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716 lines
33 KiB
716 lines
33 KiB
Babylon 5 posts by JMS for March, 1992
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This file includes a compilation of posts on GEnie by J. Michael
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Straczynski in the Babylon 5 topic. The posts are copyright by JMS
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(and compilation copyright is by GEnie).
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************
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Topic 22 Wed Nov 20, 1991
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SOARON [Bio-Dread] at 19:41 EST
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Sub: Babylon 5
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TWCNBN has been been named! J. Michael Straczynski has managed to bring a new
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quality to television and promises to do justice to TV and SF with a new
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action-adventure SF series of his own design. (NO story suggestions, please.)
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537 new messages.
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************
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CaCategory 18, Topic 22
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Message 331 Sun Mar 01, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 00:38 EST
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As I mentioned before, there's *official* commitment, and what you can
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thus announce...and what you can't. It is my understanding that all we have
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to do is bring the movie in on budget, and we're go for the series, we'll have
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proven that we can do the kind of show that we promised. And we can. And we
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will. The show will follow, trust me.
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 341 Sun Mar 01, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 23:08 EST
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David: where exactly did this article appear? This is very troubling.
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From the beginning, B5 has always included a casino, the subtle presence
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of a brothel, customs areas, a marketplace, business areas, a nightclub/bar
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and so on. If this latest has any semblance to reality, this may have gone
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too far.
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Please indicate the source, and date. Thanks.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 352 Mon Mar 02, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 13:19 EST
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So let me see if I've got this straight
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BABYLON 5 (a name followed by a number) for four years was always a space
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station headed by an unmarried commander, at a major transit point for travel,
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with representatives from different races on board, with a shapechanger a
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pivotal story point in the movie, and with a variety of facilities including a
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bordello and a casino.
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And now...as the story emerges....
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DEEPSPACE 9 (a name followed by a number) has become a space station
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headed by an unmarried commander, at a major transit point for travel, with
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representatives from different races on board, with a shapechanger a pivotal
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story point in the movie, and with a variety of facilities including a
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bordello and a casino.
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...
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I was going to leave a much longer message, but the heart just went out
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of me. Will come back on line later.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 365 Tue Mar 03, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 01:26 EST
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All I can say at this point is that something will be done. In the
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interim, anyone who wants to drop Paramount a letter is welcome to do so.
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I think the reason that we're in this situation, as opposed, say, to a
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novel, is that we're in the same media. When it comes to TV, the Paramount
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attitude seems to be, "But...WE own space!"
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Hang fire, folks. And get the word out.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 374 Wed Mar 04, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 00:24 EST
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Comalite; yes, that scenario has indeed occured to me. And that is one
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of the things I fear most...that people will see DS9 and think that WE ripped
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off THEM. Which is why I'm glad that the folks here saw how this has
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progressed. At least now I have witnesses.
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And to the message above...yes, it's not inappropriate to think that a
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station might have a casino and a bordello. The problem, to me, is the NUMBER
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of items. They are both a) deep-space stations b) positioned at primary
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transit points beside travelers and businessmen c) presumably dead planets
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that is a d) port of call for) features representatives from various
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governments, with f) a casino and g) a bordello, which is run by h) an
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unmarried man with the rank of i) commander, and that a j) shapechanger
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figured prominently in the opening story about a station with a k) name
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followed by a number....
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Oh, well...at least my 486 Megasystem arrived today, at last.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 388 Wed Mar 04, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 21:02 EST
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Matt: if you can reassure me...do so. Otherwise, yes, there are ways to
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find stuff out, but they're more time consuming.
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And to the above note...yes, we're still slated to come up first, with
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the airdate still solid at November 17th.
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Just returned from another meeting with our EFX and production guys.
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The team is getting bigger with each meeting, as more guys are added on in
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various capacities. Today was a discussion of prosthetics, makeup, ship
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design elements and the like. The preliminary sketches are REALLY
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interesting, and have a look unlike anything I've seen before on TV. We're
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especially setting aside time to work out how the B5 station will work, and
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look, and it's undergoing some radical design changes that make what's out now
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on the tape look like nothing.
