lurkers-guide/ftp/GEnie/jms93-12

Babylon 5 posts by JMS for December, 1993

This file includes a compilation of posts on GEnie by J. Michael
Straczynski in the Babylon 5 category.  The posts are copyright by
JMS
(and compilation copyright is by GEnie). 

 ************
Topic 1         Mon Oct 26, 1992
SF-MARSHALL [Dave ]          at 18:50 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - The Series  (Non-Spoiler)

Welcome to the Babylon 5 category and main topic for the new
series. Here is
the place for all general information on the series. Topic 2 is the
location
for SPOILERS. And please, NO STORY IDEAS are to be posted either.
739 message(s) total.
 ************
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 318       Tue Nov 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:19 EST

     A few folks have noted in email that I've been kinda quiet
here of late,
and I just wanted to note that there are two reasons for this:

     1) Whenever something of mine is aired, or shown, as with
"Midnight," I
tend to adopt a low profile in order to avoid influencing or
directing the
conversation.

     As for 2)...a word in the ear of every person reading this who
uses the
keyboard incessantly: *BUY WRIST GUARDS*.  For the last year or so,
I've been
fighting carpal tunnel syndrome.  The problem is that I write 10-12
hours a
day, and when I'm going at white-heat, I've been clocked at nearly
120 words
per minute...one person who listened noted that during one
particular session
the click-click-click didn't pause, didn't slow for nearly twenty
minutes
straight.  I fall through the screen and come out somewhere else,
hours later.

     The downside of which being...I'm having *real* problems with
CTS right
now.  As we gear up for the last part of the season, I'm behind the
keyboard
constantly, when I'm not in editing.  During the Thanksgiving
break, I was
averaging 20 pages a day.  Early in that process, the CTS settled
in bigtime.
The pain is nearly constant, all day, all night.  To pick up a can
of soda is
an exercise in profound discomfort.  To *type* is beyond
description.  I'm
doing everything I can to minimize it, including sending for some
new wrist
supports and wrist braces, but apparently this stuff is cumulative.

     It's not stopping the writing, not by so much as a comma, but
it makes me
more inclined to quick, short messages than my usual mini-novels.
 I learned a long time ago how to burn through pain, so it's not a
problem on
that level.  Once the season's over, we'll evaluate where things
stand, and
whether this can be ameliorated by exercises or surgery or
whatever.   But I'm
a *writer*, and that means I'll write if they cut off my arms and
legs and I
have to type with my nose.  Nor is this message intended for
sympathy.  No
sympathies are expected or requested.  This is just one more
challenge to B5.


     My only thought at this moment is with those reading this: if
you do lots
of work behind the computer, take breaks, wear wrist braces, get a
support for
your keyboard, do wrist-hand exercises.  You wouldn't like this. 
Trust me.

     This show has been an act of sheer will now for nearly seven
years.   So
what else is new?

     By Friday we finish shooting "Chrysalis," which looks
*gorgeous*.   Then
comes "Deathwalker," with Sarah Douglas and Robin Curtis.  It's
another of our
very tough episodes, written by Larry the D.  With "Chrysalis" it's
12 down
and 10 to go.  We're on the downward slide, and it's coming up
fast.

     Later.

                                                             jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 322       Tue Nov 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 15:03 EST

     Happily, the energy level here isn't flagging at all; if
anything,
there's been an infusion of energy, partially through being able to
show some
of our crew finishd episodes, so they can see the whole elephant
rather than
only isolated parts (to great reaction), and partly through the
reactions at
the con.  We're all feeling very renewed and rededicated toward the
show.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 330       Wed Dec 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:13 EST

     I can't dictate as fast as I can type; and I don't think in
verbal terms,
I have to see it on the scren.  I tried it once, but found I'm just
not a very
good dictator (crew comments notwithstanding).

     A guest actor really can't add much beyond the episode in
which he or she
appears.  But behind the scenes...some of our cast learned a lot
while working
with Revell, and McCallum, and some of our other classically
trained guest
actors.  They were enjoyable experiences.  As far as the experience
they
had...all of our guests have to date expressed a hope to return in
other roles
at some point.  They've uniformly been treated well, and with
respect,
particularly those who've made their careers in SF, and are viewed
as "senior
officers" in a sense.  Some have described it as the best working
experience
they've had.

                                                           jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 331       Wed Dec 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:17 EST

     Have just uploaded starfury.gif to the Babylon 5 library here
in the
SFRT, file #730.  Just FYI.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 341       Thu Dec 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:39 EST

     If the file takes 6 minutes to download at 2400, why did it
take me 18
minutes to upload at 2400?

                                                                  
 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 343       Thu Dec 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:54 EST

     Just uploaded two more; 749 and 750...rescue.gif and
starlit.gif.   The
former is a shot of a Starfury alongside the starliner Asimov; the
latter is
an unusual angle on B5 angled with the star behind it.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 352       Thu Dec 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:21 EST

     Part of the problem is that I was using compression/error-free
protocol.
I turned that off, and the others went up faster.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 354       Thu Dec 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:03 EST

     Darn, I hadn't noticed that.  See, starfury.gif is one of the
very
earliest graphic renderings we had of the fighter, mainly for
in-house.   The
logos had been put on mainly for place orientation.  It's not like
that
elsewhere...I'll upload a more current version.  I simply didn't
notice that.

                                                           jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 362       Fri Dec 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:47 EST

     If Job could take it, I can take it.

     And yes, that's the bottom of the starfury.

     The GIF of the Starfury is letterboxed/wide.  Most of the
others that'll
be uploaded are conventional aspect ratio.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 371       Fri Dec 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 14:28 EST

     Here's a thought to conjure with.  It takes about an hour to
render a CGI
frame that's very complex; 45 minutes if it's not terribly complex.
 With the new Screamer, we can cut down that time by about half, so
that a
highly complex scene can be rendered in 15-30 minutes.  Average
length for a
CGI scene is about 60 frames, so figure 30 hours.  You can do a
full show's
worth of CGI in about a week, give or take.

     Today we turn over the raw footage for a special scene that'll
be in one
of our episodes.  (Several scenes, actually, in the same episode.) 
 Ron's
elves will be rendering 24 hours a day (on automatic at night) for
the next
THREE WEEKS to do something very special with this episode.  If
it's done
right, it won't really draw attention to itself, it'll just be
very, very
cool.

                                                                
jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 377       Sat Dec 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:44 EST

     Today was "Men In Skirts Day" for many in the Babylon 5 crew.

     There are some things man was not meant to know....

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 397       Sun Dec 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:10 EST

     Have just uploaded 2 more gif files...772 and 773...swarm.gif
and
skydance.gif.  The former is a shot of a group of Starfuries
leaving B5 with
the planet in BG, the latter is a shot of Catherine Sakai's survey
ship, the
Skydancer, exiting a jump gate (NOT the one near B5, but another).

                                                                
jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 408       Mon Dec 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:50 EST

     Don't show 'em the pilot first.  Let 'em dive right in.

     Yeah, we do a LOT of ships this season.  I have gifs of them
all, and
some of them are mind-bogglingly nifty.  What I like about Ron's
work is that
many of the space shots are works of art you could practically
frame.  And
he's done one very important thing: he's brought COLOR into space,
in a big
way.  Ships are personalized, painted, textured and made into
things you enjoy
looking at.  The Starfury nicknamed the Sea Witch is a great
example of
this...as well as a bunch of others.

