The GalacticaBS website and message board, in conjunction with MediaBlvd Magazine, has just completed an interview with Ron Moore. Special thanks to Koenigrules and DarthMarley from MediaBlvd magazine, and V from the TrekBBS message board and points beyond for their help in preparing the questions. And of course, a very special thanks to Ron Moore for taking the time out to reply to them.

1. Ben Bova once complained about New Age mystic fantasy being packaged with science fiction. He cited Luke Skywalker in his hitech X-Wing, in the last great battle of Star Wars, eschewing the ship's targeting systems, listening instead to the voice of Ben telling him to "Use the Force" before dropping the big one on the Death Star. By analogy, Bova said that this would be the equivalent of Norman Schwartzkopf asking Shirley Maclaine to assist him in the final assault against the Iraqi's in Kuwait. I thought of Ben Kenobi and Ben Bova as I watched Kara Thrace and her "feeling" that she knew the road to Earth and that we should all just believe her and follow her there. It just seemed like it came from the same place. Is there too strong an emphasis on mysticism and faith in the Galactica universe? Shouldn't the scientific approach pave the road to Earth?

 RDM -- I think that the Galactica universe is one in which there are certain events and phenomena which cannot be explained by rational means, and so Kara's (and Laura's) belief in visions or mystic happenings are legitimate character choices in that universe.  There are certainly many people in our contemporary world who would argue strongly that there are things beyond the realm of scientific understanding or rationality and can only be explained by the divine or the supernatural and who would just as strongly resist the label of New Age mystic -- namely the members of most major religions.  We've tried to present the mystical elements of the show in an ambiguous way, allowing characters like Adama and Lee to completely dismiss them as anything more than wishful thinking or coincidence and I don't think we've endorsed a particular answer for the mysteries of the universe.  I felt that questions of faith were important to understanding the human condition and therefore the Galactica characters would wrestle with these questions and some members would find answers and some would not.  Ultimately, it's a creative choice that I'm comfortable with and feel it's one of the things that make this show unique.

2. The biggest reveal of the third season finale was the awakening of the four "Dylons" to the distant chords of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. At the time, this was quite a hurdle for the actors, especially Aaron Douglas and Michael Hogan. What can we expect to see from these characters, especially the story arc planned out for Colonel Tigh?

 RDM -- At this point, I think that you've seen a lot of how these arcs will play themselves out, but I can tell you that there are more answers ahead for the Final Five particularly in terms of understanding exactly their responsibilities for the events we've seen transpire.

3. One of the discarded elements discussed in your podcasts of the second season was a script entitled "The Raid". It involved a group of humans infiltrating a Cylon ship, raididng the Cylon archives to help them find Earth, and find out how to knock out the Cylon's ability to resurrect themselves aboard their resurrection ships. They were going to do this, essentially, in collusion with one of the Cylons, Caprica Six. The concept was re-used across several episodes in the first half of Seasopn 4. Could you tell us something about how this storyline came back from the dead?

 RDM -- It was the kind of idea that never really left the writers' room.  The concept of destroying Cylon resurrection was something that we continually discussed and kept tossing around until we found a story that provided a comfortable fit.

 4. Tell me a bit more about how Galactica nearly went to Woodstock, and your relationship with the song, "All Along the Watchtower". According to the "Kobols' Last Gleaming, Part I" podcast, Mark Stern described the concept as "winking at the audience for the first time." Did you encounter any kind of network resistance the last time around? And what sold them that it was a good idea?

 RDM -- I've personally been fascinated/obsessed with the song for years and always wanted to do something that used it in a new way.  The relationship of the song to the show will be illuminated when all is said and done.  The network didn't really know where we were going to but were willing to go there with us and by the time I provided the final story arc, they understood where and how it fit into our mythology.

5. One of the most interesting storylines in the series is the evolution of Dr. Baltar from the weak, venal secular humanist scientist, to the path of a disgraced collaborator president, and now, a confirmed believer and a proseltyzer and ersatz messiah of the Cylon monotheist religion. This has been something "Head Six" has been pushing pretty much from the beginning of the series. Just how far is he going to take this?

 RDM -- He's about to take a step back from where he's been going, given the shocking discovery of Earth, but he will also find that perhaps there is something both true and untrue about his conception of "God" and what it means for him and the entire human race.  Is that vague enough?

6. You've introduced many plotlines around for Lee Adama, some of which worked and some of which didn't. Is there anything you can spill on Lee's character arc? For example, the impact of his new political role on his relationship with the dying president, Laura Roslin?

 RDM -- I think Lee has found his true path (and so have the writers).  His role as leader of the civilian government will become even more important in the second half of the season and Lee will provide a key idea in the final episode that brings the show to its conclusion.

