lurkers-guide/ftp/CompuServe/cs96-03

Date: 01-Mar-96 00:27:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Carl Bussjaeger <102065.1635@compuserve.com>
Subject: Do you want a party???

{original post had no questions}

       "The whole time I was at Wright-Paterson...."

       So, which one of those labs has the crashed UFOs, huh? huh?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 00:27:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Lynn Dimock <74471.3131@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PoNR - Redemption>

{original post had no questions}

       The island of Drafa.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 00:44:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: DONALD BYRNE <75454.1265@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks, it's a lot of fun to do it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 00:44:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<PoNR>>

 Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com> asks:
> - Haven't rewatched the tape, but was there a mention of a ship
> called Schwartzkopf, letting Hague escape from Io? - Who blasted
> the escorts of the Alexander, if we saw and were told they
> escaped?

       When we come back, the very next episode has a very funny scene
re: Londo and Narn security.  And yes, that was the Schwartzkopf.

       Thanks....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 01-Mar-96 12:30:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PoNR - Redemption>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Incidently, what were Londo's first two choices?

       Centauri are always suspicious, and if you knew you might be
emperor after the other is dead, you might be encourage to...help that
process along, however you might like someone.  It's just good
business.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 12:30:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<PoNR>>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> What was it's final condition, and which side is Stephen's father
> on?

       Stephen's father is a by-the-book guy; he doesn't think his job
is to set policy, only to implement policy.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 12:55:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ruth Ballam <100412.3457@compuserve.com>
Subject: SFX Magazine Awards

 Ruth Ballam <100412.3457@compuserve.com> asks:
> Question has to be, what's he doing in television then ?

       "what's he doing in television then?"

       Nailing 95 theses to the door of science fiction television.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 15:02:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

       All messages entered into the Compuserve system are copyrighted
by CIS, and the user; they cannot be posted elsewhere without the
permission of the sender, and the system.  Mine are somewhat of an
exception, since they can be posted anywhere, but even there I had to
write specifically to AOL giving permission before they'd allow my
messages from here to be reprinted. It is always required to do this;
otherwise it's not only morally repugnant, it's illegal.

       A user named Theron Fuller has just taken a great number of
your messages posted on the DS9 and B5 folders and reposted them to the
Internet (rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5).  Among those users whose messages
have been taken without their knowledge or permission are Rae
Augenstein, Anthony Davis, and Jose J. Ortiz Carlo.  There are
apparently more.  To verify this all you need to do is go over to that
forum and look for threads with "so you miss Joe Straczynski's
dialogue" -- or words to that effect -- in the thread.

       From Theron's own statements, these were excerpted from a
*mailing list* which some individuals maintain for the sole purpose of
forwarding messages they think will do me harm.  Or in general, to keep
track of me, as stalkers do.  (This statement by Theron is also in the
same thread there.) One individual has indicated that this mailing list
was maintained by the Hall Brothers.  So apparently your compuserve
messages (and AOL messages, and who knows how many others) have been
circulated without your knowledge or permission, posted and reposted on
other forums, and mailing lists.  And now he has begun posting your
messages publicly.

       This is a violation of both your copyright and that of
Compuserve. It is morally and ethically repugnant.  It is illegal.

       If you object, I suggest you contact Compuserve and register
your displeasure with this, and also the postmaster at Theron's
account, since he was the one who publicly violated your copyright, and
took your messages without your permission.  (The users cited, btw, are
only the ones noted in the current batch of messages he reposted; the
odds are good that virtually *everyone* here has been excerpted and
remailed/reposted since this mailing list has been going on for some
time.)  I would suggest you demand to have access to the mailing list
of all reposted messages from Compuserve (and that those on other
services do the same).

       Theron Fuller's user id is fuller@ix.netcom.com and the
postmaster can likely be found there.  I would also suggest that the
sysops here lodge a formal protest, and get CIS to do the same, in
order to protect the rights not only of CIS, but of the users to post
here and know that their words will not be excerpted, reposted, or
otherwise used in or out of context without their knowledge or
permission.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 17:51:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Steve Ramage <74731.235@compuserve.com>
Subject: Christoper Fry

 Steve Ramage <74731.235@compuserve.com> asks:
> Carter?

       I agree; Fry's work must be read or heard aloud to be most
fully appreciated.  It has a wonderful cadence, and the vocablary is
really quite extraordinary.  Some of his imagery is amazing.  I don't
know if Marcus is so much in that vein as it might be, but there are
probably some influences here and there.  Certainly when he winds up he
can pick up some of that cadence....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 17:51:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Anderson <76560.205@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

 David Anderson <76560.205@compuserve.com> asks:
> I was wondering if we will ever see the one remaining Narn
> cruiser again?

       Yes, this season in fact.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 17:51:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5's 'failings'

 John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com> asks:
> Hey, Joe, why can't *your* sci-fi show finagle a special tribute
> to itself on an awards show? Or arrange a sketch on late-night TV
> with Jay Leno on its set, being stupid with one of its
> characters? Or have two of its principles slum out of a camper in
> the boondocks, appear between sections of a movie (say, "The Four
> Seasons") on a Saturday afternoon and make insipid comments about
> the movie, and have pleas to watch B5 interspersed, disguised as
> network identification? And how come you can't manage to produce
> even a single B5 episode with a tidy, formula plot and a preachy,
> politically correct moral that's about as subtle as a freight
> train? Creative, well-thought storylines; thought-provoking
> exploration of important issues that resist the urge for easy
> answers; intense drama and intelligent comedy; insight into
> individuals and societies; dynamite special effects; complex,
> three-dimensional yet believable characters, excellently
> portrayed by top-notch actors: just how far do you think that
> *these* will take you?

       I strongly suspect that one of us needs to lie down for a long,
long time....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 17:51:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com>
Subject: More Patricia Tallman

 The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com> asks:
> The Jawa Kidism Patrol 7:34 PM, Friday, March 01, 1996 "Did I
> mention that my nose is on fire?"

       For what it's worth, I tend to agree.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 20:35:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

 Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com> asks:
> Wouldn't doing so vastly exxagerate their importance - and be
> just what they want? How could anything I or others on this forum
> write be harmful to you or the show? Put it another way: is it
> worth it? Is there any indication they have harmfully falsified
> the posts of this forum?

       No, I don't mind if my messages get reposted all over; I've
long ago given permission for anything I write to get reposted
anywhere.  It's just that others have been having their stuff reposted,
without their knowing, and I find it vastly inappropriate to do so
without the courtesy of even letting them know.  It's a real breach of
trust.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 20:35:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...it's either gutsy or *real* stupid on my part....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 20:35:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<PoNR>>

 Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> Right?

       Approximately, yeah....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 23:16:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

 Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com> asks:
> And what's your problem with that?

       "B5 has gravity defying video cameras"

       Only if you consider a plane or any other reasonable technology
of flight to be gravity defying.

       The video recorders are made of an extremely ultralight
material, new alloys that in total weighs less than an ounce; it has a
visible (and audible) air propulsion system, a high speed fan with a
stabalizer/gyroscope that keeps it steady, and move it forward.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 23:28:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John L. Creigh <75270.423@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PoNR - Redemption>

 John L. Creigh <75270.423@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was that your intent?

       It's more universal than that.  Any time there's a big disease,
we get Stupid.  The same exact thing happened with the Black Plague, as
was mentioned in the episode...instead of blaming gays, the leaders of
the time blamed jews and lepers.  The whole *point* is to drop politics
and scapegoating whichEVER disease it happens to be next...and there is
always a next...and focus on the problem: the disease.

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 23:28:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Point of No Return>>

 Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com> asks:
> Ta'Lon's line about "All answers are replies, but not all replies
> are answers" -- is that from something else (a paraphrase
> perhaps)?

       No, I don't think that's a quote from anywhere but the show, at
least insofar as I know.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 23:28:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Rage's Thots: PoNR>

 Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com> asks:
> I was wondering about that; so, unlike the usual pattern where
> each show is a few weeks after the last, these three are
> continuous over a span of a couple of days?

       Not per se, no; you can have one picking up a frame later, but
there are still time gaps in *story*.  Between 1 and 2 there's only a
few hours; but between 2 and 3 there's several days or so.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 23:32:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

 Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com> asks:
> Only: what permanent remedy is there?
> Legal action?
> And who has the time or the means to pursue that?
> Physical violence?

       There is no permanent solution; but people should be aware of
this, in case they do have a problem with it, so that they can at least
know it's going on...at most perhaps encourage those doing this to
cease by virtue of complaining about it to them or to their service
providers.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Mar-96 23:32:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

{original post had no questions}

       Agreed.  When I have to go see the dentist, the #1 item on my
fear hit parade...I'm fragging *hysterical*, in the sense that I'm
constantly cracking jokes.  It's the only way I can deal with it short
of passing out.

                                                               jms


------------------------------


Date: 02-Mar-96 18:56:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Karen E. Bahnsen <102735.3557@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Point of No Return>>

{original post had no questions}

       If a word comes out of a character's mouth, it's usually mine. 
The bit about greatness was one of them; had a number of different
subtexts going on behind it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Mar-96 18:56:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Richard Cunningham <71213.3504@compuserve.com>
Subject: San Diego ComiCon?

 Richard Cunningham <71213.3504@compuserve.com> asks:
> Okay..since I got my little sign-up guide for SDCC the other day,
> do you know if you'll be doing a presentation, and if so, which
> day?

       Nothing's been firmed up, they haven't spoken to me directly
yet, but invariably I do a presentation (usually they're one of the
biggest events of the con), so I'd *imagine* nothing's changed this
year, but at this point I don't have any real info.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Mar-96 19:09:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com>
Subject: Season 3 and Na'Toth

 Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com> asks:
> A question from my friend Vince: "Now that you've written all of
> the season 3 scripts, can you tell us how things might have been
> different had Na'Toth stayed in the storyline?"

       The story arc would've stayed the same; but the character
would've had some good moments, and helped move it along.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Mar-96 19:10:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

 Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com> asks:
> I probably know the answer to this already, but here goes: Have
> you ever provided fans or viewers with any such documentation?

       "Have you ever provided fans or viewers with any such
documentation?" I think I need clarification here...documentation of
what?

       Also, if you did get a copy of the original email "digest" of
messages from here, was there an address on the point of origin, i.e.,
who was sending them around initially?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Mar-96 19:10:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chris Croughton <100014.3217@compuserve.com>
Subject: Names...

 Chris Croughton <100014.3217@compuserve.com> asks:
> So has that last name caused you problems, or has it been an
> advantage in that people recognise it?

       The name's probably been a slight disadvantage from time to
time, but not significantly so.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Mar-96 19:10:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PoNR>

 Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you ever read "Goedel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid"
> by Douglas Hofstadter?

       Have read some of Goedel's work, but not enough to be even
remotely conversant about it.

       Yes, a lot of stuff is coming together in the story now.  We've
set up a lot over the last 2 years, now is the time to begin paying it
all off, resolving threads left hanging, and moving the show to a
different level. So a lot of stuff has to hit the fan here over the
balance of this season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Mar-96 19:10:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rob Perlstein <103542.522@compuserve.com>
Subject: Babylon 5

{original post had no questions}

       We're working on the video stuff now.  Thanks for the support.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Mar-96 19:10:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<PoNR>>

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> The Alexander would be an Omega class ship, would it not?

       Correct, the Alexander would've come off the assembly line a
bit after the Aggy.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Mar-96 19:10:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com>
Subject: Shwartzkopff

 Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does this mean that Franklin is backing Clarke?
> Will we see which side Franklin chooses?

       Franklin is of the breed of officers who feels it isn't his
place to set policy, only to execute it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:02:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

 Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you ever tried this tactic before?
> Do you think he will gladly hand over his list of contacts at
> C-serve?

       What you're forgetting in the conversation is the issue of
copyright. As a poster here on this forum, everything that you write is
the joint copyright of you and CIS.  Copyright infringement is
punishable by law.  Now maybe one can't keep chasing down people who
take others' messages and shut down their access to various systems,
it's problematic...but for each time one engages in copyright
infringement, the *minimum* penalty under the law is $100,000 per
instance.  If one chose to pursue it that far.

       It'd be no different than taking a whole section of, say, a
Greg Bear novel, and posting it on the nets without his permission.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:02:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Stephen C. Smith <76150.1170@compuserve.com>
Subject: PoNR-Hague

{original post had no questions}

       No, Stephen, you've got that backward.  We had booked Foxworth
long in advance.  Later, out of the blue, a rep for the actor said that
by accident he'd been double-booked on B5 and DS9 for the same
period...and even though we had prior claim, because the other was a
two-parter, more money, they went for that.  One can only wonder when
the other offer *really* came in....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:02:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Randy Upshaw <75464.1275@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

{original post had no questions}

       "Even in the USSR the military would not support an attempt of
martial law."

       You mean like when Yeltsin called up the military, dissolved
the Senate, and had tanks open fire on the Senate building to keep from
being ousted in a coup...you mean like that?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:02:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Randy Upshaw <75464.1275@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

 Randy Upshaw <75464.1275@compuserve.com> asks:
> I don't see that that has anything to do with the b5 story line?
> By the way were are the shadows???

       "I don't believe a conservative nightwatch would be tolerated
either."

       Senator Joseph McCarthy.  The House Un-American Activities
Committee. You can look it up.

       Also, there was a PBS documentary this past week on the
blacklist; I suggest that ANYone who thinks we would never fall for
something like the Nightwatch should take a look at it.  It makes the
Nightwatch look pale by comparison.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:32:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Cherns Major <75026.3723@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 PR

 Cherns Major <75026.3723@compuserve.com> asks:
> This discussion (about a spoiler for Point of No Return) brings a
> question to my mind: where do TVGuide and other publications get
> their little capsule descriptions, anyway? I don't presume that
> TVGuide has a screening room where they watch all programs that
> will be aired in a month or so, just to come up with little
> five-line descriptions; wouldn't there be some sort of system in
> which the station provides these descriptions along with their
> schedules? And, assuming that stations themselves don't have
> description-writing screening panels (or even advance access, in
> many cases, I imagine), wouldn't these descriptions come from the
> program source itself? Which brings up another question: are
> episode titles usually provided for shows that have them, and why
> aren't these listed? Or am I 'way off track in all this supposing?

       Synopses come from one of two places: 1) a two-page synopsis
from the studio/network, or 2) scripts provided to TV Guide by same.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:32:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Cherns Major <75026.3723@compuserve.com>
Subject: Deja Vu

 Cherns Major <75026.3723@compuserve.com> asks:
> Just out of curiosity, what would be the general time, from story
> inception to broadcast, of a typical 1-hr sf show? So is there a
> rule-of-thumb length of time during which we can assume that plot
> similarities could be attributable to coincidence rather than,
> er, "homage" (to put a nicer face on it than it deserves)? Or is
> script security in the industry so lax that the question is
> irrelevant?

       Well, there are a number of factors going into this, including
that as we develop threads over time, they become apparent outside even
before the script appears (as noted by some who've anticipated some
revelations here, in broad strokes).

       One other element is that B5 is only able to do what we do on
budget because we prepare a LONG time in advance.  We have scripts on
the deck, ready to shoot, 4-6 weeks sometimes before we roll film. 
During that time, scripts circulate to agents and others as casting and
other production elements start moving.  In many TV shows, the script
often doesn't land on the stage floor until a few days before
filming...in some cases, pages are still landing *as* they're filming.

       Once an episode is filmed, a 7 day process, it takes 52 days of
post production before it's ready to air.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:32:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

{original post had no questions}

       Okay, I *think* I know what that refers to; I wrote a long
message on one of the services about the ratings system, but it's
nothing I saved, I just explained it that one time as best I could.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:32:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

{original post had no questions}

       Short version: anyone with even minor celebrity -- and there
can be no more minor a celebrity than a producer -- attracts a certain
number of what can only be described as stalkers.  Stalkers range from
vaguely annoying to disturbing (and disturbed) individuals.  I have
acquired about six or so who are dedicated to one singular goal: trying
to disrupt my life, my career and my show through a constant, chronic
pattern of abuse, insults, outright fabrications, disinformation
campaigns, and innuendo.  Six doesn't seem like a lot, and in the
grander scheme, they're irrelevant; on the less grand level, because
they are singularly dedicated to this cause, utterly tireless, they 
can, and have, paralyzed whole discussion areas, poisoned topics and
made places on the net unlivable for me and many others.

       Several of them, if they were doing via other means -- mail,
phone, in person -- what they are doing on the nets, could easily be
arrested and prosecuted under any of a number of anti-stalking laws,
for creating malicious mischief, character assassination, and other
charges.  But the nature of the net makes it easier for these
individuals -- who are basically cowards -- to do what they do with a
relative (though shrinking) degree of impunity.

