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The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
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This file contains messages posted by J. Michael Straczynski on GEnie from
Dec 16th - Dec 31st, 1994. Postings are copyright 1994 by J. Michael Straczynski
with compilation copyright by GEnie.
************
Topic 1 Mon Oct 26, 1992
SF-MARSHALL [Dave ] at 18:50 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 - The Series (Non-Spoiler)
Welcome to the Babylon 5 General category. This is the main topic for the
hit SF series. We discuss all general information on the series in this
topic. Topic 2 is for SPOILERS! DO NOT POST STORY IDEAS!
584 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 99 Fri Dec 16, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:22 EST
I guess I'm always amazed when *other people* are amazed when Trek is
called a franchise by those who make it. They've never made any bones about
it; ST is their license to print money, a franchise, pure and simple. When
asked to do more unusual or challenging or different stories, Piller/Berman
have said, repeatedly and quite openly, "If it ain't broke, why fix it?"
Don't endanger the franchise.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 112 Fri Dec 16, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:24 EST
It wasn't a producer, it was a civilian, one of a focus group asked about
B5 and SF.
Jose: you're quite correct; I know that many of the writers over at ST
have been chafing for a *very* long time to do more challenging stories. It's
just that overall, the Big Two there have been sitting on them, keeping the
stories as tame as possible. With any luck, our continuing presence will be
enough to provoke them into allowing more challenging or controversial or just
*different* kinds of shows to be written.
Speaking of which...on Monday I turned in a script called "And Now For a
Word." It's probably the most unusual episode to date...so much so that I was
very concerned about Warners approving it, and indicated in my letter (which
explained why it was done, and why it should be produced) that I wouldn't be
putting in for a script payment until I knew they would accept it and let us
make it. Finally heard back today that they've approved it. This will be
shot as episode 214, and what you've just read is ALL I intend to say about
this script between now and shortly before it airs in May. (Though when we
cast the guest star, which we're in the process of selecting now, that I'll be
able to announce.) It's not controversial per se, but does take our entire
show and put it on its head for the entire hour. (I also had to make sure we
*could* physically produce the darned thing prior to turning in the script.)
No speculation, please; just let it be what it is, and see it cold.
Suffice to say, though, that I'm VERY pleased and relieved right now.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 180 Mon Dec 19, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:48 EST
Generally, nobody goes over our scripts with a fine toothed comb looking
for things to object to (a la network censors). In the case of this new
script, the situation was so large that it could not be missed, or not
referenced. It had to be raised with PTEN before doing it. You'll
understand when you see it.
I should mention again that our contacts at PTEN have been nothing less
than terrific in that they leave us to our own devices and allow us to tell
our stories with virtually no interference. They've been great.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 188 Mon Dec 19, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:12 EST
Pat, by that reasoning, you shouldn't write the second half of a movie
until you've filmed the first half, which is silly.
A story isn't about the nuances an actor brings to a performance, the
story is about the *story*, and the characters' role in that story. One of
the biggest areas of misinformation in the public consciousness is how much
imput actors and directors have on characters and stories in TV. If you
don't know what it is you want to say in your story, and want to wait for the
actor's choices in determining how to read your lines before you figure out
what story you're telling, you're in serious trouble.
It comes down to, Are you just filling out time, being arbitrary, or do
you have something to *say* in your story? If the former, then sure, be
arbitrary, be kicked around on the winds of public opinion, let the actor's
sudden decision to smile instead of frown in a scene dictate your story. Me,
I'd rather tell a story, and risk failing a few times, than abrogating my
responsibility as a storyteller and a writer.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 204 Tue Dec 20, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:32 EST
Insofar as I know, KCOP, like many other stations, will shift B5 to
Thursday nights when the new networks come on-line. (Paramount gets Monday
and Tuesday nights, Warners gets Wednesdays, PTEN gets Thursdays.)
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 215 Tue Dec 20, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:55 EST
Pat, with all due respect, you *really* don't know what you're talking
about here. First, there's a substantial and profound difference between not
knowing where you're going in a regular two-part episode (for which there is
no excuse), and leaving it open to accommodate a possible cast change. You're
talking apples and oranges. You can't use the one to prove the other; this
kind of "will-he-won't-he-return" situation is absolutely the exception to the
norm; I think most people are talking about all the OTHER two-parters NOT
based around this logistical problem.
Second, every single series in TV has a slush fund in which you can
afford to junk X-number of scripts, because no matter what happens, some
scripts just don't work out. Usually the number is 5-6 scripts that can be
canned. Even if for some reason one script had to be trashed (part two),
you're talking *one script*...are you seriously trying to tell me that the
mega-million-dollar Star Trek series, which spends anywhere from 19-23 MILLION
dollars on their PILOTS and anywhere from $1.5-1.9 million per episode is
going to implode because one $17,000 script falls out? C'mon.....
Further, if the script is written one way, with Stewart out, and he ends
up coming back after all...you just REWRITE the damned thing. For starters,
these kinds of scripts are almost NEVER done by freelancers, so it's an in-
house script, and that means staffers, and that means yhou tend to get more
drafts than the usual two...and ST scripts generally go through endless
rewrites ANYway. That's what they PAY staffers for, to write and to rewrite.
Hell, I've had cast members fall in and out of scripts on many different
occasions; I've rewritten scripts when cast members got sick and couldn't be
there, broke their feet, you name it. It's what one DOES. It's why one has
the JOB. If you're indicating that they couldn't compensate for this over on
ST, then you're saying they're utterly incompetent at their work, and I don't
believe this to be true.
