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The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
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lurkers-guide/ftp/GEnie/jms93-07

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Babylon 5 posts by JMS for July and August, 1993
This file includes a compilation of posts on GEnie by J. Michael
Straczynski in the Babylon 5 category. The posts are copyright by JMS
(and compilation copyright is by GEnie).
************
Topic 1 Mon Oct 26, 1992
SF-MARSHALL [Dave ] at 18:50 EST
Sub: Babylon 5
Welcome to the Babylon 5 category! As always, offering or requesting copies
of copyrighted material, whether it's the B5 Newsletter, photos, or the actual
movie/episodes violates copyright law and SFRT policy.
288 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 189 Thu Jul 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:12 EDT
Tim: no one's said a word about it to us, and I don't think it'll really
have an effect on us, one way or another.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 211 Sun Jul 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:57 EDT
Actually, my plan is to show a *lot* of what's happening back on Earth,
because that will tie into what happens on B5. Social changes, politics,
religion, sports...again, this relates to one of the themes of B5 from my
point of view, the continuance of our species,the thread that connects our
past, our present and our future. And again, that's something that'll become
fairly evisode on.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 220 Mon Jul 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:15 EDT
Prof Mark...you may want to go lie down with a cool, moist towel across
your forehead until this passes....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 225 Tue Jul 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:20 EDT
Gerry: I think GEnie must've eaten part of my message. I suspect it was,
"fairly evident from episode one on."
Either that or I've started speaking in tongues again....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 229 Wed Jul 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:49 EDT
Perianne: later this summer. That's all I can say for the moment.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 244 Sun Jul 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:43 EDT
You really have to do whatever's right by the story. Some adult themes
have to be handled in an adult fashion. There are some very adult themes in
B5. Some you may like, some you may not. I don't think we'll be able to go
in for nudity or the like because I don't think the stations would permit it.
If they did...I still don't know if I'd use it or not, because it would really
depend on the story.
Pandering, I think, is when you put it in regardless of whether or not it
is actually *important* to the story.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 283 Mon Aug 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:04 EDT
Insofar as I know, no, we're not using them.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 287 Fri Aug 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:06 EDT
No, we'll have bumpers, but they'll just be the series/station logo.
jms
(What you're thinking of is a series recap at the top of show, which we
won't be doing, no, because we're not a *continuous* story in quite the same
way.)
------------
************
Topic 2 Wed Nov 20, 1991
SOARON [Pifgdog!] at 19:41 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 -- The Series!!
On May 28th, 1993, it became official -- "Babylon 5" will be a series. There
will be 22 episodes, to air on Wednesdays at 8pm, starting January of 1994.
622 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 15 Thu Jul 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:52 EDT
Catherine Adair ended up with another gig, so we now have Ann Bruice, who
was tied in our decision for a costumer for the pilot, but in that case she
was busy on another project. Now she's available, and she is doing *terrific*
work. Just amazing stuff...her work on the Grey Council is particularly nice.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 17 Thu Jul 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:13 EDT
Probably late summer. We have an awful lot of time before airdate, so
there's really no rush to get the cameras running, which is nice.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 26 Sat Jul 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:42 EDT
You still have to create some kind of wardrobe, you can't just have folks
show up in levi's and kill the color.
As for Doug, he's my equal partner in the project. Doug's been in the
business as long as there's *been* a business, once serving as head of MGM.
He was my producer on POWER, and he and I made a deal: he will never give me a
creative note on that series. And he kept that promise. If it came in long,
or short, or there was an effect we couldn't do, that was one thing, but
creatively, he left me alone. "I'm not a writer, that's your job," he said.
There are very few people in this town who'll deal straight with you, and
Doug's one of them. So when I created B5, of all the choices available about
who to partner up with, Doug was on top of the list. He handles most of the
business stuff, and I handle the creative stuff. (Which isn't exactly true in
some ways; I have to get into some of the business, and he has to get into
some of the creative, but those are are general areas of expertise.)
His name generally appears in books about the film business, and in one
of these books, it explains that when he was at MGM, his nickname was the
Rattlesnake...hence, Rattlesnake Productions.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 27 Mon Jul 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:25 EDT
In posting this info elsewhere, it occured to me that I didn't remember
if I'd mentioned it here or not. So in case I didn't...I'm working it so that
real-time comes close to paralleling story-time in the series. The events of
the series will pick up approximately six months after the events of the
pilot. We'll have crossed into another year, so the first "year" in which the
series takes place is 2258, year two of the series (if we get that far) would
be 2259, and so on.
"And the Sky Full of Stars" is, I think, going to be our biggest episode
of the first season, followed close behind by "Midnight on the Firing Line."
It's a very complex script, and it has a LOT of effects in it. It's also our
most intense episode to date, since it deals with the Battle of the Line and
some of its after-effects. Ron figures that this one episode will have more
CGI than the entire 2 hour movie.
I've also seen some new storyboards for some of our action and CGI
sequences, and we're carrying through on the image of this place being BIG.
(Our main storyboarder was Lucas' main storyboarder for some time.) Some of
the scenes are just breathtaking. I keep looking at them and asking, "Are you
SURE we can do this?" and they tell me yes. The scope of some of this stuff
is just incredible.
And not only that, but I got my official B5 business cards in the other
day, which makes it all very real..."Executive Producer" and all that
jazz...though I can't help but think of Steve Martin calling out, "The new
phone books are here! The new phone books are here!"
It's all starting to get very exciting...and very real.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 33 Mon Jul 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:47 EDT
Alan: sure, go ahead.
I actually don't *have* a .gif of the SW logo. I must remember to put
that on my list of things to do....
As for "season finale cliffhangers," that depends on how you define that.
If you mean a cliffhanger that, once resolved at the start of the next season,
ends up having been more or less meaningless...no, we won't be doing that.
But the end of each planned season will make a left turn designed to bring the
show in new directions that will have long-erm (or long-term) effects on all
of our characters.
Whether it's a chapter ending in a book, or an act break in a TV series,
you build to a moment of change and transition, upping the stakes at each
turn. That's how our season-enders are constructed.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 39 Tue Jul 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:22 EDT
Hope to have more shortly. Pat Tallman will, of course, be returning.
And so far, stations; I imagine it'll be pretty much the same bunch, but
that's only me speaking.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 45 Wed Jul 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:57 EDT
I'll be able to say more about casting over this coming weekend.
The pilot movie should be rerun in, I think, November.
A TV Guide blurb for Episode One would be...telling too much at this
early stage of the game. This, again, is my dilemma...I want to keep the
dialogue going, but some things we just have to sit on for the time being.
Not until airdate, certainly; but not this quickly. Basically, as time goes
on, I will be able to talk more as we go, because then we'll be in a position
where no one else can jump on the bandwagon.
All I can say about episode one is to say that it has Narn warships, lots
of action, some surprising character revelations, several people who want to
kill each other, a foretelling of things yet to happen, and the introduction
of some new characters.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 47 Wed Jul 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:57 EDT
I never said that the Narn warships were menacing Babylon 5.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 52 Wed Jul 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:47 EDT
Each new season will advance one year in story time, to parallel real
time, yes.
We're getting a terrific list of guest stars who want to do the show,
including many well known to SF viewers. I should be able to pass along some
of these names fairly soon, as we decide where and when to use them.
Now that we've definitely decided that Delenn is female, we're in the
process of designing new costumes for her, some very exotic, but always in the
dignified Minbari style. Her aide, Lennier, will have a very monk like look,
very subdued.
We're also modifying the prosthetics a bit. Again, because Delenn is
definitely female, we can use a little less in the way of heavy overlays on
the head and face to convey ile keeping the desired androgynous look. This
lets us get the same basic image, but make a lighter and more easily applied
mask that will allow Mira greater degrees of comfort and free her up to act
without being hampered in any way. We're also doing some minor modifications
to G'Kar's prosthetic, making the chin less squared, the mouth a little
broader, and the whole thing again easier to put on and take off. It will
also look far more realistic; parts of it LOOKED like a prosthetic when you
got up close.
It's one thing to throw heavy prosthetics on an actor who's only going to
wear it for the 4 weeks required for the pilot. But to wear something day in
and day out for 22 episodes...you have to think about that. Our own concern
was making it look even *better* for both of them, and we've found a way to do
that.
Same with Londo. We're going to re-create an entire new hairpiece that
will lay flatter and look better from the back, which I felt was one of its
drawbacks. Also, we don't want to have Peter shave his head for the whole
series, as he did for the pilot, so we're coming up with a longer prosthetic
that'll come all the way over the top of the head to the eyebrows, where we'll
blend it in unnoticeably. This will make Peter's life just that much easier.
As mentioned before, we learned an awful lot about how to do this show
because of the po implement what we learned to make every aspect, from
wardrobe to prosthetics to CGI right across the board, better than before.
The usual road in SF-TV is that you dump all your quality into the pilot, and
then the series is a bit less spiffy than the pilot, but by then you've got
your audience. Here we want the series to be *substantially* and noticeably
BETTER than the pilot, and so far I think we're doing it.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 62 Thu Jul 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:29 EDT
Rob: it makes a difference.
We're not changing Londo's hair to make it anything less than what it is.
It'll still be as outrageous as it was in the pilot. What I was referring to
specifically was the way it bunched up at the back of the head, just above the
nape of the neck. What they had done was take a conventional wig and shove
the hair up and lock it into place; in this case, we're stringing a new,
custom wig that will gently come up in the back, as if growing naturally in
that direction. The top part will be the same, it's only a matter of cleaning
up the back, which simply didn't work aesthetically.
Re: episode one...no, episode one is episode one, the pilot was the
pilot. You have to have a clear vernacular. An episode is one hour; the
pilot was a movie. If we'd gone directly into series at that time, then yes,
it would've counted. But since we've had to re-jig some things to accommodate
the transition across time, we're making that distinction.
I don't know how B5 will affect Pat's appearances on DS9/TNG, though I
suspect that that may come to an end. We don't have a problem about it, but I
can't speak for Paramount.
