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1714 lines
72 KiB
1714 lines
72 KiB
Babylon 5 posts by JMS for September, 1993
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This file includes a compilation of posts on GEnie by J. Michael
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Straczynski in the Babylon 5 category. The posts are copyright by JMS
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(and compilation copyright is by GEnie).
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************
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Topic 1 Mon Oct 26, 1992
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SF-MARSHALL [Dave ] at 18:50 EST
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Sub: Babylon 5 - The Series (Non-Spoiler)
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Welcome to the Babylon 5 category and main topic for the new series. Here is
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the place for all general information on the series. Topic 2 is the location
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for SPOILERS. And please, NO STORY IDEAS are to be posted either.
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403 message(s) total.
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************
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 294 Thu Sep 16, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:33 EDT
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The problem, of course, with DeVito or Lloyd or (as some suggested) Mel
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Gibson or others it that their salaries would be, individually, equal to our
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entire production budget for 3-4 episodes. Which means we'd have to shoot
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only 18 rather than 22.
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As for a production report...things are going swimmingly. Today we
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started getting dailies on our first day of shooting on "And the Sky Full of
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Stars," which deals with the Battle of the Line. This is not going to look
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like your conventional episode of television. We've brought in equipment that
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you don't normally see on a television set, certain kinds of cranes and lenses
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and lighting packages that will give this particular episode a very strange,
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almost surreal look. It's quite remarkable.
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And Ron's pushing the envelope on the CGI...compositing some live action
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stuff with CGI that'll blow your TV out.
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It's going *well*.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 301 Sat Sep 18, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:09 EDT
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The details of the budget per episide are classified...but you could
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easily take DS9's budget, cut it in half, and you'd still have more than we've
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got.
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Which is, again, part of the overall plan...if we can prove that you can
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do quality SF on a budget comparable to non-SF series, it'll open the gates
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for more shows down the road.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 303 Sat Sep 18, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:31 EDT
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Now here's comedy...we're fielding a Babylon 5 softball as one of the
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showbiz leagues. (Many shows in town have softball teams, and th ey've
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organized into something that has grown quite substantially into a Big Deal.)
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We're making up jerseys for the team, and on the front there will be the B5
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logo, and on the back, for the team player number, there will be 5. That's
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all. The only number. Which will make calling the game a WONDERFUL
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challenge..."And on shortstop we've got number five...out in center field is
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number five...with number five pitching and catching."
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Everything about this show is surreal.
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BTW...our first game is against the SeaQuest team.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 305 Sat Sep 18, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:13 EDT
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If you like, sure.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 317 Sun Sep 19, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:47 EDT
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I'm afraid I wasn't much impressed with the SQ CGI. You really couldn't
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SEE anything, there were no shadows, I still don't really know what the SQ
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looks like...what Ron's doing is years beyond what you saw.
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Speaking of which, I was with Ron and the Foundation crew tonight at the
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technical Emmys presentation, where we picked up the visual EFX award for his
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work on B5. (In this category, more than one show can win, so we got one,
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Lucas' Indiana Jones series got one,and DS9 got one. Lucas was quite
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intrigued by the B5 footage on the screens, as I noted from my table, which
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was next to his.) It's quite rewarding, our first time out of the door, to be
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in that company.
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It's my *understanding* that the E! channel will show the technical emmys
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on Monday, but that's not confirmed.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 330 Mon Sep 20, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:58 EDT
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And y'know...it's absolutely in keeping with the Straczynski luck, and
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the history of this show, that the year B5 wins an Emmy is the first year that
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they DON'T do the recap of last night's technical awards. Ah, well....
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BTW, there were several odd JMS/B5 connections with other aspects of the
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Emmys this year. Performers are nominated for the full season of their
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work...and Angela Lansbury was nominated for the year in which I worked on the
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show as writer/producer (ditto on the previous year during my tenure). Of
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course, she's nominated every year, so a hamster could work as writer
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producer, that hardly counts. One of the other technical Emmy nominations --
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for music -- went to an episode of Murder, She Wrote entitled "The Wind Around
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the Tower," which I wrote; set in Ireland, it was designed to open the way for
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some different styles of music in the show. Also, John Copeland, line
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producer on the B5 series, was nominated for his work on the Wild West
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documentary miniseries, and B5 pilot costume designer Catherine Adair was the
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designer for Angela's gowns tonight.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 333 Tue Sep 21, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:38 EDT
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How You Know You're Finally Going Bananas, by JMS.
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So there I was, lying abed, at 3 a.m., unable to sleep, and I come up
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with the Fart Classification System (FCS). Basically, they break down into
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three categories: small farts are squibs, medium farts are crackers, and
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really huge farts are zeppelins.
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I desperately need to get a life....
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 357 Thu Sep 23, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:45 EDT
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We are shooting in 16:9 aspect ratio, cutting it down to normal TV aspect
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ratio for its initial broadcasts. When a) the laserdisks are in time
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released, and b) when HDTV becomes more of a standard, the full letterboxed
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aspect ratio will be available.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 361 Thu Sep 23, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:59 EDT
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Let me just stick my neck out a little here...though I know I won't be
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sticking it out very far, having seen what I've just seen.
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I've always been *very* careful in what I say, to avoid over-hyping
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anything, or to make promises I can't fulfill. That's why I ask, when I go to
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conventions, "Did I keep my promise?"
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Here's a promise for you. Which I make without hesitation.
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"And the Sky Full of Stars" is absolutely unlike anything ever produced
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before for television. It is, so far, the high-water mark of the season.
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Directorially, and in terms of the visual effects, the CGI, the performances,
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(the writing, one hopes)...right across the board, it's a stunner. And
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just...I can't convey this enough...*different*. It just takes TV science
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fiction and yanks it to a whole other level of complexity.
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Knowing that I'll eventually be hitting conventions after this show airs,
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at which time I'll get reactions, I say that without hesitation. I think you
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will find this promise kept.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 364 Thu Sep 23, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:19 EDT
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There will be merchandising, but we're just not going to let it be what
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drives the show. And it really isn't set up to be a theatrical project. As
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for being a show with integrity, there's plenty of them out there. "Picket
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Fences" is probably the best example of that, just offhand. How we're doing
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what we're doing...is a combination of things: the right technology at the
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right time, the right people, the right stories, and the right environment.
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Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle, and sometimes you catch fireflies.
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That this show proceeds from a definite, personal vision, and is not the
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product of a committee, likely has a great deal to do with it.
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Though the reaction to what we're doing within the studio and network
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arenas has been very positive and extremely supportive, I don't think anyone --
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even, to some degree, those of us doing the show -- *really* understood what
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we had until we finished "Sky." This episode has sent ripples all OVER the
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place. I can honestly say it's not like any other television episode you've
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seen...people will be dissecting this one for a long, LONG time after it airs.
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The other episodes we've made are all good..."Midnight," "Believers,"
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"Soul Hunter"...there's not a dud in the bag so far. But with "Sky" we have
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created something quite amazing. I still haven't seen a final cut on this
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episode, but if it's in keeping with the way it's falling together so
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far...when they add up the balance at the end of my life, I think that "Sky"
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will be remembered. I know this sounds awfully overblown, and I'm not really
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comfortable talking about anything like this, but jeezus....
