Subj:  Answers
Date:  4/17/97 8:00:18 PM
From:  RonDMoore       

<<Also, with possibly only 26 episodes to go after this season is it possible
we may see a little more action and less character development-type episodes?
 Sorry, but I am a BIG Dominion fan and those seem to be the only action
episodes.>>

I think we'll continue to press for a good mix of character and action next
year.  As a Dominion fan, you're going to be pretty happy.

<< I am looking for your personal opinion, nothing official by Paramount or
anything.  Would you like to see DS9 continue beyond it's series run?>>

Sure.  I think DS9 is the most interesting Trek to surface since TOS and it
would be nice to see it continue.

<<I don't know if you meant it sarcastically or not, but someone asked you if
VOYAGER is considered "competition," to which you said "yes."  Does this
create a problem when ideas are thrown around for future episodes, like: "No,
we can't do that.  VOYAGER is doing it."?  Is it
hard having two staffs working in the same STAR TREK world, with the
potential of similar stories arising?>>

We run into this from time to time, but it's never been a big problem.  The
shows are so different, that there aren't too many stories that we're both
trying to tell at the same time.  In general, whichever show came up with the
idea first would get dibs on it.

<<Uptopic someone asked if you consider Voyager the competition.  I believe
you responded "you bet" or something to that effect.  Could you please
explain why that is?   I don't understand.  I assumed that there was a spirit
of cooperation between the two shows and the films.  Perhaps competing makes
for better story telling but I don't really understand. >>

It's a friendly competition, but we're always eyeing one another to see who's
putting out the better show, getting the most attention, doing better in the
ratings, etc.  We're all very driven and creative people and it's only
natural that each of us wants to be on the "best" show, but we certainly
wouldn't try to hurt or damage the other series or anything like that.

<<While there is a Big Brother aspect to Odo's omniscience, the depth of his
pain,belief in justice, and his underlying compassion would never be found in
a true or even "latent" fascist IMHO>>

Well.... we do think Odo has a bit of the fascist in him.  His desire for
"justice" grows out of the Founder need for "order".  Given his head, Odo
could easily suppress dissent, stifle free expression, and violate privacy in
the name of "justice/order" and we've seen Sisko have to put a stop to these
tendencies on more than one occasion.  I'm not saying he's not compassionate,
but I also don't think he views civil liberties as being more valuable than
social order.  He's fairly authoritarian in his views and can be rather
inflexible about "the law" regardless of whether "the law" is just.  Witness
his "other self" in "Things Past", which took on the guise of Thrax.
 Thrax/Odo really believed that the Bajorans were at least partially to blame
for their vicitimization because they refused to accept "the verdict of
history" and "broke the law" by fighting against the lawful authority of the
Cardassians.  Not exactly the sentiment of a democracy-loving progressive.
 But before you mistake my meaning, we're talking about the subtle flavoring
of a character, not his dominant characteristics, and Odo is not about to
start goose-stepping down the Promenade.

<<Can you tell us about your first Trek experience.>>

Well, her name was Kathy and we were watching "Gamesters of Triskelion" and
she said to me, "Hey, I have a silver lame harness too."  "Really?  Well, I
have a whip."  So then we---- Oh.  Wait.  That's not what you meant, was it?
 Uh, my first Trek experience was uh.... I'll have to think about that and
get back to you.

<<Are the Vorta still capable of generating those "mind blasts" we saw in
"The Jem'Haddar?">>

Presumably, but we haven't had a situation where we wanted to use them for a
while.