lurkers-guide/ftp/Usenet/jms98-06-usenet

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


Date: 1 Jun 1998 17:28:23 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Lochley?

>Is it me, or have we not seen Captain Lochley for a while? Are we going
>to see her more in these last seven episodes?

Definitely.

 jms

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

Date: 1 Jun 1998 17:28:28 -0600
Subject: Re: River of Souls (Movie #3) Question

>I have a question that I was hoping someone could answer for me. I
>was wondering where "River of Souls" takes place in the Season 5
>storyline (i.e. between which episodes)? 

It takes place six months into 2263.

 jms

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

Date: 2 Jun 1998 00:16:09 -0600
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS A Professor's Letter to JMS (forwarded)

>At some point, I envision teaching a class in rhetorical
>philosophy using B5 as the point of analysis.  I hope that is
>something that would be acceptable to you as a use of your
>universe--what a marvelous way to open up Plato, Aristotle, Cicero,
>and Quintilian to new generations. 

What, no Marcus Aurelius?  For shame.  We'll have to knock ten points off your
grade for that one.

Seriously, though...to the degree that the show can encourage discussion, and
dialogue, and the free exchange of ideas that point to the history of
literature and philosophy, I am a happy man.  By all means, if it's useful, use
it.  (As I understand it, this spring there is a class nominally in the
Philosophy of Babylon 5 at the University of Illinois at Urbana.)

And thank you...not just for the kind words, but for the open mind that
preceded them.

 jms

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

Date: 2 Jun 1998 08:24:22 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Thanks for the recommendation

>When did swing come back?  I must have been asleep or something...but
>it's wonderful music and never fails to make me feel better if I'm down.

I dunno...seems like the kids today call it "swank."  I first came across it
with the Squirrel Nut Zippers, then Cherry Poppin' Daddies, now Big Bad Voodoo
Daddy...there are any number of swing clubs opening up these days (we had the
B5 wrap party at one of them here in LA)...I don't know what made it hit
critical mass, but I'm glad it did.

What I like about some of these, like Cherry Poppin' Daddies, is that they
apply the music of swing to some pretty raw-edged lyrics, which makes for a
combination that is at once modern but familiar, edgy but reassuring.

 jms

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

Date: 2 Jun 1998 08:28:44 -0600
Subject: from jms re: Norman Corwin

Every so often, Norman's name comes up here, and I get any number of emails
asking about his work, and how to obtain it.  

Norman Corwin is (and has always been) American's pre-eminent radio dramatist,
as well as one hell of an essayist...he has written screenplays (such as the
Oscar nominated Lust for Life), composed cantatas for the UN ("Yes, Speak Out,
Yes"), was a contemporary and friend of Carl Sandburg and Edward R. Murrow (not
to mention Humphrey Bogart and Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton), and his
radio dramas run the gamut from important historical documents ("On a Note of
Triumph" was commissioned to be broadcast on VE day by all three networks), to
light fantasy/sf (from "The Reluctant Molecule" with none other than Groucho
Marx and Vincent Price, to "The Curse of 589" starring William Shatner and Carl
Reiner), to the biography of Miguel de Cervantes ("The Writer with the Lame
Left Hand"), and his watershed collection, "Thirteen by Corwin."

To give you some idea of the kind of actors who come out for a Corwin script,
here are a few of the names who appear on his programs: Charles Kuralt, Pat
Carroll, Franklin D. Roosevelt (yes, you read that right), Jimmy Stewart, Orson
Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Marjorie Maim, Martin Landau, Jack Lemmon, Charles
Durning, Ed Asner, Sammantha Eggar, Norman Lloyd, Frederic March, Robert
Benchley, Henry Morgan, Richard Dysart, Jill Eikenberry, James Earl Jones, Fess
Parker, Esther Rolle, and others, with music conducted by Bernard Herrmann and
Leopold Stokowski among others.

This is a writer who has inspired a generation of other writers, from Rod
Serling to Ray Bradbury, Charles Kuralt, Studs Terkel, Norman Lear, Robert
Altman, Stan Freberg, and somewhere far, far down the list...myself.

