Subj: Answers Date: 4/4/97 2:08:34 PM From: RonDMoore <<will Voyager's disappearance *ever* be acknowledged on DS9? A new Federation starship vanishes in DS9's backyard and it doesn't raise any flags on the station?>> I hate to say it, but Voyager is only one of many starships that have disappeared for one reason or another in the past few years in the Trek universe. However, we might find a throwaway line at some point just to tie the continuity a little tighter. <<Well, a few days earlier, someone asked if the Enterprise-E might be making a stop at the station, and you said no. Is there anything, however, keeping another Sovereign-class ship from visiting? (i.e. "It's at Skywalker Ranch and we lost the keys to our truck.")>> The Sovereign-class will probably not be seen on DS9, because for now it's the exclusive domain of the feature films and thus would rob them of something if we showed it on TV. <<DS9 was formerly Terok Nor. An upcoming episode about another Cardassian station is "Empok Nor." And in "The Maquis," the Cardassian freighter Bok'Nor was destroyed. So: what does the Cardie word "Nor" mean?>> "Thingamajig"? <<Which brings up another language question: how come, when the odd Klingon word or phrase is thrown into an episode, the listeners hear Klingon, instead of universally-translated English (prompting them to ask, "What does that word mean?")?>> You hear Klingon? I think there's something wrong with your reception. <<Ron says, >>I think next season we could see some large changes in the physical station itself.<< Does this mean you've got some preliminary plans for the start of next season? Anything beyond the season premiere which, if tradition holds, will be linked to this season's finale?>> We do have some ideas about next season and I'll leave it at that for now. <<And, keeping in mind that the finale is fast approaching... what kind of summer schedule will you be keeping, Ron? Will questions to this folder have to sit and wait until fall?>> My "summer" vacation will actually be the last two weeks of May and the first week of June, so mark that on your calenders as the period during which anarchy will flourish in this folder. <<Have you checked out the Top 10 folder? And if you have what do you think of it?>> No, I haven't looked in on this one -- and I may not, since I have to pick and choose what I read and don't read on the boards. <<Any chance on seeing more baseball on DS9?>> A baseball card is featured in (you could've guessed it) "In the Cards". <<What exactly does [the line producer] do? This position (which is sometimes also a credit as well as a job description) is charged with handling the day to day physical production of the show. The Line Producer deals directly with the department heads, the actual budgeting and allocation of funds, the scheduling, the hiring & firing of the crew, the coordination of materials and fabrication, etc. Under the Line Producer is the Unit Production Manager who in turn is even more into the nitty-gritty of the hands-on production. A good Line Producer and UPM are absolutely essential to the smooth operation of a show. ----------------------- Subj: Answers Date: 4/4/97 2:18:16 PM From: RonDMoore << I have to say that I find DS9's "status" as a sort of middle child to be maddening. Media focus and hype seems to shift back and forth between Voyager and the feature films, with DS9 often getting left out....Why is this? Does Voyager's status as the flagship of UPN make it a favorite child of some sort? Doesn't anyone who makes these kinds of decisions see the advantages to having the currently best-produced Trek around as the centerpiece of the franchise? I personally think it would do a hell of a lot for the welfare of all of Star Trek to have a strong emphasis placed on DS9. Any thoughts, or plans to change this in the future?>> You have hit on one of our pet peeves about the perception of the series. We ARE regarded as the middle child and not just by the studio, but by the public at large. I think that for the studio, Voyager is certainly higher profile because it's the flagship (no pun intended) of UPN and thus has more riding on its success or failure than does DS9. Outside these walls, I think that people will always associate "Star Trek" with a ship, a bridge and a cast of characters "boldly going" somewhere. That's the legacy and there's very little we can do about it. DS9 will probably always be "that other show" or "oh yeah, the one about the station that doesn't go anywhere." It's frustrating, but we comfort ourselves with the idea that perhaps people will "discover" the show after it's been off the air much as TOS was "discovered" after its run on NBC. Or at least that's what we like to think. In any case, we've learned to accept our status as "the other show" and we love the series whether anyone's watching or not. <<I noticed Cirroc was on the WB show "Smart Guy". Was that just a one shot deal or does he become a regular character? How does his new show affect his DS9 shooting schedule?