And any decent staffer would always prepare for either eventuality in
working out the storyline, whether or not the actor does or doesn't return.
C'mon...as you say...let's have some reality here....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 216 Tue Dec 20, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:04 EST
Cross-posted with Hutts...yes, it's generally much looser in syndication.
I don't think we've gotten a note yet saying "You can't do X because we think
it would offend someone."
And one does not have to see "sexual diversity," one can prefer not to.
Yes, it's everywhere, and yes, it may even be somewhere in this show, but one
can certainly put one's fingers in one's ears and hum loud until the scene is
over....
I think it depends on how it's done; if it's just *there* as part of the
background, not given any special treatment, not hammered home, not made into
a Major Storyline...I don't see a problem.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 231 Wed Dec 21, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:11 EST
PTEN is a completely separate entity from the Warners network, and there
is a strong competition between the two.
Kia: yeah, there's religion all over the darned place.
(In the voice of Chico Marx:) I don' know, Boss. I don' like-a the
religion, but everywhere I go, boom, there it is. I open up a can of
sardines, ey, there's a religion, no kiddin', you gotta believe in somethin'
afterward to eat those things-a, you know? I go for a walk, I get cold, I
sneeze, and som'body says-a to me, "God bless." Again with the religion. So
I give-a up. I go inna church. You know what they got goin'? Bingo. So I
stayed. Made fifteen dollars. Hey, you and me, we go get-a some tootsie-
fruitsie ice-a cream, eh?
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 235 Wed Dec 21, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:35 EST
"...get it out the ying-yang"....well, yes, that's one of the forms of
sexual diversity....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 241 Wed Dec 21, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:17 EST
K.Wicker...good scripts and bad scripts cost *exactly* the same amount of
money.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 259 Thu Dec 22, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:57 EST
B5 has no involvement with the Warners network.
K.Wicker...there's no sliding scale in TV scriptwriting; all writers are
paid the same, scale, though there's some variance between network scale and
syndication scale. A Baywatch script, a B5 script, a DS9 script...they're all
basically the same. And that fee is set by the Writer's Guild. You can't
spend more dollars on EFX, and then scrimp and pay cheap for scripts...it's
all the same fee. I get exactly the same script fee as any of my freelancers.
So when someone says of a show, "They can't afford to buy good scripts, they
spent it all on EFX," this is simply a misnomer. If a script is good or bad
is the function of the staff, pure and simple. If a script comes in and it's
weak, it's the job of the staff to make it better.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 264 Thu Dec 22, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:59 EST
We're talking here *episodic* TV, remember. Not specials, movies or
events. And insofar as I know, even Bochco gets the same fee as everybody
else, because the LAST thing the networks want is for a sliding scale to come
into play in script fees for TV.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 269 Thu Dec 22, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:10 EST
Pat: and I still say that if you don't have anything to say in your
story, then sure, let the audience reaction tell you what to write. That just
doesn't do it for me.
PTEN = Prime Time Entertainment Network.
I really don't have a problem with fixed writer fees in TV (and bear in
mind that directors also have fixed fees in TV). Would I like those fees in
general to be a bit more? I could be greedy and say yes; actors' fees aren't
really set, they're very much open to negotation, and can range from scale of
maybe $9,000 an episode to $30,000 or $60,000 per episode. And I would
certainly like it if syndication fees were made to equal network fees (right
now it's about $17,000 for an hour syndicated script, and about $22,000 for a
network script). If both those figures were bumped, say, five grand, I
wouldn't object.
But I just can't seem to get too exercised about the whole thing, mainly
because I know what writers get in other fields, like novels and short
stories. Also, the residuals schedule for writers and directors is a bit
better than for actors. (BTW, residuals aren't a gift; they're deferred
payment. The writer gambles with the producer; if the show's a flop, there
ARE no residuals, and the producer gets off cheap. If the show's a hit, then
the writer gets additional fees in the form of deferred payments on the
script...residuals.) So in the long run, they probably break even all around
between actors, writers and directors.
In feature films, you've got a definite ranking system, and you can get
anywhere from scale ($60,000 or so) for a feature film up to the $1-2 million
range for a select few. The budgets of feature films are MUCH higher per hour
than a TV show, so a sliding scale seems to me quite appropriate. TV budgets
are limited, and much, MUCH smaller.
Producing fees are also a separate category in TV, ranging from $6,500 an
episode to $25,000 or so per episode, depending on title and responsibilities
and how good your agent is.
What isn't generally understood is that most TV/film writers earn less
than the average elementary school teacher on an annual basis; that roughly
50% or more of the Writers Guild of America are *unemployed* at any given
moment; that the percentage of WGA members who earn in the six figure category
comprise maybe 3-4% of the total WGA membership. There's this illusion that
being in this business means major bucks. It doesn't.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 279 Thu Dec 22, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:21 EST
Never said that "nobody's making any money," just that the majority of
writers aren't (but that applies to both print and media). If someone is
coming here with dreams of megadollar success dancing before their eyes,
they're in trouble.
Which answers your other question. Why are they sending in endless
numbers of scripts? Because they've bought the okeydoke that there's money
just hanging on trees here, and lots of it; that while most of them would
never consider writing a novel, it's just TeeVee, they can do as good a job as
anyone else (I've gotten letters from people who say that most of the writing
on TV sucks, that I'm not doing a good job on my own show, but THEY can save
it for me with their stories if I'll just buy them en masse)...the majority of
them really don't want any kind of CAREER in TV writing, they're not willing
to come out here and hustle; they just want either a) the money, or b) the
Pointy Hat that says they did it.
