lurkers-guide/ftp/Usenet/jms96-05-usenet

Date: 1 May 1996 23:12:20 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS Character Popularity/Writing them out

sorta kinda spoilers, I guess....











"So, to sum up, has it been hard making these changes after you and all of
the fans have gotten to know them?  Or is it simply a matter of:
"Well...it's their time...?"

It's both, kinda.  In the case of one character, who's been with us a long
time, and who...shall we say delicately, is en route to becoming an
ex-character by the end of this season...it was hard knowing the actor,
because the actor said, "Was there something I did wrong?"  To which you
can only answer truthfully and say no, not at all, just the opposite...you
did a GREAT job, that's why we're offing you.  If you'd been just
mediocre, nobody'd CARE."

In another case, also later this season, it was *very* difficult for me
personally to do it, very emotional...and I wouldn't probably have done it
at all if the character hadn't basically grabbed me by the lapels and
dragged me kicking and screaming to that point of the story and said,
"Look, this is right, you know it, I know it, now DO it."  So I did.  (And
the cast and crew were equally stunned.  Of everything that's been done on
the show to date, THAT one thing got the biggest reaction; nobody'd eat
across from me for two days at lunch after that.)

Bottom line...you've got to go where the story leads you.  That *has* to
be your first and foremost obligation.  If it's anything else -- catering
to the audience's expectations, or your own preferences -- rather than
doing what the cold logic of the story *demands* you to do...you're
finished.  






 jms



Date: 2 May 1996 03:37:39 -0400
Subject: Re: What does the -len or Len- indicate?

Basically, I went through and came up with common suffixes and prefixes
for Minbari names, the way Russian names have combinations of certain
letters (-ovna, -ova, -vich), and associated various backgrounds and
castes and houses (fanes) to them.  So you have Delenn, Rathenn, and
others of similar name.  



 jms



Date: 6 May 1996 04:07:41 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Attention to detail

Janet: thanks.  It's just always seemed to me that if you're going to
create a fictional universe, you should do your homework.  Now, having
said that, there are plenty of areas where I haven't fleshed out some
stuff as much as I'd like (and no, I'm not telling you where they are;
it's nothing you'd notice, really).  But I could do that every day, 24
hours a day, and still not finish everything...a universe is a BIG place. 
Still, the more I can do, the realer the show becomes.



 jms



Date: 6 May 1996 04:11:19 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: B5 Utility for Mac

Yeah, apparently I got some misleading information from them.  I was told
by one rep that the April push was to launch the mac version as well;
apparently that was changed, but no one ever told me.  


 jms



Date: 6 May 1996 04:10:45 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Enlightenment through laughter

Nuts...I'll have to go drag out my Zen books on this one...it's a
reference I came upon for "the laughing buddha," which features a very old
painting of same, and the thoughts on laughter and enlightenment.  That
might be a good reference point for starting off, at least.



 jms


Date: 6 May 1996 04:12:56 -0400
Subject: Re: DS9's plummeting ratings, was Re: EP: ALDFA Dream Sequence

No, DS9 isn't the top drama in syndication; it regularly gets beaten by
both Hercules and Xena.


 jms


Date: 6 May 1996 04:00:19 -0400
Subject: Re: "The man in between is searching for you" et al...

Either the guide got it wrong, or I misspoke, or you're misremembering.  I
said, specifically, and this season, that the dream Sheridan had would be
explained, in detail, by the end of the *third* season.  And it has, and
it's already been filmed.



 jms



Date: 6 May 1996 04:04:42 -0400
Subject: Re: Last 5 season 3 episodes will be held back.  WHY?

I don't yet know the full story, I just came into this info this weekend,
having been away at a convention, and will try to verify it this week.  

The bad part of this, if what I've read is correct, is that you've got 4
months of reruns, June-September.  But *most* shows are in reruns at that
time, especially syndicated shows.  You've only got 22 episodes per year,
that means you're going to have reruns 30 weeks out of the year.  

The reason Warners held back 4 episodes last time for October was so that
they could help ramp up the ratings in the November sweeps.  If they're
doing the same thing here, on the up side, that would at least seem to
indicate some optimism about renewal, otherwise what would be the point in
burning them up in a non-sweeps period (like October)?



 jms



Date: 7 May 1996 05:08:05 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS: Warner Bros. and B5 promotions

There's no B5 wall because a) it's a syndicated show and low priority to
them, and b) those are for WB productions, and we're not a WB production,
we're a Babylonian production *distributed* by WB.


 jms



Date: 7 May 1996 05:08:06 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Ship of Tears: Lighting or FX?

The reflections you cite were all done real-time with an LCD projector.


 jms


Date: 7 May 1996 06:43:11 -0400
Subject: Re: Interludes and Examinations  (* Spoilers *)

spoiler space...

















It wasn't my idea.  It was Kosh's idea.  It was his pulling me that way
that led to it.  "Trust me," he said.  I followed.

And yeah, it does hurt.  Pat Tallman was devastated at the screening. 
Even my own crew wouldn't talk to me for a day or so after the script came
out.

Which is when I knew it was the right thing to do.


 jms


Date: 7 May 1996 04:16:55 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:Editing question for "Interludes and Examinations",  Spoilers.

spoilers....
















"JMS, why did you edit out the scene where the Ranger follows Morden and
ends up being killed by the Shadows?  Don't you think fans of the show
would rather see that than the scene in the bar where Garibaldi asks for
info on Franklin's blood from the other doctor?  When you edit the show
please keep in mind what the fans would what to see.  Rangers and Shadows
fighting is much more exciting than a unimportant scene that could have
been left out easily."

Because it was important to set up what Garibaldi wanted, where it was,
and how he was going to gain access.  It had to show his concern for
Franklin, the moral ambiguity in asking for this, the betrayal we see on
Franklin's face, the difficulty in Dr. Hobbs dealing with his request. 
The ranger scene was a brief piece that was really unconnected to the rest
of the story, had no setup elsewhere or payoff, was only a brief piece of
action.  I needed the time to establish the character and plot information
in the Garibaldi scene.

And when you cite what "the fans" want to see, bear in mind that there
ain't no such critter.  There's what *you* like, but *you're* not the
entirety of the fans.  Some fans thought "Avalon" was one of the best of
the series to date; others thought it was just a character piece and
wanted more action and arc and called it a "waste."  Some people when they
read a novel read for the action, then when they come to a few pages that
establish the look of the forest, or some character background, jump ahead
a few pages to where the action starts up again.  Some do just the
opposite.

My obligation, first and foremost, is to the story, and to tell that story
as best I can.  If I start trying to second guess what *The Fans* want,
when there is no ready concensus, when there ain't no such thing, when
different fans want different things, it'll just get watered down and
wander around lost.  



 jms


Date: 8 May 1996 03:36:10 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Interludes and Examinations (spoilers)

Thanks, yes, Bruce did a great job in that scene; there's a touch of
madness in it, which is quite understandable.  As for the Rangers, they
get a new, added role later this season.



 jms



Date: 8 May 1996 03:36:34 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Possible to change WB's mind?

