From: <IQuark2@aol.com>
To: <xfiles@mindspring.com>
Subject: RMA From Earlier
Date: Monday, September 14, 1998 8:40 PM

Subject: Answers
Date: Mon, Sep 14, 1998 14:48 EDT
From: <A HREF="aol://3548:RonDMoore">RonDMoore</A>

<<Just wanted to let you know that there is a strong rumor going around that
Star Wars will be delayed six months (there was also an article in a British
newspaper...). If it does come out on time (or looks like it will), do you
think you might include a little "homage" to it?>>

I doubt it.

<<I watched a repeat last night (didn't catch the title--the Defiant rushes to
save a stranded Captain who is already dead).  Regarding Cassidy Yates: was
the reference to the convoy ("PQ-1") an homage to the WWII North Atlantic
convoys?  If so, is a battle like that for PQ-17 in the offing?>>

It was an homage to the North Atlantic convoys, but we don't have a massive
convoy battle story in the works.

<<Mr. Moore I noticed that Les Landau is
directing the episode "Shadows and Sym-
bols", and I was wondering why he was
chosen to direct that episode. I think Landau
is an excellent director, but he seems to excel
in personal, quieter episodes like "Family."
Since you mentioned there were going to be
a great battle scene in "Shadows and Symbols",
I figure it to be an action episode. IMO Landau's
action episodes come off looking flat to me, and 
I was wondering why someone such as Kim
Freidman, Michael Vejar or David Livingston wasn't
chosen to direct the episode. Do you and other 
members of the staff take this into consideration
when you give assignments to directors, or do
you just grab who's available ? >>

We do try to match directors and stories, but sometimes we're constrained by
their schedules and availability.  Also, we sometimes change the order of
stories after we've already assigned a director to a slot and so the matching
of director and story goes out the window.  Les, however, has done many
different types of episodes for us and we felt that he was well suited to do
this show.


<<Speaking of David Livingston I always believed he
was the best director in terms of visuals and angles.
I have been disappointed that since season 5 he
rarely does DS9 episodes even though he told Sci
Fi Universe DS9 was his favorite Trek show to work
on. Why is it that VOY has had more opportunities
to benefit from Mr. Livingston's services than DS9
over the last couple of years ? Who makes those
decisions ?>>

Again, it becomes a story of availability, producing preferences, and
schedule.  The final choice on directors is made by Rick, Ira and Steve Oster.

<<Lastly if you don't feel you'll be slighting anyone by
giving this answer can you tell me who do you feel
has been the best director on Trek since your time
on TNG and DS9 ? If you wrote what you considered
to be your all-time best Trek script tomorrow, who 
would you want to direct it ? >>

Although I've had good experiences with many directors, I'm a big fan of Mike
Vejar's work.

<<Mr. Moore I hope you included Morn in the "Take
Me Out to the Holosuite" episode. I think with his
big build it appears that Morn could be the power
hitter for the DS9 crew. I bet he can hit the balls
farther than McGwire. Also, will Kasidy Yates be in the episode ? Afterall
she knows more about baseball than most people.>>

Morn is not on the team, but Kasidy is.

<<Do you read and post at home - or the office?>>

I do this at the office.  It's work-related and I try not to work at home
unless I absolutely have to.

<<If at the office can you claim your account activities on an expense
report??>>

Uh.... no.

<<If at home can you claim the expense on your taxes?>>

Are you with the Office of Independent Counsel or something?

<<In either case - how do you find time to read all the posts/questions?>>

As regular readers of this board have noticed, my participation varies with my
work schedule.  When I've got time, I come here and when I don't, I don't.  

<<Given Captain Sisko's love of baseball, will there be any mention of or
allusion to Mark McGuire's feat in any DS9 episode this year?>>

I don't think so -- especially since Sosa might end up with the record!

<<I understand from a previous answer that you will be hard pressed to resolve
any story lines or issues from TOS or TNG.  However, are there any unresolved
issues or mysteries that have intrigued you from either of the predecessors?
If so, which ones?>>

There's really nothing that springs to mind.