     Not all Starfuries are the same, btw...you'll be seeing a
different
category of them in "Mind War," and they're gorgeous.  Also very
scary.   Not
as scary, but more nifty, are the ones in "Survivors" and
"Chrysalis."

     Ah LOVES spaceships....

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 410       Mon Dec 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:37 EST

     And the program should be pretty nifty, from what I'm
heaing....

     Just uploaded another gif, the last for a little bit; 774,
named
cockpit.gif.  It's a composite shot of the interior of a Starfury
that's being
fired upon, the incoming blast whiting (or in this case greening)
out the
cockpit.  Is this shot from "Sky?"  Could be.

     It's a bit hard to look at because of the lighting, but it'll
give you
some idea of the interior of these things.

     BTW, tomorrow we do the final mix on "Sky."  And for that
episode,
Christopher Franke has composed a piece entitled "Requiem For the
Line," which
is very moving...at the same time brave and sad, hopeful and
ominous, martial
and doomed...one of the best things I've heard for TV.

     The other day, a reporter asked me what I wanted to accomplish
with
B5...and I remembered this commercial showing a viewer plastered
against the
wall opposite the TV...and that seemed about right.  I don't want
viewers to
see a show and say, afterward, "Well, that was a nice story."  
There has to
be more than that.

     And while we certainly have our episodes that are paced just
a little
more slowly, less intensely, because you have to have variation,
have to allow
time for character stories...there are some episodes, like "Sky,"
that just
hit the viewer right between the eyes with a 2 by 4 *real* hard and
say "HEY!
PAY ATTENTION!  WE'RE NOT KIDDING HERE!"

     Take no prisoners....

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 425       Tue Dec 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:47 EST

     Re: time per scene rendering...you have to understand that the
Toasters
render 24 hours a day.  Ron et al set 'em going before they leave
for the
night, and the next morning come in to pick up the finished scene. 
So you can
do a LOT of CGI in the course of a week.  Generally several minutes
of new
stuff per week...and yes, that includes long, panning shots.  Trust
me,
there's a LOT of CGI in just about every  episode of the series. 
A couple of
character-based stories are light, but they're more than
compensated for in
heavy-CGI stories like "Midnight," "Sky," and "Raiding Party," to
name a few.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 429       Tue Dec 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:58 EST

     That's the logo for Starfury squadrons in general.  On the
opposite arm
goes the individual squadron name, such as Death's Hands
(Sinclair's squadron
on the Line), Ghost Riders (Ivanova's wing), and so on.

                                                                
jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 430       Tue Dec 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:59 EST

     Flash!  Babylon 5 short promos will be downlinked on satellite
on the
following dates: Thursday December 9th, 9:45-10 p.m.; Friday
December 10th,
12:30-12:45 p.m.; and Monday December 13th, 3:30-3:45 p.m.  (All
times given
are Eastern times.)

     Feeds are on Galaxy 4, Channel 21, audio: 5.8 stereo left, 6.2
stereo
right, 6.8 mono mix.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 431       Tue Dec 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:02 EST

     BTW, there's an error in the "Infection" listing; Patricia
Healy is the
name of the actress, Mary Ann Cramer is the name of the character;
Kiron is in
"War Prayer," as is Chan.   Is this how they came to you, Arne? 
Because if
so, they're going out riddled with errors.

                                                           jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 444       Wed Dec 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:32 EST

     It's briefly green when the incoming blast shoots past, and
sort of
"whites" out (or in this case greens out) the cockpit for just a
second.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 448       Wed Dec 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 13:50 EST

     Er, Arne, just checked the revised "Infection" description in
19...
neither Kiron nor Roberts appear in that episode.  They're in "The
War
Prayer."

     I got the erroneous file listings today, and have advised PTEN
of the
mistakes, and they're being corrected.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 452       Wed Dec 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:46 EST

     Here's the interesting thing...ever since July, when we began
shooting,
we've been sitting here, doing our show quietly...and now, as
January nears,
slowly we've been growing aware of a sound...the PTEN and Warners
]MACHINE[
gearing up.  Press, promotion, photographers on the set, calls with
International and books divisions, and now the sound is quite
pervasive, like
a jet engine gearing up for flight.  Suddenly it comes clear, "Oh,
yeah, we're
not just making our little show here for ourselves, this is bigger
than just
us."  The energy level is definitely powering up around here.

     Had a reporter in here the other day, and he asked if it
bothered me that
other shows were getting all the ink...meaning, I suppose, TNG and
DS9 and
SQ:DSV...and my response really said it all, I think.  It's like
the Rocky
movie.  Let the other guys get all the press, do the big flashy
stuff, wave
around big budgets...we'll just stand here in a meat locker,
pounding slabs of
meat with our bare hands....

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 463       Thu Dec 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:15 EST

     The one thing that I'd like to point out is that Warner/PTEN
isn't in the
programming business.  This isn't a normal part of their PR
strategy.  The
only reason they have done this at all -- the B5 computer promo --
is in
recognition of the online support here and elsewhere.  They have
had to
contract out for this, and because this isn't a proven (yet)
strategy, could
only carve out so much for it.  No, not every platform is covered;
doubtless
that will change with time.  But it's generally never done at ALL. 
So I would
just temper the discussion with that reality.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 468       Thu Dec 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:20 EST

     I have just seen the director's cut of "Chrysalis," which will
be the
last episode of this season...and I think it has just displaced
"Sky" as the
most heavy-weight episode of the season.  Even knowing what was
coming, I just
sat here, stunned, at the end of it.  Seeing dailies, bits and
pieces, doesn't
really prepare you for the whole thing.

     What I like most about it are two things: one, by about
halfway in, you
really begin to understand that anything can happen, to anyone, and
the rules
that normally carry you through a television episode no longer
apply.  It's a
very dangerous, dislocating feeling.  Two: you get the very real
feeling that,
after this episode, nothing is the same anymore.  The show has
taken a very
profound and *irrevocable* turn that will have lasting effects on
all of our
characters.  Of all the episodes so far, this one has the most
feeling of
being the chapter end in a novel.

     The really hard part will not avoiding the temptation to show
this to
people...because it really can't be allowed to get out prior to
airing.  There
are too many twists and turns and revelations that spin one off
into another.

     One other thing's certain: after you've seen "Chrysalis,"
you're going to
want to go back and check out three prior episodes...because
something that
you will have read/interpreted one way, without question or
hesitation
accepting it as what it obviously appears to be, will suddenly be
turned on
its head, and a brand new interpretation will emerge.  And it's
*real*
creepy....

                                                                
jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 474       Fri Dec 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:56 EST

     I doubt there would be much problem at all in translating it
to the other
platform.

     Arne: slight correction to your correction.  No scene with
Chan or
Eastman was "removed," it's simply an incorrect listing.  Chan and
Eastman are
both in "The War Prayer," they were never in "Infection" in any
way, manner,
shape or form.  It was simply a typo on the part of the person who
wrote up
the lists, putting names from one show into the wrong sheet.

