Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron123.txt

Subject: Answers Date: Thu, Oct 1, 1998 14:52 EDT From: RonDMoore Message-id: <19981001145225.02285.00004675@ng27.aol.com>

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Episode 9 does not feature Garak, although he was featured in an early draft of the story.

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My personal favorite is the Enterprise-A. I think it's a beautiful and sleek ship that photographs well from many different angles, unlike the E-D which looked awkward from all but a few well-chosen angles.

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The intent was to show to what extremes even a moral and proud man can be driven to given the right circumstances. Sisko did believe in the goal, but had trouble dealing with what he had to do to achieve it.

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Same as I've always thought -- it's a bad idea.

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Although I really like the holo-communicator, mine is a minority opinion on this one and I don't think we'll be seeing it again.

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I'd certainly consider it.

<<It was said in the TNG episode "The Outrageous Okona" that lasers will not even pierce the navigational deflectors. Does this mean that no laser, regardless of how much power is pumped into it, regardless of what portion of the EM spectrum is utilized, will EVER be able to harm a Federation Starship? I also would like to know precisely why Federation Shipwrights feel the need to make navigational deflectors impervious to photons. Does this protection extend to X-Rays, Gamma Rays, Microwaves, Radio Waves, and all the other parts of the EM Spectrum? If so, how does a Federation Starship manage to get any sensory information with the Nav Deflectors shoving all the radiation away from the ship? If Federation Ships deflect photons as is implied, how is it that they are visible? Wouldn't the deflection of all light make them invisible?>>

You have exceeded my knowledge of (TECH) in Trek -- which is all too easy, I'm afraid.

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The Big Three you've mentioned will definitely be seen this year, but don't look for Gorns, Tholians, or Andorians.

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We're talking about filling in more of the background on Odo and the Founders, but as of now we believe she was telling him the truth about his origins.

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None of the books should be considered canon.

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It was something that the TNG writing staff came up with. We thought there was an interesting chemistry between the two characters and we decided to explore it.

<<Mr. Moore, I must say that Jake hasn't exactly made anyone forget Edward R. Murrow. When will he do some ACTUAL reporting? During the first six episodes of the sixth season, it seemed he was doing a report for high school rather than actual reporting. It was a waste to even have him stay on the station during "Call to Arms" because nothing really came out of this. And during "Tears of the Prophets" not only did Jake leave the bridge to escort his father to his room and as a result stopped covering the battle (which was his job), he goes back with his father to Earth when Sisko decides to leave DS9. How can Jake cover the war from New Orleans ? Isn't he his own man and, shouldn't he had allowed his father to go back home without accompanying him ? I think Jake as a character has regressed since his outstanding develop- ment in 5th season's episodes "Nor the Battle to the Strong" and "In the Cards." One prime example of this regression was in "The Valiant." In that episode Jake talks down to the Red Squad captain by saying how much a better captain his daddy was and how his daddy wouldn't do such and such. He sounded like a twelve year old ! It was almost too embarrassing to watch. I didn't mean to make this into such a rant, but I was upset by the way Jake was han- deled last season, and was wondering if you and the other writers were planning on ways to make him more mature this season ? Maybe he needs to get laid...>>

Needless to say, I disagree. During "Rocks and Shoals" he asked Kira and Odo some fairly tough and pointed questions and I see nothing wrong with his actions in "Valiant" especially since he was proven completely right in the end. As for his going back home with Sisko, I don't see a problem with that since, at most, Jake is a stringer for the Federation News Service and can probably take or pass up assignments as he sees fit. But he probably does need to get laid.

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We reprise characters when we have stories we want to tell about them. At the moment, there aren't any Tom Riker or Kai Opaka stories that we're jazzed about, but we came up with a great Kor tale and so we went for it.

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I worked on the structure of the show during the break session and I gave notes on the script, but the actual writing was done by Ira and Hans.

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The loss of Dax and Sisko's return to Earth were ideas kicking around the room at that point and we thought they'd tie in nicely with the things happening in "Far Beyond the Stars" but we also left enough ambiguity in the script to let us off the hook if neither of those things happened.