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Ladies and gentlemen, it's a corker. Honest to god, I think we've just
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made a little history.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 366 Thu Sep 23, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:24 EDT
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"Sky" will air roughly around episode number nine.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 373 Fri Sep 24, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:33 EDT
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Just to clarify: we'll be delivering *finished* episodes as early as mid-
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October. That's everything, music, EFX, everything. PTEN doesn't begin its
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new "season" until January, so that's when they'll begin airing. But we'll
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have nearly a dozen or so episodes in the can when we begin airing.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 382 Fri Sep 24, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:30 EDT
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Jon...I sympathize. I generally carried a pretty heavy load in college.
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My next-to-last year, just to get the hell OUT of there, I managed to crash
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courses and evade the university limits and ended up with 28 units in one
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semester...and none of them basket weaving stuff, either...statistical
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analysis (imagine ME in that one), physiological psychology, 6 units of
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German, biology....
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I was, shall we say, insane....
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 385 Sat Sep 25, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:47 EDT
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As an aside...one of the things that's been great to watch over the last
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few months is how the crew and cast have really come together. On a lot
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(though certainly not all) of shows, once you finish the day, the crew goes
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off in as many different directions as possible. Ditto with the cast.
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But now, on top of the B5 softball team, now there's a B5 golf team, both
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in-house for B5 tournaments, and to play others. Softball is on Saturday,
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golf is on Sunday. Groups of the crew get together socially on the weekends,
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have barbeques and dinners. When we wrap for the day, there is generally a
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large contingent that heads down to a nearby restaurant to hang out together
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and get coffee and something to eat. The other softball teams have been
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astonished because we generally have lots of cast come out to play as well.
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At the last game, Michael O'Hare, Jerry Doyle, Richard Biggs (pitching) and
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Andrea Thompson all showed up and played. (Jerry hit a homer.)
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There are always hassles, and last minute problems, and the occasional
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bursts of crankiness that come with TV production, but for the most part it
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seems that the cast and crew are genuinely having a good time on the show, and
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that's always a good sign.
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No special reason for mentioning it, except I was thinking about it, and
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it's kinda nice....
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 397 Sat Sep 25, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:08 EDT
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So far, the team's 1 for 2; their first game against SeaQuest (our team
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came to play and have a good time, the other team came to WIN) went to the SQ
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team. Our people spent the week practicing between setups and at lunch -- we
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set up a milk carton for our new pitcher to practice his shot -- and this time
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we won over "Dave's World." Though I wasn't there -- everyone ELSE gets to go
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play, *I* have to stay chained to a keyboard -- apparently it was a repeat on
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one level, in that there were maybe 8 from the "Dave's" side in the stands,
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and we had something 50-60 people from our side show up to cheer on the team.
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(Though we had a core bunch of players, anybody who wanted to play, played.)
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Again Jerry, Andrea and Richard Biggs showed up; Michael was otherwise
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engaged.
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Just recently, btw, I gave Larry DiTillio a printout with just a little
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of the coming 5 year arc...if he's going to story edit, he needs to know what
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lines not to cross, and I can't ride herd on that all the time. He took it
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home, read it. Called me. Didn't even say hello. Began the conversation
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with, "You are out of your f'ing mind." I asked for some small clarification
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of his position. He indicated that he thought it was absolutely great,
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something that'll really go down in the rolls when the final tally is done,
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"But you GOT to be out of your f'ing mind to try and pull something like this
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off. It *can* be done...but it takes a lunatic to do it."
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Sounds about right.
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jms
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------------
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************
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Topic 2 Wed Nov 20, 1991
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STARR [Arne] at 19:41 EST
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Sub: Babylon 5 -- The Series!! >>SPOILERS<<
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May 28th, '93, Babylon 5 officially became a series. There will be 22 hours,
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plus the 2 hours of the pilot, for season one. Airs Wednesday's at 8PM in most
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places starting Jan. '94. This is the Spoiler topic where anything goes.
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571 message(s) total.
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************
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 287 Tue Aug 31, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:11 EDT
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Yes, there will be a Confrancisco presentation on B5..two, actually.
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One will take place Friday at 2 p.m., with a follow up on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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There will be new footage spread across both days, and there may be an extra
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guest or two at the 4:00 panel. Can't promise that at this time, but it's a
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possibility.
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Thinking back on San Diego Comic Con, something comes to mind that I
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wanted to mention. When I'm doing my number at a con, I kind of glaze over a
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bit; I get mentally pointed toward performance, and things that would normally
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be obvious get missed. Thus...if you're one of the regulart (regular) folk
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around here, and you come up to me, *introduce yourselves*, because I rarely
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read badges (at 6'4" it's tough sometimes), and even when I do I'm often too
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stupid to put names and handles together.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 290 Tue Aug 31, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:56 EDT
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Not that I'm aware of at this time.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 303 Wed Sep 01, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:00 EDT
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Will: relax.
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You have to understand the way this show is going to be structured.
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There aren't going generally going to be a lot of loose threads hanging
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around. Episodes will resolve themselves. It's just that, from time to time,
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we'll carom off some point that seems tangential, but which will later become
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significant. You don't have to watch every episode. Hell, if I do this right
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-- and this is one hell of a hat trick, lemme tell you, when it comes to
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structure -- you can even watch them out of ORDER, within a season, and still
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follow what's going on. The trick is to make it so that if something slips
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past, the viewer doesn't trip over it. And when you do an episode that you've
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set up before, that set-up should in some subtle, non-heavy-expository way, be
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re-established for those who might not have seen the episode.
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Telling people "This is a five year arc" in a big way almost as a warning
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is actually more destructive than constructive; it might lead people to think
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that they need to commit five years of their lives to get the whole story, and
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it's hard to get people to commit to even one ten-hour miniseries. You can
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watch any part you want, and get a good, solid, independently enjoyable hour-
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show out of it. You can come in at any point you want. The key is that the
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more you watch, the more you will pick up on the nuances and the threads we're
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going to be playing with. Generally, we're going to keep those threads a bit
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light in the first season, then begin to draw in more of the general story arc
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in the second and subsequent seasons. Let's use the first year to get the
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audience comfortable with the B5 universe, and with our characters, and in a
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handful of episodes, carefully begin leading everyone where we want them to
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go, so that when we start to accellerate things in year two, those who've been
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with us from the start can get right into it, and those who come to the show
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late can play catch up without any problem.
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 310 Wed Sep 01, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:44 EDT
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The 5 year arc is worked out in considerable detail; 200 single spaced
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pages in a triple-encrypted file. I can't allow myself ever to even so much
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as *consider* not hitting the full five years on this, so the rest of the
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question I can't answer.
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CopperCon is apparently a couple weeks after ConFrancisco, and Larry
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DiTillio will be there with a B5 presentation.
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 315 Thu Sep 02, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:37 EDT
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If they can't figure out there's more than meets the eye...they don't
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have an eye to meet. If the series doesn't stand on its own right from the
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git-go, the hell with a five-year arc, it doesn't matter, because we'll never
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get that far.
