received the following Emmy Award nomination in the category Outstanding Drama Series:
 * for, shared with Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor, David Livingston,Ronald D. Moore, Merri Howard, Brannon Braga, and Wendy Neuss

Hugo Award

 * Hugo Award in the category Best Dramatic Presentation as Director for the episode, shared with Morgan Gendel, Peter Allan Fields and Morgan Gendel

Star Trek interviews

 * Star Trek DVD and Blu-ray special features:
 * TNG Season 1 DVD-special feature, "The Making of a Legend"
 * TNG Season 1 DVD-special feature, "Memorable Missions"
 * TNG Season 2 DVD-special feature, "Mission Overview Year Two" ("Ten Forward"), interviewed on
 * TNG Season 2 DVD-special-feature, "Selected Crew Analysis Year Two", interviewed on 5 October 2001
 * TNG Season 2 DVD-special-feature, "Departmental Briefing Year Two: Production", interviewed on 5 October 2001
 * TNG Season 2 DVD-special-feature, "Departmental Briefing Year Two: Memorable Missions", interviewed on 5 October 2001
 * TNG Season 3 DVD-special feature, "Mission Overview Year Three", interviewed on 5 October 2001
 * TNG Season 4 DVD-special feature, "New Life and New Civilizations", interviewed on
 * TNG Season 4 DVD-special feature, "Select Historical Data", interviewed on 5 October 2001
 * TNG Season 5 DVD-special feature, "Departmental Briefing Year Five" ("Production", "Visual Effects", "Shooting Elements"), interviewed on 5 October 2001
 * DS9 Season 1 DVD-special feature, "Deep Space Nine Scrapbook Year One"/ "Building the Station" (interview from )
 * Star Trek: Insurrection (Blu-ray), deleted scenes intro
 * TNG Season 2 Blu-ray-special feature, "Making It So: Continuing Star Trek: TNG" (2012)
 * TNG Season 5 Blu-ray-special feature, "Requiem: A Remembrance of Star Trek: The Next Generation" (2013)
 * Print publications:
 * "Visions of the Future", Larry Nemecek,, September 1997
 * "Star Trek's supervising producer: Peter Lauritson",, July 1999
 * "Behind the Scenes: Designing Star Trek: Voyager",, August 2001
 * Star Trek documentaries:
 * Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special, 1991
 * Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes, 1994