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Subject: Answers
Date: Fri, Mar 26, 1999 20:45 EST
From: RonDMoore
Message-id: <19990326204529.04625.00000617@ng-fr1.aol.com>

Hello, everyone!  Life has been exceptionally busy for the last couple of
months, so you'll forgive me for not coming here sooner.  First and 
foremost, I am pleased and proud to announce the arrival of Robin Cooper 
Moore on January 26th and to say that both mother and son are doing very 
well.  To say that Ruby and I are ecstatic would be an understatement and
we would both like to extend our thanks and appreciation for the 
congratulatory e-mail messages we received from so many of you.

As for DS9, I can report that on Monday, March 26th, we will begin 
production on the final episode of the series.  Today is the last day of 
shooting on the final episode that I had a hand in writing, which is named 
"The Dogs of War" for now.  Rene and I co-wrote the teleplay on this one 
and it is with a heavy heart that I watch the last few dailies of scenes 
that I helped to craft.  

As many of you know by now, the last nine episodes of the series are tightly
interwoven and build to the finale and I think that you'll be pleased to see
many familiar faces crop up in surprising ways as we wend our way to the 
end.

I just saw the first episode last night, entitled "Penumbra" and 
after you see it, 
I suspect you'll want to hang around the next eight.

I'll avoid getting soppy and sentimental about the show just yet (thank God
for sedatives) but I will say that it's been a magical experience for me and 
I approach the end with a taste of the bittersweet in my mouth.

Now onto your questions:

<<  where an actor has to use colored contact lenses, (e.g. Dukat when he
killed Jadzia, or Weyoun at any time), do the contact lenses interfere with
his or her peripheral vision?>>

It depends on the lenses, but for the most part the actors don't have that
much trouble with them.
 
<<Haven't we seen enough of the Vic and Ezri eps? What about the other
characters we have grown to admire? Don't use so much of DS9 precious time
developing new characters to the extent we are currnetly seeing.>>

We like Vic and we like Ezri, so we decided to showcase them a bit in the 
last year.  But don't worry, you'll see plenty of everyone in the last nine
episodes.  

<<How do you want DS9 to be remembered?>>

I'd like us to be remembered as the Trek series that dared to be different.
We took chances in a franchise that has every reason to play it safe and
spoon-feed the same old thing to the audience week after week.  We 
challenged the characters, the audience, and the Star Trek universe itself.  
Sometimes we failed (sometimes spectacularly) but we never stopped trying to 
push the show into new directions.  
 
<<The revelation of the "changeling disease" in Treachery, Faith . . . 
seemed to come out of the blue.  Was this thought up over hiatus, or 
sometime last year?>>

I believe it came up early in the season and it played well into our plans 
for the 
end of the series, so we decided to incorporate it.
 
<<Is there anything you are deliberately going to leave unresolved at the 
end of 	the series? >>

Well, there are certainly plot threads that we made conscious choices not to
revisit.
 
 << Will you be doing any convention appearances in the near future?>>

I'm not planning any.
 
<< I just got through reading Solow and Justman's book Inside Star Trek, the
Real Story.  Any chance that you will put finger to keyboard and give us a
peek at what really goes on after Paramount is no longer your employer?  You
can tell us, we won't tell!  <G>>>

I've thought about doing a book after my Trek tenure is over, but I don't 
know if I'll ever get about to it or not.
 
<< I asked this question twice before and didn't get an answer, so here 
goes  again.  I leafed thru an unauthorized book on the making of DS9 and 
recognized that many quotes attributed to you were comments you made on 
this message board.  Did the author (I can't remember his name now) have to 
ask your permission or AOL's permission to quote you?  >>

People usually contact me and ask permission before they use my quotes.  
I don't know what the legal situation is, and I look upon it as a courtesy.
 
<<Do you know what Paramount is going to do with the standing sets 
(especially the massive Promenade) when the show ends?  Its a shame a
permanent museum can't be established for sets that won't be used again
(hopefully they will, but you get my meaning).>>

Unfortunately, they will all be torn down and thrown into the trash.  It's a
hard 
and cruel world...
 