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 362 Wed Sep 08, 1993
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:12 EDT
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At risk of rehashing this one more time, what's missing from the pilot is
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25 minutes of additional material that further fleshed out the characters.
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Each of the characters is being solidly rounded out in the series,
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showing multiple sides to each character. All I can say is that I think
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you'll like what we're doing. On the topic of music, I'll have more to say in
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a few days or so.
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Still bushed from the convention, and have leapt fully back into the
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show, so this'll be brief. But it was a great time, and I'm glad that the
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clips went over so well.
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 377 Thu Sep 09, 1993
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Frankly, I can't imagine that other show *ever* doing a show about soul
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stealing. Re: the "hard-SF" note, I noted earlier that there are some hard SF
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aspects to the show, and some elements that could best be described as science
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fantasy...but in those cases, as with "Soul Hunter," we leave it ambiguous: is
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he actually doing what he says he's doing, or basically encoding a simulation
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of someone's brain wave patterns to create a duplicate of someone's memories
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and personality?
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I have to say I'm a little dismayed at the *detail* of the spoilers
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given; I'd imagined that there would be some description of what was seen, but
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not in this exhaustive detail. Which is all I'll say about it; you pays your
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money and you takes your chances.
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I'm pretty much running on fumes right now, between running from editing
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room to stage to keyboard to production meeting. I think I also picked up a
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slight trace of the creeping crud, which I'm trying to fight, but with the
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hectic schedule, that's hard.
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I've now seen the completed CGI EFX from "Midnight," which has some
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considerable space fight stuff, and it's simply the most amazing thing I've
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ever seen done for television. Ron has so far exceeded what's in the pilot
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that I can't even begin to describe it to you.
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Late next week we begin shooting "And the Sky Full of Stars," which is
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|
going to be a VERY surreal, unusual episode, not just story wise, but from a
|
|
directorial standpoint as well. Very stylistic. (Janet Greek, of Northern
|
|
Exposure, is directing.) It's really one of those "kick over the table"
|
|
episodes.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 378 Thu Sep 09, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:35 EDT
|
|
|
|
BTW, apparently there's some silly fannish thing going on...someone
|
|
called someone I know and said that there's a bunch of people getting together
|
|
so that "when Babylon 5 fails miserably, as we all know it will, and Harlan
|
|
Ellison quits, we'll all send him telegrams saying 'You knew the job was
|
|
dangerous when you took it.'"
|
|
|
|
I look forward to disappointing them *terribly*.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 387 Fri Sep 10, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:31 EDT
|
|
|
|
I always kinda figured that the shows would be synopsized *when they get
|
|
aired* in this kind of detail, not this far in advance.
|
|
|
|
Re: the pickup on the series, it's definitely 22 episodes.
|
|
|
|
Today David Gerrold came by the set to watch some of the shooting o9n
|
|
(on) his episode, "Believers." Unlike many shows, which basically throw the
|
|
writer off the set, our writers are welcome to hang around. It's not only
|
|
okay, it's *expected* that the writer will be there at some point, to be a
|
|
part of the process. David was quite ebullient about the whole thing; he
|
|
thinks that this is the best script he's ever written, and it's being filmed
|
|
exactly as he'd hoped, if not better. So there he was, getting autographs,
|
|
muttering something about somebody named "Hugo...."
|
|
|
|
What was interesting was one comment he made, which echoed almost
|
|
verbatim something D.C. Fontana said when she came by the stage: that the
|
|
atmosphere on set, with the crew, the cast, the production people is exactly
|
|
the same as it was on the first season of the original Star Trek.
|
|
|
|
We continue to chug along....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
(P.S. The clips that Larry's bringing to CopperCon include the montage,
|
|
and the same segments from "Midnight on the Firing Line," with one difference:
|
|
the clips shown at WorldCon were missing about 40% of the CGI shots. This
|
|
version lacks only one or two shots, and there's some very cool new stuff in
|
|
there.)
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 399 Fri Sep 10, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:55 EDT
|
|
|
|
Agreed; I wouldn't expect to see anything significant in TV Guide for a
|
|
while yet; better that way, so it won't get lost in the fall preview.
|
|
|
|
Re: the pilot...I've hashed and rehashed this, and the bottom line is to
|
|
see what we do in the series and judge the series by the series. The DS9
|
|
pilot had to explain very little that wasn't specific to the plotline: you
|
|
already knew what a bajorran was, what a wormhole was, what the Federation
|
|
was, what the cardassians were, on and on and on. Because they didn't have to
|
|
introduce any of that, they could spend time on other character moments.
|
|
|
|
We didn't have that luxury in the pilot. We had to do what, in essence,
|
|
ST has done over 25 years: establish our universe, painting it in broad
|
|
strokes, as broad're done with that aspect. And now we can do our character-
|
|
based stories. Which is exactly what we're doing.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 404 Sat Sep 11, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:27 EDT
|
|
|
|
Better now, having gotten a little sleep (albeit in the office, at
|
|
lunch). As for some people gleefully hoping for failure...I think in part
|
|
it's the Titanic syndrome of people loving big disasters. Also, if you look
|
|
at most SF shows produced in the U.S., there haven't been that many long-lived
|
|
success stories. And a LOT of bombs. So it comes down to a conditioned
|
|
reflex: it won't last, or it'll be a bomb, or both. They just naturally
|
|
assume this will be the case.
|
|
|
|
Having now seen final cuts on a number of episodes, I look forward to
|
|
disappointing them.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 406 Sat Sep 11, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:50 EDT
|
|
|
|
Sorry, I keep missing it...correct, I don't yet know what the final
|
|
airdate/schedule is going to be. I'll probably know closer to December or
|
|
November.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 412 Sat Sep 11, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:53 EDT
|
|
|
|
Rich...ah, there you are. Wondered when you'd show up.
|
|
|
|
Here's one of those interesting little things that happen sometimes
|
|
during production. We're shooting "Believers," David Gerrold's story. Now,
|
|
when we break for lunch, we all eat together -- crew, cast, writers,
|
|
producers, everybody -- in this little area behind the stage. I try to
|
|
encourage everybody to stick around for lunch rather than split so that we can
|
|
maintain that sense of being a real unit.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, I'm sitting across from someone I've seen on set a few times,
|
|
who's apparently the teacher for a young actor we're using (Jonathon Kaplan)
|
|
in "Believers." I don't make a big deal out of my position on the show, dress
|
|
like everybody else, so the guy sitting across from me at the table asks, "So,
|
|
who do you play in this?"
|
|
|
|
Unable to resist the temptation, I say, "I play the executive producer."
|
|
|
|
|
|
The fellow on the other side of the table was Rich, who has now seen
|
|
behind the scenes of one of our episodes...what I think will be a very
|
|
powerful and moving episode. So Rich, you're welcome to post your thoughts on
|
|
the week...with a few caveats: the location is secret, for obvious reasons,
|
|
and obviously the story is classified.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 416 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:35 EDT
|
|
|
|
Katherine: do tell more. How did the presentation go? How did the
|
|
audience react? Details, woman, details!
