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377 lines
16 KiB
377 lines
16 KiB
JMS messages on GEnie, May 15-30, 1995. Collected by David Strauss
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<dss2k@poe.acc.Virginia.EDU>.
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 814 Thu May 18, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:43 EDT
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The odds of B5 ending up on the WB network are slim and none. You have
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to step back a second and realize the corporate structure of Warner Bros.
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Rather than one monolithic structure (a la Paramount), Warner Bros. is
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actually kind of a hive mind, with something like 40 or 50 different
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departments, arms, jurisdictions, companies and approaches, all of them
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mutually competitive. PTEN and WB, for instance, are two totally different
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arms, and *very* competitive with one another. I suspect either side would
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slit their respective wrists before letting a show go from one to the other.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 825 Thu May 18, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:36 EDT
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I'm going to put this up now, while I'm thinking about it.
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Next week, "Confessions and Lamentations" airs. It is a very strong,
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uncompromising episode. It occured to me that parents of young kids (and
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there are surprisingly a lot that watch) should *maybe* consider watching this
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one on their own first, to make sure it's okay for their kids, and to maybe be
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ready to discuss it afterward. Just a thought....
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 26
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Message 553 Thu May 18, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:39 EDT
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Just a reminder that Claudia, Bill Mumy and I will be at the big SF
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convention in Anaheim next weekend (of the 28th). Don't know which day
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they'll be there at the Creation con, but I'm slated for Sunday.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 41
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Message 9 Mon May 15, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:27 EDT
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Yes, the characters were named after the actors who brought them to life.
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The cap is an Agamemnon crew cap, with a silhouette of the Aggie,
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underneath EAS Agamemnon, and above OCG 5 (for Omega Construction Group 5, as
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is traditionally done). There are only three of these caps in existence:
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Bruce has one, John Copeland has one...and I have one. (I actually wore it
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recently to a Lasfs (local SF gorup) party a couple of weeks ago.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 26
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Message 573 Sat May 20, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:40 EDT
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The next con that is closest to being a B5 convention is The Gathering,
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in Manchester England this coming September.
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Here in the states, nothing yet that approaches that; B5 is still a
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subset of other conventions.
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jms
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SFRT I RoundTable
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Category 13, Topic 5
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Message 446 Sat May 20, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:56 EDT
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Been busy with post-production on B5, and without much traffic in here
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before, hadn't checked in for a while.
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The revisions on the writing book are virtually done; there's just a bit
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more tinkering to do with the stage/playwriting chapter, and it'll be done.
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Four years in the works....
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For those who've inquired about other works...you can find some of my
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short stories in the SHADOWS 6 anthology, the MIDNIGHT GRAFITTI anthology
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(with the same story appearing in an issue of PULPHOUSE), and AMAZING STORIES.
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Some digging may be required.
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One of the main difficulties with exec producing a series is that it
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leaves time for *nothing* else. Haven't done any fiction or prose work in a
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couple of years, not counting the issues of the B5 comic that I've written/am
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writing. The only time I even get to see a movie is if I'm on a plane
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(assuming I'm not writing on the plane). (On the trip to and from the UK I
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saw FORREST GUMP, TRUE LIES, ED WOOD, MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN and
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INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, just kept grabbing tapes from the flight attendents,
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who kept asking, "Don't you EVER get out?")
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Strongly considering publishing either a B5 script or a Murder, She
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Wrote script in the scriptwriting book, in its totality. Haven't yet decided
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which.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 44
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Message 11 Mon May 22, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:01 EDT
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Funny thing is, I've received several emails from medical professionals
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who said the hesitation was exactly dead-on to when they've been in situations
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of possible contamination. Until somebody breaks the inertia and just *does*
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it, as Franklin was about to.
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BTW, on the Marcabs, we've seen them frequently before, not just in
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"Knives," but also in "The Long Dark" as the one who spoke about "soldiers of
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darkness" to the Council, and elsewhere.
