Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron070.txt

Subj: Answers Date: 97-11-26 15:05:09 EST From: RonDMoore

Just wanted to pop in and say that I'm still among the living. Things are always hectic around here this time of the year and will only get worse as the Christmas holidays get closer, so please be patient.

News: Episode 14 is shooting right now, will be called "Far Beyond the Stars," was written by Ira and Hans and is being directed by Avery. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's unlike anything we've ever done before on any of the Trek series and that we're all VERY excited about it. No hints on this one.

Episode 15 is called "Honor Among Thieves" is being written by Rene and will be an O'Brien show.

I'm writing Episode 16 at this very moment (well, not at THIS very moment, of course, but by the time you read this, I'll be back writing, so in that moment that you're reading this I guess it will be this very moment... but I digress), will be a Worf and Dax show, and has no title yet.

Now a few questions:

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Last I heard, they don't even have a script yet, so the release date of the IMAX is a long ways away.

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I surf the other boards around here on occasion, usually to see what the reaction was to specific episodes after they air. The Defiant does not have a holodeck. The question of children for this couple will not be addressed for quite some time.

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We already have an open submission policy and a "fan" can win the "grand sweepstakes prize" by submitting a script that is so good that we decide to buy and produce it. (As a former sweepstakes winner, I can testify that it does happen, albeit rarely.) We think that's enough and I would oppose lowering our standards to the extent that we simply buy and produce a "fan" episode for the sake of publicity alone.

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He is not on the station and his whereabouts will be addressed in "Waltz".

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We did want to start laying in hints about Dukat's mental state early on and establish his suseptibility to cracking under the right kind of pressure. His attitude in "Sons..." was meant to set up his particular vulnerability to anything having to do with Ziyal.

Sub: Answers Date: 97-11-26 15:24:30 EST From: RonDMoore

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While we tend to work on everything as a staff, I'd say that the development of the Cardassians, the Bajorans and the Dominion are largely the work of Ira, at least since Michael stepped away from the show. The initial work on the Dominion was done mostly by Ira and Robert and we've pretty much built on their ideas ever since.

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It ain't easy -- and I have a few square glasses at home that give me trouble as well!

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Would that it were true...

<<how is it that Kira and Odo can spend all night in a closet in YACI hashing things out enough so that they are head to head and smiling at each other, comfortable, at the very least 'friendly', to the point where Kira even uncharacteristic roll-in-the-hay with a virtual stranger in "Resurrection"? Or were these two episodes shown out of order? If not, I, for one, am more than a little confused. It's hard to reconcile these two episodes in any rational way. Unless, of course, Kira was answering what she felt was Odo's "betrayal" with the Foundress with her own fling back in his face?>>
 * thanks* Dax for a "wonderful" party, to complete avoidance and her rather

My take on this is that the subjects of Odo and Mirror Bareil as they impact on Kira are two separate things. The closet conversation between Odo and Kira in "You are Cordially Invited..." presumably let them clear the air and deal with each other on a day to day basis without feeling intensely uncomfortable. I don't think it solved all their problems or that it wiped away what happened during the Dominion Occupation. I think they've agreed to disagree about what happened and why, and now they're trying to move forward. There may still be major trouble ahead for these two (no pun intended). Remember that Odo and Kira never even had a "date" and that while Odo has made his feelings for Kira clear, Kira has not voiced her feelings for HIM. With that in mind, it's hard to say that her affair with Mirror Bareil had any kind of "payback" in it for Odo's relationship with the Female Shapeshifter. While part of me wishes we had dealt with the Odo angle in "Resurrection" I also know that we all felt it was an enormous can of worms and that it would've quickly swamped the entire show if we had gone down that path. To me, Kira was drawn to Mirror Bareil for the same reasons that Sisko felt the tug toward Mirror Jennifer -- on an instinctual level, there's a feeling of deja vu with these Mirror characters that can sometimes translate into an emotional response. We spent a long time in "Resurrection" establishing the relationship between the two of them and showing you just how Kira would be drawn into it, and I don't see a contradiction between that show and anything else.

<< one more question, about Garak this time. What are the chances of seeing more of the back story about him and Mila (of "Improbable Causes")?>>

Not for a while, but the backstory with Mila is something we continue to talk about within the writing staff.

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You never know...

Sorry, but that's all for now. I'll be back as soon as I can. Everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!