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894 lines
37 KiB
Babylon 5 posts by JMS for June 15-30, 1994
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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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875 message(s) total.
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************
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 686 Wed Jun 15, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:54 EDT
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BTW...appropos of nothing...I would urge all and sundry to check out the
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CBS special, "Murrow Vs. McCarthy," Wednesday night at 10/9 central. If you
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don't know who those two people are/were, all the more reason to watch. Some
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lessons must never be forgotten.
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 690 Thu Jun 16, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:04 EDT
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Here's just how stupid and tragic and destructive that period in our
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history was, and how it affected somebody.
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I have a friend named Norman Corwin. Some of you, probably the older
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ones, will recognize the name; most won't. Which is the greatest tragedy of
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all.
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During the height of the radio drama period, Norman Corwin was *the* pre-
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eminent radio drama writer, more widely listened to and respected than Orson
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Welles, Arch Oboler or anyone else in the field. There was simply no one
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bigger. He wrote comedies and dramas and jerimiads; when the UN needed a
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cantata to symbolize their goals, they came to Norman; when the Germans
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surrendered on VE day, our nation turned to Norman to write a piece that was
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the ONLY radio broadcast/drama aired on all three radio networks, "On a Note
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of Triumph." He worked with the greatest stars of our country...Humphrey
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Bogart, Clark Gable, and a list of our greatest film and radio stars.
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He was, not to put too fine a point on it...*it*. You couldn't get much
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higher.
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Then came McCarthy, and his vile, paranoid, list-making progeny, who
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deepened the wound in our nation's heart by multiplying it. One such bastard
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stepchild was a sleazy little rag called "Red Channels" (you get one guess
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what the Red stood for). It was published by the owner of a chain of
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supermarkets. Not a senator, not a congressman, not an FBI guy or anyone
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elected to high office...the owner of a supermarket chain, who felt it his god-
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given obligation to ferret out commies...meaning whoever he didn't much like.
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One issue of "Red Channels" included Norman Corwin's name in among the
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lists and lists of names...since after all, he had spoken well of Russia
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during World War II...in documentaries *commissioned by our own government* to
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further our alliance against the Nazis. But no matter that he was asked to do
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it by his nation, no matter that we were allies once, if you spoke in *any*
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way well of the Russian people...you were either a commie or a commie-
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sympathizer.
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Norman was not blacklisted; that's what happened to those poor hapless
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saps who went before McCarthy hoping for a square deal. Norman was *grey-
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listed*, not even accused, not summoned, but the fear of the time was so
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palpable that even that one allegation was enough.
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And Norman's career...stopped.
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I cannot think of this without getting so angry that I can barely see the
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monitor.
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If you don't know the work of Norman Corwin, go to your nearest local
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library and look for his books, if they still have them. Look for any
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recordings of his radio dramas, particularly "On a Note of Triumph," which is
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probably in the hands of university libraries. If you want some small measure
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of his influence on other writers, pick up a copy of "13 For Corwin," from
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Barricade Books, where this man is celebrated in essays by Ray Bradbury, Studs
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Terkel, Charles Kuralt, Norman Lear, Norman Cousins, Erik Barnouw, Philip
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Dunne, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, among others. Ask Walter Cronkite
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what Norman meant to him. Ask Ray about how he began his career as a writer
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trying to write like Norman Corwin.
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Norman is currently in his early 80s. He continues to write, and has two
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books coming out soon, one a collection of his letters, the other an oral
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history done by the Director's Guild. I do not see him as often as I would
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like, because we're both very busy. But he is my friend, and he taught me
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much of what it means to be a writer, and I commend his works to you with the
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greatest enthusiasm conceivable. I promise that you will not be disappointed.
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There is a sheer and unmitigated power in his use of language that I haven't
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seen anywhere else.
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Corwin. Norman. Look it up.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 695 Thu Jun 16, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:57 EDT
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Wayne...I'm sorry, but I don't define the "Fun Factor" in as narrow a way
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as you do.
