|
|
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 77 Sun Oct 08, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:19 EDT
-
- There's a misapprehension here; it did *not* take until August for B5 to
- be renewed. I'm trying to remember the date, but it was somewhere in June.
- We were already shooting on year three by late July, and we need 6 weeks prep
- before shooting.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 117 Tue Oct 10, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:10 EDT
-
- I'm told, btw, that Captain Power has finally been sold to the SciFi
- Channel...now if only they can find all the master tapes....
-
- jms*
-
- (*who, when he heard the former, fell down went BOOM)
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 141 Wed Oct 11, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:28 EDT
-
- Hmmm...I think the episode must be "Dust to Dust," with a quick scene
- between Sheridan and a merchant...good scene.
-
- BTW, for those in the LA area, the comic store Phantom Zone (formerly
- Outer Limits), on Ventura Boulevard half a block west of Van Nuys (tucked away
- next to the Coogee Bay Cafe) has quite a few complete boxes of the B5 cards
- that just came in.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 168 Thu Oct 12, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:22 EDT
-
- Harlan Ellison has requested that I post this in places where those likely to
- have ordered the forthcoming CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER limited-edition
- hardcover can find it.
-
- Message begins:
-
- Here is the answerto the question of why a three-week delay in shipping THE
- CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER became necessary.
-
- A minor production glitch.
-
- Nothing more mysterious or ominous than that.
-
- Once the book had gone to Thomson-Shore in Dexter, Michigan for printing, and
- was in production, it was discovered that more than 150 corrections to the
- text--some significant, others of a niggling nature--but all troublesome to a
- greater or lesser degree--had slipped past, and had not been integrated.
-
- Tom Monteleone of Borderlands Press was out of the country. But his concerns
- for shipping on time--we've been paying the price for a premature announcement
- of this title four years ago ever since that miscalculation was made--were
- preeminent. Nonetheless, because of my insistence that this book (a book of
- great personal importance to me) be as close to perfect as possible, I took
- the necessary action to hold the production at a pre-final stage till Tom
- returned and we could get the changes made.
-
- That has been accomplished. Tom Monteleone has been very gracious in
- accommodating my concerns, and the book is back in the tube at Thomson-Shore
- right now. Three weeks max is what Dave Raymond, Customer Services Manager,
- tells us. Three weeks and the book, a beautiful beautiful package, will be in
- the hands of those who've ordered it.
-
- It is unfortunate that Tom Monteleone's interim message on the Borderlands
- Press 800-order line has been misinterpreted by some people. All is well, and
- the CITY is on its way to waiting eyes and hands. Thank you for asking.
-
- Harlan Ellison
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 187 Thu Oct 12, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:31 EDT
-
- Mike: my first, truest and only possible reaction to your note was to
- instantly look around and wonder who the heck you were talking about.
-
- "...you're starting to become an SF superstar, perhaps the biggest since
- Gene Roddenberry."
-
- I wish I could take this as having anything whatsoever to do with me, as
- far as B5 goes, but I can't. I don't see myself or my position any different
- now than 5 or 10 years ago. I look in the mirror and half the time I see a
- doofus. The other half of the time I see someone trying desperately not to
- *be* a doofus.
-
- The other day, I was interviwed by a reporter with a major newspaper
- syndicate, and kind of the same question was asked. What I told her, and I'll
- say here, is...I just can't apply it to me. When I go up on stage at a
- convention, and there's this mass of applause...the terrible thing is, I don't
- hear it. I'm worrying about what the first thing I should say ought to be,
- will it be entertaining, why on earth do these people want to see *me* fer
- chrissakes...one feels like a fraud. Because the story kinda lives outside me
- somehow...it's like the sculpter who look at a block of stone and knows
- there's a sculpture of a horse in there somewhere, that it was *always* there,
- he just has to get a hammer and chisel and *find* it.
-
- There's a difference between the talent, the story, and the vessel;
- sometimes the vessel thinks it *is* the talent, that it *is* the story, and
- that way, I think, lies madness and an ego of monstrous proportion. I can't
- think in those terms. I wouldn't mind, I'd probably enjoy it, I just *can't*.
- When I hear applause -- and on one level, like I said, I really can't -- it's
- not for me, it's for the story, for the show, for the performances, for
- Christopher's terrific music. I'm sitting here on a writing break, in a torn
- up pair of jeans, a superman t-shirt, with a barely adequate cafe mocha in a
- Daffy Duck mug in front of me; how seriously can I take this person?