We're making a pretty fair assortment of background Narns, Centauri and
Minbari, in addition to picking a number of other aliens and making multiples
of those. And we're being careful to give them definitely different looks and
personalities. We're finding a lot of room for variation and individuality.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 68 Sat Jul 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:14 EDT
Correct. Just as you change your watch to match up with wherever you're
going, in different time zones, when you come to B5 you operate on Earth Mean
Time.
By the way, David Gerrold has turned in a lean, mean little story that
does have a kid in it, though in a subdued sort of fashion. This is a very,
very *tough* story, very much unlike anything David's done before, and I think
it'll be terrific.
Marc Scott Zicree has also turned in a story in which Garibaldi's past
catches up to him...with some fairly disasterous consequences that will linger
long after the episode is finished.
D.C. Fontana's script should be in on Monday.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 71 Sat Jul 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:30 EDT
I have a simple policy: I don't ask Pat anything about her work over on
other shows. I don't think it's correct to put her in that position, and she
doesn't volunteer anything...which is as it should be.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 81 Tue Jul 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:43 EDT
Corgi: very doubtful.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 82 Tue Jul 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:48 EDT
Here's something with which to occupy your time for a bit, while I'm
between things we can announce...one thing we're considering is bringing in
actors known to the SF genre elsewhere, or people known to SF who may not
necessarily be actors to do cameos, as opposed to featured roles. An example
of the former (these are just my thoughts we have NOT contacted anyone, these
are examples *only*) would be someone like Mark Hammil, an example of the
latter would be Arthur Clarke. If you had a wish list, of just one or two
people (to keep it from becoming a flood) you'd like to see in B5, what would
they be?
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 142 Fri Jul 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:37 EDT
To explain, when we were discussing this, it was only intended as an
occasional thing to do, and not as a gimmick. Our feeling is that we can get
any number of good, solid actors for our shows. We will always cast the best
person suited for the job. In among these, the thought occured that there are
a few performers (to stick with that for the moment) who are solid actors, not
necessarily known for one role, who have worked in SF who people might like to
see used in a different kind of role.
The worst thing in this town is a little thing called "stereotyping."
It's the reason people like Shatner and Nimoy and Koenig and others couldn't
get work after Trek...everybody said, "Oh, he's too well known as the guy with
the ears," and here's an actor who has given to the genre, who has helped
create a marvelous show...and he can't get work. This happens a lot more than
you might think. And it seems to me that we kind of owe an obligation to
these people, who were actors long before,and long after, they played X on Y
series.
We would never have an actor come onto B5 and do a character from another
show; or even anything close to it. Our universe is our universe, period.
But to say, "No, you shouldn't use that actor because he was X character in Y
series," is, to my mind...cruel. If he created a great performance, it means
he's a quality actor. So let's find the one or two who fans of the genre
would like to see again, in a very different kind of role -- since we can't do
a lot of this -- and give them a chance to show what they can do in a very
different sort of role.
If B5 has a debt to fans of the genre, it also has a debt to those who
came before. And I will not allow it to tamper with the B5 universe, I will
not let it become a gimmick...but if I can use this show to repay, just a
little, that debt, then I'm happy to do so. It seems to me a simple
courtesy.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 144 Fri Jul 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:57 EDT
So let me see if I understand you: if an actor works in a series, and
creates a character, then he should never be used again because it would
destroy the illusion of the story? Actors build up their skills by doing lots
of work over time. An actor is a regular in one series one year in dramatic
TV series...a year or two later appears as a regular in another dramatic
series...William Conrad (for a bad example) is first Cannon, then something
else, then the Fatman...and that's okay. So why is it not okay in SF? Why
this feeling that an actor who's worked in one SF series should never appear
in another? Why don't the rules that the rest of the world applis to dramatic
series be somehow invalid for SF?
I sometimes think that this perception stems from the "the actor IS that
character" point of view. And as for the MST3K thing, that was a thought
about seeing the 'bots, which was only half-serious...and those are very
specific to their show. Which is why we're not doing it.
I'll confess I'm really astonished by this. Viewers of non-SF dramatic
series seem to have no problem accepting an actor playing another character,
as a regular, recurring or guest character in another series in the same
genre...why is this a problem for some SF viewers?
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 156 Fri Jul 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:24 EDT
Cameos was what I was NOT referring to. For instance...with Walter, who
will be playing a character named Knight One in "And the Sky Full of Stars,"
he's there for the whole episode, and the character is very different from
what we've ever seen before...very dark. And very strong.
jms*
(*who did not do a cameo in the pilot, and definitely won't do any in the
series; this sort of thing should be left to professionals.)
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 160 Sat Jul 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:20 EDT
A bit of new info....
Not long ago, we decided to change prosthetics companies, not for any
problem with the first company, they did terrific work, but because we wanted
to go for more than they were really set up to handle. We went over to
another group that has a long history of great prosthetics, and have been
working with them in designing stuff. And for those of you who have been
asking for more than funny foreheads...you're going to get it bigtime. They
are absolutely pushing the envelope in terms of the size, the scale, and the
complexity of prosthetics.
Also the number involved. We're making anywhere from 5-8 background and
guest Minbari, and equal numbers of Narns and Centauri, plus on top of THAT,
multiples of other alien groups. So from now on, you won't just see singles
of any race, you'll see multiples. Each different.
And I saw a little something today that'll scare the hell out of you.
Our prosthetics people have absolutely outdone themselves. No one has ever
done anything on the scale they're doing, not for television.
We've got one of George Lucas' favorite storyboarders lined up to do our
EFX storyboards, and a few more conceptual artists to draft some of our more
alien technologies.
This show is going to have an *amazing* look to it....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 168 Sat Jul 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:17 EDT
I picked this up in mail off Internet from David Navas, but got bumped
and don't know how to respond via GEnie to Internet...so I thought I'd post
this here, since it may be of general interest, figuring that someone could re-
post it there.
The questions concerned B5 and the political situation on Earth at this
time. Back home, there is an Earth Senate, which is made up of elected
representatives from each nation-state; the larger and more powerful the
nation, the more reps they get. Which annoys the smaller nations no end.
(And there's quite a bit of conflict between them; the smaller nation-states,
with limited resources, keep grousing about why they should support B5
financially, as well as other space endeavors, when their economy really isn't
set up to take as much advantage of the situation as the larger nation-states.
In the 10 years (not 17 as Navas suggests) since the Earth/Minbari war,
there haven't been any major dictatorships, but we've strayed awfully close on
more than one occasion. As for the nature of B5, yes it is a (let me try this
again) there is a military component to it, but for the most part it is a
civilian operation. In the same sense that, in the early history of our
country, you sometimes had a military governor assigned to a state or
province.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 177 Sun Jul 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:37 EDT
Nope, I was nowhere in the pilot, not under makeup, not nohow, not no-
way. Nor will I do so in the series. That just ain't my thing.
By the way, here's something interesting: an outline got turned in this
week for an episode which I won't identify just now. Came in from one of our
writers, based on an assigned premise. It's something you've never seen done
in ANY SF-TV series, and I don't think has ever been done in TV overall. A
very daring little story.
Word finally came back from our liaison with PTEN. "Number one, this is
absolutely against the demographics on the show. Number two, no studio or
network executive in his right *mind* would EVER approve this story in a
million years. Number three...it's a hell of a story, I love it, let's do
it."
This has been emblematic of our relationship with PTEN: they've left us
alone, and are trusting us in our storytelling. We want to go right out to
the very edge, and they're letting us, which is wonderful. They've been, and
continue to be, terrific to work with.
If the end of this particular story doesn't absolutely floor you, nothing
will.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 188 Mon Jul 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:35 EDT
Nope.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 200 Tue Jul 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:14 EDT
I have a few things to say about the new issue of TV Guide that is
hitting the stands. About half a dozen things that I'd like to say. But I
can't. So let me just remark that it's unfortunate that when a book like TV
Guide does a roundup of SF shows, it has to break them all down by Who's the
Good Guy, Who's the Bad Guy, What's the Gimmick on and on...all of the things
they never do with a dramatic TV series. One also wishes that the people they
assign to do an article on SF television would have a background in SF that
extends earlier than Star Trek.
Beyond that, respondent sayeth not.
The article does give away some information, though, that I feel I should
comment upon, since it involves our cast.
When you cast a television series, what you look for, among other things,
are compatibility, chemistry, energy and synergy. This is all the more vital
when you're producing an *ensemble* series. The individual cast members may
be wonderful performers; may have turned in fine performances. The question
becomes, when you put them all together in the same room, does the energy
level go up, or down? Is the whole more or less than the sum of its parts?
After we produced the pilot, as stated before, we did a long and very
frank in-house analysis, which had one point and one point only: how do we
make the series even *better* than the pilot? Everything was on the table:
efx, music, writing, directing, costuming, set design, and all went through
changes that will make the series even better. Casting was also on the table,
along with everything else. It has to be.
As stated, we were very happy with the individual performances. The
question that remained, though, was *can it be better*? Is it possible to
increase the energy, the chemistry, between the various roles? The answer,
after long and considerable debate, was "yes, it is."
As a result, modifications were made. Which, again, should not be taken
as a reflection on anyone.
The modifications affected three roles: the lieutenant commander, the
doctor, and Sinclair's love interest. We're not recasting those specific
roles (in other words, there won't be a new Sykes), but other actors playing
other characters. This is in part because we would like to at some point in
time bring back one or more of the original actors in other capacities as
guest stars for an episode or two. Because they did good work. The matter at
hand is what's the best *combination*?
Here's the new breakdown.
Being of Byelorussian descent, I've always wanted to write for an ethnic
Russian character. Not someone with an accent, any more than I have an accent
even though I have a last name with 10,000 consonants and no vowels. There's
a wry and formal and stiff-necked and sometimes very passionate streak that
runs through the Russian spirit, and a certain rough-hewn mysticism, a sense
of absolute fatality and doom punctuated by moments of great belief in
humanity. It's a mix of traits you don't much see in American television.