<< Here's one to stretch the grey cells way back with: what was it like on 
the set/ in the staff on TNG when Gene Roddenberry died? I had recently read
that Paramount fired Richard Arnold and Susan Sackett the day after he died
(that seemed abit cold) and I know GRs presence was not a daily-thing due 
to his health, but still I imagine it must have been profound. If you would
share any personal and professional recollections? Thank you >>

I remember that day very well.  Michael Piller called the entire staff down
into his office and made the announcement that Gene had died and then we all
sort of drifted off to our own offices to reflect on his passing and what it
meant to each 
of us.  Joe Menosky eventually wandered into my office and we had a long 
quiet talk about Trek and what it meant to us in our youth and how odd it 
was to find ourselves now writing the voyages of the starship Enterprise.  
Gene hadn't been 
in the office very much for several weeks at that point, and everyone knew 
his health was deteriorating, so it wasn't a shock when he passed away, but 
it was a blow.  There was an almost palpable sense that a milestone had been 
passed and that nothing would ever be the same again.
 
<<Question: Any regrets in doing away with Worf's brother Kurn?>>

Not really.  If we'd had other stories for Kurn, I'd feel differently, but I
didn't 
have anything else to say about the character.
 
<<In my search for screenwriting software I have come across an 
ad for "Scriptware" that advertises that it is used by the writers of 
Deep Space Nine.  I was wondering if that is true, and what is your opinion, 
rating, of it?  Is there another software package out there you like and 
prefer to use ?>>

We stopped used Scriptware a year or two ago.  We found that it had 
roblems with keeping up with all the revisions and changes required on a 
TV series -- which is not to say that a freelance writer couldn't find it 
perfectly acceptable.  At the moment, we're using a program called 
Final Draft and we're very happy with it.
 
<<Any chance of us getting a nice, juicy Odo/Kira episode as part of that 
wrap-up?>>

There is an Odo/Kira storyline running throughout the final nine.
 
<<What are your son's stats, birthdate, time?  We want a complete resume 
with photo.>>

Robin was born at 7:30 am, January 26, 1999.  Contact his agent for headshot 
and resume.
 
<<Were you on the set during the actual shooting?  Did you have a speaking
part?  Was this your first directing role?>>

I was onset during the shooting, but at the last minute, my directing
assignment was taken over by a Dr. SomethingOrOther.
 
<<What alternative names did you consider?  Did you ever consider names 
such as Kahvis, Luv, Klincat, Crambam, STFC?  James Tiberius Moore has 
a nice ring to it.>>

For one insane moment, the word "Tiberius" did leave my lips as a possible 
middle name.  It was met by a.... less than enthusiastic response.
 
<< Are you and your collaborator planning any sequels?  Or is it too 
premature to comment?>>

The sequels are tied up in a merchandising rights dispute.  I'll get back to
you.
 
<<Ron, whatever happened to the Alpha Jem'Hadar ? That was an interesting
plotline you guys thought up in "One Little Ship", but we've heard nothing
about 
the Alpha J's and their friction with the Gamma J's since.>>

We dropped the ball on this one.  It sounded like a cool idea at the time 
and we kept telling each other that we'd follow up eventually, but it just 
kinda got away 
from us.
  
 <<Since there are no plans currently for a DS9 movie, miniseries, etc. when 
the series is over...  If you had to come up with some new plot for the 
above mentioned, what would you like to see on the screen.  >>

To be honest, I'm not rooting for another DS9 movie or miniseries or 
whatever. I think the show should be allowed to end its story in our finale 
and then be left alone.
 
<<How can there be a "real" 24th century Mirror Universe counterpart to an
"imaginary" 1962 holographic character?>>

I give up.  How?
 
<<Didn't we see a klingon ship decloak in an earlier mirror universe
episode?>>

Yep.  This is what's known in Hollywood as a "Mistake."  The decloaking ship
in the earlier Mirror episode was sort of a throwaway -- an optical that was 
thrown in, but which really didn't have anything to do with the story.  As a 
result, the decloaking shot didn't stick in anyone's mind when we were
reviewing those shows and talking about the established stories.
Unfortunately, no one on the entire production remembered that one shot 
until the episode was in the can.  Oh, well...
 
<<Ron, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciated the dedication at 
the beginning of the final Mirror Universe episode to Jerome Bixby.  Was 
that your
idea, and did many other staff members even know who he was?>>

We all knew who he was and we were all saddened by his death.
 
<<Do you feel you're looked at as just a science fiction writer, when you
probably consider yourself just a good writer? >>

I think I'm looked at as that guy who's working on that Trek show.
 
<<I was wondering, what would you consider DS9's strongest and weakest
episodes so far this season?>>

Strongest:  "The Siege of AR-558", "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang", "Inter Arma,
etc.", "It's Only a Paper Moon"

Weakest:  "Covenant", "Prodigal Daughter"
 
<<Now that the season is probably planned to the end, are there any DS9
stories you wanted to tell that you will not be able to tell due to lack of
time? >>

There was a story about Klingon Hell that I wanted to do and an episode that
revolved around doing an entire day at Quark's.  And the DS9 Musical, natch.

