Subject: Answers
Date: Mon Apr 13, 1998 14:40 EDT
From: RonDMoore
Message-id: <1998041318403201.OAA17247@ladder03.news.aol.com>

<<I was wondering what process a Pocket Book novel goes through when it's 
sent to Paramount for approval.  If a novel will contradict an upcoming 
episode or a newer episode that contradicts the book, do you let John 
Ordover and/or the author know what changes need to be made to the book?  
Also, I was wondering if you've read any of Bill Shatner's Trek novels and 
your opinion of them.>>

In most cases, this is handled by John and the people over at Paramount
Licensing without our involvement.  We're not too worried about whether or 
not the novels contradict something we're doing.  It's more of a concern for
Pocket Books since the filmed episodes are "canonical" and they try to hew 
as close as possible to them.  John has called on occasion to ask specific
questions about where we're going or if we'd have a problem with them using
this
or that character, but that's about it.  I haven't read any of Bill's books.

<<Can you tell us a little what "The Sound of Her Voice" is about?  Will it
lead-in or tie-in in heavily to the finale like "In the Cards" did, or will
it be strictly a stand alone?>>

In "The Sound of Her Voice" the exhausted and tense crew of the Defiant 
picks up a distress call from a marooned Starfleet Officer on a distant 
world.  As they head for her, they are only able to talk to her over 
subspace radio and never see her face to face.  The show is about the 
conversations they have with her and the way these talks reveal different 
aspects of our characters.

<<Now that Kira visted the past, thanks to the Orb of Time, will Dukat have
memories of her in the "present" . . . or will the Prophets have prevented
that possibility? >>

I believe our last decision was that Dukat would not remember Kira from
"Wrongs..."

<<Did Dukat take care of the Kira family after Meru died?>>

No.

<<Hiya Ron. Just wanted to ask if you've had a chance to watch the first [4]
parts of the Tom Hanks-produced  mini-series "From the Earth to the Moon" on
HBO, and if so, what you think of it.>>

I love it.  I think it's great television and a wonderful vision of the 
Apollo program.  I'd also strongly recommend Andrew Chaikan's (sp?) book, 
"A Man on the Moon" to anyone who's enjoying "From the Earth..."  I thought
the first two episodes were great and the fourth one ("1968") to be 
powerful, moving, and one of the best things I've seen on television in 
recent years.  If you're not watching it, START.

<<Is the DS9 staff keeping an open mind to the possibility of his reprisal
as Tom Riker in the 7th season.  The episode "Defiant" created a loose 
thread when Kira promised to save him from imprisonment.  How about an 
episode dealing with the rescue of Tom Riker, Sito, Ensign Ro, or some other
noteable characters from a Dominion prison camp?>>

All of the above characters are still on our "maybe" list of stories for 
next season.  We'll see.

<<Ron, assuming that the next DS9 season will be the last (not a jinx, 
just a reasonable assumption), would you be willing to take suggestions 
from the ST club here on AOL on how things should end?  I'm speaking not 
only of the major characters and plotlines, but also of tying up myriad 
loose ends (ie, whatever happened to....-kind of stuff).>>

Sorry guys, but I really can't do this.  I have to be very clear about this
sort of thing, so:

I cannot accept any suggestions for stories, premises, or notions on this
board.  It is against the rules of Paramount Pictures and the Writers Guild
for me to do so.  Please do not post story ideas or send them to my e-mail.
Thank you for your understanding.

<<I know you've said you don't post to any other online message boards,
but is it possible to somehow get a transcript of YOUR "Answers" posts even
if I'm not on AOL?>>

I know that Trekweb posts my answers regularly, and I think there are some
other websites that do as well.

<<I have a hearing impared family member, so when I watch TV I usually have
the closed captions on.  I have noticed that quite often on Star Trek, there
are occasional lines or phrases that appear in the captions that are not
actually said.  Do the people who do the captions recieve an early version 
of the script?>>

I'm not sure when the closed captioning people recieve the scripts, but I 
have heard of this happening before.  However, even if they have the final
draft, there are sometimes changes made on the set that were never 
incorporated into the script and that could account for some of the 
discrepancies.

<<Ever thought of having a ship mentioned as the Olympic, she was the only 
one not to go down [of the "Titantic" sister ships].  Possibly a troop 
carrier, this would fit history nicely.>>

We have thought about using Olympic as a name from time to time.  I just 
named a starship Olympia in "The Sound of..." after the flagship of 
Commodore Dewey.