<<Would you be willing to make any references to the animated series in order
to resolve the issue of it's canonicity within the canon?>>

Actually, I just slipped in an animated reference into show # 7 "Once More
into the Breach" which features the return of Kor.  See if you can spot it (if
it survives the final cut that is, the episode is running long at the moment).

<<Mr. Moore, after seeing Quark have feelings for Jadzia Dax, is there any
chance he'll try to hit on Ezri or that they'll become an item?>>

You'll see something in this vein...

<<And if I may ask, whatever happened to the Ferengi Maruaders?>>

"You may ask... That's a little joke."   The Maruaders are presumably still
around, but we haven't wanted to feature them in an episode.

<<Will we see the Orion Syndicate, or do you plan some other way to make our
favorite Chief suffer??  I cannot think of what else you guys can do to him!>>

We do have some plans for the Syndicate, but they don't involve the Chief.  We
have other, more painful plans for O'Brien...

<<Will we see the cat that lives at the O'Brien residents???  >>

I think Keiko has turned the cat into a muffler.

<<True what I hear that you plan an episode around Bashir and O'Brien????>>

We'd like to do one more story featuring these two.

<<Which episode will be the first big Kira story of the season? And are there
any plans to resurrect the Kira /Garak story which was dropped from TOTP?
Seemed like an intriguing pairing...>>

Kira has a story running through the first two episodes, but her first stand-
alone show will be in episode # 9, which is untitled at present.  We did talk
about reviving the Garak/Kira tale from TOTP, but decided to go in another
direction.

<<The Kira/Odo relationship had always been a very deep and complex one until
season 6. Why did the writers decide to treat the romance as comedy rather
than drama? Will we be seeing a return to depth and angst in the final
season?>>

We still see it as a complex relationship and simply decided to lighten up a
bit when they finally got together.  We'll still mix in a little angst.

<<We've seen a lot about the darker side of the federation recently, but what
about the darker side of the enemy?>>

We're working on some particularly nasty Dominion episodes -- you'll hate them
plenty, don't worry.

<<I just noticed something when I watched a recent rerun of TNG.  I have a
feeling this has been asked before, but O'Brien was a Lieutenant.  What's up
with that?  Should it simply be dismissed as a simple change of mind?  And out
of curiosity, why NOT make O'Brien an officer?  It was obviously a conscious
decision, so I wonder.>>

O'Brien was originally just a day player on TNG and very little, if any,
thought went into his rank or background for quite a while.  He officially
became a Chief Petty Officer in "Family" when I wanted he and Worf's adoptive
father to both be non-coms in contrast to Worf.  Making him an enlisted man
seemed to give us another color in the show and to open up another window into
Starfleet that we hadn't explored before.

<<OK, Ron, let's say that Paramount gives you guys the green light to create a
new Star Trek series.  It doesn't have to be next year, it could be any time.
Would you set it in the 24th century, or would you try to skip ahead to the
25th century?>>

It's a good question, but I think it deserves a lot of thought before it's
answered.  Anyone considering another Trek series should be given a great deal
of time to mull over the various possibilities and from where I'm sitting it's
too soon to know what direction the next show should take.

<<After rewatching "In Pale Moonlight"  I was wondering who decides which
aliens are used in which roles the writers, the director, or the make-up
people?  I understand Romulans, Klingons, or any major race is probably
written that way, but the blue guy could have been anybody, so why wasn't an
established alien race used?>>

It's usually up to the writer.  However, I think we've seen the blue alien
from "Pale Moonlight" in another episode.  Anyone remember it?  (I don't.)

<<Just saw the repeat of "His Way" and I was wondering---was Vic Fontaine, the
Sinatra-like character, in any way named after Johnny Fontaine, the Sinatra-
like character in the "The Godfather"? If so, could you elaborate on the
naming process for Vic.>>

I asked Ira this very question not too long ago, and he said that both "Vic"
and "Fontaine" were simply names that he's always liked and wanted to combine
them.  He didn't realize the "Godfather" connection until later.

