lurkers-guide/ftp/CompuServe/cs95-06

JMS CompuServe messages collected by The Green Meddler <kilgalen@tde.com>.

Subj:  Hey!  New episodes!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 01, 1995 12:41:26 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#226576

     I imagine they're <<UK Stations>> getting masters sent
directly to them.

                                                       jms


Subj:  Sounds in space			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Wednesday, May 31, 1995 9:22:12 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#226352

     In talking to a number of scientists and physicists 
about sound in space, they came back with the realization 
that the area isn't as black and white as first thought.  
(Did you know that when the Pioneer probe broke the speed 
of sound in space, it registered a shock wave across its 
bow, a sonic boom that was monitored by JPL?  I didn't.)

     As for making the starfield rotate...because of the 
size of the window in C&C, the starfield outside is about 
60 feet by 30 feet.  You cannot rotate something that size.  
If you put a smaller field nearer the window, it's visible 
for what it is.  We've gone over this, believe me.

                                                      jms


Subj:  Was that the Sandman?		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 02, 1995 1:44:04 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#227583

     No, just an alien breathing device.

                                                    jms


Subj:  Anaheim con			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 02, 1995 1:44:02 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#227582

     I thought the Splitting Image folks did a *very* good job; 
some of the makeups were a little "flat," in terms of the usual 
texturing we do to make it look like actual skin, but that's a 
very small quibble.  The makeups and costumes were extremely 
good, and I was quite impressed.  (Stupidly, I didn't recognize 
the last as Deathwalker initially, only because it's been so 
long, and it was entirely my fault.)

                                                           jms


Subj:  UK B5: Break in series		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 01, 1995 6:17:14 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#227195

     Don't lets be hasty here...they don't have the tapes yet 
because they haven't been sent yet, but should go out in a day 
or two.  There were some additional EFX needed for "Divided 
Loyalties," which we're finishing this week, and is the first 
of the last batch.  "Twilight" is done and "Confessions"<< I
think he meand "Comes The Inquisitor">> will be done mid-next 
week, with the final EFX coming in on "Fall of Night" by the 
end or so of next week.

     So I wouldn't write it off just yet.

                                                          jms


Subj:  B5 in UK?			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 02, 1995 1:48:01 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#227586

     Oops...I wuz wrong.

     On the off-chance that I might commit an error (I know, 
impossible, but there you are), I called around, and the Channel 
4 people are out here on business.  Some digging ended up getting 
the straight skinny on this: yes, there is going to be a break of
a few weeks because the Tour de France is going to be going on 
then, and anything else is going to get completely and totally 
lost and overwhelmed in the ratings.  So they're holding back for 
just a bit.

                                                             jms


Subj:  Local station: "renewed"		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 01, 1995 6:03:09 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#227156

     It's nothing to do with quality.  WB Network is a different 
division of WB, and it's extremely competitive with PTEN.  We're 
talking here massive, honking corporate politics.  They wouldn't 
do it.  Further, WBN has *fewer clearances* in terms of TV stations 
than PTEN, and we'd end up losing many folks who don't have WBN 
network stations in their areas.

                                                             jms


Subj:  Sounds in space			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 01, 1995 6:03:07 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#227154

     A canvas painting of a starfield won't work, because the light 
inside C&C is so bright that a painting wouldn't register through 
the window (it's like trying to look at the stars through the 
window of a brightly lit room). We have a star curtain with *fiber-
optic lights* that create the stars.  You try and rotate something 
with 500-600 delicate fiber-optic lights, and it's going to be 
constantly breaking.  Also, 30 by 50 is fine *horizontally*; the 
second you try and rotate that, you suddenly have something 50 feet 
HIGH, and the ceiling isn't big enough to accommodate that.  (It's 
wider than it is high currently because most of the angles we shoot 
in are left/right, not up/down.)  If you shorten it for the ceiling, 
it won't be wide enough.

     Similarly, a projection onto a screen outside wouldn't show 
through the glass, either.  It would also require a length for proper 
rear-projection that would eliminate space badly needed for our sets.

     Believe me, we've been over this and over this...there have been 
hundreds of suggestions...none of them work.  Except for when we blue-
screen in a starfield, there's 
nothing else to be done.

                                                                jms


Subj:  New Big Bang Newletter		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 02, 1995 1:44:01 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#227581

     I think that if people paid extra for VIP tickets to get 
workshops, and those workshops are now free, certainly should be 
credited for that.  And for anything else that's not delivered.

     Re: your question about cast fees...I spoke with Walter 
Koenig today,who was supposed to receive the lion's share of his 
fee within no less than 30 days of the convention (by contract), 
and still hasn't received it.

                                                            jms


Subj:  Conventions (the making		Section: Babylon 5
  To: Saturday, June 03, 1995 3:38:24 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#228858

     Assuming we're renewed (we hope to finally hear next week), 
there are plans afoot to unveil an official in-house fan club 
operation here at B5, which would handle some convention liaison 
stuff for other conventions, and would eventually lead to a proper 
B5 convention which we would put together using the very same 
folks who make the show.  Since there's the benefit of PR, we 
wouldn't so much be looking to make a profit as just breaking 
even and, most important, having a good time...so the sense of 
it would be closer to a fan-run convention in tone.

     But be assured, that's at *least* a year down the road.  
Maybe more.

                                                            jms


Subj:  UK B5: Break in series		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 03, 1995 3:24:25 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#228853

     Yeah, I get confused sometimes.  Here's why:

     At any given point, while we're doing the show, 
I'm working on thefollowing episodes *SIMULTANEOUSLY*:

       I'm writing show #1
       I'm getting the director a copy of script #2
       We're prepping script #3 for principal photography
       We're shooting script #4
       The director is editing episode #5
       John Copeland and I are doing the producer's cut of 
       episode #6
       We're doing the music/sound EFX spotting of 
       episode #7
       Visual EFX/composite shots are coming in on 
       episode #8
       We're doing the final audio mix of episode #9
       We're delivering episode #10 to Warner Bros. 
       for closed captioning.

     In the course of any given day, I run from one of 
these to the other,to the other, to the other.  After 
a while, EVERYTHING blurs.

                                                  jms


Subj:  Just Say NO!			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 03, 1995 3:14:18 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#228851

     No Wesley Crusher types.  Ever.  It's always a dumb idea.

                                                          jms


Subj:  B5 Merchandise			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 03, 1995 3:14:17 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#228850

     Actually, that mug is available now from Creation 
Entertainment; I saw bunches of 'em at the Anaheim Convention 
they did.

                                                         jms


Subj:  Books by JMS?			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 03, 1995 3:14:16 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#228849

     I'm almost finished with the revisions on the writing book; 
it's been hell because it's a total rewrite from stem to stern,
and I'm adding about 200 pages of new material on top of 
correcting all the info that is now out of date.  It's a big 
honking piece of work on top of doing the show, but it's almost 
done.

                                                         jms




Subj:  Years?				Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 03, 1995 9:08:20 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#229647

     They would of course be speaking in Minbari terms.

                                                       jms


Subj:  UK B5: Break in series		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 03, 1995 9:08:22 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#229648

     It ain't easy.  You basically have to keep all the scenes 
and all the stories sort of "uploaded" into your head at all 
times, and just jump from one to the other.  It's kinda like 
balancing 10 spinning plates on sticks.

                                                       jms


Subj:  Books by JMS?			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 03, 1995 9:08:19 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#229646

     My two novels and my anthology are currently out of print; 
have also had short stories in Amazing, Pulphouse, Shadows 6 
and the like.  The book I'm trying to finish is the update to 
my scriptwriting book from Writer's Digest.

                                                        jms



Subj:  New Big Bang Newletter		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Sunday, June 04, 1995 7:15:22 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#230752

     I quote your message <<From another poster>> *verbatim*, 
word for word:


"I spoke with one of the CMC Organizers today (Harold) and he 
said the reason Walter Koenig hadn't received his check was 
that he changed his address and didn't notify CMC of the change.  
They FedEx'd his check to him and got it back as undeliverable 
because the address was no longer valid.  Since FedEx doesn't 
get address forwarding information like the Post Office does, 
they could only return it to CMC.  CMC now has received Walter's 
new address and the check has gone out (he may even have it now)."

     The only problem with your message is that it isn't true.  
Walter has never changed his address.  What happened (I just 
verified this on the phone with Walter about, oh, 3 minutes 
ago) was that the deadline for his check passed.  He called CMC.  
They said it had gone out.  It didn't arrive.  He called again.  
They said there was some kind of mistake, and they'd send it again.  
Again, no check.  Finally, Walter insisted that if the check did 
not arrive by Wednesday, he would have to withdraw from the 
convention, and to send the check directly to his home.  Now, 
finally, under threat, the check arrived.