-
- The guys at the local comic store know who I am -- I come in every
- Wednesnday night for my weekly fix -- and it ain't no big thing. I'm just one
- more customer. The only perk is that they set aside the comics about to sell
- out so I don't miss one. But when I walk in the door, those who might
- recognize me don't seem to pay much notice, and the majority just *don't*
- recognize me, because my face isn't plastered all over the place. Which is as
- it should be; the actors deserve that honor. (This is something else the
- reporter bugged me about, "The ST creators have their faces all over the
- place, where in the press kit are your photos, why aren't *you* out there
- visibley?" To which the only answer is, "That ain't why I'm here." As
- Meatloaf said, "I ain't in it for the power, and I ain't in it for the wealth,
- I ain't in it for the glory of anything at all, and I sure ain't in it for my
- health. But I'm in it till it's over.")
-
- So there's no need for any awkwardness or hesitancy, Mike. I'm a fan,
- same as you and most of the other folks around here. Ain't nothing around
- here to be intimidated by; it's just me.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 233 Sat Oct 14, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:15 EDT
-
- Okay, here's What Joe Believes: I don't believe in deities, heavens,
- hells, spirit guides, leprechauns, or any continuance of the individual after
- death. Consciousness is an abstract, but it is finite. When the game is
- finally called on account of darkness, you don't get to come back tomorrow and
- finish the game. The work we must do, must be done today, now, or not at all.
-
- What I believe in is the power of the human being singular to rise above
- every challenge, obstacle, tyrant and misfortune. We are where we are because
- in the evolutionary crap shoot, we were smarter, and faster, and *thought*
- ourselves out of the mud (with a little help from the opposable thumb, natch).
- The brass ring of consciousness has made us not only aware of our environment,
- and how to control it, but has made us, when we are at our best, self-
- reflective, aware of the struggle of those around us, made us conscious of the
- fact that we work at our best when we work together, when individuals can
- reach for the stars and pull the rest of us along with them...for company, for
- pleasure, and to help the next guy leapfrog to the next star. Given nurturing
- and direction and purpose, it makes us compassionate.
-
- Stunted, hindered, corrupted by circumstance or hopelessness, it makes us
- into monsters.
-
- I believe that we can touch greatness *now*, and that if we remove the
- notion of second chances, lifes after this one, no backsies, there is the
- added impetus to *achieve* it now. (Witness those who think there's no point
- in saving the redwoods because Christ is going to come back soon and the point
- will be moot. Remember James Watt's statement on that one?) This, I
- believe, is *it*. And so we must do all we can. For those who are raised
- well, directed well, that means doing all they can to the good; for those who
- fall between the cracks, that may mean something quite different.
-
- But that's the way it is now anyway, really. Religion can be used as
- justification to murder, or not to murder, depending on how you approach it.
- Religion has been used to rationalize, and attack, slavery.
-
- For my money, religion and science came out of the same impulse, the
- desire to understand who we are, and where we came from, and where we're
- going, and what we're supposed to do when we get there. Before we had the
- tools to grasp the mechanics of sunlight and solstice, we cobbled up pantheons
- and spirits and deities who watched over the functioning of the universe like
- benign watchmakers. With time and codification, religions began, warred,
- absorbed, schism'd and sunk their hooks deep into the world around us. Those
- hooks are too deep and tied to too much of our language, our culture, ever to
- be removed; they are part and parcel of our human heritage, I accept that and
- welcome that element.
-
- But from this side of the modem...it's still just myth. Myth with
- billion dollar empires on the one hand, and myth that lives in little steepled
- whiteframe churches in the Appalachias, but myth nonetheless.
-
- It can be myth that elevates, myth that ennobles, myth that destroys,
- myth that causes war and myth that heals after war...but myth it remains. Just
- like the myth of language, of art, of politics and polemics and philosophy.
- They are all the constructs we have made, the lenses we have cobbled together
- through which we can see the world around us.
-
- That is what I think, that is what I believe. Your mileage may vary. I
- have no desire to propagandize my personal beliefs; if you do that, they're
- not personal anymore, and my job is to entertain, and to ask questions, not
- to persuade anyone to my own perspective. In the pursuit of this story, I
- will use myth and math interchangeably, whichever tool best serves the task
- most effectively.
