lurkers-guide/ftp/Usenet/jms97-11-usenet

JMS (and coproducer George Johnsen) Usenet messages for November 1997.


Date: 1 Nov 1997 12:22:37 -0500
Subject: Re: Ship Recognition Posters

>The item that I was looking forward to recieving the most was the Ship
>Recognition Poster.  When the shipment arrived< I recieved a note that
>told me that there were problems with the printer and the posters had been
>delayed. 
>  Does anyone have any information about when these posters are
>supposed to come out?
>
They just came in the door a couple of days ago, and they're *gorgeous*.  I got
 mine right off the top, natch....

That's the fun part, making the merchandise and cool stuff you'd just want for
 yourself....


 jms

Date: 1 Nov 1997 12:23:58 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: How does the cast/crew celebrate Halloween?

They're very odd...one came dressed as El Nino (hair blown to stay on one side,
 wearing a slicker, with a watergun and minifan to blow spray on people), crew
 members came dressed as *other* crew members...very odd....


 jms

Date: 1 Nov 1997 20:24:53 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Odd idea

I would like to note here that I read this on November 1, 1997; almost 3 months
 after the filming of "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari."  

My reasons for this will be evident later; be careful on suggestions.


 jms





Date: 2 Nov 1997 15:27:15 -0500
Subject: Re: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. ( *Spoilers* )


We hear this every season.  It's okay.  

The season will be better than this one, which was better than the one before. 
 

It's what we do.


 jms

Date: 2 Nov 1997 23:29:01 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn. JMS: Congratulations & Thank You

No, the thanks are all mine, for your staying with us from the beginning.

Thanks.


 jms





Date: 2 Nov 1997 23:29:50 -0500
Subject: Re: B5 is in wonderful company on TNt

>Seen the TNT's first Monday night Nitro film starring Terry "Hulk" Hogan and
>Carl "I can't find work" Weathers _Attack on Devil's Island_ ?
>
>

Actually, the set night now for B5 is *Wednesday*, not Monday.


 jms





Date: 2 Nov 1997 23:38:42 -0500
Subject: Re: Deconstruction:  YOWZA YOWZA YOWZA!!!

Yeah, a lot of folks have found the eventual "going out" of Sol to be
 depressing...but as was stated 'way back in our VERY FIRST EPISODE, this is
 the one thing we can be sure WILL happen, sooner or later (probably later).  

All the more reason to get off the planet, asap.


 jms





Date: 2 Nov 1997 23:32:37 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Delenn & Deconstruction question...

> How exactly did Delenn get into the studio so quickly?

Most TV studios that I've seen have back doors that open out onto the back lot
 or the outside for fire control reasons.  You can get into any of the 3 B5
 stages from the outside in, oh, about 5 seconds through any of a number of
 doors.  (Note to anyone looking on: yes, those stage doors are secured, and
 there are guards, and unless you're a Minbari you're not getting in.)  And
 most of the TV studios I've been in have been the same.


 jms





Date: 2 Nov 1997 23:40:14 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Anthology Series

>Outside of a sixth B5 season which you've said would be "Tales of..."
>eps, would you ever consider creating an anthology series for
>television?  Are anthology series as tough to get started and keep
>rolling as I've heard?  Are they more expensive to produce?

Actually, I've tried several times to get anthology series off the ground, but
 unless they're tied to a pre-sold name, nobody's interested.


 jms





Date: 2 Nov 1997 23:45:04 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN:JMS Who influences the actors?

>The actors are
>all quite talented, but who works with them to give them that extra bit
>of insight, or inspiration that they all seem to have, and what form
>does the feedback take?

On a day-to-day "What the hell does THIS mean?" basis, that would be me, or if
 I'm otherwise engaged, John Copeland.  On an episode-by-episode basis, that
 would be the director.

Most everything is covered in the script; if there are additional questions
 they can go to one of the above.  If I or someone else in that group has a
 note, we pass it on directly to the actor.


 jms





Date: 2 Nov 1997 23:49:34 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Playing with fire (humor)

Ah...Amerikanski humor.

Is most funny.

We bomb now.


 jms





Date: 3 Nov 1997 23:46:26 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Endgame--myth connection

Them whacky ancient Greeks...popping up in all the least likely places....


 jms

Date: 4 Nov 1997 03:14:13 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS and anyone who cares to read: Psicorp Pins

>my heart is set on a PsiCorp Pin, instead of the EA pin.
>Is there any chance a real and licensed replica of the Psicorp Pin going
>to be made at all?

By sheer coincidence, the prototype is in for the Fan Club, and we should have
 the first full order in hand within the next 7 days.

And they're totally cool and consistent with the show.


 jms





Date: 4 Nov 1997 23:13:20 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS  --- lessons Learned

>	Now that you are heading into the final season of the show I wonder
>what you feel is the most important thing you;ve learned is?
>That is, if you could go back in time and warn yourself of one thing, or
>give yourself one piece of advice what would it be?

As it happens, it was something Kathryn said about year 2: "Don't figh the
 rabbits, the lions will get you."



 jms

Date: 4 Nov 1997 23:14:50 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Letter From the TV Station

TNT has all rights to the show in the US (doesn't affect foreign distribution)
 for I think about 4-5 years.  They've told us they plan to wear the sprocket
 holes out of it, because they believe it'll do very well for them.


 jms

Date: 4 Nov 1997 23:15:03 -0500
Subject: Re: attn jms: are there new scenes in the TNT promos?

No, I believe the promos are all built out of S1-4 footage.


 jms

Date: 4 Nov 1997 23:19:55 -0500
Subject: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. ( *Spoilers* )

Spoilers for The Deconstruction of Falling Stars.

























