lurkers-guide/ftp/Usenet/jms98-03-usenet

JMS (and coproducer George Johnsen) Usenet messages for March 1998.


Date: 1 Mar 1998 00:52:12 -0700
Subject: Re: Garibaldi/Lochley - Dare I Ask?!?!

>Is it just me or is there a strong possibility that there might be a pairing
>up
>of Garibaldi and Lochley?
>
>

The odds are zero and none.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 1 Mar 1998 00:55:17 -0700
Subject: Re: Strange Relations, Sex, & JMS (Spoilers)

>JMS is a
>sexual conservative. Garibaldi isn't allowed to sleep with the
>ground-pounder in GROPOS, Marcus is a virgin, saving himself for the
>right one, Sheridan and Delenn don't actually have sex until after
>they're married (unless they did in that Woo-Hoo Minbari ritual, but I
>was never sure about that). There are other examples.
>
>
The Garibaldi/GROPO thing was originally slated in the script for them to go to
bed with each other...it was Jerry who objected loudly enough for that to be
changed in the script.

Then there's Franklin and Number One who jumped into bed very quickly, we have
Garibaldi and Lise in bed in "Between the Darkness and the Light," Franklin and
the singer in downbelow... there are plenty of counter-examples.

Conservative I ain't.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 2 Mar 1998 13:50:13 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Merchandise located, licensed or not?

Yes, the CCG is legitimate and licensed.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 3 Mar 1998 07:50:56 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Intersections/The Crucible Parallels

The parallels are in history, not in the literature.  These things happen....

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 3 Mar 1998 07:51:13 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn:  JMS - Do you believe?

>Do you believe in telepathy and other such talents?

I think there are certain non-supernatural phenomenon that are currently beyond
adequate description, but which can sometimes be observed and will one day be
classified...a lot of it to do with synchronicity....

But if you ask me point blank, do I believe in mind readers...no.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 5 Mar 1998 10:09:10 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Why did you call him Byron?

It's a play on words that becomes a bit clearer later.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 5 Mar 1998 16:37:39 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS (Secrets of the Soul) **Spoilers**


























>How did you (or do you) approach a regular on the show and tell them
>that you want them to do a really intense scene the likes that has not
>been done on the show before (ie Byron/Lyta)?  I had only seen stuff
>like that on NYPD Blue, but people on that show know what they are
>getting into.  Just curious.

I talked to both actors involved, made sure they were okay with it, and then
scripted it out in very detailed form, and shot with a closed set, just
necessary crew, nobody else.  

(Funny item: in the script, I'm right in the middle of describing the sex
scene, and in the narrative description, I write, without even thinking about
it, "I wonder which is more embarrassing, reading this or writing it?"  It goes
out that way.)

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 6 Mar 1998 18:21:19 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Day of the Dead moved?

We suggested moving up DotD because the NBA playoffs will hit after #12, and
better to have 3-4 intense episodes in a row, culminating in 12, than to break
up the middle, which would've been okay as a respite if there wasn't going to
be a break, but since there is a break now, I want to slam the last few before
it hits for more impact.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 9 Mar 1998 18:59:42 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS

>It seems to me that things are not progressing (plotwise) as quickly as
>they have in previous seasons.

Folks have repeatedly said that in the first season, they weren't aware there
WAS an arc until episode 16, "Signs and Portents."  Then, later, they would
look back and see all the setups going on.

That will be much the same situation here.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 9 Mar 1998 19:00:04 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Just watched SOtS

Thanks..for all of that.  

And yeah, once this season is over, my presence on the nets will substantially
diminish...but it's been a great experience, for the most part, occasional
nutcases and bozos notwithstanding.  In the last year, I think more could've
been done in this ongoing conversation about educating people on the nature of
making TV, which was one of the reasons for doing this...but in many ways I'm
limited by the quality of the questions asked, and lately it's been more
posting of reactions (good and bad, that isn't meant to be a critical comment)
than questions related to who/how/why/what.

Right now, we're shooting 521...three more weeks total, and the Babylon 5
series is over.  Seems vaguely hard to believe.


 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 10 Mar 1998 12:01:07 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS:  Witness for the Defense?

> Oftentimes when people criticize the show, or a character or
>whatever, you rise to its defense.  I could understand you answering
>questions people have about different aspects of the story - that helps
>us all.  But rebutting people who don't like X or Y or whatever?
>
>Your work is your work.  There is no need to defend it or its quality.
>
>So, why do you do this?
>
Usually, I don't...if someone doesn't like something, he doesn't like
something, that's fine and to be expected.  It's when someone deliberately
distorts something that I tend to get into it.

Why?

