lurkers-guide/ftp/Usenet/jms95-08-usenet

Messages from Babylon 5 executive producer J. Michael Straczynski on the
Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.


Date: 1 Aug 1995 06:17:49 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS: Female characters

     Writing women has never been a problem for me.  I like women, both
romantically (when I was still in the marketplace) and intellectually, as
friends.  For as long as I can remember, the majority of my friends have
been women.  I have a goodly number of men friends, but what can I say, I
like the way many women think.  Specifically, I like women who are usually
smarter than me, who are funny, independent, self-assured and know their
own mind.  So it's not much of a stretch, therefore, that when I sit down
to write female characters, *that's* what tends to come out most of the
time.
 
     I've had a *lot* of relationships in my time; the total number of
intimate relationships (yeah, I'm talking about *that*) I once figured
worked out to about 50.  On one level, I'm not terribly proud of that
figure, it reflects a period when I was trying to find...I dunno...
SOMEdamnthing...but on the other hand, it's given me a LOT of material from
which to draw.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 2 Aug 1995 03:28:16 -0400
Subject: The Long Twilight Struggle.

     Thank you.  I'm quite frankly thrilled beyond words at the preliminary
reactions from the UK to this episode; we worked *really* hard on it, and
I can't tell you what the reactions mean to us.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 2 Aug 1995 21:44:28 -0400
Subject: "Downbelow" a ref to Cherryh's

     Actually, no, there was no intended not; I wanted the sense that this
place was down, as in downtown, downtrodden...briefly considered Down Under
but figured our viewers in Oz might be (rightly) bugged by it.  So Down
Under became Down Below, and I put them together into one word for slang,
DownBelow.
 
                                                             jms

Date: 2 Aug 1995 21:46:18 -0400
Subject: QUES#1: Before the Agamemnon?

     Sheridan was captain of a smaller ship, somewhat Hyperion-sized,
during the war.  When the Aggy became available, he was given that
command.
 
                                                              jms

Date: 2 Aug 1995 21:47:32 -0400
Subject: JMS: What's delaying VHS/LD in

     Warners isn't sure there are enough people out there who'd want to
buy the show to make producing them worthwhile.  So we're trying to help
them over this.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 2 Aug 1995 22:41:20 -0400
Subject: ATT JMS: Well, how did the fir

     Our first three days of shooting have gone terrific; everyone's in
fine spirits.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 2 Aug 1995 22:42:46 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Script book

     Actually, I keep hoping to get the revised version of that book out
one of these days.  As for sharks...one can choose to become one, or not
to become one.  Ask anybody.
 
     Ask Londo.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 2 Aug 1995 22:44:11 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Question about Black

     Yes, he did send a fake distress call, and took out the Black Star
when it came in to (they thought) wipe out a disabled ship.  He's never
denied this to anybody.
 
                                                            jms

Date: 2 Aug 1995 22:44:37 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:  Change of Terms

     Babcom is for local, in-station calls, and inter-ship stuff;
StellarCom is for long-range planetary calls.
 
                                                             jms

Date: 2 Aug 1995 22:47:41 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Where can I get one

     I think costuming customizes the shirts that way.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 3 Aug 1995 03:21:07 -0400
Subject: = Attn JMS: Psi Corp Question

     Of *course* the telepath issue will have to be dealt with; this is a
logical progression of the story, no?
 
                                                                jms

Date: 3 Aug 1995 03:52:51 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Twilight(spoilers)

     "how can it get any better?"
 
     Has to, though.  We took a blood oath on this show that each season
must be better than the one preceding.  In many ways, we're still the new
kids on the block, and we can't afford to ever once let our guard down and
settle for anything less than constant striving.  And, frankly, though it's
endless struggle, it's kinda fun on another level; we discover and invent
new ways to do things, and new approaches to story and production, on a
regular basis (tomorrow we're seeing some new CGI tricks from Ron via some
beta-test software that should let us do some truly nifty stuff...).
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 3 Aug 1995 03:56:25 -0400
Subject: Re: Trend: Fan Interaction

     This is one of the more delicate areas in viewer/producer interaction
here on the nets.  On one side, if you say, "Yeah, we fought the studios,
the networks, nobody tells us how to do our show," and viewers respond with
enthusiasm, then another viewer has a suggestion, and you don't take it,
suddenly it has the potential to come off like a snub.  Yes, on one level,
shows don't exist without fans.  Shows also don't exist without networks
and studios to finance and produce them.  There are two masters at work
here.
 
     My take on this is very simple: nothing good has been done by
committee since the pyramids and Stonehenge.  The bigger the committee,
the more watered-down or diffuse the final result.  B5 viewers, as cute a
bunch as they might be, basicallyk constitute the largest committee on
record.
 
     If somebody finds a glitch in the show, points out an error, asks a
good leading question, I (or frankly any reasonable producer) would be a
fool to ignore it.  But you've got to know your own mind, and what it is
you want to do with your show, and be absolutely, totally committed to
following your inclinations and your instincts, or very shortly you'll end
up wandering in the wilderness beyond hope of recall.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 3 Aug 1995 03:56:41 -0400
Subject: B5 Magazine

     A deal has been closed with Sendai to produce a regular, official
B5 glossy magazine, yes.
 
                                                               jms

Date: 3 Aug 1995 04:01:22 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS- Actors( & Accents)

     Actually, the lead guest character in the first episode of year three,
one Mr. Endawi, is a Nigerian, and our new recurring character, Marcus
Cole (a Ranger) is British, and played by Jason Carter.  So you have two
non-American accents occupying major parts of the first ep next year.
 
	                                                                  jms

Date: 3 Aug 1995 04:25:33 -0400
Subject: Quotes from Jeri Taylor on sto

     There's nothing even remotely askew in anything Jeri said.  There are
two philosophies at work here (arc vs. non-arc), and neither is
intrinsically or inherently better than the other.  It's a matter of
personal tastes, and what you're trying to accomplish.
 
     The Martian Chronicles was written as a series of short stories within
a universe, somewhat loosely, but which together make enjoyable reading in
one volulme.  That's ST or most conventional series.
 
     The Dune books are tightly plotted stories over a long, pre-planned
arc.  This is the structure B5 employs.
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 3 Aug 1995 04:48:36 -0400
Subject: JMS: Animated Series

     It's a good idea, but I kinda stay away from animation these days,
having been somewhat burned out on the area.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 4 Aug 1995 01:48:55 -0400
Subject: ATTN Rangers:  Are ep. title s

     If the episode titles are based on previously established real
quotes (as "the long, twilight struggle" is excerpted from a Kennedy
speech), then it's okay.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 4 Aug 1995 04:22:06 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Twilight(spoiler

     "If what's coming is truly nifty, then what do you call what you've
shot so far?"
 
     The stuff we did yesterday.
 
     Never look back.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 4 Aug 1995 04:22:13 -0400
Subject: JMS: Production Q - Sound FX

      Yes, insofar as I know, all the sounds we use in B5 for items we
created (PPGs, hyperspace, starfuries, shadow ships, on and on) are
original creations.  Hyperspace was a real toughie.  One thing I wanted
was a kind of hollow sound, like when you cup your hands over your ears.
So the sound designer put together a LOT of different sounds, including
putting a condom over a microphone and putting it deep into his swimming
pool.  (How he explained the open condom wrappers to his wife later is
anyone's guess.  "No, really, I needed them to do some sound design.")
 
     I kept a fairly tight rein on sound stuff in the beginning, until
the sound designers caught what we were after, and now mainly what
happens is that when we do the audio spotting for the episode, we stop
at a point where a new sound is needed, or we introduce a new locale in
the station and have to discuss the audio mapping.  We talk about it in
general terms, unless I have something terribly specific in mind, and
the sound folks go off and do it, and I don't think I've had much of a
problem with anything they've done.
 
     Sometimes, a sound will consist of various pieces, and when we get
in to do the final audio mix, I/we may go through the pieces and if
there's  a conflict between a sound effect and a music cue (if both are
taking up the same space in the low end), we may adjust the sound effect
or omit one of the pieces to carve out room in the audio and make sure
they don't just mush together.  This is particularly true given that
often Chris Franke incorporates lots of natural (and unnatural) sounds in
his music, and we have to make sure to give emphasis to the right one for
the dramatic moment.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 4 Aug 1995 04:26:30 -0400
Subject: JMS' "Murder, She Wrote" on US

     Ah, yes, that episode was the first I wrote for Murder, She Wrote
while engaged there as writer/producer.  So yes, there should be others
coming up in the current batch by me.  It really was a fun show in many
ways; I'd still be there now in all likelihood had not B5 come along when
it did.  It's hard to find a truly literate show to write for.  And the
cast was uniformly great, inclusive of Angela and Bill Windom.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 4 Aug 1995 04:26:38 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS or Ron Thornton (if

     Oh, good, one more church from which I'm going to have to become an
apostate....
 
                                                            jms

Date: 4 Aug 1995 04:26:47 -0400
Subject: Twilight struggle subtext- spo

     Without spoiling anything...yes, in this regard, I've always noted
that there are some echoes of WW II in the overall storyline, and some
applies here.  Also, again, the purpose of a large measure of the show is
to elicit discussion of such issues as this...where are the mora,
(moral) responsibilities in such a situation?  What are the ethics of
mass warfare?  Where does expediency begin and compassion end?  *Should*
compassion have to end for the greater good?
 
     If we can start some bar fights, I'll have done my job.
 
