lurkers-guide/ftp/GEnie/jms94-09-01

This file contains messages posted by J. Michael Straczynski on GEnie
from Sep 1 - Sep 15th.  Postings are copyright 1994 by J. Michael Straczynski
with compilation copyright by GEnie.

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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.
516 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 100       Thu Sep 01, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 15:08 EDT

     Actually, the surcharge isn't the problem.  It's just that when my
account was changed over, and a new one created, my old account (which I still
pay for separately) is now M.SKI (I didn't do it, that's how it ended up
somehow).  I just can't bring myself to upload under the name M.SKI.  If this
could be changed, like to BABYLON or something, then it'd be fine.  (Is this,
like, a profoundly stupid reason or what?)

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 111       Fri Sep 02, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:42 EDT

     Well, color me stupid.

     Preface: as has been stated before, since no studio facility was big
enough for our purposes (we now have 20 standing sets and 57 swing sets, some
120' wide or more), we took over an industrial facility roughly the size of
Latvia and built three soundproofed soundstages, costume facilities,
construction areas, dubbing room, prosthetics wings, you name it.  It's sort
of a Lucas Ranch operation, everything under one roof.

     A number of shows have taken over and converted such facilities to shoot
series, but I'm proud to note that this is the *first* such conversion to be
finally, officially and formally redefined by the city as a working studio.
It's the *first* new studio in town in something like 10 years.  There's
nothing else like it unless you want to actually go on the lot of a major
studio.  (And it has the advantage of being off the lot, away from people who
might wander into your stage and, oh, start giving you notes.  If you're a bit
away, they have to drive over, and the hassle ain't worth it.)

     Anyway...my office is at the very end of the script wing.  As you walk
down the hall, my office is on your right.  Then you hit the door at the end
of the wing, go through into an open space, and twenty feet away is the door
to stage C.  I picked the office because it was as close as you could get to
the stage without actually being *in* the stage.

     So I've been in there for, oh, about a year and half now.  Now I noticed,
upon putting in my new computer, and putting it a bit closer to the far wall
(the one opposite the stage), that the monitor began to flicker.  I figured it
was a software problem, or a glitch in the hardware.  Nothing worked...until I
moved it further away from the wall.

     "Hmmm," says I, "I wonder what could be doing that."

     Then I remember that on the other side of my office wall, roughly 24
inches from where I'm sitting, is the wall-length set of transformers and
electrical equipment that powers the entire studio (and we use a LOT of
power...you could fry Godzilla with what comes into our facility).

     Now I begin to wonder...waitaminnit...just HOW BIG is the EMF
(electromagnetic field) that I've been sitting in, that's been bleeding
through this wall?  So we bring in a guy who measures such things, from a
reputable company.

     The maximum safe amount of EMF is a reading of 0.4.  The guy approached
my desk, my chair...and his jaw dropped.

     The EMF level was 200.5.

     Which explains why, at the end of the day, for the last year or so, I've
been practically dragging by mid-day.  I always seemed to get more work done
at home.  Now I know why.

     And the stupid part is, it's not something you can miss, the
transformers/generators are huge.  Just never occured to me.

     Since he left ("You've been sitting there HOW LONG?!"), I've had my desk
moved across the room, to the safe (0.4) area.  And suddenly I'm back to full
speed (well, not suddenly, it's taken a few days, but I'm there), barrelling
through drafts and keeping up the pace right until I leave at 7-8 p.m., which
is what's *normal* for me, and was normal except for the last year and a half.

     Four hundred times the proscribed limits...oh, man....

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 115       Fri Sep 02, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:41 EDT

     I've spoken before of Norman Corwin.  For those who might've missed it,
Norman Corwin is one of the finest writers that this country has ever
produced.  At the height of the radio drama age, there was no one better or
bigger...not Orson Welles or Arch Oboler.  Nobody.

     He has been an inspiration to countless writers.  Charles Kuralt. Rod
Serling.  Ray Bradbury (who began his career trying to write like Norman).  He
is, not to put too fine a point on it, a writer's writer. He is the wellspring
from which many of our finest writers can trace their origin.  Speaking as one
tiny trickle in this momentous flood, I can certify his influence on my own
work.

