JMS CompuServe messages for March 1997. Collected by John Hardin . Date: 01 Mar 1997 00:30:53 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: Official: No year 5 Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > So what exactly is your relationship with Netter? > I've noted you saying you don't work for him, does Copeland? > And I've noticed he is an Executive Producer, does that mean you > two have equal "ownership"? Yes, we both have equal ownership of Babylonian Productions, but Netter Digital Entertainment is his separate company, I have nothing to do with it, don't work for or with it or own any of it. jms ------------------------------ Date: 01 Mar 1997 00:30:58 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: WizOp Wes Meier <76703.747@compuserve.com> Subject: NEW To Sysops From jms "I decided to not address that part of your message because it seemed moot in light of the fact that I agreed with you in regard to the Carlin 7, that we are reconsidering our position that we will abide by them, and that, in the meantime, would discontinue "backrooming" any messages unless they were blatantly offensive and/or broke other forum rules. As for the stats you requested, I can't provide what I do not have. While I admit that we pulled messages containing profanity, we did not do so "arbitrarily." We pulled EVERY message that we saw." Ah, but now that confirms what I suggested earlier. The rules require you to pull one such message per every 50 messages, that was the part of the rule book that you, yourself, cited to me. So if you pulled EVERY message, then you violated CIS rules. So that point is now resolved. Thank you. "If we decide to no longer aspire to remaining off the PC list then Carlin's 7 becomes moot and you will have "won" on both of your points. What more do you want?" Actually, nothing...and this isn't about me winning, I don't have any vested interest in you losing or me winning. Who wins if a situation goes from unreasonable to reasonable? Answer: we both win. You aren't stuck having to enforce essentially indefensible and arbitrary policies, and can instead enforce them selectively, logically, and in keeping with CIS policies. Which means you don't get people yelling at you, and you have the backing to avoid doing things which you, yourself, stated you don't like doing. I don't see this as a particularly bad thing at all here. RE: the interview this afternoon with Sci-Fi Entertainment, in which I mentioned the current fracas, you say: "Thank you for indicting us in an area where we can't "confront our accuser." Old Joe McCarthy would be proud of you for using that tactic. I hope that you will "update her" if you and I conclude this discussion to your satisfaction." I simply applied the same practice that was going on here, and backroomed the discussion with the reporter, since that seemed good enough for the sysops. And you can certainly "confront your accuser" -- assuming that anyone who speaks from their own experience of a controversial situation is automatically your accuser -- when the piece appears. But to your last point...yes, I will indeed update her completely if this continues toward a positive resolution, as it seems to be doing. Understand that I'm a pain in the butt...but I'm fair. And I try to be honest. That said...I now turn to the earlier, positive comments, so we can end this on a positive note...and those looking on: pay attention to what's said in Wes's note. Regarding the rules under discussion, note the following: "...we are reconsidering our position that we will abide by them, and that, in the meantime, would discontinue "backrooming" any messages unless they were blatantly offensive and/or broke other forum rules." I think that this single sentence now takes care of most of the concerns here; if the practice of backrooming is now being discontinued, this is a positive step in the right direction, and negates about 75% of the concern shared by myself and others here. I think that most people here would agree with that. "If we decide to no longer aspire to remaining off the PC list then Carlin's 7 becomes moot." A valid point. Re: the Fair Use issue: "That isn't as definitive as I'd like, but seems to substantiate what other, non-legal, folks have said. On the other hand, there have been others who are or have been publicists who claim that more than 2-3 lines quoted exceed "fair use." Believe me, we're working on nailing this down." Thank you, and I have every confidence that what you discover will confirm what has been discussed here. Bear in mind that publicists are rarely journalists, and their job is often to discourage use of their client's material in excess, so they can control it, and when using one's quotes to publicize something, there are other very strict rules that come into play. If I write a review of a book, and a publicist wants to excerpt that review to promote someone's book to make them money, I'm going to be fairly hard about what's allowed to promote someone else's work. This is a different situation altogether from quoting material in the context of a discussion. There the Fair Use contingencies of copyright law come into play. Any good book on journalism law will go into this at length. Good on you, though, to continue to dig into it. "Any constructive suggestions you have would be welcomed -- assuming we decide to continue with wanting to stay off the PC list. Hell, for that matter, any constructive suggestions ANYONE has would be welcomed at this point!" Which was the other point I mentioned. By not backrooming these sorts of discussions, you open up the door to constructive suggestions on how to deal with them. If you had said, "Listen, folks, we have a problem here...the use of language is getting into the more-than-1-in-50 limits we have to abide by, and I'm concerned about the quoting of material. Could you work with me on this and come up with some ways to moderate the discussion a bit so it doesn't get out of hand, and give me some hard facts about what constitutes Fair Use" I'll bet you $100 you'd have tons of *constructive* comments, NObody would've said you had a german accent, and you would've come out of this like a saint. B5 fans are *notoriously* helpful, and understanding, and you can bet your shoes they would've come at you with a very different response. "Here," they would've said, "HERE is somebody who respects our intelligence, who wants our input, who is open to at least *discuss* this so that we know what's at stake, and know what our options are, and would welcome our help to resolve a thorny problem he's stuck with and doesn't much like." So given all this...to those looking on...lay back for a bit. I think we are getting some positive movement here, the policy of backrooming has already been stopped, from what Wes has said, and the policy is being reconsidered, which was the point of the exercise. I think that Wes has been very receptive here, and has made a good faith effort to rectify what is, for him and other sysops here, a difficult and obviously painful situation. Let's now let the process continue. The "Joe McCarthy" comment I will let slide personally, because you were upset, and we're all entitled to a moment's upset. Instead, I will again simply thank you for taking the steps you have taken, and look forward to the final resolution of this. jms ------------------------------ Date: 01 Mar 1997 00:31:03 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Ron Chusid <74756.3150@compuserve.com> Subject: To Sysops from jms Ron Chusid <74756.3150@compuserve.com> asks: > Then it's about time, no? > Have you considered the odds? Check my last note... jms ------------------------------ Date: 01 Mar 1997 00:31:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Jean S McKnight <105513.130@compuserve.com> Subject: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome {original post had no questions} Thanks. I've seen just about every article on CTS that I can think of, and I've got it down to a roar...sometimes it's worse than other times. The Kinesis ergonomic keyboard at work helps, and I just sent out for a Datahand keyboard to use at home to see if that helps further. It aches pretty much all the time, but it's a low, dull ache and I'm hardly aware of it most of the time. It's only when I go to bed, and I'm still for more than 5 minutes at a time, that it really starts to demand my attention. It was *much* worse last year or so, when I had to literally write for 20 minutes, ice down my hands/wrists for 20 minutes, write for 20, ice for 20, on and on. I actually haven't had to do that this year. (And yes, when I remember to do so, I use the wrist braces.) jms ------------------------------ Date: 01 Mar 1997 00:31:11 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> Subject: >>Atonement<< Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks: > Does what we (and a few Minbari) now know about the triluminaries > glowing in response to human DNA necessarily negate the theory of > the "Minari Soul Train"? Will Delenn ever tell John the truth? > What's going on with Delenn's/Mira's hair? We keep working on Mira's hair...some days it's better than others. jms ------------------------------ Date: 01 Mar 1997 00:42:03 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> Subject: To Sysops from jms {original post had no questions} Give Wes some time...he has restored the messages, and is currently in the position of reconsidering the situation regarding the rules themselves, and what actually applies within those rules. I think we should be willing to give him the room to do so without an immediate deadline, since he has made a good faith effort here. jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 02:44:05 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: To Sysops from jms {original post had no questions} "The ultimate irony is that *you,* our resident atheist, promised to regale us with a plethora of censorable biblical quotations!" Who better? Y'gotta understand, I've read the thing *twice*, cover to cover. (And ANYone with the patience to get through Deuteronomy, Numbers and Leviticus has my enduring respect.) It's actually a pretty good book, all things considered, and despite some misuse by some of its readers. There's good drama, lots of melodrama, an overall arc (and an ark), some good writing and some utterly *awful* writing, blood and thunder and some racy material, the perfect ingredients for a potboiler...except that it's often redeemed by such terrific parts as Psalms, and parts of the Song of Solomon, and Proverbs, and the story of Job, which is probably one of the best stories ever written. A good editor would've helped *enormously*, but one can't expect god to be all things at once.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 02:44:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Jean S McKnight <105513.130@compuserve.com> Subject: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Jean S McKnight <105513.130@compuserve.com> asks: > That line about Sheridan's head imploding was more than a little > autobiographical, no? "That line about Sheridan's head imploding was more than a little autobiographical, no?" Just a tad.