<<In season 7, will there be any stories about Maquis members who have been
hiding out somewhere, released from Federation prison, or re-captured from
Federation-held Cardassian territory?  Is it possible Eddington could re-
appear from the Mirror Universe? >>

Maybe and probably not.

<<What do you find your largest challenge as a writer to be when working in
a franchise as large and as well loved as Star Trek?  Do you find that you 
can sit back and appreciate the work that you guys put into the series or 
is it difficult to see everything without the production aspects?  I guess
what I'm asking is, do you ever get to sit back and just be a fan?>>

It's difficult to be just a fan anymore.  I do enjoy the show and still like
to watch the show as an audience member, but I find that unless I'm watching
something from a few years ago, it's hard to put aside all the production
headaches, story changes, editing decisions, etc. and view the show as 
simply entertainment.

<<I am currently reading "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story" by Herbert F.
Solow and Robert H. Justman, and I am curious as to whether you have read it
or not? If you have what are your thoughts on the book? And lastly, if you
have ever met either of the authors?>>

I have read the book, and found it very interesting and informative.  I met
Bob and Herb when they were doing a book signing here at Paramount and they
were gracious and engaging.  As someone who works in TV, I can tell you that
their book has the ring of truth to it.  Even taking into account the fact
that the original series was produced 30 years ago, the process they went
through to produce the show was similar to the one we use today.  It seems
like the most complete and honest account of the making of the original 
series I've read since Stephen Whitfield's book "The Making of Star Trek."

<<Was there any debate about whether or not to establish that [Section 31, 
in "Inquisition"] has been around for so long? >>

We had extended conversations about the backstory to Section 31 and yes, 
there was a lot of debate about how long and under what circumstances this 
branch had existed.

<<Was it your intention with ["Wrongs Darker than..."] to establish that 
Kira and Ziyal were half-sisters by the same mother? >>

No.  Although we did discuss this possibility during the story break, we
decided not to go in this direction.

<<At the end of the episode why did Kira tell Dukat to leave?  Couldn't she
just have left and if Dukat got so be it and if not good?  I suppose I'm
asking why did Kira save Dukat?>>

I'm not sure, frankly, why she called out "Dukat" rather than "Meru."  I
should ask David and Bradley.  I never thought about it until now.

<<Did you see Titanic yet?  What did you think?>>

I enjoyed it.  I felt that there were enough moments of pure movie magic to
make the whole thing work and which compensated for some truly bad dialog.
The last third of the film is so well done that it's easy to forgive 
"Titanic" its flaws.

<<Is Terry Farrel leaving?  I need to know if I should start letter-writing.
>>

Can't go there yet.

<<You said that the season finale will be quote, "BIG".  Bigger than 
"Call To Arms"?>>

Not bigger than "Call to Arms," but it will have large repercussions
throughout season 7.

<<Which was/is harder, working for TNG or DS9?>>

TNG was filled with more tension and anxiety day to day and year to year.  I
saw a lot of upheaval in the writing staff, especially in the early years 
and the show always seemed to be in a state of turmoil.  I did like many of
the people I worked with and I know that during that time of my life, I 
loved my job.  DS9 has been a more enjoyable experience overall because of
the particular strength and unity of the writing staff and the coherence of
vision that Ira has brought to the show.  The work has been harder, but the
rewards have been greater.

<<Do you plan to bring back "Section 31" again before DS9 ends??>>

Yes.

<<I've noticed this seasons seems to have much better episode titles. Did
the writers talk about this, or did it just happen?>>

It just happened that way -- glad you like them.

<<"In the Pale Moonlight">>

Just watched this one over the weekend and wanted to say I think it's an
outstanding episode.  I did a fairly significant re-write on Mike Taylor's
script (so don't blame him if you think we've gone too far this time -- I'm
the culprit here and I'm rather proud of it) and I'll be happy to answer
questions on the show next week. 

Subject: Ooops
Date: Mon Apr 13, 1998 14:46 EDT
From: RonDMoore
Message-id: <1998041318464501.OAA18143@ladder03.news.aol.com>

<<At the end of the episode why did Kira tell Dukat to leave?  Couldn't she
just have left and if Dukat got so be it and if not good?  I suppose I'm
asking why did Kira save Dukat?>>

RDM:  <I'm not sure, frankly, why she called out "Dukat" rather than "Meru."
I should ask David and Bradley.  I never thought about it until now.>

My answer should've said "I should ask Ira and Hans, since they are the ones
who wrote "Wrongs Darker than Death or Night."  

Is the season over yet?