Which is why the new second in command is Lieutenant Commander Susan
Ivanova, who will be played by Claudia Christian, a fantastic and very strong
performer who just knocked us out of the room. Very much a commanding
presence, a little quirky when she wants to be, a shade on the pessimistic
side.
Having come out of an Eastern European background, I've long lamented the
stereotyped roles usually written for that kind of character, and look forward
to drawing upon the real thing for her character.
For the role of Dr. Stephen Franklin we have found an intense and
powerful african-american actor named Richard Biggs. He's younger, in his mid-
to late thirties, dedicated, sharp and...again, the word I keep coming back to
is *intense*. Consider a younger Dr. (and I'm going to misspell this)
Debakke: self-assured, confident almost to a fault. He comes largely out of
an experimental background, so his bedside manner isn't all it should be.
He's often impatient. His character is the newest addition to the B5 "team"
of characters, and this will lead to a fair amount of conflict.
To balance out his personality, we plan to introduce another doctor (one
of many who work under Franklin, since he is medical chief of staff on B5,
which has several medlabs in different locations), an older Hispanic doctor.
Finally, having gone his separate ways with Caroline -- she wanted him to
leave his job, he wouldn't -- Sinclair renews a longstanding relationship with
Catherine Sakai, a role we are going to cast sometime fairly soon.
Catherine works for an Earth Corp surveying asteroids and planets for
minerological exploitation, making sure they're uninhabited, and finding items
that might present the greatest possibility for profit.
On a classified mission (which I hope we will be able to get into at some
point), Laurel has been reassigned out on the Rim, and Dr. Kyle is now working
with the EA President on the issue of alien migration to Earth, a growing
problem to some, a benefit to others.
We believe that the synergy between these new characters will be
genuinely terrific. Some very funny things are coming out of it, and some
very moving, personal stories are also coming out.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 215 Wed Jul 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:12 EDT
Tom: yup.
While I was on Twilight Zone Mark III, Christy Marx did a story for us
that had a hard, tough ending (the episode was "Cat and Mouse"). An absolute
killer of an ending. That's what this script is...it takes no prisoners.
It's very tough, a very hard episode. And it's a killer emotionally.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 228 Wed Jul 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:40 EDT
I can't think of any actor who, upon not getting the series gig, would
be willing to come in for one episode at the top of the show to say goodbye,
unless s/he had been on the show for X number of seasons. Also to follow that
model means we have to deal with 3 characters going, and 3 characters coming,
for 6 exchanges, in a one-hour episode, which leaves little time for a decent
plot. It's simply not workable.
We will, though, be phasing in the changes over time; Ivanova in the
first episode, Dr. Franklin in the second, Catherine well down the road.
This spreads out both the exposition and the impact, and lets us focus on the
stories, where our attention really needs to be placed. There was an awful
lot of exposition in the pilot, and I'd rather not fall down that particular
rabbit-hole again for a while....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 252 Sun Jul 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:13 EDT
Hi, all, was out of state for a few days, just got back and am catching
up. Re: story alterations in changing cast...won't be any. The basic layout
remains the same, only a few small pieces get rearranged in terms of the
overall 5-year arc. We get to the same place in the end.
This is very much what happens in a novel, having written a few: y ou
start out with X characters, and at some point discover that you need to skew
things to or away from certain characters once you get into it. Same thing
here.
Still planning on using Copeland for the scoring, plus some of his people
to round out incidental music. And yes, I worked on TZ 3 as a story editor,
and did a freelance episode for TZ 2.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 256 Sun Jul 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:43 EDT
Actually, if you are talking specifically shows created for syndication,
the *first* one, and the one which blew open the doors for many other shows,
was "He Man and the Masters of the Universe," which was out around 1983.
Granted it's animation, but it *was* specifically produced for syndication,
and was very successful.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 262 Mon Jul 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:32 EDT
Digger: yes, what you report is correct. Also if we allow for some
Russian/American or Russian/English intermarrying, you could end up with Susan
Ivanova, with a middle name much as you indicate. That's also one of the
differences between an ethnic Russian, and a Russian born outside the country.
The first name on my birth certificate, and the first name I was referred by
colloquially within my family were very different for quite some time.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 271 Tue Jul 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:16 EDT
Re: B5 and movement...no, it ain't going anywhere. Nor will it.
Re: panoramic Rama-like vistas...that's fine if you've got an unlimited
budget and can build on a huge scale for visual effect, but the reality is
that even in the future, there are budgets to be dealt with, and neat as the
view is, it's wasted space in many ways. Form follows function; this place is
set up as a way station, which means you have to squeeze every possible inch
of useable space out of the place. You have a few exceptions to that, such as
the Garden, but that's it.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 287 Fri Jul 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:03 EDT
Yes, I spoke with Walter earlier today, and he seems to be holding up
well. We're trying every trick we can to move back the episode he was going
to do for us, in order to accommodate this. It came as quite a shock to all
of us, but knowing Walter, he'll come through great. He's stubborn and
strong.
I know that I've been noticeably silent the last week or so, because
things are moving along out here, and I wish there were more that I could say.
Again, we're keeping things close to our collective vest for the time being.
I wish you could see the scripts that are starting to come in, could see the
new blueprints for sets, see the rough storyboards and EFX designs coming
from Ron's place. The series is going to be just amazing, and *much* stronger
than the pilot. As word gets out to the street about what we're planning on,
we're getting an amazing list of actors expressing interest in doing an
episode. We'll definitely be using David McCallum in one of our first
episodes.
It looks like we're coming into a pretty clean breakdown where you get
one or two very serious episodes, then a light one to balance it out. And a
lot of our stories are dealing with issues of significance without getting
didactic or preachy about it because we're trying to keep them very *personal*
stories.
There are times I feel like the first guy over this big mountain, and I
can see what's on the other side, and I'm torn between yelling back to
describe it all, and waiting silently to avoid spoiling the surprise.
It's going to be a fun show.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 308 Sat Jul 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:46 EDT
Phil: the info on Internet was first posted here, so I don't think we
need to repeat.
Re: Walter...I didn't comment one way or another on the surgery here.
Simple reason. I spoke with Walter when he called me from the hospital on
Wednesday. He then told me that he would be going into surgery very soon.
Respecting Walter's privacy, I held back that info, figuring that was the
thing to do. One of the problems that comes when you gain any kind of
notoriety -- as I'm slowly learning in my own case -- is that you absolutely
lose all privacy. Your smallest business becomes public knowledge. If I were
to pass on a *fraction* of what I hear from some of the people I know...they
wouldn't trust me again, nor should they do so. It's the differencof
someone's work, and being a *friend*...they carry different obligations.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 316 Sun Aug 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:16 EDT
The alterations in cast didn't affect the scripts very much, since while
the through-line for the series has long ago been worked out, the individual
scripts didn't start getting written until after we'd made our decisions.
What's great so far about the scripts is that they all have a point of
view, but they're not didactic or preachy about it. (And sometimes the point
of view isn't what you'd expect it to be.) We're definitely going to take on
some difficult issues here.
moment in a script where Londo is talking about homeworld, where marriages are
still arranged, to someone who doesn't want any part of that life. "Here," he
says, pointing to three photos, "these are my three wives: Pestilence, Famine
and Death. You think I married them for their personalities? Their
personalities could shatter entire *planets*.
Arranged marriages, every one. But it worked out. They inspire me.
Knowing they're at home, waiting for me, is what keeps me here, 75 light years
away...."
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 323 Sun Aug 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:55 EDT
There is some connection, yes.
As to how I came up with the new characters, it was done the old
fashioned way: I thunk them up. This series doesn't work like many others;
this isn't done by committee, we don't bat stuff around on this kind of level.
(And, in fact, until recently adding Harlan, there *was* no one with whom to
bat stuff around, this has been a one-man writing and editing team.) I knew
the functions these characters had to fill, and tried to come up with what I
thought would be strong, interesting characters. People I'd be interested in
watching. And from that came the characters.
We've recently, as of this past week, added a story editor to the staff,
Larry DiTillio. Which now makes three. But there's an implicit understanding
that this is a story that I want to tell, and I generally need to have final
word on characters, stories and everything else that involves the scripts.
Both Harlan and Larry are willing to defer to the reality that this is my
universe. I don't mean that to sound like an ego thing, because it's not.
It's no different than writing a novel; I know where the story has to go when
it hits the end, and we have to be sure not to fall off the tracks. I didn't
fight six years to get this show on the air to turn it over to a committee.
I know already that that is going to be probably my biggest problem when
it comes to this series: turning over parts of it to other people. Letting
go. But it's necessary.
It's important, though, to clarify the difference between letting people
go where they want within a script, so that I can let Larry or Harlan or
others have their own head, as opposed to general changes that might affect
the story arc, which is a different category altogether. The two of them have
already had some great ideas on fleshing out some of the characters now that
they're established, have expanded the universe and clarified many of the
rules, the ideas, background stuff and so on.
I selected Larry as story editor because he's someone I've worked with
dozens of times over nearly ten years; we know how one another works, to the
point where we can shorthand a lot of stuff in meetings, which saves a lot of
time. He's an excellent script doctor when it comes to rewriting freelance
scripts. And he's one of the country's foremost role playing game designers;
he's great on campaigns and coming up with huge sagas, and I need someone who
can think on that kind of scale.
The other reason I had for selecting Harlan and Larry to work with, aside
from their skills as writers, is that they're both two very strong individuals
who won't be intimidated...*can't* be intimidated...and will fight for what
they think is right. I feel that's very important. So they both give me an
endless hard time. Which is needed for the mix.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 357 Sun Aug 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:15 EDT
Larry has designed a number of games, some way back when he was working
for Flying Buffalo, but his most well-known games were for (and are still
available from) Chaosium. He worked on "Call of Cthulhu," he wrote (or co-
wrote) "Masks of Nyarlathotep," "The Grey Knight" and a bunch of others.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 360 Sun Aug 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:06 EDT
...heh....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 366 Mon Aug 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:56 EDT
Which is Katherine's not-terribly-subtle way of saying I get killed a
lot, and quickly. Which is why I don't do it much.