<<Ron, if you were offered the chance to write a script for a DS9 movie with 
a nice budget in a couple of years, would you take it?>>

Uh... let me think.  Yes.
  
<<I thought the choice of the song at the end of "Badda-bing, Badda-bang" 
was rather interesting. Did you intentionally choose that song as a subtle 
hint as to what awaits us in the last 10 episodes of the series?>>

You betcha.

<< Was the first song Vic sings an original composition? I didn't recognize
it, 
and I have always considered myself to be one hep-cat, Daddy-O!>>

Yes.  It was written specifically for the episode.
 
<< How do you feel about the charges on the episode message board that 60s
racism was addressed yet 60s sexism went unchallenged?  I gotta admit, I 
think this time the chicks have a point!  Anybody else see the hood ogle 
Ezri's ass, fer cryin' out loud?!?>>

I think it's a silly charge and a silly argument.  Were any of our female
characters humiliated, degraded, abused, etc. during the show?  No.  I've
scanned over some of the objections, and in my opinion, it's political
correctness run amuck.  So they dressed in period outfits.  So Kira vamped a
bit.  So what?  Can't we just enjoy the show without engaging in a tiresome
debate about hidden messages that can only be seen if you have an agenda and
you're searching for them?
 
<< Where was the forgotten regular, Jake? >>

Jake definitely got slighted and I wish we'd found more for him to do.

<< I read on one of these boards (think it was the latest ep folder, but I'm
not 
sure), that in "A Fistful of Datas" Deanna was originally supposed to be a
dancing girl from the Saloon, and this was changed to her role as 
"mysterious stranger" (which was great. I really liked that ep).  
Is this true, or trek legend?>>

True.
 
 << One question, who comes up with the references to Xicano history? First 
a ship called the Malinche. Then Cortez. Now all the references to the 
Alamo. All these show Mexicans in a disgraceful way. Malinche was the 
traitor. Cortez
was the conquistador. Ask Xicanos about the heroes who stole Texas from
Mexico. 
I do not think there is a nefarious plot to disgrace la raza but it can make
you wonder.>>

All I can tell you is that Hans Biemler is Mexican and that he's the one who 
named the ships Malinche and Cortez and that he's into the Alamo as well.

<< just how many times did the staff watch "Robin and the Seven Hoods" while
making this episode?>>

Not once.

We watched "Ocean's Eleven."
 
<<Can we expect a final appearance (or song) from Vic in the final episode, 
or have we seen the last of him?>>

Vic will sing again.
 
<< Also, who initially thought of Jimmy Darren? A great choice and nice 
sci-fi tie-in (The Time Tunnel).>>

That was Ira's idea.
 
<< I saw Chase Masterson at a con here in Knoxville* Sunday.  She indicated 
that she had just gotten the call to appear in the final (sniff!) three
episodes.  
Will we also get to bid a final fare-thee-well to Keiko and Molly and 
Yoshi?>>

Yes.
 
 <<Are we still getting one last Miles and Julian show or did that fall by 
the wayside?>>

They will share one more adventure.
 
<< Will we ever get to see the Alamo holo-program?  The Alamo seems to be
mentioned in almost every recent DS9 episode and it's got me darn curious
about what that might mean for DS9's future!  I'm also curious about why
Julian and Miles would be so fond of continually replaying such a hopeless
battle, especially since everyone on their side is supposed to die!  Another
poster speculated that they could have somehow (perhaps by cheating) figured
out to win.  Might this be 
the case?>>

We're not going the see the program -- it would be hard to deliver the goods
on a TV budget.

<< "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"  First off, incredible episode. Possibly
best of the year! In the long run I'll be forever torn between it and "The
Siege of AR-558."  You should be very damned proud of it. All the while I 
was watching it, I kept getting more and more envious- while we can 
speculate, conjecture, and throw 
out theories all we want on these boards, it all means nothing in the Trek 
universe- you, on the other hand, create Trek canon. And I truly believe 
there isn't a writer alive who creates it better. Before my post becomes too
Americanized, On to my question: I nopticed this was the first use of an
Intrepid class vessel in your series. Was this made possible by the fact 
your good buddy 
is Executive Producer over there, or did they still owe you for borrowing 
the Defiant class for "Message In A Bottle"?>>

First, thank you very much.   Second, I did call Brannon early on to see 
about the availability of the Voyager sets and it just so happened that 
they were planning to be off those soundstages during the time we needed 
them, so it worked out.

