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The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
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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).
Posts are from late September 1993 through Oct 31, 1993
************
Topic 1 Mon Oct 26, 1992
SF-MARSHALL [Dave ] at 18:50 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - The Series (Non-Spoiler)
Welcome to the Babylon 5 category and main topic for the new series. Here is
the place for all general information on the series. Topic 2 is the location
for SPOILERS. And please, NO STORY IDEAS are to be posted either.
616 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 73 Fri Sep 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:33 EDT
Just to clarify: we'll be delivering *finished* episodes as early as mid-
October. That's everything, music, EFX, everything. PTEN doesn't begin its
new "season" until January, so that's when they'll begin airing. But we'll
have nearly a dozen or so episodes in the can when we begin airing.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 82 Fri Sep 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:30 EDT
Jon...I sympathize. I generally carried a pretty heavy load in college.
My next-to-last year, just to get the hell OUT of there, I managed to crash
courses and evade the university limits and ended up with 28 units in one
semester...and none of them basket weaving stuff, either...statistical
analysis (imagine ME in that one), physiological psychology, 6 units of
German, biology....
I was, shall we say, insane....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 85 Sat Sep 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:47 EDT
As an aside...one of the things that's been great to watch over the last
few months is how the crew and cast have really come together. On a lot
(though certainly not all) of shows, once you finish the day, the crew goes
off in as many different directions as possible. Ditto with the cast.
But now, on top of the B5 softball team, now there's a B5 golf team, both
in-house for B5 tournaments, and to play others. Softball is on Saturday,
golf is on Sunday. Groups of the crew get together socially on the weekends,
have barbeques and dinners. When we wrap for the day, there is generally a
large contingent that heads down to a nearby restaurant to hang out together
and get coffee and something to eat. The other softball teams have been
astonished because we generally have lots of cast come out to play as well.
At the last game, Michael O'Hare, Jerry Doyle, Richard Biggs (pitching) and
Andrea Thompson all showed up and played. (Jerry hit a homer.)
There are always hassles, and last minute problems, and the occasional
bursts of crankiness that come with TV production, but for the most part it
seems that the cast and crew are genuinely having a good time on the show, and
that's always a good sign.
No special reason for mentioning it, except I was thinking about it, and
it's kinda nice....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 97 Sat Sep 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:08 EDT
So far, the team's 1 for 2; their first game against SeaQuest (our team
came to play and have a good time, the other team came to WIN) went to the SQ
team. Our people spent the week practicing between setups and at lunch -- we
set up a milk carton for our new pitcher to practice his shot -- and this time
we won over "Dave's World." Though I wasn't there -- everyone ELSE gets to go
play, *I* have to stay chained to a keyboard -- apparently it was a repeat on
one level, in that there were maybe 8 from the "Dave's" side in the stands,
and we had something 50-60 people from our side show up to cheer on the team.
(Though we had a core bunch of players, anybody who wanted to play, played.)
Again Jerry, Andrea and Richard Biggs showed up; Michael was otherwise
engaged.
Just recently, btw, I gave Larry DiTillio a printout with just a little
of the coming 5 year arc...if he's going to story edit, he needs to know what
lines not to cross, and I can't ride herd on that all the time. He took it
home, read it. Called me. Didn't even say hello. Began the conversation
with, "You are out of your f'ing mind." I asked for some small clarification
of his position. He indicated that he thought it was absolutely great,
something that'll really go down in the rolls when the final tally is done,
"But you GOT to be out of your f'ing mind to try and pull something like this
off. It *can* be done...but it takes a lunatic to do it."
Sounds about right.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 105 Sun Sep 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:22 EDT
Brett...there was a situation in which the GEIs might have been called
upon to make a whole lotta phone calls, send faxes, and do other stuff to save
the project. There was one brief moment when it looked like things were going
to fall apart. But they didn't. The crisis passed, and the details are
really not worth getting into now. What's past is past.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 116 Tue Sep 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:35 EDT
I've seen all of the episodes to date, and it ain't bad. It has a funky
kind of quality that I find appealing. I rather wish we could SEE some things
once in a while, rather than just getting glimpses out of the corner of one's
eye (except for the landing field shot), but I kind of like it.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 118 Tue Sep 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:54 EDT
It needs a rewrite.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 120 Wed Sep 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:19 EDT
Friday night veg time, *definitely*.
Well, we deliver our first final finished totally done episode on about
October 8th. Christopher Franke has some *great* ideas on how to handle the
music, and plans a curious blending of music and sound effects in some places,
plus instruments from other parts of the world not normally heard in the US,
to try and create a "new music" kind of sound.
I'm in the strange position of writing the season end episode now, to
shoot #12, since it's going to require a lot of post production work, and it
definitely puts one in a very strange state of mind. I have to be careful to
refer to things that've happened in the past episodes, from the perspective of
the last episode of the season, but which haven't yet been written or filmed
in real-time. So I'm writing the second half of some stories before having
written the first half (though I obviously know where they're all
going)...which really bends your brain around after a while.
This episode is going to be highly classified; we're going to limit
distribution of scripts, and parts of scripts, put canary traps in all of the
scripts that *are* distributed, and otherwise keep this one quiet. All I can
say is that we're going to kick over every table we've got. In any season
finale, there are maybe 4-5 things you know when you sit down to watch the
show that they'll NEVER ever do. So we're doing all of them. If this one
doesn't keep you glued to your seats, you've lost your chair.
Tomorrow morning I'll get to see an edited version of "Sky," and I can't
wait. I think this one will take over from "Soul Hunter" as our strongest
episode to date.
BTW, for all you who ride the pause button and jack up the stereo volume
(we're doing Dolby Surround, incidentally), I assigned Larry DiTillio to write
a bunch of walla (background dialogue) for the Zocalo, the observation dome,
customs and other areas. Some of it's sane...but the rest...oh, man....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 122 Wed Sep 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:36 EDT
I am. I'm exhausted all the time...running on 3-4 hours of sleep a
night, producing during the day, writing all night...but it *is* fun. The
only hard part is that because of my close involvement in this show, and
creating the characters, and assigning the stories, and working with the
actors...I have Londo and G'Kar and Kosh and Garibaldi and all the rest
running around in my head and yelling at each other 24 hours a day, and
sometimes that can make you just a little nuts...you wanna tell them to shut
the hell up for five minutes...and then they look at you with this wounded
expression...you ever see a Narn sulk? It's not a pretty sight.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 133 Thu Sep 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:18 EDT
No episodes have aired...unless your friends are operating in an
alternate universe, in which case please have them send them to me so that we
can save time and money producing them. I have no idea what your friends saw,
but suspect their experience may yet end up on the X-files.
Re: audience reaction...here's the sad part. When I'm up on stage, I'm
in ***PERFORMANCE MODE*** thinking up the next line, setting up the next
segment, whatever...and combined with the fact that despite what I cobble
together in my JMS "persona" I'm actually very shy (as KAL will confirm)...I
don't hear the applause. I'm so riddled with anxiety that I don't hear it.
I'm thinking three beats ahead. It really is kinda sad at times, because
afterward I have to ask someone -- usually Spousal Overunit -- "What did they
think? Do you think they liked it?" because I have no recollection
whatsoever.
