lurkers-guide/ftp/Usenet/jms94-03-usenet

===========================================================================
| This text is compiled from posts by J. Michael Straczynski on the Usenet
| group alt.tv.babylon-5.  This document contains material Copyright 1994
| J. Michael Straczynski.  He has given permission for his words to be
| redistributed online, as long as they are marked as being copyright JMS.
| This document, as well as other Babylon-5 related material, is available
| by anonymous FTP at ftp.hyperion.com.
===========================================================================

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 2 Mar 1994 19:47:35 -0500
Subject: Re: JMS... A question about te

     Episode #5 is the two year anniversary of B5 going on-line; not
two years since the pilot movie.  It took about a year and a half to
grow to this point, and for the final of the Big 5 ambassadors, Kosh, to
arrive, completing the group.  It's now roughly six months after that,
into the new year.
 
	                                                 jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 3 Mar 1994 07:16:15 -0500
Subject: to JMS-thoughts on gay/bi and

     Yes, you will eventually become aware of a character with an
alternative perspective.  And the Sinclair thing wasn't a statement one
way or another; simply a logical extension of their relationship.
 
	                                                        jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Mar 1994 03:11:58 -0500
Subject: Re: JMS: Two small questions..

     In addition, if an ambassador was *known* to have an unlawful
object, it *could* be subject to seizure...but the ambassador could not
be arrested for possessing it due to immunity.
 
	                                                             jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Mar 1994 03:12:15 -0500
Subject: Assassins' Guild (was Re: POD

     Re: your analysis of the assassin's guild...dead on.  Obviously you
have known some Narns in your time....
 
     Keep spilling those secrets and pretty soon the Thenta Makur will
want a *professional* word or two with you as well....
 
	                                                              jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Mar 1994 06:14:38 -0500
Subject: Re: Little touches I live for

     "So, I've been wondering who made up Londo's line in Parliament,
`but in purple, I'm stunning!'"
 
     Ummmmm.....the scriptwriter?
 
	                                                           jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Mar 1994 02:40:22 -0500
Subject: Parliament Glasses

     Re: the glasses...whether or not I'm ever to actually get into it or
not, the Narns put a *high* premium on physical perfection.  They're not
supposed to ever indicate any weakness.  It's a matter of shame to admit
to it.  So there's not much of a market for body-aids such as eyeglasses
back there.  It's something you hide.  So some among them buy elsewhere,
as in the case of buying human glasses with the right prescription (then,
as the assassin did, hiding them from view whenever not absolutely
necessary).
 
	                                                                jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Mar 1994 02:40:23 -0500
Subject: Mind War (Ivanova spoil)

     Thanks for noticing that.  Yes, it *was* very important (to me, at
least, whether or not anyone noticed it), that Ivanova was the one who
handed Talia the water, and had that brief moment with her.  For those who
understand their relationship, it adds a tiny layer; for those who don't,
because the dialogue keeps on going over it, it's not obtrusive.
 
	                                                        jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Mar 1994 02:40:36 -0500
Subject: Psi rating

     Talia is a P5, as Lyta was in the pilot.
 
     Lyta was recalled to Earth shortly after the events of the pilot; as
was the doctor who saw Kosh.  The only two humans exposed that closely to
a Vorlon were shipped back to Earth as fast as possible (which you'll
find out in, I believe, "War Prayer").
 
	                                                               jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Mar 1994 02:40:52 -0500
Subject: JMS and the Five-year Plan

     When that time comes, we'll likely look for writers whose scripts
show they can *write* for our characters, and then assign stories to
those writers.
 
	                                                               jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Mar 1994 06:04:01 -0500
Subject: JMS: Spellings, Ages, etc.

     1) Morobuto: African philosopher and leader who united several of
the warring countries in that area under one banner; the Ghandi of his
time (2075-2124).
 
     2) The race was the Xon.
 
     3) The Third Fane of Chu'Domo.
 
     4) There weren't many takes, but there's one *GREAT* out-take on the
gag reel.
 
     5) Yes, revealing ages 1 and 2 would reveal 3.  Be patient.
 
     6) Never got around to using the t-shirt in a shot this season.  With
luck, next one....
 