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 02:44:10 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: NEW To Sysops From jms {original post unavailable} As it happens, I have an answer to this. First, it's Warner Bros. that would be at issue here, since they own the copyright to B5. That issue aside for the moment... This actually came up not long ago, when a person doing synopses of the episodes didn't just synopsize it...it included every line of dialogue in the episode, and extensive narrative descriptions. WB saw that and said, "Tell 'em to stop it." Which they did. On several occasions, whole pages at a time have been excerpted for articles, or reprinted...a heck of a lot more than what was posted here...and neither WB nor I have a problem with that. As it is, many of the current synopses contain *massive* verbatim quotes of dialogue, just not as much as the one main offender. Nobody blinks an eye. I'm not saying this across the board, but you asked what would apply in my situation, and that's it. (Which, btw, is a kind of evasion...rather than dealing with the problem That Is, people create what they hope are similar situations and say, "Well, what would you do if THIS happened?" Well, this HASN'T happened, and it isn't a direct corrolary to this current situation in ANY event. Its' just a way of skidding the discussion off in another direction and muddying the waters.) jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 02:44:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Meryl Yourish <103470.2703@compuserve.com> Subject: B5 Soundtrack Vol 2 {original post had no questions} Thanks...yeah, it's a great CD. jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 02:44:17 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Kirk R. Darling <73063.3115@compuserve.com> Subject: >>Atonement<< Kirk R. Darling <73063.3115@compuserve.com> asks: > Yes, but why did you give Ducat hair (a beard)? > Is it possible, BTW, that the "transformation" for Delenn worked > more thoroughly than the other Minbari realize because it had > some human DNA already in Delenn's cells to build on? And judging > from the stunned expressions on the faces of the other Gray > Council members when the trilumenary glowed, did they understand > that significance, and do any others now on Minbar? Finally, I beg > for a hint...will this information have any future bearing on the > plot, or is it merely "nice to know" data? Yeah, the human DNA definitely helped...and overall, this isn't so much the arc as the overall story and history. It's filling out the world. jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 02:44:20 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: The One and the Nine Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> asks: > Does this mean that Dukhat (and any leader of the Minbari people) > is also on the Grey Council? Was Valen the first leader of the > Minbari people in the history of the Grey Council? Or is it > possible that this vacancy in the Nine was the one that Delenn > later filled? Or am I reading this in the wrong way? > Can you help me understand this a little better, please? There's the One, and the Nine...when Dukhat was alive, there were 9 grey council members and him as the head of it, making ten. (Look at the picture and count the number of people.) 1 and 9. Valen called together the Grey Council, formed the first one; until then the castes had been in constant competition. He wanted to operate outside of that a bit, so he made sure he was not one of the Nine. That tradition has continued. jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 03:14:55 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: To Sysops from jms {original post unavailable} "But that doesn't mean I'll back every decision or idea or crusade or action he takes - and nobody SHOULD (and I bet he'd be the first to agree with me)." Yup. When I behave like a jerk here, I fully expect to be told so. "The issue he's brought up here is a valid one - but the method he started with was too confrontational by far. He should have started it friendly, specially without the threats of splitting, and then, if rebuffed, gotten brittle." That one, I dunno...it's easy to second-guess things after the fact. I knew that a number of people had *already* either been (or felt) forced off, or were resigning, and sometimes the only way to get a result is to first get the horse's attention, as the saying goes. I've had a number of dealings with lots of systems and worked things out quietly, behind the scenes; you don't know about them *because* they've been worked out in a friendly way. Then, there are days when only a howitzer will suffice. It was my call. I made it. And it seems to have worked. Would it have worked out with the other approach? Again, I dunno. I'm only a P3, after all.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 03:14:57 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: WizOp Wes Meier <76703.747@compuserve.com> Subject: To Sysops from jms WizOp Wes Meier <76703.747@compuserve.com> asks: > at work, at home, and at play"? > That sorta, kinda, leaves us out in the cold, eh? Related question, Wes: When a conference is promoted at the opening menu, does it bring in a substantial number of folks who are not *already* members of the forum? I was just thinking that folks not into SF likely would not show up for a conference with an SF type...and those into SF are likely already aware of it from the on-site notice. Just curious. jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 03:15:00 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: B5 Soundtrack Vol 2 {original post had no questions} I believe Chris Franke's website (www.sonicimages.com) has a full breakdown on the tracks and their sources. jms ------------------------------ Date: 02 Mar 1997 03:15:02 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Captain Power {original post unavailable} It was a mixed bag...some good stuff, some stuff I wouldn't mind seeing dropped off a pier somewhere.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Deonaha M. Conlin <102531.2627@compuserve.com> Subject: To Sysops from jms Deonaha M. Conlin <102531.2627@compuserve.com> asks: > Is there a way for those of us not in The Business to glom onto a > copy of FCC rules? I imagine that anyone writing to the FCC in Washington DC can obtain a copy of the rules, since the FCC is a public agency, regulating the public airwaves, to ensure they conform to the public "interest, necessity and convenience." jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: To Sysops from jms {original post unavailable} "Think it'll happen though?" When hasn't it? I've been told I'm a jerk before, will be in future; and in a sense, your message wondering if my actions were right was implicitly implying a potential state of Jerk...and that's okay. You're wrong, of course.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: WizOp Wes Meier <76703.747@compuserve.com> Subject: To Sysops from jms {original post had no questions} I see. Though, that would apply only to SFMEDONE, if it got the PC label...you could still hold COs on SFMEDTWO, with different forums. In other words...let's say, worst case scenario, SF1 gets PC'd. No opening menu announcements. But SF2 is *not* PC'd. So the CO could be held there; and since they're both (presumably) under the same roof, it all works out the same, yes? jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:16 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: NEW To Sysops From jms {original post unavailable} Okay. You're right. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:18 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Minbari facial hair? (blocked) asks: > How did that happen?? Other Minbari have had facial hair; including Draal v1.0 and Kalain in "Points of Departure." It's certainly not common, though. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:21 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com> Subject: email Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com> asks: > About how much email do you average a day? Email...maybe 60-80 per day, sometimes more. In public forum messages, on various systems...hundreds. I try to answer as much as I can, but often the questions are too complex, or ask for elaborate story discussion ("Can you give me the history of Minbar before Earth made contact?"), or have multiple-subquestions to the point where I can't deal with ANY of it. See, the problem is, everyone thinks "Well, it's just me, after all." Well, according to our ratings, there are between 10-15 million "me's" out there. But often folks don't understand that. For instance, a guy sent me a piece of email recently with 13 *very* elaborate and detailed questions, much along the lines of the one just quoted above. I couldn't get into any of them, there were just too many, and they were much too involved. A week later, I got a VERY angry and agitated letter from that person saying what a jerk I was for not answering his questions, that he had taken the time to write them so I had an obligation to answer them, he's the Fan who is keeping the show alive and we owe this to the fans who support us...he got fairly abusive about it. "It shouldn't take too much of the BUSY PRODUCER'S TIME to answer ONE LETTER!" he said in conclusion. Sure, if it WERE just one letter. But it ain't. Other times, people will leave public or private mail *demanding* I answer something, as though I were under contract to them, or paid to be here. Suffice to say that I generally ignore such notes. It's worth noting, though, that those remain the exceptions to the rule; most of the online crowd is well-behaved and intelligent and courtous, especially among B5 fans. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:24 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Subverting Censorware {original post unavailable} Never said there shouldn't be guidelines. The only question was the extent, the degree, and the clarity or consistency with which those rules are applied. The general concensus was that the rule was being *over*applied. So now let's see how it shakes down before taking the next logical step. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:27 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Air Order (blocked) asks: > What order will TNT air the episodes in? > In the original air order, or in the order you originally > intended, that for various reasons aired differently? I'll be discussing this issue with TNT in the near future, at which time we'll get into the preferred air order, which probably won't be a problem for them to follow. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:29 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: ben dibble <105430.3170@compuserve.com> Subject: The Dreaming ben dibble <105430.3170@compuserve.com> asks: > What then is the deciding factor as to whose memories are > experienced by all present? Is it whoever "allows" themselves to > be drawn into the experience, who wills it to happen to them? I think the order or dominance of the drug is probably determined by the contents of the script.... jm(oh, look, over there, a comet)s ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:31 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Dave Vincent <75460.1133@compuserve.com> Subject: The One and the Nine Dave Vincent <75460.1133@compuserve.com> asks: > Could you identify this ship? > Is this the case? There was the Prometheus, which was there; and others, including the Amundsen. The one you saw, which looks a bit like the Aggy but without the rotating section, is another, smaller class of destroyer also seen, I believe, in "Dreams." jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:33 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Van Valen (blocked) asks: > Did you already have him pictured in your head? > Did it make casting easier? > Who designed them? Actually, that was Dukhat, and yeah, that's pretty close to how I saw him in my head. Definitely a bigger than life fellow. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:08:35 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> Subject: ...Attunement {original post had no questions} Good points. Speaking of visual puns, someone pointed out that in "Epiphanies," you've got Zack leaving customs, saying of whoever comes through next, "it might be the Second Coming and I'm five sins behind on penance," and who walks in...but the Three Kings.