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Four of SEVEN, 443 lines total.
And here we go...
 From Justin S.:
 Is the story idea for Star Trek IX an idea you've had for
some time, or is it something that Rick Berman came up with for you to
help?
 Rick's first idea for the movie was to adapt a classic
tale, like "Prisoner of Zenda", and I watched that movie and came away
concerned that it really would be a story about a man posing as Picard, and
I felt that audiences who had waited for two years to see their hero might
be angry. The premise I brought back to him came to me as I was rubbing in
my Rogaine one morning.
 ha ha
 From Emmisary: Can you discuss the original draft of All
Good Things?
 Well, the first draft of All Good Things was very similar
for an hour, but the second hour wandered around without a clear story
direction. I wanted Ron and Brannon to get more ambitious and suggested the
idea of Picard working with different versions of himself in the different
time periods to solve the crisis. There may have been a 4th timeline, but I
don't recall.
 From Sisko: What inspired you to create another half human
half Klingon (Torres) after the death of K'heleyr?
 Characters with inner conflicts often are the most
interesting. We thought a woman who was uncomfortable with her Klingon
nature would be the source of good character material.
 From Lambertd
 DS9 has been terrific this season. But I think it would be
great fun if some reference were made about the Enterprise-E in the
Dominion War. And will reference to the war be made in Star Trek 9?
 Only in passing. But the effects of the war will play an
important part.
 Fascinating... :-)
 From Jetar: Do you see a difference in today's sci-fi shows
from yesterday's? Some like X Files and Stargate seem "darker" than Trek.
Your thoughts?
 I agree and there are some who believe that we have to
follow that trend. My feeling is that this franchise has the unique power
to make people feel good. And that is one of its greatest secrets of
success. I think you make people feel good by showing smart, effective
heroes facing moral dilemnas and growing as they triumph.
 It's why I love Trek
 From Steve: I've always heard that your motto has been
"Remember the characters" or something to that effect. Do you feel that
when you write that sometimes contrains you, cutting off options for the
people you're writing about?
 I don't know how to answer that question, because I don't
know how a writer ignores characters. I feel that too often in movies and
television shows these days, that we see thrills and SFX take the place of
stories about characters. As a viewer I find it impossible to care about
"stuff." As a producer, the first question I always ask a writer is "What
is this story about?' And if it's about space battles then I'm not going to
be interested. I feel as a writer a terrible obligation to reach out every
time I sit down no matter what kind of script I'm writing and try to
inspire in my audience the same feelings that I had watching movies and
good TV shows growing up. I find it impossible to settle for superficial
thrills, even though there are many people willing to pay me money to write
those kind of scripts. But what am I adding to this life by doing that? I'm
a writer, and I have a responsibility to say something about the world we
live in. If other writers find that "constraining" I feel sorry for them.
 excellent point, and well put!
 

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