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878 lines
40 KiB
878 lines
40 KiB
Compiled by David Strauss (dstrauss@netcom.com).
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 31
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Message 76 Thu Dec 07, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:04 EST
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Yes, from what Ivanova tells Lyta, about two weeks have passed since the
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apprehension of Edward's killer; and yes, with slight modifications to prevent
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mindwipes from running into one another, they usually use preset templates in
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creating a basic history for the person to be wiped.
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jms
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------------
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 870 Fri Dec 08, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:06 EST
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Jose: "glad to have you back on rastb5 again"...huh? I'm not on rastb5,
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in limited fashion or otherwise. Are you perhaps referring to the info group?
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Re: inspiration...in general this has meant people coming to me and
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saying that because of the show, they've chosen to get involved in charities,
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or social causes, or to register voters, or work in shelters; in Dallas at a
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small convention I was at, a young man stood up in the seminar and said that
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he was changing his major to social work because of the show...in email I
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received a note from a fellow who, inspired by the notion that you can choose
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a better life, relocated with his wife halfway across the country, against the
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"advice" of everyone else, and created a new and better life doing *exactly*
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what he wants to do with his life.
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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 879 Fri Dec 08, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:38 EST
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Hrmmm...it was my understanding that the reposts/answers would go on
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the rastb5-info group. I'll have to check this out.
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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 616 Sun Dec 10, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:48 EST
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Yes, "CoS" is a deliberate mirror-image of "Midnight," partly to
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illustrate the notion that "the wheel turns," as G'Kar says...yes, it does,
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and if you forget that it eventually turns on *you*, you'll be ground beneath
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it.
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I enjoyed Wing Commander 3, and will almost certainly buy WC3, but won't
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play it until I've finished writing for the season, for obvious reasons....
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jms
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(oops, meant to say WC4 above)
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 642 Mon Dec 11, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:34 EST
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jms does not do christmas, that's correct.
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BTW, B5's own conceptual consultant Harlan Ellison will be signing copies
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of his new CD Rom game, "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream" at Tower
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Records/Video in two locations this week: from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday,
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December 13th, at 8801 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, and in San Francisco
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on Thursday, December 14th, from 6-8 p.m. at 3205 20th Avenue.
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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 648 Mon Dec 11, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:32 EST
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Haven't tried the game yet, or ANY of the games now in my hands, or that
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I'm intending to buy, 'cause if I get into them (like Mechwarrior 2) I know
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that it'll take hours and hours from the writing; when the season's over, then
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I can do that.
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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 661 Tue Dec 12, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:18 EST
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Jeff: yep, that was you I was thinking of...thanks for leaping up and
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helping indicate I'm not senile (well, yet, anyway).
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Re: Mechwarrior 2...I don't have any first-hand experience with the game,
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so don't take my purchase as recommendation; I'd just read some of the
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reviews, and figured I'd check it out.
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Re: Sinclair as the One...funny how all this time very few folks have
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really commented much on how it was that Zathras could look right into
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Sinclair's face and say, "NOT the One."
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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 670 Tue Dec 12, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 17:47 EST
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Basically, she doesn't have any one style; it's whatever she feels like
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that day. The military rule is that the hair has to be kept either off,
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above, or away from the rank insignia.
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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 687 Wed Dec 13, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:27 EST
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Actually, I tend to spend the same amount of time here as anywhere else;
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more, in fact. I inevitably log onto GEnie minimum of twice a day; I
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sometimes go a couple/three days without logging onto AOL, for instance,
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though then I post several messages at a time, so you get a flurry. As for
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CIS, bear in mind that I've been on that service LONG before GEnie even came
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along, since 1984/85, and that has the benefit of using an offline
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reader/posting program, Tapcis...I've tried Aladdin, and can't get it to do
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the stuff I want...this isn't an invitation to teach me, I don't have time for
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the learning curve right now...so everything you see from me here on GEnie is
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written live, on-line. That sometimes mitigates a *bit* against the number of
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posts, but no more so than at any time before.
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The video thing didn't come out as an announcement, but rather as an
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aside to an ongoing discussion that touched into this area. It wasn't a case
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of, "Aha! I have this to announce, so I'll do it HERE rather than on GEnie."
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That's just where it occured to me in the natural progression of messages.
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Just like stuff gets mentioned here that sometimes doesn't get mentioned
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elsewhere. Which is why there are a number of folks out there collecting my
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posts on various services and reposting them onto other services, because I
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don't generally talk about the same stuff in all these different places. If I
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just did redundent postings, there'd be no need for that.
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Finally, if there *is* any numerical difference in postings -- and I
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dispute that premise -- it may come from the fact that in general, on the
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newer places, I tend to get a lot more specific questions than here; and most
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of the ones here, or in general, tend to be "is this going to happen," or
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asking for details on upcoming stuff, which I really can't answer often or in
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great specificity.
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I still consider GEnie and CIS my two primary services, having been here
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the longest...but let's not get proprietary here....