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Oh, yeah...and will post some new speific info as soon as I can; it
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'sbeen nuts these last few days.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 394 Thu Mar 05, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 01:34 EST
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At this time, there are no immediate plans for lawyers on B5. We will
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instead emphasize dealings with *civilized* life-forms.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 336 Sun Mar 01, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 03:46 EST
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Oh...glad you reminded me. I'd forgotten.
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Will post something in the next 24 hours or thereabouts.
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BTW...one amongst us here has seen much of what B5 is going to be
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about...characters, the bible, artwork, all that stuff. If he would like to
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comment -- as an objective point of view -- he's certainly more than welcome
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to do so. My thought, always, is that anything I say has to be considered
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suspect because I have a vested interest, whereas if it comes from someone
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else, it carries more weight. (I ask others always to PROVE IT when someone
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makes a claim, it behooves me to do the same.)
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jms
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tegory 18, Topic 22
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Message 153 Sun Mar 08, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 16:39 EST
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Brad: in Washington DC, B5 will be on WDCA-TV.
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And yes, pre-production has begun on "The Gathering." Production and
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prostethics designs have started, most of the high-tech equipment we'll need
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for computer design has been ordered and should be arriving this week, a
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director has been selected (though he's not yet locked down contractually, so
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I can't announce who at this time), some production assistants have been
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hired, others have been put on line...so the actual, physical process has
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indeed begun.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 164 Mon Mar 09, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 03:41 EST
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Will investigate the Arkansas situation.
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And thanks re: the B5 video via Newtek. And yes, it's going to be a LOT
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more impressive. Part of this comes from dealing with the technical and
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scientific/extrapolational questions of such a station. How would it really
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*work*? If you want a situation in which you have windows at eye level as
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well as under your feet (required by centrifugal force), how would you do it?
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How would ships dock? How do you divide up sectors and arrange for various
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rotation speeds (and thus gravities) without the whole thing tearing itself
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apart at the seams?
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By hewing closer to the realities of such questions, I think we get a
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very *authentic* looking show.
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The computer EFX station will be arriving within the week, and it's
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REALLY something. Newtek is working with us, and with our designer Ron
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Thornton, to give us some amazing stuff, rewriting codes and coming up with
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new ways to do things. Though it will, alas, come too late for the bulk of
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the EFX we're doing, apparently there's one additional component being
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developed now that would, when plugged into our new station, give us the
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capacity of a Cray computer times 1.2. We might miss that for the movie, but
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it'll definitely be available for the series. As it is now, what we have now
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will allow us to do REAL-TIME rendering...and those out there who understand
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what that means will grasp how amazing that will be on a movie like this.
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On the plus side of Another Controversy, it's my understanding, from my
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few sources, that DS9 and B5 -- though essentially the same in terms of format
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-- will be vastly different in terms of approach and storytelling. DS9 will
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be, well, like TNG, just in a different environment, in terms of tone and
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attitude and storytelling. Which will make B5 *very* different by comparison.
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I do take some comfort in that.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 171 Tue Mar 10, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 00:44 EST
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Hmmm...y'know, that ain't a bad idea...arrange for a test screening and
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stack the deck with SF fans, especially from here...hmmmmmmmmmm....
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 180 Tue Mar 10, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 18:15 EST
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Could be....
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Let us remember that the Medusa is a *legend*, the Minotaur is a
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legend...legends are our way of dealing with things we don't fully understand.
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Which ain't to say it ISN'T disinformation, or ISN'T in some way grounded in
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some incident or other, only that all things are both possible and logical.
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More meetings today at Warners re: B5. Tremendous enthusiasm for the
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script. Some money will begin flowing into the production budget from Warners
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next week, and we figure on having the director locked down the first part of
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the week. Some discussion about whether or not we begin with a teaser...in a
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way, a cold opening that grabs you up from the start, THEN later segues into
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the opening titles ain't a bad idea.