     To say that he changed his address is completely untrue.  
To say he didn't notify CMC of a change that didn't happen is a 
shameless and transparent fabrication.  From reports I've heard, 
CMC has a habit of playing "the check's in the mail" with people.  
Lying doesn't help.

                                                             jms


Subj:  UK B5: Break in series		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Sunday, June 04, 1995 7:15:18 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#230751

     It varies.  Internet alone takes up to 3 hours a day, because 
of the nature of my newsreader, and the sheer volume of messages to 
wade through (I think you get 200-400 per day just there alone).  
CIS is a little faster, thanks to a) Tapcis and b) a smaller volume 
of messages.  Ditto for GEnie. Basically, if you added it all up, 
it would come out to about 2-3 8 hour work days per week.

     I don't actually find the time, I *make* the time, usually 
trying to slog through it all between midnight and 4 a.m. on 
weekdays, afternoons on the weekends, and the like.

                                                                jms


Subj:  B5 Trading Cards			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Sunday, June 04, 1995 7:15:16 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#230749

     The cards should be out from Fleer sometime around September.

                                                              jms


Subj:  Talia Leaving B5?		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Sunday, June 04, 1995 7:15:15 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#230748

     Just for purposes of clarity, what I said in my note was in 
response to a message alledging that Warners had influenced us to 
drop the Talia character, at which point I noted that this had never, 
ever happened, and that they were, if anything, only vaguely aware of 
the character in any event.  There have never been any discussions of 
ANY kind about Talia with Warners.

                                                               jms



Subj:  Talia Leaving B5?		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Colin Knowles, 72152,201		Monday, June 05, 1995 2:25:05 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#231037

     "...you don't have anything up your sleeve, by any chance?"

     Constantly.

     If I didn't, it wouldn't be Babylon 5.

                                                                       jms


Subj:  B5 Merchandise			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Pamela A. Beem, 74461,1030	Monday, June 05, 1995 10:02:24 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#232100

     EA = Earth Alliance, the government.  EF = Earthforce, the main line of defense for the
Earth Alliance.

                                                                       jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Wednesday, June 07, 1995 10:40:27 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#234230

     That's probably one of the best analyses I've seen on the 
progress and history of the show(s).  As Dupa says, you may want 
to consider posting this over on ST, though I'd maybe re-emphasize 
that this *isn't* a flame (it obviously isn't that in context, but 
it never hurts to reinforce it for those who just skim).  Certainly 
it should lead to some interesting discussions, as long as it 
doesn't turn into a "yeah, well MY show is better and yours 
SUCKS" fest, at which point it's better left to die of its own 
weight.

     Certainly Paramount has gone out of its way to make life for 
us difficult.  Getting Stephen Furst bounced off the Arsenio show 
back when it was still around because they didn't want to promote 
B5; making sure that Entertainment Tonight mentions it as rarely 
as possible; naming their new PI show "Babylon," presumably to
confuse the marketplace even further (suffice to say we encouraged 
them to rename it, and that's been done); word that has come to us 
from stations that program mangers were told that if they wanted 
Voyager they had to drop B5...there are more examples.  But that's 
what Paramount does.

     But we're like Rasputin.  Shoot us, poison, stab us, drown us, 
hang us...we just keep going.

                                                              jms


Subj:  Final four episodes		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Wednesday, June 07, 1995 10:18:16 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#234217

     Not really.  Because even though we still haven't gotten final 
word yet, you can't wait until that comes to start writing scripts.  
You have to get some in the pipeline ahead of time, or you're screwed 
when it comes time to shoot.  We like to have 6 or so scripts on hand
the day we start rolling film.  So even though I haven't known what 
the final disposition is, I've had to keep writing, which is sometimes 
hard because you don't know what the deal is yet.  But at least I get 
to make my own hours a bit more.

                                                               jms



Subj:  From JMS: B5 Renewed		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 2:16:00 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#235292

     To confirm word already leaking out via John Copeland on 
AOL...yes, we received word that BABYLON 5 has been renewed for 
its third season.  I got the call this evening, and have spent 
the time in-between doing Producer Stuff, and taking care of a 
small bug that hit last night, and has thus taken a bit of the 
edge off the news.

     Nonetheless...we've been renewed.  Shooting on year three 
will begin around July 31st. This season will put us past the 
halfway mark on the series total.  Expect Big Things and 
some major changes not just in characters, but the structure of 
the B5 universe itself.

     And now...to work.  With thanks to all of our friends on the
 nets who have stood beside us through the last two years.

                                                            jms


Subj:  Books by JMS?			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 2:26:17 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#235295

     The next novel wouldn't be out until after I finished 
the B5 story.

                                                         jms


Subj:  The Gathering - Cast		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 08, 1995 6:15:02 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#234871

     While I'll let the other question slide for the moment, 
yes, I'd like to see either Sakai or Takashima again.  Some of 
what I'd considered for Takashima I recently transplanted into 
more fertile ground (he said vaguely and mysteriously), but yes, 
I'd love to do it sometime.

                                                         jms


Subj:  The Gathering - Cast		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 2:26:18 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#235296

     Some of this, re: Lyta, will be answered this season.

                                                          jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 08, 1995 6:15:00 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#234870

     You have to step back and look at this from Paramount's 
perspective. For 27 years, they've had a lock on space-based SF.  
A monopoly.  They could point to all the other space-SF series 
which went by the boards quickly, and say, "See, we've lasted, so we 
MUST be better."

     If even ONE other show in this genre not only lasts, but 
*succeeds*, then ST isn't the Only One anymore; it's just one of 
two, or three, or more shows set in this genre.  It isn't 
unique (fiscally) anymore, and thus they are afraid they'll lose 
some of its marketability, the franchise will weaken.  If you wanted 
something from our future, in space, then for 27 years you had only 
one place to go: Trek.

     They're *terrified* of losing or softening their franchise.  
They're aware that support for DS9 is, in general, fairly soft;
 Voyager is still getting its sea legs, and they don't want 
anyone else coming up alongside and blindsiding them.

     For our part, we have never responded in kind.  When we 
formed the B5 softball team, playing other shows, we happily 
told the folks at ST that we'd love to play them sometime.  
Thus far, no response.  Can't imagine why.

                                                             jms



Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 08, 1995 6:15:04 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#234872

     Re: imitation is a form of flattery...Fred Allen, I believe, 
came up with a great line, "Imitation is the sincerest form of 
television."

                                                         jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 08, 1995 6:15:06 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#234873

    RE: SF and ST and the like...actually, there is some 
differentiation there to be found.  From the reports, and 
demographics, and research that has passed over my desk 
(most of which I try to ignore), it seems as though there's 
a distinction: about 60% of avid ST viewers are also SF fans, 
however nominally, in that they watch other SF shows (mostly) 
or read SF novels/stories (fewer still).  About 40% or so 
don't read or watch other SF; they're *specifically* ST fans.

     Which is why one should always be careful making the 
automatic assumption that if one likes ST, then one is an SF 
fan, and thus should give B5 a chance.  There is not always a 
corrolation.

                                                        jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  	Friday, June 09, 1995 2:37:11 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#235301

     Here's the funny thing...every, oh, six-nine months or so, 
I get phone interviews from major magazines asking, "So, to what 
do you attribute this sudden boom in science fiction?"

     Each time, I tell them the same thing: "There AIN'T no boom, 
nor is there anything to attribute it to.  You've got 35 network 
dramas on; that's business as usual.  You've got 5 SF shows, that's 
a *boom*?  Further, most of the shows fall by the wayside fairly 
quickly, and in a few months you'll be doing articles about "Why 
won't SF work on TV?" and calling me on that one."

     Not one magazine or newspaper has ever printed that part of 
the interview.

                                                            jms

Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 12:56:00 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236207

     The similarities have receded as both shows have gone off in
different directions.

     What was given to Paramount: the B5 bible, artwork, 20+ sample
stories, the pilot screenplay and other material.

                                                           jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 12:50:07 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236203

     "Paramount HAS increased the avenue of approach for more
SF/fantasy by CREATING the market with TNG."

     The only thing wrong with this statement is that it isn't true.

     ST creates a market for more ST, nothing else.  As one who has
had to speak with just about every network and studio major domo
on this subject, the overwhelming concensus has always been, "The
market isn't big enough to sustain more than one SF series, and
that's Star Trek."  From time to time, grudgingly, one or the other
tries it, but almost always half-heartedly.