I honestly don't know if their minds can be changed about this; you can
try if you wish, but I have a hunch this is one of those immovable
objects/irresistable force scenarios.


 jms



Date: 8 May 1996 03:39:02 -0400
Subject: Re: (no subject)

When we're in production, this year in particular, I grab maybe 3-4 hours
sleep a night, and crash on the weekends.  It's just the nature of the
beast.



 jms



Date: 8 May 1996 21:24:42 -0400
Subject: Re: Interludes and Explotations (spoilers, por supuesto)

No, none of the shadows there were winged.



 jms


Date: 9 May 1996 01:34:30 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS: "Interludes & Examinations" teaser

The visual styles in transition between shots came from the director,
which he went over with me when we had our tone meeting.


 jms



Date: 9 May 1996 01:31:57 -0400
Subject: Re: Hidden by a Mask (Interlude Spoiler)

It was....

























Definitely Morden.


 jms


Date: 10 May 1996 06:25:03 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS and the Hero System

No, I've never read the Hero system, and have no idea what it contains.



 jms



Date: 10 May 1996 06:30:29 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Use of Social Psych in Writing B5

There's a little of lots of things in the writing, it's hard to pin down
any one of them; I don't sit down and say, "Okay, now to use some
psychology on this."  A writer is like a sponge; you pick up lots of
colors and strangenesses, then when you come to write something, you
squeeze, and everything comes out together.  I write what the dark and
scary parts of my brain seem interested in writing about.


 jms



Date: 10 May 1996 19:58:37 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Entertainment Weekly

I guess they realized that the May episodes weren't our season enders, not
officially over until October, and decided it wouldn't fit.



 jms



Date: 10 May 1996 21:23:52 -0400
Subject: Re: Does JMS post here????

Re: being less active here...in some ways it's the interface, which I find
kind of cumbersome...mainly, though, right now there ain't much on my end
to talk about.  Overall, my posts to all the nets are down right now,
because when we're in hiatus -- and this forum went up right as hiatus hit
-- all is shut down, and there ain't much going on to tell folks about. 
One becomes something of a balloon with the air let out.  And, natch,
there's the annual anxiety of waiting for word.  Once things start gearing
up, and we get word, I'll have more to talk about.  Otherwise, I just
hesitate to fill up space with words just to hear the sound of my own
voice.  I'm kinda like Marcus that way, I talk when I have something to
say that might be remotely interesting to people.


 jms



Date: 10 May 1996 21:46:52 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: B13?  DiTillio?

Larry's off working on other projects now, and B13 has been
reneamed/subsumed into other branches of the government.

jms


 jms


Date: 11 May 1996 04:54:30 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS, AOL has a bad news reader, thats your problem

Oh, I have lots more problems than news readers...but yeah, that's one of
the hassles here; I'm investigating different servers, may possibly switch
after a bit.


 jms



Date: 11 May 1996 04:58:53 -0400
Subject: Re: Interludes and Examinations

"I'm going to withdraw my rating of '10' on "Severed Dreams.""

So who says there can only be one episode worth a ten...?  If you can have
many worth a 9, why not many worth a 10?  If one skater at the Olympics
gets a 10, why can't another?

Just idle thoughts at 2 a.m.....


 jms



Date: 11 May 1996 04:59:04 -0400
Subject: Re: Interludes and Examinations

Bruce is doing a *great* job, and definitely growing into the part.


 jms



Date: 12 May 1996 04:24:55 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS (#2 Try) Fabulous Supportive B5 Article

It's a great article, yes, thanks; I have someone sending me a copy, so
shouldn't need the OCR version.  But via your message I got to read it
first, so thanks.



 jms



Date: 12 May 1996 04:32:47 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS HOUR 25/SF lovers read

Hour 25, when I hosted it, was a pretty eclectic mix of stuff.  We covered
hard SF, fantasy, horror, comics, TV, movies, you name it; we/I
interviewed writers, directors, producers, directors, artists, the whole
gamut.  Neil Gaiman, Walter Koenig, John Carpenter, Bill Gibson, Jonathan
Carroll, Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Tim Powers...if they were involved in
speculative fiction in any of its forms, sooner or later they came to Hour
25.  (Hmm...why, there's a slogan in there...)

The first half-hour was mainly nattering, news of the SF world, local and
national, nominations of various sorts, who was in town, some brief
reviews, personal anecdotes...nattering.  The next hour was spent in heavy
interview mode; the last half hour or so we opened up the phone lines for
questions from listeners.

The same format is being used in the current incarnation, with some
modifications: more shorter pieces rather than in-depth single person
interviews, more canned interviews, more software and space program info,
that sort of thing.  The personality of the individual host tends to shape
the show.


 jms



Date: 12 May 1996 04:36:05 -0400
Subject: Production Process (was Return of the Newsgroup Timekillers)

The only problem with walking you through "The Coming of Shadows" is that,
well, the production process has gotten so blurred that I barely remember
much of it.  The problem being that one doesn't just do one at a time, you
basically work on 8 episodes all at the same time, in varying degrees of
preparation or completion, and so there's no clean point of demarkation. 
One flows into the next, into the next, into the next....

I can, though, speak in generalities, and that might be something of
possible interest to people.  I'll divide it up into sections, so that if
anyone is interested, we can discuss the various parts and pieces in
subsequent messages.  An episode is produced in the following stages:

1) Writing.  Not much to discuss here; you just sit and bleed onto the
keyboard.

2) First Draft Script.  It's sent to department heads (costume, wardrobe,
CGI, prosthetics, often the director).  Preparation begins.  (Hereafter
just "prep.")  

3) Final Draft Script.  Full distribution: cast, crew, casting, everybody.
 We are now fully in prep.

PREP: Meet with all department heads, discuss and approve designs for
sets, prosthetics, other episode-specific areas.  Full prep lasts 2 weeks.
 Meet with director to have a "tone meeting" to go over every scene to
make sure we both understand what everything's about.  Individual visual
effects meetings, art department meetings, other meetings.

SHOOT: Seven 12-hour days, weekdays only.  Script is shot out of sequence,
going by sets.  (I.e., all Medlab scenes are shot first, then all C&C
scenes, and so on, to minimize camera/lighting moves, which take a long
time on any show.)

POST: 52 days (average).  Director does first cut of episode, then John
Copeland and I make the final producer's cut.  Visual EFX, CGI and roto
work are all inserted.  Sound spotting meeting with Chris Franke and sound
EFX guys to spot where music/sound cues are.  Other meetings.  Final audio
mix and delivery for insertion of commercials, credits, closed-captioning
and satellite uplink.

Any of those areas are fair game for further inquiry.


 jms



Date: 12 May 1996 04:38:18 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: writings for season 4 and 5?

Yes, I'd be willing to let outsiders to arc stories, though I'd have to be
a lot more vigilent.  (Actually, some arc elements have appeared here and
there in freelance scripts, when I've noted the necessity of their
inclusion.)  They generally are told only what they need to know.