                                                             jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 483       Fri Dec 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:41 EST

     When we did the research on how a fighter could best operate
in zero
gravity, it seemed to require a four-wing axis with thrusters on
every side.
We've thus taken every possible step to make them NOT look like
x-wings,
particularly since there's no long, sleek forward section at *all*,
it's a
snub-nose, and the wings don't move, plus they have the unusual
thruster
combination.

     "Trax" is/or was still running new eps as of a few weeks ago. 
The
schedule was deliberate, to make what they had stretch.  That may
change this
season; we'll have to see.  Haven't heard yet re: the final
schedule.  For our
part, we have 6 finished (completely done, music, sound, all that)
episodes in
hand now, and will have one more by the christmas break.  By the
time we go on
the air, we'll have a total of 12-14 in hand, so we're in great
shape in terms
of scheduling stuff.

                                                          jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 489       Sat Dec 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:46 EST

     Although in the new laserdisk set of SW movies, the matting is
FAR less
noticeable.

     Re: the crew...today was Pajama Day.  Don't ask.

     Some thoughts on the crew, btw...which besides being
sensational on its
own terms, is a very caring bunch of guys.  Some of them have been
making
expeditions to the post office lately, gathering Santa letters and
circulating
them to grant wishes for toys.  There's a wall of letters that have
been
answered so far with presents.  Just one example; there are more. 
They're
good people.

                                                           jms

     (Cindy: I'm writing more individual messages, just shorter.)
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 501       Sun Dec 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:02 EST

     Oh, I know...I saw the (g) the first time...I just kneejerk
respond
sometimes, take things seriously just in case the g didn't mean
what it seemed
to mean (and nothing is what it appears yes?).

     Re: the Oliver Stone thing...that's a comment made during the
edit on
"Chrysalis" as well.  I'm dying to see how people will react to
what's done
and revealed and advanced in that episode, but we have to sit on
it; though
we'll be mixing and finishing it in the next few weeks, we won't be
turning it
over to PTEN until shortly before airdate, because we don't want
this getting
all over town.  There's not a single major character who's not
profoundly
affected...or strongly set up for profound changes in the very near
future.

     I love it...it's my favorite of the season, without question.

                                                                  
  jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 516       Mon Dec 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:37 EST

     PTEN licensing is handled by the Licensing Corporation of
America, which
can be reached via Warner Bros.

                                                            jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 528       Wed Dec 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:17 EST

     For those who might be interested, I thought I'd pass along a
quick view
of the process of producing a show like B5, step by step (though
briefly).

     Day Minus 21: The script is finalized and distributed to all
cast and
crew.

     Day Minus 14: The episode goes into serious pre-production,
with meetings
on visual effects, wardrobe, CGI and so on.  Props are designed and
construction begun on both props and wardrobe and any sets that are
specific
to that episode.

     Day Minus 10: Tone meeting with director and producers to make
sure all
parties see the story the same way.  Casting, begun on day 14, is
finalized
about this time.

     Day Minus 6: Major production meeting with all departments, at
which each
scene is gone through in detail, examining and reinforcing what
props,
costumes, extras and lighting requirements are needed per scene.

     Day One: Filming Starts.

     Day Seven: Filming finishes.  Editing has been going on since
day 2, as
dailies arrive at the studio, with editors making rough assemblies
of the
scenes as they come in.

     Day Eight/Nine: the director works with the editor to make the
first,
Director's Cut of the episode, relying to some degree on the
preliminary
Editor's Cut.

     Day 10/11: Producers begin making their cut.  (Mainly me and
John
Copeland.)  Sit with editor and view each scene, picking out
various takes and
angles, integrating CGI.  Sometimes the cut varies a lot from the
Director's
Cut and is a whole new version...or it is very close to the
Director's Cut.
Producer's Cut finished around day 12/13.

     Day 15: Producer's Cut is sent to primary editing bay for
on-line
editing, at which the frames of actual film are slugged and readied
for the
real thing (as opposed to editing computer images on the Avid).

     Day 20: Episode is color-timed to make sure color values are
correct.

     Day 25: Spotting session...producers, sound designer,
composer, dialogue
editors meet and review the on-line edit or CTM (color timed
master) to
determine where sound and music should be placed, the kind of sound
or music
required, and number of frames/seconds duration.  Second spotting
session with
visual EFX supervisor to determine rotoscoping or other non-CGI EFX
placement.

     Day 39: Final mix-down of all elements: music, sound, looping,
visual
effects and other elements.  For this we sit in the mixing bay from
9 a.m. to
7 p.m. nonstop, bringing in lunch, to determine balance of sound to
music,
music to dialogue, which elements to use or lose, and so on.

     Day 46: Finished episode delivered to PTEN and in-house.

     Total time required: 57 days.  And during this period, we are
simultaneously editing at least 4-5 other shows, and have shot
roughly
another 6 episodes, which are also in various stages of editing.

     I've glossed over a few things, but that should give you some
idea of the
process and the highlights thereof.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 530       Wed Dec 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:49 EST

     Not a lot, but sometimes...you can easily lose track of where
the hell
you are at any given moment.

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 537       Thu Dec 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:26 EST

     We're still working out book details.  One possibility is also
to take
the most heavily arc-related episodes, stitch them together into a
novelized
form, and publish them so that there in one book is the major part
of that
year's arc.  Other approaches are still being investigated.

     And yes, in TV, it's the exec producer who generally gets the
final cut,
whereas in film it's often the director (or, in some cases, the
studio).

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 554       Fri Dec 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:51 EST

     We took care of 'em.

     Quick updates: expect some coverage of B5 in Entertainment
Weekly, TV
Guide and CNN.  There will be full-page color ads for B5 in People,
Sports
Illustrated, TV Guide, and other major magazines.  The Clippers
game on
Channel 13 L.A. the night before our debut will be "Brought to you
by Babylon
5," and after the game, around 9:30, there will be the half-hour
"Making Of
Babylon 5" documentary.  Also expect to start seeing ads on the
back covers of
DC comics books in the next week or so.  There will be a slow but
steady
increase in print, TV and radio ads over the next few weeks.  It's
estimated,
with the huge PR campaign that's been developed, that 90% of the
country will
have seen at least one B5 ad, and 50% of the country will have seen
roughly 10
ads.  Those of you who have been eagerly looking for this
stuff...will
probably, like me, be so sick of seeing them after a while...but
it's part of
the process of bringing the show to the non-modemed.

     After the Christmas break, we'll be two-thirds finished with
our
production on the first season.  It's just *zipped*
past...amazing....

                                                             jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 560       Sat Dec 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:43 EST

     "Backlash" has been retitled "By Any Means Necessary."

     Re: Kinko's...I wouldn't give them permission in any event. 
I've had
nothing but trouble with them.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 562       Sat Dec 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:02 EST

     For starters, the Orion constellation would not look like the
Orion
constellation from another POV, say, 30 light years from here. 
Another
cluster of stars might *look* the same, or similar, but anyone
expecting to
see the constellations as we recognize them from here is going to
be
disappointed.

     As far as I know, from what Ron's said re: constellations,
while it may
look like Orion, it isn't.  It's perception, the mind looking for
patterns it
recognizes.

                                                             jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 572       Sun Dec 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:13 EST

     Mike: you needn't worry.  I find all-powerful beings of any
stripe
incredibly boring.  I find it more interesting when ordinary people
are
summoned to do extraordinary things, and must rise above their
limitations
without losing their limitations; succeeding in spite of them. 
Sinclair is a
man, period.  He may have a great calling ahead of him, as did
Churchill or
Lincoln or Alexander or (for all we know) Rondo Hatton, but they're
all just
men in the final analysis.