BTW, we're putting in some more cutting-edge tech equipment, including
stuff that'll let us downlink dailies and cuts direct from the lab to our
stage via fiber optic cable...computerized harry work (the adding of sparks
and light effects usually done by painstakingly painting each frame, now to be
handled by computers and software we're beta testing), and other stuff. We're
right on the leading edge now.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 136 Thu Sep 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:16 EDT
This system has nothing to do with CGI, so screamers aren't a part of it.
This is other new stuff.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 144 Sat Oct 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:36 EDT
Well, we finished casting for the role of Lennier, who is Delenn's
aide/attache. We were looking for someone who could give us the most as a
quiet, restrained, almost monk-like character, fairly innocent in his way.
And in a very nice bit of synchronicity, the person who came in and
knocked us out with his audition was Bill Mumy, who has now been cast in the
role. Aside from his work in Lost in Space, Bill is a terrific actor whose
role, I think, may sometimes have become a stumbling block from time to time,
as did the roles of Shatner, Nimoy and others from Trek. Here he will be a
very different kind of character, barely recognizeable beneath the Minbari
makeup, and can show a very different sort of approach to his work. We're
very excited to have him on the team. (I think it will also be good to have
someone around from a prior successful SF TV series who can help our cast
prepare for the reception this show is likely to receive...and I suspect that
very few if any of them really understand yet what that will mean.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 148 Sat Oct 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:21 EDT
The only thing that makes me more nuts than performing is seeing myself
on videotape...or photographs...ick.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 156 Sun Oct 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:48 EDT
I was going to swing by the box today, but ended up...well, here at the
computer. Sigh. It's turned into "Next year in Israel...."
Yeah...I dimly seem to remember making a GBs presentation that year, so
that may have been me. (In fact, I lost my copy of the tape I brought with me
in a hotel restaurant...which did contain special footage, and is thus gone
forever, at least for me.)
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 161 Sun Oct 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:04 EDT
Hmm...maybe I should amend it to "No cute kids, no cute robots, and no
filkers, ever...."
Nothing personal, but given the choice between listening to two hours of
filking, and having my eyeballs scooped out, popped, spread on toast as jam
and fed to me for breakfast...I'll take the latter.
BTW, something I forgot to mention (and I guess this should really go
under B5 Sightings, but I'm here, I'm lazy, and I'll forget again), Danica
McKillar (I think I've got that spelling right) has a modest but interesting
part in an episode we just finished filming. The crew from Entertainment
Tonight came by and did some filming of her in wardrobe (as a young Centauri
woman), and I think it'll probably show up Monday or Tuesday or thereabouts.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 162 Sun Oct 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:15 EDT
Oh, yeah...something else, before I forget...Monday I'll finally be
hearing some of the new B5 music from Christopher Franke, for "Soul Hunter."
This, for me, is the really exciting part, because it's amazing how much good
music can add to a show, and this signals the very last phase of post-
production. I think we're doing our final mix-down on "Soul" around mid-week,
with full sound EFX and music...and then that's it.
We're now in the process also of storyboarding out our main title
sequence, and we're hoping to do something a little different, if we can get
the studio to sign off on the idea. It'll give the show a very unique look.
And just so everybody knows...so you don't gig me on this later...I have
spent more time than I want to *think* about lately talking with our sound
people about the sound-in-space issue. We've literally spent HOURS locked up,
discussing various options, middle grounds, extremes and some off-beat
possibilities. I still don't know what we're going to do exactly, but for
what it's worth, believe me, this has been examined to within an inch of its
(and my) life. What it comes down to now is this: we will have all of the
options we discussed available to us at the final mix-down, and we will try
them in different combinations. Whatever works best is what we'll go with.
And we won't know what that is until we get there.
jms
(And for those who inquired...yes, we'll be doing our final mix in full
Dolby Surround Stereo.)
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 178 Mon Oct 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:39 EDT
I haven't a *clue* to who will be watching the show, and to start
thinking that way, frankly, is like asking the centipede which foot it moves
first...it'll paralyze you every time. What I'm doing is writing and
commissioning stories that I myself find interesting. If my instincts are
right, others will like them as well...if not, well, that's showbiz. I hate
the whole idea of demographics and testing, and generally won't listen when
the subject is brought up. Tell the story first; if it's a good story, you'll
get viewers; if not, not.
Mumy's role, to answer that question, is a recurring role; I think he'll
be in about half a dozen episodes or so for us. To the best of my knowledge,
this won't interfere with any other obligations Mumy has.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 184 Tue Oct 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:17 EDT
Well, we're currently in a one-week hiatus, to give our camera crew and
cast a well-earned break, so we were missing many of our core members at the
Sunday game, so Love and War won.
Today, at Christopher Franke's, I heard the music for "Soul Hunter," and
it's brilliant. It's very hard to describe...it's not rock, but it's
aggressive, and powerful, not at all synth sounding. And I think that he just
may have resolved the sound in space question for the most part. He tried
some things we discussed, and it works great. So this may be the solution
we've been looking for. (Though the first one who tells me there's no
orchestra in space gets it in the eye.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 187 Tue Oct 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:01 EDT
1) No sound in space.
2) Surround sound in space.
Pick one.
You can't have both. I think I'll get gigged less with the former, and
certainly the music and interior SFX can be surround.
(This isn't a poll, only a response, just to be clear.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 197 Tue Oct 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:59 EDT
Joe does not learn math in one episode. Joe does not learn math in one
*year*. I took bonehead math in college three -- count 'em three -- times,
and only passed the third semester because the class was taught by the same
instructor, and the third time I wandered into his class, he siad, (or said),
"Here...just go, I'll give you a C, just...leave."
Brett: no idea if there'll be previews or not.
Spent a very, very, very long day today in editing...not out of any
problems, but because of the *astonishing* amount of detail we're putting into
"And the Sky Full of Stars." Leaving out all the live-action shots, there are
25 CGI shots in one and a half minutes in one sequence alone. (By way of
comparison, there were 55 or so in the full two hour pilot for B5.) So we go
frame by frame, making sure that everything meshes properly, through some
pretty intense logistics. You'll understand when you see it.
I've never seen the like of this particular episode before. It's a real
gem.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 200 Wed Oct 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:22 EDT
"Surround Silence."
Don't do this to me....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 209 Wed Oct 06, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:50 EDT
If it works in one, it'll work in all, the way it seems now.
BTW, add David Warner to the list of first-season guest stars.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 231 Fri Oct 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:23 EDT
Yeah, Warner'll be a great addition to that episode; we may have another
name in connection with that episode shortly.
For those who're interested, Walter Koenig has come through the heart
problem admirably, is up and running around, and will be assaying the main
guest role in "Mind War," which will begin shooting around mid-November.
Re: the industry reactions to B5...everyone seems fairly amazed at what
we're doing, given that our budget is far less than DS9, TNG or SQ. (In
fact, at a recent SQ party, sources tell me, the main topic of discussion was
B5, and how the hell are we managing to pull off what they have heard we're
doing.) One editor at a major entertainment magazine was calling Amblin',
Paramount and other shows to ask about their EFX, and where CGI is going, and
every one said, "You really ought to talk to the people at Babylon 5."
The show is picking up a *lot* of heat in the industry. And for us, it's
kind of a validation of what we said we were going to do years ago.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 236 Fri Oct 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:53 EDT
You wanna hear really dopey? Of all the things that can bug you --
literally, in this case -- it's always the small ones that get under your
skin. The goofy ones.
Take crickets for instance.