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 423 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:42 EDT
|
|
|
|
Well, that's about 8 things Larry said that he shouldn't have said.
|
|
|
|
I'll definitely be waiting outside his door with a ball-bat upon his
|
|
arrival back in Los Angeles....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 424 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:49 EDT
|
|
|
|
Well, that's now also several not entirely correct things. (Larry should
|
|
come to more story meetings.)
|
|
|
|
The deal with Stewart isn't about money. That part of the deal was fine.
|
|
The problem is that he also a) wants to do an album or two, and b) wants to do
|
|
some touring, which means he can't take a long-term assignment, which a
|
|
sereis represents. If we wanted to pay what an album and tour would bring,
|
|
that's possible, but no show can afford that.
|
|
|
|
I hope to have an announcement on this later this week. It's pretty much
|
|
nailed down now, but (unlike certain story editors I could name) I tend to
|
|
wait until things are official before talking about them. Suffice to say,
|
|
it's someone whose name you may recognize from a rock and roll background.
|
|
|
|
The "Demon" story is on the schedule. I don't know what Larry was
|
|
talking about in that regard, unless he was dealing with the question of
|
|
Harlan's health.
|
|
|
|
We will reveal what Kosh is a LOT sooner than year 5. Closer to the end
|
|
of year 2.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 429 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:55 EDT
|
|
|
|
Re: Abbott...I suspect Larry was pulling your collective legs.
|
|
|
|
This is why we don't let Larry out of his cage very often.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 435 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:14 EDT
|
|
|
|
Brett: this isn't a case of jack-of-all-trades. Garibaldi *has* to be a
|
|
qualified fighter pilot as head of security of a *space station* where
|
|
problems can come up in the space surrounding the station. Also, as mentioned
|
|
here before (I think) and certainly in one of our scripts, during the period
|
|
between Garibaldi's last security job, and now, when eh (he) couldn't get a
|
|
job as security chief, he was a pilot, running transport shuttles on a couple
|
|
of ice mining operations. (It was not a good period for him.) Nothing is
|
|
done arbitrarily with these characters. All three of our main EA characters -
|
|
- Sinclair, Garibaldi and Ivanova -- are qualified fighter and transport
|
|
pilots. Having Talia suddenly going off in one of these would be absolutely
|
|
wrong, and a case of what you describe.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 439 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:07 EDT
|
|
|
|
Actually, that was another error on Larry's part. We'd gone after
|
|
McGoohan for the role of Knight One in "And the Sky Full of Stars," after we
|
|
had to reschedule Walter. He read the script, loved the script, and wanted to
|
|
do the episode. (Which is *very* hard, he's very choosy about what scripts he
|
|
does, and we were delighted.) Alas, we learned that at the time we would be
|
|
shooting, he was slated to be out of the country on a gig that couldn't be
|
|
changed. So that, as they say, is that.
|
|
|
|
At this point, we've signed Christopher Neame for that role, with Judson
|
|
Scott as the other Knight character in the episode.
|
|
|
|
(Btw, at this point, McGoohan's main work is as a director on the Columbo
|
|
movies.)
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 444 Mon Sep 13, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:49 EDT
|
|
|
|
Quick sketch of Ivanova: Russian, pessimistic, wry, very sharp. She
|
|
isn't in "Believers" because there was a one-week overlap with a prior
|
|
committment on a film project, which we accommodated.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 464 Tue Sep 14, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:09 EDT
|
|
|
|
Brett: the fighter craft release mechanism does use the rotational
|
|
gravity aspect to shoot the fighters away from the station, yes. In a really
|
|
neato looking fashion.
|
|
|
|
Re: fighters...it would make sense that any command personnel in a
|
|
situation like this would be thoroughly checked out and qualified to fly *the
|
|
fighters which the ship carries*. So even if they flew other kinds of
|
|
fighters, logically they would be trained on these as well prior to
|
|
assignment. (Though for most purposes, the EA fighters are all very similar
|
|
in most respects.)
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 476 Wed Sep 15, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:17 EDT
|
|
|
|
Of course, these aren't shuttle mission specialists.
|
|
|
|
Carlos: it's hard to get McGoohan. The script has to be just *so*.
|
|
"Sky" was that way, probably one of the most unusual scripts I've ever
|
|
written, and one I knew would get him. Later...we'll see. But we'll
|
|
definitely keep trying.
|
|
|
|
Re: the end of the 5th year...I've noted before that there is a thread
|
|
raised during the B5 run that could be extended into its own series. But it
|
|
wouldn't be B5. The story of Babylon 5 ends at the end of the fifth year,
|
|
regardless.
|
|
|
|
BTW, since as mentioned Stewart Copeland is going to be off touring and
|
|
doing an album and other stuff, we've had to lock down someone else as our
|
|
resident composer. Someone suggested here numerous times has now been
|
|
confirmed: Christopher Franke, of Tangerine Dream, who has done the
|
|
soundtracks for such projects as Thief, Angel Falls, Universal Soldier,
|
|
Tommyknockers and others. In addition to being a solid percussion man and a
|
|
great musician, he's a real techie, up on the latest technologies involving
|
|
music and sound, and will be able to give B5 a VERY unique sound.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 480 Wed Sep 15, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:43 EDT
|
|
|
|
What Ron points out is something that I very much want from the B5
|
|
series: to start arguments (or at least discussions).
|
|
|
|
It's the difference between an episode with a Moral at the end that says
|
|
"We're all people and we should get along better and play nice," and is gone a
|
|
moment later...or something that provokes a real discussion marked primarily
|
|
by greys. (And if someone hasn't figured out the prior moral by now, a quick
|
|
TV show ain't gonna do it.) The two sides to the question Ron raises are both
|
|
right, both correct. At least in their own minds, and one can make a case
|
|
that they're right on a much larger scale.
|
|
It's all dependent upon what actually happens to the soul...and on THAT one
|
|
you can weigh in on all kinds of sides.
|
|
|
|
Many of our stories are like that. We raise an issue within a dramatic
|
|
context, and we deal with that dramatic context. There isn't a loose thread
|
|
hanging. But we open some questions that can be, and we hope will be
|
|
continued after the show is over. David Gerrold's "Believers" definitely
|
|
falls in this category.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 493 Thu Sep 16, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:40 EDT
|
|
|
|
In no particular order:
|
|
|
|
Who's right, the soul hunter or the minbari? Yes.
|
|
|
|
It was the discussion early on here about composers, in which Chris
|
|
Franke's name was mentioned, that bumped him to the top of our list and helped
|
|
motivate us to take a look. One more way the interaction has been positive.
|
|
|
|
And yes, he will be doing the entire season. And composing a new B5
|
|
theme. (I keep suggesting something along the lines of "Bali High" from
|
|
"South Pacific." They keep hitting me with week old halibut. "Babylonnnnnnn
|
|
FiiiiiiIIIIve.....")
|
|
|
|
January 24, eh? Good. Glad to hear it. (Producers are always the last
|
|
to know.)
|
|
|
|
Finally...yes, there are leftover clothes. Why not? There are in real
|
|
life. What you'll often see Sinclair wearing, when he's off duty in his
|
|
quarters, is an old scruffy sweatshirt/sweater from the EA flight school.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 516 Sat Sep 18, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:18 EDT
|
|
|
|
Rich, you worked with Meatloaf, eh? Cool. I've always enjoyed his work,
|
|
on camera and on records, and am only dismayed that there's so little of it
|
|
generally available. (I found more of it in London than I've seen here in the
|
|
states.) His songs have a very sharp wit to them that's lacking in a lot of
|
|
other stuff. ("I want you...I need you...but there ain't no way I'm ever
|
|
gonna love you...But don't feel sad...'cause two out of three ain't bad.")