Because I'm an idiot, that's why.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 10 Mar 1998 12:02:45 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn. JMS:  The Gathering

I don't know if the new version will be available, I doubt it, though.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 11 Mar 1998 23:06:49 -0700
Subject: Re: New line of B5 T-shirts released

The glow in the dark sweatshirts are licensed, yes.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 11 Mar 1998 23:07:26 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN.: JMS - Writing Process

>When writing the scripts for B5 (or any other show), do you "see" the
>script in novel format or in teleplay format in your mind?

Neither.  I see the scene itself, as if watching a movie.  I play it over and
over...initially, it's kind of out of focus, and incomplete, I have some
pieces, not others...the more times I play it back in my head, the more it
gradually comes into focus, and the missing pieces begin ot fill in...until I
see the whole scene, end to end, in perfect focus.  Then I use whatever form
I'm writing in -- a novel or a script -- and write it in that format.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 11 Mar 1998 23:09:43 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Story Timing in General

>One of the things that annoys me about some TV shows is the
>unbalanced timing.  The main crisis takes too long to build
>up to, and the resolution takes place in the last 5 minutes,
>or in some cases, during the last commercial break.

>B5 seems to me to be a lot more balanced in this respect.  Do
>you try to begin the resolution by a certain time to allow
>time to show the actual resolution before the final break,
>and use the epilogue for something else?  Or just how do you
>try to do it?  Is it in the editing?

It's generally the same...I use a straightforward approach to the stories:
teaser sets the tone for the episode, hooks the audience, makes you wonder what
the heck's going on.  First act introduces the problem in greater detail; here
and in act two you get the characters dealing with the problem, with a major
problem or complication hitting at the bottom of act 2...act three prepares
your characters to deal with the situation, and act four deals with the
situation, leaving the tag (and sometimes part of the fourth act) to have some
nice character moments.  

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 11 Mar 1998 23:17:50 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Question, since you'll be online less often

>When fans send you snail-mail, do you delegate someone else to read it, or
>do you read it yourself?    How should it be addressed?
>
>
No, nobody else answers my mail but me...however, remember that private email
is only to be used for personal matters or confidential matters that can't be
discussed elsewhere.  That won't change even after my online participation
falls back a bit.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 12 Mar 1998 17:22:15 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS - Day of the Dead **Spoilers**

>My question is that as much as people
>who follow a particular religion might have a crisis of faith, do
>atheist ever have the same crisis where they self examine what they
>believe?  Not that you would change what you would believe, but the
>characters in the series constantly show the signs of self doubt.

I think you *have* to question what you believe (or don't believe, or believe
you believe or believe what you don't believe) on a regular basis, the way you
exercise any muscle.  If you leave it unattended, it gets flabby and soft and
intellectually lazy.  The peril of the unexamined life is one of the things
I've often railed about in one place or another...whether or not you come back
to your original position after a lengthy self-examination, the important thing
is that you *do* it from time to time, honestly and straightforwardly, because
you could change your position, or if you don't, at least you now have more
reasons and a better understanding of it, so that you can defend it and talk
about it rationally rather than get angry because you can't articulate why you
believe what you believe.

And I believe that may be one of the longest unbroken sentences I've yet
written....

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 12 Mar 1998 17:22:47 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: B5 newcomer thanks you

Thanks...that's great company for any writer.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 14 Mar 1998 00:12:08 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS Reduced Net Presence

>You've mentioned that after B5, your net presence will be substantially
>reduced, which I can certainly understand. But I'm curious--do you also
>anticipate reading less on the net? As far as I can see, you now read
>virtually every posting in several forums. Will you in future be more
>like the rest of us, who only pick out the threads that interest them?
>
>
Yes; the only other option is to go mad after a while.

>I guess what I'm trying
>to say is that the sense of wonder I felt then at the idea that a show's
>creator would actually interact with fans in this way has never left me.
>Thank you so very much for not only creating a great TV show, but for
>sharing your thoughts with us.

All things considered, it's been a pleasure.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 14 Mar 1998 00:12:35 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS - Where do we send the gifts?

No presents necessary; we got to tell our story, our way...what greater present
can anyone get than that?


 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 14 Mar 1998 00:13:47 -0700
Subject: Re: Day of the Dead (*Spoilers*)


























>Why didn't JMS bring Ivanova back to B5 to be visited by Marcus Cole, her
>brother, or her father?
>
>Why didn't JMS put Sheridan in the zone to be visited by Kosh or Anne
>Sheridan?

I didn't write it.  It's Neil's script.  The characters he chose are the ones
he wanted to play with.


 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 14 Mar 1998 00:37:41 -0700
Subject: Re: JMS--Who chose visitors for DotD?