Which is exactly why it's so hard to sell for a newbie; you're competing
with all these other folks who think they can write for TV, and you're lost in
all the background noise.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 288 Fri Dec 23, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:19 EST
Answer: you really can't. As for imaginging the future, SF writers have
to some extent an undeserved perceived level of accuracy; if you've got two
thousand writers all envisioning the future, *somebody's* got to come close by
sheer chance. And for all the future postulating, almost no SF writers even
up to the 1970s foresaw the desktop computer....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 295 Fri Dec 23, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:27 EST
Peter: yes, I constantly get those as well for scripts. I think every
writer does.
If an actor isn't sure about a scene, for whatever reason, they are
encouraged to come to me and discuss it. (And it doesn't matter WHERE I am,
if I'm reachable by phone, I'm there.) That's happened a few times this
season, most of which were handled by explaining how the scene relates to
things that're going to happen in the future. Sometimes the intent isn't
necessarily as clear as had been thought, or even the emphasis on one word
rather than another can change the meaning. There's only been one case in all
two seasons and pilot to date where an actor felt uncomfortable doing
something, and in that case I think it was correct to adjust the scene
slightly. Didn't affect the story as much as just one scene within the story.
You have to give them a fair hearing.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 308 Sat Dec 24, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:33 EST
Perhaps the whole gay issue might be better moved elsewhere; it's lately
caused quite a conflagration over on Internet, and it'd be unfortunate if the
same began to happen here.
Re: 'zines...basically, I'm dealing with it the only way I can, which is
to ask if such 'zines could be confined to nonfiction stuff during the first-
run of the series. Afterward, do as you wish.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 311 Sat Dec 24, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:01 EST
The average TV writer is doing good to sell 2-3 scripts per year; a lot
don't get that many. Some get more. But even there you run the risk of
selling only the outline (about half the money), or being rewritten, which --
if the other writer adds his or her name to your own, usually a staff person --
you lose 50% of your residuals in perpetuity. Which is why on B5 you'll
never see more than one writer's name on a script; we don't arbitrate, don't
jump credits. Ditto for when I was on Murder, She Wrote, and (pardon the
expression) Jake. I've accepted shared credit on freelance scripts by other
people maybe a total of six times out of over 350 scripts that I've story
edited or produced. I don't think it's appropriate to dip into a freelancer's
money, and have only done so under *extremely* unusual or specific
circumstances.
To answer your question about my situation, yes, I get both writing and
producing fees, which under WGA rules are separate and distinct entities. I
get a script fee, same amount as any freelancer, and a per-episode salary.
(And btw, to further illustrate the differences between network and
syndication, my salary as executive producer of the B5 series is LESS than
what I was earning as a basic producer on Murder, She Wrote.) Having created
the series, I get a small creator's royalty as well on each episode. Over the
last nine years, I have had an average of 13 TV scripts produced each year, a
little over one per month, for a total of roughly 120 or so produced scripts.
(This doesn't count the scripts written but not produced.) And, obviously,
this varies depending on the season; in some cases, such as recently, I wrote
4 scripts in just a tick over four weeks; but during the spring hiatus, when
we're obviously not in production on the series, that drops (though I did
write one two hour pilot over the last break).
It's been a fairly interesting career so far....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 320 Sat Dec 24, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:01 EST
...ah hates santa claus....
Re: have I rejected any of my own scripts...as a matter of fact, yes, I
have. There was a version of SOUL HUNTER which went out as a first draft,
which when I read it again, I realized was just *wrong*. So I had all copies
of the script recalled, sending a memo explaining that "I had been momentarily
possessed by an idiot."
In addition, last season I started writing a very different two parter
than "Voice." I turned in the first part, and while a number of folks liked
it, it *really* wasn't up to par. (This was the first part of the flu I'd
gotten.) So I chucked it completely, and wrote what ended up as "Voice."
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 334 Sun Dec 25, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:10 EST
General agreement with some of the points raised below. Just to further
clarify on the subject of residuals...they diminish with time. The first
rerun on broadcast gets you about 45% of the original price of the script.
Then it begins falling pretty fast. My most recent residual for one of my
Twilight Zone episodes was about fifteen dollars.
And also correct; while the pay can sometimes be good, remember that
things cost more in LA than anywhere but New York. Even a small (1 or 2
bedroom) house, in a not altogether terrific neighborhood, in not terribly
great shape, will run you $200,000 or more. Ren on a small two-bedroom
apartment (make that rent) generally runs $900 and up.
That's one of the real dangers of this town; you can have a year or two
where you earn good money. You even manage to sock some away. Then you have
a year or two when you don't work, and if you lived anywhere else, you could
get by pretty easily on that. But here, it's gone with astonishing speed.
And then of course your agent gets 10%, the government gets 40-50%...you know
the drill.
And there's always somebody trying to find some new and creative way to
screw writers. Here's a forinstance: I did Murder, She Wrote for two years.
Network fees for a one-hour script are about $20,000, rounded off. Second run
is about 40-50% when you hit syndication. So figure that that check should be
about $9,500. Not bad. Except Universal realized one day that it'd be better
off selling the show to itself, in the form of the USA Network, co-owned by
Universal. Cable residuals are figured on a PERCENTAGE basis, meaning you get
a percentage of the overall sale price of the series to cable, per episode
you've written. And Universal sells the show to itself at the lowest
conceivable price (about $500 per episode, give or take).
So what is my residual on a second-run of a Murder episode on USA, which
would be about $9,500 on a broadcast station? Twenty four dollars and change.