-
- If anything, I believe closest to what Delenn said, my one moment of
- slippage, of letting my own attitudes creep in, that we are better than we
- think, and nobler than we know; that we have the seeds of greatness within us,
- and our greatest flaw is that we do not always know this as well as we should.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 258 Sun Oct 15, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:34 EDT
-
- Kwicker: then in the two options you present, assume the latter, that I'm
- "an exceedingly better writer than I had even expected," since the other
- doesn't parse for me. I don't believe. Not even cellularly, or
- subconsciously. If one can write Narns well, that doesn't mean one believes
- they exist; why should this change for writing about beliefs?
-
- Tom: not a "recovering Catholic," but an ex-catholic who was never really
- much of a practitioner at all...one of these twice-a-year church family types.
- I had no choice going in, being born into that, and as soon as I hit
- confirmation and was told it was the sacrament of free choice, I was out of
- the room so fast I doppler'd.
-
- Not sure there was any one particular thing that led me to where I am,
- just sort of the preponderance of things. I've read a lot of varying
- scriptures -- the Bible cover-to-cover twice, the Gita, a number of Egyptian
- and Judaic religious texts, less of the Koran than I'd like (some tough
- slogging in there), I'm quite charmed by much of what I've read in Zen
- Buddhism, I've looked into Native American, South American and African myths
- and religious beliefs...and to be honest, in all of this, I've never yet "met"
- a Deity that was really much nobler or better than the average person.
- They're all prone to eccentricities, fits of anger, flaws, jealousies,
- illogic, pettiness, violence, inconsistency and a thousand other traits we'd
- be ashamed to see in ourselves. And I've never seen much of anything outside
- to convince me that there's order in the universe...so here I am.
-
- Do not, btw, take this as an invitation to debate, convert, or try to
- convince. I've come to this by long and difficult roads, there's nothing you
- can say to me that hasn't been said before, by others, and if I respect the
- beliefs of othres enough not to try and change them, I'd ask that this same
- respect be returned.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 275 Mon Oct 16, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:41 EDT
-
- I'll confess...for the time period from the Hubble's launch, until it got
- fixed...I called it the Wobble...I'm sorry, I'm sorry....
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 280 Mon Oct 16, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:16 EDT
-
- Yes, I've read Campbell. Leery of applying it directly or too
- consciously to the work, though; it can make the process too self-conscious.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 290 Tue Oct 17, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:46 EDT
-
- "I am a leprechaun."
-
- Fine.
-
- Give up the pot of gold or die.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 313 Wed Oct 18, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:28 EDT
-
- Lots of interesting stuff...new main title is finished and scored, with
- the first two new episodes arriving in the hands of critics and reviewers this
- week...finished writing script #11, "Confessions" (which title may change if I
- can think up something better), which is now the exact midway point, both in
- the series overall, and this season in particular...also finished writing the
- first issue of a 4-part miniseries for the DC comics B5 book, which will still
- come out at irregular periods, titled "The Book of the War."
-
- Also got in the first volume in the next batch of Dell novels, "Clark's
- Law" by J. Mortimer, and so far it's really extremely good, I'm quite pleased.
- The other two are by S. M. Stirling and Neal Barrett, Jr. Should be getting
- them in soon for review.
-
- The B5 AOL and WWW pages should jointly be up in the next 2 weeks.
-
- And in Los Angeles, B5's first new ep got a 6.5 rating with a 10 share
- (very good), while DS9, an hour before, got a 5.9 rating and a 9 share.
-
- Have begun shooting episode 11, "Messages From Earth," a hideously
- complex episode, outmatched only by #10, "Severed Dreams," which is the single
- most visually ambitious episode we've done in the three years of the show.
- It's just totally outrageous, and it'll probably kill us in sheer man-hours to
- produce...but the result should drop jaws all over the place.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 321 Wed Oct 18, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:58 EDT
-
- Did I type "Confessions?" I meant to type "Ceremonies." Thought that's
- what I did type. Anyway, I've decided to change it to "Ceremonies of Light
- and Dark."
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 322 Wed Oct 18, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:00 EDT
-
- Just checked; I *did* type Confessions. Yikes. This is how I sometimes
- type west instead of east (you'll get it next week). I think I'm
- linguistically or philosophically dyslexic...
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 344 Thu Oct 19, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:58 EDT
-
- Kevin: yeah...real fragging funny...at times like this I long for a REAL
- Narn bat squad.