<<Are Dax and Bashir going to move over to Voyager? I read it in a British
rumor mag, and I was shocked. Is this true, or just nothing but a rumor?>>

Not true.
 
 <<  Since ["Inter Arma..."] carried your sole writing credit, how much of 
it did you create from the whole cloth and how much was a product of the 
entire staff?  This episode showcases how much your writing has matured in 
the last couple of years...No longer can you be easily described as "the 
funny guy" or "the Klingon guy".  Nice job!>>

Like all the shows, the entire staff had input into the script and the final
product owes a lot to their input.
 
<< Why so much recasting of Romulans?  Adrienne (The New Dax <g>) Barbeau 
was nice to see, but why wasn't the other (BoP, where's your magic list? 
Who was Cretak before?) actress utilized? And poor Procounsel Neral 
seemed to have really hit the skids since "Unification"!  Send him off to 
that Son'a planet from Insurrection for some youth treatments, why don't 
ya?>>

Megan Cole, who originally played Cretak was unavailable when we needed her, 
so we had no choice but to recast.  And as for Neral... being Praetor ages
you.
 
<<One thing "Inter Arma..." left me wondering about is this: We have seen, 
through the DS9 Siege Arc and afterwards, that Ross and Sisko seem to have 
an affinity for each other.  After Ross' actions in "Inter Arma..." I was
wondering how Sisko will respond to Ross after he hears all the details from
Bashir.
Have you thought about that too?  Any plans to follow up on that?>>

We did think of it, but never found the right moment to play it.

<<  Ron, there has been a major rumor going around that Odo is going to be 
killed in the final episode, and that the writers are having diffuculties 
with the studio in doing this because the studio is interested in seeing a 
DS9 motion picture.  
Is there any truth to any of this at all?>>

Oh yeah, like I'm going to give away the fate of a major character.

Keeping wondering and worrying...

<< I enjoyed the last Vic Fontaine episode and I had a question. It seems 
that Capt. Sisko is pretty "social conscious" as he expressed in a scene 
when  asked
about his helping out with Vic's problem in the Holosuite.  I was wondering 
if you 
let Avery Brooks input that fact about the older days with discrimination in
Vegas 
or did you guys wrote those lines for him to say.>>

It was something we came up with in the room as we talked over reasons why
Sisko may have been avoiding Vic's.

<<It seems very hypocritical of the DS9 staff to be devoting so much time to
Ezri Dax when Terry Farrell claimed that she never got any good roles.  Ezri
has, with Field of Fire, Prodigal Daughter, and Afterimage, three episodes
that focused almost solely on her.  Add into this episodes such as Paper 
Moon and The Emperor's New Cloak which involved mostly non-regulars but 
where she was prominently featured, and I cannot help but think that this is
an intentional attempt to "make up for lost time" with her.  Considering 
what  Farrell has said and the fact that this is the last season, can you 
really justify giving so many valuable minutes to an interim character that 
simply isn't as important as a Sisko, a Kira, or an Odo?>>

Different character, different time.  The character of Ezri simply had a lot
of unexplored territory and that's why we naturally starting doing more
stories about her.  But if you look over the Ezri episodes, I don't think
there's a single one that could've been easily adapted as a Jadzia episode.
And Ezri is more than just an "interim" character.  She's Dax, a character
with important, strong ties to every other regular cast member and with
a backstory stretching back to the pilot.  She's one of us.

<<I realize the character Neral had a relatively minor role in "Inter Arma
Enim 
Silent Leges," but was there any effort made to bring back Norman Large for
the role?  He brought a really dynamic performance to the role when he 
played Neral 
in "Unification" and it would have been a nice bit of continuity to have him
back in "Inter Arma...">>

We did consider it, but decided to go in another direction.

<<I was just wondering if a "Best Of" show is being planned for airing just
before the finale of DS9.  I enjoyed it when it was done before the 
conclusion of TNG, 
and I think I would enjoy it even more before the final DS9.  So, Ron, is
such a show in the works?>>

No, but it would've been nice.

<<What is your response to Majel's letter to the editor in the current
Communicator?>>

I have very little argument with Majel (who wrote a letter saying that Gene
would never have approved of having a continuing war in a Trek series).  
She's probably right.  It would've been very hard to argue Gene into going 
this way and maybe he'd have never gone for it.  However, I would've still 
argued for doing the Dominion War with him and if he'd rejected it, I 
would've thought he was wrong.  I respect Gene and his work, but I don't 
think he was always right
and I'm not going to pretend 
that I do.  The Dominion War has been one of the better storylines we've 
come  up with whether Gene would've agreed or not.
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