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897 lines
37 KiB
897 lines
37 KiB
This file contains messages posted by J. Michael Straczynski on GEnie
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from Aug 15 - Aug 31st. Postings are copyright 1994 by J. Michael Straczynski
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with compilation copyright by GEnie.
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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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776 message(s) total.
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************
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 411 Wed Aug 17, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:47 EDT
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Definitive answer: we approached Michael. Not the other way around.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 426 Thu Aug 18, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:16 EDT
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Generally, Psi Corps members often have a similar "look," not quite a
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uniform, but a sense of repeated lines. Just one more little thing to make
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them stand apart.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 432 Fri Aug 19, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:58 EDT
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Well, as of now, every episode of year one has aired with the exception
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of "Chrysalis," which will be a bit down the road yet.
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A quick thought.
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When this show first went on the air, I had been promising that the
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series would be something different, stuff and an overall approach -- the
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basic arc -- not done before on television. After "Midnight," and to some
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extent "Soul Hunter" and "Infection," a number of folks on various nets were
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saying it wasn't as advertised. I read those posts, and at times was
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frustrated by them, because I knew what was coming in "Sky," and "Signs and
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Portents," and "Babylon Squared" and others.
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I think that the point has been made...and the promise kept.
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I think we've done pretty good.
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I will put our first season against the first season of *any* prior SF
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series. Step back for a moment and look at what we've had just so far:
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Signs and Portents...And the Sky Full of Stars...Babylon Squared... The
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Parliament of Dreams...Mind War...Deathwalker...Believers...and the rest.
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And we're *just* getting started...and "Chrysalis," the best of the
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bunch, is still lurking around the corner.
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Those of you who've been around, and have seen the majority of the aired
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episodes, know what we're trying to do, and where we're trying to go with
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this. In another topic, the show was described as "a meta SF saga," and I
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guess that covers it as well as anything else.
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I just think it's useful, at this point, to step back from the individual
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episodes -- the details -- and look at the whole first season as a whole
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tapestry...and I think we've covered a LOT of new terrain, and done some
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pretty nifty stuff.
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In the final analysis, I think we've made a little history with this
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show...had an effect on how SF Television will be done henceforth, and brought
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a "screw 'em, let's go for broke" philosophy back to the genre, which
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(personal opinion) had grown, in TV, a bit on the stuffy side. Bar fights,
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main characters who lie, bad guys who do good things and good guys who do bad
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things, bathrooms, fasten/zip and lessons in Centauri anatomy, we've broken
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some of the taboos, and I think that's a positive thing.
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(Pound for pound, though, on reflection, I'd have to say that the X-Files
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also had about as good a first season as anything I've ever seen, though
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technically it's not SF...not really horror...more in the category of Really
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Weird Stuff.)
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Anyway, just some thoughts at the end of the day.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 455 Sat Aug 20, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:18 EDT
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Dana...you're quite correct. Getting a show sold is next to impossible;
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getting it actually produced at *all* and finally actually on the air is even
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unliklier. With all the ten zillion elements that go into any one episode,
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where any one element -- script, guest star, effects -- can kill the episode
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if it goes wrong, that *anything* gets made with any quality at all is really
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a case of swimming upstream.
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Re: self-sacrifice as a recurring theme...yes, and it's something that
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has become kind of passe; you don't tend to see it much in TV. It's a very,
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very old-fashioned notion, but I think it's an important one.
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We've now finished shooting episode number one of season two, and today
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began filming on episode two, "Revelations." The first episode is just
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*gorgeous*. John Iacovelli, our production designer, absolutely knocked
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himself out improving the look and feel of the sets, making it all look
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bigger, better, more *real*...and Bruce has been doing a bang-up job. (No
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major guest stars in the first episode, "Points of Departure," just our
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regulars and Bruce. Guest in "Revelations" is Beverly Leech, playing
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Elizabeth Sheridan, John Sheridan's sister.)