     Some have commented on the style of writing in Babylon 5, and in some of
my previous work.  While much can be laid at the feet of Harlan Ellison, much
of my influence can also be traced to Norman Corwin, who taught me not just
how to write, but what it meant to BE a writer.  I cannot commend his work to
you highly enough.  If you have a love of language, of a story well told, of
fiction with a conscience and a  point of view, then Norman's your man.  Some
of you may remember "A Prayer for the 70s," written by Norman, which I posted
a while back.   A work of absolute genius, in a career peppered with awards,
and recognition by the U.N. and others.

     Many of you have asked for more information about Norman's work. To that
end I offer the following information:

     Norman has a new book out, that is just hitting the stands.  It is
entitled NORMAN CORWIN'S LETTERS, edited by A. J. Langguth.  It's in hardcover
from Barricade Books, ISBN #0-9623032-5-9.  It is an amazing volume, full of
inspiration and humor and the occasional thunder-and-lightning.

     You will find letters to and from such notables -- friends of Norman's --
as Carl Sandburg, Ray Bradbury, Bette Davis, Stanley Kramer, Groucho Marx,
Greer Garson, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Edward R. Murrow,
Anthony Quinn, Rod Serling, Leonard Bernstein, Erik Barnouw, Archibald
MacLeish, Stan Freberg, Walter Cronkite, Norman Cousins, Studs Terkel, Eric
Sevareid, Philip Dunne, Bill Moyers, Gregory Peck...the list goes on and on.

     The letters are documents of a life, funny and outraged and
thoughtful...and beautifully written beyond my capacity to describe it to you.
If you are a writer, or interested in writing, I can commend no book to you
higher than this one.

     If as a Babylon 5 viewer you'd like to get a better grasp of what
inspired me to pursue my career, and has helped make that  dream a reality...I
recommend to you the works of Norman Corwin, starting with this book.

     If you need any further encouragement to go out *today* and get a copy of
this book, then let me simply suggest that you call up a copy of Who's Who,
and look up who Norman Corwin is.  I don't think you'll need additional
encouragement thereafter.

                                                           jms

     (PS.  I'm still having a hard time uploading prepared messages to
Internet via the GEnie mailbox; if anyone could be kind enough to take the
preceding and post it to the B5 rec group, I'd definitely appreciate it.
Thanks.)
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 132       Sat Sep 03, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:40 EDT

     Actually, since the vasectomy in college, having kids ain't an issue.

     As for the rest, well, you know what they say, with great power comes
great resp--     what's that spider doing on my keyboard?

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 152       Sun Sep 04, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:37 EDT

     At this juncture, we're pretty much shooting in production order; at some
point about mid-season we may have to shoot a few early to accommodate post-
production needs, which are going to grow exponentially as we crank through
the season, but we're going to work our way up to that.

                                                            jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 162       Sun Sep 04, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:41 EDT

     Two weeks ago, B5 was #20 in the ratings.  This past week it came in #18.
That's overall, including game shows, talk shows, you name it.  It's a
definite, strong increase.  We've been increasing our ratings by about 10-25%
every week, consistently, for the last 7 weeks.

     And as noted above...nope, don't do cameos.

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 170       Mon Sep 05, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:21 EDT

     Given that my office is nowhere near Universal anymore, alas, I could not
see you, even with my EMF enhanced Producer-Vision (tm).

     During the time I *was* working on the Universal lot -- first on Jake,
later for two years on Murder -- I did go up to the park a lot, prior to the
construction of the City Walk, to nab lunch at something other than the
commissary.  You could walk on and off the park, if you worked at the studio.
Used to walk past folks from all over the world, who keep peering around
looking for somebody who might work in TeeVee or movies (and naturally the
stars never go near the place), not knowing that the person at their elbow
with the hot dog under the huge poster of Angela Lansbury was a producer on
that show.

     Naturally, they waited until after I'd left Universal to put up the City
Walk, which now has all KINDS of places to eat....