>> I don't think Cirroc has any plans to be a regular on another show, but his DS9 schedule is flexible enough to allow him to do other projects. <<Did you expect this kind of backlash about Dax?>> No, and I don't think it's even remotely justified. ----------------- Subj: Answers Date: 4/4/97 8:08:21 PM From: RonDMoore << I read on the Psi Phi web site about the first 8 or 9 episodes of season 6. I honestly don't believe the spoilers but could you confirm if this is true? Also is "Empok Nor" the Garak/O'Brien show?>> I haven't gone to that web site, but I can tell you that we don't even know what the FIRST episode of season 6 is yet, so the info you're seeing is completely untrue. "Empok Nor" is the Garak/O'Brien/Nog show I've mentioned before. <<Do you find that television is more "the writers domain" than feature film writing? ie, Do you think that television is the best place for writers to maintain some amount of creative control over their works as opposed to being subsumed by the "auteur" theory so prominent in feature films?>> TV is definitely the medium of the "writer/producer". The vast majority of shows are run by the writer/producers who control the creative direction of the series, while the directors typically come and go, thus having less influence over the series as a whole (there are, of course, exceptions to everything -- for example, many sitcoms employ only one director throughout the season, who would then have a much larger role than in an hour episodic drama like Trek). In feature film land, the director is usually king and the writers are the ones who come and go. (Don't even get me started on the "A Film by..." credit -- like most writers, it sends me into apopletic fits.) <<As a television writer, do you find yourself running up against any sort of a "caste system" wherein television writers are held in lower esteem than their feature writing brethren (I figure since you've done both, you might have a unique perspective on this issue) and thus face a greater challenge in selling their feature film scripts (be it spec scripts or landing assignments)?>> This isn't quite so prevalent as it used to be, but there are still some offices where the words "TV Writer" produce a sneer. However, I've found that the crossover between the two mediums is so commonplace now (in both directions) that people generally aren't so idiotic about the distinction anymore. On the other hand, I've found that the writers themselves often perpetuate this perception of a "caste" system and more than one feature writer has "pitied" me for working in TV, and a few too many UNEMPLOYED writers have sniffed and said, "I'd never do that, I want to work in FILM." Sometimes we writers are our own worst enemies... <<Do you have any plans for non-Trek feature films and, if so, do you feel that you will have the opportunity to either Produce and/or Direct? Are either of those positions of interest to you as future roles or are you more focused on strictly scriptwriting?>> I do have plans for non-Trek feature and TV work (but nothing definitive at the moment). I want to write and produce and at some point I want to direct -- BUT, I feel that directing is something that must be studied and worked at, not something I can just jump into because "hey, I've BEEN on a set, I can do THAT!" Directing is an art, just like writing, and I feel like I'm still learning my own art, so I don't feel ready to start screaming for my own jodhpurs and riding crop just yet. ------------------- Subj: Answers Date: 4/4/97 8:15:08 PM From: RonDMoore <<And lastly, do you feel your work on Trek has created the opportunity for you to helm a series of your own? Have any networks approached you seeking pilot ideas or pitched you with their own projects? And would you be interested in helming a new series or are you seeking to expand your work in features?>> I do feel that my time in Trek has opened doors for me and I hope that I'll get the chance to write and produce my own series -- being the "show runner" is the Holy Grail of TV writing. At the moment, I don't have anything lined up, but I've got a few ideas and I'll be out there pitching them along with everyone else one day. I like TV. I like writing with a staff and I like the action and the variety of the work. Besides the 6 to 7 scripts of my own I write every year, I also get a chance to work, in varying degrees, on the other 19 shows. I like the process and the satisfaction of watching it get filmed, edited together, and put on the air. But I also like the scale and majesty available in film. Some stories are best told in one great shot, and you can do that best in the movies. If I had my druthers, I'd like to continue to do both.
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