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Check out some of the isolation zone scenes, btw, and you'll see as many
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as 40-50 Marcabs, in full costume and full prosthetic, the biggest of any
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single race we've ever done.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 44
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Message 13 Mon May 22, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:25 EDT
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It's *possible* you have the Marcabs confused with the Brikiri, who are
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somewhat similar in look, until you get close; it was a Marcab, again, who in
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very good english explained the soldiers of darkness in "The Long Dark." On
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the other hand, we might've shown somebody grunting, I could be wrong. Not
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all Marcabs are fluent in English, certainly.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 746 Wed May 24, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:12 EDT
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Leaving our sector of space to go beyond the rim doesn't necesarily
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equate with strength; it's harder to stay, and act against what's coming, than
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to just run away. Also there may be reasons they chose to stay.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 536 Tue May 30, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:43 EDT
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Though I worked for a while on ALIEN WORLDS, no, the Markab name wasn't a
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nod there; I'd totally forgotten about any bunch with a name like that. (It
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was 16 or so years ago, remember.)
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 558 Wed May 31, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:19 EDT
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Actually, Dennis did not appear in "Acts," he appeared in "Comes the
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Inquisitor." This is stuff yet to come.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 23
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Message 240 Sun May 28, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:31 EDT
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No, I've never made any bones about the fact that, should B5 run its full
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5-year course, barring any side-stories that might spin off, my intent is to
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probably get out of TV and go back to novels and plays. I have the next novel
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outlined already -- it'll be a 1,000+ page whopper -- but haven't had time to
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write any of it. It'd take probably a year full tilt to write it. After
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that, probably back to plays.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 23
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Message 243 Mon May 29, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:26 EDT
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I actually started out in theater. I was writing small, one-act plays in
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high school, which got performed around campus for classes by a kind of
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traveling troupe put together by some of the teachers when they discovered,
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kinda startled, that I could write. First commissioned work was a full-length
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comic play I wrote at the request of the school which was performed in front
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of a full assembly. (Prior to then noboby noticed I existed. Suddenly I was
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noticed.)
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My last year of high school, I started sending out one-act and full
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length plays to various theaters. One local theater decided to produce one of
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them, and sent a letter suggesting a meeting. I went to it, and they kept
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waiting for my dad to show up or something; finally I was able to convince
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them that no, I really *was* the person who wrote the play. (And they did do
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it.) When I made it to Southwestern College in Chula Vista (after a quick run-
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around at schools in Chicago and Dallas), at age 18, I wrote a bunch of one-
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acts for the college, and was commissioned to write another full-length play
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which was performed for 20 some weeks in summer stock, and later published in
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book form by a leading play publisher (and no, I'm not telling you which
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publisher, even though it's still in print, because I was 18 and it was dumb).
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I started getting one-acts and full length plays produced in a variety of
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theaters, but eventually kind of got out of it when I got more into fiction,
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working as a journalist, and other venues. I have a tendency to drift in and
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out of venues.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 23
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Message 247 Mon May 29, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:51 EDT
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Yeah, probably 1,000 manuscript pages, figure about 250,000 words, but
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that's a conservative estimate; it may go longer once I get into it (it's a
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contemporary dark fantasy story, fairly involved). I'd probably get more if I
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extended it into a trilogy, in terms of advances, but I just don't really
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think in those terms. It's, "What does the story require?" Then that's what
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you do. I've always worked this way.
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1,000 pages ain't really that much, either, when one stops to realize
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that in just the 15 scripts I've written for year two of B5, that's about 750
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pages by itself.
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Don: yeah, a playwright, and lots of other stuff. My problem is that I
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like all kinds of writing; I *learn* from all kinds of writing. So I'm
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constantly drifting from one to the other. For years I worked as a journalist
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for major papers and magazines (over 500 article (articles) published; a
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reviewer; an investigative reporter; radio drama writer; playwright; on-air
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talk show host; short stories; novels; songs; you name it.
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Basically...I flit.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 23
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Message 252 Mon May 29, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:00 EDT
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Actually, 1,000 manuscript pages generally equals about 750 printed book
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pages.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 23
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Message 255 Tue May 30, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:53 EDT
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I wrote a 4-hour miniseries script based on the true story I spent over a
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year researching. Put it out on the market. I've had something like a half
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dozen offers to produce the thing, but only if I cut it down to 2 hours. To
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do so would violate the story, because it's too involved and too astonishing.