But hey...it's Hollywood, Jake.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 373 Mon Dec 26, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:12 EST
There are micromachines on the way, eventually, I'm told.
To the query in message 666 (hrmmmm)...the relationship between series
producer and director is fairly close. The producer looks for and hires a
director whose vision seems to match his own. This is what I do. The
director gets the script after it's in final-draft form. (To the question
"Who writes the shooting script?" it's basically the same script from
beginning to end, but with the scene numbers broken out. You usually assign
scene numbers as quickly as possible, to allow CGI and stuff to get going.)
As producer, once I'm satisfied with the script, and it goes to the director,
sometimes s/he'll have questions about it which may need to be clarified or
explained. As part of prep, the director and I have a "tone meeting," in
which we go through each scene page by page, and I explain what I have in mind
in each scene, and the director talks about what s/he sees in it, making sure
that we both understand what's going on, and agree on the vision and approach.
Usually this goes very smoothly. Very, very rarely will you get a situation
where there are two opposed viewpoints on how to direct a scene, in which case
either a) I win, or b) the director shoots it both ways, and we see which way
works better on film.
Television is more fundamentally a writer's medium than a director's
medium; film tends to be more the director's purview.
There is interaction with the editors at every stage of the process. We
make sure the editor is on hand for the production meeting, and discusses with
the director what is desired. If there's something that needs to be made
clear from my POV, then I call the editor and make this point. The director
then shoots the episode, and the editor begins assembling the episode in
consultation with the director. Upon the completion of principal photography,
the director gets several days to play with the editor's cut, creating the
director's cut of the episode.
When this is finished, then I and John Copeland go into the editor's wing
and work with the editor to create the producer's cut. This can be very close
to the director's cut...or it can be a total restructure, depending on
circumstance. There were a few occasions last season where John and I went in
and re-edited every single scene. Sometimes this process can take half a day,
or several days.
One of the main things we do is to tighten the hell out of the episode.
Invariably, when the director finishes, we're told "The episode is still ten
minutes long, we had to cut scenes." Because directors like long, lingering
pans and establishers. We go in and tighten the screws until the film
screams...and with *very* few exceptions, it ALL fits.
Some episodes last season, like "War Prayer," and "Grail," and
"Infection" were absolute pains in the ass to edit. Getting those episodes to
work practically required a trip to Lourdes, and there's still stuff I'm not
happy with in those episodes. On the other hand, episodes like "The Geometry
of Shadows" you barely have to touch, because it's all put together
seamlessly.
To your question of who has creative control on the series...when you
come down to brass tacks, it's me. I have a *very* specific vision for the
series, which comes about because I have incredibly talented people working
for me. Ann Bruice comes to me with costume sketches that I have to approve
(an easy task, since she's terrific); ditto with set designs from John
Iacovelli, prosthetic designs from Optic Nerve, props, set dressing, casting,
music....
As a result, most things that are on the show are either very close to
what I saw in my head, or in some cases even better, because of the input of
all these people. My job is basically to say yes, or no, or maybe, and to
point to a spot on the horizon where I want us all to go. It's then up to
the rest to find ways to actually make these crazy notions WORK...they do the
actual work, the thought, the effort, and I get to bask in the reflected glow
of their efforts as though somehow I was responsible, when my main
responsibility was to look at a sketch and say, "Uh.....yup."
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 388 Tue Dec 27, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:46 EST
For the most part, yeah, I think everyone involved with the show sets
aside ego to do what's best for the show itself. When there are department
meetings, no idea is ever scrubbed saying "That's dumb." There are frank and
often blunt conversations, but because everyone is free to be equally blunt,
and we all know everyone respects one another, we don't tend to have real
problems. Now obviously you're going to have small conflicts when you dump a
whole lot of creative people in a room and have them attack a problem. But
they're generally *about the problem*, not about each other.
You *can't* bring your ego with you to work and expect to get anything
worthwhile done. And you can't play Untouchable Boss. Anybody who has a
question or a criticism about a script can come to me about it, whether it's
mine or somebody else's. Doesn't matter if it's a grip, or a stunt double, or
somebody from craft services; a valid point is a valid point. I may not agree
with it, and I reserve the right to do it as written if I don't agree, but
I'll *listen*, and if the person's got a point, I'll address it.
There are several people here who've been in the B5 offices on many
occasions, and they can chime in if I'm lying...but honest, the one sound you
hear the most in the hallways of the B5 production office is that of laughter.
We try to keep stress out of the workplace as much as possible, to make it a
pleasant place to work.
Everybody eats together out behind the stage at lunchtime -- writers,
producers, directors, cast, crew, production staff, groups of crew go out
together for dinner, or drinks after shooting, they go off on vacation in
groups (a bunch of them were off at Mammoth when the quake hit last year), the
actors are free to come into my office and hang out, ask questions, same with
anyone else...there's always a birthday cake somewhere in the studio it
seems...it's just A Nice Place To Work. Which helps tremendously when it
comes time to actually work together.
For Christmas, btw, we purchased for the crew, production staff and
others Swiss Army Watches with the B5 logo engraved on the back, with 1994-
1995 beneath it, for those who've been on the show for two years. For those
serving here as their first year, they got the nifty B5 leather jackets that
all the first timers got last year.