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On the referential stuff...you're wrong. I view Delenn's comment about
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"suffering the interference of others" in regards to matters of the soul in
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"Believers" to be a reference to the Soul Hunter...later this season are
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references, in dialogue, *specifically*, to Deathwalker, the labor
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action/strike, Raghesh 3 and other areas seen before this season. I just
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wrote (and had to delete for time) a reference to the "Believers" story in a
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season two script; it didn't show up there, but it will show up elsewhere.
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Your error was in jumping the gun. Season ain't over yet.
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Frankly, you can only spend so much time referencing backstory; you have
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a contemporary story to deal with, and should only reference a past story IF
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it has a DIRECT bearing on the current story. What you're asking for is an
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agenda, a shopping list...there MUST be references to the past or it isn't
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good, there MUST be injuries or death in a certain numerical proportion to the
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series or it isn't good.
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I'm telling a story. I don't have time, or inclination, to worry about
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what your friends think the right percentage of death and injury should be in
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a series. There is a small percentage of fandom that measures its interest in
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terms of how many people get killed, hurt or maimed, the "hurt/comfort"
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fanzine types. They think that's realism. It's not. It's the cheapest way
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to get somebody's interest. People also live to die of old age, too.
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So howzabout you just let me tell my story. And wait for the rest of
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this season, so you can see how you're wrong on the other point.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 705 Fri Jun 17, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:20 EDT
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If a question is directed specifically at me, yes, I'm more likely to
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dive in.
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The story of how I met Norman is actually kinda funny...I was at San
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Diego State University, in the Psychology department, when I heard that this
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Norman Corwin fellow was going to be a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer that
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semester, teaching writing in a couple of classes in the Telecommunications
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and Film Department. Curious, I went to the library to find out what I could
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about him. Opened up "Who's Who." And the entry went on...and on...and
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on...and my jaw dropped. This was a WRITER.
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You could only take one, not both of the two sessions he was teaching
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that semester. Also, his classes were ONLY open to TCF majors, no one else.
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AND, you had to submit a writing sample to get in.
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I was determined not only to get in, despite being in the wrong (and thus
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closed) department, but also to take *both* classes. I submitted a piece of
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writing, and though I didn't hear anything from him personally, learned that
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it passed muster. But I still now had to get the computer cards (back when we
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used such things) from the TCF department, which were, er, under lock and key.
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How I got my hands on the cards...is another story for another time.
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Suffice to say if the Symbionese Liberation Army had had this kind of
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technique, they'd still be around today.
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So...first day of his first session. I'm there early. He walks in. And
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you have to understand that Norman never just enters a room...he is a
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*presence*. Leonine and elegant. And he went to the front of the room,
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looked around, and said, "Is there a Joe Straczynski here?"
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I died. "Well, this is it," I thought. I'd been nabbed. I raised my
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hand. "Could I see you outside?" he asked. I stepped out into the hall,
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where I was sure several department heads and, for all I knew, campus security
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would be waiting.
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There was no one, just Norman and me. "Listen, Joe," he said, "I read
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over the material you sent in, and I just have to say that it's really very
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good, very professional, excellent writing. So I was thinking that I'd very
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much appreciate your help with the class, if you think you'd like to pitch in
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a bit. I think they could use your help."
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You could've knocked me over with a feather.
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Later, some in the TCF department figured out what I'd done, and began to
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raise hell. They went to Norman and felt I ought to be booted. He felt that
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I really should stay, and stay I did.
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He took me under his wing then, and for a long time thereafter. He had
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much to teach, and I had much to learn. I thought I actually knew how to
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write...five minutes with him taught me that I knew *nothing*. Norman taught
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by word, by edit, and by example. I went out and read everything he had ever
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written, and you could take any one of them and parse and study it over and
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over, and still not be able to figure out how he did what he did...how, with
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only a few words, he could evoke an image, trigger an emotion, grab you by the
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shoulders and shake you. It's the nearest thing to close-up magic I've ever
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seen. He's *that* good.
