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Ron Moore
Podcast and Portable Media Expo Keynote
Ron Moore
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[runtime: 00:22:46, 10.4 mb, recorded 2006-09-29]
Moore makes light of his designation as a podcasting pioneer by relating that he only began his Battlestar Galactica podcast at the suggestion of the man running the Sci-Fi Channel's web site. It was seen as little more than a promotional stunt for the last five episodes of the first series. Moore had to be told exactly what a podcast was before he grasped the concept. In fact, it was only when it was compared to work he had previously done on commentaries for DVDs that he felt it was something he could do with relative ease.
The bulk of Moore's entertaining address describes how he went from regarding the weekly podcast as yet more work that had to be done to the realization that the medium has almost limitless potential, taking the original concept of radio and removing the apparatus that can come between producer and audience. This direct line to the audience appeals especially to Moore, who feels it is something that TV writers miss out on. They are unable, after all, to watch the reactions of viewers to their work when it is broadcast.
This connection with the audience led Moore to treat the podcasts as a method of talking honestly about the shows, including a famous occasion when he talked at length about the faults of one episode. The ability to comment at the same time as the shows are released is very different to the experience with DVD commentary, where many months or even years could pass between production and release on DVD.
Originally, the idea had been to produce a podcast to coincide with the release of five episodes. It is clear that Moore can see no reason - into the third season of the show - to stop podcasting now.
Ron Moore began his TV writing career on Star Trek: The Next Generation before being promoted to producer on the series and then working on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and, briefly, Star Trek: Voyager. He co-wrote the first two 'Next Generation' movies and worked on an early version of the script for Mission: Impossible II.
Moore then worked with David Eick to develop a Battlestar Galactica mini-series, updating the original concept and giving it a less light-hearted treatment. This received record ratings when it aired in 2003 and, when the Sci-Fi ordered a first series of thirteen episodes, Moore joined as full-time executive producer.
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