Life's too short not to enjoy where you work...especially on Barbeque
Day at the studio, or Funny Hat Day.....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 407 Tue Dec 27, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:03 EST
Funniest hat...that was last season, and it's not anything startling;
just a lobster hat, big claws coming down off it, bug-eyes, legs all around
the head...just struck me as funny.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 419 Wed Dec 28, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:32 EST
The assumption above is correct; one shouldn't consider B5 to be
exclusive in this approach. Folks like David Moessinger, my Executive
Producer on MURDER, JAKE and (albeit briefly, before I ran screaming out into
the night) WALKER...Mark Shelmerdine, my Executive Producer on the new
Twilight Zone...and others I could name, all people of conscience and
integrity and loyalty, who create a healthy and positive place to work.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 429 Wed Dec 28, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:37 EST
Oh, yeah, and these next six are gonna be major head-thumps too, that
much I can promise right now. (It occured to me, I think that we go on the
air with new eps about the same time Voyager hits the air; this should be an
interesting contrast, 'cause there's some stuff in this next batch that just
goes balls to the walls.)
And yes, THAT "Walker." When the show was still with Cannon TV, David
got jammed up and asked me to come in for a while, in between leaving "Murder,
She Wrote" and starting B5. I came on as Supervising Producer...and the
second I walked into the Cannon building, I knew this was gonna be trouble.
I've got a good snake detector, and it was going off like crazy. I tried to
warn David, but David is a good soul, and he trusts people, and figured he
could make it work. But I knew we were standing on the deck of the Titanic
and somebody'd just ordered ice....
I rewrote several scripts (no credit taken), and wrote one of my own,
which got produced and aired. Nobody was being paid, there was mass chaos at
the top, and finally I just bolted over the barbed wire and escaped. David
understood, tried to find some way to stop the hassles, but in time the whole
damned thing exploded, and CBS took the show away from Cannon after David
finally bailed. It's a nightmare organization.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 453 Thu Dec 29, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:04 EST
We'll probably know come April about a third season, in any definitive
sense, though we may have hunches before then.
Actually, "The exception proves the rule" is a corruption of the original
Latin, which I believe is something along the lines of, "Exceptio probat
regulum," which as a phrase translates out to, "The exception puts the rule to
the test of proof."
I have no real desire to direct; I could if I so desired (and sometimes
I'll make murmurings about setting aside an episode to direct myself, which is
a perk I have if desired, just to watch producer John Copeland turn a whiter
shade of pale), but I just don't think it's something I want to do. My other
writer-friends think I'm crazy to pass this up, since Writer/Director
hyphenates are kind of the In thing, and command major bucks and deals...but
ehh...I'm a writer.
One's relations with a given studio are in large measure affected by the
person you're working with. There are good folk and bad folk. We have been
very, very fortunate in that our PTEN liaison is a very smart fellow, very
thoughtful, reasonable, who kinda understands where we're going with this
story, and allows us to go where we wish. I've been on other shows where the
network or studio liaison can destroy a series and make your life a living
hell. It's really the luck of the draw.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 463 Thu Dec 29, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:19 EST
Kevin: part of my hope is that this modem-experiment will help to put out
information on how TV is made, and de-mystify the process a bit.
How to Space Someone A Bit At A Time: elect them to Congress.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 466 Thu Dec 29, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:24 EST
Only because I'm crummy at this stuff...anybody wants to send me cheat
codes for Wing Commander III will live in my heart forever.
Damned kilrathi....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 482 Fri Dec 30, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:18 EST
Tell you what...I could either struggle through Wc3 without the cheat
codes, or make Babylon 5. Understand that I am obsessive/compulsive in
nature....
Will try the alt-o. It's some solace....
Only four people have seen the five-year arc (and not all of it at that,
only about a 10 page summary of the thing), which is about three too many for
my tastes. None of them are execs with PTEN.
Maybe the symbol for B5 fandom might be >@<, which is a starfury.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 483 Fri Dec 30, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:22 EST
You'll see more of Na'Toth in "Acts of Sacrifice."
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 494 Fri Dec 30, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:14 EST
Re: moving airdates...this is stuff I mentioned some time ago, so no one
should be startled now. As stated before, Paramount is taking Monday and
Tuesday nights; Warner Network is getting Wednesdays; so you HAVE to move B5
somewhere. There's only Thursday-Sunday left, so it has to go somewhere in
there.
The cheat code for Babylon 5? PERCIVAL.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 508 Fri Dec 30, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:02 EST
T'ain't luck, lemme tell you; we haven't had a break from day one. Old
fashioned hard work.
Expect new episodes the week of January 23rd.
Anybody here who knows computer stuff, maybe you can answer a Stoopid
Question for me in the appropriate topic down below....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 523 Sat Dec 31, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:32 EST
Re: my doing promos for the show on-air...I'm not an on-air personality.
I'm just not good at that. A few weeks of my face on the air, and viewers
would probably start asking for their previous ratings points back....
jms
------------
************
Topic 2 Wed Nov 20, 1991
STARR [Arne] at 19:41 EST
Sub: Babylon 5 -- The Series!! >>SPOILERS<<
Babylon 5 is moving into a second season of 22 episodes. This series can be
seen at 8 Pm on Wednesdays, in most areas. This topic is for SPOILERS only.
Just remember our NO STORY IDEAS rule and we'll let you live. <g>
296 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 150 Sun Dec 18, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:30 EST
However, I believe that a great deal of that time comes from the ST
opening and closing credits, which are longer than ours. Just count the "dry
time," meaning program content ONLY, minus opening title/credit sequences and
end credits. And there's never any variance in the length of our show unless
someone at your end of the signal is making trims here and there; the length
of each episode is always *exactly* the same, right down to the frame-count.
So there's *no way* you can be seeing a 30-second variance between episodes.
When it leaves our hands, all of the episodes are *exactly* the same length.