>JMS... how can I put this... we know the ending.  I mean, we KNOW it.  We
>know
> it.  We know it.  They get rid of the virus.  There is no virus in 100
>years. 
> There is no Telepath domination in 100 years, and there is DEFINATELY an
> Alliance in 100 years. 

I think that, if we all put on our logic caps for a moment, I'm not liable to
 wipe out all of Humanity in the course of pursuing the Crusade series.  (It
 would wreak havoc with residuals, for one thing.)

As with anything else, B5 (in whatever incarnation) is about *process*.  You
 saw Londo being strangled by G'Kar...but you didn't know how they got there. 
 You know the result of the Earth/Minbari war...but I suspect there will be a
 lot of surprises in "In the Beginning."

As with all things, the joy is in the going.  We all know we're going to die,
 that as the poet said, "we are born astride the grave."  But knowing that
 inevitable reality has never stopped human endeavor before....

It's the journey and the doing that matters.


 jms

Date: 5 Nov 1997 16:32:19 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Season 5 renumbering?


Yes, the S5 episodes will be renumbered prior to broadcast.

More Soviet Revisionism in action....


 jms

Date: 5 Nov 1997 16:33:13 -0500
Subject: Re: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. ( *Spoilers* )


You hit it dead on the nose there every time...great and insightful message.


 jms

Date: 5 Nov 1997 16:34:05 -0500
Subject: Re: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. ( *Spoilers* )


>you've provided characters and cultures that the fans of B5 
>really come to appreciate, and it would have been a cool thing to have 
>seen how all these facets of the B5 universe fared during the 100, 500, 
>1000, and ultimately the million years later perspective that 
>"Deconstruction" gave us.

With another 45 minutes, would've loved to.

>So what else has been happening with everyone all this time?
>
>
KEG PARTY!!!


 jms

Date: 5 Nov 1997 16:34:19 -0500
Subject: Re: Hubris in "Deconstruction"... Minor Spoilers


>I find it disheartening that JMS would go to the trouble and expense of
>removing her bit from the intro (and not, for instance, Jason Carter's.)
>Yeah, so I'll learn to live without her on B5, but I LOVED her character and
>am stung by this obvious slap.

Here's another lesson: ask questions before making assumptions.

As I've noted elsewhere, WB called us 3 days before we were to uplink the
 episode and informed us that if we kept CC's credit in place on that episode,
 since she also appears in S5's final episode, it would trigger a substantial
 payment.  Jason we could leave in because he's not in Sleeping in Light,
 whereas she was.

It wasn't our choice, and it had nothing to do with anything other than the
 fact that she's also in SiL.  If you'd prefer, I could've cut her out of that
 one, and we could've had her credit in Deconstruction, but I doubt that's a
 solution either of us would approve of.


 jms

Date: 5 Nov 1997 17:49:38 -0500
Subject: small note from jms


      Some general stuff; this has been posted elsewhere, so if you've seen it
 before, there ain't much need to see it now.

      Today, John Copeland and I finished re-editing "The Gathering," the B5 
pilot movie.  While there were some areas we couldn't get into because of the 
complexity in redoing the mix, virtually every scene got tinkered with to one 
degree or another, and most important, the roughly 14 minutes of footage left 
out of the original version is now back in.  The whole thing is tighter and 
faster, and there's more recent CGI, we'll have Chris Franke re-score it, and 
it's just in general a lot better.  (Some parts of it even make more sense 
now.)  

      One additional change: because of the desire on PTEN's part to have as 
many commercial breaks as possible, the 6-act script was jerry-rigged and 
broken down into 9 acts.  One side-effect of this is that 9 acts wears on 
you, and wears you out, more than the standard 6.  You start to get a feeling 
of being led up to things too often, and there isn't time to dwell on the 
acts you're in.  I was finally able, with this re-edit, to move scenes back 
around again to what I originally wanted in a 6-act structure (you'll see a 
number of scenes juxtaposed from their original order).

      Anyway...the TNT Special Edition is much improved over the original.

      Other stuff: the fanclub site continues to expand and improve.  If you 
haven't been around in a while, you may want to check it out again sometime 
soon (http://www.thestation.com).  The chat room is running better than ever 
before, there are new graphics, and the B5 Emporium should be online in a 
matter of days allowing purchase of B5FC stuff online with credit cards.  
(Mail order stuff is still being processed.)

      Latest additions to the lineup: Psi Corps hats and pins, patches of 
various sorts, Earth Alliance pins, Ship Recognition charts in poster form, 
and others.

      Finally, I'll be a Guest of Honor at this year's LosCon, held 
Thanksgiving weekend in L.A. at the Burbank Airport Hilton.  My 2-hour B5 
presentation will be Sunday afternoon, where I'll be showing clips from the 
two TNT tv-movies (including lots of stuff from the finished prequel), from 
upcoming S5 episodes, new bloopers and so on.  I'll also be joined by John 
Copeland, producer, and Harlan Ellison, our conceptual consultant.  This is 
always an SRO venue for us -- LosCon has been a part of B5 from the start -- 
so you may want to get there early.  (Or even go the day before; it's a fun 
convention.)

                                                                    jms


 jms

Date: 5 Nov 1997 18:03:53 -0500
Subject: Re: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. ( *Spoilers* )


If you listen to the computer system it mentions "atypical solar emissions"
 causing the problem...someone or something's messed with the sun.


 jms

Date: 6 Nov 1997 23:41:18 -0500
Subject: Re: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. ( *Spoilers* )

>When Sinclair referred the sun going cold and burning out in Season 1 in
>the ISN interview, was he prescient or was Desconstruction mapped out then?

