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576 lines
22 KiB
576 lines
22 KiB
JMS messages on GEnie, June 1995. Collected by David Strauss
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<dss2k@poe.acc.Virginia.EDU> and Steven Miale <smiale@cs.indiana.edu>.
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 17
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Message 525 Fri Jun 02, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:55 EDT
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Trying to remember what's in the 5 and 6 sets...a purple Centauri
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personal transport, a Narn heavy cruiser, I *think* a Narn fighter,
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Earthforce 1 (gorgeous), the Marie Celeste (expect shipments to vanish
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mysteriously), and one other, I forget....
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 17
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Message 533 Sat Jun 03, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:44 EDT
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Aha! Yes, THAT was the last one, an EA atmospheric shuttle. To the
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other points...no, that's a Narn cargo transport in the current version; the
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Narn fighters are much sleeker. Also, the Centauri ship in the current batch
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is a personal liner, as used by Lady Ladira in "Signs and Portents." The
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Centauri transport I'm referring to, in the later batch, is this purple, bug-
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like thing with a tall fin rising out of the back. It looks kinda like a flat
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potato bug.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 17
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Message 540 Sat Jun 03, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:20 EDT
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Then I don't know what the other one is.
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No idea on the line of delineation that Creation may have.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 17
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Message 545 Sun Jun 04, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:28 EDT
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No, the Narn heavy cruiser/fleet ship is in set 5 or 6, as I noted above.
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jms
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(I.e, the one you saw in "And Now.")
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 17
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Message 551 Mon Jun 05, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:17 EDT
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IT WAS IRONHEART'S SHIP! That was the last one. I think....
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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 712 Wed Jun 07, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:20 EDT
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Background info required to follow episodes is ALWAYS included in those
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episodes. Background info NOT required to follow stuff, but just for fun, is
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sometimes given on the nets and not referenced in the show, or more often,
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will eventually be referenced in the show. Also, it's been mentioned before
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that you don't have to read the comics or the novels to follow the show; the
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stories are complementary but exclusive.
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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 736 Thu Jun 08, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:17 EDT
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I'm not being cute, or close, or withholding information: straight
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up...we have still not been given any official word about renewal. That
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official word comes in a call from WB business affairs, authorizing us to
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activate our contracts and pick up our options with actors, directors, crew,
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others. That call has not yet come. We've heard all kinds of rumors from WB
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lately. Some good, some bad, mostly involving changing situations with PTEN,
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nothing to do directly with us.
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Whatever you were told, it ain't "official" until we're notified, as the
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producers. That notification has still not yet come.
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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 766 Fri Jun 09, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:26 EDT
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Got the phone call late today, spent the next bit on the phoen with
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people who had to be notified. Didn't get a chance to log on until just now.
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Yes, it is now safe to say..............eep.
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The official announcement of BABYLON 5's second season will be made
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tomorrow by Warner Bros.
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Naturally, the day the word comes is the day I'm kinda down with a slight
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bug, which kinda takes the edge off it...but suffice to say that Brett's
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observation is correct; with this new season, we'll be 3/5ths done with the
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story, over half.
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Suffice to say we are all very happy, and looking forward to shooting
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Year Three commencing about July 31st. (And half the fun, well a quarter of
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the fun, is knowing just how many people in what groups are going to be SO
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pissed off that we've been renewed....)
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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 768 Fri Jun 09, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:11 EDT
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sigh...third season...I meant THIRD season...sigh....
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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 Sat Jun 10, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:04 EDT
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Actually, some PR departments at studios/networks *have* been wrong about
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such things in the past.
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The reason for the delay was that there were some structural and
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corporate things going on with PTEN that had nothing to do with us per se, but
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which could ultimately affect us. There was one brief period last week --
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Thursday and the first part of Friday -- when the corporate stuff seemed to
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put our fate in doubt. The words actually entered my head, "Oh crap, they're
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gonna cancel us." It was a very depressing 24 hours. But finally word came
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back that the logjam had been fixed, the pieces had all come together, and
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things were looking positive again, but final word wouldn't come until this
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week.