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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 692 Wed Dec 13, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 15:12 EST
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The actor who plays Pinky, Maurice LeMarche, is a friend, so that may
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explain the connection.
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jms
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(Maurice also did the voice of Egon Spengler in TRGBs)
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------------
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 704 Thu Dec 14, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:04 EST
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I won't be finished writing this season's scripts until...right around
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the first week in March, give or take. At the end of a season, you generally
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get an advance script order while you're waiting around for the official word,
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usually for maybe 2 or 3 scripts tops, which comes around early April. The
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official writing season starts the day after the formal pickup, which is late
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May.
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So while the writing goes on to some extent year round, the really
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intense period is from June through March. Ten months, or about 42-44 weeks,
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so you're looking at one script every ten days to two weeks; we usually like
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to start filming with 4-6 finished scripts in-hand so that we have sufficient
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lead time to prep.
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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 524 Thu Dec 14, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:07 EST
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Bear in mind that the Agamemnon now has a captain of its own, and that
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captain isn't going to just turn over command of his destroyer every time
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Sheridan wants to take it out on a joy ride. Also, the really important
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missions Sheridan might use it for are probably things that the EA military
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division might not be comfortable with, and would never let him just take out
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a destroyer just like that.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 31
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Message 105 Tue Dec 12, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:14 EST
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The Centauri did not steal the bag; he had left long before Edward lost
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it (we see him drop and leave it behind in the hallway). AS Garibaldi said,
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someone found it and tried to sell it.
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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 721 Fri Dec 15, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:22 EST
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Have listened to and enjoyed some of Enigma's work, yes. Nice stuff.
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Can't predict fourth season script stuff at this early stage; one crisis
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at a time.
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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 734 Sat Dec 16, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:48 EST
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There are no plans for the foreseeable future of seeing Talia, so it's a
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moot point about the hair, I'd say....
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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 747 Sat Dec 16, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:28 EST
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Well, bear in mind it's not just a matter of designating someone
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"control," it's the whole implantation process that has to be done.
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Re: Ivanova's hair...yes, whenever she's in the starfury, it's tied away
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in back.
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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 476 Mon Dec 18, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:17 EST
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What y'all have to remember is that we produce 22 shows a year. There
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are 52 weeks in a year. That means that no matter how you slice it, you've
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got 30 weeks of reruns in there.
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RE: Talia...look, you've kinda got to look at this the way I do. Stuff
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happens. Yes, Talia was hoped for to be a key to the solution of the problem.
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(Not the key, but a key.) But if you do that, every single time, you become
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predictable. It means you, the audience, can relax. "Well, we know now that
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Talia will always get through this because she's the one they're hoping for."
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Suspense: gone. Story: suddenly predictable. There's no rule that every
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person who is hoped to help solve the problem in real life is gonna make it to
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the end or BE that solution. So if you delete that person, now it's "Oh,
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hell, NOW what're they gonna do?" which is more intrinsically interesting to
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me than the other option.
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Generally speaking, about once a year, toward the end of the year, I
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kinda look around at the characters with a loaded gun in my hand, and say,
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"Hmmm...if I take out *that* person, what happens? Is there anyone here I can
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afford to lose? Would it be more dramatically interesting to have this person
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alive, or dead? What is the absolute bare minimum of characters I need to get
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to the end of the story and achieve what I have to achieve?"
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It helps to really remember that this is a *novel*, and uses the
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structure of a novel. That means you have to have some real suprises as you
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go. Anyone is fair game. To the question "Why did you get rid of Sinclair?
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Why'd you get rid of Keffer? Why'd you get rid of Talia? Why'd you get rid
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of....oh, er, that hasn't happened yet...." there is only one answer: 'cause I
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felt like it, and 'cause I thought it'd make the story a lot more interesting.
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The stories I like best are the ones that ratchet up the tension and the
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uncertainty inch by inch until you're screaming. This could apply to any of
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Stephen King's novels (and recall that a lot of my background is in horror
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writing). Mother Abigail in THE STAND was supposed to be their hope for the
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future. So in short order she's vulture-food, JUST when she's most needed.
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*Because that's interesting*. It makes you say, "Oh, hell, NOW what?"
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(Stephen actually does that a lot in his books, and it's a technique I've
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learned as well.) Boromir in LoTR was a capable, skilled fighter, deemed
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absolutely essential to the Company of the Ring...oops, there he is by the
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tree, full of Orc arrows.
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Stuff happens.
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Same here.
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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 497 Tue Dec 19, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:02 EST
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There was always a Ranger going to be assigned to the station about this
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time, yes.
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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 509 Wed Dec 20, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:44 EST
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BTW, here's humor...though at the same time understandable given the
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penchant for some folks to abuse the nets by pretending to be other people...I
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got a call today from Claudia, who was trying to take part in a B5 IRC and
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kept getting booted out by folks yelling at her for the crime of pretending to
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be Claudia Christian. Nobody believed it was her. Perhaps in future we need
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to find some way to verify when this happens.
