Date: 01-Feb-96 00:04:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Voices of Authority<<

 Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks:
> Oh, BTW, did you get a picture of a rat at a computer screen?

     Ah, is that what that was...I remember it, and was both amused
and bemused by it.

     What's fun, for me, about the Minipax lady, is that she *clearly*
knows that this is a game on one level, her comment about just
rewriting the dictionary...she knows the problems aren't *really* gone,
they just defined them away.  But when she's in front of a crowd of
folks predisposed to her message, she goes full-tilt.  Showmanship.....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Feb-96 13:56:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Sharon Foster <76360.301@compuserve.com>
Subject: HE on PI

{original post had no questions}

     Yup...and it's a good point.

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Feb-96 13:56:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Where do baby narn come

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Where does the fetus develop, and from where is it born?
> Is Minbari physiology similer to human, or significantly
> different (such as the Centauri)? Is this accurate?

     The padded out area of Centauri males is where their genitalia
(their tentesticles) are located.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Feb-96 13:56:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Jeff Frank <70402.3015@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Voices of Authority<<

 Jeff Frank <70402.3015@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was it just me or were a large number of the Nightwatch members
> looking pretty distressed about the new orders?

     Now the weeding out process starts.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Feb-96 22:25:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks:
> Were you _bemused_ by the fact that people actually have pet
> rats?

     "they'll work for sunflower seeds."

     Ah...I see they have the same agent I do.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Feb-96 22:25:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Belt <72142.1365@compuserve.com>
Subject: Where do baby narn come

 David Belt <72142.1365@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do they protrude or extend from what would correspond (on humans)
> from the navel area or groin area? Where are the Centauri female
> orifices located and do they have more than one?

     Actually, Centauri have six.  They extend out from the sides of
the body, and "fold" in over the solar plexus when not in, er, use. 
(We actually saw one extended for other purposes in the first season,
"The Quality of Mercy.") Female Centauri have six...er...slotted areas
on either side of the spine, just above the hips, three on either side.

     To go any further would probably bring in the FBI.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Feb-96 22:25:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Barbara Pfieffer <72302.2453@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VOA>

 Barbara Pfieffer <72302.2453@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did you script the look of admiration Marcus gives Ivanova after
> she gets her answer from the Walker? Musante's speech to the
> Nightwatch--were you reading some of Herr Hitler's speeches
> before writing that?

     Yeah, the Loki was a little nod, sort of appropriate to who she
was.

     The crew you see on the White Star doesn't reflect those in other
parts of the ship.  Also, being fairly advanced, it doesn't require a
big crew in command.  You could even fly it single-handedly if it came
to that.

     And yes, the historical parallels are definitely there.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-Feb-96 22:32:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: NORMAN H. JOHNSON III <103707.410@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

{original post had no questions}

     On the other hand, Zack *didn't* rat out the code 7-R stuff to
her in any detail.  He's absolutely caught between the two sides, and
not sure which way to jump.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Feb-96 12:29:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Karen E. Bahnsen <102735.3557@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

{original post had no questions}

     Thanks.  Yeah, everyone involved did a great job on that episode.
It was a lot of fun.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Feb-96 12:29:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Stephen C. Smith <76150.1170@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Stephen C. Smith <76150.1170@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why didn't Garibaldi just remind him that Garibaldi got shot in
> the back when he uncovered the conspiracy? Or was Zack not around
> then and they've kept it from him because of his Nightwatch
> involvment?

     You have to remember that all Garibaldi's people knew was that a
few guys came through the station that may have been involved in the
assassination. That is NOT the same thing as showing that Clark is
involved.  There was no apparent connection.  We the audience suspect
it, from what happens, but until now there has been no evidence of it. 
So yes, they know that Santiago is dead; that there's some indication
that he may have been assassinated...but that's a long way from
pointing to Clark.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Feb-96 12:29:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John R. Finnan (Ireland) <100012.3073@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 John R. Finnan (Ireland) <100012.3073@compuserve.com> asks:
> how were the ribs that day?

     The ribs were great.  What can I say...barbeque day here at the
stage is every Friday.  Choosing between ribs and a naked
woman...that's hard after age 40.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Feb-96 12:29:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Belt <72142.1365@compuserve.com>
Subject: Where do baby narn come

 David Belt <72142.1365@compuserve.com> asks:
> My wife and I nearly died laughing and my kids kept asking "What?
> What?"
> What are Narns like?
> Minbari?
> Drazi?
> Markab?
> BTW, how did you get away with showing that part of Centauri
> anatomy in TQOM? Were the censors asleep?
> Did you bribe them?
> Or were they just clueless?

     Nobody's what they seem around here...

     As for the tentacles...well, there's no rules about showing
tentacles on TV.  I think they didn't even want to deal with it.  There
are some moments when they pretend they didn't see it, and I pretend I
didn't write it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Feb-96 12:30:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is that Eeep related to the message, or something else entirely?

     It's somebody else's eep, not mine.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Feb-96 22:57:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why are these officers not *screaming* to *everyone they know*
> that they *KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN*!?!? Is Sheridan/Sinclair's
> report what cause General Hague to become suspicious? Am I simply
> wrong, and this Conspiracy of Light is simply the reaction I am
> asking for?

     With Clark removing all the evidence, and others giving orders to
drop it, and knowing Clark would stop any kind of investigation, what
is there for them to do officially?  They had to begin working covertly
to prove it, which is what they've been doing ever since "Hunter,
Prey."  If you're a military officer, and you're given a direct order
from your commander in chief or the Senate Oversight Committee to drop
something, and you violate those orders, you're up on charges or fired.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Feb-96 22:57:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VOA>

 Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com> asks:
> I take it that the 'mask' as an 'encounter suit'?

     It's certainly a form of representation, an icon, rather than the
literal entity, yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 02-Feb-96 22:57:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<We need a mind wipe>>

 Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is that supposed to serve some practical purpose for the union
> members?

     Yes.  For instance, you're a star, and you say, "I want my name
to appear before the title."  So the next star says "Well, then I want
mine right after the title."  Editors' credits have to go in a specific
place in relation to the title.  And so on.  It's to help avoid
problems of dumping people's credits where they won't be seen.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Feb-96 00:19:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Raul A. Martinez <102250.1006@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VOA> Nightwatch=Disney

 Raul A. Martinez <102250.1006@compuserve.com> asks:
> No other reason is necessary, after all, how could the boss be
> wrong?

     Yep, sounds about right.

     There's a reason most folks who've been involved refer to the
company as Mouschwitz.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Feb-96 19:42:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gerald Himmelein <100417.3703@compuserve.com>
Subject: Where do baby narn come

 Gerald Himmelein <100417.3703@compuserve.com> asks:
> So, there is no homosexuality among the Centauri then?

     I don't recall saying or implying that.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Feb-96 19:42:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com>
Subject: VOA: Lurkers

 Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is the nightwatch going to start "cleansing" the lurkers from B5?
> Is the book of G'Quon going to be the teachers edition with all
> of the answers for the shadow war?

      Nightwatch has bigger goals than dealing with lurkers....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Feb-96 21:16:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Sarah E. Heacock <102412.1400@compuserve.com>
Subject: New to Babylon 5

{original post had no questions}

      Bless your heart...thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Feb-96 21:16:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com>
Subject: New to Babylon 5

 John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why did he bother with Londo?
> What if Londo had caused a scene and "Varner" got detained by
> security? Did someone else, with another changeling net, try to
> kill Kosh? Was Lyta's mental vision faked by Kosh?
> Will we find out in the very last episode of B5?

      Actually, it was stated in the pilot that the assassin gave
Londo a line of credit (later canceled) which Londo used to continue
gambling, not that he personally stayed there the whole time.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Feb-96 21:16:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

{original post had no questions}

     If you're talking about the conference room scene...Draal wasn't
put into the scene digitally.  You do a split screen, with the camera
locked off.  In one Delenn walks over to a point just short of the
line; in another you get a shot just of the wall; then Draal walks up. 
You then use a dissolve technique to fade him into the room on his side
of the split screen.  But he's not being put *into* the room, he's
already there, so he's neither bigger nor smaller than he is in real
life, since he IS in real life there, not added in.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Feb-96 21:16:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Randy Upshaw <75464.1275@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Randy Upshaw <75464.1275@compuserve.com> asks:
> So does that mean we have 4 more episodes untill a rerun cycle
> and how many of these will deal directly with the story line?

     Randy, I honestly don't think, after episodes 8-10 have aired,
that you're going to have any problems with how fast the main story is
progressing. And do bear in mind that the "main story" isn't just the
war; if you wanted to do that, you'd just do Space A&B.  It's operating
on a whole lot of other levels.  Nonetheless...this entire season is
much faster overall in developing than the two before.  The first two
seasons we were mainly putting the guns into position.  Now we're
pulling all the triggers.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Feb-96 21:16:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com> asks:
> What more can we do?

      It takes us no longer to make the episodes or the EFX really
than it did before.  But PTEN will not air shows out of sweeps periods,
for the most part. The episodes on hand now were finished weeks, and in
a couple of cases over a month ago.  They sit on the shelf until PTEN
decides to air them.  The only thing we did was swap "VoA" with
"Passing Through Gethsemane" to give that one a little bit more time. 
That's it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 03-Feb-96 21:16:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David DeRubeis <75221.2351@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 David DeRubeis <75221.2351@compuserve.com> asks:
> Or how many *years* was it before Frederic Pohl's Heechee series,
> Roger Zelazny's Amber series, or Poul Anderson's Flandry stories
> played out?

     RE: the arc...the way it's always been structured, given the need
to ease viewers slowly into it, is that season 1 had maybe 4-5 really
strong arc episodes; season 2 had maybe 8; season 3 is almost equally
50/50; season 4 will have an even higher number of arc episodes; and
season 5 is nothing BUT arc stories.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 14:30:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VOA>

 SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> asks:
> Ok, Joe, what does "Zog" mean?
> What is this species of First Ones called?
> That scene with Zack and Political Officer Julie at breakfast:
> Did Zack sorta flirt with her because he had the same sort of
> interview with her the previous day that she tried to have with
> Sheridan the night before?

     No, that wasn't the relationship between her and Zack, much as he
might've wished for it.  As for the walkers at sigma 957...the
recognition signal is their name, which is 15,000 letters long (we had
to cut this line for time).  So I can't really repeat it here.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 14:30:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David DeRubeis <75221.2351@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 David DeRubeis <75221.2351@compuserve.com> asks:
> How does that work?
> Do the stations order the show, and then if there are enough
> orders Warner renews the series?

     Correct.  There's a certain number of stations you have to have
to make the syndication deal work financially.  You get that number,
you get the pickup; you don't, you don't.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 14:30:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Jeffrey Martino <73477.1506@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VoA la France>

{original post had no questions}

     You didn't imagine it....

     Part of what appeals to me is the idea that the English/French
animosity you often see (though clearly not in all cases) would
continue not only into the future, but outside Earth.  Realistically,
if you go into Europe, you find people holding grudges 500 years old,
or more.  Seemed appropriate to carry this small one forward as well.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 14:30:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Randy Upshaw <75464.1275@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Randy Upshaw <75464.1275@compuserve.com> asks:
> Perhaps you and everyone else are correct and I am so invloved in
> this story that I can't wait (which is the case)? Are we going to
> see these before another rerun cycle? Are B5's ratings in an area
> that are going to support a 5 year run?

     We'll see 8 and 9 in this current cycle, yes.  #10 will be aired
in the next batch, in late April/first of May.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 14:30:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gerald Himmelein <100417.3703@compuserve.com>
Subject: Where do baby narn come

{original post had no questions}

     Yes, it was.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 14:30:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com> asks:
> Nothing is black and white in your Babylon 5 world, is it?
> Who would have thought that at the end of this episode I would be
> more frightened of Kosh than of Bester? Or maybe not...any news on
> that front?

     We'll approach McGoohan when we have a script good enough for his
skills.

     RE: Bester...thanks.  I'd decided a while ago that the next time
we saw him, he either had to win, or he had to be right.  If he lost
again, it'd cut his credibility out.  This gave me a chance to do some
interesting things with him.  He's a fascinating guy...a creep, and I
wouldn't trust him for a second, but fascinating nonetheless....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 14:31:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was he digitally added at any point in that episode?

     We shot two plates, first with him in the machine, then him out,
never moving the camera, so it matched exactly.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 14:31:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Elizabeth <76202.563@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Elizabeth <76202.563@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is there going to be another rerun break after these, or do you
> know yet?

      I think there's a break until late April/first week of May.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 16:41:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom LeCompte <76711.572@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices>

 Tom LeCompte <76711.572@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why go out of your way to help people if you can't change the
> outcome? Is being a satellite of one superpower really better than
> being a satellite of the other?

      You're right about the shadow war, in many senses.  The story of
B5 is the story of B5 and its people, not the shadow war, which is a
*part* of that story but not the whole of it.  (Remember, it wasn't
even mentioned in the first season.)  If it's just about a war, any
war, then something's wrong. There has to be more to it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 20:35:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did you do exactly the same thing in The Long twilight struggle?

     Don't really remember....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 20:35:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Pat Bradshaw <71202.1532@compuserve.com>
Subject: Tolkien Influences

 Pat Bradshaw <71202.1532@compuserve.com> asks:
> Am I close?
> Am I hallucinating?
> Should I get a life and get out more?

     What you have to understand is that virtually all of the items
you list are generic tools used in great mythic sagas.  A lone group
with great responsibilities, a dark force gathering strength, defenders
of light, beings of great power who are inscrutable or difficult...the
names change but the archetypes remain.  Tolkein used those archetypes,
as I'm using them, as other writers have used them.  Consequently, you
see in this show whichever myth-cycle you're most familiar with.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 20:45:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can I infer from that statement that by the time we reach season
> 5 we'll actually know just what that arc is?

     You'll pretty much have a sense of the overall arc's direction by
the end of this season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 20:45:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> WHEN!!???!!!!
> That means that after this group of 5 episodes we're going to
> have NINE more weeks of reruns?? How many episodes are they going
> to save till next year THIS time??? Seven???
> Eight??
> How can WB expect this show to get any decent ratings whatsoever
> if they never show any fraggin new episodes? Can they really
> believe that they can show 8 weeks of reruns at a time and then
> bang, show new episodes only during sweeps periods, and expect
> the ratings to be there as soon as new episodes start?? Why the
> hell can't they show B5 episodes in groups of 7 or 8?? Would it
> help if us, the fans, started a write in campaign to Dick
> Roberton (I think that's his name) and give him a wake up call?

     Dick Robertson isn't to blame for the schedule, apparently; it's
a decision made jointly by the stations.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 04-Feb-96 20:45:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VOA> Nightwatch=Disney

{original post had no questions}

     It's interesting to note that Eisner raised the ticket prices at
Disneyland immediately upon arrival...and his salary bonus that year
was equal to the amount of that increase for the year.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 01:17:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, does the change in the structure of PTEN affect how their
> control of the show?

     I've no idea...TV business deals not Zathras' strength....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 01:17:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com>
Subject: And the rock...

 Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com> asks:
> Where does "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place" come from?

     It's from an old gospel song/spiritual.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 01:23:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com>
Subject: VOA: Lurkers

 Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com> asks:
> So, do the Vorlons really worship a god named Boojie, and why
> does he wear a bucket over his head?

      And best of all, the comment was sufficiently subtle that
there's no way really to censor it...it's all implication.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 01:23:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Thomas M. Conlon <73544.321@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<B5 - WWII Parallel>>

 Thomas M. Conlon <73544.321@compuserve.com> asks:
> Has anyone else noticed the similarity between the Shadow Wars
> and WWII? Remember the Secret Police?
> Anyone care to put in their 2 cent's worth?

     While yes, there are some intentional WW II parallels here, do
bear in mind that you don't have to go all the way back to the Gestapo
to find this kind of mentality...Sen. McCarthy would've been quite at
home in Nightwatch.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 12:01:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robert Miller <71501.3042@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VOA>

 Robert Miller <71501.3042@compuserve.com> asks:
> Would it be fair to say that the FO was not pleased to hear the
> Vorlons mentioned?

     Fair, yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 12:01:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com>
Subject: Where do baby narn come

 Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do I take it from the invocation of Kosh Mode, that the issue of
> gay Centauris is off limits?

      Well, not to other Centauri....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 12:01:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<B5 - WWII Parallel>>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can PsiCorps members belong to Nightwatch?
> Where did they do their recruiting for Nightwatch?
> Are they the SS to HomeGuard's SA?
> Do they have arrest powers, and are these "thoughtcrimes" that
> they investigate *officially* illegal, or do they have to trump
> up a sedition charge? What is President Clark's first name (I have
> heard William on ANFAW, and Morgan elsewhere, including Clark's
> Law)? Where did he get this *extreme* personal *hatred* for Luis
> Santiago?

     It's William Morgan Clark.

     And yes, they have some powers of arrest.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 12:01:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Netter join us for a bit to explain why 9 week dry spells are
> good for the show and such?

     Doug doesn't like it either.  Not our choice.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 12:01:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Walter F. Hern <74201.2063@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Walter F. Hern <74201.2063@compuserve.com> asks:
> Season 6?
> Was it?

     Some was new, some old.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 12:01:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Belt <72142.1365@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

{original post had no questions}

     Good to know.  Thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 12:01:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

{original post had no questions}

     Thanks.  Much appreciated.  I'll get one right for him yet.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 18:25:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <B5 - WWII Parallel>

{original post had no questions}

     Nope, not a save at all.  He says his full name in Chrysalis. 
"I, William Morgan Clark..."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 18:25:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VoA> Space A&B

{original post had no questions}

      I tend to agree.  I tend to like more S:A&B episodes than not;
there has been some very good work.  I knew almost instantly that the
new character in this weekend's episode was going to end up dogmeat,
but that said, the trip there was interesting.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-Feb-96 18:25:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: AsstOp Pam Jernigan <75540.2554@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 AsstOp Pam Jernigan <75540.2554@compuserve.com> asks:
> PJ ^^^^ President, Southern Combine; Having an Out-of-Forum
> Experience FAQ or Fiction?

     Thanks.  At least it's a shorter wait this time than last.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 00:05:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gerald Himmelein <100417.3703@compuserve.com>
Subject: Where do baby narn come

 Gerald Himmelein <100417.3703@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is there homosexuality among other races which have male and
> female genders defined? A related question: Are there races in the
> B5 universe which have transcended male / female? And another
> related question: Are there different genders in the Vorlon race?

     Yes, yes, and yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 00:05:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Deonaha M. Conlin <102531.2627@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Deonaha M. Conlin <102531.2627@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, At the risk of asking a silly question, in light of the
> technical explaining going on here, am I correct in assuming that
> Drall is just plain a big man?

     He's a tall, stout fellow.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 00:05:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Book #3: Blood Oath

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> How much of the Narn terminology and the like, not to mention the
> details of the Narn homeworld, are accurate and canon?

     It's accurate in some places, not in others; details slip
sometimes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 00:05:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VOA: Draal>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any comments on this?

     People said this about Londo, too.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 02:08:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Sarah E. Heacock <102412.1400@compuserve.com>
Subject: New to Babylon 5

{original post had no questions}

     Yes, but since time and space are curved, they eventually loop
back the way they came, and thus you will end up in the final analysis
ahead of where you were when you first discovered the program.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 02:11:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: 'Dust' AVI in lib 5

      BTW, for those interested, who have video for windows, I've
uploaded an .avi file (full video and sound) of the teaser for "Dust to
Dust" in library 5.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 13:09:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Nigel Nixon <100666.2174@compuserve.com>
Subject: UK Ch4

{original post had no questions}

     Correct.  The widescreen footage used in the titles is exactly
the same as that shot for the show, only we crop the edges off.  You
only have to compare the first sesaon shots from "Parliament" to verify
that they're the same.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 16:25:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Alexis Holizki <75027.1277@compuserve.com>
Subject: <B5 - WWII Parallel>

 Alexis Holizki <75027.1277@compuserve.com> asks:
> I take it the author wasn't as well-informed as he should have
> been?

     Missed that in the proofreading....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 16:25:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Nigel Nixon <100666.2174@compuserve.com>
Subject: UK Ch4

 Nigel Nixon <100666.2174@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any news on whether C4 have bought season 3 in WS?