ETA for B5 the series to be 1994.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 379 Wed Aug 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:24 EDT
Okay, time for some news.
Some of you have noted my marked absence here the last month or so, just
the occasional quick note, and gone again. There's a reason for this that I
haven't revealed until now.
To the question, "When will we begin filming?" the answer is...some time
ago. We started shooting mid-July. I've withheld that information so that
our crew and cast could get started in less of a pressure-cooker environment,
without feeling that the world was peering in over their shoulders. It's a
very tense process to get a series up and running, and the more breathing
space you can give your people, the happier they'll be.
I didn't want to withhold that information, but I felt that it was best
for the team. Getting the show made has to take precedence, and you have to
do right by your people.
We've been rolling film for some time now, and as of this moment we are
on schedule, and on budget, and the performances we're getting are absolutely
wonderful. The shows are coming in with energy, they're crisp, they're
funny...there's some VERY dramatic stuff, good action and good character drama
going on. I've been chomping at the bit to give you some insights into and
reports from the front lines...and now I feel comfortable in doing so.
(And I'd like to parenthetically thanks J.HUDGENS and K.A.LAWRENCE for
keeping their lips zipped. Both visited our sets, the latter a day or so
before we were actually slated to begin filming, and I asked of both that they
not mention this until later. So Katherine, NOW you can make the observations
that I yelled on you about posting last time....)
The cast is working wonderfully together. Jerry and Michael are a great
team. And there are some scenes, in which Jerry has to be very serious, when
he just lights up the screen. And as for Michael...I think that after you've
seen what he's doing now, nobody's going to use the term "stiff" ever again.
He's strong, and personable, and likeable, and the character is really coming
out strongly. Delenn is absolutely terrific; elegant and mysterious and
exotic. And our new additions are going to be very popular, I think,
particularly Claudia Christian as Ivanova, who has a very wicked, mischievous
take on the character.
We've got episodes already in the can, being edited in post production,
and they're tight, and fast-paced, and the look is *very* different from the
show in that now we have time to get the look of each shot right. Our
director of photography is John Flynn, who was the main DP on Hill Street
Blues, who's brought a wonderful, moody look to the show, a great deal of
style, playing with lights and colors and shadows. On every conceivable
level, it's a quantum improvement over the pilot.
But the most important news, again, is that we're *filming*, and have
been, and the stuff is terrific. I don't think anyone here is going to be
disappointed in the results. THIS is the show I've been working six years to
bring off. In the months to come, I'll try to bring you bits and pieces of
background stuff about the shooting, as I did on the pilot, though not in as
concentrated a form.
The train has again left the station, and this time we're on for the long
haul...twenty-two episodes. And if what I've seen on film so far is any
indication, it is gonna be one hell of a ride.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 385 Wed Aug 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:48 EDT
Bear in mind, though, we're not shooting in the order in which th e shows
will be broadcast. Also, the one we're currently shooting is one of the few
classified titles. Next up is "Midnight on the Firing Line," that much I can
say.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 397 Thu Aug 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:11 EDT
Licensing is still in progress. Haven't heard any firm info yet, but
apparently there's some interesting stuff cooking.
We have a VERY long lead-time; we'll be delivering finished episodes
nearly 4 months before airdate in some cases. This is not typical of much of
TV. Also, where most series usually have, at best, 2-3 scripts on hand, we
now have 10 final scripts in hand, practically half the series, which gives us
mountains of time in which to prep, making sure each episode is as good as
possible.
What's very interesting is seeing how more than one director handles the
series, the different approaches they take. Same for the writers we're using.
One thing that's fun for me as the creator of this thing is letting others
play in this universe; I like to be surprised, and from time to time one of
our writers will hit on something that never occured to me about our
characters, but which makes perfect sense.
It's very hectic, but exciting. The main thing is that you're just tired
all the time; I get to the stage early, which for me is between 9 and 10, and
I'm there until 8 p.m. minimum, sometimes later. Today I didn't get home
until around 10:30. I tend to try to lock myself in my office, because if I
stick my head out, there's always any number of people who want opinions or
decisions or need to know what was intended with one thing or another, because
they're dedicated to getting the show right, down to the smallest elements.
When I can, I try to get over to the stage, just to keep an eye on filming.
Now that everyone's had a chance to think about their characters, and do some
more work in that universe, the characters are *really* starting to come out,
as the actors become more familiar with their roles. And they're starting to
add a lot from their own personalities as well.
It is a hoot.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 406 Fri Aug 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:59 EDT
Just wrapped another episode today, and tomorrow we begin work on
"Midnight on the Firing Line." This one also has all of our major ambassadors
-- Kosh, Delenn, Londo and G'Kar -- as well as Lond's new aide, Vir, played by
Stephen Furst. In this episode, you will hear Kosh speak for the first
time...and what he says may not bode well for B5.
G'Kar's makeup has been greatly refined, and now looks like real skin;
it's very eerie. Also, "Midnight" will have as much as 5 minutes of
CGI...basically, it has 60% as much CGI as was used in the entire pilot, all
of it new stuff.
There's a great excitement on the set that hasn't diminished now that
we've been rolling for a while; every finished episode is met with applause
and high-fiving and the like. The director who just finished is Jim Johnston,
who's a very highly regarded actor, an award winner, who is VERY good with
actors. Also signed to direct, starting with "And the Sky Full of Stars," is
Janet Greek, who did a lot of Northern Exposures, among other shows, and is a
*stone* SF fan.
We're shooting on a lot of new sets never seen in the pilot, so we have
all the breaking-in required of a new (and sometimes very complex) set...but
the result should be a locale that looks even larger and more city-like than
the pilot. If you saw the last ST movie, you'll recognize the lead of one of
the shows we just finished: Morgan Shepherd, who was the warden of the prison
planet Kirk and McCoy were sent to. He's a fine actor who brought a regal
touch to the episode.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 424 Sun Aug 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:02 EDT
The current crop of directors we're using include Richard Compton, Bruce
Seth Green, Jim Johnston and Janet Greek. All are terrific directors, on
solid shows ranging from "Hill Street" to "Northern Exposure." The one area
where we're not generally drawing from people who've worked in SF is the area
of the director. We want the show to have a very real look to it, as if you
were making a dramatic series in the year of the story. Our head of post
production has a screen-saver on his computer that flashes "This Isn't Science
Fiction, This Is REAL" after a few minutes. Not because he doesn't like
SF...he's a stone fan, as is Janet Greek...but because that's the feel we're
trying to get across in the series: this is *real*...real people, real
problems, a realistic style to the look and feel of the show and the
characters.
And the show is picking up a *very* nice visual style...non-direct
lighting, shadows, not murky, but crisp. It's beautifully lit and
photographed; you could frame just about any shot and it'd look great.
(For those of you who like the in-stuff, by the way...look for a cameo of
sorts. We needed photos to run in background on a monitor of two EA
officials. We "volunteered" Doug Netter and our costume designer, Ann Bruice.
You'll see them in "Infection.")
The dizzying thing about being exec producer on a show like Babylon 5 is
that you have to wear so many hats *simultaneously*. The shows get grouped
together in ways that directors or writers don't have to worry about. In
other words: you're editing show A, at the same time that you're shooting show
B, and prepping show C, while at the same time doing the final script polishes
and casting for show D. So you end up having to juggle them all in your head
constantly, going from meetings on show B, then D, then A, then C, then B.
This was something we didn't have to do on the pilot, since in that case
we did just the one show, and edited it afterward. Now it all goes on
simultaneously.
Here's a basic breakdown on a fairly average day at B5 for me:
Arrive around 10 a.m. (usually after staying up until 2 or 3 a.m. writing
or editing scripts). On this past Friday, it went like this after arrival:
Visual EFX meeting on "Born to the Purple." Quick script notes to clarify a
scene now being shot on "Midnight." Prop concept meeting (general). Screen
dailies from Thursday's shoot. Review CGI sketches by Ron for Minbari heavy
cruiser for "Sky." (Very, very cool, btw.) Director's meeting. Meeting with
PTEN marketing division people, who stop by the stage. Review new prosthetics
for background aliens. Get in a few minutes working on "Parliament of Dreams"
script. Supplementary casting session on "Believers." Then I and producer
John Copeland dive out to the editing bay to work on the final edit of
"Infection." I get home around 10 p.m., after checking in with the stage
throughout the evening to make sure we wrap on time. Make some B5 related
calls from 10-10:30, download a script from one of our writers, review the
script for notes between then and midnight, write some more on "Parliament"
until 2 a.m., and finally crash.
Every day is like that. After a while, you get this look in your
eyes...you just sorta zone out, mentally going to another meeting. It's
amazingly grinding...and yet amazingly invigorating. There are moments when
it's an amazing high...and moments when you just want to cut and run because
you can't bear watching one more cut of the same scene for the ten zillionth
time.
Half the fun of doing a series is being on the stage...to see it being
done right in front of you...but even though my office door is maybe 20 feet
from the stage, I find that I only make that journey 3-4 times in a day, for
maybe 5-10 minutes at a time. Such is life.
The editing, by the way, is a fascinating process. Television is the
process of making choices: you choose how to write the scene, you choose who
you want to play the scene, the actor chooses how he wants to play the
character, the director chooses how to stage the scene, the cinematographer
chooses how to light and frame the scene, and then you and the editor choose
how to structure that scene using the finished film.
What you have in your hands (not literally, since we're all computerized
now, and hardly anyone uses film anymore in editing) is the film for a scene.
You've got the master shot, showing everyone. You may have 1, 2 or 3 takes of
that shot. Then you get the medium, close, and two-shots, as well as
reverses. You get 2-3 of those, times the number of characters in the scene
(i.e., 2 close-ups of Sinclair in the scene, 2 or 3 close-ups of Garibaldi,
plus the over-the-shoulder shots of both, on and on). Though the staging is
the same, the pacing of lines varies, the delivery varies, inflection, stance,
attitude...there are subtle differences that become terribly important when
you start cutting film.