I know because I'm part of the final edit, and we have to hit exactly the same
count every time.
It's altogether possible that your station is either trimming scenes or
running the show through a compression system.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 170 Mon Dec 19, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:51 EST
Generally, credits are negotiated, or assigned on merit. My assistant
on the show didn't negotiate for a credit, but gets one at the end, along with
Doug's. A lot of the office staff doesn't get credited on-screen, or some of
the support personnel in the art department, construction, costuming, makeup,
and other areas, because there simply isn't time; Babylon Productions, which I
co-own with Doug, employs about 225-250 people in order to make B5. So
generally the key people in each department, and their seconds, get on-screen
credit.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 200 Sat Dec 24, 1994
The next batch of new episodes will be six-eps long; so append to that
list "Acts of Sacrifice" and "Hunter, Prey."
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 223 Wed Dec 28, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:59 EST
Well, here's an episode title for a script-in-progress that ought to
scare the hell out of anybody who's paying attention: "In the Shadow of
Z'ha'dum."
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 240 Thu Dec 29, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:16 EST
Figure "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum" for about episode 19 (once I finish
writing the darned thing).
We have roughly 16-17 standing sets, and as many as 60 swing sets
available to us, the largest of any TV series that I know of. Just the number
of clubs/restaurants is amazing...the Eclipse Cafe, Earhart's, Happy Daze, the
Dark Star, the Fresh Air Restaurant, the banquet hall, Doug's Dugout Sports
Bar (seen in TKO), the smaller restaurant seen in "Eyes," the Zocalo Cafe, and
of course the mess hall.
Yes, we've seen the length of the central corridor several times now;
that you haven't noticed is the point, rather than seeing a painted backdrop,
which sticks out.
"Why should everyone stay on B5?" says G.Popovich. *Exactly*, says jms,
pointing to Sinclair. As to living and dying...I wouldn't be at all surprised
if something fatal happened to one or more of the characters in the main title
before too long....
What's great, from my POV, is that in the first season, folks could sense
there was *something* going on, but now with the second season, more are
starting to see the shape of it gliding just beneath the surface, and note
the occasional shark-fin rising up out of the water....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 2
Message 278 Sat Dec 31, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:09 EST
Insofar as I know, in the B5 universe, dead is dead.
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.
264 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 4
Message 154 Thu Dec 15, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:58 EST
Also add Bernie Casey.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 4
Message 175 Mon Dec 19, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:13 EST
Shock Treatment's out on CD? Really? Gotta pick that one up; all I have
is the vinyl, well-worn by now.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 4
Message 206 Sun Dec 25, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:55 EST
It kinda bothered their sense of superiority; also, their sense of honor
lies more in the direction of one-to-one combat, rather than mining something
as a trap. Consider it the way British troops did toward American
revolutionary fighters who hid behind trees and used guerilla tactics rather
than fighting the way the British *wanted* them to fight, out in the open, in
nice, easily shot-at rows....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 4
Message 210 Mon Dec 26, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:14 EST
Sean: as was stated in the episode, we still haven't been able to crack
the Minbari stealth technology. It's not that they're old or deficient, we
just haven't broken their system yet. As Sheridan says in the conference
room.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 4
Message 217 Tue Dec 27, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:45 EST
Sheridan asked what kind of scanners the fighters were using because he
couldn't figure out why they were picking up the Minbari fighters. He wanted
to be sure nobody had snuck by some kind of new tech. Once he knew they were
the same tech as before, he knew something screwy was up.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 4
Message 236 Wed Dec 28, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:34 EST
Well, that's it; this topic has now become canon fodder.
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.
434 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 5
Message 395 Sun Dec 18, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:10 EST
And from now on, freedom is slavery.
George Orwell
------------
************
Topic 10 Thu Nov 12, 1992
SANDMAN [Henry] at 19:25 EST
Sub: Sex in Babylon 5
Can't do without this one!!
413 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 10
Message 381 Tue Dec 27, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:49 EST
Don' wanna do no message. Peoples be peoples, they jus' do what they do.
Jus' show it, don't dwell on it.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 10
Message 387 Tue Dec 27, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:11 EST
Ah has only one other thing to say on this whole left wing/right wing
CONtroversy (and why ah'm talkin' like ah jus' escaped from a play by that
Tennessee Williams fella is anybody's guess)...stone cold fact is, unless that
eagles got a left AND a right wing, in perfect balance and given equal
respect, it ain't NEVER gonna fly.
jmsTELLLLLLLAAAAA
------------
************
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.
351 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 11
Message 280 Thu Dec 15, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:16 EST
Actually, that 800/200 split ain't far off the truth, as I dimly recall.
Crummy with figures, good with words.
Funny thing, sorta...see, according to most IQ tests, I come in just over
the edge on the so-called genius ("Come, Join Mensa, Join Us, Join Us...")
level. Around 160 or so. Which, frankly, is absolutely meaningless, except
that it helps me skate throuth stuff I have no business doing or no chance of
*really* understanding. I come in very high on intuitive scores; I can often
figure out *what* is the correct answer, but am damned if I can tell you
*why*.
As a kid, we moved around a lot for (let's just say this for now and let
it go at this) economic reasons. Literally every year from birth through
about age 17 was a different house, a different city, often a different STATE.
I learned fast that if you were too smart, and showed it...you got beat up a
lot. So at a very early stage I found I could just shave it close enough to
pass, without raising any red flags or drawing attention. The one thing I
didn't want was to be noticed, because that usually preceded getting the
stuffings knocked out of me (and being who I am, *that* was usually followed
by my mouthing off to whoever just beat the crap out of me...at which point
they pound me again...at which point this little bump on the playground mouths
off again, at which point, well, you get the idea).