     No word yet, no.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-Feb-96 16:43:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Roger Stenning <101521.1646@compuserve.com>
Subject: Q. "Time On Target!"?

 Roger Stenning <101521.1646@compuserve.com> asks:
> Just what does "Time on target" mean?
> Help, anyone?

     You fire your weapons (missiles, other stuff) not necessarily at
the same moment, but so that it all *hits* at the same time.  Time is a
factor for the arrival at the target.  Hence, time on target.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 00:11:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Dan Hayes <72303.2134@compuserve.com>
Subject: A Voice In <VOA>

 Dan Hayes <72303.2134@compuserve.com> asks:
> Am I nuts?

     It was definitely Ed Wasser.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 00:18:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is he conning everyone?
> Does he really think that everything he does is for the greater
> good of earth?

      "Dust to Dust" is what I call one of my "pretty box" episodes. 
I set down the pretty box in front of you, and you think you know what
it is. Then something else entirely jumps out of it at your face. 
There's more coming here and there.  I like pretty boxes....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 01:38:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin Kenney <76072.1474@compuserve.com>
Subject: VoA: Pretty Bad

{original post had no questions}

     Your friend should learn a few things from history.  Your friend
should learn that virtually everything the Political Officer said was
taken, in one form or another, from actual speeches from people like
Goerring and Goebbels and Hitler and McCarthy and other members of the
House Unamerican Activities Committee, stated right out in public. 
Your friend should learn that some epidodes are meant to be lighter,
some darker, because you can't have despair, sturm und drang every
episode or you're going to lose viewers left, right and center.  Your
friend should learn to speak for himself.  You should stop hiding
behind "your friend's" comments.

     That "your friend" doesn't like something doesn't make it bad,
any more than liking something makes it good.  Your friend should learn
that the universe does not revolve around his opinion.  Your friend
should try writing something, and selling it, before he sets out to
tell a writer the "better ways" that writer should be telling his
stories.  Your friend seems to think that unless it's done *his* way,
the "better way," then it's not good.

     "jms...not having the time to find better solutions to each
scene."  I had plenty of time to find solutions to each scene.  I chose
the solutions that I liked.  And that most folks seem to have liked. 
Again, if your friend would've chosen a different way, then it's your
friend's story, not mine, and it's not "better."  Because I don't
happen to tell my story the way your friend wants to tell a story
doesn't make his "better."

     So I guess all the people who enjoyed VoA, who enjoyed the
dialogue, who laughed out loud at all the right places, who liked
it...they're all fools and idiots because your friend says otherwise,
huh?  Because clearly it's *bad*. No subjective opinions here, your
friend says it's bad, well, then, by golly, it's bad...and the rest of
the viewership is just plain dumb not to perceive it.

     "Your friend" has clearly never been through a writing workshop,
or learned how to present constructive criticism.  It's his way or the
highway.

     When "your friend" has written 145 produced television scripts,
and been nominated for multiple writing awards, written columns and
books on scriptwriting, *then* he can tell me the "BETTER" way to
write.  Meanwhile, if he has logical concerns, questions, flaws to
point out, mistakes that were made, I'm happy to hear them.  But anyone
who sits there and says that he knows the *better* way to do
everything, because his way IS the better way, and if it's not done HIS
way then it's wrong...doesn't have the first idea what the hell he's
talking about.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 18:57:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Nedrow <70004.1273@compuserve.com>
Subject: 'Dust' AVI in lib 5

 David Nedrow <70004.1273@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any chance you could upload these as Indeo files?
> Or, do you mind if I do the conversion and make them available?

      I'm not set up for that conversion; if you can do it, by all
means....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 18:57:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: A Voice In <VOA>

{original post had no questions}

      Don't know what else he's doing, actually....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 18:57:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com>
Subject: live action/CGI

 John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this because they have to use trial and error to get it to
> look right?

     The shot as filmed wasn't locked down (locked camera), and they
had to take the film and carefully insert the material so it wouldn't
look jumpy.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 18:57:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: general Psi questions

 John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com> asks:
> So what about the telepath in Sinclair's squad during the Battle
> of the Line? Was he a closet "teep"?
> or was EA desparate for any pilot?
> or is this just some propaganda on Psi-Corps part??
> Say, what was that stat about teeps and teeks?
> What do we call Talia's husband?
> eep??
> eek??
> Finally, how high do the P-ratings go?
> P-5 Commercial telepath (Lyta?) P-10 Instructors P-13 Psi-cops
> P-?? will we ever see her at her full potential?) P-??

      As I recall, it was mentioned that he was a closet teep.

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 18:57:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: RICHARD D.SHEPPAR <100111.1053@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 - Uk?

 RICHARD D.SHEPPAR <100111.1053@compuserve.com> asks:
> if you could tell me when Channel 4 are showing B5 in the Uk (I
> heard something about them buying a widescreen verion)? Can you
> shead any light?

      I haven't yet heard the final disposition on this.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 18:58:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin Kenney <76072.1474@compuserve.com>
Subject: VoA: Pretty Bad

{original post had no questions}

      Ivanova wanted to get in the face of the First Ones, to say,
"Look, you can blow me away, but damn it, listen to me."  If she'd said
that "more reverently," as your friend noted, it would've worked
against the logic of the scene and the resolution.

     (Also, the political officer never "stormed into Sheridan's
office." She was waiting there, quite demurely, as he entered.  So
again, when he says that his complaint is "with Sheridan's lack of
response when the political officer stormed into his office," and that
never happened in the first place, you can understand why I might have
a problem with this.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 18:58:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Esther Schindler [EXEC] <72241.1417@compuserve.com>
Subject: VoA: Pretty Bad

 Esther Schindler [EXEC] <72241.1417@compuserve.com> asks:
> How often do you tell someone that you write, only to have them
> tell you that they've always intended to write a novel one day? as
> if their intention is just as valuable as the effort you really
> put into it, as the late nights spent struggling with the nasty
> paragraph that refuses to sound right, as your pride in
> re-reading your text and saying, "yes, that's what I wanted!"?

      Yeah, every so often, I get somebody who says, "Yeah, I could be
a writer too, if I just had the time for it."  Yes, and I could be the
Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi if I just had the time for it.  They
don't understand that it takes *years* of training, work, isolation,
trial and error...that it's a *craft* that, like any other craft, from
woodworking to brain surgery to playing the violin, takes years to get
right.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 18:58:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Esther Schindler [EXEC] <72241.1417@compuserve.com>
Subject: VOA: Lurkers

 Esther Schindler [EXEC] <72241.1417@compuserve.com> asks:
> Or is this a guy thing?

      Her feeling was likely that it has always worked with her in the
past. He's widowed, probably hasn't had any in a long time, he's
vulnerable, a perfect target.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 19:09:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ruth Ballam <100412.3457@compuserve.com>
Subject: Othersyde World Tour

{original post had no questions}

      Great, I never get out, but my book travels all over the place. 
And people ask why I think there is no god....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 19:09:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: <DTD>

 Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com> asks:
> I guess I'm so used to sinister motives that I can't tell if Kosh
> is still manipulating, or is he sincere?

      A person can be sincere and still manipulative, in Kosh's case. 
If he believes he's right, perhaps he's willing to manipulate anyone
toward that goal, if it's worth it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 22:41:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: VOA: Lurkers

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Btw, on the subject of the Night Watch, is this the group that
> has taken over the role that was formerly held by Bureau 13?

      No, the Bureau would've been a secret organization, a la the NSA
or a covert military/spy group.  This is a much more public face.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 22:41:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Upcoming B5 Eps>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why is the episode called this?
> How do you intent to fig the title on the screen?

      Why's it called that?  Because it's quite appropos.  How do we
fit it? Not a big deal.  Longest title up to now was one I did for
MURDER, SHE WROTE, a quote from Moby Dick, "To The Last Shall I Grapple
With Thee."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 22:41:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you have something against the ambassadorial aides or what
> this year? Perhaps we'll learn more about this in a future
> episode?

      The female Psi Cop here *was* the same as in ARTDP, played by
Judy Levitt, who is also Walter's wife.

      Yeah, everyone turned in great performances in this one, very
intense and layered.  And as a result of G'Kar's attack, the next
several episodes will find him still in prison.  In the B5 universe,
you don't just go in for a long time at the end of an ep and next thing
you're out again.  He has to serve his time, and now we'll see him in a
cell for a while.

      And yes, you'll learn more about what happened to the Narn
telepaths in coming months.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 22:41:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Charles Peacock <70031.3212@compuserve.com>
Subject: VoA: Pretty Bad

{original post had no questions}

     Thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 22:41:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com>
Subject: 'Dust' AVI in lib 5

{original post had no questions}

     Thanks.  It kinda sneaks up on you, doesn't it?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 22:41:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5: Run Around

{original post had no questions}

      Sounds like a good thing to me....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 22:41:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust> q?

 Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> asks:
> However, after the battering and mind-rape, is LONDO still aware
> that G'kar possesses this knowledge, or has it slipped into a
> "must've been a nightmare" state?

      Londo knows G'Kar knows, yes.  He couldn't not know.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-Feb-96 22:41:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Deonaha M. Conlin <102531.2627@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Deonaha M. Conlin <102531.2627@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are we allowed to be having this much fun?

     "Are we allowed to have this much fun?"

     No.  Report to your nearest Night Watch office at once and turn
yourself in.

     You'll feel better for it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 01:28:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com>
Subject: VoA: Pretty Bad

{original post had no questions}

      She didn't say that she was from the "B5 advisory council."  She
said that she had been dispatched by the Senate Oversight Committee,
which as we have established before, has jurisdiction in many ways over
B5.

      This is the difference between TV logic and Real logic.  In TV
logic, yeah, she should've tossed her outta there...but we try to be
rigorously real about the B5 universe.  She was sent by the Senate
Oversight Committee, as is their province, with the backing of several
governmental offices, in an area over which Sheridan doesn't have
jusrisdiction: the political arena back home. In the real world, you
can't just toss somebody out the door because you don't like them...not
if you're a career military officer who answers to a civilian authority
or government.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 01:36:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com>
Subject: VoA: Pretty Bad

{original post had no questions}

     "...didn't seem to announce her authority well enough...the
Babylon 5 Advisory Council...."

      Once again, as I noted elsewhere, this is NOT what she said, she
specifically noted that this was from the Earth SENATE.  How much does
one need to explain the senate?  (Jokes aside.)  As it was, that scene
went about 2 full minutes of carefully balanced exposition...more, to
explain the senate, when we've been seeing senators all three years is
silly.  It WAS announced well enough.

     One simply has to pay attention.  Thus far, the "better ways"
have struck out consistently.  Most have been based on totally
incorrect perceptions of what was said or done in the episode; the
others are matters of personal taste that are, frankly, just lateral
moves.  Most, again, are simply from not paying attention.

     There's a great story about the first time Van Gogh met Gaugain,
his role model.  Gaugain looked at Vah Gogh's paintings, which had been
hung on all the walls for his inspection, and after a moment announced,
"You paint too fast."

     To which Van Gogh replied, "No, you LOOK too fast."

     Take the lesson for what it's worth.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 11:41:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Paul Owen <100331.2357@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Station damage

{original post had no questions}

     It's part of the stabalizing arm used when ships move in to
unload cargo into the zero-g bay.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 13:46:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Rage's Thots: DtD>

 Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com> asks:
> *"Aren't you late for a bund meeting?"
> My favorite lines, however, are Bester's "So you see me as a
> pinata?" BTW, Joe, how do you write the Drazi speech pattern?
> Drop all the articles?
> Is that all?
> Is this a Wm Goldman/Princess Bride nod?
> Or am I *way* too into looking for stuff like this?
> *Jeez, Kosh is a manipulative little <bleep>, ain't he?
> *Bester's comment to his partner "You couldn't have gotten here 2
> min earlier, could you?"

     Actually, just to clarify the legalese, the judge sentenced him
to *no less* than 60 days; that's the minimum, it could be more.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 13:55:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this what they do?
> ?
> Everytime the Shadows attack they stick other races out front and
> say "we're right behind you buddy!"???

     Exactly.  I mean, in three years, what the heck have the Vorlons
actually *done* to help "our side?"  Let the others do it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 13:55:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: VoA: Pretty Bad

{original post had no questions}

     Yeah...real horrorshow...to quote somebody else....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 17:36:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Paul Owen <100331.2357@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Station damage

{original post had no questions}

     Basically they're new kinds of alloys, the anchors go deep into
the top of the station; a small shuttle or medium transport comes in,
stops between the tines, once it achieves station holding they anchor
it to make life easier.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 20:22:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did G'Kar see G'Quon or G'Lan (as portrayed by Kosh)?

     The figure he was talking through during the scene appeared to
him as his father; the very last figure, seen departing, was that of
G'Lan.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 22:50:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mr Challeron <76420.1471@compuserve.com>
Subject: Dust To Dust

 Mr Challeron <76420.1471@compuserve.com> asks:
> How do you WRITE stuff like that?
> How long did it take to find actors who could PLAY scenes like
> that?

       Thanks.

       Implying more than one sees is something that you kinda have to
learn over time.  It can be very effective, as here.

       You just have to kinda put yourself out on a limb, as a writer
or as an actor.

       This scene *should* be very affecting.  It goes to Joe's Theory
of Violence on TV.  To wit...that we need more of it, but it has to be
realistic violence.  It has to show consequences.  You glorify or
desensitize violence when you shoot somebody, and they just go down, no
yelling in pain, no sobbing as their guts fall out onto the street. 
It's just gunfire, loud noises, excitement and fun.  If you're going to
show violence, then show it for what it *is*, and show it the way
people would react to it.  Make the audience understand that this is a
*person*, not one in a series of body counts.

       (There's also Joe's Theory of Button-Fly Jeans, btw...which
holds that when you use the men's room, you only actually *have* to
unbutton the first three buttons...the fourth one is just for show.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 22:50:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com>
Subject: VoA: Pretty Bad

 Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com> asks:
> Anyone got any year two examples?
> Demure?

     Two comments, and two only.

     He's still wrong.  She was waiting, demurely, when Sheridan
entered. The argument didn't start until well afterward.  Tell him to
run the episode again and maybe LOOK at it this time.

     Second comment...I suspect that Hank has a problem with women. 
His concerns repeatedly are with the women characters, that they're too
much in your face, that they're not reverential enough, that they're
"pushy," doesn't like that they can be sexually aggressive.

     In short...the problem may not be the show....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-Feb-96 22:50:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Andrew J. Puckett <75143.267@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VOA> Question

 Andrew J. Puckett <75143.267@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was there any change made to the opening music in "Voices of
> Authority" (as opposed to third season episodes preceding it)?

     Nope, no change in the music at all.  You're probably just more
used to it now.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 00:20:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Dust<<

{original post had no questions}

     Thanks.  And since TV works in a vacuum for the most part, and
it's rare to really get solid feedback...we never hear it enough. 
Thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 12:58:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John MacVeigh <72467.2141@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 John MacVeigh <72467.2141@compuserve.com> asks:
> The question is: do G'Kar (and Morden) still have free will?

      Actually, I tend to agree with that assessment.  They've guided
and instructed and pointed, yes...and manipulated...but they still
haven't had to step up to the plate in other areas.

      And I don't think the Narns have sacrificed nearly enough yet. 
You can always sacrifice more.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 12:58:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VOA> Question

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did they change the closing credit music on Dust to Dust?

      Yes, we did change that.  Because we -- I -- forgot to have
Christopher re-score it when we were re-doing the main title.

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 12:58:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Martin Higgins <72223.3441@compuserve.com>
Subject: Season 3 title?

 Martin Higgins <72223.3441@compuserve.com> asks:
> I haven't seen it posted anywhere - what's the overall title for
> season 3?

     Point of No Return.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 12:58:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Dust<<

{original post had no questions}

     Your husband has great and refined taste.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 12:58:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gary Weinfurther <71521.2352@compuserve.com>
Subject: Dust To Dust

 Gary Weinfurther <71521.2352@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is it fasten then button, or button then fasten?

      You're right; UNFORGIVEN is just incredible, his best work.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 18:31:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

{original post had no questions}

     Could be.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 18:31:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust To Dust>

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> What is it with Unforgiven?

     "He had it coming."

     "Kid...we *all* got it coming."

     Any movie that can produce those two lines is in my pantheon
forever.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 18:38:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robt Martin <75663.2701@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 cover story

{original post had no questions}

     You could've sent me a note describing the photos; I could've
told you what they were.

     Also, the statment "a Fox network series" is incorrect; some Fox
stations carry us, but we're a PTEN series, no relation to Fox
whatsoever. So you have double reason to complain about the insert.

     I look forward to the article.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 18:38:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

{original post had no questions}

     Generally speaking, in television, if you're not going to see
someone, you should at least try to avoid saying his name, because
folks new to the show won't know what you're talking about.  Those who
know, know.  For those who don't, it shouldn't get in the way.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 23:25:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Secret Organizations>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does this mean that the group/organization has been done away
> with because of copyright problems and the like? And if the Bureau
> 13 folks have been dropped, what does this do for the General
> Hague conspiracy?

     No, it's just that names change; no secret group keeps the same
name for very long.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 23:25:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Upcoming B5 Eps>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> And how goes things on the set and the filming of episodes at the
> moment?

     At this point, I'd prefer to say as little as possible about the
last batch, to keep things quiet for the time being.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 23:25:37
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

{original post had no questions}

     The correct answer is C.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 23:25:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Phil Adams <72470.1156@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VoA> Space A&B

 Phil Adams <72470.1156@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this just us, or has there been a conscious effort to "dumb
> down" or "genericize" (new verb!) the story in order to reach new
> viewers? 8) ); the suddenly-samurai Narn ("gotta draw blood before
> I sheathe this baby!"); the idea of baiting an ancient race into
> doing what you want them to do (how did they make it so far while
> being _so_ stupid?); the name of the Vorlon/Minbari ship (the
> White Star?!!? Minus the story arc elements, there've been a
> number of sour faces going, "Was that a Star Trek or B5 ep?" Are
> we just being unrealistic and too picky?

       Phil...I get this at the start of every season.  Let me repeat
what I've said, oh, about two dozen times already before.

       At the start of every season, we have new people sampling the
show. Do you want the show to continue?  If you do, then you have to
continue to add new viewers.  If viewers tune in and they're lost in
the overall arc, they're going to tune out again.  So you give them
some stand-alone episodes in the beginning, shows that are a little
more accessible, but introduce them to the characters, the situations
and the universe so that when the arc begins to move again, they know
enough to get into what's going on.

       Sure, I could've just kept going right with the strong arc
episodes. Which the new viewers, 90% of whom sample shows in the first
few weeks of a new season and not thereafter, wouldn't have been able
to follow well.  And they would've tuned out.  And it would've been a
very big nail in the cancellation coffin.  You can bring in new
viewers, or you can get canceled and never tell the whole story.  Pick
one.

       Second, you cannot -- CANNOT -- sustain the kind of intensity
you have in the final four over the course of a season.  You need to
have some lighter moments as contrast or people are going to start
sticking their heads in ovens all across the country.  So at the start
of a season, I try to do some lighter stuff, to bring people back up a
little, bracing for the next drop in the roller coaster.  You need
peaks and valleys to develop any kind of rhythm, or to appreciate the
other side of it.

       I got the same thing in season one, and season two..."Why these
light episodes?  What's happened to this arc?"  Then by season's end,
the chorus usually turns to "That was a GREAT season!"  So my response
is, Unless you think I've suddenly turned stupid, or I've decided to
betray the series I've now worked 10 years of my life to produce...will
you for chrissakes *trust* me once in a while?  Show a little patience.
When I introduced Vir, everybody on the planet jumped funky all over
me.  "He's just a comic character!  It's Flounder!  He's dumbing down
the show!  Space him!  He stinks!  Joe's losing it!"  And now, of
course, we see what Vir is, and in many surveys he's now one of the
most popular characters.

       You know what the #1 comment from the pilot was, on the nets
and elsewhere?  "LOSE the guy with the funny hair!  He's just
ridiculous." Londo. Every time I've done something a little different
in the show, I've usually been jumped on, because they're not willing
to trust that I know what I'm doing...until they've seen it for a
while, then they Get It, and it's "Oh, now I see it."  Great, thanks,
now that you've been beating on my head for six months.  Next time show
a little patience.  (And btw, ALL of the comments related above are
real ones, many of them right here on Compuserve, from people still
around here.)