       Their behavior is pathological at best, and it was the exposure
on a daily basis to their virulent pathology, the necessity to respond
each and every day to the next new charge or rumor or lie -- which, if
unanswered, becomes assumed truth on the nets -- that in time drove me
from rastb5.  As with most Internet newsgroups, it does not have the
same safeguards against chronic abusive personalities that are present
in CIS, AOL, GEnie and other systems and BBSs across the country.

       A number of people who've gotten tired of the chronic abuse of
the system, and each other, recently resolved to try and create a new
moderated group whose purpose would be to ONLY restrict these chronic,
abusive messages from the petty dysfunctional, while allowing a) a full
range of open criticism and language, and b) not in any way affecting
or censoring the original rastb5 area.  Any group of people can agree
to come together and form a group of their own, with their own rules,
which others may or may not choose to enter. When and if that group
gets approved, many of the users who left rastb5 will sign on with this
new group, myself included.

       (I understand there's a discussion about this issue currently
going on over there, using the words censorship and nightwatch.  Which
are loaded terms designed to elicit an emotional response and muddy the
waters. Censorship is enacted against an individual against his or her
will; anyone who joins the moderated newsgroup, should it be approved,
does so knowing the charter of the group, thus expressing a willingness
to go along with that, just as anyone signing on with CIS understands
the general guidelines here.  If someone doesn't want to work under
those guidelines, they need not sign on, and hang out in the
unmoderated area.  How this relatively simple logic gets muddied is 
beyond me.)

       In any event, to your question...if any of the less than
rock-solid individuals noted three paragraphs above are asking for your
cooperation, that decision is between you and your conscience.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:33:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

 Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com> asks:
> You've thought of everything, haven't you?

       But of course....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:33:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Grady W. Smithey I <103321.2766@compuserve.com>
Subject: Just wanted to say...

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...yes, Marcus does seem to have a way with women of
taste and sensibility....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:33:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

{original post had no questions}

       Absolutely.  You're quite right.  The other digest of my
messages is a fine and fair thing, because I've said that my messages
can be reposted anywhere, anytime.  It's others who have not given
their permission, and the messages involved, that they may need to be
made aware of.  (Darn, ended on a dangling preposition....)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:33:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: Season 3 and Na'Toth

 Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com> asks:
> Am I correct in guessing that some of what would have been
> Na'Toth's story moved over to Ta'Lon? Or did you plan on bringing
> him back all along?

       I liked Ta'Lon, and definitely wanted to bring him back.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:33:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com>
Subject: Prison Authors

 Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com> asks:
> I suppose there is something behind this?

       It's just those darn Narns...politeness isn't easy for some of
them.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 00:33:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com>
Subject: Do you want a party???

 Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> asks:
> Remember the stuff about the actual latitude and longitude of
> "Area 51" being burned into the Newton 2.0 operating system, and
> a CIA cryptographer found it, and they pressured Apple to remove
> it from the time zones utility?

       How odd that they would be so concerned about a base that, they
say, doesn't even exist....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 01:04:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Peter David <72550.2517@compuserve.com>
Subject: Bill Mumy on CNBC

{original post had no questions}

       BTW, Peter, I happened to catch the episode tonight (though I
missed the opening and about 2-3 minutes at the top).  Nicely done.  I
still think I preferred the commander from the test episode (now it's
YOUR turn to hear that), but a lot has been improved, particularly the
sets, which are very elaborate and visually interesting.  Some fun
writing, good (if somewhat over the top) directing, and the effects
were quite good.  This one may actually have some shelf life....

       Congratulations.  You are now officially a Mogul.  Your
certificate of membership should arrive in a few days.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 01:04:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

 Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this sudden request related to the events of message abuse?

       If Brent Barrett -- not one of the Demento Half-Dozen -- is
asking permission to repost your messages, then he's doing this
properly.  So if you don't mind your posts being reposted, by all
means, give permission.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 01:04:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Karen E. Bahnsen <102735.3557@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Point of No Return>>

{original post had no questions}

       Good heavens, Karen, there was nothing in your message to be
offended *at*.  I took the inquiry at face value, and answered it thus.

       Glad you enjoyed "Point."  It sets everything up, so we can
knock it all down in "Severed Dreams."  Now everyhing I need is right
where I need it to be....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 03-Mar-96 22:26:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bing F. Quock <76216.520@compuserve.com>
Subject: Shwartzkopff

       Not that I know of....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:06:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

       Thank you for your forthrightness, and your honesty, and your
dilligence in dealing with the situation.  I think your approach is a
good model for anyone in this situation.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:06:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Cynthia Tenen <75015.364@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

       Well said, Cynthia.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:06:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

       Actually, casual copyright infringement has been dealt with
more and more lately; one of the reason you see precise instructions in
Kinko's Copier locations, and the reason they won't copy a full
manuscript unless you can prove you own it, is because they got hit
bigtime over the issue. It is, as you say, an area which has been dealt
with only casually, but which I suspect is going to get more attention,
particularly as the nets come more fully under the scrutiny of Suits.

       (I think I just made an inadvertent pun...)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:06:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

       Not per se, but it was interesting nonetheless.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:06:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

       They do it because they ain't wired up right, Joel....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:06:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

       Every once in a while, I get something along these lines,
though so far usually it's enough just to tell them to please back off
a little. Their desire is usually well-meaning, just...overly
enthusiastic.  For a while, I was getting 7-8 messages a day from a few
different people, in email, asking extremely detailed background
questions, literally dozens at a time, every day.  Eventually, I had to
ask some of them to just back away and stop it.  So far they have, some
with greater grace than others.

       A related problem I have sometimes is that people will send me
email with 5, 8, or 20 questions (literally), each question requiring
an elaborate explanation to be clear.  I don't think they understand
the sheer volume of email I get on a daily basis.  If a person sends me
one or two questions I can answer fairly briefly, they'll usually get
an answer.  If it's something like this, I go into overload, and either
say "sorry" or just don't reply. If I were to engage in that kind of
detailed email correspondence, I'd a) never have time for the show, and
b) 2/3rds of the rest of my email would never get answered.  It's hard
to fault them, because it's clear that their messages spring from real
interest in the show.  I just think they don't really understand how
*much* email I get on a daily basis.  (So in general, if it's a general
question of any sort, from which others might benefit from the answer, 
*always* post it publicly instead of emailing it.  This also saves me
from having to answer the same question in email 50 times.)

       Then there was the one person I told to avoid sending me email
with 15 questions...who solved the problem by sending me 15 emails with
1 question each.....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:06:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gerald Himmelein <100417.3703@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

       For starters, read the message I just left here regarding my
own email. To the question at hand...ask the reposter to please not
repost your messages. From what I saw from Brent, he's a very
reasonable fellow, and will oblige. Anyone else, tell them the same
thing, if that's your decision.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

       No, Brent seems okay.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Colin Knowles <72152.201@compuserve.com>
Subject: PoNR-Hague

       Nope.  There are better ways of handling this.  You'll see.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

       I dunno....dunno if I want a funny dentist....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chris Croughton <100014.3217@compuserve.com>
Subject: Fan Club

       I imagine we'll have some info on how to deal with this soon;
we're still sussing out all the details.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Peter David <72550.2517@compuserve.com>
Subject: Bill Mumy on CNBC

       It *WAS* the same actor?!

       (thud)

       I'm astonished....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Shawn J Ashe <72460.1762@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PoNR, BAMN>

       We hope to have some more info on the fan club out soon.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin L. Reed <75327.1046@compuserve.com>
Subject: Earthforce Ship Names

       It was subconscious, but appropos.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Timothy C Schell <71174.2414@compuserve.com>
Subject: <The last few eps?>

       No, the Epsilon machine wasn't built by the same folks; and
Kosh was the prime mover in G'Kar's revelation.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Z. Michael Milutinovic <71532.2231@compuserve.com>
Subject: To JMS....WOW!!!!!

       Thanks...we try to make it a good ride....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com>
Subject: General Hague / EA Fleet

       No, most of the cruisers shot down were of the Hyperion class,
slower and not as well equipped as the Omega class destroyers, a la the
Aggy or the Alexander.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: FitzGeralds <103571.3245@compuserve.com>
Subject: "Point of No Return"

       Yes, this season they're all my scripts, though that'll change
next season.  How does one do it?  Practice.  Listening.  And you have
to be willing to make a fool of yourself 10 times on the theory that on
the 11th time, you'll do something terrific.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Don Crossman <75147.175@compuserve.com>
Subject: PoNR: Zocalo Optics

       I have no explanation...will go check.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

       Bingo....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: New episodes

       I suspect it's an automated VO on the station computer; write
them and let them know, and they'll likely change it.  (And we get new
eps the week of April 3rd.)

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:07:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rick Sharon <76416.2213@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

       Thanks, and the powderkeg smoldering is a good analogy.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:24:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ruth Ballam <100412.3457@compuserve.com>
Subject: SFX Magazine Awards

       "JMS...a great mind and nice people..."

       Stop that.  I have a reputation to protect, you know.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Mar-96 23:24:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: Your copyright

       Just so we're clear...the problem is primarily with the mailer
set up by the Hall Brothers, who were picking, choosing and editing
threads for the express purpose of providing "ammo" to use by others in
the Let's Get B5 and JMS arena.  It's that use that had to be
addressed, and it's spilled over into the other mailers.

       The flip side is that this *is* a legitimate issue, and had to
be dealt with one way or another.  I would also rather it hadn't come
out in this way, but when the stuff is out there, it has the potential
for misuse; it was inevitable that it would *be* misused...and now it
has.  Once again, the Usual Few misuse the system and cause more grief
and emotion in a situation that could've been dealt with differently.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 04-Mar-96 11:26:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <<PoNR>>

       Y'know, I think this was one of those subconscious things the
brain does sometimes...I hadn't put it together when I put him on that
ship.  It's a sad thing when you can't even trust your own brain
anymore.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Mar-96 11:26:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <The last few eps?>

       Yeah, I also heard that Paramount sent the US Navy a letter
claiming that they owned the copyright to the term USS Enterprise, and
that the Navy should cease and desist from using that name in future.

       The Navy told 'em to stick it where the sun don't shine.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:21:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: When will they be back?

       You'll see Morden and Zathras before the season is out.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:21:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: FitzGeralds <103571.3245@compuserve.com>
Subject: "Point of No Return"

       No, I'm not going anywhere as far as B5 is concerned; we'll
have some freelance scripts coming in in years 4 and 5, but that's just
the same as in years 1 and 2.  They'll almost certainly be based on
assigned premises, and in all cases, I rewrite to make sure it all
hangs together.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:21:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: Comic books in U.S.?

       Let me try and address a problem I'm having with this question
and the one preceding, both of which are from folks not on CIS.  I've
just gotten a number of emails from people saying they have a problem
here, in the sense that they pay CIS for access to this forum, and the
ability to ask questions publicly.  To post a number of questions from
people not subscribers on CIS, giving them that ability, bothers some
of the users here who have to pay a subscription for that.

       Personally, for me, a question is a question regardless of
source, and thus far, I've answered all questions forwarded from other
services here. It's an awkward situation, because if this were a free
service, as rastb5moderated would be, it doesn't *matter* where the
questions come from, it's all equally free.  But I'm sort of "living"
in CIS's house while I'm here, and on a pragmatic level I have to be
considerate of the wishes of the people in whose house I'm hanging out.
Especially the wishes of the other users here.  One user put it quite
bluntly: "If they want to ask you questions on CIS, why don't they sign
up and pay the money same as I do? This isn't fair."

       So I've been debating what to do about this.  My only solution,
poor as it is, is that questions here have to originate here.  Once the
moderated group is open, which is free to all, anyone from anywhere can
ask as many questions as they choose, and this won't be an issue.  For
now, this seems the only fair solution.

       In short, I'd love to answer the forwarded questions, but I
feel I have to be responsive to the wishes of the users here.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:21:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: Cruisers? (PoNR)

       Ditto.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:21:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: Labor Relations

       Ditto.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:21:37
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Demento Half-Dozen

       Not a problem, Kevin.  You've usually been quite fair.

       (I agree about Penn and Teller...love 'em.  They're just nuts.)

       I can see no reason not to oblige Brent and John Hardin with
their requests for reposting from my side of it; these are, of course,
issues of privacy, the latitude and longditude of which are
circumscribed by the quiet turning of your own considered conscience. 
If you don't mind, then say yes; if you do mind, then say no.

       As for the masks, yes, I believe they're the licensed ones from
Ruby.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:21:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com>
Subject: <The last few eps?>

       It ain't an issue of copyright, but of *trademark*, which can
be put on at any time.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:21:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <<Point of No Return>>

       Any time you do something that hasn't been done before, you
will have people jumping on your head out of the near-religious
conviction that they must do so for the good of the commonweal.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:44:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 in SciFi Entertainmnt

       There are a number of actors who feel that if they're in a
story, then they should be at the *center* of the story.  Andrea seemed
to feel that if she was in an episode, the episode should be about her
character, and was consistently lobbying for this, despite the fact
that it would cut into the arc, and time for the other characters
on-screen.  Babylon 5 is an ensemble show; time on screen is determined
by the story, not by whim or personal insistence.

       Yes, we used her 8 or 9 times in a given season; but by
contract, we paid her for a full 13 episodes, whether she appeared in
them or not.  We were never under any obligation to give her *any*
guarantee; we did so to make her feel comfortable taking on the job. 
For the first year he was on the show Jeff Conaway didn't have a
guarantee of episodes; he was used as he was needed, and that grew with
time.  Andrea wanted time away from the show to do other projects; we
accommodated where we could, as we do with all our cast members, but if
a request comes in at the last moment, or conflicts with our schedule,
we can't comply.  We feel that if we're paying someone a great sum of
money to be available to us, for episodes they may not even appear in,
this is not unreasonable.

       Finally, it was never Warner Bros. who hired her or pushed her
on me. WB didn't care one way or another.  I was the one who hired her,
with Doug Netter.  If I hadn't felt she was right for the role, I
wouldn't have hired her.  But I was also under no constraint to make
the show into the Andrea Thompson Show.  Andreas and Peter have often
appeared as many times in a season as Andrea, and didn't even *have* a
guarantee for the first two seasons.  (Now they do.)

       We did what we could to accommodate her without destroying the
story arc.  I regret that she has taken out her frustrations in this
way.  Either one is a team player, part of an ensemble, or one is not. 
We are very proud of the fact that the cast members as they stand now
are all ensemble, team players.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 00:44:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Arc answers&questions>

       Not bad.  Y'know, if I wuz you, I'd send this along to the
rastb5-info group for archiving.  Helps to answer the yahoos saying
I've left the arc behind and gone off to Latveria to work for Dr. Doom
or whatever nonsense is being proffered this week....

       It still tracks.

       Individual threads come and go, but the story still tracks.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: I want a poster

{original post unavailable}

       We may do some limited posters for the fan club, yes; that's
all that's on the boards just now.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: Comic books in U.S.?

 John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com> asks:
> However, given this policy, how do you respond to questions
> emailed to your CIS address?

       It's an awful bind there as well.  Up until now, I've been
responding to most of my email.  I guess I consider email different
than a public posting, because anyone can direct email anyone without
having to use an intermediary to post in a forum.  And it's a private
communication.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <<<Point of No Return>>

 (blocked) asks:
> The editing was reminiscent (sp?

       I get my drive from Dell Computers.  The software comes from
the improper allignment of my grey cells.

       And thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Finished Writing!

{original post had no questions}

       From your lips to Hugo's ears....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: JMS Interview

{original post unavailable}

       I think we're all getting old and cranky.

       Goodness knows I am....

       Unfortunately, I was also young and cranky.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Comic books in U.S.?

{original post unavailable}

       I absolutely agree on just about every count.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 Doors / AI

{original post unavailable}

       They will usually open automaticaly (from the inside); from the
outside, you need to use an identicard.  If you ask to enter, the
person inside has to give the verbal cue.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Sarah E. Heacock <102412.1400@compuserve.com>
Subject: Comic books in U.S.?

{original post had no questions}

       Yeah...it's a very difficult issue, and one I'm still working
through to find The Right Thing To Do.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: Fan Club

 Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Will the fan club have an option for the non-netted?

       Yes, the club has to serve netters and non-netters just as
well, or it's organizationally deficient.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Mar-96 22:56:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Arc answers&questions>

{original post unavailable}

       Yes, Lyta was to develop a relationship with the Vorlons from
the start.

       Some of Garibaldi's past has caught up with him; there is more
to come.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 00:07:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Evidence of an arc <g>

{original post unavailable}

       Let me straighten out two issues.

