lurkers-guide/ftp/GEnie/jms93-01

Babylon 5 posts by JMS for Jan 1, 1993 - Jan 18, 1993

This file includes a compilation of posts on GEnie by J. Michael
Straczynski in the Babylon 5 topic.  The posts are copyright 1993 by 
J. Michael Straczynski with compilation copyright by GEnie. 


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Topic 1         Mon Oct 26, 1992
SF-FANTASY [Yog Sysop]       at 18:50 EST
Sub: Babylon 5                            

Welcome to the Babylon 5 category!  As always, offering or requesting copies
of copyrighted material, whether it's the B5 Newsletter, photos, or the actual
movie/episodes violates copyright law and SFRT policy.
397 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 73        Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:01 EST

     Will, jeez, that's amazing...you should've said something, the B5 family
would've been there with cards and letters.  How're you doing now?  I know it
can be a very traumatic experience, even once you're physically 100%.

     One more thing, Will.  Email me your address.

     On other fronts....

     One week from today, we will (or should) be finished with
sound/music/looping edits and the B5 pilot will be complete.  It's both
exhilirating to think about that...and there's also that post partum
depression that hits whenever I finish a big project, a novel, or an episode
of a series.  In my head, all I can play over are the things we should've or
could've done to make it even better...the scenes we should have trimmed, the
scenes we should've dropped back in again, THIS angle on a fight instead of
THAT one...you can play with these things forever.   At some point, you just
have to let go.

     Then the next phase _ the series _ rests in large measure in your
hands, in terms of how fast we can get this puppy in gear.

     It's kind of funny, meanwhile...I've gotten a number of private responses
to stuff I asked here, and one person told me a rather remarkable story,
alongside Will's...without naming names, he'd taken it upon himself to
proselytize about the show as much as possible, to tell as many people about
it as he could.

     Apparently, he was on one system, and saw a young woman on-line, and
called her into chat, something he was normally to shy EVER to do before.
 They began talking about the show _ she'd apparently heard a little about
it, but not much _ and over time they began corresponding, and, in the words
of the person who sent me the note, "We fell in love with each other."
They've now met, and it looks like it might get serious indeed.

     Amazing.  (When the person gives me his permission, I'll post the full
note; he's a little sheepish of her finding out he said anything.)

     I think it's really kind of cool.

     Oh...one last thing.  Several people have inquired privately how to send
notes or stuff hard-copy.  An address where I can be reached is 14431 Ventura
Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.

     Onward.

                                                            jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 89        Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:21 EST

     What an amazing group of posts...I'm speechless.  It's gratifying to see
that the process works, that this medium can be used to such good effect.
Something that has always been important to me is de-mystifying the process.
Lee mentioned somewhere uptopic that the on-line stuff has been going on for a
long time, across various shows, from RGBs and Power through Zone and now to
this.  To de-mystify writing, Harlan writes in bookstore windows...I do this.

     I just got a private note today (oh, and speaking of notes, just address
hard-copy mail to my name; it's a private mailing address, not a studio) from
one fellow who just managed to get a development deal with a studio.  It ain't
big, but it's a start...and because of the discussion here, and elsewhere over
the years, he has a better idea of what to expect, and how to prepare.

     This is an extremely tough business to crack.  And the largest part of
the problem is just getting accurate information.  When I came to LA
originally, I didn't know squat, and a long time _ a LONG time _ was wasted,
time I now very much regret losing, because I just didn't fully  or accurately
understand How Things Worked.  If this process can make the entry easier for
another writer, or de-mystify what happens behind the screen, then all the
better.

     And, selfishly, it has been great to get the input, to hear the
questions, especially those I can't answer...because down the road you just
KNOW that that question will come up eventually, and better to be hit with it
now than blindsided later on.  It's a rewarding, fascinating and challenging
exchange.  I suspect that a LOT of shows would be considerably improved for
this kind of direct communication.

     Oh, yeah...and re the newsletter...if you ask Christy nice, I'm sure
she'll send you the back issue.  Tell her I said it was okay.

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 94        Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:42 EST

     That would be telling....

                                                                jms

     "And they were carried off to Babylon...."
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 124       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:05 EST

     I really don't know how to make an e-mail mailing list, and it would seem
inappropriate to ask anyone here to go through the hassle of doing it for all
1800-2000 people here to accommodate the handful with dishes.  Or silverware,
for that matter.  If someone here would like to be your "Dish Buddy" and send
you a note when it goes on, that might be one way of doing it.

     Re: kids/robots...the exact phrasing of that has gone through various
permutations and paraphrasings; the specific line is "No kids or cute robots."
The latter specifically entails entities such as Twiki (got the spelling right
this time, thanks to whoever corrected me), who should be run down by a truck
at the first opportunity.  (In fact, I can say without hesitation that if you
ever DO see what passes for a cute robot on this show, keep a close eye on it,
because you'll probably see somebody drop an anvil on it REAL fast.)

     So this allows us to explore the question of robotics, but to do so in a
fairly serious context.  Because logically, 200+ years in the future there are
going to be some changes; robotics will be more common, though likely in some
different form.  (If you've seen the promos or the pilot, you've seen the
maintenance 'bot that checks out the hull of B5; it has arms, it moves, it's
independent, it's a robot.  It just doesn't begin its report with "Bida-bida-
bida.")

     On the topic of kids...it's a deliberate decision to steer clear of that
part, not because I think it's invalid, but because a) it's been done on
another show, and its spinoff, rather intensively, and b) it's part of the SF
stereotype, "We have to have kids because SF is a kid's genre."

     Might there be a story about a family of refugees who come seeking
sanctuary, or opportunity elsewhere?  Of course.  But any kids in that family
won't be at the *center* of the story.  And they'll be gone by the end of the
episode.  It's also a matter of context; absent the scenario just posed, this
is a place for businessmen, travelers, mappers, traders, diplomats and others,
it's not a place for kids.  It's also potentially a very DANGEROUS place.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 126       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:29 EST

     Rumors are exactly that...and as I've indicated, anything that  happens
of substance _ good, bad or indifferent _ you'll hear it from the source.

     How can PTEN be dead when it hasn't even AIRED yet?  I've hered this same
rumor from others, and have to say that if Creation is spreading this that
they are being *highly* irresponsible.  The facts again are these: the first
night of programming goes on later this month.  B5 airs the following month.
Based on the ratings for all of the shows, they will then open a second night,
or modify the first.  And that will determine where (and when) B5 lands.  It's
a logistical question about when to expand.

     If anyone wanders back in that topic's direction and would like to re-
post this as an official rebuttal, you're welcome to do so.

     I also hear they're showing the E! piece...guys, if you want to help us,
there at Creation...don't

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 160       Mon Jan 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:30 EST

     My sense (what there is of it) is that in every show, you have to make
choices.  What, fundamentally, is the story you are telling?  Who is your
story about?  Is it for adults, or children?  I don't watch LA Law regularly,
but I sort of poke my nose in from time to time, and I don't see a lot of
kid's stories.  One could well go to the producers of that show and say, "Why
aren't you doing kid stories?" to which the only answer is, "That's not our
show."

     I already said above that if families come through, there may be kids
along.  The point of clarification for me is that I don't want to do shows
with kids at the center.  First to distinguish us from other shows, and second
because that's not the area that I want to concentrate on just now.  Of course
people still have kids, and of course some will come through B5; it's where
one places them in the story that's at issue.

     It's often kinda funny...people say, on the one hand, "Yeah!  Fight them
studios!  Don't let them tell you the kind of stories you oughta do!" Then,
"But you've GOTTA do a story with kids!" or "This is the sort of story you
HAVE to do."

     The only answer to that _ said without sarcasm, honest _ is "Do what I
did...sell your own show."  I don't mean that in any way harshly, I'm very
serious about that.  Whether it's a novelist, or a short story author, or a TV
writer, or a screenwriter, we each of us has to decide fundamentally what it
is we want to write about it, and define our choices.  Would you call Larry
Niven and say, "Listen, while you're in the middle of the Mote In God's Eye
sequel, we need a really good section about kids."  You let the man tell his
story his way.

     This, for me, is just one of those areas on which I have planted my feet
and sunk roots clear to the center of the planet.  Now, it's altogether
possible that some day long down the road, one story will occur to me, and
I'll deal with that when and if it happens.  But in the interim...it's vital,
from my perspective, to make B5 a show by, for and about adults in adult
relationships; not to invalidate the other stuff, but only as a sense of where
this show's emphasis is.  It's time to let the studios and the suits and the
networks know that an SF series can survive without putting in the required
child or teenager.

                                                                    jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 162       Mon Jan 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:54 EST

     Postscript to the preceding: that doesn't mean that I (or any other
member of the B5 team) shouldn't be challenged on stuff like this.
Challenges are good.  First, they keep you on your toes.  Second, it makes one
verbalize why one has taken a certain stance, and it's at that point that
weaknesses and fallacies in the argument become apparent.  "The unexamined
life" and all that.  As I've noted before, sometimes the only way to get
pertinent information is to ask impertinent questions.

     I love a good philosophical knock-down-drag-out.

     Meanwhile, on other fronts...

     I will tell you the truest thing I have learned about television in the
process of making the B5 pilot.  That quality is rare is not really
remarkable; what's remarkable is that it gets done at ALL.  Any show,
regardless of quality.  There are millions of details, the tiniest things that
require constant shepherding.  You're in the midst of doing one thing and
somebody calls involved with another part of the show and says, "Look, we've
got some question about whether the doors should go SHOOP! or BLOOP!, George
thinks SHOOP, and we think he's right...unless you'd rather come listen to
them youreself."  And it's very easy to say, "Okay, just take care of it,"
then find yourself sitting there a month later and saying, "Damn, why did we
end up with a SHOOP! effect?"

     It's physically impossible to be in every place at all times, and you
particularly don't want to be in a position where you start giving your people
less room to play and be independent.  There are just so many details that
it's very easy to say, "Okay, fine, deal with it," or to not bother with
something, that it becomes quickly apparent why it's so hard to find real
quality out there.  That kind of attention is a major pain in the butt.  When
you see it from this side, you're just amazed  that it gets done at ALL.

     Just a thought for the day...

     BTW, for those who might be interested (all four of you), the very last
episode I wrote for this season's "Murder, She Wrote" will air this coming
Sunday.  I haven't seen anything on it _ no dailies, no rough cuts _ so I
have no idea how it came out, though I *hear* it came out well.  Just FYI.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 180       Tue Jan 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:35 EST

     RE: cliffhangers...not between episodes, certainly.  Between seasons,
it's...hard to explain.  There are, or will be *changes* that happen from one
season to another (as planned), specific events that take place that should
bring one up short...but "cliffhanger" in the sense of leaving some guy
hanging from a string over a lake of fire...no, no plans for such at this
time.

     RE: kids...boy, that one sure hit a nerve on both sides, didn't it?
That's good.  An argument like this is what a show or story should do, get
people discussing the issues.

     Meanwhile, on other areas....

                             ****WOW****

     I was in the editing bay today during the pre-dub of B5 (which I'll
explain more , which btw has a nifty huge projection screen, twelve or fifteen
feet across, so I got to see some of the show as if at a theater...plays
pretty well.

     Anyway...what a pre-dub is, is this: those who saw the earlier version of
the pilot will remember, for instance, the scenes in the main corridor of the
station (well, one of them, anyway).  You have Sinclair and Garibaldi talking.
It's an un-mixed scene...just as filmed, there are just two guys talking.  All
the rest of the set is silent.

     But now...NOW...you're in the editing bay, and now you add in the
background voices, human and alien...mechanical sounds nearby...an intercom
voice advertising station services...then layer in the music, and suddenly
it's a MOVIE!  Someone said that sound is half of a movie, and you forget that
until it hits you in the face.

     The pre-dub is where you layer in the voice tracks (original, from the
production; adr (automatic dialogue replacement) for lines that were not
sufficiently audible or need to be looped; incidental dialogue  (computers,
background characters) and walla (general crowd sounds).  You decide how much
of any of these is too much, how much more you need, what the balance is...if
you need to use the surround capability to put this voice HERE or THERE....

     Then we previewed some scenes with music, and did a little of the same
there (we'll do more during the final mix Thursday through Tuesday).   For
instance...most music cues are anywhere from a few seconds long to maybe a
minute or more.  Ours tend to be longish...the longest is a cue that lasts 7.5
minutes, and goes inside the station, outside the station, to different
*parts* of the station, and the music continues throughout.  We figured that
we needed to better differentiate the sound inside vs. outside the
station...so in the music cue, we drop the electric guitar out of the mix for
the inside scenes, and put it back in for the outside scenes, for instance.

     The result, basically, being that it becomes a *M*O*V*I*E* for the first
time.  And boy, it cooks, lemme tell you.  There are moments of absolute and
inutterable self-doubt in a project like this, especially when paired with the
monumental press machine from elsewhere which is doing everything possible to
bury us in the interests of preserving an economic monopoly and critics who
figure we're a clone of another show.   But then you turn around and see
something like this, and you know it's going to work...and it really helps.

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 208       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:44 EST

     Ah, except, Gary, for the reason I picked that particular metaphor; this
ain't Sudden Death, as with football.

     This one's going to the judges at the end of the round, and the case will
be decided...win, lose or draw...on the merits of the performance in the ring,
not on hype (on either side), not on good feelings, but on the quality of the
work, which is as it should be.  Only thing I've ever asked at any point in my
life is a fair fight on a level playing field.  Then let things fall as they
may.

     And as for the judges...look in the mirror.

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 223       Fri Jan 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:41 EST

     Yeah, I agree, the pointing-rods-and-magically-changing-colors on hair
and stuff is kinda old (though it surfaced in Total Recall).  No plans for it,
that's for sure.

                                                                    jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 230       Fri Jan 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:46 EST

     Aquila...let me try this again, since you may have missed it in other
postings.  Our current situation is ironic in that it has nothing really to do
with our show, but rather with the network.

     The chronology, and our situation, is simple.

     1) November 1991: Time Trax, Kung Fu and B5 contend among each other for
the first night of programming on the new network.  There are ONLY TWO SLOTS
AVAILABLE, two hours.  B5 and TT have the inside track, but there's a question
as to whether or not B5 can be done for TV *at all* given what we were
promising (a huge saga, state of the art EFX, a large cast, that sort of
thing).  So we have to answer that question by making a pilot.  The other two
shows go into series production at that time.

     2) They start filming episodes in August, about the same time we start
the pilot.

     3) We finish the pilot (barring our current last phase of post
production).  Warners LOVES the show.  The stations, which have always been
big on the show, WANT the show.  Warners tries to convince the local stations
to open up a second night of programming, with B5 as the anchor.  The stations
love the idea...but don't want to open up a second night until they get the
ratings on ALL THE SHOWS.  Not just B5.  If all the shows are big hits, then
they open the second night with Bt as the anchor.  If one doesn't perform,
then B5 becomes the replacement.

     Point being...and I can't stress this enough...there is no _ repeat, NO -
- problem with Warners or the stations in terms of confidence or anything
else.  They're chomping at the bit to go with it.  The only problem is that
their "box" in which to put programs currently can only fit two one-hour
shows.  Either they take one out, or get another box, but they can't give us a
go until one or the other  happens.  It's not like a big network that has 7
days of programming a week and can just drop in a show wherever it wants...or
a straight-ahead syndicated show.  This is part of a new network, and is
dependent upon the internal workings of  that network.  Which is fine by me,
it's just the way things are just now.

     Does that address your question?

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 243       Fri Jan 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:43 EST

     Ninety percent of the stations taking the PTEN lineup have news from 10-
11, so that only leaves 8-10 for programs.

     The deal is that the stations and Warners pay 50/50, as I understand it
from the trades, for the shows, and I don't think Warners would want to set
the precedent of paying 100% for any given number of shows.  And because
they're 50/50 partners, it would be politically inappropriate for one arm to
unilaterally order X-episodes of anything.  As for the rest, there are options
on top of options, all in our favor.

     Re: post production timing and budget...we budgeted plenty of time and
money for post production.  When the sound folks came back and asked for an
additional day, just so we can be sure we have time for whatever little
corrections are required by then, that wasn't a problem.  As it is, we'll be
delivering the show next Thursday to Warners, and it won't even go out on the
satellite to the stations for a full month, and doesn't air for nearly six
weeks from the time of completion, so we're WELL ahead of schedule in that
respect.  They only actually needed the show 4 weeks ahead for
screening/reviewer purposes; we extended that by two full weeks.

     Another busy day in post today...but it's coming together well.  We have
basically just two more acts to finish, and will probably give all of Monday
to one of them, since it's massively complex.  (Usually you can do at least
two or three acts in a day.)

     BTW, and totally aside...I finally saw the tape of my last MURDER, SHE
WROTE episode, and it actually came out quite well, minus one or two very
minor glitches.  It airs Sunday.  (And there's a bonus to the Captain Power
fans contained in the name of one of the characters....)

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 257       Sat Jan 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:09 EST

      I can understand about the feeling re: coming information and the wait
until February.  It's very easy to post info as we go into production, and
during production...but once it's finished here, which it will be as of this
coming Tuesday, the process is more or less complete.  I've tried hard over
this process not to blather on, but to say something if there's something
worth hearing.  I hope I can find new items to keep the topic(s) going as we
near airdate.

                                                             jms

     (P.S.  The current newsletter is finished, and will be going out in the
mail this week, I'm told.)
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 269       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:14 EST

     I have no problem with married couples, none whatsoever, serving the EA.
And, as I've said before, there is no problem having a kid in the background,
as one of a family passing through, for instance, but I do not wish to center
a whole *story* around one.  Someone said "But they can do it on TNG and DS9,"
which is one more reason for NOT doing it here, to keep the identities
separate and distinct.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 275       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:26 EST

      Mark, I've answered this question about as many times as I intend
to...if you want to go back into the discussion and read the info, you're
welcome to.  That article, for starters was put together LONG before the
general meeting with the stations at which point a true reading was gotten re:
the show.  Warners *cannot* commit unilaterally on any series without the go
from the stations, and that won't come until they've got a fix on how ALL the
shows are doing.  You're asking Warners to do something they wouldn't do for
ANY show at any time.

     I'm not cranky, it's just that I've now answered this about six times
here.

     Now exiting harrumph-mode.

     Re: supernatural elements...not per se, no.  There is some element of
mysticism and spirituality, but (one hopes) not quite so ham-handed.  My
feeling is that if it's there, DO something with it other than use it as a way
into (and out of) a plot device, thereafter dropping it.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 278       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:49 EST

     I don't think we have to worry about Warners, folks, really...it's okay.
And we've got contingencies up the wazoo.  All is well.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 288       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:39 EST

     You can jump into the B5 story at *any* point...only thing is, the more
you watch, the more you get the nuances.  PICKET FENCES is a great example of
this.

     And if the waiting to hear when and under what umbrella B5 will be picked
up is killing YOU....

                                                                   jms

     (Umbrella = same night/second night, not to start any rumors.)
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 295       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:45 EST

     I am NOT stubborn.  I don't care WHAT you say, I'm not changing my
opinion about that, I'm NOT stubborn.

     And yes, the plan is to definitely have the PTEN expand to additional
night, just as Fox has done.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 299       Wed Jan 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:03 EST

     There's been some talk of my appearing on H25 the Friday before the
broadcast, but nothing firm.  And offhand...I'm sorry, but I don't  recall the
date of the show with Ron.  I'm sure it's written down somewhere...but you've
never actually SEEN my desk, have you?

     Then again, as I think of it, *I* haven't seen my desk lately....

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 310       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:20 EST

     The inter-relationships between FOX, PTEN, the FCC and any and all other
acronymical organizations is utterly beyond my ken, and I would no sooner try
to explain it or understand it than I would attempt to build a tesseract in
the back yard.

     In what I *hope* will be a relatively definitive word on this kid
topic...yes, I can write a story with kids.  I've done it...I did it for the
Twilight Zone and other shows.  The question is still one of making choices.
Is that what this series is ABOUT?  You could drop in a chapter on badminton
techiques into The Lord of the Rings or Debbie Does Cleveland, the question
is, does it BELONG there?  Is that what the show or the story is attempting to
address?

     If there were no other shows with kids around, then I would be more
inclined to do one with kids at the center.  But there are plenty of them
around, particularly in SF...you've got kids aplenty on TNG, on DS9, I just
saw a kid story on Space Rangers...this is simply a different kind of show.

     My point is simply this: B5 is meant, in a very real sense, as noted in
my message on 2, to be an SF novel for television.  If it were just random
stories skittering hither, thither and yawn, that would be one thing.  But as
any novelist can tell you, you have to ask, "Whose story is it?" and stick
pretty close to that, even though you may swerve in and out of other POVs and
indulge in omniscient narrative.  That requires certain choices about tone and
attitude and what you include, and what you choose to exclude.  Doesn't
invalidate one type of story or another, it only says "THIS is what my story's
about."

     There are plenty of other SF shows with kids.  Let's have something a
little different.

     (That's one of the ironies that crops up about this show...often people
say "We want innovation," and when asked for specifics, they ask to make it
more like other shows.  "Well, TNG does this kind of story, why can't you?"
We can, but we're not.  Because we're not TNG.  Just as we will do some
stories that I *guarantee* you ST wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.)

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 325       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:55 EST

     Yes, there's considerable training involved.  In the pilot, Lyta talks
about it in one exchange, about the "years of training" required for a P5
classification, and that most of those who try "burn out."

     As for the Fox station question...bear in mind that most stations that
broadcast Fox shows are not actively OWNED by Fox, they are only loosely
AFFILIATED with Fox.  They're still independent stations that have a deal to
buy X-number of programs from Fox Television.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 337       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:36 EST

     Actually, JoJo's...uhm...outfit is probably the best thing about the
show...not for pure asthetics, of course, just...I dunno...I just kinda like
the dynamics of it...