       Every story can't be an arc story at this point; you've got to
see the characters outside the arc, in the way they live their lives,
in other things that happen to them, or else you won't CARE what
happens to them in the arc. No, the Purple/Green Drazi story didn't
move the arc ahead, but it showed you a lot about Ivanova, didn't it? 
So now if and when something should happen to her in the arc, you care
about her.  It's the difference between just being chess pieces, and
being *people*.

       Okay, here's the breakdown.  Season 3.  You had arc episodes
only a bit in the first batch.  "Honor," "Voices" and now a little in
"Dust." You've got one more stand-alone next week, "Exogenesis." 
That's the last one for a LONG time.  Episodes 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15,
16, 17, 20, 21 and 22 are ALL arc stories, most of them heavy, none
less than moderate.

       I said, from the start, that each season would have
stand-alones and arc stories.  About 20% in year one, 35% in year two,
50% in year three, 70% in year four, and 100% in year five.  And the
stand-alones tend to get pushed toward the beginning of a season for
the reasons stated.  Is nobody paying attention when I say these
things?  Because if so, then why do I get gigged each season at the
start by people saying "HEY!  HOW COME THESE AREN'T ARC EPISODES?" 
(And as it looks now, year 3 has closer to 13-14 arc episodes, so we're
ahead a bit.)

       Before people start making sweeping generalizations about the
season, it might behoove you to see the season first.  If anything, my
concern in looking at what's been done for year 3 is that we're too
GRIM for the larger portion of it, and maybe a bit complex...so I'm
working to clarify a few things here and there as I do these last few.

       So that's my response to the generalizations.  To the
specifics....

       The political officer: improbable dialogue?  Most of it was
taken direct from political statements, public ones, made by Goebbels,
Hitler, Joseph McCarthy, Stalin, and other fanatics.  The kind of Big
Lie dialogue people continue to fall for today.  Go to a Pat Buchanan
rally sometime and tell me it's unlikely dialogue.

       The chess maneuver: I mainly get this comment from people who
don't play chess much.  I used to be a decent (not great, but decent)
player, and I fell for a move out of left field sometimes.  (I'm a
sucker for a fool's mate.)  Sheridan isn't a chess master, he's still
rough around the edges, and Theo's been doing this a lot longer.  He
got foxed.  It happens.

       "Marcus, the walking cliche."  Heard this about Vir, Zack,
Morden, Londo, and others.  My prediction: by season's end, Marcus will
be one of our more popular characters.  Because you haven't seen all of
what he is yet.  Any more than you did Vir on his first two
appearances.

       (Y'know, there are days I hate the american culture of
immediate gratification and kneejerk condemnation and stereotyping with
insufficient information.  So far there hasn't been an uninteresting
character in the lot. Do you think suddenly I'm going to introduce a
lox?  Okay, Keffer wasn't all he could've been, but that was because
that character was always doomed, and doomed to go fast, so I think I
put a little distance between myself and him. That doesn't apply here. 
I said Vir was a great character, and some folks snorted and made fun. 
I was proven right.  So trust me, Marcus is a great character.)

       The two small story points...like I said, I went for a lighter
touch in "Voices," because it was the last chance to have some light
moments for a long, long, time.

       The White Star was so named as a balance to the Black Star,
which Sheridan destroyed.  What here is a problem?

       I don't mean to rag on you, Phil...I know your interests are
only the best.  But (expletive) it...y'know?  I was real patient the
first time I went through this at the top of season one, patient again
at the top of season two...and it's just wearing a bit thin.  If I knew
what I was doing then, why should I suddenly not know what I'm doing
now?  How many times over do I have to prove myself, and this series? 
It seems like everything good I did in the season before gets forgotten
because we just take a BREATH before moving on to the next stage.  And
then suddenly it's "The sky is falling!  The show's falling apart!  The
arc is gone!  Ohmygodohmygod!"

       Patience, people.  I've been faithful, and honest, and straight
with all of you.  I haven't let you down yet.  And I don't intend to. 
Season three collectively represents the very best work we have done on
this show to date. Starting with #8, "Messages From Earth," the arc and
the story kicks into high gear, moving faster than ever before.  MAJOR
stuff happens.

       And natch, I'll go through this all over again in year four,
because they'll say it doesn't move as fast as year three did.  You
can't win.  I appreciate the concern, Phil.  Honest I do.  But I've
always had a problem with people judging the season on a sampling. 
Give it a chance.
                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-Feb-96 23:25:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: Season 3 title?

 Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com> asks:
> What were the first two?
> What are the last two?

Signs and Portents.

The Coming of Shadows.

Now: Point of No Return.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 18:32:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com>
Subject: VOA: Lurkers

 Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com> asks:
> I wonder, does her arrogance stem solely from her own
> personality, or from her position in Night Watch? So just how
> scared of Night Watch is the average Earther? Or do most people
> believe that Night Watch is there to protect them from treason
> and invasion, nevermind if a few rights get temporarily trampled?

     Some are scared of Nightwatch, others feel it's a good thing, and
darn it, it's about time....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 18:32:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Deonaha M. Conlin <102531.2627@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust To Dust>

{original post had no questions}

     Thanks.  The pleasure is all mine....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 18:32:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rick Sharon <76416.2213@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VoA> Space A&B

 Rick Sharon <76416.2213@compuserve.com> asks:
> Am I the <not so> silent majority?
> Like major stuff hasn't happened yet??
> So many subtle things we so easily miss, which are significant,
> which are not? Is ANYthing insignificant?
> re: dumbing down of B5?
> Frustrating?
> Do I wish I knew what was coming?
> What the final end would be?
> Where you are taking us?

     Thanks.  I really think this season is just overall such a leap
over the previous season, especially once episodes 8-10 hit.  As it
happens, I showed a bit from 8 to some folks in the office the other
day, one in particular being a fan of the show who sat in on an
interview...to say their jaws were on the floor doesn't *begin* to
describe it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 18:32:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robt Martin <75663.2701@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 cover story

 Robt Martin <75663.2701@compuserve.com> asks:
> My deadlines are Monday morning, can you please take time from
> your weekend to help?"

     If it'd help make the article better or more accurate, I'm always
available, 7 days a week.  I have no life upon which this could
intrude.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 18:32:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John A. Lewis <76740.1520@compuserve.com>
Subject: VoA: Pretty Bad

 John A. Lewis <76740.1520@compuserve.com> asks:
> Could you please help me understand one aspect of VoA that I
> found a bit confusing? Is one or the other behaviour simply an
> *act* that this character assumes in relation to who she is
> dealing with?

     Basically, like many manipulative people, she projects whatever
she thinks will work best with her audience.  Appealing to Zack's
patriotism, trying to find Sheridan's affections by flattering him
mercilessly (on many levels), playing the straight-chinned leader in an
address to security forces...she puts on whatever face she thinks will
work.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 18:32:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> did he see the stuff with G'Lan)?
> Are the Vorlon telepaths primarily "Dreamwalkers"?
> Is that how they influence the other races?

       Yes, it helps if the person's mind is in a different state --
asleep, exhausted, in a heightened state of awareness -- for the
Vorlons to make contact, which is why their presence is often
associated with dream imagery.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 18:32:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have the Shadows always lost?

       "Have the shadows always lost?"

       That is a far more complex question than you could possibly
know....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 22:59:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Sound

{original post had no questions}

     The sources of the problem are two-fold, and we keep trying to
get it straightened out.  When we deliver the episodes to WB, the sound
level is where it should be.  Then we watch the show and the levels are
a lot lower, and there's some phasing going on.  As near as we can
determine, at some point after we've turned over the episode, when
multiple levels of dubs are being made (for closed captioning, another
for national spots to be inserted, and so on), the audio goes from
digital to analog and back again. In addition, some stations tend to
clamp our audio, but run the commercials hot.  We're working to find
out where this is happening and stop it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 22:59:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com>
Subject: Shadows

 Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com> asks:
> Right?
> So I have to wonder, when the Shadow War ends, will the Shadows
> still be involved with those things?

     Never said that the shadow war ends this season.  I simply said
it wouldn't run all the rest of the series.  And even when a war is
over, the afteraffects can be felt for some time.  And there may be
related problems still to clean up.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 22:59:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Damian Reaves <75373.2325@compuserve.com>
Subject: About the First Ones

 Damian Reaves <75373.2325@compuserve.com> asks:
> Were the Ikkarans first ones ?
> a)did they build the battle suits to fight off the shadows ?
> b) will we ever see Ikkaran technology again ?
> The Shadows have been out of commission for a 1000 years so is it
> safe to assume that the Vorlons, the Walkers at Sigma957, and any
> other first ones still out there have caught up with them
> technologically? Were the Takarans first ones, and if not where
> did the great machine come from?

     Neither the Ikarrans nor those on Epsilon 3 were First Ones.  And
the level of tech between Vorlons, Shadows and Walkers is fairly close.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 23:00:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Dust<<

 Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com> asks:
> A question for you: Has anyone else ever written *all* the
> scripts for a show in one season?

     No, insofar as I have been able to determine, in the history of
TV no one has ever written every episode of a season of a dramatic
series single handedly.  The closest would be Terry Nation, who wrote
the first season of Blake's 7, but that was only 13 episodes, not 22.

     As for what folks say about me...probably it's all of those you
cite, and then some.  Good and bad.  You can't work at getting a
single, personal vision on film without convincing some people you're
great, and convincing other people you're the Antichrist.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 23:00:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Karen E. Bahnsen <102735.3557@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VoA> Space A&B

 Karen E. Bahnsen <102735.3557@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did you see that?!"
> BTW, in DtD, where the camera looks up from G'Kar to see Kosh in
> his encounter suit, does that big sign on the wall behind where
> Kosh was standing say, "WARNING!"?

       Yes, the sign does indeed say warning.  Look for another sign
right behind somebody at the end of "Severed Dreams."

       In defense of Phil...who I have spoken with before, and met
once, and who asked his question in good faith and I kinda handed him
his head...don't take my reaction necessarily as venue to jump on him. 
Some days, when I've been working 18 hours straight on the show, I come
across a comment that puts me into Wet Cat mode.  That was one.  Which
is why I made a point of trying to say that I understand the
question(s), and whence they proceed.

       There are a very few flakes and idiots and dangerous loonies
out there in net-land...but Phil isn't one of them.  It's the
consistent idiots you have to watch out for.

       Re: the discussion group...this is one of the things that I've
decided I'm very proud of, regarding B5.  Delenn pointed out that
humans form communities; it's what we do.  And a B5 community has
arisen.  Fans of the show gather in pizza parlors to watch the show,
set out open invitations for picnics and house parties to catch shows
off the satellite, create discussion groups...form communities.  People
have formed lasting friendships, regular pub groups, even gotten
married because of the show.

       Others have gotten involved in social work, contributed or
worked for charities, food kitchens, other causes.  Decided that their
fates are in their own hands, and been inspired to move across the
country to form new lives and pursue what they *want* to do instead of
what they felt they *had* to do.  I hear from them frequently in email,
and in public messages.

       I'm very happy about that.  If Star Trek's shining element was
that it got people involved in the space program, perhaps B5's shining
element is that it gets people involved in the human program.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-Feb-96 23:00:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: <DTD>

{original post had no questions}

     Thanks.  Yes, I think we've cast some great actors in the show,
and they only continue to improve.

     Many of us on the show are fans of fighter planes and military
history, especially producer John Copeland.  So we've taken to giving
the Starfuries nose art...in fact, the near-legendary WW II flying
squadron the Flying Tigers actually gave us *permission* to use their
logos on Sheridan's fighter.

                                                                  jms


Date: 11-Feb-96 14:10:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why not sooner?
> Perhaps he needed to suffer into truth?

       Because G'Kar needed to hit bottom, real bottom, before he
would be receptive to the message...because time doesn't mean to the
vorlons what it means to us...and because he was finally mentally
receptive due to the dust.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 15:18:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Dust<<

 The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com> asks:
> You wrote every single episode this season, didn't you?

     I look forward to being bored for a while.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 15:18:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Exogenesis>

 David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you have big plans for him later in the season?
> How much do his operatives know?
> Can he get some to honor their commitment to help him when the
> time comes if they don't know what they will be fighting or whom?

     Thanks.  Yeah, Exo is the last non-arc episode for a long time,
and the last chance to catch one's breath before the big fall.

     My personal evaluation of the episode is that it's okay.  The
second half, I think, isn't as strong as the first half.  Halfway
through writing the episode, we had a problem come up in production
that unexpectedly took me away from the script for about a week. 
(Nothing major, but it had to be dealt with and it took time.) 
Usually, I write copious notes on a script before I begin writing it. 
In this case, the story was so crystalline clear in my head that I just
dived in, and was blasting away terrific when the hit came midway 
through.  By the time I got back, I'd lost some of the fingerprints of
the story, and had to kind of re-find them again.  Mainly, I think the
expository sequence at the end could've been done better.

     Needless to say, that's the last time I trusted myself without
notes, no matter how well I "see" the episode in my head.  It'd be a
great script for second or first season, but we have to keep raising
the bar, every aspect has to be better than the last thing we did, so
for my money it's not quite up to that standard.  Happily, it's the
*only* episode this season that I feel that way about...the rest are
all just nifty.

     That said, I think it has some great moments for Marcus, Franklin
and others...and yes, there's a lot more planned with Franklin coming
up this season, particularly toward the latter third of the season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 15:18:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: VOA: Lurkers

{original post had no questions}

    For now, yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 15:18:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Phil Adams <72470.1156@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VoA> Space A&B

 Phil Adams <72470.1156@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why am I so sure you won't be surprised to hear that?
> Is it as grim as "1984" and "Brazil"?
> Go to a rally where a guy drives up in a BMW and talks about
> Americans losing their jobs (yeah, I know he and his wife sold
> off their foreign cars after this was pointed out 4 years ago,
> but it was a hoot when it happened)? Go to a rally where the guy
> talks about the concerns of the middle class while making
> 6-figure salaries off his media work?

       For what it's worth, if your concern is with the suits, we
haven't had a single writing note from WB since episode 2 or 3 of
season 2.  Not one. Nada.  No nots at all on our cuts of the episodes. 
Nothing.  They completely trust us, and they leave us to tell our
story.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:18:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gerald Himmelein <100417.3703@compuserve.com>
Subject: Age of Centauri?

 Gerald Himmelein <100417.3703@compuserve.com> asks:
> How old do Centauri get usually?
> I mean: What's their average life expectancy?
> At what age approximately?
> Is the life expectancy different for male and female Centauri?

     A Centauri can get to be about 150 or so, sometimes older.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:18:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com> asks:
> .can we have some clues?

     No, you can't have any clues.  What am I, a clues closet?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:18:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: Season 3 title?

{original post had no questions}

     No; one thing at a time.  Now finish your broccoli....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:18:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com>
Subject: <DtD praise&nitpicks>

 Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com> asks:
> And that piece used during the flash of images from Londo's mind
> was perfect, was it new?

      With some thematic exceptions, most of the music Chris composes
for us each week is unique, and tailored for that episode.  So yes,
it's all mainly new.

      Re: the coat of welcoming...here's a little tidbit...we had to
make up an entire alphabet for most of our major races (and I've been
gradually building up a dictionary here and there for languages).  So
they came and asked if they could embroider something in Minbari on the
shirt Vir's wearing when he comes back.  I said sure.  Did I have
anything in mind?  No, not really.

      So I'm on the set that day, and I see the embroidered shirt, and
I ask what these five letters spell, since I don't offhand read Minbari
yet.  He looked up at me and smiled.  "It spells out ALOHA."

      We have a very demented crew.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:18:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com>
Subject: John Vickery

 SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> asks:
> From Naroon to Welles: Nice range of acting, eh?
> Has she appeared as an extra in other episodes?

     Don't know offhand...will inquire.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:18:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

{original post had no questions}

     Correct.  They see reality, and time, and space somewhat
differently than we do.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:19:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Timothy C Schell <71174.2414@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Timothy C Schell <71174.2414@compuserve.com> asks:
> Would it be valuable to rewatch "Soul Hunter" and "Deathwalker"
> again?

       Soul Hunter probably wouldn't be a bad idea at some point prior
to the middle of the season...or the two-parter....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:19:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: <DTD>

 Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did you pattern the Star Fury after a war plane?

       No, didn't actually pattern the starfury after a plane, but
rather tried to see what would work most accurately in zero-atmosphere.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:19:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VoA> Space A&B

{original post had no questions}

       I agree.  We're slowly ratcheting up the tension, and this has
got to take a toll on people.  Franklin probably wouldn't be doing as
many stims as he is otherwise.  Actions have consequences.

       And yes, having seen prior episodes adds more texture.  Still,
one can follow the episode for what it is.  The more you watch, the
more you get out of it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:19:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mark Koro <70252.3354@compuserve.com>
Subject: WDCA 20 to move B5

{original post had no questions}

       That's great to hear, thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-Feb-96 21:24:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Beemer <71551.1670@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

{original post had no questions}

     "Joe identified the figure Sheridan saw as the angel Gabriel."

     No I didn't.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 12-Feb-96 14:26:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Beemer <71551.1670@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

{original post had no questions}

       Ees okay.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 15:01:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Dennis L. Schwendem <102620.3111@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

{original post had no questions}

     Thanks, we try.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 15:01:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: John Vickery

{original post had no questions}

       No, we can't contract with occasional actors in this fashion,
so we have to book them ahead of time, as soon as a script lands in the
production office.  If they're not available, sometimes we have to do
without and make the character someone else, or juggle episodes so we
can shoot when they are available.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 15:01:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Age of Centauri?

{original post had no questions}

       Probably about 120 would be the oldest a human would get; there
hasn't been that much change in that end of it.  The median age,
though, is different, so that right now, the average lifespan is 68
years, I think.  By 2260 you can add another 20 years to that.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 15:06:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Randy Hall <74617.420@compuserve.com>
Subject: Good Grief - DS9

 Randy Hall <74617.420@compuserve.com> asks:
> Don't you know better than to try and say something good about a
> Trek show in the B5 area?

     "Don't you know better than to try and say something good about a
Trek show in the B5 area?  I'm surprised JMS didn't come flying in here
accusing you of having a sinister agenda and trying to do him personal
harm."

     An interesting comment from you, given that you're addressing
this to Wayne Hall, your brother, so obviously he came in here to leave
the message so you could then respond in this fashion, and thus attack
me.

     Also intresting in light of your comments on AOL, in which you
were the single loudest voice screaming bloody murder whenever B5 was
mentioned in the ST areas, and your repeated request, verging on
demand, that people be prohibited from mentioning B5 at ST conventions,
bitching about the mention of B5 at ST panels, and generally carrying
on cranky whenever the show got any mention at all in a ST folder.

     Whereas, on the other hand, when the B5 page was opened on AOL, I
made it a *point* to make sure that there was a subsidiary section set
aside for the discussion of other TV series, including the variations
of ST, to create a more open environment.

     The problem, as usual with you, Randy, is entirely yours.  You
continue to project onto others your own problems.  You're truly a
pathetic individual.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 12-Feb-96 19:27:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: JAMES A. O'BRIEN <70661.2342@compuserve.com>
Subject: Beyond five years

 JAMES A. O'BRIEN <70661.2342@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is there any word as to what will happen to B5 after the 5 year
> arc has run its course? I know ratings will play a major role in
> any decision, but has JMS ever said anything about what might
> happen beyond the 5 years?

       From the start, I've indicated that there's a side-story that
could go off in the B5 universe after the 5 year story is up, but it
wouldn't be B5. Frankly, however, given the current state of the
syndication market, I'd suggest that the odds of that happening are
slim and none.

       So barring anything truly exceptional -- like someone handing
me an anthology series -- my plan at the moment is to retire from TV at
the end of the five years and go back to writing novels and plays.  At
that point, I think I'll have said just about everything I want to say
for TV.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 19:34:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: Grey Council Question

 Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are there other female council members or is it a mostly male
> group?

       No, there are and have been other female grey council members.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 19:34:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> So, is the crux of the conflict between the Shadows and the
> Vorlons something that we must change OUR paradigm of the above
> to fully understand?