7. Is Ira Steven "I wear sunglasses at night" Behr upset that his illegitimate son is now sauntering around as a slick hot-shot defense attorney on Galactica? What can we look forward to seeing from Romo Lampkin?

 RDM -- Romo will be back two more times this season, once as a lawyer,and once as something even bigger.

8. How many episodes is Lucy Lawless expected to play this season?

 RDM --  Lucy will not appear in any further episodes.  D'Anna remained on Earth and lived there for the rest of her life. 

9. In Season three, it seemed as if Lucy's Number Three sidelined Number Six, and the latter just didn't get a lot of screen time - she didn't even testify at Baltar's trial. Will this be remedied with the Six models this season?

 RDM -- Much more screentime for the Sixes coming up.

10. Where did the BSG set get that wonderful leather couch in Admiral Adama's quarters?

 RDM -- I don't know, but I think it's going to be auctioned in the Spring, so clear space in your living room now.

11. What is the current status of Caprica the series?

 RDM -- We're putting the writing staff together right now and will probably announce the team in the next few weeks.  We begin shooting in July.

12. Caprica has been advertised as a kind of "American Beauty" meets "Dallas", an Earth-bound, or Caprica-bound SF, with various character and plot elements to tie it in to the current series. While many will watch because it's a Galactica prequel, others are worried about what has the appearance of a character soap opera with lower budget constraints that kind of hovers on the outer edge of the Galactica franchise. Do you think the pilot will find a niche among fans of the current series?

 RDM -- Our budget is comparable to Galactica, but will be tougher to produce because it's so location-driven (unlike BSG, which had many more standing sets).  It's a different series with different goals and we'll have to see what the audience reaction is.  We're happy with it and are looking forward to doing great things on Caprica.

13. Do you have a prospective airdate for the airing of the backdoor pilot? And should a Caprica greenlight be expanded to a full season order, do you have any ideas how quickly we could see a Caprica season one?

 RDM -- No definite airdate on the pilot yet, but the series will be on the air sometime in early 2010.

14. Separate from Caprica, do you envision any future 2-hour telemovies or direct to DVD's set in the Galactica universe? Or a sequel series set after the events of the last episode?

 RDM -- "The Plan" is officially the last BSG project, but we've digitally archived all the sets and I've learned never to say never in this business.

15. What exactly is your role in Caprica, beyond co-scriptwriter and executive producer?

 RDM -- I'm Executive Producer and I'll be guiding us through the first season order.

 16. Nearly two years ago there was a press release on some upcoming projects on yours. One of the most interesting was a fantasy series called "Pen and the Sword", which seemed like a TNG Holodeck storyline gone amok (some of the Ensign Barclay episodes, plus "Emergence", came to mind). There was also the Sci Fi Channel's "Warehouse 13", which had echoes of both Raiders of the Lost Ark and the X-Files? What's the status on these?

 RDM -- NBC passed on "Pen and the Sword" and I left "Warehouse 13".  W13 has been ordered and is now going to series on SciFi.

17. You're also working with Michael Taylor on the pilot script for "Virtuality". It has been described as a commentary on how people use fantasy to retreat from the world and such. Is "Virtuality" a commentary/satire on fandom and fans who become TOO absorbed into the fantasy world? For example, the fans who were obsessed with various creative choices of yours throughout the years ("He killed Kirk!")

 RDM -- No, it's really a much more complex and ambitious show about fantasy and reality that has nothing to do with fans or fandom.  The pilot will air (at some point) as a 2 hour on Fox and right now they're still trying to decide whether to pick it up to series.

18. There were many fan complaints throughout season 3. For many, the show just died and went to shipper heaven with the infamous Lee/Kara/Dualla/Anders love quadrangle. The demographics of the BSG online fanbase has certainly evolved since 2003 - there seem to be fewer generalized SF fans and more "shippers". From one perspective, it more resembles Roswell fandom than Star Trek fandom. How do you draw the line between character-based drama and soap opera? Do you see a downside in your approach?

 RDM -- I don't really draw those kinds of lines, I just try to go where I think there are interesting stories to be told.  I think that problems with the Lee/Kara/Dualla/Anders quadrangle were matters of execution (on the page, not on the set) rather than conceptual.  I liked the reasons why I went in those directions, but just didn't plot and write the story arc in a way that was satisfying.

19. In previous interviews, when asked about the softening of the ratings, you've answered that you were happy with the creative choices that you've made, and that those choices were story-driven and that this series is being made the way you want it to be made. Now that it is nearly over, can you say that there were places where you should have maybe turned left when you turned right? Would you have done anything differently if you had to do it all over again?

 RDM -- Again, I'd say that the romantic relationships with Lee et al could've been handled better and I wish I had locked into the political path for Lee much earlier, but by and large I'm happy with the choices I made.