|
|
|
|
I have very weird, very eccentric and eclectic tastes in music. In
|
|
addition to Meatloaf, I'm big on Leon Redbone, Indigo Girls, Enya, I'm
|
|
starting to like Digable Planets...classical, jazz, big band, hard rock,
|
|
celtic, blues, just about anything *except* country, which I couldn't warm up
|
|
to even if I were cremated in a crate of Garth Brooks albums.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 546 Wed Sep 22, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:42 EDT
|
|
|
|
One thing about having a career that's as eclectic as mine has been --
|
|
dark fantasy/horror novels to mystery series to SF stories to comedy -- is
|
|
that you learn a lot of techniques that you don't normally encounter. So
|
|
yes, I definitely carried over a few lessons I learned from that experience.
|
|
My theory is that if you're doing any sort of mystery for TV, once the full
|
|
story is laid out, you should be able to go back and watch the show again, and
|
|
suddenly all the pieces lay out, they make sense. The trick is to get the
|
|
viewer to interpret the clues one way, then tilt the mirror slightly to show
|
|
what they *really* mean.
|
|
|
|
In the series, G'Kar won't be hitting on the station's resident telepath,
|
|
but he will try a few more times via other means to get his hands on a
|
|
telepath.
|
|
|
|
We're going to be doing a lot on the Psi Corps toward the middle of the
|
|
series, btw. There's quite a bit in D.C. Fontana's new story, "Legacies," and
|
|
in a script I just finished, "Mind War." The more I play around with the
|
|
notion of legalized, licensed telepaths, the more room there is for all kinds
|
|
of intrigue.
|
|
|
|
Today, incidentally, I finished the outline for "Chrysalis," which will
|
|
be the last episode of this season, though we'll be shooting it much earlier,
|
|
about 2/3rds through the run. It's a real corker in which we absolutely kick
|
|
over the table and all hell breaks loose *bigtime*. This one I'm *really*
|
|
looking forward to writing.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 547 Wed Sep 22, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:52 EDT
|
|
|
|
Crossed with Brett. Yes, there's a reason. There are always reasons for
|
|
what I write, and I try to make them good ones. In the case of "Soul Hunter,"
|
|
there's a First Contact protocol at work here, and for something like that
|
|
Sinclair moves in. (He also loves flying these things, and will seize on any
|
|
opporunity to get in one.) He also takes off in "Midnight," but again there's
|
|
a specific reason that he has to be there rather than someone else.
|
|
Otherwise, it's someone else who goes. (In "Midnight," when there's word of
|
|
another kind of problem, which may affect station security, it's Garibaldi who
|
|
goes out.)
|
|
|
|
We will also, from time to time, put Ivanova in the cockpit as head of a
|
|
fighter wing. They're all qualified.
|
|
|
|
Glad you liked the CGI. We are, as you note, working *very* hard to get
|
|
the science right...and discovering that what I assumed from the start is
|
|
correct: that if you take the time to do it accurately, it doesn't limit your
|
|
possibilities, it gives you MORE possibilities, and it looks better.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 556 Thu Sep 23, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:52 EDT
|
|
|
|
We're doing some stuff with newscasts, but it's more directly related to
|
|
each show than connective material.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 563 Fri Sep 24, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:45 EDT
|
|
|
|
The various characters take their own stands,which vary. Franklin only
|
|
considers the possibility of cloning someone's personality matrix, for
|
|
instance. And again, it depends on how you *define* soul. The Soul Hunter
|
|
defines it not as something supernatural, but as the collection of thoughts,
|
|
personality, feelings and the very essence of the person that dies with the
|
|
body. That definition is broad enough to encompass just about anything. Then
|
|
you get into the more specific ideas of what a soul is.
|
|
|
|
One person at a post production house we've used has indicated that he
|
|
has "theological problems" with working on that episode; not because it's
|
|
*against* what he believes -- he's worked on horror movies and stuff with
|
|
devils and the like -- but because it takes a point of view he doesn't much
|
|
like...in that he has to sit and defend the whole *context* of his
|
|
ideas...meaning, it's making him think. He can just poo-poo the stuff against
|
|
what he believes, support what he does believe in...but he isn't quite sure
|
|
where this show comes down, or where it makes *him* come down. I've had any
|
|
number of problems with people on a show before, but this is the first time
|
|
I've run into a theological problem.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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.
|
|
430 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 366 Thu Sep 09, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:45 EDT
|
|
|
|
No progress. We'll see what happens.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 370 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:59 EDT
|
|
|
|
If you liked that sequence, wait until you see what comes up later in
|
|
that episode...imagine 9 B5 fighters vs. about a dozen raider ships, all in
|
|
pure x-y-z axis movement, in accurate flight patterns for a zero gravity/zero
|
|
atmosphere environment. It's dizzying to watch, but very cool. Absolutely
|
|
unlike anything ever done for television before.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 374 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:11 EDT
|
|
|
|
The fighters are built on a cross-wing structure (four wings), but very
|
|
different from either X-wing or tie fighters. The four wings have fore, aft,
|
|
top, bottom and side thrusters, so that they can move in any direction...they
|
|
can fly left to right, turn backwards, and continue to fly left to right,
|
|
flying backwards, and thus fire right to left. They're perfectly designed for
|
|
zero-g environments.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 382 Tue Sep 14, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:11 EDT
|
|
|
|
What's also funny is that in the scripts, the hologram in the tube is
|
|
referred to as "Mentor." Anyone out there who remembers CP might get a kick
|
|
out of that one....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 403 Sat Sep 18, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:21 EDT
|
|
|
|
There's one new thing you'll be seeing in the B5 series that you didn't
|
|
see much in the pilot, and that's compositing digital CGI with live action.
|
|
There was the observation dome shot in the pilot, where you push in and see
|
|
the Lt. Cmdr, but that was about it. We're doing a lot more in the series,
|
|
and some of it looks absolutely *stunning*.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 406 Sun Sep 19, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:43 EDT
|
|
|
|
Brett: some surprises I don't want to spoil.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 409 Sun Sep 19, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:09 EDT
|
|
|
|
They can put out pretty much the same amount of thrust in any direction.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 411 Mon Sep 20, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:00 EDT
|
|
|
|
Yes and no and sometimes...all I can say is that there's a Black Project
|
|
hidden somewhere in this conversation, and Ron will skin me alive if I so much
|
|
as *hint* to what it is, so don't even ask.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 414 Tue Sep 21, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:34 EDT
|
|
|
|
Boy, you go nuts trying to do good EFX, and then people get worried about
|
|
"effects for effects sake." (Said complaint on my end being only half
|
|
hearted, and with some humor.) (I'm sorry, but I'm constitutionally incapable
|
|
of doing those little smiley glyphs.)
|
|
|
|
Trust me, the story *always* comes first. The EFX are always and only in
|
|
the service of the story.