       No, I wouldn't say that the shadows and vorlons see space, time
and reality in the same ways.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 23:30:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: Warning Bogus B5 Stuff

       It has come to my attention that someone at Capricon this past
weekend was trying to get fans to buy allegedly "real" B5 costume
elements for as much as $3500, attesting that he has a letter from me
verifying its origins.

       We have never released ANY costumes for sale for any reason,
and I have certainly never written any letter affirming this, or
allowing this. If this letter exists it is certainly a forgery, and
this matter should be turned over to the local police department for
investigation by their fraud and bunko divisions.  If you have had any
contact with these individuals, beware.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 23:42:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com>
Subject: <DtD praise&nitpicks>

 Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com> asks:
> Where did G'Kar take Londo?
> Was it meant to be inarticulate, or am I missing something?

       Thanks.  Emotion, for me, is the key to all drama.  If it
doesn't make you feel something, what's the point?  The writer's job is
to touch passion, not be burned by it, and come back to tell what it
was like.

       And what G'Kar said was, "Dear G'Quon, no more...."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 23:42:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> asks:
> A clues closet?

       Soon to be a basket case.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 23:42:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VoA> Space A&B

{original post had no questions}

       Heck, they're *all* on edge.  Wouldn't you be?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-Feb-96 23:42:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Advisory Council

 Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com> asks:
> My question, then, is what happened to the Narn vote?
> Did the Centauri get it, or did it just disappear?
> Either way, wouldn't the balance be disrupted?

       The council has been more or less abandoned as infighting has
broken out.  It gets worse.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 13-Feb-96 19:04:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com>
Subject: John Vickery

 Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com> asks:
> Were the Drazi spokesperson in Dust to Dust, the Green Drazi
> Leader in Geometry of Shadows, and the Markab ambassador in
> Confessions and Lamentations, all the same actor? Who is he?
> So I'm curious as to whether I'm right that these are all the
> same actor, and if so, who???

       I'm pretty sure he was both Drazis, but I'm not certain offhand
about the Markab.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 19:04:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Randy Hall <74617.420@compuserve.com>
Subject: Good Grief - DS9

{original post had no questions}

       Well, yes, Randy, I'm sure I responded exactly as you thought I
would. When one exhibits poor behavior in public, one will usually be
corrected.  You came in here and, totally unprovoked, without any
message from me, without even a word from me in the thread, took a
cheap and untrue shot at me, and my behavior.

       When one pokes the bear without *any* justification, except to
do it, well, I suppose it is only natural to expect some kind of
reaction.  If I were to pour a pint of chocolate milk on someone's
floor, I could anticipate their reaction.  But the problem would not be
in the reaction; the problem would be in the ill-mannered, senseless,
stupid and uwnarranted provocation.

       Still, I take this as a sign of growth on your part that you
can now predict the kind of response your generally poor behavior
elicits.  And, as usual, you just dive out of the way instead of
confronting the facts of your past behavior.

       Which is exactly what *I* expected of *you*.

       Symmetry is a wonderful thing, is it not?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 19:04:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <DtD praise&nitpicks>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> So, how come it looks like *the're right*?
> Am I off base here?
> Would Earthdome and Psi Corps interpret that incident
> differently?

       Some might, others might not.  Simple fact is, the rules of the
Psi Corps would forbid them from engaging ANY human telepath for this
purpose. So the only other recourse is non-humans.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 19:04:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Vorlon Theology

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Who *is* the Ancient Vorlon God Boojie?

       Marcus was making that part up.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 19:04:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Exogenesis>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...on every level.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 19:04:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Fred Miller <76042.3474@compuserve.com>
Subject: <D2D: Bester>

 Fred Miller <76042.3474@compuserve.com> asks:
> Where would SF TV be these days if it were not for the quality
> writing of B5? If so, are there, or can there be, blind telepaths?

       Thanks.  And yes, they do need to visually acquire the target,
in most cases.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 19:04:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Barbara Pfieffer <72302.2453@compuserve.com>
Subject: A few questions

 Barbara Pfieffer <72302.2453@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are you still working on "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding
> Place"? Do you have any idea what the titles of the final two
> scripts of the season will be? Will we *see* General Hague again
> this season or is he still busy subverting Star Fleet from the
> inside?

       Just turned in the script for "Rock," so that leaves just two
left to write.  I haven't decided on a title for 21 yet, out of several
options, and the title of 22 is classified for now.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 19:04:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Dust to Dust>>

 William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, Question: Is Molari aware that G'Kar got inside his head and
> now knows of his involvement in the Centauri aggression on the
> Narn home world?

       Yes, he's aware.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 19:04:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: NEW B5 EPS!

       Good news.  We've finally convinced Warner Bros./PTEN to go
with eight new episodes in a row, starting the first week of April. 
The new schedule, which just went out via fax to the stations today, is
as follows:

       So here now is the revised schedule:

       NEW EPISODES:
       2/12    EXOGENESIS
       2/19    MESSAGES FROM EARTH
       2/26    POINT OF NO RETURN              (w/Majel Barrett)

       RERUNS:
       3/4     FALL OF NIGHT
       3/11    THERE ALL THE HONOR LIES
       3/18    AND NOW FOR A WORD
       3/25    IN THE SHADOW OF Z'HA'DUM

       NEW EPISODES:
       4/1     SEVERED DREAMS
       4/8     CEREMONIES OF LIGHT AND DARK
       4/15    SIC TRANSIT VIR
       4/22    A LATE DELIVERY FROM AVALON     (w/Michael York)
       4/29    SHIP OF TEARS                   (w/Walter Koenig)
       5/6     INTERLUDES AND EXAMINATIONS
       5/13    WAR WITHOUT END: PART ONE       (w/Michael O'Hare)
       5/20    WAR WITHOUT END: PART TWO

       We're now in the process of working to get 2 new episodes in
July, so there are only 3 left for October.  Even so, we're very
excited to get a chance to show eight episodes in a row, building up to
the end of the May sweeps with our big two-parter.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 21:01:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom LeCompte <76711.572@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Tom LeCompte <76711.572@compuserve.com> asks:
> BTW, re: "Sic Transit Vir" - was that intended to be a pun in
> Latin? Or was it accidental?

       It's accurate as far as it goes, and a pun on another level.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 21:01:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com> asks:
> So after the 8 episode run, there will be more repeats, a few in
> the summer, and then we won't see the end of the season until
> october? I'm really happy about the 8 show solid chunk with no
> repeats, but why on earth are they posponing the season finale to
> october again?

       Because PTEN wants to hold episodes for sweeps periods. 
Nothing more.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-Feb-96 21:01:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Barbara Pfieffer <72302.2453@compuserve.com>
Subject: YKYBWTMB5W..

{original post had no questions}

       I'm glad we've given people a reason to live.

       Granted, it's a silly one...but what the heck...you can never
have too many reasons to live.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 01:20:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Hawkins <71742.160@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minipax through history

 John M. Hawkins <71742.160@compuserve.com> asks:
> Even so, I wonder how many of us could recognize modernized
> versions of the events leading up to the Thrity Years War, or the
> rise of Cromwell, both in the 17th Century, about as far removed
> from our time as we are from B5's?

       Yes, we have seen it before...and we're seeing it now...and
we're going to see it again in future.

       Someone once remarked, "Of course everything has already been
said. But since no one was paying attention, we must begin again."

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 14-Feb-96 14:37:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chris Carrier <72157.3334@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Chris Carrier <72157.3334@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any ideas when Season Two, especially the episodes Drazi Do
> Worldcon "Geometry of Shadows" and Ivanova Meets The Libertarian
> Party of 2259 "Acts of Sacrifice" will be on videotape?

       We're still working on the tapes.  We'll have info when it's
available.

       And yeah, I love the Drazi.  They're just nuts.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 15:26:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Alan Hedge <72017.3232@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Alan Hedge <72017.3232@compuserve.com> asks:
> You couldn't convince them to run B^2 or even AVitW?

       What, it's not enough I walked on the water here...?

       No, I wish I could say otherwise, but thus far I haven't been
able to convince them to run those eps.  Ah, well....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 15:26:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minipax through history

{original post had no questions}

       Actually, they did use that kind of technique on some of their
own population.  The medical population, for instance.  Recently
uncovered (and shown on A&E, which I sometimes think is the All Nazi
Network, All Nazis, All the Time) were a series of "informational
films" produced during the war and shown to doctors charged with the
notion of eliminating the insane, the genetically flawed, and others
not classified as jews or gypsies or poles or other non-desirable
races.

       They went through, each film gradually stating their theory
more clearly, and explained that these poor souls weren't *really*
alive, weren't *really* aware.  It systematically showed how it was
better, really, in the lokng run, to put them out of their own, and
society's, misery.

       If it ever comes around again, watch it; it'll chill your soul.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 15:26:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Vorlon Theology

{original post had no questions}

       Weren't me.  It was Marcus.  Blame him.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 15:26:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robt Martin <75663.2701@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 cover story

{original post had no questions}

       Next time you're in a bind, btw, you may want to point out to
someone out there that the *head* of the British Sci-Fi Channel, in an
interview, stated that he felt that B5 was the best SF show currently
around.  So if they want to move toward serving the UK population,
where B5 is #6 on the sell-through video charts, they definitely should
do more B5 coverage.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 15:26:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robt Martin <75663.2701@compuserve.com>
Subject: Beyond five years

 Robt Martin <75663.2701@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does Warner retain any authority to use B5 characters or premises
> in other endeavors (films, novels, action figures, teddy bears)
> without your prior approval after the five-year span? What factors
> would you say put you in a strong position for negotiating such a
> deal?

       Warners owns the copyright to B5, just as Paramount owns the
copyright to ST.  By contract, if there should be a spin off or sequel
of any kind, I would have to be involved in it.  The contract doesn't
say that there cannot be any of these; you're correct, that can't be
negotiated.

       But there are a number of common-sense things at work here, as
much as anything involving a studio can be described as common sense. 
Given that all our actors/service contracts are deliberately for 5
years not the more traditional 7, continuing B5 per se past year 5
becomes impossible, due to the hideous level of re-negotiation of
contracts that would have to take place. The cost would skyrocket.

       I've always said, from the start, that there's a side story
that could go off after B5 is finished, but I just don't think it's
likely for the time being.  The numbers have been good enough to
continue the show, but it's not a blockbuster, not a
franchise...primarily due to the fact that we don't have a national,
regular timeslot.  (Where we *do* have that, in the overseas markets,
the show is extremely successful.)  There've been some small talks here
and there touching on various feature film possibilities, from 
direct-to-video to something theatrical -- but, again, due to the
corporate structure at the studio, which is straight out of the pre-
Cambrian period, I doubt anything much will happen on that front for
the time begin.  It's nice that they've broached the subject, but to
become a reality takes a bit more.

       If I were to engage in predicting the future, here's what I
think is most probable.  The show will continue to go on, doing well
enough in the ratings to continue for two more seasons.  A comfortable
level.  In 1998, after we've finished our first run, we are
contractually already sold to the TNT cable network, which is
*extremely* excited about the show, plans to promote it, and sees it as
a way of breaking into the SF genre.  There, for the first time, we
will have a regular, *daily* timeslot on a national network.

       Then, I think, suddenly we're going to be "discovered," much
the same way ST was discovered in syndication after it left the
network.  Give it about a year or two for WB to notice this (see
pre-Cambrian comment above), then suddenly they're going to start
running around seeing what they can do to capitalize on this.

       At that point, I'm not sure which way the runes point. 
Certainly they'll start cranking out more merchandise stuff, which by
contract I have to approve, to make sure it's quality stuff.  If they
want to do a feature, I'll have to be involved, and they'll have to
negotiate with all the cast members, who by then will have moved on to
other projects and may or may not be available.  Ditto for any
spinoffs.

       So by the time they get their brains wrapped around the
question, it'll already be the year 2000.  By then, much of TV as we
know it now will have changed considerably, as it has already changed
considerably in just the last 10 years.  A spinoff or sequel may no
longer be financially viable in the new marketplace.  Ditto for any
features.  Certainly nothing much could be done until 2002 or 2003 in
terms of development, pre-production, production and post production.

       So as you can see, one doesn't need a contract saying you can't
do something...in TV, entropy tends to take care of the problem very
nicely.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 17:11:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: Sheridan/Sinclair JPG

I've just uploaded to library 5 the first JPG of Sheridan and Sinclair
together from the 2-parter "War Without End."  The file name is
twob5.jpg, and will be available as soon as it's cleared.  It's a
little dark, so it may take some work to get a real strong image.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 17:16:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Paul Owen <100331.2357@compuserve.com>
Subject: White Star

{original post had no questions}

Don't remember.  It's possible.  There was a White Star line in
reality, once upon a time.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 17:16:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you have any idea when the "Final Three" will be shown in
> England??

       See my note here on the UK.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 17:16:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  And from where I sit -- which is mainly behind my
keyboard these days -- the idea of being bored is VERY appealing.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 17:20:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: BRIAN COONEY <100551.1656@compuserve.com>
Subject: YES !! UK C4 B5 DATES

{14th April Sunday at 6pm.}

       Yes, that's correct.  The Sunday 6 p.m. timeslot will be the
one for all of the third season, so folks won't have to run home after
work or risk missing it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 20:58:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: Last Shadow War

 Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was Earth involved?
> Were there Shadow bases on Earth, like on the Narn homeworld, or
> was it something else? When was the last was?
> We know it was 1000 years ago, is that approximate, or the exact
> date? Will you answer all of these questions straight and to the
> point?

       You'll get some of the answers here in next week's episode. 
The rest will be handled by the end of the season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 20:58:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

{Can WB be convinced to show season one episodes during reruns?}

       Tried it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 20:58:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Don Fort <72204.1356@compuserve.com>
Subject: <VoA:The First Ones>

 Don Fort <72204.1356@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is there any chance we'll see what Catherine Sakai was doing at
> Sigma 957 a season or so ago?

       Sakai was doing just what she said she was doing, checking out
the area for mining and other exploitation.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 20:59:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Don Fort <72204.1356@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust To Dust>

{Hitchcock is a fine inspiration, but please don't do a shower scene!}

       We would never do that.

                                                       Yrs, Norman B.

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 20:59:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com>
Subject: A few questions

 SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> asks:
> Has there been any more discussions about the two hour
> direct-to-video project?

       Nothing new.  Which is what I figured.  I think they want to
get a sense of the coming renewal situation before talks go any
further.  Which will take another month or so.  Basically, the stations
get pitched all new show pickups at NATPE, then they go home, confer
with their general managers and owners, and then decide finally which
shows they will and won't pick up. We won't hear anything definitive on
that until probably late April, possibly even early May, depending on
circumstances.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 20:59:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Morris L. Gavant, M.D. <74027.264@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5SciFi Univ cover story

{An article compared B5 and DS9}
 Morris L. Gavant, M.D. <74027.264@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did he do that with the DS9 cover story?
> Is there sour grapes underneath the essay regarding the need for
> new blood?

       This is something I probably shouldn't comment upon.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 22:40:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com>
Subject: Sheridan/Sinclair JPG

 Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you know why the image is so dark?

       I have no idea, as we didn't provide the graphic; I can only
assume they either got it from WB, or digitized it themselves off the
raw footage.

                                                                  jms

       (PS, I did upload a cleaner, slightly lighter version an hour
or two later.)

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 22:40:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

{Now we can get older episodes.}

       You can't, not until they go on sale at some point.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 22:40:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Shine <75213.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: LA Channel

 David Shine <75213.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> Which LA station broadcasts Babylon 5 and, when?

       Thursdays 9 p.m., channel 13.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 22:44:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Cameron c. Wood <103305.515@compuserve.com>
Subject: Tolkien Influences

 Cameron c. Wood <103305.515@compuserve.com> asks:
> Ya ever sneak a peek at the Dead Sea Scrolls, or even the old
> gnostic stuff?   {Narratives similar to Tolkien, and to B5}

       Not bad....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-Feb-96 23:54:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: Harlan Ellison: Cartoon

       No, no, it doesn't mean what it says.  But how else can one
announce that B5's own Conceptual Consultant, Harlan Ellison, will be
appearing at the Cartoon Art Museum at 814 Mission Street in San
Francisco on Friday, March 1st, from 6-8 p.m.?  This Evening with
Ellison goes for only $15 per person, and is a benefit to raise funds
for museum.  For more info, call 1-415-CARTOON.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 03:43:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Marte Brengle <76703.4242@compuserve.com>
Subject: Beyond five years

 Marte Brengle <76703.4242@compuserve.com> asks:
> Gee, then it'll be what, ten years before the WB stores start
> selling B5 merchandise?

       Yes, I know the store...I've spent far too much money there,
mostly on Superman stuff.  (You know you've spent too much money at the
WB store when the clerks actually *call you* to tell you that something
just came in that you're gonna NEED to buy.  I sometimes think I have
the word STOOGE tattooed upon my forehead....)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 14:17:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bill Hayes <75140.2265@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Bill Hayes <75140.2265@compuserve.com> asks:
> Will we see the [Drazi] ambassador again this season?

       Yeah, we'll see him again at some point.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 14:17:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: gopher <75410.177@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: Ivonova/Bureau 13

{Ivanova is the backup Control, isn't she?}

       Nope.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 14:17:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: Beyond five years

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> What ever happened to customer service?

       WB stores don't carry B5 stuff, or stuff from most of the WB
shows.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 14:18:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are you implying that it requires divine intervention to make
> studio execs see reason?

       And sometimes even divine intervention isn't enough.  By
comparison, parting the Red Sea is easy....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 14:18:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Vorlon Theology


       "I think Marcus is going to work out."

       Yup.  As I'd said.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 14:18:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Antony Jackson <100025.2004@compuserve.com>
Subject: YES !! UK C4 B5 DATES

 Antony Jackson <100025.2004@compuserve.com> asks:
> As you know the timeslot details, I take it you would know if
> they will be showing it w/s?? Also, any news on if they will be
> showing it in the "hi-def" (!) PAL Plus?

       I haven't heard anything more on this, so my *suspicion* is
that the answer is no.  At this stage there probably isn't time to do
it, either.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 14:18:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: Shadows

 Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com> asks:
> The invisible alien that was in the Earth sleeper ship, was that
> a Shadow?

       Shadow servent.  Soldier of darkness.  Not a shadow, but a
good, close friend of same.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 14:18:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Paul Voisine <72117.1270@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

{original post had no questions}

       "I'm beside myself."

       How then do you walk through doorways?

       This seems highly dubious and very impractical.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 20:58:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Thomas Rackers <72047.1207@compuserve.com>
Subject: Makeup/Prosthetics Q:

 Thomas Rackers <72047.1207@compuserve.com> asks:
> (For example, adding a little bit to a person's jowls to age him
> from his actual 40 years to around 70.) Could you refer me to
> someone on the B5 staff, or some other source, who could advise
> me on materials used for the face molds and the prosthetics, and
> tips on how the process is done?

       Alas, I would feel inappropriate in referring you to any of our
staff for consultation, as a) they get such requests frequently, and b)
they're very busy on other stuff.  Probably any good makeup technician
in the area could do the same in any event; we're not doing anything
that hasn't been well established in the field.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 20:58:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robt Martin <75663.2701@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 cover story

{original post had no questions}

       Do you think any of the foot dragging over at the Sci-Fi
Channel Magazine is due in part to the fact that the SFC is co-owned by
Paramount?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 20:58:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rick Shelton [FL] <72560.3114@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Rick Shelton [FL] <72560.3114@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did he take a bath?
> Also, is Lou coming back at all?

       The actor playing Lou Welch wanted to do other things.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 20:58:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Smith <103020.3110@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: Ivonova/Bureau 13

{original post had no questions}

       We'll continue to see Corwin (played by Joshua Cox) for the
balance of the season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 20:58:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust to Dust>

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is the Psi Corps based on Mars, or do they only have an outpost
> there? Is Bester a Mars or an Earth native?

       There's a training facility on Mars, and a somewhat classified
base. Bester was born on Earth.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 20:58:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: mitoch <103576.3032@compuserve.com>
Subject: Exogenesis

 mitoch <103576.3032@compuserve.com> asks:
> Hi, I just have to ask ( and I don't think a spoiler is
> necessary), but is the voice of the pilot on the shuttle Dyson
> actually Sean Connery or is it a celebrity impersonator?