     Fact is, I don't have one single damned good answer.  But I've got a
whole LOTTA questions....
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 4 Aug 1995 04:26:54 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS- Actors( & Accents)

      Actually, Lord Refa has an accent almost identical to Londo's, and
Emperor Turhan had quite an accent as well, so we'e done a lot of this
already (also Londo's friend in Knives).
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 4 Aug 1995 05:00:33 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Dialogue writing

     Let me just start off by disagreeing with your thesis, that the
length restrictions and format of TV writing tend to mitigate against good
writing.  By that same token, sonnets (which use a very strict formula or
format) can't be good, or haiku, we should toss out iambic pentameter
altogether, and short stories, often considerably shorter than a half-hour
TV script, must also be unable to contain quality writing.
 
     The form doesn't matter.  It's what you bring to the table.
 
     Similarly, the issue of rushed writing...many of the classic SF tales
of the 50s and 60s were written as fast as humanly possible because back
then writers were paid a penny a word, and you had to really crank the
stuff out there to make any kind of living.  It was quite common for writers
of many of the SF magazines of the time to go into the publisher's office,
see the cover for an issue a few months down the road, and on the spot come
up with a title, a story premise, go home, write it, and bring it in the
very next day.
 
     We're talking here margins.  Margins aren't important.  It's what you
choose to fill the margins, the care you exercise, the passion you bring to
the page, that makes the difference.
 
     Yeah, a lot of TV writing is pretty marginal.  Sturgeon's Law: 90% of
everything is crap.  How many novels are turned out each year that sink of
their own weight in zero time?  How few novels are really and truly
substantial?  How many short stories?  Out of all the SF novels and short
stories and short-shorts and novellas and novellettes published each year,
how many will survive on the shelf 5, 10, or 15 years from now?
 
     Mark Twain said, "If you would have your fiction live forever, you
must neither overtly preach nor overtly teach; but you must *covertly*
preach and *covertly* teach."  That, to me, is one primary ingredient; it
must, at its root, be *about* something more than car chases and bomb
blasts and shootouts.  On some level, however cellular, it must instruct
and ennoble and elevate and enrich, make us question or consider.
 
     Then there is the basic level of writing style, but that is a very
personal flavor.  Hill Street had an elegance of simplicity, the writing
was often raw and piercing on a sheer gut level.  I loved it.  When I sit
down to write, I tend to drift toward a somewhat more literary-sounding or
theatrical style, probably because of my own influences.
 
     It comes down, really, to whether or not you have the inclination to
sit down, whichever style you use, and stare at the screen for half an
hour until you find just the right word, the mot just, that serves better
than any other possibly could.  Some writers will do that, some won't.
David Kelly does it on ER and Picket Fences and other shows.  So do the
folks on The Simpsons.  And many other shows.  A lot of folks dump on TV,
ignoring similar failinlgs in literary SF or other genres, but like any
exercise in accepted cliche, the reasoning is flawed and often (though
not always) unjustified.
 
     As for my personal list of writers whose work I admire...Kelly, as
noted, definitely.  Mainly, though, I grew up on the genre TV writers of
the 50s/60s, like Rod Serling, Charles Beaumond, Richard Matheson, Robert
Bloch (that should be BeaumonT, not Beaumond), Ernest Kinoy, Harlan
Ellison, Joe Stefano, and though he was fading from view by then, Arch
Oboler, and the kinetoscopes of Paddy Chayefsky, Reginald Rose and others.
 Later, I added Norman Corwin to the list, as a chief point of inspiration,
stylistically.  (There are a number of writers who call or consider
themselves "Norman's Kids" in that we've learned much about writing, and
the integrity of writing, from Norman Corwin...including Ray Bradbury,
Charles Kuralt, Walter Cronkite, Stan Freberg, and many others.)
 
                                                                jms

Date: 5 Aug 1995 02:51:48 -0400
Subject: ATTN:JMS  Will the Us ever cat

     The US will be back ahead of the UK very soon, with year three, for
one vital reason: the US breaks up new shows with reruns; the UK runs
straight through and stops.  The rerun schedule generally allows us to
coast along at a reasonable schedule for delivering episodes.  If the UK
started at the same time as the US in year 3, we'd hit snags as we
hurried to deliver shows.  (We shoot in 7 working days, or 2 days longer
than a conventional week...so if you're showing a new ep every true 7
days, once a week, you're going to get ahead of production very quickly.)
 
     So year 3 starts in the US in November; it will likely start in the
UK in January/February.
 
	                                                             jms

Date: 5 Aug 1995 02:51:58 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: tLTS Reporter Quote

     Yes, "They're being bombed back to the stone age" is a Vietnam era
quote.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 5 Aug 1995 02:54:06 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Slight sound glitch

     "I can't wait to see how ou torture us next week!"
 
     Funny line, that, which you'll understand in a few days.
 
                                                               jms

Date: 5 Aug 1995 03:22:58 -0400
Subject: ATTN:JMS  What's the latest on

     It should be up on the web by late September.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 5 Aug 1995 03:23:04 -0400
Subject: ATT JMS: Twin Peaks

     I liked Twin Peaks a lot, though the truth is they really had NO idea
where the heck they were going, and they kinda threw stuff in randomly a
lot.  (This from one of the staffers over there at the time in the writing
department.)  If you missed one ep you were screwed in trying to follow it,
but jeez, it was a great ride while it lasted.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 5 Aug 1995 03:23:10 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS- Actors( & Accents)

     I've never, ever said that the aliens/humans in B5 got language
translation implants, VIPs or otherwise; that's strictly a Star Trek
device.
 
                                                              jms

Date: 5 Aug 1995 03:35:55 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: TLTS<spoiler>dubbed

     No, his voice wasn't dubbed, or changed, by anyone; might've been a
glitch in local audio or something.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 5 Aug 1995 03:50:12 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:  The making of CGI s

     An extensive video clip tape is something we're considering for the
fan club, yes.
 
	                                                             jms

Date: 5 Aug 1995 03:50:19 -0400
Subject: JMS: Profit participation

     Because if agents ask for gross points on the part of writers or
certain others, they'll be flatly denied and somebody else will be hired.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 7 Aug 1995 05:20:33 -0400
Subject: Attn: JMS-What will "Official"

     We've had some preliminary discussions about what would be on the
official B5 web page, and at the moment, I can't talk about any of the
things we have in mind until they've been realized.  Much of it is stuff
definitely not included in other web sites.  Plus some interesting
opportunities.  Be patient...we haven't dropped the ball elsewhere....
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 7 Aug 1995 05:20:40 -0400
Subject: JMS:  Writing changes?

     Every show is on deadline, to one extent or another.  As for the
rest....
 
     It's hard to say.  I know that my style has changed somewhat since
B5 began, and the approach I take *to* the writing has changed a bit, but
it's a very hard thing to put into words.  It's like learning a new
little trick during sex...you're not quite sure where it came from, it's
still the same concept, but something about it works a little better for
you.
 
     In one way, because it's my own show, I'm no longer having to yoke
myself to somebody else's conception.  Whenever you're working for a
writer/producer above you, a certain measure of your time is spent in
second-guessing, however much you may also be trying to expand that
character at the same time.  "
 
     "Okay, I'm going to go this far, but I know if I go *too* far, the
guy's gonna lean on me, say the character wouldn't do that, and I'll have
to go back and restructure."
 
     So that problem doesn't exist for me now.  In some ways, it's given
me greater latitude and confidence, but at the same time it's caused me to
be *much* more intensely critical in examining my own work.  I know that
creatively, I'm pretty much out on my own here, and if I don't take great
care to be sure that the work is up to par, there's nobody to backstop it
above me.  "With great power comes great responsibility."  Peter Parker.
 
     Probably the main thing that's happened is that I've grown slowly
comfortable enough with things to begin taking real chances; doing scenes
without any dialogue whatsoever (the Emperor's fall in "Coming," certain
long segments of "Twilight"), and some fairly intense monologues; it's let
me be free enough to do some radical stuff visually, to stretch to the
limits of what I think I can do.
 
     What happens, if you're a writer who cares about your work, is that
you write along at one level for a certain amount of time, you hit a
plateau, this is as good as you are...but you keep poking at the edges,
and after a while you get frustrated, because your reach is exceeding your
grasp, and you know this should be *better* than it is, but you don't quite
know why, or where, you can't conceptualize it...then suddenly you break
through the ceiling, to another level, and your writing changes from that
point on...until the next time.
 
     I'm very aware of having gone through several of those since starting
the B5 series.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 7 Aug 1995 05:24:42 -0400
Subject: Excuse me, I may be ignorant..

     "I am become" is perfectly acceptable useage, albeit somewhat
archaic.  It's even in my oft-quoted "Ulysses" by Tennyson: "I am become
a legend."
 
                                                                jms

Date: 7 Aug 1995 05:34:44 -0400
Subject: JMS: Possible plot twist

     That turn is coming.
 
	                                                              jms

Date: 7 Aug 1995 22:24:38 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS or anyone: The three

     Only one of the novels is likely to be an actual arc novel; the rest
are pretty much on the fringe.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 7 Aug 1995 22:21:58 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:  What about next yea

     All I can really do for now is hope that they don't do it again
next year; my gut says probably they won't, but what the heck does my
gut know?
 
                                                          jms

Date: 7 Aug 1995 22:23:33 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: More soundtracks?

     I would be very happy to see a series of soundtracks out there.
 
                                                            jms

Date: 8 Aug 1995 06:17:30 -0400
Subject: Attn: JMS  B5 & CU-See Me On t

     No, but we *are* investigating the very real possibility that we may
do some CU-see-me stuff live from the B5 stage during the season, once
per episode, cast interviews and the like.  Not finalized yet, though.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 8 Aug 1995 22:39:26 -0400
Subject: Nitpicky question for JMS

     Actually, ben-Zayn is an Middle Eastern/Arabic name.
 
