Messages from Babylon 5 executive producer J. Michael Straczynski on the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5. Date: 1 Jul 1995 01:20:31 -0400 Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Fleer B5 Cards! The cards will cover all of B5, from the pilot to the present. jms Date: 1 Jul 1995 00:28:49 -0400 Subject: Lestat going to jail? ***** IM Insofar as I know, there's nothing in the B5 faq that could cause any problems for WB. jms Date: 1 Jul 1995 01:20:40 -0400 Subject: Some products I noticed: I'm never as anyone pictures me. I like it that way. jms Date: 4 Jul 1995 03:25:03 -0400 Subject: Lestat reprieved (Send forth y Uh-oh. When I saw faq in your inquiry to me, insofar as I knew, we were just discussing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file, the same as we've seen many times before. I did NOT know that it was essentially a note saying that mass reproduction services were being offered for episodes. Whether money is charged or not is not the issue; if someone is making group copies of episodes for others, that is an infringement of copyright, and *believe me*, Warners will come down hard on anyone doing this. It's common practice to make 1-2 copies of something for an archive, or for a friend, but to make multiples like this and supply them in htis (this) fashion is going to put you in deep legal shit with the suits at WB, *trust* me on this. I would strongly urge you to reconsider. Your heart is in the right place, as far as enthusiasm for the show goes, but to do this on the scale you are suggesting breaks not only US and UK laws individually, but collectively as well, and you could end up in serious trouble. jms Date: 4 Jul 1995 03:27:25 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: Is B5 Limited to the For all intents and purposes, our story pretty much takes place within the Milky Way Galaxy. jms Date: 4 Jul 1995 03:27:51 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: Would you attend a p If fans would be willing to endure such a terrible burden, I would kind have to share it. I just can't imagine anyone willingly thinking that this was a Good Thing. I mean, sitting through 112 hours of ANYthing is a very daunting notin. Or notion. jms Date: 4 Jul 1995 03:28:16 -0400 Subject: Re: Dave Shao's post bites In my orignal reply to Davaid Shao, I specifically asked that people NOT pile on him because of this. It's resolved. I'm now on a moderated newsfeed, and all is well. No story ideas can now reach me from this service. Over, done, forgotten. jms Date: 4 Jul 1995 03:30:40 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Us nitpicking netter I'm not entirely sure I understand the question. Some "nitpicks" have contained valid points; some haven't. Some have been based on incorrect perceptions that are easily corrected. Some are factual. I am not entirely sure what you mean by "not taken into account." jms Date: 4 Jul 1995 03:32:54 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: What will we see ag That would be telling.... jms Date: 6 Jul 1995 01:24:43 -0400 Subject: JMS: did Delenn's transformati Yes, one might well believe that the transformation has had an effect on Delenn's lifespan. jms Date: 6 Jul 1995 01:24:19 -0400 Subject: So WHO are the "Klingons"? I went to *great pains* to indicate that the Fed-co-opted-by-Klingons analogy was NOT a one-to-one analogy, only something to indicate the magnitude of the change. So this discussion has no bearing on the situation. jms Date: 6 Jul 1995 05:19:23 -0400 Subject: Attn:jms San Diego Comicon The only thing I know for sure is that I'm doing a lengthy B5 appearance that Saturday at 11 a.m. The rest I haven't heard definitively yet. jms Date: 6 Jul 1995 05:19:43 -0400 Subject: death of a dream Don't give up the dream yet; the next Star Wars movies will use CGI and digitech exhaustively; and the word is he's doing to re-do all the EFX in the first SW movie this way, as well. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 01:40:14 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Question about Cath They did not get married, due to Sinclair's new posting; it was put on hold. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 01:44:41 -0400 Subject: Re: Big Bang Eric: BB was *not* a fan-run con, it was a for-profit con, and those who put it on made *considerable* mention of the notion that they had done Gen-Con for previous years, and thus were absolutely skilled at this. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 01:45:01 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: Thank You Thanks. It was honestly no trouble at *all*. It was great fun. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 01:45:31 -0400 Subject: ATTN:JMS - Carolyn Seymour We've never had any conversations with Carolyn Seymour re: B5. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 01:47:55 -0400 Subject: JMS: Casino Painting? It's a progress mural, starting with early civilization, the pyramids and stuff in the lower right corner, through the development of agrarian cultures, technology, cars, planes, jets, all moving left to right on the canvas, through space flight and finally, in the upper-right corner, B5. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 01:47:31 -0400 Subject: S4C and the last 4 eps The first new ep in the UK airs July 25; the remaining 3 after that each subsequent Tuesday. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 01:47:06 -0400 Subject: !HEY JMS!: The *B4* Thread? The B4 thread will be resolved in detail, yes. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 04:19:42 -0400 Subject: JMS: Do you read the novel or I read both. The Ivanova/Talia thing wasn't handled exactly as I had thought it would, and missed some parts of it (it was very late that night), and by the time I caught some of it, it was too late. The comics version shows creatures that are not the shadows themselves but some of the many creatures who serve them. I try to catch all I can. I sent the third book back for a *total* rewrite which put it behind a couple of months, but that's okay by me. Better right than on time. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 04:26:59 -0400 Subject: - PTEN - ** double sigh ** Difference is, Kung Fu started a while *after* we began airing our second season, so they had some in the bank, as it were, for July. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 18:08:15 -0400 Subject: It's Official ! B5 Comics Get Nope. The CBG info is old. I was just told yesterday that the contract for the B5 comic has been extended through 24 issues total, not the 11 noted in the article, which gives us a year and a half or so to build the audience further for the book. It's doing well, and having only been out for six issues, needs a fair shot at finding its audience. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 18:47:38 -0400 Subject: Lestat gives up (Victory for t Lestat, nothing is served by public displays of self-pity. On the electronic screen, it simply comes off as indulgent and "poor me," whether that is the intent or not. You say you have been judged by others, and you think unfairly so. I have pointed out, as have others, that if you make mass copies of this show, for distribution to others, *free or otherwise*, it's illegal, and you will get nailed by Warner Bros. This is not judgment, it's a fact. It's like saying, "I'm going to take this book from this store and not pay for it," and everyone says, "But that's shoplifting," and you come back with anger because you're being judged. No, those are the laws, and it doesn't matter if you intended to simply give it to someone else without cost to yourself. Spending months mass-copying B5 episodes from the UK to the US is patently illegal; you not only violate US and UK copyright laws individuallly, but collectively; you would even violate the federal laws regulating the transport of illegal goods via interstate mail. You could be *hurt*, and badly. And believe me, if WB found out about it, you WOULD be, for doing this on the scale you describe. We've recently run into someone who was selling unlicensed B5 tapes here in the US. Mass produced. This person has been identified, and evidence gathered, and now this person is going to be prosecuted, and subpoenad, and spend months in courthouses and giving depositons and paying fines and potentially doing time, depending on the breaks. The only difference is that one does it for money, the other doesn't, but THAT isn't the core of the problem, it's copyright infringement. People here, myself included, have gone out of our way to tell you that what you proposed was illegal, and would get you in massive amounts of trouble, to *save you from getting hurt*. You could be standing on a ledge, about to jump, with people telling you not to do it, and then turn around and yell at them for interfering in your own business. Well, it ain't just your business, and it is for your own good. If you cannot see that, it's nobody's fault but your own. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 18:47:12 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Series shown out of You may want to call your station and tell them to check with WB International Distribution, which knows and understands that they are to be shown in broadcast order, and will help them to know what that is. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 23:15:05 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Apologies! No problem, Bob. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 23:26:19 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: If you don't mind br Okay, lemme see...we're on in Singapore, Thailand, Italy, Germany, England, Australia, France, Middle-East TV (covering Israel, Jordan and some other places in that area), Greece, parts of South America, and a few more beyond. That's all I can recall offhand. jms Date: 7 Jul 1995 23:28:07 -0400 Subject: - Attn. JMS: 3rd-hand nun stor I'd love to get more information on this; heck, we can use it for PR if nothing else. I'd particularly love to know what specifically they like about/watch for in the show. (In thinking about this, there's some stuff in the second or so episode of year three that they're absolutely gonna *love*. All I can say is that I hope I get a product placement notation from the Vatican. BTW, there were real nuns in the line in "Parliament of Dreams.") jms Date: 8 Jul 1995 06:00:40 -0400 Subject: JMS at San Diego Comic Con? Yes, I'll be at SDCC, giving a 2-hour presentation that Saturday. jms Date: 8 Jul 1995 06:00:28 -0400 Subject: More sci-fi on TV! I saw a promo (4-mins) for Space at Chicago Comic Con; my first thought was that the CGI was *awfully* blurry/low res, I hope that was only test footage for the promo reel. Other than that, with Morgan and Wong backing it, at least I have good hopes for the writing. jms Date: 9 Jul 1995 04:48:43 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS : Has the Great War a Wars generally don't just *begin*, they roll into one another and grow. When did WW II begin? When Germany annexed the Sudetenland? When they invaded Poland? When England got into it? When Pearl Harbor got bombed? Did it in a sense begin with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, which led to WW I, which with a minor pause led into WW II? jms Date: 10 Jul 1995 02:30:49 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Crystal storage... There's a number imbedded inside the crystal; the only way to change it is to shatter the crystal. Also, if you pop it in an conventional crystal port, it can project the entire directory, source material, and other information instantly. jms Date: 10 Jul 1995 03:38:19 -0400 Subject: ATTN: JMS - will comics spoil There's only one case of this conflict, so if you want to avoid any spoilers, here's my recommendation: when the last issue of this current story arc comes out, resolving the Mars/Sinclair/Garibaldi thread, pick