-
- Re: "fanboys"...actually, there's been precious little of that. The only
- ongoing problem that I've yet encountered is the occasional net-weasel
- celebrity stalker who goes out of his way to constantly post absolute untrue
- lying crap to try and hurt either me, or B5, or some cast members, or all
- three. Day after day after day.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 393 Sat Oct 21, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:02 EDT
-
- We've been consistently giving Jeff Conaway more and more to do in the
- show because he's a very gifted actor; there are some moments in the coming
- month's episodes, particularly "The Fall of Night," that should knock the word
- "mediocre" out of anyone's mouth.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 402 Sun Oct 22, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:03 EDT
-
- On the other hand, it would certainly be a writing challenge, one I
- hadn't even considered prior to seeing it here....
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 431 Sun Oct 22, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:28 EDT
-
- The sound came through okay on my system here in LA on KCOP. Odd; I'll
- look into the sound question overall, and the out of phase stuff.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 440 Mon Oct 23, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:40 EDT
-
- Almost finished writing script #12, "A Late Delivery From Avalon."
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 463 Tue Oct 24, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:00 EDT
-
- You cannot prove the non-existence of something; you can only require
- proof of the *existence* of something. If I say, "There are green penguins at
- the North Pole," it is not incumbent upon you to prove they're *not* there;
- however you search I could always say, "Well, you missed a spot." The burden
- of proof is incumbent upon the person making the assertion.
-
- This is basic, critical thinking, which is often not taught in places
- where it *should* be taught.
-
- Quickie note on the clip-show discussion...this is starting to veer into
- story suggestions, so I'd suggest a slight retreat.
-
- BTW, for those also on AOL, Bruce and I are doing an on-line conference
- tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 7p.m. Pacific to officially open up the B5 AOL
- page.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 466 Tue Oct 24, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:45 EDT
-
- I'd be very surprised; it's finding its audience, and it isn't a bad
- show. I know it's hideously expensive -- I hear about $2 million per episode -
- - and they've had a lot of problems with CGI, but all of that can be either
- overcome of compensated for. It'd be a loos. Er, loss.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 556 Sun Oct 29, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:28 EST
-
- It may be the tape stock WWOR is using when it downlinks the show; it
- goes up pretty pristine on the uplink.
-
- Would love to get a copy of the Denver article, btw.
-
- jms
-
- (PS, at the SciFi Universe Awards last night, Bruce tied with David
- Ducovney for best actor, and Andreas got best supporting actor.)
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 1
- Message 566 Sun Oct 29, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:28 EST
-
- The article can be sent to me via the B5 mail drop, which is: 14431
- Ventura Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.
-
- Sometimes I write shows with a lot of EFX, sometimes I write shows with
- zip EFX. "Parliament of Dreams" was that way, so was "Inquisitor," which had
- almost no EFX. Same, as I recall, for "The Quality of Mercy." It's whatever
- the story requires.
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- Topic 2 Wed Nov 20, 1991
- SF-HUDGENS [Fenn Shysa] at 19:41 EST
- Sub: Babylon 5 - The Series >>SPOILERS<<
-
- BABYLON 5 is nearing the end of its second season, with four episodes left to
- air in October. :( This topic is for SPOILERS only. And as always, NO STORY
- IDEAS are to be posted. Them's da rules.
-
- 621 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 2
- Message 394 Wed Sep 20, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:18 EDT
-
- Working title for episode 10: "Severed Dreams."
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 2
- Message 444 Tue Oct 10, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:13 EDT
-
- Episode #11, "Ceremonies," written by JMS, to be directed by John Flinn
- III.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 2
- Message 497 Sun Oct 15, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:38 EDT
-
- Sounds like a definite glitch; anyone else notice this on the satellite
- uplink?
