Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron046.txt

Subj: Answers Date: 8/4/97 2:01:19 PM From:  RonDMoore

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I started TNG as a staff writer on a week to week contract and spent the first three months of my tenure wondering if I should show up on the following Monday. On my first day, Michael told me bluntly, "We're going to give you a try, but if it doesn't work out, don't be too disappointed." With that in mind, every Friday I would wait to hear some kind of confirmation of my continued employment on the starship Enterprise, but of course no one would say a word. I'd just assume that I should continue showing up, and every Monday morning I'd make the walk through the first floor of the Hart Building, dreading that I'd hear some secretary say, "Ron? What are you doing here?  Didn't you hear?  Oh, my..."

I was finally given a real contract as a Story Editor and so my weekly employment questions were solved, but for my first four to five years on staff I was firmly convinced that every time I turned in a script, it could/would be my last. So the "security" of staff work eluded me for quite some time even though I was steadily building confidence as a writer with each passing script. At this point in my career, I would say that I feel secure enough in my work to take more chances than I did before, but that's less a factor of being on staff than it is a measure of of my experience level.

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If you mean "Mirror Universe" shows, we have one episode in development right now. If you mean crossover characters from Voyager to DS9 or vice versa, we have no plans.

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We'll continue to do a mix of station-bound and off the station episodes this year. However, you can certainly look forward to several storylines at the beginning of the season centering around the characters who fled to the Defiant at the end of last year.

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The Bird of Prey continues to be used primarily for budgetary reasons. Creating a new Klingon vessel means spending money not only for the model itself but also means that we can't use any "library" shots to help fill out the exterior action sequences. Quite often, our VFX guys recomposite existing shots to provide a little extra bang for the buck during a space battle or even just for "fly-by" sequences. A new model means having to create all those shots from scratch. Then there's the cost of designing and building new interior sets to go along with the new exteriors. Since the Bird of Prey is still one of the best ship designs in all of Trek, there's not too much incentive to build another vessel (and we still have the larger Vor'Cha-class battlecruiser anyway).

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Remember that cloning wouldn't bring back K'Ehleyr's personality or her specific memories and so it wouldn't really *be* K'Ehleyr. Even the Kahless clone had to have his memories "downloaded" by the clerics and did not actually have the unique personal experience of the orginal. But putting all that aside, we still have no plans to reprise the character.

Subj: Answers Date: 8/4/97 2:19:03 PM From:  RonDMoore

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My preference would be not to switch any of the main characters over to the TNG films. Cameo shots like the Holo-Doc in "First Contact" are fun, but I wouldn't want to see him as regular part of the TNG cast. I think the series should remain more or less separate entities and not do too much mixing and matching. Worf is the exception because he is truly part of two different shows.

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This was not the intention. We saw her as a literal person.

<<I remember the Starlog special that detailed this story... This young man had written a spec script that brought Khan and Picard face to face (revealed at the end to actually be a computer simulation), and won an intership at Paramount, where he worked on "Brooklyn Bridge," then TNG, and then became one of the first interns for DS9, before the show had even hit the air. As I remember, the only staffer he showed his spec to was Jeri Taylor, which would explain why Ron has no recollection. I also remember that this intern was a black college student from Long Island... does any of this ring any bells, Ron?>>

I remember the intern in question (however his name eludes me at the moment). It's possible that his spec involved Khan and that Jeri liked it, but I'm fairly certain that the idea went no further and that Montalban was not contacted at that time.

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We haven't assumed that either. The cloak on the Defiant was obtained from and installed by the Romulans, and wasn't a piece of standard Federation equipment (unlike the anti-temporal lock brakes or the power windows), so the other Defiant-class ships probably don't have cloaks.

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There is nothing in "Body Parts" that suggests or hints that the decision for Kira to carry the baby was made over her objections or that she even hesitated. The implication is clearly that Kira made the decision of her own free will, even if there's no dialog that specifically says it.