Crickets. Cute little critters, welcoming the twilight, equipped with
top hat and umbrella to usher Pinnochio into his long-sought humanity....
Crickets.
Ah hates crickets.
A cricket family -- at least one that we know of -- moved into a corner
of one of our sets. The medlab, to be precise. Now, when we're moving things
around, building stuff, moving stuff, it's silent, as a cricket will generally
be when made nervous. But make it all nice and quiet -- as you would do for,
say, filming -- and he becomes downright rambunctious. And sure enough, there
is is, deep in the audio background on a few shots. Oh, we can hide the audio
easily enough...but Getting The Cricket has become something of a cause around
here.
We absolutely cannot find him. I stood back there for ten minutes, eyes
closed, trying to triangulate and draw a bead on the little sucker. We've
tried exterminators, smoke, nitrogen, assassins and psychics; we've tried
scaring him and coaxing him, to no avail. He is as invisible as god but with
a MUCH louder voice.
You ever fire up a daily to hear, at the top of the take, the off screen
director saying, as fast as he can, "Okaythecricket'ssilent,ACTION!"
Like I said...not really a problem, just one of those little things that
niggle at you when there's nothing else going on. So we're going to wait him
out.
Anybody know offhand the lifespan of your average cricket...?
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 240 Sat Oct 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:36 EDT
The shooting schedule won't conflict with WishCon. BTW, a note for
anyone who's sent anything to the address I posted here a few times before:
one of the problems with shooting a series is that, well, time shoots past
you with remarkable speed...one minute you look up and it's August, the next
minute you look up and it's October, and...and....
Okay, long story short: I forgot all about the mailing box, and it got
closed up. Stuff was sent back. I only just found out today, and re-opened
it. Apologies to anyone who sent stuff there in the last few weeks.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 241 Sat Oct 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:38 EDT
P.S. Add William Sanderson to the same episode as the one with David
Warner.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 249 Sat Oct 09, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:08 EDT
I can't remember if I mentioned this here or not...but did I note that
apparently the B5 pilot is the #1 best selling/renting tape these days in
Croatia? What this means I have no idea....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 256 Sun Oct 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:01 EDT
Mira was in a Croatian choir?! I didn't know this. She's never
mentioned it. I know that she was an actress there, but this part is news to
me. I must ask her about it when she comes in next week.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 262 Mon Oct 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 13:28 EDT
Don't we all....
Meanwhile...let's have some fun.
Part of the deal with producing a series is that you have to clear all
the names you use in an episode, both in terms of people names and corporate
names, even the names of various substances or objects you use. There's a
clearances department that checks names and titles against registered
trademarks, copyrights and other stuff and tells you when something is or
isn't clear. I never cease to be amazed at the number of names that one makes
up, sure that it's bogus, only to find out that somebody out there has
actually made a business with that name.
Anyway, on the production report that came in the other day, two names
didn't clear; one is for a company that does interstellar planetary surveying
(a megacorporation that then exploits the resources of those planets), and the
other is a name for a certain mineral/compound used in the manufacture of jump
gates, very rare, very expensive.
(The name I came up with for the megacorp I won't mention here; because
when I found out there *was* a corp with this name, I asked what it was,
because it's the kind of name that could ONLY apply to what was just described
above...and the answer came back that it's classified, and why did I want to
know? Suffice to say I let the matter drop there. This is something like the
second or third time this has happened with a name I've come up with, and by
now my name is probably on a list or two somewhere....)
Anyway, I was just about to sit down and come up with a pair of new names
for this, when I thought...let's have some fun. So I'll take some suggestions
here for names for the two items listed above. Whichever sounds coolest (not
extreme, not parody, real but cool sounding), I'll slip into the script.
(This is, of course, contingent upon the clearances department clearing the
name.) The competition ends Midnight tonight, Pacific time.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 296 Tue Oct 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:25 EDT
Okay, time's up. Tomorrow I'll make my choices, and run them past
clearances. Will advise which one we go with.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 314 Wed Oct 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:04 EDT
Uh, oh...sounds like the fan is giving out on my computer. Does this
mean I have to replace the whole power source, or just the fan? Any
suggestions appreciated.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 320 Wed Oct 13, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:48 EDT
Unfortunately, I don't know the internal configuration; the computer was
custom assembled by someone who's no longer local. It's a hodgepodge of
components collectively named the Deathstar 2000 Megasystem. So the only way
I can find out is to open the sucker up, which I suppose I'll have to do...as
soon as I can move aside the stacks and stacks of comic books in front of
it...and scare away the balrogs....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 331 Thu Oct 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:25 EDT
Will advise on names when I have clearances. These things take time.
BTW, for those who might be interested in such things...continuing the
Earth tradition, all of our various fighter wings have their own names. The
fighter unit that Ivanova belongs to, for instance, is the Ghost Riders. The
name of Sinclair's Earth/Minbari War Fighter unit was Death's Hand. We've had
patches made of these and other insignia, which get used at appropriate
moments on their flight suits in the cockpit. (I don't remember offhand the
name of the primary fighter unit on B5, which is technically Delta Wing, but
it has a specific name beyond that, and it just fell out of my head.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 335 Thu Oct 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:13 EDT
In case it hasn't aired in your area yet, look for a brief piece on
tonight's Entertainment Tonight with Danica McKellar as a B5 centauri.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 339 Thu Oct 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:30 EDT
Pass....
BTW, speaking of satellite stuff, 35 minutes of B5 promos and other
stuff, some of it edited to include the Emmy info (but based insofar as I know
only on the pilot material, nothing new) will be downlinked on Galaxy 4,
Channel 21, same audio figures as Fenn gave, Friday the 15th from 9-9:45 ET,
Sunday the 16th from 8-8:45 ET, and Monday the 18th from 1:15 to 2:00 p.m. ET.
(The first two times given are also PM.)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 344 Fri Oct 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:44 EDT
As it happens, btw, Michael O'Hare's brother is a Commander in the
Gunfighters fighter squadron, running weapons, mainly, and flying an F-14.
At some point we'll probably stick him in a B5 cockpit, and stick Michael in
an F-14 cockpit....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 347 Fri Oct 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:14 EDT
I actually felt kind of awkward watching the ET piece, because here we've
got all these amazing prosthetics, many of which you could see on the wall,
and this "oooh, we're alien" process of becoming a centauri is basicall a bald
head and ponytail. I dunno...just felt funny, given what goes into making the
REALLY alien characters we're using.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
Message 366 Sun Oct 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:21 EDT
BTW, this week will Bill Mumy's first week on B5, and he's done a very
nifty job as Lennier. He brings a wonderful sense of absolute innocence...the
proverbial innocent abroad...to Lennier's character. The Minbari prosthetics
look great on him, enhancing the sense he brings to the character. He's also
great with the cast, and keeping things up during shooting. At one point, as
they're leaving camera, Delenn says to Lennier, who has just arrived at the
station, "Now tell me of home; I have been away far too long." His ad-libbed
off-camera response: "Beatlemania is back." (Another ad-lib for another shot:
"Minimalls...they're everywhere," and "Well, we just got Pizza Hut and
cable.")
There's one truly remarkable shot we did for the current episode, shot
Friday evening. Generally, in any shot with a crowd, you need about 20-45
people. That's usually enough to fill out the shot in any set you can go to.