	                                                           jms

 

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Mar 1994 18:18:36 -0500
Subject: Disappointed in Babylon-5

     Just some brief responses:
 
     1) Aliens aren't *alien* enough.  You mention that the other shows
get gigged on this too, so B5 shouldn't be exempt, though you then go on
to note that we still have to cast on earth.  Question is, therefore, is
the expectation realistic?  Fact is, no matter what ANYONE does, ANY
alien on ANY tv series or movie is going to be written from a human point
of view because it's a human writing it, and a human acting the part.
There will never be an authentic alien until an alien really appears; the
rest is just human speculation.  (And if you want to go for a really weird
approach, remember that this is a visual medium, and having someone talking
to a clam doesn't work *visually*.  You can do stuff in a novel that you
simply cannot do in TV or movies.)
 
     2) The episodic format.  I take the liberty of disagreeing with you,
both in your premise and your conclusion.  Forget what anyone else ahs
(has) said, or what you intuit.  What I said from Day One was this: that
every episode *will stand on its own*, offering a complete story, but that
over time, the accumulation of those stories will begin to present a much
larger arc.  That was the promise.  Yes, stories are for the most part
wrapped up in an hour.  That's precisely the point.  What we're going for
is a *cumulative* approach, not a *consecutive* approach.  The more you
learn about the characters and the situations, the more you can pick up
on stuff.  Further, threads introduced in one episode *do* carry over;
you see the problem with Ivanova, her mother, and the Psi Corps recurring
in a very major way in "Eyes," "Legacies" and other episodes.
 
     It is a *cumulative* process.  You have thus far seen 5 or 6 episodes.
 We're talking long term here.  Further, don't hold me to a promise that
I didn't make.  I said the shows would stand alone...and now you say that
it's a broken promise, that the shows are resolved.  Yes, they are; that
was the intent.  It's the *characters* and the larger threads that are
not resolved within the hour.
 
     3) The politics aren't very political.  Again, you're making a
conclusion based on insufficient evidence.  "Deathwalker" is almost
ENTIRELY politics and back-room deals between not only the Big Five
governments, but also the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, just for
starters.  Politics back home makes a MAJOR impact on the show in such
episodes as "Eyes," "A Voice in the Wilderness," "Survivors" and other
upcoming, filmed episodes.
 
     You're looking for immediate gratification, as if this were a short
story.  I'll say it again: this is a *novel* for television.  Every
promise made will be kept.
 
     The sciences...we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.
 
     My main point is, you're alternately holding me to promises I
didn't make, or gigging us for not doing things when in fact we *have*
done them, *have* filmed them, they just haven't aired yet.
 
     Having said all of that...the biggest hit TV series, according to
ratings and research services, have a large number of viewers who love it,
a smaller number who think it's okay, and a smaller number who *hate* it.
No TV series is ever going to appeal to 100% of the audience; it hasn't
happened, and will never happen.  It just may not be your kind of show.
 
	                                                           jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Mar 1994 22:27:43 -0500
Subject: Pilot Laser Disc - WOW!

     Just curious, where did you obtain the B5 laserdisk from?  I don't
have a copy myself, and would love to obtain one.
 
	                                                               jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 7 Mar 1994 03:20:15 -0500
Subject: Re: War Prayer: what went wron

     We'd at one point considered setting B5 at Chi Draconis, but have
pretty much decided to leave it in the Epsilon star system.
 
	                                                             jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 7 Mar 1994 03:20:15 -0500
Subject: Richard Compton

     Richard directed two more episodes for us: "Grail" and "Believers."
 
	                                                            jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 7 Mar 1994 03:47:11 -0500
Subject: JMS: More Questions

     I see no problem with the synopses.
 
     The Xon did evolve into fair amount of intelligence.  There are a
very few land masses on Centauri Prime, separated by huge oceans.  The
two species evolved pretty much separately, on different continents that
were absolutely unreachable until one or both sides developed sufficient
technology for extended sea travel...and that's when all hell broke
loose.
 
     Psi ratings vary a little, but not much; a P5 can be made into a P6,
but not much more.  Generally, what you are is what you are.
 
     (Many lower-level psi's, P1-P2s, are tracked by the Psi Corps, but
don't officially belong to it or function in any official capacity, as
their skills are *so* minimal or erratic as to be of virtually no real
use.  Still, they have to be tracked and logged for genetic purposes.)
 
     With only one exception, you won't see time travel anywhere in the
five-year run of the B5 story.
 
                                                                  jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 7 Mar 1994 04:04:13 -0500
Subject: My JMS questions

     To reveal the first two ages would be to reveal the third.
 