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Oddly enough, some of what he wrote could be considered (in the loosest
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sense of the word) fantasy, of a sort. No two pieces were ever quite
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alike...hard dramas, delightful and fanciful pieces, jeremiads that thunder'd
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and lightning'd and corrected like a caring but concerned father attempting to
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pull his children, our nation, back from the brink.
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Long after the session, we continued and grew as friends, visiting,
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having dinner, hanging out. (Though it's not quite right to describe Norman
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"hanging out;" somehow it just doesn't fit.) He still teaches once in a while
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at Idlwylde, by the way.
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To quote Ray Bradbury, "He taught us then not only how to open our
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mouths, but how to insert bright pebbles beneath our tongues so that
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eventually we might fire forth a sentence not only worth listening to but
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thinking about."
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And, later: "When I published my first book, Dark Carnival, in 1947, I
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somehow got Norman's phone number and address from a conniving secretary at
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CBS Radio. I sent Norman my book with a note saying, `If you like my book as
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much as I love you and your work, please let me buy you a drink some
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afternoon.' A few days later, Norman called and said, `You're not buying me
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drinks, I'm buying you *dinner*." The dinner has lasted forever. And what a
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feast."
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 706 Fri Jun 17, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:49 EDT
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Since I'm talking about Norman Corwin, and like all writers
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he is best exemplified by his work...some samples. Fragments.
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Some days after the first atomic bomb was exploded over
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Hiroshima, Norman wrote about the new power that had been unleashed.
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His words, in part:
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"...the atom can be more sullen than has yet been shown.
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Attack it with another thrust of algebraic symbols and the
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cutting edge of an equation, and there will be the grand
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reaction.
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The first news of it will arrive in your precinct as a shuddering
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in the sky:
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A glow, far off, brightening: heat beating outward in concentric
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waves: the atmosphere a band of fire: the seas themselves, the
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wet seas, tinder:
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The hills that looked on Christ will heave and crackle, and
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quarries vaporize as eagerly as the dust of Pharoahs:
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The earth, the tamed and tonsured earth, with all its gardens and
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substances, its places, breeds and patterns, its letters and its
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airs, will plummet out of grace; will fail its orbit,
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And soon enough will be a blistered ash, its moon trailing lonely
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and ungoverned, like a dog after its master's corpse.
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Do not smile, do not smile as though knowing better.
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It could happen.
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The model is any suicide.
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The model is Sampson, destroying the temple and himself...."
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The following is excerpted from Norman's book "Prayer for the 70s."
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"We print your name on dollars
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And are sure you stand over everything we say is under God
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And all nations assume you are on their side and always
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have been, war in and war out,
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And every religion understands you better than every other religion,
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and you in turn lean toward each with special inclinations.
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You are called upon to bless babies and aircraft carriers
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And you are ceremoniously and endlessly praised on the basis that
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flattery will get us somewhere.
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But there are those who pray as though tendering a bribe payable
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on installments
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So as to accumulate years in this life and credits in the next.
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Some of us make you out a broker who supplieth needs and wants;
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Attorney who defendeth against hard claims;
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Expunger of guilts who cleareth the conscience so we may be free
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to muck it up again;
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Housekeeper of the soul who cometh in to clean once a week;
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King of accountants auditing our secret selves,
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Liquidating our trespasses as we liquidate those who trespass
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against us,
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Keeping batteries of books filled with fateful identifications,
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Entering as much the fall of a sparrow as the crash of a plane.
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We have heard it said you are not so smart after all, since it is
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unlikely you could add as fast as a computer or remember half
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so much;
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And although you are known to be more than generous in the number and
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variety of species, there seems to be little rationale for the
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mosquito, and less for plague bacilli.
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There have been complaints against you, charges of malfeasance,
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Implications of sleeping on the job, trigger temper, pronenesss
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to vengeance,
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Tantrums of wrath that have consumed too many of the innocent with
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too few of the heinous.
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Some of your public begrudge you the benefit of doubt, and doubt
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your beneficence
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Protesting that it was antic of you to have sponsored us to begin
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with, if we are to swarm like maggots on a rind too meager to
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support our duplicating billions.