The only thing that could compel me to write all the episodes next season
would be if we were told, up front and in advance, that the show was going
to run four years instead of five, and I had to pull it all together to
finish the story.  (Which can be done, though obviously it ain't my
preferred method.)  It'd also have to be much more of a serial in
structure.  Absent that, no, I don't plan on doing this again.



 jms



Date: 12 May 1996 04:47:53 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Surprised You??? (SPOILER for "Interludes and Examinations")

spoilers....























Yes, I think Kosh sort of "hit the wall" when he saw that Sheridan wasn't
going to go away; I think finally he was ashamed, and recognized his fear,
and in a sense the air went out of him, and he reconciled himself to what
had to be.

You're right about the mentor; sooner or later, the mentor has to step
aside (or fall by the wayside) for the others to grow into the hero's
journey.  Originally this was slated to happen a bit later...I think, on
some level, I was reluctant to do it, because to write this kind of stuff
you have to *feel* it yourself, and I think I was avoiding that as much as
Kosh was avoiding his fate.  I didn't want to go through writing that.  So
I kept putting it off.  I knew it *had* to be done...but not yet....

And that's when, for lack of a better explanation, Kosh stepped up and
began to pull me in that direction in the script.  It was time.  His
passing shouldn't be frittered away or minimized; it should happen at the
right moment, and this was that moment.  It's almost impossible to
describe this to a non-writer, but the character, this fictional
construct, was simply determined to have his way, and that was the end of
it.  I kept trying to dance away in the script, to go back into safer
waters...but each time was pulled back in this direction, until finally I
had to admit that yes, this was the right time, and the right way, to do
this.

And Kosh fell.

But what finally convinced me was the realization that this was not only
right for now, but right for *later*...though you won't know what that
means for a while yet.


 jms



Date: 12 May 1996 04:53:18 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: a spoiler line in I&E....

I think the line was just enough to make Kosh look at what he was, and
what he was doing.


 jms



Date: 12 May 1996 04:59:40 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN:JMS  B5 National Ad

The ads certainly would seem to bode well...we'll have to see.


 jms



Date: 12 May 1996 05:05:02 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Keeping your relationships alive

Y'know, it ain't often that a question stops me and leaves me staring at
the screen for ten minutes trying to decide what the hell to say....

I guess the answer isn't a good one, Stef.

Everything in my life is subsumed into the work.  Especially for B5.  You
must understand, this isn't just a show for me, isn't just a job, some
bucks.  This show means almost everything to me right now.  My personal
life, my health, my relationships, everything comes second to the work.  

And someday, there will be a reckoning for that. 

I'll likely revisit this subject at some point in the future...but not
tonight.



 jms



Date: 13 May 1996 02:30:04 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Edisode Credits (was Re: Production Process)

Unless the actor negotiates something specific, that kind of credit is
pretty much left to the discretion of the production company.  On the
theory that it helps the audience to identify characters, we generally try
to use the names right from the script and identify them clearly.


 jms



Date: 13 May 1996 02:30:57 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Your writing process

Wow, talk about lots of questions....

1/ Going in to a new episode how do you decide what the B plot will be? Do
you write the B plot concurrent with the A? (The two plots often seem to
contain thematic counterpoint.)

In breaking out the season in advance, I have a selection of arc stories
and non arc stories worked out.  (In his Starlog interview, Larry
DiTillio, prior story editor on the show, mentions going through the lists
of stories I make up each season.)  In looking them over, it's easy to
know which are A stories and which are B stories by the relative size of
the story and how much time would be required to tell it.  A lot of time =
A story, less = B story.  If a story is strong enough that it doesn't need
a B story, it's left alone.  If, on the other hand, it's a bit slim, or if
I want to do more of a slice-of-life episode, then I pull in a B story.

Once I've decieded this, I look for a B story that's an interesting
counterpoint to the A story; if A is very dark, B tends to be lighter. 
Sometimes I try and come up with a dramatic counterpoint or ironic or
thematically similar sub-story.  

Once this is done, I write both at the same time, much as you see it,
right through, going from one to the other, not writing them separately. 
I need to do this to be able to feel the flow of the story, where the
segues are, and to create counterpoint and tension. It needs a certain
kind of rhythm, and if you write them separately you won't get that. 

2/ You say that you play out a scenario in your head before putting
fingers to keyboard. How much of an episode do you tend to picture before
writing anything?

Quite a lot of it, actually.  Once I know the basic story, I cue the
"video" up in my head and start playing it over and over, gradually
becoming able to see the images more and more clearly, filling in the
blanks between scenes and the like.  Once I know where all the pieces go,
I begin writing.  (On some occasions, as a writing test, I'll launch in
with just a general sense of where I want to go and charge through it for
the adrenalin rush...sort of like an acrobat performing without a net. 
This works particularly well when I know the episode is going to contain
surprises, or should have a sense of immediacy that sometimes can diminish
if you think about it too much in advance.)

3/ Is it purely experience that allows you to develop a script that will
fit within the time frame of each episode?

Yeah, it's just doing it.  I almost never look at the page count as I
write, it's just a matter of *feeling* it, knowing how much time is
passing, and when you should begin racing toward the climax. Sometimes I'm
a few pages over, but usually I can nail it spot on.

4/ What percentage of time - roughly - is spent in the head, writing the
script itself and revising afterwards?

Hard to say.  I have them on a back burner as I'm doing other stuff,
waiting to go on script #whatever.  Even though I'm not consciously
working on them, I know that subconsciously it's bubbling away.  Once I
start actually typing, I can finish a script in anywhere from 3-4 days (if
I'm in white heat over the story, in which case my door is locked and
nobody DARES bother me) to 10 days.  Revisions take only a few days,
mainly for production purposes.

5/ When writing a script you must be roughly aware of where the ad breaks
will be; do you initially ignore these or do you write to fit them?

No, you need to write to the act breaks so that you end each act on a
hook; again you need to have that sense of how the acts flow at top and
bottom.

6/ Is there a writer's term for the coda that completes each episode?

It's called a tag.


 jms



Date: 13 May 1996 02:31:30 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Directors on Short Leash?

It's a very careful and deliberate dance.  The reality is that many of our
directors add a lot to the show in terms of visual style, pacing, and in
working with the actors to bring out the story.  

The way it works...the director gets the script.  The director and I talk
about the script (several times).  The director then also has his own
meetings with the various departments, telling them what he'd like to have
as visual elements (sets and lighting elements and practical on-set
effects like squibs, sparks, exploding walls, that sort of thing).  He
walks the sets, diagrams out the angles, works out the shooting schedule
with the first AD.  

In most cases, the script is written in master shots, i.e, 

INT. MEDLAB

Franklin looks at Delenn's lifeless body.  Sheridan enters, exchanges a
serious look with the doctor.  Garibaldi enters carrying popcorn.

And there the director can frame the shot however he chooses.  In some
cases, if I want something in particular, I call out the shots.  As in....

INT. ZOCALO

Morden waits at a table as, in BG, an as-yet unidentified NARN approaches.
 Morden doesn't even look up as he approaches and pulls something out of
his pocket.

ANGLE - A KITTY

freshly skewered and ready for broiling.  It's little kitty eyes loll up
at us.