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 342       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:22 EST

     Indeed, they might withhold such participation, which the PC would be
obligated to honor.  Non-PC telepaths would be a different situation entirely,
of course...and a danger...which only a PC (or one of the other government's
own 'paths, if any) could work against.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 355       Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:01 EST

     The "Making of B5" piece is being re-edited; originally, the E! piece was
going to be the one shown, but...well, no need to rehash all of that.  The
piece is being recut, and new stuff put in to replace the old stuff.  It
should be finished next week, I hear, and then provided to the stations.

     Great news about Arisia, Arne.  Any other reactions come to mind?

     Re: using my posts for articles...by all means, proceed.

     BTW, it appears that the deal for a B5 game has been closed, and the
winner is Electronic Arts.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 358       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:47 EST

     This goes back to a very basic philosophical question: can you have
thought without language, or language without thought?  At one point in our
evolution, we became conscious...was there language, or did language then come
as a *result* of consciousnes?  Or did the slow development of language *lead
to* the development of true consciousness?

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 375       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:38 EST

     I'll know more about the game in the weeks ahead.

     Apparently, Creation has licensed some stuff...mainly shirts and mugs and
patches and the like, nothing major, but it's there.  I got the first t-shirt
design roughs today, and have some notes, but nothing too major.  More as this
is developed.

     BTW, does anyone know if there are any SF conventions this coming weekend
in Dallas?

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 379       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:00 EST

     Licensing Corporation of America.  Based in New York.

                                                                   jms
 ______
REPly to topic,   QUIt reading
STArt new topic,  #,#-# read prior
PERmanently ignore this topic
MARk or UNMark this topic
or <RETURN> to continue ?
 ************
Topic 2         Wed Nov 20, 1991
SOARON [Bio-Dread]           at 19:41 EST
Sub: General Information                  

Babylon 5 will premiere with a two-hour movie entitled "The Gathering" early
in 1993.  The creator of the series, J. Michael Straczynski joins us on-line
to answer your questions.  (No story ideas please...)

699 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 298       Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:06 EST

     When someone asks, "What kinds of specific things have you gotten out of
this interaction?" I think I will point to the question just uptopic about
food.  I've given this a *fair* amount of thought, mainly in the sense that
there are hydroponic gardens (referred to in the script) and other areas for
oxygen reclamation, I'd figured that there were also areas where alien-
environment food was to be raised, and finally a third area where food that is
simply impractical to grow on B5 would be synthesized.  But the question opens
up additional areas that I haven't given that much thought to...and many
possibilities.

     Let me (so to speak) stew on this and get back to you.

     Thanks for yanking my blanket.

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 302       Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:03 EST

     Jonathan....please, for my sake, one question at a time...pick one.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 310       Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:23 EST

     K'wicker (than a speeding bullet?)...I ain't fussy.  My friends just call
me Joe.  (Usually preceded by, "That Pain In The Ass")

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 314       Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:44 EST

     The station is owned by the Earth Alliance, and if you're going to be
staying there, you pay a fee.  Station employees are charged a fee against
their salaries...which some of them aren't happy about.

                                                            jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 318       Sat Jan 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:39 EST

     Dolphins are another area that I haven't gone into in any great degree
since the odds of any of them showing up at B5 are minimal, for production
reasons.  Dolphins make for difficult actors, and their agents are even worse.

     The homeless question brings me to a difficult point in the discussion _
generalities are okay to discuss, Jonathan, but the more specific the
questions get about plot points of the series, the less I can say.  The five-
year arc is triple-encrypted in my computer for a *reason*.  And, as much as
it pains me, I know that printups of this category go to a certain other
studio...and would rather not give too many specifics for obvious reaons.  I'd
like us to do them first.  Alas, we're not having this conversation in a
vacuum.

                                                           jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 320       Sat Jan 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:17 EST

     Just as with the early days of ocean travel, you would generally have
three levels of travel: first class, one just below, and down deep below
decks, those traveling steerage.  A small group can also pool all their
resources, for instance, charter a ship one-way just far enough as B5, and
hope to find work or new opportunities on far-away worlds.  When this doesn't
happen, they linger...sometimes for a long time.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 336       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:56 EST

     Dave: Bingo!

     And re: genetic moofky-fooky...yes, it's a definite issue, and is
referenced at least once in the pilot.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 345       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:07 EST

     BABYLON 5 meets ATTACK OF THE GIANT CRAB MONSTERS, I like it....

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 349       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:30 EST

     Actually just handled this up in topic 1.  Rumors are the bane of science
fiction...and people at conventions who speak should try and get their facts
straight first.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 351       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:55 EST

     There's been some disagreement over that...I prefer the idea that he's
uplifted.  (It's between me and the prosthetics design team.)

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 357       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:09 EST

     Hey, there's an idea...come up with a totally bogus B5 five-year arc and
let it get accidentally uploaded and distributed to throw folks off... except
of course folks might well believe it, which would work against us in the long
run.  Ah, well....

     Any telekinetics on board Babylon 5?  you ask?

     No.

     At least, not yet.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 388       Tue Jan 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:49 EST

     Pets is okay.  Ah lahkes pets.  Pets be cool.  And cats be coolest.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 407       Wed Jan 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:31 EST

     There's haze in some scenes where you've got a lot of traffic, and food
cooking, and braziers, and the like.  The quarters don't have that.

     As it happens, Pat Tallman has pets...two bunnies and two chinchillas.  I
pointed out to her that she now has both food and clothing concerns taken care
of.  She's still not speaking to me.

     Saw the DS9 pilot tonight.

     Heh....

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 422       Wed Jan 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:01 EST

     Katherine: oh, snarf you....

     Bear: a 16 pound cat?  Wow...some good eatin' there....

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 428       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:42 EST

     Eric...imagine two boxers in the ring, each bloodied and exhausted after
11 grueling rounds.  It's now the last round.  You've each got one last shot
in your heart.  Your opponent comes in with a big name, with the sports
critics approval, with fancy clothes and a twelve million dollar windup.  He
pulls back and lets you have it with everything he's got.       

     Then you look around...and you're still standing.  And you're thinking
"THAT was their best shot?"

     Because everything he had was intent on one hard shot to knock you out of
the ring...speeded training, massive amounts of promotion, just to knock you
out.

     And you're still standing.  And you smile.

     Because now it's YOUR turn.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 441       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:01 EST

     I can't remember when I was last this tired.  (Well, that's a lie, it was
during the last 2 days of filming on B5, but the former made for a better
opening line.)

     After getting zero sleep (nervous with anticipation, running the pilot
through my head over and over again to prepare for today), I went in with a
number of the production people today on the first day of the final
sound/dialogue/music mix.  Ten straight hours, one half-hour break during
which we ate at the mixing tables.  Trying different combinations, re-showing
scenes with slight modifications, over and over and over, until your eyes _
focused for 10 hours on the same focal distance, blinking against bright
lights so you can make notes _ start to melt out of your sockets.  And there
are three more days to go of this....

     But man, this thing is really coming together.  It's exciting to watch it
happen.  To the question about music...the music in this thing is just
terrific...dynamic, evocative, moody, exciting...and while it took me a while
to get it into my head (as with the theme from the Equalizer, which has
similar resonances), the theme definitely stays with you.

     Along wund editors, Stewart Copeland came by, as well as various of the
film editors, the cameraman, others...and Richard Compton, our director, was
also at the helm for the whole ten hours, as was our line producer John
Copeland (no relation).  People just wanted to come by and see it.

     It's gonna be a hoot, ladies and gentlemen....

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 465       Sat Jan 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:59 EST

     Leslie, the stuff you mention is in either the computer EFX topic in this
category, or the B5 science topic, one or the other.

     My messages can by all means be sent elsewhere; just not anyone else's
unless you secure permission.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 482       Sat Jan 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:13 EST

     There's something about the Lyta/Garibaldi dynamic that I like, as others
here have noted as well.  I keep playing with one scene I'm dying to write,
where he's trying to pick up on her, and says, "Listen, what do you say we go
by my quarters, I'd like to show you my favorite thing in the whole world."
She gives him THAT look.  "Okay-okay-okay, my SECOND favorite thing in the
whole world."

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 492       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:04 EST

     Right...and there was a lengthy discussion of how the Links tie into the
B5 central computer, and how it operates in relation to those Links (which are
computer segments themselves) in either the SFX or the B5 Science topics.

     BTW, a thought, for anyone to jump in on who wants to...as noted uptopic,
on Tuesday my job is basically done.  The B5 pilot will be finished.  Between
now and the show's airing 5 or so weeks from now, what areas would you be
interested in discussing?  What things would you like to see done here?  (I
briefly considered the idea of uploading one page of the script per day
between now and the time B5 airs, but then I realized that a lot of folks
would probably prefer to see it produced, not see the script _ the ultimate
spoiler _ and thus jettisoned that idea.)  I guess my main fear is being
dull...not that that's *too* likely to happen with this crowd...but I take the
"okay, so now what?" note uptopic somewhat to heart.

     Or we can just keep doing what we're doing....

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 511       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:22 EST

     I'll have to check w/Wareners re: the script thing, but under the WGA
contract, I own the physical script and its disposition.  Maybe the idea of
excerpts _ filmed stuff, or stuff we cut, missing scenes _ might be the best
way to go.  (And even at the rate of 1 page per day, you'd only get through
the first third of the script by the time it aired anyway.)  Will advise.

     To the question of promotion above...Warners will begin a real push on
this subsequent to the 18th of January.  They want to concentrate  their
efforts on the month just prior to airing.  So far, we've been dragged into
articles often on the basis of the controversy between the various shows...but
both Warners and I feel strongly that it's important to establish our separate
identity, not in relation to anything else.  Now that the other shows have
aired, we can now have an easier time doing this.

     What can I ask others to do?  Mainly to just keep the word out there; if
you see a local article mistakenly labeling B5 a copy, to let the guy know the
facts.  But probably the single *most* important thing is what can be done
when the show itself airs...and that's to write to both your local station and
Warners to let them know your feelings.  But that's if and ONLY if you
genuinely like what you see, and for no other reason.

     Will think about this stuff some more, maybe post some thought later.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 518       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:29 EST

     Synopses of upcoming episodes....?

     No.

     I'd much prefer to see them first on B5 than elsewhere.

     All good things come to those who wait...or as someone once said, "Good
news can wait, and bad news will refuse to leave."

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 528       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:43 EST

     Re: sign off tags...pruff...that stuff's for sissies.  The jms is
sufficient for my needs (and looks kinda like a revolver pointed right).

     Have seen the whole movie now with final EFX, sound, music, dialogue, all
that jazz.  Looks better than I'd hoped possible.  Will be cleaning up a few
spots in the next two days, and then watching the final product one more time,
this time on a regular TV set rather than the studio's projection system and
sound system, to better gauge what will and won't be audible on a home TV.

     By mid-day Wednesday, we be done.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 532       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:23 EST

      Haven't yet seen Time Trax, so can't comment.  I don't see "a lot" of
shows "taking place on space stations," at this point, only two, unless you
count the outpost stuff in Space Rangers.  Personally, my feeling is that the
more good SF, the better.

     It's my understanding that very likely B5 *will* be released theatrically
overseas as a feature.  More on this as I can talk about it.

     Guest stars?  Of course.  Many and varied.

     Re: scripts...for the first year, there will be only two people on staff:
me, and Harlan Ellison, as creative consultant.  So the majority of the
scripts will be freelance.  For that first season, we've already locked down
our writers.  They will come from one of two groups: a) a small group of
writers who I've worked with over the years and have trained to my tastes, and
b) another small group of leading SF writers, many of whom don't work for TV
anymore, but will break that absence for B5.

     Part of the reason for this is to establish ourselves firmly during the
course of that first season, get our feet wet, firm up our identity, and other
hits by the same name.  It does no good for freelancers on the outside to try
a script until they've seen at least one season, as well.   Finally, because
there will be a certain amount of continuity and developing storylines from
episode to episode, that requires a certain  degree of direction from in-house
on stories.  Very often we'll go to a writer and say, "Here...in this story, X
has to happen.  Beyond making sure that X is included, do what you want."  An
outsider won't have access to knowing what that X is.

     Still, there will be episodes totally separate from the arc, and those
are far more wide open.

     One disservice that TNG has done the SF writing community is its _ in a
way _ tendency to *use* SF fans as idea mills.  Hundreds of scripts arrive
each month, they're read through, good ideas are plucked out, they pay a
couple hundred bucks for the premise, then write it in-house.  Part of the
reason they're always so desperate for material, and driven to this length of
soliciting scripts from fans, is that they don't have a terrific reputation in
the writing community.  Some of it is undeserved, a hanger-on from previous
administrations, and some of it seems to have some basis in terms of the fact
that you will never have the chance to see your script through to the end.

     That problem does not exist with B5.  Our writers are already lined up
and ready to go.

     Starting with the second season, assuming we get that far, we will open
things up more and be willing to look at finished scripts with a release form.
I think that providing that opportunity is important.  But it won't be such a
cattle-call in the way it's handled.

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 547       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:15 EST

     Yes, I've asked David (and he's agreed) to write the novelization, which
will probably commence within days of the series go being given.   And there
have been many screenplays published over the years, in script form/via
paperback or hardcover; I have a rather extensive collection of same
(including the aforementioned T2 book, which is extraordinarily good).  It
might be a good idea to do one for B5, with annotations, but not including the
"how to write for tv" material mainly because that's a) covered in my writing
book, which b) I intend one of these days to finish updating to Writers Digest
Books can stop yelling on me.

     Some random observations and thoughts which might be of interest....

     We've pretty much finished the final mix, as stated, which we'll review
tomorrow morning to be sure that it sounds okay on a small set.   But for
those of you out there with surround systems, and stations that will broadcast
in surround...me boyos, have YOU got a treat coming your way.  We did a *lot*
of work on this thing to emphasize the surround.   One act had over 100 passes
to make the sound as layered as possible (an average show has maybe 30 per).
The movement is quite distinct and compelling.  The sound EFX are also quite
good...the sound made by the weapons is also quite good.

     One thing we did with the weapons is to try, again, to be fairly logical.
If it's a BIG weapon _ rifle size or better _ then you're going to have a
quicker recharge time (if any) between firings, though you may have to change
packs more often.  At one point, you'll see a smaller, hand-sized gun being
fired a few times.  And each time, you'll hear a power whine as it builds up
the required power to fire off another round.  A gun that small simply
wouldn't have the capability to fire off one after another after another
without some power buildup that might not be present in a larger gun.
(Smaller guns are generally things you'd want to smuggle on board, and might
be as useful, in those ways, as a Derringer, which could only fire one or two
shots, as opposed to a machinegun  or gattling gun brought openly into battle,
and which is  intended to be used a lot.)

     Someone mentioned the positive aspects to building the maximum population
of a space station around available supplies and other very real
considerations.  We're trying, consistently, to ask "How would this work in
reality?  What are the SCIENCE considerations in doing SF?"  In general, we've
found that if you Ask The Next Question and try to be logical, you get MORE
options, and you get more INTERESTING options than if you just throw all that
to the winds.  (Often networks say, "Ah, screw the science on it, you'll just
limit yourself."  Not true.)

     During the final mix-down, a group of cub scouts came through the mixing
facility on a tour.  So we invited them in for the play-back on the next-to-
the-last act...this is the one where we kick over the table and it's pretty
much nonstop action.  Wanted to see the reaction of kids to the show, because
if there's a more relentlessly honest audience than kids that age, I don't
know what it is.  The fidget factor is enormous when they get bored.

     They didn't BUDGE.  For some of the shots, they sat there, slack jawed,
at what they were seeing.  Which is also good to know, that the show can
appeal to kids as well as adults WITHOUT making any dumb compromises (i.e.,
writing down, sticking in kids) to that audience.  I heard them later talking
about it among themselves, and though one kid was a bit unnerved by the whole
thing, the rest just went on and on about it..."awesome"..."cool"..."that was
great."  So far, so good.

     Onward.

     In thinking a little about the discussion, and what role I've tried to
play (and if I've seemed a bit brief or short of late, my apologies; the
workload is immense just now), and I don't want anyone to think that I'm
playing coy or just teasing about the series when questions about same come
up, insofar as story possibilities or plot stuff is concerned.
 Obviously, I don't want to give out stuff that would constitute the Ultimate
Spoiler.

     But there are generalities that I *can* talk about.  When this topic
first began, I was able to talk a little about what was hoped for in the
movie...to let people know what we were talking about, and what to expect in
exchange for the interest.  (I've always believed that you have to put your
money where your mouth is and earn loyalty by keeping promises and being
straightforward in what you do.)

     So what *can* be said about the series, what would you have to look
forward to?

     You will find out what happened to Sinclair, for starters, during the
Earth/Minbari war.  In that respect, the pilot movie is like the first chapter
of a novel.  For nearly 10 years, Sinclair has worked to convince himself that
nothing happened to him on the Line other than what seems to be the case: that
he blacked out for 24 hours.  He's just managed to convince himself of this.
Now, suddenly, someone comes into his life and with seven words _ you'll know
them when you hear them _ completely unravels the self-deception.  He knows
then that something DID happen to him, that someone DID mess with his
mind...and he is going to find out who, and why.

     This he will do.  And the ramifications of that discovery will have a
major influence on the series, on his relationships, and the future of not
only his character but many others.

     You will see what a Vorlon is...and what it represents.  And what it may
have to do with our own saga, and a hidden relationship to some of our other
characters (watch the reception scene carefully).  We'll discover that there
are MANY players in this game.

     One thing that separates this show from others is that on other shows,
very often you do things to them to make for interesting drama...you take them
prisoner, you make them kids, whatever...in this show, it's what's INSIDE the
characters that will pose the greatest problems...and the greatest
possibilities for drama.  Most every major character is either running to, or
away from something in their hearts, or their pasts, or their careers.
Garibaldi's past will catch up with him in a very  difficult way that will
affect his role and make him a very different  character for as much as a full
season, and have lasting effects thereafter.  Lyta will take part in a voyage
of discovery that will very much change her character.

     Some of the established empires will fall.  Some will rise.  Hopes and
fortunes will be alternately made or destroyed.  At least one major group not
yet known even to EXIST will make its presence known, but only gradually.
Some characters will fall from grace.  Others will make bargains whose full
price they do not understand...but will eventually come to realize, and
regret.

     At the end of the first season, one character will undergo a major, MAJOR
change, which will start the show spinning on a very different axis.  The
first season will have some fairly conventional stories, but others will start
the show gradually moving toward where I want it to go.   One has to set these
things up gradually.  Events in the story _ which is very much the story of
Jeffrey Sinclair _ will speed up in each subsequent season.

     Someone he considers a friend will betray him.  Another will prove to be
the exact opposite of what Sinclair believes to be true.  Some will live.
Some will die.  He will be put through a crucible of terrible force, that will
change him, and alter his destiny, in a profound and terrible way...if he goes
one way, or the other, will determine not only his own fate, but that of
millions of others.  He will grow, and become stronger, better, wiser...or be
destroyed by what fate is bringing his way.  In sum, it is a story of hope
against terrible adversity and overwhelming odds.

     That, in broad brush strokes, is a *taste* of what I plan to do with the
series.  I note this here because when the pilot airs, I am going to ask for
your continued help in supporting the endeavor for the series, and it occurs
to me that you ought to have at least SOME idea of what you're buying, and
being asked to support.  One should never be asked to sign a blank check on
the bank of one's conscience.

     Reactions?

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 549       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:42 EST

     What happens at the end of the five year arc?  The "Babylon 5" series
ends...if I have anything to say about it (and I do).  If something esle
follows, we'll see what that is, but it won't be the same series, or the same
title, or really the same characters.

     Barring that very distant possibility, at the end of the five year arc, I
take a very, very, VERY long nap....

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 582       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:42 EST

     Thanks, all.  My only mortal dread in putting this stuff out there is
based upon the fact that the basic *story* of the pilot movie is fairly
straightforward, the way you make a prologue to a novel fairly simple, but
plant the seeds for that which will follow.  My terror is that people will
look at it, expecting ***GALACTIC EMPIRES IN COLLISION!*** and see a rather
basic story, and say, "Huh?  Where's all the other stuff?"

     It's in the series.  Trust me.  I wouldn't lie on you.

     In a way, it's a question of establishing context.  Take, for instance,
the two TERMINATOR movies.  The plots of both are incredibly simple, and
essentially identical: Character A comes out of the future to kill Character
B; Character C also comes out of the future to stop Character A.  When you
come *right down to it*, that's all the story there is.  But it introduces the
background, and the context, and that informs the story.  The actual *story*
in the B5 pilot is similarly basic (also for the reason that it became easier
to slip past folks)...it's the context and the characters that are introduced
that matter.

      And there's a *lot* to introduce...a new universe, new technologies, new
races, NINE regular characters, histories, wars, alliances...there ain't much
room for anything too complex.

     It's like a foundation poured of concrete; it ain't pretty, but it's
*solid* enough to hold one hell of a house.

     And speaking of which....

     Basic fact: all you can do is the *best* you can do.  You do your job,
second-guess yourself into hysteria, and hope it works.

     Which is a long way of saying...the B5 pilot is now complete.   Nothing
remains to be done.  We had the final run-through and playback on TV set
speakers (modifying a few things here and there, but not much), and now it
goes to the studio, and from there, the stations.

     There was only one other modification I made today: remembering some of
the confusion and uncertainty here about how the Kosh hand scene was framed _
why it was the way it was, he said vaguely _ I decided at the last minute to
bring in Pat Tallman to record one additional line of dialogue to clarify
things.  Once again, the discussion here has directly affected something in
the pilot.  The criticisms, I felt, were accurate, and needed to be addressed.
This was done.