|
|
|
|
Yes, the ship was a soul hunter vessel (damaged), and the pilot was
|
|
Sinclair. About the starfield...the funny thing is, the other day I was
|
|
watching CNN and they showed a starfield shot from aboard the shuttle, looking
|
|
out at only what the eye can see. And y'know what? It looked EXACTLY like
|
|
the line-of-sight rendering Ron did for our starfield, and what it looksout
|
|
the observation dome window.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 417 Tue Sep 21, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:09 EDT
|
|
|
|
Ah, yes, if that says creative arts, then yes, it's probably the same
|
|
thing.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 426 Thu Sep 23, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 15:48 EDT
|
|
|
|
They were teensy, weensy examples of compositing. Now...pfffft.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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.
|
|
352 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 12
|
|
Message 348 Sun Sep 19, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:34 EDT
|
|
|
|
It probably won't be, unless it's quickly referenced in the quick
|
|
overview of last night's awards. (Apparently the E! broadcast of the
|
|
technical awards is slated for 4:00 p.m. Monday here on the West Coast, so
|
|
that means it'll either be on at 1 or 4 on the East Coast. FYI, the award to
|
|
Ron went out very early on; it was the second category, and he was the third
|
|
up in that category. So figure about 20 minutes in. It would've been faster,
|
|
except the DS9 crew didn't pay attention to the request to appoint one
|
|
spokesperson, and everybody on the stage took their turn. Natch, Ron and the
|
|
rest abided by the rules.)
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 12
|
|
Message 351 Mon Sep 20, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:52 EDT
|
|
|
|
We'll see where it ends up next year. After Ron picked up the Emmy and
|
|
returned to the table, amidst much oohing and aahing of the prize, he leaned
|
|
over to me and quoted an old English saying: "Start the way you mean to carry
|
|
on." We'd gotten one; now we have to carry on at the same level.
|
|
|
|
I've seen Ron's surprises for the series, and I can virtually guarantee
|
|
that he'll pick up another nomination next year, and very likely the Emmy as
|
|
well. I'd be very much surprised if we didn't get nominations in costuming,
|
|
makeup, art direction and cinematography (especially for "And the Sky Full of
|
|
Stars," which is just remarkable looking on every level). Series, writing,
|
|
acting, directing...nobody bets on those unless he wants to look like a fool.
|
|
I have hopes, but we'll see.
|
|
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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.
|
|
390 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 13
|
|
Message 349 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:26 EDT
|
|
|
|
In the teaser scene you refer to in "Midnight," you've got a couple dozen
|
|
fighters coming in alongside about 3-4 motherships (or capital ships, either
|
|
term will suffice). We've always said that big ships can punch through and
|
|
form their own jump points. That's how the jump gates get there in the first
|
|
place: a big ship comes through, on its own, and leaves behind a jump gate.
|
|
There's no contradiction. One (or more) of the big ships was creating the
|
|
point of entry as it went.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 13
|
|
Message 355 Wed Sep 15, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:44 EDT
|
|
|
|
Both...but more energy-hungry than anything else.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 13
|
|
Message 358 Thu Sep 16, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:42 EDT
|
|
|
|
It costs a pretty fair amount. Which is one of the concepts behind the
|
|
Lurkers on B5. Folks who save their earnings for years to come to B5 in
|
|
search of new lives...new opportunities...and when they don't find the dream
|
|
(and not everyone does), they've expended their funds, and don't have the
|
|
money for a ticket back. So they basically work their way down into
|
|
DownBelow, sort of the homeless area. Space travel costs MONEY.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 13
|
|
Message 369 Wed Sep 22, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:46 EDT
|
|
|
|
Okay, let me throw the question back at you: what DO you do about it?
|
|
Shipping them off somewhere costs a LOT of money. Does the station pay for
|
|
that? Do Earth voters object to paying for free tickets for lurkers? Do you
|
|
shove them out the airlock and casually murder the whole lot of them? Do you
|
|
dragoon them into a slave labor deal to pay off their debts or buy their way
|
|
off the station? Do you isolate them and keep them as much to themselves as
|
|
you can, and hope they eventually find gigs or move on? It's a moral dilemma
|
|
based on technologies and limited budgets and resources.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 13
|
|
Message 376 Thu Sep 23, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:49 EDT
|
|
|
|
Of course, your solution omits two factors: 1) not all lurkers are human,
|
|
and 2) not all human lurkers are from Earth. Do you pay to send hundreds of
|
|
people or more back, one at a time, on various high-priced transports which
|
|
are already backed up on reservations, to a dozen or more different
|
|
worlds...some of which may not WANT them back? Do you divert limited B5
|
|
resources to track each lurker, find out his/her/its homeworld, make
|
|
arrangements with people who may not WANT to make arrangements (at home, and
|
|
the people lurking)...the paperwork and details would be simply immense.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 13
|
|
Message 385 Sat Sep 25, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:15 EDT
|
|
|
|
Scenario Number One: sending the Lurkers back to Earth. Comes a call
|
|
from Earth Central: "Hell, no, you're NOT shipping them back here, we're
|
|
overcrowded enough as it is, we will NOT give you permission to send them back
|
|
here."
|
|
|
|
Scenario Number Two: turning them over to their representatives on B5.
|
|
G'Kar: "Thank you very much for bringing this to my attention, Commander, I'll
|
|
have him sent back at once." Beat. The commander leaves.
|
|
|
|
G'Kar: "Get OUT of here and don't come back! I don't have time to deal
|
|
with the likes of you, we're NOT paying to send you back to Homeworld, just
|
|
get out!"
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
398 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
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
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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
|
|
373 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 17
|
|
Message 370 Fri Sep 10, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:33 EDT
|
|
|
|
There won't be any major merchandising stuff until about the time the
|
|
series hits air.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 17
|
|
Message 373 Sat Sep 11, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:54 EDT
|
|
|
|
No firm info on this yet.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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!
|
|
|
|
490 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
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
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 21
|
|
Message 417 Fri Sep 03, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:08 EDT
|
|
|
|
Farming out ship design makes for massive legal headaches, in that B5 has
|
|
to own what it shows, and the multiple contracts and legalities and payment
|
|
disbursements and all the rest add up to far more trouble than it is worth.
|
|
|
|
Yes, someone said fighter.
|
|
|
|
Re: the future of CGI...I'm *fairly* sure that the Emmy for B5's EFX is
|
|
the first time one has been given for CGI. That by itself is a very strong
|
|
validation of CGI within the industry. It's definitely here to stay.
|
|
|
|
We couldn't show the Starliner Asimov to Isaac because we named it after
|
|
him following his passing. Seemed an appropriate nod in that direction, given
|
|
his body of work.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 21
|
|
Message 450 Fri Sep 10, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:35 EDT
|
|
|
|
We've made some minor modifications to the jumpgate effect, in the
|
|
texture and color of the warp EFX. It looks a little less computer-y, and
|
|
some science guys suggested that there should be red-shift built into the
|
|
thing. So now when objects come *out* of hyperspace, and we're looking into
|
|
the jumpgate, the warp effect is blue; when you enter the jumpgate, it shifts
|
|
toward orange/red.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 21
|
|
Message 483 Sat Sep 18, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:25 EDT
|
|
|
|
The newscast was about a crashed starship and the controversy over the
|
|
Pinto Personal Cruiser's tendency to blow up on impact....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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]
|
|
137 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
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
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 23
|
|
Message 121 Fri Sep 03, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:09 EDT
|
|
|
|
The Babylon 5 Genetic Engineering colony.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 23
|
|
Message 125 Sat Sep 11, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:57 EDT
|
|
|
|
You watched B5 from a *motel room*? How the hell did THAT happen?
