Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron001.txt

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Subj:  Answers
Date:  2/24/97 1:52:04 PM
From:  RonDMoore       

<<will we ever, before DS9 ends, have an episode that deals with these loose
ends [with Worf & Troi & Alexander]?>>

I doubt it.  Those plot threads seem very far away at this point and I don't
think we're interested in revisiting them.  Then again, you never say
never...

<<Does 'Purgatory's Shadow' take place before or after the events in FC?  If
after, why was the choice made to 'pass over' the incident?  I mean, Worf
taking the Defiant and fighting the Borg attacking Earth would probably have
rattled everyone up, even on DS9.>>

I think there's a clear reference to "the recent Borg attack" somewhere in
the show and that puts it after the events in FC.  It was our choice not to
mention the events in the film more than that -- the feeling was that we
didn't need to and that it served no purpose in our storylines except to
connect the film chronologically to the series, which wasn't that important
to us.

<<Do you feel it is necessary for events in other parts of the ST universe to
meld & tie-in with DS9's?  Or do you feel it more important to maintain the
integrity of the show & individual episodes themselves than to worry about
how to fit in a Horta or have the Enterprise-E visit?>>

I think it's nice when the other events in Trek crossover, but that it's more
important to concentrate on maintaining the unique identity of DS9.

<<Bashir said he went to bed one night and woke up in prison.  Why was he
wearing his uniform, then?>>

He musta been verrrrrry tired and fallen asleep in his uniform.

<<Any chance we'll find out what happened to Thomas Riker?>>

Not this year.  I'm also not sure whatever became of the actor who played
Tom.  I think he dropped out of acting and is pursuing some other line of
work.

<<Mr. Moore, when was Bashir exchanged for the changeling? Around the time of
"Begotten" as he seems to imply ("over a month"), or before "Rapture" as the
uniform seems to imply.>>

It would've been before "Rapture."

<<I realized FC takes place somewhere between "Begotten" and "In Purgatory's
Shadow". I am wondering though why the fact Worf has stayed on DS9 instead of
returning to the Enterprise hasn't been adressed onscreen.>>

In Way of the Warrior, Worf made his decision to stay on DS9 -- the subject
of a new Enterprise was brought up in that episode, but Worf had decided that
even if he were offered a position on the ship that he would remain on DS9
and chart a new future for himself.

<<Did one of the actors/actresses that plays Worf's parents die, and if so
might their character's off screen death be a catalyst for Worf to go home
and see Alexander>>

Unless I'm mistaken, only Georgia Brown, who played Worf's mother has died.
 I believe (and hope) that Theodore Bikel is still with us and yes, we have
discussed having Worf go home to see him.

<<Where did the name for the USS Malinche originate? >>

Hans Beimler named the ship Malinche after Cortez' Indian lover, a brilliant
woman who had a gift for languages.

<<Question--are you sometimes surprised at how an episode turns out, or is
received?
Have you ever wrapped up something and then thought it was a mistake?  Is
there anything we've seen that you wish you could take back?  >>

I'm always surprised.  The episodes play differently to us on staff than they
do to you.  We know our intentions, the dropped scenes, the unfilmed
backstories, etc. to every episode and so our perspective is always different
from yours.  I think we all wish we had another crack at Merdian or the Risa
show, but that's TV and you only get one shot and then you gotta move on to
the next one.

<<Will we ever see the Enterprise-E on DS9??? Do you think they may ever
bring the Enterprise-D back?? Like have Q bring it back or something?>>

I don't think either of these events will happen on DS9.
--------------------
Subj:  Answers
Date:  2/24/97 2:09:04 PM
From:  RonDMoore       

<<Although I'm sure you've answered this before, I wonder if you might relay
the address to send story pitches and spec scripts to, what is required
before these pitches can be considered, and what is the prefered format
received.>>

Call (213) 956-8301 and you'll get all the information.

<<During the space battle of First Contact I believe I heard Captain Morgan
Bateman (Kelsey Grammer) of the USS Bozeman among all the comm chatter.  Am I
correct about this?>>

No, and other people claim to have heard Uhura too, but as far as I know
there are NO "voice cameos" in this sequence.

<<Is it true that the story for the next movie has already been decided on?
 If so, would you be willing to share the basic story line?>>

It's not true.

<<will anyone be playing tri-dimensional chess like kirk and spock played?>>

I think we've put this game in the background from time to time, but I
haven't seen it in awhile. Our game of choice on DS9 is darts.

<<Worf and [Martok] have the makings of a very strong, honorable and
productive friendship. I hope this will be followed up. Can you offer any
confirmation on this without major spoilers?>>

Martok returns in an episode that is shooting right now called, "Soldiers of
the Empire."  I wrote this one and it's pretty cool -- Martok takes command
of a Bird of Prey and asks Worf to be his first officer for a mission, and
Dax comes along.  It takes place almost entirely on the Klingon vessel, and
it's an exploration of loyalty and friendship aboard a ship that has more
than its fair share of problems.

<<I could have sworn I caught a glimpse of him on that prison asteroid, which
means that the Gul who's busy raising havoc in the Alpha Quadrant is not OUR
Dukat, but a changeling.>>

This is not the case, but it's nice that everyone's seeing Changelings behind
every rock.

<< I have heard rumors of an upcoming ep. with a Kira/Dukat
confrontation--any truth here?>>

Dukat appears in "Ties of Blood and Water", and there is a Dukat/Kira scene,
but it's not a major component of that episode which deals with Kira and
Ghemor -- the Cardassian who thought Kira was his daughter in "Second Skin."

