Ron D. Moore Q & A from Star Trek: Continuum’s Message Boards
From 9809.01 to 9901.18
Q: Mr. Moore, I was wondering, after DS9, what are your plans, will you work on Voyager, or do you plan on moving beyond StarTrek?
A: I’m not sure what I’ll be doing next year. I’ve had a few offers and I’ve discussed some new projects with different studios, but I’m not making any decisions for a while. I have no plans to go to Voyager at the moment, but you never say never in this business.
Q: So, are we going to see what caused the Founders’ disease?
A: Can’t answer.
Q: Hi, I was wondering if we are going to see the Intendant in the Mirror Universe this season.
A: Yes. She will be in “The Emperor’s New Cloak.”
Q: I’ve been wondering about this for a while: In the last scene of Generations, Picard and Riker are digging through rubble looking for a book of Picard’s. In the process, Riker picks up and discards the Kurlan Naiskos (sp), the one that Picard’s old archaeology mentor gave him. Picard was so moved at the time that it caught my attention. I was wondering if this was an intentional thing thrown in, or if it just happened that way on the set.
A: It just happened on the set.
Q: Mr. Moore, I was just wondering – Did you (and/or any of the other Trek staff) get a chance to witness the Space Shuttle Discovery launch in Florida? If not, did you watch it live on TV?
A: The DS9 writing staff all gathered together to watch the Glenn flight in Hans’ office. It was a great moment.
Q: Mr. Moore, I was wondering if you would be able to find out if the person posting in the Voyager NG is Jeri Ryan or not, any help would be greatly appreciated.
A: Can’t help you there, but I’m very skeptical.
Q: Which episodes, if you could tell me, will feature very big space battles in?
A: There aren’t any large-scale battles coming up, but we plan on some toward the end of the season.
Q: In the episode “Take me out to the Holosuite” why was Odo absent at the Senior Staff meeting and since when did Nog became a senior staff member ?
A: To be honest, this is a bit of a dramatic cheat. I needed Nog to be there and I didn’t want Odo involved until later, so I cheated the definition of “senior staff.” I rationalized this to myself by saying that maybe Nog was Officer of the Day and so at least temporarily part of the senior staff and that perhaps Odo was regenerating and couldn’t attend. There, I feel better about myself already.
Q: I was wondering if you could possibly shed some light on a question. The Klingon Marines, what few aren’t in cryo. Have they ever been defeated in a war? The reason for the question is we have a Dak’Tahg point up, as a Marine emblem, some have said that it needs to be point down. But since Klingon’s are not fully explained as to the little things by Paramount, i was wondering if you could answer.
A: Officially, I don’t think we’ve ever established the “Klingon Marines” on the show. Also, the choice of pointing the emblem point up or point down is a little arbitrary and probably has more to do with an aesthetic choice on the part of the art department than with any story-specific reason. I think overall that the Klingons have indeed suffered their share of setbacks and defeats over the years.
Q: I have been a Star Trek fan for quite a while now, and this question has always left me guessing. How exactly is it that the sensors on these grand ships sense?
A: I’ll have to refer you to the TNG Technical Manual or the DS9 Technical Manual for the answer.
Q: Mr. Moore you have said in a past post that there probobly won’t be any DS9 feature films. If Voyager doesn’t go back to the alpha quadrant and Paramount decides to do another trek film featuring the cast of STNG will the writers of this movie feel of pressure in making the critical fans of Trek believe that the events in the alpha quadrant in that 10th trek movie could have actually happend in relation to the previous events on DS9? In my opinion the only way to steer away from this problem is to send Voyager home in time to tell about new events after DS9 has ended, wouldn’t you agree?
A: All I can tell you is that it’s way too early to speculate on what may or may not happen in a 10th feature film. The most important indicator on film 10 is how film 9 is received both commercially and critically.
Q: Have you plans for wrapping up the DS9 season? Specifically, will you do a series of episodes that wraps things up, or will it be a monstrously plot-intensive two hour show? Thanks
A: We’re going to be spreading out the wrap-up over several episodes.
Q: I was wondering why was the name Phoenix choosen for Cochrane’s ship. Was there any reason in particular? Also who come up with the name ?
A: Brannon and I came up with the name and it is a reference to the mythological bird that rose from the ashes — a metaphor for humanity rising from the ashes of the Third World War.
Q: What type of books are considered canon? The ones written by Production staff?
A: Actually, NONE of the books are considered canon. We consider only the filmed episodes (and movies) to be canon for our purposes. We do use things like the Encylopedia, the Chronology, the Technical Manual etc. for reference, but unless it was explicitly mentioned on screen, we won’t feel bound by anything stated even in those books.
Q: I was wondering if we are going to see more of Kai Winn this season?
A: Although we don’t have anything yet, we are planning to reprise Kai Winn before the year is out.
Q: While watching “In the Pale Moonligt” last night I realized that Majel Barrett doesn’t speak the voice of the computer any longer. Is she so busy with “Earth: The Final Conflict” that she has no time to speak the federation computer any longer, or are there other reasons for the voice change?
A: As far as I know, Majel still does our Starfleet computer voice. However, the voice of the station computer has always been done by someone else.
Q: At the moment there is some confusion about the order of current DS9 episodes. According to several sources from, the internet the order is as follows:
151 Image in the Sand152 Shadows and Symbols153 Afterimage154 Take Me Out to the Holosuite155 Treachery, Faith, and the Great River156 Chrysalis157 Once More into the Breach
Can you please confirm or correct this order? Some sources mentioned an episode called “Dysfunctional” which is said to be about Ezri Dax who wants to get rid of the worm in her body and arranges with an alien doctor an appointment for surgery to remove the symbiont. This episode had been mentioned once or twice and then never again. Will “Dysfuntional” be shown, or is it lost in the Wormhole, or did it just get a new title?
A: The actual order is:
Take Me Out to the HolosuiteChrysalisTreachery, Faith and the Great RiverOnce More Unto the BreachThe Siege of AR-558CovenantIt’s Only a Paper MoonProdigal Daugther
We’ve never had a show called “Dysfunctional” in development nor a story with the plotline that you described.
Q: Is there any chance we may see James Doohan return as Scotty at any point?
A: Probably not on DS9.
Q: In “The Sound of Her Voice” and “Valiant”, we saw a man (wearing the gold colour) sitting at the helm… is he a member of the production staff or something, or just an extra who enjoys a lot of screen time? I’ve seen him in the background before in several episodes.
A: I believe he was one of our fun-loving background actors.