     That said...it's a strange feeling knowing that this stage is now
complete.  No take-backs, no second chances, nada.  The film lives or dies now
on its merits, as it should be.  There's exhiliration, and a measure of _ I
dunno _ hollowness, I suppose.  And now the need grows to get Phase Two
going.  And one way or another, it *will* get going.

     For five years, people told me that B5 could never be made, that even if
you could find a studio to back it, it might never get aired; and even if you
got both those two, you'd never be able to exercise the creative control
required to make it worth the agony.  Five years is just a whole lotta NOs.
But it got done.  And, of course, the chorus returns about the series...but it
will get made, if I have to move heaven and earth to do it.

     Onward.

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 602       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:03 EST

     Re: using the background TVs to show newscasts of recent events... what
an utterly, utterly, majorly COOL idea.  The frown on my face is only from
wondering why the hell none of US thought of that.  (Hmm... y'know, there were
invariably one or two guys in the crew running around videotaping everything
and anything...if you could have them also videotaping scenes as we were
filming them...splice in EFX footage as needed...wrap the whole thing around
the B5 Newscast Logo (and yes, we have one, it's in the pilot, albeit in BG),
it'd give you something nifty to have going on, and would make sense.

     What a wonderful and simple and effective idea....

     Thank you.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 605       Thu Jan 14, 1993
n
the other day, and as we were watching it, he kept shaking his head at all the
things he would've done differently if he'd known then what he knows now, and
if he'd had the programs/techniques then that he has now.  Just the few months
since we finished photography have given him  a number of tools that he didn't
have then.

     We talked a little about what's capable now, what he can do now, and
what's coming up, and it makes what's in the pilot look like nothing by
comparison.  (A lot of the critics talked about the extensive work that went
into the DS9 jello-man effect, not to mention the cost involved; he turned his
associate Paul into the same thing in a test that worked just as well and took
one night and no money, just a little while behind the keyboard.)  Once we get
the go, he and I are going to spend a couple of days just sitting and talking
about what can be done now, so that I can take full advantage of this new
stuff.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 627       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:46 EST

     "Bob" will never be seen talke, for any reason,
in B5.  I'll personally run a truck over him first, newscast or not (unless I
think I can get a good gag out of it...).

     Re: my mental state...I'll know better in a week or so.  I try not to get
too personally involved with my own life.  Basically, itf
in ever___
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 652       Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:05 EST

     BTW, to correct an erroneous statement of mine earlier, there is not a
species named Vee'lons that will be introduced on DS9.

     The Vee'lons will be introduced on Space Rangers.

     Some days, I just can't get a break....

                                   s
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 672       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:42 EST

     I take great joy in being politically *incorrect* at every possible
opportunity.  I believe in the motto someone at the BBC once voice:  "There
are some people we WANT to offend."

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 685       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:47 EST

     Re: starships from Earth...yes, you'll be seeing a wide range of  ships,
from smaller transports and trading vessels to big mothers.  It is something
of an empire, and the ships come in as many varied forms as we have cars and
trucks and semis and tanks and on and on....

     Re: talking vs. action...there's a shade more exposition than I'd like in
the pilot, mainly because there's so damned MUCH background to establish, so
much ground to lay...it'll be more evenly proportioned in the series.  I like
action.  For me, the #1 crime of any TV show or movie is that it should bore.
When in doubt, kill somebody.

     Or blow something up.

     Re: technology...yes, the point about the sudden jump via new
technologies is exactly dead on.  It *did* have a tramautic impact, and to
varying degrees still does.  The effect of technology, and the desire for
same, will be a recurrent thread.  There are some technologies that are
considered too radical for some species, and are thus kept off limits, with
prison sentences or even death sentences for smuggling certain kinds of
technologies.  One such tech-runner appears in the pilot.  The parallel, I
suppose, would be our current concerns with the spread of nuclear technology.

                                                                   jms
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 ************
Topic 3         Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:09 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Computer EFX Tech-Talk   

Some of the new computer EFX used in BABYLON 5 will be revolutionary, a new
approach never seen before on this scale.  It's all new tech, and this topic
will try and address the new technologies involved.
497 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 349       Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:27 EST

     I use Windows a little more than I used to, but overall I suspect (well,
know, really) that I'm not getting the most bang for my buck because I don't
understand the mechanics of configuring either Windows or the computer itself.
I'm sitting here with a killer megasystem, and...the best comparison I can
think of is an australian aborigine who's found an F-16 figher plane and
mainly uses it to shelter his sheep and goats under the wings when it
rains....

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 385       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:12 EST

     I've tended to lean more in the direction of individual computers _
multi-gigabyte systems small enough to fit on the wrist, which also serve as
communications systems called Links _ that are generally networked into the
B5 database/central computer system.  Ninety percent of any information you're
likely to need you probably already have in the Link; anything additional you
need, or if you need a direct interface with Babylon Central Computer, that
can be accomplished with a simple voice command.

                                                             jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 391       Mon Jan 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:23 EST

     Just as a point of clarification, Links are only used by station
personnel, not visiting aliens, or any visitor, human or otherwise, for whom
multi-use terminals have been set up in their quarters.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 407       Tue Jan 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:53 EST

     Basically, I think that there should be something on-screen if there
NEEDS to be something on-screen.  For instance, in both Sinclair's quaters and
the briefing room, you'll see monitors on the wall in BG and later used for
important stuff.  (That should be quarters, not quaters, which is what you
find on the moon.)  When not *actively in use* they display only the B5 logo,
sort of a carrier wave.  When a signal comes in from local, you get the BabCom
logo, then the signal.  When a signal comes in from a ship, or the computer
provides information, you go right from the B5 symbol straight to the display.
When it's over, you go back to the static symbol until it's needed again.

     The only real exceptions to this are a) the consoles in the observation
dome, which are going at all times to monitor incoming and outgoing ships, and
b) displays in the business areas which show the internal B5 Newscast and
commercials.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 447       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:05 EST

     Isn't Lexicor the company owned by Lex Luthor...?

                                                                 jms
 ______

 ************
Topic 4         Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:12 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Cast and Characters      

For discussion of the actors who will be bringing BABYLON 5 to life with their
performances...for information before, and discussion after the airing of "The
Gathering" pilot.
501 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 376       Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:08 EST

     After a crocodile named Leviathan?  Er...I think that it's likely a
reference to the book of Job, where he is asked by god, "Canst thou draw out
Leviathan with an hook; or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?"
(JOB 41:1)

                                                          jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 378       Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:04 EST

     They don't exactly get along, that's for sure.

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 381       Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:28 EST

     There's a mid-season story that deals *precisely* with this issue.

     Hence...I'm forced to remain mute for the moment.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 398       Mon Jan 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:25 EST

     Ta-daaaa...Gary, take another look at the pilot.  Every time you see
Lyta, you will notice a silver insignia on her lapel.  It's the Psi symbol set
against a bronze background.  That is, indeed, the preferred form of
reference.

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 401       Mon Jan 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:14 EST

     Bill Warren suspects more than he knows, and knows less than he suspects.
And any resulting opinions are simply that, and though written are nowhere
near writ, holy or otherwise.

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 406       Mon Jan 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:36 EST

     The amount of contact required varies according to the telepath's
strength.  Lyta at P5 needs a little help.  A P10 could nail you from across
the room.

     And I want to have some fun with the commercial funding aspects of
B5...ads, gov't support, commercials, all that stuff.  That's an issue that I
feel really needs to be addressed...who pays for this neat stuff? And what
happens when the money runs out?

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 418       Tue Jan 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:41 EST

     Yes, we'll definitely see them in their civvies, and there will be a
range of entertainment possibilities, including TV (again, there are shots of
an internal newscast on B5, and commercials as well).  Thee's _ er, there's _
one little thing that I'm gonna do the first episode or so to establish that
that's so off-beat and (one hopes) funny that I'm sure you'll like it.  If
only I can get Warners to release the footage....

                                                            jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 426       Wed Jan 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:04 EST

     Yeah, that was the hard part with the actors...they're so used to seeing
one costume actors in SF that even though they HAD other stuff to wear, it was
hard to shoe-horn them into it.  But that'll change.

     As for skivvies...who knows...there's a shot of Sinclair emerging from
bed wearing just about nada until he gets his robe on that several women on
the show kept re-running, saying "yum...".

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 450       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:04 EST

     I can't remember height ever even being discussed, except once, when we
were debating about two possibilities for a given role.  I don't think it
really matters.  As it happens, it probably won't ever come up because both
Michael O'Hare and Jerry Doyle (and I think Johnny Sekka) are all well over 6'
tall.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 458       Sat Jan 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:01 EST

     Lonnie, let us not tempt the universe....

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 467       Sat Jan 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:16 EST

     Jack...er...so, you noticed those initials, eh?  Probably noticed that
Garibaldi's first name is Michael, too, huh?

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 469       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:06 EST

     The two tallest are Michael O'Hare and Jerry Doyle...and I think they're
about the same height...unless Jerry's just a squidge taller.

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 473       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:24 EST

     Just checked their resumes, and their heights aren't indicated.  I will
have to get back to you on this.

                                                                  jms
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 ************
Topic 5         Tue Nov 03, 1992
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico]            (Forwarded)
Sub: Grid Epsilon Irregulars - News & Info.

This topic is for information about Babylon 5 fan groups, newsletters,
fanzines, get-togethers, B-5 at conventions, and other general fun.
222 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 172       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:08 EST

     The current newsletter is due out this week, and any who sent in subs
requesting #1 will probably receive them at the same time.

     Re: merchandising...we have several deals in the works, the only one I
know for sure involves a computer game from a major company.  There will be
some supplementary stuff...shirts and mugs and hats and patches and
stuff...around the time of the pilot, at least so I'm told.  Luckily, my
contract with Warners requires my consultation on marketing, so nothing
embarrassing will come out if I have anything to say about it.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 174       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:31 EST

     Don't know yet; will probably have more info in a few weeks.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 182       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:26 EST

     The software company involved is a good one, and the designers are first
rate.  As soon as I can announce the details, I will.

     And yeah, I get one of everything.  I may need a bigger house....

     The best way to make sure one gets in on any upcoming marketing is
probably to write Warners marketing (I believe it's the Licensing Corporation
of America...maybe someone here has an address) and ask to get on a mailing
list for info.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 189       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:32 EST

     Great, Rob, many, many thanks.  So yeah...anybody who wants to get on a
mailing list for merchandise related to B5, drop a note to the address
contained in message 187.  Be the first on your block....

                                                       jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 218       Wed Jan 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:00 EST

     Yep...the "beep" stuff will all be clear by the end of the pilot.

                                                               jms
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 ************
Topic 6         Tue Nov 03, 1992
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico]            at 06:43 EST
Sub: Where is Babylon 5? TV stations...   

Babylon 5 is a cornerstone of Warner's new Prime Time Network. Here is where
one can find the station information....
290 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 230       Wed Jan 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:06 EST

     Leviathan...as a local, mayhap you could ring up Dana Hersey and fill him
in on the background, just so's he knows it ain't a DS9 riff.

     This is probably the single biggest problem I know we're gonna have with
reviews.  On every other level, we'll stand on our own; I just don't want that
inaccuracy surfacing and skewing the review.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 252       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:19 EST

     WVTV Milwaukee.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 287       Wed Jan 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:02 EST

     I'm scheduled for Gallifrey One Goes Forth?

     Oh....

     Er...when exactly is that, again?

                                                                      jms
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 ************
Topic 7         Tue Nov 03, 1992
J.HUDGENS [Fenn Shysa]       at 23:07 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 _ POTENTIAL SPOILERS      

If you've seen the B5 promos or the sales info packages and want to mention
specific items or situations without worrying about spoiling it for others,
post & comment here... THERE BE SPOILERS HERE!
429 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 291       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:17 EST

     If I see one more message with a one-liner on top and then ten zillion
lines of white space, which at 2400 baud go by too fast for me to read the
damn thing, so I have to then go back and find the number of the message, and
replay it time after time while hitting ^S to try adn stop it before it
scrolls past again, I am going to do someone serious damage.

     (Well, everyone ELSE was having a tirade....)

     Paula...you're responding to and arguing with something that only you
heard because it doesn't exist in the pilot.  The line that Sinclair says is,
"I managed to take out a fighter before they hit my stabalizers.  I was losing
control, I'd lost my team...." etc.  Not vertical stabalizers.   Just the
device that keeps the ship from spinning end over end by  controlling the
various thrusts.  No matter WHAT system you're using, you have to be able to
go from A to B, and the minute adjustments required, particularly if you're in
the midst of battle, are too complex for one person to make on the fly.  It
has to go through a computer.  If the  system _ hydraulics, pneumatics, air
thrust, fusion, whatever power you happen to prefer _ is damaged, it's going
to screw you up.

     THAT was the line.  And the Line.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 293       Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:13 EST

     I keep hearing Alladin's more of a pain than it's worth, which is why I
generally do all my writing/reading on-line.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 320       Wed Jan 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:13 EST

     Just one other little item you're forgetting, Paula...these are
individual fighters, which are made to operate in and out of an atmosphere.
                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 322       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:21 EST

     Several reasons...first, she wouldn't be able to tell for sure if his
memory had or had not been "doctored" to eliminate the memory of the action.
(An upper-level Psi could notice the seams in the memory; she's basically a
business-transaction person who's a teeny bit over her head in what she's
doing, and she knows it.)  Second, I'm playing constantly with how our society
will deal with this kind of telepath.

     The idea is always "innocent until proven guilty."  Now, you can bring
someone to trial, and a psi can scan them, and boom, you know one way or
another.  But does that violate our judicial tradition of a trial BY JURY, and
put 'WAY too much power in the hands of telepaths?  Because bear in mind, we
still have to take their word for what they "see" in someone's mind.  They can
function as key witnesses, but it's my sense that they would be SPECIFICALLY
PROHIBITED from going into the mind of an accused person to determine their
innocence or guilt, *even if so invited*.

     There are others, but those are, in my mind, the key reasons for this.
It's a matter of trying to be logical and consistent in how these things are
used; you don't want to have something (or someone) become the Magic Wand that
solves every problem, a Deux Ex Lyta, so to speak.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 324       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:47 EST

     Yes, Lyta's always had an affinity for alien races from a telepathic
standpoint.  As for telling reality from subjective; as soon as it goes in
your eyes, it becomes subjective.  So that's the only POV from which she can
act.  It's easiest when it's straightforward visual or auditory impulses, not
much open to coloring by the subjective aspect.  If the person being scanned
is unbalanced, then 1) it becomes VERY uncomfortable for the psi, and 2) there
are signature aspects of the scan (colors, hallucinations, delusions) that
would tip off any good psi that this may not be a very valid perspective.

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 332       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:09 EST

     Yes, there are shields available, mainly implants, sometimes drugs, and
cyberalteration techniques to mind-wipe people temporarily so they can't be
read easily.

     Re: perjury, there are Psi review boards, as with the AMA (and of equally
debatable power) that could be called into play in the case of suspected
perjury, as well as other abuses of the Psi-Corps authority.   If a review
board or other PC arm finds you're in violation of standards, the next step is
the psi-cops.

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 349       Sat Jan 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:19 EST

     The background on that business meeting is similar to all such uses of
telepaths: both sides agree to the presence of a telepath to monitor the
negotiations.  If one were to demur, the deal would be off because the person
clearly has something to hide.  Which is why there is a good market for
various kinds of shields that don't LOOK like or feel like shields unless the
telepath knows what to look for.  You can also just try and hide it and hope
that the telepath isn't looking too deep or isn't really paying attention,
which is what that guy was doing.  (May have been reciting the "tensor" rhyme
trying to keep his brain occupied.)

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 353       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:31 EST

     How much combat is in the movie?  Not terribly much...I wanted more of a
dramatic series with action than an action series with drama.  The series will
alternate...some with lots and lots of action, some with less.

     The budget is classified.

     Re: the total population of B5...this is something that I went round and
round with as the designers and I worked on this thing.  They haven't given me
an exact figure yet; I imagine I'll get it eventually.  It's in the *area* of
a couple hundred thousand, though.  I *think* they said the max capacity was
around 250,000 but I could be wrong.

     (This is one of those things where the writer can't just set a figure and
wave a magic wand.  B5 is a particular given size...now you have to figure out
how much space is required by hydroponics, station systems, infrastructure and
so on...subtract that from the total available volume, determine how large the
individual living quarters are, with some variance, and then finally zero in
on how many people that could accommodate without squeezing everyone in like
sardines.  All I know is that there's math involved....)

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 361       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:45 EST

     No, they're not.

     And someone trained to know what to look for in a scan would pick up on
it...but those are few and far between.

     Ah hates math.  I failed bonehead math twice in junior college, and only
passed the third time when the professor, seeing me one more time in his
class, said in despair, "Just...go.  I'll give you a C-, just go."

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 366       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:23 EST

     I can more or less hold my own in math UNTIL such time as suddenly we're
dealing with numbers AND letters.  For some reason, I'm absolutely hard-wired
for language.  Letters are part of a word, a number is for math.  When someone
says "A = 9" my immediate response is, "A what?  *A* dog?  *A* horse?  What?"
I know what the theory is on all this, that there are groups, sub-groups,
universes, all that jazz...the theory is fine...but when I look at a number
AND a letter in an equation, my brain goes into vapor lock, I get confused and
fall down.

     I don't even want to TALK about the scams I ran in order to pass my
semester of Statistical Psychology to get my B.A. in clinical psych.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 369       Wed Jan 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:05 EST

         .
          .
           .
            .
             .
               <thud>
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 377       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:51 EST

     To get past the language requirement, I took two semesters of German.
German I and German II.  Simultaneously.  From 9-10:30 twice a week we were
nice and safe and snuggly in a very basic German class...and from 10:30 to 12
noon twice a week (same days), we were dropped screaming like souls into
Dante's Ninth Circle masquerading as German II, where the instructor would
ONLY speak to us in German.  Which we didn't understand.  It was kind of a
trial run, an experiment to see if it would work, and the conclusion at the
end of the semester...at which point half of us were stark, staring mad, and
the other half were plotting to annex the Sudetenland...was that it didn't
work.  My basic problem (even though I passed) was that I was always week on
English grammar...so when I had to slam a word through the various forms and
declensions, I would...well, you've seen what happens when someone throws an
equation at me...it's a lot like that, only with a bunch of umlauts thrown in
for color.

     That was the same semester in which I realized that I wanted to get the
hell OUT of college and into writing full time, and started cramming courses.
I think I had something on the order of 23 or 27 credits that semester alone,
in violation of university limits (I crashed courses that were beyond the
proscribed limits).  And they weren't monkey classes, either, lemme tell
you...6 units of German, plus classes in Statistical Psychology, Biology,
Literature, Philosophy, and some other stuff (along with the 1-2 writing
workshops I took every semester).  To this day I'm still amazed that I
actually got THROUGH that semester.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 398       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:50 EST

      There are actually several languages heard on B5, though you have to
work to hear them.  (Those with surround will have an easier time.)  For
instance, in the customs area, announcements are made first in English, then
in Interlac.  In the bazaar area, you'll hear chirrups and whistles and clicks
and a wide range of language-sounds.

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 400       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:12 EST

     There are about as many as now...with a few extras developed on the Mars
and other colonies.

                                                          jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 408       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:29 EST

     Re: asking telepaths on a date...it would be verbal, assuming we're
talking PC hrized scans are illegal, and thus they would not be "dipping" to
know your intentions.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 416       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:48 EST

     (A job like that could take YEARS....)

                                                                 jms
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 ************
Topic 8         Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:41 EST
Sub: Behind The Scenes                    

Production Designers, Art Directors, Costumers, Director, others...this is the
place to discuss the production-aspects of B5...it's look and the process
involved.
306 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 90        Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:01 EST

     I'm finishing B5 post production this coming week, and writing my third
novel, and am helping out a friend on another series (said friend having
gotten in over his head a bit, through no fault of his own) doing rewrites and
a few scripts.  Just something to keep me busy while waiting to gear up for
the series.  (Also took time to write out a synopsis of each of the first 22
episodes for B5's first season, which will then be assigned as needed,
interposing new ideas as they're suggested by other writers.  Also finished an
hour-length B5 script, which will be one of the mid-season shows to be shot.)

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 94        Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:19 EST

     All I can say is when Warners gives us the production go, we'll be ready.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 97        Mon Jan 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:39 EST

     That'll probably be decided by forces wiser than I.  And just FYI, all
the PTEN shows are given 22 episode committments per season.

                                                       jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 99        Mon Jan 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:00 EST

                                Who...?

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 102       Tue Jan 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:56 EST

     That's simply a standard unit of measure.  Some series do more than 22,
but those are more rthe MURDseasons generally ran 22 episodes.

     22 x 3 seasons is 66, which is enough for long-term syndication, if
barely.

     And there won't be a Joe Jr.  One doesn't go through a vasectomy for lack
of anything better to do on a Friday night....

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 106       Tue Jan 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:45 EST

     Nope, B5 is shot right here in LA County.

     It helps that my Spousal Overunit is also a writer, and understands what
it means when I come out, eyes like poached eggs, staggering towrad the coffee
pot, mumbling, "Deadlines...deadlines...."

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 110       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:22 EST

     They sure do cost a lot.  We plan to do some such shots for the series,
in the zero-g section of the garden, and possibly in the zero-g cargo section
that rides on top of  B5.  My mandate to Ron is to come up with a way of doing
it that looks good.  Once we have that, we'll do the story.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 120       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:10 EST

     The series standard opening will be a variation on Londo's narration at
the top of the pilot.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 122       Fri Jan 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:43 EST

     Yeah, Londo seems like the *least* likely person to do the opening
narration for a show like this; you don't even see him for nearly two full
acts, and it's the kind of thing you'd expect the Commander to do.

     But there are reasons for everything....