Maybe the first close-up has the intensity you want in the first half, but
falls off in the second part, so now you use part two of take two, which
*does* finish with the required intensity. But in that take, the actor
visible in the same scene isn't quite where he's standing in the master shot,
and you have to go back to the master for the next shot because that's where
you need to see X entering the room....
It's a complex, complicated, exhausting process that requires you to hold
the various scenes and shots all in your head at the same time, particularly
if you want to do any last-minute restructuring, or "borrow" a shot from
another scene to fill out this scene because there was a problem on the angle
in what you've got.
But I'd be a liar if I didn't say it's an awful lot of fun. You can make
a scene play 50 different ways, depending on how you edit it. And we've got
some *great* editors working with us.
Anyway...just a quick report from the field....it's back to work now.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 436 Sun Aug 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:09 EDT
We're using some state of the art computers for our editing work, in some
ways in advance of EditDroid. The first line is the Avid editor, which
digitizes all of the printed takes from an episode and stores them in full-
motion video/audio the same way you store a .gif file. You can have instant
access to everything; you don't have to swap disks in or out, and it's all
immediate. Once you've edited the thing to where you want it, you save the
information to the system. Then you provide all of the required prints to the
major computer system at the editing house which then *automatically*
assembles the entire cut overnight. Operates almost entirely without
supervision. You come in in the morning, and your cut is waiting for you.
we're able to stay further toward the cutting edge of technology because we're
small, new, and can react faster than something that has to work through an
entrenched studio bureaucracy that has already invested major bucks in its old
systems, and doesn't want to re-tool since what it has basically works fine.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 446 Tue Aug 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:52 EDT
Well, I just saw a cut of the episode that's going to air second, the one
guest-starring Morgan Shepherd. Oh, man...on the question of Did you learn
anything from the pilot...this thing *moves* like a sumbitch. It's a very
unusual, very *creepy* episode in many ways. And filled with character
stuff...and a good bit of background about some of our characters rendered in
active ways. I'm really dying to see what people think of this one when it
airs. It manages to take what would normally be considered a science
*fantasy* issue, and deal with it from a science fiction perspective, without
compromising on the latter at all. It's a very, *very* strong episode.
Incidentally...as long as I'm here...an advisory. We've got about as
much security as anyone can *have* on a stage...but as with TNG and other SF
shows, we've had our share of things suddenly vanishing. We lost a biggie the
other day, swiped by someone. As mentioned, we re-examined G'Kar's
makeup/prosthetic, and did some minor redesigning. Prior to final approval, a
full-size (head and neck) sculpture was done, painstakingly hand-painted.
There's only the one. And someone swiped it, right out of Doug Netter's
office, where it was hanging on the wall. I couldn't even begin to tell you
how much it's worth; just the physical value alone would be considerable, let
alone collector's value.
I'm putting this out here so that, if anyone here should see it at a
convention, or a dealer's room, you should know that it's stolen merchandise,
and should be reported to the police. There's no chance of mistaking this for
something else, since there's literally only the one in existence.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 474 Sun Aug 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:25 EDT
Louise: thanks for the support. There ain't much more to do now that
we're up and running, but the offer is appreciated.
Re: airdates...no, even though we'll be delivering in September fully
completed episodes, this is part of a network, and networks debut their shows
in a group, en masse. So we'll be on in January regardless.
Just got back from Comic Con, so I'm a bit breathless now. Will just
skim for a bit, and do more later.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 475 Sun Aug 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:41 EDT
P.S. Before I forget, someth8ingat the Con that I should mention here:
in deference to other opportunities which she felt were more promising, Pat
Tallman passed on returning to the B5 project. Our new telepath will be
played by Andrea Thompson, with the character name Talia Winters.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 479 Sun Aug 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:01 EDT
She's been in a lot of stuff...but for some damned reason all I can
remember is her recurring role as the woman trying to nail Selby in Falcon
Crest. She's done a lot of film work as well.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 481 Mon Aug 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:11 EDT
Basically, yes, it's not a problem in this case. The psi corps thread is
much larger than any one person; that person has to serve down the road as a
catalyst, but that catalyst can be anyone.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 483 Mon Aug 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:21 EDT
The main task was to get the telepath in trouble with the psi cops.
There's another way of doing that with Talia that's just as effective.
What it *does* give me, which is kinda nice, is that the only two people
to have ANY direct contact with a Vorlon...have been transferred back to
Earth. Which plays wonderfully into something sinister I'd kinda like to
develop that the Earth Alliance is working on behind the scenes....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 496 Tue Aug 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:11 EDT
I forwarded the pictures, don't know what she thought. She decided to
pass shortly before we began filming the first episode. These things happen.
No one else seemed to have any trouble following what was happening; to
be charitable, the specific actions and purpose of the Hunter came even
clearer in the following scene, which wasn't shown.
That the ball is not always caught is not necessarily a reflection on the
throw....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 506 Wed Aug 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:27 EDT
I'd be hard pressed to say whichg the best work, because they're *all*
doing wonderfully. The makeup on Andreas is much more fluid, more skin-like
this time around, so he can do a lot more with it than he could in the pilot.
All of our ambassadors are doing great...Delenn is very mysterious, exotic,
and Londo is...well...LONDO. He's often right over the top, but it works.
(It's part of our perverse logic on the show that the first person to end up
in bed with a member of the opposite sex isn't our Commander, but Londo, who
gets involved with a Centauri dancer.)
Claudia has settled nicely into the role, with this great edge to her
performance. Pessimistic, fatalistic, occasionally sarcastic, but in a funny
way...that can turn right around and tear your heart out. Michael and Jerry
are, of course, a hoot to watch.
During the con appearance, Jerry told a story that *I* hadn't heard
before. There's a scene in the script "Midnight on the Firing Line" in which
Talia (Andrea) goes into a transport tube, finds Garibaldi, and asks some
questions about Ivanova. They rehearsed it several times, this being Andrea's
first time on the set, and filmed one take. She comes down the hall, comes to
thepen...and Garibaldi's pants are down around his ankles. Needless to say,
that shot did NOT end up in dailies....
There are days I think -- between Jerry, Harlan, me and some others
involved on the show -- we ought to name this Loose Cannon Productions....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 510 Wed Aug 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:14 EDT
Re: new cast members...it wasn't only females that were replaced,
remember...there was also Dr. Kyle. But to the point of your question: all of
our performers were great. The question becomes how do they work and come off
as a *unit*? In the best of all possible worlds, the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts. Here, we felt that there wasn't a strong synergy
between the characters. We felt we had to strengthen that.
And that's really all there is or was to it. Is that the best possible role
for this actor, and is this the best possible combination?
And that was the reason behind adjusting the roles otherwise occupied by
Caroline, Laurel and Ben Kyle. That's 2 and 1. We were just as amazed as
anyone else when word came back from Pat's rep that she was passing on the
role of Lyta in order to pursue other opportunities, and we wish her nothing
but luck in the future; it's my personal hope to find some project down the
road where I can work with her again. And I'm sure that this will happen.
That is the whole of the story.
Now for an aside.
Let us all go back in time, for a moment, and consider the description by
Jeff Jarvis and a few others of the B5 pilot's CGI effects as being "cheesy."
(Jarvis as in TV Guide's Jeff Jarvis.) Well, guess what?
We got a phone call today. Foundation Imaging, Ron's company, which did
the CGI EFX for the pilot, was notified today that they have received an Emmy
Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for their work on the
B5 pilot. We are now an "Emmy Award Winning Show for Best Special Effects in
a Television Movie."
And that ain't *nothing* compared to what's going to be in the series.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 516 Thu Aug 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:18 EDT
Not much point to a major PR push now; it'd just get lost in the fall
season opening. Best to wait that out, since we won't hit air until January.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 532 Fri Aug 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:49 EDT
The ethnic mix has nothing to do with any changes in the series. We
ended up keeping the mix intact. Lost was one Caucasian woman, one black
male, one asian female. What we're adding is one Caucasian woman (Lt.
Commander Ivanova), one black male (Dr. Stephen Franklin), and one asian woman
(Catherine Sakai). In addition, we're introducing a Hispanic doctor who will,
we hope be a recurring character from time to time (look for her in
"Believers" to start with). And we will be doing more of this, not just in
small parts, but larger ones as well. We have been very careful to keep a mix
of actors that reflects what our thesis is: that if we go to the stars, we're
ALL going to the stars.
In fact, we just recently -- when we found out it was going on --
instructed our casting people not to put any ethnic background information
into the breakdown sheets that go out to actor's agents. (In other words,
usually you need a white male actor 30-40, with a mustache, that kind of
specificity is commonplace in breakdowns.) We have instituted open
casting...anyone, of any ethnic background, is eligible for any role at any
time. We hope that this will *further* help us to broaden out the tapestry of
our series.
This is a very committed show, on a lot of different levels, with the
idea of trying to live out what we're preaching. We have an almost equal
breakdown of males to females in our crew and every aspect of our production.
(I say almost equal because I'm *fairly* sure there are actually more women on
the show, many in non-conventional jobs, than there are men.) Our casting is
open. We've instituted recycling on an everyday basis. I'm working on
getting the styrofoam cups at the snacks table replaced by recycleable paper
cups, and trying to set up a deal where we can give any leftover food from the
catering truck to a shelter. We've got women in the writer and director
categories, and two of our three editors (a very dominantly male business) are
women.
I don't like the way Hollywood works either.
That's why we're not DOING it that way.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 544 Sat Aug 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:04 EDT
The Borgia...?
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 550 Sat Aug 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:21 EDT
What we did with the uniforms was to toughen them up a bit. We took the
basic class-A uniform we used on the pilot, and retailored them for a better
fit. Then we added leather to the right front panel, quite a bit of it
actually, from the middle of the chest about three-quarters of the way to the
arm. Then replaced the waist section/belt, cuffs, collar and epaulets with
leather. (The blue class-A's got brown leather; the olive class-A's got black
leather.) We added burnished bronze clasps, rank insignia, and a REALLY cool
Earth Alliance belt-clasp to the base of the jacket. I personally think it's
very attractive, and had my original class-A from the pilot (yes, I paid to
have one made for myself) altered to the new "look."