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Vic is seen briefly in the opening episode, but he has a large part in the show I've just finished writing -- episode # 10 (no official title at this point).

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We haven't talked about this in a long time, but as I recall, the reference could also be interpreted to mean that Worf would be the first Klingon in Starfleet and he's already accomplished that.

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I don't think so.

<< I would like to know if anything Major is being planned for Jake Sisko.>>

There are a few big things in the works, but nothing that we've committed to yet.

<<Is the baseball in Sisko's office Mark McGwire's 62nd home run ? Will we learn it's origin ?>>

It's presumably Sisko's personal baseball that has some sentimental meaning to him, not an historical relic.

<<Any chance we might see the Defiant land on a planet like Voyager did?>>

I doubt it. It's a very pricey effect and I don't think we'll do it.

<<And secundo, could you really explain why Paramount is putting the staff behind Star Trek (any series) on budget ??!! Why don't they give you all the money you need to make the very best show you can come up with ? They will make godzillions of dollars with Trek in the next few decades anyway ! Why is it that the fans have to cope with mediocres bottleshows (don't kid me, some are good, even very good) made because "..we had to save money for the year ender.. or ..we had spent too much of that show and blablabla..".>>

They're pretty generous with the money, actually. Our budget is literally one of the highest of any TV show on the air.

<<couple of questions ron, first of all, as a full time writer do you still find time to read?>>

My desk is stacked with several books I'm working my way through, as is my nightstand at home.

<<second, my girlfriend was wondering when benny was taken away in the ambulance and sisko wakes from the coma, did benny die?>>

Benny did not die.

<<Have you seen the Star Trek Special Editions on the Sci-Fi Channel? If so, what do you think of them and the idea of a Trek: Special Edition?>>

On the positive side, I think the new transfers look great! They make my laserdisc episodes look like third-rate VHS copies. But on the negative side, the arbitrary insertion of commercials into the shows is extremely annoying and keeps me from watching an entire episode. I hope they make the new transfers available on DVD or something, because I can't watch the chop- jobs they're doing on Sci-Fi Channel.

<<I am curious to know what (if any) scriptwriting software you use when writing teleplays for Star Trek? >>

We're using a program called Final Draft and we've found it to be the best of the various programs we've tried. We used Word 5 for a long time, using a scriptor style sheet, but that eventually went by the wayside. We tried Scriptware for a while, but had too many problems with it.

<<Do you have any plans to use the Prometheus (as seen on Voyager) in any of this season battles against the Dominion?>>

No.

<<What is the deal with only having seven season for any of the star trek seires. DS9 should not be taken off at the end of this season. DS9 could probely going on for atleast 3 more seasons if not more. It seems to me that Paramount doesn't care about star trek, but is looking for more ways to get rich off of it. Taking it off of the air after a couple of years and then doing movies just so they can get more money. I know officaly that thier is no plans for a DS9 film, but if that is the case then way ruin it for the fans by taking DS9 off?>>

Seven seasons evidently provide Paramount with a good syndication package that they can sell to the affiliates from now on. Although we probably could push the show into more seasons, the writing staff feels that it's better to end now while we're happy with the series and it's still hitting on all cylinders. Always leave'em wanting more.

<<Did the cast and crew have fun while having the chance to go on location and play base- ball ? Which of the actors, after observation, would you consider to be the most natural athlete ? Did the crew (including yourself) get a chance to take a few swings between takes ? And which of you amongst the writing staff is the biggest baseball fan ?>>

Everyone had a ball (pun intended) while shooting this one. Quite a few of the actors managed to look good out there and I'll let you judge for yourself who pulled it off best. No one was really taking swings between takes because we had people all over the field and having balls smacked around randomly wouldn't have been a good idea. On the staff, I say Ira is easily the biggest baseball fan, with Rene coming in second.