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 458 Sat Aug 20, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:02 EDT
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I imagine the pilot will air again eventually, though I don't know when;
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and as for the end of the story...the only way I was able to get this far is
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to focus on only one reality: that the show would get sold, the pilot would
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get made, the series would begin and run five years, to the end. If I ever
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allowed any other possibility to enter my fevered brain, it never would've
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come about. So I can't even *consider* that question, well-meaning as it is.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 555 Wed Aug 24, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:24 EDT
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Since this just hit the wire services, I figured I'd mention it here.
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The release went out from Classics International, owner of First Comics.
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A deal has been concluded between CIE and Rattlesnake Prods. (owned by my
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partner on Babylon 5 Doug Netter) to form a separate entity to produce a
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feature film based on the Grimjack books by John Ostrander.
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The movie is budgeted for $30 million, and I've been asked, and have
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agreed, to write the screenplay. (My job, as I see it, is to Leave The Damned
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Thing Alone and *adapt* the book, rather than throw stuff out and make it all
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up. I loved the book when it was out, and read it regularly. My hope is to
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do as faithful a transition to film as possible. I've met with John
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Ostrander, and our feelings on which cycle of the Grimjack story to base the
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feature film on are absolutely the same.)
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The plan is to have the script finished by late fall, probably around
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November/December, and shoot the thing in early or mid-1995.
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(In addition, this Fall we're currently slated to begin production on a
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two-hour pilot for a new contemporary science fiction series which I've
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created and written for first-run syndication. Current plans are to film the
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pilot in either Vancouver or Portland, with Doug and I serving again as
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Executive Producers, as with Babylon 5. I can't reveal the title at this time
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-- it's nothing you'd recognize, it's an original concept, but it's a cool
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title and I'd hate to lose it -- but I hope to have more on this over the next
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few months. Also, there are still one or two more hurdles before we can start
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production, even though we've been unofficially greenlighted, so I'll hold
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back just a bit for now until the ink dries officially.)
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The series that would come out of the pilot would also be exec produced
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by me and Doug, but not with the same degree of direct day to day involvement
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as Babylon 5, which remains our first priority. We would get a dedicated, SF-
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informed writer/producer to head up the other show, under our direct
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supervision.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 560 Wed Aug 24, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:41 EDT
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Yeah, the main cycle I've selected for the script is the Demon
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Blood/Demon Wars storyline. All hell breaks loose....
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 573 Thu Aug 25, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:36 EDT
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Allen...all the rights have been checked, and John is very happy with the
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arrangements. Everything's copacetic.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 575 Thu Aug 25, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:20 EDT
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BTW...just thought I'd mention this...over the weekend, Claudia Christian
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was running in her backyard, and broke her foot in three places. Which led to
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a frenzy of rewriting (by me) of the next couple of episodes to work around
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it. Was rather complicated by some active things she had to do, but it's all
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worked out. Turned in the last draft of a biggie for her, and the stories all
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still track. A gentle reminder that actors are people. Claudia actually made
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it into the studio today, for one brief scene, with her foot concealed, and
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carried on like a real trooper, keeping everyone else's spirits up, since we
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were concerned about her. (That's always the way, it seems; you worry more
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about the person who got hurt than the person herself does.)
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 622 Sun Aug 28, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:53 EDT
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Requested, we deliver...just uploaded cruiser.gif to the B5 library
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(#1260), which is a shot of a Minbari war cruiser.
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Main obstacle to uploading more is that even though I'm free flagged, the
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GEnie access numbers don't allow 9600 baud for such flags, and I have to log
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on at 2400 baud, which means it takes 15 minutes or so to upload a single
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file, as opposed to about 3 minutes on other systems.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 627 Sun Aug 28, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:57 EDT
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A bit of an update....
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Early last week, we got the director's cut of our first episode of the
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second season, "Points of Departure." We went in Friday to do our producer's
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cut (me and John Copeland, whom I've dubbed Mister Action, since he's very
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good at action sequences), and that's now finished. All the CGI is in, absent
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three virtual set shots, so otherwise only music and sound effects are
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missing. We'll get to those next week.
