Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron049.txt

Subj: Answers Date: 8/8/97 6:55:38 PM From:  RonDMoore

<<When the Defiant finds Kira [in "Darkness and the Light"]; Sisko and Odo beam down. They completely believe Kira's story... and not even Odo takes a second glance at the dead body. There is no followup investigation and no one looks around the place for the gadgetry the killer used!... On top of that there is absolutely no reprimand for her extremely disobedient actions. I mean, COME ON! Sisko got on Worf's case during the episode he was on trial, and I'd say what he did was far more understandable than Kira's little joyride!>>

Well, first and foremost, the show is OVER at that point. The audience knows that Kira is telling the truth so there's very little point in having the other characters question her veracity. Whether or not there was a Sisko/Kira confrontation after the rescue is something left up to the viewer. The analogy to "Rules of Engagement" is false because that entire show centered around Worf's actions and his reasoning, so the Sisko reprimand at the end was an organic part of the story. Any disciplinary action with Kira in "Darkness" was not really germane to the story.

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It was the premise of the entire show.

<< [In "First Contact"] Picard and Data "lay hands upon" the Phoenix rocket Picard takes Lily's hand after he convinces her to give him her phaser.... And lastly, and most obviously, Cochrane shakes the Vulcan's hand in greeting... My question is this: Were these visual cues written in by you and Brannon, or planned out by Jonathan Frakes in advance, or thrown in on the fly during filming? Or am reading more into this than I should?>>

Most of these cues were in the script, but I think you're reading too much into them. We weren't trying to convey anything and I hadn't realized there was so much hand-holding in the picture.

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He certainly could, but I doubt that he will.

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I don't have a problem with you expressing your opinion on this board. I think any fair reading of my postings in the last 23 folders shows that I'm willing to let you say just about anything you want on almost any topic. However, if you insist on saying like: "... they showed a person with no opinions and no voice of her own, who did a sex kitten lounge act while on duty, who did things that were completely out of character on a regular basis..." then yes, I am going to step in and tell you that I think it's hyperbole and exaggeration to say the least. The simple fact that I took the time to go back and look over the episodes in question should tell you that I at least considered your point of view and looked for supporting evidence. The fact that I didn't find much and said so is not a way of "dimissing" your opinion, it is merely presenting my side of the argument.

I listen to all the comments in this folder, I generally take them seriously, and I do try to remain open to differing points of view. However, I'm here to *discuss* the show, not open it up for a vote. This is a conversation between an artist and (part of) his audience. Your opinions are respected and appreciated, but in the end, I (and the rest of the writing staff) have to do what we think is in the best interest of the show and the characters.

With apologies to Edmund Burke:  an artist owes you, not only his industry, but his judgment; and he betrays you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.

Subj: Answers Date: 8/8/97 7:24:25 PM From:  RonDMoore

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I don't think we've named her or identified her race. And I believe we've switched actresses a couple of times over the years.

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Not that I know of.

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There are no plans to kill a main character at this time. The semi-regulars are always possibilities for execution. (Well, not all of them... but I'd rather let you worry... dramatic suspense and all that...)

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That and a whole lot more.

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Her take (and ours) was that maybe, just maybe, there was a twinge of jealousy somewhere deep inside Kira, but that was as far as it went at that time.

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We didn't nail it down in dialog in the actual show. In my mind, Julian was of Sudanese (like Sid), Indian, or Pakistani extraction, but that the family's roots were probably in England, hence the accents. And yes, Bashir's father is Baboo.

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Yes, we have some plans for a follow-up episode dealing with Julian's gentically-enhanced background.

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I'm doing okay. Wait a minute... how much *does* Brannon make anyway...? Better call my agent....

<< I would like to know how it feels to be so successful in your career of choice? Did you enjoy working on TNG and now DS9?>>

I'm a very happy camper. I have the distinct pleasure of doing exactly what I want to do and get paid for it. It's a joy. I thoroughly enjoyed my tenure on TNG and think of it as a special time in my life, but I'm frankly having more fun doing better work on DS9. So my experiences at Trek have only gotten better over time.

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I'd rather not characterize the personal relationships among the actors. It's a different cast than TNG, and the dynamics are different, but there's still a sense of family and some close relationships that will outlast the series (especially Nana & Sid).

Subj: Answers Date: 8/8/97 7:43:30 PM From:  RonDMoore

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This may be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read on this board. There is not the slightest bit of evidence in "Body Parts" to back up this claim. Kira says nothing that indicates she was not involved in the decision and yes, we are relying on the audience's ability to fill in the blanks to get the idea that there was a moment off-camera where she and Bashir discussed the situation and Kira made the decision to have the baby transferred to her own womb. But that is such a reasonable assumption that I find it hard to believe that anyone would honestly make this kind of mistake. Kira doesn't seem conflicted at all or acting like someone who's had a decision taken away from her, she seems like the normal, strong woman who naturally did the heroic thing in a crisis.

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I'd rather not for now. The "war stories" are unique in the Trek franchise so far and I'd like to preserve a little secrecy about them for the time being.

<<In 1812 the French were approaching Moskow and Field Marshal Kutuzov had to decide whether to defend the Mother of All Russian Cities or fall back, gather forces and have a realistic shot at taking out the French once and for all. They decided to let the city fall, and when Napoleon marched in the city was burning. It's one of history's great Pyrric Victories, for soon thereafter, the French were stumbling back home in defeat. This is vividly depicted in WAR and PEACE, which I'm sure any serious writer has read. My question is: were you aware of this parallel while doing CALL TO ARMS?>>

This was an example brought up during the story discussions, along with many other historical events like the fall of the Phillipines in WWII, the evacuation of Dunkirk, etc.

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You're right and we'd talked about playing the fact that Ziyal is going about this the wrong way, but we ran out of time before the end of season 5.