Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron026.txt

Subj: Answers Date: 5/2/97 6:36:01 PM From:  RonDMoore

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We have been talking with New Line for several months about this project. It was a bit of a challenge to come up with an angle to turn the game into an interesting story, but I think we've got a pretty cool take and New Line is enthusiastic about our idea, so we're going to do it.

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I was a Government major at Cornell with thoughts of becoming a lawyer. At some point, I realized that I didn't want to be an attorney so much as be Perry Mason -- a critical distinction. I also got to know some of the law students on campus and quickly realized that I had no desire to turn myself into a hollow-eyed zombie as I struggled to master the intricacies of torts. I was in NROTC, on a full scholarship, but then lost the scholarship in my senior year due to a combination of falling grades and failed the physical when I severely reinjured my knee -- literally an old football injury rearing its ugly head once again. It was devastating and I suddenly had no direction or prospect for employment.

I hung around the fraternity house for several weeks drinking beer and watching late night TV until a former room-mate who'd already graduated came to visit. He was already in LA, struggling to become a writer and I hadn't seen him in almost a year. We had a great weekend rehashing old times and then the night before he was to fly back to LA, we found ourselves in Manos Diner at about 4:00 am eating fries and bo-burgers (if you're not from upstate NY you've probably been denied the glories of the bo-burger with its delicately fried egg spewing yolk into the cheese and ketchup of the otherwise pedestrian burger... but I digress) and we were discussing my (lack of a) future. He knew I was writer (in fact, our fraternity -- KA -- was a literary society) and that I'd always been jealous of his aspirations to work in film & TV, so he just kinda off-handedly said, "Well, why don't you come to California with me tomorrow and become a writer?" I thought about it as I munched my next fry... then said okay. I packed my bags and left the next afternoon for LA. And I've been here ever since.

There are days when I think back about the Naval Doctor who quite literally took out a big rubber stamp from his desk and pounded the words "Permanently Medically Disqualified" at the top of my service record -- if I could find him now, I'd kiss him.

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Jake is going to get a job by the end of this season. As for Sisko's past aspirations, we haven't discussed this in detail yet and it may just be something that comes up during the writing of a particular episode.

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We might bring back Grilka next year, but have no plans to do so at present.

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I mentioned this as a possibility only and at the moment, it doesn't look like we're going to do it.

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No, because the Roddenberry universe of no money and an abundance of everything is a baffling concept that tends to have gaping conceptual holes on closer examination. We prefer to just accept it and move on.

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Just fine. Didn't even feel it.

Subj: Answers Date: 5/2/97 6:57:51 PM From:  RonDMoore

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I'd like to see us go seven years and I'd say that's true of the whole writing staff. I don't know about the cast, but I think Paramount wants to see the show continue as long as they think it's feasible.

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A nudge and a wink. And they were actual figures that had been customized a bit. (Ira came up with this inspired bit.)

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The exact wording of a credit is something that's worked out between the actor and the studio and it depends on the fame/prestige/power of the actor, the size of the part and the billing of the other actors in the episode.

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There's no battle in "Soldiers of the Empire" because the story was over at that point. Adding a space battle would've just been gratuitous and I wanted to spend the time with the characters. I think the shot of the Bird of Prey roaring off into battle with the voices of the Bridge crew singing the Klingon anthem is much more stirring than anything that we could've done after that. For exciting space battle action, I suggest you tune into the season finale.

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To be honest, I haven't seen this one.

<< if... you're average joe who never wrote anything before, wrote a Star Trek Script, would Someone in the Trek camp ever see it to determine if it were a plausible script and/or idea for the show?>>

You can learn how to submit spec scripts to the show by calling (213) 956-8301.

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We've abandoned this idea.

<< I purchased the Star Trek: Klingon CD-ROM a few months ago and saw your name in the credits as "Creative Consultant." Did you play a major role in the game, what do you think about the interactive movie idea, and will you be working on any Star Trek CD-ROMs in the future?>>

I consulted with the creators of the game as they developed the project and tried to help them bring a real sense of the Klingons into what they were doing. I also suggested Hilary Bader to write the actual script and she deserves most of the credit for the game. It was a lot of fun, but it also showed me the limitations of this particular medium. I had a similar role in the Borg CD-ROM.

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Our current view of the Prime Directive is that it applies to pre-warp cultures only which was its original intent in TOS anyway.

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This (like so many things) does come up now and again in our discussions, but we don't have any plans to follow up on it yet.

Maybe more on the way....