One needn't be prescient...it's *going* to happen one day.

And to the second half...yeah, Deconstruction (or at least the events that
 would go into it)  was mapped out back then.  


 jms

Date: 6 Nov 1997 23:41:27 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Gathering SE: Kyle Scene

>Will the defining moment of Kyle's character, the scene in
>which Laurel asks him what he saw in Kosh's encounter suit, be
>re-added to the pilot? 

Yep.

Virtually everything left out, is now back in again.


 jms

Date: 7 Nov 1997 12:33:18 -0500
Subject: B5 Tape Fraud, from jms

A number of folks have been spammed by a series of notes from a group called
 VulcanEntr@aol.com offering tapes of B5 bloopers and rarities.  Under any
 circumstances, NO ONE has been licensed or authorized to sell ANY B5 bloopers,
 extracts, excerpts or interviews, anywhere on the planet.  (And this goes for
 the B5 electronic press kit, which is specifically denoted as freeware and
 it's illegal to sell them.)  If you see these tapes for sale ANYwhere, be
 advised that you are dealing with stolen goods.

Back to VulcanEntr...it was brought to their attention by a fan that they did
 not have the rights to sell these tapes...they replied to the fan that they
 DID have the rights, and had verified this with the B5 production office; even
 had a convention organizer send a similar note, both threatening the fan
 slander suits for such statements (that they were bootleggers).  The
 convention organizer, Jon Bernam, of JD Productions, said that he had received
 a copy of a letter from B5 to Vulcan Entr. giving them the rights to sell this
 material.

All this was forwarded on to me...and I then contacted them and in very short
 order, VulcanEntr said that they never, ever at any time had any B5 tapes,
 that a couple of part-time employees had misused their account to put out
 these notes offering these items for sale...although Bernam stated that these
 tapes had been on a table at his convention....

VulcanEntr said they never had any knowledge of any of this, so how then did
 Bernam get a copy of a letter supposedly authorizing this?

I think the operative phrase here is, "duck and cover."  You'd think they would
 at least get their stories straight.

So consider this a fact-finding and weasel-hunting expedition.  If you ordered
 a tape from VulcanEntr, and that check has been cashed, then if Vulcan Entr.
 is correct and these tapes never existed...that's mail fraud.  If you DID get
 a copy of these tapes, it's piracy and in the purview of the FBI.

Obviously, I would prefer to continue going straight to the source for my
 answers here, but overnight BOTH parties canceled their AOL accounts and have
 vanished from sight.

Suffice to say that any information on this situation will be very much
 appreciated.  So that we can arrive at all the facts.  Meanwhile, the moral is
 to stay clear of video pirates and bootleggers.

jms

 jms

Date: 7 Nov 1997 12:53:22 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS  Have you heard this CD?

I've heard about them, though I haven't had a chance to listen to them
 yet...but I gotta give you a big recommendation:

Portishead.

Yes, that's the name of a group, fairly new, brilliant stuff.  Go and buy.  I
 was right about Red Clay Ramblers, and Squirrel Nut Zippers (just before
 everyone else discovered them) and now I'm telling you...these guys are gonna
 be *huge*.


 jms

Date: 7 Nov 1997 19:26:05 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: "Babylon 5 Journal"

I have no idea what this is.  Unless it's the blank-book from Antioch.

jms

 jms

Date: 7 Nov 1997 19:28:37 -0500
Subject: Re: You may never read this, but thank you JMS

Thanks...and my best to your father as well.  I'm glad the show can be
 something that brings folks together like this.


 jms

Date: 8 Nov 1997 10:59:26 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Talking to Rod

>So you're an idol.  I know its still hard for you to
>comprehend.
>	Feels weird, doesn't it? 
>
>
More than just a little.  I still have a hard time seeing myself in that role. 
 I just sorta do what I do; I'm doing what I was doing 10 years ago, even
 longer, just writing the kinds of stories I like.  Same person, different
 context.  

But I constantly doubt...I doubt if the show is good enough, if the work is
 good enough, if we did it right...I wonder if the show is getting enough
 attention, so I go out to try and get it, but then when it comes, I worry
 about the cult of personality...and then I worry that I'm worrying needlessly
 because one thing that typifies B5 fans is that the don't seem to fall for the
 cult of personality BS... and then I watch something by Serling and I feel
 like a total fraud...and then I have to face the blank page and worry that
 whatever the heck it was I did last time, I won't be able to do it again....

I know, I know...thorazine, and lots of it....


 jms

Date: 8 Nov 1997 11:00:36 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  How did you hone your "Time-bubble" method of writing?

>The time-bubble has appeared much more recently, especially in
>"Endgame".  The amount of story you can put into such a small time
>frame is incredible.  I don't think I've seen anything quite like it.

It's one of those things I don't know if I can explain adequately, or sensibly.
  A lot of it is totally instinctive, I don't sit down and think about it, I
 just do it.  But to dissect...part of it is the intensity of the scenes, I
 think.  Strong emotion extends time, stretches it; if you've ever been in a
 major traumatic situation, a few minutes can seem like hours.  The more you
 can put your character into a situation of intense emotions, and create those
 same emotions in the viewer, you will in effect slow down perceived time.  

Also, there's the matter of context here.  If you've set something up in prior
 episodes, in something like "Endgame" there's no set-up which means exposition
 and chews up time; you go right for the high point in the story bell-curve,
 and you stay there.  So the part you're used to seeing take only a few minutes
 at the end of an episode becomes almost the entirety of the episode; same
 result.


 jms

Date: 8 Nov 1997 11:01:12 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Deconstruction(spoilers)

> was the use of
>combined words such as "realfact" and "goodfact" in the 500 year
>sequence similarly a tip of the hat to David Brin's "The Crystal
>Spheres", which made considerable use of this technique?