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:35:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> Subject: To Sysops from jms {original post had no questions} Y'know, I've been thinking about all this a lot over the last few days (what else do I have to do, run a show or something?) and here's the thing that gets me in the area of parental controls. It starts with discussions over language, and nobody wants to say "We can't have language or other problematic items our conferences," because it smacks of censorship (which, in fact, it is). (And, granted, some uses of language are a little more disagreeable than others, I'm not getting into degrees here, just the overall notion.) So someone says, "Instead of doing that, let's have a Ratings System, which will tell parents which forums (or shows) are safe for their kids, and which are not, so we can have areas where you can say whatever you want, and other areas where it's more controlled, and parents know where to go." Then the ratings go into place...but nobody wants to be tagged with the harsher designation. Because that would mean a loss of revenue, or prestige, or visibility. So now everyone starts doing whatever it takes to avoid that rating, by changing content or enforcing stricter rules to avoid the label, since that's somewhat easier to defend (even though it's exactly the same as the original problem, they've just moved the target to something that's less of an obvious flash-point as censorship). What you therefore end up with is that all forums or shows move toward the safer designation, and there no longer IS a choice between "kid" and "adult" conversations or topics or language or subjects. Because the latter has ceased to exist not for political reasons but for *economic* ones. It's much like what happened in the record biz...some groups wanted labels put on records, have them rated so parents and kids could tell the hard stuff from the safe stuff, "But we're not pro-censorship, we just want to be informed." Until the records started coming out, at which point the same parents groups began screaming about x-rated albums being even in the same STORE where kids could enter their orbit, even if protected by cellophane wrapping and warned by labels. It became a basis for exclusion. Nobody in TV right now wants to be hit with the TV-M (mature) rating, because of threatened boycotts. It's the same material that may have been there before, but now that it has a label, that label has become a target. The expressed intent is to create clarity in making choices in material. The result is to *remove* choices by excluding material. The more I look at it, the more insidious it gets. I think I'll write something about this, one of these days.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:35:18 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Minbari castes (blocked) asks: > What caste is Lennier, and do every member of a clan belong to > the same caste? Lennier is religious caste; and all members of a given clan belong to one caste. There are, for instance, no religious caste members of the Star Riders (military caste) clan. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:35:20 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Douglas Piligian <70760.2440@compuserve.com> Subject: Atonement Douglas Piligian <70760.2440@compuserve.com> asks: > Just wondering, what, if anything, was involved in using the song > from Pirates of Penzance that Marcus was singing at the end? Nothing, really...we just grabbed one of the audio bits from the day's filming and dropped it in. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 01:35:22 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Douglas Piligian <70760.2440@compuserve.com> Subject: Grey Council Douglas Piligian <70760.2440@compuserve.com> asks: > Now if Delenn has not voted, how can there be a tie vote? > They needed more than a simple majority What say you oh Great > Maker? Others in the Council died, as was noted when the one says, "Our brothers?" "Dead," Delenn says. So there were others. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 12:05:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Caste, Clan, Family? Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> asks: > So I take it, from earlier comments of yours that Delenn chose > her caste as a child (I believe you said it was due to her > "vision" in the temple), that you are not born into your clan? In > other words, If Delenn had chosen to be a worker, she would not > be in the clan she is currently in, correct? If that's the case, > then clans aren't necessarily organizations of relatives, right? > Was her clan the "Mir" clan? Or was "Mir" her family name? > Is that different than the clan? > Is this correct? Yes, Mir is her family; you are generally born into a caste unless you at some point decide that the calling of your heart is elsewhere, at which point you enter training for that other caste (with the permission of your caste leaders) until such time as it's finalized that that's what you want, at which time you're assigned to a clan within that caste. If you choose to stay in the caste you're born into, you automatically are in your familiy's clan. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 12:05:08 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: John F Davis <73455.43@compuserve.com> Subject: Minbari castes {original post had no questions} Don't take this the wrong way...it's simply an observation...just a thought from someone who works with words all the time and gets very anal retentive about these things...the dictionary is our friend.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 12:05:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Air Order {original post unavailable} No, the fault was mine, not the suits. Prior to exec producing B5, I had never edited a show before, never had final cut before...had never even been IN an editing room for more than 5 minutes before. So here I am, given the director's cut...and I know it's real slow, but I haven't done this before, so I don't trust my instincts. I let it go with very minimal changes. And I've been kicking myself ever since. I should've followed my instincts, but instead I deferred to the director's cut. It's a mistake I have never made since. Even so, that first cut just gnaws at me...I *know* I can make it better, stronger, even if only a bit in a few places, that would help salve my soul over this thing. jms ------------------------------ Date: 03 Mar 1997 12:05:10 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: WizOp Wes Meier <76703.747@compuserve.com> Subject: To Sysops from jms {original post had no questions} So then the concern about not getting opening screen promos because of parental controls is moot because we can't get the promos ANYWAY because it's not business oriented, so it's really a moot issue in any event...? Fascinating. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:18 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Air Order {original post unavailable} Yeah, we're also going to update the CGI, if we can do this. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:19 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Caste, Clan, Family? Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> asks: > So, am I correct in my memory that you said Delenn changed castes > when she was young? If so, what was her family's original caste? No, Delenn never changed castes. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:20 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Douglas Piligian <70760.2440@compuserve.com> Subject: Delenn Douglas Piligian <70760.2440@compuserve.com> asks: > Hasn't Delenn learned her lesson about telling the truth, all of > it, to Sheridan? Are we seeing a return of the old Delenn? Certainly Delenn has some hard things to do coming up. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:21 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: To Sysops from jms {original post unavailable} Yeah, that's the problem...it has to be one or the other Family, or Adult...and if you have any content that ain't kid-approved it automatically puts you in the latter category, which lots of people don't want for all the reasons you cite. Something here don't make a whole lot of sense.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:24 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Next New Show? {original post unavailable} The next ep comes around May-ish, so you can sleep in for a while... jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:27 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: John M. Graham <74166.3727@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Air Order John M. Graham <74166.3727@compuserve.com> asks: > Will the Gathering be shown before or after the Prequel Movie? The prequel will be aired first, then the pilot, then the series. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:29 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: B5 in new Ent.Weekly (blocked) asks: > Writer_s_? > Joe, do you have multiple personalities that we don't know about? WriterS....sigh. Hell, we're just happy to know they're AWARE of us.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:31 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> Subject: Caste, Clan, Family? Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks: > The fact that Mir is the Russian word for peace wouldn't have > anything to do with you using it for her family name.....would > it? Yeah, there's that, and it nicely intersects with the fact that Delenn is portrayed by MIRa Furlan. It's kind of a bank shot. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:33 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: Official: No year 5 Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > And Netter digital does the Special Effects, right? > So what else does Netter Digital do? NDEI has its own projects under development, was involved in the Battleground Earth project with Majel Roddenberry, produces the occasional documentary (such as the Wild West documentary a couple years ago), and other projects which don't involve me at all. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:34 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> Subject: Van Valen {original post had no questions} Certainly that ties in with what Delenn said about humor being essential to Minbari philosophy and culture. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:37 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: The One and the Nine {original post unavailable} No, if you keep watching Dukhat comes in, followed by Delenn, through the opening (the empty spot) and then another Minbari comes in to fill that spot. (Sudden thought...I have to check to see if we *used* that shot or if it was just in dailies...but if you count the Minbari there at the end of the scene, you'll find the count is correct.) jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:40 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Official: No year 5 (blocked) asks: > Has there been any word on the fate of year 5? > Can you give us the odds? No, no definitive word yet. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 14:00:43 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Bob Koslosky <102365.2062@compuserve.com> Subject: Atonement Bob Koslosky <102365.2062@compuserve.com> asks: > Those ships that showed up just before the humans attacked, where > Delenn said something to the effect that they only showed up when > death was near - who were those guys? Those were Soul Hunters, who in the first season we learned showed up to attempt to grab Dukhat's soul...they were prevented from successfully boarding the ship by the Minbari, who threw up a wall of bodies to stop them (which is why there were few around with Delenn and Dukhat; Soul Hunters are a pretty advanced sort, the terror of Minbari, and it took a lot to stop them). After Dukhat died, Delenn went down and joined in, confronting them about this. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 18:28:35 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: All Subject: Sysop on CIS Rules Just received this, and thought I'd pass it along for whatever use it may have in illuminating the discussion. jms Subj:Confessions of a CIS sysop Date:97-03-03 23:00:21 EST From:rick@hugin.imat.com (Rick Moen) To:jmsatb5@aol.com Here's how CIS forum-content regulation works, from the perspective of a (former) CIS primary forum sysop ("wizop"). I used to work for a software company, and as part of my job as a support rep created a CIS forum to support our customers -- and then ran it single-handed for four years. This meant answering all CIS-based customer questions from around the world, plus handling all forum administration. Many wizops recruit assistants, giving them access to some sysop functions. As a forum (primary) sysop, one is handed a couple of big binders, that mostly cover technical matters, but in passing touch on content guidelines. These were vaguely described, but the sysop is told he's obliged to keep "off" all profanity, solicitations of business for other online services, and some other things. Forum members were to be _advised_ by e-mail if a post had been removed, and could be locked out (in ordinary circumstances) _only_ after a warning. (As a courtesy, I also sent a copy of any removed post back via e-mail, in case the poster wanted to edit and re-post it or send it unchanged via e-mail.) I enforced the profanity guidelines, among others, permissively, and always with the advisories described. I told members up front that it was a _support_ forum, and that they could create a Berate Company Management forum elsewhere. To get to the point, several things: (1) "Wizops" operate forums by contract with CIS for a percentage of user billings. (2) CIS thus distances itself from both administration _and_ some legal liability. (They can say "Not our fault. We weren't running it." This, in my view, is CIS sysops' primary design function.) (3) The standard CIS forum contract forbids disclosure of its terms to any third party. (Yes, I'm violating it. I have reason.) (4) Many if not most forum sysops, both wizops and their chosen assistants, ignore the obligation of accountability to users. They do this for convenience's sake, and because there's little to hold them accountable. My successor did this, for example. Sysops tend to see themselves as overworked and under-appreciated (almost always true): Unfortunately, they tend to consider this an excuse for whatever management techniques seem most expedient. (5) CIS forum management routinely abdicates its responsibility to oversee sysops. My guess is that exercising it would (most of the time) tend to increase their legal exposure, and they intercede only if there's a disaster brewing that might spill over from the sysop onto them. I've known a number of cases of people appealing to CIS management over clear cases of high-handed sysop behaviour: I don't think CIS even _responded_ to any of those users. Again, little existed to _hold_ them accountable. (6) The remedy: Exactly what you're doing. Have someone watch the watchers, and spotlight abuse when it happens. Don't accept convenience and mishap as excuses for absurd happenings such as those you've described. The responsible parties _will_ be motivated to elmininate abuses if faced with fair complaints from multiple parties, that won't go away if ignored. Thank you for pursuing the matter. Feel free to quote this e-mail if you wish, and you need not omit my name or mailbox, if you do. I stand behind it. -- Cheers, Rick Moen rick@hugin.imat.com ----------------------- Headers -------------------------------- From rick@hugin.imat.com Mon Mar 3 22:59:59 1997 Return-Path: rick@hugin.imat.com Received: (blocked) emin08.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id WAA25626 for Message-Id: <199703040356.TAA06900@hugin.imat.com> Subject: Confessions of a CIS sysop To: jmsatb5@aol.com Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 19:56:54 -0800 (PST) Content-Type: text ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 23:27:11 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Air Order Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > Is the directors cut typically different from a producers cut? > Is there a differnce between TV and Movies on how they would > differ? A director's cut can be the same as, or vastly different from, the producer's cut, depending on what the director does, and how much in sync the director is with the producer. But the producer gets final cut in TV, whereas the director gets final cut in films (unless the studio or a big name producer has it contractually otherwise). jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 23:27:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com> Subject: email part 2 Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com> asks: > Does that mean that snail mail people are out of luck? > Do you also respond to those? I try to reply to snail mail as I can, though it's certainly easier to do so in email. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Mar 1997 23:27:15 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com> Subject: Atonement again Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com> asks: > So how come this one turned out to be a lie/deception? Those Minbari...I tell you, you just can't trust 'em.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 02:58:44 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Kick-A$$ Advertising (blocked) asks: > I wonder who I should report this rule violation to? That is kinda funny, since I was sent a private message here a month or two ago by, I believe, Chaffee, chiding me for using the term "pain in the ass" in a public forum...and here that word is used in a Member Services announcement. I guess that means that they can't promote the Member Services Announcements in the Member Services Announcements section anymore. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 02:58:46 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Atonement {original post unavailable} What airs is considered canon; in 15 years, nobody's gonna be hauling these messages around. But the show will still be on the air. If it airs, it's canon. And in another one of those posts, I did mention that on just a couple of small occasions, I have fibbed when asked major story arc questions to protect future storylines from being deflated.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 02:58:47 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Atonement {original post unavailable} He could have left Dukhat a message...but tampering in the future is VERY chancy business, and could even make things worse, for all we know. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 02:58:52 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: All Subject: to sfwa from jms (The following material -- which will be posted to other forums -- is submitted on the theory that I apparently haven't gotten in *nearly* enough trouble lately. So I may as well go for broke. jms John J. Miller SFWA Secretary Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (address deleted for privacy) Dear Mr. Miller: I am in receipt of your recent letter inviting me to rejoing SFWA. While others who have either resigned from SFWA or let their memberships lapse have received similar letters, I note that you added, in handwriting, the following: "Michael - We're particularly interested in encouraging writers of your stature and experience to rejoin." I'm posting this, my reply, both online as well as in standard mail to you, because the issues at hand affect others in the industry; because it is a good subject for public debate; and because SFWA has to this date refused to publish my letter of resignation from SFWA in its membership publication; even now, years after the fact, SFWA does not choose to recognize the boorishness of its behavior toward those of us who work in television, film and other media. To recap, for the benefit of those looking on, and for the purpose of historical accuracy: a number of us were troubled by the fact that SFWA allowed TV and film scripts in the SF genre to count for membership, so that our dues could be accepted, but that these very same scripts were not considered "real" science fiction...and thus ineligible for consideration for a Nebula Award. An attempt was made to restore the Dramatic Nebula, given in years past, in order to achieve equity with other forms of SF. Those involved in the attempt included myself, Harlan Ellison, David Gerrold, D.C. Fontana, Michael Cassutt and others. We believed, foolishly in retrospect, that SF writers -- presumably forward thinking and progressive -- would understand that stories can take new and different forms, that SF for television and film was a perfectly valid form. It's still SF; it simply uses a new kind of technology to facilitate that storytelling. Since SF is often about the foolishness of small-minded people when faced with changing technologies, and generally the impact of technology on people and art forms, we felt they would agree that the time was right for the reinstatement of the Dramatic Nebula. We were wrong. We were greeted by an outpouring of such virulent bigotry, such undisguised hostility, and such abuse as to numb the senses. There was hate mail, name-calling and dead-catting; we were called (in person, and in SFWA's publication) "hacks" and "no-talents" and told that scripts aren't stories...obscene and threatening messages were left on my answering machine...hate mail arrived at my home... and the most nakedly straightforward one stated, "I work my ass off for a few pennies a word, while you Hollywood hacks earn big bucks for turning out crap. You'll never see the Dramatic Nebula back as long as I'm alive." To help defuse some of the tempers, many of us were willing to disqualify ourselves from ever being eligible for the Nebula, should it be reinstated, to remove any suspicion of a vested interest. It was the principle that concerned us. For an organization claiming forward-thinkers, there was more fuzzy thinking and illogic pouring out of SFWA than at any average meeting of the Flat Earth Society. "Why should SFWA give scriptwriters a Nebula if the WGA won't give awards to prose writers?" some yelled at us, which granted was at least an attempt to put together a comprehensible sentence. "Because the WGA is *form* oriented, and SFWA is *genre* oriented," we said, "that's why. Any genre script can win a WGA award, as long as it's in the right form. And any form of SF should be able to be considered for a Nebula, as long as it's in the right genre." Our point, in the final analysis, was simply this: If SFWA will not recognize scripts as SF for the Nebula, then they should not qualify for membership in SFWA. If SFWA *does* recognize them as SF for purposes of membership, then they should be eligible for the Nebula. It was real simple: you can't have it both ways. Pick one. But that didn't happen...the illogic, the contradiction was allowed to continue, with SF scriptwriters held as second-class citizens within SFWA. In theory, a GOR novel could be considered for a Nebula...but a Babylon 5 script could never even begin to be considered because according to SFWA, it isn't a story, it isn't real writing, it isn't literature, it is absent of quality, and fundamentally, it ain't SF. It was this issue that finally compelled me to resign from SFWA, as had others before me. That, and the insults, abuse, veiled and not-so-veiled threats and harrassment I received from many in SFWA over this issue. And now you come to me...and you ask me to rejoin. You say this is because of my "stature and experience"...but what use can that be to SFWA if my work and the work of every SF writer working in television or film is dismissed as lacking in merit by virtue of the form in which we work? Since the bulk of my work is in TV, how can SFWA consider what I have to be "stature" if it does not recognize that there is any quality work in SF being done in TV? I don't believe in stature, particularly and especially my own. I'm still the same person I was when I resigned, for good or ill. The only thing that matters to me, that has *ever* mattered to me, is the work. The storytelling. This genre. I love SF. I love the community of fandom that has embraced it, and given it life. I love the sense of wonder that is SF. [More] ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 02:59:00 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> Subject: to sfwa from jms [Continued] In order to rejoin SFWA, I would have to accept the tacit implication that my work is NOT SF...and this I will never do. Last year, I realized a lifelong dream, and we received the Hugo award for an episode of Babylon 5. And I'll tell you a true thing: I'll take the Hugo over the Nebula any day, because it comes based on the quality of the work...it comes based on the understanding that fans have that SF is SF, regardless of the medium. Where the pro community throws up barriers, and tidal waves of snobbery, and play political games by defining SF as whatever is most convenient for them, the fan community is open to the free debate of one singular question: "Is it good SF?" In light of that, what possible reason could I have for wanting to rejoin SFWA? To associate with writers who disdain the form in