                                                                    jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 126       Sat Jan 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:07 EST

     Re: the voices....I can't do it, I can't tell him....

     Re: the narration at the beginning...actually, I suppose there's no
reason why I can't put it up here.

     LONDO (older voice): "I was there at the dawn of the Third Age of
Mankind.  It was the Earth year 2257.  Babylon 5 was the last of the  Babylon
stations, located deep in neutral space.  It was a port of call for
businessmen, smugglers, diplomats, businessmen and travelers from a hundred
worlds.  It could be a dangerous place, but we accepted the risk because
Babylon 5 was our last, best hope for peace.  Under the leadership of its
final commander, Babylon 5 was a dream given form...a dream of a galaxy
without war, where species from other worlds could exist in mutual respect...a
dream that was endange one man on a mission of destruction.  Babylon 5 was the
last of the Babylon stations.  This...is its story."

     That's from memory, and as I look at it, some of it ain't *exactly* right
(that should be "species from different worlds" not "other worlds," for
instance, but the sense of it is correct, and it's probably 90% textually
correct.  (I also see I repeated businessmen twice...which means I left
something out, but having now been up about 20 hours, I'm too tired to
remember what or to look it up in the script.)

     I'll try to remember to dig out the exact wording and put it up, if
anyone's interested.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 137       Sat Jan 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:23 EST

     "I was there at the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind.  It began in the
Earth Year 2257.  Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations, located deep
in neutral space.  It was a port of call for refugees, businessmen, smugglers,
diplomats and travelers from a hundred worlds.  It could be a dangerous place,
but we accepted the risk because Babylon 5 was our last, best hope for peace.
Under the leadership of its final commander, Babylon 5 was a dream, given
form.  A dream of a galaxy without war, where species from different worlds
could exist, side by side, in mutual respect...a dream that was endangered, as
never before, by the arrival of one man on a mission of destruction.

     "Babylon 5...was the last of the Babylon stations.  This...is its
story...."

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 140       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:10 EST

     That is the only narration in the show.  When we get to the series, I
plan to adjust the narration and keep it as a stet opening.  Probably it'll be
something along the lines of, "I was there at the dawn of the Third Age of
Mankind.  It began in the Earth year 2257.  Babylon 5 was the last of the
Babylon stations.  This is its story...."

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 147       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:38 EST

      Oh, yeah, the "mission of destruction" thing ONLY relates to this
particular episode, the pilot.  It'll be gone from regular episodes.

     For the series, my feeling is that the intro should be as short as
possible, almost more for mood than for information.

     The intro may also change slightly each season....

     As for software, I use plain old Word for my writing, though I just got
7.0 and will change over as soon as I decide I have nothing else of value in
my life to deal with.  I am but a simple man from a simple land of simple
values....

     The computer itself is kind of a hum-dinger...a 486/50mhz, 330 meg hard
drive, 650 meg rewriteable optical drive (for a total on-line of about 1
gigabyte), NEC 4FG monitor, 64 megs of RAM, SCSI 32 bit system, and due to
arrive any day now, the 6-disk Pioneer CD-ROM jukebox.  Also have the
Thunderboard sound card, Diamond Speedstar 14F video card, and a bunch of
other goodies.

                                                           jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 150       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:52 EST

     Actually, there's a weird typo in there; it should be Wordstar 5.5, not
Word (ecch).

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 161       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:37 EST

     The background visuals for the narrative will be much the same for the
series as the pilot...a montage of the station, people and locales.

     Difference between an exec producer and a producer?  A producer can be a
line producer, who handles mainly production problems, or a writer producer,
who mainly writes, sits in on casting and stuff.  An exec producer is the guy
In Charge...otherwise referred to as a Show Runner, who sets the direction for
the series or project, makes final decisions on casting, music, sets, all that
jazz.  On B5, I share exec producer status with Doug Netter...basically, we
divide it up that Doug handles most of the deal making (which he loves) with
agents, other business stuff, and I get to play.

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 167       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:54 EST

     "Mankind" was being used by Londo specifically in relation to humans, not
sentient aliens including his own race.  Earthers.  Which was one reason (of
many) I wanted his character to be the narrator, someone looking in from the
outside.

     As for the Third Age, it's _ oh, darn, look at the time, have to go....

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 178       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:50 EST

     I only said that the story will *concentrate* on B5 the first two years
in terms of locations.  We'll branch out, certainly, after that.

     Mike: your Third Age thought is very close to being correct.  It's only
the object of your sentence that's incorrect.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 184       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:29 EST

     Yes, it's repetitive.  Yes, it's deliberate.  It brings you back to the
beginning of the narrative, which is a space shot that more or less matches
the other shot.  (Makes a visual loop, in other words.)

     Telestro: certainly one of our characters might go the way of
Saruman....and one might go the way of Aragorn...and Gandalf...ah, well,
that's always uncertain, isn't it?  "Expect me when you see me."

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 185       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:33 EST

     And then again...maybe not.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 194       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:28 EST

     WHO TOLD YOU ABOUT PLANET GAWOOMPKI?!  EGADS!  THERE'S A LEAK IN OUR
OPERATION!

     (Actually, there *is* a leak in our organization...the funny thing is
that it's me.)

     Re: Sinclair and Ambassador-ship...there's a very logical questoin (or
question) that has to be dealt with.  (Again, we go back to that same point,
asking the next question.)  Why is a *Commander* serving on the station, and
the Advisory Council, and representing Earth?  Wouldn't they have a regular
Ambassador present?

     This is a question that we will resolve.  As well as the one implicit in
the foregoing: why is a *COMMANDER* _ lower in rank than a Captain _
entrusted with this responsibility, rather than an Admiral or some other high-
ranking individual?

                                                                       jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 195       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:33 EST

     BTW, ironically, this is the only area that worries me in showing the
pilot.  People are going to say, "Waitaminnit!  This doesn't make any sense!
Why is a COMMANDER running this thing?  And what about this bit over here...?"
It's kinda risky to deliberatly program in what look like errors, but are
story points that will be raised and resolved later.   Ah, well...you gotta
take chances....

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 205       Wed Jan 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:10 EST

     Yeah, I'm *pretty much* staying to Naval terms, mainly because the
introduction of starships will probably be under that heading as vessels, and
that seems to follow.  Additionally, if all of the various major militaries of
various countries were combined into one Earthforce, then there would be some
standardization, and naval terms *seem* to be more standard than others across
services, but my research there isn't as deep as it probably should be.  Would
be nice to work in some variations, however....

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 224       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:57 EST

     The EA is governed by political figures, just as today, though some of
the structures have altered to accommodate a more world-spanning form of
government.  (Instead of senators elected from states, they're now elected by
country, and so on.)

     As for language...the DICTIONARY defines language, PEOPLE screw with it
until distinctions blur...as with the distinction between "fewer" and "less."
"There were less people in attendence this week."  No.  There  were FEWER
people in attendence.  This is what people do.  This is your language.  This
is your language in people...any questions?

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 233       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:11 EST

     That's an extremely good point about species/races; I'll be careful about
that.  I don't *think* that came up in the pilot, and now it won't in the
series.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 238       Fri Jan 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:27 EST

     BTW, it's my understanding that the monitor screens on TNG are not
inserted in post; they're regular TV screens with edges that come out and
cover any bends in the tube, thereby giving it a flat look.  At least, that's
what I hear....

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 251       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:53 EST

     I agree re: universal translators.  Most everything in the ST universe is
bent toward making the process easier, less challenging; I want to show the
process of overcoming.  I think it's great if an alien shows up from a
previously unvisited planet, and they spend days trying to communicate with
it.  I think that some computerized stuff might work, as in the case where
someone programs a machine to go from one specific language to another (sort
of a species-specific interpreter), but thats about it.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 261       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:37 EST

     The language facilities of aliens will vary; probably the most fluent (by
virtue of necessity) are the ambassadors, whose english is perfect or nearly
so (cyberlink to the brain dumping the English equivilants of their own
language and grammar directly into the brain, very expensive and not a little
painful).  The drawback is that some cultural references or some contextual
areas may not be as clear as required.  (Londo wondering about ramoras, Delenn
unsure for a moment about poetry....)

     Re: language in general...I agree that all languages must be "living
languages" in that they are free to grow and expand and add new terms.   There
is a difference between this and a *collapsing language* in which the
distinction between terms (the aformentioned less and fewer) becomes degraded,
and meanings blur through misuse.  Ase gradually becomes less precise.  A
language should be graded on how well it manages to communicate the thoughts
of one to the other.  If it begins to fail in that regard, then it is not a
living but a dying language.

     (Another example: the way that "anxious" and "eager" have come to mean
the same thing.  "Anxious" carries with it some degree of worry or dread or
fear; "eager" is a pleasant term, connoting something wonderful and nice for
which one is longing.  So when someone says, with a smiling and expectant
attitude, "Yeah, I'm really anxious to see the new Lucas movie," it's a misuse
of the term, unless there's some reason for worry.)

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 268       Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:11 EST

     In terms of the EFX, I think it's all Amigas, with some IBMs being used
for general computing (letters, schedules, etc.).

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 281       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:49 EST

     Re: TRON v2.0....I'd rather write kids in space.

     Re: places of origin...my sense is that they have their own unique names.
We don't call our planet Terra (well, not really), or Hum (for Human) or
Planet Human.  Because some of the names are difficult to pronounce, the
logical approach is to note them by designation, i.e., "And shall be shipped
off to the Narn homeworld."  That is the only time or I should say context by
which we refer to their places of origin.  The only exception to this, and I
don't recall if this is in the pilot or not, is the Centauri homeworld,
designated Centauri Prime.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 288       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:35 EST

     Yes, there are definitely other human settlements...colonies and outposts
and co-operative projects on other worlds with other species.   It's mainly
from this overlap that the EA draws its non-human members, though a few worlds
have chosen to ally themselves directly with the EA.

                                                               jms
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Topic 9         Wed Nov 11, 1992
T.RESTIVO [Little Guy]       at 18:27 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 Humor                      

From *Beep Beep*, to Top Ten Lists to full-blown paradies, this is where to
put your funny bone in writing!
162 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 9
Message 122       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:11 EST

     I...no...never mind...forget it...some things are too gross even for me.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 9
Message 132       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:13 EST

     Suddenly sounds began emitting from the producer's office...witnesses
later described them as twin shrieks....

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 9
Message 150       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:24 EST

     Kosh as in "gosh."  There's actually a last name, btw...Naranek.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 9
Message 156       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:50 EST

     Pronounced Nuh-RAH-nek.

                                                                   jms
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Topic 10        Thu Nov 12, 1992
SANDMAN [Henry]              at 19:25 EST
Sub: Sex in Babylon 5                     

Can't do without this one!!


99 message(s) total.
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 ______
Category 18,  Topic 10
Message 84        Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:20 EST

     Actually, I said that Sinclair will have a steady VERTICAL relationship
with....

     Don't hit me, I'm a sick man.

     And nothing in life is permanent, not even relationships.

                                                                       jms
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 ************
Topic 11        Sat Nov 14, 1992
J.SHEEN1 [Leviathan]         at 18:09 EST
Sub: B-5 ADRIFT!                          

 BABYLON 5 Topic Drift
 If you feel like talking about it, but it doesn't fit anywhere else... If its
only connection to B-5 is that you thought of it in this CAT...
 This is where to come and get it out.
367 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 271       Thu Jan 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:12 EST

     I've lost all track of how much time I spend on BBSs; two-three hours a
day here, plus 1-2 per day on CIS, and then other services.  I'm on several
where I don't post messages, and the folks there engaged in SF-TV discussions
don't know I'm looking over their shoulder.

     Why?  Because if people know you're there, they tend to speak more
politely about you, and your projects.  They're free to be brutally
honest...and lemme tell you, it brings one up short sometimes.  But I think
that's both good and essential.  Sort of a control group approach...see what
the opinion is like of folks who don't have direct access, and only hear stuff
second-hand.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 274       Fri Jan 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:45 EST

     Yes, GEnie is still my first choice.  You'll note I didn't call the
locale for B5 Central Interstellar System or anything dopey like that; only
referring to it (in bible now, eventually in script) as Grid Epsilon (GE).  I
post only a few messages there per week; this is home.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 296       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:13 EST

     Yes, we'll definitely see some EVA suits of various kinds, human and
alien.  In the pilot, though it's farther away than I would've liked, you can
see a shot along the side of B5, with a couple of ships streaking past, and a
flashing light up in the upper left-hand corner on the hull of the station.
Freeze the frame, and look closely, and you'll see th at it's a guy in an EVA
suit repairing a micrometeor puncture (or some other problem) with a welder of
sorts.

  We'll do more, better, and closer, later on.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 303       Tue Jan 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:30 EST

     Apparently, it's not difficult at all to digitize an actor's face and put
it inside an EVA suit's facemask.

                                                                     jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 319       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:19 EST

     Someone back a while ago suggested "Fivers," and that's kinda nice.

     Re: Captain Power...yeah, that's a show that is an example of what to
strive for, and how sometimes good intentions can get derailed.  We genuinely
wanted to come up with a long-term story, and by and large, we succeeded.  The
problem was the marketing in front of the show, and the merchandising behind
the show...we got killed from both sides.

     There's an entire second season of unproduced CP scripts, story edited by
Larry DiTillio, in which he follows up on the arc that I and others
established during the first season.  You would have found out what Dread
became, what happened to Power's mother, where Eden was (and there would be
direct contact), what the secret was in Soaron's programming, and so on.

     It was a good experience, though, and it let me cut my teeth on multi-
season story construction.  It was the experience on Power that led me to
believe that something like B5 could be done.  (And yeah, I still have much
the same reaction to the last episode...it's a real tough one to watch...which
was the point.)

                                                                    jms
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Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 323       Fri Jan 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:48 EST

     Definite no on the question of matter transmitters.  That's a little too
much in the magic/science-fantasy area for my preferences.  Space travel is
done in ships.

     Re: Captain Power...it aired in 1987/88 in syndication.  Was set in the
future, after the MetalWars, in which one man, who caused the war (in the best
interests of humanity) decided that to save humanity it must be digitized and
stored in machines for the day when perfect metalloid bodies could give
mankind immortality.

     Re: Twilight Zone...yes, I worked on the syndicated version.  Among the
episodes I wrote (I was also story editor) are "The Mind of Simon Foster,"
with Bruce Weitz; "Dream Me a Life," with Eddie Albert; co-wrote "The Curious
Case of Edgar Witherspoon," with Harry Morgan, and co-wrote "Our Selena is
Dying" posthumously with Rod Serling, from a long lost TZ outline.  Other TZs
that I wrote around that time, but whose stars I can't consistently recall:
"The Wall," "The Call," "What Are Friends For?" "Something in the Walls,"
"Acts of Terror," "Special Service," "Rendezvous in a Dark Place," and have
another shared writing credit on "The Trance."

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 356       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:50 EST

     No, I wasn't previously aware of "Agony" (except what I've gone through
these last six months), but will look for it in future.

                                                                  jms
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Topic 12        Wed Nov 18, 1992
B.WIST [Brad]                at 18:12 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 Sightings                  

Post here when you've spotted Babylon 5, whether it be on Television,
Magazine, or somewhere else.  Let us know where we can find it/see it, too.
166 message(s) total.
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 ______
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 133       Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:48 EST

     Aquila: give me the name of the paper and the reporter who wrote the
article.

                                                                  jms
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Topic 13        Mon Nov 23, 1992
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico]            at 21:00 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Science and Technology   

Jump gates, nanotech, high-tech weapons, starship drives, sound in space, and
other subjects of science and technology in Babylon 5.
163 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 63        Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:08 EST

     Rob:  from where?  Re: telepaths...there are definite limits, and I most
definitely do NOT wanta it to be a deus ex machina, the solution to every
problem.  If anything, it IS a problem itself.

     M.Morgan...yes, absolutely, that's what I had in mind all the time. Yeah,
that's it, that's the ticket....

     And tachyons...can't forget those pesky tachyons....

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 72        Sat Jan 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:39 EST

     The computer system is quite good, based on a crystalline technology
that's a mesh between alien and human-developed stuff.  As for defense, you'll
see a full demonstration of this in the first season; for now, let's just say
that that smooth looking exterior is laced with sections that can open and
reveal all kinds of interesting things.  Imagine a five mile long Swiss Army
knife....

                                                                     jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 75        Sun Jan 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:03 EST

     Yes, the middle section of the station is the Garden, and is still an
O'Neill type environment.  And over the course of the series, it's my
intention to bring in all the various organizations and sub-organizations
required to make a place like this work.  I really want to try and convey the
sense of a Working Environment, not a set.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 82        Tue Jan 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:52 EST

     Doctrines and Covenants?  Are we talking here Mormonism or Scientology?

                                                             jms
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Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 85        Wed Jan 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:12 EST

     HEY!  NO FAIR!  NOBODY TOLD ME THERE WAS GOING TO BE MATH INVOLVED!   I
DIDN'T STUDY!  I WASN'T TOLD THIS WAS GONNA BE ON THE TEST!  AAAKKKK!

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 88        Wed Jan 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:09 EST

     I forget....

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 103       Fri Jan 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:54 EST

     I'm still hammering down the rules on hyperspace...what can and can't be
done.  My first thought was that they travel blind, but given that it's
heavily traveled, I realized after a while that you'd *have* to be able to see
your surroundings in order to avoid collisions.

     The point you raise is quite conceivable.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 117       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:40 EST

     Keyboards are still in use, mainly because there are always going to be
things that you don't want someone to hear, so you'll always need some kind of
non-verbal input system.

                                                             jms
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Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 119       Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:50 EST

     I dunno...I kinda like glasses...but I know the reality is that it may be
fixed by then...there are some in the pilot, in BG.

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 121       Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:39 EST

     It looks cool.

     Also, bear in mind that often different gravities require different
atmospheres; alternating atmospheres between floors in the same section is a
bit more difficult than setting aside one whole sector that would be, say, for
methane breathers, and which has a varied gravitational level as a further
accommodation.  (If they require standard 1g, there are other areas.)

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 134       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:58 EST

     Yep.  You'll see 'em in both the pilot and the series.

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 136       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:16 EST

     I agree.  I wear glasses.  I could go to contacts (glass or plastic), try
surgery, all this stuff...but ain't nobody going near my eyes with pieces of
glass or knives or lasers, I don't care HOW safe it is.  Just my luck to hit
the one in a million power surge and I'll end up looking backward out where my
brain stem used to be.

     It's interesting to see how in pop SF, there is a tendency to assume that
Major Changes will take place.  Take a look sometime at a film _ the first SF
musical motion picture _ called "Just Imagine," produced during the 30s.  It
talked about a future world in which everyone would have personal flyers, no
one would have names any longer, only numbers, children would be manufactured
and people would eat pills instead of food.
 The time-frame in which all this amazing stuff was to take place?  The 1980s.
As somebody said, the future ain't what it used to be.

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 152       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:02 EST

     The defense system for B5 consists of a system of moderate level
defensive grids, hull-mounted weaponry (which is generally concealed behind
large plates, which would be blown off with explosive bolts to reveal the
weapons beneath), and a small number of individual fighter  craft stored in a
docking bay at the rear of the station.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 158       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:37 EST

     The two things on front _ the spikes, as it were _ are on either side
of a second loading bay, this one expressly for cargo held in the zero-g cargo
hold.

     The vanes in the back are heat radiators, as I recall from the original
design notes.

                                                                 jms
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 ************
Topic 14        Thu Dec 31, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:59 EST
Sub: Lurkers/Introductions: Please Sign In

A place for newcomers to come in, say hello, whether you want to jump into the
conversation or not, just to let us know you're here.
151 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 14        Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:13 EST

     Great!  A hi to all the folks who've come out and introduced themselves.
Good to have you aboard.  It's interesting to know who all is out there...the
varied backgrounds and fields and "what brought me me here" is intriguing.  A
fine buncha folks....welcome.

                                                            jms
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Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 78        Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:15 EST

     Actually...y'know...it's funny, but I've been trying to come up with a
name for the folks who just sorta roam B5, the "homeless" or others who have
enough resources to get there in hopes of jobs or new worlds, and don't have
enough to get off again...and who play a running game of tag of sorts with B5
security..."Lurkers" ain't bad....

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 132       Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:15 EST

     Hey, Mark, good to have another H-25er around.

     Pat: I taught at Grossmont College for about one semester, it's a pretty
good place.  (Went to San Diego State and  meself.)

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 135       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:52 EST

     I taught writing (what else?)...I *think* it was around 1979 or 80.
After a while, everything blurs.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 143       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:59 EST

     Re: SDSU, no, I had very little to do with the cinema/telecom dept.
there.  I crashed two courses _ mainly because I wanted to learn from a
particular instructor, Norman Corwin _ and had one or two others, but that's
it.  My interest was in other areas...one degree in Clinical Psychology with a
minor in Philosophy; another in Sociology with a minor in Creative Writing,
that sort of thing.

     BTW, if you go down to the offices of the Daily Aztec, and ask to see the
archive volumes of the paper around 1977/78 or thereabouts, you'll see several
zillion articles by me in there.  At more or less the same time, I was the
resident book reviewer, film reviewer and theater reviewer, had two weekly
humor columns ("A View from the Rabbit Hole" and "A Modern Cynic's
Dictionary"), as well as regular feature articles and profiles, and the
occasional investigative article, including one on the CIA.  The frequency of
articles led some to describe the paper as The Daily J. Michael.  At the same
time I was doing cover stories for the San Diego Reader, the Daily
Californian, features for the SD edition of the Los Angeles Times, and
entertainment reviews for KSDO-AM Newsradio.

     But the Daily Aztec stuff was great fun.  I worked without pay, the only
one on staff who did, in fact...because I didn't want to be beholden to
anybody, could write what I wanted, nobody had any leverage.  Which was all
for the good, given the massive numbers of angry letters and the occasional
bomb threats elicited by what I wrote.

