lurkers-guide/ftp/Usenet/jms98-11-usenet

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


Date: 2 Nov 1998 14:47:24 -0700
Subject: Re: Pointless goodbyes (TFoCP)

If you want goodbyes, you should be happy soon.

 jms

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





Date: 3 Nov 1998 16:03:50 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Schedule for next book(s)

The next book manuscript is in hand, it should be a month or two away.

 jms

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





Date: 5 Nov 1998 15:36:29 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: Who's Fiona Avery?

Fiona came aboard as our continuity editor to help keep all of the B5 licensing
stuff as canon as humanly possible.  So that means learning all she can about
the B5 and Crusade universes, second probably only to me.  

A couple of months ago or so, she wrote a spec Crusade script just to see if
she could do it, as an experiment, never intended or figured we'd buy it.  I
read it...and walked into John Copeland's office and said, "Am I nuts, or is
this as good as I think it is?"  He read it, said it was great...and we bought
it, plus one more.

 jms

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





Date: 10 Nov 1998 17:28:18 -0700
Subject: Re: jms- Another TNT Commercial Break Question about River Of Souls

We've complained to TNT about this; it does seem to be a recurring problem,
caused by the folks doing the broadcast stuff Not Paying Attention To The Cue
Sheets.

It is, to say the least...infuriating.

 jms

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





Date: 11 Nov 1998 18:23:01 -0700
Subject: Sidelights (from jms)

1) I spoke to TNT in more detail about the commercial weirdnesses in The River
of Souls, and apparently the problem was not their fault.  The processing
company that does transfers from our digibeta masters to what they can air puts
timecode on the tape; that timecode is used to calibrate where commercials go
from the format we provide.  The timecode was off by quite a bit, so when they
put in the commercials, they were in the wrong spots.

2) Interesting note...I've now heard from about a dozen people who've seen
"Sleeping in Light" (critics and friends of critics who got advance copies). 
And with at most one or two exceptions, every single one of them has been doing
the same thing: running the last 8 minutes or so (from the start of act 4
through to the very end credits) over and over and over, 5-6 times or more.  I
find that interesting because that's *exactly* what I've been doing with it
since getting the final tape in my hands.  I'm not sure exactly what motivates
it, but there's something going on there that hits home across the board.  I
was astonished to hear that others were doing the same thing I was in this
respect.  Will be curious to see if others have the same reaction.

 jms

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





Date: 11 Nov 1998 18:23:21 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Squishing SiL credits in UK- HELP!!

No, I haven't talked to C4 about this...this may be something the fans may want
to take up with them, as my contact and influence with C4 is limited at best.

 jms

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





Date: 12 Nov 1998 14:46:35 -0700
Subject: Re: Hey joe!!!  teleplay????

>I've noticed that you have been
>co-writting some of these eps with Harlen.. but in the opening credits it
>also
>says teleplay by J. Michael Straczynski (my apologies if I just botched your
>name)  so whats a teleplay??? and why all of a sudden are you making use of
>one???  

There are two parts of writing an episode: the basic storyline, sometimes
presented as an outline, and then the actual script which is a more specific
elaboration on that story.  Story is, "King John and Queen Mary live in the
castle and they have a hard night between them."

Script is: 

EXT. CASTLE - NIGHT
We see the banners unfurling in the breeze, and go to

INT. CASTLE - NIGHT
KING JOHN and QUEEN MARY are in bed.  He's awake, she's sleeping.  He looks up
at the ceiling. 

                                  KING JOHN
                 Why me?  Of all the gin joints and
                 castles in England, why did she have
                 to step into mine?


 jms

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





Date: 13 Nov 1998 18:36:12 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS  When was River of Souls Written?

>Was RoS written after all the bandwidth-slaying over carbon dating in
>ThirdSpace?

No, long before.  We shot it at the end of season 5, and Thirdspace was not
aired until quite a bit later.  So it was written about two-thirds through S5.

 jms

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





Date: 13 Nov 1998 20:35:25 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Bye for now, and thanks

Thanks, and good luck....

 jms

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





Date: 13 Nov 1998 20:38:20 -0700
Subject: Re: Goodbye

>I get the feeling that I'll never find them again, though...except
>in the  "Call to Arms" movie, of course.  (Sheridan and Garibaldi
>*are* in that one, aren't they?) 

Also Lochley and Zack.

>I don't want to say goodbye.
>

Me either.

 jms

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





Date: 13 Nov 1998 20:38:30 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Subtext in Objects in Motion *spoilers*

>Was the scene Harlan's
>idea, and if so, did he write the scene?
>
The general notion of the thread came up between us.  The actual scenes were
written by me.

 jms

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





Date: 13 Nov 1998 20:38:46 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: How much longer you here, really?