Norman's work and his inspiration have been seminal for me as a writer, and as
a person, though I'll never quite hit the same interstellar gulfs he leaves
between his footsteps.  

If you don't know his work...find out about it.  Let me give you a starting
point:

http://www.lodestone-media.com

Here you can find the majority of his radio dramas, both from the heyday of the
form, and more contemporary stuff, along with an excellent introductory program
about Norman, as well as the actual scripts, which deserve the study of anyone
who chooses to call himself a writer.  

Norman is a *writer's writer*.  He's the sort we all point to and say, "That's
what I'd like to be able to do someday."  

I don't generally put up something that is as blatantly an advertisement as
this.  But in this particular case, it's worth the attention of any B5 fan, as
the core of the fire that set me in motion, inspires and informs much of the
ethical content of Babylon 5.  He is not only my friend, he has been my mentor
and my benchmark for nearly twenty years.

If you're not sure what to get when you get to lodestone, I suggest the Charles
Kuralt bio (featuring interviews with Terkel, Bradbury, Altman, Lear and
Corwin) about "On a Note of Triumph," the actual broadcast of "Note" itself so
you can hear the whole thing straight through, and "Thirteen by Corwin."  (John
Copeland's personal favorite is "Fifty years after 14 August" commemmorating VJ
day.)

If you want only to go for the more modern stuff, then I'd suggest "We Hold
These Truths," "The Writer with the Lame Left Hand," and for something truly
unique, "No Love Lost," about a fictional meeting between Thomas Jefferson,
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

Trust me on this one.

 jms

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

Date: 5 Jun 1998 19:17:02 -0600
Subject: Re: Production quality = going down

>I have to say, Meditations did not impress me as being well shot, and
>looking back I can see that as being characteristic of the season.  Boring
>camera angles in recent episodes, the sets are much more plain than they
>used to be, and most scenes are now just people standing around (no
>action).

I have to say this is one of those comments that just astonishes me.

Some episodes have always been more action-oriented than others.  In order to
move story along, you have to have dialogue scenes; the more complex the action
you're trying to get across, the more you need to tell.

Boring camera angles?  The director of "Darknes" was Mike Vejar, who is our
most innovative director.  He did "In the Beginning," "The Face of the Enemy,"
"Messages From Earth" and most of our really cool episodes.  He likes the
close-up, it's where the good stuff happens.  He chose to direct the show in
this style, what on earth does a stylistic decision have to do with production
quality?

"the sets are much more plain than they used to be."  How is this physically
possible, since the sets we've been shooting on are the same ones we used
before?  Nothing got removed or stripped out, they're *exactly* the same.

 jms

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

Date: 6 Jun 1998 11:51:15 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Prostitution on Babylon 5?

I think it would be next to impossible to prevent prostitution in an
environment such as this.  And in some cultures, it would not be a big thing at
all, not illegal, and cultural behavior between members of the same species
that is allowable within that society is generally allowed on B5 as well,
provided that it does not affect anyone outside that species.

 jms

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

Date: 6 Jun 1998 11:51:28 -0600
Subject: Re: Darkness Ascending= Damn Amazing!  <Spoilers>

>Nice to see certain characters back in their old forms.
>Delenn is not a lady to mess around with- even in an arguement.  She
>didn't merely hand Johnny's butt back to him, she GIFTWRAPPED the
>fragger, and put a pretty bow on it!  Nice verbal Judo, there. 

That's one of my favorite scenes from that episode...she basically yanks his
pants up over his head and ties them in a knot.  Someone trained in the
religious caste can argue her way around just about anything and anyone.

Minbari religious caste make Jesuits look like intellectual softies by
comparison. 

 jms

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

Date: 6 Jun 1998 23:46:36 -0600
Subject: Re: ATT:JMS: FWD OF "HELP WANTED"

Thank you for that; it was deeply moving, and I will make sure that this sees
the light of day on the wall of stage B, where some posts are put up for the
whole crew to see.