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Some say the noblest ideas were set down by man
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And that you have been served by holy ghost writers beyond your
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desserts.
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They say that the whole conspicuous distance between the worm and
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Einstein, the drone of the bee and Beethoven,
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The entire interval, has been filled with struggles trailing blood:
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Ages of frightened proto-men, heavy with ignorance, recoiling from
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fangs of fire, drowning in profligate floods, perishing in temblors,
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staggering into the unknown,
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Their wails and brute chants and broken grunts fructifying at last
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into songs and sonnets and hallelujahs to your glory.
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Well, dissidants suggest that during this grand span you sat it
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out; that in the vast meanwhile you went off to fish in deeper
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currents.
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Lately it is announced that you are dead
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Which means several things besides the receiver being off the hook
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when we dial you.
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It means that time must carry on by itself
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And stars pinwheel through incandescent deserts and bottomless voids,
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all on an orderly hunch;
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It means the arching upward from the mud has been a drunken course,
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and purposeless, and hardly worth the trip;
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It means the very mansion of existence has no windows, and is just
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a big white elephant, boarded up and haunted by your mistakes;
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It means that springtime is a come-on and a put-on, and not at all
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a show of dogged life, a riot of chlorophyll, a surge of sap and
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elixers from wells so deep no radar can ever return to tell what
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and where it touched;
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It means that the love of man and woman is a table of percentages,
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and their desire a disease of the id;
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It means that birth is a happening between pills
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And old age a phase held together by plastic parts;
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It means the heart of a man is replaceable as soon as the donor is
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legally dead
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And death is a package deal with the best advertised mortuary.
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So, God: if you are alive in that heaven we have come to know is
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spotty with systems of gravity, each pulling for itself,
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Then perhaps you must flex the muscle of divine authority to get
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back into office
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Because your antique miracles have been trumped by solemn science;
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Daily the patent office registers intenser magic than the burning bush:
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The serpent from the rod becomes a ruby laser;
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The leper is healed by mycins;
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The blind draw vision from an eye bank.
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That being the case, dear busy God, please manifest thyself again
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through one superlative, new-minted covenant:
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Create for the lot of us -- all nations indivisible -- an Act of God
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more stupendous than mere parting waters or a standing sun
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A miracle harder to come by, that would, if consummated, cause dry
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bones from all the hundred holocausts to meet and dance,
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And charter stars to sing together in the brightest chancel of
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imponderable space.
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And this is what that miracle would be:
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That man should love his kind in all his skins and pigments,
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And kill no more.
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Repeat:
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That we should love our kind
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And kill no more.
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Yes, granted, such a miracle is asking very much of you
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But it is long past time to ask."
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That, gentle readers...*that* is Norman Corwin.
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 748 Wed Jun 22, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:55 EDT
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Just got back from a whirlwind trip...too exhausted to write much now.
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Grabbed a flight to Chicago last night, arriving around midnight, and came
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back today around 8 p.m. Basically 20 hours in Chicago and then turn right
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around and come back to LA. Without going into details (mainly because I
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can't) at the moment, there's some non-B5 stuff brewing that could be
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interesting. (I may have to start two new topics here; TWCBN #2 and TWCBN #3,
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for those who understand the reference.)
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 763 Thu Jun 23, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:25 EDT
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The 30s true story isn't SF. The two other TWCBNs are.
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What would be considered SF within the B5 universe? Ummmm....Trek?
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(I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.)
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 772 Fri Jun 24, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:26 EDT
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Warner buys ads for those shows which are specifically produced BY
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Warners, in-house. We're an independent company providing programming FOR
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them. Slight distinction.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 775 Fri Jun 24, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:48 EDT
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No more details for now, I'm afraid. Just wanted to let y'all know that
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something's cooking. Two something's, actually. We'll see....
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 780 Sat Jun 25, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:39 EDT
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Arne: no, both Kung-Fu and Trax are *in-house* Warners shows (though one
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is through Lorimar, which is still owned by Warners).