       It was a voice in the walla group that basically came out
sounding that way.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 15-Feb-96 20:58:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Asha DeVelder <76703.4322@compuserve.com>
Subject: Vorlon Theology

 Asha DeVelder <76703.4322@compuserve.com> asks:
> So, you're saying you didn't write that line?
> That the actor just ad-libbed it and you left it in?

       Actor?  What actor?  I'm talking about Marcus here.  I just
write down what he says.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------

Date: 16-Feb-96 16:18:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Carl Bussjaeger <102065.1635@compuserve.com>
Subject: Vorlon Theology

 Carl Bussjaeger <102065.1635@compuserve.com> asks:
> When can we expect _your_ characters to take over and start
> posting directly, on their own?

       Most unlikely.

                                                                 kosh

------------------------------

Date: 16-Feb-96 16:19:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Book 4, Morden>

 Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com> asks:
> Will this finally be a case where a book has direct connection to
> what will be coming up in the series? Will we see D'Arc on the
> show?

       Probably not, but one never knows.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 16-Feb-96 16:19:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com>
Subject: Sheridan & Delenn

 Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com> asks:
> I know you can't tell me what they will become (if anything), but
> can you let me sleep nights by letting me know you won't just
> forget about their relationship?

       I would say it's fair to say I do plan to do more with that
relationship as we get deeper into the story.  And thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 16-Feb-96 16:19:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Exogenesis>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks (I think).  Yeah, I've said from the git-go that in my
view the second half of Exo isn't up to the first half.  It is, in my
view, the weakest of this season's 22.  On the flip side, that means
the other 21 are pretty nifty.

       Agree with you on Marcus.  I'm finding I have the same problem
with him I have with Londo...getting him to shut up once I wire him up
and let him go. He's a lot of fun to write, in that he can do the
physical action stuff very well, he can do comedy, more dramatic
emotional stuff...the whole range.  I can take him places and do things
with him that I can't in some ways for the other characters, in that he
has only one responsibility, whereas the others have larger
responsibilities to more people.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 16-Feb-96 16:19:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: gopher <75410.177@compuserve.com>
Subject: Shadows

 gopher <75410.177@compuserve.com> asks:
> Rangers, Sheridan, Sinclair, Lyta, and now G'Kar are good, close
> friends of the Vorlons? Or more like just Lyta?

       More like a foot soldier.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 16-Feb-96 16:19:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Draco <101603.2062@compuserve.com>
Subject: TLTS:Shadows

 Draco <101603.2062@compuserve.com> asks:
> a) In the Narn/Shadows battle, a Shadow ship is damaged by a
> combined Narn attack - The Shadow ship seems to be totally
> immobilised, was it really this badly hurt that the loss of one
> part of one of it's 20 'limbs' (yes I've counted them!) causes
> this ? - how tough are they ?
> b) Is it possible that the bit of 'limb' is still floating in
> orbit ? - for someone to collect and analyze?
> - or can the Vorlons just tell us everything about Shadow tech ?

       It was in shock, but it would've recovered in a bit more time.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 16-Feb-96 16:24:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robert Miller <71501.3042@compuserve.com>
Subject: Beyond five years

{original post had no questions}

       Absolutely.

       And I'm looking forward to it.

       I haven't summoned down thunder and lightning in a long time;
it'll be good to get in the practice.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------

Date: 16-Feb-96 22:17:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Christopher R. Turn <71470.1536@compuserve.com>
Subject: Unused scripts

 Christopher R. Turn <71470.1536@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is there any chance (pretty please!) that the unused scripts from
> seasons one and two (such as *The Long Night of Susan Ivanova*)
> might be released?

       There *are* no unused scripts.  This is a misnomer.  I've had a
few titles, or premises, that haven't gone as far as a script, but no
abandoned scripts.  So I can't upload them, since they don't exist.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 16-Feb-96 22:17:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com>
Subject: Beyond five years

{Why do you put up with the bozos here?}

       I consider it research; I work up some great lines for Ivanova
this way as *she* deals with pinheads.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Feb-96 00:07:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William O. Powers <102124.3327@compuserve.com>
Subject: TLTS:Shadows

{About Shadow ships}

       They're organic, in a fashion, and there's a cognitive aspect,
but not what you may think.  More in 7 days.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Feb-96 00:07:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Dust To Dust>

{Continuing the "Psycho" thread}

       Oh, good, I'll go get her for you.

       You'll just *love* meeting mother.

                                                            Norman B.

------------------------------

Date: 17-Feb-96 15:06:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com>
Subject: Nightwatch / ISN

 Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com> asks:
> Where is the ISN during all this Nightwatch stuff?
> Why aren't they investigating the Nightwatch?
> Is the press being supressed by the MiniPax?
> Will this become a factor in an upcoming episode?
> Will Universe Today become a propaganda arm of Earth Dome?

       You'll find more on this in the next three episodes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Feb-96 15:45:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Vivien Loveday <100705.2440@compuserve.com>
Subject: YES !! UK C4 B5 DATES

{original post had no questions}

       In every great war, there are always some civilian
casualties....

       (Is there anyone who can tape it for you, to watch later?)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Feb-96 15:45:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com>
Subject: Garibaldi Payback

 Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com> asks:
> When are we going to see him finally kick the living crap out of
> someone?

       That can probably be arranged.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Feb-96 15:45:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: mike lovitt <75021.1731@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...and the best is yet to come.  This coming week's
episode, "Messages From Earth," is probably the best thing we've done
on the series to this point.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Feb-96 15:45:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ruth Spradlin <73477.3155@compuserve.com>
Subject: Exogenesis

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  Sometimes I do like to take stories that have always
been done one way, and turn them on their heads to see what new
possibilites tumble out. It's fun....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 17-Feb-96 15:45:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Sharon Foster <76360.301@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Exogenesis>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  Yes, Marcus and Ivanova should get along
well...assuming one doesn't kill the other first....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 14:57:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  Bruce did an excellet job in this episode, I agree. 
As did everyone else.  This is, in my opinion, about as flawless an
episode as we have ever made.  It's one of those cases where the sum is
even greater than the sum of its parts...and the sum of its parts ain't
bad.

       From here on through the next batch, the intensity level
continues to crank up.

       We definitely pushed the envelope in terms of EFX this time
out; mixing and matching, and in sheer amounts of shots, and their
complexity. But the result, I think, is eminently worth the effort.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 14:57:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin Hill <74170.1015@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Kevin Hill <74170.1015@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since there aren't too many Ardwrights around, can I assume that
> this is the same person in B5? Does he write on the side to
> suppliment his meager income from B5<grin!>?

       Yes, I believe he does write as well, including some Robotech
stuff.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 14:57:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

 Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you have any advice on effective strategies for dealing with
> station management?

       The best techniques are always persistence, and organization;
if you can get others involved as well, in a concerted effort, that
always has an effect.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 14:57:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John L. Creigh <75270.423@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

{original post had no questions}

       Thank you.  Working on the show, and creating this universe, is
a task that has, in sum, taken ten years of my life thus far, and it
means a great deal.  I appreciate the kind words.  We do try.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 15:53:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: Thought from jms

       Here's something that occured to me today.  Any time you have
someone you're trying to convince about the quality of a show, and you
say, "Here, just watch it next week," that's always the one that comes
a-cropper.

       "Messages From Earth" airing this coming week is possibly the
best thing we've done to that point.  It's guaranteed to grab anybody
who watches it.  So this would be a good one to use.

       Pick ten friends who you know haven't yet tried B5, or are
diffident about it, and give them a call.  Tell them to give THIS one a
look.  Then all you have to do is sit back, and wait for the jaws to
drop.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 16:29:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

{original post had no questions}

       Some viewers have set up petitions at local SF-oriented
bookstores, which can also be a good place to start.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 18:07:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David E. Francis <72047.2070@compuserve.com>
Subject: Thought from jms

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...on all counts, really.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 18:07:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

 Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com> asks:
> I'm getting the feeling that this one is one that should be
> taped, hmmm?

       Taped?

       Bronzed.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 18:10:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: FitzGeralds <103571.3245@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: Ivonova/Bureau 13

 FitzGeralds <103571.3245@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did she really think she could evaluate him in such a short time?
> What else should he have said?
> Could he trust her?

       Thanks.  Yes, I tend to find *process*...the going from one
state to another, to be interesting.  Growth not only provides drama,
it can often produce irony, tragedy, and comedy, and ah *loves* all of
those.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 20:12:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: Good Grief - DS9

{original post had no questions}

       If you're looking for rationality here, save your time; these
are the same two, he and his brother, who *insisted* over on AOL that I
had sent official B5 reps to conventions to bash ST...and when
challenged, backpedaled fast...until finally admitting that they saw a
couple of guys on a panel who'd said bad things about ST, but were in
NO way associated with B5 in ANY official capacity whatsoever.  They
basically just made it up.

       He just posted a HUGE and *provable* fabrication about DS9's
ratings over on the ST section, and then has the audacity to come here
and say that *I* speak with a forked tongue.

       They seem to think that somehow I should prevent B5 fans from
ever saying anything derogatory about ST.  I don't have that kind of
control. They said it here again, that I "allow" this behavior.  This
is irrational thinking at its finest, that somehow I control or allow
viewers of this or any show to do or say ANYthing.  Their attitude is
like a cranky child, "Make 'em stop talking bad about our show!"

       Basically, accuracy and the Halls dine at separate tables. 
You're making the same mistake I did at first with the Halls...assuming
that you were dealing with sensible individuals interested in the
facts.  You're not, and they're not.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 20:25:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Speaking of writing and the like, how is the carpal tunnel doing
> right now in your case?

       Frankly, the carpal tunnel is not good right now.  Yesterday it
shot up from my left elbow to wrist...it's hard to describe unless you
take a shishkabob skewer and drive it from your elbow to your wrist
real fast a few times.  Mainly it's a dull but constant
weight/discomfort in the wrists, fingers and forearms; the ring finger
of my right hand is now constantly turned inward...I have to sleep on
it flat under my pillow at nights to straighten it out by morning. 
(The left hand just started doing the same thing a few days ago.)

       This is the worst part of the year for this, at this point in
the writing.  Last year at this time, I had to write 20 minutes, then
ice my arms down for 20 minutes, then write 20, then ice 20.  And so
on.  The discomfort is pretty chronic now, but not always as acute,
because I'm doing the exercises, and wearing the wrist restraints, and
doing all the things I should be doing.

       But the bottom line...to write this season means writing over
1,000 pages of scripts in less than 10 months.  Not counting interim
drafts and the like.  That's the equivilent of a novel every 5 months. 
That's going to take a toll on you no matter what you do.  (Dictating
or voice recog doesn't work for me; I write through my fingers.)

       When these last two scripts are finished, though, I'll have a
fair amount of time to recuperate before doing it all over again.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 20:25:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Beemer <71551.1670@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Michael Beemer <71551.1670@compuserve.com> asks:
> Er, beg pardon, but what Robotech stuff is there left to write?
> Then again, given my propensity for misquoting authors, whada I
> know?

       He's written some of the translated scripts for the animated
series.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 20:30:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does a Shadow ship have only one crewman and can the "person"
> leave the ship once he has bonded with it? If it is only a two day
> jump from Earth to B5 why can't they get eggs to the station
> before they spoil?

       Basically, it's the cost involved in transporting something as
basically trivial as eggs.  Yes, it can be done, but the cost per egg
would be quite substantial, given limited space in ships.  Space flight
is still very expensive.

       And yes, a shadow vessel has one "core" sentient, and once in,
it's very difficult for that person to ever get out again.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 22:43:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

{original post had no questions}

       I'd just distract myself....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 18-Feb-96 22:43:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Alan Katz <74260.3612@compuserve.com>
Subject: Thought from jms

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks, we try....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Feb-96 00:29:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Messages from Earth<<

 Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was this planned or just one of those things?
> Will we learn what he has written during his tenure in prison?

       Thanks.  Yes, the way Sheridan removes his EA pin here is an
echo, or a shadow, so to speak, of his moment in "Honor."  The latter
is meant to sort of indicate what might be ahead for him, what he may
have to do at some point along the line.  He has to give up things that
mean something to him. (We'll get more of this philosophy in a few more
eps, I don't want to get too specific here.)  Visual foreshadowing.

       From here on in, things get very interesting....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------

Date: 19-Feb-96 19:23:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gerard Keating (Ireland) <71154.3423@compuserve.com>
Subject: Unused scripts

 Gerard Keating (Ireland) <71154.3423@compuserve.com> asks:
> Cound the unused "premises" be used as a basis for novels or
> comics ???

       One of them was; David Gerrold's premise was used for the
two-part comic he wrote.  But beyond that, separated rights means that
the author holds onto ancillary uses, so I can't go around assigning
their outlines or premises for books and the like, only my own.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Feb-96 19:23:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       I'd rather let that be answered later in this season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Feb-96 19:23:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Dan T. Davis <71121.1254@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Dan T. Davis <71121.1254@compuserve.com> asks:
> Also, I enjoyed seeing "The Book of G'Kar" - maybe a new
> testament? Is this the first episode that fairly directly ties in
> to either the comic or the books?

       Yes, what he's writing will, in time, become the Book of G'Kar.

       And correct, I went for a different feel in this episode, on
the theory that a little change is a good thing, if used to a purpose. 
It's built like a series of waves, with quite moments in between.

       This is the second so far to strongly tie into the comic, yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Feb-96 19:33:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Nigel Nixon <100666.2174@compuserve.com>
Subject: Marianne Robertson

 Nigel Nixon <100666.2174@compuserve.com> asks:
> I wonder why she left?
> It would be nice, though again it depends on why she left, has
> anyone had any Marianne sightings on other shows? But for how many
> episodes this season?

       Marianne departed the show on her own, deciding that she wanted
to travel and do other things.  I don't think she's acted much anywhere
since.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Feb-96 19:33:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Carl Bussjaeger <102065.1635@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

{original post had no questions}

       ...selling my ears....?
                     ~~~~
       WHERE THE HELL DID *THIS* THREAD COME FROM?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Feb-96 21:04:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: Good Grief - DS9

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...the pleasure is entirely mine.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Feb-96 21:04:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was the spine that the White Star shot off the Shadow vessel
> recovered?

       Nope.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 19-Feb-96 21:04:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Harold Eckstein <72253.3332@compuserve.com>
Subject: Dust to Dust, comments

 Harold Eckstein <72253.3332@compuserve.com> asks:
> These are some questions I have about the logic or correctness of
> some of the situations: 1) Should Sheridan have shown such little
> anger when he catches Ivanova about to kill Bester? 2) Was that
> right that Sheridan's staff speak before he gives them permission
> and before he finishes? (He was laying down the law to Bester near
> the start of the episode.) 3) Garibaldi can bring Ashi in so
> easily, grab his hair, intimidate him a little and he caves? This
> is the guy who has his hands in major crimes on the station? 5)
> Why should G'Kar be so voluble with Lindstrom, revealing the Narn
> (or his own) plans for the dust? Is a drunk driver not to be held
> accountable for injury he causes after he drinks, because he
> can't control himself when he is drunk?

       Thanks.  The stories ebb and flow at different paces, some
slower, some faster, depending on the nature of the story.  I try to
give each one a separate flavor.  Where it may become a hassle is that
some folks, myself included sometimes, tend to flip pages in a novel to
get to the exciting stuff...but the interim parts, though slower, are
where you get to know the characters and care for them, so that what
happens later has consequence.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Feb-96 02:09:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com> asks:
> One Bad point I found was How could the Hiperion Track the White
> Star ...As Far as you have let on so far Earth force ship's are
> unable to lock on to Mimbari Ship's as Far as tracking or fire
> control goes ? Also With out you giving away too much Will we Find
> out More Soon on the Buildup of Forces to fight the shadows ..Ie:
> new war ship's or Vorlon Technology ...ect ...and if so will it
> be soon ?

       The forces will continue to build over the course of this
season. The White Star would be detected because it was inside the
atmosphere, where it could be picked up by its emissions, the
disruption caused in the air by the engines, and frankly by plain
sight.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 20-Feb-96 11:49:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Frank J. Furfaro <74031.1005@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 & TNT

 Frank J. Furfaro <74031.1005@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since TNT has purchased the rights to B5 for 5 years, doesn't
> that pretty much assure that PTEN would continue B5 for 5 years? 
> Or is this agreement flexable depending on B5's year-to-year
> renewal and TNT would just get whatever is produced?

       The agreement is flexible; WB has the option of doing just 3
years, but I'm reasonably sure that TNT would like a lot more

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Feb-96 17:44:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Celia J. Penham <102454.540@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Celia J. Penham <102454.540@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are the episodes ever coming out on video?

       Thanks.  We hope to release the videos through the fan club
once it's seriously up on its feet.  We're booked on scripts for this
season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Feb-96 17:44:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Alexis Holizki <75027.1277@compuserve.com>
Subject: Warning Bogus B5 Stuff

 Alexis Holizki <75027.1277@compuserve.com> asks:
> On sorta the same topic, how many B5 shirts have been authorized?

       The All-U shirts are definitely legit.  And nicely done.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Feb-96 22:08:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com>
Subject: Shakespear and Marcus

 Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com> asks:
> Were the Shakespearian lines in Exogenesis your doing or Jason
> Carter's? Or did you write them specifically with him in mind?

       I like Marcus quoting literature, Shakespeare included.  So
it's something I've peppered through his character, though trying to
avoid too much of it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Feb-96 22:08:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

 Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> asks:
> If so, what is it that clues you in that you need a small break?

       No, usually it's not a problem, except when I get physically
tired at the end of a long day.  It's a full-immersion process only
from July through April; from April to June it's a bit slower, so I can
recuperate then (we don't shoot April to June).  I actually have very
little trouble living in the B5 universe with half my brain, and
hanging out here and the other nets with the other half of my brain. 
Granted, I don't have any brain left over for a personal life during
this period, but my personal life has always been pretty brainless, so
there you are.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 20-Feb-96 22:08:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com>
Subject: Warning Bogus B5 Stuff

 SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> asks:
> but who's winning?"

       That's good news, though I wish folks would drop the vs. part
of the panel topic and just talk about the shows on their own terms.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 00:40:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Bovenmyer <73567.1341@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Messages from Earth<<

{original post had no questions}

       Okay, then if gravities is inappropriate, 'splain to how
shuttle and jet pilots refer to gravities in similar situations, e.g.,
pulling 2 g's when at a certain accelleration and turn pattern.

       Also, when the Galilleo probe was inserted into the Jovian
atmosphere, and a number of scientists on CSPAN were talking about
Jupiter, they commented that the interior of Jupiter would be twice (or
whatever number) the gravity of Earth.

       You're dealing with a much greater *mass* than with Earth, and
thus greater gravity.  I don't see where in here is the flaw.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 13:35:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gary Weinfurther <71521.2352@compuserve.com>
Subject: <MFE: Jumpgate>

 Gary Weinfurther <71521.2352@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why didn't Sheridan use the jumpgate trick against the shadow
> ship like he did with the last one?

       Because there wasn't a jumpgate he had access to, only a jump
point created by the White Star.  In the prior situation, he blew up a
standing jump gate.  The only one in the vicinity would be at the
transfer point near Io, which if destroyed would seriously harm Earth
interests.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 13:35:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robert Miller <71501.3042@compuserve.com>
Subject: Exogenesis question

 Robert Miller <71501.3042@compuserve.com> asks:
> Just out of curiosity, what was Joshua Cox's reaction when he
> read the script for "Exogenesis" and found out his character
> actually got to get out of C&C?

       He loved it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 13:35:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 & TNT

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> In your estimation, does the fact of the syndication agreement
> with TNT make it more likely that season 4 and 5 will be done?

       It's a wash, won't make a difference either way.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 13:35:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com> asks:
> Will we ever find out who was the person who entered the ship,
> and does it matter?

       It doesn't really matter in the long run; some poor shlub who
got conned into it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 13:35:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Drew Stephens <74761.245@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 vs ST

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks, and thanks for joining the party.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 13:35:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Benoit Langevin <74434.3136@compuserve.com>
Subject: <MfE - Garibaldi+comic>

 Benoit Langevin <74434.3136@compuserve.com> asks:
> What are the latest news on the Fan club and the video?