|
|
|
|
I should probably make up a credits list one of these days, it just seems
|
|
so tedious, and I dunno, uninteresting to anyone, from my POV. If there's
|
|
really a demand for this, I'll do it, but to recite one's credits ad
|
|
infinitum....I dunno. I'll leave it to your preference.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 23
|
|
Message 127 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:44 EDT
|
|
|
|
Okay, because they've been requested (I got another couple of
|
|
notes in email asking for this), here's a quick rundown on my prior
|
|
work. This isn't everything...this is about half of the body of
|
|
work...but this is probably the more interesting stuff.
|
|
|
|
...BOOKS
|
|
|
|
THE COMPLETE BOOK OF SCRIPTWRITING, Writer's Digest Books (now out
|
|
of print, mainly because I'm about 2 years behind delivering the
|
|
new edition, THE (EVEN MORE!) COMPLETE BOOK OF SCRIPTWRITING.
|
|
|
|
DEMON NIGHT, horror/dark fantasy novel, hardcover, E. P. Dutton.
|
|
Nominated for Bram Stoker Award, Horror Writers of America.
|
|
|
|
OTHERSYDE, dark fantasy novel, hardcover, Dutton.
|
|
|
|
TALES FROM THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE, softcover, anthology of my
|
|
adaptation of my TZ3 episodes. Bantam.
|
|
|
|
...SHORT STORIES
|
|
|
|
"Your Move," Amazing Stories Magazine.
|
|
"A Last Testament for Nick and the Trooper" Shadows 6 anthology.
|
|
"Say Hello, Mister Quigley," Pulphouse Magazine, and the Midnight
|
|
Grafitti anthology.
|
|
(There are others, but those are the good ones.)
|
|
|
|
...ARTICLES/JOURNALISM
|
|
|
|
500+ published articles -- ranging from feature articles, to reviews,
|
|
investigative articles and others -- appearing in PENTHOUSE, VIDEO
|
|
REVIEW, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES (for which I was a regular Special
|
|
Correspondent), THE LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER (ditto), TIME, INC.
|
|
(where I was on staff at various points), SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE, THE
|
|
SAN DIEGO and LOS ANGELES READER(s), WRITER'S DIGEST (10 years worth
|
|
of columns and articles as a Contributing Editor), and others that
|
|
I've forgotten and am too lazy to dig out.
|
|
|
|
...RADIO
|
|
|
|
On-air reviewer and entertainment editor for KSDO Newsradio, San
|
|
Diego, for about 2-3 years.
|
|
|
|
Host, HOUR 25, a weekly SF talk show in L.A. for 5 years.
|
|
|
|
Radio drama writer for ALIEN WORLDS, MUTUAL RADIO THEATER, and
|
|
writer/producer/director on other radiodrama projects.
|
|
|
|
...THEATER
|
|
|
|
A dozen produced plays, including "The Apprenticeship," a full-
|
|
length play which played at the Marquis Public Theater in San
|
|
Diego for 20 weeks. Includes many one-act plays. One play
|
|
published in book form by Baker's Plays. (No, I'm not telling
|
|
you what it is.)
|
|
|
|
...COMICS
|
|
|
|
Wrote issue of TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT: Two Face vs. Cyborg, "Face
|
|
to Face Two Face."
|
|
|
|
Wrote issue of STAR TREK comic for DC: "Worldsinger." (Cover of
|
|
"Worldsinger" is now Star Trek trading card.)
|
|
|
|
Wrote issue of NOW's TWILIGHT ZONE comic, "Blind Alley."
|
|
|
|
...TELEVISION
|
|
|
|
Animation:
|
|
|
|
Writer/story editor, Filmation Studios, HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF
|
|
THE UNIVERSE, then subsequently, SHE-RA. Wrote about 20-25 episodes.
|
|
|
|
Writer, JAYCE AND THE WHEELED WARRIORS, about 11-12 episodes.
|
|
|
|
Writer/story editor, THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, writing about 15-20
|
|
episodes or more. (I actually have no idea how many, really.)
|
|
|
|
Live Action:
|
|
|
|
Story editor, CAPTAIN POWER, writing or co-writing about 16 episodes.
|
|
Nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series
|
|
(the Gemini is Canada's version of the Emmy).
|
|
|
|
Story editor, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, writing about 12 episodes. (1 for
|
|
the network Zone, 11 for the syndicated Zone.)
|
|
|
|
Writer, NIGHTMARE CLASSICS: THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR.
|
|
HYDE, for Showtime. Nominated for Writers Guild and Ace Awards.
|
|
|
|
Story Editor, JAKE AND THE FATMAN, writing 4-5 episodes and one
|
|
TV movie.
|
|
|
|
Co-producer/Producer, MURDER, SHE WROTE, writing about 9 episodes.
|
|
|
|
Supervising Producer, WALKER, TEXAS RANGER, writing 1 episode.
|
|
|
|
UNPRODUCED CREDITS:
|
|
|
|
Developed (with Larry DiTillio) ELFQUEST animated series for CBS.
|
|
Wrote MR. FREEZE, SF/comedy motion picture for Ivan Reitman.
|
|
Wrote 4-hour "V" miniseries, "V: The Next Chapter" for Warners.
|
|
Wrote series development on a dozen different projects.
|
|
Wrote other feature film screenplays for DIC and London Films.
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|
|
|
Anyway, those are the highlights. I've left out a lot of stuff, and
|
|
subsets of stuff (like the prime-time TRGB's special, for which I cowrote
|
|
a couple of songs with Brian O'Neal of the Busboys, and other song
|
|
related stuff...I've had about half a dozen songs get out there, plus one
|
|
on record), but those are the main items.
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|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 23
|
|
Message 131 Sun Sep 12, 1993
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|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:07 EDT
|
|
|
|
Not at this time, no. It was a very nifty idea, but it's taken so long
|
|
to get off the ground that in the interim, somebody ate our lunch. A similar-
|
|
concept movie is now in production. (Here's a difference when it comes to
|
|
this particular problem. The other studio developing this other movie had no
|
|
access to our material, which was developed quietly in house with Ivan. It's
|
|
a pure example of simultaneous creation. From time to time, these things
|
|
happen.)
|
|
|
|
Anyway, the concept was this: a present-day cop is accidentally quick
|
|
frozen in a cryogenics lab during a shoot out. He remains in suspended
|
|
animation for a hundred years and change. He's revived in a world in which
|
|
crime is virtually non-existent, because it's been programmed out of people
|
|
through genetic alterations and early conditioning. There's still a police
|
|
force, of sorts, but mainly serve tickets for safety violations and other non-
|
|
criminal offenses.
|
|
|
|
Just one problem: along comes one man on whom the programming has
|
|
glitched, failed. And he's been committing murders. They've hushed it up,
|
|
but gradually our character finds out, and goes after the guy, who is totally
|
|
deranged, sees it as his mission to keep the darkness alive. He commits his
|
|
murders in the same style as the famous murderers of the past (a la Jack the
|
|
Ripper, for instance). It comes down to a face-off between these two
|
|
characters.
|
|
|
|
It had a dramatic through-line, but a lot of humor as well, as the cop
|
|
tries to fit into this new world.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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.
|
|
262 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 229 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:28 EDT
|
|
|
|
Don King's hair?