                                                           jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 579       Sun Dec 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:09 EST

     "World" was retitled "Sunken."  Yes on laserdisks, one hopes. 
No relief.
And so it goes.

                                                              jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 583       Mon Dec 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:24 EST

     Catherine Sakai is all business.  Not much for display.

     It's "J. Michael Straczynski" on title credits mainly because
that's the
way it looks best, frankly.  Lets you sneak up on the whole name in
progressively larger bites.  Joe Michael Straczynski looks kinda
dumb to me,
also too long; Joe Straczynski is too short, and unbalanced in
terms of layout
(he said quickly).  My friends call me Joe.  My crew calls me Joe. 
One person
on the crew kept calling me Mr. Straczynski, which you should try
saying out
loud sometime.  Even *I* can't do it.  It was so painful to listen
to that
after a while I kept calling back "Joe" at him until he got the
message.

                                                                jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 584       Mon Dec 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:01 EST

     Starting Thursday, we're on Christmas break (well, for
everybody else
maybe; I've got to finish "The Ressurectionist" and then start on
my next
script, taking advantage of the quiet time to plow through some
work).  We're
roughly two-thirds finished with production on the first season.

     One thing I can mention now, since it's nearly finished: see,
I have this
real problem with nepotism.  Specifically...I hate it.  As a
result, I make
people I know work twice as hard.  The closer the tie, the more the
person has
to work to prove him or herself.

     Kathryn Drennan, my Spousal Overunit, is also a writer, and
has written
for many other shows, primarily in animation, but with some forays
into other
areas.  (She was co-author on the Night  Gallery series of articles
I wrote
for Twilight Zone Magazine, as one fr'instance, and was a producer
with public
televison for some time.)

     Anyway, she desperately wanted to write a B5 script.  But
because of my
feelings about nepotism, I refused to give her an assignment.  (I
can be a
REAL pain in the ass.)  Something similar happened when I was
working on The
Real Ghostbusters; she loved the show, and wanted to write for it. 
I put her
through the wringer: she had to submit written premises, just like
any other
freelance writer, which were then sent on to the producers for
final approval.
They did not know of any relation between her and me; they based
their
approval only on the merits of the story.  Period.  And she ended
up writing
two episodes: "Egon's Dragon" and "The Man Who Never Reached Home." 
(The
former is considered a favorite by many viewers of the show.)  Only
long after
we finished production did the exec producers on TRGBs learn that
there was a
relationship there; it was all based on the quality of the work.

     But in the case of B5, I *am* the exec producer, so it became
more
difficult.  At first I said simply no.  Finally, I set into place
a number of
conditions/provisions.  NOT because she wouldn't do a great script,
but only
because I don't like the look of nepotism; I hate it, and I hate
the way this
town operates on the principles of nepotism.  The conditions were
that she had
to write the script completely on spec, no assignment; not a spec
outline,
which is shorter, but a spec *script*.   It would then have to pass
muster in-
house; if even one person thought it wasn't up to snuff, it got
deep sixed.
And revisions would not be handled by me, for the most part; she
would have to
work with Larry, who has a reputation (as Katherine Lawrence can
attest) to
not pulling his punches.   No favoritism.  Then the script would
have to pass
muster with Warners.   IF, after all that, the script was approved,
then it
would be bought, and not a moment before.  If anywhere along the
line it
didn't meet one of those criteria...then it would be a 50 page
learning
experience and nothing more.

     Well, I'm pleased to say that it *did* pass muster with
everyone, and "By
Any Means Necessary" is now over halfway through production, with
a number of
people -- including Michael O'Hare -- saying it's their favorite so
far,
mainly for very odd reasons.  The premise is one that ST would
never, EVER do,
which is one thing I like about it; it also shows us more on the
inner
workings of B5, the blue-collar types who keep the whole place
operational...and what happens when that falls apart.  The B story
gets into a
confrontation between G'Kar and Londo when Londo interferes in an
important
Narn religious observation.

     We brought back John Snyder (Soul Hunter #2) minus prosthetics
for one
guest role, and Katy Boyer as our other guest star.  They're both
doing
terrific jobs, and it's a very intense script in which we basically
put
Sinclair through the wringer for 48 hours and try and make him 
absolutely
nuts.  And succeed, for the most part.

     Anyway...there you have it.

     (Incidentally..."Mind War" has come out so well that it looks
like we're
going to move it up in the schedule a bit.  It was orignally slated
to run
about episode 10 or so, but the studio is so hot on it that it'll
probably run
#6, right after "Parliament."  And Walter has agreed to be the
voice-over and
on-camera narrator for the Behind the Scenes/Making of Babylon 5
documentary.)

                                                             jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 605       Tue Dec 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:35 EST

     Will try the black magnetite tapes.  (Is that like red
kryptonite?)   I
almost exclusively use TDK hi-fi or SVHS otherwise.

     Work on the documentary should be finished sometime early next
week, and
transmitted to the stations sometime thereafter, by about a week or
so.
Walter seems fine.

     Me...I'm glad it's the production break.  I need to sleep in
a bit, and
catch up with some work, and find the floor of my home office
again, which is
currently covered by scripts, comics, and reams of paper.  I've
worked on
shows before, but never in this major a capacity, running the
damned thing,
especially the way this has to be run...meaning you can't let any
details slip
past, no matter how small...and frankly, as Arnold said in T2, "I
need a
vacation."  When we hit the Thanksgiving break, I crashed one night
and didn't
even see the next day, slept right through until that night. 
There's nothing
that can really prepare you for a job like this.

     Re: moving "Mind War" up...no, doesn't affect continuity at
all.  If it
did, it wouldn't have gotten moved.  It's what's called in the biz
a "moveable
piece," able to go *almost* anywhere in the schedule, as long as
it's after
episode 3 and before episode 15, since stuff in the first few set
it up, and
15 pays off part of it.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 613       Wed Dec 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:20 EST

     Apparently the Paramount shows now being made are at an equal
running
time with B5, I'm told.

                                                            jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 653       Fri Dec 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:08 EST

     (I have no idea what anyone is talking about anymore....)

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 658       Fri Dec 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:45 EST

     "Babylon Squared" hasn't been filmed yet; it'll probably be in
the last
batch of five episodes filmed, and will likely air around #19 or so
in the
lineup.  The script is in my head, but hasn't been written down
yet.  It'll
probably be turned in in the next couple/three weeks.

                                                             jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 668       Sun Dec 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:18 EST

     No other episodes of B5 have been aired other than the pilot
movie.   No
episodes were *finished* until roughly two months ago, or less.

                                                            jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 669       Sun Dec 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:18 EST

     For no discernible reason, except perhaps that I am a glutton
for
punishment, I have uploaded a file I don't think was previously in
the B5
library: jms.gif.  I stumbled across this on another system. 
Insofar as I can
tell, it's a scan of the B&W photo that appears on the back cover
of my second
novel, "Othersyde."

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 672       Sun Dec 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:43 EST

     As I write this, we are now exactly one month, 30 days, from
the launch
of the series.  In one month, you will know if I've been blowing
smoke up your
CRTs, or if we've been telling the truth.  Starting in one month,
as the
ratings come in, we'll know if our experiment is a success, or if
we've missed
the target.