<<Did Picard's fish, Livingston I think was his name, survive the crash in
"Generations"?>>

He did, but Spot had to eat something in those long hours before Data found
him, so...

<<Ron, which did you like best-- original Star Wars or the new version? What
do you think about redoing the TOS treks with better FX?>>

With the exception of the Han Solo/Greedo sequence, I liked the enhancements
to Star Wars.  I wouldn't mind seeing TOS tweaked here and there as long as
the original versions were still available for viewing.

<<Ron, I just saw the Vic Fontaine "His Way" episode this week.  I really,
really tried to watch it again with an open mind after my initial negative
reaction.  I could almost overlook the sexist terms, I could resign myself to
the Las Vegas atmosphere (which I loathe), but I couldn't stomach seeing Kira
smoke.  Especially since it seemed to be intended to make her look more sexy
and "cool".  This revulsion isn't from
being overly picky or PC.  I detest the appearance and smell of cigarettes and
watched my father die a painful death from lung cancer caused by smoking.  Are
cigarettes really necessary in the 24th century?  I don't care if ya'll are
recreating an era when smoking was acceptable.  Not everyone smoked in the
fifties.  Whose decision is it to have a character smoke?>>

It's up to the writer and the director.  I'm sorry about the loss of your
father and I certainly understand your reaction to smoking after what must've
been a very painful experience.  However, I don't subscribe to the current
anti-smoking hysteria, and I have no problem with seeing the characters on the
holodeck smoke.  Yes, smoking can kill you, but so can drinking.  They're both
vices and we should be allowed to show them both.

<<How is Robert Hewitt Wolfe doing ? The last
time I saw him he looked to be in bad shape
and had to be helped through the airlock to
the Defiant. Has he recovered from those
nasty injuies ? >>

Robert survived his injuries and is now recuperating on the Planet of the
Freelancers.

<<As a fan of the Romulans, I very much appreciated your work on TNG's "The
Defector." I was curious, though, about your choices in the teaser - Data's
portrayal of Shakespeare's HENRY V, and his discussion with Picard about same.
He mentions several other portrayals, including Olivier's - and, to my
surprise, Branagh's. Not so much for the quality of Branagh's, which I
consider a masterpiece, but at the timing - the film had just come out about
the
same time as the TNG ep aired. Had you seen the film when you wrote the line,
and did you have any idea that it would be so accepted as a classic version of
HENRY V?>>

The entire Henry V opening was a late addition to the script.  Originally, the
episode opened with another Sherlock Holmes sequence on the Holodeck, but at
the time Paramount and the Conan-Doyle estate were still squabbling over
"Elementary Dear Data" so we were told not to do Holmes.  I believe the Henry
V scene grew out of a conversation between Michael Piller and Patrick Stewart
and that one or both of them had just seen the Branagh version.

<<What do you think about the 30th anniversary of the release of "Planet of
the Apes"?  What is your opinion of the movie on its impact on subsequent
Science Fiction projects over the past three decades?>>

Love it.  I just saw the documentary on the making of all the "Apes" movies on
AMC and thought they did a great job.  Although the first one is clearly a
classic, when I was a kid my favorite was "Conquest" and I still like it quite
a bit.  I'm not sure what the impact has been, other than proving to studios
(in the pre-Star Wars era) that science fiction films could make money and
that the public would support a series of them.  Probably the most
lasting impact was the ending of the original film.  The image of the Statue
of Liberty buried in the sand has become deeply embedded in popular culture
and is one of the best "surprise" endings in film.

<<Ron, there seems to be quite a debate brewing in one of the other boards
about the spellings 'pagh' and 'pah-wraith'.  Even the Encyclopedia has both
spellings.  Since you actually see the scripts on a daily basis, is is 'pagh'
or 'pah'?>>

Although the correct spelling is actually "pagh" we've used both in scripts.