       On the Sinclair issue, I have never, at any time, said that the
change was for ratings.  When we decided to make that change, WB
indicated that they'd like the next person in that chair to be more
well-known.  We had no problem with that, since we were considering
Bruce at that time, as he was someone with whom both Doug Netter and
John Copeland had worked before, and were nuts about.

       Re: Pat Tallman and Lyta...after the pilot, we made an offer to
Pat for the series.  This is a matter of public record.  Pat can verify
this. (Which right there puts the lie to the statement that WB didn't
want her in the series; we *offered* her the series.  We couldn't have
made that offer if WB didn't want her there.  Pure and simple.)  What
happened thereafter was a comedy of errors, with WB playing tough-guy
with *all* the actors agents, and on the other side Pat getting some
bad advice from a manager just brought on (and subsequently let
go)...so that the deadline passed for an acceptance, and we had to move
on.  Pat has said this at cons and online many times over the last
several years, long before we ever contacted her again about doing the 
show, so there's no need to take my word for this.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 01:44:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Kosh in US History

{original post unavailable}

       I think your friend needs two weeks off in the Martian Pleasure
Dome.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 06-Mar-96 18:32:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

{original post unavailable}

       Thanks.  I suggest you download Tapcis and use it; it makes
sorting through the threads a lot easier.  Welcome to the club.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:32:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: PoNR-Hague

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Trying to give the guy the benifit of the doubt (he's had a
> pretty damn rough last few months after all), but would it not
> have been professional to at least give you guys a couple of
> scenes to tie up characters threads?

       It wasn't workable, due to his schedule.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:32:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you think that this is some innocent person that reposted a
> bunch of our material which was then grabbed by the Fullers, or
> is this some twisted scheme?

       You must understand that because I'm not on rastb5, my info
comes secondhand.  My understanding, from TF's own statements, is that
this last round came about because of a mailer generated by people who
like trying to "mind-phuque" me, of which he is one, and is thus on the
list.  (The term is his, cleaned up for cis.)

       There are, on the other hand, other lists compiled by people
who're fans of the show, for general information purposes.  They should
not be considered in the same way, and as far as I can tell, they are
going to great lengths to do this the right way.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:32:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

{original post had no questions}

       I disagree.  When even Truman was loathe to take on HUAC and
McCarthy, you've got a real problem.  You make the impact sound
minimal; but people committed suicide when their careers were ruined by
HUAC and Tailgunner Joe. I personally know writers who were at the top
of their form and their careers who never worked again because they
were blacklisted or greylisted.

       It was also the climate created by HUAC that threatened much
more widely than the actions of the committee itself.  Take Red
Channels, a sleazy little rag published by the owner of a *SUPERMARKET
CHAIN* in which he listed those he considered -- based on whim or
divine revelation -- reds or sympathetic to reds.  Even a publication
like that had tremendous destructive power.  I know one of the writers
listed in Red Channels; the networks grey-listed him instantly.  It was
*years* before he could work again.

       The whole red-baiting hysteria of the 50s came as close to
destroying the American dream as any threatened invasion.  If it had
been led by someone a little less self-destructive than McCarthy, I
hate to think what would've happened.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:32:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <The last few eps?>

{original post unavailable}

       I first heard about it at a con, from a member of the crew of
the USS Enterprise.  Also, when it happened, it was reported here and
there in a few places.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:33:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Point of No Return>>

 Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com> asks:
> You were not kidding when you said you were pulling the triggers
> on the guns you set up were you? [Another moment of stunned
> silance] What?! A repeat next?!
> When in May do we get new episodes?

       You get new eps in April, the first week, rather than May.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:46:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 Doors / AI

{original post unavailable}

       You can program in a variety of commands, from OPEN to COME or
YES, though the vaguer the statement, the more probability of a
mistake.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:46:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Evidence of an arc <g>

{original post unavailable}

       "Basically, it was a decision by the WB suits that was mutually
agreed to by all."

       Not correct.  It was first broached by me, to Michael, for
story reasons; we discussed it, mutually and amicably agreed that this
would work out for both of us, and then confirmed this with WB, to whom
we had indicated we might do this, pending the conversation with
Michael.

       There's a long post here that was written by me and archived at
the time; it's in one of the two B5 libraries.  It goes into great
detail on the whole thing.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:46:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Point of No Return>

{original post unavailable}

       I appreciate that, thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:46:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Fan Club

{original post unavailable}

       We have a PO box now, and we'll do ads in magazines and the
like, plus maintaining a convention presence.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 18:46:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 Doors / AI

{original post unavailable}

       Yes, there's a sensor device, just as in your local drug
store's automatic doors when you approach.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 22:42:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Evidence of an arc <g>

{original post unavailable}

       We learn by doing.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Mar-96 22:42:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <PoNR> A complaint

{original post unavailable}

       Okay, Greg, you asked for it, you got it...and it'll be in one
of the very first batch of new episodes coming up.  I'll narrow it down
to the first four up, to avoid spoilers.  But it's there.  In spades.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 07-Mar-96 16:06:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: The Future of B5

 William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com> asks:
> (I wonder if you see where I'm going with this.) Now, being that
> B5 is set to be a 5 year arc, the completion of which will take
> place in year 5, how might we expect to see things taking place
> so far off into the future where the show's setting is concerned? 
> Do you plan near the end of the arc to jump the current time line
> ahead twenty or thirty years so that we will get to see what
> happens, or will we be left dangling somehow by events that will
> not unfold?

       Well, the odds of a spinoff are few and far between to start
with, so it's probably a moot point.  To the other question....

       See, this is a puzzlement to me.  If I answer your question
about when and how we'll see Londo's future, that ruins the show.  This
is the puzzling part...I often get notes saying, "When are we going to
see this happen?" Well, if I were to say, "Okay, you're going to see
G'Kar lose his eye in episode 7 of year 4," then it *completely
eliminates* any surprise, any tension, any shock value to it.  I might
as well just not make the episode at that point.

       So I have an answer to your question.  And we will deal with
this point.  But to simply blow it out there would be to destroy the
impact of anything we might have in mind.

       It's funny...at conventions, actors get asked "how do you
create this character," when the characters were created by me, and I
get asked to reveal coming plot points that I *can't* reveal without
kicking the props out from under the show.  I can talk in general
terms, but anything detailed has to go by the boards.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Mar-96 16:06:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> The *speed* of McCarthy's collapse with the simple words "Have
> you no decency Sir? At long last?"

       Yes, but equally dangerous, Phil, is blindness or self-delusion
about real failings and real problems.  Each population that marched
off to annhilation under a dictatorship did so convinced that their
values and their morals and their national fabric was supremely strong.

       Pride has a tendency to goeth before a fall.

       For additional reading check out "The Man Who Corrupted
Hadleyburg." Check out European history.  We're not a different species
over here on this side of the atlantic; we're just as capable of being
foxed as the next guy in another country.

       And your notion that the government wasn't responsible for what
happened to people during the HUAC period doesn't jibe with the truth.
It was the FBI which contacted networks and asked them for lists of
anyone considered communist; the FBI who suggested there might be
problems unless certain people were removed.  It wasn't just people
who'd attended Young Communist meetings who were targeted...it was
anyone who *knew* anyone who'd been at these things, or had in fact
NEVER been to anything like this. People were called before HUAC and
asked to *name names*, and if you didn't, then you were hiding 
something, being uncooperative, facing contempt charges, so you named
the names that had been named before, or made up new ones, gave up your
buddies or your co workers, whatever was necessary to keep from being
jailed or fired.

       The problem was worse than just "inaccuracy."  It was rooted in
meanness and cynicism.  I know someone who was asked during the second
World War to make short films for the military and the newsreels, and
to do radio shows, celebrating the US and the Soviet Union working
together to defeat the Nazis.  All well and good, right?  Well, this
same person, after the war, was grey-listed for having produced
Communist propaganda MADE AT THE REQUEST OF OUR OWN GOVERNMENT at the
time.  Meanness.  Cynicism.

       To be named before HUAC was to instantly get a file at the FBI
in your name.  As soon as that happened, you could reliably depend on
having your phone tapped, your business associates would be questioned,
your mail would be intercepted...no, the government didn't say
publicly, "don't hire this person," but when all this starts to happen,
jobs and reputations disappear. People committed suicide over the
destruction of their careers, their *lives* being torn apart.  Did
McCarthy pull the trigger?  No, but the people he targeted are just as
dead as if he did.

       There's the common assumption that one measures the decline of
a democracy in body counts and increasingly inconvenient laws and
regulations. But this is symptom, not cause.  Laws follow norms, and
norms follow values in the political food chain.  And the values of
HUAC were the values of terror, and spying on your neighbor, and
looking for the enemy beneath bedsheets.  A democracy, ANY democracy,
is based first and foremost on the notion of trust, however flawed,
that the person beside you, however different his specific beliefs may
be from your own, nonetheless hews to the same notions of liberty, and
that when push comes to shove, you will be wiling to lay down your
life to protect that person's rights.  Take that away in a paroxysm of
paranoia, distrust, conspiracies, hearings and vague accusations, and
everything else falls apart.  The center does not hold.

       To question ourselves is not to weaken our democracy, but to
strengthen it, because we know precisely what we believe and why we
believe it; we're not victims if we learn from our mistakes and thus
fail to repeat them.  If we *deny* our mistakes, or try to bury them,
or rationalize them, then we create the potential for trouble.  We are
at our most vulnerable when we are the most self-congratulatory and
assured.  Because then we get blindsided.

       "Fact is, the Red Scare tended to get two specific (and fairly
small) groups of people, Hollywood actors, writers and executives, and
people affiliated with Democratic institutions."

       Yes, and the Nazis tended to get two specific (and fairly
small) groups of people, jews and communists.  So I guess that's okay
too.

       Any attempt at repression *always* starts by first targeting
artists, writers, and intellectuals, the ones in a position to
verbalize and explain why what's happening is *wrong*.  You want to
eliminate, neutralize or destroy their credibility.  This is standard
operating procedure.  That's where it starts, but not always where it
ends.  To assume that because we've always caught it before means we
always *will* is, again, to set yourself up for a fall.

       The manipulators always go after an easily identifiable group
first, one which they can easily tar with the brush of responsibility
for society's problems.  We're seeing it again today, writ smaller, in
the constant and repeated assaults on Hollywood...attacking the
*picture* of the problem rather than the problem itself.

       Again, you demonstrate the problem.  "Well, it's just these two
small groups, really."  Then it becomes three groups.  Then four.  Or
you just stay with the two groups...and you harrass, chivvy, destroy,
terrorize, humiliate, bankrupt and ultimately lead to the death of many
of them.  But as long as it's just a couple of small groups, it's not
that bad, really.

       "Every man's death diminishes me.  So ask not for whom the bell
tolls. It tolls for thee."

       I'd also point out that when HUAC started, it was as the result
of accusations that there were commies in the Military and the
Pentagon; but when they found that they could get on TeeVee and the
Newsreels by bringing in actors...that's what they did.  What does it
do to a nation starstruck by actors to see these same shining examples
of the American dream standing before the cameras and naming names of
other actors, business associates, others?  You speak of the values of
a nation...what effect does that have on our values?  What *are* our
values if we allow this to take place...or dismiss it after the fact as
having hurt only a few people, really.

       It did great harm to the fabric of the nation, not in fines or
jail sentences, but in the *heart* of the nation, the way we look to
one another. Its effects reverberated long after the HUAC hearings
stopped.  It bred a level of paranoia that when the youth culture of
the 60s began to pop up, many of them were instantly categorized as
commies; "Go back to russia where you came from" was a common cry to
longhairs in that time.  Because to dissent was unpatriotic; the only
ones who attacked the government were the commies, end of discussion. 
The parents of kids who were teenagers in the 60s had come through
McCarthy, had learned the wrong lessons of citizenship.

       No executions?  Perhaps Julies and Ethel Rosenberg had some
part in spying, maybe they didn't, I don't know if we'll ever know for
sure.  But the Russians were working on a-bomb technology long before,
and records show that they got it pretty much on their own.  They were
executed as part of the hysteria of the times, their trial a rush to
judgment.

       No, we're not so weak a nation that McCarthy himself can
destroy it; WE destroy it, if we allow ourselves to be convinced to
turn one another in, to have the heart and soul of the nation sold out
to terror and paranoia. Every nation has within its breast the seeds of
its own destruction, within its own population; what some individuals
do is water that seed, and fertilize it.  If it grows, it grows in us. 
They don't do it to us, we do it to ourselves.  And given the right
conditions, the right environment, the right soil...we could do it. 
Even here.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Mar-96 16:06:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chris Land <101636.1572@compuserve.com>
Subject: OrganicTechnology

 Chris Land <101636.1572@compuserve.com> asks:
> Who has it?
> The Minbari?
> Am I right?

       Vorlons and shadows both have organic tech, yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Mar-96 16:06:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bruno Melancon <102647.3222@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

 Bruno Melancon <102647.3222@compuserve.com> asks:
> 2 questions: 1) What does "3 first acts" mean?
> 2) When does your script begins?
> It seemed six years after the War, but since the last TV show
> doesn't end with an armistice, how did you approach the beginning
> of your show?

       The last V movie ended with the armistice, as I recall; and 3
acts means the 3 dramatic sections between commercials.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Mar-96 16:13:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: The Ensemble Look

{original post unavailable}

       Then you needn't worry.  We have no plans to begin adding any
more recurring characters at this point; we have all we need.  And, in
fact, may start to lose a few of them in the fairly near future.  War
is hell, you know.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 08-Mar-96 23:42:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Tallman Episodes>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can you tell us what episodes she'll be appearing in for the
> remainder of the third season, if any?

       She's also in "Walkabout" this season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Mar-96 23:42:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

{original post unavailable}

       Thanks.  If one watches the show "religiously," does that mean
one must angle the TV so one faces Mecca, or is simple genuflection
sufficient?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Mar-96 23:42:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: The Future of B5

{original post had no questions}

       Then let me put it as straightforwardly as possible: I *hate*
loose ends, and thus the odds of very many things left dangling at the
end of the story are fairly small.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:20:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Fan Club

{original post unavailable}

       We'll give the info out when we've settled for sure on what
we're going to be charging, and offering, for the club.  (Unlike some
clubs, which charge as much as $20 or more, we're trying to keep it
down to something a little more reasonable, to keep it more accessible
to people.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:20:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: The Ensemble Look

 (blocked) asks:
> So this would be a bad time to set-up as a life insurance
> salesman on B5?

       The key to writing an ensemble show is to use those characters
that serve the story, and for no other reason, not becuase you think
they should get more on-air time for egos or any other rationale.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:20:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: The Ensemble Look

{original post unavailable}

       Yes, Walter Koenig, Harlan Ellison and I will *all* be at
Chicago ComicCon.  This should be most interesting....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:20:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: The Ensemble Look

{original post had no questions}

       "We care what happens to these people and aliens."

       Which is essential, whatever happens.  If something happens to
someone, and you don't care for the character, it's meaningless.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:20:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: The Ensemble Look

 Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com> asks:
> But where does that leave Jerry Doyle?
> Can I offer you my life instead?

       No, Jerry's great to work with, there hasn't been a problem.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:21:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: The Future of B5

 (blocked) asks:
> How DO you create a character like Delenn?
> How DID you create Delenn?

       As with any character I create, I tend to peel off a small
piece of myself to make the core of it.  There are certain aspects of
me scattered in all the B5 characters, Delenn in particular.  Then you
start adding elements that seem to shore up those traits.  For Delenn I
pulled in some aspects of Zen mysticism, Japanese culture, certain
Moslem influences in government and culture (minbar is the name for the
pulpit in a mosque)...next comes the layering of history, where she
came from, who her parents were, what happened to them (which, btw,
you'll hear this season)...where she was when the war started, what she
felt about it, what she did at the time, what happened later....

       Our personalities are formed in large measure by our history,
what we have seen and done and learned.  Once you have all those
details, you're a long way toward building the character.  A character
is like a well-reared child, it has aspects of its parents, but is more
than just a reflection, and forms its own life after a while.

       The final element comes in when you have an actor in the role,
and you look at the actor and the character and try to merge them, so
the truth of the person behind the name becomes the truth of the
character.  For Mira, that meant hitting those aspects of Minbari
culture which I knew would resonate with her background from the former
Yugoslavia.  I know that if I put her in the middle of a scene in which
she has to deal with her government unraveling, what the actor felt
when the real thing began to happen will seep out, whether it's wanted
or not.  Is it manipulative of the actor?  Absolutely.  Several of the
actors have come to me and noted that the character is hitting
something that's very close to them, and how did I know to hit them
with this?  Half of being a writer is observation.