I'll probably hang for a bit after SiL....

 jms

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





Date: 14 Nov 1998 00:48:47 -0700
Subject: Re: Hey joe!!!  teleplay????

>And, for the record, exactly one episode has been cowritten by JMS and
>Harlan Ellison: "A View from the Gallery."

For the record, it's two, counting "Objects in Motion."

 jms

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





Date: 16 Nov 1998 12:40:43 -0700
Subject: Re: Objects in Motion ( *Spoilers* )

She was hoping somebody would be there.

 jms

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





Date: 16 Nov 1998 12:40:50 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: "Objects in Motion" (SPOILERS!!)


























>earlier this year, you talked about a "B5"
>episode where Bruce Boxleitner says the line "I'm going to miss this
>place".  You then became so emotional, you had to leave the set.  Since
>Bruce says the same line in "Objects in Motion", is this when it
>happened? 

It's in the next one.

 jms

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





Date: 17 Nov 1998 15:18:48 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: B5 lasers, Widescreen, and Image Entertainment

The series is available on widescreen; in PAL format for overseas.  It would
apparently cost WB about $1500 per ep to convert to NTSC, and they don't want
to spend the money.  Absent that, the Image release will be the best release in
the best form currently available, and I commend it highly.

jms
 jms

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





Date: 17 Nov 1998 15:18:52 -0700
Subject: Re: Image info on B5 laserdisc

Posted to another thread...

The series is available on widescreen; in PAL format for overseas.  It would
apparently cost WB about $1500 per ep to convert to NTSC, and they don't want
to spend the money.  Absent that, the Image release will be the best release in
the best form currently available, and I commend it highly.

jms
 jms

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





Date: 18 Nov 1998 20:13:43 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn jms: Before You Go...

Thanks...it's been one of those true once in a lifetime expriences for me as
well, that's for sure.

 jms

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





Date: 19 Nov 1998 11:15:58 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: B5 lasers, Widescreen, and Image Entertainment

>Um, it's not going to be in "the best form currently available", unless I
>misread and Image is coming out with this on DVD.
>
>

Because B5 is not currently availble on DVD, it is the best form currently
available.

 jms

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





Date: 20 Nov 1998 14:56:18 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN jms:  you SOB

Thanks...and that's my job, hard as it is sometimes, to reach in and yank the
feelings out.

Because there ain't much TV that does that, and it's important from time to
time that we feel.

 jms

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





Date: 20 Nov 1998 15:11:42 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: Start date for Crusade?

Because 108 is now the slated fist episode, so that we can use it to introduce
the new characters rather than jump in in-progress, it means it will take
longer to complete the CGI and stuff than 103, since it was shot later.  TNT
needs the eps a month or two prior ot airdate for critics...and there's the
concern about showing only 4 episodes in March (which is when it would all be
rady) and thenbeing cut off for 8 weeks by the NBA playoffs.

So they figured going June 2nd would avoid all of the problems, and put the
show out when the network shows were in reruns...meaning it has a better chance
of scoring large numbers, a strategy that worked well with other shows like
90210.

 jms

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





Date: 20 Nov 1998 15:10:34 -0700
Subject: Playboy Online Article

For those completists, there's an article in the current Playboy Online about
B5 coming to an end...it's kinda nice, actually.

http://www.playboy.com/pop/tv/f-1.html


 jms

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





Date: 21 Nov 1998 10:56:40 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Star Wars Trailer


>Just wanted to hear what you thought of the Episode 1 trailer

Thought it looked great...and definitely raises the idea that maybe there
shouldn't be a B5 movie until after the last of the three new SW films is out
and done.  Ain't no way any other SF film project can compete with that.

 jms

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






Date: 24 Nov 1998 10:27:19 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Thanks (short form)

You're most welcome.

 jms

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





Date: 25 Nov 1998 10:16:43 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS Thank you.

Thanks...it's been fun.

 jms

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





Date: 25 Nov 1998 10:19:01 -0700
Subject: Re: ATT: JMS Have your questions been answered?