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The episode is *very* nice. In some ways, it's almost a whole new
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series. Right off the bat, what you'll notice is how much better (and bigger)
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many of the sets seem. We've also modified the lighting just a tick; I like
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it dark, but over the course of the season it was apparent that it was *so*
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dark in places that you really couldn't see or fully appreciate a lot of the
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details in costume, sets and other areas, so we lightened it just a notch, but
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counterbalanced by greater use of shadows (no play on words intended) and
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color and textures, so that the show on one level looks moodier, but is more
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accessible. A shadow on black can't be seen; a shadow that's visible carries
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more impact.
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We've built all new EA uniforms, and added a few small touches to make
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them better; a bit of red piping along the collar and leather to make the
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dividing line pop slightly; a better grade of letter and fabric so that the
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uniforms look and wear better; slight modifications to the cuffs so they'll
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end clean without gathering in a blousy kind of way; shirts of better fabric
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with military tailoring so they wear better.
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Ron's effects continue to get better, both here and in what I've seen of
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the CGI in "Revelations." There's one particular shot in "Revelations" of a
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Narn ship, very close-up, that I think has finally cracked the line between
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models and CGI...it looks absolutely *solid*.
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As I said, we're doing more with virtual sets and digital effects, and
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we'll be seeing some two-story sets in many places.
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Ivanova is all through the story, in practically every scene (and being
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driven thoroughly nuts by various situations), with Sheridan also coming into
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a very difficult situation. Both are absolutely excellent in the role. Bruce
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brings a strength, and a vulnerability, to the role that is very nice to
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watch. Sheridan and Ivanova play very well together, and I think you'll be
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very pleased.
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Though deliberately not as intense as "Chrysalis" or "Revelations," which
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sandwich it on either side, it's got a lot of twists and turns and surprises
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in it. It's very much a character driven story, with several arc elements,
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where the other two are very strong arc episodes.
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In any event...I'm extremely pleased. When you start changing elements,
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you never really know how things will turn out, despite your best intentions.
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In this case, I think this is a great episode, and it actually seems to be
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coming together wonderfully.
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I am profoundly relieved.
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And given what I'm seeing in "Revelations" (we have one more day of
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filming on Monday) in dailies...this is gonna be one hell of a season.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 644 Sun Aug 28, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:15 EDT
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I'd rather let the virtual sets be more of a surprise.
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An address where you can reach the friendly folks at B5: 14431 Ventura
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Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 672 Tue Aug 30, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:28 EDT
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For those who watch "Points of Departure" when it airs, keep a sharp ear
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out...our friend Mr. Jarvis gets plinked.
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With maybe one or two exceptions, all *I* get are gif images, since those
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are quickest to make and get off Ron's system. (John Copeland and I download
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images comprising the top and bottom frames of EFX shots for approval...I've
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got something like 80 megabytes of the stuff.)
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jms
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************
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Topic 2 Wed Nov 20, 1991
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STARR [Arne] at 19:41 EST
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Sub: Babylon 5 -- The Series!! >>SPOILERS<<
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Babylon 5 offically became a series on May 28 '93. There will be 22 hour eps
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for season one (in addition to the pilot). Airs Wednesdays at 8PM in most
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places starting Jan. 26 '94. This is the SPOILER topic where anything goes.
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586 message(s) total.
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************
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 374 Wed Aug 17, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:57 EDT
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Correction: I did *not* write the outline for the B5 novel that John is
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doing. I approved it, but he thunk it up all on his own.
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Last day of shooting on "Points" is Thursday. We shoot seven days, NOT
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counting weekends. So far shooting is going astonishingly well; Bruce is
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fitting beautifully into the company. Some great and very funny
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scenes...balanced with some major revelations throughout. We're doing some
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terrific new sets, including the Earthforce lounge (when I've christened
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"Earhart's," after Amelia Earhart, and a two-story Bazaar that is *very* cool
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indeed. Janet Greek is directing "Points." Second up, starting Friday, is
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"Revelations," being directed by Jim Johnston.