up that last issue and stick it in a bag until after the first new ep airs in October. THEN read it. You'll know it when you find it. jms Date: 10 Jul 1995 03:38:33 -0400 Subject: Re: Elana leads B5 Group at We Okay, Elena, you can be Queen of B5 Fans. But I get to wear the tiara. *^^^* Date: 10 Jul 1995 03:40:48 -0400 Subject: B5 Fan Name? (was Re: Attn JMS Two most frequently used terms: Babylonians and the Grid Epsilon Irregulars, for the station's location. jms Date: 10 Jul 1995 20:12:53 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: When it all over, in I'd kinda like to take *all* the remaining months off that are allotted to me, and just write when I want to. Which, sadly, knowing me, will probably be full-time anyway. jms Date: 10 Jul 1995 20:13:55 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: L. Ron Hubbard and D Never read Dilbert. As for ElRon...I know people who were there the night of the party, decades ago, when L. Ron -- then making a penny a word for westerns and SF and other genres -- was told, "Look, you want to make REAL money, get into the religion biz." That night, he went home and began cranking out Dianetics, written on butcher paper (his usual medium, which he kept on a roll behind his typewriter, and would rip as needed). jms Date: 10 Jul 1995 20:14:30 -0400 Subject: JMS.more viewers!! I have, alas, zip control over promos; they're done by the station there, and WB. We're not authorized to do that. jms Date: 11 Jul 1995 01:34:48 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Unanswered Questions For their own purposes, the shadows chose to stay on this side of the Rim. The other questions will be answered soon enough. jms Date: 11 Jul 1995 01:41:47 -0400 Subject: You know you've been watching Similarly, I saw "Norton utilities for people," and my brain saw, "Morden utilities for people." I've been writing too much. jms Date: 11 Jul 1995 02:02:42 -0400 Subject: Chicago ComiCon Report (!SPOIL BTW, Mark, as promised, we amalgamed your name and Julie's into one name (Julie Musante), and that has now been used as a major character in "Voices of Authority," as per the auction. It's a big role, and a very memorable character who has some...intriguing scenes with Sheridan. jms Date: 11 Jul 1995 02:02:57 -0400 Subject: B5 Analysis Message received, but not much I can comment on; probably better to let the questions be answered in the show than here. jms Date: 11 Jul 1995 05:25:12 -0400 Subject: Att JMS: No sidestepping now, Yes, Harlan returns next season as our consultant. And believe me, he's been VERY busy, mainly with his comic from Dark Horse, DREAM CORDIDOR. He's written new stories for every issue, plus all the interstitial pages, in addition to his work with me on B5, plus several other new stories, a script for a new Showtime anthology that's a knockout which has a bunch of big-name directors fighting over it. jms Date: 11 Jul 1995 05:49:41 -0400 Subject: Mr. JMS: Kosh = Anagram? No, no anagram intended in KOSH. jms Date: 11 Jul 1995 05:49:50 -0400 Subject: Mr. JMS: Outer Limits/Twilight My favorites from the Outer Limits...Soldier, Demon With a Glass Hand, Cold Hands Warm Heart, and others whose titles I've forgotten (the sentient tumbleweeds, the house where nobody got old, the kid and his alien tutor, and the Zanti misfits, natch). From Twilight Zone...Walking Distance, One For the Angels, just about all the Serling episodes, actually. In general, TZ is one of my overall high-points in TV. Very few drones. What often gets ignored is Night Gallery, which had some very decent stuff in it, most specifically They're Tearing Down Tim Reilly's Bar, which I always fire up when I think I'm getting too confident in my own writing. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant writing. jms Date: 11 Jul 1995 23:59:35 -0400 Subject: AAITN Question The Streib saw an alliance between Earth and Minbar at that moment, which is the LAST thing they wanted to go up against. Also, you don't go to war at the drop of a hat just because somebody sinks or shoots down one of your ships. This is one of the cliches in storytelling. And what the Streibs were doing was totally unjustifiable in any event. Do you gear up for the massive hassle of total war -- supply lines, fleets, all the rest -- because of this incident? Remember, the purpose of the ship was to find races weak enough for them to attack with impunity; they don't want to go up against a force that can strike back. jms Date: 12 Jul 1995 02:25:17 -0400 Subject: Looking for Captain Power Yeah, the Siskel and Ebert thing was great. For those who didn't hear about this...we worked *very* hard to make Captain Power nominally a show for grownups, screw the toys. And we got hammered in the press, mainly by people who hadn't watched the show. So one day, I'm watching SisBert doing their collective thing, a video round-up installment of their review show...and suddenly they say, look, we don't normally talk about TV series, but there's this one show you gotta check out, it's got a dopey name, and forget the toys, but there's something Going On with this show, it's really got a great story. It was, alas, too little too late for CP. jms Date: 12 Jul 1995 02:01:43 -0400 Subject: B5 Novels.... The third B5 book from Dell is due out sometime in the next 4-6 weeks. Dell has licensed another 5 novels, and is currently considering proposals/outlines *from established SF pros* (with several novels published, preferably not just media tie-ins) for these books. jms Date: 12 Jul 1995 02:26:50 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Mars colony Well, the Mars colony grew over time, from a few people to cities. It covers about 150 years, though the first 50 of that were very small in nature. jms Date: 12 Jul 1995 02:27:01 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Chicago CC? I *greatly* enjoyed the Chicago ComicCon. Lots of fun, many good people, a hard-working staff dedicated to making sure things go well, a terrific operation. This was only my second year there; I went for the first time a year ago, dragged along by Harlan. Glad I went. High-points for this convention...helping pile on a shoplifter (me and another guy, the one who ran the booth in the dealer's room) trying to escape, the two of us holding this guy, struggling to get away, for the cops, and a con organizer saying to him, "Hey, you've just been arrested by a celebrity," and the shoplifter's response, "Fuck you".... the B5 reception, even *with* the MST3Kification of one of my episodes... the pleasant, friendly, enthusiastic fans who were a joy to meet...it was an unvarnished terrificness. jms Date: 12 Jul 1995 01:53:14 -0400 Subject: Big Bang Refunds (aka CMC meet To hear that the two numbers for Big Bang/CMC are alternately disconnected or no longer answering is most disconcerting. I can't recall hearing of anyone getting refunds that weren't put through quite some time ago. I strongly urge all people who have not yet received refunds from these people to get together and jointly consider what actions you might take, particularly in terms of the VIP tickets. Because with current reports, plus the non-payment of Michael O'Hare's $5,000, I have grave concerns about anyone getting their money out of this. jms Date: 12 Jul 1995 05:18:55 -0400 Subject: Re: Lestat gives up (Victory f Elizabeth: you're correct, in that nothing can stop individual copies from floating across the Atlantic. That's going to happen, and has happened, for some time. What sent off fireworks and red flags was the notion of *mass producing* these things. That's the kind of thing that gets you raided by the FBI. jms Date: 13 Jul 1995 01:57:03 -0400 Subject: Dressed in Black There is no significance to the clothing; that's just what they were wearing when Sheridan called. jms Date: 13 Jul 1995 01:57:08 -0400 Subject: Keep your day job Vir!! Re: the SPACE cgi being blurry...I'm kinda surprised. I'd seen the demo reel at Chicago ComicCon, and saw that it was blurry there, even hard to focus on, but figured it was a low-res test they used in the earlyl promotion reel. I was sure they'd go to something a bit more high-res for the real thing. I'm astonished. jms Date: 13 Jul 1995 04:27:18 -0400 Subject: Re: B5 Novels.... Of course it's a pain in the ass. It's a PROFOUND pain in the ass to keep track of all this. But it's kinda in the job description. As far as the novels go, an outline comes in, on spec, and I work with it to make it fit in continuity, or at least not contradict anything being done in the series. Sometimes that means major changes, sometimes it's minor stuff, but something always needs to be done. And done again, as much as can be, when the actual manuscript comes in. It's one more thing, but then my life is generally "one more thing." jms Date: 13 Jul 1995 05:08:04 -0400 Subject: Commander roles in war Eric: a very good analysis/contrasting of the roles of the two characters. Very much dead-on. jms Date: 13 Jul 1995 05:24:22 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Vorlon Homeworld(s) We'll see the Vorlon homeworld eventually. jms Date: 13 Jul 1995 05:24:28 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Selling your soul to That's a very hard question to answer, if I'm going to try and answer it totally honestly. Sitting here now, at this moment, with year 3 a go, I'd say, "If they said replace Ivanova and Sheridan, I'd refuse, even if it were a condition of pickup." That's what I'd like to think I'd say. I hope that it's what I *would* say. At least, at this moment. But now I try to put myself in that future frame of mind...I have 200 or so people who work for me, who'd be out of jobs. The story would be aborted, and the series ultimately a failure because it didn't go to term. Everything we'd built so carefully these last 2-3 years would be down the toilet. We'd have to dismantle the sets, sell old props, vacate the stage...emotionally, it would be devastating. Many careers would be hurt. At that point, it would come down to, Do I hurt 2 people or 200? So I guess, really, the answer is...I don't know. I know what I'd like to do, particularly if I felt strongly that I could get them to back down. It's a question of who blinks first. Fortunately, WB and PTEN are VERY happy with our cast, feel they're doing great jobs, and we're on the cusp of breaking through, so I gravely doubt that decision would ever have to be made. jms Date: 13 Jul 1995 05:24:33 -0400 Subject: JMS: Question on Rangers There are female rangers, yes. jms Date: 13 Jul 1995 05:24:38 -0400 Subject: Re: Looking for Captain Power Thus far, SisBert do not seem to have noticed B5. Re: The Real Ghostbusters, that 78 episode first season was a lot of fun...the first opportunity I had to just go nuts and do anything I wanted to do, and the producers stood by me, however nuts I got. jms Date: 13 Jul 1995 05:24:43 -0400 Subject: UK SPOILERS: Courtesy and Cons What could also help is if there are specific questions among the UK viewers based on the final four, what you can do is send it to me via private email, I'll reply, and it can then be reposted openly to the UK group. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 03:14:09 -0400 Subject: JMS: A question about photos There's no real hidden meaning in the photos. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 03:14:20 -0400 Subject: Att JMS: Your Thoughts on the The net is like any form of technology; it can be used for good or ill depending on who's behind the keyboard. On another level (if I can mix metaphors for a moment), the net is like a large, and very capricious beast. If you show the least fear, it will eat you. It's very clear that most of the folks at ST are afraid of the nets, they HATE the nets, because info they don't want out GETS out, the criticism can be very harsh...it's tough. In the case of B5, we work WITH the nets, to the extent that even after showing an episode, giving people new information, and information = power on the nets, if I ask that it not be posted publicly until the show airs, in virtually every case that request has been granted. Because you know who I am...and I know who YOU are. That dialogue doesn't exist with ST. For those not plugged in, it can be terrifying. Mira Furlan has commented, in one on-line message, that the nets can be very cruel. This is true. People forget sometimes that there's a person at the other end of the keyboard, and especially when critiquing actors, do so in terms so often cruel and unnecessary and hurtful. Michael O'Hare recently commented at Chicago comic con that he was *deeply* hurt by many of the things said about him on the nets...here in particular. So it takes a *very* tough skin to stick it out here, lemme tell you. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 03:42:57 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: A few quick question Basically, G'Kar is both laughing and crying in that scene; in essence, he's having a nervous breakdown right in front of your eyes. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:23:54 -0400 Subject: Stupid question for JMS Who she's attracted to depends on who bought dinner.... jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:24:00 -0400 Subject: JMS: Comics spoilers #9+? There are no spoilers that I'm aware of in the next 3 issues. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:24:05 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: B5 comic #8 question I think that non-memory of the event is a good assumption. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:36:18 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Licensing Pins/Patch All somebody has to do is approach WB licensing and license the stuff. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:36:24 -0400 Subject: Horns on the station..????? The projections are for stabalizing, and repairing, ships bringing in cargo. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:36:35 -0400 Subject: Re: Looking for Captain Power Yeah, I walked off the show when they a) decided to emphasize Slimer, and b) make Janine a "mommie" character rather than the hard-as-nails, sharp, sarcastic person she'd always been. It wasn't a show I wanted to do anymore. I've actually walked off a *lot* of shows in my time, something I only really realized lately. Walked of The Real Ghostbusters when they softened it down and knocked all the corners off; walked off Captain Power when the toy company got too much control over the stories; zipped off Jake and the Fatman when my exec producers got screwed over (if they went, I went); finally left Murder, She Wrote to do B5. All but the last were over story control/story integrity. My agent is frequently driven to distraction over this. Money doesn't work to hold me. If it ain't right, it ain't right. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:36:47 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Don't forget us You're right. Henceforth I shall be sure to separate Britain from Scotland, to avoid upset. Lord knows, you upset the Scots, you're likely to get kilt. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:36:55 -0400 Subject: Rumors about character changes I don't suppose you could give me the name of this particular SF editor (I suspect I know who it is) who's spreading around this particular bit of nonsense...? jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:37:03 -0400 Subject: JMS: Reruns during the long dr Alas, ain't squat we can do about this, it's a PTEN decision. jms Date: 14 Jul 1995 05:51:20 -0400 Subject: B5 writer(s) Re: "he writes at close to Asimov's speed." One thing I miss here, and wish there was more of, was more on the task of writing. I think there's a good opportunity here for more on the technical side of all this...the writing, how the different departemtns (departments) come together, all the production stuff nobody tells you. So on the writing speed issue, a little something that may be of use. Mark Twain said, "Never write a scene until you have finished it to your satisfaction." Meaning in your head. You should always play the scene over and over in your head, filling it out further and further each time, until you can play it like a movie. Then, when it's all worked out, you sit down and transcribe it. This is kinda how I work. I finish a scene, load up what I need to do in the next scene...and distract myself, here on the boards, doing something else, and gradually filling out the scene over and over until it's crystal clear. Then when you sit down to write it, it goes quickly. Also helps to type 120 wpm, but the other helps a *lot*. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 00:26:07 -0400 Subject: JMS: Cause & Effect? (Comic 8 You didn't *really* expect a public answer on this one, did you...? jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 03:48:50 -0400 Subject: Quickie from jms The weekend of July 29th, I'll be doing a presentation at San Diego Comic Con that Saturday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. If you're anywhere in the area, I suggest you try and be there. You may need to get there a bit early; each time I've done one of these presentations, even though they keep giving me progressively bigger rooms, they keep filling up. Couple more merchandising items in the works, looks like they might be kinda cool. As noted in a side-topic, and thus probably missed, Dell has signed to do 5 more B5 novels. The B5 stage is getting busier every day, as more folks begi reporting back to work. The first batch of scripts are being broken down by the Assistant Directors into shooting schedules, construction is going bigtime on a couple new sets and a total redesign of another (Medlab), all continues on-track for day one of shooting on July 31st. To the best of my knowledge, Michael O'Hare has *still* not been paid the balance of his fee for appearing at Big Bang, a total of $5,000. Nor has there even been any contact from them. Phone calls remain unreturned. We hope, in a few weeks, to be announcing, finally, an official Babylon 5 Fan Club, which will offer some items not available anywhere else. (Some of them will be made by the same people who make the real props themselves, thus guaranteeing 100% authenticity to what'd done in the show.) (Make that *what's*.) We hope that, within a year or so of the fan club getting going, to put together a *proper* B5 convention, with not only the actors, but people from every department, giving them the chance to show what they do, and how, and allow a chance to interact with viewers. Lately, from published figures, B5's overnights have been above those of Voyager (3.4 compared to 2.7 or thereabouts). Much to the surprise of people at PTEN, B5 episodes which have now aired multiple times are still doing very well. This is very unusual in reruns. There *may* be some movement on the videocassette issue. More on this as it develops. Finally, expect a big online presence/push for the October/November period, possibly with a B5 web page and other new on-line resources (multimedia and the like) provided by PTEN. My sense is that right now, we're *just* about where X-Files was just before it broke through. I think we'll finally break through that glass ceiling in our third season. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:08:12 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS - writing CGI ? Nothing can be storyboarded until it's written in the script first; so usually it's something like EXT. NARN HOMEWORLD (CGI) A giant space aardvark emerges from a jump-point, snarling and spitting. There's only been one case where all I wrote was, "They fight. Ron, go nuts." Other than that, it's always scripted shot-for-shot, often as: ANGLE - SHERIDAN'S STARFURY As it blows TOWARD CAMERA, and we REVERSE - HIS POV The giant space aardvark turns, prepares to fight. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:08:55 -0400 Subject: JMS: Delenn Question I'd suggest that, in "There All the Honor Lies," it's implied that Delenn's reproductive system has come to function more closely to that of a human female. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:08:17 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: About your writing Sherry: er, uhm...yeah, that's...kinda...it. Um. In which tree would you like me to leave the money at midnight? jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:19:26 -0400 Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Real Ghostbuster Yes, the events as described in the article you describe (it was in "Penthouse") are correct, and happened as written. (I should know, I wrote it.) When I sent the article in to Penthouse (knowing full it would forever firebomb any chance of ever working in animation again), they asked why on *earth* I sent an article on kid's TV to *PENTHOUSE* for chrissakes. "Because I want the creeps at Broadcast Standards and Practices, who turn white at the slightest hint of anything improper, to have to flip through Penthouse to get to the article about them." The woman at the other end of the phone just about croaked laughing. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:19:33 -0400 Subject: Re: B5 writer(s) NOW ATT: JMS: Yeah, I think that kind of educational approach would be a hoot. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:36:03 -0400 Subject: ATTN: JMS Why all the dreams? Dreams function on many levels. Some cultures use them as a kind of second, or parallel reality. They make good literary devices. Also, there's a fair amount of thematic undercurrent about free will vs. predestination, and one of the ways to tap into that is to use dreams as subtext and metaphor. My own dreams are not particularly noteworthy, except in one respect: about 90% of them take place in the same place. See, I always moved around when I was a kid, spending as little as 6 months, sometimes a full year, moving with my family from town to city to state from one end of the country to the other. (Don't ask.) So I think in large measure to counter that sense of rootlessness, my brain kinda created this "home town" and that's where I spend much of my dreamtime. I know the layout of the place, where the stores are, my favorite comics/magazine shop, the same house (in which the renovations are *finally* finished to the second floor, I'm happy to say, and now they've gone on to doing some landscaping and suchlike outside), there are even a couple of theaters in which I see movies I *almost* remember the next morning. (I actually wrote down one of them in some detail, a Star Trek movie, belive it or not; did the whole outline beat for beat from the dream. Not bad. Not good, but not bad.) We had a third theater in town, but it got cobbled into a mini-mall and it's just too much of a mess. And *nothing* extraordinary happens there. It's pretty much just a mirror for what I do in my waking hours. Story problems I'm working on during the day, I'm working on "over there" at night, just in a different mental place. Back to the show...I have, at times, used early dream images. The shot of Londo looking up to seeing huge ships passing overhead in "The Coming of Shadows" is a direct dream-steal from years ago. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:44:13 -0400 Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Selling your sou There's always been a side-story that could spin off from B5, but the main core story is over at the five-year mark. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:44:18 -0400 Subject: JMS: The Process of Card Makin Re: the Fleer process...I approve the selection of photos, and the text, and will approve the final look of the cards as well. The process has been wondefully painless, Fleer has been nothing but helpful and cooperative. Not much has been omitted. And as for why do them: I figured they'd be cool...and I think they will be. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:44:23 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Talk Show Help? Frankly, our folks just aren't *asked* much, because the talk shows think nobody's interested in B5. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:44:27 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: WoH I am woefully and dreadfully ignorant on virtually ALL anime, WOH included. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:44:33 -0400 Subject: + Attn: JMS - Shadows' Timel All good answers come to those who wait.... jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:46:40 -0400 Subject: Re: Looking for Captain Power I have nothing but good things to say about Angela Lansbury. She is probably one of the classiest performers I've worked with, fiercely loyal, takes responsibility, wonderfully talented...I think she knew that I was flattered and impressed to be working with her, and I kinda suspect she thought it was kinda cute, in a dopey kind of way. Our offices were not far from the shooting stages on the Universal lot, and most of the time I was stuck behind the keyboard. But when it was one of my scripts on the floor, I'd try to get out there once or twice, just for a few moments. I'd slip in, watch for a little bit, and then vanish again...and one day Angela came out and pulled me in, saying that she was intrigued by the way I'd just materialize and vanish again, that it was like some magical white horse appearing out of nowhere, and then vanishing. She and her husband Peter were both very kind to me. They even put my novel, OtherSyde, on the bookshelf in the set of her New York apartment; it can be seen occasionally in some shots. She's tough, but fair. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 06:50:51 -0400 Subject: Re: B5 writer(s) Putting the characters through pain is never a problem for me. That's where all the *interesting* stuff happens. And growth only comes through pain and struggle. So it's for their own good, really. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 22:08:15 -0400 Subject: JMS - your agent? I generally don't give out my agent's name. That information is available to those who know how to find it, and have a reason for finding it. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 22:08:21 -0400 Subject: Attn. JMS: Novels, comics, etc We've certainly had a substantial number of older actors and characters on the show, from June Lockhart to Turhan Bey and Michael Ansara and many others. My sense is that with advances in medicine, you can be active a LOT longer than is currently considered to be the case, so it isn't much of an issue in B5. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 22:21:04 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Re: UK Newsgroup gat If it wouldn't be too much of a pain in the ass, if you could just forward the reviews of the episodes (first one in each new string), that would be more than sufficient, thanks. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 22:21:23 -0400 Subject: Chrysalis - Did anyone notice? The security guard's reaction was due to the chain of command solely. We don't let our people off that easily, that it was due to being mentally influenced. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 22:37:41 -0400 Subject: ATTN: JMS! (from Elana) The B5 I'm sorry, the number you have just dialed has been disconnected, and there is no new number. Please check your number and dial again. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 22:39:53 -0400 Subject: B5 Blooper Reel. If we can get the B5 fan club up and running (or when, as it looks now), we hope to offer the blooper reel, or a version thereof. jms Date: 15 Jul 1995 22:40:03 -0400 Subject: JMS: How bad is the #8 spoiler Alas, to tell how bad a spoiler it is, would be to put it into context...to put it into context spoils the episode even FURTHER. jms Date: 16 Jul 1995 04:32:59 -0400 Subject: Re: Attn JMS - writing CGI ? That was kinda the problem; Sinclair didn't really *have* a direct or personal connection to the Shadows. I figured it'd be too much to do that on top of his direct, personal connection to so much else of the B5 storyline. I figured he'd get into it by virtue of his involvement with so many others touched by it; problem is, very soon that turns you into an expositional sounding-board or a problem-solver, with the other person at the core of the story. It's one of those things you don't really see until you're well into the writing of the story, as with any novel. jms Date: 16 Jul 1995 04:33:05 -0400 Subject: Re: Attn JMS - writing CGI ? The "They fight; Ron, go nuts" was in "Coming of Shadows," I believe. jms Date: 16 Jul 1995 04:57:54 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS:Online presence? I think the coming B5 web page will have links with other pre-existing web pages, though there will probably have to be understandings and the like made before any such site can be even nominally "endorsed" by the link. Like a minimum of non-authorized uploaded material (in terms of avi files and the like). jms Date: 16 Jul 1995 04:57:59 -0400 Subject: Re: Att JMS: Your Thoughts on Jeannette: I saw a great commencement speech today by Tom Brokaw on CSPAN...he had a lot to say about the Internet, interestingly enough, and a great term for the more offensive among us...the "petty dysfunctional." jms Date: 16 Jul 1995 04:58:03 -0400 Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS Why all the drea Yeah, I've discussed this here before; sometimes things come up more than once around here in answer to questions. jms Date: 16 Jul 1995 04:58:07 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Just a Few Questions All our CGI was being done on Amigas; I think they've now totally transitioned to a PC base. Re: my computer...I have two, one at my home office, the other at the B5 main stage office. They're both pretty much the same, though: Dell Pentium 90s, 32 megs ram, 1 gig drive (office) vs. 2 gig drive (home), 4x CD Rom, 17" monitor (Nanao vs. Supermatch), 28.8 modem, Imagine 128 bit video card (office) vs. 64bit #9gxePro (home), Soundblaster 16.... these systems didn't just arrive, guys with orange vests and cones helped them taxi into place. If B5 runs it total five years, I'll most likely retire from TV. None of the other B5 actors are on the Internet that I know of, though some do get printouts from folks. Currently, I watch X-Files (though lately it has seemed much in need of a good fourth-act every episode), which is about the only genre stuff I have time to watch consistently. To the last question, authors I'd recommend: Michael Bishop, Jonathan Carroll, Connie Willis, Ed Bryant, any of James Blish's stuff (though he's no longer with us)...that's all that comes to mind offhand, but there are a bunch more I'll think of the second I get offline. jms Date: 16 Jul 1995 06:19:47 -0400 Subject: JMS: does Sheridan have a thou Joseph Campbell is good if you're looking to analyze something AFTER the fact; to do so before the fact, or while you're creating, makes the result too by-the-numbers. You have to try NOT to become too aware of the myth-process in fiction, or you become like the centipede asked which leg goes first. jms Date: 16 Jul 1995 06:37:31 -0400 Subject: JMS: Script ownership This is a grey area. The WGA says that the show owns the characters and the situation unique to the show; but the writer owns the physical script. The studios say they own it ALL. This will probably never be clearly resolved. jms Date: 16 Jul 1995 06:37:38 -0400 Subject: Attn. JMS: Planning B5 Music We have an Audio Spotting Session. At this, I sit down with John Copeland, Chris Franke, George Johnsen, and screen the newly-finished episode (it's been edited and on-lined). I call out the time-code for the beginning and endings of sections where I want music. E.g, "Okay, in at 03:23:15 (three minutes, 23 seconds, 15 frames), out at 04:15:23." Sometimes I will have specific ideas on the kind of music ("I think we need to go soft here, mainly strings, some brass, but *light*"), other times I just leave it to Chris to get what the sense of the scene is. If there is a big EFX sequence going on at the same time, as in a battle scene, the sound design people (also in the meeting) and I go over the scene with Chris, and decide which elements will be carried by sound, and which by music, making sure each carves out sufficient space in either the high-end or the low-end to accommodate the other. jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 04:50:00 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: In your copious free Probably the author I'm biggest on in general, with a very few lapses, is Jonathan Carroll, a contemporary dark fantasist who does things with language I can't figure out for the life of me; the closest thing in literature to close-up magic. It's *right there* but you can't see how he created that image. Beyond that, alas, I don't have much time for reading right now.... jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:07:23 -0400 Subject: ATTN: JMS About the Emmys... What're the odds of B5 getting anything other than a technical Emmy? Oh...about the same odds as B5 ever getting produced, back when I came up with it in 1986/7. Didn't stop me then, either. jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:09:33 -0400 Subject: Re: Attn JMS - writing C Oh, there's a scripted CGI sequence from "Twilight" that I think you'll like even MORE, Scott.... Two, actually. jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:09:37 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: More to the music??? I work very closely with Chris Franke. As for themes, most of hte (the) major characters have their own themes, and there's a B5 theme which often gets interpolated in various ways, sometimes in minor chords (as in "Signs and Portents"), here and there. jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:11:44 -0400 Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS Why all the drea I think I picked up 1 or 2 books of the "Worlds Collide" series, couldn't make heads nor tails of it, and moved on. jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:16:46 -0400 Subject: Big Bang Con Reports, Please? Just heard that, on top of Michael getting stiffed for $5,000 of his speaking fee, Mark Hammil's second check for the balance of his fee, a remainder of $10,000...bounced. As did the check for his travel expenses. As did Walter Koenig's second check (though in his case he was lucky in that it happened *before* the convention and he was able to get it, at threat of not showing up). These people are amazing. jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:16:51 -0400 Subject: B5 theorys & thoughts "I'd come to the conclusion that we were witnessing the continuing battle between good and evil." Half-right. The other half involes *defining* what good and evil ARE, and are not. jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:16:55 -0400 Subject: Re: JMS: Script ownership It is conceivable that WB, owning the rights to B5, could take and create a sequel of its own, without my participation, except that there would have to be payments/arrangements made. I *may* have some clause regarding ancillary programs in my contract as far as participation is concerned, but not in preventing it from happening in the first place. jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:19:02 -0400 Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Real Ghostbuster I've written something on the order of maybe 500 published articles; far too much for anyone to start going after or organizing. jms (And most of 'em were stupid, in retrospect.) Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:19:06 -0400 Subject: JMS: Souls & God in B5 Be careful in ascribing too much of an author's work to an author's personal beliefs. I do not have to believe in Minbari to write about them. Ditto for souls, god, or anything else. jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 05:19:10 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: How did you develop My main thought on developing Sheridan was to make more of an arc to him; Sinclair had already gone on the hero's journey to some extent, and where he was was pretty much where he was...in the case of Sheridan, I wanted someone who would at first not be up to the challenge of what was ahead, and who would grow into that. (Look at Luke Skywalker in the first SW movie, then in Jedi; that's the hero's journey.) jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 10:20:05 -0400 Subject: Re: Quickie from jms (first progress on tapes, then:) "What about the laser disks...?" Let me first move this mountain to Mohammed, then we'll worry about that one over there.... jms Date: 17 Jul 1995 10:20:20 -0400 Subject: Re: Quickie from jms Some smaller sets, called "swing sets," do get dismantled at various times, including hiatuses (hiatusi?). This is called a "fold-and-hold." The bigger sets stay up at all times. They only came down once, briefly, after the pilot, because we changed facilities. jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:26:41 -0400 Subject: 2 Questions for JMS (or anyone We're still negotiating/discussing tapes; definately would like to get more into what future-music might sound like. jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:27:18 -0400 Subject: ATTN: JMS - Congrats on Progre Thanks. We keep trying, every season, to make it better than the one before.... jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:27:14 -0400 Subject: JMS at San Diego Comic-con It'll be that Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Be there. jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:31:28 -0400 Subject: Re: Joe and the Forces of Mark Y'know, I really wish I could agree, and say yeah to the "correct spelling of integrity is straczynski" notion, but the god's honest truth of it is..."the correct spelling for pain-in-the-ass is straczynski." jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:31:35 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Naming Babylon Not bad, not bad.... jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:33:44 -0400 Subject: JMS: CGI cover for comic #9? Yes, Ron did a CGI cover, though I've only seen a B&W repro, and can't vouch for it in detail. jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:33:53 -0400 Subject: STAR TREK/BABYLON 5 ratings? Lately, our overnights have been slightly better than Voyager's, interestingly enough. jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:52:17 -0400 Subject: JMS: Dumb Trivia Query re: Mur No idea on the Bill Mumy question. Re: M,SW...yes, I believe that Cabot Cove was fairly close to Portland. jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:54:28 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: CHICAGO COMICON QUES Individuals paid anywhere from $600-$900 in the auction, designed to help make up the shortfall when Big Bang stiffed Michael to the tune of $5,000. The total from the auction raised $3,800, to which I added $1,200. This does not, in my mind, defer CMC's responsibility to make good on the balance of his payment; my hope is that it would show what the fan community is REALLY made of, and to shame CMC into doing the right thing. So far, from CMC...dead silence. jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:54:34 -0400 Subject: TV guide B5 art.out Here's how my karma works, though...we *finally* get a good article on B5 in TV Guide. That kind of press has a brief, week-long effect on raising ratings in many cases. So I learn that in quite a few markets, including LA, B5 is pre-empted next week, so it's a wash. I must've *really* pissed somebody off in a prior life. jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 07:54:39 -0400 Subject: Re: B5 writer(s) Re: your (Vinay's) experiences lately with doctors and x-rays, here's one I don't know if I've mentioned or not before. About, oh, a year ago, I went in for my usual checkup, and my doctor took a chest x-ray (I was kinda stressed, and he wanted to take a look). So the x-ray comes in, and he says, "You have a shadow across your heart." "What the hell does THAT mean?" I asked. "I don't know," he said, "I've never seen anything quite like it. I can't tell if it's an enlarged vessel casting a shadow, or some unusual muscle tissue, or what. So I took it downstairs to a cardiologist and asked for his opinion." "So what'd he say?" "He said, "The guy's got a shadow across his heart." There've been several x-rays since, no change, nothing ominous, except they can't quite figure it out. Ah, modern medicine.... jms Date: 18 Jul 1995 08:03:40 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Happy Birthday, Joe! That was *just* good enough that I'll probably let you live. jms Date: 19 Jul 1995 03:36:13 -0400 Subject: Re: Attn JMS - writing CGI ? No, there was never a one-to-one correspondence between Sinclair and Sheridan. Catherine Sakai would never have developed the shadow link. Bear in mind, if it's a straight transposition from A to B, then there's no NEED for B. The whole idea was to bring in someone who could be put into situations Sinclair couldn't without straining credulity. jms Date: 19 Jul 1995 03:36:20 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Questions from book The starfuries drop for the same reason a bucket flies away from you when you're swinging it and let go; the rotation causes the pressure of gravity, which pushes the fighters out the bays. Very simple, and factually based. The scan of Ivanova in the book was a bit more than I'd wanted, but that one bit slipped by me. jms Date: 19 Jul 1995 03:48:49 -0400 Subject: JMS: animals on b5 Haven't really gotten into this question on the show; probably should. jms Date: 19 Jul 1995 03:48:59 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: opening narration Laurel was transferred; the narration was always intended to change between characters each season. jms Date: 19 Jul 1995 17:00:16 -0400 Subject: Curious about JMS thoughts I think I generally get a good sense of fan thoughts here without having to poke the bear to excess.... jms Date: 19 Jul 1995 17:00:30 -0400 Subject: ATTN: JMS What's it like befo It's really kind of hard to explain; it's a mix of many things, some tension (everything has to be ready to go on July 31st, no delays, no revisions, no backsies); it's a bit like going back to school after a long summer break (less so for me, since my "summer break" is filled with the summer school of writing scripts).... A dead stage is a dark, depressing thing. No actors, no sound, just H 8xX[Jedifices standing and waiting for someone to give them life. Now, slowly, you have carpenters appearing, set dressers appearing, lighting crews appearing, and there's sound, hammers banging and cranes lifting and drills whirring...people walking from set to set discussing revisions, improvements...the previously empty halls are populated by runners, PAs, directors, staff, crew...it's like this huge engine slowly beginning to turn, and every day you hear the turbine whine growing just a little louder until you know the sucker's about ready to take off. So there's a LOT to do; but overall it's a very good time. As of now, five scripts have been published in-house and in WB, and everyone is nuts about them; the set improvements are great; the actors are excited, and everyone's ready to kick butt. It's cool. jms Date: 20 Jul 1995 02:52:32 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Your dream.... "You seem to accept the concept of dream predictions." Nope. Dreams are ways of working out elements of one's day, problem solving, self-analysis and escape. I don't believe they can predict much of anything. I used it because it was a very striking image, and the subconscious can come up with stuff that resonates. And yes, the image long predates B5. jms Date: 20 Jul 1995 03:25:41 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Ambassadors Londo: nobody else wanted the job, it was considered low-priority. Delenn: it was the calling of her heart. G'Kar: a good career move to ally new forces, and he was an up-and-comer. Kosh: is. jms Date: 20 Jul 1995 04:01:11 -0400 Subject: ATTN jms : Some questions... The eagle is a traditional Russian eagle/symbol, commonly used in Russian heraldry. Draal is, indeed, the minbari who took custody of Epsilon 3. We stomped the noisy cricket. jms Date: 20 Jul 1995 04:06:48 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: The comic book again Last I heard, we're still on for 24 issues. jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 04:29:13 -0400 Subject: Re: Why is Ford in rastb5? There are any number of simple reasons why Ford is on the nets. He is here because he is a petty, vicious, vindictive person who takes personal joy in assaulting his "victims" as he puts it on AOL. You want to see the true face of FT? Go over to the Neutral Zone in the Star Trek main area on AOL. He uses that phrase to describe those he disagrees with. He's here because he likes the attention, because if he can make you angry, it somehow validates his existence, makes him feel important, gives him a sick thrill. It is the same mentality witnessed in the juvenile who throws a stink bomb into the girls locker room to watch them scurry and get mad. He's here because he's offended by the very notion that the opinion of ANYone else should be considered in any way more valuable, informed or popular than his own. If a question is asked of me, he's upset and stamps his little foot...why should I be asked for an opinion if HE wasn't? My opinion *can't* matter any more than his, the very notion is abhorrent to him. He is that sort of creature noted by Kurt Vonnegutt in "Welcome to the Monkey House," who if he cannot see well, insists that others be blinkered; if he cannot run quickly, others must be hobbled. There is just room enough in Ford's universe for Ford; anything else must be attacked, dismissed, ridiculed, abused. He's here because he's a net-stalker after someone with notoriety, no different than the kind of person who follows around celebrities and leaves harrassing notes, and when he doesn't like what they say, snarls and accuses them of one thing or another. He is here because he's a bigot, stating that because of someone's job description -- producer or writer -- that person is, de facto, a liar, untrustworthy. A socio economic racist. If he were to say such things about jews, or african americans, as a class, he would be instantly seen for what he is, but he can hide his bigotry behind the notion of accepted cliche. He's here because he feels he has a *right* to be here, to say anything he wants, and anybody who says otherwise, who squeaks any kind of protest, is attacking his freedom, is a kneejerk worshipper of the object of his hateful obsession...but who has no compunction against sending faxes of my messages to Warner Bros., as he has done, to try and force them to force me off the nets and shut off MY opinion. Because the universe should rightly favor the opinion of Ford and nobody else. He's here because he can enjoy the privilege of striking from the shadows, of making statements without the least factual proof behind them, vanishing when convenient and lashing out when convenient, all from the warm recesses of blessed anonymity, because nobody here monitors his activities, his words, his job, his off-line truthfulness. He makes pretense of being open-minded and fair...but again, those on AOL, just go check out the messages referenced above to see his true face. He posts ratings when they show B5 not in the top 20, because it's rerun time, and carefully omits noting that B5's overnights are now higher than Voyager's (1.7 from Voyager to 2.9 for B5, both in reruns), because he has staked his opinion on the often-repeated assertion that ratings = quality, and the