which I work? To try and educate them? We tried that...and got our heads handed to us. It's not just the Nebula that's the concern...as before, I'm willing to permanently disqualify anything I write, now or in the future, from Nebula consideration, to set aside allegations of self-interest; it's the principle of the thing that matters, the desire to make this better for the next guy to come down this road; and it's the attitude behind the current situation that rankles, that worries me; the open hostility and prejudice against those working in the visual media. So thanks, but no thanks. SFWA has chosen to ostracize film and television...and in the end, has only hurt itself. By sticking its head, ostrich-like, in the sand, it has failed to come to grips with these new media...has become isolated, so that no one in Hollywood thinks of SFWA members, because SFWA thinks nothing of Hollywood. The result? Where once many SF novels were chosen as fodder for movies, now movies and TV shows drive a substantial portion of the novel market through licensing. All too often now, books are based on movies, when it *should* be the other way around, which means that the audience is deprived of visual medium access to some truly excellent work. The publishing industry has become more like Hollywood in many ways now, looking for the blockbuster, losing the midlist, one megacompany swallowing up another. We've been there, done that, and could've helped. (Now *here's* an irony I hadn't considered before just this moment: while an episode of B5 is not eligible for a Nebula, a novel based on B5 *is* eligible. Where is the logic in that one? And here's another irony: one of the members who most vociferously opposed the Dramatic Nebula on the grounds that everything SF that came out of Hollywood was crap...well, his name showed up recently on a list of writers asking to be considered for an assignment to write one of the Babylon 5 novels.) Because of SFWA's provincial attitudes toward those of us who work in TV and film, it has lost access to secondary markets and opportunities, costing its members potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars. If parts of this letter seem angry, or frustrated, you should understand that the two areas of my life which have always meant a great deal to me are my work in television, and SF as a genre. I'm proud, have always been proud, of both. Many producers assigned to SF series deny they're doing SF, as though they were ashamed of it. I've always embraced the idea. I was proud to be a member of SFWA. I was proud to write for television. But finally I had to choose between them, and that was a very difficult, painful thing for me. It still is. It's like having divorced parents; you want desperately for them to get along with each other, somehow put it together again...but it doesn't happen and doesn't look like it will *ever* happen. So you get upset. I'm not upset with you, John, or even many members of SFWA, a number of whom weren't even members when all this went down a few years ago. It's simple frustration with a system, and a certain loud proportion of the membership, that is provincial and parochial. A great deal of good could come out of a tighter coordination between those of us working in the visual media, and print authors. To see that frittered away is maddenning. Television and film are as valid a forum for the exploration of science fiction as any short story or novel. As long as SFWA persists in saying otherwise, I will never rejoin that organization. Let me know when you folks get serious. Let me know when you are willing to consider that what we do in TV and film counts as SF. Then we'll talk. But not before. J. Michael Straczynski Executive Producer/Creator/WRITER Babylon 5 ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 14:14:21 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Robert Freeman <74577.1525@compuserve.com> Subject: A fan says thanks... {original post had no questions} Thanks...we try. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 14:14:24 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: to sfwa from jms {original post had no questions} I agree 100%. One of the things I've been ragging on for years is that you should bring in SF writers to work on SF shows. Real simple logic. But the perception there is that SF print authors can't deal with, or are disdainful of, scripts...something SFWA perpetuated when many of their members said they (as a group) wouldn't be able to make sense of a script. There are some terrific resources out there who would be invaluable to any SF series. That's why I gave Peter David his first shot at a live action TV series, ditto for Christy Marx and others. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 14:14:26 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Douglas Piligian <70760.2440@compuserve.com> Subject: Triluminary Douglas Piligian <70760.2440@compuserve.com> asks: > Does it glow brighter if there is more of the DNA present? > did it glow really bright when held up to Sinclair after he was > captured at the Battle of the Line? Did they know at that time > that it only glowed in the presence of Valen's DNA? ever get your > ISDN modem to work? Yeah, we showed it glowing when Sinclair was catpured. Since it happened with Valen, they assumed it was because he had a Minbari soul, maybe Valen reborn. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 14:14:27 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: to sfwa from jms {original post had no questions} The only point of disagreement is that "SF on screen is actually more of an accomplishment." They're equal, in different ways, and certainly a movie or TV show can, in time, start to look dated. But a book, which exists in your head, never grows old. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 14:14:29 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Atonement {original post unavailable} Yeah, some are more accurate than others. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 14:14:33 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com> Subject: Edit Process Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com> asks: > Is this something to do with a different editing process, or does > it relate to the change in satellite delivery? I'm afraid I don't know what elements you're referring to, so I can't answer that offhand. On the rest...thanks. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 14:14:34 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: To Sysops from jms {original post unavailable} Well said. You really ought to consider giving this writing thing a shot sometime. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 17:41:29 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Incongruous Advertising {original post unavailable} "This forum is subject to Parental Controls because the 'bot looks at the messages here. Parental Controls covers forums, Web pages, and newsgroups, not Member Services." Yeah, I think that contradiction is kind of the point.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 17:41:31 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Air Order Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > So in films the director provides the thematic vision of the > movie, wheras in TV the producer provides that vision? Correct. In many films, the director is there from the start, working on the vision...in TV, a director comes in 2-3 weeks before you shoot, and walks into a situation where the vision is already set. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 21:45:21 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Air Order Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > So that's why you became an Executive Producer? > To protect the vision of your work and not have a director or > producer change it? "So that's why you became an Executive Producer? To protect the vision of your work and not have a director or producer change it?" I sure as heck can't think of any OTHER reason to do it, given the grief involved.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Mar 1997 21:45:23 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: to sfwa from jms Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > As to the SFWA, is there anything that we, the fans can do to > help you win this crusade? Thanks...and as for SFWA, it's an internal matter that they will have to consider on their own. jms ------------------------------ Date: 06 Mar 1997 17:06:39 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Incongruous Advertising {original post unavailable} "It's important to understand the difference between CIS rules and Forum rules." Not a problem. Same rules we sometimes heard growing up. "Don't do as I do, do as I say." jms ------------------------------ Date: 06 Mar 1997 17:09:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Redist. of SFWA Letter? {original post unavailable} Sure; any post of mine can be reposted elsewhere. jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Mar 1997 20:50:58 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Air Order Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > Have you ever considered directing? "Have you ever considered directing?" With great trepidation, and at the urging of Warner Bros., I've decided to direct one episode this season...not because I have any particular ambition to be a director, but because I think it will help me become a better writer by more fully understanding that side of the camera. Given how massively busy I am already, this decision will almost certainly be called as evidence in any sanity trial that might take place in future. jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Mar 1997 21:20:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: PAUL SHEWARD <100256.1563@compuserve.com> Subject: New Set of B5 Cards {original post had no questions} I saw a piece in one of the comics publications the other day, might've been Comics Buyers Guide or the like...apparently unopened boxes of the first B5 set are going for $150 each, originally $35 or so. Not bad.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Mar 1997 21:20:08 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: to sfwa from jms {original post unavailable} The point of my "internal matters" reply was in response to someone who wanted to know whom at SFWA to bombard with email about this. I'm reasonably confident that no one at SFWA wants to receive such a bombardment, and such a bombardment would not do any good, hence my observation. That's got nothing to do with the reality that SFWA's stance is massively stupid, and deserves to be openly discussed. As someone once said, "When someone does a foolish thing you should tell them it is a foolish thing; they may choose to continue doing it, but at least the truth is where it needs to be." I'm certainly pleased to hear that GRRM is currently SFWA's veep. George is a VNM (Very Nice Man). Of course, that's got nothing to do with SFWA's general attitude toward this area, scriptwriters in general, or the dramatic nebula (they get to like George because a) he's an accomplished novelist, and b) he's a VNM, and ignore the rest of it if they so choose). Still, it's good news for George, and I'm pleased for him. It's a good thing to have George, since some others, like Harlan Ellison, also refuse to rejoin SFWA over the dramatic nebula question, and the treatment of scriptwriters in general. George is a much more patient and generous man. jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Mar 1997 21:20:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: JOHN GRAVES <102735.1124@compuserve.com> Subject: Is The Great Maker Here? JOHN GRAVES <102735.1124@compuserve.com> asks: > JMS, Are you still participating in the CIS forum? > When I left a posting for the sysops, >>Who Killed JMS<< the > responses seemed very defensive (gee, I wonder why? I'm here...and the sysops have generously altered the position of sfmedone to allow for greater flexibility, and for that I think they deserve considerable praise. jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Mar 1997 21:20:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: AgamemCon Report (blocked) asks: > But B5 fans? "My respect for fans would ratchet yet higher if it turns out that more than 350 of them can keep a secret .... especially online. I can't imagine saying to 350 mundanes "This is just between you and me ..." Here's the amazing thing. From time to time at cons, I'll decide to tell a story that for one reason or another I want kept off the nets. And I'll say to the audience, please oblige me on this one. I've done this about a dozen times, in front of audiences as large as 2,000 people. And y'know what? As far as I can remember, not once has anyone broken that agreement. Anybody wants to badrap the fans, I tell 'em that...and it sets them straight real fast. jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Mar 1997 21:20:16 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: <73177.1161@compuserve.com> Subject: Mr. Garibaldi <73177.1161@compuserve.com> asks: > Is this now Garibaldi? > Or was it Talia? > And if it's not Garibaldi, how long until we get back the > loveable lug we remember? Mr. Garibaldi is certainly going through some rather dramatic changes, yes.