Starfleet Logsitics:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron085.txt

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Subj:  Answers
Date:  02/05/98 02:03:17 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:  RonDMoore       

<<Now that there will be a seventh season, is it definitely the last?>>

While I suppose anything is possible, I'm virtually certain year seven will
be the last.

<<What ever happended to the Romulan woman who was imprisioned by the 
Dominion along with Bashir and Garak?  If Changlings were sent back to DS9 
to impersonate Bashir & Garak, did the Dominion send Changlings back to
'Romulus'?>>

Presumably, the Romulan woman was returned home.  We never made a decision 
as to whether there was a Romulan Changeling loose back on Romulus or not.

<<As I recall, in the first season of Voyager they encountered a small 
Romulan scout vessel with a single pilot.  It was able to make it back 
through the wormhole, but Voyager's crew expected no help from that area. 
(Not being a videotaper, I rely on my memory which may be flawed here.)  
What ever happened to that ship?  And have any Romulan interests in that 
regard been overcome by the recent "Message 
in a Bottle" episode--or instead revived?>>

I'm not sure what happened to this ship, but I do know we have no plans to
pick up that plot thread, nor anything from "Message" on DS9.

<<I'd like to hear your thinking... about whether or not the media, TV, 
movies should be held responsible for the current state of our society?>>

I've never bought the notion that the "media" is responsible for society's
woes.  I believe there's a complex interrelationship between the culture and
the media that is more symbiotic than parasitic.  Film and television seek 
out popular trends in the culture and seek to capitalize on them while at 
the same time striving to create original works that will stimulate interest
by the public.  The medium and the culture are tightly interwoven and I find
it absurd on its face to assert that "Hollywood" is somehow responsible for
something like the teen pregnancy rate, or violence, or sexism, or anything
else.  People don't have to consume the media's product and there are 
hundreds of failed Hollywood productions that will testify to that.  People 
only consume that which they want or which interests them on some level.  
They have plenty of choices and if they choose "The Jerry Springer Show" 
over "Masterpiece Theatre" or "Spice World" over "The Apostle", that's their
decision.

<<the elderly in this country have both time and money to see films, but
Hollywood ignores this audience segment with a single-mindedness that is
awesome.  Why?  
Is it possible that no one can find issues that would be challenging enough
to engage an audience that has seen everything from the Wright Bros. to the 
Moon (not "Moom"--sorry about that) landings?>>

My impression is that the majority of ticket buyers are young adults and
teenagers, and that's who the studios market their films toward.  Not all
films skew this way, though.  For instance, "The First Wives Club" did very
respectable business with a somewhat older audience.  But as a rule, younger
audiences will go to a hit over 
and over again and that's the dynamic that a film studio wants to see.  

<<How much input after the script is written to the actors have into 
changing lines or saying that this is not what my character would say or 
do?>>

The actors are always free to discuss their lines and scenes with the
writer/producers and this happens all the time.

<<Also, in one of your answers you said that Miles would get a promotion to
Senior Chief Petty Officer, isn't he that already or not?>>

I think we've established him as simply "Chief Petty Officer."

<<Was there anything you left out of Worf and Daxs wedding because 
of time or budget?>>

No.  The ceremony was filmed largely as written.

Subj:  Answers
Date:  02/05/98 02:33:26 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:  RonDMoore       

<<it seems like at the end of every episode, all the people on ds9 are all
friends 
and every diusagreement is solved in an hour, are you planning on haveing
anymore real character conflicts between the main characters like you used
to?>>

We introduce conflict between the main characters when we feel that it's
appropriate.  Some conflicts should be wrapped up by the end of the episode,
others should not.  We'll see more of both as the series heads into its 
final year.

<<Since next season will (sob!) be the last,  are you thinking about 
totally  eliminating the Dominion as a threat in the Alpha Quadrant?>>

We'll see.

<>

We played around with several ideas, but our internal reasoning in the end
was that Picard's brain had somehow been altered by the Borg to the point 
where it was still capable of acting as an "antenna" that could pick up some
of the thoughts and messages from within the Collective.

<>

We've discussed seeing Dukat's children and wife, but at the moment we have
no plans to do so.

<<Since you have come to the decision that the seventh season would the last
for DS9, have you given much thought to future Trek projects?>>

I haven't and I'm not aware of anyone who is thinking of new Trek projects
at the moment.

<<Do you ever regret some of the plot arcs that were introduced at this 
point? Are there things you would have done differently if you had 
approached it then as you do now, with paramount concern to story integrity
and a damn-the-ratings flair (that Ira admitted to)?  What about Dukat?  Is 
there anything you would have chosen to do differently about him then so 
that your decisions about his direction now would flow more smoothly?>>

I think the Klingon war arc could've been handled a little more smoothly in
retrospect.  It might've been nice to have the Feds fighting the Klingons 
when war with the Dominion broke out, forcing them to join forces against 
the Founders.  I don't have any regrets about Dukat.

<<Any plans to revisit Kahless the Kloned Emporer?  >>

Not yet, and we haven't had many discussions about him in a while.

<<Any plans on seeing Drex (Martok's son that Worf disgraced) anytime 
soon?>>

Not yet.

<< Is there any other episodes in the works that you feel you can anounce?>>

After "In the Pale Moonlight" will come a Kira/Odo show called, "His Way"
and then  a Sisko show dealing with some weighty Bajoran matters.

<<What are your views of the death penalty?  Do you think Starfleet places a
premium on human life?>>

I personally have deeply conflicting views of the death penalty.  While I 
have trouble approving of the state-sanctioned execution of criminals, I 
also find myself able to justify state-sanctioned war, which often involves
killing people whose only crime was being born in the wrong place at the 
wrong time.  Viscerally, I think we should eliminate the death penalty just 
as all other western democracies have. On the other hand, I find it hard to 
fight for Jeffrey Dahmer's right to live.  Of course, the fact that Dahmer 
and Charles Manson got life sentences and Karla Tucker got a lethal 
injection speak to a fundamental inequality in the way the death penalty is
applied.  On the other hand..... well, like I said, I'm conflicted.

I don't think Starfleet has a death penalty.  (The Talos IV prohibition
probably isn't around anymore either.)

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