universe of Ford cannot allow, cannout countenance, the notion that B5 might be rating higher than Voyager. Hence the telling omission. He does not sow, neither does he reap. He exists here only to be difficult, to insult, to enrage, to inflame and excorciate and belittle because it makes him feel like a big man, makes him feel like he's done something with his life...he *enjoys* it when the folks here get mad. He gets off on it. The worst thing you can do is get upset because that's what he likes. You're doing *exactly* what he wants you to do. The only thing to do with him is to simply ignore him, and do not respond directly. I do not read his messages, I only sometimes run into bounce-backs in a quoted message from somebody else. Because he is, in the end, a sad and pitiable figure, our resident Gollum who bites and snaps because he can do no other, because he sees in the world at large only a reflection of himself...it fills his world, and reinforces what he believes the world to be. If I were to ask *anything* of this group, and I've rarely asked much of anything...it'd be to simply ignore him. Don't respond, because no matter what you say, however logical or reasoned your argument, it will be twisted and turned and distorted, returned with insult and derision, regardless of your statement's merit. If you know that going in, then it becomes clear that there's no point, really, in writing or saying anything to him, because you know what the response will be even before you write it. Just leave him be. If he consistently fails to find the sustence his obsession demands, he will soon enough leave to lick his wounds elsewhere, and complain about the mean people who refused out of spite to validate his existence and his opinions by virtue of response. He is that kind of person who must verify his existence by the echo produced by his shoutings. Do not be that echo. (And perhaps this should be reposted when next he comes round, if anyone cares to archive it; I frankly can think of nothing else to say to or about him or his ilk. If I say anything, it's "Why should HIS opinion matter?" If someone else says anything, it's "Why are you talking on his behalf?" No win. So maybe keeping this around, and pointing to his more obvious tricks, will help keep this a tidier and more pleasant place to hang out.) jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 04:31:25 -0400 Subject: B5's emmy nominations Three Emmy nominations is great, from where we sit; we got one on the pilot movie (and won), two on the first season (won another), and now three on the second season...and there are several vital categories we haven't heard from yet, which won't be decided for another couple or three weeks: directing, sound editing, music and visual EFX, and we have hopes of nailing at least one more in that group. It's sobering when you stop to realize that of all the shows on network and syndication, only *eleven* dramatic series were chosen for nomination in various categories...with B5 earning as many nomations, or in some cases more than, Lois And Clark, Murphy Brown, Murder She Wrote, The Tonight Show, DS9 (with 2), the Simpsons and many others. Actors *always* get overlooked in genre shows, that's unfortunately the nature of the beast. So that aside, we're nothing but pleased. jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 04:37:38 -0400 Subject: ATTN: BABYLON 5 EMMY NOMINATIO Which reminds me...I wanted to note that just about everyone involved with B5 is *ecstatic* over X-File's nomination as best series. It's a terrific show, and deserves the nod. It's also maybe only the second or so time a genre/nominally SF show has gotten that nomination, and that bodes nothing but good for the SF-TV business. jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 04:55:18 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: Your thoughts on TV The lead paragraph notwithstanding...I'm quite pleased by the TV Guide article, all things considered. There are a few things one can nitpick, but the overall tenor and tone is very complimentary, and after all the hassles with Jarvis (now gone, I hear), I think we have a chance to get a leg up on next season and some decent PR. jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 05:06:12 -0400 Subject: JMS: Evidence and *witnesses*? Certainly a lot of people would like to get to the Vorlon homeworld sometime and look around.... jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 05:06:20 -0400 Subject: Adventures of Petey and Joey a I was kind of aghast when I saw that Peter had printed what happened in the dealer's room at ComicCon, when I helped tackle and bring down a shoplifter, holding him for the cops for about ten minutes while he was hoping to get away. I found out about it when I went into my local comics store and the owner came over and said he felt a lot safer seeing me there...and I wondered what the hell he was saying, he was obviously kidding on the square...then I found out. Ah, well.... jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 05:20:42 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS -- Comic #8 Design yo I didn't get too much into that one shot in the comic; it seemed reasonable under the circumstances. The one panel where I *did* get screwed was saying, "Hey, look, this here episode's going to air just before the book comes out, so why don't we REALLY tie the book and the show together by inserting this one panel I came up with here...." Sometimes I outsmart myself..... jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 05:20:49 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Full or part time o It really depends on the breaks. Sometimes a regular cast member can be there every day; sometimes they get a day or two off here and there within the course of an episode. Guest actors are booked by days needed, or if it's a major part, then a full-week deal is made. What most folks probably don't know is that when you shoot an episode you first begin by doing a production board, and what scenes are shot in which order is determined by *where the scenes take place.* For instance: we have 3 stages. So in the morning, we'll shoot all the scenes that take place in medlab. If that takes all day, then that's how long we're there. Once we finish, if it's say around lunchtime, we'll generally try and stay in the same stage to minimize the hassles of going from stage A to C, because then you've got to re-rig and set up and that kills time. Sometimes you'll change stages if you've got Actor B only for 3 days under contract, and you have to adjust. We take it as a matter of pride that in 44 episodes, we've had only about 8 days of overtime on a shoot, and never once have we done a forced call on an actor. jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 05:49:57 -0400 Subject: JMS: The Child is Father to Th I've just written...oh...about 20 messages in the last hour, from questions here...none of them stopped me. This one did. I guess I didn't see it coming. Some personal stuff I don't generally get into on the nets. I'll sometimes talk about it at conventions, but I try not to drag it in here. But since it's come up, I guess I can handle the answer. No, I didn't have a particularly great upbringing. I grew up within an abusive, alcoholic, wife-beating environment. We moved every six months or every year, trying to stay one step ahead of creditors, used the last name "Stark" when Straczynski was too "hot." I really didn't understand the situation much; I figured every family was like this. I didn't begin to really get a sense of how crummy it was until I began to see how other families *did* have normal lives. My feeling about it overall is...don't whine or whinge about it, deal with it and move on. Too many people use crummy childhoods to explain away crummy behavior in the present. That doesn't wash with me. Does that "emotional baggage" still "haunt" me, to use your terms? No, not really. Am I still pissed about some of it? Hell yes. Why not? There's a line in a Billy Joel song..."You still have a rage inside you / That you carry with a certain pride / It's the only part / Of a broken heart / You could ever save." That's kinda it, but not quite so maudlin or self-indulgent. Anybody who had a perfect, blemish-free youth and adolescence raise your hand.... That's what I figured. So we deal with it. (Great joke...when Jesus intervened in the stoning of a woman and said, "Let you who are without sin cast the first stone," and suddenly a rock comes flying into frame, and he says, "Mommmmmmmm!") I do tend to use some of it in my work, because it grounds me in reality, and the reality of *the scene*. I used a lot of it in an episode I wrote for TWILIGHT ZONE, "Acts of Terror," about a wife beater...which ended up being used (and is still used) at some shelters for battered women in counseling centers, about how to find your own power and authority. But that's what a writer does; I've used bits and pieces of my life all over the show, including the scene between Sinclair and Catherine Sakai when they get back together for the first time, which is almost verbatim from stuff I've gone through. If there's anything that has stayed with me, it's manifested itself in a fierce loyalty to friends, because when you move every 6-12 months, you don't get much chance to find them. I grew up in the streets of Newark and less terrific places, and you learn a little something about sticking together when you grow up in the streets. Anytime somebody wants to take on a friend, they have to go through me first. Hurt me and I'll hurt you back in equal proportion; hurt a *friend* and I'll tear your fucking head off. And then I'll get nasty. Is that a particularly salutory trait? No, not really. It sounds good on paper, but it puts me into constant trouble. I've tried to moderate that a little...but how do you moderate loyalty? When the phone rings at 3 a.m. and it's someone you know in pain or in trouble or in jail...how do you quantify and decide *this* time you'll go but *next* time you won't? So yeah, I've had a tough ride. I sacrificed a lot to get here; I have zero social life, except for my pal Harlan. I haven't been to a party in something like two years; don't get out to see movies but maybe 4-6 times a year; when I was breaking in, I had to choose often between food and writing supplies...and always chose the latter, and if you look in one of the back issues of WD, you'll see a picture of me from taht period, at 6'5" weighing about 150-160 pounds. But that was my *choice*. We all gotta do what we gotta do; I decided that I'd either make it as a writer, or I wouldn't make it at *all*. Because sometimes, kiddo, that's what it takes. But with all of that...the present-tense reality is that I'm pretty reasonably content. I'm doing the only thing in the world I'm the least goddamned good at, and people are actually *paying* me to do that which I'd have to do for free otherwise, because I can do no other. I have a nice house, and I work on a show I enjoy, I write what I want...so I'm not angry all the time, as I was once before. Most days I figure that's a good thing; other times, I worry if it's taken the edge off the work. But in the interim consideration...I'm content. As for pursuing a Psychology degree...wasn't out of any particular desire to understand myself. Hell, at that time, I hardly even wanted to associate with myself, much less understand myself. No, I just went in with the assumption that you should never major in writing if you really want to BE a writer...learn other stuff, read other books, see other kinds of lives...become a generalist, so you can apply a little bit of everything to the work. That seemed most conducive to being a generalist. Until Skinner came along and suddenly math was involved. But that's another story for another time.... jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 05:50:06 -0400 Subject: JMS, JV, et al.: Writing The