Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron058.txt

Subj: Answers Date: 9/25/97 6:44:09 PM From:  RonDMoore

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The TNG cast will not be appearing in the wedding show. I don't know if they're planning to use Dax in the feature or not.

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I haven't heard anything about a new animated series.

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I don't know and I don't think so.

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Tom's reappearance is a possibility, but I doubt we'll see Ro again.

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Write to the Star Trek Production Offices at 5555 Melrose Ave, LA, CA 90038. They're direct you to the right source.

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I stand up and salute whenever it's mentioned.

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Not in quite a while.

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Hope springs eternal.

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I believe Walter Koenig wrote one or two of the animated episodes, Nimoy has story credit on Trek 4 & 6 (?), and Shatner has story credit on 5. I think those are the only ones.

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I've looked through it and I think it's a hoot.

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Hate to be coy, but if I even gave you the title, you might guess too much about the story at this point. It'll be out there soon enough, I'm sure but I'd like to preserve the surprise for a little while longer.

Subj: Answers Date: 9/25/97 7:01:56 PM From:  RonDMoore

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It does apply only to humans and I'm not sure how that qualifies as being "racist." The Eugenics Wars were strictly a human experience and the prohibition on genetic engineering was presumably something that was part of Earth's own laws before it joined the Federation. I should also point out that Kurn's genetic makeup was altered to hide his identity, not to enhance or re-engineer his essential nature, which is what the human prohibition is all about anyway.

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That's debatable. Plea bargains are nothing new and this seemed like it was within the rights of the JAG to make this kind of deal.

<<What bothers me about the continuity is that more than one fact about Bashir was altered or ignored. Just a bit more attention to background would have resulted in complete continuity and been a more effective story. Such as: Bashir's father was a VIP or diplomat - who really gives a darn if "a third class steward" who couldn't hold a job went to jail. (BTW, how could there be a third class steward in a moneyless society?) Bashir could have found out about the enhancement on his last trip home after the Lethean incident. It would have been far more traumatic for an adult Bashir to find out than a child - who should have dealt with what happened to him a long time before. And it wouldn't have turned Bashir into a manipulative man who had lied to his friends and STarfleet.I found the episode manipulative and completely unconvincing. And far more attention was paid to the Rom/Leeta/Zimmerman plot than was paid to the Bashir plot.>>

This is the old argument about "what we could have done" as opposed to what we did. We could have done a lot of things, but this is what we chose. I didn't want Bashir to find out about his enhancement for the first time in this story, so we didn't do it that way. I find Bashir a more interesting character because of the fact that he had to hide his secret for so long. Yes, he lied and yes, his parents did too. (I should also point out that Riker lied about his actions on the Pegasus for many years also.) I think it makes Bashir a far more believable character to see that he's not some 24th century perfect automaton, but a flawed human being just like everyone else. In my view, it makes him *more* heroic to see that he's made of flesh and blood.

There's also no contradiction in Bashir having said his father was a "diplomat" and then finding out that Richard couldn't hold a job. It just means that Richard had a job that had something to do with diplomacy and then he moved on to something else. And a "third-class steward" is an indication of his title or rank, not a reference to working in a third-class cabin.

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It was always a temporary title. We just slapped in on the script until we came up with something better.

Subj: Answers Date: 9/25/97 7:17:35 PM From:  RonDMoore

<< In the version I saw shoot had Papa serving the trout to a young Vulcan male (played by a young actor named Adam as I recall). The version that aired had that Vulcan sitting in the same table in the same location but Papa serving the fish to a woman (sitting at another table to the Vulcan's right). I had remarked to someone I know in Makeup that I found it interesting, since Vulcan's were vegetarians, and that person phoned whom ever on the Voyager makeup does Tuvok asking about that.I was there long enough to see them completely re-light and setup for other shots. So obviously, that scene was re-shot. So, how was that caught? >>

I'm not sure what happened, so you should pat yourself on the back and take credit for it.

<< The Jem Hadar seem truly devoted to the Founders but the Vorta seem to have a bit of self-serving interest in the situation. Do they believe the Founders are gods to the extent of the Jem Hadar?>>

The Vorta have more of an interest in their own survival than do the Jem'Hadar, but they do consider the Founders to be gods.

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The changes in the Ferengi were well underway by the time I came aboard, so I can't really speak to the hows and whys of what happened at the time. We have thought about mentioning Letek from time to time, but haven't put it in a script yet.

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No one "Big" at the moment.

<<do you or any others involved with the show have concern over [the time-slot] issue? and have you spoken to Paramount about it seeing that this year seems like it will be the worst for prime time slots?>>

We bitch about this constantly, but it's ultimately up to the local affiliates to schedule the show according to what they think will work in their markets. It drives us nuts.