       It's the same reason I assigned David Gerrold to write
"Believers," even though he couldn't at first figure out why he, mainly
noted for his light comic work, would be given this heavy dramatic
story...until he was well into it, and -- having just adopted a young
boy -- had to go through the emotional turmoil I wanted those parents
to go through.

       You have to be part oracle, part counselor, part parent, part
boss and partly mad to make this show work....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:21:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: The Future of B5

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is it safe to say that one day we *will* see a resoution of the
> Londo-G'Kar thread that will dispose of the dream in *some
> manner*, even if that is Londo doing something that makes that
> unlikely to happen?

       But of course....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:21:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> So this would have been made *instead* of the *amazingly*
> pathetic series?

       This would've followed the last version, and have been truer to
the original miniseries.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:21:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Messages from Earth +>

{original post unavailable}

       It can be for a number of reasons.  The White Star was moving
through a highly charged atmosphere, which would leave detectable
trails; it was being fired at by the shadow vessel, which would've
attracted considerable attention from the flares; diving at that speed
and coming back up there would be considerble heat on the surface of
the ship (not normally a problem in space); and it was pretty much
shaken up/partially damaged during the fight.  Also, at that range,
once you're near enough, you can pick it up visually as it gets close;
it's not a cloaking system, only a stealth system.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:21:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Messages from Earth +>

{original post unavailable}

       The Agamemnon was not IN the Minbari war; as established in the
show, it was one of the first of the Omega class destroyers constructed
AFTER the war.  It's a *very* impressive battleship, as shown in its
battle against the Streib.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:21:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: OrganicTechnology

{original post unavailable}

       The Lumati don't have organic tech; and a ship using this tech
would be a combination of the two, using organic components for certain
specific tasks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:21:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Fred Owens <74051.3602@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Security Forces

 Fred Owens <74051.3602@compuserve.com> asks:
> For the record, what is the status of the security forces on B5?
> Are they EA or are they rent-a-cops hired by Sinclair to manage
> his security when he took over due to the problems on the other B
> stations?

       No, they're attached to the Earth Alliance and responsive to
those commands.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:21:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Thought from jms

{original post unavailable}

       Thanks...and yes, a saga is just what I have in mind....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 00:41:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5:Starlog

{original post unavailable}

       "Everybody involved in B5 is in it for the money."

       Y'know, this with some of your other comments here -- using the
old canard of dismissing anyone who disagrees with you as "worshipping"
someone who creates or does a TV show -- amounts to some of the most
cynical crap I've seen in a long time.

       Here's a little revelation for you: Before doing B5, I was a
writer producer on MURDER, SHE WROTE.  A top-ten (sometimes even top 5)
rated megahit for CBS, with extremely high visibility.  I resigned M,SW
to take on the reins of a syndicated series, which pays me HALF WHAT I
EARNED WHEN I WAS ON M,SW. Not only is my producer's fee half what it
was when I was at the network, the scripts fees are ALSO far
less...about $15,000 as compared to $24,000 for a network script.  The
residuals are lower in syndication, the publicity budget is less,
people pay less attention to you in town.

       Now...why don't you just sit down and do the math, and poke
your head out of your butt long enough to consider that maybe, MAYBE,
some people do something because they're motivated by something other
than just being in it "for the money."  If I were "in it for the
money," I would've stayed with a hit network series for major bucks. 
If I were "in it for the money" I'd be pushing for more merchandising,
I'd *NEVER* have set a ceiling of 5 years on the show, and I'd
certainly never want to get away from TV and go back to writing novels
when this is all over, since books pay a fraction of TV.

       It's truly sad to see the world through your eyes, in which no
one does anything for reasons other than THE BUCKS...no story wanting
to be told, no art, no music, no committment, nothing other than sheer,
naked greed.

       Do not mistake cynicism for open-mindedness.  Yours is just
another form of prejudice.  One can be just as close-minded by assuming
the worst of others as by (to use your term) "worshipping."

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 09-Mar-96 17:28:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: The Future of B5

{original post had no questions}

       No offense was taken; I was just trying to be clear; it was an
important question, and I wanted to get across how strongly I felt on
it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 17:28:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 T-shirts

{original post unavailable}

       If they're from All-U or Creation, they're legit; if not, not.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Mar-96 17:28:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bruno Melancon <102647.3222@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

{original post had no questions}

       Problem isn't WB, it's the shrinking syndication marketplace
that's making it more difficult for shows not affiliated with one of
the webs or weblets to find a home.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 02:13:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

{original post unavailable}

As usual, Buzz Dixon's hold on reality is tenuous at best.  He is
engaging in the same tactics that tore apart the Guild, in part because
he was one of those directly involved in the smear campaigns involving
the BBS in question.

It's ironic...a BBS is found in which messages from WGA users have
been slandered, their sexual, drug, personal and work habits not only
openly ridiculed but *catalogued* in library archive
files...constituting a de facto blacklist...and this is revealed...and
somehow by virtue of showing how a small group of people were
maintaining a system dedicated to slander, libel and character
assassination itself characterizes an attack on them is mind boggling
to say the least.

Yes, a user gave me full authorization to access a particular BBS,
where I found that members of the WGA Board of Directors, the head of
the WGA BBS and others were involved in actions against their fellow
members, outright libel, and in violation of Guild rules.  I reported
this to the Guild, which for political reasons chose to do nothing,
leaving me with no choice than to go public with this.  Because careers
of other writers were being systematically undermined.  It was the
right thing to do, and I'd do it again.

If Buzz is saying that these messages were "selectively edited," then
he is lying through his teeth, plain and simple.  The entire text, with
every single comma in place, was made available to the WGA, and if
anything had been taken out of context, all the sysops of this system
had to do was to give the WGA access to the message base to prove it. 
They never did this, and swiftly wiped out the libraries in question,
purged the message base, and quickly changed the name of the BBS
itself.  Becuase they'd been caught doing something utterly
reprehensible and indefensible...except by those people directly
involved, who're still trying to cover their butts, and smear others in
order to protect themselves.  As is being done here.  Every so often,
this thread reappears, the same BS stuff gets posted.  Ain't no big
deal.

I have not "deliberately lied about scores of other writers."  This is
an outright lie itself.  If I had done so, I would have been sued out
of business.

The majority of the other points raised are the usual distortions,
fabrications, petty lies and bigger ones, which are trotted out on a
regular basis by a very small group of dysfunctional individuals bent
on revenge because I exposed their little smear-club in front of the
whole of the WGA. The story was reported upon in the trades, in the
local press, even some national press.  And, in fact, it led to a
"writer" who was in fact NOT a writer, but a convicted felon who'd
snuck into the WGA on fake credits, being exposed and removed from the
WGA.

And yes, absolutely, several Guild members took the WGA BBS to court
because it was engaging in illegal business practices.  It issued a
User's Agreement which was against labor law, in that it restricted
message topics and discussions on the WGA BBS, which as a union house
cannot legally control or restrict information by union members on its
property.  This prior restraint was tacitly illegal, and a simple
attempt to restrict criticism of Guild officials.  So if you've got
something illegal...you take it to court.  And the court was about to
rule that it WAS illegal when the WGA abruptly dropped the UA and shut
down the BBS in a move not unlike the current situation in Utah, where
to avoid one student group existing, the state shut down ALL student
groups.  The fee asked for in the suit was to cover the expense of 
filing a suit against the Guild, which is more than $1, as Dixon well
knows. But, again, the facts aren't at issue here.

The tactics of the BBS I stumbled upon were to assemble a series of
outright lies, innuendo, misinformation, disinformation, and bile into
a collected form, which they could use at whim to discredit, harm, or
otherwise smear their fellow WGA members.  I'm not at all surprised to
see that those who were involved in that practice are still continuing
it, and that they have dragged this out into the public again.  They
got caught with their genitalia in the door, and they will never
forgive the public humiliation that came when the facts came out.

If I had done anything amiss, the Guild or other members had the right
to file charges against me.  Nothing has ever happened.  Because they
were in the wrong.  The Guild shut down its own BBS rather than allow
members speak openly about Guild policies *as required by union law*,
engaging in the kind of censorship and prior restraint which any writer
must abhor.

So now, all we have left is the sour grapes, bile and hatred from
those who got exposed.  These are sad creatures, really.  I feel great
pity for them, and do hope they seek counseling for this sometime soon.
They know that what they say isn't true; they just hope that by putting
it out there, that this will be enough to cause trouble, which is their
fondest hope.  To smear.

What actions I took in this were legally, morally and ethically
correct, and it's all very old news.  Buzz should get a life. 
Preferably one that does not involve the continued habit of his peers
of smearing other WGA members, as he does here, with half-truths,
untruths, distortions and nonsense.  This particular act has gotten
*real* old.

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 02:13:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Thought from jms

{original post unavailable}

   Thanks.  As for the script book, a new and expanded edition will
finally be coming out this Fall, totally rewritten and expanded (by
100,000 words), with new chapters and info.

jms


------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 15:08:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mark Sloan <100407.3462@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5: 5 or 6 years?

{original post had no questions}

       A stand-alone TV movie really can't be an arc in the same sense
as a season of the show.  So I can't really consider it "a year."  A
year of story time equals one year of real time.  That's the five year
arc, which refers to the *series*, to that specific one-to-one ratio. 
The movie I've always considered to be a preface, or introduction...The
Hobbit, if you will, to The Lord of the Rings.  If it were going to a
sixth year arc, then it should've covered a span of a year; but it only
covered a few days.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 15:08:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Fan Club

 (blocked) asks:
> Are you going to have some sort of "Charter Membership" for those
> of us who are standing in line on day one?

       One of the things we'll be offering for the first 100 signups,
when the details are announced, are full-color decals/stickers of the
*alternate* B5 logo designed by Peter Ledger, never actually used in
the show.  These are from my own personal collection of stuff we did
during the development period. We're still looking into what else can
be included for those first in line.

       What we're also going to do is to offer the first two issues of
the B5 newsletter free to those who signed onto the original
newsletter, which was going to run for only 5 issues, and stopped at
#3.  This way everyone gets their full money's worth.

       (The other day I suggested that we start the newsletter with
volume 5, on the theory that volumes 1-3 were destroyed or sabotaged at
the printer's, and volume 4 vanished mysteriously....)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 15:08:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5:Starlog

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> How many years did you have to worry about where the next meal
> was comming from, and how many times did your *mind* tell you
> that you were an idiot for trying to be a writer instead of
> getting a "straight" job, while your heart wouldn't let you try
> something else?

       Quite true.  During the period where I was working to break in
as a writer, I earned maybe $3,000 a year tops.  I used my little
income to buy writing supplies instead of food...at one point, at 6'4"
I was down to about 155 pounds.  Maybe a bit less.  I was getting by on
beef jerky and soda because I couldn't afford real food.  (Water
would've been cheaper than soda, but I needed the sugar rush to get my
energy level up enough to write; with the result that by the time I
crashed at night I had the shakes from lack of food and the sudden
sugar drop.)

       Everyone told me to forget it, to take a regular job, and let
the writing wait.  But I knew that if I did this...I'd never get out. 
It was all or nothing.

       So yeah, I paid my dues.  And then some.  And if you pay your
dues, and you work hard, and you keep to your vision, and you have
something roughly resembling talent...sometimes things work out.  They
did.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 15:08:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Incidently, was it in response to this submission that the
> infamous "If we give the SF fans rayguns and spaceships the'll
> show up" comment was made?

       No, that comment came when I was still a reporter with the
late, lamented LA Herald Examiner, when the V series was still in
production, by one of the producers of the series.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 15:08:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Darran Williams <101656.2143@compuserve.com>
Subject: Babylon 5 - Widescreen

{original post had no questions}

       Haven't heard what the disposition is yet on C4 re: widescreen
or regular.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 15:08:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 T-shirts

{original post unavailable}

       Then they're *definitely* not legit.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 19:24:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: From jms re:Email

       Every once in a while I have to put this out as an FYI, so
those of you who know the routine, stand down...the rest of
you...c'mere, Unca Straczynski wants a word with you.

       From time to time, my personal email mailbox begins to fill up
with questions that really should be asked in public forums, and which
require lengthy, in-depth explanations.  (One such today asked me to
explain, in detail, the military hierarchy of Earthforce, relative
strengths of ships, on and on and on.  In itself, not a bad
question...but asked in email, that means that I have to answer the
same thing for the next guy who asks, on and on and on.)

       I can't get into detailed, exhaustive discussions of the plot
or story or characters *in private email*.  If your question is a good
or a valid one, it should be posted in a public forum, so that others
can benefit from the answer.  Otherwise either I end up writing pages
of information over and over again, and nobody else gets the
information, or I just decline to answer the question.

       The *only* reason for using email is if it's a personal or a
confidential question, or something you don't want to say on the nets
for whatever reason.  Please help me to keep my head above water by not
using email unless there's a valid reason for it.

       If there *is* something you need to express in email, please
use the genie address (straczynski@genie.geis.com) instead of the
compuserve address, because the CIS emailbox can only hold 100 letters
at a time; any more than that which arrive get bumped and sent back or
deleted.  I lost an important piece of email regarding B5 business
today because it got shoved out by a letter asking me to explain the
differences in organization and accountability to oders between the
religious and military castes of Minbari.

       Bear in mind that with CTS, it *hurts* to type.  The more I
type, the more it hurts.  (Please don't send me any more info on CTS,
btw...I have all the available information on CTS, more than most
doctors right now, and to type a thank you note for each one that comes
in just makes the problem worse.)  If a question needs answering,
better if I can answer it once, so everyone can see it, than 15 times
for one person at a time.  Every keystroke you see from me comes with
discomfort.

       Please try and use the email address(es) only if there's a
valid reason for it; otherwise, let others benefit from the sharpness
and quality of your question by asking it publicly.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 22:44:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: [F] ALL
Subject: NEW B5 EPS!

       Good news.  We've finally convinced Warner Bros./PTEN to go
with eight new episodes in a row, starting the first week of April. 
The new schedule, which just went out via fax to the stations today, is
as follows:

       So here now is the revised schedule:

       NEW EPISODES:
       2/12    EXOGENESIS
       2/19    MESSAGES FROM EARTH
       2/26    POINT OF NO RETURN              (w/Majel Barrett)

       RERUNS:
       3/4     FALL OF NIGHT
       3/11    THERE ALL THE HONOR LIES
       3/18    AND NOW FOR A WORD
       3/25    IN THE SHADOW OF Z'HA'DUM

       NEW EPISODES:
       4/1     SEVERED DREAMS
       4/8     CEREMONIES OF LIGHT AND DARK
       4/15    SIC TRANSIT VIR
       4/22    A LATE DELIVERY FROM AVALON     (w/Michael York)
       4/29    SHIP OF TEARS                   (w/Walter Koenig)
       5/6     INTERLUDES AND EXAMINATIONS
       5/13    WAR WITHOUT END: PART ONE       (w/Michael O'Hare)
       5/20    WAR WITHOUT END: PART TWO

       We're now in the process of working to get 2 new episodes in
July, so there are only 3 left for October.  Even so, we're very
excited to get a chance to show eight episodes in a row, building up to
the end of the May sweeps with our big two-parter.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 23:28:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: Marcon/Columbus Dispatch

 Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this for real, or just Netrumor?

       Yes, as of this point, I'll be at Marcon with Richard, that's
correct.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 23:28:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com>
Subject: Space Cases Thoughts?

 Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any thoughts on your next step in this in-joke-a-thon?
> Will you wait for Peter to do a year 4 script, or might something
> crop up this year?

       I haven't yet decided...though I have some ideas...and a few of
them are *real* doozies.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Mar-96 23:36:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5:Starlog

{original post unavailable}

       We've always done everything in our power to assist our actors
in taking outside work when they're not needed in the show.  We let
Stephen Furst out of his contract enough to do "Misery Loves Company"
for Fox, and rearranged our shooting schedule days to accommodate him;
ditto when Peter Jurasik wanted time off to do "The Late Shift," and
Andreas when he wanted to do a recent movie project.

       The key is that we need *advance word* on these things; then we
can adjust the scripts and schedules.  If someone comes to us at the
last minute, we can't do much about that.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 11-Mar-96 14:33:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Fan Club

 (blocked) asks:
> Are you assembling a mailing list from people who write the PO
> box now?

       There's a mailing list being put together, yes, but what'll
count is when the actual checks arrive, and we haven't released the
figure yet.  BTW, we also plan to offer fan club members a 10% discount
on all B5 merchandise produced by the club.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Mar-96 14:33:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Point of No Return>

{original post unavailable}

       Thanks.