two keys in creating characters for TV are: allies and enemies, you create people who you know will come into conflict with one another, because conflict is a huge part of drama, not the whole of it, but a necessary ingredient. So you also build some who can be sympathetic, or funny by turns, but you don't want to minimize or throw away a character, you add a layer of depth to it to give meat to the humor when used. It's kind of like planning a military campaign, really. The world and the characters of B5 kind of came together at the same time, one feeding off another until they took on a life of their own. And building both was a joy. jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 05:50:12 -0400 Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS What's it like The tracking of people, notifying and confirming hirings is the job jointly of the Unit Production Manager (Kevin Cremin last season, Skip Beaudine this season), and the Line Producer (John Copeland). When we gear up, everyone is checked on availabilities, and if there's nay (any) problem, they have plenty of time to adjust. Usually there are lots of folks in that department who can give recommendations, and there is quite a list of folks who want to work with us. When there *is* a major change in crew or staff, Doug and I are brought into it, to confirm and ratify. If it were a really big change, as in a cinematographer, then WB would get into the approvals process. jms Date: 21 Jul 1995 05:50:17 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: non-television B5 be Ask me again in 3 years; I'll probably have a good answer then. jms Date: 22 Jul 1995 01:49:55 -0400 Subject: Re: JMS: The Child is Father t No, I don't really think trauma is a requirement for artistry; I know a number of writers who had nearly idyllic backgrounds. jms Date: 22 Jul 1995 02:21:01 -0400 Subject: JMS:Openning music Chris: the point you make is exactly right. The music for each season is designed to reflect the progression of that season; some feel they don't like season two as much as one, because it doesn't summon up the same feelings. But that's the intent; it's not supposed to summon up the same emotions. It's kind of the equivilant of creating a different cover for every new installment of a series of connected novels. What do I have in mind for season three? What I indicated to Chris Franke was to look at a piece of music he did in "The Long, Twilight Struggle" and interpolate some elements of that into the main theme, with a very hard sound. The piece in question is about the middle of the first really...um...busy scene after the act break. jms Date: 22 Jul 1995 02:25:05 -0400 Subject: Attn:JMS:Emmys in Promos? We do hope the noms are used in promos, yes. jms Date: 22 Jul 1995 02:25:08 -0400 Subject: Eastern Washington - B5 Is Bac Are you *sure* they're not going to show the final 4? Last I heard, all the stations were going to show them. Could this be a mis-heard bit of info about the delay to October? jms Date: 22 Jul 1995 02:37:16 -0400 Subject: ATTN: JMS Questions on Ghostbu "Ulysses" is probably the most moving of Tennyson's work, for my money. It speaks to something profoundly entrenched in the human spirit. It's something I try to put in front of people at any opportunity. As for Janine...the change bothered the hell out of me, to go from a strong, smart, fashion-aware (in a weird way), independent woman...to a mommy-character. And, in time, they kinda realized that I was right, and the consultants were wrong...mainly when the mailbags filled with angry letters from mothers and young girls raising ten kinds of hell. But by then they didn't have any solution except just change her without explanation *again*...which is when I chimed in and said, "I can fix this. But you've got to let me do this MY way." They did, and it was done. I was somewhat disappointed by Ghostbusters II. It took an awful long time to get going, and then just fell back on much of what it had done in the first movie. It made the producers nuts when they got audience responses from lots of people saying that they like the TV series better than the movie, and that the movie was "just for kids." One of my favorite moments from that was writing an episode called "Take Two," in which Hollywood producers come to the guys and say they want to make a movie about the team...so they go to LA, have a little adventure...and the episode ends with actual footage from the first movie...with the result that millions of kids were convinced, totally conVINced, that the series *preceded* the first movie. It was one of the more wonderfully sick things I've done. jms Date: 22 Jul 1995 02:37:18 -0400 Subject: Re: Why is Ford in rastb5? John: I don't think FT cares about winning the argument at all; it's just pissing in other people's tea that gets him off. And yes, he has as much *right* to be here as anyone; that wasn't my point, so much as pointing out the contradiction between his feeling that he should be here, and his actions to get me off because I don't have that same right. The operative term is hypocrisy. jms Date: 22 Jul 1995 02:20:58 -0400 Subject: BABYLON FIVE BEEF! This was one of the problems created early on by reporters looking to create a feud. What I *said* was, "We hope to kick Star Trek's butt, by providing some real competition, and they can kick ours, and in this process of each trying to out do the other, the ultimate beneficiary is the audience." It's the same point I've made here again and again. It's amazing what can happen to a quote when you leave off part of it. jms Date: 23 Jul 1995 01:54:15 -0400 Subject: Re: JMS, JV, et al.: Writing Yes, you're correct, the alignments in B5 vary depending on whose agenda is in force at that moment; and they change with time. But in general you always need conflict, especially in TV, and to varying degrees in other works. It's the seed from which drama emanates. When I was on Murder, She Wrote, you couldn't just have Jessica go to somebody and get the information easily. There had to be some conflict involved, there had to be *work* to pry it loose. Otherwise it just falls flat. jms Date: 23 Jul 1995 01:56:34 -0400 Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Full or part ti Recurring actors can be dealt with in any number of ways; if it's a person who appears in, say, 8 episodes, we make a deal for that number in general, and have first call on them when needed; if it's a part that occurs maybe 2-3 times in a season, you can't make that deal, but in our case, I tend to know which episodes a character will appear in long before the scripts or outlines are ever written, so we make a deal for those specific dates. jms Date: 23 Jul 1995 01:56:43 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS - The ship that got S No, the ship at Sigma 957 was definitely NOT a shadow vessel. jms Date: 23 Jul 1995 11:35:13 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Episode title questi "The Geometry of Shadows" seemed to me a good metaphor for the technomages; a mix of science with something dark and mysterious. How do you work out the geometry of something that in one sense doesn't really exist, but is a projection of something else that DOES exist? That seemed to me as good a notion of technomagic as anything else. jms Date: 23 Jul 1995 11:38:21 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: Speaking in Parables I think that, by all rights, anybody should be able to "get" each episode. The only thing that varies is their degree of..er...getness. Getnosity? Whatever. The stucture is fairly straightforward: the primary story in any given episode is relatively self-contained and self-explanatory. You can see that one episode, and no others, and be able to follow it. If you CANNOT do this, then the episode has failed. The key, as I've noted from the start, is that the MORE you see, or know, the MORE you can get out of any episode. The impact of Talia's situation should be the same whether you saw the comic or not. (And, remember, the idea was that the comic would come out AFTER the remaining year 2 episodes, as a nice little frisson, not as required data.) I continue to get email and snail mail from people who are still just now finding the show...and they watch one episode, and that's fine, then they watch a couple/three more, and THEN they realize that there's an overall arc, that this is a bigger story than first appears. For those who dig out every last detail, it's hard to imagine following the shw (show) minus all this...but it's absolutely possible, and happens consistently. It's your *perception* that has altered by virtue of now knowing what more is there. If you don't know the rest, you can still enjoy pretty much everything there on its most basic level, as an action or character story. jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 00:06:25 -0400 Subject: Even Quicker Notes from jms Last reminder: next Saturday is San Diego Comic Con, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and if you're in the area, you may want to drop by for the B5 presentation scheduled for that time. A company is in the process of licensing a slick, full-color B5 magazine; looks pretty good. More as this develops. For those into this sort of thing...the literary SF review, FOUNDATION, published out of England, is doing a whole issue on media SF, with particular attention to B5. I've turned in what they say will be the ceterpiece of the issue, a 28 page, 7600 word article titled "Approaching Babylon." Although it contains a few things mentioned on the nets, about 90% of is it new stuff, background info, personal observations and the like. Finally, one week from tomorrow, we start filming on year three, with episode #301, "Matters of Honor," which also introduces a new recurring character named Marcus. jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 02:52:03 -0400 Subject: Attention JMS Re: increasing There is generally an increase in action when large groups of populations go to war.... jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 02:52:26 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS - Long Twilight Strug As noted here a while back, yes, the title derives from Kennedy's speech. jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 02:52:13 -0400 Subject: Re: JMS: Passing Through Geths Before one judges the relevance or applicability of a given title to a given episode, it might be wise if one first SEES the episode, don't you think...? jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 02:52:40 -0400 Subject: JMS - Actors? If I had an unlimited budget...Sean Connery, Peter O'Toole, Jerry Lewis, Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Sigourney Weaver. jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 03:10:57 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Re Babylon quiz I can't really get involved with the quiz on any level. jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 03:48:58 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Scripting Eventually we may sell scripts of the show; we'll see. Re: fourth acts...they're difficult to pull off on the best of days, because you've got to pull together a lot of stuff in a very short amount of time, and make everything make sense. And sometimes, in the last season or thereabouts, I kinda got the feeling that some of the X-Files eps I saw somewhat fell apart in the fourth act, where it didn't come together, or things happened too conveniently, or what it WAS was less interesting than it was SUPPOSED to be. It happens. jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 03:49:25 -0400 Subject: JMS: A comment Thanks; I've tentatively decided to keep the beard, I think it's okay. jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 03:49:14 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Patrick McGoohan on Nothing would make me happier than to someday use Patrick in an ep. Well, maybe 10 million dollars