<<I noticed (and so did a few other people) that one of the people in Bashir,
Worf, and Garak's cell in "By Inferno's Light" looks remarkebly like Bossk,
the bounter hunter from Return of the Jedi (actually it was Leia's in Bossk's
outfit)>>

This is the look established for the Breen in Indiscretion and I don't know
how much the initial design was influenced (if at all) by Jedi.

<<The honor demonstrated by the lead Jem'Hadar in refusing to kill Worf
reminded me of the Jem'Hadar dissident last season who tried (with Bashir's
help) to cure his people of their drug addiction.  Ron, is there any thought
to bringing this character back?  As I recall, his fate was left
open-ended.>>

We didn't see his death on-camera, but the feeling on the staff is that he
died at the end of Hippocratic Oath.

<<Are there any storylines coming up involving the Breen?>>

Nothing yet, but maybe in the future.

<<Wouldn't the Dominion have captured the Runabout and stored it somewhere or
destroyed it?...   Now that that the Federation and The Klingon empire seem
back on track now...will the Romulans too sign a truce?...  Maybe the
Romulans will give the feds a couple more cloaking devices---well I guess
that's out due to the treaty...but there's a chance...  Finally why were the
Runabouts deployed?>>

The Runabout was locked and the alarm was set, but they left the keys in the
ignition.  I don't think the Romulans are on track to sign a new treaty.  The
Runabouts may not pack the punch of the Defiant, but they were deployed in a
last ditch effort to hold off the Dominion when the lives of everyone on the
station (and Bajor) seemed at risk.
--------------------
Subj:  Answers
Date:  2/24/97 2:31:52 PM
From:  RonDMoore       

<<Now that Dukat has come back King of the Hill, has he gotten his kids back?
 The ease with which he spoke of his son seemed to indicate he has.  Has his
mother relented?  Has he reunited with his wife? (She raised the kids alone
for so long, I can't picture her being willing to give them up.)
  Cardassians are so into family that Dukat would probably be on firmer
political ground if he had their support.  If Dukat has reunited with his
family, will we ever meet any of them, even in passing? >>

We haven't made any decisions yet about Dukat's family and what his reception
was like back on Cardassia.  Dukat evidently has made his choice to side with
the Dominion because it offered the one thing that no one else could:  the
return of Cardassia as a major power in the Alpha Quadrant.  Dukat knows this
is signing a deal with the devil, but I think the Gul believes that in the
end he'll find a way to get rid of the devil when he needs to.  Remember that
Dukat is the ultimate Cardassian patriot and has hated the fact that the
Empire he used to serve has fallen on hard times -- the Maquis were kicking
their butts fer Chrissakes!  Evidently many other Cardassians feel the same
way and that is why they followed this charismatic warrior when he rode in at
the head of a Jem'Hadar fleet and deposed the Detappa Council.  

As for the "Dukat's now just another bad guy" line of thought -- come on.  We
haven't wiped away everything that has happened up until now, he's just made
a decision for himself and for his people that puts him squarely at odds with
the Federation and the crew on DS9.  It's a natural extension of the
character and is totally in keeping with everything that's been set up to
this point.  The same goes for Garak -- what, he's now a true-blue good guy
just because he had a father?  These people are a little more complex than
some of you are giving them credit for and the events in one episode should
be viewed in the larger context of their character arcs over the course of
the series.

<<Ron, is the production staff happy with the current Ziyal's performance? I
liked the original, HATED Tracy Meddendorf, and this one is clearly more
womanly than girlish. Is this an effort to set up Ziyal for more mature
storylines?>>

The casting of Ziyal for the next episode really depends on what we want to
do with the character.  The lastest incarnation was cast deliberately a
little older because we didn't feel that the other actresses were "reading"
mature enough on screen to plausibly be involved in any way with Garak.

<<Will it ever be explained why there is no mirror Jake, and what
consequences that may have in our universe? >>

Just because we haven't seen a Mirror Jake doesn't mean he doesn't exist.





<<A huge number of Jem'Hadar are now stuck in the Alpha Quadrant.  Where are
they going to get their drugs from?>>

Presumably, the Dominion made arrangements for the shipment of White to the
Alpha Quadrant or for the manufacture of it before they considered making a
permanent move into Alpha.

<<If Martok was a Changling in Way of the Warrior, then how did he pass the
blood test with Sisko and Kira.    I think you guys goofed on that one.>>

It has been established that blood tests aren't foolproof and that a good
Changeling could find a way around them -- like keeping a small quantity of
real blood inside his body and "bleeding" it out when required.

<<Why is it that since the new First Contact uniforms have been used on DS9,
Dax's uniform has been so incredibly tight? I really liked it that her old
uniform was *not* super tight, after having watched all the women on TNG be
stuffed into form-fitting spandex for seven years. Is this change suppposed
to be something Dax actually prefers?>>

Personally, I think Dax' uniform is the only one that looks good!  The others
are still a bit stiff and bulky and need to have the kinks worked out.
---------------------------
Subj:  Answers
Date:  2/24/97 2:34:47 PM
From:  RonDMoore       

<<Have the Maquis been eliminated or will be seeing more of them in the
future?>>

You will learn more about the fate of the Maquis in show that is being
written right now by Ira and Robert that is untitled at present but will
probably be episode #23.

BTW -- I saw Empire Strikes Back this weekend and really dug it.  Run, don't
walk -- I've always thought this was the best film in the series and it still
holds up remarkably well after all these years.