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 782 Sat Jun 25, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:11 EDT
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Babylon 5 will *always* be my first priority; it's my baby. The other
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two TWCBNs, should they go, would inherit others who would be more involved in
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the day-to-day running, which I would then oversee...as opposed to the direct,
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hands-on way I deal with B5.
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 784 Sat Jun 25, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:13 EDT
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BTW, before I forget (again....), I gave a brief interview to TV Guide's
|
|
Science Fiction column the other day, about the impact of the Moon landing
|
|
(speaking as the creator of an SF series). Assuming that I said anything
|
|
reasonably coherent and nominally useful, it will likely appear in either the
|
|
next issue, or the one thereafter.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 788 Sat Jun 25, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:56 EDT
|
|
|
|
Amazing thing, innit...watching someone's brain explode....
|
|
|
|
(And yes, Garibaldi was named after *the* Garibaldi of Italian military
|
|
history.)
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 800 Sun Jun 26, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:11 EDT
|
|
|
|
Errrmmmmm...I don't recall promising to never replace an actor without
|
|
also replacing the character...I don't think I would limit my options in quite
|
|
that manner. I think my comments were fairly specific to this situation.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 806 Sun Jun 26, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:26 EDT
|
|
|
|
I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks that the Sinclair situation is a spoiler
|
|
and shouldn't be mentioned here...that can't be done. Further, as I
|
|
understand spoilers, they refer to plot more than casting. And I try hard NOT
|
|
to throw spoilers into this topic. The Sinclair situation was news, and it
|
|
had to be communicated to the largest number of people so they would get the
|
|
information straight from the source rather than having to find out through
|
|
rumors and back-channel sources that are usually more wrong than right.
|
|
|
|
It was, in my view, a public service, and I stand by my decision to place
|
|
it here, rather than the spoilers section, where fewer read it and the
|
|
information would do less good. Anyone who thinks that information can really
|
|
be contained is living in a dream world.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 824 Mon Jun 27, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:32 EDT
|
|
|
|
Sounds like this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. There ARE
|
|
going to be new episodes, starting next week with "Grail," and we're using the
|
|
same writers as last year -- me, Larry, DC Fontana, a couple others -- and
|
|
adding a couple who I kinda want to work with, such as Scott Frost (on outline
|
|
now) and Peter David (ditto). I've learned that things tend to get awfully
|
|
muddy at the local station level....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 829 Mon Jun 27, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:57 EDT
|
|
|
|
Any time you spend talking at length with local programming people, you
|
|
will generally walk away depressed, because the approach and the emphasis is
|
|
diametrically different from what interests those of us in this discussion.
|
|
I'm not saying it's bad, just different. Fundamentally, the show is the show;
|
|
phone conversations, reviews, in the long run, none of it matters. If the
|
|
show is good, it will go on; if not, not.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 831 Tue Jun 28, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:12 EDT
|
|
|
|
There was a heavy Frost that year; two Frosts, Mark and Scott, the Frost
|
|
brothers. Scott subsequently went on to work for X-Files.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 836 Tue Jun 28, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:52 EDT
|
|
|
|
Remember when I said there are things you learn midway into a series that
|
|
you can learn no other way? Yikes....
|
|
|
|
As I've mentioned before, in our season ender, "Chrysalis," we tip over
|
|
every table we've got. I'm talking here *major* stuff, that profoundly and
|
|
permanently affects many of our primary characters. Well, you build that as a
|
|
two parter, and even *try* to resolve all of that in the second part. It
|
|
doesn't work, because the repercussions are so substantial. (What it is,
|
|
really, is something that'll be felt throughout the entire second season.)
|
|
|
|
You can try to pack all the loose thread-tying into part two, but it's
|
|
like trying to pack 10 pounds of potatos into a 5 pound bag. One other option
|
|
is making it a six parter, but *that's* really silly. So what I'm doing, I've
|
|
decided, is to take the major elements and play them out over the first five
|
|
or so episodes. This will give me time to give each of the threads the
|
|
necessary time to play out effectively, rather than rushing things.
