[Robert Hewitt Wolfe]

Hey all,

Since Spike is now rerunning DS9 and since I want everyone to watch it so it gets huge ratings and never, ever goes off the air and makes me money basically forever...

Anyone have any questions raised by the reruns? I'll be happy to answer them if I can remember answers from that long ago. And I promise to try REALLY hard not to answer "pixie dust." Unless you ask about replicators. Or tractor beams. Or transporters... well, errrrr, hmmm, no promises.

Oh, and while I'm making shameless plugs... BUY MY BOOK:

LEGENDS OF THE FERENGI is a really good book!!!! Amazon rates it at 4.5 stars out of 5!!!! BUY ME!!!

Only 200,000 copies to go before I actually get a royalty check!



Okay, fire away.

This post has been edited by Robert Hewitt Wolfe: 10 April 2004 - 01:20 AM

[RommieSG]

From watching the early episodes that have been running lately, I see Sisko as a sort of soft Commander. He seems to be a bit more compassionate, and doesn't have that fire that we see later in the series.

Where does that fire come from? What event in the DS9 lore causes him to toughen up, and become the battle hardened Captain that we come to see in the later seasons. Is it the Jem Hadar? The Cardassians? Losing Jadzia?

Rommie

[D'Monix]

Here's one.

What Branch of Starfleet did Sisko originally come from before he became an officer? (and XO of the Saratoga, which would put him in the Command.)

[Robert Hewitt Wolfe]

Quote

From watching the early episodes that have been running lately, I see Sisko as a sort of soft Commander. He seems to be a bit more compassionate, and doesn't have that fire that we see later in the series.

Where does that fire come from? What event in the DS9 lore causes him to toughen up, and become the battle hardened Captain that we come to see in the later seasons. Is it the Jem Hadar? The Cardassians? Losing Jadzia?

I've always seen Sisko as a pretty fierce guy, even in Season One. I mean, he does get in Picard's face in the pilot. Certainly the scars from Wolf 359 fuel that fire. Even in season one, I don't think that he comes across anywhere near as soft as Picard, Janeway, or Archer.

I think, though, that the threat of the Dominion (starting in THE JEM'HADAR) is probably what pushes him to extremes as the series moves on. I suspect that Sisko saw the Dominion as another Borg-level threat and his fierceness comes from wanting to prevent massacres like the one that took the life of his wife. Everything else you mentioned, Jadzia, the Cardassians, plus Winn and the Maquis are further goads that take Sisko from the man we see in EMMISSARY to the one we see in the finale.

This post has been edited by Robert Hewitt Wolfe: 10 April 2004 - 01:34 AM

[Robert Hewitt Wolfe]

D'Monix, on Apr 10 2004, 06:25 AM, said:

Here's one.

What Branch of Starfleet did Sisko originally come from before he became an officer? (and XO of the Saratoga, which would put him in the Command.)

I think Sisko was always in Command division. The kind of jobs he talks about having (working with Curzon, supervising a shipyard, Saratoga XO) all fall within the Command umbrella. And unlike Picard and Kirk, who seemed to loath the idea of attaining Admiral rank, I always thought of Sisko as a guy who was perfectly comfortable with the idea of rising all the way up in the ranks and eventually being the CoC of Starfleet.

So I think Command all the way.

[Josh]

*feels incredibly mean tonight*

"Let He Who is Without Sin."

Explain.

[Robert Hewitt Wolfe]

Josh, on Apr 10 2004, 06:43 AM, said:

*feels incredibly mean tonight*

"Let He Who is Without Sin."

Explain.

Ummm, s**t happens? Especially in television.

But it's still 100000000x better than "The Swan." So there.

[GiGi]

I don't have a question... well maybe I do. Were you on the writing team when the episode with Majel was made. I just saw that in reruns. It was so touching when she held Odo in her skirt. I was sobbing. Such great character moments for her and René. I had forgotten just how beautiful that ep was. (Sorry didn't catch the title)

DS9 is my favorite Trek besides TOS. Just want to say thanks for your contribution to it!!