MORDEN

smiles and pockets the kitty.  Nods, as we

WIDEN

and the Narn continues on his way, and we PAN OVER to a sign on the wall:
"Kitties Cannot Hide," as we DISSOLVE TO:

In those cases, the director shoots those specific shots.  

It's once a director hits the stage floor that the main difference and
quality comes through.  A good director enhances a script, brings out
nuances in performance, helps elucidate the story, keeps the camera
moving...the ones I tend to favor are the directors that transmute one
shot into another...going from a three-shot to a two-shot to a closeup and
a reverse all in *the same camera move*.  Ah luvs that kinda stuff.



 jms



Date: 13 May 1996 02:31:55 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Surprised You??? (SPOILER for "Interludes and Examinations")

Mainly, I think I was just trying to avoid it...put it off as long as
possible...but the character knew, even more than I did, that this was the
right time to do this.  It's a very hard thing to do this to a character;
the only way to get that kind of emotion into a script is to feel it
yourself as you're writing it, and that's a painful thing to do.  So I was
avoiding it.  But he outfoxed me...as usual.

That's Vorlons for you.



 jms



Date: 13 May 1996 03:50:57 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Your writing process

"Do you get ideas uncontainably leaping out at you for script n+2 while
you're working on script n?"

Constantly.  And while en route to work.  And while in the shower. 
And...well, you get the idea.

If I'm writing script n, and something hits me, I grab the nearest thing
that isn't on fire or moving, and scribble it down, with the result that
my desk is constantly a snowstorm of bits of paper and post-its.  The
really big ones get post-it'd to my monitor at the B5 stage and my home
office.  By the end of this season, my monitors looked like hedgehogs....



 jms



Date: 13 May 1996 20:24:49 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: TheStation.Com

The site will be up within the next week or so, we're just checking out
the beta site and making some improvements.  It's megacool.



 jms



Date: 14 May 1996 07:49:06 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Your writing process

"How do you cope with how different that movie is from the final product?"

Happily...in 90% of all cases, it ain't that different.  





 jms



Date: 14 May 1996 07:53:09 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Your writing process

"These ideas, I assume, are all related to B5 characters and their story.
Or do you get ideas for a new story involving a purple dinosaur with a
high annoying voice who just specializes in eating little teeny tiny
children?"

That's certainly a story whose time has come.  I'd go see it.

"Point being, we already know you suffer from multiple personalities: JMS,
Kosh, Delenn, Sinclair, Sheridan, Garibaldi, Ivanova, and Marcus, and then
the plethora of recurring characters who all run around with their own
voice.  Just how many are you? Is it a set number or are you constantly
adding new characters for stories you'd like to write after B5."

Like every writer, I imagine, you constantly find your brain firing on
different things.  If I'm not doing B5 stuff, it goes chugging off in
search of other things.  Over the course of the last season, in addition
to completely rewriting and revising my scriptwriting book, due out this
fall, I outlined a couple of books, wrote a 2-hour pilot for a major
company, developed another project with Warners (both of which are happily
dormant for now), wrote up premises for several other series, about half a
dozen movie outlines (two of which I'm currently writing in script form as
I wait for renewal), and other stuff.

It's just what I do.


 jms



Date: 14 May 1996 07:51:18 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Your writing process

"For scripts that are given to other writers do you find you do much if
any mental picturing of the episode?  If so, how does that affect the
writing process between you and the other writer?"

No, you only get into that part of it when you're going to sit down and
actually WRITE the sucker.  It's a matter of bringing in the freelancer
and (assuming s/he hasn't come up with a story independent of me, which
happened about 4-5 times in toto) saying, "Okay, in this episode the giant
blue penguins of Rigel 4 steal Ivanova's shoes," or handing the person a
few paragraphs to several pages with detailed story notes.  Then the
person goes away.

The first "mental picture" I have of it is when the writer brings back an
outline based on those notes.  This is always hard for me, as is the first
draft script, because the characters rarely talk like our characters talk.
 They don't sound right, don't always behave consistently, there's bits of
backstory that contradict what's been established, and that has to get
fixed.  So it's like seeing a distorted picture, and your job is to bring
it closer into focus.

(This is an inevitable aspect of freelancing.  There simply isn't time to
learn all there is to know about a show before you begin writing; you have
to come in, do it fast, and then move on to the next assignment if you're
going to make a living at this.  That's the Freelance Life.  I hate the
Freelance Life.  I like to stay around, get to know the characters,
rummage around inside their heads and find what's there.  Freelance
scripts almost always tend to be about the guest star character; if you
look at mine, most of them don't really tend to have a big guest
character, with some notable exceptions.  I find our regular characters
more than sufficiently interesting.)

What's most ironic about the freelance situation is that you often have
people who say, "Straczynski oughta use more freelance writers, they bring
in perspectives he doesn't have."  They cite the "moment of perfect
beauty" in Peter's script, Londo's "my shoes are too tight, and I have
forgotten how to dance," the alien abductor courtroom scene in Grail,
Deathwalker's comments about how she plans to create her monument...all of
which are scenes or sections I wrote and inserted into scripts by other
people.  (One of my best lines for G'Kar is one I'm not credited for, in
Zicree's script, "The universe runs on the complex interweaving of three
elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest."  I actually saw
some messages noting that jms never seems to be able to write something
that succinct.  Well, actually...I did.)


 jms



Date: 14 May 1996 07:20:10 -0400
Subject: Re: Interludes & Exams(analysis-3)SPOILERS!!!

Just a quickie aside...the background/depiction of Brakiri space was taken
right from a Hubble deep-space shot.  We use them a lot, as provided to us
by the folks who keep track of it all and keep it running.  


 jms



Date: 14 May 1996 07:35:36 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Tapes seen at con

Those copies are blatantly illegal and the individuals making them are
subject to federal prosecution.


 jms



Date: 14 May 1996 07:39:37 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Your writing process

"With Comes The Inquisitor...how obvious was it to you that G'Kar  was
going to be the counterpoint to Delenn and Sebastian.  was it an immediate
connection, or did you have to sit and look, and then think "Ah...that's
the one?"

That one was a pretty easy one.


 jms



Date: 14 May 1996 07:40:52 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Your writing process

"Where does the run sequence then come from?  How much does the decisions
on how the Bs run in and out, affect how you sequence the As?  Some of
your Bs get to be major elements down the line, so how aware are you of
this when you're selecting>  Do you end up getting there and looking back
and *then* realising where you were going, and deliberatly weaving from
then on - or have you always been aware of when weft turned warp?"

Where does dance come from?  Where does music come from?  Where does
making love come from?  How do you instinctively know what to do?

Beats the hell out of me.  I just listen to the music....



 jms



Date: 14 May 1996 07:37:52 -0400
Subject: Re: Production Process (was Return of the Newsgroup Timekillers)

"I was wondering how much time it takes to cast the guest spots and get
them properly costumed.  It would appear to be a logistical nightmare to
try and come up with a design much less fit a costume for a character when
you don't know what actor will be hired.  Have you ever had problems
getting access to the actor for fitting (say they were working on some
other project or something)."