                                                               jms

Date: 8 Aug 1995 22:40:43 -0400
Subject: Re: Marcus the Ranger

     The actor playing Marcus is Jason Carter, British, most lately on
Viper and other shows.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 9 Aug 1995 19:32:40 -0400
Subject: Ellison TREK Book! (from jms)

       It's the story that followers of STAR TREK have been discussing,
analyzing, disseminating and hearing for nearly thirty years, involving what
polls and conventions have consistently shown to be the single best episode
of the original STAR TREK series ever produced: "The City on the Edge of
Forever."
 
       What *really* happened?  Who *really* did the final produced script?
How did the original script come to be, what was in it (and almost as
important, given rumors, what *wasn't* in it), and what do those most
directly involved have to say about it?
       For the first time, you'll hear directly not only from Harlan
Ellison (the article in the TV Guide special ST issue was basically just a
warm-up), but also from Leonard Nimoy, Peter David, DeForest Kelley, Walter
Koenig, D.C. Fontana, Melinda Snodgrass and George Takai...not in
interviews, but in essays they have themselves written on the subject, for
publication for the first time.
 
       Publication where, you ask?  In THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER, the
definitive book on the subject just completed by Harlan and those indicated
above.  The limited edition book contains not only the first version of the
script, but subsequent revisions, two of the original treatments, actual
correspondence printed here for the first time which will dispell many of
the rumors circulating for over 30 years, afterwords by those noted in the
paragraph above, and a 20,000 word introduction by Harlan Ellison.
 
       Publication of this book is one of the most eagerly awaited events by
followers of STAR TREK.  Advance orders have been pouring in, and only 330
copies of the special limited edition remain, at $75 plus $5 shipping and
handling (UPS insured) from Borderlands Press, a noted and prestigious
publisher of quality limited edition books.  These will be shipping on
October 1st.  The book has already been completed, and is now at the
printers being typeset and bound.
 
       A regular trade hardcover edition will be available later, starting
December 1st, at a price of $25, plus $5 S&H.
 
       This, as they say, is the Real Deal, with information withheld from
publication for 30 years, made available here for the first time, along with
the ability to show the progression through various stages of the script
that became "The City on the Edge of Forever."  For writers interested in
studying scripts, for followers of the show who want exclusive behind the
scenes info, for anyone with an abiding interest in things Trek...this is
going to be *the* book to buy, the only Star Trek-based book ever likely to
come from Harlan Ellison, and thus a sure collector's item.
 
       Visa/Mastercard orders can be placed at 1-800-528-3310, or send check
or money order to BORDERLANDS PRESS, PO Box 146, Brooklandville, MD  21022.
 

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:40:00 -0400
Subject: Re: Comes the Inquisitor (Coul

      Kosh always speaks of himself in the plural form.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:40:16 -0400
Subject: (no subject)

     Who has time to talk to other writers...?
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:40:30 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:Comes The Inquisitor

     Your friend Sharon is clearly a woman of infinite taste and refined
sensibilities.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:40:40 -0400
Subject: Toronto Trek 95 Thoughts

     I've now heard this report re: Majel several times, and suffice to
say I'm *most* intrigued.  If anybody out there has a recording -- audio
or video -- please let me know in private mail.  May be able to swap
something in return.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:38:10 -0400
Subject: Help: Big Bang Refunds?

     I've been informed of late that, in addition to Michael O'Hare and
Mark Hammil getting stiffed for, respectively, appearance fees and fees
plus travel expenses, to the total of $26,000, that the photographer who
was contracted to shoot the con wasn't paid, neither was security, neither
were the travel agents for the airline arrangements.  I'm told that Tom
has gone to ground, and am trying to confirm if he's just blipped off
the map.
 
     Nearly all these other people, btw, are fans...which is what I was
worried about, that fans would be the ones hurt by this, which is what
I said from day one, but the Big Bang apologists came out and said I was
over-reacting, exaggerating, that *I* was the problem...and now they see
what's happened, and suddenly they've gone silent and also can't be
found.
 
     Cassandra, indeed....
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:39:35 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS: Babylon 5 started in

     I hadn't been aware of much of this, and alas I'm powerless to do
anything about it.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:39:47 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Comes the Inquisitor

      Mentioning just the first name may not have been necessary for
UK viewers, but it was necessary for the rest of the planet.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:37:57 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: slander vs. you on "

     I have never, at any time, owed anybody for a spec script because I
don't BUY spec scripts, ever; the shows on which I have worked have on
rare occasions bought spec scripts, but then they've been bought; the only
time you owe on a spec is if you used it or produced it, and I've never
done that.  So this person is frankly nuts.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:38:22 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Query re Comes the I

     "Jack" was the media appellation; whether Sebastian is a first or
last name is left open.
 
     I looked at who this historical figure could be, but no one else fit
into the area I wanted.  It was a decision born of necessity, not whim.  I
needed someone far enough removed not to have any current victims' families
still alive; someone known to a worldwide population (anonymous wouldn't
have worked because why would Sheridan have known about him, why should we
care, why should it resonate, and we'd spend time explaining what he did
that would have meant cutting out other material in the episode); the
other serial killers tend to have clear fates, whereas Jack vanished and
is thus "available" to us; visually that period makes for a striking
contrast to 2259.
 
     And, again, you have to look at who he *was*...a fanatic, trying to
clean up Spittlefields (good cause) by hatred (wrong reason) and murder
(wrong means), the EXACT thing Delenn warns against at the very start of
the show.  (Did you know there's a letter in the London Times for that
period that tries to explain the Ripper's motives as a cry ofr
(for) understanding about conditions in that part of London?)  He felt he
was a divine messenger, learned he was not, and in bitterness has become
the single best inquisitor you could've had in that job.
 
     Every single thing about Jack made him *perfect* for that role, as
mirror, menace and warning sign.  So I used him.  And I'd do it again.
You have to find what works best for the story, and do it.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:38:37 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: You've done it again

     Thanks; it's actually a favorite episode with a lot of folks on the
show.  Not too dusty, I think....
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:42:03 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS

     Fleer cards are due out in September.  Sheridan sent an EA distress
signal; the Minbari were in genocidal mode, so it didn't matter to them
the condition of their enemy.
 
     RE: religion, my atheism, and religion in the show...my own
background...is my own background.  Suffice to say I came to my position
as an atheist through a long, difficult and trying road.
 
     Have I studied other religions?  Yes.  I was sufficiently interested
in the subject sui generis that I minored in philosophy during college,
to the point where I was about 9 credits short of a degree in the area.
(Well, and a thesis, but why quibble?)  I've read the Bible cover to
cover, twice; the Bahagavad-Gita, the Book of Mormon, I've got a whole
shelfload of Zen books, books on Judaism, oriental and occidental
mythology and religion, the Koran, you name it, I've probably got it.
It falls under the general heading of, "Humanity trying to understand
itself, and its role in the universe," and that seems to me a perfectly
valid impulse.  We just all take different roads to get there.
 
                                                        jms

Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:42:12 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:  B5 Addiction

     The purpose of writing is that it should have an effect on the
audience/reader/viewer.  Insofar as that happens, on what grounds could I
possibly object to folks getting into the show?  (Heck, I live the darned
thing 24 hours a day, with Londo and G'Kar and Kosh and Garibaldi and
Ivanova chasing each other around in my head all day and all night; why
not spread it around a little?)
 
     So far there's been none of the "Oh, god, what have I created here?"
you cite, because really, I've found that in general, the show tends to
attract a fairly thoughtful, bright bunch, given some of the complexity of
the story, so I'm nothing other than thrilled.
 
                                                          jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 02:23:23 -0400
Subject: Delenn@TorontoTrek

     BTW, anybody who has a copy (audio or video tape) of Majel Barrett's
talk at Toronto Trek, in which she mentioned (positively) B5, I'd love to
get one, may even be willing to swap for it.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 02:26:30 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS and unauthorized merch

     Yeah, any info on these guys would be great.
 
	                                                     jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 02:26:46 -0400
Subject: Second Year Show Sequence

     Denise/D.D. ...thanks!
 
                                                              jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 02:26:59 -0400
Subject: Brits as villians (was Comes T

     This really is one of the nuttier threads I've seen...we've had
plenty of Brits on both sides of the issue...David Warner in Grail, the
character of the Ombuds, many others, plus our new recurring character,
Marcus Cole, a Ranger played by British actor Jason Carter...I think some
people are being just a *bit* too sensitive on this.  (Also the doctor in
"Hunter/Prey" who's on the side of the angels, others.)
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 02:22:32 -0400
Subject: Re: Ellison TREK Book! (from j

     Robert: Harlan is not on the nets, nor does he have a modem, so he
does not have access.  He is part of the B5 team, and as such I feel no
more compunction in announcing the book than any appearance at a con by
one of our actors, or the appearance of an actor in another show or play,
which I've done from time to time.  People have gone to great length to
locate my own books, and I figured the same folks would like to know about
his book, for the same reason.  Finally, Harlan asked if I would do it as
a friend, since again he doesn't have ACCESS to the nets, and I obliged.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 02:24:00 -0400
Subject: JMS: What Does Your Wife Think

     ...!
 
     I have a *wife*?
 
     Good heavens, why wasn't I informed?  I mean, I know I've been busy,
but really....
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 03:04:17 -0400
Subject: JMS:  Reflections at the Midpo

     The overview still holds up pretty well, I think.  Toward the end of
season two, I think things got just a *tad* too convoluted in places, so
that's being cleared up a bit, the dry brush trimmed back, the red herrings
cleared away, because we've got to start focusing on the real story, not
the misdirections.  That's probably the one thing I'd go back and revise,
because in general, you can't just bring something up and walk away form
(from) it later; it's got to either fit, or be reasonably, logically
explained away.  So some time has to be spent on that now.  But that's
been done pretty effectively in this first batch of episodes, and now
we're down to really cranking on the shadow war.
 