       I believe Sheridan wasn't shown the badge in the comic; and
Garibaldi is always cautious about what he says in front of others,
like Kirkish.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 15:38:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Marte Brengle <76703.4242@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       And then there are days when I don't remember what I had for
lunch....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 21:09:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Who'd have thought that the man called "Starkiller" last year
> would be walking down the hallway of a Minbar (and half-Vorlon)
> ship with two Minbari, huh? What can one say about this poor guy,
> who is literally about to be caught between a rock and a hard
> place?

       Thanks.  Actually, we crank up the whole Nightwatch story over
the next two episodes, and what's happening with Earth, until it hits
fever pitch. Things really start to move.  (There's almost a short lull
after #10, just to let folks catch their breath a bit before the next
big wave.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 21:09:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Whne it gets to be this bad, what do you do for it, short of not
> typing on the keyboard for two days? Have you considered the
> surgery for this condition? In the meantime, take care of
> yourself, okay?

       Actually, no, the plan next season is not to write all of them;
it only happened this season because so much gets changed that it's
hard to bring in freelancers.  Next season, things will have stabalized
enough to bring in freelancers again.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 21:09:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com>
Subject: Four Cents: "Exogenesis"

 The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does Claudia Christian do this stuff in one take??
> The Jawa Kidism Patrol 8:51 PM, Wednesday, February 21, 1996
> Glasses help you see the screen!--who knew?

       We rarely do just one take of anything; you always do more, in
case you get something new.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 21:09:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Paul Owen <100331.2357@compuserve.com>
Subject: C&C lights

{original post had no questions}

       Basically, it's a hassle to rig the lights given that set.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 21:10:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mark Koro <70252.3354@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...I think it came out well.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 21:10:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel K. Stump <104201.1460@compuserve.com>
Subject: New Stuff

 Daniel K. Stump <104201.1460@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you discussed DAYPRO with your doctor?
> TALIA: if she is "The future" then why is she off the show?
> Did the Actress quit or is this all part of the grand scheme of
> things? Kosh: What does "You have always been here" mean anyway?
> Stephen Furst is still on the opening squence, so is Vir going to
> be on as much as ever? Here's a joke I made up, you're welcome to
> use it if you like, no credit nor compensation required: How many
> Vorlons does it take to screw in a light bulb?

       "If Talia is 'the future' then why is she off the show?"

       Because stuff happens.  Because rocketry was the hope of the
German Luftwaffe to win the war.  Didn't work out that way.  Just
because a character says it, doesn't mean that it's guaranteed to
happen at all times. A parent can look at a child and say, "He's our
hope for the future," and the next day the kid gets turfed by a
semi-truck.  Stuff happens.  Nothing is guaranteed in the B5 universe;
any character -- ANY character -- is vulnerable.  That, for me, is part
of what's exciting.

       Vir is in this season about as much as last, yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 21:10:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Julia E. Linthicum <73114.3530@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Messages from Earth>>

 Julia E. Linthicum <73114.3530@compuserve.com> asks:
> WHY do you do this to us?

       If you think this is bad, wait until after next week's episode,
when you'll have to wait until April 3rd for the conclusion of the
three-episode mini-arc.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 21-Feb-96 21:22:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       "...I didn't think things would start moving this fast so
soon!"

       Well, this is what I kinda kept trying to tell people was
coming, when they said things were moving too slowly....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 00:35:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mark D. Smith <70254.107@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Mark D. Smith <70254.107@compuserve.com> asks:
> I haven't seen it yet, but does this mean that a human can
> "pilot" a shadow ship and if so, would the human be sane after
> words?

       Almost certainly not.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 00:35:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mark D. Smith <70254.107@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Mark D. Smith <70254.107@compuserve.com> asks:
> The question then becomes, did you even HAVE lunch?

       Who can remember?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 00:35:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com>
Subject: New Stuff

 Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com> asks:
> And also will we ever see Iron heart again ...?
> ?

       Talia's gift was exactly what was indicated, nothing much
hidden in there: greater capacity to shield her thoughts, and limited
telekinesis.

       No plans for Ironheart for long, long time.

       We shoot episodes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.  Rarely do we go
overtime.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 01:35:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Grady W. Smithey I <103321.2766@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minor Minbari Question:

 Grady W. Smithey I <103321.2766@compuserve.com> asks:
> How long ago was it that the Minbari discovered that souls were
> going missing?

       About a thousand years, give or take.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 22-Feb-96 14:22:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       Exactly.  You need a clear and present danger, and with a
population that nearly got wiped out by the Minbari, who are skittish
to begin with, you drag out the possibility of someone else doing the
same thing and it makes it a lot easier to do what you want to do.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 14:22:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you mean that a human can not pilot/ride(?) a battlecrab?

       Yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 14:22:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Barbara Pfieffer <72302.2453@compuserve.com>
Subject: Episode 321

 Barbara Pfieffer <72302.2453@compuserve.com> asks:
> When will we get to find out the name of the season finale?
> By summertime, perhaps?

       I'm going to hold the title of 22 confidential as long as
possible.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 18:23:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: M. Campbell <75212.245@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 18:23:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Episode 321

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> Would that mean that the title of episode 22 is also the title of
> season 4?

       Nope.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 18:23:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> Should we start to look with suspicion at whoever it was that
> ordered an Earth explorer ship into a sector of space in which it
> would encounter the Minbari ship carrying the Grey Council --
> which would respectfully approach the Earth ship with gun ports
> open?

       No, that was an accident.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 18:23:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 18:23:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: MSF/NY-Jaime Cruz, Jr. <72267.1372@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Clarks' Law>

{original post had no questions}

       ...urk...I missed that when I proofread it....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 18:38:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: B5 PR

       Having taken steps to further help promote the show, there's a
lot more happening.  If you're in Portland tonight watch "Good Evening"
tonight at 7:30 p.m. on KGW and in Seattle on "Evening" on KING-TV for
a piece on "Point of No Return."  Also, tomorrow's Showbiz Minute on
CNN will do stuff on this episode as well.

       EXTRA will be running clips this weekend, and the AP has a
story on it, as well as the New York Times Syndicate Inside-Trek
column.  The episode has been picked as a highlight in the Philadelphia
press, the LA Times, and in major newspapers in Dallas, Houston,
Chicago, San Francisco, New York and elsewhere.

       Slowly, we're getting noticed.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 22:30:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 vs ST

{original post had no questions}

       But it's a *good* weird.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 22:30:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: gopher <75410.177@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: Msgs from Earth

 gopher <75410.177@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is there something bigger than we might expect going on with the
> Minbari? Is this true?
> 3) Do Vorlon ships have the same (or similar) symbiotic deal?
> 4) We've seen the mini-shadow-ship-balls, but are there various
> sizes of big shadow ships? Can you help me feel better about this?

       Well, they all could've died.

       Neither situation relied on introducing new technology, only on
taking advantage of what's known currently.  It's a simple equation:
ship A is more powerful than ship B.  In a head-to-head situation, ship
A (shadow) will destroy ship B (white star).  If you can't directly
confront a stronger enemy, you have to find some way to work around it,
outsmart it.  (And fortunately, this one was flawed, "insane," as
Delenn put it.)

       And the minbari know more than they're saying.  But then that's
generally true of them.

       And yes, the shadow ship arrived with a new "core" for the
buried ship.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 22:30:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bill Sheldon <73162.1054@compuserve.com>
Subject: Still my favorite show

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks, much appreciated.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 22:30:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: School of Comm Arts <103111.2445@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 School of Comm Arts <103111.2445@compuserve.com> asks:
> Now is this just some sort of coincidence or deliberate?

       The Eternal Vigilance line is from history, not Wing Commander.
Ten Green Drazi points to the person who can name its origin.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 22:30:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 PR

 Mara K. Malovany <102750.1414@compuserve.com> asks:
> I know the show needs PR to help expand the audience and improve
> ratings & time-slots, and I do enjoy reading the occasional
> interview, but is there any way for you to control the media once
> they do take notice? But, if/when the media turns the spotlight on
> B5, are we going to end up with the situation Trek faces, where
> lazy reporters think that giving away the ending is the same as
> writing an article? Do you think you will be able to continue
> doing so?

       If presidents, ministers and generals can't control the media,
we have little chance of doing so.  So we just have to try to keep
things close to the vest on our own (which is why the title for 322 is
classified for now).

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 22:30:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com>
Subject: New Stuff

 Michael E. MacDonal <102371.1166@compuserve.com> asks:
> As i see you rarly do any thing that could not have meaning later
> on I assume it got away for a reason ..and that we will be seeing
> it again ?

       As a matter of fact, yes, you'll be seeing the Na'Kal later
this season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 22:37:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: Deja Vu

       A labor action leading to a strike, with people shouting
"strike!" and "union!" hits aboard a space station, inspired in part by
a person of Irish descent whose ancestor was killed in the course of a
famous strike. A government rep arrives to quash the strike, stating
that he will use "any means necessary" toward that goal, which is
finally achieved when the person in the middle redistributes his
finances, giving the strikers what they want while circumventing the
system.

       Quick...is that a DS9 episode or a B5 episode?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 22-Feb-96 22:37:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       Er, actually, you just misspelled it too.  It's not Heinline,
it's Heinlein.  You were also off by one letter.

       Simply in the interests of accuracy.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 00:07:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Grady W. Smithey I <103321.2766@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minor Minbari Question:

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  We're giving it our best shot.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 00:07:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toby A. Aulman <74464.241@compuserve.com>
Subject: Local show features B5

{original post had no questions}

       Yeah, I remember doing the interview for that one, glad it came
out okay.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 02:17:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Phillip A. Cochran <75667.241@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 Phillip A. Cochran <75667.241@compuserve.com> asks:
> You mean there's *something* you don't think you own?!?!?!?!

       Now, now...it's common knowledge on the nets that all B5
viewers have my ear when they want it....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 23-Feb-96 12:33:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Jonathan Hoopingarn <73172.1065@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Voices of Authority>

 Jonathan Hoopingarn <73172.1065@compuserve.com> asks:
> Will we see more First Ones in upcoming episodes?
> Will we find out what these First Ones have against the Vorlons?
> Will we see more of Susan using the Great Machine, will her
> experience (other than finding First Ones) become a factor in the
> Great War, and will those experiences color her perceptions and
> attitudes? On a general Ivanova note: Will any more come out about
> her relationship (if any) with Talia and will that affect any
> relationship with Marcus ?

       I think the answers to all of those tend to be yes....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 12:33:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Deja Vu

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> So how come they can get away with it?
> I know that you wont sue them, but *if* you did would they have
> any kind of defense?

       I dunno...still, I prefer to do what I do in the marketplace of
free ideas.  There's how we did it, and how they did it.  Let the
viewer take it from there.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 12:33:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Graham Smith <100125.1730@compuserve.com>
Subject: YES !! UK C4 B5 DATES

 Graham Smith <100125.1730@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did you post a start date for the new C4 series?

       As Brian Cooney first noted here, the projected date appears to
be April 14th.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 12:33:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can you schedule the outside scripts to give your hands a rest?
> Are you going to talk to Peter David about at least one??

       As Ted Kennedy might say, I'll drive off that bridge when I
come to it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 12:33:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       Then my job is done.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 12:33:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Barbara Pfieffer <72302.2453@compuserve.com>
Subject: <? on MfE>

 Barbara Pfieffer <72302.2453@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this a mistake?
> Second, what is the symbol on the floor of the White Star?

       Per accident he began writing right to left; Narn is left to
right, so we flopped the shot.

       The symbol on the WS isn't on the floor, it's the top of a
console that can be used for holographic tactical displays.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 12:33:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why don't you scan your ear and upload it to the graphics
> library? What do you think folks, who votes for a gif/jpg of Joe's
> ear?

       I think it's a terrible idea.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 17:51:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Randy Upshaw <75464.1275@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

 Randy Upshaw <75464.1275@compuserve.com> asks:
> I belive from what has been said the next 2 episodes will take 5
> or 6 weeks?

       Well, next week's is a new episode, so you can get that far.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 22:33:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Just as a point of reference, does it actually cost less for you
> to write an episode than it does to have someone else do it? You
> still get paid your writer's fee when you write the episode don't
> you?

       Whether I write the episode, or a freelancer does, the fee per
episode is exactly the same.  No money is saved in the budget.  Under
WGA rules this is a requirement.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 22:33:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David&Rita McLaughlin <76400.1515@compuserve.com>
Subject: Fleer...Good Guys

{original post had no questions}

       Yeah?  Gee, now if only I could get them to fork over a few of
the cards *I'm* missing...even I don't have a full set.

       But that's been said before by others.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 22:33:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Doug Gordon <71610.247@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

 Doug Gordon <71610.247@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was the implication supposed to be that the high energy of these
> weapons was atomically fusing the hydrogen? Or perhaps the weapons
> were designed to be used in vacuum, and the atmosphere was
> scattering the energy? Or am I missing something quite obvious?

       Given that we're looking at a high-energy weapon capable of
burning through a four-mile wide Narn orbital base as though it were
made of butter, it's putting out enough energy, I figured, to lead to a
reaction with the hydrogen, whether it's a fusion reaction of some
other.

       We're talking a concentrated level of energy equal to a
thermonuclear reaction on a controlled level, or a fusion weapons
system with an energy output well beyond contemporary science to
calculate (particularly since this system is capable of delivering the
energy, undiluted, to targets tens or dozens of miles distant).

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 22:33:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this something that explains one little gaffe that I spotted
> in this episode? Oh, well,...I guess you can't catch every one,
> huh?

       Not a gaffe; we flopped the shot because the writing was done
left to right, instead of right to left, which is Narnish script.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 22:33:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Btw, Joe, just exactly how does one write the organization name?
> Is it "Nightwatch" or "Night Watch"?

       It's Nightwatch.

       The thread will diminish for a while, then return down the road
in later seasons, after the story takes its third major turn.

       By the last few episodes, pretty much all of my cards are on
the table. But by the last episode of this season, we find that the
game we've assumed we've been playing ain't necessarily the game at
all.  The show takes a fairly subversive direction, and of all the
seasons so far, the one that follows, year four, represents the
greatest writing challenge to make this actually work.

       Which is another reason why it's important to get the B4
storyline and several other threads out in the open, and clear the
decks, because this is gonna take every bit of whatever talent I've got
to pull off.

       Year four is the point in the novel when you're just past the
halfway mark; you know the reader thinks he or she has got the story
sussed out. The reader knows all your tricks by now, or thinks he/she
does.  You've been pulling doves out of your hat for 243 pages.

       Now you'd damned well better be able to pull out an alligator.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 22:33:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Stabilized, huh?
> Does this mean that you'll be looking for a script editor once
> more? I seem to recall that Larry DiTillio left the series, so
> that would mean that you'd be taking over the script editing as
> well, right?

       During Larry's last year with us, I did most of the rewriting
on freelance scripts anyway, so it doesn't really save me much on
typing.  (If anything, the process is longer and more difficult than
just writing 'em myself.)  Doing it this year was an interesting
experiment, and necessary, but I don't think I'd opt to do it again
anytime soon.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 22:49:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe's Ear

 John McAuley <100260.412@compuserve.com> asks:
> So what do you think, lurkers and posters, YEA or NAY?

       Let me put this to you simply.

       No.

       Unless you intend to drug me in the middle of the night, drag
my limp body to a computer outlet and scan my ear while I'm otherwise
unconscious, it simply *ain't* gonna happen, referendum or no.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 22:49:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 The Jawa / Jawa #2 <76371.3057@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is it legit?

       Both All-U and Creation make B5 t-shirts.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 23-Feb-96 22:49:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Lynn Dimock <74471.3131@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 Lynn Dimock <74471.3131@compuserve.com> asks:
> Has anybody brought up Vincent Van Gogh yet?

       It was a mild Spring day, warm, clear, sunny, when Vincent Van
Gogh picked up his easel, and some paints, and walked a mile and a half
to an open field where he often painted landscapes.  He set up his
easel, sat under a tree for a while, ate part of an apple, composed a
brief note to his brother Theo.  Then he pulled out a derringer and
shot himself in the chest.

       After an hour, realizing that he was not going to die for a
while yet, he picked himself up and staggered the mile and half back to
Theo's house, where a few hours later that evening he passed away in
Theo's arms.

       Some say his sad ending came about because he felt he was a
burden to his brother Theo, and the guilt did him in; others because he
sold only one painting during his life, for 48 francs, and he felt he
would never become a painter of any worth.

       On reflection, perhaps it was the thought of people bidding for
his ear that did it.

       You wanna see the end of this story or not...?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 01:42:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 PR

 Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are you waiting for us to see an upcoming episode before
> releasing the season-ender title, or are you going to try to keep
> it secret up to air-time?

       For as long as I can.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 01:42:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: "Arc" eps

 Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com> asks:
> OK, just as a point of interest, why are major plot eps called
> "arc" eps?

       Because they best convey the "arc" of the storyline.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 01:42:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Doug Gordon <71610.247@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       Yeah, perhaps a better word than ignite could've been used. 
But hey, the guy was being shot at...I'd be sitting in a corner going
bibble-bibble...

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Nigel Nixon <100666.2174@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe's Ear

{original post had no questions}

       Besides, what guarantee would I have that somebody won't print
up a copy of the ear, take it into another room, and have unwilling
aural sex with it?

       No, no, a thousand times, no.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: carrie foreman <76400.1170@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages impact>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  Suffice to say there are interesting things ahead....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: General questions

 John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com> asks:
> Haven't you setup a rather impossible scenerio if - as it appears
> - We will be saved/led from the Shadows (who appear to be far
> superior to most other races) by humans? is/was that a reference
> to Kosh (who was the focus of the pilot due to the assasination
> attempt) or to Morden (who was not IN the pilot but is/was later
> introduced in the first season) or to SOMEONE ELSE?

       Exactly.  The goal would seem to be impossible.  So how do we
do it? Is there a vulnerability that's been laid out but not picked up
yet?  Is there an advantage we don't necessarily see yet?

       We have to be smarter.  Humans are at our best when against the
wall. And we have to do it ourselves, in the final analysis, nobody
else can do it for us.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ellen Fuscellaro <76022.1032@compuserve.com>
Subject: Shakespear and Marcus

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks, he's a fun character.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Jon Wolf <76103.2541@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

 Jon Wolf <76103.2541@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was she lying, or mistaken?

       If I said that exact phrase, it's because the word "pilot" is
not exactly correct.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do they ever use something more *positive* on cities and the
> like?

       Yes, sometimes they introduce talk shows as an instrument of
war. Any culture which begins to see talk shows can pretty much rest
assured that shadows are behind it, and that our time is growing short.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Zitaglio <102545.641@compuserve.com>
Subject: Messages From Earth

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  And you can expect more between Delenn and Sheridan
soon.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Carl Bussjaeger <102065.1635@compuserve.com>
Subject: Sigh Corps Posted?

 Carl Bussjaeger <102065.1635@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you put any of the CI$ Sigh Corps posts on that bulletin
> board at the studio?

       Don't believe so.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 jewelry??

 Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you authorized pins of the Psi Corps and Earth Alliance
> insignia?

       No, any Psi Corps pins or EA insignia are *definitely* illegal.
Can you send me the info soonest?  Thanks.  The usual address for the
mail drop is 14431 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA
91423, to my attention. Thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Deon W. Becic <102147.3271@compuserve.com>
Subject: SF convention

 Deon W. Becic <102147.3271@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any chance we'll see you at the SF convention in April with
> Claudia and Stephen?

       Which convention are we speaking of?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 24-Feb-96 19:20:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Deon W. Becic <102147.3271@compuserve.com>
Subject: Talia dead

 Deon W. Becic <102147.3271@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can we hear it from the Great Maker?
> Is it true?

       It is indeed true, apparently, that John said that.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:23:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com>
Subject: Licanced B5 stuff

 Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com> asks:
> B5 Micro Machines: Currently 4 sets, with 2 coming this
> Spring/Summer #1 Space Station,Vorlon Transport, Green Ship #2
> Vorlon Cruiser, Narn Transport, Raider Ship #3 Centauri
> Transport, Minbari Cruiser, Star Fury #4 Minbari Flyer, Narn
> Fighter, Babylon 5 Crew Shuttle #5 ?, ?, ? #6 ?, ?, ?