Usually, if it's an elaborate costume, it's already in the works when we
begin the casting process.  It's very rare when we get a part that calls
for someone of an unusual somatotype (very large or very small), so the
costume is made fairly flexible, able to be sized.  Once we cast the
person, we send them right down to wardrobe, where they're measured, and
the final adjustments made to size.


 jms



Date: 14 May 1996 07:24:53 -0400
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: In honor of mother's day (spoilers up to I&E)

Good point; I should endeavor to get into this more in future.



 jms



Date: 15 May 1996 15:15:43 -0400
Subject: Re: Attention JMS!

"Hi there, I am writing on behalf of my friend who is a massive B5 fan.
He is always talking about it and actually seems to live it. His E-Mail
address
is ssbamab@cr47c.staffs.ac.uk
How can he become an official ranger and get the Isil'zha badge ?"

Oh, that's easy.  First he has to get to Minbar.  Once he does that, just
let me know and I'll take care of the rest.


 jms



Date: 15 May 1996 15:13:34 -0400
Subject: Re: Serious nitpicks for WWE Part One

Spoiler space.....



















"1) Assuming the present is the time period during which we watch Babylon
5 and the period we saw at the beginning of the WWE episode, does the
possible fall of B5 (if the mission fails) take place in the past or the
future?  We see Ivanova screaming in the mysterious transmission that
"they're killing us" and that the Captain is dead, so I assume this
indicates that the possible fall of B5 takes place in the future since
Sheridan is the only Captain (Sinclair was a Commander, non?).  But we
also see Sinclair reliving his flashback with Gerabaldi from Season one in
which B5 falls, and he then seems to indicate that his mission is to
prevent such a catastrophe.  Since Sinclair is there, with Gerabaldi, this
would seem to suggest that the fall of B5, if the mission fails, takes
place in the past in relation to the present with which we are all
familiar.(Breath) So, if the mission fails, when will B5 fall; past of
future???  Or perhaps put another way:  Will B5 possibly fall under
Sheridan's command or Sinclair's?  <-- God, that's complicated."

Nope.  The scenes are all in the future.  Garibaldi specifically
identifies the distress call as coming from 8 days in the future. 
Sinclair's vision wasn't a flashback, but a flash forward; even the
blowing of B5 was identified by Lady Ladira as in the future.  It's
*always* been placed in the future, though most of this was in the first
season, which hasn't been reshown.  Also, in the first act, Garibaldi
again *specifically states* that when they went to B4, there was a glimpse
of the future and the fall of B5.  

"2) Faced with the end, why would the bloodied Ivanova feel compelled to
deliver a play-by-play to a non-existant audience?  Or even to one that is
there?  I found that strange."

First she was trying to get help.  Second, there should be some record of
what happened for those who would investigate.  They would need to know,
just the way a signal operator sends out a distress call for as long as
possible as the ship sinks.  SOP.

"4) About Delenn's slide show:  It looks as though Minbari ships have
remained basically the same for the past 1000 years.  I could not see one
change.  Why is that?"

Because you weren't looking closely enough.  The older Minbari ships are
much longer and tubular in design; you'll see them better in the second
half, but there's definitely a difference.

"5) The preview showed Gerabaldi giving 'em hell with a big gun.  Why
wasn't that in the episode (I know, some scenes in previews don't show up
in the actual ep, but it seemed important)?"

Because we were seeing the sequence from Sinclair's point of view; he was
gone by the time Garibaldi began firing, so he wouldn't have seen it. 
Story logic.

"7) Londo spoils us all by telling us Sheridan wins the war--suspense exit
stage left--unless the time line is somehow further altered, which would
go against the inevatability theme JMS seems to be playing."

Okay, everybody who thought I was going to have our heroes fight a war for
two whole years or so, and then *lose it*...a major dramatic
disappointment to say the least...raise your hands.

In any event...quite frankly, several of your "serious nitpicks" are
actually incorrect, and come from making assumptions or simply not paying
attention when someone says something clearly in dialogue, as Garibaldi
does, that the flash was of future events, and then IDs the signal as from
8 days ahead.  






 jms


Date: 15 May 1996 15:14:24 -0400
Subject: Re: War w/out End (no spoilers)

"I have *never* seen anything like this show.  JMS is absolutely
amazing!!!!! (JMS, will you marry me?) :)"

I'm not that easy.

I require dinner and flowers minimum.




 jms


Date: 19 May 1996 01:30:25 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 (of course)

"The reason that I ask is that I have been able to "peg" all your episodes
up to the recient TO THE LETTER."

I knew you would say that.


 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 01:30:18 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: WWE Part One - Spaceship question (spoilers)

No, the Minbarai cruisers are different in the shots from the past;
they're longer and far less ornate, almost tubuler.  You can see a little
of it in 1, and you'll get a better look in 2.



 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 01:30:19 -0400
Subject: Re: War w/out End (no spoilers)

"(and you will *never* know how close you came to being included in the
"white linen shirt black leather trousers" thread last summer ... )"

As has been proven endlessly in 1950s science fiction films, there are
some things that Man Was Not Meant to Know.

I suspect this covers several of them.





 jms


Date: 19 May 1996 05:18:50 -0400
Subject: Re: Is Rathenn played by same actor as the Traveller?

No.



 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 05:19:42 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: writing now vs. then

Hmm...that's a tough question, and one I've never gotten before.  (And
those are hard to come by, lemme tell you.)

If I'd gone right into the series in 1986, what would've been different in
the writing and the show in general...hmmm.....

Given my notes of the time, I think it probably would've been more from
Sinclair's point of view.  The characters would've likely been more
defined in terms of their relationship with Sinclair, as opposed to seeing
their lives out on their own, without that defining *context*.  That's
probably the single biggest creative difference.  I don't know if I
could've given it the depth of characterization or sub-plots that I feel I
can do now.  Certainly, the time spent on Murder, She Wrote taught me a
*lot* about setting up clues, foreshadowing, construction, and playing
fair with an audience, experience I didn't have in 1986.

On the other side, you've got the reality that CGI wasn't available then,
and it'd all have to be done with models.  It would've been *very*
difficult to do all we've done now with CGI, using models; I think you'd
have to cut way back on the scale of the thing.  It's very doubtful we
could've done the Narn homeworld bombing from "Twilight," or the rescue in
"Fall."  I'd've had to come up with some other way to do that.

Basically, I think the show would've still presented an arc, still
would've been ambitious for its time, but I don't think it would've been
*as good* as it is now.  In a way, though the long wait was frustrating,
it put us in the right place at the right time to do this show the way it
needs to be done, both creatively and physically, from a production
standpoint.

On the other hand, one can probably make a good argument that if the show
were done in the year 1999 instead of 1996, with even 3 years more
advancement in CGI and EFX, and 3 more years of writing experience, it
might be even better then than now.  Who knows?  All I know for sure is
that the show being done now, is the show I want to do, the way I want to
do it, and I'm very comfortable with that.


 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 05:21:02 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: creative process

"just wanted to know how you came up the idea to do Babylon 5 it's a
complex storie and it amaze me how one person could think of something
like that."

Caffeine.  Lots of it.


 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 05:21:28 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Blipped?