     There are moments when I'm utterly convinced that we've got a
hit on our
hands...and moments when I'm just as convinced that nobody is going
to hear
about us, or notice...and that the future of B5 will be consumed by
a vast,
cosmic yawn.  Alternating moments of exhiliration and terror,
confidence and
doubt.

     I know that the series contains some of the best writing I've
ever done;
if in my entire life, I never do anything other than "Chrysalis,"
I will still
be content, because that's the single best thing I've ever done,
and it came
out even better than I'd hoped, on every level.  Maybe my best is
good enough.
Maybe it ain't.  Fundamentally, despite all the planning, and
production, and
advertising, and good will...it's still a crap shoot.  You never
know what'll
click.  "Picket Fences" is arguably the best-written show on TV,
but it's in a
constant battle to survive.

     It's been a very, very long haul...from the 1986/87 writing of
the script
and bible, to the time of TWCBN, and from the pilot to the series.
 To some extent, it's become the focus for a lot of people's hopes
and
expectations of what *they* think the perfect SF series would be. 
And some of
those people are bound to be disappointed, simply because no show
can equal
every single person's expectations and personal preferences.   All
we can do
is tell a story, as best we can, and hope that others like that
story as much
as we do.  It won't be the Babylon 5 that's in your head; it'll be
the Babylon
5 that's in my head...and we'll have to see if that is sufficient
to hold the
interest of viewers.  Sometimes I think it's too eccentric. 
Sometimes I think
we haven't dared enough.  Sometimes I think there's too much humor. 
Sometimes
I think there isn't enough humor.  And on and on and on....

     In one month, the reality of what Babylon 5 is will begin to
be seen
across the country.  And then we shall see what we shall see.  I
showed Harlan
two episodes recently, "Sky" and "Parliament."  He has always been
our hardest
critic to please.  And he said that there wasn't a single false
note in it
anywhere.  I've gotten similar reactions to episodes from D.C.
Fontana and
David Gerrold and Terry Dowling and others known in the SF
community.  Which
gives me some measure of hope.

     Every once in a while, I allow myself the luxury of thinking
we've really
*got* something here.  But in one month, I won't need to wonder,
and *you*
won't need to wonder anymore.  It'll be right out there for all to
see.

     Yikes....

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 675       Sun Dec 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 17:58 EST

     Generally speaking, in television, you're lucky to get on
screen about
half of what you had in mind when you saw it in your head.  So far,
the
average here is about 80%.  In a very few cases, I don't think the
finished
episode delivers as well as it might on the script, but for the
clear majority
of them, the episodes come through.  And in some cases, like "Sky"
and
"Parliament" and especially "Chrysalis," I got *over* 100% of what
I had in
mind...it came out even better than what I'd had in my head when I
wrote it.
It's a confluence of many factors...the guest star and how much
he/she *gets*
it, the EFX, the direction, and other things.   But across the
board, I'd have
to say that I'm very satisfied.

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 682       Mon Dec 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:20 EST

     I'm not sure, from my perspective, that there's any one
definition of
success that I'd use.  There are several: 1) How much is the
project in its
final form what I conceived it to be?  This is something that
Harlan keeps
hammering home at me, pointing to what happened to him on  the
Starlost by way
of comparison...it was dreadful, and he had to take his name off
it.  It's the
show I wanted to make, made the way I wanted to make it, so on that
level, I'm
content.

     2) The ratings.  Is what we conceived of interest to other
people, or
have we missed the mark?  Television, like any other medium, is
aimed at an
audience.  If the audience isn't there, then it comes down to "does
the tree
make a noise when it falls in an empty forest?"  Whether it's good
or bad
becomes nominally irrlevant.  And 3) Whether or not anyone talks
about the
show, or remembers the show, years down the road.  Something can
get a lot of
attention, critical acclaim, ratings, be what the creators
envisoned...and be
gone in a year, the flavor of the month.

     If I had to pick one, it'd be #3.  As an atheist, my sense is
that one
achieves immortality by the effect one has on others.  If the show
lives on
beyond me, then I am satisfied.  Twain observed: "If you want your
work to
live forever...and by forever I mean fifty years...it must neither
overtly
preach nor overtly teach...but it must *covertly* preach and
*covertly*
teach."

                                                             jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 694       Wed Dec 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:06 EST

     Lemme finish the first season, then I'll know better where I
stand on
some of this stuff....

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 708       Fri Dec 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:42 EST

     Which episode it would be depends on when it's done.  Ah,
me....

                                                                jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 729       Sun Jan 02, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:40 EST

     I am an atheist, a total atheist, and am more than happy. 
What I write
is what I write, what I am is what I is.

     Yes, much of my own background goes into what I write.  In the
case of
religion, and spirituality...a writer's job is to be as honest as
he can in
telling a story.  My canvas (for lack of a less grandiose term) is
the human
condition.  And since the dawn of sentience, humanity has been
trying to
figure out its place in the universe.  The religious impulse is as
much a part
of that process as anything else, and it must be treated with
integrity and
respect, as I would have my own views respected.  I try not to
exclude
something just because I don't agree with it, because that corrupts
the whole
purpose of writing, which requires an honest look at the subject.

     And as a writer, there are parts of the religious impulse that
I want to
examine, and explore, and raise questions about, just as much as
I'd like to
explore the scientific aspects of living in space, and the more
personal,
emotional repercussions of this.  It's all a part of trying to
figure out who,
and what, and *why* we are.

                                                              jms
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Topic 2         Wed Nov 20, 1991
STARR [Arne]                 at 19:41 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 -- The Series!! >>SPOILERS<<

May 28th, '93, Babylon 5 officially became a series. There will be
22 hours,
plus the 2 hours of the pilot, for season one. Airs Wednesday's at
8PM in most
places starting Jan. '94. This is the Spoiler topic where anything
goes.

532 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 428       Fri Dec 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:58 EST

     It's a planetary security base.  And your correspondent
assumes no
responsibility for ad copy....

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 444       Sun Dec 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:14 EST

     I actually don't think much has changed; we've moved some of
the chairs
around, but the general thrust hasn't much changed, as I recall.  
But in any
event, posts are always free to be reposted.

                                                                  
 jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 447       Sun Dec 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:50 EST

     Yup.  As I thought.  It all still applies.  Nothing in that
has changed.

                                                           jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 451       Sun Dec 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:10 EST

     Much of the Lyta arc will now go to Talia, but there's now a
different
way of getting her into that arc.

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 456       Tue Dec 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:51 EST

     Since Mike mentioned it...yes.  "Babylon Squared" answers the
B4
question...though posing new questions about *why*.  Basically,
every question
we ask going into the first season we will answer, because I don't
think it's
right or fair or smart to keep people hanging around 3 years to get
a simple
answer to a simple question.  Season 1 of B5 is what I generally
call the
"what" season...you find out WHAT the Psi Corps is, WHAT happened
at the
Battle of the Line, WHAT happened to Babylon 4, and so on...whereas
Season 2
is the "why" season...WHY did that happen to Sinclair?  And so on. 
New
questions arise, and we proide new answers, generally within the
course of the
following season, but while at all times making sure that each
episode stands
alone, regardless of where and which season you enter the series as
a viewer.