     Yes, negotiations have been ongoing for a comic book series, and it
seems to be finalized, though I can't comment officially yet.
 
     The PPGs are Phased Plasma Guns, using superheated helium.  It
doesn't ricochet like conventional slugs, dissipates quickly after a hit,
can be adjusted to produce surface damage, or cut straight through the
body, or to make a big impact without burning through.  At full strength,
they burn straight through any kind of body, causing massive internal
burns and damage to the internal organs.  The clothes melt right into the
skin.  It's not a pretty thing.  Generally they're operated at a lower
or less lethal setting.
 
	                                                                jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 8 Mar 1994 04:57:12 -0500
Subject: Re: JMS: More Questions

     The number of psi's in each category, from 1-12, gets rarer as  you
get higher.  Lots of folks have a minimal tendency, very few have any
real talent.

                                                                         jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 8 Mar 1994 05:19:11 -0500
Subject: G'Kar is sexy! (re Cinefantast

     Re: G'Kar appearing in only 12 episodes this year...that's all that
his character was required for.  Prior to the season beginning, before
one word was committed to paper, I broke out all 22 stories for this
season.  (Note: in one case, D.C. Fontana walked in with a different
story than was on the agenda, which I thought was better than what I had
in mind for that slot, and used the same characters, so that worked out.)
 We determined how many episodes all the characters were needed for, and
made our deals accordingly.

     Next year, as the story escalates, the plan is to make all of our
alien ambassadors available for 22 out of 22, allowing us to be far more
flexible.

                                                  jms(hoping for a new year)s

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Mar 1994 20:42:23 -0500
Subject: Re: Inside of B-5 reminiscent

     Re: the Rama discussion....I'd just like to point one and all toward
the Gerard O'Neill speculations about space habitats, which contained the
kinds of things done in B5 and Rama and many other books about rotating
space habitats.  Again, this stuff has a backing in real science.

                                                      jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 11 Mar 1994 17:05:05 -0500
Subject: Straczynski: Racist or Cute

     Malcolm Biggs was just a name, nothing more.  Nor should anything
more be read into it.  You're seeing something that's not there.  Lots of
people have the first name Malcolm.  I have to confess that I'm angered
at your message.  A character is named Malcolm, and you dig up a whole
context that doesn't exist and call someone a racist because of it...a
matter strictly of perception that doesn't touch reality at any point,
and here we are working very hard to be ethnically balanced, showing
primarily inter-racial relationships between our characters...I think
you owe me and this show an apology.

                                                                      jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 12 Mar 1994 23:55:25 -0500
Subject: JMS: Couple questions about te

     The first question I can't answer, for story reasons.  For the
second question, we'll delve deeply into the use of telepaths in
criminal cases -- particularly their limitations -- in "The Quality of
Mercy."  Also, there was a *long* thread about this not long ago, and
I'm not sure I'm up to going through it all again...perhaps someone here
can point to where the discussion is in the archive.

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 14 Mar 1994 00:31:25 -0500
Subject: JMS: "Mind War" was mind blowi

     Glad you enjoyed it.  As for Bester...no, you've got it somewhat
reversed.  We'd initially offered Walter the role of Knight Two in "Sky,"
but when his health prohibited using him, we went to Patrick McGoohan,
who loved the script, wanted to do it, but was going to be out of the
country at the time of shooting.  We then shifted Walter to "Mind War."

                                                                     jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 14 Mar 1994 05:09:13 -0500
Subject: JMS: Time Online?

     I think, to cover all the net bases, I'm on...maybe 3 hours a day,
just to keep up with the traffic.  It's very hard; that's a LOT to stay
current with.  About 400 messages a day zip past my eyes.  But it
continues to be an interesting experience....

                                                                         jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 14 Mar 1994 05:28:50 -0500
Subject: Re: Straczynski: Racist or Cut

     Perhaps you wouldn't have so many people "pounding" on you if you
avoided the tendency to run your mouth out of turn.  First you posted a
false notice from VARIETY stating that I had been fired off my own show,
and posted it on various nets as though it were the real thing.  You were
caught out in this, mumbled about being unfairly targeted, but never
showed the *least* regret over doing it.  You smeared my name, and never
once apologized.

     Nonetheless, I offered an open hand, and said "We begin again," if
you recall, figuring that everyone is owed one act of boorishness.  Then
came your current screed.  You backtracked and said that you didn't
understand the context, that you assumed wrongly...did it occur to you to
ASK FIRST?  No.  You started throwing around messages with allegations of
racism.  You didn't ask for clarification, you started screaming
"Racist."  And once it was explained to you...again, no apology, just a
mumbled comment about being confused and making assumptions.