     I heard that line scores of times in the process of trying to
sell B5, which is one major reason why it took 5 years to sell it.
If what you say were true, then there should have been dozens of SF
space series by now. But there aren't.  There's only us, and we had
to work hard to overcome the ST-Is-The-Only-Marketable-SF problem,
combined with Paramount's little games (making sure we're relatively
invisible to Entertainment Tonight, getting Stephen Furst kicked off
a guest-shot on the old Arsenio show to avoid promoting B5, and other
little tricks I could go into).

     None of which is to say that ST is bad, or that the people who
make ST are bad, this is Paramount stuff.

     But we had to fight hard to overcome the stumbling blocks put in
our way that are part and parcel of ST, so you will forgive it if the
hairs on my neck stand up when someone CREDITS the development of
shows like B5 to ST.  It is absolutely, positively not true.

                                                              jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 2:53:13 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236266

     Yes, it is difficult selling anything new to television.
But you do not usually hear, "We've got one hospital show on the
air now, that means you can't sell any others because the market's
full."  Yet that has been the case with ST for years.

     What will cause *more* SF shows to come is, well, more SF
shows that succeed.  Up until now, ST has been viewed (using the
industry term) as a "non-repeating phenomenon."  And if you step
back and look at it from a network POV, they're quite correct.
Very, VERY few science fiction series have ever made it past the
second or third year.  But you can point to many mainstream shows
that have gone five, eight, twelve, even fifteen years (in the
case of such an abombination as "Hee, Haw").  "Murder, She Wrote,"
which I was a part of for two years, has been on the air...what?
Eleven years? Twelve?  Not one SF show has ever done that.

     As soon as you have more than one SF show that lasts more
than, say, three or four years, then you might see more.  We are
one of the very, VERY few to make it to its third season.  And,
consequently, some network and studio types are thinking maybe it can
be done, maybe you CAN have more than one around at the same
time.  But they're still edgy, and they still use the line that there's
only room for ST all too often.

     I'm not making this up, Don.  Even once we got the series pickup,
we were told by a WB exec, "I'm not holding out any hope for
this.  It has never been shown that there's any market for SF other
than Star Trek." (That person has subsequently come around.)

     And as an SF fan myself...the more good SF on television,
the more I like it.  The Morgan/Wong pair from X-Files are doing their
new Space series, and I wish it all the best.  The more the merrier;
competition helps the field.  I just wish the folks at Paramount
understood that, and took a healthy competition as something good,
not something to be attacked or destroyed in order to preserve a
franchise.

                                                            jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 12:55:27 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236206

     "Do you think that if, say, Warner Bros was in the same position,
it wouldn't be trying to crush Trek and make sure Bab 5 was the
only SF show on TV?"

     That would require organization on the part of WB; hence,
doubtful.

                                                               jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 12:50:09 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236204

     What I've said, repeatedly, is that I don't believe for a
second that either of the creators behind DS9 would deliberately borrow
*anything* from anybody.  What I *don't* know is the extent to which
the development people at Paramount, who did have the B5
material, may have influenced that development without them necessarily
knowing the origin of the notes.

     But frankly...it's old news.  There were striking similiarities
between the DS9 pilot and ours; however, since then their show has
gone on into very different areas, and the similarity has diminished
further and further until there's almost no remaining comparison.
So for me, that aspect is really not a major factor anymore.
We move on.

                                                             jms


Subj:  B5 Baseball Team			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 8:50:10 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236017

     We lose as often as we win at softball, but invariably we get a
much larger turnout of B5 people to cheer on our team (anywhere
from 40-60, as opposed to, oh, usually 20), and we have a much
better time, I suspect.

     Interestingly, when came time to create our B5 softball
jerseys, we gave them all the same number: 5.  So you've got an
announcer saying, "At shortstop, number 5...first base,
number 5...second base, number 5...."

     There were some initial complaints, but on checking
the rule books, there's nothing that says the numbers have to be
different.  So the 5s stayed.

     We had a previous shipment all with #4, but it vanished
mysteriously.

                                                          jms


Subj:  Plan NOW !			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 8:50:07 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236015

     If every dedicated B5 viewer got 10 people who haven't
watched/don't watch the show, and got them to just watch the episodes
in October and November, it'd probably have a salutory effect on
 our ratings, and given what's in those eps, we'd have them thereafter.

                                                         jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 11:00:03 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236144

     Night Gallery was vastly under-rated and under-appreciated.

                                                        jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 11:00:05 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236145

     Yeah, "attempted boom" in the sense that studios try to
figure out what audiences want, and drag out focus groups,
and research, and plug in the "formula" (put in a kid for
the young crowd, maybe a pet as well, make it "campy"
since the networks can't take SF seriously, put in a
young hunk and a babe).  Never works.

                                                          jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 8:50:08 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236016

     Yeah, we've noticed that; there are a lot of parallels
between the early history of ST and our show, all of the
things you noted, plus some hostility from Lost in Space
fans who thought ST was poaching on their terrain, on and on.
Kinda funny....

                                                         jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 11:00:01 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236142

     On the flip side, virtually *all* of the B5 fans are
also SF fans as well.  That's because, ratings-wise, we're
still hitting mainly the hard core SF audience.  Where ST
gets its ratings is from the mainstream, non-SF fan community.
Should B5 begin to mainstream out, then that would change.

                                                         jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 09, 1995 11:00:02 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236143

     That may well be true for audiences at a young age, who
turn onto a show like ST or something else, and seek it out,
but for the majority of people, apparently it ain't the case.
Most of those who seek out a book in the genre after watching
ST to some extent...tend to buy ST novels.

                                                        jms



Subj:  Babylon 5 Theme Music		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:22 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236754

     Yes, we'll change the theme again.  The theme and narration
changes with the theme and part of the storyline we're entering.
Some don't like the year two theme as much as the 1st because it
doesn't summon up the same feelings; it shouldn't.  It's a
different chapter in the story.  I've already spoken with Chris
Franke about my ideas for the music for year three, and I think
it'll be pretty kick-ass.

                                                           jms


Subj:  Books by JMS?			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:14 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236750

     It'd have to wait until the series itself is finished; it'd
take me about a year of dedicated work to write the next novel,
and I can't do that while I'm making this show.

                                                          jms


Subj:  Third season finale		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:07 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236746

     I kinda have to follow the structure of the story as I've
put it together; I can't start restructuring it around airdates,
which may get changed.

                                                         jms


Subj:  B5 Baseball Team			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:03 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236743

     Depends on who's available; some cast play, some don't, some
play sometimes.  At various points, Jerry, Bruce, Richard, Caitlin
and others have taken part.

                                                          jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:02 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236742

     We're *slowly* growing to include the mainstream audience.
Mainstream viewers go to ST first because, well, it's ST and a known
commodity.  They don't routinely check out other SF shows.  Slowly,
though, we're starting to draw in that audience.  I'm getting more
letters lately than ever before saying, "I've never watched much SF
before, but now I've started watching B5.'  That will likely
continue.

     The biggest obstacle in the beginning was the negative
reviews that came from reviewers who expected us to do ST,
and we didn't, and thus they perceived us as somehow doing ST
 "wrong."  So now it's all word of mouth.

                                                             jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:16 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236751

     I've been to a total of two focus groups for B5.  I didn't
want to go. Didn't want there to BE a focus group.  I think
they're the tools of the devil.  They generally find these
people at the nearest shopping mall; they're people to whom
the $50 to come and do this is important; it's either this,
or sell blood, I sometimes think.

     We're talking here Focus Groups of the Living Dead.

     At one of these...the last I was invited to...one of
the guys on the other side of the two-way mirror said he didn't
like B5 because it wasn't the way science fiction was supposed
to be, it was lots of character stuff, and he didn't like that.
"So what would you consider good science fiction?" he was asked
by the facilitator.

     "Power Rangers," he said.

     I nearly went through the glass at him.

                                                     jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:17 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236752
     <Q: Did anyone at paramount know about year 2 stuff?>
     No, nobody knew that stuff but me.

                                                     jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:20 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236753

     The problem is the medium.  If an artist wants to do art
in the form of paintings, he needs canvas, paint and a subject.
If an artist wants to do art in the form of television, he requires,
oh, about $22 million, give or take.  In the case of ST, closer
to $39 million, figuring $1.5 million per show, which is actually
on the low side.  That's per season.

     When you've got THAT much money riding on it, plus in the
case of ST, literally *billions* of dollars in revenue from
merchandising...well, you begin to understand why things happen
the way they do sometimes.

     We're *trying* to set a better example.  Many producers
putting new SF shows together have come to us, and we've given them
tours of our stage and facilities, explained how we do what we do,
and many of them are now using the "Babylon 5 Model" in putting
their shows together for the networks and studios.  As far as I'm
concerned, the more the merrier.