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We're starting to get busy on this...memos flying around, lots of people
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being hired and coming aboard, discussions about how many grips and sound guys
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and wardrobe people and honey wagons we'll need...a show like this just sort
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of sits around for a long time while everyone makes up his mind what to
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do...and then when it begins grinding to life it REALLY starts to pick up
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speed fast.
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One of our greatest concerns right now is the *look* of the show, now
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that the script is finished. We want something very unique, not quite film
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noire but certainly a second cousin...texture, light against shadow...and the
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whole concept of what the future will look like.
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Yikes.
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So what am I doing HERE? I should be working!
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 197 Tue Mar 10, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 23:42 EST
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Yeah, there's kind of a good break-point about 6-7 pages into the script
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that can be sliced off and used as a teaser, ending as it does with a bit of
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an action scene.
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Re: weapons, we're sticking with the blaster/laser style gun, rather than
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a projectile weapon, for several reasons: 1) a projectile weapon is MUCH
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messier, and 2) you can set the intensity on a beam-style weapon so that it
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can cut through flesh but not the metal of the hull...whereas a projectile
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fired in a closed, metallic space that MISSES will richochet all over the
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damned place.
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The key, then, becomes to do the beam effect DIFFERENTLY. And we seem to
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have a cool way of doing that. I've discussed it with the EFX people, and
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they seem to think it's do-able. What I need now is some more tech info from
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a couple of folks I know who are into the more scientific stuff, one of whom
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is a physicist, to find out, if there WERE such things, how would they act?
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The answers I've gotten thus far are very interesting, and open up all kinds
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of possibilities.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 198 Tue Mar 10, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 23:44 EST
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Oops, cross-posted with KL...yes, I plan on doing a B5 presentation at
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ComicCon, which with luck will include some rough footage. In theory, I can
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bring some test or rough footage to any convention I attend subsequent to
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about August/September.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 203 Wed Mar 11, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 02:56 EST
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There will definitely be varying degrees of technology, which is why we
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have Tech-Runners ferrying embargoed or prohibited technology from one race to
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another. Some go to great lengths to CONCEAL their level of technology...only
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to spring it on the "target" at the right moment.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 235 Fri Mar 13, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 13:23 EST
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Regarding language...yes, there will be some completely alien languages
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spoken. The generally used names -- Vorlons, Minbari -- are the nearest Human
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equivilants in some cases, or have other backgrounds.
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In *general*, the resident language is English, or Terran, since this
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station is, after all, nominally run by the Terrans. And on average, you take
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a little time to learn the language, just as you would if you knew you were
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going to be visiting France for an extended period. Hence, the ambassadors
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are more or less fluent. It's all downhill from there. You have the alien
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equivilant of the Ugly American, who doesn't bother to learn the language, or
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the customs, and doesn't much care. (And which can thus lead to some dicey
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situations.)
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(Another reason behind this, btw, was the realization that one language
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generally arises as the language of commerce. Every commercial airline in the
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world, whenever it approaches a control tower, wherever that tower may be in
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the world, generally opens communications in English, just as once in our past
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Latin was considered a "generic" language in commerce.)
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In any event...yes, there will be a multiplicity of tongues, in varying
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situations and to varying degrees, depending on who's involved. Good
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thoughts on the beam weapons, btw. Fairly close to what we have in mind.
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(Btw...and I hate to repeat this from my other topic, but I've been asked to
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do so...my last episode of MURDER, SHE WROTE for this season airs this Sunday
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night. Just FYI.)
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 253 Sun Mar 15, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 21:30 EST
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Thanks. I kinda had fun with that M,SW episode, and trying to get the
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flavor and language of the Irish dialect was both challenging and a great deal
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of fun. (It looks like I'll be writing a follow-up Irish episode for next
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year.)