     Have you ever considered not running your mouth for a change, not
smearing people, not spreading rumors, not calling people offensive
names?  Just because you were born with fingers doesn't mean you have to
use them at a keyboard when your brain is clearly vapor-locked.  I don't
know what problem causes you to engage in this kind of behavior, but in
future keep it far away from me.  I didn't care for your hoax, I didn't
care for your malicious rumors, I didn't care for your allegations, and
I don't much like your "poor me" act now that you've gotten your dick
caught in the door again.

     Grow up and act like a man or get the fuck out of public view,
because you're an embarrassment to anyone who considers himself a fan of
SF; the kind of person who gives the rest of us a bad name.

                                                                   jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 14 Mar 1994 05:28:57 -0500
Subject: JMS:  The Twilight Zone

     Correct; I worked on the new Twilight Zone as story editor, also
writing about 12 or so episodes.

                                                                     jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 15 Mar 1994 00:18:35 -0500
Subject: JMS: Please help! (problems wi

     We're looking into the KSTW situation, along with some others, but
there may not be a lot we can do.  This kind of thing really has to be
addressed at the local level by local viewers.

                                                                      jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 15 Mar 1994 01:04:55 -0500
Subject: B5 Character development?

     Re: seeing more character development in TNG at this time (you cite
knowing Picard's role in the Crusher death, Riker and Troi, and that
Data and Worf were orphans).

     "We've seen nothing" you conclude in B5.

    What we've seen so far in this show: that Sinclair has a missing 24
hours during the war; that he was involved with Sakai on and off ever
since the academy, and now has a monogamous relationship with her; that
his father was a fighter pilot...that Garibaldi has been fired from the
last several jobs he's had, and has a questionable reputation, and has a
drinking problem...that Sinclair has a death wish...that Londo has three
wives and a penchant for having affairs...that Ivanova's father has just
passed away, and her mother committed suicide, and her brother was killed
in the war....

     I could go on, but I'm not sure what the point would be.

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 15 Mar 1994 01:06:20 -0500
Subject: More G'Kar questions

     Yes, he does have a wife, who may or may not show up in year two.

     What does he mean by pleasure threshold?  This is one of those
questions that can only be answered through demonstration....

     I'd always conceived that the name was prounoucned GUH-kar.  Andreas
started pronouncing it SHUH-kar.  I asked him why.  Andreas shrugged and
said that he'd decided his character was French.

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 15 Mar 1994 03:01:53 -0500
Subject: And the Sky Full of Questions

     (From memory)...we'll know on the pickup in May; TKO and Eyes are
separate scripts, by those names; we're finishing shooing 121 and about
to start 122 (episode 22); the Narn fighters came out of the local
jumpgate.

                                                                      jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 15 Mar 1994 03:17:59 -0500
Subject: B5 Presentation at Phil & Ed's

     I'm told I'm supposed to do one, but haven't been told when at this
point.

                                                                        jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 15 Mar 1994 03:18:04 -0500
Subject: Defensive Grid

     Rather than explain the defense grid, I think I'd prefer to let you
see it in action.  Which you will, in May, in "Signs and Portents."  Its'
one of our heaviest action episodes of this first batch.

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 16 Mar 1994 01:24:19 -0500
Subject: JMS at Pasadena Con?????

     I'm told my presentation will be at either 1 or 2 pm on Sunday,
which will be tight since I'm flying back from Houston that morning, from
receiving an award Saturday night from the Space Frontier Foundation for
Best Vision of the Future.

                                                                        jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 17 Mar 1994 04:50:48 -0500
Subject: Re: SKY....  more space scenes

     The CGI scenes were deliberately step-printed to give the shots a
more dreamlike look.

                                                                          jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 17 Mar 1994 20:03:57 -0500
Subject: JMS:  Straightforward Question

     There will be new episodes in April through the end of May, then a
long break of reruns, then new ones starting in September or October,
through November.  (This is because the stations need to have new eps
for the November sweeps.)

                                                                         jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 17 Mar 1994 20:47:20 -0500
Subject: Re: JMS at Baycon?????

     Nope, no plans to attend BayCon at this time.

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Mar 1994 01:56:48 -0500
Subject: Re: Telepath a bad idea?