in small bills.... jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 17:27:08 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Cap. Power writing No, I pointedly had zip to do with anything concerning CP merchandising. jms Date: 24 Jul 1995 21:44:18 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Any clues to Final F Yeah, several of the elements you raise will be dealt with in the final four. jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 01:08:31 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Sinclair Focus? Delenn is not Sinclair's "romantic consort," to use the phrase you invoke. There was a closeness between them, and a relationship there, but not romantic. Several of your questions are based on assumptions that are not necessarily correct. A goodly portion of the Sinclair/Minbar thread will be dealt with this coming season. jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 11:28:11 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Dreams (again) There's a difference between what I believe dreams mean, what the Centauri believe dreams mean, and what dreams mean to the Centauri, in that universe, and what they mean to me in our universe. I suspect the truth lay somewhere between Shroedinger and Jung. jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 12:19:10 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: Episodes away from B We do plan to continue our practice of getting more ambitious each season; we saw virtually none of the homeworlds in year one; in year two we began to see more of Narn, and Centauri Prime, with some locations in the latter. We will continue to expand in each following year; in year three, we plan to show Minbar, more of Centauri Prime, the Narn homeworld, Earth and *maybe* the Vorlon homeworld, if I can figure out how to do it at this stage without totally imploding the show. jms (Oh, yeah, and Z'ha'dum....) Date: 26 Jul 1995 11:48:33 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: ReadMe! I think the Kosh stuff is *very* cool...but I don't want to over-sell it; best to see it cold. jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 11:09:36 -0400 Subject: Re: Even Quicker Notes from jm I think that's mainly because I hadn't settled on a name at the time. jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 11:37:32 -0400 Subject: Re: Why is Ford in rastb5? Well, I see that the individual who goes by the handle Rev. Commander Wayne has come into the fray, fresh from fabricating nonsense on AOL. For those not aware, they're quite a clique these three: Wayne, Ford, and a fellow named Randy Hall. Those of you with AOL access should go check out their screeds in the Anti-B5 topic on the ST Neutral Zone board, and in the ST vs. B5 area in the TV section. Basically, you've got 3 people who write dozens and dozens of messages to each other, in open forum, as though by doing so they create a sense of there being others of similar inclination. Another one for those with killfiles. Anyone with the *least* suspicion that maybe they have something open-minded to say about anything, check out the areas noted above. They're trolls pure and simple, folks. We just wasted a lot of time with them over on AOL, believe me. jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 11:48:59 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Rangers in Season 3? Yes, the Rangers will play a more important part in year three, and Sinclair's part in it will be revealed. jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 11:54:48 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: What are your inspir I didn't look to any writers or other works for inspiration for B5; I came up with the story mine own self. To "look for inspiration" always sounds deliberate to me, "Hmm...whose template can I use...?" I don't work that way. It's basically the product of all the stuff I've seen and read over the years, my interest in politics, philosophy, literature, sagas, SF, language, culture, history...it's this huge, honking stew which I more or less fitted into the B5 statin. jms (station) Date: 26 Jul 1995 19:30:46 -0400 Subject: JMS: Telepaths in prison? Expect more on this topic in third season. jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 19:43:36 -0400 Subject: Clearing the air. Good heavens, I was virtually unaware of the degree to which this had escalated. To add, quietly, my two-cents...when I found one of my posts had been edited by Jay for spoilers, I inquired of him privately and indicated that this might not be A Good Thing, since I'd been fairly careful in my phraseology. He accepted that, and apologized, and was quite gracious about it. For my money, you can't keep spoilers out of here, protected or unprotected, except by virtue of shared kindness and understanding. The whole REASON for my getting a moderated newsfeed, as I now do, was to PREVENT the need to moderate the newsgroup for content. It thus seems to me slightly unproductive that it's now done for spoilers when we took this step of moderating my feed, and inconveniencing many of the rastB5 Rangers, to avoid moderation. jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 03:51:41 -0400 Subject: JMS: imposed tv sf format? Most TV shows in the 60s were one-story episodes. The medium became a bit more complex as time went on, and people wanted to learn more about the characters and the world. We've done some episodes that didn't have a B or C story at all; it's whatever the story requires. jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 02:52:30 -0400 Subject: ATTN: jms non-B5 Ques My scriptwriting book is not currently in print, though a) it's still available in many libraries, and b) I hope to have the new edition turned in shortly. Yes, it deals with the agent/writer relationship. And currently we're not looking at specs for B5 due to the fact that the stories are all pretty much worked out. jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 03:21:19 -0400 Subject: Attn jms: Suspension of Disbel I dunno...one can make the argument, as you do, that because I don't believe in relgion, or telepathy, and have thus no axe to grind or agenda to advance, I can do so equitably...but something about that logic sounds a little too slick and self=contratulatory...so I'll just leave it at... I dunno.... jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 03:21:26 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: SD ComicCon: will "s I don't think there'll be much problem getting in the door or getting comic con tickets; but: come early, because the con has 27,000 people or5 more attending, and the lines to buy tickets can be absolutely hideous. Arrive at *minimum* an hour early (10 a.m. or better). jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 03:23:38 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: OtherSyde It was okay for a second novel; I can do better, though, I think. jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 03:23:44 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Season 3 Q's & Div. My guess is that C4 will begin carrying season 3 in the spring. jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 03:23:51 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: SPOILERS for Divided No, nothing was edited out by C4 or anyone; the footage we had to work with in editing had a *slight* matching problem. jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 03:23:57 -0400 Subject: JMS: Pronunciation of "Straczy struh-zin-ski jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 03:24:03 -0400 Subject: How do I submit story ideas? We *have* our story ideas for the show. Five years worth. Bear in mind that Star Trek is the exception to the rule of how TV series work; no other show accepts story ideas from folks out there. (I'm speaking specifically of non-established writers. Spec scripts can sometimes get through on shows, but nobody else really looks for just story ideas. On B5, all but 2 freelance scripts have been based on story ideas I've assigned out.) jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 02:47:58 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Zack Allen You'll be seeing more of Zack next season, definitely. jms Date: 28 Jul 1995 02:48:04 -0400 Subject: ATTN: JMS Psicorps badge No, the Psi Corps symbol is not based on the Cummunist hammer and sickle; it's the Greek letter psi which stands for the mind. jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 19:48:32 -0400 Subject: + Attn: JMS: Thanks! + Just doin' what I do, don't know no other way.... jms Date: 26 Jul 1995 20:03:45 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Divided Loyalties Absolutely *nothing* from prior seasons/episodes has been discarded. So if that's your concern...don't worry about it. Nothing was trimmed by C4. There was a slight matching problem in the footage, that's all. In very tense situations, some people feel compelled to somehow break the tension. Hence, that sequence. jms Date: 29 Jul 1995 03:54:30 -0400 Subject: Attn JMS: Your secret writing I'm not *sure* I wrote that episode of TRGBs; I know I story edited it, but it may have had another writer. jms Date: 30 Jul 1995 23:59:19 -0400 Subject: JMS: "Pitching a Winner" The short story I'd done in high school -- god, do you *really* want to know this? -- was a comic story about the Lady of the Lake popping up again in the present to offer Prince Charles Excalibur...and him not quite knowing what to do about it, then security was called and...well, it got quite interesting, particularly since she'd popped up in his bathtub. jms Date: 31 Jul 1995 00:04:08 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: Favorite Dictionary? For everyday use, I tend to yank out the Oxford American Dictionary, which is nearest at hand, and I find it very complete; for real, serious writing stuff, then I go to my copy of the Oxgord English Dictionary, which is sort of the Mount Olympus of dictionaries, both in complexity and sheer weight. Other books...Roget's Thesaurus, What's What, and a shelf load of books on mythology, history, politics and psychology. jms Date: 31 Jul 1995 17:36:45 -0400 Subject: Re: Attn jms: Suspension of Di Although there have been many interesting anecdotal studies on telepathy, in any laboratory model it has not yet been shown consistently and reliably to exist. So I'm holding the subject in personal abeyance until the day when somebody can walk into a research lab at MIT or elsewhere and get 10 out of 10 cards right *consitently* and *repeatedly* under strict laboratory conditions. jms (consistently, that is) Date: 31 Jul 1995 17:37:09 -0400 Subject: ATTN: JMS Will Peter David be Peter is currently busy doing not just his comics, but co-writing every episode of HIS new TV series, Space Cases, with Bill Mumy...but if there's room in there somewhere, we've discussed the possibility. jms Date: 31 Jul 1995 17:37:37 -0400 Subject: Attn:JMS Face on Mars It's actually a pak'ma'ra butt. jms Date: 31 Jul 1995 17:39:05 -0400 Subject: ATTN JMS: X-Files et al Actually, my guess is that X-Files does have a larger budget than we do, since they do a LOT of location filming, which is very expensive (als0 David Duchovney just got a bump in salary to $100,000 an episode). And yes, one may discuss "Twilight" with those across the pond who've seen it here. jms Date: 31 Jul 1995 17:43:06 -0400 Subject: Correspondence Note from jms To all those who've sent, or are planning to send, any mail to the actors, crew or others involved with Babylon 5 at the snail mail address 14431 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.... BE SURE to have somewhere on the envelope the words C/O BABYLON 5, or it may very well be returned. This is not the main studio address, which is not disseminated, and sometimes the addresses/names get kind of obscure. This will allow the mail to be routed properly. If you do not include this line, it may never reach its destination. jms