JMS CompuServe messages for December 1997. Collected by John Hardin . Date: 30 Nov 1997 20:45:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Between Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> asks: > Why were there no cameras monitoring Sheridan? "Why were there no cameras monitoring Sheridan?" Torturers rarely videotape their work, thus assuring that it can never be used against them should things not go their way all the time. This is kinda pro forma in South America, for instance. jms ------------------------------ Date: 01 Dec 1997 00:42:06 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Illegal Script sales {original post unavailable} This is an iffy area; if someone has just one copy of a script, it tends to fall into the area of collectibles. It's when someone is making up multiple copies of scripts that we generally go and nail them. jms ------------------------------ Date: 01 Dec 1997 22:44:03 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: John Creigh <75270.423@compuserve.com> Subject: from jms on stuff John Creigh <75270.423@compuserve.com> asks: > Where do I find out information on attending LosCon and schedule? It's over, it was this Thanksgiving weekend. jms ------------------------------ Date: 01 Dec 1997 22:44:03 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: John Creigh <75270.423@compuserve.com> Subject: LOSCON Presentation John Creigh <75270.423@compuserve.com> asks: > Is that something you put together for TNT as a teaser? > Do you have her interacting with G'Kar much in season 5? The third one I showed was a music video I commissioned a while back to pull together the show overall for TNT and conventions. We haven't had many scenes between Lochley and G'Kar yet, but that will likely change. And yeah, Tracy's doing a great job. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Dec 1997 00:55:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Between Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> asks: > Understood, but why were there no surveillance cameras watching > (not taping) such an important prisoner, especially when he > wasn't being "interrogated"? Did they just not think of it? Mainly because, in the research I'd done, it's just rarely if ever done in real life, and real life was my template here. There's TV logic, and there's what tends to happen in the real world, and I tend to err in the direction of the latter. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Dec 1997 01:12:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Scott J. Epstein <71514.2733@compuserve.com> Subject: CD-ROM {original post had no questions} Thanks, it came out well, I think. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Dec 1997 01:12:02 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Airship Photos (blocked) asks: > What would the best way be to do that? > Dont know if its propoer etiquette to ask you to pass them Bruce? You can send them on to me via the B5 mail drop, 14431 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. I'll see they get to Bruce and John. (Or you can send them directly to John and Bruce via that address.) jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Dec 1997 01:14:02 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> Subject: JMS new Series? {original post had no questions} A first season hasn't been committed to, at least in contractual terms to me, and I can assure you that the series would be season-by-season, like any other show. It's never been broached to us as a five-year deal. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Dec 1997 01:12:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Claudia {original post unavailable} Thanks...the spinoff is still in negotiations, but going well there. And I can't wait for January either. jms ------------------------------ Date: 04 Dec 1997 12:47:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: New Logo? (blocked) asks: > Diamond's December catalog has a modified B5 logo (standard > Babylon 5 logo with the words "Earth Alliance Space Station") on > the page with the new 6 inch action figures (yay!) -- is this the > new logo you mentioned or is it one I've just never seen? Jeff > Sigh Corps - Pat Tallman Division Great Maker huh? No, that ain't it. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Dec 1997 02:19:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Carl Cantarella <105030.3700@compuserve.com> Subject: I got my pin! {original post had no questions} The club's gotten about 400 orders in the last week, and we're getting them out as fast as possible...a huge batch went out today, and we're pretty much caught up. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Dec 1997 02:19:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Neil S. Turkenkopf <102664.3532@compuserve.com> Subject: I got my pin! {original post had no questions} Thanks...yeah, we can finally put those pirated pins out of business, there's no way they can produce the same quality pins as you just got. jms ------------------------------ Date: 05 Dec 1997 00:04:08 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> Subject: Between Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> asks: > And wouldn't Sheridan qualify more as a legally detained prisoner > than a political prisoner? Yeah, he's legally detained, but he's being *illegally* tortured. That's the distinction. Nothing here is being done for the prisoner's benefit, but for the interrogators. jms ------------------------------ Date: 06 Dec 1997 20:50:11 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Jonathan Kass <74130.443@compuserve.com> Subject: JMS new Series? Jonathan Kass <74130.443@compuserve.com> asks: > Stephen Furst mentioned at Creation last weekend that he just > signed a 5 year extension - is that standard stuff? "Just a curiousity side question... Stephen Furst mentioned at Creation last weekend that he just signed a 5 year extension - is that standard stuff?" No, that was a result of having amended Stephen's contract when he did "Misery Loves Company" a while back. jms ------------------------------ Date: 06 Dec 1997 20:50:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Jose Cabanillas <71020.3316@compuserve.com> Subject: Thanks to the cast {original post had no questions} They're a good bunch. jms ------------------------------ Date: 06 Dec 1997 20:50:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: SysOp_Dupa_T._Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> Subject: B5 Link comm device {original post had no questions} Cool...I want one. jms ------------------------------ Date: 06 Dec 1997 20:50:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Peter Deeks <113213.3222@compuserve.com> Subject: B5ers do it very late. Peter Deeks <113213.3222@compuserve.com> asks: > Do I get the impression you get the same problem in the States? > It's crazy, isn't it? Thanks.... Bear in mind that the C4 programmers put it late because they received many calls from B5 viewers asking for a later slot, since they said C4 was treating the show as a kid's show...so this is a situation where C4 gets yelled at whichever way it goes. jms ------------------------------ Date: 06 Dec 1997 21:08:00 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Rumors {original post had no questions} It's utter crap, like all such rumors. These people put them up and come up with ways to make it sound real, but it's crap. TNT is in love with what they're seeing, we've had no problems with them, they've given us the biggest PR campaign in their *history* to launch the new show and reruns... these rumors are put there by people who enjoy making others jump around and respond to them, and put out fires. They're no different than the kinds of folks who light grass fires near homes and watch from cover giggling as the firefighters come out to deal with it all...makes them feel important, because their lives are sad and pathetic and basically irrelevant. Like the rumor that I had a heart attack on the way to the stage; the phone calls that came into the stage tied up phone lines and ended up as a huge hassle for everyone. Look, it's really this simple...and I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at them...if there's a problem, I WILL TELL YOU. I've been doing that for five years now. Every time one of these rumors comes up, everybody goes running around like chickens with their heads cut off until I can calm everyone down, and then two weeks later it's the same thing over and over, one manufactured crisis after another that takes up your time and my time in responding. So this is just one more BS stupid rumor by an online jerk, of which there are many. Just take that line and cut and paste it on the next stupid BS rumor. jms ------------------------------ Date: 07 Dec 1997 15:34:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Rumors {original post had no questions} "But I'm not certain that in this case the people putting up the posts are the jerks responsible for the rumors. In at least one case I'm pretty sure it was a somewhat panicky *fan* of the show who heard something and didn't think it through to see how ludicrous it was." I've been on the nets for a long, long, very long time, and I've yet to see a case of this where the person actually *heard* this, until after it had long gotten into the fan community. People *say* they heard these things just to give it some credibility and someone to blame so they don't have to take the rap for it themselves. If they *really* heard it from someone, then post that person's name. They were willing to post the rumor, which caused hurt and confusion and distress, why not post the person's name who said it, so that this person can be enlightened and corrected? But they never do, because there never IS "the other person." They're sickos, liars, flakes, yoyos, yipyops, yahoos, bozos and kadodies. jms ------------------------------ Date: 07 Dec 1997 15:34:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: PAUL REYNOLDS <110152.1243@compuserve.com> Subject: Rumors {original post had no questions} Interestingly enough...I saw what they were doing for commercials initially, and it wasn't really what I had in mind, it was the same basic actino stuff WB did that didn't get the right audience. So I wrote up a commercial and had our editors put it together. I sent it to TNT and said this is kinda what I had in mind. I also showed it at a couple of conventions as an example of what I thought the promos should be like. To TNT's credit, they decided that our approach was better, and went in that direction. This is really quite extraordinary, as most corporations get very entrenched and it's their way or no way, but TNT wants to do right by this show, they believe that we know the show well enough to know how to promote it, and make it, and they've given us tremendous leeway and support. jms ------------------------------ Date: 07 Dec 1997 22:24:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Rumors (blocked) asks: > Yes, but what do you *really* think of them? Not your fault, you have nothing to apologize for. jms ------------------------------ Date: 06 Dec 1997 21:08:00 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: PAUL REYNOLDS <110152.1243@compuserve.com> Subject: Rumors {original post had no questions} "...well half of this one was probably true from what i've heard nobody liked the pilot as aired including JMS." Well, actually, if NObody liked the pilot we *wouldn't* have become a series. But the ratings were very good, and a lot of folks *do* and did like the pilot. It just could've been better, which is my take on it, and now that we've gone in and adusted it it, is *is* better. jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Dec 1997 12:53:00 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Rumors {original post unavailable} Go to your room. It's the one with the alligators. jms ------------------------------ Date: 08 Dec 1997 12:53:00 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Status check? (blocked) asks: > How is filming coming? > What episodes are done? > etc.? > How is the special effects work going? > Is anything new or interesting happening there? "How is filming coming? What episodes are done?" Filming is going great; we're shooting 513 as I speak, with John Copeland directing (John did "Endgame"). We shoot through 514 then we break for Christmas, coming back on the 4th. The first 6 episodes have been completely finished (technically mixing the sixth one tomorrow, but it's a fine distinction), and delivered to TNT, which has had nothing but praise for the stuff this season. "How is the special effects work going? Is anything new or interesting happening there?" Fine there; the most interesting stuff has been in the prequel, and now in Thirdspace as we start producing stuff for that, since both movies are very ambitious. We're doing more compositing stuff for the series, trying some new things, getting progressively closer to the objects in the show to give a dynamic realism to them. But most of the interesting stuff this time around tends to be in the story and the personal relationships, and changes everyone's going through. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 01:11:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> Subject: B5 Link comm device Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks: > Speaking of watches, have you seen Men In Black yet? Yeah, same watch on all counts, it's the Hamilton Ventura. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 01:11:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Schmulenson <72447.224@compuserve.com> Subject: Rumors Schmulenson <72447.224@compuserve.com> asks: > I may be missing something but I haven't seen any adds for the > show in the paper or promo's(but I don't watch tv often)-where > are they? There are ads all over the place...especially on TNT. You'll see more as we get closer to air. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 01:11:06 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> Subject: I got my pin! {original post had no questions} It's the same design and materials used in the ones being sold by the fan club. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 01:11:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> Subject: Rumors {original post had no questions} Also flips, twists, gleeps, geeks and creeps. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 12:08:02 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: DotD Schedule question {original post unavailable} We shot it out of story-sequence to give us more time to prep 512, which was a big episode. So it'll actually be aired as 513. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 12:08:02 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Roseann <103510.1542@compuserve.com> Subject: ll Roseann <103510.1542@compuserve.com> asks: > Did you know that the executives at Paramount didn't want to do > that? How do you not take them in a head lock down the hall and > hold their heads in the toliet and flush it a few times? Do they > not *know* how to market the shows or what? Here's the stupid thing about the syndication worry: it's nonexistent. The stations invariably grab shows in production order unless something is specifified to the contrary on the inventory sheets. Every so often, some of the animated shows I worked on years ago will show up...and they're *still* being played in correct order, and I doubt very much the station is trying to do so, it's just a matter of going in numerical order off the charts. This is a concern that goes back to very early syndication that doesn't hold anymore. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 23:04:10 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Roseann <103510.1542@compuserve.com> Subject: ll Roseann <103510.1542@compuserve.com> asks: > Is this the only way they can feel important? > So, can we do a JMS and Harlan in 2000 for the white house? "So, can we do a JMS and Harlan in 2000 for the white house? " If nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve, if impeached I will burn the tapes, write a book, build a library and become an elder statesman. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 23:04:10 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Craig M. Bobchin <102354.3246@compuserve.com> Subject: Marshall Teague returns? Craig M. Bobchin <102354.3246@compuserve.com> asks: > Is that true, is Ta'Lon making another appearance? "Is that true, is Ta'Lon making another appearance?" Yup. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 23:04:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: SysOp_Lee_Whiteside <76711.2660@compuserve.com> Subject: Rumors {original post had no questions} Yeah, they also plan on bus posters, billboards, subway posters, you name it. jms ------------------------------ Date: 09 Dec 1997 23:04:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> Subject: B5 Link comm device Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks: > You don't happen to know if they still sell them, do you? Yeah, they still sell 'em. Interesting history...the Hamilton Ventura was the first electric watch produced. When the art deco case went out of fashion (as if art deco *ever* goes out of fashion), they discontinued it. As I understand it, and this is only based on what I've been told, I have no first-hand knowledge here, back a few years ago, when I bought mine, they had found some of the original parts and pieces and casings and released a small number of them. They were all snapped up, and Hamilton decided it might be a good idea to release them for real in a newly manufactured line. jms ------------------------------ Date: 12 Dec 1997 12:55:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Roseann <103510.1542@compuserve.com> Subject: Books, Music & ??? Roseann <103510.1542@compuserve.com> asks: > He's a pretty smart kid, but a little emotionally immature (but > after all he is ten), would the B5 books be "over his head" or do > you think he would grasp it? Any suggestions on other titles I > could get for him? That's an okay one to start with...I'd also suggest the Hobbit, and if you can find it the Mad Scientists Club and A Wrinkle in Time. jms ------------------------------ Date: 12 Dec 1997 22:17:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: B5 Dolls {original post unavailable} The ones under discussion, the 6" figures, are killer...they're even closer in appearance, sleeker, their faces are great...and apparently they'll be available from both Toys R Us *and* Diamond (via comics stores). These are definitely the ones that'll go on my desk. jms ------------------------------ Date: 12 Dec 1997 22:17:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT's Rumor Responce {original post unavailable} "What about the one that jms isn't really from this planet, and TNT is knowingly collaborating with (albeit) benevolent alien races that just dig good scifi" Oh, well, that one's true...but how did YOU find out? jms ------------------------------ Date: 12 Dec 1997 13:13:11 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Great Maker Photo (blocked) asks: > Does Andrew Porter have a time machine? > Have you seen the photo of yourself on page 15 of the November > Science Fiction Chronicle? What's that about? No, I haven't seen it yet. Will look it up. On the other project, not much to say until paperwork comes. jms ------------------------------ Date: 12 Dec 1997 13:13:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Neville White <100335.2721@compuserve.com> Subject: Superlatives fail me.. Neville White <100335.2721@compuserve.com> asks: > Would you care to share any pointers about what might have > happened to the character Ivanova in the future? Thanks...as for what Claudia would've been doing this season, some bits of that have been sliced off and put into other characters, so I can't comment until it hits the air. And thanks again...it's a good end for the season. jms ------------------------------ Date: 13 Dec 1997 02:22:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Neil S. Turkenkopf <102664.3532@compuserve.com> Subject: Official Guide CD-ROM Neil S. Turkenkopf <102664.3532@compuserve.com> asks: > I could be wrong,but I'm pretty sure jms himself even said > so,since he still uses 3.1? To any of you who already have it,does > it run *at all* on Windows 3.1? Am I just being silly to think > that there's even a small chance that it'll work? No, it's specifically for Win 95. A version I got for proofing stuff was for 3.1 but for release purposes, it has to be one or the other to have all the bells and whistles. Virtually *everything* out now is for nothing less than Win95. (Just bought Riven, the Myst sequel, and can't play that either until I upgrade, which I'll do when I have time.) jms ------------------------------ Date: 14 Dec 1997 00:55:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: SysOp_Dupa_T._Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> Subject: Great Maker Photo {original post had no questions} Thanks. I haven't been able to find the issue; can you tell me what specifically it said? jms ------------------------------ Date: 13 Dec 1997 22:48:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Craig M. Bobchin <102354.3246@compuserve.com> Subject: Cd-ROM Comments Craig M. Bobchin <102354.3246@compuserve.com> asks: > Who chose the characters for the directory? > Could you give a bit of a hint where I should start looking? "Who chose the characters for the directory? There are a few noteable exceptions that probably should have been included. I'm talking about Bester, Talia, Morden and both Koshs." The conceit of the disk is that it's a guide to the station as of the end of the 4th season. That's why neither Vorlon is listed, since they're gone by that time, ditto for Morden who was never actually a resident or officially a part of B5 and wouldn't be listed in any event, and of course Talia was gone a while back. "You mentioned that there is kind of an easter egg hidden on the disk somewhere. Could you give a bit of a hint where I should start looking?" Just keep poking around until you find something that sounds right. jms ------------------------------ Date: 14 Dec 1997 15:22:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Colin Heaps <100622.3610@compuserve.com> Subject: Rising Star Colin Heaps <100622.3610@compuserve.com> asks: > As for Ivanova's departure, isn't it amazing what a 10-second > voice-over can achieve? One complaint though, what am I going to > do with my time until season 5 comes around? Thanks, and after we're gone...well, yer on yer own. jms ------------------------------ Date: 14 Dec 1997 23:51:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: All Subject: re: jms email Just a note to remind folks that my email address is to be used only for stuff that can't or shouldn't be discussed publicly, for personal stuff. It's starting to fill up with general questions about the themes of the show, plot stuff and the like, questions which would serve better in the open forums where the answers would profit other people, and save me from having to answer the same question X-times privately. jms ------------------------------ Date: 15 Dec 1997 11:36:05 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: the wedding {original post unavailable} No, it was never shot, so there's no still from it either. jms ------------------------------ Date: 16 Dec 1997 23:16:10 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: DougP <70760.2440@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Ads {original post had no questions} Cool...with luck I'll get a copy soonish. jms ------------------------------ Date: 16 Dec 1997 23:22:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: B5 ITB TNT trailers {original post unavailable} "JMS indicated once the budget for these movies wasn't much greater than the shows (basically that of two episodes if I remember right). I don't believe it! It looks a lot better... do I have some wrong info or something?" We did the movie for less than $3 million, which *technically* is 3 episodes worth to pay for 2 episodes worth of running time, *except* that rates tend to go up across the board for movies, so when you adjust for that, yeah, it ain't much above episodic stuff. What you're seeing is the result of what we've been learning as we've gone along over the 4 years of the show. Remember, our blood oath has been the same from the start: each year we *have* to do better than the year before, we don't have the luxury of any sort of established name, quality is our only recourse. We implemented more of the lessons we've learned there, and in the fifth season. It's more a philosophical thing, in how we do what we do, than a money thing. jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Dec 1997 13:55:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: B5 ITB TNT trailers {original post unavailable} "Which makes me wonder if you've ever heard from a viewer that they started watching due to Boxleitner or someone...?" Lots of folks, actually. jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Dec 1997 13:55:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Columbia House old/new {original post unavailable} I've no idea if CH will do the special edition or not...my guess is not, since TNT will likely want to remain the only place to find it for a while. jms ------------------------------ Date: 17 Dec 1997 13:55:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Darran Williams <100563.322@compuserve.com> Subject: ThirdSpace Darran Williams <100563.322@compuserve.com> asks: > Any comments ? No, it would be about mid-fourth season. jms ------------------------------ Date: 19 Dec 1997 00:15:07 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Stephen Edwards <101741.771@compuserve.com> Subject: Last episode # Stephen Edwards <101741.771@compuserve.com> asks: > I know you do not want to do a sixth season of B5 but are you > planning to do any spin off's set in the B5 universe, Like Star > Trek did with Voyager ?? Yes, there are plans for a follow-up series. A back issue of Dreamwatch has a lot of info about it. jms ------------------------------ Date: 21 Dec 1997 18:04:03 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Premiere Parties {original post had no questions} Short answer before the long one...obviously I cannot go into any establishment, or have TNT do so, and have them contravene their usual policies on smoking or drinking on our behalf...that's not something that's in my purview. I got the list of places last week that will be part of the series of open parties, and I'm pretty sure they're all bars of one sort or another, for the primary reason that they all have satellite/TNT feeds, and have the resources for a party other than one that is catered. Most average restaurants don't have those kind of facilities. Jeffrey Willerth advised me about this in a memo, because he knows my feelings about alcohol. So I asked hilm (he's the one in touch with the folks at TNT) to try and find some additional, non-bar venues. Whether or not this is possible, especially at this late date, remains to be seen, but TNT was nice enough to say they'd try and find something. The problem, as noted above, is finding places that have the necessary facilities. jms ------------------------------ Date: 21 Dec 1997 18:04:03 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> Subject: Toronto, Canada T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> asks: > Since you are going to be in NY, it's such a short hop to T.O., > would you consider coming up here to do promo if the offer is > reasonable?? I'll generally go anywhere to help the show. jms ------------------------------ Date: 22 Dec 1997 12:26:08 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> Subject: Toronto, Canada T.P.Chai <104674.3064@compuserve.com> asks: > So where does one start to contact you about appearances for > promos? They would go through TNT publicity. jms ------------------------------ Date: 22 Dec 1997 12:26:08 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Schmulenson <72447.224@compuserve.com> Subject: Last episode # Schmulenson <72447.224@compuserve.com> asks: > What is dream watch and where do we get it? > A friend(ex's sister had a book dedicated to her(Asimov's > Bicential man) she is also a writer and a Friend of Fari Ackerman > (Naomi Gordon(Magazner) ) want's to know if you have any plans of > doing anything with Bicentenial man? Dreamwatch is a magazine in the UK. jms ------------------------------ Date: 22 Dec 1997 22:26:04 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> Subject: Superlatives fail me.. Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks: > However, if it was tampered with [ie, had it's mass or gravity > (and yes, I'm an engineer and I know these two things are usually > intimately related] increased) in an effort to increase it's > output, who know's WHAT is possible? If the human decendants a > million years from now are as advanced as they seem, who know's > what technology they could have mastered? And what if you, say, interfered substantially with the mass of the sun by, say, causing a series of jump points to open up *inside* the sun across several days? jms ------------------------------ Date: 23 Dec 1997 22:33:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Deconstruction of Sol (blocked) asks: > Would that amount to injecting some hefty chunks of hyperspace? You'd also substantially decrease the mass of Sol, which as I understand it, would result in the sun going nova. jms ------------------------------ Date: 23 Dec 1997 22:33:11 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Neil S. Turkenkopf <102664.3532@compuserve.com> Subject: Guide my Gatherings? {original post had no questions} "Do you recommend viewing it first,before seeing the newer re-edited version looming on TNT?" No, see the new one first. jms ------------------------------ Date: 23 Dec 1997 22:33:11 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Kevin Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com> Subject: Gathering Additions Kevin Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com> asks: > Can you spare a few words on how you went about the re-edit? > Did you start with what you wanted to get back in, or trying to > find out how much time you could recapture? I see in the Lurker's > Guide you originally had 25 extra minutes of material to re-add: > did this trim down to 14, or was that all the room you could > make? (or were the other minutes not on the A-list?) Of what you > wanted to do, how much were you able to? "Can you spare a few words on how you went about the re-edit? Did you start with what you wanted to get back in, or trying to find out how much time you could recapture?" The first thing I did was to sit down with the editor assigned to the re-edit, Suzie, and go through the original script for the pilot. My first words to her were, "Put everyhing in that ain't there." To that end, she redigitized all of the footage from missing scenes, and had available all of the available footage of the other scenes for digitizing as we went. Note that I said all the *available* footage. The folks at WB who held custody of the film (we don't keep that stuff, we're not allowed to by contract, they store film, negative, prints, all that stuff) put the negative canisters into storage...and at one point in the intervening 4 years, there had been water damage, and on another occasion, apparently rats had gotten in there and chewed some of the original negatives (and in most cases there weren't positive struck of those takes). Take your reaction to the foregoing, put it in front of the Hubble telescope, and you will have mine. However, we lucked out...where there were some takes that are gone, we were able to find enough others (masters instead of a two-shot, or a close-up instead of