More than that gets costly, and isn't really noticeable unless you frame your
shot just *so*. Yesterday's shot has 160 extras. It's a very impressive, and
very moving shot. It appears in the tag of "the Parliament of Dreams." It's
the kind of shot you just don't see anywhere else. We had some people from
PTEN and a film crew for a behind-the-scenes piece on hand, and they all
commented on how only this show would do this shot...and how significant it
is. (I can't tell you what it was, because that gives it away, and I want it
to be kind of a surprise; suffice to say you'll definitely know it when you
see it.)
"Parliament" is also shaping up to have both some serious moments, and
some that are just fall-down funny. There's a Centauri religious festival
that has to be seen to be believed....
We're having far too much fun on this show....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 369 Sun Oct 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:12 EDT
We've already instituted the need for translation devices on several
characters. There are basically three dominant languages on B5, a kind of
interstellar esperanto, Centauri, and English, which is the more or less
official military/diplomatic language. But not everyone is going to know
those languages, so you need another way. We have translation teams
(referenced though not seen in "Soul Hunter"), and physical translation
devices for use after we've had sufficient contact with a given group or
individual to be able to decode two languages into one another.
(Incidentally, we're going with a slightly different version of English
for things like airlocks and such, alongside the visual pictograms. Not
everyone who can speak english will have an immediate grasp of the intricacies
of the language, and there have been multi cultural/esperanto like influences
on English over the next 200 years. So for things like Universe Today, you
have standard conventional English, since that's primarily an Earther-oriented
publication. But then you have signs that read, for instance SECUR AREA, with
an accent over the U. We've taken the liberty of simplifying some aspects of
english for nonhumans, as well as trying to figure out how the impact of multi-
culturalism might affect language ovese of 200 years.)
We've shot our first scenes between Sinclair and his new love interest,
Catherine Sakai (as played by Julia Nickson). This is a very, very strong
character, and she brings a wonderful vibrancy to Sakai. They have a unique
relationship that looks and sounds like a real relationship, with all its ups
and downs and dumb moments. One way that I've reinforced this is that...well,
in the first episode in which they meet again (they were involved before),
just about every scene between them is lifted almost directly from personal
experience.
And given some of the awkward, even painful conversations that take
place, it was very, *very* hard to watch this being rehearsed. (Michael and
Julia worked over a weekend with the director to get the nuances just right.)
When it came time to shoot the scenes, much as I wanted to be on-set, I just
couldn't do it. My heart just kept falling right down to my shoes. I can't
wait for the first person to say "I don't buy this as a real relationship"
just so's I can whap him upside the head. But I have a hunch that won't
happen. It comes across as very real, and as a very vulnerable moment for
both characters.
"Write what you know," they said. Right. How about I just take a power
drill and stick it in my ear...it'd be faster, less painful, and after a while
I might even come to like it....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 377 Mon Oct 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:23 EDT
"It may be a simple matter of a loose screw."
Don't get personal, and I've heard that before.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 379 Mon Oct 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:01 EDT
Matt: thanks. To be honest, I don't know any other way to write. Those
here who've known me for a while now can testify that there's a lot of
personal stuff in just about everything I write. And sometimes that's very
hard on an emotional level. (And people in my life have to understand that
everything is fair game; I won't violate a trust, won't betray a confidence,
but it's altogether possible that the *sense* of an argument or a hushed
midnight conversation might someday show up in something, never in its
entirety, never wholecloth, but informing the sense of a scene or a
character.)
It's very easy, in this town and in this business, to fall into writing
from non-primary experiences. We've grown into a nation where we watch TV as
we grow up, and then when we get the chance to write TV, cycle back to things
we've seen before...recycling themes and stories rather than using our own
primary experiences. I think that film/TV schools are the worst perpetrators
of this attitude, teaching how to emulate the past rather than seeking out the
present. That's why I chose NOT to get my degrees in TV or Film or Creative
Writing. A writer has to be a *generalist*. Know a little about everything,
and able to find out whe she/he doesn't know quickly. I've been far better
served by a degree in clinical psychology (minor in philosophy) and a second
degree in sociology (minor in literature) than I would've been served getting
a degree in film production.
This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, after one person
asked me, on another system, if I was concerned about the very real likelihood
that at some point or another, our show would be touching on some of the same
areas dealt with on other shows. There's been so much covered in SF, and when
you have two shows on space stations, well, you're inevitably going to hit
some common themes. I've thought about the question a lot since then, and as
I review the scripts, it comes more clear to me every day just how much this
show comes from a very subjective and personal viewpoint. It's very
eccentric, and as much as we engage in the larger issues and the story arc,
our stories tend to have a very personal edge to them, an attitude that can't
be copied because attitudes are formed inside, over years, and you can't copy
them any more than you can copy fingerprints. And the result will always be
different.
I don't mean to ramble, but I'm in a thoughtful mood, and just sorta
working things through...thinking out loud, if you will.
The pilot notwithstanding -- and I've gone over the problems there with
exposition and character stuff cut ad nauseum -- the one thing that draws me
in, as a writer, a reader, and a person, is intense emotion. The more
intense, the better. There's much of it in Captain Power, where I could slip
it in while no one was looking, even in some of the animation work. I think
we all live for moments of revelation and outbreaks of passion. And the only
way to find those moments is by writing about the things you find hard to
write about. You have to write what scares the hell out of you.
I've never talked about this before -- said I was in a thoughtful mood --
but I've known several people, friends, who've taken their own lives. In one
case, I spoke to her just beforehand. Tried, through the phone lines, to
reach her one more time, pull her back from the edge. I couldn't. Years
pass. Time comes for me to write the last filmed episode of Power. Jennifer
Chase is going to die, partly of her injuries, partly of her own volition.
Part of my life went into that scene, in the way it was constructed, and what
was said. And what was not said, what never had the chance to be said, and
thus still burns. I knew that, at the crucial moment of that scene, he
couldn't be near her, as I wasn't near my friend...it had to be long-distance,
hearing but not seeing her, and the terrible pain of arriving too late.
I cannot watch that episode without crying. Ever.
Flash forward again. About two, three months ago, I got a note on the
Internet/GEnie railroad from a young woman whose name I won't mention here.
She had lost a friend to suicide not long before that episode aired. When she
saw it, she started crying and couldn't stop, something she hadn't been able
to do since the real death of her friend. It helped purge her of the feelings
she'd been carrying around. Helped her deal with them, because I'd been
honest in how I'd portrayed it.
On Twilight Zone, I wrote an episode called "Acts of Terror" that
concerned wife beating...something with which I'm more familiar than I ever
wanted to be, due to some things in my family's history. It was a terrible
and painful experience to write that script; it hurt and angered me beyond the
capacity to explain it to you. I fought desperately to make it true.
Flash forward. That episode is now used in many counseling sessions for
battered wives, to help them deal with their anger and find their own self-
worth. I've received literally dozens of letters from people about that one
episode, many from women who finally found it in their hearts to leave an
abusive situation.
Writing is a powerful tool; broadcast to millions of viewers, it is too
powerful to be relegated to rehashes of Adam and Eve stories. It may not be
fashionable anymore, which is unfortunate, but I feel that there is an
obligation to use the form for more than selling soap. Not to be preachy, but
at least to be *honest*, to write from primary experiences, to take a
position, even if it pisses somebody off. I was on a TV talk show a few years
ago, debating that very episode of Power referenced above, and a viewer called
in to say that he thought it was wrong because the episode left him upset. I
wanted to lunge through the phone at him. Yes it upset you. It was MEANT to
upset you. It SHOULD upset us when someone dies, it can't be just a dramatic
hook bracketing commercials; when we lose someone we care about, we should be
moved, or else what the hell are we doing here?