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 182       Mon Sep 05, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 17:16 EDT

     Yes, Pat, there were a lot of rumors.  If the studio had put its foot
down that there would be a "young hunk" there probably would've been a young
hunk.  We wanted the best actor we could find, best suited to that role.
That's Bruce.

     Not to get personal, Pat, but have you ever considered maybe seeing how
he performs in this role before judging his performance?  I'm just a little
tired of people pre-judging others.  And especially of the term "wooden,"
which people seem to use whenever somebody doesn't act in full blown
hysterics.  (I can mention that Michael was hurt by many of the comments here
and elsewhere by people saying his performance was "wooden," and later, many
of those people turned around when they saw what he was trying to connote in
his performance...but that made the emotional hurt no less real.)

     That said...I have found Bruce's performance in the first three episodes
to be lively, interesting, fun, dynamic and intense.

     Actors also do better in some roles than in others.  There were some
movies where Alec Guinesss was awful.  Some where he blew the doors off the
theater.  I don't know what you've seen him in before; you may well be making
the mistake of confusing the role with the person.  All I can tell you is that
on this show, he's doing nothing less than spectacular work.

     Why don't you maybe see a frame or two of film before deciding on the
merits of someone's performance, Pat?  It's not a matter of rose colored
glasses...it's giving someone a fair shot and the benefit of an open mind.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 197       Tue Sep 06, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:12 EDT

     For starters, just as an FYI, I don't provide the actors with print-ups
of anything here.  Often folks mail them to the actors, and then they come to
me.

     Second, there is a difference between negativity and constructive
criticism.  Anyone who has ever taken a class in creative writing learns the
difference right off.  Don't just say, "It sucks!"  Say why you don't like it,
what you think can be done to improve it, what elements do or don't work.
What hurts actors (or anyone, let's be honest) is after you have worked 12
hour days to do something, people are out there saying,  "Kill 'em!  Shove 'em
out an airlock!  They suck!"  These are things you would never say to
someone's face.  And sometimes posters forget that they're talking about
*people* here.

     Yes, Cindy, your comments *did* get to some of the actors you have
suggested be shoved out an airlock.  And they *did* hurt them.  And if that
bothers you, it should.  You shouldn't post anything that you wouldn't feel
comfortable if that person saw it...because sooner or later, that person WILL
see it.  Why do you think I was hammering at you so hard to stop coming up
with inventive ways to kill Laurel Takashima?

     If you don't like someone's style of acting, there is nothing -- NOTHING -
- wrong with saying so, and saying so as forcefully as you feel is
appropriate.  I would only ask that you remember that these people are
probably going to see it eventually, and that you find ways to be both
specific and constructive.  "I think X's performance in the role just isn't up
to the standard we expect; he doesn't move smoothly, he delivers his lines as
though they were prepared rather than working them through and letting us see
that; she leads with her lips more than thinking about the lines."

     In a way, it's better to say *more*, and be specific, than just to say,
"Ah, she stinks!  She's terrible!  Kill her!"

     As for the vasectomy...not much of a story to tell.  Had it while I was
still in college.  Always knew I didn't want kids, mainly because I am
convinced that I would not be a good father.  Besides, there are already
enough toys in here....

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 204       Tue Sep 06, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:24 EDT

     I think that to some degree, people haven't come to terms with the
reality that BBSing is no longer a quiet little corner where nobody ever
notices us and we can say what we want.  This is now part of the Great
Information Highway (so they tell us).  This stuff gets circulated all over
the place.  (Anybody who thinks the writers at ST don't see the often
astonishing things said about them is quite wrong.)  The little room party is
now being held in the ballroom...and the whole world is watching....

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 281       Fri Sep 09, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:07 EDT

     Pat...for starters, let me disagree with your thesis in the first place.
I've read all the messages here, and not every single person here fell over
dead and drooling over the idea of Bruce doing the show.  Many here *LIKED HIS
PRIOR WORK*, and said so.  Some said they didn't.  Some said they would wait
and see.  The "rose colored glasses" you note don't exist.