     In four more episodes (writing-wise), I'll be at the exact midpoint
in the story, which on one level is a little hard to believe; it's gont
(gone) by so fast.  Seems like yesterday that we just got started.  Which
is why the overview is very helpful; by constantly reminding me where we
should be, it doesn't let me get lost in the neverwhere of TV production.
 
     All things considered...we've had some bumps on the ride, a detour
here and there, the occasional flat tire, but doggone it if the old
jalopy ain't still going exactly where it's supposed to go.  Some days the
thing seems to have a mind of its own; I started writing #7 the other day,
and I'm well past halfway finished writing it, it's coming out almost as
though it already existed, and I've just managed to "tune into" it, like
the sculpter who knows that inside a block of wood is a horse, he just has
to start chopping and cutting until he finds and releases it.
 
     So long answer to a short question...we're still on course, and I'm
still quite pleased with where we're going, and how we're getting there.
 
                                                               jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 02:31:16 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Q about the B5 "Bibl

     Eventually I may publish my notes on the series, assuming it's worth
publishing.
 
                                                               jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 03:06:37 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS: Butterfly Costumes

     Where Delenn gets all those wardrobe changes is one of those
questions that, in a real world, doesn't warrant close scrutiny.
 
     And yes, her costumes tend to be emblematic of where the character
is, and who she is.  Consequently, there will be some year three additions
to underscore her more assertive nature; there's a green costume in
particular that shows up in the first episode that's just *killer*.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 18:11:18 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     To Robert Merritt: I hear your concern.  My only thoughts on it,
are that it really isn't a contradiction on Harlan's views on ST, since
it's very vehement about what happened, and why, and includes the text
of the TV Guide piece, so you know right off that it's totally
consistent with his prior statements.
 
     The other thing is the notion of what he's said about people on
the Internet...this has been blown out of proportion.  He has been often
and consistently ill-used by some people on the nets who have used this
great technology to put together anti-Ellison groups, to harrass and
chivvy him at every turn; it has led to fax bombs, abusive mail, harmful
rumors, even threats of various sorts, so you can, I think, understand
why his feelings are not bunny-rabbit cute toward us.
 
     At the same time, though, he has never, to my knowledge anyway,
dismissed ALL netters; he's addressed his concerns to the venal and
petty dysfunctional (of which we know a few here in our own neck of the
woods) who *abuse* the technology.  Heck, he's even begun diving into
the water lately, doing some on-line conferences to better educate
himself on the process.  So I don't think we should take his comments
directed at a portion of the users, and extend them to include everyone
here, because I don't believe that is the intent or purpose of the
message from Harlan.  Just a thought for you....
 
                                                          jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 16:58:02 -0400
Subject: Abuse of this newsgroup by JMS

     On this system, there are discussions of where to find Micro
Machines, prices on toys, where to find the soundtrack, where to find my
prior books, where to find cassettes of previous work by other actors,
and nobody raised a peep about this.  The notification about Harlan's
book falls into exactly that same category; if people have a problem with
Harlan, that's their problem, but to say the rest of this is and has been
okay, but to single this out, is hypocrisy at its most obvious.
 
     I have, on occasion, used this forum to point people to things
I thought would be of interest, related to their interests, including the
PBS airing of "The Wrong Trousers," which I promoted here all over the
place, and which helped lots of them find a show they loved.
 
     So if we're going to make an issue out of this, then we should no
longer tell anyone where they can find the sountracks, or the toys, or
the books, or the prices thereof, or actors other work, or my other
books, which have no relation to B5 other than that I wrote them.
 
     If this were strictly an advertisement for something that had nothing
to do with B5, then that's one thing, but Harlan Ellison is Babylon 5's
Conceptual Consultant, and has been for going on three years now, and I
see absolutely *NO* reason, moral or ethical, why he should be denied the
support of this forum except some people's compulsion to attack anything
involving Harlan.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 16:57:39 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS. Is PTEN going to rec

     No, there's no chance of reconsidering, if for no other reason than
it takes minimum 6 weeks to get changes plugged into TV Guide, and that
window is gone.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 16:58:24 -0400
Subject: Mr. JMS: Psi Badges

     No, no company has yet licensed B5 badges or pins, including psi
corps pins.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 17:34:14 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     Dennis, what the hell is this "abuse of celebrity" you cite here?
And what the hell is with this comparison of murdering people?  Are you
seriously equating telling people about Harlan's book with murder?  Because
that's what you say in response to Blair's note that it's supportive of a
friend.  "So is killing your friend's enemies."  That's a horeshit
and inappropriate metaphor, and you've *got* to know that.
 
     And "abusing" celebrity...please define that for me, Dennis, because
I'd like to know, specifically, what we're talking about without resorting
to loaded language and jingoism and catchphrases.  My mandate for what to
discuss here is pretty damned broad, from where I sit, and I noted in a
prior note the ways in which this is NOTHING different than what has been
 done here before, consistently, in non-directly-B5 related ways.
 
     When it came to keeping out story ideas, rather than moderate this
group, I went to a moderated feed to my mailbox, because I didn't want to
inconvenience this group.  I spend *hours* a day here, sometimes as many
as five hours at a shot, over the course of a day, and I don't ask for
squat in return, I don't ask for personal favors except the non-story idea
deal which is professional not personal, I answer *endless* questions
about TV production, and the industry, many of which have NOTHING to do
with B5 except that they're both television media...and you're telling me
that the one time I want to do something for someone who works on this
show, you're gonna bust my chops and accuse me of abusing my position?
 
     I've taken a lot of cheap shots in my time in this forum, but this
one has to take prize.  Totally aside from everything noted in the
paragraph immediately preceding this one, there was absolutely NOTHING
unjustified or inappropriate in that message, given what's gone before.
 Nothing.
 
     Hell, there have been order forms for the soundtrack posted here,
prices and phone numbers, forms to give to stores to order the comic or
the soundtracks, I look at the message headers and there's someone giving
the ISBN numbers for my prior books which have nothing to do with B5...I
haven't seen anybody say one damned word about any of that.  This is
absolutely NO different.
 
     Give me a fucking break already.  This is ridiculous.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 17:34:38 -0400
Subject: JMS:  Kosh's Personal Pronouns

     Re: the reference in "War Prayer."
 
 
 
 
     Oops.
 
                                                            jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 17:37:42 -0400
Subject: Re: Help: Big Bang Refunds?

     "Cassandra" has nothing to do with respect; it comes from the idea
of someone warning about possible harm, and nobody believing until it's
too late.
 
    E?Ka  y`rAnd by the way, Colin, it wasn't just "one man's opinion," it was
the opinion of me and every other cast member who was there for the
Planet Hollywood thing.  And it was the opinion of people who *were
there*, and however a "feeding frenzy" might bother you, it was also the
absolute truth, as has been borne out by facts.  And sometimes those who
jump in when they think a "feeding frenzy" is going on, without knowing
all the facts, end up doing more harm than good, however well-intentioned
their actions.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 18:04:41 -0400
Subject: Big Bang: Finally over for me

     I find it very strange that those at the Emperor's Headquarters
would say they weren't involved in CMC, that it was Tom and some anonymousM+@%~@~
U<
G*D,2
would say they weren't involved in CMC, that it was Tom and some anonymous
backers, since the business information provided to me by Tom early on
lists the same people at T3 as partners in CMC, including Todd Fischer,
 who I believe owns EH.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 18:11:37 -0400
Subject: Twilight Struggle (spoilers)

     Re: what you could see of the planet's surface...one of the side
effects of the technology used is that, realistically, it would throw up
a *hideous* amount of smoke, dust and debris, and you wouldn't see much
of anything.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 21:27:42 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     John Robinson: yeah, sometimes I get a little long-winded...it
probably would've been more effective if shorter, but I just get all
excited about something some times, like this book, and before I know
what happened, I'm looking at paragraphs, I tell you, whole
PARAgraphs....and then I get confused and fall down.
 
                                                              jms

Date: 14 Aug 1995 20:37:50 -0400
Subject: Big Bang URGENT from jms

     If I have seemed a bit easily annoyed lately, there is a reason for
it.  Addressing that reason will require some assistance from some of you
reading this.
 
     After, and during the Big Bang incident, word began to filter back to
me that Tom Christofferson was engaging in a smear campaign against many
of those involved in B5.  This includes me, Claudia, Michael O'Hare and
others.  This on top of never paying the balance of Michael's fee, not
paying Mark Hamill, not paying (I'm told) the photographers, or security,
or travel agents....
 
     So I have been biding my time, waiting and collecting reports as they
have come back to me.  Several have confirmed Tom's comments, in an attempt
to discredit my comments about BB, that I had been "thrown out of the
Writers Guild," plus other aspersions on my career.  Other comments about
Claudia's personal life have been logged.
 
     Over the last few days, some more aspects of this have come to light
that have pushed this entire situation over the edge, to the point where
we are now going to have to take serious action, because people are being
hurt.
 
     Here is a brief quote from a letter that arrived by mail from
someone reliable, and involved with the Visions convention.  Two quick
prefaces: 1) Michael O'Hare had been contacted by Visions about doing a
convention for them; that discussion suddenly and mysteriously stopped a
little while ago, and 2) For those who were there, and know, at the Chicago
Comic Con, when Michael O'Hare was stiffed for $5,000 by Tom Christofferson
and Big Bang, I conducted the one and only fundraiser I've ever done, to
make up the difference, and show what fandom was *really* about.  It was a
shining moment for all involved.
 