>Who are you? What do you want? Where are you going? ....
>These questions of yours have had a...unexpected effect on me. Changed me in
>ways I'm still trying to figure out.  So I have to ask:
>In the last five+ years, have you, yourself, found answers to any of these
>questions?
>
Yes, but they keep changing.  Maybe they're supposed to.



 jms

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





Date: 25 Nov 1998 10:19:10 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS:  With Much Thanks

Thanks...it's the moments that stay with me as well.  Plot details can blur,
but Londo and G'Kar stuck in that tube...that goes on forever.

 jms

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





Date: 25 Nov 1998 10:19:19 -0700
Subject: Re: Attn JMS: Yet Another Heartfelt Thanks

Thanks, and good luck to you and your wife.

 jms

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





Date: 25 Nov 1998 10:19:55 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS -- Gratitude and awe

Thanks....

>Some people on the TNT boards have expressed some doubt about Crusade. 
>And who can blame them?  It's hard for us mere mortals to imagine anyone
>outdoing B5, even you.  But I think you can do it.  I don't think you've
>exhausted your creativity just yet

Folks had the same doubts before B5 hit the air.  I'm used to it.

 jms

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





Date: 25 Nov 1998 10:20:38 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Your opinion of your work

>I don't intend to sound like I'm placing you on a pedestal but do you think
>that in years to come film and language students of all ages will study
>Babylon 5 In the same way that our generation studies the works of
>Shakespear and even the authors you have paid homage to, such as George
>Orswell and Isaac Asimov? The deep and complex storyline I think warrants a
>fair bit of academic analysis.
>
>
Actually, that's already started.  A number of academic essays on B5 have been
collected in "The Parliament of Dreams," published in the UK (I think someone
here may have the info on purchasing it).  I found in reading it that I was
smarter, stupider, more liberal, more conservative, more progressive, more
reactionary, than I had previously imagined.

Such analysis (and it was/is good reading, btw) is flattering, sometimes
daunting, but brings out stuff always worth considering.  Whether the subject
matter is in the long run truly worth the ink, only history can tell. 
Obviously I think so, but again, I have a vested interest in saying that.

 jms

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





Date: 26 Nov 1998 16:21:18 -0700
Subject: re: sleeping

>Remember, though, that those instructions were given in a season 5 episode,
>after Sleeping In Light was filmed.  They wouldn't go out of their way to
>refer
>to a script that hadn't even been written.  And a Neil Gaiman script at that.

Actually, in that scene, Neil didn't write Kosh's message.  He asked what it
would be, and I gave him that, knowing that I'd been looking for a way to slip
that in as early as season 4.



Date: 26 Nov 1998 16:22:25 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: SiL - The Best Thanksgiving Gift Ever (SPOILERS)

>One more thing.  "Spiritual" and "atheist" are
>not opposites.  And you are the most spiritual
>atheist I have ever known.
>
>

Threats will get you nowhere.  (said with humor).

Thanks.

 jms

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





Date: 26 Nov 1998 16:22:41 -0700
Subject: Re: Sleeping in Light ( *Spoilers* )

Those were lovely words; thank you for them.


 jms

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





Date: 26 Nov 1998 16:23:07 -0700
Subject: Re: Sleeping in Light ( *Spoilers* )

>I admit: I like tidy endings.  Any thoughts (JMS?)
>
>

They don't exist.

 jms

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





Date: 26 Nov 1998 16:24:37 -0700
Subject: Re: Sleeping in Light ( *Spoilers* )

I agree about the end credits; as we see their faces the first time, and the
last time, they appear in the series, you can see the years and the story in
their faces.

 jms

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





Date: 28 Nov 1998 02:43:04 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: A Long Wonderful Trip

Thank you, and my condolences on your loss.

If the show said anything of value, if the words took root and meaning, then
the effort expended in making it was eminently worthwhile.

 jms

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





Date: 28 Nov 1998 02:44:41 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS (ite, missus est)

Thank you, and I hope that someday I can be worthy of such wonderful words and
comparisons.  But to my eyes, I still got a long, long way to go to keep
getting better as a writer.

 jms

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





Date: 28 Nov 1998 02:47:05 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: SiL - spoilers - Language?

Yes, there was some element of ritual in their goodbyes; it's a Minbari
farewell, hence the "good night," not goodbye.

 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 15:06:55 -0700
Subject: Re: Putting Money into JMS's Pocket

>Is there a B5 video sales outlet through which more money is put
>directly into your pocket compared to others?
>
>Thought you should reap more of the $800+ I will be spending as official
>videos are released.

No...it may come as a surprise, but I don't get a direct cut in any way of the
sales of videotapes (for whatever reason, Hollywood doesn't consider that
merchandising, so I don't get it that way).  The only thing I get -- thanks to
a wonderfully short-sighted WGA contract covering cassettes --  is the standard
writer's royalty, which comes after the distributer gets his money back...which
means you get zip for the most part.