     Can't imagine why....

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 147       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:57 EST

     Yes, a VERY large blunt object.

     The one point of any possible interest to draw from this comes from
something I tried to beat into incoming students when I was an orientation
counselor at SDSU: if you go to college, and all you see are the class rooms,
the bathrooms, the parking lot and the cafeteria, you will cheat yourself of
99% of your possible education.  Any university or college has vast
opportunities for writers and others.  In the former case, write for the
university newspaper, or the university theater (and most schools have an
ongoing one-act production program)...take classes in acting or film, to get a
sense of history, or the hands-on process of being on stage...the range of
experience open to you is enormous.  Don't just follow your major to its
conclusion.  There is a world of experience you can get while you're there
*that you may never have the chance to experience again*.   Take it.

     End of sermon.  I shouldn't even be here, frankly, this is for the new
folks and others to sign in and introduce themselves...both for the interests
of our own private party, so we know who's come into the room, and for any
possible future mailings or opportunities.

     Let's hear from y'all.

                                                                 jms
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 ************
Topic 15        Thu Dec 31, 1992
J.ROY18 [Jonathan]           at 21:29 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Alien races              

Aliens races in Babylon 5... their politics, abilties, technology, history,
and any other discussion specificly about non-humans.

80 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 2         Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:19 EST

     I'll have to be a little circumspect here (damn it, you're doing it
again....).  The Narn Regime is not currently at war with the Centauri
Republic, which occuped the Narn homeworld for nearly a century before finally
being driven off by the Narn resistance.  Their resources depleted they are
not currently in a position to make war on anyone; being naturally rather
paranoid, and having just been more or less enslaved, they have a dread of
other races getting together and possibly harming them, as well as a hunger
for the technology that might protect them down the road (as Russia feared
invasion its Eastern Front after WW2).

     There's a rough alliance between the Earth Alliance and the Centauri,
since theirs was the first race we encountered.  (They told us at that time
that they were the biggest guys around, that they ran everything, that we were
a lost colony of theirs...which eventually was disproven by genetic
examination.  The rest of their claims were also BS.  They were trying to
impress the natives.)

     There's some movement toward making nice with the Minbari, but also a
GREAT deal of resistance, given the recent war.

     Here's one little extra for you: only one person aboard Babylon 5 has any
idea of what a Vorlon is, inside that suit, and only one race has had dealings
with the Vorlons before.  Watch the reception at the end, and see if you
notice anything unusual in the way the various people respond to Kosh.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 8         Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:13 EST

     Jonathan...............YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!  One at a time, please!

     The only questions I can remember...the vorlons have never fought a war
with any other race.  (At least none has ever been recorded.)  And right now
in the Minbari race there's a big split that took place after the
Earth/Minbari war between the religious leaders and the military leaders,
which culminated with the suicide of the Minbari commander at the conclusion
of the war.  They've now arrived at an uneasy truce, but with time, who knows?

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 12        Fri Jan 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:50 EST

     Anyone who will take the job.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 27        Sun Jan 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:41 EST

     By the way...someone on another CIStem posted a note about one of the two
upcoming DS9 episodes, that one of the alien species they would encounter are
named Vaa'lons...anyone else heard this?

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 34        Mon Jan 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:43 EST

     Actually, I disagree...the basic "model" of the human form is very well
tailored and may be more general than we might suspect.  Legs for walking,
probably two because all closed up sideways we present less of a silhouette
for predators, and two legs are more nimble, can slip through narrower places
than three.  Arms to lift, and hands to manipulate objects (show me a culture
without a good opposable thumb) required for the birth of technology.  Sensors
(eyes/ears/nose) at the very highest part of the body, best for observational
purposes, hunting and the like.

     There are zillions of species on Earth, but you rarely seen anything
above spider-level with more than six legs.  Now, I'm not saying that it's
impossible to have other forms, not at all...only that the humanoid form may
in fact be far more common than anyone suspects.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 45        Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:19 EST

     Heh...I like that....I have sudden images of two aliens, one in a
mustache, curly black hair, glasses and a big mustache...the other in a
triangular cap, curly black hair, pushing an ice cream cold-box...his name is
pronounced Chee-KO, the other Gro-CHooo..."Getta you tootsey frootsey ice-a
cream, getta you tootsey frootsey ice-a cream...."

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 49        Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:29 EST

     Actually, for the pilot in particular, Kosh only has to move very stately
and slowly from point A to point B, so there wasn't much that needed to be
told.  For a longer period, on the series, he would be played more as a
cypher...the less that can be revealed, the better.  The only people directly
involved who had to know was the director (for certain attitudes) and the
costume designer (to incorporate certain elements and leave room in
appropriate sections).

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 71        Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:01 EST

     Yeah, that's one thing I've kind of slated in as a B story in a given
episode...an alien comes aboard and they just can't quite manage to
communicate, it's just too damned foreign in its thinking.  (What I'd love is
for them to find out at the end that it's some other alien's damned cat or
something, and they've been spending all this time trying to communicate with
something that ain't sentient...but with aliens, how can you tell sometimes?)

                                                                 jms
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 ************
Topic 16        Fri Jan 15, 1993
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico]            at 01:02 EST
Sub: "No kids or cute robots, ever!"      

This is a topic for discussion of the unofficial slogan of Babylon 5.
35 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 2         Fri Jan 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:31 EST

     On the other hand...maybe it might be better if our Sysoptrix took the
last, oh, 100 or so messages from 1 about this and transplanted 'em here.  Get
the whole context in place.

     And lord knows, it's not like she has anything ELSE to do, other than
nudzhing me....

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 16
Message  10       Thu Jan 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            (Forwarded)

     The inter-relationships between FOX, PTEN, the FCC and any and all other
acronymical organizations is utterly beyond my ken, and I would no sooner try
to explain it or understand it than I would attempt to build a tesseract in
the back yard.

     In what I *hope* will be a relatively definitive word on this kid
topic...yes, I can write a story with kids.  I've done it...I did it for the
Twilight Zone and other shows.  The question is still one of making choices.
Is that what this series is ABOUT?  You could drop in a chapter on badminton
techiques into The Lord of the Rings or Debbie Does Cleveland, the question
is, does it BELONG there?  Is that what the show or the story is attempting to
address?

     If there were no other shows with kids around, then I would be more
inclined to do one with kids at the center.  But there are plenty of them
around, particularly in SF...you've got kids aplenty on TNG, on DS9, I just
saw a kid story on Space Rangers...this is simply a different kind of show.

     My point is simply this: B5 is meant, in a very real sense, as noted in
my message on 2, to be an SF novel for television.  If it were just random
stories skittering hither, thither and yawn, that would be one thing.  But as
any novelist can tell you, you have to ask, "Whose story is it?" and stick
pretty close to that, even though you may swerve in and out of other POVs and
indulge in omniscient narrative.  That requires certain choices about tone and
attitude and what you include, and what you choose to exclude.  Doesn't
invalidate one type of story or another, it only says "THIS is what my story's
about."

     There are plenty of other SF shows with kids.  Let's have something a
little different.

     (That's one of the ironies that crops up about this show...often people
say "We want innovation," and when asked for specifics, they ask to make it
more like other shows.  "Well, TNG does this kind of story, why can't you?"
We can, but we're not.  Because we're not TNG.  Just as we will do some
stories that I *guarantee* you ST wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.)

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 21        Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:19 EST

     Something I forgot to mention uptopic, when asked if I can write a story
with kids...it's appeared in a lot of my prose.  The two leading protagonist
in my most recent novel, OTHERSYDE, were around 16...the lead character in one
of the first short stories of mine ever to be published ("Your Move," in
Amazing SF) was about 13, and the second story of mine published ("A Last
Testament for Nick and the Trooper," Shadows 6)  featured two kids maybe 19.

     Provided only for the sake of completeness.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 26        Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:03 EST

     Absolutely.  I love being proven wrong.

     Though there are few survivors to carry the story....

                                                                 jms
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Topic 17        Tue Jan 19, 1993
C.STOBBE [Colin]             at 21:02 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Merchandising            

A place to discuss all the neat Babylon 5 merchandising coming out (hopefully)
soon
11 message(s) total.
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 ______
Category 18,  Topic 17
Message 3         Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:00 EST

     I'll know more about the computer game next week or so.  Best thing in
general is to write to Licensing Corporation of America to get on their
mailing list for future B5 promotional stuff and merchandising.

     The Creation designs for shirts look okay, if a tad prosaic...there has
got to be one central image to promote this show, but I'm darned if I can
figure out what it is at this stage.  The logo looks swell, though, in any
event.

                                                                 jms
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Topic 1         Mon Oct 26, 1992
SF-FANTASY [Yog Sysop]       at 18:50 EST
Sub: Babylon 5                            

Welcome to the Babylon 5 category!  As always, offering or requesting copies
of copyrighted material, whether it's the B5 Newsletter, photos, or the actual
movie/episodes violates copyright law and SFRT policy.
555 message(s) total.
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 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 337       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:36 EST

     Actually, JoJo's...uhm...outfit is probably the best thing about the
show...not for pure asthetics, of course, just...I dunno...I just kinda like
the dynamics of it...

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 342       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:22 EST

     Indeed, they might withhold such participation, which the PC would be
obligated to honor.  Non-PC telepaths would be a different situation entirely,
of course...and a danger...which only a PC (or one of the other government's
own 'paths, if any) could work against.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 355       Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:01 EST

     The "Making of B5" piece is being re-edited; originally, the E! piece was
going to be the one shown, but...well, no need to rehash all of that.  The
piece is being recut, and new stuff put in to replace the old stuff.  It
should be finished next week, I hear, and then provided to the stations.

     Great news about Arisia, Arne.  Any other reactions come to mind?

     Re: using my posts for articles...by all means, proceed.

     BTW, it appears that the deal for a B5 game has been closed, and the
winner is Electronic Arts.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 358       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:47 EST

     This goes back to a very basic philosophical question: can you have
thought without language, or language without thought?  At one point in our
evolution, we became conscious...was there language, or did language then come
as a *result* of consciousnes?  Or did the slow development of language *lead
to* the development of true consciousness?

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 375       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:38 EST

     I'll know more about the game in the weeks ahead.

     Apparently, Creation has licensed some stuff...mainly shirts and mugs and
patches and the like, nothing major, but it's there.  I got the first t-shirt
design roughs today, and have some notes, but nothing too major.  More as this
is developed.

     BTW, does anyone know if there are any SF conventions this coming weekend
in Dallas?

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 379       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:00 EST

     Licensing Corporation of America.  Based in New York.

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 403       Fri Jan 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:03 EST

     You say, "New characters and sets apparently do not work."  The basic
problem, you seem to feel, is that it's the same show, and how do we go about
making B5 different?

     I think that the question is more accurately phrased as, "How does one
make DS9 more like TNG?"  I'm going to do this absolutely as non-pejoratively
as humanly possible, because this is fundamentally the truth.

     When TNG first went on the air, a lot of the legwork was done for them
already.  Much of the universe was established: phasers, the Enterprise,
starfleet, klingons, warp speed, doors, terminology, on and on.  There was
additional material added on, but the basic *foundation* is the same.  This is
neither good nor bad.  One can do (and there have been) good stories within
this format.  What it *is* is a continuation of the same universe.  You can do
good stuff with that, but it's still fundamentally the same universe.

     Now comes DS9, and again, it's much the same situation: it builds upon
and integrates what went before.  We have the Federation, stuff introduced in
TNG (Bajorans, Cardassians), some overlapping characters, and a carry-through
of many pre-existing stories and themes.  Once again, and let me be clear
about this, this doesn't mean you can't do good stories here.

     It's just that it's the same universe.  It's not a question, really, of
"sets and characters," it's a question of the universe overall, and the fact
that it's really a repackaging of the same show, with some modifications.

     B5 simply does not take place within that universe.  Every frame of film
reminds you of this.  Without making a qualitative judgment for a moment,
consider ST vs. Battlestar Galactica.  Both are space shows, but very
different in tenor, tone and universe.  (BG and Star Wars is, of course, a
very different discussion.)

     The comparison I've always made has been to say "What if all the space
science fiction stories ever published were written by Larry Niven?"
 Yes, they would be fine stories...but one kinda wants something different
after a while.  He might change characters, create different empires, but it's
still a Niven point of view.

     And that _ to get to the heart of your question _ is the point re: B5.
It's a question of *voice* as well as all the physical elements you see on
your television.  The *voice* is the underlying philosophy of a show and its
creators, the perspective they bring to it.  Babylon 5 brings in a whole
different voice.  Better or worse, that's a question for the viewer to
decide...but it IS different.

     We don't really have to try to be different from DS9 or TNG because we
were never like them in the first place.  As opposed to DS9, which is linked
to another show, and proceeds from the same producers/writers, and to which
they have an obligation to make it, to whatever degree, much the same as TNG.


     Those who have seen the two shows have no problem telling them apart.
And future B5 stuff will continue to remain separate and fresh for the same
reason that the pilot is different and fresh: because it proceeds from another
voice.  Just as Clarke's stories have always been different from Asimov's has
been different from Ellison's have been different from Bova's have been
different from...well, you get the idea.

     No comparison of quality implied there, only as examples of voice.   (One
final note: B5 has always been conceived as, fundamentally, a five year story,
a novel for television, which makes it very different as well.)

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 405       Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:33 EST

     That's not a bad notion.  As it is, the date given in each season of the
show will change.  I.e., "I was there at the dawn of the third age of mankind.
It began in the year 2257."  Then, "I was there at the dawn of the Third Age
of Mankind.  It was the year 2258."  And so on.  So it not only tracks the
storyline, it'll be easier for folks to know which season they're coming into
as soon as they tune in.

     BTW, y'know, I was thinking about this discussion as I sat chewing my
lemon sesame chicken at the Good Earth Restaurant in Glendale this evening (my
Spousal Overunit insists that I eat something healthy once in a while,
apparently not believing that one can actually SURVIVE on beef jerky and
little chocolate donuts and Crystal Pepsi)...and I was thinking about how this
on-line discussion has now generated _ what? _ 7,000+ messages even before
the show airs.

     So I got to thinking...what's going to happen AFTER this sucker airs?
 I kinda suspect that either a) we will see a lot of "I WUZ ROBBED!" notes
followed by a silence vast as space, or b) this category is going to explode
in the biggest blast since Tunguska.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 421       Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:28 EST

     So, Denny, any comments of David's that you'd like to repeat here, or
provide for PR use?  If not, that's okay.

     Yeah, I'm inclined to think that there will be an upswing in interest.
 What intrigues me is the notion that we actually will have two audiences out
there: those who've followed this discussion, and will be able to read into
things the various background information posted here...and those who will see
it totally absent any background on the characters or the universe.  An
offhand comment in the pilot would have more meaning for those who've been
following this, and can fill in the blanks.

     As a writer, though, you can't expect anyone to bring prior knowledge of
your story TO the story, it has to be self-sufficient, so we'll see how well
it functions on that level when the new folks arrive.

     I'm sorry if it seems like there's an awful lot of self-examination going
on here...my tendency is toward being hyper-critical of the work, rather than
to try and make excuses for it.  And again, I must selfishly admit that I
learn a *lot* from these exchanges, and the diversity of opinions here, and
the depth of the answers to questions asked, is quite striking and most
invaluable.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 436       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:47 EST

     Funny thing is, I hadn't checked to see when the pilot would be aired in
L.A.  Kind of amusing...and appropriate, given the probability that the
audiences will overlap.

     (The article to which Brett refers, btw, is a piece in the Palm Latitudes
section of the LA Times Magazine that hit the newsstands today, which talks
about the discussion here on GEnie, and has a photo of yr obdnt srvnt stuck
inside a computer monitor which should probably be burned...the photo, that
is...and as if that weren't bad enough, it's a Mac.)

     One other aside...Denny's friend David is the *first* civilian on theh
planet to see the totally completed B5 pilot, with sound, music and credits.
Hence the current sub rosa exchange.

     Katherine: yeah, I know there's a Good Earth in Studio City...was hoping
Spousal Overunit wouldn't find out about it, but she did...sigh.   By gosh,
give me a hamburger, fries and a chocolate shake!  The heck with this so-
called health food.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 447       Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:02 EST

     Hah!  Phooey!  Why do you think I grew up...as much as I did, anyway?  So
I wouldn't have to eat that stuff anymore.  When I'm found dead at 90 in front
of my TV watching Babylon 5: The Next Generation, let it be with a coke in one
hand and a chocolate bar in the other.  As Mark Twain said, "If you can't get
to 70 by a comfortable road, don't go."

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 450       Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:37 EST

     BTW, I'm giving some thought, since I'm going to be appearing at Con-Dor
in San Diego this March as GoH, to bringing along some of the scenes we ended
up cutting from the pilot, just to see folks' reaction to the stuff.  (Filmed
and cut, not cut before filming.  There are about half a dozen extensive
scenes available.)

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 454       Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:57 EST

     Don't know if these will ever show up down the road; in a few cases,
where they're set pieces, we may actually be able to take one whole scene
which is pretty much independent of the plot and drop it into an episode as
part of a teaser.  (One, for instance, is an encounter with an alien hooker,
the other invovles a smuggler.)  They were cut for reasons of time: we were 25
minutes over length, and something had to go.  Several somethings,
actually....

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 470       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:34 EST

     Correct, that's the shot seen in the magazine.

     Re: the B5 commercials...please drop me a line reminding me of this prior
to con-dor, or I'll forget.  (Jeez, between the commercials and the cut
scenes, this is starting to add up to some considerable viewing time.)

     Coke, Pepsi, who cares as long as it's got caffeine?

     Katherine: I made a discovery, a better deli than Jerry's or Arts:
Solley's, on Van Nuys two blocks up from Ventura, in the same complex as the
multicinema.  A good deli, and a great restaurant, with stuff I haven't seen
elsewhere.  (Corned beef and fried egg sandwich...might as well inject the
cholesterol right into your veins and get it over with.)

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 478       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:45 EST

     How the various shows interface, and how one is linked to the other, is
best understood only by deities and studio guys; we'll have to see.

     Only problem with coke is that they changed the formula and now use
sweeteners other than sugar.  Though apparently they put out kosher Coke at
passover.  Eventually I'll have to get a proper dispenser with Coke syrup and
seltzer, since the syrup apparently *does* still have the s ugar in it.

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 494       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:57 EST

     No, I have no knowledge of the article in question; could you upload it
to me in email?

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 519       Fri Jan 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:00 EST

     Katherine: my condolences on your recent assignment to a previously
undiscovered circle of Dante's Inferno.  Surely your current task is
prohibited under the Geneva Convention....

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 535       Sat Jan 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:13 EST

     So, I like the number 5.  Actually, the length was something set with Ron
at the time, and he produced the 5 miles figure (which is a bit short, in
fact, of the "actual" length as it came out).

     And I didn't make up the L5 stuff...hey, it's synchronicity.  Ohmygosh _
and I've been typing this with five fingers on either hand (well, nine
actually, the left thumb doesn't actually DO anything that I'm aware of).

     Re: NATPE...Warners DID have a presentation doing on B5 there.  Not a big
presence, because they've already sold it to just about all the stations
that'll be carrying it, and selling is pretty much the point of NATPE, but in
any event, it was there.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 548       Sat Jan 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:41 EST

     (BTW, Walter Koenig saw the pilot and said it was "a winner," adding that
he thinks it "should get a lot of the Trek fans, plus a lot of more mainstream
viewers.")

     How much of the basic "saga" is in the pilot?  Some...bits and pieces.
The problem, always, is that we have a whole new universe to establish, with
all the backstory that goes with that.  As it is, it's fairly "information
intensive," as one person put it.  We find out about the Earth/Minbari war,
the curious surrender, Sinclair's past, the missing 24 hours, the relations
between the various governments and their own personal agendas, and a hint of
what's to come.  This while establishing the backstory of all our characters,
and telling a story in present time (for them).

     I think you will find indications of what we've talked about for the
series present in the pilot.  Which is why it bears watching more than once;
you'll pick up more information and more of a sense of the world the more
closely you inspect it.  (We tried to come up with a pilot that actually
BENEFITS from close inspection, rather than falling apart if you look at it
too closely.)

     Had a meeting the other day with the folks who're going to be doing the
B5 games.  (As to platform...variations are being planned for ALL of the
various platforms...CD-ROM, IBM, Amiga, Mac, Sega and so on.)  It was a
terrific meeting, with top of the line people.  What was interesting was the
fact that they seemed shell-shocked from dealing with other producers, the
heavy restrictions, the interference, the hassles...my attitude on this show
has always been, "Here...we're creating a whole universe for you to go and
play in.  Do so."  So they're going to have a lot of freedom to come up with
stuff.  I *want* to be surprised.  Hell, I want to play the games.

     Because of the need to avoid any substantial conflicts with the general
arc of the story, I gave them a peek into the five year arc, a few things that
had to happen.  As long as things didn't cross into these areas, the territory
was completely open.  And knowing that going in, there are no surprises down
the road to sabotage them.  They seemed...well, there were a lot of very wide
eyes when I explained some of what we were going to do.  They also saw the
pilot at the screening that night, and apparently loved it.  We're cooking
along, folks....

                                                                   jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 2         Wed Nov 20, 1991
SOARON [Bio-Dread]           at 19:41 EST
Sub: General Information                  

Babylon 5 will premiere with a two-hour movie entitled "The Gathering" early
in 1993.  The creator of the series, J. Michael Straczynski joins us on-line
to answer your questions.  (No story ideas please...)

394 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 114       Fri Jan 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:25 EST

     Speaking of EFX, I was talking to Ron Thornton during the final mix down
the other day, and as we were watching it, he kept shaking his head at all the
things he would've done differently if he'd known then what he knows now, and
if he'd had the programs/techniques then that he has now.  Just the few months
since we finished photography have given him  a number of tools that he didn't
have then.

