lurkers-guide/ftp/CompuServe/cs98-12

JMS CompuServe messages for December 1998.  Collected by John Hardin
<jhardin@wolfenet.com>.


Date: 30 Nov 1998 12:18:10 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Steve Ringley <73727.1202@compuserve.com>
Subject: Crusade Start Date Slips

{original post had no questions}

      No, Call is still slated for January 3rd.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 30 Nov 1998 22:25:11 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Thanks JMS!

{original post unavailable}

      Thanks, I very much appreciate the generous words.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 30 Nov 1998 12:29:00 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: George Gillburg/CA <73137.1733@compuserve.com>
Subject: Hugo?

 George Gillburg/CA <73137.1733@compuserve.com> asks:
> Speaking of which, in the scene where General Ivanova (and thanks
> for getting her back for this last episode) receives here
> summons, was that a Hugo award on her desk?

      Yeah, that was our first Hugo...just sorta slipped it in with
Ivanova's other awards.  It was kind of a nod back to our fans...and I
think the first time that a Hugo has been shown on-screen in a series
that has *won* a Hugo.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 30 Nov 1998 22:46:06 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Koslosky <102365.2062@compuserve.com>
Subject: SiL

 Koslosky <102365.2062@compuserve.com> asks:
> We LOVED SiL, BUT, my newly converted office mate fans of B5
> asked me to query you regarding this ep - why did you leave SO
> many questions unanswered? The Drak and Centari Prime?
> Londo?
> Lyta?
> Bester and the Psi Corps?
> G'Kar?
> Garibaldi and Bester?
> B5's seemingly needless and useless destruction?
> Sheridan's son - we guess he survived the Drak and their intended
> keeper? Are we to assume we'll never know the answers to any of
> these questions?

The Drak and Centari Prime?

      Vir is Emperor now.  Londo asked Sheridan to free his people; we
can assume he did this...but we will also be showing this in the
Centauri Prime trilogy of books in more detail.

Londo?

      We saw Londo's fate in War Without End Part 2.

Lyta?

      The telepath crisis and events surrounding it will provide a lot
of the background to Crusade.

Bester and the Psi Corps?

      Ditto.

G'Kar?

      We saw his fate in WWE2 also.

Garibaldi and Bester?

      This will be covered in the Psi Corps trilogy, of which volume 1
is out now, and volume 2 is in my hands for editing.

B5's seemingly needless and useless destruction?

      Neither needless nor useless.  It was built cheapest of all the
stations, and it takes a lot of money to maintain it.  With trade
routes now going around it, there isn't enough income to support it. 
So do you leave it intact, for others to occupy or raid for weapons
systems and other systems too difficult to yank out?  Or take it out,
the same way we implode buildings now?

Sheridan's son - we guess he survived the Drak and their intended
keeper?

      This will also be covered in the Centauri Prime trilogy...but if
you sit back you can do some of the work to figure out a large part of
this. As Londo states, his situation in WWE2 (Sheridan and Delenn
captured on Centauri Prime) takes place 18 years after the events in
2260, which would put it at 2278. The urn, given to Sheridan in 2262,
is supposed to be given to the heir at the occasion of his/her 16th
birthday, by Centauri tradition.

      That would put the urn presentation at...ding!...2278.

      In 2278, Sheridan and Delenn have been drawn to Centauri Prime. 
We know their son is involved, because Delenn says "David is safe."  So
they were somehow able to save him, because we know that in 2281, David
is alive and well and serving in the Rangers (SiL).

      You can see the shape of the events there...once again the clues
are more or less in plain sight...but again, this will be drawn out in
the books in more detail.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 02 Dec 1998 15:32:01 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bruce Scandariato <72571.1722@compuserve.com>
Subject: SIL - Babylon 5

{original post had no questions}

      Thanks, I appreciate it.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 02 Dec 1998 15:32:01 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bruce Scandariato <72571.1722@compuserve.com>
Subject: SIL - Babylon 5

 Bruce Scandariato <72571.1722@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since SIL was filmed in season 4, was there anything that you
> would have changed had you known ahead of time that B5 was
> renewed for season 5 with respect to Ivanova and Lochley and
> others?