     (It's kinda like being one of those guys on the old Ed
Sullivan show,
spinning plates on top of long, thin rods...there's a LOT to keep
in motion at
all times.)

     I'd classify the pilot movie as "who."

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 466       Thu Dec 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:35 EST

     Season one will generally answer 90% of the questions raised
in season
one; season two will answer the remaining 10%, and answer 90% of
the questions
raised in season two...and so on.  There will not be a sense of
unfulfilled
waiting.  Also, by January I will personally fly under my own power
from New
York to Paris.

     I reallly, *really* need a vacation....

                                                              jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 471       Fri Dec 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:05 EST

     Well, this sucks...I finally get my break in schedule...and
here I am
with the flu or at least a whopper of a cold.  Started in literally
within
hours of leaving the studio.  I get a respite and I can't even
enjoy it.

     Why does the universe hate me?

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 482       Fri Dec 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:40 EST

     "Chrysalis" is a JMS script, yes.

                                                             jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 487       Sat Dec 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:15 EST

                        ....courtesy of NyQuil.

     The colors, man, check out the
*colllllllllllllooooorrrrrsssss*****...

     ("May induce drowsiness" my ass...you're lucky if you make it
across the
room with this stuff....)

                                                             jm
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 497       Sun Dec 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:49 EST

     And makes one wonder if her house would be considered an
auditorium.

                                                                  
  jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 502       Mon Dec 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:08 EST

     I hate to burst any bubbles, but I can go just about anywhere
in the U.S.
and find that nobody knows the name Straczynski, and the only time
I've caused
a mob scene at a K-mart was in a tussle over the last Captain Power
figures...or was that when I wandered into the lingerie section
and...well,
never mind.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 510       Tue Dec 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:47 EST

     Fenn....send me the name of the contact person re: the
t-shirt.  I gonna
have to make me a little phone call....

                                                                  
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 514       Wed Dec 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:17 EST

     The creation shirts have a black 5, not a silver 5.

                                                                jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 517       Thu Dec 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:27 EST

     Don't know really how much more there is to say; it's getting
to that
time when all the worthwhile talking will be done by the series
itself.

     There will definitely be a two-parter this season; PTEN is so
much in
love with what they're seeing that they've allocated a bit more on
budget to
let us really go to town on a 2-part episode.  I'll be either
writing both
parts, or sharing the task with Larry DiTillio, depending on when
he gets free
with his next script.

     There are now about five scripts remaining to be written,
including
"Babylon Squared," which will probably be finished sometime next
week.  We
begin shooting D.C. Fontana's second script for us, "Legacies,"
starting next
Monday, then two JMS scripts, the first of which is "Raiding
Party," which
will probably tie up Ron's computers for *ages*.  I finished
another script
the other day, which I think came out fairly well.

     So far, this season you'll learn a lot about all the cultures
of our
ambassadors, especially the Big Four; you'll see the League of
Non-Aligned
Worlds in action; you'll learn a LOT about the Psi  Corps, Earth
government
and economics, the inner workings of Babylon 5, the history of the
Babylon
project, Sinclair's background (also a lot about Ivanova's and
Garibaldi's
past)...you'll see a darker side of Londo, a lighter side of G'Kar,
a more
ambiguous side of Delenn, some very weird sides of Kosh...and
you'll come away
with a real sense of B5 as a *place*, a habitat, where things are,
what they
do, how it works.  There will be an awful lot of action, and an
even greater
amount of humor...there are parts of the show that, even having
seen them 16
times, are still fall-down funny.

     Other than that...not much to say.

                                                                  
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 519       Thu Dec 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:23 EST

     English transplanted to America.

                                                              jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 527       Sat Jan 01, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:44 EST

     Kathryn's last name is Drennan.  Her full credit is Kathryn M.
Drennan.
Not Straczynski.  Probably displaying considerable wisdom on her
part.  Ten
thousand letters, no vowels.

     Absent a collaboration on a series of articles for TZ Magazine
a few
years ago (a guide to the Night Gallery series), we don't
collaborate.   Ever.
I also don't collaborate with Larry D., or any other of my writer
friends.  As
I learned before, particularly on the one occasion when Larry and
I tried it --
we co-wrote a pilot and bible for CBS based on the "Elfquest" books
-- all
parties concerned will live a LOT longer by keeping a respectable
distance.

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 531       Sun Jan 02, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:41 EST

     No.

     Had a couple days clear of the bug, and today hit a relapse. 
Sigh.

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 532       Sun Jan 02, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:14 EST

     By the way, if anyone's curious, here's how I'd rank the first
six
episodes in terms of my own personal preference, from 1-6: "The
Parliament of
Dreams," "Mind War," "Soul Hunter," "Born to the Purple," "Midnight
on the
Firing Line," and "Infection."  We'll see how close this coincides
with your
own reactions.

                                                            jms
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Topic 3         Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:09 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - Computer SFX 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.
236 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 206       Wed Dec 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:14 EST

     And airplanes will never be commercially successful.

     BTW, I've gotten permission to upload a few images after all,
and may do
so in the next week or so....

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 234       Sun Jan 02, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:41 EST

     We did it already.  Plus using composites for other shots.

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
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 ************
Topic 4         Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:12 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - Cast & 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.
484 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 408       Tue Nov 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:21 EST

     If it's the pilot review, which I've seen...yeah, the only
thing the guy
likes is ST, it seems.  We had a long go-round.  Old news.

                                                                jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 410       Tue Nov 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 15:01 EST

     We've just delivered tapes to PTEN publicity, so critics
should be
getting it soon enough.  My *hunch* is that they'll probably get
copies of
"Midnight" and "Soul Hunter."

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 413       Wed Dec 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 14:02 EST

     If the CGI were cheesy, please explain to me the Emmy
currently sitting
on Ron Thornton's desk....

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 420       Thu Dec 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:44 EST

     Fast question: I saw a flier at LosCon for some room party,
over a couple
of days, that had @! inside an Earth Alliance badge silhouette, and
talked
about docking bays, open for business, that sort of thing.  Do any
of you who
attended know *anything* about what this was?

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 429       Tue Dec 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:52 EST

     I had to sit and think about this for a while...oddly enough,
I think we
haven't had to do either yet.  I think we've generally used the
person's title
("Yes, Commander") consistently throughout.  Now I'll have to think
about this
some more and decide....

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 434       Wed Dec 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:01 EST

     Not only do I envision it, but we've already shot it....

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 445       Fri Dec 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:06 EST

     She's a medical doctor, running one of the many medlabs on B5. 
(Dr.
Franklin, as chief of staff, runs the primary medlab, supervising
other
doctors on-station.)

                                                                  
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 451       Fri Dec 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:41 EST

     As Walter says in "Mind War," about rogue telepaths, "Only Psi
Cops are
qualified to bring them down, so we're afforded
greater...latitude."
 (That's a paraphrase from memory.)

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 466       Mon Dec 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:07 EST

     A "coyboy?"

     Methinks you've confused this with "Midnight Cowboy."

                                                      jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 470       Mon Dec 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:12 EST

     Mike: we're not going to see a lot of Sinclair in the past,
only what is
necessary to understand the present...and there are going to be
transformations, but I prefer to see my transformations take place
in the
present, pointing toward the future, than in flashback.