Just different meanings to the word; no intended overlap.


 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 05:20:40 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Your writing process

"What about personal demons? You said once that Sheridan's father was not
like your father. Is it something like you would have wished him to be? 
And Ivanova's father, the same? If this is too personal don't answer it,
but I just wonder to what extent your personal demons have to enter into
your writing process. O, and in what forms. How far into those parts of
yourself that hurt the most do you have to look?"

Suddenly lately I'm getting all these questions that leave me staring at
the screen for minutes at a time, trying to come up with an honest answer.

(several more minutes pass...AOL is getting its $ from me tonight, that's
for sure.)

Okay, I have an answer...well, I have a *reply*, and as we all know, while
all answers are replies, not all replies are answers.  This is the best I
can do.

I have this theory that there are five kinds of truth.  The truth you tell
to casual strangers; the truth you tell to your friends; the truth you
tell to only a very few intimate people in your life; the truth you tell
yourself; and the truth you will not admit even to yourself.

(Note: some people have distorted this to mean you tell contradictory
things to different people; no.  Just the *extent* of the truth, how deep
the blade cuts, is the operative issue.)

On reflection, the answer to this one falls into the category of the fifth
truth.  There are some questions I'm just not prepared to deal with yet,
not in any specifics, anyway.

In general terms...yes, that aspect is always there, if you're writing
honestly, and telling a story that matters to you.  Sometimes, that's
painful.  There are some scenes this season that were very hard to write,
because of the personal stuff that went into them.  The trick is to not
bleed too much onto the page so that you obscure the words, or it becomes
simply self-indulgence.

An example far enough away that I can look at it now...in the first season
(for the old timers still around), when Catherine Sakai and Jeff Sinclair
got together again for the tenth time, there were some fairly emotional
exchanges.  The one where she comes to his quarters, unsure why she's
really there, starts to leave...that whole exchange is pretty much word
for word a conversation I had in real life.  (There's a lot of that in the
relationship stuff in this show; it shows up here and there.)  It was
something I was even then still dealing with, and worked out via the
script.

When we got ready to shoot that section, and the scene when they first
meet, the director, actors and I went off to rehearse that one privately. 
I practically had to nail my feet to the stage floor to stay through it
all.  Finally, when we were all comfortable that the scene felt right,
everybody headed out, and I pulled the director aside.  I said, "The scene
is fine; you need to know that now so you'll understand...I won't be here
the day you shoot this stuff.  I won't be anywhere *near* this set.  I'm
still a little too close to this."  I just couldn't be there.

So yeah, sometimes the writing gets very personal.  Unfortunately, I don't
know any other way to do it.


 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 05:22:06 -0400
Subject: Re: Local Review & Yo, JMS!!

That's a great article, could you possibly send along a copy? Thanks.

As for the one-hour special...it's something we broached to WB. 
Unfortunately, unlike Fox, which can program whatever it likes, we're a
syndicated show, and the only way to get a 1-hour special is to sell the
hour to every station individually, and apparently that's a huge pain in
the ass.


 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 19:21:24 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Why Ditch Garibaldi? WWE Spoilers....

It's a story point, and it'll be explained clearly in part two.  What, you
think I'd have something this odd going on and not explain it?

It's coming.  Be patient.


 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 19:26:32 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS : WB Takeover and B5

It shouldn't have any effect on us either way; personally, I doubt the
merger would take place.  


 jms



Date: 19 May 1996 20:02:56 -0400
Subject: Re: *Tiny* Dissapointment w/ WWE1 <*Spoilers*>

The problem, Jaime, is that you've got about 42 minutes to tell your
story.  You have to get into it, and get into it fast.  Unless there's a
reason for the scene to be there, if it doesn't move the plot along, it
shouldn't be there.  You'll note there isn't even a B-story in the
two-parter...there wasn't room.

Sure, it would've been nice to have Sinclair  meet G'Kar, sit around, talk
about how they've changed...have Sinclair and Londo meet, talk about
stuff...have him and Ivanova sit around, talk about stuff...but then
you've got just a bunch of scenes that are basically, "Well, hello, how've
you been?"

The next sounds you would've heard would be the click of remote controls
changing channels across the nation.

As it is, in that two-part episode, you've got Delenn, Garibaldi,
Sinclair, Sheridan, Marcus, Ivanova, Lennier, Zathras, Major Krantz,
Krantz's second...it's our most character-intensive episode in a long
time, all of them being present in every other scene, plus the other three
characters we see in part two.  It was, quite simply, stuffed to the
gills, and there wasn't room for a single wasted word.  

That's the difference between a novel and a television show; you can stop
the action in a book as often as you want to have asides, but you can't do
that in TV with as much facility.  To do the scenes you describe would've
meant turning this into a three-parter, and as it is part one is almost an
extended teaser for part two.  It would've been moreso with these
additional scenes.

If it isn't necessary, it shouldn't be there.


 jms



Date: 20 May 1996 04:28:42 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS pops a gasket. WAS: Re: Liars, Damn Liars, Statisticians, Fuller, & Straczysnki

Yes, indeedy I did.  And I did it over there because we try to keep flames
OUT of the moderated group.  I've not said a word about the individual
involved here, or on any other service (despite that person's continued
attacks on me) since the mod group went up.  The situation existed there
long before I finally got sick of it and responded.  (Odd choice, btw, on
what you chose to include and what to leave out of the message thread.)

In any event...this is a flame-free area.  Let's keep it that way.


 jms



Date: 20 May 1996 04:29:19 -0400
Subject: Re: *Tiny* Dissapointment w/ WWE1 <*Spoilers*>

Beth: I quite agree, didn't mean to imply otherwise...it would've been
nice to see some of those scenes, it just wasn't practical.  And you have
to make hard choices.  As someone once said of writing, "You have to kill
all your darlings," meaning the nifty little things you'd *like* to do, as
opposed to the things you *have* to do.


 jms



Date: 20 May 1996 04:30:15 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Your writing process

That's the great thing about being alive...there's always a new trauma
waiting just around the corner for you to learn from and draw upon.


 jms



Date: 20 May 1996 04:29:46 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Confusing error in WWE, Spoilers

spoiler reply
















No, both Sheridan and Delenn *are* made up older.  If you particularly
look at Delenn out in the light of later scenes in WWE2, you can
DEFINITELY see the difference.  With Sheridan, it's a greying of the hair,
and some lining on the face.  Londo, though, if you recall, is much older
than Sheridan to begin with.


 jms



Date: 20 May 1996 04:47:59 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Murder, She Wrote?

No, actually, I didn't watch the episode...I was on the nets at the time.


 jms



Date: 20 May 1996 04:48:32 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: KCOP Color Shifts

Huh...I have no idea why this would be, and didn't notice it when I
watched it on my set.  Maybe it's a cable situation with your set?  


 jms



Date: 20 May 1996 19:19:14 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: ....And So It Begins....

Thanks.  Actually, the first Triluminary was found by the Minbari, not
made by them, in a vessel they ran into about a thousand years ago.


 jms



Date: 20 May 1996 19:07:30 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Inconsequentia

Tell him to enjoy it while he can...because as we get older, our hairlines
all start looking more and more like Minbari....



 jms



Date: 20 May 1996 19:17:56 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: SciFi Buzz&Which Ep. Was Filming?