       Also, T-shirts are currently available from All-U as well, very
good quality stuff.  Ruby's is doing some B5 masks which are fairly
decent.  And there's the Making of B5 book coming out in about a month
in the UK from Boxtree Books, by David Bassom.  (I'm currently
fact-checking his second B5 book, the A-Z of Babylon 5.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:23:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 Rae Augenstein <72752.1653@compuserve.com> asks:
> This isn't part of that "Joe's body parts" thread is it?

> (YES, we want to see the end.) 

 "This isn't part of that "Joe's body parts" thread is it? :-\"

       Hey!  Don't butt in....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:23:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Theo Thourson <73214.2131@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

{original post had no questions}

       Relax.  Smoke a cigarette.  Go out for pizza.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:41:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> asks:
> have you called Guiness yet?

       Nope, not calling anybody until I've actually *done* it, and
there's still one more to go.  One doesn't mention the term "perfect
game" while the pitcher is still on the mound in the 9th.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:41:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: FitzGeralds <103571.3245@compuserve.com>
Subject: 5 year arc

 FitzGeralds <103571.3245@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is that the plan to only have it on for five years?

       Yes, the story lasts just five years, then bye-bye.

       And thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:41:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Hawkins <71742.160@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 John M. Hawkins <71742.160@compuserve.com> asks:
> You've read some history?

       Yeah, there are a lot of historical parallels in here, more in
tonality than specifics in some cases like these.  When things get
tight, even good people sometimes don't know which way to jump.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:41:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  We've featured Minbari script going straight up and
down like Japanese, right to left with Narns, and other variations. 
Because they would naturally occur.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:41:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

 Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is the arc we're in now (MFE, PONR, SD) the first or second major
> turn? Harder than year three?

       Yes, the current mini-arc (8-10) is the second major turn in
the storyline.  The third starts with the last episode of this season,
going into the fourth year.  Then you've got one more big turn about
the last quarter or one-third of year four, and then a bit of a flip at
the end.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:41:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

 Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com> asks:
> Could one of the "Side of Light" (Sheridan, Sinclair, Marcus,
> Ivanova, Delenn) be prepared to "pilot" a Battlecrab - and
> turning it to a powerful ship for the Good Guys? Or is a
> Battlecrab alive and intrinsically "evil" enough to prevent this,
> just like the One Ring could not be used for Good in Lord of the
> Rings, no matter how good and powerful the user was?

       It's certainly a *very* good question.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 01:42:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Messages from Earth>>

 Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> asks:
> Which reminds me: what was the outcome of your "study" into how
> the station-by-station numbers were being reported (falsified
> airdates, etc.)???

       We found that the research division wasn't being updated on air
schedules; the new reports now feature accurate ratings for accurate
times, which gives us a *much* better understanding of what's going on.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 04:05:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: <MfE - Agamnennon>

 Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com> asks:
> But would he have fired on another earth ship?

       If I can, let me address one aspect of this, for your
consideration.

       Back when I was working on MURDER, SHE WROTE, we'd sometimes
get letters saying, "This wasn't a good episode because I figured out
the ending. It wasn't a surprise."  (Which is, to some extent, your
point here.)

       The problem we had with that particular letter was this: of
COURSE you figured it out.  Because you were paying attention to all
the clues we had put out there in the episode.

       There seems to be this notion that nobody should be able to
jump ahead, or else something's wrong or bad about the episode. 
Absolutely not true.  If you're going to play fair with the audience,
whether it's B5 or M,SW, you've got to put enough bits of information
out on the table so that the person who's really following it can
figure it out...so that at the end, those who *didn't* figure it out
can back up the tape, watch for the clues or leads, and see where it
all came from.  That's playing fair.

       If NObody gets it, you haven't done your job right.

       If EVERYbody gets it, you haven't done your job right.

       The best case scenario is a bell-shaped curve.  Some don't have
a clue what's coming, some manage to figure it out, and the majority
have a kind of vague sense where it's going, but there are still
surprises along the way.  If the bell-curve shifts one direction or the
other, then you're in trouble.

       So far, B5 seems to be hewing right to the bell-curve.  For
every person who says "okay, this was expected," there's been another
saying, "I had no *idea* this was going to happen here, or so fast." 
(Many of these have been right on this forum, in fact.)

       Finally, do bear in mind that you have an advantage here that
99% of all the viewers don't: the discussion here on CIS, and direct
comments from me.  For instance, I just noted elsewhere that we've got
major turns at the end of this season, and one 2/3rds into year 4. 
Now, if at those points, somebody says, "Well, I knew this was coming,
that's bad," I intend to whap them, because the reason they likely knew
it was coming was because I *said so* right here.

       But that same 99% doesn't have this advantage.

       This is the main difference I've noted in the mail that's come
in: the net-folks are constantly trying to figure out what's coming up
next, treating it like a mystery story (which, really, it's not, any
more than ANY novel is a mystery in that you don't necessarily know its
turns and twists as you're reading it), whereas the non-netted folks
tend to just take it as it comes.

       See, that's the other part of this.  People on the nets tend to
treat it as though it's a mystery novel, and when it doesn't hit that
aspect, say it's flawed as a result...when it was never INTENDED to
function as a mystery novel.  It's a novel period.  A mystery novel
depends absolutely on the riddle at the center of it.  This is a saga,
which uses a different structure.  It isn't a mystery any more than
Lord of the Rings is a mystery, even though when I first read it I was
wondering what was going to happen next.

       Also, a mystery novel is done when the mystery is finally
unraveled. Not so the B5 story.  By the end of this season, most of the
mysteries will be unraveled, and the pieces laid on the table for all
to see.  It then becomes a matter of what the characters *do* about it
thereafter.

       If I'm doing my job right, and setting up things to come
properly, and giving all the clues to it, then by definition a certain
number of people HAVE to figure out what's coming.  As long as it's the
smaller portion, that's as it *should* be.  So you'll understand why I
tend to get in here for a moment when that's held up as something bad
or poorly done. (And, again, even you note that the only reason you
knew about the shadows on Mars was via reading it here, or others read
it via the comics.  Again, that's a very small portion of the audience;
most I've heard from had NO idea about that aspect of it.  If you
hadn't read it here, you likely would have been surprised by it.)

       Anyway, just something to consider in all of this....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 04:06:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Alan Auerbach <75176.3726@compuserve.com>
Subject: Family Viewing

 Alan Auerbach <75176.3726@compuserve.com> asks:
> Hmm, I wonder where she picked that up?

     That's great.  I appreciate hearing that, thanks, and my regards
to all three of you.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 25-Feb-96 16:07:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com>
Subject: 8 NEW B5 EPS!

{original post had no questions}

       We try....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 16:07:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Alan P. Biddle <73260.1450@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

 Alan P. Biddle <73260.1450@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since you like at least parts of THE SHINING, I was wondering if
> he is writing the Narnish equivalent of "The quick brown fox
> jumped over the lazy dog" over and over and over?

       No, I don't think I'd go that way with him, certainly not
yet....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 16:07:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: Writing B5

 Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> I assume she's misinformed about this?
> ?

       She had to be referring to the arc overall, because if next
year's scripts are already written, I'd sure as hell like a copy of
each; it'd make my job a LOT easier.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 16:07:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Damian Reaves <75373.2325@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

 Damian Reaves <75373.2325@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is the Shadow ship just a living ship or is it actually a
> different type of Shadow?

       It's not a kind of shadow, no.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 16:07:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: <MfE - Agamnennon>

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> What sense do you get from the letters of when the average
> non-netted person comes to realize that the whole series is
> telling one specific story?

       What I usually get are letters that say, "I didn't know there
was an arc until I saw four or five episodes."  Because that's an
aspect that really hasn't been as well promoted as it could've been. 
But once they glommed onto it, they ran with it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 16:07:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com>
Subject: Licensed B5 stuff

 Brian A. Thomas <75231.1122@compuserve.com> asks:
> When the official fan club gets up and running, will information
> be included how to get in contact with all these people to get
> their products, or will the club make it available itself?

       The theory is that we'll use the fan club web page to allow
direct or indirect access to the folks who make all the other
non-fan-club licensed stuff.  We may even have a kind of virtual Zocalo
where you can shop....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 16:07:32
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Draco <101603.2062@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Merchandise...

 Draco <101603.2062@compuserve.com> asks:
> Anyone else seen anything like this, or is it just me ???

       If you could send me a copy of the catalog, I'd appreciate it. 
We have already shut down some of these companies, but others sprout up
again, offering inferior merchandise or models that fall apart fast. 
When we do models, and eventually we will, they will be *quality* and
worth fans spending hard-earned money to purchase, not cheapo
knockoffs.  (As a for instance, when we sell patches and pins via the
fan club, they will be made by the same sub-contractor who makes them
for the show, so they'll be high quality and *100% authentic*.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 16:07:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John R. Finnan (Ireland) <100012.3073@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minor Minbari Question:

 John R. Finnan (Ireland) <100012.3073@compuserve.com> asks:
> So, would this have been before after or *during* the last Shadow
> war, which was also around 1000 years ago? For that matter, was
> Valen and the Grey Council formed before/during or after the war? 
> Or will we find this out when we find out the *true* history of
> the Triluminaries???

       It'll be covered in the two-parter, to a large degree.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 16:07:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com>
Subject: < Messages from Earth>

 Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com> asks:
> (Should we research the Ottoman empire, or is it _really_ just a
> throwaway?

       I'm reasonably sure those were Andreas' hands.

       And thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 20:02:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John R. Finnan (Ireland) <100012.3073@compuserve.com>
Subject: I've got JMS's EAR!!!

{original post had no questions}

       I suppose you know there is nothing I can do to stop you.

       I suppose you know that I will find you.

       I suppose you know the drill.  It begins with the words, "You
will know pain...."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 20:02:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: <MfE - Agamnennon>

{original post had no questions}

       Also, bear in mind that Sheridan went into Earth-space knowing
the risks.  For him to fire on the Aggy would be selfish, and wrong; he
knew full well that this could be a one-way ride.

       If you're going to have a situation where Sheridan fires on EA
ships, it has to be the ONLY way of dealing with the situation, and it
has to be SUPREMELY motivated, so that it's not just him or one of our
guys who's at stake.  It has to be a big situation to merit taking the
lives of fellow officers, in the same service.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 20:14:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Eugene S. Erdahl <103403.1753@compuserve.com>
Subject: Earthforce Ship Names

 Eugene S. Erdahl <103403.1753@compuserve.com> asks:
> Babylon 5, The Next Generation?
> Am I right in assuming that the Earthforce warships (Agamemnon,
> for example) bear the names of British Royal Navy ships-or is
> this just coincidence?

       Most of the Omega class of destroyers are given Greek names,
such as Achilles, Alexander, Agamemnon and others.

       And thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 20:14:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of no Retrun>

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> When did Londo acquire his taste for them?
> Perhaps when he came into possession of 20,000 shares in a spoo
> ranch? Did she ever prophecy for Turhan?
> Did Sheridan sucker him into trapping the NW or did Zack
> knowingly help Sheridan? Hague's squadron mean that Franklin's
> father is on Clark's side?

       Thanks.  I think Zack was mainly nervous in that last bit,
which may account for his twitchiness.  And yes, Morella often
prophesied for Turhan.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 20:14:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Phil Herscher <71101.304@compuserve.com>
Subject: < Messages from Earth>

 Phil Herscher <71101.304@compuserve.com> asks:
> What were the effects of the Whitestar opening the Jump Point
> within the atmosphere? Was the resulting blast assumed to be the
> "enemy" ship being destroyed?

       I think they know the White Star (aka the unidentified ship)
got away, but they put the best face on it back home.  Which is one
more reason why Clark's declared martial law.  Things are spinning out
of control, he's in increasingly hot water back home, and he has to
seize control.  Whoever was in that alien ship knows too much about his
operations...if that were to come out, he's finished.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 20:14:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: Messages From Earth

 Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Maybe in her rebellious youth (if Minbari have rebellious youths)
> she took to hanging around a Windsword dojo, mmm?

       Thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 20:14:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Charles Agius <72712.3572@compuserve.com>
Subject: Good to see.

 Charles Agius <72712.3572@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why did they do this?

       Best way to change the local time slot is to write the local
station and urge them to do so.  Good luck with it, and thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 20:14:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Don Porges <71531.3465@compuserve.com>
Subject: <MfE - Agamnennon>

{original post had no questions}

       Good point.  Because the show *is* going somewhere, it's
possible for people, knowing that, to jump ahead a bit.  90% of the
speculations are wrong, but if 10% are right, then there you are.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 23:33:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: <MfE - Agamnennon>

 Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com> asks:
> That's good honor - but can it hold?
> Do you see my issues on this thing?
> Oh, btw - I assume the Whitestar is the only ship that's been
> able to achieve an in-atmosphere jump? Its been tried before with
> disastrous results ala opening jumppoints in jumpgates?

       Of course it can't hold.  And they're going to go through
plenty of fire.  Remember, this is the first of three that accomplish
that.  Each escalates upon what went before.  Don't worry...you'll get
your wish.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 23:33:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: up and coming

 Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this the last episode and then back to reruns (making it 5
> episodes new) or is there a sixth planned?

       Yes, "Point of No Return" next week is the last new one until
April 3rd.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 25-Feb-96 23:33:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>PoNR<<

 Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks:
> What's the scoop?

       Yeah, it's supposed to be a repeat.  What was in the promo you
saw?

       And thanks...the story's coming along nicely.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 01:29:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>PoNR<<

 Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does the promo make sense to you?

       Okay, that's the make-believe promo they made from other
footage. That's FON all right.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 01:29:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: <MfE - Agamnennon>

{original post had no questions}

       And that is exactly the reaction you *should* have.

       Such things are never easy, and are always at terrible,
terrible cost.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 12:02:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of no Retrun>

 Anne L. Warner <71513.1177@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is there any possibility of (or reason for) Lady Morella
> reappearing in the future?

       Always a possibility.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 12:02:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earth>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> It there and *actual authentic* name for the really cool Shadow
> monsters?

       I just call them shadow vessels.  For now.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 12:02:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: Earthforce Ship Names

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do all the Omega class destroyer name start with Alpha or was
> this just a coincidence in your post?

       Not with Alpha, since that isn't a name out of Greek mythology.
But the first one off the production line probably would've been the
Achilles.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 12:02:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Belt <72142.1365@compuserve.com>
Subject: Licensed B5 stuff

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  We're happy to spoil you.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 12:02:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Belt <72142.1365@compuserve.com>
Subject: Licensed B5 stuff

 David Belt <72142.1365@compuserve.com> asks:
> How long, O Great Maker, before the web page becomes a reality?

       Expect late April.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 26-Feb-96 18:30:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Lee McNeil <101611.1440@compuserve.com>
Subject: Membari souls

 Lee McNeil <101611.1440@compuserve.com> asks:
> Who is right about Membari souls ?
> Who is correct ?

       Who is right?  Who am I to define the rightness of others'
spiritual beliefs?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 18:30:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: "Arc" eps

 Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com> asks:
> What do you consider the pivot of the arc?
> The people or the place?
> Something else?

       The people have to be at the center of it, or it's meaningless.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 18:30:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John R. Finnan (Ireland) <100012.3073@compuserve.com>
Subject: Deja Vu

 John R. Finnan (Ireland) <100012.3073@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is that a B5 episode, or a DS9?

       Yeah, given that our script was floating around for months
before this was shot, and Foxworth had *already agreed* to do our
episode, and his agent, and they brushed us off to do the DS9....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 18:30:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John R. Finnan (Ireland) <100012.3073@compuserve.com>
Subject: I've got JMS's EAR!!!

 John R. Finnan (Ireland) <100012.3073@compuserve.com> asks:
> What about fear????

       Fear implies enough time for a warning.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 18:30:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gregory Courtright <73420.2643@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Gregory Courtright <73420.2643@compuserve.com> asks:
> The WhiteStar looked different in this episode then in previous -
> did you change the design?

       Different camera work, mainly.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 18:30:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Messages from Earth>>

 Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com> asks:
> Speaking of ratings, how are we comparing to DS9?
> Do we usually beat them?

       Depends on the market.  Sometimes we beat DS9, sometimes they
beat us. It varies considerably from place to place.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 18:30:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: "Arc" eps

 Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why arc?

       Story arc.

                                             Climax
                              Complication            Denouement
              Rising action Introduction

       An arc.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 21:18:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com>
Subject: Earthforce Ship Names

 Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks:
> Or is this just a happy coincidence?

       Oh.  Sorry, yes, we started with the A's.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 21:18:37
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: "Arc" eps

 Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com> asks:
> BTW, a friend was wondering what's the aspect ratio on the
> credits? Is it letterbox or cinescope?

       It's letterbox ratio.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 21:18:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Lee Whiteside <76711.2660@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages Question>

 SysOp Lee Whiteside <76711.2660@compuserve.com> asks:
> Care to comment?

       ....i don't remember anymore....

       It all blurs, Lee.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 21:18:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: JOHN GRAVES <102735.1124@compuserve.com>
Subject: And Now...Reruns!

 JOHN GRAVES <102735.1124@compuserve.com> asks:
> So, before I ask for a glass of whiskey, a gun, and two bullets,
> please give it to me straight up: how many weeks of repeats
> before we resume with new episodes?

       Just next month; we come back with new eps on April 3rd.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 26-Feb-96 21:18:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> That raises another question, however: What do you consider the
> greatest challenge in writing B5 right now? That's just it, isn't
> it?

       I think probably the hardest thing in the writing this season
has been in pulling the story through the next level, around the
corner, and into a new relative shape.  Some things are the same, and a
lot of things are different the deeper you go into this season.  It's
been a real tough act to get this boat where it needs to go, but I
think we pulled it off.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Feb-96 00:07:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com>
Subject: < Messages from Earth>

 Rowan Kaiser <74160.473@compuserve.com> asks:
> Ganymede would have security cameras, research cameras, etc,
> right? So there would be a very high chance of one of these
> cameras recording that it was the shadow vessel and not the White
> Star, right? Right?

       Of course.  But who controls those cameras?  Answer: the very
folks who wouldn't want it to get out what they had there.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Feb-96 00:07:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Harry R. Keller <103464.3722@compuserve.com>
Subject: <JMS: Msgs from Earth>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Feb-96 00:07:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: Deja Vu

 Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does this mean that General Hague was originally supposed to be
> in MfE, or are you refering to something else?

       Foxworth was slated for "Severed Dreams" when he bailed on us.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Feb-96 00:07:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: Prison Authors

 John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com> asks:
> Am I just being paranoid, or are you being even sneakier than
> usual?

       It's the Book of G'Kar.  Make of that what you will.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Feb-96 00:07:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: Bacon and Eggs

 John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com> asks:
> Re: Marcus's "surprise" for Ivanova: does Marcus not know that
> Ivanova is Jewish, and thus would not eat bacon? Or does he know
> that she's Jewish, and sent her the bacon 'n' eggs anyway, more
> as a joke? Or does he know that she doesn't practice her religion
> much, and think that she'd probably eat it anyway?

       Ivanova's not what you'd call orthodox under any circumstances.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Feb-96 00:07:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

 Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com> asks:
> Maybe I missed it, but is word out on behalf of WB for season 4
> approval? But when is the verdict?

       We won't know until late April.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Feb-96 01:47:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: Finished Writing!

       Well, it's done.  I have today turned in the first draft of
script #22 for year three, which I suppose could be called a
cliffhanger episode. This marks the first time in the 50+ year history
of American television that one person has singlehandedly written an
entire season of a series. (The closest record is Terry Nation, who
wrote the 13-episode first season of Blake's 7.)

       (I have no plans to do this next season, btw; this was
necessary because of the substantive changes in the B5 universe this
season.  Next season is a very different story...literally as well as
figuratively.)

       So far the film based on those 1,000+ pages represents some of
our best work on Babylon 5.  There's some nifty stuff coming.

       We are currently filming episode #18.  Four more after this,
and we'll be finished shooting year three, as of April 9th.  Not long
after, we should get the word on year four, probably by late
April/early May.  But the writing is finished...and for the first time
in 8 months, I will be able to go out, see a movie, play Wing
Commander, find something that vaguely resembles a life.  This is where
I now also become a director's worst nightmare: a writer-producer who's
finished writing and finally has time to hang out on the set and give
lots and lots of helpful advice.