     The difference, I suppose, is that in many shows, characters
arrive at
Point X in a series at the very beginning, and stay there for the
duration,
and we are sometimes shown what made them that way.  In B5, what
I'm trying
for is to take a certain set of characters, and move them all
toward
substantive changes in their lives, their characters, their beliefs
and their
allegiances.  Just about everyone on B5 is running to, or away from
something.
I don't want that simply as backdrop, I want that something to
*catch up with
them*.  That, to me, is where the fun starts.

                                                                  
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 Entertainment
Network.
Here is where one can find and post station information.

406 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 359       Wed Dec 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:16 EST

     We're the lead-in for TNG?

     So, like, if we do well, we end up helping TNG...and if we
don't, we drag
TNG down with us....

     It's a funny old world.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 6
Message 402       Thu Dec 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:42 EST

     The current "Making Of" won't be finished for about a week
yet, so maybe
they saw some quick snippets uplinked to the stations; the
half-hour version
is now being finished.  (Walter did the on-camera and VO stuff
today, in
fact.)

                                                                  
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 ************
Topic 8         Mon Jun 14, 1993
C.STOBBE [Colin]             at 19:16 EDT
Sub: First Amalgamated Church of Joe    

A place where we can gather to worship Joe, the creator, praise his
creations,
and buy t-shirts from me! :)
69 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 8
Message 60        Thu Dec 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:39 EST

     No, no, dignity and restraint, please...I think simple
levitation on the
part of the acolytes should be more than sufficient....

                                                                  
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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 parodies, this is
where to
put your funny bone in writing!
510 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 9
Message 454       Sun Dec 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:23 EST

     You misspelled "pre-requisite."

                                                               mjs
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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!!


238 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 10
Message 210       Sat Dec 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:41 EST

     I can imagine it because we did it....that was one of the
sections filmed
for the pilot that ended up on the cutting room floor....

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 10
Message 214       Sun Dec 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:26 EST

     Nope.  Not a hallucination.  We filmed it.  (In the montage in
the pilot,
there's a shot of a woman in the casino who sort of shimmies in a
very sexual
fashion...that's the one.)

                                                                jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 10
Message 217       Sun Dec 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:01 EST

     It was...and it is.

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 10
Message 227       Wed Dec 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:19 EST

     He's not paying her to eat him...when he finds out what she
is, he
backpedals fast..and that's when she tries to induce *him*.  Or
that was the
theory, anyway.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 10
Message 231       Wed Dec 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:54 EST

                             Yup.

     More on this in "Mind War."

                                                                  
 jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 10
Message 234       Thu Dec 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:35 EST

     She was operating off the assumption that people did NOT know
what she
was...Sinclair tells her to 'stick to the list,' meaning only her
own species.

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 ************
Topic 11        Sat Nov 14, 1992
J.SHEEN1 [Leviathan]         at 18:09 EST
Sub: B5 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.
526 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 456       Sun Dec 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:22 EST

     It's possible that I may also be at Icon.  Not confirmed yet,
but looks
good at this time.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 500       Sun Dec 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:50 EST

     Cool....

                                                             jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 512       Fri Dec 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:49 EST

     No, the closest parallel to the Centauri would, I suppose, be
ancient
Rome.  I tend not to go that much to contemporary sources for
metaphor, since
it's too obvious and over-done.  Much of what's in B5 is drawn from
much older
sources.  The only exception, the only means of creating a metaphor
for the
present, is one that will take some time before it's even
perceptible, though
by the end of the season, you'll see what it is pretty clearly.

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 519       Fri Dec 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:49 EST

     Consumer Reports looks at the baseline requirements for most
people, and
the majority of videotape users aren't videophiles, they're folks
who maybe
reecord a show off the air for later viewing, record somebody's
wedding, that
sort of thing.  Things like signal to noise ratio and video
dropouts really
don't mean much.

     The degree of difference increases the higher you go into
video
equipment.  A small 21" old color TV won't show much difference
between tapes.
A 32" fairly new Sony Trinitron will.  Similarly, if you're piping
your audio
through the TV speaker, you won't notice much difference.  If
you're sending
it through a surround system, you will.  For the majority of the
population,
and the majority of available equipment, yes, there's not much
point in
distinguishing between them.

     If you want the real skinny on videotapes, go to such consumer
oriented
publications as Video Review or Video Magazine, which do very
comprehensive
tests on videotapes.  You'll find out more than you could possibly
want to
know.  Generally, TDK comes out at or near the top every year. 
Same for
Maxell in general.  Which is why I use TDK almost exclusively, and
have never
had a problem.

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 523       Sat Jan 01, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:45 EST

     Hey, you brought it up.

     We just took a picture of it.

                                                                
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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.
577 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 450       Fri Dec 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:00 EST

     It's worth pointing out that in the 20+ years that CFQ has
been around,
they've never done a cover story about any TV series other than
Trek...and B5.

                                                                jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 469       Tue Dec 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:50 EST

     I can't imagine there'd be any problems with scanning the
poster.

     And a certain executive producer wouldn't mind getting hold of
one of
those posters his own self....

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 475       Wed Dec 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:18 EST

     Look for a long piece about SF oriented shows in the current 
November
issue of Film and Video, out now, and another piece in
Connotations, put out
by the Arizona SF folks, also out now.

                                                                jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 478       Wed Dec 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:58 EST

     I think the material will be repeated, but I'm not 100% sure. 
I know
there will be two 30 second spots, two 15 second spots, and three
10 second
spots, so I doubt they'd need 45 minutes total to do all of that.
 But don't take my word for it.

     BTW, the interactive B5 computer program should be available
online by
around January 10th.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 481       Thu Dec 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:22 EST

     The uplinked promos today (and yes, they are the same on all
three days,
I've learned) are fairly generic in nature, about the series
overall.  There
are bits and pieces from "Purple," "Infection," "Soul" and
"Midnight."

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 485       Sat Dec 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:26 EST

     JPEG and GIF for most flexibility, I suppose; and if you put
the (c) PTEN
info in the description when you upload, that should be fine.

                                                            jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 508       Tue Dec 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:38 EST

     The February Cinefantastique has a two-page story on B5, just
sort of a
quickie intro to the series.  Has an interesting photo of n'grath,
and a
blurry photo of me (mainly because I'm generally blurry).

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 518       Fri Dec 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:53 EST

     Films are difficult because the level of resolution required
to make an
image that'll stand up to scrutiny on the big screen is still a
major pain in
the butt.  But that'll change in time.

     Here's a Joe Predicts for you: by this time next year, ST will
have gone
either completely to CGI, or 95% to CGI.

                                                          jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 523       Sat Dec 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:45 EST

     The ship *might* be the Asimov; I've never seen the tape, do
can't (er,
so can't) be certain.  The tumbling ship is probably the Soul
Hunter craft.

                                                              jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 554       Sat Dec 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:18 EST

     It speaks in cicada-like chirps and whistles, which are
translated by the
translation device on its chest (the lighted thingie).

                                                                
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 565       Fri Dec 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:51 EST

     And our information is that they *have* avoided it....

     (imagine a smile as big as all outdoors....)

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 571       Sat Jan 01, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:48 EST

     BTW, in Larry DiTillio's latest edition of the "Scripts"
column, in
Writer's Digest Magazine, there's a fairly lengthy section on B5. 
For those
interested in hearing some stuff from another viewpoint than mine.

