Ron Moore Interview

BattlestarGalactica.com has recently had the chance to talk with Battlestar Galactica creator and executive producer Ronald D. Moore about the second season and a number of things that will be happening in the coming episodes. Here's a snippet:

BattlestarGalactica.com: There's speculation that Count Iblis' counterpart in this series is the as-yet-unseen Cylon God. Is there any possibility that elements of the original series "War of the Gods" storyline may weave themselves into the new series?
Ronald D. Moore:While I have thought of incorporating the Count Iblis/Ship of Lights mythology from the original show into the series, I've pretty much decided not to go there for now. The theological construct we've been establishing seems more interesting to me at this point and I don't think Iblis will be part of the current show.

BSG.com: There are numerous complaints about the use of "technobabble solutions" in Star Trek. An episode spends 40-odd minutes amplifying a critical problem, and someone solves it in a single meaningless sentence. Is the use of religion (both Cylon and Colonial) similar, in that it provides a convenient solution for the writer's dilemma?
RDM: I don't think we've used the religious aspects of the show as deus ex machina, but I could be wrong. I've always felt that we wanted to do more than just stand around spouting bromides about faith and religion without ever having a single element of the show which could actually justify the Cylon faith (or the Colonials', for that matter) so there were definitely times when I wanted at least the possibility of the divine. Hopefully, we never used something inexplicable simply as a way to resolve the story, but you be the judge of that.

BSG.com: After twenty episodes, many fans have expressed overall fatigue with the Caprica storyline, and were appalled with the idea of idea of revisiting Caprica and Kara's love interest. And yet others seemed eager to explore the soap opera of these doomed characters. Which way will you go with this, and how do you choose who to disappoint?

RDM: The show has many different aspects to it and people respond to it for varying reasons, but to me, the Caprica storyline last season was fundamental to the show and so its fallout and ramifications this season continue to interest me. I think that the first season Caprica story definitely had some moments when you could feel us treading water as we tried to figure out where we were going, but I think that the second season tale moved with greater agility and I think it's headed in a good direction.

BSG.comStarbuck's Caprica experience left her even more damaged than before. Are there any more surprises in Starbuck's screwed-up life that we can look forward to?
RDM: Oh, definitely. At the end of this season, Kara's life will be virtually nothing like it is now.

BSG.com: This series seems to court controversy and push envelopes. In "33", there was a behind the scenes battle over whether or not to show the Colonials firing upon a civilian ship with people on board. In the podcast for "Home, Part 2", you cited butting heads with Standards and Pratices over some lines between Tyrol and Adama. There have been other controversial scenes this season such as Kara Thrace's pelvic exam in "The Farm", Adama drowning a baby in "Valley of Darkness" and the sexual assault on Sharon in "Pegasus". At what point does the creative impetus run up against practical concern about viewer backlash?
RDM: We make an adult show for adults. I think that the vast majority of people watching our show know the kind of material we do at this point and have made a choice to watch it. I push the show as far as I think it should go and I fight to maintain the truth of what we do day and day out. Each of the scenes you cited was something I felt strongly about for creative reasons and I'd fight each of those battles over again if I had the choice (and probably fight even harder the second time around).

Read the full interview here.