-
- Ron: yes and no. We hadn't heard of the Bureau 13 game when we did the
- episode, it was just something we came up with 'cause it sounded neat. Later,
- we found out there was a game by that name. At which point I decided that it
- wouldn't be appropriate to use that name again, and had a good conversation
- with some folks at the game company about it. There was no problem, I just
- didn't want to walk on their turf intentionally or otherwise. Logically, any
- secret group is going to change its name from time to time *anyway* (it's not
- like they're in the yellow pages or anything), so the organization would
- remain under varying names.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 2
- Message 535 Thu Oct 19, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 06:02 EDT
-
- A statement is anything; everything ever written can be taken as one kind
- of political statement or other. (Often read in after the fact.) The
- question is one of political *agenda*, and that I don't have; I've fronted
- episodes on every end of the political spectrum, because I'm not enough of a
- follower to think *any* party, group or affiliation has the market on right
- answers.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 2
- Message 565 Sun Oct 22, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:32 EDT
-
- Mr. T, Louise is correct; also, in the TOS show, that revelation was the
- whole *point* of the episode, where here it's a filligree, dropped in at the
- last. It also *has* to be that character, as the flip side of the story, to
- contrast with Sheridan's "holy cause" as warning, and because of his own
- reflection of what Delenn might have been if she went the wrong way for the
- right reasons.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 2
- Message 574 Tue Oct 24, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:02 EDT
-
- George: you're starting to learn my tricks. When I point to the east and
- say "Look! A comet!" you can generally be sure you're about to get thumped on
- the head by an interstellar snowball coming in from the west.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 2
- Message 597 Sat Oct 28, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:34 EDT
-
- George: the mistake everyone makes is in going for somebody famous, a
- celebrity. I've done a lot of looking into this, and have spoken with a
- number of other Ripperologists, and the single most likely person is one who's
- name you've never heard mentioned as a suspect, but if you read the record,
- his name keeps coming up again and again and again.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 2
- Message 609 Sun Oct 29, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:31 EST
-
- To the "how much information is needed?" question, the best answer, I
- think, is that every week more folks find B5 for the first time and get into
- it with very little need for backgrounding. The more you see, the more
- threads you're aware are there, otherwise it's just interesting color.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 2
- Message 612 Mon Oct 30, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:34 EST
-
- Nope, Sebastian wasn't the name of the one I'm thinking of.
-
- And from what I've read, a lot of folks *did* need to hear the name to
- get it....
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- Topic 7 Thu Jan 13, 1994
- M.BELL14 [Mike] at 18:18 EST
- Sub: Forcible conversions at gun point :)
-
- What kind of sick, weird things have you done in the last year to tell people
- about B5? How many people have you driven mad? Why on Earth are you this
- nuts!?!?
- 163 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 7
- Message 146 Sat Sep 09, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:05 EDT
-
- Shane: once we're finally, totally, completely done, I'll probably need
- to walk away from the eps for about a year before I can look at them again, so
- that I can *see* them with fresh eyes.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 7
- Message 150 Mon Sep 11, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:26 EDT
-
- The other thing to bear in mind -- and as a video editor, you understand -
- - is that by the time we've finished an episode, I've seen it maybe 15-20
- times, and personally, with Copeland, edited every single frame of every
- episode. After a while, much as you like it, you just don'wanna see it no
- more....
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- 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
- 331 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 17
- Message 193 Sun Sep 10, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:02 EDT
-
- Yeah, it's the CP experience, and others, that kinda soured me on
- merchandising a little. I walked off CP when it looked like the sponsor was
- going to get increased say in episode content. And other shows have thrown
- stuff in just so they could include it in merchandising...so I'm just a bit
- leery of it all.
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- Topic 26 Sun Jan 22, 1995
- SF-VENTERS [Jan] at 17:15 EST
- Sub: Babylon 5 - Conventions and Appearances
-
- This is the location where you can post and find out about SF/F conventions
- where some of the Babylon 5 cast and Executive Producer will be guests.
-
- 513 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 26
- Message 490 Thu Sep 28, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:42 EDT
-
- Nothing's set yet; I was only asked 2 days ago to be there. At this
- point I don't know who's going to be in-town for it.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 26
- Message 493 Wed Oct 18, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:18 EDT
-
- Well, start by asking her that very question; she'll be very happy to
- answer it there, and thus give everyone a better grasp of what she does. Then
- record it and send it to me so we can figure it out.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 26
- Message 497 Sun Oct 22, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:35 EDT
-
- Ah...is *that* what Haley said her job is?
-
- Well...yes, very nice, very nice, big, warm laugh....
-
- She's sweet.
-
- "Hello, Guido? Got a job for you...."
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 26
- Message 507 Sun Oct 29, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:31 EST
-
- It's all part of the same credit.
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- 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.
- 327 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 31
- Message 280 Sat Sep 23, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:15 EDT
-
- SO, HAS, LIKE, *ANYONE* IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND *EVER* MADE IT PAST
- LEVEL NINE IN TETRIS? HUH? IT'S JUST A PLOT TO MAKE ME CRAZY, ISN'T IT?