Since I never read it, the answer would be no.  

This is a common technique in literary SF, from 1984 to Brave New World, some
 cyberpunk stuff...it's pretty common stuff.


 jms

Date: 9 Nov 1997 16:44:28 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  I'd like a new book if you don't mind...


>So whats the latest news on any new literary projects of
>yours?  And...will Demon Night or Othersyde ever be reprinted?

Eventually, yes, but I don't want those to be the first books out the docket
 after B5.  They're both pretty good, but I think that whatevert I do in the
 aftermath of B5 has got to be a hell ofa lot better than "pretty good."  

Basically, between the name value that has accrued to the show, and my
 background, I figure that good will can carry me through 2 or 3 books...but if
 they're not killer books, that's gonna be where it ends.  If anything, that
 knowedge is going to make me work *harder* on the books than if there were a
 lower profile involved, where you can make mistakes and nobody sees them.  

As for the future, I'm working on a couple of novels at roughly the same time
 as everything else...it's just a matter of when what gets finished, and how I
 feel about it.


 jms

Date: 12 Nov 1997 07:53:29 -0500
Subject: Re: Who cares if DS9 imitates B5

>If the producers and writers of DS9 find inspiration in B5 fine. 

It might be, maybe, if Paramount hadn't spent 5 years trying to shut us down,
 bury us, along the way intimidating at least one director into not  working
 with us, and generally doing everything imaginable  to drive us off television
 so they'd have the only space show in town.  

 jms

Date: 12 Nov 1997 23:30:37 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Will there ever be a B5 Encyclopedia?(or anyone who

The B5 cd-rom, coming out later this month, has a LOT of information on the
 show and its races, so that may qualify.

 jms

Date: 12 Nov 1997 23:46:53 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS, B5 merchandise

I'd say, strictly on an appearance basis, that the 6" figures are a bit better
 than the 9" ones.  And as for the collector's plates, Hamilton did its usual
 market tests with mainstream collectors (who don't know from B5) and ST fans,
 and based on this decided that there wasn't any market out there for B5
 collectibles.

No comment.


 jms

Date: 12 Nov 1997 23:51:13 -0500
Subject: Re: Portishead

>Consider yourself vindicated: they are really popular, but they've kind
>of peaked already.

Well, if I hadn't heard of them (and most people haven't that I've talked to)
 then it's a new thing for me.  

Peaked already?  The second album is great, and I think that their popularity
 is only going to grow, particularly here in the US.  

Folks looking on...I ain't kidding.  If you haven't listened to either fo the
 Portishead albums, you're missing a real treat.


 jms

Date: 12 Nov 1997 23:57:04 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Why no Sinclair in "The Beginning" ?

> How's it possible to make
>a movie about the Earth-Minbari war without even mentioning
>Sinclair?
>
>
Nobody said he wouldn't be mentioned; using the footage we shto from "And the
 Sky Full of Stars," he's in the last part of the movie.  Bear in mind that at
 the time he was a squadron leader assigned to Earth as part of the defense
 network there, so didn't have a great deal to do with the larger parts of the
 war.

Basically, each character (with the exception of one or two) gets one or two
 scenes in the movie (we have a lot of them, remember).  To bring Michael out
 from New York, at first class airfare, plus accommodations, salary, for one or
 two scenes (one of which we already *had* him for) was impossible under the
 budget, much as we discussed it and would've been interested in doing so.


 jms

Date: 14 Nov 1997 09:01:40 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Best Books International/B5 scripts?

No, no scripts can be sold except the "The Coming of Shadows," and only in my
 writing book, and the edition from Boxtree, that's it, anything else is
 illegal.

jms

 jms

Date: 17 Nov 1997 11:24:42 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Comic Queries?

>  Have you written any other comics?
> 
Yes; wrote an issue of the Twilight Zone comic for NOW comics, a DC Teen Titans
 Special, Two-Face vs. Cyborg, the ST comic you mention, and the first B5 comic
 issue.

>      What comics have you enjoyed reading and dare I ask, do you enjoy
>reading nowadays?  (and you can't just say Neil's stuff.  That's
>cheating.)
>

Most anything by Alan Moore, though he's started getting a tad obscure even for
 me.  I loved Marvels, and just bought Alex Ross' Justice Society print.  Also
 very fond of Grant Morrison's work.   
>     Any new info on the B5 comic?

It's already coming out in installments in the B5 UK magazine, and
 solicitations are going out in Diamond Distributers catalog for the US
 printing from DC (three issues).

As it turns out, I've just approached Dark Horse as the top of my list for a
 new comic I've come up with, also with a 5-year arc but with nothing to do
 with B5, something I don't think has been done much in superhero comics
 before.  I'm giving them a little while longer to get back to me on it, and
 then I'm going to take it out to the marketplace.  Justd went to DH first
 because I've loved their prior work.


 jms

Date: 17 Nov 1997 11:25:01 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Peter David's "In The Beginning"

>Is Peter David's novelization of "In The Beginning" going to hit the
> marketplace before the premiere on January 4th?

It'll be timed pretty close to the airing.



 jms

Date: 17 Nov 1997 11:32:06 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn:  JMS - Change in Attitude Toward Bester

>Every time I see a telepath being treated as less-than-human, my sympathy for
>Bester increases a bit.  Is that your intent?
>
>

Yup.