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Mar 1997 21:20:19 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Kirk R. Darling <73063.3115@compuserve.com> Subject: Decendents of Valen Kirk R. Darling <73063.3115@compuserve.com> asks: > What would be the social status of a Minbari who was known to be > a descendent of Valen? What does that mean in terms of the racial > purity issue? Would general knowledge of Delenn as a descendent of > Valen help her or hurt her on the Gray Council (racial impurity > versus descendency from the One)? Did the other members of the > Gray Council understand the significance of the glowing > Triluminary (yes, I saw the astonishment on their faces, but that > might only have been surprise at the phenomenom)? Was Dukhat a > descendent of Valen? Is it now known among at least the Gray > Council that Valen was Sinclair? No, Dukhat was not descended from Valen; yes, the Grey Council now knows who Sinclair was; and general knowledge of what happened would certainly have an upsetting effect on Minbari society, so they will continue to keep it indefinitely back-roomed.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Mar 1997 21:25:54 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: JOHN GRAVES <102735.1124@compuserve.com> Subject: Who Killed JMS? JOHN GRAVES <102735.1124@compuserve.com> asks: > Just what the heck is going on? > What are you folks thinking of? As I noted in a message to you in another thread, everything has worked out fine, and the sysops have adjusted the structure to allow for greater flexibility, for which they are to be commended. So I'm still alive and well and here...the reports of my dearth are greatly exaggerated.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Mar 1997 21:25:56 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: B5 Starfury model/drwgs {original post unavailable} The models advertised in the UK are pirate and inferior. Authorized models will be coming out from Revell/Monogram later this year. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Mar 1997 22:33:40 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Carl Cantarella <105030.3700@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Air Order Carl Cantarella <105030.3700@compuserve.com> asks: > Joe, You're gonna actually do it after all? "I read the article in the latest Sci Fi Universe magazine, and honestly, I don't know how you do it all. God, talk about stress!" 1) I have no choice. 2) You just shrug your shoulders and you do it. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Mar 1997 22:33:42 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: PAUL SHEWARD <100256.1563@compuserve.com> Subject: New Set of B5 Cards PAUL SHEWARD <100256.1563@compuserve.com> asks: > Don't suppose you want to buy an autograph card do you Joe ? > Hasn't anyone convinced Jerry "Bruce Willis' twin brother" Doyle > to come to Blackpool for convention in the summer ? ? > to make the love interest a bit more viable, or was there some > other thinking behind the changes ? Are you prepared for the hero > worship that's going to abound at the convention ? I think Jerry has other commitments... As for the pilot, initially Delenn was going to be a male Minbari who came out of the chrysalis female...but due to our inability to modify Mira's voice enough to make it work, we dropped that aspect. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Mar 1997 22:33:44 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Who Killed JMS? {original post unavailable} No current plans for LD release. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Mar 1997 22:33:46 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Is The Great Maker Here? {original post unavailable} Apparently they've changed the category under which this forum falls to allow for greater flexibility in language...I think the sysops can probably explain it better than I can...sysoping not Zathras' strength.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Mar 1997 22:33:49 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Craig M. Bobchin <102354.3246@compuserve.com> Subject: Was this Delenn? Craig M. Bobchin <102354.3246@compuserve.com> asks: > Funny, ain't it...? > I was wondering if you've yet sprung the off beat plot turn on us > yet, and if so was it one of the transformations? If not is this > still on the books to be done? If it was and not one of the > transformations what was it? The off-beat notion was Delenn going from male to female, and then having a relationship with the CO. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Mar 1997 22:33:51 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Richard M. Perry <76461.2737@compuserve.com> Subject: Atonement {original post had no questions} I have NOT fibbed about past works. Denied, denied and denied, sure, but fibbed, never..... jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 02:14:24 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: NEW To Sysops From jms {original post unavailable} "He promised to "update" the reporter, though, so I presume he's done that and the article will accurately reflect what went on here." Yup. Already in process. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 02:22:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Who Killed JMS? {original post unavailable} We don't have a public affairs office. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 02:22:17 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Babylon 5 CD, Volume Two (blocked) asks: > JMS, sorry to bother you but why isn't the Volume Two CD out in > stores? Actually, a very few stores *have* gotten it in...but sonic images decided to fill all the fan orders first, and have gotten somewhat overwhelmed. Once they catch up, they'll hit the stores. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 02:22:19 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Back to Z'Ha'Dum {original post unavailable} No, it's one of her regular dressing gowns. And thanks.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 02:22:21 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Meryl Yourish <103470.2703@compuserve.com> Subject: The Man In Between Meryl Yourish <103470.2703@compuserve.com> asks: > Was Lorien the man in between? > Was Sheridan the man in between? > Was Justin the man in between? > Okay, if you won't answer those three, then will you answer the > following? Was Refa the one who was already dead? Refa was never already dead, so it can't be him. Dead is dead, and the only one who fits that description would be Sheridan. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:06 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: All Subject: jms in Orlando Just to advise those in the Orlando area...I'll be at Megacon at the Orange County Convention Center thereabouts, giving my B5 presentation on Saturday at 3:00 p.m., with scenes from shows not yet aired, bloopers, and other sundry stuff. I *think* there's also an autograph thing afterward, but can't be sure offhand. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: NEW To Sysops From jms {original post unavailable} Actually, no, once you tell someone that part of a story *ain't* a story no more...it tends to go away. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:11 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Air Order Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > Why were they so interested in you directing? > Which one? > Are you going to act as well to cover all the bases? > What does your wife think of your schedule? "Why were they so interested in you directing?" Well, they know the show is really my vision, and they're curious what it would look like if it was also followed through behind the camera. And as our liaison with WB said, "We like it when our creative people spread their wings a little." They like the show, and it does well for them, and they're just generally supportive that way. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Rob Carr <73200.2754@compuserve.com> Subject: to sfwa from jms Rob Carr <73200.2754@compuserve.com> asks: > But who would want to win such an award? > What's it mean if you let someone else win? Well, for starters, I don't think it would be letting someone else win; nominees would be submitted, and the best of that batch of nominees would win in head-to-head competition. We've been bypassed for the occasional Emmy nomination even though I think some of the work done that year in those areas was at least as good as anything done elsewhere...does that diminish the kudos to the ones who *did* win? Beyond which...even if SFWA *were* to start working on restoring the dramatic nebula -- the chances of which are roughly equivilent to an ostrich giving birth to an iguana -- it would take them a couple of years minimum to do it, by which time B5 is over anyway, and who knows if any later work of mine will be in the SF area at that point anyway? (It's likely, but one never do know...I ended up on Murder She Wrote for 2 years, remember.) Either way...my concern is the principle at work here. If disqualifying or refusing the Neb myself is the only way to ensure that this ain't a personal agenda, and thus make the road easier for somebody else down the road, then that's jake by me. But, as stated, the odds of this are slim and none. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:17 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Is The Great Maker Here? {original post unavailable} I'd be hard to pick an absolute favorite; I like all of them, for various reasons, and at various times. If you put a gun to my head, I'd say it was probably either Delenn or Londo, because of the many shades to their characters. They're like crystals, they change color and texture depending on how the light shines through them. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:19 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: SFWA issue on SFLITs {original post unavailable} I'm sure there are, but having already been villified by Martin over on GEnie, speaking as veep of SFWA, I think I've had enough SFWA for a while. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:21 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com> Subject: Edit Process {original post had no questions} All I can figure out is that they must be artifacts of the analog commercial drop-ins they've been doing, which affect the uplink process. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:23 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Richard M. Perry <76461.2737@compuserve.com> Subject: Atonement {original post had no questions} You're right. I am dust beneath thy feet. I shall now sit in my garden and eat worms all day as penance. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:26 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: AgamemCon Report {original post unavailable} Good point. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:28 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: The Man In Between Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > Didn't Londo have a prophecy about not killing the one who is > already dead? So, with the flash forward in WWEII we see him > sparing Sheridan, thereby avoiding his fate, right? The goal was to *redeem* himself. Sparing Sheridan was part of that. Then he had to surrender himself to his greatest fear: his death at G'Kar's hands. jms ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1997 16:25:30 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: Delenn and the Truth Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > Why didn't Delenn tell John the truth about her trip to Minbar, > and won't John be slightly ticked off when he finds out the > truth? "Listen, honey, while you were out I went to the store and I bought some new candles, you know how we're always running out, and Lennier took the cat in to be cleaned, and oh, did I mention I was directly responsible for the deaths of two hundred and fifty thousand of your best friends and fellow officers? Pass the sugar." She'll never tell him. Because it's over...what would be the point, except to ruin what they have now. jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 14:42:45 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Is The Great Maker Here? {original post unavailable} I think that would give away half the fun of what's coming. jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 14:42:48 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: jms in Orlando {original post unavailable} I don't recall a 1 pm Sunday session, but it's possible. jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 14:42:49 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Ron Chusid <74756.3150@compuserve.com> Subject: jms in Orlando Ron Chusid <74756.3150@compuserve.com> asks: > Is Megacon the real reason you are going to Orlando? I find this vaguely unnerving.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 14:42:52 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: John M. Graham <74166.3727@compuserve.com> Subject: Support Letters. John M. Graham <74166.3727@compuserve.com> asks: > My question is, where do we need the most pull, WB, our local > stations, or both? Should I trust them? At this point, I'd hold off until we see which way this goes.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 14:42:54 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: First-season reruns {original post had no questions} I know, I know, I know.... At least we'll get 'em finally on TNT. jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 14:42:56 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Delenn and the Truth {original post had no questions} "You are a sadist, you know." Thankyew.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 14:42:59 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> Subject: Delenn and the Truth Scott Baker <76072.1744@compuserve.com> asks: > Doesn't he suspect to some degree? > He knows she was on the Grey Council, he knows she knows about > Sinclair, isn't there the possibility he'll put 2 and 2 together? > Also, doesn't she to some degree want forgiveness from him for > her part in the war? The reality is...in war, one does what one does. Afterward, as we heal, we try to forget what we did, and what they did. He killed as many Minbari as he could; she was on the Grey Counci that directed the war. One doesn't go into it. jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 14:43:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Who cares about truth? Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> asks: > And, even if love wasn't motivation enough for her to come clean > with her life, shouldn't truth be? What the hell has she been > fighting for all this time? But truth doesn't apply to her? > Was it all just a convenient lie to her? Ah, but Minbari never tell anyone the whole truth.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 22:55:54 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Is The Great Maker Here? {original post unavailable} "Can you give us any hints about what will happen to Garibaldi? He's acting stranger and stranger. Well...he'll probably start acting stranger and stranger.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 22:55:55 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: And now for a word... {original post unavailable} I've spoken with several people regarding cons in Germany, but all of them take place in 1998, not 1997. And nothing has been signed by me with any of them. jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 22:55:57 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> Subject: Mr. Garibaldi {original post had no questions} "There was always irreverence and distrust before -- the irreverence has been retained, and the distrust cranked up..." Ding.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 1997 23:02:06 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Needs a Talking To.. {original post had no questions} 1) The re-edit is likely going to be paid for by WB. 2) It's a VERY bad mistake to intervene in business negotiations between a production company and a studio...you will ONLY end up pissing off the people who you want to pony up the dough to do something, and that will be the end of that. TNT has been *extremely* enthusiastic about the show, and doing all they can to promote it. jms ------------------------------ Date: 13 Mar 1997 20:22:36 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Atonement (blocked) asks: > Was Delenn's clan expecting her to do another transformation to > undo her "humanness"? Since the transformation had made her > "genetically compatible with the humans", isn't she now > genetically incompatible with Minbari? Or would she have been > expected to remain childless? Perhaps the equation of Sinclair > becoming mostly Minbari was balanced by Delenn becoming mostly > human, but what has this to do with migrating souls? It must have > migrated!)? Yes, some Minbari on the Grey Council think that Sinclair opened up the "soul door," for lack of a better term, and Delenn's actions can be seen as a kind of back-fire, closing the door again. Ain't necessarily what's true, but what they believe. And yes, they would've had Delenn remain childless, but would be allowed to marry a Minbari. And, again, it's a matter of marrying a non-Minbari with or WITHOUT kids...it's a very inflammatory sort of thing from a cultural perspective. jms ------------------------------ Date: 13 Mar 1997 21:10:37 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Kirk R. Darling <73063.3115@compuserve.com> Subject: Was this Delenn? Kirk R. Darling <73063.3115@compuserve.com> asks: > Leguin's _Left Hand of Darkness_? No, but I know the story...and the idea there is of a race that changes sex. Minbari do not change sex as a rule, it was going to be a one-off with Delenn. jms ------------------------------ Date: 13 Mar 1997 21:10:40 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Richard P. Manny <70762.141@compuserve.com> Subject: jms in Orlando Richard P. Manny <70762.141@compuserve.com> asks: > Must I send you my schedule so you can it right?! I didn't know you could still *go* to cons, given the last incident, and the petition, and the restraining order.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 13 Mar 1997 21:10:42 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Year 5: Catch-22? {original post unavailable} Both are true, to varying extents. The key stations are the major market stations, which are getting the most pressure to change, whereas the smaller markets are much more willing to stand pat. jms ------------------------------ Date: 13 Mar 1997 21:10:44 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Spot the Satai Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> asks: > Does Sheridan know that Delenn was Satai? Well, Sheridan knows that Delenn was Grey Council, so he would obviously know she was Satai, since that's pretty much the same thing. jms ------------------------------ Date: 14 Mar 1997 03:15:17 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: to sfwa from jms {original post unavailable} "It's a looooooong jump from that to saying that SFWA 'doesn't consider screenwriters real writers.'" Ah. So, I take it that the letters that appeared in the SFWA Journal from SFWA members stating essentially that point did not actually exist in our universe, having instead filtered over via some spatial rift from the Bizarro Universe version of SFWA...(which would frankly be redundent). jms ------------------------------ Date: 14 Mar 1997 03:44:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: All Subject: The Real Corwin For those who know that one of my chief mentors as a writer was (and is) Norman Corwin...who was also one of the main inspirations to such other writers as Ray Bradbury, Rod Serling, Charles Kuralt, Stan Freberg and others, here's your chance to actually experience some of it. A number of his radio dramas (and some scripts) have just been made available via The Mind's Eye. They include performances by such folks as Jimmy Stewart, Vincent Price, Ray Bradbury, Elsa Lanchester, William Shatner, Edward G. Robinson, Lionel Barrymore, Orson Welles, Jill Eikenberry, Groucho Marx, Robert Benchley and others. You can get a catalog from 1-800-411-MIND, or from their website at www.lodestone-media.com. jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1997 20:57:33 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome {original post unavailable} I'll probably try it eventually, but for obvious reasons can't handle any kind of learning curve right now.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1997 20:57:35 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Captain Power (blocked) asks: > I was just wondering, what was the last episode of Captain Power? > Was that the last episode? Yup, that was the last ep, "A Summoning of Thunder," part two. jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1997 20:57:37 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Air Order {original post unavailable} That's what we're trying to work out. jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1997 20:57:40 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Air Order {original post unavailable} For all intents and purposes, the pilot *is* the director's cut...what we want to do is make a producer's cut of more material and better editing. jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1997 20:57:41 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: PAUL SHEWARD <100256.1563@compuserve.com> Subject: New Set of B5 Cards PAUL SHEWARD <100256.1563@compuserve.com> asks: > what with all the gender related issues ? I could've pulled it off. Ve haff vays.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1997 20:57:43 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: to sfwa from jms {original post unavailable} But, see, Mike, there's the contradiction...when you talk about SFWA being tolerant and inviting, you're generalizing from the individuals to the group. But when I do the same, you say, "No, no, those are just the individuals." When enough individuals say something, it becomes a group opinion, and hence an organizational opinion. Basically, you're saying that if the action is *positive*, it's SFWA the organization speaking...if the action is *negative*, it's just the members talking, thus giving the group deniability. You can't have it both ways, Mike. jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1997 20:57:46 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Status Check (blocked) asks: > Are you and Harlan still on for I-CON at Stony Brook, Long > Island, in three weeks? I'm trying to still be there, but I'm working out some problems with the convention, when has stuck me on 4.5 to 6.5 hours of panels, presentations and the like per day, with little or NO breaks in between to eat or rest, and insisting that I *have* to do all of it, and that's just plain hideous. If we can come to a reasonable understanding on this, then yeash, I'll be there...if not.