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Ronald D. Moore Says Religion Was Not Part of Star Trek, Talks Final Cylon and Caprica 

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By GustavoLeao / 04:58, 27 December 2008 / General Genre/SciFi

Sci Fi Scanner posted a new interview with Battlestar Galactica producer Ronald D. Moore and here are few excerpts (beware of minor spoilers).

Q: You admitted recently that Battlestar's themes of faith and religion were something the network requested after reading a line in the miniseries. How did it evolve?


A: It was very natural. At Trek I was always trying to work in those angles and blur peoples' religions, but it was very much not a part of what Trek was about -- it just wasn't part of Gene's vision. It appealed to me because science fiction shows just didn't go there. I thought the idea of robots who believe in God was just a fascinating concept. And then I really liked the idea of the polytheists versus the monotheists, and that the monotheists were actually the "bad guys" because there's certain repetition in Western society of the one God driving out the many. There were just layers and layers to play with.

Q: The build-up to the final Cylon has been unprecedented. How is the revelation not going to be a letdown?


A: It will never be as powerful as the build-up. I resigned myself to that a long time ago. The "Who Shot JR" of it all is an instructive lesson: No matter who it is, it's still going to be a bit of a letdown. But I decided that precisely because of that, it wasn't going to be in the final episode. I didn't want that to become the entire series. I'm sure there will be a variety of reactions. Some people will love it, some people will hate it. But I think when you see how the revelation fits into the overall mythology of the show, when all the questions are answered by the end, then it'll make sense and you'll think, "Oh, well it kind of had to be that person."


Q: Next you've got Caprica. Are you surprised it took so long for SciFi to greenlight it?


A: I'd literally given up. You hear that a lot from studios and networks: "Well it's not really dead, we're not saying no." But they're saying no. It's never coming back, and I just thought we were in that spot. It's a gamble: We're making a character drama in a science fiction universe that has nothing to do with action/adventure each week. Nobody's been able to pull that one off, and it would be great to do that. It would be another way to validate the genre as supporting interesting and good programming.
 
The full interview is here.



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RE: Religion | Report this post to moderator
By: Hbasm (Odo's file, contact) @ 10:31:58 on Dec 27, 2008

Quote:
The Federation considered them alien (non-humanoid) lifeforms, not gods.

Which is just splitting hairs. It makes no difference what word is used. Calling them gods does not mean you have to practice the bajoran religion. But why didn't the FED do more to befriend the prophets?

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RE: Religion by DIGINON @ 16:47:47 on Dec 27
RE: Religion by Sam Cogley @ 11:55:38 on Dec 27

RE: Religion | Report this post to moderator
By: VZX (Odo's file, contact) @ 13:49:41 on Dec 27, 2008

The only mention of Earth religion I can think of was in the original series when Kirk refrenced a Christmas party, I can't remember which episode. That's pretty much it.

That is something that always bothered me about Star Trek. You would think that our religions that have lasted thousands of years would last around a few hundred more in Trek timeline, at least in some fashion. I wish RDM could have pushed Christmas or something more on Trek.

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RE: Religion by DIGINON @ 17:39:50 on Dec 27
RE: Religion by captainkoloth @ 14:13:45 on Dec 27
    RE: Religion by Sam Cogley @ 16:27:50 on Dec 27
RE: Religion by GustavoLeao @ 14:01:46 on Dec 27
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