     There will be no more Ironhearts, and that character will not
return.

                                                                 jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Mar 1994 02:18:56 -0500
Subject: Sky -- comments and other thou

     Since I don't know how to send an individual message to this alt
section -- I can only reply to notes in my GEnie mailbox -- I would like
to pass along the following.

     Networks usually renew their shows at the end of the season, when
they've seen all the shows.  Syndication, and PTEN in particular, works
differently.  The decision on whether or not to renew will be made in
April/early May.  One factor complicating all of this is the new
Paramount network, which is grabbing up stations and available timeslots
by the bucket.  They are, apparently, making very good deals.

     Point being...if you truly enjoy Babylon 5, I would suggest that
the next two weeks would be the ideal time to write your local TV
station -- which has a *direct* say in whether or not B5 is picked up --
and tell them so.  It's kinda unfair to have to decide on a show after
only a handful of episodes, but that's the hand all the PTEN shows have
been dealt.

     Would definitely be appreciated.

                                         jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Mar 1994 02:19:08 -0500
Subject: Re: And the Sky Full of Questi

     Casual mating between species *cannot* take place accidentally in
the B5 universe.  There would have to be *massive* genetic engineering
on someone to make it even remotely possible.

     (And thanks for the comments on the show.)

                                                                     jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Mar 1994 04:46:35 -0500
Subject: JMS How have you been influenc

     The conversation is most useful as a sort of "sense of the room,"
if the comparison is clear.  I find that a lot of it reinforces what I
suspected.  As for yeaer two...won't know until next month sometime.

                                                                   jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Mar 1994 04:54:10 -0500
Subject: SKY...JMS / Writers Digest...P

     There are over 200 pages of single-spaced notes, plus individual
files with background stuff, for the full five-year span of B5.  I don't
think it's fair to set up questions unless you know the answer well in
advance.  So yes, it is all worked out.  I tried to take a fairly
Tolkein-esque approach, fleshing out as much as possible of the B5
universe, whether or not it ever gets actually used.

                                                                    jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Mar 1994 21:42:49 -0500
Subject: JMS - Q: San Diego?

     I live in San Diego from 1974-1981, and it's actually a great place,
so I'm inclined to tweak it once in a while, just for funsies....

                                                               jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Mar 1994 21:42:52 -0500
Subject: Re: And the Sky Full of Stars

     The ONLY reason that they were able to pick up the blasts in
"Infection" was because they were SO powerful that they registered on the
station's sensors.  Ordinary PPG blasts don't show up.

                                                                     jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Mar 1994 21:42:57 -0500
Subject: ...And Every Star...

     My only reaction is that you know more than you know...you just
don't know it yet.  Nicely thought out.

                                                                   jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 19 Mar 1994 01:52:27 -0500
Subject: Welcome to alt.tv.babylon-5

     Unfortunately, I'm home at the moment, and all those specs are either
at the office, or in Ron's custody.  You might best direct the question
toward Foundation, which looks on here.

                                                                    jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 21 Mar 1994 03:57:25 -0500
Subject: Schedule?  Repeats already?!?

     Here is the dilemma in which we find ourselves.  In the Good Olde
Days of TeeVee, the new season (remember when there WAS a "Fall season?")
began around September (in time for the November and February sweeps), and
ended around the May sweeps.  Then Summer reruns through August.  The
sweeps periods are the very competitive periods in which stations are
monitored in order to set the price they can charge for commercials.  This
is a VERY important time for the stations, and they want new product.

     We go on the air in February.  No problem hitting the May sweeps.
But the stations need new shows to also air in November.  So that means
you have to stretch 22 episodes so that you'll still have new ones come
November.  It's a pain, but that's what we're stuck with.

                                                                          jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 21 Mar 1994 21:54:24 -0500
Subject: P5: And The Sky Full of Stars(

     Okay, now noting that Janulewicz voted to give "Sky" a score of
ZERO...here comes my question.  How legitimate can your poll be if there
are clearly votes thrown in to skew the thing?  I've noted this guy's
votes before, and he tends to vote *substantially* lower, often in a
random-seeming way.  Obviously he sent in a 0 vote simply to screw things
up.  Is there no way to filter these things out?  Because otherwise it
just encourages mindfuckers to play at keeping the numbers low, in a way
that has *nothing* to do with the show itself.