My very best to you.

 jms

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

Date: 6 Jun 1998 23:47:30 -0600
Subject: Re: Darkness Ascending Spoilers


























The amount of oxygen taken would have been very minimal, given the size of
Lennier's ship (little more than coffin-sized), and the volume would be
replaced by the carbon dioxide from Lennier's ship.  The hole would have been
self-sealed by the Minbari fighter, which was designed to do this sort of thing
in order to sneak past enemy lines.

 jms

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

Date: 6 Jun 1998 23:47:42 -0600
Subject: Re: JMS: LodesTone President

>Apparently, your 
>online post has become their best advertisement. :)

I live to serve.

>During the course of the conversation, he shared with me that you are an 
>extremely pleasant person,

That's it, damn it, I'm suing.

>and that thanks to your order, he himself is 
>now a Babylon 5 fan!

Well...okay, then maybe next time....

>Oh, and one more thing, the president says he'd like to hear you scribe 
>your own radio program.  So, what do you think of the idea?

Love to.  I've been asked by the folks at Seeing Ear Theater at the SciFi
channel to do some stuff, that's still in the discussion stages, though. 
Beyond that, I'm always interested in doing radio drama.

 jms

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

Date: 7 Jun 1998 02:25:22 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Crusade Question

It's about half a mile long.

 jms

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

Date: 7 Jun 1998 02:25:39 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN. JMS - Columbia vs. Warner Video

Thing is...Columbia only had the rights to the first season, so the rest would
*have* to come from WB...but the great thing is, the WB tapes are only $14.95
per tape, 5 bucks less, and still for two episodes (and nifty covers).  And
they will be released in order.

 jms

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

Date: 8 Jun 1998 16:07:35 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Episode Scripts

This is one of those "we'll see" questions.


 jms

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

Date: 8 Jun 1998 16:14:16 -0600
Subject: Re: Darkness Ascending ( *Spoilers* )


























>It would be perfectly reasonable given his known personality for Sheridan
>to have not assigned Lennier to the Centauri border for any number of
>reasons, and not necessarily to "protect Delenn."  And if that *wasn't*
>one of his reasons, he'd have her butt hand delivered with a singing
>telegram to go with it.  But instead, her reasoning just happens to be
>right.

>Mind you, I love Delenn's character, but she should be right by reason
>and not right by dramatic license.

She's right because she's married to the guy and knows him inside and out,
including how he thinks and why he does things.

When you live with somebody like that, you can go out and buy a pair of shoes,
and in the morning, complain that they're too tight...and never mention it
again for the rest of the day...then in the evening you sigh, as you're taking
them off, and he or she says, "Don't worry, we can always have them stretched."


 jms

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

Date: 9 Jun 1998 23:41:22 -0600
Subject: Re: ATT: JMS: How is this done???

Sometimes the video is done in advance, but most often on the show the person
is within earshot, on a partial set, so they can interact live with the actor.

 jms

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

Date: 10 Jun 1998 00:08:03 -0600
Subject: Re: ATT: JMS: Frustrated Fan Asks Merchandising Question

Good point.  We should fix that.

 jms

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

Date: 10 Jun 1998 00:23:13 -0600
Subject: from jms: spoiler junkie info wrong

Invariably, there's wrong info out there, and I end up having to send out
replies to ten zillion emails asking me about it.  

The latest one: apparently the spoiler junkies page says that somebody named
Paul Woodward has been cast as the captain on the new series, Crusade.

We have not even *met* anyone named Paul Woodward, and we have not yet begun
casting in earnest for the captain.  So this is completely untrue.

Please be warned whenever you see stuff on some of these pages that there's a
lot of speculation out there that gets passed around as being from "informed
sources" and ninety percent of it is ka-ka.  Don't believe everything you read.

 jms

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

Date: 10 Jun 1998 00:32:58 -0600
Subject: Re: ##ATTN.: JMS In Re.: WB's 'Invasion America'##:

Haven't seen it, haven't had time.

 jms

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

Date: 10 Jun 1998 09:40:05 -0600
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS: Teaching B5

As far as I know, academic use of the broadcasts is perfectly okay.

 jms

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

Date: 12 Jun 1998 01:15:27 -0600
Subject: Re: JMS:  Editing/directing/writing

>I
>would like to know how much of what we saw was due to his input.  Did
>you write it specifically to be presented in this manner or was this
>what he and the editor came up with?