      I had the option to change stuff if I'd been so inclined...but
felt it was right as it was.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 02 Dec 1998 15:32:02 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com>
Subject: <SiL> - ship

 T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> asks:
> JMS, the ship that Sheridan took, is that the new Earth/Minbari
> ship? is it still a White Star?

      It's a smaller, personal version of a White Star.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 02 Dec 1998 15:32:02 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: SiL:Pakh'mara singers

 (blocked) asks:
> BTW, did SiL remain completely untouched in the can during the
> fifth year?

      Yeah...everybody figured the pak'ma'ra were just a waste...which
is why this seemed so right.

      And yes again...SiL was untouched since I finished my producer's
edit at the end of year 4.  No need.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 02 Dec 1998 15:41:03 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: JMS did not reply to me

{original post unavailable}

      Understand: I get several HUNDRED messages a day.  Every day. 
Day in and day out.  Public and private.  I cannot reply to all of
them, and there is no requirement that I must reply to each of them. 
If I feel it requires a response, I do so; if not, I don't. 
Complaining about it to the forum is not the appropriate response.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 03 Dec 1998 21:11:09 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Dreaming in Light/Thanks

{original post unavailable}

      Thanks...it's sometimes odd for me to consider that a number of
folks have grown up on my work over the years...suddenly I feel old....

      Nonetheless: thank you for the kind words.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 03 Dec 1998 21:11:08 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: SiL

{original post unavailable}

      All three of the Psi Corps books are by J. Gregory Keyes, from a
jms outline.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 03 Dec 1998 21:11:09 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Andy Ihnatko <72511.204@compuserve.com>
Subject: About Final Episodes

 Andy Ihnatko <72511.204@compuserve.com> asks:
> No more, for they made the same frustrated laments: "But what
> about Londo and G'Kar? Did Garibaldi...?
> And will David...?"
> (aside: Why is it that all of the shows in this last category
> seem to have one-word titles and be about former standup comics?

      Thanks...and you're right on all counts.  Additionally, you have
to really decide *Who is the story about?*  You can really only track a
couple of characters to the end...here we tracked a number there or
nearly there. This story is a history -- told from a future perspective
 -- about the events of the Babylon station, and those who passed
through it, during a specific period in its history.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 03 Dec 1998 21:11:09 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: JMS did not reply to me

{original post unavailable}

      Over and done with them.  We move on.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 03 Dec 1998 21:11:08 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Babylon 5

{original post unavailable}

      Many thanks....

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 03 Dec 1998 21:11:10 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Graham Smith <74010.764@compuserve.com>
Subject: SiL:Pakh'mara singers

 Graham Smith <74010.764@compuserve.com> asks:
> But, was that the same thing Sheridan heard during his "momement
> of beauty?"

      No, that was something else.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 03 Dec 1998 21:11:10 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Garibaldi's Drinking

{original post unavailable}

      Thanks...it's a point that can't be made too often.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 04 Dec 1998 13:42:14 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Dreaming in Light/Thanks

{original post unavailable}

      Yeah?  How'd the CP figures come out in the poll?

      (Knew I should've bought some more of them....)

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 04 Dec 1998 13:42:14 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Babylon 5

 (blocked) asks:
> Have you ever or will you ever do an interview with him?
> Has he ever tried to make contact with you or any of the cast?

      We are proud of all our fans.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 04 Dec 1998 13:42:14 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 franchise?

 T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> asks:
>  your comments?

      They're nitwits.

      Look...first off, nobody *has* to buy anything.  If you want to
learn more about the characters after the duration of the show, and you
want to buy the novels or whatever, fine, you have that option.  But
you didn't have to buy them to enjoy the series...and I'm working hard
to make sure you don't even have to have watched the series to enjoy
the novels.

      There are two fundamental choices here, given that fans want
more stuff in the B5 universe.  Either you do novels that have nothing
to do with anything, or you make them canon.  Fans wanted the books
canonical, as do I. That's the point of a coherent, consistent,
sustained universe.

      The Psi Corps novels, for instance, track Bester's life from
birth to death, and the development of the Corps.  Is that essential
reading to follow any of the B5 episodes?  No.  Is it cool if you want
to learn more about it and enrich the experience?  Yes.  So where here
is the problem?