       There's not a lower house in the EA, in the sense that each
nation/state has its own various houses, and its own leader, but that
leader is also part of the EA senate.  One per nation/state.  Each
nation/state has its own constitution, but must not contravene the
larger principles of the EA constitution.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Mar-96 14:33:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Kim Strauss

{original post unavailable}

       Dunno, but I'll find out.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Mar-96 14:33:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Space Cases Thoughts?

{original post had no questions}

       Oh, I have no intention of writing for the show...but the ball
is in my corner now, and I have to return it somehow.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Mar-96 14:33:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: Space Cases Thoughts?

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this a trend you expect to see continue in the future?

       We're ahead of our time, and forging a new way of doing TV, no
question.

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Mar-96 14:33:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Lee McNeil <101611.1440@compuserve.com>
Subject: Grey council,more than..

 Lee McNeil <101611.1440@compuserve.com> asks:
> Anyone else think that this might be refering to the Shadows and
> the Vorlons? Any comments ?

       All I can say is...not bad.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 00:36:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Starfury Model?

{original post unavailable}

       Yeah, send me a copy.  I think these are the same guys we've
already targeted, but it never hurts to be sure.

       We shut them down as soon as we hear about them.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 00:36:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 (blocked) asks:
> Has he been on before?

       York's a major film actor who's starred in many films,
including one of my personal favorites, "Cabaret."  Also in the
"Logan's Run" movie.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 00:36:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Two questions...

{original post unavailable}

       The Playgirl with Biggs is out now here in the states; I don't
know the issue date offhand, but it came out a couple/three weeks ago. 
It's only a one-page or so item.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 00:36:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Sarah E. Heacock <102412.1400@compuserve.com>
Subject: From jms re:Email

{original post had no questions}

       That's true, but only until the moderated groups is up and
running, which I hope is soon, then all internet folks will continue to
have free access.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 00:36:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: FoN

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  Yes, the show (and individual episodes) takes on a
different sense the more you watch it, and can look back.  It's fun....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 12-Mar-96 14:47:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Babylon 5 - Widescreen

{original post unavailable}

       No, the report is not correct.  Only the 2-hour pilot was
filmed in normal aspect ratio; from day one, the series has been shot
in widescreen format, cropped for current ratios.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 14:47:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mark Sloan <100407.3462@compuserve.com>
Subject: Duck food?

 Mark Sloan <100407.3462@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did someone once say negotiating with TV executives was "like
> being nibbled to death by ducks"? If so, who was it?
> Have I got the context right?

       I think it was Eric Severied of CBS News.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 23:50:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Two questions...

{original post unavailable}

       No, no plans for feeders.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 23:50:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Fan Club

{original post unavailable}

       There's a PO box, which I'll post when we're closer to doing
this.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 23:50:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 (blocked) asks:
> (Guess I'm dating mysel!) <BG> On another note, have you ever
> kill off a main character in B5? If not, is that ever a
> possibilty?

       Yes, we killed Lt. Keffer, one of our starfury pilot recurring
characters, and killed Talia's primary personality.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 23:50:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Cherns Major <75026.3723@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 PR

 Cherns Major <75026.3723@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can you say, "Blessed are the cheesemakers"?

       No, actually, it's neither annoying nor irritating to have all
my posts archived.  For starters, it keeps me honest; I don't think
I've ever been caught out in a major contradiction.  It shows the
progression of events, and chronicles how a show is made for
educational purposes.

       (Since some are opting out of being reposted, I'm going to try
to make my replies here more reflective, so they can be followed even
without any supporting messages.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 23:50:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

{original post unavailable}

       We knew last year that Kung Fu would only go 4 seasons, as that
was what PTEN needed to make the production worthwhile.  88 episodes is
a good average syndication package.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 23:50:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Fred Owens <74051.3602@compuserve.com>
Subject: Security Forces again

 Fred Owens <74051.3602@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are the B5 security forces a civilian organization or a military
> unit?

       It's regulated as part of the military.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 23:50:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

{original post unavailable}

       Thanks, we try to keep it interesting.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Mar-96 23:50:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Andrew Diseker <70714.105@compuserve.com>
Subject: Question re:First Ones

 Andrew Diseker <70714.105@compuserve.com> asks:
> Now, the question is: Just because the "First Ones," Vorlons, and
> Shadows are old races, does age necessarily lead to maturity, or
> does a race only last to become an old one by becoming mature?

       A first one is a first one because...well, they're first.  But
yes, the characters are growing.  Growth and change are at the center
of the show.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Mar-96 12:28:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Other Arc Series

{original post unavailable}

       I think they have the potential to become very popular, if done
right; if they're treated as novels, which means you're going to be
tied to the quality of the person telling the story.  If it's just done
as a gimmick, then arc-series won't hit it.  My sense is that since
over the next few years series may end up having shorter runs due to
the massive amount of available programming, why not build it to turn
that to an advantage?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Mar-96 12:28:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: The "whys"

{original post unavailable}

       Well, you've just asked two questions disgused as one; why do
*I* feel I need to tell this story, and why should this story *need* to
be told.

       I need to tell this story because it won't let go.  The only
way to get rid of it is to tell it.  Because I think it may be
important.  It needs to be told because I think it has some ideas we
need to hear, and because it's time somebody did a saga like this to
help reinterpret some myths at a time when we very badly need our
myths.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Mar-96 12:28:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

{original post unavailable}

       It's too early to tell if the Kung Fu situation will have any
impact on B5.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 13-Mar-96 22:57:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Rumor: B-5 canceled?

{original post unavailable}

       Yes, as I recall, last May we were told that year four would
almost certainly be the last for Kung Fu.  Which is no secret; all
parties pretty much knew that going into the renewal period.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Mar-96 00:09:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Arwel Parry <100336.623@compuserve.com>
Subject: Jumpgate dimensions

{original post had no questions}

       They're pretty big...but because they're not anchored, they can
(and do) move apart to accommodate larger ships when necessary.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Mar-96 00:09:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Other Arc Series

{original post unavailable}

       If B5 goes its full five years, I think I'd probably prefer to
get out of TV and go back to writing novels and plays.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Mar-96 00:09:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: The "whys"

{original post had no questions}

       Of course, there are many who don't see such people in a Good
Light; even Washington had people out smearing his name every day
(which, among more altruistic reasons, was why he didn't want to stay
in charge forever). We are never so greatly appreciated as when we're
safely and conveniently deceased.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Mar-96 00:09:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: AT on JAG?

{original post unavailable}

       I have no idea what Andrea's going to be doing, or how much.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Mar-96 00:09:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Blaine Jack <103333.304@compuserve.com>
Subject: Thought from jms

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 14-Mar-96 12:05:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Jumpgate dimensions

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> I mean, everyone knows how to build 'em, and pretty well how they
> work, but *everybody* bough plans for the things and they haven't
> changed in the whole history of the galaxy?

       Yeah, generally, the tech is pretty standard, and universal, so
you don't get a lot of variation with jump gates.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Mar-96 12:12:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com>
Subject: YEAR (sing) of shd war..

 Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does that mean it ends this season?
> What happens then to years 4 and 5?

       I think it's fair to say that the shadow war will drag on into
at least a portion of the fourth season.

       Bear in mind that in the first season, we didn't even know the
shadows *existed* until it was almost over.  This is more than just the
story of this particular war.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 00:15:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: TJG Hamshere <101351.3145@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 RPG?

{original post had no questions}

       Nope, the time I spend here is on my own dime in terms of time
invested.  Wouldn't have it any other way.

       And yes, there will be a B5 rpg coming out later this year, and
yes, as with all licensed B5 products, I'll be involved in the
development process.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 00:15:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Theo Thourson <73214.2131@compuserve.com>
Subject: Other Arc Series

 Theo Thourson <73214.2131@compuserve.com> asks:
> Full length or one act?

       I tend to write both full-length and one-act plays, depending
on the requirements of the topic.  I've had about a dozen produced (a
mix of both lengths), and one published (and no, I won't tell you
where, because I was only 18-19 when I wrote it, and that it's still in
print leave me chagrined no end).

       I actually tend to write just about anything; I enjoy working
in, and have sold in, every form of prose: short stories, novels,
anthologies, articles, investigative pieces, nonfiction books, even
songs.  The one thing at which I'm *truly* awful however is poetry.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 00:15:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Just a Question

{original post unavailable}

       Too simple.  Not it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 00:15:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: YEAR (sing) of shd war..

{original post unavailable}

       The information about the Battle of the Line comes back into
play twice this season, and the Minbari soul aspect is a major aspect
we'll be getting into at one point this season as well.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 00:15:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com>
Subject: YEAR (sing) of shd war..

 Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does that mean we will lose the Vorlons when the war is over?
> Or, as a previous hypothesis of mine went, does that mean we will
> _become_ the Vorlons when the war is over? By the way, Kosh is
> Clarence isn't he?

       You make those assumptions about the war dominating the show
because that's the obvious way to go, and the way most shows *would*
go.  We're many things, but obvious ain't one of them.  There's more to
it.

       But no, we don't become Vorlons at the end of the war.  They're
who and what they are because they're millions of years older than we
are; you don't just get that status in a box of Crackerjacks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 00:25:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: When is.....

{original post unavailable}

       Story ideas aren't safe just because this season is over (from
a writing POV), because you can just as easily toss something out
that's planned for year 4.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 15-Mar-96 13:53:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 RPG?

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Who is doing it?

       Chameleon Games is doing the RPG.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 13:53:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Babylon 5 - Widescreen

 (blocked) asks:
> Are you able to say if we are ever likely to get B5 commercially
> available in widescreen ?

       Eventually, yes, B5 will be available in widescreen.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 13:53:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 RPG?

 Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com> asks:
> Could this mean that by the time the games comes out you will
> have finished showing us the aliens and are moveing along with
> other things?

       I think I can work out how much info to put in and still leave
me with other areas to bring out new stuff, and there'll likely be
supplements and subsequent reference works later that incorporate new
stuff anyway.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 18:11:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Eric Rochkind <70671.302@compuserve.com>
Subject: character initials

 Eric Rochkind <70671.302@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this intentional?
> Will we later find out that both Sinclair and Sheridan have
> middle names beginning with an "M"?

       Sinclair's middle name is David, Sheridan's middle initial is
J.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 18:27:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Suehl <101661.1133@compuserve.com>
Subject: Thought from jms

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 18:27:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Minbari warrior caste

 (blocked) asks:
> I have heard that you said that the warrior caste was not
> "touched by shadows"? Is this true?

       I don't think I've ever said that.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 18:27:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Minbari Stealth

{original post unavailable}

       As established in the show, they use gravitational and magnetic
drives in many cases.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 18:27:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Jumpgate dimensions

{original post unavailable}

       B5 is probably a bit too big, but it's a moot point, as the
station can't move under power anyway.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Mar-96 22:05:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Jumpgate dimensions

{original post unavailable}

       Yeah...funny, that....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Other Arc Series

{original post unavailable}

       I can't even consider the question at this point; I can only
focus on telling the story now and finishing it for TV, rather than
alternate routes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Charles S. Tritt <70254.131@compuserve.com>
Subject: Marcon/Columbus Dispatch

 Charles S. Tritt <70254.131@compuserve.com> asks:
> Will Katherine (sp?) be coming with you to Marcon?
> What is she doing to stay busy these days?

       Still working out my Marcon plans.  Kathryn spends a great deal
of her time tracking all the stuff that needs to be done while I'm lost
in the B5 writing/producing process.  I'm nudging her to get back into
her own writing more, though having done it once she doesn't seem
interested in another foray into writing an episode of B5.  But there
are other options we're looking into....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Minbari Stealth

{original post unavailable}

       If I answer that question, the Minbari warrior caste would have
my head for revealing advanced alien tech....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Thought from jms

{original post unavailable}

       THE (EVEN MORE!) COMPLETE BOOK OF SCRIPTWRITING will be
available at most any decent-sized bookstore when it comes out this
Fall, as well as via direct-order from Writer's Digest Books.  I
haven't received a final price tag or ISBN number yet.  I opted to
include the script for "The Coming of Shadows," since that seems to be
the most favorite overall thus far, though I suspect that may change
later this season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

{original post unavailable}

       Glad to see you over here, Shane.  Welcome to the other
side....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Jumpgate dimensions

{original post unavailable}

       Yes, B4 has the potential for movement.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 comics

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> My question is why hasn't any new B5 comics come out yet?
> What is the delay and do you still have a contract with DC?

       Basically, we hit a snag we're trying currently to work out;
it's a jurisdictional question between B5/WB and DC.  Business stuff. 
I haven't yet heard a final disposition on this.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Vorlon vs Shadows

{original post unavailable}

       Well, I'd imagine that we'd *have* to see a Vorlon/Shadow
direct engagement sooner or later, of one size or another.

       And then the fun *really* starts.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 RPG?

{original post unavailable}

       An RPG isn't a computer game, it's a role playing game, led by
a game master.  So there's nothing to port over.  But we're currently
getting bids on a possible B5 computer game.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Ranger uniforms

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> How do they decide which design to wear?
> Is it based on rank or just personal preference?

       Some elements are very traditional, and many opt for that
aspect of Ranger clothing; others go for something more modern, or find
a middle ground.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:37
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: _WHAT_ uniforms?

{original post unavailable}

       The basic Ranger uniform can't be *too* specific and uniform in
every case, or it defeats the purpose of a more or less covert group. 
But the silhouette is the cloak, the dark colors, a cowl, and the pin
worn over the right breast.  (We'll have more on the pin and its
meaning in the next batch of episodes.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com>
Subject: Drazi Question...

 Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does the Drazi Ambassador (Kim Strauss) have a name, and if so,
> what is it? Ob JMSRequest: More Drazi, plis?

       Yes, the Drazi ambassador has a name, and we've used it, but
I'll be darned if I can remember it right now.  Just fell out of my
head.  (It was used in the episode where we have the mediation by
Delenn between the Drazi and Londo.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:04:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com>
Subject: Just a Question

 Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com> asks:
> and was wondering which one it was?
> and if this Caused a great deal of changes to accomadate the cast
> on his Arm ?

       The arm broken was his right arm and wrist; we worked it into
the show, in a way which actually worked well with what went right
before it. Jerry's doing fine now.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:25:37
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 Soundtrack update

 (blocked) asks:
> Any word on *when* it'll be available this spring?

       Chris mentioned that the next soundtrack *might* be available
as early as the end of April or thereabouts.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:25:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: HyperNauts ??

{original post had no questions}

       No, I'm not in any way a "proud papa" or *any* kind of papa
when it comes to Hypernauts.  I had nothing more to do with it than
recommending Christy Marx as story editor and to write the pilot, and
offering a few suggestions when asked, which was rarely.  The H-team
did this entirely on their own, though certainly some of the B5
production models (meaning *how* we do things) were used to make the
show containable for television.

       A number of shows have scoped out how we've done things, and
are learning from our experience.  This can only lead to more SF TV,
which is in general a Good Thing.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 02:25:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Scarpa <73672.2136@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Reruns

{original post had no questions}

       Better for B5, though, in that TNT has a lot more coverage,
more cable stations, and more PR than the SciFi channel.  More folks
will be able to hear about it and see it on TNT.  (I should mention
that TNT is *very* excited about the show, as much as we're exited to
be going there after the first run is over, and they're planning to
give it a regular time slot and a lot of publicity.)

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 17-Mar-96 19:07:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Kosh's warning

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> When Kosh told Sheridan, "If you go to Z'Ha'Dum, you will die"
> was that meant as a warning or a threat?

       Yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 19:07:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Numan Tapes

 (blocked) asks:
> Have you received the Gary Numan tapes I sent?

       Yes, sorry, it's been busy, so I've only gotten a chance to
listen to one tape so far.  I'll be honest and say that while I think
it's good, it's not generally the kind of thing I tend to listen to for
very long, in that what I've heard so far doesn't seem to have a lot of
variation to it, it's very electronic, and after a while, for me, that
becomes white noise.  It's the kind of music you tend not to notice
after a while, and I like to notice my music.

       Nonetheless, you went through a great deal of effort to send it
along, and that is most definitely appreciated.  Musical tastes, like
anything else, vary widely.  I can see why many folks would like Mr.
Numan's work, and his background (in the clippings, for which I thank
you again) is most interesting.  It's just not the kind of thing that
winds my watch.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 19:07:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Nedrow <70004.1273@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Reruns

 David Nedrow <70004.1273@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does this give you any leverage with PTEN on renewals for
> season's four and five?

       No, the TNT situation doesn't really impact the PTEN decision
overall, though certainly I expect they'd like to get at least 88
episodes out of it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 19:07:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Contacting Vorlons

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since Lyta had so much trouble contacting the Vorlon homeworld,
> how was G'Kar able to do it in "The Gathering"?

