Moore Talks Trek Past, Galactica Future

Ron Moore discussed his recent work on Battlestar Galactica, saying he felt that he could take chances on his current series that he could not on Star Trek but admitting that he still has not come up with a way to address certain provocative subjects such as homosexuality on his current show.

"On 'Star Trek' I often railed against the strictures of the show itself, which I felt constrained us from taking more chances," Moore told Sci Fi Pulse. "I believed then, and still do today, that 'Trek' had such an enormous fan base and such a huge pop cultural prominence that we could really explore much more provocative themes and that we didn't have to play it so safe with the characters."

On Galactica, he added, he is able to decide what is appropriate to the series, but that doesn't mean there aren't limitations. Asked about the absence of gay characters in five Star Trek series, Moore said, "I'd like to at least establish that homosexuality exists in the Galactica world, but I've yet to hit on a way of doing it that doesn't feel like it flashes a neon light saying, 'See, here's our gay show!'" Moore added that he was "somewhat ashamed that I've been unimaginative in this area."

Asked why none of the major Galactica characters had died yet though he had made such a dramatic move in killing Captain Kirk in Generations, Moore said, "Killing Kirk was a great concept and had the potential to resonate throughout the Star Trek franchise, but the execution [no pun intended] was flawed and the impact was not what we'd hoped for on any level. Killing off a main character in this show is somewhat different because 'Galactica' is more of an ensemble piece than Trek ever was, but I'd still take the lessons I learned from 'Generations' into account if I were going down that road." Moore explained that any death would have to be in the service of the overall arc of the series "and it would have to be a pivotal event in the show's history, so that in retrospect you'd say 'I hated the moment they killed X, but if they hadn't, it wouldn't ended up as great as it did.'"

Moore has promised to explain more about Cylon society on Galactica and is working on a prequel series, Caprica, which will explain the Cylon rise to power and Adama's family background. "'Caprica' is a very different show in that it's planet-based, is not action-adventure, and has no space battles whatsoever," Moore revealed. "It's a family drama set in the corporate world." He said that while fan reactions interested him, he was not eliciting fan input into the franchise, though he does not object to a proposal for a continuation of the original Battlestar Galactica with its original cast: "If they can get a good story together and get the pieces lined up to do it, then more power to them."

The full interview is here.

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