     When people *did* pose an opinion, and liked him, it was because they
liked his prior work, as stated.  Now, you didn't.  That's fine.  But what you
are doing is stating *your* opinion as fact.  "Hey, all you people who spoke
well of Bruce because you liked his work, HE'S WOODEN!   Your opinions don't
matter!  I'm the one who's right here, and you should all sober up!"  That's
not a direct statement, but it's what's implied.

     So okay...you didn't like his work.  You are one of a very few who
expressed this.  Your opinion is neither more nor less valid than anyone
else's.  Don't get this sense that you have to correct everybody else by using
the litmus test of your personal opinion.  Because that's all it is, it's not
an objective law of nature.

     On the topic of the way things are said around here...what one tends to
forget is that the GEnie topic(s) are unusual in that unlike many such
discussions of shows, the executive producer is here, and at least one cast
member here lurks (Hi, Mira).  This tends to result in more cast and crew
members peeking in here from time to time than it would in any other forum,
like Prodigy or AOL.

     Secondarily, again remember that this is part of the B5 experiment, in
having direct interaction between viewers and production types.  That means
that the rules are a trifle different.  You can go on any other board and say,
"So-and-so sucks," and not be expected to behave in any other manner.  Now,
you can also say "So-and-so sucks" *here* as well; there's no one to stop you.
It just seems to me that if you have the ear of someone making the show, that
you might *want* to be a bit more specific.

     There are a LOT of comments that I could make, shots that I could take,
that I don't, because I try to respect the conversation and the process of
what we're doing here; I think it has a greater obligation than to insult
people.  (Granted, once in a great while, if someone *really* goes out of his
way to provoke me, I'll take his head off...but that is FAR more the exception
than the rule.)  I try to be respectful of the people at the other end of the
modem, due to our relationship.  I do not therefore think it is altogether
inappropriate to ask the same; otherwise one is in the position of fighting
with one's hands tied behind one's back.

     I've never said, and do not want, anyone to hold back; I like the open
exchange.  (And, I'd point out, given what I see on the systems where I lurk,
there is MORE direct criticism and evaluation of the show on those systems
where I'm known to be present than those where I'm not; knowing that someone
from the show is here tends to result in people expressing more critical
opinions because they know that someone's actually LISTENING.)  We are fast
becoming a discourteous, uncivil society, and I know that we won't ever go
back to anything other.  I just think that, in the case of our special
conversation here...and it is special...we should endeavor to rise above "He
stinks!" to a clarification of WHY you don't (or do) like someone or
something.

     This ain't your basic forum.  I certainly don't act like it is.  Ask
Christy or Katherine Lawrence about my "basic" posts someday...you'll get an
earful.  Here there's a different sensibility.

     (Which is one reason why, btw, both NEWSWEEK and EMMY magazine are doing
major stories on TV in BBS-land, focusing in large measure on this and a few
other B5 forums.  We've grown used to what this is; the reporters, when they
finally understand what this is all about, are simply astonished.  The
foregoing intended as nothing other than a nudge to the compass....)

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 313       Sat Sep 10, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:16 EDT

     Sarah...you have to understand that I am in a no-win situation on this
end of the modem.  I have to be *extremely* careful not to let my presence
here, or things that I say, limit or appear to limit the freedom of people to
say what they want.  If I told people to lay off because some (not all) cast
members were reading this...I would get broasted, roasted and toasted, and
deservedly so.  On the other hand, if I say nothing, then people can say that
I'm being unfair in the other direction.

     So I tend to err in the direction that I think will encourage the
greatest degree of open speech.  It's the only thing that I can do.  I only
referred (after it had already been broached by others) this part of it well
AFTER the fact, not during it, because I think that serves as a better
benchmark, or point to consider, than to drag it in DURING the conversation.

     (In one or two occasions, I've offered to post something for one or
another of the folks who've seen what's said here, but have always been asked
not to, again on the grounds of not inhibiting the conversation.  I now have a
third obligation to do as I'm asked, and respect that decision while the
conversation is ongoing.)