|
|
|
|
So Chrysalis stands alone as a season ender, and a prelude to the Big
|
|
Stuff in season two. Episode 1 of year two, therefore, won't be "Chrysalis,
|
|
Part Two," but have its own title, allowing me to spread the stuff over the
|
|
next few episodes. (Probable title: "Points of Departure.")
|
|
|
|
I showed "Chrysalis" to some people the other day, and the reaction was
|
|
across the board astonishment. Just stunned. Which was pretty much the
|
|
desired result. It's an absolute left-turn for the series.
|
|
|
|
But because this is the non-spoiler area, I won't comment further.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 849 Wed Jun 29, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:00 EDT
|
|
|
|
Hmmmmm...is *that* who's been signing and cashing my residuals checks...?
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 853 Wed Jun 29, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:43 EDT
|
|
|
|
There are those at the top of the stations, and those below. What
|
|
matters proceeds from the top.
|
|
|
|
Re: the comic...yes, there were discussions of other companies that were
|
|
bidding on it, but I probably shouldn't name who they were, as that might be
|
|
inappropriate.
|
|
|
|
The first issue of the B5 comic, which I've written, is entitled "In
|
|
Darkness Find Me," which is the flip-side of incidents that take place in the
|
|
first episode of year one. And there's a smidge of information contained in
|
|
the book that's *not* in the episode. I think the script came out pretty
|
|
well. I've also written brief outlines for two subsequent four-issue cycles,
|
|
which are now being assigned to other writers for expansion into full outlines
|
|
and scripts.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
Topic 2 Wed Nov 20, 1991
|
|
STARR [Arne] at 19:41 EST
|
|
Sub: Babylon 5 -- The Series!! >>SPOILERS<<
|
|
|
|
Babylon 5 offically became a series on May 28 '93. There will be 22 hour eps
|
|
for season one (in addition to the pilot). Airs Wednesdays at 8PM in most
|
|
places starting Jan. 26 '94. This is the SPOILER topic where anything goes.
|
|
|
|
838 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 818 Mon Jun 20, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:41 EDT
|
|
|
|
Talked to him back when I was doing Twilight Zone, and he made it clear
|
|
that he has NO desire whatsoever to do TV in any way, manner, shape or form.
|
|
Unfortunate, really. For TV.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
606 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 3
|
|
Message 602 Sun Jun 19, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:08 EDT
|
|
|
|
That's not really the kind of correction I was talking about. I was
|
|
addressing more general, behavioral correction, rather than the debate over
|
|
episode stuff, or details, or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin
|
|
(answer: as many as want to).
|
|
|
|
Because SF is supposedly about embracing differences, there is a tendency
|
|
-- usually well-intended -- to ignore it when someone acts boorishly, or
|
|
rudely, or stupidly. I've been at many gatherings of SF folks which have been
|
|
great, until one or two people really start making it ugly for the rest, and
|
|
unlike non-SF gatherings, nobody says anything or does anything.
|
|
|
|
There are certain types of behavior that the outside world (non-SF) does
|
|
not tolerate; and a small portion of fandom thinks that because SF is not like
|
|
the outside "mundane" world, those same rules don't apply, and they can do
|
|
this stuff. It's a very small percentage that does this, but they tend to
|
|
hold the larger percentage hostage through the feeling of, "Well, I guess we
|
|
shouldn't say anything. This is our sort of family." Well, when part of a
|
|
family gets dysfunctional, you have to address it.
|
|
|
|
Again, all this applies to only a very small number, but it's enough of a
|
|
number to be a problem. And I'm not specifically associating the original
|
|
message with that sort of thing, only saying that there is nothing wrong with
|
|
correction if it is done in a positive form.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
696 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 4
|
|
Message 665 Sat Jun 25, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:45 EDT
|
|
|
|
We'll know more about guest casting once more scripts are in and we begin
|
|
the casting process. We can't really do that until we have dates on the
|
|
filming of scripted episodes.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 4
|
|
Message 671 Mon Jun 27, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:17 EDT
|
|
|
|
Clarification: B5 in the UK is not on BBC, but Channel 4.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
635 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 5
|
|
Message 525 Wed Jun 15, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:42 EDT
|
|
|
|
They are...all around you.