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 31
- Message 300 Wed Sep 27, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:53 EDT
-
- Just to clarify: Classic Tetris only goes to level 10.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 31
- Message 308 Thu Sep 28, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:42 EDT
-
- It's actually an interesting experiment in learning, in that it's
- absolutely clear what the brain does...when you stop playing, your brain keeps
- seeing these falling blocks every time you close your eyes, and what it's
- doing is working out each possible combination, so you can react more
- instinctively (yellow Ls go on the left, green Ls on the right, both top down,
- to slide in)...it's really mental evolution in action, the learning process
- given color and shapes.
-
- It's also absolutely a useless skill.
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- Topic 42 Mon Oct 16, 1995
- C.MACLEOD2 [Cam] at 23:18 EDT
- Sub: Promoting B5 on a local level
-
- Lots of station have moved B5 to "graveyard" timeslots. What can we do on a
- local level to boost interest and increase viewership?
- 13 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 18, Topic 42
- Message 2 Tue Oct 17, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:51 EDT
-
- Y'know...this is a nutty idea...maybe just ignore it...but I got wind
- last year about a station in...Italy? Greece?...one or the other that went
- bankrupt and shut down *literally* in the middle of airing a B5 episode. The
- next day, during the lunch time period, hundreds of protesters showed up with
- placards demanding they show the rest of the episode. This got substantial
- coverage, apparently, and convinced another station to pick up the show.
-
- So I look around at the net, at the sharp local people who want to help,
- the great graphics that are out there that can be used, the organizational
- resources on the net.....
-
- It's a nutty idea.
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- Topic 1 Sat Oct 16, 1993
- STARR [Arne] at 10:29 EDT
- Sub: The British Aired Final Four Episodes
-
- This is the Babylon 5 Episode Category, and this topic is for discussion and
- spoilers on the final four episodes of Season Two which will air in Britain
- months before the American airings in October.
-
- 353 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 1
- Message 207 Sat Sep 09, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:02 EDT
-
- Dave: yup. Londo's never coughed before, and this was very deliberately
- placed. He's on the path, like it or not.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 1
- Message 212 Sun Sep 10, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:11 EDT
-
- Question one I'll leave for later...to question two, Kosh *appears* to us
- as a being of light...doesn't mean that's entirely what he is, that's how
- we've been programmed to see him.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 1
- Message 218 Mon Sep 11, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:53 EDT
-
- As it happens, I worked closely in designing Kosh with Steve Burg, who
- was one of the main designers on The Abyss, Terminator 2, Waterworld, and
- other films. So I'm not surprised some element of that gracefullness came
- through.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 1
- Message 219 Mon Sep 11, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:54 EDT
-
- PS, to Brett's comments above...someone observed that what we've
- seen...is Kosh's encounter suit *inside* his encounter suit, given the way in
- which we perceive him...sounds about right.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 1
- Message 324 Fri Oct 06, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:48 EDT
-
- Rob: you're absolutely correct that you shouldn't be talking about those
- "even more unusual planes" in public. Good for you.
-
- That's what email is for. I look forward to hearing more about this.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 1
- Message 328 Sat Oct 07, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:12 EDT
-
- Yeah, well, *I've* got Ultraviolet Level Clearance, personally assigned
- to me by President Santiago (before his unfortunate demise), so there.
-
- Actually, the Pentagon likes me...was invited to the Air Force Academy
- 2024 Study Group as a participant at Maxwell AFB by a Lieutenant General
- (unfortunately had to decline for various reasons), we get care packages from
- some folks at the Pentagon...hey, if you can't tell us, who CAN you tell?
-
- jms*
-
- (*who used to be a reporter and still honors the confidentiality of
- sources)
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 1
- Message 352 Sat Oct 28, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:23 EDT
-
- Teri: unless your station did something, it's not physically possible for
- the US version to be *shorter* than the UK version in any scene like that.
- There was no additional material ever provided to C4 to expand it beyond
- what's seen here.
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- Topic 23 Sat Apr 29, 1995
- SF-HUDGENS [Fenn] (Forwarded)
- Sub: #219 - "Divided Loyalties"
-
- Lyta Alexander returns with a warning that one of Babylon 5's officers may be
- an operative for a top secret government organization. Patricia Tallman
- returns as Lyta. Written by JMS.