And there's an episode later this 5th season, "The Corps is Mother, The Corps
 is Father," which will show the other side of the Psi Corps coin.


 jms

Date: 19 Nov 1997 14:51:51 -0500
Subject: request from harlan


Harlan has asked me to ask y'all if you could do him a favor:

He is looking to get as many copies as he can of the Science Fiction Book Club
 "Things to Come" booklet/circular for December listing his book "City on the
 Edge of Forever" and any flyers that went with it.

If you have these on hand still, if you could send it on to Harlan Ellison c/o
 Babylon 5, 14431 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423, it
 would be *very* much appreciated.


 jms

Date: 19 Nov 1997 14:54:13 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn JMS:illegal ranger pins?


Yes, the Ranger pins are illegal, pirate merchandise.  Also crap, from what
 I've seen.

We're moving as fast as we can to get high-quality pins out there to cut the
 knees out from under the crooks.  Earth Alliance pins are now available
 through thestation.com, and the Psi Corps pins just came in.  We hope to have
 Ranger pins soon, though they will be a little more costly since they're huge
 and require a great deal of work to produce if they're going to look like what
 they're supposed to be.  


 jms

Date: 19 Nov 1997 14:56:00 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS -- Thanks and Thoughts (*SPOILERS* for S4 final 4)


Thank you for the kind words, and the sonnet.  It was lovely.

As for Marcus...the characters will have more time to grieve down the road, and
 the repercussions of his life and death will be felt long after his passing,
 and echo through parts of the fifth season.

Thanks again.


 jms

Date: 19 Nov 1997 14:57:17 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn. JMS - B5 Fan Club Emporium


>Doesn't that Fan Club do phone orders?
>
We're not set up for phones yet. 

>I just got two of the Antioch B5 Calendars Uncomyn Gifts.  They're
>incredible!

Yeah, they're great

>Antioch calendars, and some other items
>through the Fan Club to give to some B5 buddies for Christmas.  Snail
>mail may not make it in time. A phone number for orders would cut the
>time in half.

As it happens, either today or tomorrow the B5 fan club website
 (www.thestation.com) will be finally set up to take orders via the site
 itself, with a *very* secure credit card server.  So you can log on as soon as
 it's up, put in the info, and it'll get processed fast.  (Especially for
 initial orders, before things start to get busy.)


 jms

Date: 19 Nov 1997 14:57:41 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS Yahoo article accurate?


I'm not quoted at ALL.  I never, at any time, said that B5 fans were in any way
 smarter than ST fans.  The person who wrote the article came up with that as a
 lead that has, and had, nothing to do with anything I said.  All I talked
 about was the close relationship with B5 fans through treating them with
 respect.  I think he may have been looking for a quote like that, but I didn't
 give him one, and thus it didn't appear.  

Never said it.  If I had, it'd be there.

 jms

Date: 19 Nov 1997 15:55:50 -0500
Subject: Re: Space Patrol/Planet Patrol?


The UK series was named Space Patrol, but when it came time to show it in the
 States, they renamed it Planet Patrol to avoid legal complications and
 confusion in the marketplace.

As it happens, I'm getting a full run of the tapes in about a week from the
 distributer, and looking forward to it, as it was one of my favorite shows as
 a kid, though nobody else I ever spoke to in 20 years had ever heard of it.


 jms

Date: 20 Nov 1997 09:24:19 -0500
Subject: Re: Zathra not be liking Portishead

>Zathra next is buying Portishead.  Zathra put CD in player, and dog of 
>Zathra is starting to howl.  Zathra is rarely ever hearing such terrible 
>noises.  Zathra is now looking for Zathras.  Zathra wants to be giving 
>Zathras very big wedgie.  

Zathras say Zathras has tin ear.  Zathras say Zathras behind times.  Zathras
 would say "feh" but Zathras not having background in Early Eastern European
 and Yiddish vocabularies would be stretching credulity.  Zathras not like
 stretching credulity, always snaps back and hits poor Zathras in the face.

But Zathras understand.  Many different kinds of music in universe, not all
 Zathras like.  Is why there are nine of us.  All have different opinions, all
 speak opinions, all good people.

One has tin ear.

feh.


 jms

Date: 20 Nov 1997 09:24:35 -0500
Subject: from jms B5 online store is up!

The B5 emporium, allowing online ordering of all B5 fan club stuff (including
 the Great Maker t-shirts the crew made for 422, Agamemnon caps, Psi Corps
 hats, Earth Alliance pins, autographed boxes of Fleer cards, Ship Recognition
 Posters, and other cool stuff) is now up and working with a secure credit card
 server at http://www.thestation.com and taking orders.  

More cool stuff to come, including Psi Corps pins and the B5 informational
 CDrom and so on.


 jms

Date: 20 Nov 1997 09:25:50 -0500
Subject: Re: Someone has seen an In the Beginning test screening

>
>According to Ain't It Cool Coaxial News, TNT is currently test screening
>In the Beginning.  The person who reported it was very impressed.  Ther
>article is at http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/coaxial/971117/1.html but
>it really doesn't say anything that we don't know.

Actually, it wasn't a test screening, it was a screening for cast and crew.


 jms

Date: 20 Nov 1997 09:28:15 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Widescreen anywhere in world?

My reply was in reference to a widescreen film release, or at least that's what
 I thought I was replying to.  To go to film for widescreen would take some
 work and recompositing the stuff to film stock.

Yes, B5 is shown in widescreen in France and Portugal.  Bear in mind that these
 tend to be digital transfers from digital betacam to PAL format, as opposed to
 transferring all the CGI to film stock.