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 553 Sat Aug 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:48 EDT
Well, I didn't *know* who you were, I was frantic settting things up
before hand, it was all a blur, I couldn't see your badge, you WERE wearing a
blue shirt, and...and there WAS someone behind you who had his hand up who was
wearing a similar color shirt, and I had to find SOME way of distinguishing
between you from the stage...and...and....ack!
the hormone case in the b5 jacket
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 554 Sun Aug 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:02 EDT
Onto other (and safer) topics....
It's amazing how fast time is zipping past...we've got a number of shows
now complete and in the can, starting "Believers" on Tuesday. We have D.C.
Fontana now working on the outline for her second episode, tentatively
entitled "Legacies." Her first s goes before the cameras in about 3 weeks.
We're currently finishing up production on "Born to the Purple," with
Clive Revell and Fabiana Udeno. It's a very offbeat and funny story (by Larry
DiTillio, natch) which adds a new side to Londo's character. It puts our
characters into different situations than we're used to, and it's fun seeing
how they react to these new conditions.
I'm just now starting my next script, "Mind War," which will bring the
Psi Cops to Babylon 5.
For those out there who still think the skin-tab-getting-through- Kosh's-
encounter-suit was an error...we're going to be dealing with that, and some
other interesting threads in "The Parliament of Dreams" episode. Sinclair
comments on the whole question of how the poison ever got into him...and notes
how curious it is that, within weeks of that incident, Dr. Kyle was
transferred back to Earth to work directly with the Earth Alliance President
on matters of alien immigration...and Lyta Alexander was similarly transferred
a week or so after that. The only two people to have personal knowledge of a
Vorlon have been shipped off and possibly locked up.
(Interesting, how one can take real-life developments and weave them into
the tapestry. This will feed into the main line of the story even better than
what I had originally planned.)
The one I'm most looking forward to writing just now, though, is "Babylon
Squared," in which we finally show what happened to Babylon 4, and in the
process ask more questions than we answer (though at least we DO answer the
questions we asked about the fate of that station in general...you'll know
what happened to it, just not yet what it means).
There continue to be the usual hassles, and it's as bone-wearying as
ever, but I think we're having fun...and I know it's going to be a good show.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 560 Sun Aug 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:57 EDT
This isn't so much a spoiler, since it concerns an abandoned story like
(or, let me rephrase that...a modified story line). I mention this here since
I just mentioned it elsewhere, and might as well do so here.
Think hard about the pilot for a moment. Whose job is it in the
observation dome to monitor incoming ships...but apparently let the spider
transport slip through unnoticed? The station's skin should have (and likely
did) detect something clamping onto it...but apparently someone over-rode that
for the spider transport. Someone had to PRE-arrange access via the computer
for the assassin, since it easily palms its way into Varner's quarters. (And
what is the name of the person the access computer recognizes?) Someone had
to arrange for the transport tube to be delayed, and then *erase* that
information from the computer system. Someone who knew *exactly* when the
Vorlon ship would be docking. We see, at various times, the following people
interacting with the assassin, in different capacities: Garibaldi, Lyta,
G'Kar, Londo, Dr. Kyle, and of course, much later, Sinclair. Who did we never
see in direct contact with the assassin? Who was put in charge of the station
after Sinclair was removed?
Do you notice a pattern developing? Do certain things here point to a
certain individual...who may, or may not, have been acting on her own
volition?
And yes, this is something we planned to explore, though it wasn't on a
*direct* line to the arc of our story. It definitely impinged upon it, of
course. This has been modified due to the change in the character of the
Lieutenant Commander, and this now won't go where it was going to go...but we
still have some very interesting plans for our secondary character, not at all
along the Takashima lines (which is why this isn't a spoiler), but certainly
intriguing on their own terms.
(Re: the preceding questions...the class-A's are the day uniforms, not
the dress uniforms. And the preceding Babylon stations did have some
differences between them, some moderate, some extensive.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 571 Sun Aug 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:35 EDT
Now, I didn't say she was a villain. I said that certain things may or
may not have been done of her own free will, her own volition. What this
means...we'll see.
Will: to the concern you raise...my feeling is that, unlike Twin Peaks,
you *cannot* extend things indefinitely. In other words, you don't have to
wait five years to find out what's going on now, in questions you have in
season one. Questions raised in season one will be *answered* in season one.
It's just that, we hope, *new* questions will arise over the course of season
one that we can then answer in season two. And so on. I don't think it's
right, or fair, or smart to keep people on the hook that long. Which is why
we'll find out what happened on the Battle of the Line midway through season
one...it's just what this then MEANS that will become the new question.
As for managing to log on here...I wish I could do more, frankly, but the
press of time is astonishing. It's the Lewis Carroll bit, you have to run
just as fast as you can to stay in one place. If you don't, little details
begin to slip between the cracks...and in a story, and i television, details
are *everything*. I think it was Michelangelo who said that "trifles make
perfection, and perfection is no trifle."
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 587 Tue Aug 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:11 EDT
Yes, there will be a Confrancisco presentation on B5..two, actually.
There will be new footage spread across both days, and there may be an extra
guest or two at the 4:00 panel. Can't promise that at this time, but it's a
possibility.
Thinking back on San Diego Comic Con, something comes to mind that I
wanted to mention. When I'm doing my number at a con, I kind of glaze over a
bit; I get mentally pointed toward performance, and things that would normally
be obvious get missed. Thus...if you're one of the regulart (regular) folk
around here, and you come up to me, *introduce yourselves*, because I rarely
read badges (at 6'4" it's tough sometimes), and even when I do I'm often too
stupid to put names and handles together.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 590 Tue Aug 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:56 EDT
Not that I'm aware of at this time.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 603 Wed Sep 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:00 EDT
Will: relax.
You have to understand the way this show is going to be structured.
There aren't going generally going to be a lot of loose threads hanging
around. Episodes will resolve themselves. It's just that, from time to time,
we'll carom off some point that seems tangential, but which will later become
significant. You don't have to watch every episode. Hell, if I do this right
-- and this is one hell of a hat trick, lemme tell you, when it comes to
structure -- you can even watch them out of ORDER, within a season, and still
follow what's going on. The trick is to make it so that if something slips
past, the viewer doesn't trip over it. And when you do an episode that you've
set up before, that set-up should in some subtle, non-heavy-expository way, be
re-established for those who might not have seen the episode.
Telling people "This is a five year arc" in a big way almost as a warning
is actually more destructive than constructive; it might lead people to think
that they need to commit five years of their lives to get the whole story, and
it's hard to get people to commit to even one ten-hour miniseries. You can
watch any part you want, and get a good, solid, independently enjoyable hour-
show out of it. You can come in at any point you want. The key is that the
more you watch, the more you will pick up on the nuances and the threads we're
going to be playing with. Generally, we're going to keep those threads a bit
light in the first season, then begin to draw in more of the general story arc
in the second and subsequent seasons. Let's use the first year to get the
audience comfortable with the B5 universe, and with our characters, and in a
handful of episodes, carefully begin leading everyone where we want them to
go, so that when we start to accellerate things in year two, those who've been
with us from the start can get right into it, and those who come to the show
late can play catch up without any problem.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 610 Wed Sep 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:44 EDT
The 5 year arc is worked out in considerable detail; 200 single spaced
pages in a triple-encrypted file. I can't allow myself ever to even so much
as *consider* not hitting the full five years on this, so the rest of the
question I can't answer.
CopperCon is apparently a couple weeks after ConFrancisco, and Larry
DiTillio will be there with a B5 presentation.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 615 Thu Sep 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:37 EDT
If they can't figure out there's more than meets the eye...they don't
have an eye to meet. If the series doesn't stand on its own right from the
git-go, the hell with a five-year arc, it doesn't matter, because we'll never
get that far.
jms
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************
Topic 3 Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:09 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - Computer SFX Tech-Talk
Some of the new computer EFX used in BABYLON 5 will be revolutionary, a new
approach never seen before on this scale. It's all new tech, and this topic
will try and address the new technologies involved.
363 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 3
Message 319 Sun Jul 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:44 EDT
I think the morph winked on that shot.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 3
Message 328 Sat Aug 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:30 EDT
Dunno nuthin' about no screamers...only screamers I know is the rest of
us whenever Ron tries to explain how this stuff works....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 3
Message 339 Thu Aug 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:12 EDT
The 8 hours per frame figure is GREATLY exaggerated; at most it was an
hour, maybe two or three, but certainly not 8.
jms
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************
Topic 4 Tue Nov 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:12 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - Cast & Characters
For discussion of the actors who will be bringing BABYLON 5 to life with their
performances...for information before, and discussion after the airing of "The
Gathering" pilot.
357 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 4
Message 315 Sat Jul 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:42 EDT
Yes, Pat Tallman was used in Jurassic Park; and yes, she was mis-
identified in the credits.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 4
Message 339 Sat Aug 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:30 EDT
I try to keep my characters separate; Ivanova has a very different
personality from Takashima. To me, they're all just separate, distinct
individuals, people in their own right; I try to decide what's best for that
person, rather than going over a laundry list of character traits.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 4
Message 344 Sun Aug 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:05 EDT
It's a standard bed, works fine. Though we *did* have a thing in mind
where Londo sits up in bed, having just had wonderful sex, and his hair is now
hanging limp...but in a sudden burst of sanity we decided against it.
jms
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************
Topic 5 Tue Nov 03, 1992
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico] (Forwarded)
Sub: Grid Epsilon Irregulars - News & Info.
This topic is for information about Babylon 5 fan groups, newsletters,
fanzines, get-togethers, B-5 at conventions, and other general fun.
275 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 5
Message 274 Wed Jul 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:14 EDT
Christy's been delayed with the new issue because I diverted her. I
emphasized that her outline was late, and if I didn't have it by the end of
this week, I'd come up to Oakhurst and saw her feet off at the ankles.
