In the fifth episode of Beyond Farpoint, Baz and Geoff look at the career of writer / producer Ronald D Moore, the origins of his career on Star Trek: The Next Generation, focusing on several of his key episodes as a writer and his career beyond the show.
Introductions
Baz and Geoff start the show and introduce the focus of this episode; looking at the career of writer and producer Ronald D Moore (RDM), who began his career on Star Trek: The Next Generation. They’ll look at selected episodes RDM wrote and touch upon his wider writing career beyond the show.
Ronald D Moore’s career
Baz and Geoff talk about RDM’s extensive writing career, on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, briefly Star Trek: Voyager, the movies Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact, Battlestar Galactica, Outlander and current Apple TV show For All Mankind.
They also delve into RDM’s big break on Star Trek: The Next Generation, how he got the script for The Bonding accepted and his rise to fame on many of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s biggest episodes.
The Defector
Baz picks season three episode The Defector and reflects on how brilliant it is – and why it is his favourite Romulan episode on the show. Baz and Geoff reflect on the tension and onset of war, the beauty of the Romulan warbird D’deridex-class ships, James Sloyan’s portrayal of Jarok and the superb stand-off with Andreas Katsulas’s Tomalok.
Redemption: Parts 1 and 2
Baz also picks the season four finale / season five opener (and 100th episode) and the culmination of the Klingon story arc running since The Emissary / Sins of the Father. They discuss RDM’s shaping of the Klingon culture in the Rick Berman era of Star Trek and his ability to develop several races on the show, the brilliance of the Duras sisters, while Geoff confesses his lack of love for Klingon episodes.
They both appreciate the Romulan involvement in the story, talk in depth about Denise Crosby as Sela, her impact – or lack thereof – on the show, the concept of the 3D net in Redemption Part 2 and the importance of long-form storytelling in this two-parter that was unique to Star Trek and TV in general.
The First Duty
Geoff picks season five episode The First Duty, one of his favourite Star Trek: The Next Generation’s episodes. He talks about watching the episode with RDM’s commentary, Patrick Stewart falling asleep on set and the first story to focus on Starfleet Academy. Baz and Geoff discuss the whole ‘is Nick Locarno really just Tom Paris?’ debate and agree that they are the same person. They also delve into the darker path originally planned for Wesley Crusher and The First Duty being the beginning of the end to his Starfleet career.
The Pegasus
Geoff picks season seven episode The Pegasus and they both agree that this is one of Riker’s best episodes, and the tension with the Romulans and Admiral Pressman makes for riveting TV. Geoff notes there is some nice symmetry with The Defector too, though Baz feels it could have been a two-parter.
Trials and Tribble-ations, Deep Space Nine and Voyager
Over the course of the episode, Geoff runs through all of RDM’s credits on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, all of which feel like a run of greatest hits. They also touch upon his brief tenure on Voyager
They also take a look at 30th anniversary DS9 episode Trials and Tribble-ations and pick their favourite moments.
RDM’s post-Star Trek career
They discuss his work after Star Trek, debate the worthiness of Mission Impossible II and gush over his work on the remake of Battlestar Galactica, suggesting it’s the best piece of work RDM ever did, before coming back to his work on Star Trek: The Next Generation and his legacy on Star Trek as a whole.
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Useful Links
- Ronald D Moore (Memory Alpha profile)
- Ronald D Moore (IMDB profile)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (Memory Alpha)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation on IMDB (TV Series)
- Episode - The Defector S3 E10
- Episode - Redemption Part 1 S4 E26
- Episode - Redemption Part 1 S5 E1
- Episode - The First Duty S5 E19
- Episode - Pegasus S7 E12
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on IMDB (TV Series)
- Episode - Trials and Tribble-ations S5 E6
- Star Trek: Voyager on IMDB (TV Series)
- Star Trek: Generations
- Star Trek: First Contact
- Mission Impossible II
- Roswell High
- Carnivàle
- Battlestar Galactica (Mini Series)
- Battlestar Galactica
- Caprica
- Outlander
- For All Mankind
Small Print
The theme music is "Sunrise on the New World" by Grant Newman, and is licenced by Holosuite Media through Epidemic Sound.
The theme includes a short clip from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Encounter at Farpoint.
STAR TREK and all related marks, logos and characters are owned by CBS Studios Inc.
Beyond Farpoint, Holosuite Media, the website, the promotion thereof and any exhibition of material created by Beyond Farpoint, Holosuite Media, or the Beyond Farpoint team are not endorsed or sponsored by or affiliated with CBS Studios/Paramount Pictures or the STAR TREK franchise.
This podcast is a fan production. All views made are that of the individual(s), and may not represent that of Beyond Farpoint, or the Holosuite Media network.