TREKCORE > DS9 > EMISSARY > BEHIND THE SCENES INTERVIEWS > David Carson
 

DAVID CARSON (Director, 'Emissary') "I'm one of those people who believe preparation is an immensely important thing. You can save time and money by preparing properly and you can also examine everything from all the angles with all the possibilities that have to be thought about. You can then produce a product that is far superior to one that is shot from the hip, on the run, as it were. Although you may be very fortuitous when you shoot from the hip because it's very exciting, and it does get the adrenaline going, I'm one of those people who tend to think that overall planning is one of the most important elements. If you have the time to plan properly and carefully put together a jigsaw that tells a story, you'll have a much more effective result in the end. One of the great weaknesses we had because our casting was left till so late was we did not have enough time to rehearse. Normally that doesn't matter in television because you're not dealing with things that are rehearsable, but this project was so complicated in some of its philosophical content and so difficult, it would have benefited all of us greatly and helped in the gradation of the characters through the scenes. It was an extremely enjoyable experience. We all had a great time doing it. I always thought that the film was rare, even in Star Trek terms, because of its philosophical content and the way it went about solving the emotional problems that it had in it. The show was very unique and very intelligent. Such a complicated and complex piece of work that was challenging on so many levels made for an extremely complex pattern for the audience to follow. You would think from time to time that it was like something out of European television in its content. Is America ready for this? As is often the case, television underestimates the audience - particularly the networks. I think the success of DS9 goes another step to prove the audience is challenged and titillated by exciting and interesting and penetrating work. You are given your cut and you hand it over to the producers, and they do what they feel they want to do with it because after all, in episodic television you're a guest and you're not the prime mover of the project as you are, often, in a feature film. You come in and fulfil what needs to be done and return the product to the producers and the writers, who then shape it as they want to. Part of the job s not to be pigheaded about the way you see it. It's all a matter of taste, and there's no real way of saying whose taste is right and whose taste is wrong, except that one believes that one's own taste always is right."

BACK TO EPISODE LIST, BACK TO EMISSARY INDEX, Interviews: David Carson - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 | Marvin Rush | Michael Piller | Rick Berman | Terry Farrell | David Livingston