At the end of the day, when the series is done, we'll transfer all the CGI to
 film so we can deliver the entire series on film stock.  

jms

 jms

Date: 20 Nov 1997 09:47:58 -0500
Subject: repost from jms

For some reason my other message never showed up (and several others seem to
 have not shown up)....

1) Harlan Ellison asks that if you still have the December Science Fiction Book
 Club circular, Things to Come, mentioning his book City on the Edge of
 Forever, and/or the flyers that came with it, to send them along to him via
 the B5 mail drop, 14431 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.

2) The B5 emporium is now available for online purchases at www.thestation.com.

3) I'll be Guest of Honor at LosCon in Los Angeles over Thanksgiving Weekend at
 the Burbank Airport Hilton showing clips from Season 5 and the prequel, and
 new bloopers.


 jms

Date: 20 Nov 1997 09:48:30 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Directing creativity and richness in CGI

>I was interested in how you're able to direct the CGI creations to
>match the story so well.  They would work from scripts I'd expect -
>are there story boards you use as well? How much lead time does all
>that CGI creative process need?
>
>
Sometimes there are storyboards, based on what's in the script, if it's a very
 complex sequence.  Usually, it's shot for shot what's in the script, though
 the animators find ways to visualize that in creative and exciting ways,
 making it dynamic.

Each numbered scene calling for CGI is done individually, then sent back for my
 and John Copeland's approval.  Usually that means just saying yes, but
 sometimes we ask for adjustments.  

It takes about 52 days to finish all the CGI for one episode.


 jms

Date: 21 Nov 1997 13:08:24 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS : In The Beginning -> Ivy's Brother?

>I was wondering, is there any chance that we'll see Ivanova's brother in In
>The
>Beginning?

I'd say a very good chance.

>P.S. What was that thing about Larry Ditillio setting your office on fire?

We'd declared war on each other across the hall, and I'd stolen his platen. 
>From there, it escalated.


 jms

Date: 21 Nov 1997 13:01:50 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: CD prices at B5 Emporium

>The _correct_ regular prices for these CD's, from the Sonic Images web
>site, are $13.99 for the soundtracks, and $10.98 (_below_ the Member
>Price!) for the episodes. 

That's because Chris, as maker of the CDs, can charge less since there's no one
else in the loop.  That's pretty much the wholesale price.


 jms

Date: 21 Nov 1997 13:27:06 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS Yahoo article accurate?

Didn't know that, so it's definitely the editor, then, not Craig.


 jms

Date: 23 Nov 1997 14:19:53 -0700
Subject: Re: Official Guide to B5 CD Rom

>Why does the babcom unit never work?
>
>

It's broken.  But what it does now is let you eavesdrop on what's going on. 
Click on the Babcom screen, and you get .wav files from some of the more
memorable lines of the show.


 jms

Date: 23 Nov 1997 14:30:56 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS   B5 FanClub Emporium is GRREAT!

Thanks, though Jeffrey Willerth gets most of the credit for getting this puppy
up and running.  

So far the orders are coming in strong, and the first batch of orders (100 in
the first day alone) went out the very next day.

We're going to be adding more cool stuff shortly to the store.


 jms

Date: 23 Nov 1997 14:41:57 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  How do TV critics see the show?

The critics will usually get a copy of the cassette for review.


 jms

Date: 23 Nov 1997 14:43:19 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Copyright Infringement?

I think Valen is a fine idea for a name...others have done similar, so don't
fret it.


 jms

Date: 23 Nov 1997 14:47:21 -0700
Subject: Re: Someone has seen an In the Beginning test screening

>So, it's possible that the person who gave the glowing review was probably an
>insider and probably biased to give a good review.

Not necessarily.  A number of folks not directly involved with the show, who
didn't know diddly about B5, were invited as sort of guinea pigs to see how the
show would be received, and many of those on the show brought friends who
hadn't seen it before, so it could've been anyone.


 jms

Date: 23 Nov 1997 14:47:08 -0700
Subject: Re: Harlan Ellison's job description

>What does he actually do?

Anydamnthing he wants.


 jms

Date: 23 Nov 1997 17:24:03 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  The Third Age of JMS

>	JMS'  journey has just begun. I wonder if it will be as crazy as the
other
>two Ages of JMS...

I've never had a sane one yet.


 jms

Date: 23 Nov 1997 21:32:58 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  What will be cut?

>Joe, if you're going to put back some 14 minutes of material in 
>the Gathering, what, if anything, will have to be cut to make room
>for it?

Not much, just little snippets of things...the show was *very* slow paced, and
once you pick up the pacing within scenes, whole vast tracts of time appear.


 jms

Date: 24 Nov 1997 02:53:34 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS Yahoo article accurate?

One more thing...

>   Average IQ of a "Star Trek" fan: 152.
>
>            Average IQ of a "Babylon 5" fan: 170.
>
>            At least that's the way "Bab5" fans
>            figure it.

I never mentioned IQs, nor were they mentioned by the reporter to me during the
 interview.  Further, the journalist here does not put those words in my mouth
 in ANY event, he says that's "the way the B5 fans figure it."  

In any event, I was as astonished to read that as anyone else.


 jms

Date: 26 Nov 1997 00:04:56 -0500
Subject: Re: Criticism: Official UK Magazine

>Thankfully, many of the negative criticisms directed at the magazine
>are now being dispelled. It is particularly gratifying to know that
>the Editor, John Freeman, with whom I had talked regarding my
>concerns, is open to ideas, is willing to listen and act on concerns,
>has responded to ideas and most of all has had the integrity to
>re-approach the CC affair in an open, honest and forthright manner. I
>have been scathing in my criticism before, because I felt it was
>wholly justified. Likewise, it is only fair now to give credit now to
>John and his team for making the efforts they obviously have made to
>improve the magazine to what is now a good standard.