     Finally, often I didn't know about some of this until well after the
fact.  I recently tried -- simply as an intellectual exercise -- to backtrack
where some of the excerpts have come from, and it's like trying to trace the
Watergate money.  They just sorta get handed around; some see them but most
don't.  It's catch-as-catch-can, and I have no problem with any member of my
cast or crew doing so.  I encourage them to come on-line directly.  And I have
no problem with the discussion going on here; I just think that a general
sense of awareness that words have meaning, and should be used with precision,
and that we are not writing into a vacuum...these are things worth knowing.
And now, between seasons, seems a good time to acknowledge that.

     And that said (and at risk of being perceived as trying to lead the
conversation, which is *always* the danger, as mentioned above)...I think
we've more or less exhausted this subject, and moving on would be a true
wonderfulness.

     Maybe this'll work.

     I just finished revising the opening narration for Year Two; it's much
briefer than before, and now leaves room to show the characters/actors faces
in quick shots under their names.  Though now abridged, there has been one
added line in the narration.

     "It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind...the year the Great War
came upon us all."

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 345       Sat Sep 10, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:11 EDT

     "Is this going to be a Protestant war or a Catholic war?"

     Maybe an Old Testament War.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 355       Sun Sep 11, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:23 EDT

     Mene mene tekel....

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 356       Sun Sep 11, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:27 EDT

     P.S.  So far the first 3-4 episodes of B5's second season are in real-
time order, each separated by a week in story-time as well as in real time.
It begins a few days into 2259, and the season would end just before the end
of that year, with season three starting in 2260.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 361       Sun Sep 11, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:23 EDT

     The new year's eve on B5 at the end of 2258 is definitely memorable.

     BTW, B5 just won an Emmy for Best Makeup Design, our second overall, and
our first for the series.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 389       Sun Sep 11, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 17:48 EDT

     "It seems a certain producer was too busy...to put together a tape for
WorldCon."

     Now hold on here just one consarned minute...I don't know what was said
at Conadian, by whom, but this ain't the case.  I told the programming people
at the con, REPEATEDLY, by email, over a period of about two months, that I
didn't have a tape, and didn't have the capacity to put one together just for
this; said, REPEATEDLY, that I wouldn't be able to  attend, nor would anyone
else on the show, due to production schedules.

     They knew, WEEKS beforehand, that we would not be able to give them
anything, or be present.  If they went ahead and scheduled something  anyway,
only to cancel it, that's something *they* have to deal with, it ain't my
fault, and I'm NOT taking the rap for it.

                                                                 jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 399       Mon Sep 12, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:49 EDT

     I wasn't yelling at Perianne, only responding to the info that she passed
along, which I've heard elsewhere.  If the con knew that I was not coming, nor
was anyone else on the show, and they *did* know, then that panel shouldn't
have been on the schedule to begin with.  And then to say that I blithely
canceled, or just got "too busy" to do something for the con, and didn't tell
anybody until the last minute...this is cheapjack behavior, and makes me look
really bad, and I don't like it.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 406       Mon Sep 12, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:52 EDT

     I think that if any of the characters recognized the parallel arc from
the original Babylon it would move us too far into metafiction; I'm dancing on
the edge of that in a few places, but don't want to go too far.

     Mary Jo brings in actors to audition, but final decisions are made by me,
Doug, John and the director.

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 1
Message 407       Mon Sep 12, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:55 EDT

     P.S.  Apparently at the Conadian panel on B5, someone (not Perianne, so
don't yell at me) announced that Dr. Franklin would not be returning in year
two.  Totally untrue.  He's in for all 22 episodes this season.

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

Babylon 5 offically became a series on May 28 '93. There will be 22 hour eps
for season one (in addition to the pilot). Airs Wednesdays at 8PM in most
places starting Jan. 26 '94.  This is the SPOILER topic where anything goes.