                                                            jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:12 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236749

     Paramount does not actually *have* a creative side; neither do
most studios.  They are business operations that make deals with
creative people who create programs and movies under their unbrella.
Studios are made up of presidents and vice presidents and
directors in charge of media affairs, business affairs, legal affairs,
publicity and promotion, marketing, on and on.

     The creative people at ST aren't a problem, any more than we
are a problem to them.  When either show does a particularly nifty
looking show, for instance, our EFX people call theirs, or theirs call
us, to say so.  I have nothing but undying respect and admiration
for Jeri Taylor and many others over at ST.  Whenever there's a
problem it can usually be tracked down to one of the Suits.

                                                             jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:09 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236747

     "Before Star Trek, there had NEVER been any attempt to bring
serious science fiction to weekly television."

     Well...not exactly true.  THE TWILIGHT ZONE did much to
bring serious SF to American television, as did many episodes of THE
OUTER LIMITS.  LOST IN SPACE ended UP as campy, but in the
beginning, in the black and white episodes, there was actually
some pretty decent stuff.  Ditto for THE TIME TUNNEL, the
Quantum Leap of its time.

     Just for purposes of clarity.

     Which is not to devalue ST, nor should it be construed
as such.  My sense is that the original ST was kind of like
the Beatles; both were very much products of their time, both
created something of a watershed for the form in which they worked,
both are unique in their respective histories. Every so often,
some new group is held up as the new Beatles; and every so often,
some SF show is held up as the new ST.  Both fail to see the
point, or put the source in its proper context.  The job is not
to be the "next" ANYthing; it's to be its own creation.

                                                        jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:14:10 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236748

      Yeah, people are still talking about it <paramount b5/ds9>.
Only reason I chimed in here was because my prior statements on
this were being slightly mischaracterized in your note (unintentionally)
and figured I needed to clear them up.

                                                      jms


Subj:  Reporter Bias/Democracy		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:43:30 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236771

     "Bill Clinton's involvement in the Whitewater scandal."

     Except, frankly, I've now been waiting THREE YEARS to get one,
just ONE definitive statement of what the scandal IS.  And what,
if anything, they did.  Nobody seems able to find anything, yet
they keep dredging this term up over and over and over.  Watergate was
exposed in gory detail within one year of Woodward and Bernstein
really digging in.  I've finally had to conclude it's just smoke.

                                                        jms


Subj:  Plan NOW !			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Sunday, June 11, 1995 2:37:20 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237039

<Can PTEN make a station which owns a show run it if it doesn't?>
     Not insofar as I know, no.  If the fans in the area want the show,
they have to bug the station to show it, or give the rights to another
station in the area.  This happens frequently, btw, to other shows.
In some cases, a station might acquire a show not because they want
to show it, but because they don't want the OTHER station to have it,
and since syndication is almost all on a barter situation, they don't
have to pay much to get the show, so they lose nothing.
(This happened to us on the syndicated Twilight Zone, in some cases.)

                                                       jms


Subj:  B5 Baseball Team			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Sunday, June 11, 1995 2:43:03 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237041

     Actually, the baseballs *were* CGI.  Amazes me that they made
such a big deal out of it in "Forrest Gump."  We just did it and
threw it away.

                                                       jms


Subj:  B5 Baseball Team			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 11:39:13 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236974

     Kosh does color commentary on the game.

     "Beauty...in the dirt."

                                                      jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 7:43:28 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236770

     Then again, you've got Thomas Jefferson who said, "Given
the choice between a government and no free press, and a free
press without a government, I would choose the latter."

     The job of the reporter is to get out the facts that an
informed electorate (emphasis on the word informed) needs in
order to determine who to vote for, what bills to support, what
changes to implement.  This is often inconvenient for politicians,
who'd much prefer that they did what they did in the shadows.
Consequently, they paint this picture of the media as a ravening
beast, the "liberal press," when in fact virtuallly every major
newspaper, TV station and radio station in the country is owned
by Big Business, which is invariably conservative in nature.

     Politicians and those citizens who fall for the okeydoke
speak of the "media bias," but the media is made up of may disparate
people, from different backgrounds, political beliefs, income levels
and educational backgrounds as, well, the country itself.  There's no
such thing as a collective "media bias," there are no secret cell
meetings where the new agenda is established every year.  It doesn't
exist except in the minds of politicians who wish to create this
image in order to discredit the messenger when the news is
inconvenient for them.

     And the reality is that the American press today is *tame*
considering what it has been like in the past.  There was
absolutely NO pretense about journalism, newspapers wore their
allegiances like banners.  Editorials and cartoons were vicious
beyond description.

     Without reporters, there would be only one source of information:
the government story.  Period.  Where I come from, that's not only
unAmerican, it's downright Soviet.  They may be unpleasant at times,
they may be rude, they may sometimes fall into the unfortunate
realm of the cult of personality, but the system is self-correcting;
such individuals fall from grace pretty fast in journalistic circles...
they may even be impertinent. But the simple truth is, sometimes the
only way to get pertinent information is to ask impertinent questions.

                                                               jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 11:39:14 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236975

     At 66 episodes, we will have enough to syndicate, yes, though just
barely.  About 100 episodes is preferred.  It makes our position both
stronger and more vulnerable: stronger in that we're now a player;
more vulnerable in that, at some point, if somebody gets fed up with
us, they can drop the show and recoup their investment in syndication,
which they couldn't until year three.

                                                                jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 11:39:16 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236976

     Of course they always point that <b5 not in syndicated neilsen
top 20> out.  They also conveniently forget that the majority of those
20 shows are sitcoms, entertainment newsmags, game shows and the like.
I got the latest ratings summary, and as I recall we were the number
4 dramatic series for the week in question, and the number 6 rated
dramatic series for the year.  That ain't bad.

                                                                jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Saturday, June 10, 1995 11:39:11 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#236973

     The bug is just a touch of the flu that seems to be
making the rounds.

     As for making a media "dynasty"...don't want to.  Assuming
the B5 story runs its full five years, and assuming we don't do
the possible follow-up story, my plan is to retire from TV
and return to writing novels and plays.

                                                                jms



Subj:  Centauri Actress			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Monday, June 12, 1995 12:19:27 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237904

     Nope.  Different actresses, as noted in the credits.

                                                     jms


Subj:  RoB5: Reporter Bias/Demo		Section: The Promenade
  To:  Monday, June 12, 1995 12:15:23 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237901

     Haven't heard them, but I don't listen to a lot of 
radio these days.

                                                    jms


Subj:  B5 Economics			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Sunday, June 11, 1995 6:52:17 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237638

      Thanks.  Yeah, the idea of getting out of this part of 
the Biz and back into novels or plays is very appealing.  
The pace would be FAR less difficult, you write at your own 
pace, there aren't 250 people standing behind you waiting for 
pages.

     I've been writing, first part-time, then full time, 
since I was in high school.  Full-time since about 1979.  
3,000 pages a year.  Writing twelve hours a day, every day, 
except my birthday, my spousal overunit's birthday, christmas a
nd new year's.  By the time B5 is finished, I think I could well 
use a slightly slower pace...maybe sit by a nice, quiet little 
stream for a while, feed the ducks....

                                                     jms


Subj:  B5 Economics			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Monday, June 12, 1995 12:15:24 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237902

     Actually (and this is far more information that anyone 
could conceivably want), since it's come up...yes, definitely 
more than a few books.  The total stands at 12 produced plays, 2 
published novels, 1 published anthology, a number of published 
short stories, a dozen or so produced radio dramas, something 
over 120 produced episodes of television (I'm afraid I've 
lost count, could be 130 or so by now), and over 500 published 
articles for places like THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, PENTHOUSE, VIDEO 
REVIEW, LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER, WRITER'S DIGEST, TIME INC. 
and others.

                                                      jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Monday, June 12, 1995 1:10:25 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237943

     Though your sentiment is good, and your heart is in the right 
place, I don't think a treaty will do it, simply because there are always 
new people coming and going, and going and coming ("and always too 
soon", Blazing Saddles).  Also, I'm not sure it's appropriate to 
ask everyone to admit to something that has not yet been 
demonstrated, whatever my own personal feelings about it might be.  Who 
would sign it?  Who would implement it? Would Japanese car sales be 
factored into the equation?

     And, fundamentally, as stated, it's old news.  At this point, 
what matters is not how the series got ON the air, but what they're doing 
now that they're ON the air.  The marketplace of free ideas is the 
only fair and accurate judge of such things.

     I think what has you upset, and sometimes upsets me, is 
when one does have the occasional member of the ST fan community roll 
in and yell about B5 being a ripoff of DS9...when B5 dates back 
to 1987, which can be verified in any number of places, including 
published interviews and books.  So naturally it causes one 
to wish to hit back in equal measure.  And while I will correct a 
mis-statement when someone quotes me inaccurately on this subject, 
I'm not really sure that's the way to go.