|
|
|
|
And if they ate more fiber, they wouldn't *have* this problem.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 5
|
|
Message 575 Mon Jun 20, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:43 EDT
|
|
|
|
ahem.
|
|
|
|
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 parodies, this is where to
|
|
put your funny bone in writing!
|
|
624 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 9
|
|
Message 566 Sun Jun 19, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:39 EDT
|
|
|
|
Okay, so I *know* it isn't funny, and I *know* it's tragic, and I KNOW
|
|
it's a terrible thing, and I *know* it's sick...but watching O.J. and Co.
|
|
speeding through Orange County and Santa Ana, all I could think was, "Hey, OJ!
|
|
You just killed your wife and her friend! Now what're you gonna do?"
|
|
|
|
"I'm going to Disneyland!"
|
|
|
|
jm(I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry)s
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 9
|
|
Message 611 Wed Jun 29, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:02 EDT
|
|
|
|
The Minbari Virus: decides at the last moment *not* to infect your
|
|
computer, but refuses to explain why.
|
|
|
|
(Waitaminnit...what the hell am *I* doing contributing to this...?!)
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
523 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 11
|
|
Message 489 Wed Jun 15, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:03 EDT
|
|
|
|
The extra footage helps the Abyss a *lot*.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
442 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 13
|
|
Message 432 Sun Jun 19, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:37 EDT
|
|
|
|
No, in an operation like this, you would sub-contract out stuff like dock-
|
|
work, food preparation and other areas under government contract, but the
|
|
techs working in C&C are strictly Earthforce.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
535 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 25
|
|
Message 518 Sat Jun 25, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:12 EDT
|
|
|
|
No details yet; panels and a B5 presentation for sure, though.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 25
|
|
Message 521 Sat Jun 25, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:59 EDT
|
|
|
|
Won't be at Westercon since that's the same weekend as the Chicago Comic
|
|
Con, which I'll be attending, partly to do some work, partly because Harlan's
|
|
guest of honor and he's my buddy. However, I can say that Larry DiTillio
|
|
*will* be attending Westercon in my absence.
|
|
|
|
God help you.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 25
|
|
Message 528 Mon Jun 27, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:58 EDT
|
|
|
|
I'm less than thrilled with the 1:30 Friday timeslot, frankly, and our
|
|
initial conversations had set this for Saturday. Will investigate.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 25
|
|
Message 532 Wed Jun 29, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:03 EDT
|
|
|
|
Apparently the B5 ep will be rerun sometime Saturday evening; check for
|
|
times upon arrival.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
|
|
************
|
|
Topic 9 Sat Oct 16, 1993
|
|
STARR [Arne] at 22:58 EDT
|
|
Sub: And the Sky Full of Stars (#106)
|
|
|
|
by JMS. Time to find out about Sinclair's "hole in his mind".
|
|
322 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 19, Topic 9
|
|
Message 305 Thu Jun 23, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:30 EDT
|
|
|
|
He says, "Minbari...broken through...have to get to my ship."
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 19, Topic 9
|
|
Message 307 Thu Jun 23, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:31 EDT
|
|
|
|
(smile)...call it a bit of fore*shadow*ing....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 19, Topic 9
|
|
Message 317 Mon Jun 27, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:04 EDT
|
|
|
|
Re: QAQAs...why do I suddenly have this image in my head of B5 viewers
|
|
making duck sounds at the conclusion of episodes...?
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
Topic 16 Sun Apr 17, 1994
|
|
STARR [Arne] at 23:42 EDT
|
|
Sub: Signs and Portents (#116)
|
|
|
|
by JMS. Directed by Janet Greek. Co-starring Gerrit Graham.
|
|
197 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 19, Topic 16
|
|
Message 193 Fri Jun 17, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:37 EDT
|
|
|
|
Actually, that's what *really* happened to Babylon 4...it was replaced by
|
|
Folger's Crystals, to see if anyone would notice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
jms
|