- 195 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 23
- Message 14 Wed Oct 11, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:04 EDT
-
- You're looking into this too much.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 23
- Message 55 Sat Oct 14, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:21 EDT
-
- Actually, Delenn was never told the whole situation, so she would have
- had no way of knowing to stick around; also, it was something they had to do
- on their own.
-
- The Talia "incident" is referenced again in "Dust to Dust," and possibly
- one more episode in the first 11.
-
- None of the actors have *contracts* for five years, we have options ON
- them for that period, which we can exercise at our discretion.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 23
- Message 59 Sun Oct 15, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:11 EDT
-
- It means we have first call on their services, and if we choose to renew
- an actor, they *must* comply; if we choose not to, we're not obliged to. This
- is standard in TV.
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- Topic 24 Sat Apr 29, 1995
- SF-HUDGENS [Fenn] (Forwarded)
- Sub: #220 - "The Long Twilight Struggle"
-
- The Narn-Centauri War reaches a major turning point. Delenn is contacted by an
- old friend who offers assistance. Written by JMS.
- 126 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 24
- Message 14 Wed Oct 18, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:14 EDT
-
- Re: G'Kar's position on the council...Sheridan could have carried on, but
- it would've been basically useless. The Centauri now occupy and run Narn, and
- as its conquerers call thanks to the surrender and agreement to the Centauri
- terms, call the shots as far as who can legitimately speak for Narn. Sheridan
- could've kept G'Kar *in the room*, but he'd still be powerless, without
- portfolio, and the whole concept of the council would be shot. He is now
- simply Citizen G'Kar, same as any other Narn. No, Londo isn't of higher rank
- in the council than Sheridan, but he speaks for the Centauri, and the Centauri
- speak for Narn.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 24
- Message 27 Fri Oct 20, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:35 EDT
-
- Re: Earth's attitude toward the Centauri...stick around for 2 more
- episodes.
-
- Re: not recognizing the Centauri rule...on what basis would or could
- Earth do this? If the Narns had not agreed to total and unconditional
- surrender, sure, there might be a case you could make...otherwise, one doesn't
- have a leg to stand on.
-
- Vampyr...okay, (poink), I've now made you Babylon 5 Person here. So how
- could Sheridan "take Londo down a peg" in any manner consistent with reality?
- Yell at him? Sure, but to what effect? He had nothing to back it up.
- Before, in "Shadows," he had a bluff he could run; now that's not relevant
- because the actions have all been taken, and there is nothing that can be done
- to stop it. Sometimes, things happen in the real world, and we'd love to see
- the person taken down a peg, as you say...but sometimes actually *doing* that
- in a real world situation, or a fairly rigorous fictional situation, is a
- different matter.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 24
- Message 40 Sat Oct 21, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:24 EDT
-
- Vampyr: don't worry, your reaction is exactly right. If Londo's actions
- bug one, they should, because we hate to see them. And what makes this show
- strong, I think, is that we *are* very rigorous and logical in how we put
- together the politics of our universe. There aren't a lot of holes you can
- point to in this one.
-
- Could G'Kar try and form a government in exile? He probably could, and
- they may be worried about that...so who knows what they might do...?
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 24
- Message 76 Mon Oct 23, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:45 EDT
-
- A-TC: yes, Londo *does* have his moments when one almost likes him in
- spite of oneself; the second episode of year three has scenes in which you
- don't like him, and then you *do* like him enormously...then you don't again.
- He's caught in the scissors...and trying madly to find some way out of the
- situation he's in.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 24
- Message 84 Tue Oct 24, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:43 EDT
-
- Or are you just happy to see me.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 24
- Message 92 Wed Oct 25, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:17 EDT
-
- Debs: *extremely* good points, and well considered. We go through great
- pains on the lighting, to add dimension, texture, and to play with helping
- create the characters. Thanks for noticing.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 24
- Message 104 Thu Oct 26, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:47 EDT
-
- He's Centauri. They have an accent. He puts stress on the darndest word
- sometimes.
-
- jms
- ------------
- ************
- Topic 25 Sat Apr 29, 1995
- SF-HUDGENS [Fenn] (Forwarded)
- Sub: #221 - "Comes the Inquisitor"
-
- by JMS
- 69 message(s) total.