It's shot for shot what was in the script, but at the same time, a director
must take that shot and make it live.  Goran did that admirably.  He kept the
camera moving, framed his shots very nicely, got into the emotion of the scene,
and worked very well with the editor; we only did a light dusting in the
editing room.

Since a number of folks have asked, here is the opening scene as written.  (I
only have the first draft in my home computer, modifications were done in the
office, which involved trimming some of this for time.)

****************
  
FADE IN:

EXT. BABYLON 5: A new shot, closer, emphasizing the darkness of the station in
eclipse.

INT. DELENN'S QUARTERS - BEDROOM

Sheridan is in bed, alone as we will discover in a moment.  He rolls over,
stirring, and we SHOOT PAST HIM to the doors, where we SEE a single flickering
light through the translucent glass.  He sits up.

INT. DELENN'S QUARTERS - FRONT ROOM

REVERSING past Delenn to the bedroom doors.  She is seated on the floor, a
single candle burning before her, the flame halfway down it, praying or
meditating as the doors open and Sheridan stands in the opening.  His voice is
quiet.

			SHERIDAN		Delenn...?  Are you all right?

She nods, distantly, not taking her eyes off the candle.

			SHERIDAN		You should sleep.  It'll be morning 
	soon.  You'll need all your strength 
	for what's ahead.

She nods again, but doesn't move.  He gives it a BEAT, knowing 
she is in a place where he can never reach her, then goes back 
into the bedroom, leaving the door open.  We PUSH IN SLOWLY on Delenn's face

TIME-CUT - HER QUARTERS - LATER - ON THE CANDLE

The fragile, guttering flame has now burned three-fourths of 
the way down.  As we slowly PAN UP to Delenn's face, not having  moved in all
this time, we become aware of the SOUND of the shower running.  She doesn't
note it, until it stops.  Then 
there's a BEAT and she looks up toward

ANGLE - THE BEDROOM

Still mainly dark, suggesting pre-dawn, mainly just the light 
spilling from the bathroom entrance as Sheridan comes out in a 
robe, toweling his hair.  His manner here is sober, almost 
somber.  He's trying to keep this normal, but knows that this 
is going to be a difficult and momentous day.  The more we can 
set that tone here, the better.

			SHERIDAN		It's...all yours.

She nods, distantly.  WIDEN as he goes to the bed and sits.  He 
pulls on one slipper, puts his foot down, and picks up the other 
slipper...and just sort of stops.  He doesn't want to put it on.  
He doesn't want this day to come.  He doesn't want to do what he 
knows he's going to have to do.  The slipper just dangles from 
his fingers, the strings cut. Delenn gets up, approaches and sits next to him,
both with that faraway, haunted look.  She touches his back, and leans against 
his shoulder for a moment, both taking comfort and strength in the momentary
contact.  Then she gets up and moves into the bathroom, the robe sliding off
her shoulders as she steps OS.
  
A BEAT, and Sheridan finds the wherewithal to put on the other 
slipper...and sits there momentarily as we HEAR the VO SOUND of a GAVEL
POUNDING, and the VO SOUND of the council, along with:
			SHERIDAN (VO)		There comes a moment, in all of our 
	lives, when we have to do something 
	we'd rather not do.  When we know 
	something we'd rather not know.  This 
	is one such moment.

He stands and moves OS.
 jms

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

Date: 12 Jun 1998 01:15:33 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Which "Gathering" from WHV?

I don't know...I *suspect* it will be the original version, but I don't know
that for a fact.

 jms

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

Date: 12 Jun 1998 01:19:13 -0600
Subject: Re: AAMD,TA  Spoilers

>The one thing that is really bugging me though is; Isn't anybody on B5
>wondering WHY the Centauri are doing this?  There really is no
>rational explanation for them to be doing this.