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And re: virtual reality/cyberspace...I was the first to commission a
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virtual reality/cyberspace episode for television *ever*, on POWER, and be
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assured I'll eventually get into that on B5 as well.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 256 Mon Mar 16, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 00:22 EST
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Yeah...it was a decent show, all things considered. (Just curious, how
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many tapes did you find? To the best of my knowledge, only six were
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commercially released...about 1/3rd or 1/2 of the total of 24 episodes.)
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As for a being that is an actual *shapechanger*...screw it, let the Other
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Guys have him/it. Who says I'm not reasonable?
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 259 Mon Mar 16, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 18:02 EST
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Okay, here's an updated station list. The only one we've signed that I
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don't have in front of me is Pittsburgh. There are still more to come beyond
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that. Meanwhile, here's the latest:
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NEW YORK -- WWOR LOS ANGELES -- KCOP CHICAGO -- WPWR PHILADELPHIA -- WPHL
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BOSTON -- WSBK SAN FRANCISCO -- KBHK WASHINGTON DC -- WDCA DALLAS -- KTXA
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DETROIT -- WXON HOUSTON -- KTXH ATLANTA -- WATL CLEVELAND -- WUAB SEATTLE --
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KSTW TAMPA -- WTOG MINNEAPOLIS -- KMSP MIAMI -- WDZL ST. LOUIS -- KPLR
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SACRAMENTO -- KRBK PHOENIX -- KUTP DENVER -- KDVR BALTIMORE -- WNUV HARTFORD --
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WTXX ORLANDO -- WOFL SAN DIEGO -- XETV INDIANAPOLIS -- WTTV PORTLAND, OR --
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KPTV MILWAUKEE -- WVTV CINCINNATI -- WSTR KANSAS CITY -- KSMO RALEIGH -- WLFL
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GRN-SPR-ASH -- WHNS NORFOLK -- WGNT SAN ANTONIO -- KABB OKLAHOMA CITY -- KOOB
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HARRISBURG -- WPMT W. PALM BEACH -- WTVX SYRACUSE -- WSYT ROANOKE -- WJPR DES
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MOINES -- KDSM PORTLAND, ME -- WPXT SPOKANE -- KAYU BATON ROUGE -- WGMB WACO --
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KWKT SANTA BARBARA -- KADY MONTEREY -- KCBA AUGUSTA -- WFXG LAFAYETTE, LA --
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KADN COLUMBUS, GA -- WXTX YAKIMA -- KCY ODESSA -- KPEJ
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Phew...all those letters, I think I got them right.
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More info as it becomes available.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 265 Mon Mar 16, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 23:50 EST
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Well, I think Herman Melville might have a word or two to say on his work
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being quoted being a STAR TREK riff...he predates them by just a tad.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 268 Tue Mar 17, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 15:08 EST
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Well, all I can really suggest, if your area isn't covered, is to write
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to the programming department at your local *non-network* TV station(s).
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Those are the ones who are either being, or have been approached by Warners.
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Suggest that they contact Warners, or indicate your interest in seeing the
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program, based on what you've heard.
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And if, by the way, as an aside, you liked the look of THE EQUALIZER,
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that kind of texture...the director we think we've settled on was largely
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involved in that look, and did considerable directing work on that series, as
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well as others...nice shadows, textures, profiles...as well as work on many
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features.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 272 Tue Mar 17, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 23:25 EST
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Actually, one of the things we're going to be playing with, once we get
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to series, is the idea of weather. If you're in a station like this, which is
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basically an enclosed, self-contained world, you're going to want some
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variations in weather, particularly in the inner section. So there are plans
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for a Bio-Environmental Engineer type whose job it is to vary the weather a
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little here and there, and to look out for issues of resource conservation and
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the like.
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And there will be some aspects of that "smoky" photography at time...the
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main thing, as the director put it, is that so many SF shows "light and shoot
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the walls; what we want to do is light and shoot the ACTORS."
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With the director taken care of, we're now setting up our wardrobe
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person, casting director, and line producer. Hope to have those nailed down
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in the next week or so. Should also be getting the revised specs on the New
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And Improved B5, and some of the ships we'll be seeing, in the next few days.