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We always have several meetings with the director to make sure we're on
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the same wavelength, culminating in a final tone meeting where we go through
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page by page, scene by scene (done again in a major production meeting later
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with all our crew). There are no tabled read throughs, though the director
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rehearses as much as required before each scene. Generally speaking, there
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isn't much rewriting done on many of our scripts once they hit second draft; I
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don't like directors or actors rewriting on set, and won't allow it. If
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there's a required change, the person involved has to get it approved by me
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or, if I'm absent, Larry. So far, of the six or so scripts we have in final
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shape, none has gone past pink pages (in order, it's white pages (final draft,
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published to all departments), blue pages (1st revision) and pink pages (2nd
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rev.). Many shows have a whole rainbow of colors in scripts, through 8-10
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revisions. We don't do that.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 376 Wed Aug 17, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:17 EDT
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B5 novel #1, figure late November/early December. For the CDRom, figure
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January.
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On the comic, the artists will change with each 4-issue cycle; initially,
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they're using Michael Netzer and Rob Leigh. The first issue is a JMS script;
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2-4 is a JMS premise translated into script by Mark Moretti.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 382 Thu Aug 18, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:20 EDT
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The jury system has *not* been abolished. Several things to bear in
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mind...first, even now, choice can dictate a jury vs. judge trial (it is often
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in the plaintiff's court, so to speak, to choose which one is preferred in
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civil trials). Second, if you look back at the history of the US, even in
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jury trial days, you had Circuit Court Judges who traveled through rural
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areas, frontier and unconsolidated regions, and held court by themselves.
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Babylon 5 is a unique environment. There are only two basic types of
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people (speaking only of humans for now) around: those employed by EA or the
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station (conflict of interest), or travelers, who won't be around long enough
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for a prolonged trial. So in that kind of situation, the Ombuds arose...a
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2258 version of a Circuit Court Judge.
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It's absolutely in line with what's been done in our own country.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 436 Thu Aug 25, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:32 EDT
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Kwicker..."What if Joe wrote a story in which a "memory-challenged"
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person DISCOVERED records of who or what he was?"
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I was in the process of developing that as a b-story in an upcoming
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episode.
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Because of that comment, I now have to scuttle the story.
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I understand that this proceeds from enthusiasm on everyone's part, but
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let me repeat this as forcefully as I can: NO STORY IDEAS. No matter what
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anyone says, what disclaimers are put up, if I see a story idea that is
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something we're doing or contemplating doing...I have to scuttle it to protect
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the series.
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This has just torpedoed what would've been a very compelling little b-
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story.
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Everyone, please, be *very* careful about this...the only other option I
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have, if it begins happening too much, is to dive out of the discussion, and
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I'd *really* rather not have to do that.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 438 Thu Aug 25, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:37 EDT
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Nonetheless, it was a *specific* story idea, presented in the B5 area,
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where I saw it. This is how it has to be handled.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 444 Thu Aug 25, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:23 EDT
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K.Wicker...there's a difference between saying, "Will we see a huge
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carrier vessel this year?" and sketching out a story idea. I've tried to
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drive home this point many times. As for the speculation on the arc
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topic...I'm keeping my eye on it, and if it starts to get too specific, with
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too many concrete suggestions, I'm going to have to have it closed down. So
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far, it's okay, though it's dancing a careful dance.
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This isn't news to anyone. This has always been the situation. This is
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the fifth time that I've had to scuttle a story (thankfully none of them vital
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arc stuff) because someone suggested the thing on-line; one here, one on CIS,
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and three on Internet (which is more rowdy and with a lot more message
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traffic). On the up side, that this has only happened five times is a good
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thing...on the other hand, five stories is one fourth of a season....
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I can't budge from this position. I've said it before. I have an
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obligation to protect my show. Sometimes we need reminders, I guess.