405 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 247       Thu Sep 01, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 15:09 EDT

     I think there is a qualitative difference between saying something, and
writing it down.  When you write something down, it's protected by commonlaw
copyright; just saying it doesn't count.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 312       Sun Sep 11, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:25 EDT

     Not really the war starting in "Chrysalis," unless you are broad  enough
in your thinking to include the assassin's bullet as the "start" of World War
I...then in that case, you could say that, yes.  Let's say that the first
domino falls, and let it go at that.

                                                            jms
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Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 348       Thu Sep 15, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:23 EDT

     Kwicker, Ivanova has *not* said stuff about being Russian "every other
episode."  I made the error of having her say it twice in the two-parter, now
everybody's seeing it as a big thing.  It was mentined in Soul Hunter,
Survivors, and Voice, and insofar as I know, that's it.  (I'll allow for the
possibility of one more, even though I don't recall any others.)  I don't
think that 3-4 episodes in a 22 episode season quite qualifies as "every other
episode."

                                                                  jms
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Category 18,  Topic 2
Message 353       Thu Sep 15, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:29 EDT

     Sinclair is also a strong character throughout issues 2-5 of the B5
comic.

                                                             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.
487 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 429       Thu Sep 08, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:18 EDT

     The funny part is that Berman and Pillar, according to mutual
acquaintances and interviews, have been swearing up one side and down the
other that they were never going CGI, were staying models.  And now they are
coming to play on *our* turf.

     Amblin's got Amigas with ten Screamers.

     We've got only one Screamer.  But we've got Ron.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 436       Fri Sep 09, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:10 EDT

     RE: 422, 423, 435...I dunno about the rest of you, but when they start
talking like that, it scares the hell out of me....

                                                                    jms
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Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 452       Fri Sep 16, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:59 EDT

     Of course, let's remember the extensive use of CGI in Jurassic Park.

                                                             jms
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Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 460       Sat Sep 17, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:37 EDT

     Insofar as I know, the objects are all entered into the computer in their
correct size ratios.  Sometimes perception can be tricked  depending on the
position of the camera, the proximity of the interim object, and the
background.  I'll check on this, but insofar as I know this is SOP.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 465       Sun Sep 18, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:50 EDT

     That is, unfortunately, the problem with "filming" in space; it's ALL in
focus because of the lack of atmosphere, which provides a slight haze that
cues us to distance.  (Which was why they put the Hubble in space, after all.)
If you look at footage from the Apollo missions, or the joint Soyuz missions,
when one ship moves to dock with the other, it's very disturbing visually
because from a distance, to close up, the other ship is crystal clear.  It's
also very difficult to judge size when there's nothing of absolute size beside
it.  If B5 were floating next to a football field, you'd know instantly how
big the thing was.  We're trying to find ways to work around this....

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 3
Message 475       Tue Sep 20, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:45 EDT

     Showman...the end of "Survivors," where Kemmer enters her ship...in
reality there is only a ladder there.  The ship, the walls, the door she
enters, all that is CGI/virtual set.

                                                                  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.
497 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 390       Sat Sep 03, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:42 EDT

     ...and add Dwight Schultz to the list of guest stars for this coming
season....

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 399       Sat Sep 03, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:43 EDT

     And Walter Koenig returns as everyone's favorite Psi Cop in episode
seven, "A Race Through Dark Places."

                                                                   jms
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Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 422       Mon Sep 05, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 17:17 EDT

     Bester will be seen 1-2 times per season.  Perhaps a bit more as time
goes on.

                                                                jms
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Category 18,  Topic 4
Message 432       Tue Sep 06, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:14 EDT

     Dwight and Walter are in separate episodes, which would make it
problematic to have them in the same scenes....

                                                           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.
420 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 370       Mon Sep 05, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:23 EDT

     Ah!  Now I begin to understand.  Alas, my offices aren't on the Warners
lot either; we're well and truly off-campus.  Next time look up north a piece
past the Universal Black Tower, and wave, I'll see you.

     (Though on one level you're right; WB was where we pitched,and sold, the
series, so in that sense it is the B5 birthplace.)