<< I still think that the worst thing you folks did to her character was to have her move in with the O'Briens. She looked terrible, they looked terrible. She was so incredibly passive it made me sick. >>

Well, this is flat-out baffling. The surrogate mother moves in with the natural parents because they can help her through her first pregnancy and so the natural mother can be closer to the baby that was quite literally ripped from her womb. I don't see anything "terrible" about that, nor do I see anything passive. Kira was asked to move in and she agreed. She had a choice and she made it, there's nothing passive about that.

Subj: Answers Date: 8/4/97 2:33:48 PM From:  RonDMoore

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Well, now you're just taking pot shots. We never even implied that Worf was her replacement and it's fairly clear that *all* the regular characters got less screen time for a while as we made the integration of Worf into the life of the station. As far as Kira being "humiliated" that's just so much bunk. Yes, Kira was embarrassed, so what? She's a big girl she can handle a little embarrassment now and again, just like all the other characters who have all had scenes where we've played humor at their expense (just think of how many jokes have been made at *Worf's* expense over the years!)

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I think is it fairly clear just from reading the postings on this board that there is no unanimity of opinion on this subject, and I see no reason to believe that yours is the more correct take.

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There was literally nothing more important for Kira to do in this scenario than keep Sisko alive. Worf was second in command and was in charge of repairing the Defiant and Kira's task was to stay with Sisko. I doubt that you would've found it more satisfying if Kira had been repairing plasma conduits under Worf's direction. And yes, we made a choice to make Worf the Defiant XO over Kira, but it seemed that he would be better used in that position than Kira since commanding a starship is not really what her position was supposed to entail, being first and foremost the Bajoran liason officer on the station. Kira is still the First Officer of the station, which is a bigger and more prestigious position than anything having to do with the Defiant. -- Subj: Answers Date: 8/4/97 2:59:01 PM From:  RonDMoore

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Very simply -- I maintain that she never lost it. The writing staff never saw Kira as being a wimp or a "sex kitten" in the fourth season, so we weren't trying to "salvage" her in the fifth. Kira dropped from view in the later half of year four and the first half of year five because of Nana's pregnancy, not from any nefarious agenda of ours. The only concession I'll make to this argument is that I went out of my way to be sure that Kira was presented as a strong and capable character in "The Darkness and the Light" because I saw some complaining about the way she'd been portrayed up until then. But I didn't have to change my thinking about her or re-invent the character, I just wrote her the way I had seen her all along -- as a very strong woman with complex and sometimes contradictory impulses.

If you saw her as "soft" during season four, why can't you see it as a rounding out of her character -- an opportunity to show a different (and positive) aspect of Kira rather than an assassination? Writing Kira the same way every show and in every situation is boring and ultimately a disservice to the character. Indeed, one of the stongest criticisms that is made about Worf is that we've played the same note with him a little too often over the years. There's no reason that we shouldn't be allowed to show the sexuality, the vulnerability, and yes, even the "weak" moments in a character like Major Kira. We do the same thing with all the characters -- tell me that we haven't show O'Brien looking silly now and again, or that Bashir's sexuality hasn't been played up or that Sisko hasn't come dangerously close to dereliction of duty for a woman he was involved with ("For the Cause"). The point is that a character has to have several different aspects to their personality and we shouldn't be penalized for trying different angles from time to time as long as the central thrust of the character remains the same (which is exactly what I've contended all along).

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While possible, it's not something we're considering.

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A whole bunch.

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Probably not.

<<My question is, in terms of specifics (Tribbles, the original three Klingons, dialog references, etc.) and generalities (see above) how much of this was planned and how much grows out of a natural affection for the [original] series?>>

Most of the TOS references are signs of the writers' affection for the old show. There are a few plot points that had to be tied to the original Trek, but the vast majority are signs of our own respect of and love for the first starship Enterprise.

<<If DS9 could continue with a 7th season but without some of the main cast still in it, would you introduce new characters? Or would you "promote" some of the recurring guest stars? Or would you just settle for a smaller main cast?>>

These are all options, but we've made no decision at this time.