      Look...some folks have always looked for an excuse to rag on
this show, so they could bug me and anybody who likes the show.  First
it was that B5 couldn't possibly be as good as Trek because there
wasn't any merchandise; now there's merchandise and they say now THAT
means it can't be good.

      If you never bought a single book or outside material, you could
still enjoy the series.  None of it is required.  So the complaint is
unjustified and silly.

      Should we not give fans of the show a chance to acquire more
info about the B5 universe and characters because a few folks complain
that it's a franchise?  Nonsense.  The problem is theirs, nobody
else's.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 05 Dec 1998 22:11:01 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Thank you

{original post unavailable}

      Thanks, and for the Crusade question...that's going to have to
wait, but I've found a way to do it, in spades.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 05 Dec 1998 22:11:01 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: SiL

{original post unavailable}

      You couldn't tow something as massive as a 5 mile long station
like this through hyperspace; it'd tear apart.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 07 Dec 1998 15:09:07 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bill Hirst <104106.431@compuserve.com>
Subject: More soggy tissues :-)

 Bill Hirst <104106.431@compuserve.com> asks:
> What am I saying?

      That's wonderful, thanks.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 07 Dec 1998 15:09:08 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Thank you JMS

{original post unavailable}

      Thank you for those terrific words, they're appreciated.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 08 Dec 1998 14:54:13 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com>
Subject: missing Sil credits

 T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is it a problem with distribution?
>  separated out?

      I don't know...I'll have to check.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 08 Dec 1998 23:13:01 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com>
Subject: SiL:Pakh'mara singers

{original post had no questions}

      My sense was that in general, most folks didn't want to know,
they just wanted it to happen as it happened.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 09 Dec 1998 13:41:07 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kirk Darling <73063.3115@compuserve.com>
Subject: SiL

{original post had no questions}

      It can be moved, sure, but can it *survive* the move?  Also,
you'd have to bring B5 through a jump point in order to bring it
anywhere, and the stresses involved in that would be hideous.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 10 Dec 1998 15:42:04 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 Swords?

{original post unavailable}

      We just go for the coolest blades....

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 10 Dec 1998 15:42:04 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Crusade

{original post unavailable}

      Thanks.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 10 Dec 1998 15:42:04 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: O.C.D in Babylon 5

{original post unavailable}

      Yeah, all that stuff is still there.  We're not going to evolve
past all that in just 200 years, any more than we did from 1799 to
1999.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 12 Dec 1998 18:25:12 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joseph Schierer <76326.3124@compuserve.com>
Subject: level of satisfaction

 Joseph Schierer <76326.3124@compuserve.com> asks:
> So, now that it is done - just how big a feeling of satisfaction
> did it give you? with the benefit of hindsite, would you do it all
> over again?

      It's an immense satisfaction to get it all done, and out the
door, when nobody thought it could be done.  Would I do it again?  I
don't know...I had no idea how hard this would be when I got into it. 
The only way it got done was that I didn't know it was impossible at
the time.  I think I would, though.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 12 Dec 1998 18:25:12 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ken Adams <74065.751@compuserve.com>
Subject: Dropped Into The Abyss

{original post had no questions}

      That's great, thanks...and if it does stimulate conversation,
then the goal was achieved.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 15 Dec 1998 13:28:04 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mark McGehee <75720.2420@compuserve.com>
Subject: Arragont Response

 Mark McGehee <75720.2420@compuserve.com> asks:
> However, I receieved a very "flip" response from somebody named
> Michael?????

      It wasn't me.

      And I didn't need to have this copied to me in email because you
can't read an address line to see who sent you mail.

      And it's arrogant.  Not arragont.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 17 Dec 1998 15:31:13 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Brad Walrod <76702.1043@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 in Dec. Macworld mag

{original post had no questions}

      Coolness....

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 20 Dec 1998 23:45:11 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ken Adams <74065.751@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: IMage Laserdisks

 Ken Adams <74065.751@compuserve.com> asks:
> Question: Is the cut of "The Gathering" the original version or
> your re-mastered and re-edited version shown on TNT this past
> year?

      I think it's the original....

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 20 Dec 1998 23:45:09 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rob & Nancy Carr <73200.2754@compuserve.com>
Subject: A little bit of history

{original post had no questions}

      I appreciate hearing that...thanks.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 20 Dec 1998 23:54:12 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Got my Link & PPG!!!