Neil chose the characters he wanted to play with.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 17 Mar 1998 18:14:37 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: Actors returning for "dead" roles - Day of the Dead

No, there's no prior understanding...Neil picked the actors he wanted, and we
checked on their availabilities.  If they hadn't been available, we'd've gone
for other characters.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:32:32 -0700
Subject: Re: We're Missing out on some of the Arc!

>But out of the first 8 episodes in season 5, only
>two were arc episodes. 

That's an assumption; it's not a correct one.  

>That means that the
>greatest number of arc episodes season 5 can
>have is 16. From the plot summaries, it seems
>that there are two or three more non-arc
>episodes later this season, so this makes 13-14
>arc episodes for season 5.

No, there's now only one stand-alone left in the balance of S5.  And, again,
you've got arc material in the first batch, whether you choose to recognize it
now or not.

>So the total number of
>arc episodes in the series will only be 56 or so.
>We'll be missing out on 5-8 episodes, which is
>a good 10% of the arc.
>
>So what happened? Where do you think the
>material was cut from?

Nowhere.  You can't apply math to a creative situation, and in an ongoing
process solidify everything so much in stone in season 1 that you can't adjust.
 

It's going where it was meant to go.  

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:33:14 -0700
Subject: Re: Budgets for Season 5

>With the move to TNT, one assumes that dollars spent per episode have
>shrunk.  Is it just me, or do the shows seem to have a lot less CGI in
>them this season?

Yes and no and yes....

Someone online did a recent breakdown, and actually the amount of CGI in the
first batch of S5 episodes is slightly higher than S4, and S4 is slightly
higher than S3 at that same point.

But that said...I did keep the first batch just a *bit* on the light side in
order to have room to do the massive amount of rendering on "In the Beginning"
and "Thirdspace," the latter of which has (finally delivered) topped out at 27
minutes of CGI out of 94 minutes, which has got to be some kind of record.

And *that* said...each season we have increased the amount of CGI we've done,
both in the amount and the complexity of the shots, and this season is no
exception.  We're trying some new things, different kinds of CGI...you'll see
some of that in "The Ragged Edge," for instance.  Much more sophisticated
compositing, more difficult to shoot, but more visually interesting.


 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:34:14 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS : C&C Gravity

>#I'm just curious about how C&C has normal gravity when it is located in
>the center of the spinning station. In the fall of Night (And other
>episodes) it is established that the middle of the station is low grav.

It isn't.  The center is the docking bay.  C&C is one-third of the way below
that, so it has about 1/3rd gravity, so a 200 pound person weigs 66 pounds, not
likely to go floating around.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:37:21 -0700
Subject: new jms short story out

So Harlan says, "Only *you* could find having a new short story published to be
as important as doing a multi-million buck TV series."  Okay, so it's true.

I recently finished a new short story (almost novelette length), "We Killed
Them In the Ratings," which has just been published in a new collection edited
by Martin Greenberg, Blowout in Little Man Flats, a mystery anthology featuring
a lot of Big Name folks.  It's kind of a fun (if dark) story about a local TV
news program that comes up with a new approach to covering murder stories.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:58:19 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Last Days Saying Goodbye

>have you ever had the desire to continue the stories
>of the surviving characters in the years leading up to Sleeping In The
>Light.  Either through novels or comics or even CD-ROM multimedia?

The planned novels are going to expand on the arc, getting into the history of
the Psi Corps and Bester, the Technomages, and Centauri Prime.  Filling in the
corners of what's established.

>Do you want (or not want) to leave the world of B5?  Yes, I know
>the story is almost over and there will be a new series, but it won't be
>the same.  Not better or worse, just not the same. 

Yes and no.  Make no mistake: this has been a burden, the heaviest one I've
ever carried, and it's come close to ruining my health on more than one
occasion.  I'll be glad to set it down....

But it's going to be hard to set it down.  As you say, whatever follows, it
won't be the same.  Everyone on set is feeling it right now.  

It's just...it's just real hard, that's all.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:59:00 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: thank you for your work by french and belgian 

Thanks, and my best to the French fan community for their long term
support...eventually the others will come around.  It may take decades, but
that's okay.  The show is the show is the show, and always will be.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:59:26 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Fans on Alabama radio

Everyone on the show does Londo saying "Viiiiirrrr," as well.  It's required, I
think.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 19 Mar 1998 17:55:57 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  The Run.

Thanks...every promise we made, we tried to keep.  On balance, I think we
succeeded.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 20 Mar 1998 07:10:19 -0700
Subject: Re: ATT: JMS: When are you "Leaving" Us?