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 452 Fri Aug 26, 1994
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:39 EDT
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Bruce...no, that doesn't count. Speculation, discussion...it's when it
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is phrased as a story idea, and/or comes replete with beginning, middle and
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end, that a problem occurs.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 465 Sat Aug 27, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:17 EDT
|
|
|
|
Fanzines (specifically published fan fiction) is a problem for many
|
|
writers; Marion Zimmer Bradley had a book torpedoed by the publishing company -
|
|
- killing a year's work -- because the story was too similar to a fanzine
|
|
story, and they were concerned the person might sue.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 480 Sat Aug 27, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:47 EDT
|
|
|
|
Linda...let me explain how this might work, also for the benefit of
|
|
others.
|
|
|
|
Let's start with the assumption that every person currently here on line
|
|
is honest, intelligent, trustworthy and not suit-happy. (Fill in your own
|
|
punchline.)
|
|
|
|
Tomorrow, Billy Ray Marzipan signs onto the B5 conference. He's big on
|
|
the show, wants to be in the discussion. We're cool so far. One day, BRM
|
|
writes, "Hey, Joe, how about an episode where Sheridan is swallowed by a giant
|
|
space whale, discovers an ancient Shadowman text, and escapes."
|
|
|
|
Now, it just so happens that let's say we're doing such a story already.
|
|
I can choose to say nothing. Then, six months down the road, "In Harm's
|
|
Esophagus" airs, and becomes one of the all-time favorite B5 episodes. BRM is
|
|
sure that I stole his story...he broods over it, gets more and more
|
|
agitated...and one day finally decides to sue.
|
|
|
|
Or, I can choose to say, at the time, "Hey, we're doing a story like
|
|
that, just so you know," and do it anyway...but BRM has no objective way of
|
|
knowing *for sure* if I was doing it already...so six months later... same
|
|
result.
|
|
|
|
We are a litigious, lawsuit-happy society. And not everyone out there is
|
|
as sane and reasonable as the people currently here on line. So the only
|
|
thing I can do, short of signing off every BBS I'm on, is to make it as clear
|
|
as possible that we cannot have story suggestions. If one is made, I have to
|
|
be sure to either not do it, or if we're doing it...kill it.
|
|
|
|
Further, on-line disclaimers are meaningless. You can't prove that the
|
|
phosphor-dot "signature" was really made by the person. Further, it can be
|
|
argued that since the agreement not to post story ideas was required for
|
|
admission, one can say that any such offer of disclaimer was made "under
|
|
duress," and thus not binding.
|
|
|
|
It is not a sane or reasonable position to put people in, and I am fully
|
|
aware of that. But society for the most part is itself neither sane nor
|
|
reasonable, and in the interests of my show I have to put safeguards in place
|
|
that I may neither like nor want.
|
|
|
|
On the issue of fanzines...I don't see them, and generally instruct
|
|
people, "don't ask, don't tell."
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 503 Sun Aug 28, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:17 EDT
|
|
|
|
Torville...fine...except left unmonitored, there would be *hundreds* of
|
|
these coming out on a weekly basis...and I think that my time and the time of
|
|
my staff are better served making the series than tracking down hundreds of
|
|
errant story ideas and mailing out releases.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 519 Tue Aug 30, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:33 EDT
|
|
|
|
The pages that I've seen are quite nice. (Kaluta is doing the cover.) I
|
|
really enjoy writing comics, though I haven't done as many as I'd like, and
|
|
may contribute one of the arcs down the road (the arc that immediately follows
|
|
my one-shot is by Mark Moretti, based on a premise by jms).
|
|
|
|
Here's a spoiler for "Chrysalis," just for fun.
|
|
|
|
Something mysterious happens; then something ominous happens; then
|
|
something wonderful happens; then something astonishing happens; then
|
|
something even more mysterious happens; then something *terrible* happens;
|
|
then *another* terrible thing happens; then three more mysterious and ominous
|
|
things happen.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 541 Wed Aug 31, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:13 EDT
|
|
|
|
Tom: by all means, keep the statement. I did it more or less in order
|
|
within the story.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
420 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 4
|
|
Message 334 Wed Aug 17, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:57 EDT
|
|
|
|
Hell, I was just suprised that Shawn Cassidy could *read*.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 4
|
|
Message 346 Thu Aug 25, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:23 EDT
|
|
|
|
How about Michael Ansara, for one? Just cast him in "The Geometry of
|
|
Shadows."