That would've been "Grey 17 Is Missing."


 jms



Date: 23 May 1996 18:19:07 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Dubbing in Ship of Tears?

If thsi refers to the War Room scene with Garibaldi at the end...yes,
there was some looping done.  The best performed scene had some
unacceptable noise in it from the chair Jerry had been sitting in at the
first part, then he went slightly off-mike at the second point.

jms


 jms



Date: 23 May 1996 18:19:23 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: you mean twisted genius! (spoilers for WWE 2)=

Thanks.  As I wrote the episodes prior to WWE2, I kept leading up to that
first kiss, over and over, but deliberately never quite getting there.  I
knew that when it came time to do it, I wanted to do it in just the way
you describe...it would and wouldn't be a first kiss, both at exactly the
same time.  So there's the moment everyone's been waiting for, but not in
quite the way anyone had expected. 



 jms



Date: 23 May 1996 18:19:41 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Torment Us, Please

Well, not too much to say about the last 5 at this point...Erica Gimbel is
in "Walkabout," for which I wrote two songs...Pat Tallman's also in that
one, meeting the new Vorlon in town...there's a bunch of different
religious folks hanging around in "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding
Place," Franklin hits a crisis point in "Shadow Dancing," Melissa Gilbert
appears in two eps toward the end of the season, as does Jeff Cory...we'll
get to see Morden again, and Refa, and some more Centauri nobility.

The big stuff I'm obviously holding back.
\

 jms



Date: 23 May 1996 18:19:11 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Familiar Sentiments?

While my experience on other shows has not been quite the same as
Hertzog's, I can understand his sentiments, certainly.  I've been
uncommonly fortunate in that in most of the shows I've done, I've had a
pretty free hand to do pretty much whatever I wanted.  But nowhere as much
as on B5.  Nowhere, man.  

(sorry)

I wanted to check out Nowhere Man more often, but only actually managed to
watch the first and last episodes of this season.  I thought it held great
promise.

To the overall tone...yes, there are times when doing a show becomes a
terrible, grinding responsibility on a day-to-day basis.  Especially one
as mind-bogglingly complex as B5.  You can't just go off and sit by the
shore for a day or to, it's the totality of your waking life.  Go watch
Jack Klugman in "A Game of Pool" from TZ1, you'll understand.

In that light, the online experience -- with its occasional ups and downs,
potholes and rooftop snipers -- can be a source of great emotional
sustenance.  (When one is not driven mad by them.)  It's a great
community.



 jms


Date: 23 May 1996 18:19:42 -0400
Subject: B5 in Millimeter Magazine

There's a good cover story on B5 in Millimeter Magazine, the main industry
magazine for production of TV and film, explaining a lot of how we do what
we do.  It's a good piece.


 jms


Date: 24 May 1996 03:58:24 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS What Are babylon5 chances?

Coming into renewal, the odds tend to be pretty much the same each time,
from where I sit...either 60/40 or 50/50, depending on my mood that day. 
We'll know soon enough.


 jms



Date: 24 May 1996 06:25:48 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Do other writers resent you?

"Is that script writing book you wrote considered by some akin to a
magician giving up his secrets for all to see?  I know I can't wait for it
to come out this fall, and I intend to learn all I can from it when it
does. I was just wondering if some feel that there is an unwritten rule in
the writers guild (or something) that discourages releasing the details of
the scripting process to the general public?"

If that were the case, then given the massive numbers of scriptwriting
books out on the market on any given day, there would be whole *legions*
of writers at whom Guild members were honked off.

So the answer, basically, is no, for many reasons.  For starters, the
bottom line truth is that there really aren't any secrets, any mysteries,
any tricks, any secret handshakes...it comes down to good writing, or what
someone in a position to hire considers good writing, in combination with
persistence and a certain amount of luck.  There's really nothing *to*
give away.

Additionally, I've met a number of working writers who broke in and credit
the writing book I did with a measure of responsibility for their success.
 A person has to learn the essentials somewhere, after all.

(BTW, the new and expanded edition of The Complete Book of Scriptwriting
is due out in October from Writer's Digest.  I can give the full info if
so desired.)


 jms



Date: 24 May 1996 06:30:17 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS wwe2 (spoilers)

1.  Since you've stated that the Babylon squared time travel incident
would be the only one for the entire series, is there any way we might get
answers to somet of the questions that seemed to be raised from the far
future?

In a sense.

2.  How much will sinclair's knowledge of the future affect what is to
come?

Sinclair has no further knowledge of the future; he knows only what he saw
up through and including the White Star.

3.  The question I'm really dying for an answer to though, is this: 
Hasn't this episode in a sense made a large part of the arc
anti-climactic?  I mean, we now know that the forces of light are
victorious again, at least to some degree, we know of David (named for
sinclair?), we know what becomes of Londo etc.  Whenever most of the major
characters are in a life threatening situation, we now know that they
survive it (it would seem).  

We also "knew" that G'Kar would strangle Londo...what you didn't have was
context.  As we saw in part two, context is everything, and getting there
is half the fun.


 jms



Date: 24 May 1996 06:34:13 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Understanding Delenn

"Would Delenn have been as close-mouthed with her non-Minbari allies about
the Shadows and their motives as she has been through WWE 1-2 if, instead
of attacking various beings from other races, the Shadows had attacked the
Minbari?"

A darned good question.

My gut says...no, she wouldn't have.  She'd probably justify it on the
assumption that the Minbari know the full story, thus are not expendable.


 jms



Date: 26 May 1996 14:48:06 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: My First Question!  (End of season #3 SPOILERS?...)

If at any point we were to use another person to play Anna, we would
almost certainly reshoot that video piece and drop it into the original
episode.



 jms


Date: 26 May 1996 15:33:39 -0400
Subject: Re: Cancelled?  What gives? (ROCK)us[HARD PLACE]

You must understand that this is a loop.

The stations often tend to reply with, "We'll continue to air the show as
long as WB makes it."  What's key to WB airing the show, however, is the
number of stations that agree to air it, preferably with double runs,
because that's where WB makes its money with the national advertisers.  If
WB were to lose X-number of stations, it wouldn't be profitable for them,
and thus they wouldn't continue to make it, thus the stations that *did*
want it couldn't buy it.

Compared to this, the chicken/egg equation was easy.


 jms



Date: 28 May 1996 14:11:18 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS and Any Other Interested Parties, Season Three

Okay, some responses.  I trust you will allow me to be as blunt in my
replies as you were in raising the points initially.

Regarding the Warner Bros. concerns...there really isn't much I can add to
what you said, and certainly nothing there I'd choose to contradict.  So
we'll take that one as read and move on.

To the creative issues:

"Did Sheridan and Ivanova really think that Vir was killing off thousands
of Narn while he was on Minbar. Hey, this is Vir, not Josef Mengele we are
talking about. Did they really think it was necessary to drag this all out
in front of Londo instead of privately."