     Now the quotes.  (The source has asked for public anonymity for the
time being, even though we in-house know who this person is.)
 
     "One of the things that REALLY disturbed me is the following
malicious rumor.  Supposedly, the "real" reason JMS had to hold the
script auction at Chicago Comic Con was 9$?Bnot because Michael O'Hare
wasn't paid by CMC, but because "he has a bad cocaine habit" and therefore
"never has any money."  Apparently JMS supports this particular abuse
by raising money to help him out.  Normally, I'd ignore this sort of
thing, but people on the Visions convention staff believe it enough to
not want MOH coming to the convention this year."
 
     Enough is enough.  This is flatly and totally untrue, and is put out
only to try and disguise the truth, that CMC did not pay Michael th
balance of his fee.  There has to be some excuse cooked up, and this is it,
one whose side effect could be to help destroy someone's career, and ruin
convention appearances.
 
     Those involved in this slander -- and that is *exactly* what it is,
not to mention several other charges -- have had enough rope, and now we
intend to reel it in.
 
     Over the next several days, I will be contacting legal counsel in
Illinois, including the DA's office, and coordinating with others who
have been harmed in this way to bring serious charges against those
involved.  I think a $50 million lawsuit would be a good place to start.
We will also investigate the question of possible criminal charges to be
filed.  We will seek to include Hamill's bad checks, and O'Hare's
situation, and others who have not been paid as well, to broaden out the
charges.
 
     That to save face for their actions, certain individuals would be
willing to destroy someone's career, to spread false and malicious
rumors, against me, and Michael, and Claudia, and others, is something
that should rightfully inflame every person reading this.
 
     Those behind this are *not* nice people.  And they have had a
tendency to run their mouths.  (Those at Visions who may have been
involved in spreading this malicious slander should also consider
themselves put on notice, and I suggest that they be forthcoming in this
matter to us to avoid legal entanglements.)
 
     I know that many folks here have had conversations with Tom C.
in which he has laid out some of his lines.  Some have felt, in their
messages to me, unsure about repeating what he said because it's like
snitching.  It's not.  What we are looking at are harmful lies that will
hurt people, have already hurt Michael, and have the potential to do so
in future.  This must be addressed, severely, and firmly, and within the
parameters of a court of law.
 
     If you have been privy to these or other baseless allegations, and
wish to help Michael and myself and others involved in Babylon 5 by
fighting this, please send me a private note containing your best
recollection of what you were told, and when, and if you are wiling to
restate this under oath.  The more people we have who confirm some of the
hateful things being represented, the more surely this can be
prosecuted.
 
     Michael O'Hare has been harmed enough by the loss, by the lies, by
the failure to meet a promised payment by CMC; Mark Hamill is out well
over $20,000 from various areas, others have been hurt; to have certain
individuals out there alleging drug abuse when none exists, trying to
destroy someone's career on top of everything else to cover their own
incompetence and deception, cannot and must not be tolerated.
 
     Once again, I extend a request for help to everyone out there who
has had contact with Visions and CMC and Tom Christofferson, on behalf
of the fans, and B5 personnel, who have been harmed.  If you can help us
to close this down, please do so.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 06:54:20 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     "He (Harlan Ellison) needs the bucks for his medicare payments."
 
     Robert Holland...Harlan makes well into six figures annually.
 
     So let's talk about *your* income now, shall we?
 
     And if that strikes you as a cold, mean-spirited comment...you had
it coming.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:04:58 -0400
Subject: Expressing Appreciation to JMS

     Bruce: that's very much appreciated, thanks.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:01:46 -0400
Subject: Re: Babblings 222 - Meeting Re

     I don't understand (only getting the tail end of this)...I was not
at any Babblings gathering at any Page's bar.  Did I miss something?
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:16:22 -0400
Subject: Attn: JMS Paladin of the lost

     Actually, "Paladin of the Lost Hour" was done by the TZ2 crew before
my incarnation a year later, so I'm not responsible for that one by
Harlan (though I will accept credit for helping bring "Crazy As a Soup
Sandwich" by HE to the screen).
 
     And yes, it's a hell of a good story.  Did I mention here that HE
just did a reading of this very story, "Paladin" for the Harlan Ellison
Record Collection, the very first such reading put out on CD?  That you
can obtain copies of this splendiferous CD by contacting HERC at PO Box
55548, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423?
 
     And why am I mentioning it here now?   Oh....just to honk off Dennis
a little more.  And because by my on-line clock, I've now been on for
3 hours, 39 minutes, 39 seconds (I literally have to answer everything
on-line in this news reader or it can't get through), going through 975
messages, and after a while, y'know...what the heck....
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 06:54:50 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Regarding Mark Hamil

     We've talked to Mark about appearing on the show someday, and he
probably will, when we've got the right story.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 06:55:46 -0400
Subject: Comments on the Big Bang Con!!

     The fans are in *no* way responsible for the problems at the con,
that's a whole other situation.
 
     I love your comment that Tom "let JMS out of JMSs contract with the
con," since I'd never SIGNED a contract of any kind.  This is yet another
untruth from Tom C.
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 06:56:26 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     Robert Holland: my, how venal you get, how you imply and weasel
around the truth.  And, frankly, just lie.
 
     "He (Harlan) dislikes fans of any kind.  Including his own."  This is
an outright fabrication.
 
     I *very* rarely mention stuff for sale on here, except in response
to requests from others.  Further, the #1 comment from people is that
they would like more merchandise.  Why is there so little?  Because for
2 years, I've dragged my heels, resisted and held back on merchandising,
because I don't want it to get out of hand.  This is a matter of
longstanding public record.  So much for your "sell sell sell" notion.
 
     "I had the impression Ellison's limited-press book wasn't selling
well through regular channels."  Impossible, since the book isn't even
on the STANDS yet.  Further, one of the reasons for putting the word out
was that they were fast running out of copies...of the 1,000 run limited,
only about 300 remained availabe, and those were gone quickly, so the
limited is sold out.  Since most of these were being grabbed up by
collectors and others, none of whom tend to frequent the net, I figured
I'd put the word out to others who might now know before they were all
gone.  So, so much for THAT bit of fabrication.
 
     "(Harlan) writes scripts, then takes his name off when he doesn't
like the editing."  This is standard WGA policy if a writer feels that
the end result does not reflect his intent, and he doesn't mind burning
the occasional bridge.  Where in here is the problem?  That's his right.
Same right attendent upon ALL WGA members, and used by many.  So what?
 
     "The oddest thing is that Ellison isn't writing any scripts for
B5...he must have some resentment or disagreement with the arc...very,
very strange."
 
     No, there's nothing odd or strange here, except in that venal little
pea-pod you consider your cranial cavity.  Harlan is up to his ears in
other work, putting out a monthly comic over which he sees every single
tiny aspect, writing for other shows (including the new anthology cable
series "Hunger," for which series several leading directors are now
vying for his completed script), a bunch of new short stories, getting
the "City" book out the door, getting "Slippage" out the door, getting
through two angioplasties and substantial earthquake damage which caused
personal injuries...AND serving on B5 as consultant.
 
     If he had a problem with anything, he wouldn't keep signing on
every year.  On the one hand, you chastize him for taking his name off
projects if they're not to his liking, then assume somehow he's working
on and lending his name to something not of his liking.  That you cannot
see the paralogia and fuzzy logic there is breathtaking.
 
     Harlan, in short, has a life.
 
     You may want to consider acquiring one of your own...preferably not
one modeled after the Borgias, which seems your current inclination.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:00:38 -0400
Subject: Re: Help: Big Bang Refunds JMS

     I don't think it's so much "feeling" that I'm responsible for the
cast members, and for the fans, I *am* responsible for them, on some
levels.  Particularly in the case of Big Bang, because I foolishly and
stupidly fell for the okeydoke and said it looked like a good thing prior
to flying out and personally checking the thing out...at which point every
alarm bell in my brain began ringing overtime.
 
     If B5 is used as endorsement, inducement or connection to an event,
a product, anything, it has to be done *right*, or people are going to get
burned.  And there's no one out there in that position of verification
but me.  So I tend to be somewhat protective of our fans, and our cast.
 
     And, I guess, for me, in a lot of ways this show is personal...it's
potentially the last thing I'll do for TV, if it goes the full 5 years,
and this is the thing you do for yourself, to leave something you hope
will be of value behind, that will survive you.  You're not just doing it
for the money, you're doing it because you kinda *have* to, and when it
gets reduced to that, or exploited, or those who believe in the show are
exploited, or ripped off, or conned, or cheated, or given something that
is inferior or cheap...I go into meltdown.
 
     It is, to quote a Twilight Zone episode about a pitchman, the pitch
of a lifetime...one for the angels.
 
     And I guess it's because, being a fan, I've been ripped off same as
everybody else, and I won't have it here.  I refuse.
 
     Finally, in the BB case, I feel particularly strongly; we're fighting
for Mark every bit as hard as for the regular B5 cast, as for the fans.
And, again, *I* can be found...others who ran BB can't.  So many of those
screwed over come to me...and I've heard some doozies...because they
can't do anything about it.  But I can.  And I will.
 
                                                              jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:02:17 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     Dennis: you consider Harlan a "bigot" because he thinks some netters
are stupid, ignorant, flame-baiting, offensive, venal, vindictive,
spiteful little web-weasels.
 
     Yeah, Dennis, you know, you're right...looking at some of the notes
that've come my way, I can't *imagine* where he EVER got a notion like
that...it can ONLY be bigotry, can't POSSIBLY be true.
 