                                                               jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 22 Mar 1994 01:13:47 -0500
Subject: Re: ATSFOS-Tossing bodies out

     "But the line about the body being bound to the station by gravity
was idiocy of the most annoying kind, because it blatantly screams that
the people writing and producing the show don't bother to check the most
trivial elements of the science they portray.  What they happen to get
right, they get right by sheer coincidence."

     The only thing that I would agree with in your analysis is the word
"idiot."  I would, however, apply it in your direction, since you so
willingly applied it in mine, as the person who writes and produces this
show.

     1) We do fairly thorough research into the science of our show.  We
work hard at it.  We subscribe to the various scientific journals, we
use advisors on stuff we don't fully understand ourselves.  We make a
concerted, conscious and deliberate effort to get the science *right*,
as much as is practical within a TV format.

     2) Your attitude is the kind of reprehensible crap I get from people
who aren't paying attention, and just assume that if something isn't done
to what THEY consider satisfactory, that people are just sluffing it off,
that they're idiots, they don't bother.  My response: who the fuck are
you?  Where the fuck were YOU when we were having production meeting after
productin meeting trying to determine how to do some of this stuff?  I
didn't see your name on the list, didn't see you in the room, where do you
get off characterizing our attitude?

     And now for the good part.

     3) This weekend, I was at the Space Frontier Foundation to receive an
award for Babylon 5 for Best Vision of the Future, part of which was its
recognition of our *deliberate efforts* to get things right.  Zero-G
maneuvering, civilian use of space, a working O'Neill station, on and on,
all the stuff you think  happens by "coincidence."  And which has not
generally HAPPENED on TV before.  In attendence were the Delta Clipper
team of engineers, astronaut Pete Conrad, leading researchers with NASA,
JPL, McDonnell-Douglas, you name it.

     And one of the people there, who had been with SDI and the Space
Program for 12 years, currently a top-level NASA consultant, pulled me
aside and said that after seeing the line about the gravity not letting
the body get very far -- and THAT is what was said in the script, and in
the episode, NOT your characterization of a body "bound" to the hull --
he said he sat down to do the math required to come up with the actuall
MASS of B5, starting with the 2.5 million tons of actual structure, plus
likely vegetation, quarters, occupants, ships docked inside...and when
you add it all up, it came to about the same mass as a fairly small
moon...and IT WOULD BE ENOUGH TO KEEP THE BODY FROM -- AS STATED IN THE
SCRIPT -- GETTING VERY FAR.

     The body would drift from the station a bit, get pulled back, hit
the hull, bounce, drift a bit, and be pulled back.  Or go into a slow
elliptical orbit.  (He mentioned that in the history of the Apollo
program, little bits of debris that would flake off the outside of the
ship would remain in proximity to the ship, just on the basis of ITS
mass and gravity, and it's not very big.)

     A couple of other high-level engineers backed him up, and said that
it was quite reasonable.

     What's the difference?  THEY sat down and did the math.  YOU just
sat down and ran your mouth, and decided to go around insulting people
for being inaccurate when in fact YOU are the one who "didn't bother to
check the most trivial elements of the science."  I don't think you really
grasp how big this place is, and how massive it is, and its effect on the
surrounding area.

     I, however, DO know how massive the station is, and DID bother to
call around to a few people I know who know this stuff even better than I
do, to ask them about this *before I wrote it*, just to be sure.

     I put your message on the same level as the occasional screed that
flies through here blathering on about how there shouldn't be gravity in
the observation dome since it's in the center of the station WITHOUT
stopping to LOOK at the goddamned thing and see that it's 1/3rd of the
way down FROM the center, giving at least 1/3rd G.

     Let me tell you a story.  It's about Van Gogh.  He was due to be
visited for the first time by his idol, Gauguin.  He covered the walls of
his home with his paintings, and awaited Gauguin's arrival.  Gauguin came.
 One by one, he walked down the line of paintings.  Upon coming to the
end of the paintings, he turned to Van Gogh and said, "You paint too
fast."

     "No," Van Gogh said, "you LOOK too fast."

     You look too fast.

     And next time, you might want to actually CHECK your figures before
you go around calling people idiots.

     Blockhead.

                                                                          jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 22 Mar 1994 01:59:32 -0500
Subject: "Stars" *SPOILERS*

     Re: your note about tense useage in those two lines you quote...you
unfortunately got the tenses wrong in both sentences, which takes care
of the concerns you raised.

     Line #1: "He must never find out what happened."

     Line #2: "Maybe you're still inside...maybe we're BOTH still inside."