[Robert Hewitt Wolfe]

GiGi, on Apr 10 2004, 06:50 AM, said:

I don't have a question... well maybe I do.  Were you on the writing team when the episode with Majel was made.  I just saw that in reruns.  It was so touching when she held Odo in her skirt.  I was sobbing.  Such great character moments for her and René.  I had forgotten just how beautiful that ep was.  (Sorry didn't catch the title)

That was 'The Forsaken." And though I was on staff when that was done (I joined the staff right after "Q-Less") that moment was pure Michael Piller.

Quote

DS9 is my favorite Trek besides TOS.  Just want to say thanks for your contribution to it!!

Glad you like it and you're welcome. Everyone who worked on DS9 is insufferably proud of it.

This post has been edited by Robert Hewitt Wolfe: 10 April 2004 - 01:57 AM

[Josh]

Quote

Ummm, s**t happens?  Especially in television.

But it's still 100000000x better than "The Swan."  So there.

Actually, I think it's probably more accurate to say it's 1000000000000000000000000000x times better than "The Swan."

Okay, lessee... now that I've gotten the prerequisite "ribbing Robert" question out of the way...

When you're writing a script, how confident are you about the finished results on screen? I only ask because all sorts of things leave the writer's control during the filming process.

[GiGi]

.

Quote

That was 'The Forsaken." And though I was on staff when that was done (I joined the staff right after "Q-Less") that moment was pure Michael Piller.

Thanks. Beautiful ep. That whole era of DS9 was mighty fine. I am looking forward to seeing the series again it has been awhile

Quote

Glad you like it and you're welcome. Everyone who worked on DS9 is insufferably proud of it. 

As you should be, awesome Scifi! Awesome Star Trek and contrary to some people's belief I think Roddenberry would have enjoyed it very much.



*edit cuz folks are so fast around here! *

This post has been edited by GiGi: 10 April 2004 - 02:03 AM

[Robert Hewitt Wolfe]

Josh, on Apr 10 2004, 06:57 AM, said:

When you're writing a script, how confident are you about the finished results on screen? I only ask because all sorts of things leave the writer's control during the filming process.

My level of confidence varies greatly with the situation. When I was on DS9, I had a great deal of confidence that whatever I wrote would be very well and very faithfully executed, because...

A. We had a very skilled cast and crew
B. We had plenty of money
C. I was in the production meetings
D. The cast and directors were always very faithful to the scripts and asked permission before making any changes
E. We had consistantly terrific directors and the best guest actors in the business
F. On the downside, I had very little to do with post-production/edits

My level of confidence on ANDROMEDA was a wee bit lower. My confidence level was still high, but not as high as on DS9. Producing ANDROMEDA was a bit trickier.

A. We had a very skilled cast and crew
B. We NEVER had anywhere near enough money
C. I was usually, but not always, in the production meetings
D. The cast was usually, but not always, faithful to the scripts. Directors sometimes did stupid crap without asking permission. This was an unusual but annoying occurance.
E. We had some great guest actors and some not so great guest actors. Ditto with directors. The talent pool in Vancouver is smaller. The best are just as good as in LA, but there is a sharp drop-off after that. Plus budget issues sometimes hurt us in casting
F. On the upside, I had a lot of control over post-production/edits and could fix a lot of stuff in post

That being said, ANDROMEDA turned out very well most of the time. The biggest shortcoming were almost always due to being underbudgeted. C'est la vie.

For comparison, on FUTURESPORT, I had NO CLUE what the end result was going to be.

A. I only spent two days with the crew and never met the cast (and didn't cast the cast for that matter)
B. We had plenty of money, I think. Never saw the budget.
C. I was in some pre-production meetings, but not all of them
D. The cast and director did whatever they wanted with the script once I was done with it
E. I had no control over casting (though the cast was very good with a few minor exceptions)
F. I had zero control over post-production/edits

In the end, I think Ernest Dickerson did a really nice job on the project, but going into it, I had no idea how it'd turn out. I wish I'd been a producer on the project so I could've had more influence, but I was just a writer for hire, so that was that.