     If I had to turn to the Star Trek community, and express 
a concern, it would be only this.  Gene Roddenberry advanced the 
idea of IDIC.  Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.  It is 
another word for open-mindedness. Because Babylon 5 is on the air, 
it does not constitute a threat in any way to Star Trek.  One is 
no more disloyal to ST by checking out B5 than one is disloyal to 
the original Trek by watching a show using the same name but in 
no way created by the creator of Trek (Voyager).

     We are not Trek.  We have no obligation to be Trek.  Nor, 
really, do I think anyone would want us to be Trek, because then we 
*are* irrelevant and redundent.  We are another view of the future.  
It's not the same as the Star Trek future, but another possibility...
which of course gets us into philosophical areas, and some of the 
objections some ST fans have toward B5 are, indeed, philosophical; 
this is how they want the world to be 250 years from now.  
Fair enough, and I don't have a problem in the world with that.

     I have no problem with ANYone who gives B5 a fair shake, and 
then decides it's not for them; anyone who actually *embraces* the 
idea of IDIC and practices it; anyone who gives B5 the kind of fair 
chance that ST fans wish would've been given to the original show 
back in the 60s.  Yet all too often, when someone comes into the B5 
section on a kamikaze run, after they've dropped the bombs, you 
discover that, in fact, they've never seen the series, never seen 
more than some promos, or two minutes of a show; the same people 
who will, by their own statements, stick with a new Star Trek 
series, even though they hate aspects of it, for whole *seasons* 
until they figure out how to get it right.

     There is NO reason for animosity between ST fans and B5 fans, 
for the simple reason that, every day, we gain more fans who 
began as ST fans, and in many cases CONTINUE to enjoy that show.  
Any hostility is as fundamentally silly as fans of Hill Street Blues 
declaring open warfare against anyone who likes NYPD Blue because 
they both have the word Blue in the title, and HSB was there 
first.

     All that anyone wants, I guess, is that the show be given 
a fair chance.  The lack of that chance was what helped drive 
the original Star Trek off the air after two years initially, 
and finally after the third.  I can't see any reasonable 
ST fan, knowing that history, and decrying it, then doing 
it to another.

     Interestingly enough...I saw Roddenberry once, at a 
presentation he gave in either Glendale or Pasadena, around 
1983 or so.  He screened "The Cage," and spoke afterward.  
The one thing he emphasized, over and over, was this: 
Follow your dream.

     STAR TREK was Gene Roddenberry's dream.  His vision.  
He labored long years to bring it to fruition.  
He galvanized the media fan community (sometimes to 
the exasperation of Lost in Space fans).

     BABYLON 5 springs from the same roots.  Since 1987, 
it has been my dream, my vision, to see this story 
produced.  It's not done by committee, it's not done 
by suits or execs.  It's done by me, and the breathtakingly 
talented people who work for me.  It is as pure 
and personal a dream for me as Star Trek was for Roddenberry.

     Mutual regard in that respect, at least, while not 
blinding either side to the genuine flaws or achievements 
of either show, would seem to be the way to go.  IDIC.

                                                     jms




Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Sunday, June 11, 1995 9:38:24 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237784

     Nope.  Still wrong.  Lost in Space preceded Star Trek, 
and until it went campy, was exclusively SF (as much SF as 
ST was at times, which tended to vary wildly), with the 
same characters in the same setting every week.

     Just for purposes of historical accuracy.

                                                  jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Sunday, June 11, 1995 9:38:25 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237785

     Two corrections: there *is* a planet nearby Babylon 5, 
Epsilon 3, to which they've traveled before, and will again.  
Also, while B5 does not have a wormhole, it does have a 
jumpgate beside it.  Both nominally function in a similar 
capacity, allowing long-range travel.

                                                  jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  Sunday, June 11, 1995 9:38:28 PM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#237786

     "without the benefit of the depth of the established 
Star Trek universe it's not as good..."

     The Star Trek universe is the end result of 30 years 
of history.  Do you think it's fair to compare something 
that's got 30 years of history against a show that's got 
only two, and use age as the primary criterion of quality?  
If so, then NO show will ever be as good (by your lights), 
and never gives any other show the opportunity.  To use that 
same logic, then with only two seasons under its belt in 
the 1960s, ST could never be any good because at that time 
it didn't have the "depth" that it acquired (or, more 
correctly, was attached to it) over the following 28 years.

     I'd also point out that when Star Trek first hit the 
airwaves back then, many media SF fans and critics panned 
it as nothing more than a cheap attempt at grabbing some of 
Lost in Space's audience (the show was very successful at 
the time).  They said that LiS had depth, there was a family, 
they had strong relations, it was about hanging together...
whereas Star Trek, they said, was just a mindless shoot-em-up 
about salt monsters (they generally gave the show a cursory glance).  
Star Trek fans at the time felt this was *very* unfair, that 
their show was being dismissed by fans of another show without 
giving it a decent opportunity, and certainly they wouldn't 
do this to another show if the situation were reversed.

     But times change, I guess.  Or do they...?

     And speaking of "depth of the established Star Trek 
universe," some questions: who is currently the President 
of Starfleet?  What's happening back home right now?  
Have ethnic fashions survived the ages on Earth?  
How much do you *really* know about what's in the "established
 Star Trek universe" except what happens on the ship/station?

                                                   jms


Subj:  Comic boks cancelled???		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Tuesday, June 13, 1995 1:13:13 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#239116

     DC is, we think, acting precipitiously.  Current
discussions seem to be moving toward extending the book
another six issues to allow time to find its audience.
More as this is locked down.

     Problem is, DC is cutting back titles left, right
and center, leaving mainly the superhero stuff.  And the
comic biz right now is in a major tailspin overall.

                                                    jms


Subj:  B5 in Houston			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Monday, June 12, 1995 10:08:23 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#238919

     Re: hints about next season....

     Well, how about a major change in the very
structure of the B5 universe?

     How major?

     Imagine if, one day, the Enterprise crew discovered
that their ship had actually been constructed by the Romulans,
and that they were morally obligated to go off and serve the
Romulan empire...and that didn't change at the end of the
episode, it *stayed* that way for the rest of the season.

     That scenario bears *no* resemblance to what I have
planned for year three, so there's no point in riffing off
it and looking for clues.  But that is emblematic of the
Major Event waiting about halfway through the third season.

     How's that for a start?

                                                    jms


Subj:  What --Persecuted??!!		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Monday, June 12, 1995 10:08:16 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#238916

     The others just sort of mumbled.

     One other person in the focus group started going on
about how he doesn't like women characters who aren't *women,*
which by his lights meant he felt there should be more
passive, motherly figures, that somebody like Ivanova
shouldn't be running a station, didn't like her at all....

     Then there was a THUMP in the room that startled
everyone on both sides of the glass.  Without even realizing
I'd done it, I'd picked up the nearest pencil and thrown
it at the glass.

     Odd that I haven't been invited back since....

                                                    jms


Subj:  JMS's books			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Monday, June 12, 1995 10:08:13 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#238915

     Good heavens, that's an awfully long way to go....

     Hope you like the book.

                                                     jms


Subj:  Babylon 5 Theme Music		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Monday, June 12, 1995 10:08:12 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#238914

     I kinda thought it'd be a good idea from the start,
though in theory over time the narratiions should get shorter,
more to the point.

                                                     jms


Subj:  B5 vs. ST			Section: Star Trek
  To:  74027,264Tuesday, June 13, 1995 1:22:02 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#239119

     While I won't presume to speak for DS9, no, in my view,
B5 is not "simply a futuristic version of Gunsmoke."

     The mission in Gunsmoke was simple: protect the town from
those nasty outlaws.  The marshall wasn't off trying to forge
peace treaties between soldiers and native americans, the
story wasn't constantly being affected by political events
in Washington; the town was isolated, out of context.
B5 is in part *about* context.  The premise in "Gunsmoke" is
presented in the first episode, and you never really go
anywhere from there, it is what it is.  Not the case with B5.

     There are few clearly defined good guys and bad guys.
Londo started out comic relief; he's become a tragic figure...
G'Kar started out as the bad guy, has ended up as a heroic,
possibly doomed figure...in "Gunsmoke," Miss Kitty wasn't
revealed halfway through to be a carpetbagger, but we have
no such boundaries.

                                                     jms


Subj:  B5 Economics			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Monday, June 12, 1995 10:08:21 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#238918

     I think that figure counts *most* of B5...I think.
I dunno; the only way I can keep track anymore is go back
through all the records and see how many were written for
each show, and add 'em up, and I'm always forgetting
something, somewhere.