<<Okay, you listen to music. So my next question is pretty simple. What music do you listen to? I asked these questions because, a writer myself, I sometimes find it helps during the creative process. Especially when the music you're listening to works along with what you're writing.>>

I don't try to do too much matching of music to the content of the script, (i.e. battle music for action scripts, soft music for romances, etc.) I tend to play classical music or movie soundtracks, primarily because I find lyrics to be distracting while I'm writing and prefer just to let the music play in the background rather than give it any real attention.

Subj: Answers Date: 8/4/97 3:25:24 PM From:  RonDMoore

<<Something that was never answered in the episode, "Dr Bashir, I Presume". Are they going to continue to use Bashir as the template for the LMH??>>

O'Brien told Bashir that Dr. Zimmerman was going to be sending a report to Starfleet Medical saying that Bashir was unsuitable for modeling because of suspicions regarding his genetically enhanced background. Presumably, that opinion was only reinforced when the suspicions turned out to be true and so Bashir will not be the model for the LMH.

<<as long as we're discussing Kira, what about any Kira eps? Any planned, Ron?>>

Kira has strong roles and storylines in several of the early episodes of next season.

<<Will we get to see any Kira and Dax interaction this season? Maybe even an entire episode that resolves primarily around the two of them?>>

This is certainly possible, but we're still working on getting everyone back on the station for now.

<<You stated that during season six, the exterior of the station may change. I know that this will not happen now, but what did you have in mind?>>

I had nothing specifically in mind for the exterior or the interior, I just thought that having the Dominion occupy DS9 for a time gave us an opportunity to make changes and that we should take advantage of it. As it worked out, we had many other issues to deal with during hiatus and had to scramble to find money just to do the necessary stories we wanted to tell, so the subject of station modifications was quietly shelved.

<<I don't know when development for Voyager began, but can we really say that [the Maquis] were *created* with Voyager in mind? Since they'd already been established on the show(s) for almost a year?>>

The Maquis were definitely created for Voyager. When I was working on "Journey's End", Michael told me quite explicitly about their plans for the role of the Maquis on Voyager and that he wanted "Journey" to show the roots of the Maquis even though they would later be named on DS9.

<<What happened to Mr. Crocker [former DS9 writer/producer] anyway? What is he working on now?>>

I think Jim was freelancing for a time on "Outer Limits" and some other shows, and I believe he's now on staff somewhere, but I'm not sure where.

<<I just saw the DS9 episodes (On Videotape) "In Purgatory Shadow" and "By Infernos Light" and I have a question: How did Worf, Bashir, Garak, etc. get transported since they didn't had their communicators with them, so the runabout could get a lock on them?>>

I think the transporter had been ordered to beam aboard all Klingon, Human, Romulan, and Cardassian lifeforms from certain areas of the prison.

<<Ron, have you seen or been influenced by ["I, Claudius"] at all? >>

I have the series on videotape and think it's wonderful. I absolutely love the character of Livia (Augustus Caesar's wife) and the actress who plays her and I definitely see her as a great example of how to play a manipulative and cunning character. But the entire series is a remarkable piece of television and I highly recommend it.

<< I read somewhere that the phased cloaking device basically did to the enterprise what the transporters did to Ro and Geordi when they were knocked "out of phase" and no one could see them(forget the name of the ep). Is this true? Also, if it is, would ships that are phase-cloaked be prevented from flying through other ships because the crew on the cloaked ship would find their feet not going through floors and their butts not going through chairs?>>

The phasing cloak was supposed to be based on the same technology in both "The Next Phase" and "The Pegasus". I think the notion was that if you were "phased" on a ship that had been also "phased" that the matter of your vessel would seem solid *to you* but would pass through other "unphased" matter.

<< did you know Tracey [Torme], Ron, or was he gone by the time you got there?>>

He was gone by the time I came aboard, but I have met him once or twice.