It's coming in this evening.
jms
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************
Topic 9 Wed Nov 11, 1992
T.RESTIVO [Little Guy] at 18:27 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 Humor
From *Beep Beep*, to Top Ten Lists to full-blown paradies, this is where to
put your funny bone in writing!
305 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 9
Message 196 Tue Jul 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:27 EDT
Wonderful stuff...and the funny thing is, 1) "spoo" is actually a word
used in episode #1, and 2) I've been looking for another word to describe
flashing lights in production meetings (right now we're using "nernies" for
shorthand) and "derblinkens" sounds like a good replacement.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 9
Message 284 Tue Aug 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:55 EDT
As reward for the humor, here's what Kosh will *really* say, when he
utters the first words we hear. He's on the Observation Dome, looking out
through the window as a ship passes overhead, the lights shining down at him
through a window.
"Ahhh....beautiful." Long beat as he looks around the place. Then:
"I will miss this...when it is gone."
And then he exits, as Garibaldi mutters to Ivanova, "I *really* hate it
when he does that."
jms
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************
Topic 11 Sat Nov 14, 1992
J.SHEEN1 [Leviathan] at 18:09 EST
Sub: B5 Adrift!
BABYLON 5 Topic Drift
If you feel like talking about it, but it doesn't fit anywhere else... If its
only connection to B-5 is that you thought of it in this CAT...
This is where to come and get it out.
322 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 11
Message 301 Fri Jul 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:06 EDT
Actually, it's a script for a 4-hour miniseries written on spec, and
while there are currently about half a dozen people who want to buy it, I'm
sitting on it until I make some changes. The problem is finding the time to
make those changes with B5 moving ahead. At some point I hope to be able to
carve out just a couple of days to finish my revisions and get it out for the
proposed auction.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 11
Message 306 Sat Jul 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:48 EDT
I really don't know, and wouldn't want to speak for our cast members. I
imagine there will be different deals with different actors. If I were asked,
I'd suggest that they avoid becoming monopolized by *any* one group, but that
really isn't my call to make. That's between them and their agents.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 11
Message 319 Sun Aug 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:27 EDT
It looked very, very cool....
jms
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************
Topic 12 Wed Nov 18, 1992
B.WIST [Brad] at 18:12 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 Sightings
Post here when you've spotted Babylon 5, whether it be on Television,
Magazine, or somewhere else. Let us know where we can find it/see it, too.
344 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 12
Message 310 Tue Jul 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:40 EDT
Which issue of VTU has the ad from Foundation? The June/July issue?
jms
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Category 18, Topic 12
Message 321 Sun Aug 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:26 EDT
For those interested, there's a brief thing about B5 in the media column
in this mont's WIZARD magazine (covering the comics industry).
jms
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Category 18, Topic 12
Message 323 Fri Aug 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:05 EDT
BTW, an upcoming issue of -- I believe -- Computer Graphics World due out
shortly has a cover done by Ron, using one of the new ships we'll be using in
one of our stories. It's head-first into the ground near what looks like a
Mayan pyramid; the ground and pyramid have nothing to do with our show, btw,
only the ship.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 12
Message 333 Sat Aug 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:41 EDT
"No emotion?"
Heh. Heh, heh.....
PULL!
jms
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Category 18, Topic 12
Message 339 Wed Aug 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:23 EDT
Nah, that's okay. Thanks.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 12
Message 344 Wed Aug 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:28 EDT
I'm told it's for 2:00 that Friday. Which is too bad; if the thing had
been scheduled for Saturday instead, we could've had some of our cast members
attend.
jms
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************
Topic 13 Mon Nov 23, 1992
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico] at 21:00 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - Science & Technology
Jump gates, nanotech, high-tech weapons, starship drives, sound in space, and
other subjects of science and technology in Babylon 5.
347 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 13
Message 292 Wed Jul 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:00 EDT
Civilian spacecraft are fairly common; they're expensive, to be sure, and
if you're just going from point a to point b, it makes more sense just to book
passage on something, but many folks now make their living in space, so
transport is required.
Most of the non-aligned worlds have a less technologically advanced
society, but mainly what constitutes membership in the Big 5 is the size of
the government in question. If it's just one planet and maybe a sister world
or two, that's not enough to qualify.
It's based very much on the security council of the UN in that respect.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 13
Message 298 Thu Jul 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:41 EDT
Except that most combat of that nature would be to protect something,
usually in close proximity, such as a colony or planet. Also, bear in mind
that a ship or convoy of ships in hyperspace can be anywhere, can go anywhere.
Once they exit hyperspace, particularly if they have to travel any real
distance, are more vulnerable because they're caught having to operate at sub-
light speeds. So if you're going to hit them, best to wait until they're out
of hyperspace, which they have to leave sooner or later because part of
warfare is hitting targets...and most targets of real value are outside
hyperspace. (Which is why carriers, capable of making their own jump points,
are of greatest strategic value.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 13
Message 301 Sat Jul 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:16 EDT
Ron: no, I don't recall ever saying that.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 13
Message 305 Sat Jul 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:34 EDT
I have some rough notes on space travel rules in the B5 universe,' but
probably won't release them for a bit; we're in the process of adding some
technical advisors (i.e., guys who know math), and I want to run my stuff past
them for review.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 13
Message 307 Sun Jul 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:23 EDT
In many cases, it's more ship-to-gate, with a relay bounce to B5 to let
it know what's coming in. It can of course be re-routed so that B5 can lock
something out, if they know it's coming, but for general everyday purposes, it
works the first way.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 13
Message 309 Tue Jul 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:18 EDT
Anything can fail. Nothing is failsafe. Chaos theory takes care of
that.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 13
Message 325 Sun Aug 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:25 EDT
Actually, she says "activate defensive grid," which is a slightly
different thing.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 13
Message 328 Mon Aug 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:20 EDT
I'd rather let you see the defense grid in action than define it just
now...wait for episode #2, where you'll see it.
jms
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************
Topic 14 Thu Dec 31, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:59 EST
Sub: Lurkers/Introductions: Please Sign In
A place for newcomers to come in, say hello, whether you want to jump into the
conversation or not, just to let us know you're here.
422 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 14
Message 380 Mon Jul 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:49 EDT
Kevin: glad to have you aboard. Welcome to the asylum....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 14
Message 399 Fri Jul 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:40 EDT
The Toaster is being used by Spielberg for their SeaQuest series.
Filk magazine? B5? Which one had the thing? (And am I sure I really
want to know this...?)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 14
Message 404 Sun Jul 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:39 EDT
The planet will also look a *lot* better this season, btw.
jms
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Topic 15 Thu Dec 31, 1992
J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 21:29 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - Alien Races
Aliens races in Babylon 5... their politics, abilties, technology, history,
and any other discussion specificly about non-humans.
359 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 15
Message 305 Tue Jul 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:29 EDT
They do grow in over time, and they are very individual, yes.
You win the toaster oven.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 15
Message 310 Sun Jul 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:43 EDT
The teaser in the very first episode planned for airing will deal with
the similarity between Centauri and Humans...down the road, we will be seeing
more of Londo, and his people, and realize that they aren't as human looking
as they first appear. There's more there.
It was Minbari Federation, Centauri Republic, Narn Regime, Vorlon Empire
and Earth Alliance, for anyone keeping track. And yes, most all of them have
some other alien species within their sphere of direct influence.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 15
Message 312 Mon Jul 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:37 EDT
Yes to both.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 15
Message 314 Tue Jul 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:42 EDT
(!)
Hmmmmmmmmm......
Let me get back to you.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 15
Message 323 Sun Jul 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:18 EDT
Matt: I like it when people lie in television, and we find out about it
over time. The "lost colony" routine was one such. At one point, Garibaldi
confronts Londo with this as reason for why he doesn't trust the Centauri.
Londo shrugs it off as a "clerical error." There will be a few points in the
series when we'll get information, and we'll buy into it...and discover after
a while that that character bald-facedly lied to the other character (and, by
proxy, to us). And naturally there will be consequences to this....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 15
Message 326 Mon Jul 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:37 EDT
Actually, at one point or another, just about *everyone* lied in the
course of the pilot...including Sinclair, who lied to G'Kar, and of course
Delenn lying to Sinclair in the Garden...and so on.
Basically, I have this theory that there are five kinds of truth. (This
is Joe's Theory of the Five Truths.) There is the truth you tell to casual
strangers and acquaintances. There is the truth you tell to your general
circle of friends and family members. There is the truth you tell to only one
or two people in your entire life. There is the truth you tell to yourself.
And finally, there is the truth that you do not admit even to yourself. And
it's that fifth truth that provides some of the most interesting drama.....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 15
Message 334 Sun Aug 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:22 EDT
Those are Mira's and Andreas' natural speaking voices, though Andreas
makes it just a tad more lilting.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 15
Message 338 Sun Aug 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:01 EDT
You have to really dig to get any good material on Babylon; it's not a
big topic among commercial publishers, you really have to go for the academic
publishing houses. (Beware of religious publishing houses in this area; they
have their own spin on things that tends to infect the text.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 15
Message 346 Tue Aug 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:13 EDT
I believe n'grath qualifies for a non-humanoid lifeform with an
exoskeleton of sorts....
jms
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Topic 17 Tue Jan 19, 1993
C.STOBBE [Colin] at 21:02 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - Merchandising
A place to discuss all the neat Babylon 5 merchandising coming out (hopefully)
soon
366 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 17
Message 345 Mon Jul 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:38 EDT
I'm sure at some point there'll be a B5 soundtrack album, but when, I
don't know. My guess is that it'll wait until we have more stuff from the
series to plug in. I want to buy a copy for myself....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 17
Message 363 Sun Aug 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:36 EDT
Look for another Babylon 5 cover story late this year, sometime just
before the series goes on the air.
(Referring to CFQ, he noted.)
jms
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Topic 21 Wed Feb 10, 1993
SF-MARSHALL [Dave ] at 17:32 EST
Sub: "The Gathering" - B5 pilot movie
BABYLON 5 premieres with "The Gathering," a 2-hour made-for-tv movie written
by series creator J. Michael Straczynski. Come, join the discussion of this
pilot!