                                                    jms


Subj:  B5 Economics			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Tuesday, June 13, 1995 1:13:11 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#239115

     I've only seen one episode of The Tick, and loved it.
Favorite scene: a Bad Guy has a friend, which is really a
sock puppet over his hand, which he operates with minimal
skill.  At one point, when the Tick doesn't appear, the
sock puppet says, "He's off sulking like Achilles in his
tent."

     (blank stares from all the other bad guys)

     "Achilles."

     (blank stares)

     "Homer.  The Illiad.  The Odyssesy."

     (blank stares)

     "READ A BOOK!!!!"

                                                    jms



Subj:  Babylon 5 Theme Music		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Wednesday, June 14, 1995 2:50:17 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#240267

     Yes, the B5 soundtrack is on sale in the UK.

                                                      jms

Subj:  Initials				Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Tuesday, June 13, 1995 1:22:03 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#239120

 >> Is it just a coincidence that Jeff Sinclair, John Sheridan 
and Joe Straczynski all have the same initials? <<

     Probably not.

                                                      jms

Subj:  <<Talia & Vir>>-Spoiler		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Wednesday, June 14, 1995 2:50:18 AM
~From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#240268

>>Talia Winters is either getting killed off or thrown in jail 
back on earth.  She is the one who tried to kill Kosh at very 
beginning of show.  In real life, the actress who plays her and 
the actor that plays Garabaldi are engaged!!!  The shadows 
attack the Narn home world and do major damage.  Vir is getting 
killed off.I wonder if their sources are reliable.  
We will see..............<<

     I'd say overall that's the most breathtakingly jumbled 
batch of half-rumors and quarter-truths I've seen.  You can 
disregard, oh, 98% of it.

                                                    jms


Subj:  <CoS-Man. Canidate ref?>		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Wednesday, June 14, 1995 11:31:27 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#241229

     No, it's not a Manchurian Candidate reference.  There
really is such a thing as psycho-linguistics.

                                                      jms


Subj:  Why B5 on TV?			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Wednesday, June 14, 1995 11:15:17 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#241212

     Any time I come up with a story, I try to look around
to determine where it would work best.  This one *felt*
like it belonged to TV.

     More than that, though...I went into this looking to
create a saga for TV.  It wasn't so much coming up with the
story, and realizing it was a TV saga, as it was, "Nobody's ever
done a multi-year science fiction saga for television.
As a thought-experiment, can I come up with something that
would work in this medium?"  This led me to the structure that
became Babylon 5.

                                                       jms


Subj:  B5's Military Metaphor		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Wednesday, June 14, 1995 11:15:15 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#241211

     As I responded in private mail, I'm drawing upon a number
of military influences in the show; some from WW I, in the Great
War and how WW I sort of slid into WW II; some tactical and
strategic elements of WW II military; and some of the political
elements that went into the Vietnam and Korean conflicts.
Actual tactics and battles will vary; there's a major battle
setpiece in a later episode that uses more contemporary and
futuristic elements such as long-distance (thousands of
kilometers) tactics, interceptors and the like.

     Also as I noted in email...I just learned today from someone
high up in military PR in Washington that Babylon 5 is very popular
with many branches of the military.  They call it a "force multiplier"
(morale booster) for naval and air force and ground troops (apparently
the show gets shipped out to bases and to carrier/battleship groups).
It's also very popular with many folks in the Pentagon and the Secret
Service.  (In one case, the Secret Service apparently did an analysis
of one of our episodes as an exercise in character analysis of
military persons under high-stress situations.)  The Flying Tigers
have also been very supportive of the show, even allowing us to use
their symbol in the series.

                                                      jms


Subj:  Babylon 5 Theme Music		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Wednesday, June 14, 1995 11:15:12 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#241210

     Everything's fine.  But PTEN dropped *all* the ending
voiceovers on their shows, including B5.

                                                     jms



Subj:  <CoS-Man. Canidate ref?>		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 15, 1995 10:33:12 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#242363

     I was at SDSU, getting my bachelor's in psychology, 
the first time I heard of psycholinguistics.  Much of the 
department considered it basically rubber-science, but they 
were all hard-core behavior modification/Skinner types in 
any event.

                                                      jms


Subj:  Babylon 5 Theme Music		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 15, 1995 10:33:11 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#242362

     Actually, there's 35-40 minutes of music in the pilot; 
it wasn't wall-to-wall music.  I'm not opposed to it, but 
at this time, nobody's licensed it.  We can't do anything 
until somebody licenses it from a record company.

                                                       jms


Subj:  B5 Military			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 15, 1995 10:25:12 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#242354

     Vorlons/Shadows at the top of the force, Minbari after, 
Centauri, with Humans and Narns not that far apart.

     Er...what was the suggestion again...?

                                                      jms


Subj:  Claudia/Takishima		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Thursday, June 15, 1995 10:25:11 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#242353

     I don't offhand know Claudia's age (I forget this stuff 
5 minutes after I'm told), and wouldn't invade her privacy by 
saying anyway.

     Would rather hold back on anything to say about 
Laurel for now.

                                                       jms


Subj:  Delayed Episodes			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 16, 1995 6:39:18 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#243048

     Of the four remaining episodes, 1 was delivered about 
a week and a halfor two weeks ago (which would air second 
in the batch).  The episode thatwould air first was delivered 
yesterday.  The episode that airs third willbe delivered today 
or Monday.  The final episode will be delivered in in
about 7-10 days.

     So to recap:

       episode 1 - delivered
       episode 2 - delivered
       episode 3 - Monday
       episode 4 - 7-10 days

     And that's all of it.

                                                   jms


Subj:  <CoS-Man. Canidate ref?>		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 16, 1995 6:39:21 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#243050

     Actually, I think the main reason there isn't much 
fanfiction is that I've specifically asked for there not 
to be any until after we've finished our run.  And as is 
generally true of the SF fan community, if you ask nice 
and respectfully, you will generally be accommodated.

                                                    jms

Subj:  <CoS-Man. Canidate ref?>		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 16, 1995 11:46:10 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#243270

<On a completely different topic, I understand you have carpal 
tunnel syndrome. What was the first thing you notice 
that you now know was a symtom? I have been getting shooting 
pains up the side of my arm on the side of my left 
little finger, I was wondering if this might be a warning sign.>

     Sounds like it.

                                                    jms


Subj:  <CoS-Man. Canidate ref?>		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 16, 1995 6:39:17 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#243047

     I never much went in for Skinner.  When I went into the 
psychology department initially, everything was Carl 
Rogers, non-directive therapy, and RET.  Then somewhere along 
the line Skinner took over, and by the time I transferred to 
SDSU, it was all over for everything else.  Here's how bad it 
was: I took a seminar in "Theories of Psychology."  All that 
was taught that semester was Skinner.  Toward the end of the
term I asked why.  "Well, there are many theories of psychology," 
I was told by the instructor (who was also the department 
chairman), but it seemed better to teach you the *right* one."

                                                     jms

Subj:  Claudia/Takishima		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Friday, June 16, 1995 6:39:19 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#243049

<Just out of curiousity...
Have you or any other B5 people been on AOL lately?>

     Was on AOL a few days ago, fairly quiet.

                                                     jms



Subj:  Fighting Shadows			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  JOHN M. KAHANE, Sunday, June 18, 1995 12:17:10 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244031

     You're assuming that the relationship you saw between 
Delenn and Sinclair was a romantic one.  It was a close one, 
on her part in particular, but not based on romance.  
We'll explain what that means in year three.

                                                        jms


Subj:  Fighting Shadows			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Burhaan  Ahmad, Sunday, June 18, 1995 12:26:27 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244035

     "It's a rebirth ceremony, all right, which sometimes 
doubles as a marriage ceremony."

     Amazing how everyone went for the secondary meaning 
and omitted the most obvious meaning in presaging the rebirth 
Delenn went through in "Chrysalis."

                                                       jms


Subj:  B5 Military			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Barbara Pfieffer, Sunday, June 18, 1995 12:22:01 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244034

     Haven't made up my mind yet on what to bring to ComicCon.

                                                      jms


Subj:  B5 Military			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Charles Agius, Saturday, June 17, 1995 6:07:23 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#243775

      Which is all fine, except...who said that Earth was 
going to end up fighting the Shadows?

                                                       jms

Subj:  From JMS: B5 Renewed		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Mike, Saturday, June 17, 1995 6:07:22 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#243774


<Congratulations!  All of us in the Star Trek graphics 
department are excited that we'll get to enjoy another year of B5.

Your renewal is good news not only for those of us who are B5 
fans, but also for television science fiction in general.

-Mike Okuda>

      Thanks, Mike.  You (and the whole graphics department there) 
have always been a class act.