No, they didn't think he was doing it personally, only that he was
expediting the transfer of Narns offworld for this purpose.  You think
someone like Vir could not do this.  But most of the Nazis who send Jews
to die weren't Josef Mengele, carving into bodies...they processed numbers
from behind wire-framed glasses, and were quiet, sometimes even cheerful
individuals with wonderful wives and children.  The greatest evil can
often wear a benign, smiling, affable face.  And remember, people can
change on this show.  You look at Londo in season one, is this someone you
could buy taking part in the bombing of the Narn homeworld and the death
of millions of Narns?  Yet that's what happened.  And their belief was
that it was probably Londo who was behind it all...it's Londo to whom
Ivanova expressed her outrage, not Vir, who she figured was probably being
pushed into it at his behest, so logically she *would* take this right to
Londo.  She figured, as you did, that Vir certainly wouldn't think of this
on his own, but Londo could (and says so in the episode).

"Why didn't the Shadows get on the horn and start screaming that they just
made sushi out of Kosh. The alliance is new, shaky, unsure of Sheridan.
What a great time to screw over everyone by announcing we killed Kosh."

Because for starters, it's bad form.  If you kill somebody else's
ambassador, that's not the sort of thing you proclaim proudly, it tends to
bounce badly back onto you.  Also, this was primarily a personal
situation.  There's more, but it's a bit further down the road story-wise
that might help clarify this further.

"Was it just me, or did anyone stop to think just how Bester got to B-5
space in a Starfury without using the local jumpgate. Who brought him and
more important, why?"

He simply tagged along with an Earthforce jump-capable ship, and asked to
be dropped off.  I considered bringing this up, but it was just dead
exposition; it would be easy enough to do.

"Then out of the hundred popcycles in the Shadow transport, we just happen
to pick the one guiding light in Bester's life. God, aren't we lucky."

Yes, and how amazingly coincidental that of all the women around, Oedipus
would just happen to murder his father and marry his mother without
knowing he had done so.  Okay, it was a coincidence, I'll own up to that. 
We have very, very few of them on the show.  And the reason the word
"coincidence" exists, and the word "synchronicity," is that sometimes
stuff like that does happen.  You ever pick up the phone to call somebody
and have that person already on the line calling you?  You ever think of
someone you haven't seen in a while and run into them the next day?  It
happens.  As long as it doesn't happen to excess, and become a venue for
sloppy storytelling every week, it doesn't bother me, it's a legitimate
plot device.

And you misspelled popcicle.

"We have a wonderful security system on B-5. Our monitors will show you
everything, except a twenty foot long fusion reactor trigger that was put
in the most sensitive part of the station by a certified nut case."

Show me where we ever said our monitors "will show you everything."  They
don't, they can't, and never have.  This is a city, and a quarter million
people live here.  It would be impossible to monitor it all.  As for the
fusion reactor...that was a ten foot object attached to a place where only
station maintenance people went, which was his job.  He was cleared for
that kind of access, and until/unless the device was activated, it was
electronically dormant, you wouldn't notice anything.  Nor did it attract
much attention.  Even though they *knew* something was there, they STILL
had to look long and hard to find it, because it had been made to look
just like everything else in the area.  

And it's not like everybody *knew* he was a "certified nutcase" at the
time.  He didn't have an identicard that said CERTIFIED NUTCASE on it.  He
worked in station maintenance.  Nobody knew Tim McVeigh was a nut until he
blew up a building.  Nobody knew that quiet little man in Boston was out
strangling women in his spare time.

You seem to operate in blacks and whites; this show is about greys.  And
most of the concerns you raised are, I think, easily addressed.


 jms



Date: 30 May 1996 06:03:10 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: B5 Renewed in Atlanta!

Thanks, that's good news.  Right now the stations are being canvassed by
WB for their final decision, so this is a good time.

jms


 jms




Date: 30 May 1996 06:17:45 -0400
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: GBoR (Guinness Book of Records)

Is it actually worth doing this?  I dunno....



 jms




Date: 30 May 1996 06:17:56 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Why "War Without End"

As Delenn says, the war is never entirely over...there are always new
battle to be fought.  If it ain't the shadows, it's the shadows over
Earthdome of a more human nature.


 jms




Date: 30 May 1996 06:17:56 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Would a TV Movie Work?

Or you can try explaining that every episode generally has all the
information you need to follow it.  We're constantly adding new viewers,
and they're almost always up to speed in just 2-3 episodes, if that long. 
Just jump on in, the water's fine.

The occasional repetition of some bit of background or foreshadowing can
be slightly bothersome for constant viewers, but that is necessary if
you're going to continue to add new viewers, which is important for any
series to stay on the air.


 jms




Date: 30 May 1996 06:17:43 -0400
Subject: jms on radio in LA

For those in the Los Angeles area, I'll be on HOUR 25 this Friday from 10
p.m. to midnight, on KPFK 90.7 FM.


 jms





Date: 31 May 1996 01:28:07 -0400
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: B5 Demos  Was: JMS on CompuServe...

Okay, I dug out the demographics report that just came in for 2nd quarter
1996.  This will eventually be broken down into smaller and smaller groups
now that the quarter is done, so you can know how subset groups are doing,
but that won't be along for a while now, and won't contradict anything
here.  (I'm very eager for the subset breakdown...should prove most
enlightening.  The demos only break down the 18-49 age range as that's the
most fiscally important.)

Anyway, here's the breakdown for the second quarter in the 18-49 age
range, the most sought after group for advertisers, for men, women, and
both.  The higher the number, the better your coverage within that group;
1000 is nearly impossible to get.  Warners is *extremely* pleased by this;
it's the first time we've had the best demographics of all dramatic
series.

BABYLON 5
Women: 429
Men: 497
Both: 1057

DS9
Women: 408
Men: 473
Both: 881

BAYWATCH
Women:364
Men: 315
Both: 679

BAYWATCH NIGHTS
Women: 340
Men: 343
Both: 683

RENEGADE
Women: 369
Men: 362
Both: 731

HIGHLANDER
Women: 393
Men: 394
Both: 787

HERCULES
Women: 369
Men: 360
Both: 730

XENA
Women: 355
Men: 380
Both: 735

 jms




Date: 31 May 1996 18:55:12 -0400
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: Writing questions

"Do you have an idea of how many scripts you'll be farming out to other
writers this season?"

Not at this time.  There are several imponderables yet to be filled in.

"Are those writers handpicked/recruited by you, or do you ever get a
sample of someone's work dropped in lap by their agent and decide to go
with them?"

For this show, they're hand picked; on other shows, it's been more open.

"When we get to season 5, do you think that you'll be able to write the
episodes without having to put in so many references to previous shows for
new viewers, i.e. "if you're watching by now, you know what's going on"?"

If it's as serial as I think it's goign to have to be, there may have to
be a bit more of them, but I may do some of them a little differently,
less obviously.


 jms




Date: 31 May 1996 19:00:19 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS article on his experience in writing for animation--what mag?

The magazine was indeed Penthouse, though I forget the article title and
date.  It dealt primarily with the nightmare visited upon networks by
consultants and pressure groups.


 jms