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Our EFX guy, Ron Thornton, is cooking up some strictly wonderful and strange
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stuff, chuckling over the guys who were so blown out over what was on the
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original NewTek tape..."If THAT blew their brains out," he said, "wait until
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they see *this*!"
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 283 Wed Mar 18, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 23:51 EST
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That's a good idea, and one that's been discussed. Look for an RTC
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somewhat closer to airdate than the present, to make best use of it. So
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figure around September-ish....
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 22
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Message 288 Thu Mar 19, 1992
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STRACZYNSKI at 03:04 EST
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Fox network stations can carry it because it's on a Tuesday night for
|
|
starters, when Fox isn't sending out a network lineup.
|
|
|
|
In perhaps the longest delayed-reaction in a while...if you have cable,
|
|
and get WOR, and none of your stations locally carry B5, you can pick it up
|
|
off WOR. It's only when WOR brings the show into a local area where another
|
|
station carries it that it gets blacked out. So you can either lobby your
|
|
local stations to carry it, or be sure that your cable operator carries WOR.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 290 Thu Mar 19, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI at 16:17 EST
|
|
|
|
Tuesday is the night we're lock into at this stage, which is why November
|
|
17th (a Tuesday) was chosen. Now, it's *possible* that the series might end
|
|
up on a different night, should the consortium decide to add another night to
|
|
the schedule, but that's still *very* much up in the air.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 296 Fri Mar 20, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI at 02:55 EST
|
|
|
|
Not officially, Jay. Not yet. I'll announce as soon as I can, which
|
|
can't be until after papers are signed.
|
|
|
|
Lawrence: yes, it *is* a substantial burden. Which is why there will be
|
|
a slight shift in responsibilities once the series gets going. The screenplay
|
|
has a line from Sinclair indicating that there *was* an Earth ambassador on
|
|
the station, but the ambassador fell ill and had to return home, during which
|
|
time Sinclair is nominally filling that role.
|
|
|
|
So now he's wearing two hats, as it were, and Laurel is wearing one.
|
|
When the series gets going, he will be wearing one hat, and she will be
|
|
wearing one hat...and a lot of SF fans are going to get something they've been
|
|
asking for for a long, long, long time.
|
|
|
|
At least, I *think* that's what I'm going to do...though I'm still
|
|
working out some of the permutations...it's a fairly recent decision, and I
|
|
have to look over the 5-year storyline to make sure it doesn't compromise
|
|
anything...if it does, then I'll have to find another solution.
|
|
|
|
Was this at ALL helpful?
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 310 Sun Mar 22, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI at 17:23 EST
|
|
|
|
English became the dominant EA language because the EA started out and
|
|
has always been pretty much an extension of the main Terran government and its
|
|
respective colonies. English is already pretty much the prime language of
|
|
commerce and economy and diplomacy, and this is pretty much an extension of
|
|
that thought.
|
|
|
|
Right now, in this country, anyone from any ethnic group has to pretty
|
|
much know two languages...the language of his or her ethnic background
|
|
(assuming that it is different from English) and the language of the dominant
|
|
culture, necessary to find work. (As a sidebar to this, not long ago here in
|
|
L.A. there was a Latino study group that looked into this whole question,
|
|
because there are two very different sides, such as those who support the idea
|
|
of Black English, that Latinos shouldn't HAVE to learn English. The results
|
|
of the report were pretty straightforward: if you never intend to leave the
|
|
Barrio, then no, you don't have to learn standard English. If you do intend
|
|
to go beyond the Barrio, then you do have to learn the language of the
|
|
economy. Which is hardly anything new, it is traditional in Jewish culture
|
|
that you pretty much have to know not one, or two, but three
|
|
languages...Hebrew, Yiddish, and the dominant economic language of the culture
|
|
you live in. In my family, the situation was much the same; around some
|
|
people you spoke Polish, around the house you spoke White Russian, and to do
|
|
business, you spoke English.)
