Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron029.txt

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Subj:  Answers
Date:  5/6/97 5:45:11 PM
From:  RonDMoore       

<<Since the "physical" changes to the station you had in mind seem like
they're [not] going to happen, could you fill us in on what your were
thinking?>>

I didn't have anything specific in mind.  The season finale simply gives us
an opportunity to make changes if we feel like it, but at the moment, there's
nothing in the works.  It was just sort of a random thought that I posted --
one of dangers of reading this board is that occasionally the "notions" I
post here won't come to pass, so beware.

<<Would there be any consideration to keeping DS9 alive beyond season 7 with
a crew rotation?>>

I don't think so.  I think that at the most fundamental level, DS9 is the
story of Sisko the Emissary.  Absent Avery, I think the show would lose its
focus and its vitality.  

<<Where is Earth in relation to  Risa and Betazed?  Also, is there a starbase
common to all three of these planets?>>

I really don't know what the cartographic relationships are between these
planets.  It would make sense that Earth and Betazed have adjacent starbases,
but Risa is not in the Federation and would not have a base.

<< I heard that Robert Hewitt Wolfe makes a brief appearence as an extra in
the season finale since this is his last episode.  Is this true, and if so,
where in the episode is he and what is he portraying?>>

Robert can be seen as a science officer with a nasty wound being escorted to
an airlock just as Dax is coming out of the airlock to talk to Worf.

<< I just saw another of your fine Klingon tales ("Soldiers...") and noticed
the thing about it being the year of Kahless 999. Was this perhaps a subtle
set-up to explore Millennial themes in the context of Klingon culture next
season, it being the year of Kahless 1000>>

This was another random idea of mine.  I don't know if we'll do a Klingon
millennial story or not, but I wanted to throw it in this episode in case we
did want to follow it up later.

<<I'm curious what you think of Star Trek's action figure line, especially
with all the shenanigans that the manufacturer has pulled lately (very
limited editions, etc.). What is the feeling around the Trek offices about
this>>

We have only the slightest idea of what Paramount is doing in merchandising
and licensing around here.  Our impressions are that some of the
toys/games/figures/etc. are good and some are bad, but none of us are true
collectors or really have a sense of what the real collectors think about the
product.

<<I read somewhere that in the comet tail in the opening credits that there
is a spock face if you look close?  is this true?>>

No.  It's actually the face of my dog Binks who is the real inspiration for
us all.

<<If you had had more money to work with on Ficst Contact, what would you
change about the rushed begining and rushed ending of this movie.>>

The pace of the beginning is exactly what we wanted in the script.  Our aim
was open the film with a bang and race right into the tale.  If I had more
money, I would've pumped up the space battle sequence considerably and then
the battle on the hull.

<<Do the Borg belong to Voyager now?  IS there no chance of sseing them, and
restarting sisko's hate of them on DS9?>>

The Borg are basically the property of Voyager now.  That's okay, we have all
the other cool races.
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Subj:  Answers
Date:  5/6/97 6:07:59 PM
From:  RonDMoore       

<<It seemed to me that there was a thematic similarity between "Soldiers of
the Empire" and your TNG episode "Family."  Both concerned men recovering
from the trauma of captivity -- captivity which directly threatened their
identities and self images.  Was this coincidence or conscious choice?  If
purposeful, is there a discussable reason why this theme recurs in your
work?>>

To me, "Soldiers" is an ensemble piece exploring the inner workings of a
Klingon ship and showing them to be more than just a bunch of one-note
Vikings, while "Family" was a tightly focused character drama about Picard,
Worf, and Wesley and their respective families.  I never thought of them
having the thematic tie you're referring to, but on reflection the Martok and
Picard arcs are quite similar.  Very interesting.

<<Oh, and I assume they weren't singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."  Did those
Klingon lyrics mean anything, and if so is there an English translation?>>

There is an English translation that was written for the Klingon CD-ROM
(which is where the Klingon Anthem originated) but I don't have them.  Does
anyone of the House of Martok, instead of restoring the House of Mogh?>>

This seemed like a good next step for Worf.  His own House has been
shattered, his brother now belongs to another family and I wasn't interested
in Worf reclaiming his own House once again.  Joining Martok's family seemed
like a breath of fresh air that allows us to play more Klingon stuff with
Worf without going over old territory.  The House of Mogh is dead.  Long live
the House of Martok.  As a member of Martok's family Worf is now under his
protection and while this will no doubt annoy Gowron, it's perfectly "legal"
under Klingon law.

<<But there is a rumor going around the Buffy the Vampire Slayer  newsgroup
that you are the husband of Gail Berman, a producer of teh show.  Is this
true?  Are you Married, and is that too personal?  Are you aware of the Star
Trek connections in Buffy?  They refer to a god(?) named Kayless, and Armin
Shimmerman is going to be on the episode tommorow night.  There was something
else as well that escapes me at the moment.  Do you watch the show? >>

Now THAT'S a rumor I've never heard before!  I am married, but not to Gail.
 My wife's name is Ruby and she does not produce any TV shows that I'm aware
of.  The Trek/Buffy connection is something I may have to investigate.  I've
never seen it, but maybe it's time.