                                                       jms


Subj:  Claudia/Takishima		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Jeannette Fornadel, Saturday, June 17, 1995 6:07:21 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#243773

     Sinclair was in his late thirties or thereabouts.

                                                       jms


Subj:  B5 vs Simpsons			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Jon A Bell, Saturday, June 17, 1995 6:07:20 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#243772

     The Simpsons is *amazingly* well written.  I love the show.

                                                      jms


Subj:  <TCoS> Ducks			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  SysOp Dupa T. Parrot, Sunday, June 18, 1995 12:22:31 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244033

 <In the teaser for "The Coming Of Shadows", where G'Kar is 
trying to pursuade Sheridan not to allow the Centari Emperor on 
board B5, there is a display case behind Sheridan's 
desk. One of the items in the display case looks like a duck's 
head on a stand. What is it really?>
     
I think it's a puzzle, but until I can check the tape, I can't be 
100% sure.

                                                       jms


Subj:  B5 VIDEOS (UK)			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  John Denley, Sunday, June 18, 1995 11:01:12 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244951

     "...because they realized that (the videos) are only
in stereo..."

     Nope.  The master tapes are in full Dolby surround.

                                                     jms


Subj:  B5 Ratings			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  William H. DiPaola, Sunday, June 18, 1995 6:29:22 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244733

     Bear in mind that that "top ten" includes mainly game shows, 
talk shows and the like; only two of them, DS9 and Baywatch, are 
dramatic series.  In ratings you generally isolate the dramatic 
series from the rest, and in that ranking we range between the #4 
and #6 dramatic series in syndication.

     The main problem is lack of public awareness.  Most people 
don't know we exist.  Those who hear the name assume we're a Trek 
show.  Roughly 55% of those who hear about the show and sample it 
once, stay with it thereafter. The usual figure is closer to 30%.  
It's just a matter of getting that word out.  Mostly it's word of 
mouth.  At some point, we'll hit critical mass in the ratings; I 
just don't know when that'll happen.

                                                     jms

Subj:  B5 Ratings			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  William H. DiPaola Monday, June 19, 1995 2:28:06 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#245008

<Thanks for the response. I just hate to see a good show like 
this underexposed.> 
    Yeah, well, that goes for both of us.

                                                     jms


Subj:  B5's Military Metaphor		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Anne L. Warner, Sunday, June 18, 1995 6:29:19 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244731

     It would get rather redundent and boring after a while if 
the same war continued for three seasons, would it not?

                                                      jms


Subj:  TD: Star Trek			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Larry Rosenblum, Sunday, June 18, 1995 6:14:13 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244724

     B5 need not bring in huge ratings for some at Paramount to 
view us as a threat; in point of fact they've treated us that way 
from day one.  The ratings overall and support for DS9 are very 
soft.  They can't afford to lose anyone.  But they're aware that
many DS9 fans have tuned out to begin watching B5 because, well, 
things *happen* in this show.

                                                          jms


Subj:  TD: Star Trek			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Jeannette Fornadel, Sunday, June 18, 1995 11:06:06 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244956

<A question, unrelated: Did Sinclair ever marry Catherine?
(And who came up with the proposal, you? It was so in-character 
it was absolutely perfect!)>
     No, he pushed back marrying Sakai when he was reassigned.

     And yes, the proposal was mine.  If my name is on the script, 
every word of it was written by me.

                                                           jms


Subj:  B5 Military			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  SysOp Dupa T. Parrot, Sunday, June 18, 1995 11:06:07 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244957

     Last I heard, I'd been scheduled for two big presenations,
<at ComicCon> that Saturday and Sunday.  There will be one separate 
presentation for Michael, possibly two, and a panel or two with 
both of us, plus a panel with me, Michael and Peter David.

                                                            jms


Subj:  B5 Military			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Charles Agius, Sunday, June 18, 1995 11:01:11 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244950

     "We crave ACTION."

     And you shall have it.  In abundance.

                                                 jms

Subj:  Fighting Shadows			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Jerry D Bookter, Sunday, June 18, 1995 6:29:17 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244730

<While you're passing out tidbits of info on Delenn, can you 
tell us how the obvious romantic relationship she has with 
Sheridan is going to be handled?> 

     How will it be handled?  With discretion and dignity and 
grace of course.  Problem is, this isn't the sort of thing that 
collapses easily into a few-line message.  It'll have to come out 
organically, during the show.

                                                  jms


Subj:  Fighting Shadows			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Anne L. Warner, Sunday, June 18, 1995 6:29:20 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#244732

     They didn't cancel the tapes, as much as, we discovered, 
never had the plans in the first place.

     We are, frankly, astonished.

                                                  jms


Subj:  ITSOZ - Questions		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Colin Knowles, Tuesday, June 20, 1995 2:45:03 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#246115

<Therefore, wouldn't it make sense for the Vorlons, whatever 
Rangers have gathered, maybe the Narn (whatever's left - it 
would've been better if they attacked before the war started) 
and Delenn's friends in the Mimbari (there's got to be some) t
o pound the heck out of the Shadows now, before they're ready?  
If someone blew up Z'Hadum, it seems that would deal a serious 
blow to the Shadows' plans.>
     The forces you describe are not sufficient to take out the 
shadows, even at this stage.  It's going to take a much larger 
force, which is what Delenn et al are trying to gather.

                                                       jms


Subj:  Fighting Shadows			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Jeannette Fornadel, Monday, June 19, 1995 10:11:03 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#245956

     I think you've confused several things.  We're talking 
about the events in "Parliament of Dreams" in which a ritual 
she goes through with a bunch of other Minbari is referred to as 
a) a rebirth ceremony, which sometimes doubles as a b) marriage 
ceremony.  It was a rebirth ceremony in this case, presaging 
"Chrysalis."

                                                       jms


Subj:  Narn Genus?			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Bob Perse, Monday, June 19, 1995 10:11:01 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#245955

     I've worked out a rough chronology for the Narn evolution, 
but nothing nearly concrete enough to want to put out here.  
Once I've had the chance to think about it a bit more....

                                                        jms

Subj:  B5 Military			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Michael Beemer, Monday, June 19, 1995 10:11:00 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#245954

 <>> "We crave ACTION."
 >
 >  And you shall have it.  In abundance.

     Always giving the audience what it wants, eh, Mr. Dark? <g>>

      The moral lesson in the quote being...be careful what 
you ask for.

                                                       jms


Subj:  Whither Na'Toth?			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Spencer Collyer [UK] Monday, June 19, 1995 10:11:31 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#245953

     That's what's negotiated, but an actor may often be used in 
fewer eps, as was the case with Na'Toth.

                                                       jms


Subj:  Cancel Voyager?			Section: Star Trek
  To:  James Ortis, Wednesday, June 21, 1995 3:28:09 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#247131

     Correction: the first seasons of TNG were not done 
cheaply; the budgets set aside were greater than for any 
other previous syndicated series, and were equal to or 
greater than most network shows.

                                                     jms

Subj:  ITSOZ - Questions		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Colin Knowles, Tuesday, June 20, 1995 10:41:20 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#246960

<Since we haven't seen much of this "gathering" so far, 
are we going to see it next season?>

     That will be part of the next season, yes.

                                                  jms


Subj:  B5 Laser import			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Anthony Ho, Thursday, June 22, 1995 12:54:20 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#248135

     Argh, unfortunately the disk is in storage, and I don't 
have the number at hand.  You may want to try the Lasercraze 
laserdisk sales service here on CIS; they may have it.

     I've heard something very interesting about the UK 
airing for the final four eps (year three beyond has been 
renewed there).  I hope to have something very positive to say 
shortly.

                                                       jms


Subj:  B5 - UK Return!			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Malcolm Pemberton, Friday, June 23, 1995 1:28:29 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#249248

     That's good to hear.  Last I'd heard was the possibility 
that Ch4 might air all four remaining year two eps *the same 
night* on July 25th, in kind of a B5 marathon.  Good in 
one sense, though if you miss that night, you miss it all.  
Here, spreading it out as usual, is probably better.

                                                       jms

Subj:  B5 Laser import			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Brian A. Thomas, Thursday, June 22, 1995 3:20:26 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#248610

< >>  (year three beyond has been renewed there) <<

 Year three beyond?  Do you mean year three _and_ beyond?!>

    No, just year three; awkward syntax on my part.