I'll start pulling back after the last ep has aired.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 20 Mar 1998 07:10:12 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS - Mack and Bo, Gravediggers and The Complete Book of

>While watching 'Gallery', my wife and I couldn't help but compare Mack
>and Bo to the gravediggers in Hamlet.  Was that your intention,
>especially in light of Byron's quote from the same act?

It did come to mind at various points, but I didn't want to make it an homage
to anything.

> WGA rules prohibit a producer from soliciting anything written
>from a freelancer (without paying for it) and so the oral pitch
>evolved.  But I got the impression that in some cases it was acceptable
>for a freelancer to prepare written treatments in lieu of a pitch if the
>writer so decides and the producer agrees.

Yes, some writers hate to pitch, and prefer to leave pages (called, most
creatively "leave behinds"), which also eliminates the need to rely on the
story editor to properly convey your story to the producer.

>directors can
>take offense when the narrative part of the script is too detailed
>because it takes away from their ability to tell the story the way that
>they see it.  I got the impression that you feel that one should have
>enough of a narrative to tell the story and then it's up to the
>director's discretion on whether to use the narrative instructions.

Screw 'em.  Write it the way you see it.  If they don't like it, they can black
it out; if it scares them that badly that they will fall apart, they shouldn't
be directing.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 22 Mar 1998 01:41:31 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: wrap party emotions?

>How intense were your feelings that day? At the chat room we were being
>informed of what went on over there, but how much more things were in
>your head?

Everything...all of them...every possible emotion was going through me from one
second to the next.  People were in tears.  It was hard.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 22 Mar 1998 02:24:50 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Getting rid of the voices

They will grow distant with time...that will attend to itself, though happily
there will be visits from time to time, and all will be as familiar as if we
had just seen one another.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 22 Mar 1998 02:32:58 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  What now?

>In terms of what's still to be done on B5, how much is done at the
>studios?  Will there still be people there for some time to come,
>considering that you'll be doing the movies?

Basically, everyone's around but the camera crew...we have to do construction
and other work for the movies, so I'd say we're at 80% normal for the next 10
days, until filming on the next movie starts on the 30th.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 22 Mar 1998 22:35:30 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS  Season 5 Quick Question

Those are colored trailers coming from the back of two starfuries.


 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 22 Mar 1998 22:35:24 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: My personal thanks

That's great to hear, thank you...and good luck in the continuing fight.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 22 Mar 1998 22:38:05 -0700
Subject: Re: Thanks Joe, from a far of place

I read it....and my thanks to you and the other fans in Estonia.  

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 22 Mar 1998 22:39:05 -0700
Subject: Re: ATT JMS: So how Far behind is the US going to be for the end?

Nothing's confirmed yet, but from what I'm starting to hear, Canada and Great
Britain may get the last few episodes before they air in the US.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 23 Mar 1998 17:57:27 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Thoughts on 5 successful seasons

Thanks...and "River" is a heck of a movie, I think...now we just have to film
the darned thing.  (Janet Greek is directing.)

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 25 Mar 1998 17:34:07 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: What makes you laugh?

I like humor that surprises me...unexpected twists and turns of logic on the
one hand, and just in-your-face screaming out loud humor on the other hand. 
George Carlin is a favorite.  For reasons I do not fully understand, Buddy
Hackett (of all people) leaves me absolutely breathless and on the floor.  Sam
Kinneson had a much similar effect.  Dennis Miller's black-and-white HBO
half-hour destroyed me; utterly hysterical.  

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 25 Mar 1998 17:35:30 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Thanks for the introductions

Thanks...the marginalia and sharing of info has been a great part of the fun
for me as well.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 25 Mar 1998 17:34:21 -0700
Subject: Re: In the Kingdom of the Blind ( *Spoilers* )

Because we have only $3 million on which to make these movies, we have to
rotate the cast because we can't afford to have them all in any one of them. 
Bruce and Mira were in the first two, so we gave Tracy a shot and put in Jerry
as well as Corwin (his first), Zack and Franklin.

We're just looking for ways to be fair to the maximum number of cast with the
resources we have.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 25 Mar 1998 17:34:35 -0700
Subject: Re: Attention :JMS

> I am about to graduate with a Ph.D. in sociology from the
>University of Kansas, and I am curious to know where you studied
>sociology. Excellent show!

Thanks.

I got my first BA in Clinical Psychology (with a minor in Philosophy) and my
second BA in Sociology (with a minor in Literature) from San Diego State
University.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 26 Mar 1998 11:41:16 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Wow!

Thank you for all of that...and as you say, some fires may be averted, but for
others, there is a point of no return, whatever we might feel about it.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 26 Mar 1998 11:41:58 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn: Anybody who knows: TNT B5 ratings - How are they?