The role of the writer is to touch passion, and not be destroyed by it,
then come back and report what it was like.
I wish I could find a great concluding thought, a benediction to wrap all
this up in a neat little package, but I haven't got one. I'm rambling, and I
know it, and my apologies if this has gone on too long; just contemplative
tonight, I guess.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 394 Tue Oct 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:03 EDT
Unrelated to anything that's preceded (thank goodness), here's a little
something for consideration...thoughts to conjure with, when it comes to our
season-ending episode/cliffhanger.
On Power, leaving out the things that unnerved people too much to let me
do, I was still able, in the final episode/cliffhanger of that first season,
to destroy the protagonist's base of operations totally and completely and
beyond recall, set up a major change in the antagonist's appearance (the final
mechanized stages of Lyman Taggert), eliminate all or nearly all of our
Jonathan Power's supply lines and support personnel, totally turn around the
direction of the show, and kill one major regular character.
So if that's what happens on a show where I'm not allowed full reign to
do *everything* want...stop to consider for a moment what happens when there's
no one to stop me from going all the way....
"Chrysalis" is going to be one heck of an episode....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 399 Tue Oct 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:13 EDT
Harlan very much believes and supports what we're doing here, and if you
know Harlan, you know what that means.
Kiwi...understand that no changes are just made willy-nilly (to use your
term). This is a STORY. As with any story, any novel, you have your moments
of surprise, of sudden turns where you kick over all of the tables and watch
the pieces scatter. But the writer already knows where the pieces will land.
It's all according to plan. Nobody's going to be screwed over. Anymore than
when somebody reading, say, a Stephen King book feels screwed over when
suddenly Salem's Lot, a nice quiet little town, suddenly gets filled with
undead and characters are suddenly going through some remarkable
changes...it's all part of the story.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 407 Wed Oct 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:36 EDT
BTW, for those in the Los Angeles area, channel 13 will be showing the B5
pilot again a week from this Friday at, I believe, 8 p.m.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 416 Thu Oct 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:14 EDT
BTW, to a question someone asked somewhere...I believe that the B5
fighters are technically SA-20 Starfuries.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 420 Thu Oct 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:48 EDT
No agents allowed.
Funny...I sometimes make up little clips from shows and put them to music
for myself or for convention appearances...and I was giving some serious
thought to assembling a montage and using "I Am the Walrus" by the Beatles as
the music...and then realized that it would probably give away too much if I
composed the pictures correctly with the lyrics.
I am the walrus...coo-coo ka choo....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 428 Fri Oct 22, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:23 EDT
It's hard to mention companies in a TV show without getting permission.
(In my heart I'd love to see an ad for "IBM...a Division of the Sony
Corporation.")
What's the problem with passion? Multifold. Networks and studios are
often put off by it. Passion isn't fashionable, and isn't usually very
saleable. Also, so many have now been trained by film school to replicate
what they grew up with...combined with the many who've learned the Formula
from others or from the Script Gurus and hesitate to vary from that
formula...that it's just not done very often.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 447 Mon Oct 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:11 EDT
Actually, in speaking off the top of my head, I was off a bit on the
Starfuries thing. I checked, was going to write it verbatim, but once again
forgot, and now I'm back to working off memory (which is always a scary thing
for me). Anyway, I seem to recall that it's not SA, and it has a longer name.
It's the FA-23 Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury. I'll try to get the full specs and
post 'em sometime soon.
Incidentally, B5 is in this month's WIRED magazine, in the Wired vs.
Tired column. We're "wired." (Sort of their "What's In" and "What's Out"
column.) Not bad for a series that's not even on the AIR yet.
Spent almost all of Saturday in the editing room, working on the main
title sequence for B5, which looks very good. This coming Thursday and Friday
are big days for B5...we're going into the final mix stage. On those two
days, we finish laying in EVERYTHING...sound, music, EFX, you name it. And in
theory, at the end of Friday, we'll have our first episode totally and
completely finished. It's both an exhilirating moment and a scary one...once
done, it's *done*, we have to let go, we can't tinker with it anymore. At
some point, you have to just walk away nad (and) what it is is what it is.
And so far, what it is looks pretty darned good. (Our first full mix is "Soul
Hunter.")
Our sound designer has finished working on the gun-sounds, and they sound
very impressive. We've come up with a different way of handling the gun
sequences -- firing, impact, and sound -- based more on how these things would
actually work if they existed. And let me tell you, if you EVER ran into or
heard one of these things coming your way, you'd get the hell out FAST. We
actually sat down for hours and tried to determine the effects on impact, on
firing, on the surrounding atmosphere, and how to avoid the 30 mph problem
usually associated with TV lasers. (That is, you trace the "laser" across
screen, you see it move, which means that this beam of light is moving slower
than a bullet...which is silly.) By all rights, it should be nearly invisible
and nearly instantaneous...but then you don't see anything. We've managed to
come up with a nifty little solution to the problem.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 452 Tue Oct 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:32 EDT
For various story reasons, the narration now shifts to Sinclair, who has
a slight variation on it.
BTW, look for a piece in the November Film/TV (or Film/Video, I can never
remember) magazine on B5's EFX team.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 464 Wed Oct 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:38 EDT
Yes, we're going to keep the general structure of the narrative, from
black to the star rising, to B5, though the new narrative will be a bit more
historical in nature.
BTW, guess which certain series just acquired a whole bunch of Toasters,
is under pressure to lower the budget, and is trying frantically to catch up
with a certain other show's use of CGI...?
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 471 Wed Oct 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 15:40 EDT
Okay, the element's name is set as Quantium-40, and the name of the
Megacorporation is Universal Terraform. Just FYI, neither ScanCor nor Terra
Astra cleared, so those are real corporations.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 477 Thu Oct 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:14 EDT
I culled only the names I thought might work for us. One problem with a
number of the suggestions was that while the names in question might work well
in writing, on a page or a screen, actors have to *say* these words out loud,
and some of them would've been very difficult to pronounce. The name also has
to be recognizeable as, say, a corporation. A couple of names sounded nice,
but could end up sounding just a part of the sentence, and we don't realize
that a corp name has gone by until too late. This is the difference between
writing for a printed medium, and a dialogue/verbal medium.
An interesting exercise, in any event. Which is why I suggested it,
instead of just going with my own. Again, we're here in part to go into the
process a bit.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch....
Have been down for a few days with the Babylon Bug, the flu that's ripped
through the stage and the offices and has hit just about everyone. REALLY
nasty. But the show, as they say, must go on, so we've been pushing ahead.
One slight alteration in schedule...on Monday some of the last scenes we
needed came in after the rotoscoping work was done, and since we finally had
all the parts, we went ahead and did the final mix on "Soul Hunter" over
Monday and Tuesday. So I'm proud to say that that first episode is now 100%
complete and in the can.
It makes a MAJOR difference to see these shows on film, color corrected,
with music, sound EFX, visual EFX, cgi and the rest. It's a very solid
episode, very intense, and in many ways a one-hour movie, which is what I'd
like to see in the series overall...a cinematic style of storytelling. The
music really drives the action, and the visual EFX (i.e., guns, rays, other
visual stuff that doesn't involve CGI) are just terrific.