                                                                        jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 23 Mar 1994 16:03:11 -0500
Subject: Re: ATSFOS-Tossing bodies out

     Yes, it was always my assumption that the body was dumped out through
the zero-g section, since that has more traffic with cargo loaders and
unloaders and less security than the passenger-oriented bays and airlocks.

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 23 Mar 1994 16:03:28 -0500
Subject: JMS: praise

     The only problem with a personal log is that that's pretty  much
associated with Trek, and I think that the way we've got it mapped out,
it won't be necessary.  Any info a person needs for an episode will be
contained or restated within that episode.  Thank for the note.

                                                                      jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 23 Mar 1994 16:30:00 -0500
Subject: JMS: ok on bodies, how about s

     There is a security problem on B5, yes.  And we hope to deal with it
at some point.  It's inevitable, really; 250,000 residents, huge crates
being moved in and out every day, people going and coming...they try to
confiscate what they can, but a lot slips through.

                                                             jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 23 Mar 1994 16:30:00 -0500
Subject: Re: Three ages of mankind

     An Indian interviewed by a friend of mine commented that while white
peole have only one B.C., the native-american populatin has *three* BC's
-- Before Columbus, Before Custer, Before Costner.

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 03:26:06 -0500
Subject: Kosh Quote

     We filmed it, but don't know if we'll ever use the "when it's gone
" line.

                                                                          jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 03:47:39 -0500
Subject: QUESTIONS

     The EA pin on the chest (stylized) is for the Earth Alliance; the
color-coded bar beneath is for division (gold is command, silver is
command staff, green is security, red is medical division, and so on),
and ranks go on the shoulders.  (Ivanova, as liaison between the
commander and the command staff, has a split bar, gold and silver.)

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 03:57:34 -0500
Subject: JMS: Mind Wars, the alien.

     No, this isn't the mysterious sixth race.

                                                                     jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 03:57:39 -0500
Subject: Re: What the hell is "Quantium

     That's weird...I thought Quantium 40 was another term for Element
115.  Ah, well...I think I like your math better.

                                                                           jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 03:57:45 -0500
Subject: JMS - planetary surveying (min

     The gate was set up in what was believed to be a reasonably fertile
and useful sector of space; the explorer craft can't take too long in any
one area.  They find likely areas for exploitation, take a fast look
around, drop a gate, and move on.  This allows other ships to come in and
scope out the place in detail.  That's when they ran into whatever's
walking around Sigma 957.  (And it's not there all the time, only from
time to time.)

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 03:57:46 -0500
Subject: Walter Koenig's characters

     Koenig was originally on tap for Knight Two in "Sky."  When conditions
changed, we went to others.

                                                                     jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 03:57:55 -0500
Subject: JMS: Ivanova Question

     A Psi-rating comes through training and examination of a person's
skills over time.  Ivanova's mother never went through the full sequence
to get rated.  (Although they generally don't bother with P1s through
P2s, so she was at least a P3 or above, in terms of raw ability.)  A psi
rating isn't hereditary.

                                                               jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 04:09:19 -0500
Subject: Re: Defensive Grid

     Correct; "Signs and Portents" is the overall title for year one; but
just as one may entitle a chapter in a book the same as the book itself,
this episode has the year-title in it (which may signify that this one is,
well, significant....).

                                                               jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 04:19:14 -0500
Subject: Re: Straczynski: Racist or Cut

     Who did pick Malcolm for the guy's name?  I did, in the premise
that I gave Dorothy Fontana.  I liked the sound of it.  I often go for
the *sound* of a name, and how it matches the character.  Anybody who
makes more of it than that has some issues of his/her own to deal with.

                                                                 jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 04:19:15 -0500
Subject: B5 arc

     There is a five-year story arc, yes.  What's planned?  Cool stuff.

                                                                      jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 04:19:15 -0500
Subject: JMS: contracts?

     Yes, at this point telling who's up for what episodes/seasons would
be a bit of a spoiler....

                                                                  jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 04:47:09 -0500
Subject: Show support! Write!

     At this point, given that Paramount's making inroads with the
stations, I'd say that's where any letters should go, rather than to
Warners...but the effort is appreciated, make no mistake.  Thanks.

                                                                      jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Mar 1994 05:49:49 -0500
Subject: JMS: Trivia question

     Jeffrey David Sinclair.

                                                             jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 27 Mar 1994 04:54:29 -0500
Subject: B5 in Australia?