The last rating we got for last  week puts us in the top 15 of all basic cable
shows, and we're the top-rated show on TNT after wrestling.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 26 Mar 1998 12:05:53 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Season Intros

>I was wondering when or perhaps what gave you the idea to
>make each seasons intro different. Is this something you had planed from
>the beginning or something the you came up with later.

No, it was something I wanted to do from the git-go, even though it's costly to
redesign the title sequence and music every season.  Each season is one volume
in the overall story, and my theory is that in a trilogy, for instance, you
have a different cover on each book that sets the tone for that particular
volume.  If B5 is such a work, then it should have a similar to each season's
"cover."

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 26 Mar 1998 12:07:37 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Thanks for everything

Thanks, Cheryl...it's been great.

(And yeah, I remember the "Murder She Wrote in Space" thing, lots of folks said
it...didn't bother me.  There's no reason anyone should believe a TeeVee
producer when saying the sorts of things I was saying, until the point could be
proven.)

And yes, you're right...whatever follows, it won't hold the same place, or have
the same impact, as B5.  It'll be its own show, and it'll be exciting, but B5
will always be a special and unique case.  I know this particular confluence of
events will certainly never come my way again...but it doesn't have to.  It did
so once.  And that's all that matters.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 26 Mar 1998 11:42:04 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Music recommendation

I've got all three of the CDs by Cherry Poppin' Daddies, and I think two of the
three are terrific; the third (earlier) CD is kinda generic, I think they were
still trying to find their sound.

Zoot Suit Daddy is a nifty song, and it's impossible to listen to their current
album and remain sad about anything.  I love that they mix a swing/big band
sound with contemporary (and sometimes raw or edgy) lyrics.  They're just
terrific.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 26 Mar 1998 12:06:36 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS -- Other Messages in Your Arc

I hope you're right.  I've long classified B5 not as a *moral* show, because I
don't have any morals to give anyone, but rather as an *ethical* show, posing
questions and bringing up issues as honestly as I can, to let the viewers
discuss the implications and come to decisions on their own.  If we have
succeeded in doing that, then I'm happy.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 26 Mar 1998 15:28:51 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn. JMS: Virtual sets?


We've done a lot with virtual sets and environments, and will continue to
expand, both as needed for episodes now, and as R&D for future projects. 
There's a nifty virtual environment in "The Ragged Edge," and we plan to do
more.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 26 Mar 1998 15:30:10 -0700
Subject: Re: Something's new about this season (AToT  * Spoliers *)


>What's left is everyone (the member races, the
>Centauri, the Narn, the telepaths) trying to work out who's lying, who's
>breaking the rules, and what to do about it.  Basically, group dynamics.  No
>great enemies.  No ancient forces.  Just people.

After any big war, that's the big battle that still awaits...how do we work out
living together?  Do we fall apart, or stay together?  Wars of revolution have
traditionally been followed by civil wars because the new dynamics are changing
and people take a while to adjust.  And this show has always been about
process: before, during and after.


 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 27 Mar 1998 21:49:56 -0700
Subject: Re: JMS: (ToT SPOILERS) Guest star credits

Screen Actors Guild rules specify where you can and can't put credits, and
those rules don't concern themselves with spoilers.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 27 Mar 1998 21:51:05 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Reusing effects shots

We've been using various establishers as stock from the very first year until
now.  The show would be impossible to do otherwise.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 27 Mar 1998 21:51:14 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS....

>Anyways, now that the story arc is done, are the actors themselves still on
>contract to do any more movies, or will they have to sign contracts for each
>individual movie?

No, it's all on a per-project basis from here on out.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 29 Mar 1998 01:41:54 -0700
Subject: Re: Phoenix Rising ( *Spoilers* )

You're both right.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com

Date: 31 Mar 1998 20:33:04 -0700
Subject: Re: Strange Thought (Goes back to Season 1)

>Say that Sinclair hadn't been reassigned to Minbar and had gotten married
>to Catherine Sakai.  Would she have been on the Icarus on its mission to
>Z'ha'dum?  I'm trying to remember if she did work for IPX (think she did).
>Would that then had been the driving force for Sinclair (and not Sheridan)
>to go to Z'ha'dum?  
>
No, for one simple reason.

The Shadows were already on the loose in Season 1, if we recall correctly.  Mr.
Morden was running around, and the Shadows were cleaning Lord Kiro's clock and
restoring the Eye to Londo.

The mission to Z'ha'dum had already taken place, and the shadows were already
on the move...so the scenario you suggest was simply not possible.



 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com