     Thank you for clearing this up.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:02:43 -0400
Subject: Re: Big Bang URGENT from jms

     Mike: the other thing that's so annoying in the note you critiqued,
the "wealthy actors" bit, is that in syndication in particular, ain't
NObody getting wealthy.  Right across the board, the rates for actors,
writers and producers are roughly HALF what they are at the network
level.  Whereas a network hour script gets about $25,000 or more, the
going rate for syndication is $14,000.  Actors also have a very different
scale for syndication vs. network.  (This is one of the inequities that
I think needs to be addressed in light of the growth of syndication; the
rates were originally given to help syndication get a leg up; well, it's
GOT its leg up...also the other leg, both arms and a head.)
 
     (Which is why I also find it amusing when someone snipes at me for
the money I'm making on B5...I was making more as a lowly co-producer on
MURDER, SHE WROTE than I'm making NOW as Executive Producer of B5 on a
per-episode salary basis.  But I left M,SW *anyway* to do this because,
frankly, it's more important to me than just about anything.)
 
     We make this show for UNDER $1 million per episode, as compared to
DS9, which goes for $1.4 to $1.6 million per episode.  And we put it all
on-screen.  So believe me, ain't NObody getting rich off this show.
 
                                                                jms
 
     (Which is a long way of saying...I agree with you, you're right.)

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:05:37 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:CopperCon?

     Don't think I'll make CopperCon this year, alas.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:06:15 -0400
Subject: Re: Big Bang URGENT from jms

     Laura: suffice to say I've had a very good conversation with the
Visions people, who seem to basically be good folks who got stuck in a
bad situation, and we're having some very positive, constructive
discussions, they're being quite forthright and helpful.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 06:53:43 -0400
Subject: jms: Lines of Excellence Quote

     "The exercise of vital powers, along lines of excellence, in a life
affording them scope."  It's not so much a quote as the Greek definition
of happiness.  I've always felt that contained just about everything you
need.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 06:56:58 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS <SPOILERS> THE FALL

     Max: thanks.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 06:58:07 -0400
Subject: JMS: CtI and Sebastian's last

     Sebastian's final words were part of the same sentence he began
while speaking directly to Sheridan's face...insofar as I have ever
considered the scene, he IS talking to Sheridan.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 06:58:36 -0400
Subject: What's it like? (Was Attn JMS:

     What's it like for me?  Race to the studio in the morning, run from
one meeting to another, with directors, art department, costume department,
prosthetics, grab an hour with the door closed to write my brains out,
maybe get onto the stage for 5 minutes to watch a particular delicate
scene being shot, race back to more meetings, race off to editing, grab
another couple hours writing, race home, grab a sandwich, write a few
hours, and do BBSing.
 
     Sometimes, in all that, it's very possible to actually forget what it
is you're doing, to forget to *enjoy* it, because you're too much in it
("the world is too much with us").  That happens, alas, all too often.
 
     But every once in a while, one realizes just what one *is* doing,
from some comments on the BBS (holy smoke, the episode WORKED!), to
days like today, when there's one scene in particular in dailies with
G'Kar and Londo, that is *so* perfect, *so* brilliant a performance
that you realize suddenly what you're doing, and what you've touched,
and then, for a moment, it's fun.
 
      Then there's another meeting....
 
      Well, I figure I'll probably most enjoy all this long after it's
finished.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:07:07 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: TFoN: Congrats!( Vag

     The B5 ep C4 is showing on the weekend is a repeat.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:10:05 -0400
Subject: StarQuest'95 and Warner Brothe

     Here's what has transpired.
 
     Some time ago, I warned many people here about publicly offering to
make lots and lots of copies of B5 episodes -- the final 4 -- from the UK
to the US.  I was concerned about this on many levels.
 
     In the midst of this, one of the netters faxed WB Legal Affairs a
series of copies of these posts.  At which point WBLA went into total
and complete meltdown, due to the copyright violation aspects, which are
rightfully their concern.
 
     They have been with us since, and now monitor the nets.
 
     Public offers of substantial video copying will *invariably* bring
in such things.
 
     Ivanova's Rule #9: I will *listen* to jms.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:12:27 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Stellar Occasion '95

     With regrets, I won't be able to work out stopping by Stellar
Occasions this year.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:13:24 -0400
Subject: Re: Ghostbusters episode you M

     Actually, the GBs episode "Night Game," about the baseball game,
though story edited by me, was written by Kathryn Drennan, author of
"By Any Means Necessary."  She wrote two other GBs, "Egon's Dragon" and
"The Man Who Never Reached Home."
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:14:03 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     You know when you can tell that one side of an argument has gone
belly-up?  When they resort to inappropriate metaphor.
 
     "Well, what if jms posted a Get Rich Quick letter?  Or molested a
fan in an elevator?  Or committed murder?  Or bombed the World Trade
Center?  Or...or...or...."
 
     Because they cannot logically defend the area that is under debate,
they attempt to redefine the debate to something that is indefensible,
and *totally* irrelevant.  It's not "What if X did Y," it's "Here's X,
and let's just discuss what DID happen, not what might happen in
somebody's fevered imagination."
 
     This is SO stupid....
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:14:47 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS MID-POINT

      No, I was responding to a note re: midpoing in the series from a
total point of view, i.e., on a 5 year run, year 3 is the midpoint, and
in fact, in another month or so, I'll have written episode 11 of year
three, which is the *exact* halfway point on that axis.
 
      I put *zero* faith in the Syd Field school of thought.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 07:17:11 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS The Fall of Night

     Thanks; it's a good start, and we've got a long road ahead of us,
but believe me the encouragement is appreciated.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 02:35:24 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS: Have you ever wonder

      I wish I could see it without foreknowledge...I think that'd be
great, but alas it can't be.
 
                                                            jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 02:32:03 -0400
Subject: Re: The Wrong Trousers (was Re

     BTW, from the same guy who did "A Grand Day Out" and "The Wrong
Trousers"....he's doing a new project, a black and white film noire
clay-animation short, whose name I don't recall, but all of the parts are
played by Kirk Douglas (or figures representing Kirk) at various points
of his career...I've seen a few clips, and they're *hysterical*.
 
     BTW#2...I heard today that "The Wrong Trousers" is now on sale on
cassette at many video stores.  If you haven't seen this, go out and either
rent the tape or buy it, it's a sheer, unadulterated, no-holds-barred
delight, one of the few things that has sent me crashing to the floor with
unbridled, hysterical, eyes-watering laughter.  It's *that* good.
 
     BTW#3...if that's another advertisement...who cares, it's nifty.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 18 Aug 1995 02:26:51 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS:Question on B5 soundt

     No gold/silver CDs to my knowledge from Chris.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 18:25:57 -0400
Subject: Murder She Wrote on USA Thursd

     As it happens, Tomorrow (Tuesday) one of my other M,SW episodes is
on, entitled "Incident in Lot 7," which has a little fun at the expense
of Hitchcock.  Prentiss wasn't exactly what I'd envisoned for the role,
but overall it came out okay.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 21:28:31 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Character Developmen

     All scripts are tightly scripted.  The actors are not involved at
that level.  When the script lands on the stage, it's performed as
written.  If an actor has a problem with a particular word or line, I'm
happy to take a suggestion or provide an alternate word.  But that's it.
This is in part because with a 5-year story, with foreshadowing, changing
one word could have major repercussions.  And because it's my show, and
it'll be done the way I wrote it.  I didn't work five years to get this
show on the air to turn it over to any committee of any kind.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 18:23:41 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:  E-mail

     I do accept email from strangers, yes, though due to the massive
amount of mail, public and private, it has to be understood that I can't
engage in detailed, lengthy correspondence in private mail.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 19:37:14 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgro

     Re: a few demented souls who think nobody should ever be treated
any different than they are (which also omits responsibility for ones
own behavior)...anybody here see HARRISON BERGERON on Showtime, based
loosely on the Kurt Vonnegut story?  What great timing....
 
                                                        jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 19:36:56 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: MBTI?

     Nope, but once took the MMPI, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory, as part of getting my Psych degree.
 
     Think it said I came out to a PITA...Pain In The Ass.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 19:38:41 -0400
Subject: Help help I'm being repr-

     Here's the ultimate irony.  I write one message that honks off, oh,
I'd say maybe 6 guys out of the 10,000 or so who hang out here, and they
pillory me endlessly...and in so doing, write dozens of messages that
honk off *hundreds* of people, probably more from my email, even go so far
as to insult those people directly...but THAT'S okay.
 
     Where's the Red Queen when you really need her...?
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 19:36:13 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS: Have you read ...

     No, haven't read it, but will try to check it out.
 
     Thanks.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 19:36:37 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     Robert Holland: in one message from you, you take a shot at Harlan's
income (or what you perceive as his income), saying "He needs the bucks
for his medicare payments."
 
     But then, when I turn the question back to you, and your income, you
say, "of the many measures of a man, income is nominal."
 
     So which is it, Robert?  Or is it only irrelevant when it's you, and
relevant when it's somebody at whom you choose to snipe?
 
     Hypocrite.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 21:01:10 -0400
Subject: New Ship (ATN  JMS)

     The odds of the EAS Straczynski ever showing up in a B5 episode are
slim and none.
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 21:08:25 -0400
Subject: Mr. JMS: Network vs. Syndicati

     Correct: while the money and PR budget for syndication is about half
what network shows get, the trade-off is that you're left alone, and you
get full season orders, rather than 6 eps, or 12 eps with a possible
buy in the back nine.  It lets you relax and just do the show rather than
constantly looking over your shoulder.
 