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 4
|
|
Message 350 Fri Aug 26, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:40 EDT
|
|
|
|
New Na'Toth is Mary Kay Adams. New character, Warren Keffer, a squadron
|
|
pilot (later a squad leader) is played by Robert Russler, in about 8 episodes.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 4
|
|
Message 380 Wed Aug 31, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:15 EDT
|
|
|
|
...and add Russ Tamblyn in episode #4, "A Distant Star."
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
383 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 6
|
|
Message 376 Tue Aug 30, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:34 EDT
|
|
|
|
There's nothing I can do about stations at the local level; it's up to
|
|
local residents to bug the stations.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
383 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 11
|
|
Message 359 Thu Aug 25, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:33 EDT
|
|
|
|
If you pursue this further, it could lead to the box being retracted; the
|
|
Neilsen company is *very* sensitive about this, and they hear everything....
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
483 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 17
|
|
Message 448 Sat Aug 20, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:28 EDT
|
|
|
|
Start with the end of the story. Then the beginning.
|
|
|
|
The end of the story finds jms sitting at his desk, elbows on
|
|
desktop, hands covering face...as from somewhere behind those hands comes
|
|
a high-pitched, keening, mournful sound audible only to dachsunds and
|
|
banshee-groupies.
|
|
|
|
The beginning of the story?
|
|
|
|
John Copeland, our producer, shows me something that John Iacovelli
|
|
came into the office bearing...a B5 cap. It's a very nice Babylon 5 cap.
|
|
Stitching's a little off, though, I notice...not bad, but noticeable.
|
|
I learn it's commercially available. Well, still and all, not a bad
|
|
thing, I decide, trying to figure out why John's smiling at me in this
|
|
really weird fashion. People have been asking for B5 caps, and now they
|
|
can buy them through, it seems, Creation Entertainment, as this was
|
|
bought at a Creation store in Glendale (Sci-Fi Universe), and it's a
|
|
Creation produced item, under their license....
|
|
|
|
Then the tag hanging from the back of the cap slips out into my
|
|
hand, dangling from that little white-plastic-string-thingie they stick
|
|
through labels.
|
|
|
|
And what does the label on that white-plastic-string-thingie say?
|
|
|
|
OFFICIAL LICENSED PRODUCT, PARAMOUNT TELEVISION.
|
|
|
|
We never get a break...never...ever...the horror...the horror....
|
|
|
|
..eeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEeeeee........
|
|
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.
|
|
419 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 353 Wed Aug 17, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:20 EDT
|
|
|
|
The B5 flak jackets which disperse energy would be a kind of Starlite
|
|
material. (Are we ahead of our time or what?)
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 374 Thu Aug 25, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:35 EDT
|
|
|
|
Mike...that's not far off the mark.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 24
|
|
Message 393 Tue Aug 30, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:39 EDT
|
|
|
|
Just to reinforce the preceding...B5 is not a battlefield, and its
|
|
internal (personnel) defense systems are more basic. Security guards simply
|
|
don't go into combat, and if they were fully outfitted, they would destroy the
|
|
station in its first engagement.
|
|
|
|
We really haven't seen any EA ground soldiers yet (though there is a
|
|
story in the works about them, tentatively called "Gropos," for ground
|
|
pounders).
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
Topic 29 Thu Jun 30, 1994
|
|
B.SHERRIS [Brett] at 00:03 EDT
|
|
Sub: The Master Plan
|
|
|
|
WARNING! THIS TOPIC MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION THAT IS VITAL TO THE FIVE YEAR
|
|
STORY ARC OF BABYLON 5. DO NOT READ THIS TOPIC IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO
|
|
POSSIBLY DISCOVER THE PURPOSE OF THE FIVE YEAR STORY ARC!
|
|
109 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 29
|
|
Message 83 Wed Aug 17, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:59 EDT
|
|
|
|
The Hyperion is not typical; it's one of the ships that survived the War.