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You'd be left with nothing. So I'm just holding onto it until the right
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person finds it, and does it.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 44
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Message 37 Fri May 26, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:48 EDT
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Pilots are used to putting themselves into dangerous situations on a
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daily basis. That's their *job*. Doctors don't generally do that, and to
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expect them to just dive in uniformly is patently unrealistic. One of the
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primary emails I've gotten on this ep has been from medical health
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professionals who say that when they're put in this kind of situation with
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some patients, there *is* a momentary hesitation on many occasions. It's a
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natural reaction. It happens. There's a quantum difference between the way
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we *think* people should act, and the way they *do* act.
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Re: the joke...it's another part of humanity. Any time there's a
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disaster, after the initial shock has worn, off...jokes start to appear. I
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suspect it's part of the way we try to bring large events down to a level
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where we can deal with them. Yes, they're tasteless. But that's what we do.
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Less than 4 weeks after the shuttle went down, there were jokes. It happens.
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Hence, it's inclusion.
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Humans are sometimes afraid. Or less pleasant or honorable than we would
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imagine ourselves to be. We try to show both sides. This is not a universe
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where humans are without blemish, or where everyone is willing to instantly
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fling himself or herself into harm's way. It doesn't exist. Courage is
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noteworthy because it is the exception, not the rule.
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jms
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------------
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 44
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Message 47 Sat May 27, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:34 EDT
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Nobody said it was marital fruit. The line is, "It's a rebirth ceremony
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that sometimes doubles for a marriage ceremony." Naturally, everybody glommed
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onto the second interpretation, the lesser one, while ignoring the primary
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interpretation, rebirth (as in what Delenn was planning to do with the
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chrysalis). (Well, correction, not everybody went for the misdirection, but
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most did.)
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 44
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Message 49 Sat May 27, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:48 EDT
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The fighters aren't *inexpensive*, but not hideously costly either.
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Also, the pilots like to spend as much time out on patrol as possible, to
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garner more flight pay. Keffer's squad was already out earlier (as noted by
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Sheridan); Keffer chose to stay out a little longer doing a bit of
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reconnaisance. Most of the hassle is in prepping the ship for launch,
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maintainance and so on; once it's out, it's just a matter of a bit more fuel.
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If he left *strictly* for this purpose, then yeah, they'd nail his butt to the
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flight deck. But since he was out anyway, it's not as big an issue.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 44
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Message 84 Mon May 29, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:10 EDT
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There was no change in Delenn's attitudes. They're two different
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circumstances. In "Believers" Delenn was being asked to mediate in a dispute
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between Franklin and the family, over essentially matters of the soul (as she
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put it). They do not interfere in matters of the soul, she explains. This
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wasn't such a situation.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 44
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Message 99 Tue May 30, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:49 EDT
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We joked a few times about having a mass burial for the Markab
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prosthetics and costumes behind the stage....
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 44
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Message 105 Tue May 30, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:23 EDT
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A man is shot by a gun. Now, you can either do a story about the guy and
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his life up to the moment he was shot and killed, or you can do a story about
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the people who are affected by his death. The former story ends kinda fast.
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But both are perfectly valid. The main thrust is how this story AFFECTS our
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main characters. Would they have been more affected if it were the Drazi
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rather than the Markabs? No. It would've been just the same. My job is not
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to sit here and say, "Hmm...do I think audience members like the Drazi or the
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Markabs more?" and thus base my decision based on that. I write my stories
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based on what's right for the story, period. In this case, I knew it had to
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be one of the League races, and in particular, those prosthetics capable of
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expressing broad ranges of emotion, potentially sympathetic characters. The
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instantly cut out the pak'ma'ra as primary characters. I considered the
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Drazi, but my sense was that the prosthetics couldn't convey the depth of
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emotion I needed. Finally, that led me to the Markabs.
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Enough terrible things happened, and continue to happen, to our major
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races; best to give them a break and see how they react when it's someone
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else.
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jms
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