     It's my understanding that B5 has been sold to 7 Network in
Australia, premiering sometime this summer.

                                                                    jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 27 Mar 1994 18:27:50 -0500
Subject: Spoil me!!!

     In some areas, the B5 cover is alternated with a cover on Stephen
King's new miniseries, so that may be why you're not seeing it.

                                                                     jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 28 Mar 1994 05:22:13 -0500
Subject: That Cinefantastique article..

     It is unfortunate that because ST has for so many years been the
only game in town, everything gets measured next to it.  Part of this
is the fact that there have *been* very few marginally successful SF
shows, unlike mainstream shows, in which there have now been so many cop
series that comparisons to any one show get kinda lost or drowned out.

     As for the Gene Roddenberry comparison...I cringed at that as well,
not in any kind of insulting way, but just because I want to do my own
stuff.  I'm not the next Roddenberry; I'm the first jms.  He did what he
did, and I'm doing what I'm doing.  (Another article used the phrased, "is
inheriting the mantle of Gene Roddenberry."  When this hit the stands,
Harlan called and asked when the mantle arrived, did it come FedEx or
regular mail, could he come see it, and where did I intend to hang it?)

     It is the nature of the journalistic beast....

                                                                         jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 29 Mar 1994 16:34:01 -0500
Subject: Re: JMS: Ivanova Question

      Enquiring minds that want to know, will...in the fullness of time.

                                                                   jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 29 Mar 1994 23:54:51 -0500
Subject: schedule please!!!!!

     Here's what looks ilke the final April/May schedule of new Babylon 5
episodes:

     April 20th, "Deathwalker," by Lawrence G. DiTillio.
     April 27th, "Believers," by David Gerrold.
     May 4th, "Survivors," by Marc Scott Zicree.
     May 11th, "Signs and Portents," by jms
     May 18th, "By Any Means Necessary," by Kathryn M. Drennan
     May 25th, "The Quality of Mercy," by jms

     Reruns will be scheduled from June 1st through October 5th in order
to stretch new episodes into the November sweeps.  The tentative
schedule thereafter looks like this:

     October 12th, "Grail," by Christy Marx.
     October 19th, "Eyes," by Lawrence G. DiTillio
     October 26th, "TKO," by Lawrence G. DiTillio
     November 2nd, "A Voice in the Wilderness, Pt. 1," by jms
     November 9th, "A Voice in the Wilderness, Pt. 2," by jms
     November 16th, "Babylon Squared," by jms
     November 23rd, "Legacies," by D.C. Fontana
     November 30th, "Chrysalis," by jms

                                                                  jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 29 Mar 1994 23:55:35 -0500
Subject: Another Prisoner Ref.

     What you're seeing is a standard TV series "bumper," same as is used
on most shows.

                                                                    jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 30 Mar 1994 02:23:46 -0500
Subject: JMS: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5?

     I believe Ron will be shifting over my gateway, yes (and we all know
how painful that can be....).

                                                                            jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 30 Mar 1994 05:07:56 -0500
Subject: JMS:  Contract Renewal?

     We'll know by the first part of May whether or not we're picked up
for year two.  Here's hoping....

                                                                     jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 31 Mar 1994 01:59:56 -0500
Subject: Christy Marx

     Yup, that's the same Christy Marx.  (She also wrote an episode of
the new Twilight Zone for me.)

                                                                    jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 31 Mar 1994 02:04:31 -0500
Subject: Re: RE: Harlan Ellison UL

     The "little fuck" story is absolutely, completely untrue.

                                                                            jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 31 Mar 1994 02:07:44 -0500
Subject: JMS: Season structure (was Re:

     I dunno...I really don't think of it in those terms.  There are gaps,
and we'll deal with them.  Whether or not that changes over time will
remain to be seen; certainly I'd like it.

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 31 Mar 1994 02:54:35 -0500
Subject: *NOT* an urban legend; was Re:

     Nope, Harlan doesn't mention the "little fuck" story in Glass Teat
or elsewhere, as it didn't happen.  He's bemoaned to me many times that
this story has attached itself to him.  Didn't happen.

                                                                       jms

From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 31 Mar 1994 14:33:59 -0500
Subject: JMS at Phil & Ed's Excellent C

     BTW, I can *bring* some video to show, if it's desired; just wasn't
asked.  (IF a suitable projection monitor can be arranged.)

                                                                          jms