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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 845 Sat Jun 10, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:52 EDT
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I wrote some of the .avi stuff, including the Vorlon/IRQ thing, since
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it's something that perpetually makes me nuts.
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There's always been a side-story that could go off after B5 finishes its
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run, but I doubt it'll go anywhere, even if B5 does break out.
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Interestingly enough...one of the first clues we got that we'd been
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renewed was a call from the WB International folks, asking about a third
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season. Apparently, what Ch4 wants to do for year 3 is to air the show in its
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original, widescreen aspect ratio. They called to see if we could let them
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have access to our original negative to re-transfer it back to that format,
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for their broadcast. Our reply: hell, yes.
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Expect some new characters next season, yes.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 17
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Message 589 Sat Jun 10, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:07 EDT
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Dan: that's the annoying thing I keep hearing...that Galoob keeps
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shipping the micros out, they arrive at stores, the store managers don't
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bother to display them, nobody knows to ask, and after a while they're shipped
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back. Makes Me Nuts.
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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 609 Mon Jun 12, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:05 EDT
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Can't really take much time off; got to have 6 scripts minimum in hand
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when we begin rolling film July 31st.
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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 420 Sun Jun 11, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:21 EDT
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I'll definitely be at San Diego Comic Con. Will try and convince a cast
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member or two to come along.
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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 603 Tue Jun 13, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:31 EDT
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dj...one of the...I won't say problems, because it isn't a problem, but
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the...unique aspects about this cast is that they're in large measure *very*
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bright, and very verbal, and some of the banter that goes back and forth, done
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totally poker-faced and straight, could be taken in the wrong light. Look at
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some of the comments between me and Claudia on some of the on-line interviews
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at AOL and DC Comics Online. We can get pretty brutal if you don't know we're
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absolutely just putting it on.
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So if you want to pass it along in private mail, that's fine, but on
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balance, I'm not terribly concerned about it; it's how we play.
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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 435 Tue Jun 13, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:33 EDT
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Though I'd originally heard about doing two presentations at San Diego
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Comic Con, it now looks like doing just one, on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1
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p.m. Clips, maybe some cast, bloopers and surprises.
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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 631 Tue Jun 13, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:26 EDT
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The casting director brings in actors to audition. The choices are made
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by me, the director, Doug and John Copeland.
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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 669 Thu Jun 15, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:49 EDT
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Generally, there is a brief description of the character in the script,
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which the casting director receives to prepare. If there's anything I have in
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mind in particular, and there often is, I'll discuss it with the c.d. and
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narrow things down. T
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Then I'll get a preliminary list of available actors, those who are and
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aren't available for auditions. We call in those who come to auditions, and
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try them out. If nobody works out, we go to the list of actors who won't
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audition, and review tapes. This rarely happens, though, and we prefer to go
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from auditions.
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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 270 Thu Jun 15, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:52 EDT
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On places like internet, I look for new threads that haven't been
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answered yet, and deal with those first. Then I peel through the messages I
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know contain interesting or funny threads, and get into those. If a thread
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has been going on for a long time, and has more or less devolved into
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woolgathering, I bail.
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The other systems, I just sorta graze, looking for interesting areas.
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There are some topics here on 18 -- TV stations, filking, topic drift -- that
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I don't generally check out.
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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 465 Sat Jun 17, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:57 EDT
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Re: hotel reservations vanishing and non-refunds even though
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promised...well, gee, what a surprise.
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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 710 Sun Jun 18, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:30 EDT
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We're always adding signage, and will continue to do so. There are no
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single-faith chapels, but facilities that can be used by various groups,
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booked ahead.