|
|
|
|
As the world becomes smaller, I think that this situation will apply more
|
|
and more to other cultures. Already, most other countries and cultures
|
|
require courses in English (which is why it's always easier to find someone
|
|
in, say, Sweden or Japan or Germany who speaks English than it is to find
|
|
someone here who speaks Japanese or Swedish or German, a sad commentary on our
|
|
own poor emphasis on learning foreign languages.) I think that what will
|
|
happen over time is that everyone will be more or less multilingual or bi-
|
|
lingual...you'll speak the language of the country you were born in, or live
|
|
in, and then the language of world economy when traveling outside your
|
|
country. I think that language will be English for the reasons given. Also,
|
|
it's more convenient for our show than havaing everyone speaking Dutch. I
|
|
think it would have an adverse effect on our ratings. (That's a joke, I say,
|
|
a joke, son.)
|
|
|
|
As for the alternate languages...yes, there will be a range of sounds and
|
|
clicks and sort-of words. Not so much in the movie, but in the series.
|
|
As each new race is introduced -- and there are basically 20 that we'll be
|
|
building for the first season -- I'll decide on a case-by-case basis what they
|
|
should sound like, and begin taking the language used in each case and saving
|
|
it to a file for that race. In this way, I'll gradually develop a sort of
|
|
dictionary for each species. As for subtitles...yes, in some cases it'll be
|
|
subtitled...but I think that there are times when you don't want to do that,
|
|
and rather let the emotions behind the language carry it, or in cases when the
|
|
action is fairly obvious (such as asking a bartender for a drink).
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 323 Mon Mar 23, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:39 EST
|
|
|
|
Ah, I mistook your Roanoke comment for something else, to do with
|
|
speculation about B4...guess that means I'll have to retract my comment that
|
|
you were closer to the truth than you knew...(sly smile).
|
|
|
|
BTW...just in case anyone's interested...there's a piece in the Arizona
|
|
Speculative Fiction Society's publication, CONNOTATIONS, about B5, courtesy of
|
|
Lee Whiteside that talks about B5, drawing from notes here. Also, if you get
|
|
(or your library gets) Broadcasting News Magazine, there was a two-page color
|
|
ad from Warners to announce the four projects of the new consortium, which
|
|
includes B5. (I believe that was the February 24th issue.) It bills all four
|
|
as Commencing Production. There are a few more articles due out soon, will
|
|
try to advise all of them closer to publication.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 326 Tue Mar 24, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:00 EST
|
|
|
|
Nope, just busy with production details. More meetings scheduled, and
|
|
being scheduled for this week...sound, casting, EFX and the like.
|
|
|
|
I think we've got the weapons question fully licked; and the solution is
|
|
neither one, nor the other, but *both* (and I'll let you chew on that one for
|
|
a while).
|
|
|
|
As we get closer to rolling film, I'll be skewing my "reports" here
|
|
slightly more toward production information and away from creative stuff, for
|
|
a variety of reasons, though from time to time we'll get into some of that.
|
|
At the moment, our main concern is getting the new, revised B5 onto film and
|
|
out of the computer. We should have the first segments out and onto film in
|
|
the next 10 days or so. (For those who are interested, there's as much
|
|
"surface" in the first one-fifth of the station as there was in the original
|
|
total B5 shown on the earlier demo. That will literally enable us to get
|
|
within 100 feet of the thing with perfect clarity.)
|
|
|
|
More as I can release it.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 328 Tue Mar 24, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:25 EST
|
|
|
|
...yes? And? What does it say? I mean, HONestly....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 337 Fri Mar 27, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:11 EST
|
|
|
|
Y'all might want to check out Message 602 in my topic (Cat 11, Topic 25)
|
|
for a preliminary schedule of some of the conventions that I'll be hitting
|
|
over the spring/summer. Will add more as they're confirmed.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 338 Sun Mar 29, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:54 EST
|
|
|
|
My apologies for the long silence here...you hit a stage in the
|
|
preproduction process where, at various points, you fall off the face of the
|
|
earth...a lot is happening awfully fast, and the press of all that tends to
|
|
wipe out everything else. (M,SW has also kept me busier than usual, finishing
|
|
off one outline, and getting the premises approved for two more...one of which
|
|
is going to be just a *knockout* in the ratings, it's something so nifty that
|
|
I can't even talk about it just now. If you thought the Psycho house
|
|
crossover was promotable, wait till you see what is coming down the pike this
|
|
time!)