That question comes up bigtime in the very next episode.


 jms

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

Date: 12 Jun 1998 01:19:27 -0600
Subject: Re: Attn. JMS: And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder - Producer's or

>So....Director's Cut or Producer's Cut?

There has never been anything BUT a producer's cut on the show.  John and I
edit every episode after the director's cut is done, and that's what's aired.

 jms

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

Date: 14 Jun 1998 14:29:52 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Did Sakai become Minbari too?

No, she didn't.  Which was part of the scandal that later came.

 jms

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

Date: 14 Jun 1998 14:30:13 -0600
Subject: Re: And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder ( *Spoilers* )


























>Yeah, I thought that was weak too.  A better method of establishing
>the weapons as Centauri would have been by a thorough analysis of the
>blast damage.

That's what was said, in addition to the rest.  Reference was made to examining
the damaged ships.

 jms

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

Date: 14 Jun 1998 14:35:54 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: and a bottle makes three

>I am really enjoying the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
>CDs you mentioned. Thanks for the heads up. 

Not a prob.

>In both I notice a major fascination with alcohol consumption, abuse and
>its consequences the likes of which I haven't run into since the Gin
>Blossoms debut. 
>It lead me to wonder, in light of poor Mr. Garibaldi's current treatment
>in your hands, exactly when did you start listening to this stuff?

Unnecessary; there's a long history of that stuff in my family. 

Which is why I stay far, far away from alcohol, drugs or ciggies; when you have
addictive personalities in your family going back generations, it's generally a
bad idea.

 jms

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

Date: 14 Jun 1998 14:36:36 -0600
Subject: Re: Regurgitation in S5

Someone on the crew wondered aloud if this was a subconscious metaphor for me
finally getting the last of the B5 story out of my system....

 jms

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

Date: 15 Jun 1998 23:47:59 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Thanks for never doing this!

Someone actually made that?

Amazing....


 jms

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

Date: 15 Jun 1998 23:50:13 -0600
Subject: Re: Attn JMS:  Candle Metaphor in 'And All My Dreams ...'

Nicely deduced.  The problem is always in trying to work this stuff into
dialogue without it sounding preachy or a big lump of exposition.  So all you
can do is string it along, and hope folks notice.


 jms

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

Date: 15 Jun 1998 23:57:30 -0600
Subject: Re: I think I just saw JMS on TV

It repeats Thursday at 5:30 and 9:30 p.m.

 jms

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

Date: 16 Jun 1998 00:01:48 -0600
Subject: Re: And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder ( *Spoilers* )


























>Did the Centauri warships attack Centauri civilian ships as well as the ships
>of other races?  Or were Centauri ships left alone (and was the Alliance
>incredibly thick in not working out who was behind the raids?)

It was stated in the episode that at least one Centauri low priority ship was
attacked.

 jms

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

Date: 16 Jun 1998 15:26:06 -0600
Subject: Re: And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder ( *Spoilers* )

If some people are upset at the Centauri moon, that's a damned silly thing to
be upset about.  Most moons are too small to have any real atmosphere, so
there's nothing to keep meteors from hitting and causing craters rather than
burning up on entry.  So you're going to have pockmarks.  We made it a point to
have the patterns different than our own moon.  It's round because most
planetary bodies *are*.  And the local sun has the same basic spectral
qualities as Sol, so you're going to get similar bounce-back on the light.

An equal amount of effort goes into making that moon or a more odd one.  But
not everything has to be constantly different just to be different.  

 jms

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

Date: 16 Jun 1998 15:32:59 -0600
Subject: Re: Season 5 - WOW

Actually, the S5 theme is a variation on the music in the second B5 soundtrack,
the Voices of Authority track.

Thanks.

 jms

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

Date: 16 Jun 1998 15:36:42 -0600
Subject: Re: attn JMS: SD ComicCon


I don't have an exact schedule; what I'm going to have to do is swoop down for
the presentation, and come back the same day.
 jms

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

Date: 17 Jun 1998 09:02:31 -0600
Subject: Re: And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder ( *Spoilers* )

No, what you're noting is just about right.