<<Will there be any *new* lifeforms or characters this year on the show?>>

Probably, but we're still dealing with all the fallout from the Dominion war, so there's no new lifeforms on the horizon. There will, of course, be new guest stars right from the beginning.

<<Are we EVER going to see them celebrating an earth holiday like Christmas or Halloween or Thinksgiving or Hannuka? EVER? There seems to be some kind of major cop out on TPTB for staying clear of any earth based religion, but any other alien culture gets 101 holidays or customs every season. Bajor having some of the craziest. I don't know, but seeing a crew on one of these shows giving thanks in some kind of yule time ceremony, with some decorations, is a good way of showing that earth culture and religion is still around and not supposedly forgotten. What's the deal?>>

Well, Gene felt very strongly that all the contemporary Earth religions would be gone by the 24th century and we've tried not to violate that. I don't necessarily agree with that concept, but it was a core tenet of Gene's Trek. We did establish Christmas in Generations as something that's still celebrated in some form, (and Thanksgiving was mentioned in TOS) but I think that's as far as we're going to go.

Subj: Answers Date: 9/25/97 7:18:32 PM From:  RonDMoore

<<Ron, I just realized. OK, your "Collecting the Action" concept didn't sell back then when you first pitched it-- but I am curious- what's holding it up NOW? I mean- to whom does Ronald D Moore pitch stories? :D>>

I still have to pitch my ideas to the writing staff along with everyone else -- it's a very collegial bunch. I just don't think that the Iotian idea ("Collecting the Action" is a cute title, BTW) is something we should do after having done "Trials and Tribble-ations." T&T was our heartfelt salute to TOS and I don't think we should try to top it.

Subj: Answers Date: 9/25/97 7:23:17 PM From:  RonDMoore

<<I was wondering how General Martok will be used this season and will he be used a lot? Do you and the writing staff like him enough to keep him around for a while? :-)>>

We really dig Martok and love J.G. Hertzler's portrayal and you'll definitely be seeing more of Martok this season... as well as another member of his family.

Subj: Answers Date: 9/26/97 5:56:43 PM From:  RonDMoore

<<Do you ever read any of the other folders in this area... like from the DS9 section? like...maybe...Dukats Women or ones to that effect??? >>

I surf about from time to time, but this is the only folder I frequent with any kind of regularity.

<<Here we are, almost five episodes deep into the Voyager season and DS9's new season is nowhere in sight. Other syndies shows and network shows are up, running, and gathering new viewers and our DS9 guys are going to get the leftovers, in terms of the toss-up viewers. Sure, the true fans will show up when DS9 does, but you do the show and yourselves a disservice by bringing it back so late in the season. It's a great show and deserves better treatment.>>

This is something that's always nagged me and most of the writing staff, but the schedule is the virtually the same one that TNG used to adhere to, so I'm not sure we can blame it for a lack of viewership.

<<If somone was lucky enough to pitch stories for DS9 or Voyager how long after would it take to hear from the producer or whoever is in charge.Well what i'm asking is how does the whole process work,from start to finish.>>

It varies widely. A pitch can be bought on the spot or not for a year or more, depending on the needs of the show and how confident we are in the story idea itself.

<<I've heard rumors that the studio was planning to spend more on promoting the show this season. Is this true? If so, what are they spending it on? I've seen very little publicity, especially when compare to the fanfare of interviews and articles which greeted Voyagers premier. All I've seen are the usual press releases and the preview. Have I missed something?>>

We hear this promise every year. Unfortunately, a lot of the publicity effort falls on the shoulders of the local affiliates and they may or may not want to spend the dollars to push the show. Voyager benefits from the fact that it is the flagship series for an entire network and thus has the network itself spending the bucks and promoting the show whenever possible.

<<According to [press releases] episode 1 is all about Sisko and co (Yes, but what's happening on the station...?) Episode 2 is also all about Sisko and co (OK, but what's happening on the station!) Episode 3 is a Worf story (I think I'll wash my hair that evening. Unless of course there's something interesting happening on the station?). Finally, in Episode 4, they deign to mention Kira and Odo. In other words, all the early publicity seems to ignore Kira, Odo, Dukat et al. Is this a true reflection of the story arc? Or do the publicity office think we're not interested?>>

Kira and Odo are featured prominently in every one of these episodes (even the Klingon show). The stories on Terok Nor during the Dominion Occupation are very important to this arc and I have no idea why the publicity doesn't play them up as well.

<<Are there any cut scenes from Generations?>>

Only two scenes were entirely cut. One was the "orbital skydiving" sequence at the very beginning of the film, and the other was a brief bit on the Enterprise-B bridge after they'd discovered that Kirk was "dead". Other than that, there were trims and cuts in other scenes for time, or for editorial reasons. I don't know if there are any plans to re-insert any of this material for the network telecast.