I'd gotten pretty good at riding the line, but goofed one year in junior
high. I screwed up my math term (no surprise there), but usually I knew I
could ace lit classes to make up for it...except I got sick, missed several
tests and papers...and dropped beneath the line I needed to get advanced to
the next level. So I had to attend summer school to make up the difference.
This was under the Headstart Program of those days, and the sort of kids
you found in this one in New Jersey...Future Muggers of America founding
members. Anyway (and this is a hell of a lot longer and more involved than
I'd intended to get), one day they said they were going to give all of us in
summer school a series of tests/evaluations to determine just where we
stood...what grade reading level, comprehension, math, that sort of thing.
Now normally I'd always held back in this stuff, but this wasn't my regular
school, I'd be going to high school after this, so what was lost? So I just
went for it.
A few days later the test results came in, and I got suddenly called to
the office of the head of the program. He sat me down and said, honest to
god, "You'll forgive my langauge for a moment, but what the HELL are you DOING
here?" Apparently for a 9th grader my language, reading, writing, and general
intelligence figures came in at approximately that of a college graduate.
(Though my math skills were, to be charitable, considerably lower. Bargain-
basement, to be precise.) So I told him what I'd been doing all this time.
He sat there, slack jawed, the whole time, at the premeditation and all the
rest. (Though I wouldn't have gotten nailed if I'd been better at some of the
other areas.)
Later, to my chagrin, I discovered that he wrote up a memo about all this
and attached it to my transcripts, so that when I transferred to the high
school, I found myself assigned to several advanced classes in English lit and
other areas, college-prep level classes. So I instantly went back to my old
habits, and soon enough managed to get out of that one and into a regular
class.
Tests are fine, advanced classes are fine, but frankly, none of it was
worth getting stomped on a regular basis....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 11
Message 301 Sat Dec 17, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:05 EST
BTW, and not to get off on a whole SeaQuest tangent, but...today I saw
something even rarer than a unicorn: a good SQ episode. It hasn't aired yet,
probably won't for a few weeks yet, but as you check your TV Guide, look for
the one where a new experimental sub sporting artificial intelligence tied to
Bridger gets loose. It's actually quite nice.
Of the "SeaQuest Meets the Triffids" episode yet to come...the less said,
the better.
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.
341 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 13
Message 325 Fri Dec 30, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:26 EST
Not all jumpgates are hooked/linked with one another. Very ofteen you
DON'T have to leave hyperspace, just jump from A to C, and from C to Z, riding
the lock-on to each one (Catherine Sakai programmed in just such a sequence in
MIND WAR, in fact). You don't usually have to leave hyperspace to go from one
gate to another; usually, in the case of the freighter being discussed, it
left hyperspace at the last jumpgate stop to pick up supplies, people, cargo,
other stuff, and was heading back to the gate again.
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
295 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 17
Message 193 Thu Dec 22, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:14 EST
There is no reference in the liner notes to ANY of the characters, and
there is NO "outlining of the story of B5." The report you've heard has been
mischaracterized. There *is* a photo of Sinclair there. And from what I
understand, the license/promotional deal emphasized that the current cast
should be specified in the thing, since it's being released in the current
year, to make clearer it's a 1995 release. A cast list put out right now
would not have Sinclair on it; that's the same situation as this.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 17
Message 243 Tue Dec 27, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:13 EST
I have seen some fuzzy black-and-white photos of the MicroMachines, and
though I can't testify yet about the colors, since I couldn't see them, they
LOOK majorly cool. Want 'em. Want 'em NOW.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 17
Message 260 Thu Dec 29, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:22 EST
The zero is probably a German zero, which usually has a crossbar through
it, /.
jms
------------
************
Topic 23 Fri Feb 12, 1993
V.VAIDY1 [Vijay] at 23:00 EST
Sub: "OtherWorks" by JMS
Before there was "B5" and when "JMS" was just another Plain Joe, there was
OtherSyde
[A discussion of the other works of J. Michael Straczynski]
227 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 209 Fri Dec 16, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:27 EST
It was a regular episode done for ABC as part of the Saturday morning
season that ended up garnering a lot of attention. It's also a favorite of a
lot of the folks who run that department at ABC. It came out *very* nicely.
I'm pretty sure it was season one stuff.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 212 Tue Dec 20, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:35 EST
Well, it's confirmed; my episode of THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, "Xmas Marks
the Spot," will air Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. (probably 7:30 central) on
ABC. It's in TV Guide and everything.
Kinda dopey, but fun....
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 215 Tue Dec 20, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:58 EST
There's business stuff being worked out on Grimjack, and I've said to all
parties that to avoid doing less than standard work, I'd prefer to not start
the script until January/February, when most of the writing on B5 will be
finished.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 217 Tue Dec 20, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:35 EST
Eek, and just turned on USA network tonight and caught one of my Murder,
She Wrote episodes, "The Committee." The world is getting too small for
comfort.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 219 Fri Dec 23, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:23 EST
As long as we're talking about other stuff...this Friday one of my
episodes of "Murder, She Wrote" that got a lot of press will be run on USA,
"Incident in Lot 7," set on the Universal Studios lot, in the old Psycho
house. It's kinda fun, got some good lines here and there.
I was talking to somebody who worked it out the other day, and having
written over 120 *produced* episodes of TV, the fact is that one day out of
every three, you're going to find something of mine somewhere on the schedule,
which is probably why I don't mention it much.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 221 Sun Dec 25, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:07 EST
Except the creeps at ABC reversed the order, so my machine got a
different show on tape; wanted to see if they'd cut anything.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 23
Message 225 Wed Dec 28, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:36 EST
Got nothing to do with me.