I wanted this job to be something Sheridan grows into.  He's going to make
mistakes; he's not trained for this kind of job, and errors are part of the
learning process.  In Deconstruction it's noted that he said himself that the
teep situation was the worst mistake of his entire career.  There were others.

The first year of any new government is rocky at best; mistakes get made,
sometimes huge ones.  What he will have to do is learn from them.  Even by the
last few episodes, he has his act more together; moreso as the years pass.  In
some ways, and this was something I was going for in "Asunder," he's been
pulling back, trying to figure out what to do and in some ways, cutting against
his best instincts to keep things together.  It's really after he blows at the
end of "Asunder" that he begins to do what he should've done all along: go with
his instincts, rather than second-guessing himself.

 jms

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

Date: 17 Jun 1998 09:02:47 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN:  JMS

>My question to you is this:  If you (or anybody) had to do it all over again,
>is there a way you could set up a contract so you would get what is rightly
>yours?

If I'd walked into the room with three or four hit series under my belt, I
would've walked out with a considerably different deal.  As the deal currently
stands...well, as you say, hell will be covered with frost before I see any
profits, given the way such things are defined in a first-time series.  The
definition on Crusade is a little better, but only a little.  

On the other hand...I find it very hard to get too upset about it, because the
bottom line is I'm being paid to tell the kind of stories I'd have to tell
anyway, for free.  Where else can you get a deal like that?

 jms

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

Date: 17 Jun 1998 09:04:19 -0600
Subject: Re: JMS: Thirdspace note

>The second movie from one of TV's most creative sci-fi series that is
>far too complicated to explain but too good to miss, even if you don't
>know the background.  

Now THAT'S comedy.

 jms

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

Date: 17 Jun 1998 09:05:30 -0600
Subject: Re: And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder ( *Spoilers* )

>Anyone see a 3? Somebody please tell me you see a 3......

As you'll see in about 24 hours, really nothing could have been done to prevent
this conflict; certain forces wanted it, and were going to have it, no matter
what.  Awake or asleep, it would've been provoked somewhere, somehow.

 jms

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

Date: 17 Jun 1998 16:41:32 -0600
Subject: Re: And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder ( *Spoilers* )

Of course, everyone's assuming here that the awful state we find Centauri Prime
in, in WWE, is caused entirely by war....

 jms

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

Date: 17 Jun 1998 16:43:30 -0600
Subject: Re: DS9 episode

Excuse me, but all I said was that I was amazed that the story, as described to
me, got on.  I did not specifically condemn anything in the episode, and
generally don't coment on DS9 stuff.  Someone mentioned it to me online and
specifically asked for my reaction.  I was as brief as I could possibly be, one
line, no more, no less.

 jms

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

Date: 18 Jun 1998 08:43:59 -0600
Subject: Re: attn JMS: SD ComicCon

I think it's going to be that Saturday, late morning/early afternoon.

 jms

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

Date: 18 Jun 1998 21:05:07 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS:  writing and tears   (AAMDTA Spoilers)


>A thoroughly impertinent question: do you ever cry when you write?
>
>	I'm curious because I occasionally start to cry when I am writing
>poetry or fiction, though if I am deeply involved in the work I may not
>even notice until later.  
> I remember your saying once, I think on
>this newsgroup, that if you do not move yourself, you will not move the
>audience.     

On occasion, yeah...I think you have to really feel that if you want to do it
to someone else.  When I bumped off Kosh, there was a little of that...and
there were some scenes in "Confessions and Lamentations" that did that, and
definitely in "Sleeping in Light."

Thing is, last night I pulled out the tapes for the last two episodes, "Objects
at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light," and watched them back to back, and I was an
absolute wreck afterward.  There are a couple of scenes in both of them that
just put me away.  That's *good*, they should, they have to, but man...I was
just gone.  