{original post unavailable}

      If you've purchased a PPG, it's unlicensed.  And if the link
came from aywhere other than the official B5 fan club, that, too, is
unlicensed.  Just FYI.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 20 Dec 1998 23:45:11 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com>
Subject: Crusade name

 T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> asks:
> JMS, it is still "Crusade, the Babylon Project"?

"JMS, it is still "Crusade, the Babylon Project"? just wondering what
the "Babylon" is doing there if it doesn't deal with the station."

      It's just Crusade.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 20 Dec 1998 23:45:10 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: JudyL <72520.216@compuserve.com>
Subject: Cross Stitch

{original post had no questions}

      Gotta get there to look...thanks.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 20 Dec 1998 23:45:10 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rob & Nancy Carr <73200.2754@compuserve.com>
Subject: what would you say?

 Rob & Nancy Carr <73200.2754@compuserve.com> asks:
> This person asks you "What do I need to know?"
> What would you say?

      I wouldn't even know where to begin....

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 21 Dec 1998 21:46:03 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Graham Smith <74010.764@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: IMage Laserdisks

{original post had no questions}

      Sonuvagun...thanks for the info.  I'd better go look at the
darned thing myself.  I've watched "In the Beginning" on disk, and
thought it looked gorgeous...practically a luminous copy, struck from
fresh masters.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 23 Dec 1998 18:04:13 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Jeff Peterman <75361.430@compuserve.com>
Subject: Crusade name

{original post had no questions}

      The intro movie, "A Call to Arms," is still slated for January
3rd; the series initiall was going to go in January, then they moved it
to June 2nd to make room for the NBA playoffs, and now that it looks
like the playoffs may not happen, I'm hearing March/April.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 23 Dec 1998 18:04:13 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Re: IMage Laserdisks

 (blocked) asks:
> *sigh* Any word on a possible DVD release?

"Even more than the weekday strip, *this* is the way the series was
made to be watched.  Without interruptions, without a 24 hour (still
less 7 day or several month) gap between episodes it becomes a whole
different experience. And the earliest episodes look different when
watched again after each season."

      This is pretty much the reaction of everyone who's sat and
watched the show through in a concentrated form; it's a whole other
show.  It's all contiguous, even when it looks like it ain't, and the
artificial breaks were pretty much ignored in the writing.

"This is a staggering achievement, especially within the confines of
American commercial television.  I don't think anyone yet realizes what
you've done here. And when they get the first dim glimmers of the idea,
and try to copy it, they'll only see the surface mechanics of a
continuing story and never see the sheer *work* that went into crafting
almost every line and gesture of each of each show so that it could pay
off two or three years down the road."

      I'm okay with that; I always said that B5 wouldn't really be
appreciated for what it is for several years down the line.  This is a
part of the reason for that.  It has to run through several times, and
become a part of the general consciousness, and be perceived for what
it is.

"This is the first series I've ever seen that *can't* be fully
appreciated the first time through.  Reruns aren't a commercial
byproduct of this show, in a curious way they are the point.  I'm
finally starting to see what you meant long ago when you mentioned a
"four dimensional hologram.""

      (Actually the term was holographic storytelling, but the point
obtains.) Usually, reruns are considered an aftermarket...here the show
was written with that in mind to some extent.  It was written for the
long haul, so to speak.

      I'll be very curious to see the perception of the show ten years
hence.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 28 Dec 1998 23:39:08 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Re: IMage Laserdisks

{original post unavailable}

      It might just be that particular disk; all the ones I've seen
are just gorgeous.

                                                                  jms

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

Date: 28 Dec 1998 21:17:07 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ken Adams <74065.751@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: IMage Laserdisks

 Ken Adams <74065.751@compuserve.com> asks:
> Thanks, Joe. If you find it IS the TNT version, could you post a
> word here?

      The Gathering is, apparently, the TNT version on disk.

                                                                  jms


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



Date: 29 Dec 1998 15:17:00 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Deonaha M. Conlin <102531.2627@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: IMage Laserdisks

 SysOp Deonaha M. Conlin <102531.2627@compuserve.com> asks:
> Okay, NEXT question - will Columbia ever have the TNT version of
> The gathering?

      Dunno...nobody tell me nathink....

                                                                  jms


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