                                                             jms
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Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 393       Sat Sep 10, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 21:13 EDT

     I'm not sure I'm terribly sanguine about the times/places/dates of our
softball games being posted in advance.  I'm going to have to think about
this.  It kind of exposes our crew and cast, who don't know they're going to
be put in that position.

                                                            jms
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Category 18,  Topic 5
Message 399       Sun Sep 11, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:24 EDT

     Yes, got the shirt; just forgot to mention.  Many thanks, it's a Work of
Art (and Art's a busy guy these days).

                                                                jms

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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.
438 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 11
Message 375       Fri Sep 02, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:29 EDT

     There's nothing wrong with Paris that a good 500 megaton fusion bomb
couldn't fix.

                                                                 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.
404 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 12
Message 373       Sun Sep 04, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:46 EDT

     Though I don't have specific dates, you may want to be alert for articles
in Newsweek and Emmy Magazine about B5 and our presence here on the 'nets.

                                                               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.
524 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 491       Mon Sep 05, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:26 EDT

     A B5 cdrom coming out in the spring will have a lot of that info.   As
for the filming...yes, we shoot in widescreen but protect for normal aspect
ratios.  We've now begun the process of reconverting back to the original
aspect ratio for foreign and eventual laserdisk release.  I will be getting
the first copies of widescreen versions on tape over the next few months.

                                                         jms
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Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 496       Mon Sep 05, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 17:20 EDT

     Last date I heard was January 1995, but the main problem is that there's
just an awful lot of information to codify and assemble, and Compton's has
been going through some personnel changes of late.

                                                              jms
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Category 18,  Topic 14
Message 500       Tue Sep 06, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:14 EDT

     Expect the B5 soundtrack sometime in November/December.

                                                                 jms
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Topic 25        Fri Mar 12, 1993
S.SHELLENBAR [>> SHANE <<]   at 08:47 EST
Sub: J. Michael Straczynski Speaks in Public

This is the place to find out where and when JMS will be appearing next.  JMS
has honed his skills as a public speaker and is taking his act on the road.
321 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 25
Message 302       Mon Sep 12, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 18:54 EDT

     Don't know much about the scheduled plans, just what you know.

                                                               jms
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Category 18,  Topic 25
Message 304       Tue Sep 13, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 15:18 EDT

     Mainly, it's a Q&A seminar...I can't read scripts (for obvious reasons),
but I'm encouraging everyone to bring questions galore;  anything you wanted
to know about how to sell scripts.

                                                             jms
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Category 18,  Topic 25
Message 309       Thu Sep 15, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 01:24 EDT

     I have to have the next essay in by end of this month, so it should be
shortly thereafter.

                                                                jms
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Topic 30        Mon Jul 04, 1994
D.KAUFFMAN5 [CyberDad]       at 13:14 EDT
Sub: Nods, In-Jokes, and References     

Post any nods, in-jokes, or references you have seen here.  For example,
Babylon 5 refers to the Babylon of ancient Earth; the location of B5 is at
Grid Epsilon 470/18/22, the location of the original B5 topic on GEnie.
230 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 30
Message 193       Thu Sep 15, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 19:34 EDT

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven

Eleventy-one, eleventy-two, eleventy-three, eleventy-four, eleventy-five,
eleventy-six, eleventy-seven, eleventy-eight, eleventy-nine, eleventy-ten,
twelfy

Twelfty-one, twelfty-two, twelfy-three, twelfty-four, twelfty-five, twelfty-
six, twelfty-seven, twelfty-eight, twelfty-nine, twelfty-ten.

     And so on.

     Who here still has a problem with this?

                                                                   jms
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Topic 31        Sat Jul 09, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:23 EDT
Sub: Really Stupid Questions from JMS   

Every so often, I need Information.  (You won't get it!)  Technical stuff,
research or reference stuff...and given the brain trust here, I figured this
could be a useful resource from time to time.  With appreciation.
134 message(s) total.
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Category 18,  Topic 31
Message 122       Mon Sep 05, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:27 EDT

      1) Does anyone know which video programs will run VideoVision on a PC?

      2) Anyone here know anything about a computer game company named Merit?

                                                                  jms
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