 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 15:08:55 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS--Thanks for B5, S5, and Holographic Writing

But what was the end result of the class?  What final conclusions did they come
to?

 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 15:12:01 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: B5, TV movies, Crusade

I think it's safe to say that we'll be hearing more about the telepath crisis
and its consequences in Crusade....

 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 15:17:55 -0700
Subject: Re: jms: More Than Words Can Say

Thanks...that's the goal, more than anything else: to make people feel
something for the characters, to break the glass in the TV set and pull people
through.  If we succeeded in that, then the effort was worthwhile.

 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 16:39:57 -0700
Subject: Re: SiL Final Credits

We are bound to maintain the S4 credits by contract.  We could not modify them.


 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 16:41:34 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: You changed two lives for ever

That's great...congratulations and good luck to you both.


 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 16:46:08 -0700
Subject: Re: Sleeping in Light ( *Spoilers* )

We are bound by contract to use the credits as they were applied in S4, when
SiL was shot.  You can't just put people's credits in a show for sentimental
reasons...they trigger residuals, royalties, fees, and other contractual areas.


 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 16:46:41 -0700
Subject: Re: Sleeping in Light ( *Spoilers* )

Dear Mr. Tolkien:

I just wanted to say that I think the way you ended THE LORD OF THE RINGS was
crap.  You didn't provide any closure.  Instead of spending time with the
hobbits clearing out the shire (come on, urban renwal in LoTR? give me a break)
and lots of goodbyes, you SHOULD have shown me what happened to Tom Bombadil,
he was an important part of the story, and you just left his story thread there
unresolved.

You made a big deal out of the elves going to the west, but we never SAW it! 
We never found out what was there, or what Bilbo found when he got there, or
what happened to the dwarves, or what happened to Merry and Pippin....

You betrayed your audience by not resolving every single plot thread you
introduced in your book, and as a result, it is never going to be of value to
anyone, ever, and will never go past its first printing.  

 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 16:49:11 -0700
Subject: Re: Sleeping in Light ( *Spoilers* )


























>A single 5-mile long chunk of station is a hell of a lot Less of a 
>hazzard to navigation  in the vastness of space than a tillion small chunks.
>Yes, most will in 100 years de-orbit into the planet below, but surely not
>all.

There are weapons systems on board that station, computer systems, other stuff
that would be too much of a hassle to dig out, and you don't want squatters
setting up residence there, or raiding the place for what they can get, and
maintaining a military presence there to prevent it would be expensive.  With
trade no longer coming through, the money to keep the station operating was
gone.

>One ending which would requre less suspension of disbelief (for me) would 
>have beren to de-orbit the station, then blowing it up, as it hits the 
>atmosphere.
>   This would fully consume the material of the station as small chunks burn
>in the atmosphere, eliminating
>free-space and orbital debris, and no big
>chunks hitting the planet.   
>   Coulda been a cool FX to watch the debris showering down with a camera
>POV on the planet's surface.  

I don't see how sending a 5 mile long station plummeting into the atmosphere of
Epsilon 3 is any more or less real than blowing it up in space, where salvage
crews can come in and take the metal.  We already *saw* bits of the debris
burning up in the atmospher in the second shot... and as for sending the whole
thing hurtling down, well, I think Draal might have a thing or two to say about
that....


 jms

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





Date: 30 Nov 1998 17:06:25 -0700
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS:  Novels vs. TV

>1)   Now that you've been through the whole series, which format do you
>think allows you more creativity:  novels, where you can plan out your
>vision from the beginning with no interference, or television, where the
>real world intrudes with budget concerns, actors leaving, etc?  I guess the
>real question is what do you like better, having time to plan things out, or
>having to think on your feet?

They're apples and oranges.  You really can't compare them.  For the bulk of
B5, there *was* no interference, and I could write as I wanted.  Yeah, you have
actors leaving and the like, but sometimes you can be halfway through a novel
and realize you need to drop somebody...and go back and revise 200 pages.  

Both are processes, neither is set in stone the first time you sit down to
begin the actual writing.  Some tools are better meant for one form or the
other, but the process is pretty much the same in both.  So I like working in
both, equally, just for different reasons.

>2)  You've explored a 5 year arc and stand alone TV movies, have you given
>any thought to telling a story, either Babylon 5 related or something
>completely new, in either a miniseries format (6-8 hours) or a limited run
>series (maybe 22 episodes to start and end a story)?

Not as such, though Crusade is a 5 year story.  And the new comic I have coming
out from Top Cow/Image is a 24 issue limited series.

 jms

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