<<The Nexus in Generations. >>

Yikes.  Here's our reasoning as best I can recall:  Guinan, Soren, and the
other El-Aurians are in some kind of transitional phase going into the Nexus
when their ships begin exploding.  The Enterprise-B beams them away at a
crucial moment that brings their physical bodies back, but leaves behind some
kind of "echo" (at least for Guinan -- whether or not Soren also left behind
an "echo" was the subject of much debate and many rewrites, some including a
Soren doppleganger and some even including a meeting between the two Sorens
in the Nexus).  The momentary sensation of being in the Nexus leaves both
Guinan and Soren with an almost overpowering desire to return.  When Kirk is
pulled into the Nexus, there's no transporter beam to yank him away and
hence, he's completely left inside.  When Picard and Soren enter the Nexus
years later, they too are pulled in completely and the idea of an "echo"
should not apply since it was the direct result of a transporter fluke in a
very specific instance.

With an explanation this simple, it's amazing that Brannon and I seem to be
the only ones who understand the Nexus (and I'm not too sure about Brannon).
 *Apply the appropriate sound of sarcasm to this statement, please.*
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Subj:  Answers
Date:  5/6/97 6:25:10 PM
From:  RonDMoore       


<<What are the pros/cons of having current or former ST cast members direct
episodes? Do they bring a different feel to the show?>>

Usually the advantages are a familiarity with the cast, the crew and the
sets.  This gives them an ease and confidence with the show that sometimes
translates into a brisk and confident directorial style.  But that's about
the limit of the advantage.  There are no obvious disadvantages except that
actors don't always make good directors (and vice-versa) and each of them has
to be judged on the merits of his/her own directorial work.

<<Occasionally the show(s) has "famous" (ie, leading film or TV actors) as
guest stars (I am thinking of F. Langella, P. Savarino, W. Goldberg).  Did
they approach the show because they are fans? Is the intra-cast dynamic
different when actors of that stature appear?>>

I think they always bring a certain prestige to the set, but they are still
visitors and the regular cast sets the tone more than anyone else.  With the
exception of Whoopi, I think we've approached most of our "name" guest stars
first.

<<Was the sailing ship scene from Generations an 'homage to Patrick O'Brien
and his books (I recall you writing that you were an Aubrey/Maturin fan)?>>

To O'Brien and to C.S. Forester, who wrote the "Hornblower" books (which were
incidentally one of Gene's inspirations for the character of Kirk).

<<did the "locust" reference that Sisko made in "Rapture" refer to the
Dominion or the Borg?>>

I don't think it was the Borg.  As for the Dominion.... maybe, maybe not.
 (Aren't I evil?)

<<Would YOU consider creating another Trek Spin-off for TV? If so, would you
like it to be in the same time-line as TNG/DS9/Voyager or something perhaps
from the Kirk era, or do you just think enough is enough?>>

It could be a lot of fun, so sure, I'd do it.  But I think that the TNG time
frame has just about run its course.  I'd want a new series to be set either
pre-TOS or post TNG.  I also think that the next series (if there is one)
should be as big a departure from what's on now as TNG was from TOS and DS9
was from TNG.  Like a show set entirely on the Klingon Homeworld.

Hmmm.

<<Was Spock ( horrors! ) WRONG about Klingons not possessing tear-ducts?  Was
this a great big error in the continuity, or is it a deliberate effort to
divorce ST6 from the mythos? >>

Spock misspoke.  When ST6 was being written, they never checked with TNG
about things like Klingon tear ducts or the color of Klingon blood, so their
take on the bumpy-headed guys is a little different from what we were doing
on the series.  I think we'd made references to Klingon tears well before ST6
came out.

<<Before you mentioned something like, "The staff said goodbye to Robert
Hewit Wolfe." Does this mean that he left the show, or just went on vacation
earlier?>>

Robert has left the show.  He was burned out after 5 years and wanted to do
feature film work.  The team of Bradley Thompson and David Weddle have come
aboard as our newest staff writers for season 6.

<<Mr. Takei was talking about a series featuring him and the Excelsior.  He
said that the series should come out in 1999.  I realize that this could be a
wild rumor, but what are the chances of seeing an Excelsior series?  Is that
a show that you would be willing to take a part in? >>

This is a wild rumor to my knowledge.

<<Would negotiating another 3+ years be so hard?  Do the actors think they've
got a future in Trek films?>>

It's really more of a question of how many years Paramount and the affiliates
want the show to run in first-run syndication than a question of the actors
at this point.  Season 7 is still up in the air, much less 8 or 9.
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Subj:  Answers
Date:  5/6/97 6:29:38 PM
From:  RonDMoore       

<<Also, my Micro-Machines U.S.S. Pasteur (Uh, I'm a collector!  Yeah, that's
it!) has a registry number in the 50000's.  Is that the right number?  It
seems low.  We were lead to believe that it was a futuristic derivative of
the Daedalus Class, but its registry number indicates that it was created
quite some time prior even to TNG.  Huh?>>

I don't know anything about the registry numbers, but my impression is that
they're not necessarily chronological, so a lower number shouldn't
necessarily mean an earlier launch date.

<<Do you think we'll ever learn who Odo's mysterious Cardassian informant in
"Improbable
Cause" was?  Was it, by any chance, Thrax?  After all, he did say he'd
changed his
appearance since the last time Odo had seen him.>>

This was discussed by the staff and I don't know if we'll revisit this
character or not -- if we do, the Thrax angle is definitely a possibility.

<<Also, do you think we'll ever learn Gul Dukat's first name?>>

I thought it was Elmo.