     We talked a little about what's capable now, what he can do now, and
what's coming up, and it makes what's in the pilot look like nothing by
comparison.  (A lot of the critics talked about the extensive work that went
into the DS9 jello-man effect, not to mention the cost involved; he turned his
associate Paul into the same thing in a test that worked just as well and took
one night and no money, just a little while behind the keyboard.)  Once we get
the go, he and I are going to spend a couple of days just sitting and talking
about what can be done now, so that I can take full advantage of this new
stuff.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 127       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:46 EST

     "Bob" will never be seen talking anywhere, at any time, for any reason,
in B5.  I'll personally run a truck over him first, newscast or not (unless I
think I can get a good gag out of it...).

     Re: my mental state...I'll know better in a week or so.  I try not to get
too personally involved with my own life.  Basically, it's lots of fatigue.
During the five days of editing, there was so much going on (the
music/sound/dialogue edit), I was so obsessed with making sure it all fit
together, that for two nights out of that I got no sleep at all, not so much
as a minute...I'd crash, and just stare at the ceiling, brain chasing itself
in ever-smaller circles, until gradually light started to come in through the
window slats.  (Did you know that Danger Mouse is on at 6:30 a.m. out here?
I'd wondered where that show had gone.)  This happened two nights in a row, so
by the end of the fourth day, without really any sleep at all, I had elevated
to a whole new plane of consciousness.  The day after we finished, I slept for
something like 18 hours straight.

     I tend to live crisis to crisis, and I guess right now my mental state is
mainly one of concern for how the show does when it airs.  First was the
concern about getting the show made; then the concern about getting the show
made RIGHT; then the conern about post-production; then the concern
about...well, you get the idea.

     There's this great character in Eric Frank Russell's "Men, Martians and
Machines" about a photographer who, on return starflights from the ship's
exploratory missions, sits and does nothing but worry about his pictures
coming back intact.  The one time he DIDN'T worry, they were destroyed.  So
now that's what he does: sits, stares, and worries.  That's about how I get
through on shows like this.

     BTW, for those interested, the magazine Aboriginal SF has an article by
Susan Ellison about B5, including an extensive commentary from Harlan about
his involvement with the show.  (The issue just hit the stands.)

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 152       Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:05 EST

     BTW, to correct an erroneous statement of mine earlier, there is not a
species named Vee'lons that will be introduced on DS9.

     The Vee'lons will be introduced on Space Rangers.

     Some days, I just can't get a break....

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 172       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:42 EST

     I take great joy in being politically *incorrect* at every possible
opportunity.  I believe in the motto someone at the BBC once voice:  "There
are some people we WANT to offend."

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 185       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:47 EST

     Re: starships from Earth...yes, you'll be seeing a wide range of  ships,
from smaller transports and trading vessels to big mothers.  It is something
of an empire, and the ships come in as many varied forms as we have cars and
trucks and semis and tanks and on and on....

     Re: talking vs. action...there's a shade more exposition than I'd like in
the pilot, mainly because there's so damned MUCH background to establish, so
much ground to lay...it'll be more evenly proportioned in the series.  I like
action.  For me, the #1 crime of any TV show or movie is that it should bore.
When in doubt, kill somebody.

     Or blow something up.

     Re: technology...yes, the point about the sudden jump via new
technologies is exactly dead on.  It *did* have a tramautic impact, and to
varying degrees still does.  The effect of technology, and the desire for
same, will be a recurrent thread.  There are some technologies that are
considered too radical for some species, and are thus kept off limits, with
prison sentences or even death sentences for smuggling certain kinds of
technologies.  One such tech-runner appears in the pilot.  The parallel, I
suppose, would be our current concerns with the spread of nuclear technology.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 205       Fri Jan 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:05 EST

     Matt: the most entertaining thing for a writer is creating a character;
the second most entertaining thing is killing off a character.  Believe me, as
you'll see in the Fight To The Death in the pilot, I have no problem dropping
a body.  And as far as I'm concerned, only 2 or 3 characters in this series
are indispensible...the rest are open to all kinds of interesting fates.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 206       Fri Jan 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:10 EST

     P.S.  If you want," check out the Captain Power two-parter I wrote,
"Retribution."  That should answer the question....

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 216       Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:35 EST

     Yes, I *strongly* believe that there has to be diversity among our alien
races...accents, political beliefs, religion, name it.  I think that is VERY
important.  Yes, from time to time, you want the monolithic, perfectly
homogeneous aliens, but if so, you want them to stick out a bit in contrast to
the rest.

     As has been noted, there's a *big* split currently going on between the
Minbari warrior and religious castes, for instance.  More will come later.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 227       Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:31 EST

     What happens if something happens to one of the actors?

     We'll deal with that when it happens.

     (Was that okay, Mr. Director...?)

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 230       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:03 EST

     "Do not tempt the hand of fate...."  Gee, I'm getting good at this.
There may be a political career ahead of me.

     The best way to help the show get the attention it deserives, and to get
feedback on everyone's efforts, is to contact your local station and Warners
after the show airs.  (Er, that should be "deserves" above.  One of these days
I'm gonna try Aladdin.)  Right now, it's all in the hands of the one-eyed god
of television PR....

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 231       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:09 EST

     BTW, before I forget, in addition to the People Magazine ads (and others
that'll be popping up soon enough), there's an article on Andreas Katsulas
(G'Kar) in the current Starlog, which came out pretty well, and an A.P. story
that features B5 that should show up in various papers in the next day or so.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 240       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:56 EST

     The comment re: Twin Peaks is correct; I loved TP dearly, but if you
missed one episode, you were screwed.  The way the story is constructed, you
can come in at any point, even miss episodes, and still be able to follow the
thing.  It's just that the *more* you watch, the more you'll get out of it,
the more things you'll pick up on.  It's a very difficult task from a writing
point of view, but worth the effort, I think.

     Re: the actors...yes, there was a great degree of comitment on their
part.  The head/hairpiece for Londo worked fine, but just to add to the
authenticity, Peter Jurasik shaved his head for the duration of the shoot.
 All of the actors did research into their characters, got books on SF if they
didn't know much about the genre, on and on.  They *very much* got into it,
down to consulting about their wardrobe and having input into prosthetics (to
some degree).  We want them to be comfortable, otherwise they can't do their
best work.

     They're all certainly committed to doing the 5 year stint; as for being
forever inserted into SF...there's the question of typecasting, and we've
tried to circumvent that in some sneaky ways (who's going to recognize Mira or
Andreas outside of their makeup?).  Nimoy had problems because it was his face
and head, just a pair of ears stuck on.  If we have lots of alien makeup, we
try to hide the actor's face (while allowing for varied expression) so they
can do other stuff.  I think it's important to try and think of your actor's
well being and career...because then you create a good and healthy environment
for them, and it serves you well in the long run.

     I've not been consulted re: closed captioning, and must confess that I
don't have the info on this.  Will see if I can find out.

     Yes, I was consulted about the ads, and while accepting the graphics,
provided alternate copy for the ads, which I thought were a tad heavy handed.
But overall, I'm quite happy with the approach that's being taken.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 242       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:16 EST

     I think that talk would be premature; let's see if it GETS that kind of
attention, or if folks want to run us out of town.

                                                                  jms

 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 250       Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:29 EST

      A video index...oh man...you're *deliberately* trying to make my
 life a living hell, aren't you?  (More than it is already.)

      We'll see.  It's something I'll mention, and see how they react.

      Meanwhile, here's a little something I came across in my computer
 this evening.  I had always sensed that the Londo introduction/narration
 at the top of the pilot was the way to go.  But it never hurts to try
 other avenues...you discover the darndest ideas that way.  Anyway, I came
 up with an alternate introduction, just to see if it worked or not.  I
 rather liked it...and still do, to some degree...but finally opted to go
 with the Londo intro instead, which is what we'll stick with.

      But since it's not going to be used, I figured...why not let y'all
 take a look at what would've been an alternate opening for the pilot?

                             BABYLON 5
                          Insert/Prologue

 FADE IN:

 ON STATIC.  Then: a BLACK SCREEN, OVER which we HEAR the FEMALE
 voice of a news broadcast in progress:

                              FEMALE VOICE (vo)
                _ continue to bring you updates on
                the Interplanetary News Network.

 And now, gradually, a PICTURE begins to emerge from the darkness
 _ grainy, slightly washed out, a VIDEO IMAGE of Babylon 5.

                              FEMALE VOICE (vo)
                In other news, the Earth Alliance
                space station Babylon 5 celebrates
                its first year in operation with the
                imminent arrival of an ambassador
                from the Vorlon Empire.

 And now: a MONTAGE of shots from within B5, and some EFX shots
 from outside...the casino, the customs area, the bazaar and other
 areas.  During this, the IMAGE BEGINS TO SHRINK, to recede into
 the distance, and gradually the stars begin to come out on all
 sides of the picture, framing it.  This UNDER:

                              FEMALE VOICE (vo)
                Located in neutral territory, Babylon
                5 has exceeded all expectations in
                dealing with the many life forms that
                pass through the five mile long
                station.  As a result, Earth Central
                has approved an appropriations bill
                to keep the orbiting freeport open to
                travelers, businessmen and diplomats
                for another five years.

 And now the image shifts, and the picture continues to recede
 into the distance, now only a few inches across...a grainy black
 and white image:

                              FEMALE VOICE (vo)
                Meanwhile, a new binary star
                discovered by Mars colony scientists
                has been named Kennedy Proxima, after
                20th century president John F.
                Kennedy, born 340 years ago this
                week.

 And now, in the small picture framed by stars, receding more
 rapidly from view, we SEE footage of JFK speaking before the
 Democratic convention the eve of his presidential nomination:

                              KENNEDY
                I believe that the times require
                imagination, and courage, and
                perseverance.  I'm asking each one of
                you to be pioneers toward that New
                Frontier.  My call is to the young at
                heart, regardless of age; to the
                stout of spirit, regardless of party;
                to all those who respond to the
                scriptural call, "Be strong and of
                good courage.  Be not afraid, neither
                be dismayed."  For courage, not
                complacency, is our need today.

 UNDER this, Kennedy's image recedes further into the distance,
 growing smaller and smaller until he is now one of the many
 surrounding stars splashed across the blackness of space.  A
 moment, and the MUSIC RISES, brave and martial, as we

 TILT and PAN ACROSS to reveal Babylon 5 itself, up close and
 personal in all its huge splendor.  PUSH IN on the station as
 a ship approaches, and we HEAR:

                              LAUREL (vo)
                Confirmed, Delta Gammer Niner, you
                are clear for docking.


                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 251       Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:33 EST

     That should be Delta Gamma Niner, not Gammer Niner.  Typo.  Sorry.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 265       Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:17 EST

     Generally speaking, I agree with the sentiments expressed, and what
you've picked up on are the reasons that I decided against using this
particular form, even though there are things I like about it.  What was, for
me, the #1 reason for not using it is that it's...for lack of a better term,
fairly prosaic.  A news cast as opposed to the voice of the story teller, a
sense of future-history you get through Londo's voice and the identification
of him as the storyteller.

     Although I agree about the Kennedy tie, and that it can be somewhat
problematic, what I like about it is that it fed into what I've been after
with this show from day one...to tie our past, our present and our future.
Done properly, it could've been fairly classy, I think.  And there's Kennedy's
voice _ I have the tape of his speech _ which rings powerful and true in
that speech.  It set a tone.  But as has been noted here before, writing and
acting and directing are fundamentally about making choices...this move rather
than that, this attitude over that attitude.  The Londo choice was the
*better* of the two, even though there's much about this version to commend
it.

     (A quick aside re: the MURDER question...the episode you cite was one
done under my watch, but not the one I mentioned as the last I'd have anything
to do with for this season.  That one, which I wrote, aired about two weeks
ago.  The one you saw this weekend was from last season, as is the one coming
up this Sunday, an episode of mine called "The Committee," a fairly gothic
episode that actually came out quite well.  The mystery element may or may not
be that strong, but for me, MURDER was always a character story first, onto
which you graft a puzzle.)

     Well, review copies of the pilot are going out, and have gone out.  I
heard through back channels that a major reviewer for a major magazine saw the
pilot on Thursday last and his head exploded, thought it was terrific.  The
one comment that I keep hearing back from people is that it redefines SF on
television.  Now, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best thing since
sliced bread, but in terms of character and SFX and the general, more adult
approach, it redefines what you can get away with.  Which is all to the good.

     As for what I'm doing now...writing a script for a friend who's in a
bind, ratcheting up the PR on the show a little more, giving interviews and
suchlike, trying to get a leg up on my next novel so I'll be able to  continue
with it once this thing gets going to series, and some other stuff that, for
the moment, is classified.

     It's now less than a month until this thing shows nationally.  And just a
tick over two weeks until those with satellite dishes pull the show out of the
general ether.  By February 22nd, I fully anticipate being a complete and
total basket case.

     Fortunately, it's unlikely anyone will notice....

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 272       Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:09 EST

     Rob: the scenario you posit is a viable one.  Nuff said.

     RE: the making of stuff...rather than a half-hour show, the stations
(which in some cases had a hard time breaking loose a full half hour) will be
getting promos from a minute-thirty to 20 minutes in length, which they can
drop in as they wish, giving them more flexibility.

     It *may* go out to them along with the B5 downlink, but I'm not sure.

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 275       Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 07:17 EST

     (What the hell am I doing up at 4:15 a.m. my time?  Watching B5 for the
ten zillionth time.  Picking it apart.  Making notes.  This is nuts.   I'm
going to bed.  See you all in the afternoon.....

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 288       Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:58 EST

     Artisan: I think j.roy's got some graphics that qualify; nudge him into e-
mailing them.

     Nothing to pick at?  Oh, dear.  Stand with your face half an inch from
the mirror, and tell me you see no imperfections.  We all see the things
others miss.  Tell you what...at some point after the pilot's aired, after
things have settled down, I'll go through my list of things to do better in
the series, things we should've done different in the pilot, on and on.  But
that's the *purpose* of a pilot, to try a show out for size, see how it fits,
and make adjustments.

     But no matter how good it gets, everything is open for improvement in
some way.  You have to keep constantly questioning and re-evaluating.   The
unexamined life and all that jazz.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 294       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:36 EST

     Hmm...y'know, given the reaction here, maybe I'll fax the intro over to
Warners PR and see if they can use it for a promo.  Like I said, I liked it as
well, it just wasn't up to the level of the rest of the show, I thought.

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 295       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:53 EST

     From the Associated Press article by Scott Williams on the new crop of SF
TV series (specifically here, DS9, Space Rangers and B5), quoting David
Gerrold.  "I've seen the pilot, and it's [Babylon 5 is] the best looking of
the three.  I really do think that Babylon 5 will be the one for grownups to
watch."  (Article appeared in various newspapers over the last few days across
the country.)

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 302       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:01 EST

     "The Committee," which airs Sunday, is an episode of Murder, She Wrote,
for which I was producer/writer until recently.  Sorry, thought I was clearer.

     BTW, I recently made a horrific discovery about GEnie posting.  In the
past (since I compose on-line), I'd hit the carriage return at the end of a
line...and nothing would happen.  I'd wait.  Hit CR again.  Then I'd get the
new line...and figured it just took a second to kick in.

     Turns out that every time that happened, apparently the buffer or
something was getting full, and half the line wasn't getting through each time
it happened...so there have got to be some sentences of mine that make even
less sense than usual.  Now that I'm aware of it, I'm going back and revising
the line when I see the delay at CR.

     I'm meeting Friday with the computer game design people for a few hours
to kick around the structure for the thing.  Should be interesting; main thing
will be determing the degree to which this thing should interface with the
overall acr of the story, or exist totally outside of that arc.

     To the question raised 'way uptopic about comics _ yes, there may in
fact be one.  And I'm actually quite pleased with the idea (being a comics
fan).  Imagine what could be done by a Neil Gaiman or a Grant Morrison could
do with the B5 concept.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 314       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:18 EST

     Y'know, when I posted the original idea for an introduction, I had no
idea it would generate so many different responses.  And all with some merit.
Rob, the points you raise are correct: I've always felt very strongly that in
this show, and in SF in general, it helps to connect the future to the
present, to show the continuity of the species, of the common coin of our
shared humanity, our cultures, our languages.  I think  there are other ways
of doing it, and will do so.  But given the "pro" response, maybe there might
be some way of using this thing, whether it's as a promo or somehow using it
in the show.  (Y'know, it *could* be used in the course of a regular episode,
as I think of it; no reason why it couldn't....)

     Well, one thing's for sure...if it ever DOES get used, it'll in large
part be because of the reaction here.  Thanks.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 318       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 06:54 EST

     Well, it's almost 4 a.m.  I was going to give you three guesses as to
what I've been watching _ again _ but I figure by now that's kinda
pointless.  I know, I know, obsessive/compulsive.  Sue me.

     It's now 2 weeks and 1 day until those of you with satellite dishes see
the pilot.  I'll be very interested in seeing (well, reading) your reactions.
I must confess that as this dialogue continues, I find myself learning more,
and questioning more, and digging deeper for information that had been glossed
over before.  I very much appreciate your comments, your suggestions, even the
occasional outbursts of Attitude.

     There will shortly be a private screening of the pilot on a real movie
screen, just for cast and crew.  The only time that I know of that this thing
will be shown in the US on a big screen.  Have been going over what I'm going
to say to the assembled folks...how does one properly thank another for the
fulfillment of a dream?  How do you quantify five (now six) years of struggle,
now given life by people you had hardly met one year before, but have given
their blood and time and effort to see  someone else's dream realized?

     During the filming, as I would be standing on stage, off camera, and we'd
take a break between shots, invariably someone _ the camera  operator, the
costumer, an actor, a carpenter _ would come up alongside and say, "Is this
close to what you saw when you wrote it?  How are we doing on the dream?"
They knew what it meant, the long road to get here, that it wasn't just a
*job* for me and many others; it was something we wanted to do out of passion.
And they responded to that...slept nights on the set rather than going home,
produced work above and beyond the call of duty...how do you properly thank
someone for reaching into your head and pulling out a vision and giving it
form and weight and light and substance?  I don't know.  I don't know.

     Whatever the future holds _ win, lose or draw _ I think we've done
something special here.  And it's interesting to see how that sense pervades
everything...the casting, the production...and now even this.  I have noticed -
- I do a LOT of bbsing, much to my spousal overunit's dismay _ that the tone
on this category seems vastly different than it is elsewhere.  I don't
know...a give and take, no flame wars, a sense of community, the VERY SAME
sense present on the set, in the dressing room, behind the camera.

     In the cold light of morning (when I manage to see it, when I'm not
coming at 4 a.m. from the opposite direction), I tell myself it's just a
television show, and six months from now, or ten years from now, no one will
notice or remember.  At night, as I watch the show again for I no longer know
how many times, I allow _ just for a second _ the notion that we've carved
out a little piece of history.  Win, lose or draw, we got it on film, when
everyone said we couldn't.

     And now it's yours.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 325       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:57 EST

     Bear: you're an evil man.

     I like that.

     Re: "Night of the Living Dead," yeah, that's Patricia Tallman in the lead
role.  Which is where I saw her for the first time, and decided at that moment
that I *had* to use her in something.  She's dynamite.  I saw her at a number
of gatherings in LA, including the Horror Hall of Fame parties at Universal,
but didn't say anything because...well, when someone comes up to you and says,
"Hi, I'm a producer, I'd like to use you in my next big project," it's
invariably perceived as a come-on.  So I waited until the right opportunity
arose.

     Knowing she'd be perfect for B5, I had her called in to audition.  As she
was waiting in the hall, nervously practicing her lines, I stepped outside to
tell her that I'd seen her work, that she was terrific, and that I looked
forward to working with her.  Apparently she didn't have any idea who I
was...but found out when she was brought in to do the actual audition a few
moments later.  There was never any question in my mind about her doing the
role, and it was one of the smartest decisions I made in this thing.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 345       Fri Jan 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:49 EST

     Re: the Trek story...no, that was very much of its form and of that
universe; it wouldn't fit in the B5 universe.

     Anything else in the past to compare with B5?  Probably the closest has
been the novel writing, especially the one I'm working on now.  But overall,
no, this is the biggie.  If it works, it'll probably be the single largest
task of my career.  If there's any one thing that I'd want to be remembered
for, it's a B5 series.

     BTW...just a general note for those who are cycling in and out of the
conversation...be sure to be around a week or so before the airing of the
pilot.  Many folks have asked how they can help; at that point, I just may put
you to work, and take you upon that generous offer...

                                                                jms
     (that should be up on, not upon...)
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 353       Fri Jan 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:21 EST

      EEEEEEEEEKKK!!!!!

      I just read the first eight messages in the new topic 19 (mine).   Jeez,
what a flashback.  What redundencies.  Did I really sound that gleepy?  Oh,
man.  It's like looking at your high school yearbook photo.   Are you guys
*really* sure you want to do this?

      Eek, I tell you, Eek!

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 363       Sat Jan 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:20 EST

     Agreed on LBJ...he was something of a thug.

     Flat-out wasted tonight...we had a private screening this evening for
cast, crew, some critics and some Warners execs.  About 400+ people at the
theater in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood (in
the shadow of a 50 foot Emmy).  I don't think I've ever been as nervous,
because here's where all the people who worked their butts off get to see if
we screwed it all up for them or not.  Everyone liked it bigtime.  The few
critics who said anything (most headed out, as is standard, you don't want to
tip your hand) loved it...one CNN person said he hoped it would run for 10
years, another critic said it was the best SF television pilot he'd seen in
the last 10 years...I think they liked it.