                                                      jms


Subj:  Effect of story idea		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Christopher R. Turn, Thursday, June 22, 1995 3:20:25 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#248609

<The Sysops have posted again the warning about story ideas not 
being brought up in the forum, along with the reasoning.  They 
used as an example a storyline about a person who had been mind-
wiped and then recovered his memory which you were (supposedly) 
developing but tossed after it appeared in this forum.  I was just 
curious: was that a "B" story, or did you have to make changes 
in the arc to accomodate the loss of the story? Please tell us 
what you can.>

     It was always intended as a B-story, mainly a character story 
about the person who was affected, and how that would affect our 
main charactes when they found out about it (it's someone they would 
have known for a bit).

                                                     jms

Subj:  B5 World				Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Charles Agius,Friday, June 23, 1995 9:41:15 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#250113

     Remember that the Io mission <in GROPOS> was just a cover, 
a red herring, for the actual mission.  So there really *was* no need.
  As for B5 background, there are some lurker's guides out there 
that have more info than anyone could ever want.

                                                       jms


Subj:  B5 Laser import			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Jeannette Fornadel, Friday, June 23, 1995 9:41:13 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#250111

<Are there any arc-bending episodes at the end of Season 2?
(I'm not asking what they are, just *if* there are.)>

     Yes.

                                                        jms

Subj:  Drazi Question			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Jason Wong, Sunday, June 25, 1995 3:25:03 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#251122

<Are all the Drazi male?>

     Actually, Drazi are asexual, carrying the attributes of 
both, with their basic appearance reading to us like males.

                                                        jms


Subj:  Top Five List			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Paul Maskens Sunday, June 25, 1995 1:14:25 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#251080

     It's really sad, but...see, on the one hand, I like filet 
mignon, and occasionally lobster, and all the other hoity-toity 
foods you're supposed to like and eat when you're a TeeVee 
producer, but see...I hate even to admit this in public, but...
I actually kinda *like* McDonald's burgers.  I don't know why, 
but there it is.  I usually end up ducking into one 
when I'm by myself, because the explanations...well, you see my 
problem.

                                                        jms


Subj:  B5 World				Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Charles Agius, Saturday, June 24, 1995 5:08:10 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#250730

     You can order <The Soundtrack CD> direct from Sonic Images, 
via information here on the B5 library.  Pegasus Publishing also 
does some CD ordering.

                                                       jms


Subj:  From jms re: Harlan CD		Section: Babylon 5
  To: All Sunday, June 25, 1995 9:10:31 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#251813

     For those interested, Harlan Ellison has a new recording out 
via the Harlan Ellison Record Collection, cost $16.50 & $2 
postage/handling for the general public, $15 & $2 for members of 
HERC (the Harlan Ellison Record Collection, which for a paltry $8 
per year you get a newsletter, updates on what's available, access 
to his books and prior recordings).

     The new CD is his performance/reading of "Paladin of the Lost 
Hour," which many of you may remember from its adaptation into 
an episode of "The Twilight Zone."  It's a *terrific* reading, 
very dynamic, and if you've never heard Harlan read one of his stories, 
you're missing a lot.  (One prior recording was nominated for a 
Grammy.)

     Checks or money orders can be sent to: The Harlan Ellison 
Record Collection, P. O. Box 55548, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413.

                                                            jms


Subj:  G'Quan's sex			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Daniel M. Upton, Sunday, June 25, 1995 9:10:28 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#251812

     G'Quon was a male.

                                                            jms


Subj:  Top Five List			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Dinie Kloosterboer, Monday, June 26, 1995 1:46:11 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#251972

     We've had fast food on B5, including pizzas.

                                                            jms

Subj:  Spirituality and Delenn		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Anne L. Warner, Sunday, June 25, 1995 11:10:27 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#251811

<I heard a quotation that made me think of Delenn, and of her experience in
Confessions and Lamentations.  I believe that this was from the Gospel of
Phillip:  "Spritual knowledge springs from an awareness of our own capacity
for evil."  Does it seem to you that this is meaningful?>

     Not bad....

                                                           jms


Subj:  Babylon 5: Hard SF & B5		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Aurora, Monday, June 26, 1995 10:46:05 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#253077

     Then please explain to me why it was that, when the 
Pioneer space probe passed the speed of sound while in 
space, the monitoring station at JPL registered a shock 
wave -- a sonic boom -- across its bow?

     Also, fuel of any kind that exerts propulsion, 
spewing forth substance to push it forward, puts forth 
a medium behind it capable of carrying sound. When some 
satellites have been launched from the shuttle, 
the crew have heard or felt the engine thrust.

     Further, a ship carries atmosphere within it.  If that 
ship explodes, the sound will be audible within the curtain 
of the expanding atmospheric bubble created by the rupturing 
of the hull.

     The idea of *no* sound at all in space is one of the
great shibboleths of SF.  But in talking to many leading 
space scientists, including some at the High Altitude 
Observatory, and none other than Freeman Dyson, who currently 
occupies Einstein's chair...ain't necessarily true.

                                                       jms


Subj:  From jms re: Harlan CD		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Michael Beemer, Monday, June 26, 1995 10:38:12 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#253059

     Insofar as I know, no, none of the TZ2 or 3
<Twilight Zone> tapes are being sold.

                                                      jms


Subj:  From jms re: Harlan CD		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Trent K. Johnson, Monday, June 26, 1995 10:38:09 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#253057

     Actually, yes, Harlan does sing, and sing quite well; 
there's a bit of it on one of his LPs.

                                                       jms

Subj:  Kosh & Delenn			Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Barbara Pfieffer, Monday, June 26, 1995 10:38:10 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#253058

<When we do finally see Kosh, will we then understand why 
Delenn felt she needed to see him before she underwent her 
transformation?>
  
     Probably.

                                                       jms


Subj:  From jms re: Harlan CD		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Ed Schlotman, Tuesday, June 27, 1995 9:47:05 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#254084

<Is he going to write that Demon w/ Glass Hand follow up 
that you mentioned briefly at San Diego last year??>

     In the fullness of time....

                                                     jms


Subj:  B5 Games				Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Charles Agius, Tuesday, June 27, 1995 9:47:06 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#254085

     No computer games available at present.

                                                     jms

Subj:  Trying to Find JMS		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Anne L. Warner, Tuesday, June 27, 1995 9:52:06 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#254087

<How does Kosh's susceptibility to poison rule out his being 
an energy life-form?Were we ever told the nature of the poison?>


     The pilot movie showed the poison being analyzed; the 
line on the monitor read "Analyzing crystalline structure."

                                                     jms


Subj:  Chicago ComiCon Question		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Charles S. Tritt, Tuesday, June 27, 1995 9:52:07 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#254088

     Last I heard, I'll be doing presentations both Saturday 
and Sunday.  If this stays true, your best bet is to come to 
the one on Sunday if you can only do one or the other.  If 
possible, try to verify this with someone as far as the two 
presentations are concerned.

                                                      jms


Subj:  JMS ComicCon Schedule		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  All	       Wednesday, June 28, 1995 1:24:18 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#254239

     For those in the vicinity, I'll be putting in an 
appearance this weekend at the Chicago ComicCon, Rosemont 
Convention Center, Rosemont IL. Here's the schedule:

     FRIDAY

     3:00 A jms appearance with bloopers and other clips.

     4:00 Michael O'Hare leads an acting seminar.

     SATURDAY

     11:00 a.m.  Q&A with Michael O'Hare

     1:30-3:00   A special jms presentation.  *Be there*

     4:00  A jms writing for TV seminar.

     8 or 9ish p.m.  A casual B5 reception with jms, 
     Michael O'Hare and Peter David.

     SUNDAY

     1-2 p.m. B5 panel with jms, Michael O'Hare and 
     Peter David.

                                                     jms


Subj:  From jms re: Harlan CD		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Trent K. Johnson, Wednesday, June 28, 1995 11:54:30 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#255204

     Dream Corridor is a great comic, I recommend it heartily.

                                                          jms

Subj:  Stims & Dr. Franklin		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Marlyn Bumpus, Wednesday, June 28, 1995 11:54:31 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#255205

<I was wondering if Dr. Franklin's tendency to misuse the "stims" 
when he gets swamped in med-lab indicates that they're addictive 
-- and is this possibly going to be a problem for him when he 
goofs due to diminished capacity under the influence, so to 
speak?>
     
      We'll see....

                                                         jms


Subj:  B5 Games				Section: Babylon 5
  To:  Charles Agius, Wednesday, June 28, 1995 11:54:01 PM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#255206

     There will be a screen saver from Sound Source later 
this year.

                                                        jms


Subj:  Big Bang Convention		Section: Babylon 5
  To:  SysOp Dupa T. Parrot, Thursday, June 29, 1995 12:38:14 AM
From:  J. Michael Straczynski, 71016,1644#255230

     I heard today that, as well as a previous check to one of 
the cast members attending having bounced, a *second* check to 
one of the major actors has bounced.  These guys are amazing....

                                                        jms