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.
237 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 24
Message 211 Thu Dec 29, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:24 EST
Or they could've shattered the moon, and used mass drivers to hurl huge
sections of it down onto us.
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!
261 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 29
Message 252 Thu Dec 22, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:01 EST
Londo does not have the Eye. If he'd failed to turn it over, his career
would've been ruined; getting it back was the only thing that kept him on B5.
jms
------------
************
Topic 31 Sat Jul 09, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:23 EDT
Sub: Really Stupid Questions from JMS
Every so often, I need Information. (You won't get it!) Technical stuff,
research or reference stuff...and given the brain trust here, I figured this
could be a useful resource from time to time. With appreciation.
194 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 18, Topic 31
Message 167 Mon Dec 26, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:18 EST
Caitlin wanted to go off and pursue romantic leading roles in films.
jms
------------
Category 18, Topic 31
Message 169 Fri Dec 30, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:08 EST
Okay, here's the deal...my Spousal Overunit some time ago installed a
sound card into her computer. From that point on (at least we're fairly sure
that was the deciding point), she could no longer access both her serial
of to try and make the darned thing work; so now she has to keep switching
between modem and mouse. If there's ANYone out there with some suggestions on
how to fix this, that'd be great (given in very plain layperson's terms,
because neither of us is a rocket scientist at this stuff, real step-by-step
stuff).
jms
------------
************
Topic 13 Sun Oct 17, 1993
STARR [Arne] at 15:15 EDT
Sub: #110 - "Mind War"
by JMS. Co-Starring Walter Koenig.
234 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 19, Topic 13
Message 234 Thu Dec 29, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:26 EST
Yep, I wrote this one.
jms
------------
************
Topic 27 Mon Aug 29, 1994
STARR [Arne] (Forwarded)
Sub: #201 - "Points of Departure"
by JMS. Directed by Janet Greek.
181 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 19, Topic 27
Message 168 Thu Dec 22, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:58 EST
Correct above; Sheridan says, quite specifically, in the conference room
with Ivanova after the Grey Council guy is gone, "they used some kind of
stealth technology WE'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO BREAK." It's not a matter of old
or cheaper tech; we just haven't broken their technology yet.
jms
------------
************
Topic 32 Mon Aug 29, 1994
STARR [Arne] at 23:36 EDT
Sub: #206 - "A Spider in the Web"
by Lawrence G. DiTillio. Director : Kevin Cremins
109 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 19, Topic 32
Message 108 Sun Dec 18, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:21 EST
The security guard didn't trigger the detonation; he picked up some
energy buildup on his scanner the moment Horn's heart stopped.
jms
------------
************
Topic 34 Thu Oct 20, 1994
STARR [Arne] (Forwarded)
Sub: #208 - "Soul Mates"
Londo's wives in a tale by Peter David.
179 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 19, Topic 34
Message 56 Thu Dec 15, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:04 EST
How weird...I hadn't ever seen any messages here, and I couldn't figure
why...just checked and for some reason it was IGNored. Odd....
Anyway...the production numbers (207, 208) are not for the order in which
they're aired, but the order they're PRODUCED in. So the numbers don't
change. We just air 208, then 207. This is very common in TV.
jms
------------
Category 19, Topic 34
Message 74 Fri Dec 16, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:18 EST
Peter Jurasik has made it clear that he wants the 30-foot portrait of
Londo...he wants to hang it outside his house...facing the neighbors who keep
annoying him....
jms
------------
Category 19, Topic 34
Message 81 Fri Dec 16, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:44 EST
Anytime we have someone who's a) of shorter stature, and b) of any kind
of aggressive or unusual type, people say we're doing Harlan. (Here, and in
"Deathwalker," with Abbut.) If we ever end up *doing* Harlan, the part will
be PLAYED by Harlan. The rest...forget it.
jms
------------
Category 19, Topic 34
Message 95 Sat Dec 17, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:55 EST
Re: pacing...quite correct. I think the pacing should vary
according to the story we're telling; some are slower, some fairly average,
and some are written, acted and directed at a dead run. I like tuning into a
series and never quite knowing what the hell to expect each time.
All things considered, the episode went through fairly cleanly, script-
wise, not much in the way of revision. Peter has a good ear for dialog (not
surprising). So for the most part it was little stuff; for example...Peter
came up with, "Either I'm in hell or in medlab," to which I appended,
"...either way, the decor needs work." Which is kind of the fun in getting an
outside script; you can hear the first part of a line you'd never considered,
and knowing the character, you can take it just a little further.
jms
------------
Category 19, Topic 34
Message 114 Sun Dec 18, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:06 EST
Actually, Delenn explains why she made the transformation right after we
see it, in the council chambers in "Revelations."
jms
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Category 19, Topic 34
Message 120 Mon Dec 19, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:42 EST
Complaints here have to come from local residents.
jms
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Topic 35 Tue Nov 01, 1994
STARR [Arne] (Forwarded)
Sub: #209 - "The Coming Of Shadows"
The episode that also gives us the title of season 2.
18 message(s) total.
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Category 19, Topic 35
Message 18 Sun Dec 25, 1994
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:59 EST
This is a baseless rumor. This episode title was always intended to
reflect the season overall title. There may or may not ever be an episode
entitled "The Shadows Fall," but since I've never discussed that title with
anyone, ever, any reports of it are a rumor.
jms
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