     We have not had a script note since the 3rd ep of year two; haven't
had a note on a producer's cut of a ep since year one.  They trust us more
and leave us alone more, in large measure due to being in syndication,
and I'll trade *any* amount of money for that freedom.  We could *never*
have done "Believers" or "Confessions" on network TV, given their sense
that SF = KidVid.
 
                                                              jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 21:34:48 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: General Thoughts pos

     Alan: thanks, comments like that really help us keep going.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 21:36:34 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: How is quality of B5

     Unfortunately, there is no one overseeing that aspect of it, and I
can only trust in blind fate at this pointl.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 21:40:16 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:

    Zack wasn't in the opening credits for year two because he came in
with just one or two eps going in...but the more we saw him, the more
we knew he could give us just what we were looking for in one part of the
overall story, and so it grew.  And the Fleer cards have several
different approaches...arc cards, episode cards, character cards and
so on.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 20:58:10 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     My software, and the GEnie software, does not quote; if I want to
quote someone, I have to *retype* the whole bloody quote.
 
     I sometimes think I'd like to apply that to folks who quote a 432
line message, just to add "I agree!" at the end.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 21 Aug 1995 21:30:09 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     Kelly: thanks.  I had a good five year ride with HOUR 25, and though
there were some problems, enjoyed it thoroughly.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 22 Aug 1995 02:17:19 -0400
Subject: BAD NEWS ON B5 EFFECTS EMMY!

     Yeah, unfortunately this is a year where we're against the Earth 2
and Voyager 2-hour pilots, upon which they spent *hideous* amounts of
money, with considerable publicity.  But hey, we'll take the 3 emmy noms
we've already gotten and be happy.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 22 Aug 1995 02:17:35 -0400
Subject: B5 Comic cancelled according t

     #11 is the last regular, monthly issue.  However, DC has contracted
for roughly 13 more issues to be published in one-shot specials and
4-issue miniseries over the course of the coming year.  This is a done
deal, ink on the contract and all that.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 22 Aug 1995 18:00:27 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: What happens AFTER B

     There's always been the possibility of a side-story that would go off
in the B5 universe, after the B5 main story, but frankly the odds on that
happening are extremely slim at best, I think.
 
     Other than that...if B5 goes its full 5 year run, as I've noted here
before, at that point (1998) the tentative plan is for me to retire from
TV, go back to writing plays and novels.  I figure I'll have said all I
have to say in TV, and at that point you get off the damned stage.
 
     About the only thing that could lure me back, aside from a B5 side
story, would be an anthology series, because I love that form dearly, but
the odds of that are even smaller; there seems such growing discontent
with the genre at the studios, despite some small successes here and
there.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 21:03:09 -0400
Subject: ATT JMS>>>OTHER VORLONS???????

      Yeah, I kinda think you'd *have* to see more Vorlons than just
Kosh after a while, yes...?
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 21:01:47 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS: Jeff Conaway questi

     You can send the material to Jeff c/o Babylon 5, Suite 260,
14431 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
 
                                                              jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 22:13:48 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Reading speed?

     I actuallly don't know what my reading speed is; I do know it's
pretty fast -- I was reading at college level while in 9th grade,
according to tests at the time -- but actual speed, I don't know.  Never
took a speed reading course, though; I figure, if somebody took two years
to write a book, you shouldn't blow through it in two hours.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 21:06:58 -0400
Subject: JMS: Bester

     Walter's first appearance this season will be in "Dust to Dust,"
#306.
 
                                                               jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 21:13:32 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS: B5 Bloopers Tape

     Bloopers are not currently available, but may become so down the
road a bit.
 
                                                              jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 21:12:26 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Will Cards have spoi

     I worked with the writer doing the cards to make sure that the info
on the final four does not contain spoilers.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 22:40:16 -0400
Subject: JMS:  Updating the WHAM Estima

     Yeah, I'd say the wham percentage still holds; there are fewer in
the first part of the season, but more in the latter half of year three,
so it really does work out to about half.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 21:16:05 -0400
Subject: Milton Katulas???

     I have no idea if there's a relationship, but I'll try to remember to
ask.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 22:19:22 -0400
Subject: JMS: Change of Pace / Change o

     Good idea, Steven, and what I'll try to do is post a couple of
background items as you suggest, get that process going agian.
 
     (again)
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 22:17:48 -0400
Subject: Re: Abuse of this newsgroup by

     "Joe's over-reaction to my statement makes me believe 'he doth
protest too much.'"
 
     Nope.  It's physics.  The bigger the stink, the bigger the "ewwww."
 
                                                              jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 22:16:02 -0400
Subject: The Price of the Peace

     David Shao: pressure on the group regarding any character's sexuality
will result in zip from me.  I don't give in on that on either side of
the question.  We've touched on elements of this in "Divided Loyalties,"
and will again in future.  Not because of any pressure, but because it is
what I choose to do with my show.
 
     I appreciate your interest, but B5 is what it is because I have
always tried to follow my heart, and not surrender control of that to any
network, studio, focus group or any OTHER group.  It is what it is, take
it or leave it.
 
     I would also suggest that, since you were the one who faxed messages
from this system to Warner Bros. Legal Affairs, concerning the UK final
four tapes, resulting in their now continued presence here, I would suggest
that you have already had a substantial impact on things here...why not
leave well enough alone for now in other areas?
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 21:27:03 -0400
Subject: I don't know ...

     The books and comics and other ancillary material is considered
complementary but never required.
 
                                                              jms

Date: 23 Aug 1995 21:25:35 -0400
Subject: ATTN jms:Costume Designer

     Yes, Anne Bruice got married just a bit before we began shooting on
year three.
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 24 Aug 1995 17:38:08 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS - Great Show!!

     Thanks; it's my abiding hope that the show will function primarily to
a) engender discussion on the issues raised, and b) create a sense of
wonder, because both, I think, are somewhat lacking around us.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 24 Aug 1995 17:38:42 -0400
Subject: Re: The Price of the Peace

     David...leaving totally aside the issue of the tapes for now, even
though that was your motivating factor...it's a breach of the ethics of
this system to send postings by others, myself included, to the people at
Warner Bros.  Second, we were already *handling* the issue, were already
dealing with it.  Until that moment, I referred matters of concern to
those empowered to act, at the proper, lower-level areas.  What your
letter did was to embroil the two heads of Warner Bros., who until that
moment didn't know the system much existed.
 
     And now folks from legal affairs regularly monitor the nets.  Because
you poked the head of the dragon.  You can explain to your heart's content,
but that is the consequence of your actions.  It was wrong.
 
     Again *we were dealing with it*.  But once your letter crossed
certain desks, who were unaware of the fact that we were dealing with it,
the call went out, "What the hell is THIS?"  If you needed information,
it was right here, and any question could've been answered by me.  And,
in fact, was.  By essentially ratting out the entire group to WB Legal,
however well-intentioned your motives, you've caused me problems in having
to then go back and fix the damage, explaining that we were already on
top of the issue, and caused others problems as well.
 
     I wasn't going to make a federal case out of this, but when I saw
your note indicating possibly yet ANOTHER cause celebre you were about to
start throwing around out there, and urging action, I worried, given how
this LAST one was handled.  Or mishandled.
 
     Sometimes, David, it's best to just leave things alone....
 
                                                               jms

Date: 24 Aug 1995 20:02:14 -0400
Subject: Re: Mr. JMS: Network vs. Syndi

     You want to know what it comes down to?  What it *really* comes down
to?  Here it is.
 
     This was stated by a network exec: "Look, the reality is, anybody
with money these days has got cable, they've got VCRs, laserdisks, so the
networks get what's left, the guys without a lot of money, or education,
and that's going to have to be our target audience."
 
                                                                    jms

Subject: "straczynski" a common name? (
Date: 27 Aug 1995 04:00:22 -0400

     Straczynski is a very uncommon name; the only ones who have it are
actual relatives.  There are only about a dozen or so in the whle
(whole) country (yes, I've checked).
 
                                                                     jms

Subject: Sublime language (was Re: Attn
Date: 27 Aug 1995 05:58:55 -0400

     I do have certain linguistic elements that I tend to re-use to
subconsciously define the characters a bit.  Londo tends to use verbal
prologs a lot, "It occurs to me," "You know, I was thinking," that sort
of thing, which connotes that he's always working through what he's going
to say before he says it, and puts the pronoun I or Me at the center of
his way of thinking.  I often insert "Yes?" in his dialogue ("A great
shame, yes?" "A terrible thing, is it not?") and variations to hint at
the notion that this is a person looking for acceptance, validation,
agreement.
 
     Where Londo tends to put his personal pronoun at the beginning of
his lines, Delenn has a tendency to put them at the end of her sentences,
de-emphasizing personal importance.  Sometimes it lends her a kind of
prolix speech pattern, but that's an inevitable consequence of that kind
of structure; sometimes the verbs also get shoved back in the sentence,
giving things a somewhat Germanic structure.
 
     So some elements of phraseology, grammer, even phrases per se do
tend to recur, but I try to keep them mainly to that person, or to that
group, as a device to reinforce identity.
 
                                                                    jms

Subject: Re: "straczynski" a common nam
Date: 29 Aug 1995 02:07:16 -0400

     Yeah, the John Straczynski in Arizona is a cousin on my father's
brother's side...as noted, if it's spelled exactly the same, then the
person is always a direct blood relative.
 
                                                                 jms

Subject: JMS: S. Furst's schedule (was
Date: 29 Aug 1995 02:10:11 -0400

     The shared days, when Stephen does our show in the morning, and then
the other show in the afternoons, are only when necessary; we're using
him also during his hiatuses (hiati?) from the other show, so we have him
all day every day for as much as a week at a time.
 