       It was a hideous task; two-thirds through I began to understand
that there was a *reason* nobody's ever done this before...you'd have
to be outta your ever-loving mind to even try.  But as with everything
else on B5, if we don't know it's impossible, we just go ahead and do
it.

       The title, as stated elsewhere, is classified, though you may
get a sense of what's coming in the two eps that precede it. 
Regardless, the writing on year three is now complete.  Overall, I'm
quite pleased, and I think by the time you hit this episode, you'll
feel the same.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 27-Feb-96 12:10:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Sunil Karve <70003.6236@compuserve.com>
Subject: Finished Writing!

{original post had no questions}

       We flopped the shot because it was accidentally written left to
right, and Narns write right to left.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 27-Feb-96 12:10:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Walter F. Hern <74201.2063@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Messages from Earth>>

 Walter F. Hern <74201.2063@compuserve.com> asks:
> On the previous week's episode, were you the flower seller???

       No.  I have a policy of not doing cameos in my shows.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel K. Stump <104201.1460@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 PR

 Daniel K. Stump <104201.1460@compuserve.com> asks:
> In the dream sequence where Kosh and Ivonova reach Sheridan's
> mind: Was Ivonova in his mind or was it all Kosh? If it was
> Ivonova, then how did Gerbaldi get there or was he Kosh, as the
> latter appeared as someone else in G'kar 's mind? And who was that
> fourth person in dream? Are you going to leave the contradiction
> about Sinclair being the last Captain of B5, as stated on the
> Premiere, as is or are you going to work it out so that that
> isn't a contradiction at all? Also in the premiere, wasn't
> Delenn's attack on G'kar out of character?

       It was Kosh doing it all; and the narrative in the pilot never
named Sinclair specifically.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Deon W. Becic <102147.3271@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 script book

 Deon W. Becic <102147.3271@compuserve.com> asks:
> My question: Is there a possibility that you could publish your
> collection of complete, uncut scripts?

       We may sell some scripts via the fan club, plus the one in the
writing book.  We'll see....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com>
Subject: Finished Writing!

 Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you contacted the folks at Guiness?
> What's reason got to do with it?

       Thanks, much appreciated.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gerald Himmelein <100417.3703@compuserve.com>
Subject: CTS

{original post had no questions}

       Ice packs are usually good.  "Blue Ice" they call it, which can
be repeatedly refrigerated and doesn't melt.  Wear wrist braces.  There
are also a number of available exercises that can help.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages From Earrth>

 Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com> asks:
> Or doesn't it make a difference by then, as the decisions are
> made in late April based on data picked from, say, February?

       No, I think they'll be looking at info right up until the time
they decide.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com>
Subject: Minor Minbari Question:

 Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com> asks:
> So we can also expect the trigger to be pulled somewhat regarding
> the imbalance of power on the Grey Council? Thought we'd forgotten
> about that, didn't you?

       Oh, it's coming, all right....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Charles Agius <72712.3572@compuserve.com>
Subject: Good to see.

 Charles Agius <72712.3572@compuserve.com> asks:
> That ship they found on mars was it dead?

       It was dormant.  The core element was dead, certainly.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PONR & Nightwatch>

 Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was this an something that slipped by unnoticed, or is it just a
> result of the design of the arm band?

       It's probably a result of the printing on the armband as it
goes around.  The posters are all one-word.

       I think you hit the distinction between MfE and PoNR...the
former is exciting, the latter is tense, with "Severed Dreams" a good
blend of the two, particularly the latter.  We did our final producer's
cut today, and man, it moves....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bill Sheldon <73162.1054@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Marcus line>

{original post had no questions}

       I wrote the line.  There's almost no ad-libbing on this show.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 00:15:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PoNR - Redemption>

{original post had no questions}

       As I said...all good things to those who wait.

       Thanks.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 28-Feb-96 11:57:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Nigel Nixon <100666.2174@compuserve.com>
Subject: SFX Magazine Awards

{original post had no questions}

       Hey, I'll take it....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 11:57:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Messages from Earth>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are Varn's People First Ones (I *believe* you said they were
> not)? Was the Great Machine built by a race of First Ones or by
> Varn's People? Is the Great Machine capable of seeing *everywhere*
> or can it be blocked (by say the Shadows or Vorlon)?

       No, Varn's people aren't first ones...and the machine can be
blocked.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 11:57:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neil Blevins <102226.3566@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PoNR - Redemption>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...it's a good episode.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 11:57:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: TIMOTHY R. GREEN <73023.143@compuserve.com>
Subject: Actor's Portrayals

 TIMOTHY R. GREEN <73023.143@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since you originally set up the 5 year story-line, has the
> performance of the actors involved enthralled you to the point of
> changing a character's fate? How do you handle this kind of thing
> when you want to stay true to the story, but see the rewards of
> an actor's performance perhaps drawing more viewers? Or just being
> darned good entertainment?

       My feeling is that if you've got a great actor, and you love
the character, you don't refrain from doing something Awful to
them...if anything it makes it better, 'cause you'll care about it
more.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 11:57:36
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: James Kemp <101355.3704@compuserve.com>
Subject: Finished Writing!

 James Kemp <101355.3704@compuserve.com> asks:
> Now when do we vote you for president?

       Don't wanna be president.  Want an honest job....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 20:35:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: William H. DiPaola <76521.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: Message From Earth

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 20:52:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Christopher R. Turn <71470.1536@compuserve.com>
Subject: San Diego ComiCon?

 Christopher R. Turn <71470.1536@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you made any decision yet on attending the San Diego ComiCon
> this year?

       I'll definitely be at SDCC...it's my favorite place to shop and
go nuts every year.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 20:52:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Nigel Nixon <100666.2174@compuserve.com>
Subject: SFX Magazine Awards

 Nigel Nixon <100666.2174@compuserve.com> asks:
> Don't you ever get really fed-up that B5 gets so much coverage in
> the UK SF press (two big articles in SFX plus those awards, one
> or two features a month in TV Zone, a feature every month or two
> in Starburst) while at home you seem almost ignored?

       It's annoying in terms of the US press, but it reaffirms the
taste, selectivity and discretion of the British audience....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 20:52:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com>
Subject: Prison Authors

 Burhaan Ahmad <75754.3065@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does G'Kar actually think of it as *The Book of G'Kar*, or does
> he just feel he's writing an autobiography/history of sorts? What
> I mean to say is, does G'Kar now fancy himself as being as
> important as G'Quon?

       No, he hasn't thought of it that far yet...but it will find
that role.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 20:53:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robert Miller <71501.3042@compuserve.com>
Subject: < Messages from Earth>

 Robert Miller <71501.3042@compuserve.com> asks:
> What is to prevent the people of Earth from believing Clarke's
> move is exactly what it appears to be: a desperate act of a man
> whose crimes are being brought out into the open? How can a man
> who has been openly accused of assassination, who has some pretty
> damning evidence backing up the accusations, and whose very
> legitimacy is being investigated by the government, effectively
> overthrow the government? For that matter, what are Clarke's
> motivations? Is he just consumed by lust for power, or is there
> something else going on?

       It all depends on how you frame the issue...i.e., the attacks
are groundless, baseless, and part of a campaign to destroy the
government, he's the attacked innocent....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 20:53:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Neal J. Meyering <104020.1417@compuserve.com>
Subject: More Patricia Tallman

{original post had no questions}

       We definitely plan to do more with Pat, we're very happy with
her.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 20:53:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: Finished Writing!

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...may the future bear out your assessment.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 20:53:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David P. Watkins <74663.3345@compuserve.com>
Subject: The plot thickens

 David P. Watkins <74663.3345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any chance of getting tapes????

       Eventually we hope to put out tapes; in the fullness of time.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 23:43:34
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Stephen T Jacobs <76132.603@compuserve.com>
Subject: SSN. 1 Tapes - ATTN. JMS

 Stephen T Jacobs <76132.603@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, if you're here, A) do you know what I am talking about?
> , & B) If so, is the business legal?

       Technically speaking, if one is making dubs of episodes and
sending them around, it's not legal, correct.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 23:51:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Julia E. Linthicum <73114.3530@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Point of No Return>>

 Julia E. Linthicum <73114.3530@compuserve.com> asks:
> BTW, does Lady Morella's Sight work for just Centauri or
> everyone? Does this guy understand what a personal vision means?

       The editorial does seem odd when you then flip to the back of
the magazine and realize that the highest marks were *consistently*
given to jms scripts.  That would appear to be a contradiction.  I
think it's also a bit unwise to question the quality of a season before
you've even *seen* it.  I suspect someone will be reconsidering those
words by the end of the season.

       Also, it wasn't like I sat down and decided to do this for my
own benefit...this season, with so much happening, the show changing so
dramatically, it's nearly impossible to bring freelancers into that. 
Next season, when the chairs have stopped moving around, that can
change and we can have other writers again.  This was necessity, not
whim.

       Elsewise...thanks for the kind comments on PoNR.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 28-Feb-96 23:51:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Messages from Earth>>

 Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> asks:
> Hm, at the risk of sounding very silly, might I suggest you
> consider doing an on-camera intro to the final episode of Season
> 5?

       Yeah, that'll *really* bring up the ratings....

       "The next sound you hear will be millions of remote controls
flipping to another channel all at once...."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 02:37:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PONR & Nightwatch>

 Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was Hague supposed to appear in person in "Point of No Return" or
> was he always going to have been behind the scenes? And did
> "Severed Dreams" have to be modified to accommodate the actor's
> not being there?

       Ask me again after "Severed Dreams."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 02:37:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Suzanne l. Bainbrid <103307.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: Enjoying Babylon 5

 Suzanne l. Bainbrid <103307.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> How on earth are you going to be able to maintain this quality
> for another 2 1/2 seasons, <eg> and still keep your sanity, not
> to mention your budgets?

       Thanks...and we just have to keep making it constantly better,
there's no going back now.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 29-Feb-96 15:11:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: NORMAN H. JOHNSON III <103707.410@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<PoNR>>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...it ratchets things up a bit more, certainly.  The big
stuff's just around the corner.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 15:11:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: NORMAN H. JOHNSON III <103707.410@compuserve.com>
Subject: Starship classes

 NORMAN H. JOHNSON III <103707.410@compuserve.com> asks:
> We have seen cruisers and destroyers are those the only classes
> of capitol ships or will we be seeing others, such as
> battleships, in the future?

       We'll probably be seeing more and different kinds of ships as
we go in, plus support vessels of various sorts.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 15:11:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Cameron c. Wood <103305.515@compuserve.com>
Subject: Beyond five years

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks, and so far, there aren't any plans to change the end of
this thing, believe me.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 15:11:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can the President dissolve the Senate, as Parliments may
> sometimes be dissolved, prompting new elections? What is the
> procedure for removing the President from office? Can the
> President declare Martial Law over the entire nation without the
> consent of the Senate? Can the President suspend the Constitution?
> HOW IN *GOD'S NAME* CAN THE MILITARY SUPPORT THIS!?!?!?

       Wait for the next episode, then we'll see.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 15:11:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Don't you think the "Traitors Can't Escape" poster was a bit over
> the top for *public* consumption (on the wall in the bar area)?

       It's not always as simple as that.  You also take a uniquely
Western perspective.  Look around at Russia, Cuba, 1930s Germany and
the beer hall putsch, Iraq, Iran...a leader can survive all kinds of
opposition if he has sufficient control of the armed forces.  After the
Gulf War, it was generally assumed that Saddam would be gone within a
few months; now his position is stronger than ever.

       Also, Clark didn't (ostensibly) declare martial law to protect
himself, he did it because of an imminent alien threat which was
detected long before these allegations came out, we just had Ganymede
attacked and that's spitting distance from the primary Earth jump gate
at Io...there is indication of collaboration and conspiracy among some
in the Joint Chiefs (and in fact that's correct, from his point of
view, given Hague's activities)...there's enough ammo there to justify
martial law.  Dissolve the Senate?  Just happened a couple years ago in
Russia, when we had tanks firing on the Senate building. Some might say
that Yeltsin was in the same position as Clark in that his motives
might be saving himself.

       (The majorit of our posters, btw, are taken from genuine WW II
propaganda and war-support posters that were actually in use.  We make
some slight modifications, but the gist is there.  Yes, we do fall for
these things, we do go for these things.  We always have.)

       As for the USA-western perspective...during WW II we saw
Japanese civilians interned in camps along the West Coast...afterward
we saw people prosecuted for being Reds, saw careers and lives
destroyed by even the hint of "commie" influence.  If you look at
newsreels and documentary footage from the time, you see a populace,
fresh out of a war, who survived by focusing on the Enemy, given a new
enemy.  Might they have gone along with some kind fo martial law if
they thought that if they *didn't* cooperate, the nation might be
vulnerable to Russian nukes or invasion?  I think the climate was
perfect for it.

       Could it happen right here, right now?  No, because the
surrounding climate isn't right.  Could it happen if the conditions
*were* right?  Of course it could.  We're not genetically or
evolutionarily different from the Germans or the Russians or the Cubans
or the Iraquis.  If we think we'd never fall for that, we place
ourselves in *exactly* the position of guaranteeing that we *will* fall
for it.  Because we won't recognize it when it happens. We can justify
and rationalize it as something else.

       Yeah, people back on Earth still have guns.  What of it?  Right
now, with martial law, the streets are quiet, the news is more positive
than usual for a change, the quarrelsome jerks in the senate have been
given a good kick in the butt, the president's getting things *done*,
we've all still got our jobs, the muggers are hiding out, life goes on
except for the lawbreakers. You gonna go out on your own and start
shooting at Earthforce troops armed to the teeth with *vastly* more
advanced weaponry?  On whose behalf?  The aliens? The troublemakers? 
What're we rallying for?  Or against?  This'll blow over soon, it
always does.  It never lasts.  Right now, just ride it out, wait and 
see what happens.  Who knows...maybe Clark's right?  Who wants to be
perceived as a traitor?

       Those are the thoughts of any populace in this situation.  Just
as when Yeltsin declared martial law in Moscow, as when Mayor Daly sent
in the shock troops in Chicago, on and on.

       Here's the number one rule: a population will always stay
passive for as long as they perceive that they stand to lose more by
opposing the government than by staying quiet.  It's when they have
little or nothing left to lose that they rise up; the politicos first,
then, more reluctantly, the general population.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 15:45:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Rage's Thots: PoNR>

 Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com> asks:
> It makes me wonder: what if Delenn had been on the station when
> the riots/Nightwatch situation erupted? Maybe the Z-man should
> have just tossed it over his shoulder? from his cell, to the
> lighting of the candles (rekindling of hope lost in TLTS? You've
> had it for *months*, okay? Clarke?
> Him and the Nightwitch (Musante) are the type of people that have
> Earth's best interest at heart? *Corwin, by his line "What did we
> do wrong?" Did anyone else see Susan as Wednesday Addams sitting
> there on the couch?

       "...I wanted Sheridan &Co. to cut themselves free of Earthgov,
and they didn't."

       'Course, if you were to do anything that monumental, you'd
spike right smack in the middle of your three-part story.

       One of the things about these three episodes that's again worth
stressing is that they're really one story, linked carefully.  Each of
the three begins *one frame* after the other.  After they've aired, if
you sit down with a VCR and edit them together, you'll find that they
flow absolutely SEAMLESSLY from one to the other.  So PoNR is at the
dead center of the piece that propels you toward the last third, like
the second act in a three-act play (which was my structure for this).

       That may help.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 19:12:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com>
Subject: Petition Letter

 Bernard F. Dowdy, J <76550.347@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you have any ideas on what would be strong enough and to the
> point without offending the station manager? Could I obtain a
> copy?

       Problem is, if I get in any way involved in advising on this
stuff, it makes it look like I'm behind it, which negates the impact. 
Your best option is to just indicate the demographics of those you've
got on (their ages/status), and to be polite, and positive.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 19:12:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chris Croughton <100014.3217@compuserve.com>
Subject: Names...

 Chris Croughton <100014.3217@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this an attempt to keep your 'public' persona separate from
> your 'personal' one, or is it something which "just happened"? How
> much of the information in the book is 'canon'?

       I've always gone by Joe personally; J. Michael is just so you
can get a running start on Straczynski.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 19:12:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

 Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks:
> Should I not be?
> How do you do business when you suddenly live in a dictatorship
> and you use to be a democracy?

       Thanks.  No, I understand the point, I'm just getting into the
details a bit.  One last point I forgot to mention was that even for
the US, there has never yet been a situation where we as an entire
*species* stood on the brink of extinction by an alien race.  That'll
definitely affect your mindset a bit....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 19:12:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David P. Watkins <74663.3345@compuserve.com>
Subject: The plot thickens

 David P. Watkins <74663.3345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are we about to find out some link between the Minbari, the
> Vorlon's and the Shadows?

       Who can say...?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 19:12:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: The New Ratings Game

 Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you see a ratings system as a minor annoyance, a major threat
> to the way you wish your novel to be told, an anathema, or
> irrelevant? On a totally different topic, will your publisher
> (who, please?) going to be promoting your scriptwriting book
> revision at the ABA convention in June?

       I imagine that Writer's Digest'll be plugging the book in June,
but I don't have any objective info on that.

       As for the rest...the V-chip will take at least 2 years to
begin showing up, this takes time...by the time they get their act in
gear, B5 will have finished its run anyway, so the point will be moot. 
My feeling is the same as ever: tell the story the way it should be
told, the heck with the rest.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 22:24:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Jon Wolf <76103.2541@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Point of No Return>

 Jon Wolf <76103.2541@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did somebody goose him?
> Save the eye and change your fate?
> Morden?
> Anna?
> Or will there be a time travel twist here?

     "I watched hte first month of Space A&B,and I liked the grim,
gritty atmosphere.  I wish this show had more of that."

     And then we'd be just like SAAB.  I'd rather we set our own tone.
I like the jumping from humor to dark stuff...for one thing, it keeps
the audience from collectively sticking their heads in ovens across the
country. Second, a good dramatic piece can help create tension which
laughter relieves, giving you a roller-coaster effect.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 22:47:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Rage's Thots: PoNR>

 Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com> asks:
> Story idea?
> Is there a name for this triptych, or would that be *telling*?
> I know he's one of Harlan's faves; what about you?
> And was Susan still reading Harlan's autobio in "MfE"?
> Carmichael?"

       Norman's been a friend of mine long before I ever actually met
Harlan, and so yes, his name popping up was my idea.  His writing is
pretty amazing, isn't it?

       (See if your library has a copy of the audio recording of "On A
Note of Triumph;" it'll knock you down.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 22:47:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Julia E. Linthicum <73114.3530@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Point of No Return>>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...and we really must work on getting you a proper
sig....

       How about, "Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no
trifle?" -- Michelangelo

       or

       "The point of no return: that is the point that must be
reached."  -- Franz Kafka

       or

       "A fool and his money were lucky to get together in the first
place." -- anon.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 22:48:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Lynn Dimock <74471.3131@compuserve.com>
Subject: < Messages from Earth>

 Lynn Dimock <74471.3131@compuserve.com> asks:
> BTW, is there an official scapegoat group, or are they just going
> for generic "enemies of the State" (or of the people)? Or do I
> just watch and find out?

       Oh...probably better to watch and see....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 22:48:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Rage's Thots: PoNR>

 Joel Hilke <102354.1702@compuserve.com> asks:
> Question if they are really intended as one complete story - why
> weren't they labeled as such?

       We knew that at some juncture they'd be split, so numbering
them as parts 1, 2 and 3 would be awkward.  And distribution hates
having to market multi-parters, for reasons of their own.  So...three
episodes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 22:48:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com>
Subject: <PoNR - Redemption>

 Joe Salemi [ZD Net] <72631.23@compuserve.com> asks:
> I loved Londo's throw-away line about politicians and
> intelligence -- did you sit at your keyboard and cackle to
> yourself when you wrote it?

       Thanks, and I agree with those scenes.  (For me, the Vir/Londo
scene in the tag is just hysterical.)  Re: "politics has nothing to do
with intelligence," yeah, I kinda liked that one.  I have fun....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 22:48:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: San Diego ComiCon?

 Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any thoughts on which of these five will be shown at the Con?

       No idea yet.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 29-Feb-96 22:48:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<PoNR>>

{original post had no questions}

       That'll actually be in May; we get new episodes from April 3
through the end of May, 8 episodes total, not six.

                                                                  jms