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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 324 Sun Jun 18, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:31 EDT
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We're going to try some more complicated alien stuff, some more elaborate
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shots mixing CGI and live-action, some interesting new items in the wardrobe
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department, more stuff taking place on other worlds, a new main theme more
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related to what's going to happen in year three, other stuff.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 148 Wed Jun 21, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:51 EDT
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Two of the four episodes have been delivered for some time; number three
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gets delivered this week; number four, the week therafter.
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The original theory was to have the eps ready in time to air all four in
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July. That was our timetable as we understood it at the time for WB/PTEN, and
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that's what was plugged into the formula when we did our production schedule.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 162 Thu Jun 22, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:28 EDT
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Apparently Channel 4 in the UK will broadcast all 4 remaining year two
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eps starting July 25th and continuing each Tuesday thereafter until all four
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have been aired. (There had been some discussion of airing them all the same
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night in a B5 marathon, but this is probably better for reaching people.)
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 186 Sat Jun 24, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:32 EDT
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We *do* have accurate estimates; I'm not quite sure how we got off on
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this.
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Warners gives us required delivery dates. We work backwards from those
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delivery dates, and come up with a shooting schedule that allows us to meet
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those dates with room to spare. So I'm not quite sure what it is we're not
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doing.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 192 Sat Jun 24, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:04 EDT
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Temporary titles on the first four episodes, in order: "Matters of
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Honor," "Convictions," "A Day in the Strife," and "Voices of Authority."
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(That's season three, natch.)
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 206 Sun Jun 25, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:50 EDT
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Actually, "The Gathering" wasn't shot widescreen; that progression was
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only implemented when we went to series.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 209 Sun Jun 25, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 06:01 EDT
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Only 2 TV series that I know of are shot in widescreen; us and Lois and
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Clark.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 210 Sun Jun 25, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 06:05 EDT
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Just a note on a B5 alumnus; it appears that Christy Marx has got her own
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series, co-created (I think that's the credit, but she'll have more on the
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specifics when she's ready to talk about it) by her and someone known to
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B5'ers (no, not me). It's a live-action SF series, and should look very cool,
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a whole new universe to play in. Anything more specific will have to come
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from her, as is appropriate. Y'all can keep tabs on this over in her topic,
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470/11/43.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 230 Sun Jun 25, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:38 EDT
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One of the problems we've encountered in the past is that Paramount tends
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to buy LOTS of advertising in pubs like Entertainment Weekly and others, and
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some of them have no desire to piss of the big P. I got a note from one of
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the staffers at Sci-Fi Entertainment (the Sci-Fi Channel is co-owned by
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Paramount) who indicated that there was a very clear and deliberate emphasis
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on not doing B5 coverage for that reason. But another reporter is going to
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be doing a small piece on the show for an upcoming issue, so maybe we'll shake
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that loose finally.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 269 Wed Jun 28, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:10 EDT
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To all in the Chicago area, I have the schedule for B5 stuff, or most of
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it, for the Comic Con this weekend in Rosemont at the convention center.
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FRIDAY: 3-4 jms and bloopers, and stuff
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4-5 Michael O'Hare's acting workshop
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SATURDAY: 11-12 noon Q&A with Michael
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1:30-3 special jms presentation (*be there*)
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4-5 jms writing for TV seminar
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(that evening is an informal B5 gathering with me,
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Michael and Peter David, don't know when or where)
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SUNDAY: 1-2 B5 panel with jms, Michael and Peter
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Word to the wise: arrive early for the Saturday 1:30 presentation; we'll
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start right on time, and there's a lot to fit in.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 333 Mon Jun 19, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:15 EDT
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Torville, I *have* explained it. I've explained it and explained it
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until I'm blue in the face. I don't know what more you're looking for, unless
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you're simply assuming that there's more to it when there's not, in which case
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there ain't much I can do.
