Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron017.txt

Subj: Answers Date: 4/9/97 1:48:35 PM From:  RonDMoore

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Rick is a very capable and experienced producer and I doubt that he needs my help to produce this next picture. But in any case, my reasons for not writing the film were that I wasn't ready to plunge into a Trek feature right now and that would apply to producing as well as writing. And the truth is, once I got involved in the picture in any form, I'd want to be writing the script -- control, ego, artitistic vision, that sort of thing being the driving forces in a writer's life.

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Oh. Agent-submitted spec scripts are given a higher priority in our offices for the simple reason that they have already been read by someone (the agent) and therefore the chances that they are in the proper format, are in English, and are not written in crayon (don't laugh, it happens) are much better. However, the actual difference in turnaround time is not that great -- maybe another week or two for spec material without an agent -- so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

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What an interesting question. I'm not sure, but maybe I'll take a measurement sometime and find out.

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I just had Rene fired. I hope you're proud of yourself.

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I have no idea what you're talking about.

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Of course I miss them. Nothing would please me more than to find "the lost episodes" in a film canister somewhere. "T & T" was as close as modern technology allowed us to get to that sort of thing, but it's not unimaginable that someday we'll be able to create "new" TOS episodes through digital manipulation of the original images (which has some frightening implications, I'll grant you). But if that should happen, I'll be the first in line to "write/direct" one of them.

<< This may be a stupid question but Who are the Orion Syndicate there have been two        refrences to them most recently in "a simple investigation" but they have never been        explained so Who Are They>>

All we know is that the Syndicate is a criminal organization with ties to arms dealing and other nefarious activities. -- Subj: Answers Date: 4/9/97 2:11:58 PM From:  RonDMoore

<< I noticed that Star Trek: First Contact had very little in the way of a lead in. This was a little... different than we are used to... not that there's anything wrong with that! (Great movie... this isn't a slam!) When the opening credits ended... BOOM! It was off at full speed! But that lead in time is where some of the best character stuff happens. For instance the conversations and moments between Kirk/McCoy & Kirk/Spock before they knew Khan was back in ST:II. Kirk/Sarek in ST:III. Spock/Crew in ST:IV. Why no character lead in in First Contact?>>

It was a conscious decision to plunge into action immediately and set a different tone from the previous movies. The character lead-ins were nice and I always liked them, but we wanted FC to be a departure for the film series and we wanted to make that statement from the opening shot.

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They've all grown and evolved in many ways: I think Sisko is a different man now after his experiences with The Other Emissary and in Rapture, which have bonded him with Bajor. His son has moved out and he's grown accustomed to the idea that he may never get admiral's stars. Odo has found his people, discovered he hates them, fallen in love, and come to grips with his own culpability during the Occupation. Bashir has moved from a naive, obnoxious, skirt-chaser to a mature, respected skirt-chaser with a genetically enhanced intellect, has a strong friendship with O'Brien, and pretends to be a 1960s secret agent. Kira has grown from an obvious mistrust of (and borderline dislike of) Sisko, to someone who respects and accepts him as the station commander and the Emissary. Kira has also grappled with her residual hatred from the Occupation, tried to put much of it aside, and yet discovered that her terrorist roots are a part of her. She's loosened up and found that she can have fun on occasion without sacrificing her inner steel. Quark has lost his business, his brother, and his nephew, only to discover that his family and friends are still there for him when the chips are down. He's also discovered, to his horror, that he's developing a conscience. O'Brien has been put through the wringer time and time, and discovered an inner strength of purpose and character that I think surprises even him. He's also been willing to put his family first on more than one occasion and found that a career in Starfleet isn't as important to him as Keiko, Molly, and Kiryoshi. Of all the characters, Dax has changed the least, but that seems appropriate since she was also the oldest and the wisest of them, with seven lifetimes of experience behind her. Her perspective is larger, the changes in her life less earth-shattering than evolutionary.

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Our thinking was that it had been destroyed, but if we have a great idea, we might go there.

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No, we don't really work like that. Our first episode of the season usually sets a tone for the year, but it's not that formalized an approach. Ira's shirt was his own statement of personal choice ("No One Knows That I'm a Lesbian")

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I can't give you any clues, chiefly because our own thinking on this subject hasn't yet gelled. - Subj: Answers Date: 4/9/97 2:25:03 PM From:  RonDMoore

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I think the quality of work is routinely overlooked. What we usually get is a lot of media coverage of the Trek franchise as a whole, the business of marketing the "product," and the dedication of the fans. All that's fine as far as it goes -- all publicity is good publicity on a certain level -- but I think that the media often ignores some very good work on the part of the actors, the directors, the writers, and the entire production team in creating a really good TV show. DS9 is just "part of the franchise" and is seldom judged in the media on its own merits.

All of that is a drag, but on the other hand, we have you, the fans and no one else does. Babylon 5 and Star Wars have their own fan base, I know, but it takes nothing away from their acheivements to point out that the loyalty and longevity of the Trek fans is unique. The following that Trek enjoys, from conventions to fanzines to clubs to websites is unprecedented and in many ways it more than makes up for the lack of Emmys, Oscars, and mainstream press recognition. How many other TV writers have their work recognized and analyzed week after week? How many other TV writers have stood in front of crowds and been applauded? How many other TV writers have folders like this? We at Trek are LUCKY to be associated with something like this and whether or not the press wants to take note of us, YOU do and that's quite enough.

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I don't think so, but we never really specified what their origin was, so we could always come back and establish them as such.