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 239 Sun Sep 19, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:13 EDT
|
|
|
|
One idea for weaponry that we've temporarily shelved, but which we may
|
|
revive at some point, was using a kind of projectile weapon, which would
|
|
function more or less as follows: you throw up a line of shrapnel type devices
|
|
in the way of a ship before it can veer away (or surround it with same). It's
|
|
a veritable cloud of small debris, and when the ship hits it, the shrapnel
|
|
basically shreds the ship, rips the skin right off it. Some early tests look
|
|
pretty gruesome, so we're looking at some alternate avenues, or modifications.
|
|
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 243 Mon Sep 20, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:01 EDT
|
|
|
|
Brutal is another good word.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 247 Thu Sep 23, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:49 EDT
|
|
|
|
The EA fighters get generally what any ship gets: serial numbers, the
|
|
colors or signature of its "flag," and so on. And yes, the pilot is in a more
|
|
or less standing position, though inside a chair that supports comfortably.
|
|
If you're going to be flying forward at that kind of speed, it seemed to us
|
|
that a standing mode was better for blood circulation and response than
|
|
sitting.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 250 Thu Sep 23, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:55 EDT
|
|
|
|
There's variance in the fighters. What you saw was a general fighter
|
|
Sinclair grabbed. The actual fighter wings ARE personalized with -- for lack
|
|
of a better term -- nose art, a la WW II bombers. Some are abstract,
|
|
Sinclair's being tiger-stripes, basically, while others are more realistic,
|
|
with very elaborate paintings.
|
|
|
|
And there is some recline built into the seats, so they can be
|
|
comfortable (after all, we have to have actors in these things for hours at a
|
|
time, so they'd better be comfortable).
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 252 Thu Sep 23, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 15:49 EDT
|
|
|
|
We built a full-size cockpit, inside and out. The rest is CGI.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 255 Fri Sep 24, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:37 EDT
|
|
|
|
There's a line of sight display in front, joystick and foot controls, and
|
|
voice control of the ship's computerized navigation and firing controls as
|
|
well.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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.
|
|
311 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
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
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 25
|
|
Message 284 Sat Sep 11, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:59 EDT
|
|
|
|
I'd rather not, frankly. I'm quite happy with television for B5.
|
|
|
|
I'm being very careful not to let B5 turn into a *franchise*. It's a
|
|
story, created in X-parts, for television. This thing will turn into an
|
|
industry over my dead body. The most that the framework will permit is a 2-
|
|
hour TV movie that caps year 5. That's it.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 25
|
|
Message 286 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:42 EDT
|
|
|
|
Only at LosCon, which is in November, though thus far I haven't been
|
|
asked.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 25
|
|
Message 293 Tue Sep 14, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:23 EDT
|
|
|
|
For me, merchandising is one of those aftershocks of the creative
|
|
process, sort of an, "Oh, yeah, there's *that* part over there, too." I'm not
|
|
disdainful of it, it's just not something that I think about a lot, because
|
|
first and foremost it's a *distraction*. You start thinking about the
|
|
*P*R*O*D*U*C*T* and not about the story. Then you start bending the story to
|
|
work in the product.
|
|
|
|
And that's something I've fought against as long as I've *been* in TV.
|
|
When I was at Filmation, I fought tooth and nail against *any* interference in
|
|
content from the sponsor, Mattel. Especially when they started forcing in
|
|
characters simply so they could market them. That was the reason I resigned
|
|
from Captain Power after the first season; my sense was that too much
|
|
attention was being given to the merchandise aspect of the show, to the
|
|
detriment of the series.
|
|
|
|
If a deal is set, I want to be part of the process afterward to insure
|
|
the quality of the product, so it won't be a slapdash or cheap thing. And it
|
|
should be representative of the spirit of the show. But that, for me, is
|
|
about it.
|
|
|
|
Re: Sci-Fi Buzz...haven't spoken with them about any more pieces, but I
|
|
imagine there will be, closer to airdate. Trust me, as this thing cranks
|
|
closer to airdate, there will be plenty of coverage. I suspect that we will
|
|
*both* be absolutely sick to death of ads and coverage by the time this hits
|
|
air. Because we're pretty much tuned into it already; it's the remaining
|
|
portion of the population we also have to reach.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 25
|
|
Message 310 Sun Sep 26, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:24 EDT
|
|
|
|
BTW, those Hour 25 posters, of which there are only a limited number
|
|
left, are in a sense the first (and possibly most interesting) collectible for
|
|
B5 afficianados. The poster is of the logo for Hour 25, a radio show hosted
|
|
by Harlan, and then me. It was on H25 that the first mention was made of B5;
|
|
also, the poster was designed by Peter Ledger, who did the art for B5 that
|
|
helped get the project sold; and it's autographed by Peter, me, Harlan Ellison
|
|
(conceptual consultant) and Larry Ditillio (our S.E.). And of course it's set
|
|
in space.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
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!
|
|
101 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 26
|
|
Message 89 Fri Sep 10, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:39 EDT
|
|
|
|
The name of the character is Maya Hernandez. The actor's name I'll post
|
|
after I can get the cast sheet from the office so I spell it correctly.
|
|
|
|
Catherine Sakai, played by Julie Nickson-Soul, will first appear in "The
|
|
Parliament of Dreams," which will be *around* episode 7.
|
|
|
|
There will be some time between episodes in the B5 universe; in some
|
|
cases it's about a week, in some cases much longer, as long as we end up
|
|
covering roughly a year.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 26
|
|
Message 93 Sun Sep 12, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:10 EDT
|
|
|
|
I don't think I said much of anything I wouldn't want to see repeated
|
|
(unlike Larry). And Harlan's first script is "Midnight in the Sunken
|
|
Cathedral," not chapel. I would of course urge no spoilers be placed in
|
|
public view. Let's have some measure of surprise when the show finally does
|
|
hit.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 26
|
|
Message 100 Thu Sep 16, 1993
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:44 EDT
|
|
|
|
Yes, we will.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
|
|
1. CATegories 10. INDex of topics
|
|
2. NEW messages 11. SEArch topics
|
|
3. SET category 12. DELete message
|
|
4. DEScribe CAT 13. IGNore category
|
|
5. TOPic list 14. PROmpt setting
|
|
6. BROwse new msgs 15. SCRoll setting
|
|
7. REAd messages 16. NAMe used in BB
|
|
8. REPly to topic 17. EXIt the BB
|
|
9. STArt a topic 18. HELp on commands
|
|
Enter #, <Command> or <HEL>p
|
|
18 ?
|
|
|