<<What exactly did the Wormhole aliens mean when they told Sisko that "his destiny lies along a different path..."? (Favor the Bold)>>

You'll have to wait and see...

<<In regards to Star Trek Generations, Robert and Renee Picard are killed. Is Marie also presumed dead? Or was there a specific reason why she was not mentioned?>>

Marie is still alive. We had various references to Marie in early drafts of the film, but by the final cut they'd all been excised for one reason or another. In fact, at one point, we even thought about Marie appearing in the Nexus as the woman that Picard would fantasize about, but that seemed to be too heavy and complex a problem to deal with at that point in the film so we dropped it.

<<With the Klingons we've seen several characters that are "VIP"s, including Gowron, and most notably, Martog. Will we see any recurring Romulan VIPs now that they are to be a more permenant prescence on the show?>>

We don't have any plans for a recurring Romulan character.

<<One thing I've always wondered... If you could magically go back to anytime within the period of Star Trek's 31 year existence, what would you do differently? What is it that you wish could have been done differently, from a storyteller's point of view.>>

I wish we could've had a more coherent idea of what we wanted to accomplish in TNG's last year. Too much of it was random story-telling without a sense of bringing the show to a conclusion.

<<Lastly, how is work on Mission Impossible 2 progressing? How closely have you been working with Tom Cruise and Ving Raimes?>>

It's going just fine. Brannon and I have completed our work on the project and it's scheduled to begin principal photography in January. We worked very closely with Cruise and had an absolutely wonderful experience with him. We never got to meet Ving Rhames.

<<Whatever happened to the Romulan officer 'required by treaty' or somesuch to man the Defiant's cloaking device? Saw her for, oh, three episodes and she was gone. I know this is ancient history, but I'm a relative newbie here...>>

I don't think we said that she was "required" to be aboard the Defiant in "The Search". She was there to operate the cloak and make sure no one attempted to steal it. Later, an agreement was worked out with the Romulans that allowed us to keep the cloak in exchange for intelligence on the Dominion.

<<The episode "The Valiant" seems to indicate that The Defiant is the only Defiant-class ship with a cloak. Is this the case? >>

Yes.

<< How do you think Terry Farrell {character Jadzia Dax} leaving the cast has affected the viewing audience of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine? >>

I don't think we'll know until well into this season, but I suspect that Ezri will be well received.

<<I understand that the Federation, in the days of TNG, didn't want to use cloaking, not only because of the Treaty of Algeron (sp?), but also because it was underhanded and a dirty trick. With the Romulans now on-side with the Federation, and with the underbelly of the Federation (Section 31, etc.) exposed, will we be seeing more cloaked Starfleet ships?>>

I never bought the "underhanded dirty trick" line of thinking, but we're not planning to equip more Fed ships with cloaking devices in any case.

<<I realize and completely understand that you don't want to spoil us and tell us how DS9 will end, however, could you please let us all in on a little matter and tell us whether you guys are planning for the war with the Dominion to end by the series finale of DS9, or will it continue past DS9 into Voyager and/or future Trek movies/series?>>

We'll wrap up the war on DS9.

<<Is the going to be a star trek voyager movie?>>

Couldn't even guess.

<<Is there a connection between the time portal discovered by the O'Brian's and the Guardian of Forever from TOS?>>

No.

<<Is Vic based on Binar technology? They gave us Riker's love interest Minuet.>>

Sure. Why not?

<<Do you envision Kai Opaka having additional involvement with the Emissary and/or Prophets?>>

No plans for Opaka at the moment.

<<How many different outcomes for the series have you considered, or did you have in mind one ending from the get-go?>>

We've talked about quite a few different endings -- maybe a dozen or so.

<<How long after DS9 ends will you reply to questions? I would really like the opportunity to do a post-mortem for awhile.>>

I'll probably close the Q&A when the show goes off the air.

<<How well does Nicole deBour fit in? Has Terry Visited the set? >>

Nicole (and Ezri) have fit in very, very well. I've seen Terry on the lot from time to time, but I don't think she's been down to the set.