- ************
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 25
- Message 3 Wed Oct 25, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:10 EDT
-
- General Answer For What Comes Now:
-
- Yes, I *know* it's the East End not the West End; I looked right at my
- notes when I was writing the script, and they said East and I typed West and
- nobody noticed it until it went out. I could've replaced it with a looped
- line prior to first airing here, as this was found during the UK airings, but
- looping never improves only diminishes the performance, and he's on-camera and
- the words wouldn't match his mouth. So I decided to let it go out this way
- once for performance, and we'll correct this aspect with a loop in later
- airings, even though that will somewhat lessen the performance aspect.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 25
- Message 6 Thu Oct 26, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:32 EDT
-
- Yes we have. In the pilot and elsewhere. It comes out engines first to
- decelerate more quickly, then turns around to actually dock.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 25
- Message 15 Fri Oct 27, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:00 EDT
-
- Maybe a subtitle or caption on-screen with the words, "I'm sorry, I'm
- sorry, I'm sorry."
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 25
- Message 25 Sat Oct 28, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:30 EDT
-
- You can't exclude or include anything in your story just because a
- character or concept has been used by others. If we were to do that, then we
- might as well never make the show, because others have shown starships and
- hyperspace and aliens. Okay, yes, others have used Jack. But not in the same
- way. It was *right* for this show...should it not be used because others have
- also used this character? I think that the moment you begin constantly course-
- correcting your show in reaction to other shows, you're dead in the water.
- You have to do what's right for *this* story, in *this* episode. And I think
- we showed a very different aspect of the character and the situation than has
- been shown before. If we just did the same old gag -- Jack comes to B5 and
- begins murdering people again -- then I'd agree. But we didn't. I think you
- have to judge a show by what's IN the show, and how well it's done, not
- against what has been done in other places.
-
- Otherwise we might as well throw out starships and beam weapons and
- aliens and all the rest, since those have ALL been done a lot more than Jack.
-
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 25
- Message 27 Sat Oct 28, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:27 EDT
-
- In his situation, who wouldn't...?
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 25
- Message 31 Sun Oct 29, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:33 EDT
-
- Never thought the ep was being trashed, just responding. If one picks
- nits with shows, one should also be free to pick nits on messages. Just the
- usual give and take.
-
- Remembered an interesting quote this afternoon: "Of course everything has
- already been said. But since no one was listening, we must begin again."
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 25
- Message 39 Sun Oct 29, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:24 EST
-
- Well, this certainly helps explain the growing popularity of Senator
- Dole. Shaving off that mustache was a definite smart move.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 25
- Message 44 Sun Oct 29, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:24 EST
-
- Jim: never hesitate to bring something up because it's me; if we can't
- discuss the issues, there's no point.
-
- On the question of Dole and politics in general...yeah, Bruce and Jerry
- and I tend to go 'round and 'round about this stuff at our lunch gatherings.
- Sometimes for laughs, sometimes earnestly, but we generally tend to respect
- the other's viewpoints.
-
- I don't personally subscribe wholecloth to a liberal or conservative
- agenda; I think you have to take each individual issue as it comes. I'm pro-
- choice and pro-death penalty (UNLESS one can guarantee that when a court says,
- "life inprisonment," it MEANS life, not 5 years, then I flip to the other side
- of the issue).
-
- There are a number of interesting democrats, and a number of intersting
- republicans out there. Dole, however, strikes me as a mean, venal little man
- who would make Nixon (also not high on my hit parade) look like Rebecca of
- Sunnybrook Farm if he ever got into high office. It ain't the party, it
- ain't the issues (well, not entirely)...it's just that this guy worries the
- hell out of me.
-
- jms
- ------------
- Category 19, Topic 25
- Message 67 Tue Oct 31, 1995
- STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:31 EST
-
- "He wishes confirmation." Any catholics in here want to comment a
- little further on what that means?
-
- Re: Colin Powell...I'm cautiously optimistic. One of the real dangers
- is that, not knowing perhaps as much as we should about him, is that he has
- the potential to become the empty vessel into which we pour all of our
- expectations about what he *could* be, or what we *think* he is...and see not
- him, but our own reflection, which is always appealing to a restless
- population seeking the next tall rider on a horse.
-
- That said...I do find much of what I've seen quite intriguing, and if
- the rest is revealed to match what seems to be his personality and record, I
- think I might be inclined to vote for him.
-
- jms
- ------------
|