an over-shoulder) and B-camera footage that we were able to build solid versions of those scenes. We didn't always have as many choices as we're used to but there was more than enough for our needs. Suzi then dumped all of the newly edited additional scenes into the existing pilot, and that gave us the new running time (we added about 14 minutes). So at that point, John and I went in and worked to slice down the previously existing scenes, doing what we do with B5: tightening every loose screw and nut as much as we could. One or two incidental, unimportant scenes in the original pilot went out, because they added nothing and shouldn't have been there in the first place (a total of about 3 minutes). The remaining 11 minutes we made up in just tightening scenes, which were *so* lax and slow that it's amazing at times. In some cases, we substituted one take for another in the pre-existing pilot when we had a better reaction, or played scenes closer for more intimacy. (One of the problems with the pilot is that it kept the audience far from the action, and the actors far from each other, something we changed in our shooting style for the series...here we tried to change it when we could and when we had the coverage.) Tiny example: when Kosh falls down upon arriving at B5, that sequence ends with a big honking wide downshot of a nearly empty docking bay, with Kosh far from us, and Sinclair looking down (away from us) when he says "Damn." Then we go from that to a wide shot of the medlab. Same framing. So I had Suzie look for a take where we panned up from a close on Kosh, to a close on Sinclair for that line, so it's more immediate, more personal, and the jump to the next scene doesn't feel like the one before. See, directors like to stay wide in their cuts, so you can see their nifty camera angles, see the set, the lighting...but after you've established where we are, most people want to see the *characters*, not the walls or how the camera moves. That was what we tried to fix where we could. We couldn't totally re-edit the pilot, because we hadn't been given the money for something that intensive (the main expense is in opening up all the audio stems in the sound mix). But all the stuff I wanted back in, is now in, and the scenes I wanted to fix, I fixed. I also got the thing back to its original format. All TV movies are 6 acts. Because PTEN wanted more commercial breaks, I had to re-jig the structure of the thing into 9 acts, which meant moving some scenes into places where they weren't as effective, and frankly after 9 acts you just get tired of watching. Here I was able to move scenes around and get back to the original 6 act structure that was intended for the thing, and that alone makes a huge difference in how the film feels. One of the biggest changes is the one least immediately apparent. After we finished the original pilot, some folks at WB felt that Laurel was too...strong. They will rarely put it in terms quite as blatant as that, but that was the message...she was "unlikeable, unsympathetic, harsh." Meaning some of the guys felt she was too strong, let's cut to the chase, okay? They wanted her to loop her lines, soften their (her) delivery. I fought this tooth and nail. I fought this until finally I was pulled aside and it was communicated to me that B5 was, after all, still an unknown property, could be a big failure, and if we ever wanted to see this thing on the air, we'd accommodate this note (which was, I have to admit on balance, one of the few they had). The advice was, in essence, "Pick your battles." So, reluctantly, I let it get looped by Tamlyn. But now, when the re-edit was commissioned, and with the person at the studio who insisted on this now no longer AT the studio, I told Suzie, "Screw it, put back her original production track and trash the loops." Instantly, Laurel's energy level comes up, the performance is better...it just *feels* more natural now. So basically, we did a lot...some of it may not be immediately apparent (improving a sound here, altering coverage, adding additional sound layers, redoing a composite shot of the garden), but over the duration of watching it, it's just *better*. It's still a *tad* slower around the middle than I would've liked, but that's a WP (writer problem), nothing that can be fixed in an edit. It's just exposition-dense there, and nothing of a sort that can be cut. jms ------------------------------ Date: 24 Dec 1997 15:48:14 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Shawn D. Ratner <73753.175@compuserve.com> Subject: Conference Shawn D. Ratner <73753.175@compuserve.com> asks: > I was wondering if you are planning on doing any online > conferences on Saturday, January 3? Nothing's been scheduled, no. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Dec 1997 00:01:00 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: from jms on stuff {original post unavailable} There are 9" figures out currently at Toys R Us, and 6" figures due out any time now. Also, the Starfury model is apparently out in stores now from Revell. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Dec 1997 00:01:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Sinclair {original post unavailable} There's a faq about this in the library. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Dec 1997 00:01:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> Subject: B5 ITB TNT trailers Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks: > Do you see Star Trek listed...do you see a seperate section for > B5? to all of this, did you find it interesting that the biggest > objection that the Trekkies had to First Contact was that Picard > actually *showed anger* about having been kidnapped, mutilated, > and forced to assist in the destruction of his own race? "You may soon wish to reconsider this POV. IMHO you will soon be bigger than Star Trek (why am I suddenly reminded of the Beatles?)." It's certainly a wonderful thought, but here's why I think it won't happen. At its core, B5 is a thinking man's (and woman's) show. A viewer has to bring a lot to the table, pay attention, and be willing to be reflective to get out of it all that the show has to offer. That pretty much precludes it from being a big pop-culture phenomenon. I think we'll always do well, and we'll be around for a long, long time...but as a cult show, as the Prisoner is a cult show. Which is absolutely aces by me. I got to tell my story, and make something that'll endure, and that's why I entered the race in the first place. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Dec 1997 00:01:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> Subject: B5 Dolls Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> asks: > Will their be a JMS action figure, and will it have a Kung-Fu > Grip (tm)? Given my luck when still dating, perhaps there should be a jms "no-action" figure.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Dec 1997 19:33:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: John F Davis <73455.43@compuserve.com> Subject: Sinclair {original post had no questions} "It does, however, make it interesting in that I think this is the first incidence of an AMERICAN made show surviving the loss of it's lead actor." Actually, not correct...there have been many cases of this, from MASH to Bewitched to other shows. It's not common, certainly, but not unheard-of. jms ------------------------------ Date: 26 Dec 1997 21:42:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Guide (blocked) asks: > Is this a first? I didn't catch the credit, but if so, yeah, that'd be my first as Joe. jms ------------------------------ Date: 27 Dec 1997 01:05:04 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com> Subject: My new home theater Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com> asks: > What are the good brands of S-VHS tapes, and what are good places > to find them at reasonable prices? What are people's favorite > surround-effect scenes in seasons 2 through 4 (which are the ones > I have on tape)? Don't forget the subwoofer.... I generally go for the TDK SVHS tapes, in general I've had fewer problems with those than any other brand. We had good surround when Sinclair is getting "What do you want?" bounced back and forth at him, also when Talia is listening to the many voices in "A Race Through Dark Places." Overall, you'll get most or all of the ship-bys we do, and you'll get the nice separation of voices in the S5 title sequence. We use the surrounds to give a sense of place, and ambiance, more than anything else. Pop in any really busy action sequence and you'll get a good sense of movement. In general, the basic pro-logic setting is usually fine for B5. jms ------------------------------ Date: 27 Dec 1997 22:34:03 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Hi {original post unavailable} "Better yet, is there somewhere I can go to get the low-down on all this? I want to buy stuff!" http://www.thestation.com jms ------------------------------ Date: 27 Dec 1997 18:01:12 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Sinclair {original post had no questions} Bewitched changed Darrens, and he was as much a major character as Elizabeth's character was. jms ------------------------------ Date: 27 Dec 1997 18:01:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: SysOp_Dupa_T_Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> Subject: The Guide To B5 on TNT {original post had no questions} Yeah, it's a struggle, and hard work, no mistake, but we also have our fair share of fun as well. What makes it more bearable is that we've instituted a humane system of film-making. Most shows shoot 16 hour days and then some. We shoot 12 and that's it. If you plan out what you're doing properly, and don't get reckless, you can do that. The Directors' Guild has been fighting for 12 hour days for years, and been told that it couldn't be done. Then recently they heard about us, and their jaws dropped, and they're coming out to do an article that says, in essence, see, it CAN be done. And has been done successfully for 5 years. jms ------------------------------ Date: 27 Dec 1997 22:44:04 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Neil S. Turkenkopf <102664.3532@compuserve.com> Subject: The Guide To B5 on TNT Neil S. Turkenkopf <102664.3532@compuserve.com> asks: > Doesn't the sound of all those jaws dropping give you a headache? I think the only reason we're still amazing them is that they're only now finding *out* about us. We're doing what we've been doing for 5 years now, it's just taken folks this long to notice us (which is about what I figured would be the case going in). jms ------------------------------ Date: 27 Dec 1997 22:44:04 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Guide Tom Knudsen <72347.1626@compuserve.com> asks: > Can I assume that this was a different Patrick Stewart? > Was the Joe Straczynski - Master of the Universe header an inside > joke (considering your He-Man stint), or just a strange > coincidence? Yeah, that's a coincidence, they either didn't know about that prior stint, or it just didn't occur to them. I find I'm alternately pleased and chagrined by the attention. When I saw that part of it, I kind of cringed, but what they tell me is that this is the sort of thing that's useful to promoting the show in general. The firsts represented by B5 mainly come from the storytelling aspects of it, and that it's really one vision in an intense sort of way not really done much before. So that's something they can pin their promotion on. It comes out of their real respect for what we've done here. It's very weird to look around one day and discover, by doing what you've been doing in fair anonymity for as long as you can remember, that suddenly you're a celebrity, even a minor-league one. You're talking to a guy here who couldn't get a date in high school, for cryin' out loud.