       Contacting the Vorlon government isn't the hard part; getting
into and out of their space is what's hard.  We showed in the pilot
that B5 and Earth were in *contact* with the Vorlons; Lyta was trying
to get inside their turf, and they aren't exactly neighborly in that
respect.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 19:07:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Mr. Morden

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Morden as the same person who asked him "What do you want?"
> " in "Signs and Portents"?

       G'Kar probably has not yet put that together; remember, he only
met Morden once, for about 4 minutes, a couple of years previous to
this.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 19:07:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Fan Club

{original post unavailable}

       The fan club was authorized a few weeks back, and we're in the
process now of finalizing all pertinent (and impertinent) elements;
price (we're trying to keep it under $15 to allow maximum
accessibility), what's going into the first membership kit, setting up
an account, that sort of thing.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 19:07:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: The Ensemble Look

{original post had no questions}

       Yes, I tend to agree.  Lately we've spent a lot of time on the
Narns and the Centauri from a cultural point of view, so the latter
part of this season swings a bit back in the direction of the Minbari,
allowing us to learn a little more about them, their approach to war,
relationships, their political structure and so on.

       And of course, the middle batch we've been in lately has
focused a lot on Earth, so we can deal with the whole Nightwatch/Clark
scenario before moving back into broader questions.

       I tend to write toward (for lack of a better term) musical
structure; one theme in the piece rises for a while, dominates, then
slowly diminishes for a bit while another theme comes forward...then
you have several rising all at once...interludes and
crescendos...broken here and there by the single clear note, the
non-arc story, which sustains us between the major pieces and greater
musical themes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 19:07:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Tallman Episodes>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> two more episodes this year isn't *too* bad, right?

       Two more Lyta episodes is...a good start.  We'll see if we can
boost that a bit as we go.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 19:07:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minbari Stealth

{original post had no questions}

       I studied with Vorlons....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 22:52:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Triluminary device

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> If a Minbari can use the triluminary device to change as Delen
> did, can a human do the same?

       I suppose it's possible to use the triluminary and chrysalis
device that way.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 22:52:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com>
Subject: Marcon/Columbus Dispatch

 Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you heard if any B5 people will be there?
> BTW, just saw a B5 shirt at a local hobby shop, what name should
> be on the lable to see that it was an authorised printing?

       Yeah, in addition to me, Richard Biggs will be there, and one
other; unfortunately I've just forgotten who....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Mar-96 22:52:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Thought from jms

{original post unavailable}

       Especially since the script as it's going to be published in
the book has a lot of material omitted from the episode for time.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Mar-96 03:00:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Lee Whiteside <76711.2660@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Reruns

 SysOp Lee Whiteside <76711.2660@compuserve.com> asks:
> ANy chance TNT might move up the start of their airings?

       The broadcast stations which are a part of PTEN feel that if it
aired now on TNT as well it'd be competition that would dilute their
ratings.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Mar-96 03:00:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com>
Subject: YEAR (sing) of shd war..

 Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com> asks:
> Near the mark?
> love the 'V' script in the library, will we be seeing any more?

       Close, but there's a lot more involved in the third age than B5
or the shadows per se.

       Yes, there's a full V script -- 4 hours worth -- that I wrote
for WB, but it'll never get made; too expensive for syndication. 
(Heck, it was also too expensive for *network*...which is one reason
why we had to fight so hard to get B5 on the air.  V the series nearly
torpedoed WB television all by itself due to bugetary over-runs.)

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 18-Mar-96 14:02:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: _WHAT_ uniforms?

{original post unavailable}

       Not so much a uniform as a look, really....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Mar-96 14:02:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Thought from jms

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Gee, there was stuff omitted?
> Have you ever considered asking Warner to let you do a 2 hour
> syndicated series?

       We end up cutting stuff out of every episode to some extent.  I
believe in writing long so you can take out any bits that don't work as
well, so only the strong stuff remains, and keep the pacing fast. 
Usually it's just line cutting within a scene, but on a few occasions
we've snipped out an entire short scene when necessary.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Mar-96 14:02:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minbari Stealth

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> And what did you teach them?

       Never ask that question.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Mar-96 14:02:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Other Arc Series

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> More seriously, if you were to suddenly discover that Warner
> would only pony up for 88 eps (like they did for Kung Fu), but
> *would* do that to get a good syndication position, could you
> finish out the story with 21 more and a movie?

       Yes, if WB said there's no 5th season, period, end of
discussion, the market has gotten too glutted, it won't sustain
it...yes, the story could be collapsed into year four.  It would just
mean omitting some of the personal non-arc episodes, and some segues. 
There are basically three major movements or themes that occupy the
last two years; best is to let them play out at a reasonable pace over
two years, but it could be collapsed into one, if that were to ever
become necessary.

       But obviously that would not be my first choice.

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Mar-96 14:02:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Greg Munsill <76370.142@compuserve.com>
Subject: Techno-monks

 Greg Munsill <76370.142@compuserve.com> asks:
> Had you caught this before?

       I've heard this on and off since doing the episode...once
again, the line between fact and fiction blurs.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Mar-96 14:02:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Kosh's name

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Kosh Naranek, is this Kosh's real name or does he just use it to
> be identified by the people on Babylon 5?

       His name is less a *name* and more of a description.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Mar-96 14:02:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com>
Subject: YEAR (sing) of shd war..

{original post had no questions}

       V had a big cast, and a lot of location shooting, outdoor EFX,
lots of stunts...it adds up fast.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Mar-96 00:17:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Kosh's name

{original post unavailable}

       My guess would be that the language in which Kosh's description
is made would be Vorlon....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Mar-96 00:17:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Homeworlds

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why doesn't the Narn homeworld and Vorlon homeworld have names?

       The Narn homeworld is called Narn, the Vorlon homeworld's
nearest English equivilent is Vorlon.   The Earther homeworld is Earth.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Mar-96 00:17:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Great Space Sweepstakes

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does the fact that WB is giving away a chance to be an extra on
> B5 which would presumable have to happen in season 4, bode well
> for renewal?

       One would think the contest would bode well...but there are
always ways out and consolation prizes.  It guarantees nothing but we
take some small reassurance in it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Mar-96 00:17:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Who let the Feeders out?

{original post unavailable}

       Stupid bureaucrats who couldn't afford to maintain a quarantine
enforcement team in the sector.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Mar-96 00:17:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Scarpa <73672.2136@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Reruns

{original post had no questions}

       That one was The Parliament of Dreams.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Mar-96 00:17:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: JMS:B5 on WB Network?

{original post unavailable}

       No, the WB network is definitely *not* taking B5; the divisions
at WB are very separate from one another, and very competitive.  The WB
network wouldn't take a PTEN show.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Mar-96 00:17:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com>
Subject: Marcon/Columbus Dispatch

{original post had no questions}

       I believe Pat Tallman will also be at Marcon.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 19-Mar-96 16:19:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com>
Subject: Just a Question

 Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any that you think out do the others all ready aired ?
> And How Much Did Foxworthy Backing out Realy change "Severed
> Dreams" or for that matter "Point of no Return" ? or Did you Go
> with a Replacement for him ? And BTW Being an old V fan ...I read
> a Script posted here that you ? Is there any chance we might Get
> to see him on B5 ?

       The Foxworth bail resulted in a change of about three lines,
that's about it.  You'll know which lines when you hear them.

       As for the next eight...one thing I'm trying to be more careful
about now is curbing my excitement about episodes.  If I say "X is the
best thing since sliced bread," there's always going to be folks who
then sit down to NOT be impressed.  Whereas if you say little, just
hide in the underbrush and let the episode whack 'em upsided the head,
you often get a better reaction.

       So I'll try to answer but in vaguer terms than usual.

       Of the next eight, I'd put 3 of them in the category of the
best we've ever done, equal to or topping "The Coming of Shadows." 
Those would be "Severed Dreams," and "War Without End," parts 1 and 2.

       You've got two personal stories in the batch, which are more
intimate and give us a break from the big changes in the current
three-part sequence. "Sic Transit Vir" and "A Late Delivery From
Avalon," that I enjoy immensely for very different reasons.  I'm very
pleased with them.

       Then you start heating up the arc again, leading toward the
"War" two parter, with "Ship of Tears" (which I think fans will like a
LOT), and "Interludes and Examinations," another very strong episode
with some real surprises.

       Personally, from a storytelling and character point of view, I
think that the "War" two parter represents possibly the very best work
we've ever done on the show, with "Severed Dreams" right behind it.

       (After the major events in "War," you get two more episodes
that act as an emotional buffer, a little quieter..."Walkabout" and
"Grey 17 Is Missing," and of the two, I think "Walkabout" is pretty
good; it has some moments that are maybe a bit too soft, which I'm
going to try and strengthen in editing this week.  The last three of
this season, "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place," "Shadow
Dancing," and the last episode, are somewhat similar in construction to
the mini-arc of "Messages," "Point" and "Severed," in that they build
thematically and contextually toward a single resolution.  There's 
a kind of nifty little visual element I use to tie them all together.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Mar-96 16:19:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: YEAR (sing) of shd war..

 (blocked) asks:
> Do you happen to know whether out of control budgets is what sank
> "Live Shot?"

       I don't really know enough about that show to comment; the only
reason I know as much about the V series as I do is because, when they
brought me in to write the new miniseries, I was briefed on the
situation they'd had.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Mar-96 21:28:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Marcon/Columbus Dispatch

{original post unavailable}

       I'm not sure she knows quite which medium she prefers; she's in
the process now of making that decision.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Mar-96 00:03:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: We Have Always Been Here

{original post unavailable}

       Thank your friend for the great words, and the thoughts behind
them.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 20-Mar-96 22:26:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: First One's Age

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did any of the races of the First Ones predate the rise of life
> on Earth? Were there any space traveling races in our galaxy as
> long ago as 1 billion years?

       Well, to some degree you're limited by the amount of time it
takes to evolve life per se, then into intelligent life, then into
spacefaring life. You need time after the Big Bang for planets to be
formed, cool, develop environments capable of supporting life...then
the long haul begins.

       So yes, on the one hand, you've got races that are millions of
years older than humans, who were prowling around while we were still
furred, fanged, and slamming bones together.  But they're not as old as
the universe, because they can't be.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Mar-96 22:26:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Matt Allen <100530.232@compuserve.com>
Subject: Babylon 5 - Widescreen

 Matt Allen <100530.232@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are the computer Fx also in widescreen?
> But as far as I know the PAR can't put down widescreen stuff
> unless you screw around with the output resolution?

       We'd pretty much have to re-render the CGI for important shots,
while more mundane stuff where there's nothing in the upper and lower
parts of the frame could be safely cropped and lose nothing.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Mar-96 22:26:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS:B5 on WB Network?

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> With PTEN going away, doesn't that mean that B5 is no longer a
> PTEN show? Or is it just that WB won't take a show that didn't
> originate on the WB?

       We're now pretty much the province of WB syndication, a very
different arm than WBN, so the dichotomy persists.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Mar-96 22:26:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com>
Subject: Death of Turhan Again

 Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com> asks:
> When can we expect to know about, or be able to ask about,
> whether the death of Turhan was an assassination, and if so by
> whom? Might a different (non-Talia) character that we have seen,
> also been under the influence of an implanted personality,
> partially controlling their actions in a certain episode? If I
> specified who I was talking about and why (in-episode pointers)
> in the last question, would I have crossed into the verboten
> realms of plot ideas?

       No, Turhan's death was exactly as stated, natural causes.  If
it were anything else, we'd have at least nodded in that direction at
some point. It's not fair to do so otherwise.  Ditto re: any other
implanted person; there isn't one.  At least not that *I* know of.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Mar-96 22:26:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Scarpa <73672.2136@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Reruns

 David Scarpa <73672.2136@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any chance of a video release soon???

       We hope to do videos in the fullness of time.  Don't worry;
when it happens, you won't have to ask, the info will be everywhere.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Mar-96 22:26:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Vorlon space

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Now that Sheridan is allied with Kosh, does he plan to ask Kosh
> what happened to the Earth ships that went into Vorlon space? Or
> does he believe what the Vorlons said about the ships having
> accidents?

       He would probably ask that of Kosh, if there were time, and
circumstance to think of it.  It's hard to bring that sort of thing up
unless it ties into an episode; otherwise it's just a forced sort of
thing.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 21-Mar-96 14:53:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: PoNR-Hague

{original post unavailable}

       No, there's nothing unlawful about it...and if you force the
issue, you've got an unhappy actor, which serves no purpose.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Mar-96 14:53:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 vs. DS9 filk story?

{original post unavailable}

       Little babies like to play little baby games...screw 'em.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Mar-96 14:53:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Mugs 'n Stuff

 (blocked) asks:
> Please, the next time you are talking with the coffee mug people,
> would you ask them to design a B5 mug that will go into the nuke
> for reheating??

       A good thought, I'll keep that in mind.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Mar-96 14:53:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com>
Subject: G'Lan/G'Len???

 Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com> asks:
> was that G'Lan?
> was that *also* G'Lan?
> Or does there exist a "G'Len" and I'm just not hearing right?

       G'Lan was one of a number of higher Narn beings who appeared to
support G'Quan.  There is no G'Len, that's a misspelling of G'Lan.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Mar-96 23:07:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 vs. DS9 filk story?

{original post unavailable}

       Except I don't think it's actually a story idea, but rather
qualifies as parody (of a sort).  Also, I've never said I'd go after
anybody who posts story ideas, because I can't do that; I can only
leave any forum where they come up.  I can't interfere with that. 
Actual *published* fiction that infringes is another matter entirely,
of course.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Mar-96 23:08:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <The Touch of Your...>

{original post had no questions}

       It's either their ignorance or they don't care...but you're
correct, in the B5 universe you can't have two races interbreeding just
like that. (In fact, I seem to recall pointing this out in my notes on
the manuscript; odd that it hasn't been attended to, from what you're
saying.  I can only assume that it slipped between the cracks.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Mar-96 23:08:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com>
Subject: G'Lan/G'Len???

 Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com> asks:
> (aside) *ONE* of?
> How does that sound?
> At one time, wasn't the G'Quon/G'Lan situation outline to us
> netted folks as similar to what happened with Islam after the
> Prophet got "translated"? Rage Ranger of Washingdome "Book of
> G'kar?

       Oh, the Vorlons can be *very* invasive, when they want to be,
if it suits their purposes.  There's no Vorlon prime directive...it's
manipulation, whether small or large.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Mar-96 23:08:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: First One's Age

{original post unavailable}

       I wouldn't call that entity an energy being, though it was
non-tangible in nature, at least on this plane.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 22-Mar-96 12:08:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <The Touch of Your...>

{original post unavailable}

       Gerald, the reality is that as humans, we're all flawed. 
Errors and inconsistencies in something as big as a novel, written by
someone who doesn't work on the show, isn't involved in it day to day,
are gong to slip through. That is inevitable.  I try to keep track of
it all, read as much as I can, to keep it in line, but the *only* way
to keep it 100% canon is to invest all the time I currently spend doing
that on the series, which is a 24 hour a day job.

       A writer comes in, has a notion for a book, or gets one
assigned to him; the writer then goes away and around that notion
writes 100,000 words or so.  I don't see it again until the finished
manuscript comes in, almost always at the last minute.  The *only* way
to make sure that every word of that is canon is to work hand in glove
with the writer through every page. The reason the B5 series is as
consistent as it is, is because that's what I do, day in and day out.

       So the broad strokes are always going to be pretty much
consistent with the series; of the next batch, we'll probably do some
backstory in the B5 universe taken from my notes.  But some of the
details will always be off a bit, because you're turning the work over
to the hands of others.  There is simply no other way to do it short of
my adding Editor and Publisher to my list of hats.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Mar-96 12:18:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Sandra G. Bruckner <76642.3664@compuserve.com>
Subject: Conventions

{original post had no questions}

       Just to add some info...Patricia Tallman, Stephen Furst and I
will be at Syndi-Con the weekend of April 12th; also, Pat, Richard
Biggs and I will almost certainly be at Marcon.  I'll also be at LACon,
the Worldcon in Anaheim in August.  (Oh, and Syndi-Con is in San
Francisco.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Mar-96 18:19:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Thought from jms

 (blocked) asks:
> which one will pass it?

       My guess is that "War Without End" may well pass by "CoS" as
all time favorite...until the next one comes along.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Mar-96 18:19:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <The Touch of Your...>

{original post unavailable}

       No, I think you'll like all of Harlan's work, though for a
newcomer to his work I'd probably recommend Deathbird Stories or
Shatterday for the more recent material.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Mar-96 00:41:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: G'Quon and the Vorlons

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since a Vorlon was G'Lan and G'Lan supported G'Quon, did G'Quon
> know about the Vorlons?