|
|
|
|
I should be able to see the new, revised B5 rendering on screen this
|
|
coming week, probably the first part of the week. Will also be finalizing
|
|
certain aspects of the revised budget, and meeting some of the new members of
|
|
the production crew that've been added, including the director of photography,
|
|
camera operator, line producer and the like.
|
|
|
|
Have decided to bite the bullet and commission a limited number of B5 t-
|
|
shirts that'll be given out at conventions where I'm appearing. I figure
|
|
it'll be a fairly small order, maybe 500 or so to start with, and see where
|
|
that takes me. It'll probably end up with the B5 logo on the front (either
|
|
small, over the left breast, or full-size in front) with the possible addition
|
|
of ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES on the back. Those of you who've seen the logo, how
|
|
does silver on a black T sound? The other choice would be black on a grey T
|
|
shirt. (I *hate* white T's and just won't wear them, let alone inflict them
|
|
on others.)
|
|
|
|
At this point, there won't be enough (or time or resources) to mail out a
|
|
bunch at this time...but I give you my word that when we have a large order
|
|
made up, the Loyal And Faithful Few here will be first to hear about them.
|
|
(Hmm...just had a funny idea...maybe when the rest are made up from the big
|
|
order, I could pay to have an altered set made up for the GEnie-ites who
|
|
supported it...with everything else on the shirt the same, except for the
|
|
words "I Was There At The Beginning" added in front or back...hmmm...I'll have
|
|
to play with that notion for a while.)
|
|
|
|
Anyway, as stated, try not to take silence as any indication of lack of
|
|
movement. As a rule, the more I can write here, the more time I have, meaning
|
|
that the faster things are happening, and the more that's going on, the more
|
|
I'll tend to fall silent here unless provoked by a message of my own
|
|
conscience. One tends to get very tunnel-visioned about these things....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 350 Sun Mar 29, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:02 EST
|
|
|
|
Okay, black and silver it is. Will go for the full-size logo in front,
|
|
in silver, and red slogan in back (I hadn't thought about the use of
|
|
red...cool idea). Thanks for the input.
|
|
|
|
BTW...for those interested, there's a decent-sized notice about B5 in the
|
|
current issue (#163) of STARBURST magazine, on page 7. It gives some of the
|
|
background stuff as well as some good words about how it'll do.
|
|
|
|
Onward.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 22
|
|
Message 360 Sun Mar 29, 1992
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:40 EST
|
|
|
|
Actually, on the M,SW subject, I checked with some computer folks, and
|
|
the scenario as presented would work. 1) A number of people do leave their
|
|
computers on 24 hours a day, partly because the biggest problem with computers
|
|
is blowing a power source due to lots of turning on/off, and partly because
|
|
more and more computers are coming with internal fax cards, and thus they're
|
|
leaving them on to catch late-night or early morning faxes. I imagine that
|
|
Jessica Fletcher would go for about the same modem setup I just bought, a
|
|
14,400 v32 bis that could exchange a LOT of information quickly. In addition,
|
|
if the program slipped into her computer operates like my Windows or Norton
|
|
backup, it can be set to send out ONLY the newly-created or edited files...so
|
|
the whole process could take place in about 5-10 minutes.
|
|
|
|
So NYAH!
|
|
|
|
As for B5 casting...we'll be starting that in a few weeks, probably
|
|
around the 3rd week of April or 1st week of May, depending. So figure on some
|
|
sort of announcement here around middle or late May.
|
|
|
|
jms
|