At risk of being perceived as doing an "I told you so," let me point out just
one thing.

The interview with CC that you cite as being fair and just and balanced *WAS
ALREADY IN HAND AND TYPESET AND APPROVED BY ME PERSONALLY* when the previous
issue appeared...before then, actually, because the production process runs
about 7-8 weeks for articles, though news features tend to be more timely.  

So basically John and I put up with a great deal of accusations and mudslinging
and invective on not being fair when there was already a very fair ("too fair"
some have grumbled) piece in and slated to appear in the very next issue.  The
brief piece in 3 was just a last minute addition to the whole thing, because it
couldn't go uncommented upon for that long to wait until issue 4.

My point being...we do try and do the right thing.  We ask that you trust us to
continue doing so, and let us have the benefit of the doubt until shown
otherwise.


 jms

Date: 26 Nov 1997 00:05:09 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: B5 online store is up! but at what cost?

The shipping costs of everything that comes out of the B5 fan club is on an
absolute par with everyone else out there.

As for shipping...yes, we could charge less for shipping, but we have been
cognizent of the requests from B5 fans that their stuff arrive *intact*.  The
calendars you cite don't just go out in regular envelopes, as others tend to
ship them...they go out UPS in a very strong container to prevent damage to
what is, after all, a collectible item.  Basically, you get what you pay for.



 jms

Date: 26 Nov 1997 00:58:24 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN:  JMS  Creation Vs. LosCon

>Did you guys get those travel pods working or is there a lot of cross
>town drivin' going on?  Which should I attend?  At $40 bucks a wack I
>just want to see the best show.

Basically, the actors will be at Creation that Sunday; I will be doing my B5
presentation (bringing clips and bloopers and other cool stuff) the same day at
LosCon at the Burbank Airport Hilton.

So basically it's a clear-cut choice; if one wants to see actors, one goes to
Pasadena; if one wants to see writers (and there are many other writers at
LosCon) one goes there.   

(BTW, I'll be doing selected other panels at LosCon Friday and Saturday as
well.  But the main B5 showcase is Sunday.)


 jms

Date: 26 Nov 1997 00:58:44 -0500
Subject: Re: Londo and G'Kar

>Has G'Kar forgiven Londo?  Why?  (Details are appreciated.)
>
>

I should think there are a couple of steps that have to happen before that can
take place.


 jms

Date: 24 Nov 1997 20:22:25 -0700
Subject: Re: ATT: JMS: The Third TNT Movie

>I saw you mention the shooting dates for the third TNT movie, which must
>mean the script is in the can -- would you please give us loyal fans
>some tantalizing hints about this one?  When does it take place, which
>characters does it feature, ANYTHING 

Actually, no, it isn't written yet.  I won't be able to have a clear field to
write it until after I've finished writing the 5th season.  I know in general
what I want to do with it, have fleshed out a lot, but until I've run the
premise past TNT and WB officially, I can't comment.


 jms

Date: 27 Nov 1997 00:14:55 -0700
Subject: Re: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. ( *Spoilers* )

Re: the whole money thing...if I'd been in this for the money, I would've
stayed where I was on Murder, She Wrote.  I took a substantial pay cut to come
do B5, even though the position here was higher than my position on M,SW.

The script fees for syndication are a little over half what they are for a
network show; the residuals are more in network; the producing fees are double
what I'm getting in network...there ain't no pile of gold in syndication, boys
and girls.  If I was in this for the money, I'd go back to nework TV.

Thing is, I can't tell these kinds of stories in network TV.  So I'm here. 

Nobody's put a pile of gold in front of me yet.  Not that I'm opposed to the
idea, it'd be nice if someone did it, I'd certainly be inclined to be
grateful...but it just hasn't happened.


 jms

Date: 27 Nov 1997 00:15:11 -0700
Subject: Re: request from harlan

>Why does he want to take them away from us?

Nobody's taking anything from anyone; he asked for any copies that people had
which were probably going to be thrown out in any event, as most were.  That's
the extent of it.



 jms

Date: 27 Nov 1997 00:15:21 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: thestation.com

We changed servers and the system upgrade when we changed providers; you need
to go to the main menu and sign in now.


 jms

Date: 27 Nov 1997 00:15:41 -0700
Subject: Re: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. ( *Spoilers* )

>1) Will TNT 'shave' the show to put in more commercials?
>

Nope.

>2) Is there a book or CD or site that you, JMS, would recommend
>as a way for someone to pick up the story.

There's the lurker's guide (www.midwinter.com) and thestation.com, and the new
B5 informational CDrom which just came out has heaps of info about the B5
universe.


 jms

Date: 27 Nov 1997 00:16:32 -0700
Subject: Re: ATT: JMS: Those StarFury Models ...

Yes, the models are a go, in fact I just recently approved the master mold for
the station, which is going to be huge.  

Should be out soon; we went back and forth a few times getting the texturing
right on the Starfury wings, but we finally got that worked out, and the things
look great.


 jms

Date: 27 Nov 1997 00:22:14 -0700
Subject: Re: Official Guide to B5 CD Rom

>I also kinda hoped that we'd be able to learn more about the Dilgar and
>Markabs even though they are gone but this CD was full (640MB) so I guess VOL
>2 :)

The conceit we used in designing the cdrom was that it's a guide to the present
B5 as of the end of the fourth season...them's what's gone, is gone, them's
what remains, get discussed.  It's the guide you'd get upon arriving, rather
than a history of the B5 universe, which is a daunting prospect.


 jms

Date: 29 Nov 1997 18:01:37 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: B5 Emporium

I don't believe the figures (the 6" or the 9" ones) will be available from the
Emporium, no.



 jms

Date: 29 Nov 1997 18:02:10 -0500
Subject: Re: att: JMS -- Do you miss the feedback?