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 28 Dec 1997 04:06:13 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: David Kuhn <73532.741@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Guide {original post had no questions} "It looks as if TNT will not give B5 anymore respect than the independent TV stations did as to when they will air it. They have to be bettter than WSKB though. This torked me off too." This only happened due to the game. There won't be games coming on before the episodes themselves, so we'll be on time. And believe me, they've *already* given this show more respect than the syndicated stations did. jms ------------------------------ Date: 28 Dec 1997 21:26:01 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Guide (blocked) asks: > You too? "betcha the girls that used to know you are more chagrined than the ones that used to know me..." Keed, take my word for it, having gone to my 20th reunion a bit ago, none of them even remembered me to *be* chagrined.... jms ------------------------------ Date: 28 Dec 1997 21:34:05 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Shawn D. Ratner <73753.175@compuserve.com> Subject: Babylon Project: Crusade Shawn D. Ratner <73753.175@compuserve.com> asks: > Do you have any updates about the status of Crusade? There's nothing I can say about Crusade for the moment. Soon, though. jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Dec 1997 21:37:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: The Guide To B5 on TNT {original post had no questions} I agree...it's just common sense, really. Who knew it was in such short supply? jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Dec 1997 21:37:08 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Guide {original post unavailable} Oddly, the newspapers had it right, TV Guide didn't. But they're going to be airing the Guide sandwiched in between the two TV movies airing next Sunday, so we're golden. (ItB got a great review in TV Guide...called it "stunning" and "riveting.") jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Dec 1997 21:37:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Neil S. Turkenkopf <102664.3532@compuserve.com> Subject: "The Guide" on TNT {original post had no questions} The scary thing is to look at the promos John and I did for WB for the pilot and first season. I didn't have a grey hair on my head, and there was more of it; John had a few, but has since gone totally grey-white from the rigors of this show, all in five years. Thing is, though, I look at the promises we made in those early interviews, and by golly, we kept every one of them. jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Dec 1997 21:37:09 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Ed Brandt <100274.2672@compuserve.com> Subject: Babylon Project: Crusade Ed Brandt <100274.2672@compuserve.com> asks: > True,untrue? "I have heard that Thirdspace might be the pilot or lead-up to Crusade. True,untrue?" Untrue. jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Dec 1997 21:37:10 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: B5 on DVD {original post unavailable} There may be one episode to test the waters, but nothing's been discussed yet about anything broader. jms ------------------------------ Date: 30 Dec 1997 02:21:06 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: The Guide To B5 on TNT {original post had no questions} It's both. Even in the first two years of the show, we kept to 12 hour days by virtue of making sure we were always 3-4 scripts ahead of where we were shooting, which is what makes all the difference in the world (on most shows you're lucky if you're one ahead, and sometimes pages are landing on the stage while you're shooting). You get your writers working early, and make your notes clear, to minimize mistakes. Also, bear in mind that with the exception of maybe a half-dozen scripts, most of them by Larry, all but one of the freelance S1-2 scripts were based on premises I assigned to the writers...which in turn were based on my notes, which I give to John each season as a kind of crib sheet for the overall production of that season's shows, allowing our people to have months of cognitive lead time (where possible) on sets, costumes, that sort of thing. jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Dec 1997 21:37:10 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: Each Episode Intro {original post unavailable} Nowhere available but the episodes. jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Dec 1997 21:37:08 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Guide {original post had no questions} "I suppose now would not be the time to bring up the old one about the starlet who was so new to Hollywood she slept with the writer..." But that was only because she heard that in Hollywood, *everyone* screws the writer. jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Dec 1997 21:37:10 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> Subject: B5 ITB TNT trailers {original post had no questions} "I know you did this story for people like us, but I suspect you may open wider the gates of speculative fiction in doing so." If that should turn out to be the case, then all the effort was worth it. jms ------------------------------ Date: 29 Dec 1997 21:37:11 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com> Subject: B5 Dolls {original post had no questions} "Well you could give it "attributes" and show all the girls what they were missing..." Too dangerous...the accompanying magnifying glass could get broken during shipping. jms ------------------------------ Date: 30 Dec 1997 02:26:04 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: SysOp_Dupa_T_Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Guide SysOp_Dupa_T_Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> asks: > is that from ITB? > (if so, he sure lost a LOT of hair between ITB and The Gathering > ) Or did Londo do Rogane? is that from a season 5 episode? > Or is B5 hosting the World Cup? "Regarding the one shot of Londo with hair down to his forehead... is that from ITB? (if so, he sure lost a LOT of hair between ITB and The Gathering." Yeah, well, so did I.... "Also, the scenes of what looks likes a riot on the station... is that from a season 5 episode? I don't recall those scenes in season 4." They're from Thirdspace. jms ------------------------------ Date: 30 Dec 1997 23:33:04 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: (blocked) Subject: TNT Guide {original post had no questions} I have a directTV satellite dish, and I have to tell you I would *never* go back to cable. The quality is substantially better, you have far more options, it never goes out, the per-month charges are about the same, for more services, and the initial cost of the setup has dropped dramatically in the last few months to just a couple hundred bucks for a basic system. jms ------------------------------ Date: 30 Dec 1997 23:45:10 -0700 From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> Subject: TNT Guide {original post had no questions} And in an NC-17 movie everybody gets the girl and one guy gets the guy and everybody feels bad about it later while they sit around in a French cafe reading Kirkegaard.... jms ------------------------------