20. What was it like directing a BSG episode for the first time?

 RDM -- It was a wonderful experience and I found it oddly relaxing.  I can't wait to do it again.

21. How exactly is being elected to the Council of the Twelve supposed to work? Baltar was not originally a native Caprican and yet he was elected as the representative of Caprica. Is being Caprica a geography or citizenship thing or an ethnic thing? On a related subject, do you think you'll eventually get around to blogging the Colonies of some of the minor characters like Gaeta, Cally or Racetrack?

 RDM -- I think representation on the Quorum would have to do with some kind of residency requirement, much like being a US Senator only requires that you live in the state for a certain amount of time, not that you were born there.  I don't think we ever got around to identifying where those characters were from.

22. Last year you launched RonDMoore.com. Will you at one point have a bulletin board along the lines of Whedonesque or Kevin Smith's board?

 RDM -- At this point, I haven't even blogged in months, so I doubt I'm expanding the site any time soon.

23. In the aftermath of the WGA strike settlement, Harlan Ellison said that the WGA lost, declared victory, and then cut and ran. Do you agree?

 RDM -- No, I don't.  I think the key principle that I and many others were fighting for was that work done for or viewed on the internet had to be covered by the Guild and the studios were not willing to go there before the strike.   The internet holds the future for all of our work, past, present and future, and without the strike I don't think the studios would have ever conceded the principle of coverage on anything approaching a reasonable basis.  At this point, it's now a legitimate issue of collective bargaining for all the guilds and that would never have happened without the strike.

24. The following is a question from the V aka The_Merovingian. "Ron, we're very troubled by this: we got really hyped up on that "the Cylons have a plan" every week in the opening credits, and now we hear that that was just a marketing gimmick by David 'Bionic Woman is the hot new show of Fall 2007' Eick, and the Cylon in fact, never had one single monolithic 'Plan'. Ron, why were you leading us, your loyal fans, on like this? It was kind of yanking our chain the way Voyager did."

 RDM -- I never liked it and regret ever acquiescing to it, however, we did finally answer it with "The Plan" movie and so now my conscience can be clear.

25. Dualla's first name is "Anastasia" which means resurrection in Greek. In light of who is and isn't the twelfth Cylon, is this significant? Blink once for yes, twice for no.

 RDM -- Now I can easily blink twice.

26. How do you feel about how Nicki Clyne has grown during the years she has worked on your production, the growth of the Cally character, and your general feelings on working with Clyne and your habit of expanding tertiary characters into major recurring roles.

 RDM -- I think Nicki is a great example of the many actors who started off with relatively small parts and just kept getting our attention.  One of the things I've really enjoyed about the project was watching people like Nicki grow and grow as actors over the course of the series.

27. In the season 3 finale podcast you revealed that Scifi pressured you to create a season of mostly standalone episodes to hook new viewers. When did they start pressuring you to do this? What are your general feelings on how this (negatively) affected the show's quality? Maybe The Sopranos had too many "running storylines"; probably should have cut most of those out, eh? Do you feel it also affected the ratings?

 RDM -- There was pressure on this front from the very beginning.  I think that the show was better creatively when it was doing continuing rather than episodic stories, but there were certainly exceptions like "Hand of God."  I think "Sopranos" [is] brilliant, period.  I have no idea about the hows or whys of the ratings and anyone who tells you they do is just guessing.

28. The first two seasons raised a lot of existential questions on who the Cylons were. But in season three, they were replaced with a recurring "Baltar on a Basestar" storyline, which was both confusing and suffered from too many time edits. Will the question of who the Cylons fundamentally are be resolved by the end of Season 4?

 RDM -- I liked the Baltar on the baseship story line and I don't have any regrets on that front.  The Cylon questions should mostly be answered by the end of the series.

29. You promised to "thin the herd" last season but one of the complaints was that you just didn't kill enough secondary characters. And even the dead don't stay dead - witness the return of Kara Thrace. For someone with a reputation for killing off major popular characters in other franchises, the bodycount doesn't seem high enough. Will you follow belatedly through on this promise in season 4? Will you satiate our bloodlust?

RDM  -- I think the first episode of the second half should show that the Grim Reaper is still roaming the Galactica hallways.  And there's more to come.

30. Do you realize that for the cost of the model ship that Eddie Olmos destroyed ($100,000), you could have built an entire Heavy Raider interior, a ship you didn't build for the season 2 finale?

 RDM -- It's amazing what good insurance will do for a series.

31. What will be the legacy of Battlestar Galatica? Will it be remembered as a critically acclaimed niche show, which influenced other shows (Jericho) but ultimately loved by a small fanbase that already agreed with its message? Or will this "reinvention of science fiction" have a deeper, longer impact on the genre?

 RDM -- I have no idea.  I hope it's remembered and hope it has an impact, but only time will tell, as they say.