     We were happy to accommodate on this because while Stephen's role
on B5 will always be important, and will grow, the role is such that Vir
will/can never be the star of the story, whereas in the sitcom he has the
chance to be the lead, and we think that's worth supporting.
 
                                                                 jms

Subject: ATTN JMS: *OLD* ? about B5 pil
Date: 29 Aug 1995 02:12:06 -0400

     The pendant was a gift to Michael from his son, and he asked to wear
it in that shot.
 
                                                          jms

Subject: What to do? Pre-October Fun
Date: 29 Aug 1995 02:13:36 -0400

     Also recommend: The Haunting (of Hill House) and Seconds.
 
                                                                    jms

Subject: Scarcity raises value :-) WAS
Date: 29 Aug 1995 02:14:58 -0400

     Having read that...well, *I'm* tired now....
 
                                                                jms

Subject: Apologies to JMS, WB, et al...
Date: 29 Aug 1995 02:16:30 -0400

     The main problem, as I understand it, is the issue of the shows that
have not aired here yet, which touches international law re: copyright;
in general, though, if someone has made a tape of something, and wishes
to show it to a group of friends, and no cost is attached, I'm not aware
of any complications to this.
 
                                                             jms

Subject: Is JMS still here?
Date: 29 Aug 1995 18:08:05 -0400

     I'm never quite all here on the best of days.
 
                                                                jms

Subject: B5 and Jung (was Re: Shadows/V
Date: 29 Aug 1995 18:44:13 -0400

     Well reasoned.  An analysis of some of the stuff in Jungian terms,
as I've noted here before, is not entirely unproductive.
 
     It really is a hodgepodge of bits and pieces, a Frankenstein monster
assembled from elements of myth, and archetype, and history that I've been
kind of subconsciously assembling over a long, long time.
 
     Certainly the issue touches strongly on the whole question of who we
are, how we define ourselves, our place in the universe (as we perceive
it, and as we are *able* to perceive it, stuck as we are in th
metaphorical fishbowl).
 
     One of the problems, I feel, when film makers or novelists use Joseph
Campbell's approach to storytelling is that they're going by the numbers
in terms of the *action* involved (okay, the hero has a trial to endure,
enters the cave, and so on), without looking to, or paying attention to,
the philosophical/mythological underpinnings of the actions, what they
MEAN in a larger context, what they are meant to tell us about ourselves
and the world.
 
     So it's an ongoing process to redefine the myths, and in so doing
redefine the way we perceive ourselves.  Or something like that.
 
                                                                   jms

Subject: Re: Does B5's Anonymity Bother
Date: 29 Aug 1995 18:52:56 -0400

     Part of the problem in this discussion comes down to TeeVee
Terminology and how the industry works, or doesn't, logically or
otherwise.  It's the difference between ratings, rankings, demographics
and other niceties.
 
     Just to get into this for a second...you have two shows on competing
networks: Lois and Clark and Murder, She Wrote.  M,SW gets *substantially*
higher ratings than L&C.  Now, which is more profitable for the network?
 
     Answer: Lois and Clark.  Because the show attracts the demographics
(males/females 18-40) that advertisers want.  So the commercials on that
show sell for more than M,SW commercials, which generally reach a much
older and, from an advertiser's POV, less meaningful demographic.
 
     So a show can be lower rated, but more successful.  It's definitely
Alice in Wonderland reasoning, but there you are.  That's why CBS is
frantically trying to up their demographics, and why they hate shows like
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.  It's one of their few ratings hits, but it
doesn't draw the right demographics.  They need the show for the PR
value, to maintain a presence in the top shows, but they hate it behind
the scenes.
 
     B5 is slowly starting to crack two audiences: the ST audience, and
the mainstream audience.  I frequently hear from people whose letters and
email (some of it visible here) begins, "I don't usually watch SF, but I
have started watching B5."  ,\gsC
 
     Our ratings need not ever be as big as the ST shows to be as
profitable, particularly since we only cost about half what they cost.
If they go up a point or two, say to a sustained 4.5 or 5 or better,
which I think is possible this season, we're golden; if we sustain or
build just a little, we're still okay.
 
                                                                 jms

Subject: ATTN JMS:  Control groups?
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:24:25 -0400

     The funny thing is, on the control groups where I lurk, there is
generally LESS speculation and "let's guess the story" and story ideas
than where I *am* around.  Generally, what you tend to get are simply
people's reactions to stuff...I liked this one, or didn't like that one,
how come they did something stupid, where can I get info...that sort of
thing.
 
     My experience has been that the *most* critical nets are the ones
where I'm known to hang out, because folks know their concerns have a
chance of reaching me.  That's probably the biggest difference.
 
                                                                  jms

Subject: SPOILERS and Peculiar Event Al
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:24:39 -0400

     Yeah, I'd say it's fair to say that you haven't heard the last of
Interplanetary Expeditions.  Remember the rule: before you use the gun,
you show it on the mantle.  You play fair.  And create the context in
which the payoff later works.
 
                                                                   jms

Subject: ATTN JMS: B5 MM TNG?
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:48:55 -0400

     The box for the new MicroMachines installment came through my hands
for approval about a week ago (two new boxes, actually), so my *guess* is
that they'll be hitting the stands in about a month.
 
                                                                     jms

Subject: ATTN JMS:  Allusion to Sciento
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:49:41 -0400

     The use of markabs was definitely NOT a reference to Scientology in
any way, manner, shape or form.
 
                                                                 jms

Subject: ATTN JMS: Are You Ever Surpris
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:49:59 -0400

     In *general*, the P5 ratings poll tends to reflect my own opinions
of the show, which is generally a good thing, I suppose.  The ones I
think are knockouts tend to do well.  From time to time, I'm a bit
surprised -- I still think that Parliament of Dreams is rated lower than
I'd rate it, ditto for Soul Hunter and one or two others -- but what I've
found is that generally the real serious episodes get rated higher, while
the lighter ones (like Geometry of Shadows, which is still something of a
favorite) get rated lower.
 
     What's great is that this season, we haven't had one single episode on
the level of War Prayer or Infection or Grail, some of our weaker first
season eps.  The worst we've done is pretty darned good.  What we're now
working for in year three is that they're all better than that at their
baseline rating.  And so far, they're killer...our second episode for year
three, "Convictions," has a very different feel from anything we've done
on the show to date, a very dark, scary and gritty feel, and probably one
of the best character sequences in the series to date.  We're also doing
some major EFX blow-outs of a type other than "they go into space and
shoot stuff."  Very interesting, creative, offbeat stuff.
 
                                                                     jms

Subject: ATTN JMS: Costume question
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:49:23 -0400

     I think it came out of the Victoria's Secrets catalog....
 
                                                                    jms

Subject: ATTN JMS:  Why doesn't HBO car
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:51:41 -0400

     1) HBO turned down B5 years ago.  2) HBO does not do regular dramatic
series a la B5; they do sitcoms, and anthologies, but not this kind of show.
 
                                                                        jms

Subject: JMS: Still "Getting Dark?"
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:52:16 -0400

     "It's Getting Dark" was originally planned to be my third published
novel after "OtherSyde," but in the interim, after I began writing it (and
IGD was planned to be a modest sized novel, 500 pages max), I stumbled
upon a much better and, unfortunately, bigger story I wanted to write, a
contemporary dark fantasy whose title is too cool to sacrifice by giving it
out here.  The new book will probably be about 1,000 pages, give or take,
and I've got all the research and reference stuff here, ready to go, as oon
(soon) as I have the time to write it, when B5 is done.
 
                                                                      jms

Subject: Question about casting
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:52:37 -0400

     Garibaldi will *definitely* be in season three, is in even now, and
is being used better now than before.
 
                                                                    jms

Subject: ATTN JMS:  B5 Writing Process
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:53:26 -0400

     B5 was *never*, ever, at any time, pitched on the nets, or even
discussed on the nets, while it was in development.  Not even the name
was ever said.  So I don't know where this particular myth has come
from.
 
     The first time I ever started talking about B5 (except in an offhand
reference in a Starlog article) on the nets was about November 1991, when
we'd finally been given the go-ahead for production on the pilot movie,
but couldn't officially talk about it until WB announced it.  During that
time, I only described it as "That Which Cannot Be Named" (TWCBN for
short) on GEnie.
 
                                                                    jms

Subject: Re: FS: softcover "Demon Night
Date: 31 Aug 1995 04:53:04 -0400

     Bantam put out a paperback version of DEMON NIGHT; no softcover has
been published of the hardcover edition of OTHERSYDE; my anthology, TALES
FROM THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE, was only published in paperback.
 
                                                                 jms

Subject: Ellison & the Inquisitor
Date: 31 Aug 1995 05:06:56 -0400

     Harlan was not involved with the creation of the Inquisitor.
 
                                                                    jms

Subject: JMS: Because we care... (Was:
Date: 31 Aug 1995 05:06:38 -0400

     I have taken the comments for what they have been worth.
 
     I have also begun having others start my car for me.
 
                                                                   jms

Subject: ATTN JMS: Candle motif
Date: 31 Aug 1995 05:20:09 -0400

     Candles are, I think, wonderfully emblematic of life, and of being
a single ray of light, or hope, in a dark place.  The Grey Council stands
between the candle and the star; watch G'Kar's action re: a candle in his
quarters...and in that scene (for those who've seen TLTS) note how many
candles are in the room in the beginning, and at the end.
 
     We are the candle that burns brightly, stubbornly, effectively...but
briefly.
 
                                                                    jms