Well, bear in mind that I've had about 4 years of feedback, so there's
that...and in our first season, there was just as much lead time so we're used
to it.

And there's only a 3 month break here between the last S4 ep and the new
season, which is less than we've had in other cases.


 jms

Date: 29 Nov 1997 18:01:51 -0500
Subject: Re: Slightly off topic: zinc lozenges

Your best bet is to combine the zinc lozenges with chewable vitamin C, usually
at a base of about 2 to 1 in favor of the C.  I have found, each time, that it
cuts down the symptom and duration of the cold or flu 30-50%.  Just be sure to
eat something with it, because the acidity can build up pretty fast otherwise.

 jms

Date: 29 Nov 1997 18:02:41 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Kudos to Peter David

It's *out* already?  I thought it wouldn't be coming out until mid-December.  

Anyway...yeah, Peter did a fine job with the book.  He added a few bits here
and there, for which he should get the credit, and overall did a very good job
of it.  


 jms

Date: 29 Nov 1997 18:09:57 -0500
Subject: Re: B5 fans support death penalty??

>The death penalty clearly exists in the B5 universe;  I don't 
>know how jms feels about the issue.  

Basically, it's this.

There are some individuals who, I believe, should never, ever, under any
circumstances be allowed to return to free society, due to the heinous nature
of their crimes and/or the degree of certainty that they will continue a
pattern of such crimes.  Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, others.  

For individuals such as these, I am in favor of the death penatly UNLESS...and
this is a very important unless...life in prison, when rendered as a pentaly,
MEANS life in prison.  All too often, someone who has committed the most
heinous of crimes may be sentenced to life...but gets out in 15 or 20 years.  

I'm a real simple guy, and from where I sit, if you take a life via murder in
the first degree (as opposed to accidents, manslaughter or similar
situations)...where you've done it deliberately, with malice and forethought,
then you give up your life.  Now that can be a life spent behind bars.  I'm
perfectly fine with that, and if that is the situation, then no, there's
absolutely no need for a death penalty and I'd be first in line to have it
struck down.

The legal system needs teeth, but it also needs sanity.  It needs to make the
violent among us understand that if you do this terrible thing, there will be a
sure and certain penalty waiting for you that will remove your ability to take
part in the free world.  It need not be the death penalty if some other sure
and certain penalty is available.

This, for me, ain't a political thing or about agendas or left-wing or
right-wing.  The bird needs both wings or it ain't gonna fly.  The heart says,
"There must be balance, in one way or another."  By the same token, I think we
need better gun control laws and gun registration laws.  (Let's not get into a
whole gun discussion because they fall apart real fast...I'm only offering my
opinion, not seeking to change anyone's views.)

I'd make the following exchange: we get stiffer gun control and registration
laws, but if a citizen has had no history of violence or criminal activity, and
can show cause why it would be useful, would make it easier to get carry
permits so that lawful citizens could carry them.  And if a gun is used in a
crime, you hit them with the full extent of the law.  

The first part of that is probably perceived as the liberal idea; the second
half conservative; the third, moderate.  Put them all together and you have
something more cohesive than isolating any one of them.

While I'm mouthing off, if I were running things (and aren't we all just a
little glad I'm *not*?), I'd go into the inner city and declare eminent domain
over the slums and the ghettos and other long abandoned buildings and
tenaments, seize them, and send in the Army Engineering Corps to get them up to
snuff for low-cost housing.  Hell, if we could build a city in Saudi Arabia in
2 months, what could we do in Watts?

Given that the president has sole authority over the waterways of the country
(per the constitution), a flick of the pen could issue an order requiring that
companies using river water for their manufacturing facilities have to locate
their intake valves DOWNSTREAM from their output valves, so that if they don't
clean up the stuff that goes into the river...they have to suck it in ten feet
downstream.  You'd cut back on water pollution and it wouldn't cost the country
a dime.

I'd suggest that any corporation that came out of this country and shuts its
doors, moving its operations overseas to use cheap labor and putting all the
people who created that business out of jobs by the tens of thousands...should
lose the right to sell to this country.  If we're good enough to buy your
products, we're good enough to make them.

If FDR could make a New Deal and get this country on its feet after something
as financially debilitating as the Great Depression with work programs, surely
in the 90s when the economy is, they tell us, booming, we should be able to
create workfare programs to get people rebuilding the infrastructure, repairing
our crumbling bridges and schools and sewers and fixing potholes.

Now, obviously some people reading this will say "what's it gonna cost if we do
this?"  (To which part of the answer is in the paragraph immediately preceding
this.)

To which I also say, "what's it gonna cost if we *don't*?"

There...you now know more than you could possibly have wanted to know about my
positions on stuff.  All of which is, incidentally, utterly and completely
irrelevant to the show.  

I just wish people would quit fighting over whether to use the left or the
right oar when the boat is sinking.


 jms

Date: 29 Nov 1997 18:10:06 -0500
Subject: Re: Harlan Ellison going to court as witness????

>Towards the end, in a paragraph beginning "AJ Bielow is working on this 
>case,....." it is claimed that Harlan Ellison may be going to court as a 
>witness in her favour.

As soon as I read this, I called Harlan (9:10 p.m. Friday night) and he stated
that he is not involved with any Dr. Who project or suit, and that he is not
testifying as a witness in any such situation, and that this is not a true
statment.


 jms