       Interesting question, isn't it?

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 23-Mar-96 18:00:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Yr. 4 renewal

{original post unavailable}

       Yeah, we'll likely hear late April/early May.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Mar-96 18:00:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Other Arc Series

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> What are your chances of finding out in time?

       No way of telling...we'll have to see.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 24-Mar-96 15:24:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Infections

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Were they part of the last conflict with the shadows?

       It was the fear of the shadows, among others, that compelled
them to start building up their war technology...with unfortunate
results.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Mar-96 15:24:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Lee McNeil <101611.1440@compuserve.com>
Subject: B^2 & Infection

 Lee McNeil <101611.1440@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this person *something* to do with the onslaught of Babylon 5
> ? (When it goes BOOM!) And could it be that this person, *if* he
> were to be attacking B5, using some sort of watered down
> OrganicWeapon technology which EarthForce Defence/Research
> devision got thier hands on at the end of "Infection" ?

       No, if I remember correctly, the person you're seeing works
station defense, laying down a fire line against incoming personnel.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Mar-96 15:24:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: VQT endorses B5!

{original post had no questions}

       I'll go check it out.  It's GO ETV, I assume?  Also, I note
that Lori identifies herself as BABYLON 5...not sure what this is
about.  But I'll inquire.  This is great if true.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Mar-96 22:44:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Vorlon legends

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Now that people have seen a Vorlon, Kosh, the legend that people
> turning to stone when they see a Vorlon is wrong right?

       Yes.  Not every legend is true.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Mar-96 22:44:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: What happens if...

{original post unavailable}

       Joe is fine, and at this juncture, I can't even contemplate the
question of not being able to finish the story, one way or another.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Mar-96 22:52:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 CD-ROM

{original post unavailable}

       If by "personnel avi's seem messed up," you mean the sound that
comes with it, that chirrruping, that's the sound of the identicard
scanner in the original pilot, which the rom folks used here.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Mar-96 22:52:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Unresolved plot lines

{original post unavailable}

       We'll hear more on Na'Toth this season.

       Laurel was, as stated in the series, transferred to the Rim.

       Dr. Kyle, as stated in the series, was transferred back to
Earth.

       Talia was sent back to the Psi Corps as stated in the series.

       Bureau 13 changed it's name and was absorbed into the whole Psi
Corps covert operation.  Secret organizations are constantly changing
their names. Homeguard has been absorbed into Nightwatch.

       The fate of B4 will be shown this season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Mar-96 01:36:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

{original post unavailable}

       As I understand it, CIS claims compilation copyright to all
messages as a whole, but you retain the rights to your own specific
messages, so you can repost your own stuff anywhere you like, and if
someone wants to repost yours, all they have to do is get your
permission, as folks here are now doing, and it's all kosher.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Mar-96 01:36:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Unresolved plot lines

{original post unavailable}

       Homeguard isn't the totality of Nightwatch, but NW has absorbed
it into its overall structure, for the most part.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Mar-96 01:48:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: Popularity & Msg Traffic

{original post had no questions}

       Yes, as your stats noted, it's been pointed out to me that in
general, B5 messages outnumber the ST messages here on CIS by a factor
of 5-to-1 on most days, and in some cases, as you noted, almost 10-to-1
(the 45 for DS9 and the 451 for B5 in the same period).

       I think it's in part because, once the episode is over, that's
when the fun *really* starts as folks get into the debates and
discussions of what the episode dealt with, the quesions -- plot, moral
and ethical -- raised in the episode, the thematic and historical
elements, and so on.  The show doesn't operate in a vacuum (though the
B5 station obviously does), and it's the threads that reach into other
areas that provoke discussion.

       Which is a Very Good Thing from where I sit.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Mar-96 01:48:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Tribute

{original post unavailable}

       Send that one to Peter David.  I dare you.  I double dare you.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 25-Mar-96 20:19:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Jim De Vico <72662.2765@compuserve.com>
Subject: Yr. 4 renewal

 Jim De Vico <72662.2765@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are there any contingency plans in the event that B5 is not
> picked up at any point along the story arc?

       I always have to operate on the assumption it will be picked
up, or it'll falter; this show is an act of sheer will.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Mar-96 20:19:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com>
Subject: Lost Threads?

 Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this a fair assessment?
> Have we lost a few percent of what you originally wanted the
> story to be because of this? On a larger scale, how many threads
> are there that you don't know the resolution to yet? (Hey, nothing
> is set in TV till it is aired.) How many mysteries have you not
> decided the answer to yet, since you're still willing to use
> something cooler that you think up later? How much may we lose
> because you can't fit it into episodes?

       Nothing dropped behind is ever essential; if it's essential, it
stays in, and gets paid off.  A story thread that hits a
reality-speedbump just gets modified, flows into another thread, just
like life.  You just keep on the road until you get to the end.  It's
just what the characters do.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 00:10:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Andrea Thompson

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> When Andrea Thompson told you she was leaving the show, did you
> consider replacing her with another actress?

       Fundamentally, for reasons that become clearer later this
season, I needed *a* telepath on the station, in one of several
possible positions; it's what we call in TV writing "a moveable piece."
Didn't affect things in any significant way, except to allow the return
of Lyta, which opens up a LOT of great story areas.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 26-Mar-96 12:11:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bill Hirst <104106.431@compuserve.com>
Subject: Lost Threads?

 Bill Hirst <104106.431@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, do you think writing B5 is like writing a novel, except that
> you have to turn it in one chapter at a time?

       Yeah, it is a lot like a novel, but as you say, once a chapter
is done, you can't go back again...so it's like writing a novel in
steel instead of paper; you can't erase what's done.  So anything you
modify has to be forward-directed, rather than backtracking.  It's
quite an elegant dance, really.  And a definite challenge, just to do
it, let alone incorporating the real-world speed bumps (an actor breaks
a limb, isn't available for some reason at an important point,
whatever).  So you have to keep the general outline in your head at all
times, and be able to shift and slide but keep on going where you're
going.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 12:11:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Unresolved plot lines

{original post unavailable}

       It's two separate mechanisms; no one has been able to open a
jump point in a jump point because of the hideous amount of energy
needed by the ship in question.  They used the White Star to open a
jump point within a standing *jump gate* that was already there, and
had a secondary source of power.  The competing energies were
impossible to control, and blew the whole thing.

       And yes, I'm *that* jms.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 12:11:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Edward Sykes <101632.3501@compuserve.com>
Subject: Unresolved plot lines

 Edward Sykes <101632.3501@compuserve.com> asks:
> I have another question :- At the start of season 2 when Sinclair
> was reassigned, what happened to Catherine, who he got engaged to
> at the end of season 1?

       They had to break it off...he had responsibilities that
excluded that kind of relationship.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 12:19:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: Popularity & Msg Traffic

{original post had no questions}

       What those who use ratings to bash B5 tend to forget is the
history of ST...that the original ST limped along in the ratings
basement for its three seasons, that fans of Lost in Space were
constantly bashing it as an attempt to cash in on that show (some
reviewers even noted this, in TV Guide and elsewhere), and that finally
it got dropped as a ratings failure.

       One would think that knowledge might encourage tolerance....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 12:19:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: SpaceCases&Hyper. in EW

{original post had no questions}

       One correction: I had nothing to do with writing the Hypernauts
pilot, that was Christy Marx, I have no creative involvement with the
show whatsoever.  It's their creation.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 16:52:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 CD-ROM

{original post unavailable}

       Actually, a CDrom screen saver is *already out* from Sound
Sources; info can be had in one of the B5 libraries.  Beyond that, a B5
encyclopedia is still in the works for CDrom, though not finalized yet.
Also, Christopher Franke, our composer, will be doing a second B5
soundtrack and a CDrom to go with it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 16:53:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robin L. Small <76640.2012@compuserve.com>
Subject: Nature of Army of Light

 Robin L. Small <76640.2012@compuserve.com> asks:
> What (if any) have you seen or used to form your model for the
> Epic Hero, as seen in Sheridan, and the rest of the good guys??? 
> I read an artical in "SciFi Universe" that Bruce Boxleitner
> talked about the Arthurian Legends, so do you think it would be
> closer to the mark to look at the Arthurian Tales as opposed to
> Greek?

       Well, if you're going to look at heroic epic, sure, the
Arthurian story is a classic...but the earliest and best of these
remain the Illiad and the Odyssey.  Homer was definitely hitting all
cylinders with that.

       If there's an aspect that informed B5's development, it's the
arc of that heroic epic, which if you look at it dispassionately, is as
much about the people *around* the hero as the hero himself.  And all
too often, the hero achieves the goal, but falls or falters or is
changed by the end of it. Much of what passes for contemporary "heroic
epic" assumes that it means the Good Guys Win.  Heroic here as a term
goes back to its much earlier origins, a "heroic effort" is something
that takes everything you have, against terrible or impossible odds.

       Yes, you achieve the goal...but you fall in battle in the
fields of Troy.  Yes, you create Camelot, but in the end you are
destroyed and Camelot falls.  There's tragedy and mistakes side by side
with the glory and the gains.  The accounts of Arthur's meeting with
Mordred at Camlan field, and how the final battle began is classic
ironic drama, a tragedy of great proportions...and an aspect of that
fed directly into the development of the B5 backstory, as you'll learn
later this season.

       Histories are written about the soldiers who won their battles;
but songs are sung about the soldiers who fell in battle struggling for
a greater cause.  What inspires us is the unfinished work, the dream of
picking up the fallen standard and taking it ten more feet up the hill,
knowing that even if you fall, the next man in line will take it
another ten feet, until finally the hill is taken.  Humans are
constantly throwing their lives away on causes logic tells us are
hopeless...but which in time become real for that reason.

       It's a dangerous romance with myth, heroism, and death.  On the
one hand, it inspires an Arthur...on another, it inspires a car bomber
to blow himself and 27 bystanders to bits en route to an appointment
with Allah.

       What makes the heroic epic work is that it taps into all the
myths and archetypes that have been with us for all of recorded
history, and much of its oral history.  Where B5 gets into this area is
in trying to look at the kinds of myths and epics that have gone
before, and finding not the specifics, but the themes which are
universal, the *sense* and the feel of it, which are intangible, and
which is what makes doing an epic so hard. Either you feel the 
structure, or you don't; if you try to hammer it down into a formula,
a step-by-step process, it turns to quicksilver in your hands and slips
away. You have to take it all in, then listen to the inner voice and
write accordingly.

       I remember a stanza from a poem I read a long time ago; "Love
will die if held too tightly; love will fly if held too lightly;
lightly, tightly, how do I know, whether I'm holding or letting love
go?"  This kind of fiction operates on the same basis.  Substitute the
word epic or story for love, and the logic holds.

       So the epic hero or story can't be a *model*, to use your
phrase; it can only be an inspiration for what has gone before...an
echo in the back of your mind that whispers and guides you through all
the dark places.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 16:53:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Lost Threads?

{original post had no questions}

       Exactly.  B5 has to be an organic process; it's a history of
the Babylon station and the people who lived there once upon a time. 
It should have the feeling of a real place, and real people.  Stuff
happens to real people.  The key is to turn it to your advantage, and
use it to make the story stronger.

       It's like trying to tapdance while people are rolling bowling
balls at you and firing burning arrows...if you can keep to the rhythm,
and even add some interesting new steps because of all the commotion,
while making it all feel perfectly natural...then you've got something.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 23:41:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Lee McNeil <101611.1440@compuserve.com>
Subject: Vorlons & Shadows

 Lee McNeil <101611.1440@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are the Vorlons & Shadows related in *any* way ?

       Define related.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 23:41:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Arwel Parry <100336.623@compuserve.com>
Subject: Episode titles

 Arwel Parry <100336.623@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since you're using a Latin title, does the fact that "vir" is the
> Latin word for "man" have any significance?

       Yes, it's sort of a double pun in that respect...thus passes
the man, which can have many meanings, also entering manhood, or dying,
or going away, or the more Vir transitioning, or going...lots of
variations.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 23:41:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: YEAR (sing) of shd war..

{original post unavailable}

       No, the V mini I wrote was several years ago, a planned revival
that was ultimately dropped as too expensive.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 23:41:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Yr. 4 renewal

 (blocked) asks:
> Do you have any specific plans?
> Like releasing it in novel form, or unfilmed scripts?

       Let me rephrase this: I can't answer the question because I
can't allow the question to even exist in my head.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 23:41:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: SpaceCases&Hyper. in EW

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is that right?

       Yes, that was the meaning of it, that Christy was SE and would
write the pilot.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 23:41:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bill Hirst <104106.431@compuserve.com>
Subject: Lost Threads?

{original post had no questions}

       Exactly.  And that's the point that a few non-writers make when
they go after that aspect.  Writing is fluid...if you alter course a
little, it's usually because you found a better way to do something. 
This is done all the time, in every conceivable art form.

       Also, the B5 basic storyline was conceived by me in 1986/87; I
was a fairly good writer then, I'm better now...it's almost 10 years
later, and I've written a lot of stuff, learned more about my craft,
and the writer of 1996 has some better ideas of how to do things than
the writer of 1986.  I'd be a fool to stick to every single note from
10 years ago if I think of a better way to do it now; the goal is to
tell the story as effectively as humanly possible, not to be rigid.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 23:41:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com>
Subject: SpaceCases&Hyper. in EW

{original post had no questions}

       Yes, the error was mine, I should have been more precise.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Mar-96 23:41:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: explorer ship

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> What, if anything, happened to the ship that originally
> discovered the ruins of Z'ha'dum?

       As will be explained later this season, the ruins at Z'ha'dum
were detected by a long-range probe; same as the kind of probe IPX used
to find the other planet in "Mind War."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 03:05:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Unresolved plot lines

 (blocked) asks:
> Sin wreak-oar Mistie, Montie, PITAS, Emperor of COWDP and Kidism
> Patroler "So the leading causes of accidents are joy, sex, and
> old age?"

9) imbalance in the Grey Council

Will be dealt with this season.

10) the Underground Railroad

Will be elaborated upon and brought to the fore later this season.

11) Lady Morella's vision

C'mon..."unresolved?"  It was only mentioned for the first time in the
last new episode.  Gimme some time here, I'm dancing as fast as I can.

(Some more on this later this season.)

12) What Kosh really looks like

More on this later this season, in an important way.

13) Sinclair not the One, but he will be

Dealt with this season.

14) Delenn's "cramps"

In the fullness of time.

15) Londo's prophetic dream

More this season, in detail.

16) Where Bester stands (to be decided in Ship of Tears, later this
year!)

Yes, this season.

17)  Minbari souls

Also this season.

       See, this is the thing that I have to shake my head at when
people use terms like "unresolved plot lines" or "dropped threads;" the
story ain't done yet.  You only use that term when you've finished the
book, and stuff is left hanging.  We're only midway through the book --
not even that yet in what's been broadcast -- it's a little premature
to start announcing threads or plots as unresolved.  There's an ebb and
flow to the threads, they're brought in and out as needed.

       You can't reference every single thread in the show in every
episode, or you'd just have an hour of people sitting around and
reciting updates on all the various positions.

       I don't like leaving loose threads hanging around.  And I
don't.  We will hear more about Na'Toth soon, because it's time to
mention that again, as an important storyline element.  (Somebody
commented that it's being mentioned because folks have been
asking...no, I don't work that way.  It's been asked for ages now. 
People have been asking for n'grath, and I ain't moving on that one. 
The few who've tossed this my way, that because they asked they forced 
me to deal with it, are like the roosters who think their sounds at
morning are directly responsible for the sunrise.)

       In any event, to this issue...be patient.  This isn't about
immediate gratification.  There's a certain pacing in the show in the
ways in which story elements come and go, which would be more apparent
if the show were being broadcast more steadily, without breaks.  Yeah,
there've been two months almost since Lady Morella's prophecy, but
there *haven't even been any new episodes aired yet*, and it was only
aired in the last new epsiode out of the blocks, so how can it be a
dropped plotline?

       At the beginning of year one, a lot of folks were saying,
"Where's the arc?  Huh?  Where's this `overarching storyline' we've
been led to expect? Huh?  It ain't here."  Then they saw it bigtime
starting with "Sky," and eventually realized that some elements of what
they were seeing had ALREADY STARTED the arc...they just hadn't
realized it until they looked back.  "Oh, yeah...THERE it was."

       Others said, "What happened to that alien ship that blew up the
Raiders in "Signs?"  They were just thrown in there to shake things up,
and then they dropped it, I hate it when shows do that.  It's a cheat."
Oh, you mean the SHADOW VESSEL that has now formed the main core of
year three and a lot of year two?