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 341 Tue Jun 20, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:36 EDT
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So, like, howcum SeaQuest getting a third season is in the opening card
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here on SFRT2, but not B5? Huh? Huh? What're we, chopped liver? Not a
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peep, not a mention, not a syllable, a consonant, a quiver, nothing.
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Hrmph.
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 354 Wed Jun 21, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:53 EDT
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Totally off-base question: any truth to the rumors floating around that
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GEnie is going to go bye-bye come fall?
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 366 Thu Jun 22, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:11 EDT
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Okay, that's good to know. Where this info came from was from some folks
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over on the new Microsoft Network, so I figured there might be some margin for
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error there.
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Genie has always been kind of the unofficial home for B5, after all.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 2
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Message 377 Fri Jun 23, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:41 EDT
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What's Hi-Tech Home?
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 23
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Message 273 Wed Jun 28, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:04 EDT
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It was a rerun, and he had it on tape.
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Next novel won't be "Dark" but another title; better story.
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jms
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Category 18, Topic 26
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Message 527 Sun Jun 25, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:46 EDT
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There was just a huge message posted on rec.arts.b5 about BB, a real
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scathing review. Others are filtering in along the same lines. As I'd been
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worried about, apparently the organizational aspects are a total
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nightmare/disaster. But I'll let others speak from their own experience.
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(The J.Potts message on rec.arts is very telling, as he's generally a very
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good reporter on this stuff.)
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 26
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Message 556 Tue Jun 27, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:11 EDT
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Certain individuals have a habit of blaming others for errors they commit
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themselves. We NEVER at any time heard anything about images of B5 stuff in
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holographic badges. If they couldn't be delivered, it's because something
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went wrong at that end. Word was put out that the Jenerators, Bill's band,
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opted out at the last minute to do another gig; not true, as Bill himself
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said, they just weren't going to pay them or even pay transportation.
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My first impression of the organization 'way back at the Planet Hollywood
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embarrassment was that the thing was ineptly run. There were major, worrying
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|
problems in: hotel accommodations, arrangements for transportation, guest
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|
relations, tickets, advance work, sound and every aspect of follow-up. Every
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single one of these concerns is what came up again here in the Big Bang, as
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I'd feared.
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I have to add, however, that there is NO reason, NO excuse, for the
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|
assault on a dealer who was attempting to document some of the screwups at the
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|
convention. To attack someone, beat the camera into his face, requiring an
|
|
ambulance...in 18 years of convention going, I have *never* seen this behavior
|
|
on the part of convention organizers, and it is absolutely intolerable.
|
|
Equally intolerable, if on a lesser scale, is stranding actors at airports for
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|
hours at a time, not feeding them until 9:30 p.m. (which is why most left at
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|
that time) because "we figured you'd eat on the plane."
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|
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My concern was always that the organization was going to be a shambles,
|
|
and that people wouldn't get their money's worth in terms of what was
|
|
promised. My crew/actors, they'd be fine; but the rest, I feared, would be a
|
|
disaster. It appears I was correct.
|
|
|
|
As with the Planet Hollywood situation, there were even more problems
|
|
behind the scenes, more horror stories, that the fans don't know about because
|
|
the actors/participants try to put on a good face...but those are very much in
|
|
evidence in calls I've had since the convention. Actors who were promised
|
|
first-class tickets, only to discover that they'd have to PERSONALLY pay money
|
|
for that upgrade, forced to fly coach; a person who claimed to have invested
|
|
$30,000 into the convention, no contract, just on the word of those involved,
|
|
who saw how the con was organized and indicated his belief that he had just
|
|
lost his investment.
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Not good, not good....
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 26
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Message 558 Tue Jun 27, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:57 EDT
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Yet another cover story blown to hell. But who would notice, among so
|
|
many?
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jms
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------------
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Category 18, Topic 26
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|
Message 590 Thu Jun 29, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:59 EDT
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One could *choose* to have fun at a hanging; but should you have to work
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|
that hard at it, and should not things promised be things delivered?
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jms
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