We do the final mix on "Midnight" next Monday, and will probably be doing
one mix per week thereafter, until the holidays.
(Kevin, who does our visual EFX rotoscoping stuff does all this in his
home facility, on a Mac. We got word this morning at 6:30 a.m. that his house
is right on the fire line at one of the big L.A. fires going on today.
Refusing to evacuate, he has spent all day alternatively on his roof, spraying
down the house and grounds, and in his home office, backing up all the B5 EFX
onto optical removeable drives, with a B5 runner standing ready, right there,
to yank the stuff and evacuate if need be. It's some measure of the
dedication on this show that where other people might be loading up personal
belongings, he was mainly concerned with getting the B5 efx out the door in
case the worst happened.)
(Apparently, as of this writing, all is still well with Kevin, and it
looks like the worst is past, as far as he's concerned, at least, though the
rest of the valley is burning....)
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 479 Thu Oct 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:34 EDT
BTW, today I was gifted by some folks in B5 with a collection of some of
the patches we've used on the fighter pilot suits. You'll see these on the
front breast and arms (both sides of each) of the suits, if only in the
occasional glimpse. Even though they'll probably never bee fully seen, we
felt the need to make 'em real looking and finish them off to the last
stitched detail.
These include the Earth Forces Off-World patch (gold-handled sword
against a starburst within what looks like a cross between a mobius strip and
human DNA), Earth Force Command (similar, but minus the starburst, with
transverse red stripes against a black background), a B5 Fighter Wing Squadron
patch (Flying Nightmares, B5FA-1013 on the outer ring, with a B5 symbol on the
left side outlined by up-and-down red stripes, and on the right a black up and
down stripe bordered by 2256), a rectangular Earth Alliance Fighter
Identification patch (five-pointed command insignia circled by red and gold,
overlaid with gold wings over Joe Straczynski), and the insignia worn by those
on the Battle of the Line, a triangular patch with Star Fury on the upper left
angle in silver on black, FA-23E in silver on black on the right upper angle,
with the inner part of the triangle divided in two by a vertical silver
stripe, blue on the left, gold on the right, over which is the design of one
of the fighters in full accelleration, leaving trails behind it, with the
squadron number 361st - TFS, with UGLY beneath it, and on the lower left angle
of the patch, in black on silver, the words BUT WELL HUNG.
Which refers, of course, to the figher craft itself.
(They hang upside down prior to launch, you'll recall.)
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 480 Thu Oct 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:35 EDT
P.S. No, sorry, they're not for sale.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 482 Thu Oct 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:52 EDT
Insofar as I know, stations that have pledged to take the current
programs will continue to show the current programs (which includes B5).
There doesn't seem to be any direct impact on B5 at this time.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 487 Thu Oct 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:56 EDT
We're assuming that the navy and airforce have more or less merged into
Earthforce, so there's influences from both sides.
The fighters are in regular configuration when the pilot boards. Then
the drop doors open, the ship tilts down on a massive pair of arms, and then
they're released, the centrifugal force of the station sending them out the
drop doors. When they've gotten a bit away from the station, they hit their
engines.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 489 Thu Oct 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:31 EDT
Just heard that the winds have changed,, and Kevin's place is in danger
again. We're sending runners to help yank equipment. Which means driving
right into the fire-line. This could go either way. We'll see.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 494 Thu Oct 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:32 EDT
It's the name on the patch, not the picture.
According to press material released by Paramount, the "ST: Voyager "
series will involve a crew of young cadets on their first training mission.
Don't yet know how the Paramount deal will affect us, if at all. No one
at Warners seems terribly concerned about it, so my guess is that it really
won't affect us one way or the other, but that's only a guess.
jms
(P.S. Kevin's place escaped the fire, all is well.)
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 511 Sat Oct 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:18 EDT
Makes sense...I spend my entire life in a state of spontaneous human
confusion....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 513 Sun Oct 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:48 EDT
Just an update...on Monday we a) do the final mix on "Midnight on the
Firing Line," so we'll have two finished and in the can, and b) finish
shooting Christy's episode of "Grail." (And those of you who've been asking
for nonhumanoid alien stuff...hold onto your hats for this one.) On Tuesday
we start shooting "Mind War," with Walter Koenig, William Allan Young and
Felicity Waterman. Both "Grail" and "Mind War" have been heavy on EFX, both
visual (on set) and CGI.
In looking at all the episodes shot to date, from a story point of view,
I think that "Sky" is still my favorite, in how it ties into the whole 5 year
arc. From a personal point of view, I'm very fond of "The Parliament of
Dreams," which is a very funny show, and at times a very emotional show.
"Parliament" is all over the place...it's got all of our major characters, our
ambassadors, their seconds, we see lots of group scenes, we're all over the
station, dipping in and out of three different but interconnected
stories...it's really a matter of keeping a lot of balls in the air at one
time, and I think we pulled it off nicely.
BTW, we've finished assembling the main title sequence, and we're going
to do one extra little thing to it that's kinda neat...more on this closer to
airdate.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 523 Sun Oct 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:29 EST
There are a lot of little in-jokes...but I'd rather let you see them than
ruin the surprise.
jms
------------
************
Topic 2 Wed Nov 20, 1991
STARR [Arne] at 19:41 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 -- The Series!! >>SPOILERS<<
May 28th, '93, Babylon 5 officially became a series. There will be 22 hours,
plus the 2 hours of the pilot, for season one. Airs Wednesday's at 8PM in most
places starting Jan. '94. This is the Spoiler topic where anything goes.
385 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 163 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
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 184 Wed Sep 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:37 EDT
For this new season: nope.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 204 Sat Oct 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:31 EDT
Say Hi back for me.
Y'know...it's a funny old world. And sometimes it just astonishes you.
About 2 months ago, one of our freelancers turned in a script that has to
do with a hate group, in the course of which a guest character -- a Minbari --
is attacked and has her head branded with the symbol of the group.
So you will doubtless understand my astonishment when I turned on DS9 and
saw the same thing happen.
Unfortunately, we've already shot that episode, it's in the can, so
there's nothing we can do about it now. Further -- and let me be totally
clear about this -- there's no way that DS9 could've borrowed the idea from
us, or in any way been influence by us, and no way we could've been influence
by them. To get on the air now, they would've had to shoot their episode some
time before the writer turned in that draft for our show. And none of us were
in any way aware of what was going on there until we saw it the night of the
broadcast...and came in the next day with looks of absolute shock.
These things do happen...and when you're dealing with similar general
areas -- humans vs. aliens, or one alien group vs. another alien group -- then
something like this becomes inevitable. And given the foreheads on Ferengi,
and the foreheads on Minbari, the obviousness of that target becomes clear.
Still, it's amazing when it happens. And I guess I just wanted it to be clear
when this thing airs that the sequence in our show was in the can and done
when the DS9 episode aired.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
Message 208 Sun Oct 03, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:50 EDT
Kiwi...yeah, I know. We're in discussions to see if there's any way we
can cut this from the show...the only problem is that the brand stays on
throughout the show. If it were just in one shot, we'd cut the shot and find
some other way around it. The only way we can lose it now would be if we
literally wiped off the brand by going into every frame in which it appears
and digitally removing it from the frame...which is a *real* pain in the
butt...but we are considering it.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 219 Mon Oct 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:48 EDT
The points made above are essentially correct; the brand goes on in the
very top of the show, in the teaser, and stay on throughout the episode...and
part of the story is dealing with this, and what it means. An offer is made
to remove it, but the victim decides *not* to have it removed, because there
are lessons in these things...and it becomes almost a badge of defiance.