       In this list of "unresolved plot lines" I haven't yet seen one
that we're not either dealing with, or planning to deal with shortly. 
I would suggest we perhaps table this approach until the work is done,
since only at that time can you say, positively, "THIS is an unresolved
plot line," since we've hit the resolution of the story then.  Until
then, it's an exercise in "who didn't cross the finish line?" halfway
through the marathon.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 27-Mar-96 12:28:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Unresolved plot lines

{original post had no questions}

       My point exactly.

       And most folks who had the reaction you admitted, did so for
the same reason.  In some ways, we get gigged for the mistakes of
others, and have to prove we won't do things that way.

       And don't drag the bear into this discussion.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 12:28:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Lost Threads?

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Regarding changes that have been made, if Pat had not become
> available, and if AT had not chosen to leave, would Talia have
> been Control and then come back later with an altered
> personality, or was the Control thing a trapdoor (set up from the
> beginning with the mirrors and such) that you *could* spring
> *only if you needed to*?

       I'm busy enough on the threads that are happening...if I get
into all the threads that might happen I think my head will explode....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 20:39:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Unresolved plot lines

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  It's just as much fun for me.  To the waiting...I try,
where I can, to resolve any question raised within the course of the
coming year, rather than trying to stretch it out much beyond that. 
One question gets answered, another question looms.  There've been a
few exceptions, but overall I think we've pretty well stuck with that
model.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 20:39:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Troy Starr <74752.3172@compuserve.com>
Subject: Grey Council

 Troy Starr <74752.3172@compuserve.com> asks:
> Or, to put it another way, how often does the Council get new
> members?

       Membership in the Grey Council is usually for life; a person
can choose to leave but only under truly extraordinary circumstances
(kind of like being appointed to the Supreme Court).  In Delenn's case,
though, remember that she didn't quit, she was booted out.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 20:39:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Unresolved plot lines

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> When you find yourself asking the question "Why the hell did
> Sheridan do this?"

       One reason for the continuity is because you don't have a lot
of different chefs in the kitchen.  The more you divide up the
direction of the show and parcel it out, the more contradictions are
going to emerge.  Also, by virtue of having the whole story forwards
and backwards in my head, when a question gets asked about a production
element, I just sorta mentally fast-forward or backward, see how it
fits in, and can say yes, no or give a correction.  Often on shows
you've got people going and coming in the command chair, and they may
not always know the background as well as they might.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 20:39:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: San Diego

 (blocked) asks:
> So,....What is it with you and San Diego anyway?
> Did you lose you luggage there or something?

       I used to live in San Diego, first from 1971-1972, then from
1974 until 1981.  It's my way of sort of nodding at my old stomping
grounds.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 20:39:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Knives creature

 (blocked) asks:
> Is this true?
> Sin wreak-oar ` Mistie, Montie, PITAS, Emperor of COWDP and
> Kidism Patroler You've probably wondered in the past, "How can he
> have Montie in his sig, yet never have used a single Python
> line?"

       Correct, the critter in "Knives" was most *definitely* not a
Vorlon.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 20:39:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Graham <74166.3727@compuserve.com>
Subject: Unresolved plot lines

{original post had no questions}

       I don't think I flamed anyone...certainly I don't think the
person to whom I was responding felt particularly flamed.  When I set
out to flame, there ain't a whole lot of ambiguity about it.  I was
stating the background to the situation firmly, and indicating the
frustration brought about by *the question*, not the person.

       I did not consider the original question a flame in my
direction, nor did I consider my response a flame in the other
direction.  If I stated the issue strongly, it's likely because I know
that any time I leave a message, it generally gets cross-posted to a
zillion other systems, so in a way it becomes "talking to the room," so
the wider audience will know the full background of the
situation...thus helping to avoid having to go into the situation in
great detail multiple times.

       If the person to whom I was "speaking" feels flamed, he should
let me know and I will apologize, as that was not my intent.  If not,
then it's a moot question.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 20:39:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Graham <74166.3727@compuserve.com>
Subject: Foreshadowing on B5

{original post had no questions}

       Yes, you've caught them exactly.

       With Ivanova, I've tried to construct a small emotional arc, in
that when she arrived, she was the new kid, she was a bit uncomfortable
with the job, and responded by being very formal, very businesslike, a
bit on the snide side.  As she's gotten more comfortable with the job,
and the people around her, she's relaxed a bit around her
co-workers...but if somebody crosses her, as Bester tends to do, she
lets fly with some pretty sharp lines.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 23:46:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5:New pricey toys

{original post unavailable}

       I don't know what this refers to; the only B5 ships currently
being done are the Micromachines, which are only about $10 per set of
four.  If you're referring to any kind of models, they're unlicensed,
pirated stuff.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Mar-96 23:58:37
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS is from the Future!

{original post had no questions}

       Yes, indeed, you've sussed it out.  I *am* from the future.
Unfortunately, I'm only from 15 seconds into the future, so it doesn't
do me a bit of good, except being able to more accurately cut out
commercials while taping "The Simpsons."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Mar-96 11:39:37
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: San Diego

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> By flattening it?
> I take it we didn't like San Diego much?

       No, I liked San Diego just fine.  If I didn't like it, instead
of just nuking it I would've gotten nasty....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Mar-96 11:56:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bill Hirst <104106.431@compuserve.com>
Subject: CINEFANTASTIQUE -Morons!

 Bill Hirst <104106.431@compuserve.com> asks:
> But who's out on the net every night talking to his fans?

       Kiddo, you gotta understand Da Biz, and in Da Biz, writers have
never been given the same influence or recognition as actors, and never
will. It's something you have to understand going in and accept,
because there ain't much you can do about it.

       And it's hard to fault that logically.  An actor's face is on
screen; the writer is invisible.  We all see what the actor does.  Most
folks still don't quite understand what a writer does, particularly in
TV.  Whenever I leave town, when I'm in a cab, or (less often because
fans are generally more informed) at a con, somebody'll hear what I do
and say, "So do you make up the story and the actors come up with the
dialogue?"  Some think that the TV writer puts the stuff together after
the actors and directors make the episode.

       They honestly, simply Don't Know and Don't Understand.  And you
can't take umbrage at that; it's simply the way it is.

       And whatever my participation on the nets may be, only one out
of a couple hundred people even *have* computers, and the number of
folks on the net are even smaller.  The general population still
doesn't notice this area as much as they will in a few more years.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Mar-96 15:17:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rob Edin <102623.2165@compuserve.com>
Subject: Universes: ST vs. B5

{original post had no questions}

       Actually, the B5 budget is about half the average ST budget,
sometimes a bit less.

       We don't apply savings in CGI to alien makeup; they're totally
different areas, each with their own costs.  Whatever they cost is
what they cost.  But the reason we can do what we do is that we take
new approaches to both the EFX and the prosthetics.  Optic Nerve, who
does the prosthetics work as a contract deal, have found ways to make
their masks more lifelike, easier to apply, and faster to apply, than
the norm; so you tend to get more bang for your buck.  We've had as
many as 40 or more complete aliens -- full prosthetics and costumes --
not just in one episode, but often in one SCENE, which would kill you
in any other kind of show...unless you came up with some smarter ways
of doing things.

       That's one of the important things about B5...we don't tend to
do things the way they've always been done because they've always been
done that way.  We tend to ride the wave of technology in whichever
area we're doing, and take whatever's newest, fastest, best.

       That was ultimately the reason we went with CGI, more than any
fiscal savings.  We can *do more* with CGI, get closer, have more
ships, bigger scenes, make the B5 universe come alive.

       (BTW, a lot of folks still compare the models used on ST with
the CGI on B5, not aware that a fair amount of ST EFX now are done with
CGI; some of them have even been done by Foundation, our CGI
providers...the solar sail recently, for example.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Mar-96 21:19:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rob Edin <102623.2165@compuserve.com>
Subject: Universes: ST vs. B5

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks, and you're quite correct, it comes down to personal
taste for the most part.  Didn't think your message was harsh at all.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Mar-96 21:19:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Talking Kosh

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can Kosh speak on his own to other people in their language or
> does his encounter suite translate his Vorlon language for him so
> he can be understood? Is this why in "Fall of the Night" when
> Sheridan asked if the person who saved him was Kosh, all Kosh did
> was nod because he couldn't speak on his own?

       His encounter suit translates vorlon into english; he can
converse just fine with other vorlons without it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Mar-96 21:19:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5:New pricey toys

{original post unavailable}

       This is odd phrasing, as it refers to both 24 collections and 6
collections in the same sentence.  I think something here is a
mismatch. See, 24 collections times about $9 or so, the average price
for a set, would be about right, almost 200 bucks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 00:41:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: 'Severed Dreams'

       Okay, so you've got some friends who've maybe checked out B5,
and they've kinda gone back and forth...maybe the week you asked them
to watch was a slower episode, and they wanted something other...or it
was a bit too much on the arc-ish side

       Give 'em a call and have them watch "Severed Dreams" this
coming week. Don't say anything more than that, just make get 'em to do
it.

       We'll take it from there.

       Trust me on this one.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 12:50:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: 'Severed Dreams'

 (blocked) asks:
> Does Marcus Feature in this episdoe?

       No, unfortunately Marcus ain't in this one.  But he does have a
very large part in the next one.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 12:50:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: 'Severed Dreams'

{original post had no questions}

       Great...and thanks...even if you *are* pushing Space Cases. 
Aren't there laws about that?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 12:50:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Pfeiffer <75402.3151@compuserve.com>
Subject: Ministry Of Peace

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...it's a pretty good episode.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 17:26:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5/AOL/WB newsletter?

 Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you know what this one's about?

       No clue....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 17:27:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5:New pricey toys

 (blocked) asks:
> I don't want to criticize the Great Maker but, let's see now
> where's that calculator? Almost $200, huh Joe?
> Can you tell which episode this is from?

       The scene was from "Ceremonies of Light and Dark."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 18:28:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Ministry Of Peace

{original post unavailable}

       Yeah...what I've heard from people who've watched their tapes
daily is that it's a whole new experience.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 20:28:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Knives creature

 (blocked) asks:
> Was it anything else, or are we done with it?

       We're done with it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 20:31:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Talking Kosh

 (blocked) asks:
> I'm currently on a debate on Vorlonspeak, so why not go to the
> source? Do Corlon's speak in music, and the translator turns it
> into English?

       They speak in tones, almost a chorus of voices.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 20:31:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Sci Fi Buzz Interview

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Could you tell me what episode it was that they showed scenes
> from? I notice that Sheridan has longer hair now, is that part of
> the storyline or did Boxleitner do it on his own?

       Not having seen the episode yet, I can't tell where the scene
came from.  And the styles do get a bit looser with time....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Mar-96 20:31:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Valen and the Vorlons

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did the Vorlons support Valen just as they supported G'Quon?

       It's not that easy a question.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 30-Mar-96 17:00:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: VQT Ratings &Endorsement

 William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, Care to make a comment about this?
> Just heard from Pigdog that VQT took a full page out in a trade
> publication listing the endorsed shows and, well, guess what?

       Yes, we had this confirmed in Friday's Daily Variety; Viewers
for Quality Television has added B5 to its short list of qualified
endorsed shows, along with Murphy Brown, 60 Minutes, Dr. Quinn Medicine
Woman and about 10 others.  It's a definite recognition of the quality
of the show.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 30-Mar-96 17:00:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: 'Severed Dreams'

{original post had no questions}

       "...your offspring...."

       Thus are mutants created....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 30-Mar-96 17:00:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Peter David <72550.2517@compuserve.com>
Subject: SpaceCases&Hyper. in EW

{original post had no questions}

       In that case I better start expanding my wardrobe....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 30-Mar-96 17:00:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Universes: ST vs. B5

{original post unavailable}

       The tones are his real voice.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 30-Mar-96 17:00:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: Vorlon

 Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com> asks:
> Will we see any direct conflict between the Vorlon and the
> Shadows in the arc? Of course we would all like to see the epic
> space battle with the super races fighting it out ('battle of
> five armies'), but is that the flavor of the war?

       It's fair to say that sooner or later, probably sooner, the
Vorlons are going to have to get more involved...but mark this, be
careful what you ask for....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 30-Mar-96 19:05:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: Ivanova

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can you give us any general hints as to what you have planned for
> Ivanova in the future?

       Can I?  Of course.  Will I?  No, of course not.  Kinda takes
all the surprise out of it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 30-Mar-96 19:05:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: 2 part episodes

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> How do you decide whether a episode will be a two parter or as a
> series of connected stand alones like "Severed Dreams" is a part
> of? Do you have any two part episodes planned for season 4 yet?

       For the most part, it's a matter of how the episodes feel to
me, what length they feel as if they require.  When I did the big three
this year -- Messages, Point and Dreams -- I hadn't really figured
they'd be as tightly connected as they ended up being.  I knew they'd
relate strongly to one another, but in a sense, they're reallly a three
parter.  The War Without End story I knew was WAY too big for one
episode, but due to the structure of the story wouldn't take being
extended for one more episode; at that point you'd just be dragging it
out.

       It's all instinct, I wish I had a more concrete answer.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 30-Mar-96 19:05:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: 'Severed Dreams'

 (blocked) asks:
> How about Kosh?

       Yeah...Kosh seems to have retreated a bit so far...worrying,
that.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 31-Mar-96 14:04:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Violating Your Privacy

 (blocked) asks:
> At that point, I guess I would wonder out loud what difference it
> makes if my public words are seen merely by the hundreds in here,
> or the many hundreds or thousands "out there"? But the messages I
> wrote with the expectation of their being read by hundreds of
> strangers anyway??? Does the idea that hundreds *more* might see
> them bother me?

       Which is exactly the point.  If you're not bothered in the
least, then it isn't an issue.  It just seemed fair and proper to
notify those who *might* have a problem with it, and some did.  It just
allows people to make informed choices.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 14:04:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Kosh Identity

{original post unavailable}

       The Vorlons are one of the last of the First Ones in our space;
it's a race, not an individual.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 14:04:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Severed Dreams, WOW>

 James R. Kapesis <104154.27@compuserve.com> asks:
> Two questions about it, was Delenn in the Whitestar when she came
> to defend B5? Also, are any of the new fighters that B5 is taking
> on the new starfuries?

       Yes, the push in on Delenn revealed her in the White Star, and
yes, a fair number of the new 'furies B5 inherited are Thunderbolt
class.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 14:04:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Continuity

 (blocked) asks:
> Do you have anyone to research before the final script?
> Have there been any major errors in continuity?
> Or will you not tell if there were?

       No, I kinda have to keep it all in my head.  Nobody knows the
show more than I do, so a researcher wouldn't work.  So far, in 3
years, I don't think there have been any real continuity goofs.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 14:04:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: 'Severed Dreams'

{original post unavailable}

       Thanks.  It's our best to date, I think.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 14:04:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Fred Owens <74051.3602@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minbari Physiology

 Fred Owens <74051.3602@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, Silly question probably but, is Minbari sexual physiology
> completely compatible with human physiology?

       No, not under normal circumstances; it'd have to undergo some
fairly extensive genetic modifications before that could happen.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 15:59:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bill Dugan <71016.576@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minbari Physiology

 Bill Dugan <71016.576@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you mean that relations wouldn't be fertile, or that it would
> be physically impossible to do it at all?

       They wouldn't be fertile, no...as for impossible, the long
history of odd human sexual behavior seems to indicate that for some
folks, there ain't much that's impossible to mess about with.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 15:59:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Graham <74166.3727@compuserve.com>
Subject: All Alone in the Night

 John M. Graham <74166.3727@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, I just finished watching my tape of "All Alone In The Night"
> If it isn't giving anything away, could you clear up somthing for
> me? Can you clarify this?

       Ivanova is the woman in each case; and that's Garibaldi, yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 17:02:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Severed Dreams>

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> What is the story on the Grey Council?
> PS, What part of Patterson were you born in?

       Thanks.  The easy thing to do, the TeeVee thing to do, would've
been to go from Sheridan's line "All ships return to base," to the
exterior with the big ships, and fade out.  But I try to keep this show
from doing the easy thing.  Yes, you had a victory.  Yes, it was
necessary.  But what's the cost? We shouldn't glamorize these things. 
Even at the end, as you notice, even at the end of the reception...we
go out on an ominous note.

       What part of Paterson?  The downscale part of town.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 21:28:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Talking Kosh

{original post had no questions}

       Nope.  The man was nuts.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 31-Mar-96 21:28:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Kuhn <73532.741@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 CD-ROM

 David Kuhn <73532.741@compuserve.com> asks:
> Oh oh, oh, when, when, when??

       I'd expect by around May sometime for Chris's new CD.

                                                                  jms


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