Writing a feature is very similar to what happened on FUTURESPORT. You're writing into a void. Anything can happen once you're done with it. Feature writers are replaced all the time. Projects mutate beyond their control. Only in television does the writer have any real control over the finished project, and even then, only sometimes. But we screenwriters know what we're getting into, so it's part of the job. If we wanted total control, we'd write novels.

[Josh]

^

Wow! Great answer. I got a book!

Okay... What is it like writing with a partner? Do you trade off acts or collaborate together in the same room? And how do you make the scripts consistent with two different writing voices?

[Bad Wolf]

Robert Hewitt Wolfe, on Apr 9 2004, 11:48 PM, said:

Josh, on Apr 10 2004, 06:43 AM, said:

*feels incredibly mean tonight*

"Let He Who is Without Sin."

Explain.

Ummm, s**t happens? Especially in television.

But it's still 100000000x better than "The Swan." So there.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately this is COLD GORRAM COMFORT. GORRAMIT!!!

[Iolanthe]

Oh, this is a great thread!

What are you proudest of about your work on DS9?

(Incidentally, "better than the Swan," no matter how many orders of magnitude, is probably the faintest of faint praise... )

This post has been edited by Iolanthe: 10 April 2004 - 02:44 AM

[Cardie]

All right, prepare for the barrage!

1. When you were writing "The Wire," did you already have it in your head that Tain would turn out to be Garak's father? Do you also have it in your head why Garak was exiled, even if you don't want to tell us?

2. What made you decide to do, essentially, a Q and Vash TNG spinoff when you submitted your first DS9 script? Did you really like "Q-Pid?"

3. How long did Michael Piller do rewrites and final passes on scripts? Did he do anything more than notes after second season?

4. I have a first draft script of "Shadowplay" (an episode I love), and it's substantially different from the aired version. Did you write all the revisions on that one, or were other hands involved?

5. Do you have a favorite line of dialogue you wrote for DS9?

And to echo everyone else, thanks so much for all you contributed to this great, great show.

Cardie

[Drew]

Dearest Robert:

When are you going to write that DS9 feature film trilogy?

[Christopher]

RommieSG, on Apr 10 2004, 02:22 AM, said:

Where does that fire come from? What event in the DS9 lore causes him to toughen up, and become the battle hardened Captain that we come to see in the later seasons.

I think it was pretty much when they let him shave his head.

RHW said:

I think Sisko was always in Command division. The kind of jobs he talks about having (working with Curzon, supervising a shipyard, Saratoga XO) all fall within the Command umbrella.

I think the recent novel The Lost Era: Catalyst of Sorrows by Margaret Wander Bonanno, set in 2360, showed the younger Sisko as an engineer. Since he co-designed the Defiant and liked to build things, I think that makes sense. But I think the book showed him thinking about moving to Command.


I don't have any questions yet, since I'm waiting for the regular airings to begin next week. But I'm sure I'll have some in times to come.

[KRAD]

D'Monix, on Apr 10 2004, 01:25 AM, said:

What Branch of Starfleet did Sisko originally come from before he became an officer? (and XO of the Saratoga, which would put him in the Command.)

Actually "Paradise Lost" established that Sisko was in engineering for a while -- he was chief engineer of the Okinawa under then-Captain Leyton (he was an admiral in "PL"), and Leyton promoted him to first officer, which dragged him into the command track. (That was what Margaret based her characterization of Sisko on in Catalyst of Sorrows.)

This post has been edited by KRAD: 10 April 2004 - 10:19 AM

[Fire_Storm20]

With "No New Trek Movies Based on TNG", does this leave the door open for the DS9 crew? They would be next in line if we are going in order of the series. Are there any Hints as to whether this is the case? I think that a DS9 movie could get away with being a darker/more sinister movie than the others.