But strangest of all, the final credits sequence and what we did with them for
SiL is also very deeply affecting...and I'm not entirely sure why, I think it's
something operating at an almost subconscious level, about seeing certain
images juxtaposed.  Darndest thing....

 jms

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

Date: 19 Jun 1998 07:27:08 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN: Jms - MOFAS - A compliment

>How many other shoes have you got to drop on us?

A couple more shoes.

And a boot or two.

 jms

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

Date: 19 Jun 1998 08:40:18 -0600
Subject: Re: Why did the Shadows need "Fresh bodies for their CPU's"???? 


























The control pods mainly work via remote control, their functionality (as Lyta
noted) is limited.  For the shadow vessels, you need a fast reaction,
independent-thinking cpu of a higher order...also because a shadow vessel is a
hell of a lot more advanced and complex than a Centauri cruiser.

 jms

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

Date: 20 Jun 1998 12:47:03 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN  JMS:  Could you speak to TNT's lack of a Trailer for 


>It would be a big kindness to hear why TNT is not promoting Thirdspace
>with the same vigor they did for B5 thus far. They haven't really
>answered
>the question

Usually you don't promote a show until a couple of weeks before it airs.  The
promotion for ItB was also the promotion to launch the entire SERIES, which
needed bigger lead time.  In TV, you rarely promote a standalone like
Thirdspace more than a couple of weeks before airing.

 jms

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

Date: 21 Jun 1998 02:35:04 -0600
Subject: Re: Attn: JMS - sorry - Clarification of "ruined summer"

I took it with humor, as it was clearly meant to be taken.

 jms

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

Date: 21 Jun 1998 02:32:07 -0600
Subject: Re: AtTn JmS:  The Harlan Award

>Tell us, for the sake of
>future TV producers who may work with Harlan and the people who love them,
>how did you do it?

Simple.  Just respect what he brings to the table, and don't fuck with him.  In
over a decade of calling Harlan a friend, I have never seen him go after
anybody who didn't go after him first.

>What I want to know is how much  of the quarter-million-book-library
>mentioned in the same show Harlan has actually read.  Come to think of it,
>I also want to know Harlan's reading speed, JMS's reading speed, and if
>either of them can recommend an effective, reliable and reasonably priced
>speed-reading course!

I figure if somebody took time to get it right, you don't speed read past it.

 jms

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





Date: 22 Jun 1998 18:47:19 -0600
Subject: Re: AttN jms: Where Are All the American Playwrights?

>Wasn't one of the original promises of PBS to bring back this type of
>"alternate" programming to TV? They do have the occasional great
>drama, but it seems to be wholly of British origins. Where are the
>new Serlings or Chayefskys on the tube?

Yeah, well, PBS seems to be dropping the ball, frankly, most notably with their
decision not to do more Tales of the City, largely because of political
concerns, leaving it to Showtime to take up the standard.

>I hate to blame everything on American TV executives and their
>perspectives (or lack thereof...). Would you mind sharing your
>insider view?

Main thing is the different time periods.  When TV first got going, they were
frantic to legitimize the form, and drew in a lot of writers from radio drama
and the stage.  (Actually, Serling came mainly from radio, not so much stage.) 
So there was a concerted recruitment effort.  Also, one of the problems is that
there's a bit of an onus attached to TeeVee in the Theater world, so a lot of
folks who could do good work in TV don't come and play with us.


 jms

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

Date: 24 Jun 1998 04:16:29 -0600
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Londo's "old" makeup

>It just struck me how *convincing* Londo looked 20 years into the future as
>an
>old man.  The makeup is startlingly believable, much more so than most other
>"old" makeup I have ever seen

>So what's the secret?  How were you and your crew able to pull off something
>that no one else, with any size budget, was able to successfully accomplish?

I think it comes from the makeup folk knowing every line in Peter's face from
five years of working with him, and how to bring it out, something you don't
often get in films.

 jms

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





Date: 24 Jun 1998 20:47:11 -0600
Subject: Re: Effects in MoFaS

The CGI is now being produced at 24 frame per second, starting about 517 or
518, at a higher degree of resolution, nearer film-res.  We're doing 24 so it
matches better with the live-action which is also shot at 24 fps.

 jms

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