     Sitting here now with a MASSIVE headache from fretting over all this, so
will probably make this short tonight.  (Harlan kept hitting me in the
shoulder after the screening, smiling and saying, "Will you for chrissakes
ENJOY this?  It's your night!  It's a hit!  It's wonderful!  This kind of
night only comes once in your life!  Enjoy it!"  I will...as soon as we get
the series Go.  Nothing can be allowed to distract from that.)

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 374       Sat Jan 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:50 EST

     The sound system at the theater was great; we ran it off the D2, the
master tape, and it came out very well.

     The point you raise re: Starlost is one Harlan's made to me.  When I was
at times feeling a bit low _ I want the series NOW _ he would point out that
no matter what happens, we made my show the way I wanted it made, no
interference...as opposed to what happened with Starlost, which just yanked
his heart out.  And it's a valid point.

     Thing is, it took five years to get this made, and that it HAS been
made...it's almost an act of sheer will.  I decided five years ago that no
matter what happens, this pilot WILL be made.  You have to focus in on the
goal like a laser beam (tm Bill Clinton).  That's been done.  Now the next
step: the series WILL be made...and now I have to focus in on that one with
equal conviction.  It's quite literally the only way ANYTHING ever gets made
in this town.  Ask George.  He's been down the same road.

     As for the question of the show working with non-SF fans...we've actually
shown it to a number of people who don't know from SF, and the result has been
that they've liked it enormously.  The reason, basically, is that it's not a
hardware-driven story.  It's a character drama with a mystery story element.
The solution doesn't come from cross-wiring the ramaframmit with the
zigamakawanna, and computing the resonance factors.   (And I have to confess
that those kinds of stories bore me to tears.)   You start and end with
character, and drama...and if you're true to those elements, the audience will
follow you even into unfamiliar terrain.

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 379       Sun Jan 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:21 EST

     (btw...anyone here know of any major conventions between now and February
22nd around the country?)

     What has been said that's *negative* about the show?  Do you actually
believe I'll provide *NEGATIVE* information about my own show?

     You do?  Oh.  Then okay.

     Probably the number one comment, when there are any negatives voiced, is
that the first half-hour is slow when compared with the rest of the episode.
And I have to agree...there's SO much to establish, so much  ground to cover,
that the first half hour is very dense.  Once we've established the
foundation, that changes fast, because we now have a common ground of
understanding about the universe in which the story is taking place.

     Let's see...one fellow from Starburst Magazine who was at the preview
said that if it were his, he would've rearranged the last few shots.  The
current sequence is, Action Scene, Transition with Kosh, Confrontation with a
Major Character and Sinclair, the Reception, Delenn and Sinclair in the
Garden, and the final shot with Laurel in the observation dome.  He would've
put the Confrontation with a Major  character as the LAST scene, and cut the
shot of Laurel altogether.  His sense is to end on a big scene...my sense is
that it's better to end on a note that sets up the series to follow.  Not so
much a negative as a difference of opinion.

     Let's see...some didn't like the gun designs (others loved it), some felt
we didn't do as much as we could've with the background aliens (some thought
we did too much)...mainly they've been matters of taste, rather than someone
finding something that Just Doesn't Make Sense, or an EFX shot that looks
crummy.  There aren't any Real Big Plot Holes, and insofar as I know, nothing
major to pick on which is *objective*, only differences of opinion.  (As we've
seen here with the Kennedy stuff; some liked it, others didn't.)

                                                                  jms

 ______
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 390       Sun Jan 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:24 EST

     I'll be getting in touch with Mr. Jonas.

     Re: the uniforms...yes, there's a certain traditional look to them, and
this is deliberate.  Look at any uniform from 200 years ago, and you have
certain lines and forms that repeat, and which stay part of the uniform.
There is a STRONG sense of tradition and history in any branch of the
military.  Heck, the navy not long ago went BACK to a more traditional dress
after making some modifications.  The basic dress uniform for your basic
soldier on leave looks about the same now as it did during WW II.

     Much of what passes for SF uniforms/costuming in the future simply
pretends that all that history and tradition just suddenly came to a
screeching halt.  In B5, we're trying to connect our past, our present and our
future, to show the continuity of the human species.

                                                                  jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 3         Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:09 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Computer EFX Tech-Talk   

Some of the new computer EFX used in BABYLON 5 will be revolutionary, a new
approach never seen before on this scale.  It's all new tech, and this topic
will try and address the new technologies involved.
549 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 498       Thu Jan 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:20 EST

     While we may indeed have a CGI character down the road, it most assuredly
*won't* be a shapechanger.  I don't like to swim in somebody else's pond.

     Re: observatories...we'll be introducing the many other specialists who
work at B5 as we go along, from environmental techs to astrophysicists, so
we'll definitely find a place for this.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 505       Fri Jan 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:37 EST

     Insofar as I can remember (problematic on the best of days), I never
cited that the CGI character would be a shape-changer.  Because such is not
planned...though I suppose I could've been momentarily possessed by an
idiot...it could happen.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 520       Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:45 EST

     My reaction...it's an interesting idea, yes.  It's also a story
suggestion, but one K.L. should let slide because I don't think it's a B5 kind
of story...more of a TNG story.  But the notion of different forms of
communication than what we have come to accept or recognize as such is
certainly valid and filled with dramatic possibilities.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 523       Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:19 EST

     The hardest thing, of course, is making the muscles beneath the skin move
realistically and correctly.  That apparently has just been licked, though.
Ron mentioned the other day that he just got some new software in that will
let him do for TV what Spielberg's whole computer operation  is required in
order to do Jurassic Park.

                                                                       jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 531       Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 07:11 EST

     I'll ask re: Ron's new stuff.  As for the changing technology, I'd like
to keep things looking *pretty* much the same, so there isn't a big or
noticeable jump, but things just sorta look clearer and better and more real
over time, rather than changing things per se.

                                                                  jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 4         Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:12 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Cast and Characters      

For discussion of the actors who will be bringing BABYLON 5 to life with their
performances...for information before, and discussion after the airing of "The
Gathering" pilot.
505 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 505       Fri Jan 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:06 EST

     Also, the contracts with the actors for the series extend to the window
at which time Warners *must* either give us a decision.  So we're covered.

                                                                 jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 5         Tue Nov 03, 1992
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico]            (Forwarded)
Sub: Grid Epsilon Irregulars - News & Info.

This topic is for information about Babylon 5 fan groups, newsletters,
fanzines, get-togethers, B-5 at conventions, and other general fun.
288 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 218       Wed Jan 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:00 EST

     Yep...the "beep" stuff will all be clear by the end of the pilot.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 267       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:39 EST

      Hmm...two 3.5 floppies, that's...2.4 megabytes...my last novel was about
600k, so that's....FOUR NOVELS!?

     Okay, that's it.  Everybody pony up a quarter....

     Yikes!

     I was far less tired before I read that.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 269       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:34 EST

     (Hmm...that sounded vaguely like a threat....)

                                                               jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 6         Tue Nov 03, 1992
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico]            at 06:43 EST
Sub: Where is Babylon 5? TV stations...   

Babylon 5 is a cornerstone of Warner's new Prime Time Network. Here is where
one can find the station information....
374 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 287       Wed Jan 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:02 EST

     I'm scheduled for Gallifrey One Goes Forth?

     Oh....

     Er...when exactly is that, again?

                                                                      jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 291       Thu Jan 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:21 EST

     Yes, we've got WOR, which will only be blacked out if your local station
requests it.  If no one locally is carrying it, then it might indeed be
available that way.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 305       Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:54 EST

     Okay, here's the deal on the "Making Of" stuff.  Many of the stations
indicated that they might have a hard time knocking loose a half hour on TOP
of the 2 hour running time for B5.  So Warners is providing shorter pieces _
90 seconds, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 15 minutes and 20 minutes _ to the
stations, giving them some flexibility.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 309       Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:37 EST

     Don't know the answers to the questions, but will post as soon as I do.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 318       Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:35 EST

     If you're seeing promos for KF and TT, then yes, you'll probably get B5
on the same station.  As for the 2 1/2 hour feed...I don't know for certain,
but it's *likely* that the making of clips will be included in that feed.

                                                             jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 320       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:05 EST

     To the questions about airdates and times...there's no one central source
for this information, alas; the best thing to do, unless someone else here
happens to have the information, is just to give your local station a call and
ask the programming or publicity departments.  They'll be happy to supply the
information.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 323       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:52 EST

     BTW, a belated but *substantial* thank you to Jim Partridge for sending
in the KBHK tape.  Yep, they used B5 footage to promote DS9, all right.  We
just got it over to the Big Boys, and they'll take care of it from here.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 342       Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:11 EST

     Enough stations *are* airing them together that it still causes a
problem.  Additionally, a "second night" also has financial meanings; the
doubling of resources to acquire two more programs, making four series rather
than two.  So it applies in both ways.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 351       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:42 EST

     Yeah, I'd gotten it, I was just swamped.  (Also there was no letter
inside, and I had to tear through bags of discarded envelopes set to be
recycled to find the mailing label with the correct info.)  Would've mentioned
it before, it's just...my head explodes sometimes, y'know...?

     Gary: that's *great* news re: KUSI.  San Diego's my old home town, so
it's good they're pushing it.  Wish I'd known about the promo, I could have
bugged some people down there to tape it for me.  Ah, well....

                                                              jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 7         Tue Nov 03, 1992
J.HUDGENS [Fenn Shysa]       at 23:07 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 _ POTENTIAL SPOILERS      

If you've seen the B5 promos or the sales info packages and want to mention
specific items or situations without worrying about spoiling it for others,
post & comment here... THERE BE SPOILERS HERE!
467 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 398       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:50 EST

      There are actually several languages heard on B5, though you have to
work to hear them.  (Those with surround will have an easier time.)  For
instance, in the customs area, announcements are made first in English, then
in Interlac.  In the bazaar area, you'll hear chirrups and whistles and clicks
and a wide range of language-sounds.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 400       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:12 EST

     There are about as many as now...with a few extras developed on the Mars
and other colonies.

                                                          jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 408       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:29 EST

     Re: asking telepaths on a date...it would be verbal, assuming we're
talking PC hrized scans are illegal, and thus they would not be "dipping" to
know your intentions.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 416       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:48 EST

     (A job like that could take YEARS....)

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 433       Thu Jan 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:32 EST

     It's a very difficult area, and I thank Katherine for making the call for
me...it becomes hard at this end sometimes to call.  My sense, really, is that
if there are VERY SPECIFIC plotlines put forth, then it becomes an issue
suddenly.

     As an aside, though, one thing I did hear from the message was the
Vorlons as Minbari question.  This I can say definitively ain't so.  They are
two completely different species, with no common points of origin.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 7
Message 451       Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:38 EST

     Cindy: smug because I've *GOT* the script?

     Cindy baby, I *WROTE* the script!

     I have not BEGUN to smug....

                                                                jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 8         Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:41 EST
Sub: Behind The Scenes                    

Production Designers, Art Directors, Costumers, Director, others...this is the
place to discuss the production-aspects of B5...it's look and the process
involved.
336 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 238       Fri Jan 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:27 EST

     BTW, it's my understanding that the monitor screens on TNG are not
inserted in post; they're regular TV screens with edges that come out and
cover any bends in the tube, thereby giving it a flat look.  At least, that's
what I hear....

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 251       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:53 EST

     I agree re: universal translators.  Most everything in the ST universe is
bent toward making the process easier, less challenging; I want to show the
process of overcoming.  I think it's great if an alien shows up from a
previously unvisited planet, and they spend days trying to communicate with
it.  I think that some computerized stuff might work, as in the case where
someone programs a machine to go from one specific language to another (sort
of a species-specific interpreter), but thats about it.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 261       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:37 EST

     The language facilities of aliens will vary; probably the most fluent (by
virtue of necessity) are the ambassadors, whose english is perfect or nearly
so (cyberlink to the brain dumping the English equivilants of their own
language and grammar directly into the brain, very expensive and not a little
painful).  The drawback is that some cultural references or some contextual
areas may not be as clear as required.  (Londo wondering about ramoras, Delenn
unsure for a moment about poetry....)

     Re: language in general...I agree that all languages must be "living
languages" in that they are free to grow and expand and add new terms.   There
is a difference between this and a *collapsing language* in which the
distinction between terms (the aformentioned less and fewer) becomes degraded,
and meanings blur through misuse.  Ase gradually becomes less precise.  A
language should be graded on how well it manages to communicate the thoughts
of one to the other.  If it begins to fail in that regard, then it is not a
living but a dying language.

     (Another example: the way that "anxious" and "eager" have come to mean
the same thing.  "Anxious" carries with it some degree of worry or dread or
fear; "eager" is a pleasant term, connoting something wonderful and nice for
which one is longing.  So when someone says, with a smiling and expectant
attitude, "Yeah, I'm really anxious to see the new Lucas movie," it's a misuse
of the term, unless there's some reason for worry.)

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 268       Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:11 EST

     In terms of the EFX, I think it's all Amigas, with some IBMs being used
for general computing (letters, schedules, etc.).

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 281       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:49 EST

     Re: TRON v2.0....I'd rather write kids in space.

     Re: places of origin...my sense is that they have their own unique names.
We don't call our planet Terra (well, not really), or Hum (for Human) or
Planet Human.  Because some of the names are difficult to pronounce, the
logical approach is to note them by designation, i.e., "And shall be shipped
off to the Narn homeworld."  That is the only time or I should say context by
which we refer to their places of origin.  The only exception to this, and I
don't recall if this is in the pilot or not, is the Centauri homeworld,
designated Centauri Prime.

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 288       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:35 EST

     Yes, there are definitely other human settlements...colonies and outposts
and co-operative projects on other worlds with other species.   It's mainly
from this overlap that the EA draws its non-human members, though a few worlds
have chosen to ally themselves directly with the EA.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 325       Fri Jan 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:08 EST

     The command level uniforms (Sinclair, Laurel, Garibaldi) are pretty much
the same in cut, though Garibaldi's (and all of securityard grey more than
blue.  Medical uniforms have a somewhat different cut and lean toward charcoal
grey.

     There's a slightly different cut for grunt-level security, and a slightly
greener look.  Station techs (maintainance crews and the like) generally get
yellow outfits with the B5 logo (and are not directly part of the EA
structure; they work at and for the station per se).  Control techs, in the
observation dome, for instance, generally don't wear jackets on duty, but
rather shirts with the B5 logo.  The shift commander, though, does wear a
jacket with his uniform.  (When B5 opens, you see Laural give a command to the
shift commander, who then relays it to others.  You can trace the line of
command in the dome from there.)

     There are, and will be, other variations in uniform, but those are pretty
much the ones you'll see in the show.  (In addition, of course, to more
conventional clothing such as that worn by casino workers, marked only by a
glitter-B5 logo.)

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 327       Sat Jan 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:26 EST

     If the Garibaldi outfit you refer to is on page 30, that's the same cut
of uniform as Sinclair's on 34, just a different angle on it.  (And there's no
white shirt under the outfits on page 28; those are high  collars with gold
braid.)  Now, there *is* another outfit that both he and Sinclair wear, it's a
black outfit (pants and long shirt) under a grey flak-jacket, which is a
combat uniform.  (The flak jackets are composed of various reflective
substances that help refract and dissipate some of the impact of energy
weapons.)

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 329       Sat Jan 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:53 EST

     Oops!  Nope, you're right, yes, there *are* shirts under the jackts
(actually, there are shirts under ALL the jackets, as you'd expect of
clothing).  I thought you were referring to the collar.  My error.

     Actually, *ALL* of the costumes are layered.  G'Kar can remove six
different layers of his outfit, Londo can wear the jacket with or without the
vest (which can also be removed for the shirt below), the Minbari wardrobe is
equally layered and can be played with as well, on and on.


                                                       jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 331       Sun Jan 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:27 EST

     Rob: so what would you suggest?

     If B5 succeeds, there will be comics published in the same basic
universe, as well as novelizations.  These will be specifically encouraged to
go in different directions, partly for selfish reasons, so they won't mess
with my time/character line, and partly because I'd like to see what others
can do with this universe...sort of like a shared world anthology.  So yes,
there's room to play, and with luck, we'll see it there and elsewhere.

     What other options would you suggest?  If I've missed something, let me
know.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 335       Sun Jan 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:31 EST

     Rob...my friend, it took me five years to get this one show into
production.  The rest...I'll leave those to somebody else.

     Re: colors and uniforms...we decided against using color that much as
service designation (red for security, and so on) for two reasons: one is that
it's so associated with Trek.  We're not Trek.  We allowed a touch of it in
the insignia, but in a very limited way.  Second reason, you're dealing with
aliens who see various colors and don't see others, and alien sectors where
the lighting may wash out or totally change the color codes, which is why we
went for specific *symbols* for different areas (security, maintainance,
command and so on).  If you're in the alien sector that uses red light
heavily, and you need help fast, you don't want to try and figure out of
that's a blue stripe or a purple stripe  when asking somebody for help.

                                                                    jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 9         Wed Nov 11, 1992
T.RESTIVO [Little Guy]       at 18:27 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 Humor                      

From *Beep Beep*, to Top Ten Lists to full-blown paradies, this is where to
put your funny bone in writing!
172 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 9
Message 150       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:24 EST

     Kosh as in "gosh."  There's actually a last name, btw...Naranek.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 9
Message 156       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:50 EST

     Pronounced Nuh-RAH-nek.

                                                                   jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 10        Thu Nov 12, 1992
SANDMAN [Henry]              at 19:25 EST
Sub: Sex in Babylon 5                     

Can't do without this one!!


104 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 10
Message 101       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:49 EST

     Yep.

                                                                   jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 11        Sat Nov 14, 1992
J.SHEEN1 [Leviathan]         at 18:09 EST
Sub: B-5 ADRIFT!                          

 BABYLON 5 Topic Drift
 If you feel like talking about it, but it doesn't fit anywhere else... If its
only connection to B-5 is that you thought of it in this CAT...
 This is where to come and get it out.
373 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 323       Fri Jan 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:48 EST

     Definite no on the question of matter transmitters.  That's a little too
much in the magic/science-fantasy area for my preferences.  Space travel is
done in ships.

     Re: Captain Power...it aired in 1987/88 in syndication.  Was set in the
future, after the MetalWars, in which one man, who caused the war (in the best
interests of humanity) decided that to save humanity it must be digitized and
stored in machines for the day when perfect metalloid bodies could give
mankind immortality.

     Re: Twilight Zone...yes, I worked on the syndicated version.  Among the
episodes I wrote (I was also story editor) are "The Mind of Simon Foster,"
with Bruce Weitz; "Dream Me a Life," with Eddie Albert; co-wrote "The Curious
Case of Edgar Witherspoon," with Harry Morgan, and co-wrote "Our Selena is
Dying" posthumously with Rod Serling, from a long lost TZ outline.  Other TZs
that I wrote around that time, but whose stars I can't consistently recall:
"The Wall," "The Call," "What Are Friends For?" "Something in the Walls,"
"Acts of Terror," "Special Service," "Rendezvous in a Dark Place," and have
another shared writing credit on "The Trance."

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 356       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:50 EST

     No, I wasn't previously aware of "Agony" (except what I've gone through
these last six months), but will look for it in future.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 372       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:43 EST

     Shot on 35mm film.  Transferred to tape for post.

                                                                jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 12        Wed Nov 18, 1992
B.WIST [Brad]                at 18:12 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 Sightings                  

Post here when you've spotted Babylon 5, whether it be on Television,
Magazine, or somewhere else.  Let us know where we can find it/see it, too.
190 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 174       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:22 EST

     I think you'll see the biggest push 7-10 days before, yes; and given that
the PTEN ratings have been quite good overall, it's kinda hard to argue too
strenuously with that approach.  I imagine that reviews and stuff will be
coming out about the same time.

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 176       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:01 EST

     BTW, I've been hearing more and more from our Warners liaison that the
reviewers who've gotten copies of the B5 pilot have had their corneas melted
by what they've seen.  Half a dozen have already scrapped plans for other
covers in their weekly television magazine/supplements in deference to a cover
story on B5 (and this during Sweeps Week, no less!).

     Keep your eyes peeled, folkses...the stuff should start hitting the
streets in the final week of our countdown.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 186       Sun Jan 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:29 EST

     Getouttatown...really?  I know Somtow, and I'm surprised he didn't tell
me he snuck this in.  That's funny....

     Oh SOMMMMMMtow...c'mere...I wanna talk wit'cha....

                                                                jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 13        Mon Nov 23, 1992
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico]            at 21:00 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Science and Technology   

Jump gates, nanotech, high-tech weapons, starship drives, sound in space, and
other subjects of science and technology in Babylon 5.
269 message(s) total.
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 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 152       Sat Jan 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:02 EST

     The defense system for B5 consists of a system of moderate level
defensive grids, hull-mounted weaponry (which is generally concealed behind
large plates, which would be blown off with explosive bolts to reveal the
weapons beneath), and a small number of individual fighter  craft stored in a
docking bay at the rear of the station.

                                                               jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 158       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:37 EST

     The two things on front _ the spikes, as it were _ are on either side
of a second loading bay, this one expressly for cargo held in the zero-g cargo
hold.

     The vanes in the back are heat radiators, as I recall from the original
design notes.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 164       Thu Jan 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:26 EST

     Yes, there are definitely different levels in each section of B5.

     And yes again, down the road there will be both small flyers and
individuals with air-packs in the zero-G section at the center of the Garden.
Ron's worked out how to do it.

     How's it illuminated?  Quite nicely, actually....

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 172       Fri Jan 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:41 EST

     250,000 is the *maximum* number of beings who can be there at one time;
that's not necessarily the maximum number of living quarters.  In some ways,
B5 is like an airport; you come in, linger, then move on to your eventual
destiny (catching a few winks in the customs area waiting for the right ship
to come in or go out).