     Also look for some syndicated articles to appear in newspapers
over the
next week, including the Tribune News Service, and the Teledata
News service,
which between them cover something like 2,500 newspapers and
magazine.  Also
the Boston Globe will have a piece on B5, as will Entertainment
Weekly.

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

Jump gates, nanotech, high-tech weapons, starship drives, sound in
space, and
other subjects of science and technology in Babylon 5.
560 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 500       Wed Dec 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:41 EST

     The explosion damaged the auto-configuration system which
keeps the
rotation/flywheel system working smoothly.  (This is also indicated
in
dialogue in the observation dome.)  That more than anything else
would cause
real problems.

                                                            jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 526       Sun Dec 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:35 EST

     Actually, it knocked the hamster out of its wheel, and then
the  whole
thing just went to hell....

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 536       Sun Dec 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:57 EST

     I think you're seeing a glitch, actually....

                                                              jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 13
Message 540       Tue Dec 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:55 EST

     What an astonishingly good question....oh, Ronnnnnnn.....

                                                              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.

412 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 401       Sat Dec 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:19 EST

     Centauri males wear their hair in this fashion, the length of
which is
determined by the person's status.  Centauri women scorn such
symbols of
status and go bald except for a knot of hair from the back.  (Sort
of a
peacock approach.)

                                                                jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 403       Sat Dec 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:43 EST

     Londo's people go for jewelry and ornamentation such as medals
and
sunbursts and the like; Minbari don't do a lot of ornamentation,
going instead
for fabrics, textures and colors.

                                                               jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 15
Message 405       Sun Dec 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:28 EST

     Yeah, fairly much, as far as it goes.  There's some Jananese
influence,
as well as some early European influences, as well as middle
Eastern
influences.  (There are three Minbari castes: the worker, warrior
and
religious castes.)

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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
410 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 17
Message 398       Fri Dec 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:05 EST

     Is it the color logo on the shirt, or the black-and-white
logo?

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 ************
Topic 22        Fri Feb 12, 1993
R.FURR [Rob Furr]            at 00:19 EST
Sub: Governments and Trade in B5        

Most SF shows simply posit a government of sorts, and blithely
ignore it ever
afterwards. You might see a freighter (with a big "shoot me!" sign
on it) but
no other mention of trade. How about B5?
160 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 22
Message 145       Thu Dec 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:19 EST

     As soon as the ship comes through, its signature is registered
and the
fees debited against their account, if they have one at the
station.   If not,
the incoming person is asked for payment before being allowed onto
the
station.  In some cases, as with transports, corporations buy jump
gate access
in bulk, and then assign the routes to their various transports. 
(Believe it
or not, this actually comes up in dialogue in "Midnight.")

                                                                jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 22
Message 147       Thu Dec 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:33 EST

     Ah, but remember, the government is the one who put the jump
gate in; no
one individual or corp could afford to do that.  When your ship, if
Earth
registered, comes through, you're automatically billed, just like
income
tax...it goes against your credit.  If you're not Earth registered,
you pay
when you arrive at an Earth port or orbital transfer station. 
Either way, you
pay.  If you try to land somewhere without proper authorization,
you'll be
arrested and your ship confiscated.

     Now, you could probably come through the gate, hang in space
for a while,
and go back in again (IF you're a non-Earth registered ship) and
not pay
anything...but in that case, what's the point?  It'd be like taking
a
difficult trip in a small ship across the Atlantic, and not getting
out or
going ashore once you arrive.

                                                                
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 ************
Topic 24        Fri Jun 04, 1993
J.ROY18 [Jonathan]           at 21:11 EDT
Sub: Babylon 5 - Weapons and Warfare!   

For discussion about the weapons, counter weapons, armor,
shielding, tactics,
logistics, and so forth, of small combat and large scale war in the
Babylon 5
universe.
358 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 24
Message 322       Fri Dec 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:04 EST

     They are both guns.

     The canopy closes and locks.  If hit, there's at least the 
opportunity
for the canopy section to eject from the rest of the craft before
it's
destroyed.

                                                              jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 24
Message 338       Sat Dec 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:48 EST

     For those who might be interested, we've come up with some
name for the
various clans of the Minbari warrior caste.  The primary five are
the Star
Riders (the oldest), the Moon Shields, the Wind Swords, the Night
Walkers and
the Fire Wings.  (The first three refer to the early Minbari
version of a
mounted force, for which you need riders with shields and swords,
with #4
referring to foot soldiers, and the last to those whose clan first
used flying
machines in battle.)

     (Oh, and Star Riders refers to those mounted soldiers who were
trained to
use the stars for navigation.  Behind them came the foot soldiers,
who were
expert at traveling by night.)

                                                                  
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 24
Message 347       Thu Dec 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:47 EST

     In "Infection," Garibaldi tells one person, who's been looking
for
Sinclair (and whom Sinclair is ducking) that "the commander'll take
any
opportunity to take out a fighter; he's like that."  Sinclair is
first and
foremost a *pilot*, this is what he loves.  And thus he does it
wherever he
can (also to continue his flight pay, he like any other officer
needs to log
in X-hours of flight time per month).

     In "Soul," there's only room for one ship to go out and link
up with
another ship that's out of control, it's not a combat situation, so
it makes
sense for Sinclair, since he has the most combat/flying time on the
station,
to go out after it.  It's also a potential first-contact situation,
which
doubles the importance of a command officer.  I "Midnight" he goes
out because
there's something that he knows that others wouldn't know to react
to.

     But at the same time, in "Midnight," when the first distress
calls come
in, it's Garibaldi who takes out a ship; in "Believers" it's
Ivanova.  In the
combat-heavy "Raiding Party," it's Garibaldi and Ivanova in ships,
while
Sinclair stays behind in C&C.  In "Believers," Ivanova states that
regulations
require the presence of a command officer in long-range flights
that may
involve combat.

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 24
Message 349       Fri Dec 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:09 EST

     Yes, there are instances where other EA officers come aboard
with
equivilent or close ranks to our characters.  In one particular
episode it
makes for some considerable conflict....

                                                              jms
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 ************
Topic 26        Sun Jun 06, 1993
G.PLANA [Gary]               at 01:51 EDT
Sub: Babylon 5 - Episode titles and info

This topic is for information about individual episodes -- their
titles,
writers, and any other information JMS may leak!
175 message(s) total.
 ************
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 26
Message 138       Wed Dec 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:17 EST

     There's a mistake.  Which episode(s) have her listed?

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 26
Message 140       Thu Dec 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:46 EST

     The scene was cut for time; it may yet appear elsewhere.

                                                                 
jms
 ------------
Category 18,  Topic 26
Message 150       Sun Dec 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:36 EST

     Yes, Clive was in "Purple," not "Prayer."

                                                                  
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1. CATegories      10. INDex of topics
2. NEW messages    11. SEArch topics
3. SET category    12. DELete message
4. DEScribe CAT    13. IGNore category
5. TOPic list      14. PROmpt setting
6. BROwse new msgs 15. SCRoll setting
7. REAd messages   16. NAMe used in BB
8. REPly to topic  17. EXIt the BB
9. STArt a topic   18. HELp on commands
Enter #, <Command> or <HEL>p
18 ?