415 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 267 Sat Jul 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:43 EDT
Yes, that's a baseball diamond. Craters? What craters? I thought it
was just a stylized painting. Lemme look at that again....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 269 Sun Jul 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:59 EDT
No, I don't think so...but I wasn't on set for that shot, so I may be
wrong.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 279 Sat Jul 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:53 EDT
It was a dust being a very specific drug with very unusual properties.
We cut the sequence in which he tries to get on board the station, is caught,
takes a hostage and is taken down. But when you cut a scene like that, you
still have to list the actors used in it. Hence the credit deal.
Here's the one thing that amazes me, speaking of seeing the pilot for the
gadzillionth time...there is one great big huge gaping visual
anomaly/inconsistency in the pilot that so far no one has noticed. It's so
massive that when I first saw it, I just about fell out of my chair. But the
director said "No one's ever gonna see it, no one's ever gonna notice it,
*trust* me on this." I was absolutely convinced that he was wrong.
Apparently he was right. At some point in the future I'll tell you what it
is...and when you see it, you're going to wonder how the hell you avoided
seeing it before, it's *that* big. But not for a while yet. (And the few
smaller things mentioned here...ain't it.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 308 Thu Aug 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:50 EDT
If anyone had guessed what it was, I'd have said so. But no one has ever
seen it. That was my point. And again, it's not a story point, it's a
visual. (And the thing about Kosh's hand is *not* an inconsistency; it is a
story point for future reference.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 318 Fri Aug 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:58 EDT
If someone got it right, I would say so.
The incoming starship only looks like it's going to hit the station
because you're not bearing in mind the perspective. B5 is *huge*, almost four
miles long. By the time the ship would get close enough to the station to hit
anything, it would look a *lot* smaller. It's a matter of perspective; we're
not used to seeing things that size.
As for laserdisks in 16:9 aspect ratio, you may get your wish, a lot
sooner than you think (for the series, in any event). Well, at least not 5-10
years, anyway.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 323 Sat Aug 07, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:31 EDT
It's inconsistent from one shot to the next.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 328 Sun Aug 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:17 EDT
No, the wall was there in both shots. Television makes for strange
angles sometimes.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 334 Mon Aug 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:23 EDT
Nope. As you'll see in the series, we've worked out the docking bay
stuff very clevely. A ship enters dead center. It is then taken and lowered
into one of a number of different bays deeper within the station (by deeper I
mean lower, more toward the hull). That's how we can have a series of
different docking bays in the first place.
There's a nifty CGI shot we'll be using at some point in the series where
you can see the entirety of the docking bay, with the various ships arrayed
inside. Then there are the more secure bays areas, with restricted access, as
when Kosh arrived.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 346 Sun Aug 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:51 EDT
The commander was not following proper safety procedures in the first
shot. He has a problem with this.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 359 Wed Aug 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:28 EDT
Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnope.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 381 Sun Aug 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:36 EDT
I got bumped by one of those damned computer phone calling thingies, so I
didn't get all of the message I think, but what I can remember to reply to:
There are more aliens than just the 5 major groups. In addition to them,
there's *bunches* of oththe classification of the League of Non-Aligned
Worlds. The Big Five constitute what is in essence the Security Counsel,
while the rest are the General Assembly. We will see these groups
participating in that capacity in "Midnight."
In the reception scene for Kosh, at the bay, Garibaldi says that the
"others" are waiting down the hall. That would include everyone, plus the
ambassadors, except Londo, who he specifies.
The encounter suit opened at the touch of a button (you can hear him
press the button with a *click*). Only for Lyta did it open on its own.
All psi corps members must wear their symbol whenever they are out among
non-PC members. That's the law.
For the record...thtch has something to do with the second trial scene.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 383 Sun Aug 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:01 EDT
I don't think I did.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 390 Tue Aug 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:13 EDT
The alt.tv.b5 post is not correct. One other person here (at least)
knows what the glitch is, but has been asked not to say until others figure it
out independently.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 394 Wed Aug 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:29 EDT
Nothing gets past Phil....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 21
Message 407 Wed Sep 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:46 EDT
My favorite shot so far is the new shot of the Starliner Asimov parked
next to Babylon 5 and sending over a shuttle....
jms
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Topic 23 Fri Feb 12, 1993
V.VAIDY1 [Vijay] at 23:00 EST
Sub: "OtherWorks" by JMS
Before there was "B5" and when "JMS" was just another Plain Joe, there was
OtherSyde
[A discussion of the other works of J. Michael Straczynski]
120 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 23
Message 119 Thu Sep 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:39 EDT
I confess, I slipped in a "Babylon 5" reference in that episode of CP.
Which was 1986/87. I do that sometimes....
jms
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Topic 24 Fri Jun 04, 1993
J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 21:11 EDT
Sub: Babylon 5 - Weapons and Warfare!
For discussion about the weapons, counter weapons, armor, shielding, tactics,
logistics, and so forth, of small combat and large scale war in the Babylon 5
universe.
182 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 24
Message 131 Tue Jul 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:30 EDT
Life's full of mysteries and unanswered questions, ain't it?
jms
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Topic 25 Fri Mar 12, 1993
S.SHELLENBAR [>> SHANE <<] at 08:47 EST
Sub: J. Michael Straczynski Speaks in Public
This is the place to find out where and when JMS will be appearing next. JMS
has honed his skills as a public speaker and is taking his act on the road.
266 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 172 Sun Jul 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:20 EDT
I would suggest to anyone within striking range that they be at Comic
Con. Some interesting things are planned for that presentation.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 182 Sun Aug 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:03 EDT
Comic Con is *more* than worth the cost. It's the one convention I make
it a point *never* to miss; it's just spiffy. As for a comic book, maybe
we'll have something to say on that by the date of the con (though not
necessarily).
jms
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 194 Mon Aug 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:26 EDT
By the way...at the B5 presentation at San Diego Comic Con, there will
likely be more people than me on stage that afternoon. Tentatively, it looks
like it'll be me, plus one or more of the following: Jerry Doyle, Michael
O'Hare, Harlan Ellison, and possibly Mira Furlan.
Just in case anyone's interested....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 197 Mon Aug 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:59 EDT
Surround sound is added in post production, that's way down the road for
us. And again, the letterbox is only for down the road use; we're looking to
broadcast, and use for immediate purposes, standard aspect ratio.
jms
(P.S. It's "Mefisto In Onyx," not "Mephisto And Onyx." Just FYI.
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 211 Thu Aug 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:15 EDT
Don't know yet....
jms
(Gary, haven't received any sort of confirmation yet...are you *sure* all
the other details are worked out?)
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 218 Fri Aug 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:02 EDT
Jerry is tall. Michael is tall. Claudia Christian is also pretty tall,
around 5'10" or better. Richard Biggs is fairly tall, close to the height of
Jerry and Michael.
Hey, what'd you expect?
jms(6'4")
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 241 Wed Aug 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:32 EDT
During.
The tape was dark because it was made from dailies, which haven't been
color corrected, and because the setup lent more darkness to them; by the time
anyone figured how to lighten the picture, it was half done.
As Harlan commented...yes, there may be a sequel to "Demon With a Glass
Hand," in which that character, played by Culp, would come to B5, still living
out the centuries as programmed. We'll see....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 245 Wed Aug 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:18 EDT
I thought long and hard about the question of mixing universes, and
allowed it only in this one case, because the events that propelled Trent (the
character from Demon) into the past (our present) don't take place for another
thousand years or so. Thus it doesn't do my arc any harm at all. One could
say that the events in "Demon" will happen at some point in the future of the
B5 universe...unless some events change them. On this one occasion,
therefore, I decided to allow it. But that's the ONLY one.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 250 Sat Aug 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:24 EDT
By the way...just for funsies I slipped a reference into one of our
scripts to a location being at grid coordinates 471-18-25.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 25
Message 260 Wed Sep 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:04 EDT
Yes, Friday and 2, and Saturday there's a follow-up presentation at 4.
One note, btw: Harlan will be at the con, and will be at the Saturday
presentation.
If you live in San Francisco, or are planning to be at the con as of
tomorrow, Wednesday, read on:
Harlan needs someone to wear a sandwich board announcing the signing
session for the limited edition of "Mefisto in Onyx." Apparently the ad
didn't make it into the program book. By way of repayment (other than simply
being part of an Ellison Event, and getting to hang with Mr. E. a bit),
there's some cash involved, and a free, autographed and personalized copy of
the "MiO" book. If you're interested, drop me a note in private mail.
jms
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Topic 26 Sun Jun 06, 1993
G.PLANA [Gary] at 01:51 EDT
Sub: Babylon 5 - Episode titles and info
This topic is for information about individual episodes -- their titles,
writers, and any other information JMS may leak!
86 message(s) total.
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Category 18, Topic 26
Message 45 Sun Jul 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:00 EDT
The series will start with regular one-hour episodes.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 26
Message 47 Wed Jul 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:09 EDT
Titles more or less in shooting order (this is NOT the order in
which they'll be broadcast):
"Infection" - JMS
<second title is classified> - JMS
"Midnight on the Firing Line" - JMS
"Amaranth" - Larry DiTillio
"The War Prayer" - D.C. Fontana
"And the Sky Full of Stars" - JMS
"Believers" - David Gerrold
"A Knife in the Shadows" - Marc Scott Zicree
<ninth title is classified> - JMS
Other episode titles are "Metaphors and Body Counts," "Chrysalis,"
"Babylon Squared," "Mind War" and "Target: Unknown," plus others still to
come.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 26
Message 50 Fri Jul 16, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:42 EDT
Marc worked a couple seasons on Friday the 13th, Beyond Reality, did some
work on Captain Power, and is the author of "The Twilight Zone Companion."
jms
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Category 18, Topic 26
Message 55 Wed Aug 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:38 EDT
New title for you: "The Parliament of Dreams."
jms
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Category 18, Topic 26
Message 70 Fri Aug 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:02 EDT
"The Parliament of Dreams" is "Carnival!" retitled, and "Amaranth" has
been retitled "Born to the Purple."
jms
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