|
|
Not many did. There are niftier, newer ships built in the last eleven years
|
|
that you'll be seeing eventually.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 29
|
|
Message 85 Wed Aug 17, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:21 EDT
|
|
|
|
Weapons are *recessed* into the body, and covered to protect them from
|
|
micrometeorites and other bits of debris, and from enemy assault. When
|
|
prepared for use, the ports are opened, revealing the weapons inside.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 29
|
|
Message 89 Thu Aug 18, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:24 EDT
|
|
|
|
I kinda have to be here, in case the discussions come too close to story
|
|
ideas, in which event I'll have to toss a bucket of cold water in here. It's
|
|
treading a fine line as it is, but so far hasn't quite crossed it.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
Topic 30 Mon Jul 04, 1994
|
|
D.KAUFFMAN5 [CyberDad] at 13:14 EDT
|
|
Sub: Nods, In-Jokes, and References
|
|
|
|
Post any nods, in-jokes, or references you have seen here. For example,
|
|
Babylon 5 refers to the Babylon of ancient Earth; the location of B5 is at
|
|
Grid Epsilon 470/18/22, the location of the original B5 topic on GEnie.
|
|
181 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 30
|
|
Message 123 Fri Aug 19, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:41 EDT
|
|
|
|
Minbari use base 11, not base 10, so twelve would be eleventy-first
|
|
year, and so on.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 30
|
|
Message 126 Fri Aug 19, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 15:05 EDT
|
|
|
|
Minbari base eleven includes fingers and head, from which the principle
|
|
of mathematics comes.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 30
|
|
Message 141 Sun Aug 21, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:10 EDT
|
|
|
|
You're also looking at this from a strictly English-speaking perspective;
|
|
in German, for instance, 21 is "Ein und Zwanzig" (pardon any misspellings in
|
|
there, it's been a while) which is exactly the same structure, albeit
|
|
reversed, used for Minbari counting (and, in fact, is more or less what I
|
|
based his "statement" on).
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 30
|
|
Message 144 Sun Aug 21, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:04 EDT
|
|
|
|
Have there been any good "how many X's to screw in a light bulb?" jokes
|
|
in this topic?
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 30
|
|
Message 162 Tue Aug 23, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:32 EDT
|
|
|
|
Needed it for a script, but came up with one of my own: How many Minbari
|
|
does it take to screw in a light bulb? None...they always surrender just
|
|
before finishing the job, but won't tell you why.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 18, Topic 30
|
|
Message 174 Sun Aug 28, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:01 EDT
|
|
|
|
Eleventy-seven = Eighteen base ten.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
************
|
|
Topic 18 Sun Apr 17, 1994
|
|
STARR [Arne] at 23:47 EDT
|
|
Sub: #117 - "The Quality Of Mercy"
|
|
|
|
by JMS. Directed by Janet Greek. Co-Starring June Lockhart.
|
|
94 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 19, Topic 18
|
|
Message 16 Thu Aug 18, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:28 EDT
|
|
|
|
Centauri females, btw, have six narrow...ummm...slots on their backs,
|
|
three on either side of the spine, right around the base of the spine.
|
|
|
|
The awful thing is that the two women in props -- who were having FAR
|
|
too much fun with this -- kept bringing me the tentacle to verify the shape,
|
|
size, consistency, do we see veins or not....
|
|
|
|
I tell you here and now: our staff meetings are something else.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 19, Topic 18
|
|
Message 45 Fri Aug 19, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:59 EDT
|
|
|
|
Side-note...Londo baring his teeth had nothing to do with Delenn's vote
|
|
in "The Gathering." That was gas.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 19, Topic 18
|
|
Message 48 Fri Aug 19, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:36 EDT
|
|
|
|
Fax...means she is participating in the death of a mind.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
************
|
|
Topic 24 Sun Apr 17, 1994
|
|
STARR [Arne] at 23:58 EDT
|
|
Sub: #118 - "Babylon Squared"
|
|
|
|
by JMS. Directed by Jim Johnston.
|
|
196 message(s) total.
|
|
************
|
|
------------
|
|
Category 19, Topic 24
|
|
Message 122 Tue Aug 16, 1994
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:53 EDT
|
|
|
|
Actually, I never said that the Minbari all go through changes from male
|
|
to female or vice versa; that became a bit of accepted story because people
|
|
kept repeating it, going from speculation to being "sure" I said it. Didn't.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|