Sci-fi veteran Ronald D. Moore on TV challenges
Television veteran Ronald D. Moore talks about balancing the different responsibilities of being a showrunner at a discussion at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in Scotland.
By Nick Goundry 25 Aug 2016
Television veteran Ronald D. Moore talked about balancing the different responsibilities of being a showrunner at a discussion at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in Scotland.
Moore began his career as a writer on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine in the 1990s. He is now showrunner on Outlander, the time-travel romance TV series that is currently filming its third season on location in Scotland.
“A central challenge as a showrunner is always to balance my writer’s side, which is saying ‘Don’t cut anything – what are you crazy?’ with my producer’s side which is always saying ‘Cut everything!’” Moore said at the talk.
Outlander is based at Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld near Glasgow, but the third series will take the story to Jamaica and eventually to ‘the New World’.
“It’s very hard in terms of the production,” Moore said. “You are doing a whole new series with every season, so that’s very difficult. Scouting new locations, building new sets, bringing in new cast members, new costumes and different eras.
“It increases the expense, it increases the time necessary to prep everything and to shoot everything.”
Moore had previous experience reimagining an existing TV property with the acclaimed sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica in 2004, but Outlander marked the first time he had adapted a series of novels for television.
“[Outlander] has a vision, feeling and vibe that is an entity unto itself. All these component pieces then combine into our voice.”
“A central challenge as a showrunner is always to balance my writer’s side, which is saying ‘Don’t cut anything – what are you crazy?’ with my producer’s side which is always saying ‘Cut everything!’” Moore said at the talk.
Outlander is based at Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld near Glasgow, but the third series will take the story to Jamaica and eventually to ‘the New World’.
“It’s very hard in terms of the production,” Moore said. “You are doing a whole new series with every season, so that’s very difficult. Scouting new locations, building new sets, bringing in new cast members, new costumes and different eras.
“It increases the expense, it increases the time necessary to prep everything and to shoot everything.”
Moore had previous experience reimagining an existing TV property with the acclaimed sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica in 2004, but Outlander marked the first time he had adapted a series of novels for television.
“[Outlander] has a vision, feeling and vibe that is an entity unto itself. All these component pieces then combine into our voice.”
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