Subject: Answers
Date: Fri, Mar 20, 1998 21:29 EST
From: RonDMoore
Message-id: <1998032102290201.VAA22410@ladder01.news.aol.com>
<<Although I enjoyed most of Kirk's lines, [in "Generations"] why the final
one- "Oh my..." I thought the "..for the captain of the Enterprise" line was
a fitting sendoff. Even, "It was fun," worked. But the "oh my" seemed a
jibe at Shatner and the character. Was that line debated? Did it have any
special significance? Were there other possibilities dicussed?Although I
enjoyed most of Kirk's lines, why the final one- "Oh my..." I
thought the "..for the captain of the Enterprise" line was a fitting
sendoff. Even, "It was fun," worked. But the "oh my" seemed a jibe at
Shatner and the character. Was that line debated? Did it have any special
significance? Were there other possibilities dicussed?>>
"Oh, my..." was something that Bill came up with. He wanted Kirk to see...
something as he died and that his dying line should be his reaction to
that... something. Brannon and I wanted his last line to be "It was fun,"
which seemed to be a comment both on the brief adventure he and Picard had
shared and also on Star Trek as a whole.
<<In previous drafts, did some of the principal TNG characters have larger
roles? Picard and Data had a lot of screen time, Riker and Worf were used
reasonably well, but what happened to Troi, Crusher, La Forge? Did they have
a lot of lines cut, or did you decide to forget about them to some degree to
concentrate on Picard, Data, Kirk, Soren?>>
There were some nips and tucks as far as lines when for the other cast
members, but by and large their parts were brief in most of the drafts due
to the constraints of our particular storyline.
<<The destruction of the Enterprise by an old Bird of Prey also seemed a bit
unfitting for such a great ship, that had survived so many trials- did you
see a humorous twist in this end- as well as Troi being at the helm when it
crashed? Did you consider alternate ways to destroy the E-D? >>
We always wanted a Klingon ship to destroy the Enterprise, but there was
debate about the costs of building a new Klingon vessel vs. recycling the
Bird of Prey. In the end, the money argument won the day.
<<If you could rewrite the script, what changes would you make? What lines
or plotlines would you readjust?>>
It's hard to say. Brannon and I still chat over the story periodically and
talk about other possibilities and storylines, but in the end it's kind of a
pointless exercise and neither of us wants to spend the creative energy
necessary to re-examine the movie from start to finish. We did the best we
could at the time and I think the picture stands on its own. I'm still
proud of it.
<<ARE we going to even SEE Keiko this season? >>
Yes. You will see both Keiko and Molly in a story that began shooting
today: "Out of Time"
<<When the last episode of DS9 is aired, do you think that Star Trek will be
the same? I know that's a loaded question. It's not just about Voyager. It's
a question to do with Star Trek in general. If DS9 goes, then what we have
left in the Star Trek universe is a starship show rather than a telling SF
drama. We will
probably have the Next Generation movies for a while. But I, for one, will
miss the intense drama that DS9 presents.>>
I'll miss this show too, but I think Trek will go on. It's just a question
of where it goes.
<<I really enjoyed the War Against the Dominion arc earlier this season, but
thought it should have been longer ( like the whole season ). I think we
missed the opportunity for some first class episodes by cutting it so short.
I've read from your postings that you also wished it were longer but the
studio wouldn't stand for it. Was the arc successful enough from a business
standpoint to allow you to something like it again next season, and if so,
would the writers be interested in doing it again.>>
The Arc was well-received by the studio and they've been willing to consider
doing more like it in the future. But at the moment, we haven't made any
firm decisions about how we want next season to go.
<<When writing "Change of Heart" did you from the beginning plan to have Dax
react the way she did upon learning that Worf sacrificed an informant and
probably cost a gadzillion lives to rescue her? When I realized Worf was
abandoning his duty for Dax, the first thing that went through my mind was
"Man, Dax is gonna be pissed..." More than any other non-Klingon, Dax seems
to understand the Klingon Way better than anyone. I figured she would feel
dishonored and disgraced by his actions, and would have a real hard time
forgiving him. >>
I did think about playing Dax's reaction as one of anger, but then I
realized that the story wasn't about the Klingon Way or Dax's sense of
aggrieved honor, it was about the relationship between Worf and Dax, and how
their marriage had changed Worf in ways both large and small. The ending
had to reflect that story.
<<At the begining of Deep Space Nine the major attraction for Bajor was the
discovery of the stable wormhole. It would bring traffic, commerce and
trade and be benificial overall for the recovering Bajorans. With the
blockade, war and now apparent lack of traffic through the wormhole has this
affected the Bajorans or the Bajoran economy? Was this or will this be
addressed/mentioned in a future episode?>>
I think the economy of Bajor has probably suffered and we might try to work
this into some future plots.
<<Star Trek has an influence on youngsters, especially at the level of space
science. As a youngster, were you in any way impelled to take an interest
in science by Star Trek?>>
I went the other way -- I got hooked on NASA and the Apollo program at a
very young age and my interest in Trek was an outgrowth of my interest in
real spaceflight.
<<In the TNG episode "Disaster", when Picard and the children are in the
turbolift shaft and he asks the children if they know any "climbing songs",
when the little girl responds with "The Laughing Vulcan and his Dog", was
this a reference to Sybok from Star Trek V (who laughed very heartily at the
beginning of the movie)? Just wondering.>>
No, I just liked the image the title of the song conjured up.
<<What happens to Odo's communicator when he reverts back to his gelatinous
state, since it isn't part of him, and it doesn't revert back to gelatin,
then what happens to it? >>
It disappears into the same mysterious pocket of subspace where all the rest
of his mass goes when he becomes something tiny (I will happily refer you to
Robert Hewitt Wolfe for a complete explanation of this fascinating process).