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 187       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:07 EST

       Yes, if a big ship went into hyperspace on its own power, it would
likely have to accellerate first, but if it were near B5, it might well just
use the jump-gate that's already there to save on energy and fuel.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 189       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:49 EST

     I'll ask Ron.

     This is one of those areas in which I'll have to defer until such time as
we get a regular science advisor on the show.  I know *some* of this stuff,
but fact is, I ain't a techie, and this genre is best served by getting that
kind of information from someone who knows what the hell he's talking about.

     (Which means we *will* be getting a science advisor once this thing gets
rolling, btw...no one's set yet, but will probably cull from one or two strong
possibilities over at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  My plan is to also bring
on a freelance linguistics consultant to invent a few languages for us...and
that may be somenoe I encountered right here on GEnie, as a matter of fact,
but will wait until something Happens to give more info on that.)

                                                              jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 199       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:04 EST

     As to what happens to their inertia/velocity when they come out, if they
accelerate going in...yep, we deal with that.  It's in the pilot, and we make
it clear that they have to take time to decelerate prior to docking.  I think
in Kosh's case it took something like 2-3 hours to decelerate.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 214       Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:22 EST

     MATH!  MATH!  YOU SAID THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY MATH ON THIS TEST!  I DIDN'T
STUDY!  HOW MUCH OF MY GRADE WILL THIS BE?!  AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 219       Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:59 EST

     That's actually fairly close to what we were planning...have you been
hanging around Ron again...?

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 221       Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:40 EST

     Disagreement: the coolest show ever made is THE PRISONER.  I hope to
capture a little of the flavor of that show, mainly by playing a little with
surrealism, what's real and what's not...but it'll pale beside that show.  THE
PRISONER, for me, is the perfect television program.  I've never really seen
its equal.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 241       Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:24 EST

     I'd expect a comment like that from someone who watches GI Joe....

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 243       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:24 EST

     Nope, the music is all original to our composer, Stewart Copeland.

     And it be WAY cool.

     (On the B5 blooper reel, there's a shot of all these alien faces, and
that rock song with the lyric, "Everyone's strange, when you're a stranger,
faces look strange, when you're alone" going on in BG.  Very funny.)

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 246       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:59 EST

     That's probably something that'll have to be worked out between the
Language Person and Warners.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 253       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 06:34 EST

     Okay, okay, I got the lyrics wrong, but I got 'till *right*.

     Thing is on the language stuff...it honestly isn't my choice.  There is a
little thing called "separation of rights."  Publishing rights would probably
accrue to whoever does the language stuff.  It's not my call.  I would be
giving away something that ain't mine to give.

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 266       Sun Jan 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:30 EST

     Just for clarity, I don't want to "slip Prisoner elements in" in the way
described.  Was only referencing the show as the kind of show to emulate with
a beginning, middle and end, and a sometimes surreal aspect that leaves you
questioning what's real and what isn't.

                                                                   jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 14        Thu Dec 31, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:59 EST
Sub: Lurkers/Introductions: Please Sign In

A place for newcomers to come in, say hello, whether you want to jump into the
conversation or not, just to let us know you're here.
187 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 132       Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:15 EST

     Hey, Mark, good to have another H-25er around.

     Pat: I taught at Grossmont College for about one semester, it's a pretty
good place.  (Went to San Diego State and  meself.)

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 135       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:52 EST

     I taught writing (what else?)...I *think* it was around 1979 or 80.
After a while, everything blurs.

                                                                jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 143       Mon Jan 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:59 EST

     Re: SDSU, no, I had very little to do with the cinema/telecom dept.
there.  I crashed two courses _ mainly because I wanted to learn from a
particular instructor, Norman Corwin _ and had one or two others, but that's
it.  My interest was in other areas...one degree in Clinical Psychology with a
minor in Philosophy; another in Sociology with a minor in Creative Writing,
that sort of thing.

     BTW, if you go down to the offices of the Daily Aztec, and ask to see the
archive volumes of the paper around 1977/78 or thereabouts, you'll see several
zillion articles by me in there.  At more or less the same time, I was the
resident book reviewer, film reviewer and theater reviewer, had two weekly
humor columns ("A View from the Rabbit Hole" and "A Modern Cynic's
Dictionary"), as well as regular feature articles and profiles, and the
occasional investigative article, including one on the CIA.  The frequency of
articles led some to describe the paper as The Daily J. Michael.  At the same
time I was doing cover stories for the San Diego Reader, the Daily
Californian, features for the SD edition of the Los Angeles Times, and
entertainment reviews for KSDO-AM Newsradio.

     But the Daily Aztec stuff was great fun.  I worked without pay, the only
one on staff who did, in fact...because I didn't want to be beholden to
anybody, could write what I wanted, nobody had any leverage.  Which was all
for the good, given the massive numbers of angry letters and the occasional
bomb threats elicited by what I wrote.

     Can't imagine why....

                                                                  jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 147       Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:57 EST

     Yes, a VERY large blunt object.

     The one point of any possible interest to draw from this comes from
something I tried to beat into incoming students when I was an orientation
counselor at SDSU: if you go to college, and all you see are the class rooms,
the bathrooms, the parking lot and the cafeteria, you will cheat yourself of
99% of your possible education.  Any university or college has vast
opportunities for writers and others.  In the former case, write for the
university newspaper, or the university theater (and most schools have an
ongoing one-act production program)...take classes in acting or film, to get a
sense of history, or the hands-on process of being on stage...the range of
experience open to you is enormous.  Don't just follow your major to its
conclusion.  There is a world of experience you can get while you're there
*that you may never have the chance to experience again*.   Take it.

     End of sermon.  I shouldn't even be here, frankly, this is for the new
folks and others to sign in and introduce themselves...both for the interests
of our own private party, so we know who's come into the room, and for any
possible future mailings or opportunities.

     Let's hear from y'all.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 152       Thu Jan 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:28 EST

     KBHK Channel 44 in San Francisco.

                                                                    jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 160       Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:08 EST

     Shane...imagine, if you will, a slow fuse being lit...as I stare at the
name, thinking, "There was something...something I was supposed to do,
something...writing?"  Then, finally, the fuse works its way through the dense
foliage I laughingly call my cerebral cortex and explodes with the words "THE
ARTICLE, STUPID!  YOU NEVER FINISHED PROOFREADING THE ARTICLE HE SENT YOU!"

     A thousand apologies, Shane.  The piece came in right when I was in the
midst of finishing B5 and leaving M,SW, my life was degenerating into stark,
staring madness, and I put it down, intent upon taking care of it that
evening, and next thing I know...I see your message here.

     Hope I didn't screw anything up....

                                                                   jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 165       Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:13 EST

      I forget...which one of us was wearing the rabbit outfit that night?

                                                                  jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 15        Thu Dec 31, 1992
J.ROY18 [Jonathan]           at 21:29 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Alien races              

Aliens races in Babylon 5... their politics, abilties, technology, history,
and any other discussion specificly about non-humans.

128 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 71        Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:01 EST

     Yeah, that's one thing I've kind of slated in as a B story in a given
episode...an alien comes aboard and they just can't quite manage to
communicate, it's just too damned foreign in its thinking.  (What I'd love is
for them to find out at the end that it's some other alien's damned cat or
something, and they've been spending all this time trying to communicate with
something that ain't sentient...but with aliens, how can you tell sometimes?)

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 88        Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:40 EST

     Yeah, you kinda need binocular vision for survival purposes and the
utilization of tools.

     Re: alien plans...that's something that we'll have to work out down the
road with our prosthetics people.  I don't think we used the full range of
aliens (both versions) as well as we might have in the pilot.   We get only
one medium-long shot of Black Eyes, for instance, and that's one that I feel
came out VERY well and should be highlighted more.  Some of the others were
less effective, but were kept to the background.

     I'd like to keep a mix going, about 50/50.

                                                             jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 96        Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:51 EST

     An entire planet of mimes.....AN ENTIRE PLANET OF MIMES!?!

     NUKE 'EM!

     NUKE 'EM TILL THEY GLOW THEN SHOOT 'EM IN THE DARK!

   YAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 118       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:02 EST

      till (til) conj. & prep until
                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        Oxford American Dictionary

                                                                       jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 122       Thu Jan 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 06:38 EST

     Your teacher was wrong.  The dictionary accepts till.  If required, I can
call Mrs. Nash, assuming she survived the process.

     Re: aliens...yeah, there was a somewhat naturalistic look to the things
that I'd like to experiment with come the series.  This was a deliberate
choice on Criswell's part.  And by and large, it worked out okay.  I just
think that for the series, it would limit us.

     Criswell's elves actually did a *lot* of research, trying various
textures and color combinations drawn from nature.  Of course, that's all
nature as would evolve in an oxygen atmosphere, 1g.  We have to go beyond
that, and I think there's some nifty stuff that can be done down the road.

                                                               jms
 ______
 ************
Topic 16        Fri Jan 15, 1993
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico]            at 01:02 EST
Sub: "No kids or cute robots, ever!"      

This is a topic for discussion of the unofficial slogan of Babylon 5.
99 message(s) total.
 ************
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 2         Fri Jan 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:31 EST

     On the other hand...maybe it might be better if our Sysoptrix took the
last, oh, 100 or so messages from 1 about this and transplanted 'em here.  Get
the whole context in place.

     And lord knows, it's not like she has anything ELSE to do, other than
nudzhing me....

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 21        Sun Jan 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:19 EST

     Something I forgot to mention uptopic, when asked if I can write a story
with kids...it's appeared in a lot of my prose.  The two leading protagonist
in my most recent novel, OTHERSYDE, were around 16...the lead character in one
of the first short stories of mine ever to be published ("Your Move," in
Amazing SF) was about 13, and the second story of mine published ("A Last
Testament for Nick and the Trooper," Shadows 6)  featured two kids maybe 19.

     Provided only for the sake of completeness.

                                                                 jms
 ______
Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 26        Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:03 EST

     Absolutely.  I love being proven wrong.

     Though there are few survivors to carry the story....

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 42        Fri Jan 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:25 EST

     Ah LAHKES Crow an' Tom Servo....

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 57        Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:47 EST

     If you can find Harpo, we'll book him on the show....

     Or Chico, or Groucho...but definitely not Zeppo...or Flammo, the Marx
Brother who ended up on the cutting room floor.

     "Getta you tootsie-fruitsie ice-a cream...."

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 64        Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:29 EST

      Rob: that was very funny stuff.  And believe me, I know from Gummo;
 the Flammo reference was from a play by Louis Phillips, "The Last of the
 Marx Bros. Writers," very surreal, where they mention Flammo.  The play
 is about...well...the last surviving Marx. Bros. writer, who is living in
 a one room flat, doesn't go out, and keeps having delusional conversations
 with God.  "Make Me Laugh," God says.  The writer starts a joke.

      "Heard it," God says.  Which is, of course, the problem...he's heard
 ALL of them.

      BTW, if you're a true-blue Marx Bros. fan, you might want to find (if
 you already haven't) the book "Flyweel, Shyster and Flywheel," which
 contains many of the radio scripts of that Marx Bros. show, no surviving
 audio copies of which have survived.  Very, very funny stuff.

      "How much do you charge to perform?"
      "Ten dollar."
      "How much to perform but leave out the rehearsal?"
      "Twenty dollar."
      "How much not to perform at all?"
      "Oh, no, boss, you couldn't afford it...."

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 16
Message 81        Wed Jan 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:36 EST

     KL: though it galls me to quote commercials, I heard something on one the
other day that's actually quite telling...some restaraunter quoting something
his father told him: "The guy who says he never had a chance, never TOOK a
chance."

     What you say is correct: write it, send it out, write another, send it
out, write another...on and on and on...if it's good, sooner or later
somebody'll notice.

                                                                 jms
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Topic 17        Tue Jan 19, 1993
C.STOBBE [Colin]             at 21:02 EST
Sub: BABYLON 5 - Merchandising            

A place to discuss all the neat Babylon 5 merchandising coming out (hopefully)
soon
55 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 17
Message 3         Tue Jan 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:00 EST

     I'll know more about the computer game next week or so.  Best thing in
general is to write to Licensing Corporation of America to get on their
mailing list for future B5 promotional stuff and merchandising.

     The Creation designs for shirts look okay, if a tad prosaic...there has
got to be one central image to promote this show, but I'm darned if I can
figure out what it is at this stage.  The logo looks swell, though, in any
event.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 17
Message 21        Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:59 EST

     Jack's message is correct.  The only "sale" aspect was that the GEIs in
question had to send $1 to help cover postage; the shirt was free.  (I hear a
few have shown up at auctions for sale; $50 for one, in fact.)

     And yes, the triangle logo has been pretty much officially dropped.
Whether or not we'll find another use for it down the road is an open
question, but for now...yep.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 17
Message 25        Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:47 EST

     Oh, yeah, before I forget (again)...look for ads in People Magazine and
elsewhere to start appearing in the next few weeks.  And local TV reviewers
are going to start getting their copies this week.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 17
Message 27        Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:08 EST

     Well, this IS a science fiction topic.....

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 17
Message 32        Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:11 EST

     BTW, for anyone going to NATPE _ wherever the hell it is _ this coming
week, there's going to be a big B5 display at the Warners booth,  and some
posters available.  I've asked to get one of the posters for my archives.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 17
Message 39        Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:30 EST

     Boy, those time distortion fields are tricky, aren't they?

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 17
Message 42        Tue Jan 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 07:13 EST

     Go ahead....YOU tell G'Kar he's ToTo.  Me, I wanna live a while....

                                                                   jms
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Topic 18        Fri Jan 22, 1993
SF-LAWRENCE [Katherine]      at 01:57 EST
Sub: Law and Order on Babylon 5           

The sociology of the B5 station is already being discussed and has generated
so many messages, they deserve their own topic.  Here's where we can discuss
Law, Order and Penalties for breaking the law, on B5.
85 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 18
Message   1       Thu Jan 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            (Forwarded)

     The death penalty question is one I've been debating in terms of B5 for
quite some time.  Look at the math involved...if you find someone guilty of
murder, do you spend all the money and time and effort and so on to ship them
to a penal colony?  The cost would be ENORMOUS.  Do you keep them imprisoned
on B5?  If so, eventually you'll run out of room.  So the question becomes, Do
you space them?  Kill them humanely?

     There's a B5 story I have in mind that will explore this question, but
I'm not yet sure which way I want to go on it.

     And to the question above...some stations air PTEN shows on different
nights, yes, there's some flexibility.

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 18
Message   4       Thu Jan 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            (Forwarded)

     Ah, but you see, for starters, the issue may not be one of reform; okay,
A kills B, so we transform A into a better person...this by you is a
punishment?  What is the purpose of the law, to reform or to avenge?

     Plus you run into the other problem...what of the other species out there
who may require death for certain offenses, such as murder of their own
species?

     And consider this: A kills B.  B happens to be your little sister, age
12.  A gets transformed by the psychs.  And you're now living side by side
with A, you see him every day, in a closed station...would thisn ot lead to
MORE murders?

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 18
Message  31       Fri Jan 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            (Forwarded)

     Yes, but of course the problem *there* (making them work it off) is that
it begins to institutionalize slavery.  How can you safeguard against
situations leading to indentured slavery...Person A is *falsely* accused of a
crime for the purpose of shipping him off to the work colony where he will
slave away for the Company indefinitely?

     In a way, when you're dealing in this context _ far space _ the
question of "is murder humane?" is really less and less the operative
question.  (By "murder" I mean the death penalty in the above.)  You're living
in *very* small quarters, when you get down to it.  It costs quite a lot in
time and money to get there.  And to send someone away.  How  much time and
money do you allocate for extradition across, potentially, x-number of light
years?

     The best metaphor, I suppose, is a boat at sea.  There are ten people in
the boat.  A kills B.  You don't really have the resources to rehabilitate
there.  And barring that option, there's no way of knowing if A won't kill C
in his sleep...or that D, B's friend, won't kill A at the first opportunity.
Meanwhile, you've got to put your attention to getting this ship to port
without totally disrupting operations and sinking before you reach port.

     On Earth, if someone commits a crime, you send them to prison upstate,
out of sight, out of mind.  But where do/can you send them in such closed
quarters?  I raise this mainly because what I've always tried to do with B5 is
to Ask The Next Question.  Very often the answers to those questions aren't
easy, or comfortable...but they have to be asked, and answered, if your
universe is to make any sense or have any degree of consistency.

     (And just in general, btw, everyone who comes to B5 operates under EA
laws, so Earth laws have jurisdiction under *most* circumstances.  But there
are always exceptions.  And those would be a *real* test.)

     As to the idea that the death penalty costs more than life...yes, that's
true as far as it goes on Earth...but a station wouldn't have time or money or
resources for those kind of endless appeals.  Justice wold (would) have to be
fairly swift, or the entire operation would come to a screeching halt.  So
what happens to civil rights?  To the question of cruel and unusual
punishment?  Where does one draw the line?

     They're very hard questions.  And the thing is...there IS no right
answer.

     On to other things (meanwhile, feel free to keep this discussion
going...there are a lot of sides to this argument, and it's good to hear all
of them).

     Yes, there are starmaps around, some are visible in Sinclair's briefing
room, although they got kinda washed out to a light blue and you really can't
see them well.  We'll fix this later.

     There are weapons, and we'll see them eventually.  Can the station move?
Yes, but only marginally, as required to maintain its L5 position.   As for
the engine room...since this isn't a starship, the engine room is not exactly
the same.  There's not much of an engine per se; it was built IN one place to
STAY in one place.  There are maintainance areas and operational sections, the
blue-collar stuff, though, and that we will be seeing.

     Had something great happen today.  Got a call from a friend, and there
was a guy in town from Magazine X (I can't give the title), which covers
computers, and SF, and other related areas.  He wanted to see B5 and do a
quick interview/review.  Now, this guy is very skeptical and not a little
cynical, even by his own admission.  I said okay, and he came to the house
where I cranked up the system and showed him the finished pilot.

     This is the first time a civilian has seen the *completed film*, sound,
music, pic all.  And a reviewer, no less.  His responce, (response), when the
pilot was over?  He pronounced it the best SF pilot ever made, the "most
significant SF event" he had ever seen.  He was just croggled by it.

     I am a happy man.  It's a start.

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 18
Message 41        Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:03 EST

     And there I agree...in our current situation, I much prefer live (er,
life) imprisonment to the death sentence, first because it allows for more
time to correct errors if the person's innocent; and second, if the person's
guilty...deny him an easy way out.

     But again, that's *here* and *now* and may not necessarily reflect  the
sorts of problems and considerations that may exist on a station such as B5.

     Leviathan: you say that the law should "protect, not avenge."  But
protect how?  How do you protect against the lover who, in a fit of jealous
rage, knifes his fiancee to death?  Do we have cameras in every room of every
house, monitoring for potentially dangerous behavior?  What is the dividing
point between privacy and endangerment?  Is not the aspect of protection or
prevention hinged upon the idea of retribution if  caught?  If there is no
avengement, where then is the prevention?  If there is any privacy at all,
where is the protection?

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 18
Message 53        Sat Jan 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:52 EST

     I think that, to avoid a western-centered show, you have to work from the
assumption that the EA has incorporated laws other than those of the good old
US of A.  Which will add some color to things.

     As for how dangerous a place B5 is...the comment about the prior Babylon
stations is a good and telling one.  There are almost two levels of
understanding on this...the sense of those who work there and maintain the
environment, who know just how fragile this situation really is, and the sense
of those who come and go, whose sense of safety has to be reinforced if B5 is
to be commercially viable.  Which opens up some interesting moral and ethical
dilemmas for some of the crew....

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 18
Message 61        Sun Jan 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:14 EST

     Little Guy: there is, admittedly, a certain advantage to throwing a topic
out there, and watching a number of intelligent, articulate people who know SF
debate the thing...it opens your mind to many possibilities.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 18
Message 66        Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:50 EST

      Jim...hmm...interesting...an inquisitorial system could make for a good
adjunct to something I'd been thinking of...something Harlan suggested,
actually, during our first B5 brainstorm session last year.

      Which I'll elaborate on at some point in the future, but in the
interim...good idea.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 18
Message 72        Mon Jan 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:32 EST

     Re: the use of psi's in the judicial system...there was a whole long
discussion of this in another topic...which answered all of the questions
asked.  In fear of being redundent...does anyone out there remember where that
discussion took place, so we can send this fellow to the right message(s)?

                                                               jms
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Topic 20        Fri Jan 29, 1993
SF-LAWRENCE [Katherine]      at 06:32 EST
Sub: "Babylon 5" - Information Only 2     

Topic 1 is for old messages, already archived into the library.  This topic is
for newer posts, and like topic 19, will remain a CLOSED topic. Get your hot
Straczynski messages here!  Hot off the topics! <g>
1 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 20
Message   1       Fri Jan 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            (Forwarded)

     The command level uniforms (Sinclair, Laurel, Garibaldi) are pretty much
the same in cut, though Garibaldi's (and all of securityard grey more than
blue.  Medical uniforms have a somewhat different cut and lean toward charcoal
grey.

     There's a slightly different cut for grunt-level security, and a slightly
greener look.  Station techs (maintainance crews and the like) generally get
yellow outfits with the B5 logo (and are not directly part of the EA
structure; they work at and for the station per se).  Control techs, in the
observation dome, for instance, generally don't wear jackets on duty, but
rather shirts with the B5 logo.  The shift commander, though, does wear a
jacket with his uniform.  (When B5 opens, you see Laural give a command to the
shift commander, who then relays it to others.  You can trace the line of
command in the dome from there.)

     There are, and will be, other variations in uniform, but those are pretty
much the ones you'll see in the show.  (In addition, of course, to more
conventional clothing such as that worn by casino workers, marked only by a
glitter-B5 logo.)

                                                                 jms