<< If there is anything that you would have done to change the original star trek, what would it have been>>

Re-write the third season almost in its entirety (although there are a couple of 3rd year Treks that I did enjoy and some I'm just perversely fond of, like "Day of the Dove"). I'd also have let it run for a full five years.

<<Were you and Gene roddenberry close friends?>>

No. I only worked with him directly on a few occasions and had only a few social interactions with him. He struck me as a big bear of a man, with a gentle nature and an easy smile.

<<No Borg on DS9?>>

No.

Subj: Answers Date: 9/26/97 6:17:50 PM From:  RonDMoore

<<Do you feel that Rick Berman is handling Trek in the same fashion that Gene used?>>

No, and I never expected him to. They're different men and each of them guided Trek during different periods (with a three year overlap). If people want to criticize or praise Rick for what he's done with the franchise, it should be on the merits of the work not out of some comparison to what Gene may or may not have done.

<<Where do i write for YOUR autograph?>>

Send something you want signed to me, c/o Paramount Pictures, 5555 Melrose Ave, Hart Building 405, LA, CA 90038.

<< Is there any chance of you working on Star Trek IMAX?>>

No, they already have another writer (whose name escapes me at the moment).

<<If i wanted to create a web site about you, (i might) what sort of thing would you like to see? Would you visit it?>>

I haven't got the slightest idea. The notion's never occured to me, but I'd certainly check it out. (Would I be frightened????)

<< Is it true that the reason that you chose O'Brien to say in T & T "Look, over there, it's Kirk!" to that extra because he was william shatner's fight double?>>

We didn't know he was Shatner's double, we just saw that he was wearing a command uniform and was about the same size and decided to go for the joke.

<< if one of us Trekkies were at convention and saw say Johnathon Frakes and asked him if he would like to make a guest apperance on DS9 and he says yes how can Ron say no he doesn't, does he go interview all of them and ask would you like to have a guest apperance on DS9?>>

There's a difference between an actor answering a question at a convention about the possibility of doing a guest shot and an actor actually calling up the DS9 offices and saying, "Hey, I'm dying to do a guest shot." To my knowledge, while the TNG cast may be open to the idea, they're not calling us up and trying to get on the show.

<< Is Rom *really* working undercover for the Federation?>>

Tune in and you'll see.

<< TV Guide quotes Chief O'Brien in "A Time to Stand" as calling the Dominion War "three months of bloody slaughter." Does this mean "A Time to Stand" takes place three months after "Call to Arms?">>

Yes.

<<If Bashier and crew WERE able to cure the Jem Hadar of their addiction, would that affect their devotion to the Founders or only their obediance to the Vorta? Or is devotion to the Founders so strong in both of Jem Hadar and the Vorta that curing the addiction wouldn't affect the Dominion all that much?>>

I don't think it would immediately cure them of their allegiance to the Founders, since there's a genetic predisposition on the part of the Jem'Hadar to worship and obey the Founders. But curing the White addiction would certainly change things in some degree.

<<Ron, just curious are you going to give each cast member at least one storyline to themselves like you did last year??? Just curious because you have a Bashir and Morn ep. and wondering if any other characters like O'Brien will get storylines also??????>>

Our intention is to give all the regulars meaningful storylines.

<<You had a JAG making a deal involving a *civilian*. That is a HUGE no-no. Like most of the other Star Trek excursions into the law, it was not that well done, and I basically tried my legal best to ignore it. >>

The UFP legal system does not emulate the US legal system in many respects and therefore this was permissible.

<<I noticed that Robert della Santina is the "line producer" for DS9. I was just wondering, what does this title mean? What does he do?>>

The Line Producer is responsible for the actual hands-on budgeting and scheduling of the show. He's the one who's working most directly with the various departments to produce the show, does the hiring and firing of the crew, arranges for special equipment, makes up the budgetary reports, etc. under the supervision of the Executive Producers.

Subj: Answers Date: 9/26/97 6:21:34 PM From:  RonDMoore

<<Was General Martok taken to the Jem Hadar Prison camp before, during, or after The Way of the Warrior...if it was before, how did the Changling that replaced him manage to bleed on the table by cutting his hand.>>

He was replaced by a Changeling before WOTW. It's been established that there are ways around the blood testing -- a Changeling can hold a bag of blood inside his body for just such an eventuality.

<<I was wondering if there was anything us fans could do to help make sure that there is a seventh( and maybe more) season?>>

The most important place to send letters is to your local affiliate asking them to buy the show for the seventh year.