JMS messages on GEnie, June 1995. Collected by David Strauss and Steven Miale . ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 17 Message 525 Fri Jun 02, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:55 EDT Trying to remember what's in the 5 and 6 sets...a purple Centauri personal transport, a Narn heavy cruiser, I *think* a Narn fighter, Earthforce 1 (gorgeous), the Marie Celeste (expect shipments to vanish mysteriously), and one other, I forget.... jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 17 Message 533 Sat Jun 03, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:44 EDT Aha! Yes, THAT was the last one, an EA atmospheric shuttle. To the other points...no, that's a Narn cargo transport in the current version; the Narn fighters are much sleeker. Also, the Centauri ship in the current batch is a personal liner, as used by Lady Ladira in "Signs and Portents." The Centauri transport I'm referring to, in the later batch, is this purple, bug- like thing with a tall fin rising out of the back. It looks kinda like a flat potato bug. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 17 Message 540 Sat Jun 03, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:20 EDT Then I don't know what the other one is. No idea on the line of delineation that Creation may have. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 17 Message 545 Sun Jun 04, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:28 EDT No, the Narn heavy cruiser/fleet ship is in set 5 or 6, as I noted above. jms (I.e, the one you saw in "And Now.") ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 17 Message 551 Mon Jun 05, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:17 EDT IT WAS IRONHEART'S SHIP! That was the last one. I think.... jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 712 Wed Jun 07, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:20 EDT Background info required to follow episodes is ALWAYS included in those episodes. Background info NOT required to follow stuff, but just for fun, is sometimes given on the nets and not referenced in the show, or more often, will eventually be referenced in the show. Also, it's been mentioned before that you don't have to read the comics or the novels to follow the show; the stories are complementary but exclusive. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 736 Thu Jun 08, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:17 EDT I'm not being cute, or close, or withholding information: straight up...we have still not been given any official word about renewal. That official word comes in a call from WB business affairs, authorizing us to activate our contracts and pick up our options with actors, directors, crew, others. That call has not yet come. We've heard all kinds of rumors from WB lately. Some good, some bad, mostly involving changing situations with PTEN, nothing to do directly with us. Whatever you were told, it ain't "official" until we're notified, as the producers. That notification has still not yet come. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 766 Fri Jun 09, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:26 EDT Got the phone call late today, spent the next bit on the phoen with people who had to be notified. Didn't get a chance to log on until just now. Yes, it is now safe to say..............eep. The official announcement of BABYLON 5's second season will be made tomorrow by Warner Bros. Naturally, the day the word comes is the day I'm kinda down with a slight bug, which kinda takes the edge off it...but suffice to say that Brett's observation is correct; with this new season, we'll be 3/5ths done with the story, over half. Suffice to say we are all very happy, and looking forward to shooting Year Three commencing about July 31st. (And half the fun, well a quarter of the fun, is knowing just how many people in what groups are going to be SO pissed off that we've been renewed....) jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 768 Fri Jun 09, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:11 EDT sigh...third season...I meant THIRD season...sigh.... jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 825 Sat Jun 10, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:04 EDT Actually, some PR departments at studios/networks *have* been wrong about such things in the past. The reason for the delay was that there were some structural and corporate things going on with PTEN that had nothing to do with us per se, but which could ultimately affect us. There was one brief period last week -- Thursday and the first part of Friday -- when the corporate stuff seemed to put our fate in doubt. The words actually entered my head, "Oh crap, they're gonna cancel us." It was a very depressing 24 hours. But finally word came back that the logjam had been fixed, the pieces had all come together, and things were looking positive again, but final word wouldn't come until this week. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 845 Sat Jun 10, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:52 EDT I wrote some of the .avi stuff, including the Vorlon/IRQ thing, since it's something that perpetually makes me nuts. There's always been a side-story that could go off after B5 finishes its run, but I doubt it'll go anywhere, even if B5 does break out. Interestingly enough...one of the first clues we got that we'd been renewed was a call from the WB International folks, asking about a third season. Apparently, what Ch4 wants to do for year 3 is to air the show in its original, widescreen aspect ratio. They called to see if we could let them have access to our original negative to re-transfer it back to that format, for their broadcast. Our reply: hell, yes. Expect some new characters next season, yes. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 17 Message 589 Sat Jun 10, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:07 EDT Dan: that's the annoying thing I keep hearing...that Galoob keeps shipping the micros out, they arrive at stores, the store managers don't bother to display them, nobody knows to ask, and after a while they're shipped back. Makes Me Nuts. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 609 Mon Jun 12, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:05 EDT Can't really take much time off; got to have 6 scripts minimum in hand when we begin rolling film July 31st. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 26 Message 420 Sun Jun 11, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:21 EDT I'll definitely be at San Diego Comic Con. Will try and convince a cast member or two to come along. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 2 Message 603 Tue Jun 13, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:31 EDT dj...one of the...I won't say problems, because it isn't a problem, but the...unique aspects about this cast is that they're in large measure *very* bright, and very verbal, and some of the banter that goes back and forth, done totally poker-faced and straight, could be taken in the wrong light. Look at some of the comments between me and Claudia on some of the on-line interviews at AOL and DC Comics Online. We can get pretty brutal if you don't know we're absolutely just putting it on. So if you want to pass it along in private mail, that's fine, but on balance, I'm not terribly concerned about it; it's how we play. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 26 Message 435 Tue Jun 13, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:33 EDT Though I'd originally heard about doing two presentations at San Diego Comic Con, it now looks like doing just one, on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Clips, maybe some cast, bloopers and surprises. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 631 Tue Jun 13, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:26 EDT The casting director brings in actors to audition. The choices are made by me, the director, Doug and John Copeland. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 669 Thu Jun 15, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:49 EDT Generally, there is a brief description of the character in the script, which the casting director receives to prepare. If there's anything I have in mind in particular, and there often is, I'll discuss it with the c.d. and narrow things down. T Then I'll get a preliminary list of available actors, those who are and aren't available for auditions. We call in those who come to auditions, and try them out. If nobody works out, we go to the list of actors who won't audition, and review tapes. This rarely happens, though, and we prefer to go from auditions. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 23 Message 270 Thu Jun 15, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:52 EDT On places like internet, I look for new threads that haven't been answered yet, and deal with those first. Then I peel through the messages I know contain interesting or funny threads, and get into those. If a thread has been going on for a long time, and has more or less devolved into woolgathering, I bail. The other systems, I just sorta graze, looking for interesting areas. There are some topics here on 18 -- TV stations, filking, topic drift -- that I don't generally check out. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 26 Message 465 Sat Jun 17, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:57 EDT Re: hotel reservations vanishing and non-refunds even though promised...well, gee, what a surprise. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 710 Sun Jun 18, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:30 EDT We're always adding signage, and will continue to do so. There are no single-faith chapels, but facilities that can be used by various groups, booked ahead. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 2 Message 324 Sun Jun 18, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:31 EDT We're going to try some more complicated alien stuff, some more elaborate shots mixing CGI and live-action, some interesting new items in the wardrobe department, more stuff taking place on other worlds, a new main theme more related to what's going to happen in year three, other stuff. jms ------------ ------------ Category 18, Topic 1 Message 148 Wed Jun 21, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:51 EDT Two of the four episodes have been delivered for some time; number three gets delivered this week; number four, the week therafter. The original theory was to have the eps ready in time to air all four in July. That was our timetable as we understood it at the time for WB/PTEN, and that's what was plugged into the formula when we did our production schedule. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 1 Message 162 Thu Jun 22, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:28 EDT Apparently Channel 4 in the UK will broadcast all 4 remaining year two eps starting July 25th and continuing each Tuesday thereafter until all four have been aired. (There had been some discussion of airing them all the same night in a B5 marathon, but this is probably better for reaching people.) jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 1 Message 186 Sat Jun 24, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:32 EDT We *do* have accurate estimates; I'm not quite sure how we got off on this. Warners gives us required delivery dates. We work backwards from those delivery dates, and come up with a shooting schedule that allows us to meet those dates with room to spare. So I'm not quite sure what it is we're not doing. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 1 Message 192 Sat Jun 24, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:04 EDT Temporary titles on the first four episodes, in order: "Matters of Honor," "Convictions," "A Day in the Strife," and "Voices of Authority." (That's season three, natch.) jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 1 Message 206 Sun Jun 25, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:50 EDT Actually, "The Gathering" wasn't shot widescreen; that progression was only implemented when we went to series. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 1 Message 209 Sun Jun 25, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 06:01 EDT Only 2 TV series that I know of are shot in widescreen; us and Lois and Clark. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 1 Message 210 Sun Jun 25, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 06:05 EDT Just a note on a B5 alumnus; it appears that Christy Marx has got her own series, co-created (I think that's the credit, but she'll have more on the specifics when she's ready to talk about it) by her and someone known to B5'ers (no, not me). It's a live-action SF series, and should look very cool, a whole new universe to play in. Anything more specific will have to come from her, as is appropriate. Y'all can keep tabs on this over in her topic, 470/11/43. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 1 Message 230 Sun Jun 25, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:38 EDT One of the problems we've encountered in the past is that Paramount tends to buy LOTS of advertising in pubs like Entertainment Weekly and others, and some of them have no desire to piss of the big P. I got a note from one of the staffers at Sci-Fi Entertainment (the Sci-Fi Channel is co-owned by Paramount) who indicated that there was a very clear and deliberate emphasis on not doing B5 coverage for that reason. But another reporter is going to be doing a small piece on the show for an upcoming issue, so maybe we'll shake that loose finally. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 1 Message 269 Wed Jun 28, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:10 EDT To all in the Chicago area, I have the schedule for B5 stuff, or most of it, for the Comic Con this weekend in Rosemont at the convention center. FRIDAY: 3-4 jms and bloopers, and stuff 4-5 Michael O'Hare's acting workshop SATURDAY: 11-12 noon Q&A with Michael 1:30-3 special jms presentation (*be there*) 4-5 jms writing for TV seminar (that evening is an informal B5 gathering with me, Michael and Peter David, don't know when or where) SUNDAY: 1-2 B5 panel with jms, Michael and Peter Word to the wise: arrive early for the Saturday 1:30 presentation; we'll start right on time, and there's a lot to fit in. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 2 Message 333 Mon Jun 19, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:15 EDT Torville, I *have* explained it. I've explained it and explained it until I'm blue in the face. I don't know what more you're looking for, unless you're simply assuming that there's more to it when there's not, in which case there ain't much I can do. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 2 Message 341 Tue Jun 20, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:36 EDT So, like, howcum SeaQuest getting a third season is in the opening card here on SFRT2, but not B5? Huh? Huh? What're we, chopped liver? Not a peep, not a mention, not a syllable, a consonant, a quiver, nothing. Hrmph. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 2 Message 354 Wed Jun 21, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:53 EDT Totally off-base question: any truth to the rumors floating around that GEnie is going to go bye-bye come fall? jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 2 Message 366 Thu Jun 22, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:11 EDT Okay, that's good to know. Where this info came from was from some folks over on the new Microsoft Network, so I figured there might be some margin for error there. Genie has always been kind of the unofficial home for B5, after all. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 2 Message 377 Fri Jun 23, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:41 EDT What's Hi-Tech Home? jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 23 Message 273 Wed Jun 28, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:04 EDT It was a rerun, and he had it on tape. Next novel won't be "Dark" but another title; better story. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 26 Message 527 Sun Jun 25, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:46 EDT There was just a huge message posted on rec.arts.b5 about BB, a real scathing review. Others are filtering in along the same lines. As I'd been worried about, apparently the organizational aspects are a total nightmare/disaster. But I'll let others speak from their own experience. (The J.Potts message on rec.arts is very telling, as he's generally a very good reporter on this stuff.) jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 26 Message 556 Tue Jun 27, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:11 EDT Certain individuals have a habit of blaming others for errors they commit themselves. We NEVER at any time heard anything about images of B5 stuff in holographic badges. If they couldn't be delivered, it's because something went wrong at that end. Word was put out that the Jenerators, Bill's band, opted out at the last minute to do another gig; not true, as Bill himself said, they just weren't going to pay them or even pay transportation. My first impression of the organization 'way back at the Planet Hollywood embarrassment was that the thing was ineptly run. There were major, worrying problems in: hotel accommodations, arrangements for transportation, guest relations, tickets, advance work, sound and every aspect of follow-up. Every single one of these concerns is what came up again here in the Big Bang, as I'd feared. I have to add, however, that there is NO reason, NO excuse, for the assault on a dealer who was attempting to document some of the screwups at the convention. To attack someone, beat the camera into his face, requiring an ambulance...in 18 years of convention going, I have *never* seen this behavior on the part of convention organizers, and it is absolutely intolerable. Equally intolerable, if on a lesser scale, is stranding actors at airports for hours at a time, not feeding them until 9:30 p.m. (which is why most left at that time) because "we figured you'd eat on the plane." My concern was always that the organization was going to be a shambles, and that people wouldn't get their money's worth in terms of what was promised. My crew/actors, they'd be fine; but the rest, I feared, would be a disaster. It appears I was correct. As with the Planet Hollywood situation, there were even more problems behind the scenes, more horror stories, that the fans don't know about because the actors/participants try to put on a good face...but those are very much in evidence in calls I've had since the convention. Actors who were promised first-class tickets, only to discover that they'd have to PERSONALLY pay money for that upgrade, forced to fly coach; a person who claimed to have invested $30,000 into the convention, no contract, just on the word of those involved, who saw how the con was organized and indicated his belief that he had just lost his investment. Not good, not good.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 26 Message 558 Tue Jun 27, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:57 EDT Yet another cover story blown to hell. But who would notice, among so many? jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 26 Message 590 Thu Jun 29, 1995 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:59 EDT One could *choose* to have fun at a hanging; but should you have to work that hard at it, and should not things promised be things delivered? jms