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1997 20:57:51 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Richard M. Perry <76461.2737@compuserve.com> Subject: Cherry Red {original post had no questions} You should've come up and said hello, I didn't know you were there. Re: the look on my face...it's a sad thing, but at 42 years old, having lived the life I've led, and done the things I've done, part of me is very iconoclastic and brash, but there's a part of me that's still about 12 years old and shy and...okay, I blush. Easily. It's *really* embarrassing. (Some women tell me it's cute, which is even MORE embarrassing.) And yeah, Narns are marsupial, but since Andreas keeps referring to himself otherwise, I used it. And the commune story...is WAY too long to tell. jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1997 20:57:54 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: A door (blocked) asks: > What did he mean by this? > Am I close? Close. They couldn't break the rules of engagement, but he did...and started things moving. jms ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 1997 14:40:20 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: to sfwa from jms {original post unavailable} Okay, Mike...so the organization speaks for itself. Over on GEnie, George Martin came in, and speaking as Vice President for SFWA, speaking for the *group*, said, of my statement to disqualify myself from future Nebulas to show that this isn't part of a vested interest on my part but rather the principle, "Don't you have enough awards, Joe?" When another fan reminded him of my statement given above, he said, "You cannot disqualify yourself from a Nebula, and I suspect Joe knew that." (Which I didn't.) In essense he first questions my motives and my ethics, then assaults my honesty, as his way of dealing with my raising the issue. (I then made it plain that I will not accept any Nebula in future, regardless, if that's what it takes, though I think most people knowing you don't want one will tend to discourage voting in that area.) So now what is this, George speaking as George, or George speaking for SFWA the organization? Because when he came in he sure as heck made it clear that he was speaking in his capacity as VP. Sorry, Mike, but the organization acts as its members act, and speaks as its members speaks, and George's intemperate reaction, to immediately and gratuitously go for the personal attack rather than discussing the issue, when I had never said a WORD about any one person in this discussion, just shows again why many are afraid to pursue this issue any more. They're tired of the petty, personal attacks, and so am I, from many of the members AND the organization and its spokespersons. Because an organization doesn't exist as some kind of Platonic ideal, outside reality (though in this I sometimes wonder if SFWA is outside reality). It says in the Bible, "You shall know them by their works." An organization is known by what it does, and what it says, through its members. So you can try and divorce the two all you want, but they're the same thing. jms ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 1997 23:47:35 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Marcon {original post unavailable} Yes, although I'm waiting for some details to be worked out, as things stand now I plan to be at Marcon. jms ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 1997 23:47:37 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Becky Murphy <76131.1534@compuserve.com> Subject: Directors Becky Murphy <76131.1534@compuserve.com> asks: > I was wondering (since it's not in the Lurker's Guide) who > is/will be directing "Racing Mars", "Face of the Enemy", > "Intersections in Real Time" and "Between the Darkness & the > Light"? Also, are there any new episode titles you can share with > us? Intersections is John LaFia; Darkness is David Eagle. jms ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 1997 23:47:39 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: A door (blocked) asks: > Wasn't the (planned) complete destruction of every world ever > touched by the Shadows a "break" in the rules of engagement? FIrst, that *followed* his trip to Z'ha'dum...so yes, the rules began to slip after that. jms ------------------------------ Date: 19 Mar 1997 03:53:19 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: SysOp Lee Whiteside <76711.2660@compuserve.com> Subject: TIME NewsWire transcript {original post had no questions} In private mail, I said the same thing to Ray; in this case, the sysops acted correctly. Fair Use does not in any way cover reposting entire articles. jms ------------------------------ Date: 19 Mar 1997 03:55:45 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Sandra G. Bruckner <76642.3664@compuserve.com> Subject: Status Check {original post had no questions} Happily, I spoke to the President of the ICON group today, and they seem bent on making this work, and making it right, so I suspect this will all work out as soon as I can see a schedule with a more reasonable layout. jms ------------------------------ Date: 22 Mar 1997 18:56:34 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Richard M. Perry <76461.2737@compuserve.com> Subject: Cherry Red {original post had no questions} "Aw, come on; tell us a story, Joooooe. " What the heck do you think I've been *doing* these last 4 years? jms ------------------------------ Date: 22 Mar 1997 18:56:36 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Rituals by the Bushel {original post had no questions} You have far too much time on your hands. jms ------------------------------ Date: 22 Mar 1997 19:12:57 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Needs a Talking To.. {original post unavailable} No, the tapes are not coming out shortly, the dealer is mistaken. jms ------------------------------ Date: 23 Mar 1997 20:08:43 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Thanks for the Mega {original post had no questions} Thanks.... that bad, bad man in hollywood ------------------------------ Date: 25 Mar 1997 12:05:54 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Shelf life (blocked) asks: > That is, are steps taken to prevent or ameliorate this > degradation? Or is the question irrelevant for some other reason? I think we've got WB more aware of the preservation issues once some of the original prints of shots from the pilot were eaten by rats while in storage facilities. (The negatives are safe.) We spoke to them. jms ------------------------------ Date: 25 Mar 1997 12:05:55 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: sequel series? {original post unavailable} We're still awaiting final word. jms ------------------------------ Date: 25 Mar 1997 12:05:57 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Shadow War {original post unavailable} They did take part in the war, just not to the same extent as the religious caste, though toward the end they got much more involved. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Mar 1997 01:43:27 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Kristi Ferebee <75361.1615@compuserve.com> Subject: The Shadow Within Kristi Ferebee <75361.1615@compuserve.com> asks: > Hey, has anyone finished the new B5 book "The Shadow Within"? > (Or can we? The story of the Icarus as presented in this book is considered canon. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Mar 1997 15:09:22 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: G'kar - Cross? (blocked) asks: > Was that intentional? > Also, are Narn usually strong enough to break the unweakened > chains, or was that just an extra bit of adrenaline or equivalent > on G'kar's part? I think one can make the argument there is some symbolism in there from christian literature, but that kind of scene takes place in other belief systems as well, and historically that sort of torture was used in many places, including the Roman empire in general. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Mar 1997 15:09:23 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com> Subject: Prequel Plans? {original post had no questions} I've found it's generally best to *see* what one does before deciding whether not to be disappointed by it. And I really have no interest in running the story by anyone for approval or to make sure they think it'll be okay, and along the way destroy any possible interest in *seeing* it since the story is already out there on the nets. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Mar 1997 15:09:24 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Dr John A Purvis <100341.1147@compuserve.com> Subject: The Shadow Within Dr John A Purvis <100341.1147@compuserve.com> asks: > There was some talk about a Book featuring Catherine Sekai is > this still mooted? Also if there is a recurrent theme of lost and > missing females, how about Lyta between her disappearance after > the gathering until her return? Catherine Sakai is one of the major characters in the third of the current batch of new B5 novels. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Mar 1997 23:06:41 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: con in Germany ? {original post unavailable} It took me a while to run this down, but I have the info: I have not been formally approached by this convention in Germany, and will not be going. The convention was mentioned to Bruce, but he has not confirmed and is not going, and is distressed that they are using his name. I do not believe Andrea is going either; only Jerry has so far indicated that he will be there. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Mar 1997 23:13:05 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Michael Beemer <71551.1670@compuserve.com> Subject: Nine New Eps!!! {original post had no questions} It doesn't bode well or poorly for a season 5; they'd hold back a few in either event. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Mar 1997 23:13:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Nine New Eps!!! {original post unavailable} Actually, there'd be no rush at all in terms of getting a sequel into prep and out the door. The discussions now are in the area of fall 97 to shoot and January 98 to air (with or without a simultaneous S5 of B5). We have a lot of the stuff we'd need for the sequel (costumes, uniforms, some sets, prosthetics, that sort of thing), so the lead time would be very short. jms ------------------------------ Date: 27 Mar 1997 13:38:33 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Nine New Eps!!! {original post unavailable} The fate of the show has little or nothing to do with the final five, one way or another...they'll be seen regardless. jms ------------------------------ Date: 27 Mar 1997 13:38:35 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Shelf life (blocked) asks: > And did the rats listen when you spoke to them? The rats are the ONLY ones who listen to me anymore. jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Mar 1997 23:00:11 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: T.P. Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> Subject: music for pilot movie T.P. Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> asks: > Joe, if you re-edit the pilot, would you be asking Frank to > re-score it? Yeah, Chirs would re-score it. jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Mar 1997 23:03:20 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: R. Thomas <71544.3171@compuserve.com> Subject: ITF question R. Thomas <71544.3171@compuserve.com> asks: > Am I correct in my understanding that the 6 first ones' ships > Lorien brought out were from species from this particular galaxy, > but that had already gone beyond the rim, and do not reside in > the galaxy at all? If so, will the walkers still appear in normal > space around sigma 957 from time to time? They were all still hanging around here, for one reason or another, mostly to do with inertia, familiarity...but finally recognized that it was time. jms ------------------------------ Date: 30 Mar 1997 19:36:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: The Raven & the Dove {original post had no questions} That was not the specific intended message, no.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 31 Mar 1997 13:52:30 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Eric Baker <76600.2605@compuserve.com> Subject: I-con: Time of Program? Eric Baker <76600.2605@compuserve.com> asks: > What time are you doing the B5 presentation at I-con? I don't have the schedule with me at the moment, but it's mid-afternoon Saturday...though there is a second presentation on Sunday, apparently. jms ------------------------------