In addition to the notes here, I've received a whole bunch of email notes
saying to leave it in, on the grounds that it *does* happen in real life (or
incidents close to it), and how we're handling it *is* very different. (Some
indicated that it can illustrate how the two shows handle their themes in
different ways.) So it's a tough call...to change would also mean some re-
shooting...but given the responses here, I think it's okay to leave it in
place.
File this one away the next time someone asks, "What sort of ways has the
BBS discussion actually affected Babylon 5?"
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 238 Fri Oct 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:25 EDT
Actually, "beep-beep" was always there in the script; it was the part
where we learn AFTER that that Sinclair only told G'Kar about the homing
beacon, didn't really plant it, that came up during filming.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 243 Tue Oct 12, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:47 EDT
Hey, have you ever seen me when I effervasn't?
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 255 Thu Oct 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:11 EDT
Let me introduce you to something called the Budget....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 262 Sun Oct 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:24 EDT
You have to understand that when I said "Let me introduce you to the
budget," I was talking primarily in TV terms. The actors sometimes named here
-- from Mel Gibson on -- generally command salaries of $4-10 million per
movie. Those actors are generally outside the reach of *any* TV series. As
it is, we've managed to pull in some pretty amazing actors who would generally
be unattainable, but loved the scripts.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 267 Tue Oct 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:33 EDT
Guest stars so far include David McCallum, Clive Revell, David Warner,
Danica McKellar, William Sanderson, Morgan Shepherd, Marshall Teague, Judson
Scott, Christopher Neame, and shortly, Walter Koenig.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 273 Thu Oct 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 13:29 EDT
Clive Revell is a Tony-award winning actor, member of the Royal
Shakespeare Company, and one of the most regarded actors around. Judson
Scott was in ST II, as Khan's second, and had his own short-lived series, "The
Phoenix."
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 291 Sun Oct 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:01 EDT
That was, indeed, Morgan Shepherd on SQ.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 304 Sat Oct 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:53 EDT
The starfury fighter is launched by a drop straight out, nose pointed
"downward," toward space. Upon release, it flies pretty much straight out,
still containing some of the momentum from the rotation, so it would appear to
be going straight away from the station because its position in relation to
the station, like a geosynchronous satellite, is still more or less correct.
Shortly after getting out of the bay, the fighters fire up their engines,
which lets them take any angle or direction they choose. So they can very
quickly head away on any trajectory.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 309 Sat Oct 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:23 EDT
The fighters enter via the main docking bay, where they are shunted back
into the Starfury launch bays. (BTW, for those who've asked, and let it never
be said that we're unresponsive...we asked Ron to develop a CGI sequence that
shows how ships get from the interior of the main docking bay down to the
customs and loading bays. I've seen it, and it looks pretty spiffy. Look for
it in "Grail."
Re: the mask...yes, form follows function. It should cover the whole
face (done), be transparent (done), be easy to slip on and off (done), and
contain its own atmosphere cartridges (done). We could've gotten fancy, but
it made sense for a station like B5 to order just what they need, not add on a
whole lot of bells and whistles, and I'm not really sure what more you NEED in
a mask.
BTW, the triangular ships are Raiders.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 312 Sun Oct 31, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:50 EDT
The bay is pressurized, with drop doors beneath each fighter. A ramp
extends to the fighters individually, bringing on pilots. The bays are
depressurized as the pilots (in flight suits) prepare. Then the drop doors
open, the fighters pivot to nose-down position, and launch.
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.
497 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 3
Message 432 Thu Sep 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:18 EDT
We beat the crap out of Ron. There will be lens flare where it's needed.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 3
Message 449 Sun Oct 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:15 EDT
Bear in mind that the amount of counterthrust diminishes the more
detailed and precise your movements become. You need a big thrust at one or
two points for the big configurations, then as you start to narrow it down,
the thrusts get smaller and more precise and are less visibly noticeable.
We're talking microthrusts here.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 3
Message 452 Mon Oct 18, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:21 EDT
Yes. It's all covered.
jms
------------
************
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.
385 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 4
Message 360 Sun Oct 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:02 EDT
I commented in that topic. You can check there if you want. I have no
desire to drag this out here.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 4
Message 363 Wed Oct 20, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:36 EDT
Walter will appear in one episode this year, "Mind War," and that
character may well return next season in a couple of episodes. Which is all I
can say about it at this time.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 4
Message 365 Thu Oct 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:52 EDT
I'd rather it weren't. Someone talked out of school who shouldn't have,
didn't get things correctly, and it was awkward for all concerned, and the
person who initially posted the info apologized. I'd like to leave it at that
and not drag it over here.
jms
------------
************
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.
285 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 5
Message 277 Fri Oct 08, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:35 EDT
I'm told it'll be soon. The problem was multifold: 1) Christy had this
really impatient producer yelling on her for a script, which she finally
turned in, and will star David Warner; 2) she's in the process of buying a
house and moving; 3) she's been yelling on me for an intro piece, which I keep
missing; and 4) because of the changes in cast, she had to interview all of
the new cast members, who will be featured in the next issue. There are only
two issues left in the run in any event, and in a way, the later the issue,
the more complete the information will be.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 5
Message 280 Sun Oct 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:03 EDT
oops.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 5
Message 282 Mon Oct 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 13:30 EDT
Whether it's two or three...who can keep count?...the newsletter was a
private thing developed in-house for the movie, and to segue into the series;
it was never meant to be a permanent fixture. (And I'm sure that PTEN will
probably initiate its own publication after a while, if we're properly
successful.) After the initial full run, it's really up to Christy whether or
not she decides to carry on with the thing for a while.
jms
------------
************
Topic 6 Tue Nov 03, 1992
T.ORTH [Mr. Rico] at 06:43 EST
Sub: Where is Babylon 5? TV stations...
Babylon 5 is a cornerstone of Warner's new Prime Time Entertainment Network.
Here is where one can find and post station information.
347 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 6
Message 312 Mon Oct 25, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:53 EDT
I'm reasonably sure that the B5 pilot will be repeated on KCOP the next
day, Saturday.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 6
Message 330 Thu Oct 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:34 EDT
Actually, the funny thing is, I don't much mind if people who hadn't seen
the pilot don't catch the rebroadcast. What we're doing now is SO radically
better than the pilot that I almost can't watch it now.
jms
------------
************
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!
375 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 9
Message 327 Sun Oct 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:26 EDT
There are moments I think it would be a wonderful idea....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 9
Message 331 Sun Oct 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:02 EDT
Yes, Mike, very nice, now finish putting your pajamas on and get to bed,
you've got a busy day ahead of you.
jms
------------
************
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.
412 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 11
Message 348 Thu Oct 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:04 EDT
I've always found for basic space adventuring stuff, Eric Frank Russell
is terrific....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 11
Message 365 Sun Oct 17, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:53 EDT
I have absolutely no idea how it works. I use the command mode in GEnie
mail, where the Internet stuff comes in. I then type REP #, and reply. Then
save. After that, it's all in the hands of the modem gods.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 11
Message 376 Tue Oct 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:15 EDT
One way to get around all that, of course, is to transfer all of your CGI
directly to film at some point, and use that down the road.
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.
402 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 12
Message 355 Fri Oct 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:39 EDT
I understand it'll be sometime close to airdate, possibly a few weeks
after we go on the air.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 12
Message 357 Fri Oct 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:58 EDT
Mark Altman.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 12
Message 360 Sat Oct 02, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:18 EDT
The photo was from the pilot; the line about stations was not altogether
incorrect.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 12
Message 395 Fri Oct 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:45 EDT
She was talking to Vir, not Londo.
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.
473 message(s) total.
************
------------
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
------------
Category 18, Topic 13
Message 394 Wed Sep 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:39 EDT
"Jiggery-pokery"...that's a codename for math, isn't it? YOU CAN'T FOOL
ME! I GOT MY CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT DECODER BADGE! NOTHING GETS PAST ME!
I need a vacation....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 13
Message 407 Fri Oct 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:54 EDT
Beats me...you ask my opinion, that docking bay entrance looks a LOT
like the Chevy symbol, so what the hell do I know?
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 13
Message 416 Mon Oct 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:42 EDT
The breather units now cover the whole face, yes.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 13
Message 425 Thu Oct 14, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:06 EDT
I'd say that's pretty close to what we've been doing....
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
394 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 17
Message 375 Tue Sep 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:52 EDT
Hmmmm....I guess they sold out...which means they owe me money....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 17
Message 378 Tue Sep 28, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:37 EDT
Right, that's what I was referring to, HOUR 25 posters, not B5 posters.
I hope no one here was confused by this.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 17
Message 381 Wed Sep 29, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:21 EDT
No, there's no reference to B5 in the Hour 25 poster...only that it was
painted by the same man who did our original B5 artwork, used to help sell the
series, and is signed by him (Peter Ledger), as well as by me, Larry DiTillio
and Harlan Ellison...the first official grouping of what would become the B5
core.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 17
Message 387 Thu Sep 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:20 EDT
Not yet....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 17
Message 390 Fri Oct 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:41 EDT
I genuinely don't think you'll be seeing much *anywhere* until just about
the time we hit the airwaves. You want to put these things into catalogs and
stores when you think people will buy them...and right now, a lot of folks
still don't know about the show. Don't worry, you'll be sick to death of the
merchandising soon enough....
jms
------------
************
Topic 22 Fri Feb 12, 1993
R.FURR [Rob Furr] at 00:19 EST
Sub: Governments and Trade in B5
Most SF shows simply posit a government of sorts, and blithely ignore it ever
afterwards. You might see a freighter (with a big "shoot me!" sign on it) but
no other mention of trade. How about B5?
143 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 141 Mon Oct 04, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:43 EDT
It's a general storage area.
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]
146 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 140 Fri Oct 15, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:46 EDT
Actually, "The Wall" is one of my weaker episodes. I much prefer
"Rendezvous," though there's much in "Special Service" to commend it.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 142 Tue Oct 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:18 EDT
I've never felt the need, as a writer, to be didactic about this stuff.
No, I don't believe in an afterlife...I also don't believe in the actual
existence of Vorlons, either, but I write about them. I don't think it's a
requirement. H.P. Lovecraft was one of our best writers of supernatural
fiction, but I very much doubt that he believed in the Old Ones, or made bi-
weekly offerings to Cthulhu.
All areas of human endeavor should be open to exploration, discussion and
analysis, for what we can learn from them.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 145 Tue Oct 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:34 EDT
...ehhhhh....
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.
317 message(s) total.
************
------------
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
------------
Category 18, Topic 24
Message 268 Thu Sep 30, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:21 EDT
You're looking at the wrong part of the station. Run the tape, and
you'll see several segments that track alongside the round front of the
station, and revolve along with it. (Remember where the spider transport
attached itself? I seem to recall that was on one of the cobra arms.) So
we're still using centrifugal force to launch.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 24
Message 270 Fri Oct 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:59 EDT
A couple of the cobra bays aren't yet finished and loaded. The last
fighter wing will be arriving in "Survivors."
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 24
Message 274 Fri Oct 01, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:56 EDT
"Survivors" is the new title for "Knife in the Shadows," by Marc Scott
Zicree.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 24
Message 289 Tue Oct 05, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:19 EDT
Except in this case, "Survivors" ended up being a more apt title for the
episode.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 24
Message 304 Thu Oct 21, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:50 EDT
There's really no one answer to that; the approach would vary depending
on the logistics and tactics and who was where.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 24
Message 306 Sat Oct 23, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:28 EDT
Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnope.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 24
Message 308 Tue Oct 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:35 EDT
An earlier model, yes.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 24
Message 310 Wed Oct 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:35 EDT
There are no current military alliances, though some might like that.
There have never been any survivors of a Vorlon war, so there's no way
of knowing....
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.
349 message(s) total.
************
------------
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
------------
Category 18, Topic 25
Message 313 Sun Sep 26, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:24 EDT
Well, I've got some, maybe about 100, Christy has some, and it's possible
that Dangerous Visions in Sherman Oaks has a handful left, but that's it.
Nobody at KPFK has any.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 25
Message 318 Mon Sep 27, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:11 EDT
Didn't get your note until too late re: the poster.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 25
Message 325 Tue Oct 19, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:21 EDT
Okay, here's the info: I, Larry DiTillio, and possibly others will be
making a presentation at LosCon that Thanksgiving weekend on Saturday from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. We got a two-hour block because we may have some stuff to
unveil. If you're in the L.A. area, and interested in B5, I wouldn't miss
this one. As well as the possibility of some cast members, those who come may
get more than just a preview....
jms
(That's Thanksgiving weekend at the Burbank Airport Hilton.)
------------
************
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!
136 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 26
Message 107 Sun Oct 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:12 EDT
Several corrections. Neither Knight One nor Knight Two are Psi Cops.
Everyone assumed that they were, but I never said that, and it's not the case
at all.
Danica McKeller does not appear in "Sky," she appears in "The War
Prayer;" David McCalllum appears in "Infection." Christy Marx's episode is
entitled "Grail," and that's the one with David Warner, William Sanderson and
Tom Booker. "Metaphors" and "Target" have been retitled.
Those are the errors I caught just in passing.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 26
Message 109 Sun Oct 10, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:42 EDT
I no longer have any idea what we're talking about, and frankly it scares
the hell out of me....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 26
Message 115 Mon Oct 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:19 EDT
Yeah, easy for YOU to say, KAL...I've got Londo, Garibaldi, G'Kar, Kosh
and half the Psi-Corps running around inside my head and yelling at each other
24 hours a day...YOU try to sleep with all that racket.
I either need to find a better neighborhood, or a worse one, I can't
decide....
"AH, my GOOD, CLOSE FRIEND, GariBALdi --"
That's it! Everybody outta the pool......!
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 26
Message 119 Mon Oct 11, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:42 EDT
Behind-the-scenes humor: because it had been so long since the pilot, it
took a few of our actors a bit of time to get back into their characters, to
find the characters' "fingerprints" for lack of a better term. This is quite
understandable given the long waiting period. When he needed to find his
character for a scene, Peter Jurasik mentioned that he would just stand up
straight and yell, "MISter GariBALdi!" and he'd be right back in character.
Sort of the B5 version of "Shazam!"
Minus the lightning bolt, of course.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 26
Message 126 Sun Oct 24, 1993
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:01 EDT
No, the series is one-to-one on the passage of years.
jms
------------