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(BTW, speaking of net abuse, I'm led to understand, from the sysadmin on
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the server in question, that Theron Fuller is no longer being allowed access
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to Usenet from his account.)
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 31
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Message 117 Wed Dec 20, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:00 EST
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I'd say there were extenuating circumstances here that made it more than
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just a simple murder (and not all murders get wiped, esp. in cases like second-
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degree or manslaughter). He'd stalked Edward for years; arranged to break the
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mindwipe; and engaged in slow, deliberate, methodical torture unto death. The
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degree of premeditation is staggering.
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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 538 Thu Dec 21, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:41 EST
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On those other services, the sysops arranged for conferences with the
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cast members involved. That could be done just as easily for GEnie as others.
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Just hasn't been done. To my knowledge, no one's been invited. (I think it's
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been mentioned in my direction once or twice, but not for a while, and I don't
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think anything was really ever pinned down, but my memory isn't all it
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was...if it ever was....)
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jms
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------------
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 542 Thu Dec 21, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:30 EST
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You want to know how much Joe has been writing lately? You want to know
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the goofy side of it?
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I write with keyboard in lap, leaning back, legs in a broken-4 position
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(left ankle crossing right knee) to support it. Well, I've been writing so
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much, so *long*, lately that I recently discovered that there is now an actual
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indentation in my left leg, just above the ankle, where it's been abraded by
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cloth, and the circulatoin's been hindered, and there's been constant pressure
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placed on it. I've actually lost some sensitivity in that 5-inch section.
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THAT'S how much I've been writing this year.
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I need a vacation.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 43
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Message 1 Thu Dec 21, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:46 EST
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We hope to *FINALLY* be able to announce the formation of the official
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Babylon 5 Fan Club within the next 7 days or so. From time to time, news
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about this will get dropped here, and we can use this for notices relating to
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the club, and information about joining and such.
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We've been negotiating with WB for *over a year* to let us do this, and
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it's taken a long time mainly because they didn't think anyone would be
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interested in a fan club for something not ST. (Sound familiar?) But
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finally, after much persistence, we're finally at a point where I can say I
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think it's going to happen at last. Stay tuned....
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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 260 Fri Dec 22, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:12 EST
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Actually, bear in mind that the American system operates through a series
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of checks and balances; there's freedom of speech, but there are penalties if
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you use that freedom to write defamatory newspapers, for instance. In
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cyberspace, the checks and balances are more than a little overdrawn....
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Tom: to your question...I do know that Terry Nation wrote a full season
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of Blake's 7, though I don't know how many episodes that was. Some folks have
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checked around, and as near as can be determined, in American TV, no one
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person has ever singlehandedly written an entire season of a one-hour dramatic
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series in the entire 50 years or so of TV history.
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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 280 Fri Dec 22, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:58 EST
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Kwicker & Jose: exactly my point. Kelley *co-wrote* all of a season, or
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all but one of a season, sometimes supplying the story, or rewriting another's
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script...but no one's done it *singlehandedly* before.
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So Nation did 13 episodes that season? Well, then looks like that
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record's been broken already; 17 this season already. Plus 4 from the end of
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last season, so when this is all over (year 3) that'll be 26 in a row,
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unbroken. (Or is it 27? What aired before the final four?)
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This is probably the ultimate in trivial details, but it's the sort of
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thing that helps me keep going.
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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 287 Sat Dec 23, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 06:26 EST
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Actually, in each TZ season, there were many other writers, though
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Serling wrote the majority of each season (also, the lion's share of TZ
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episodes were *half-hours*, not hours). But fundamentally, what matters most
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is not the volume or quantity of scripts, but the quality of what goes IN
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them. I'd rather write 1 good script than 4 mediocre scripts.
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 19, Topic 31
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Message 127 Fri Dec 22, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:50 EST
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Actually, in legal terms, in order to qualify for "a crime of passion"
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there cannot be premeditation; it happens suddenly, in the heat of the moment.
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By virtue of stalking Edward for nine years, the "crime of passion" defense
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quickly goes by the boards
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jms
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 43
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Message 6 Fri Dec 22, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:00 EST
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No, the club is designed for both on- and offline fans.
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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 297 Sat Dec 23, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:27 EST
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Actually, I always kinda thought that the people granted the people
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their rights, then created the government to arbitrate in the dispute over the
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use of those rights.
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For a glimpse on how ST stories get written, btw, pick up the latest
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copy of WIRED. I know this kind of thing works for some folks, but it just
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makes my hair stand on end.
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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 315 Sun Dec 24, 1995
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:37 EST
|
|
|
|
I guess what amazed me most was either Berman or Pillar coming right out
|
|
and saying ST "is a formula." Just that simple. I about fell off my chair.
|
|
|
|
BTW, on the question of effects...here's one that's kinda interesting, in
|
|
that I've seen a few comments here and there about how we must've mapped the
|
|
CGI fireball into the hallway in "Convictions" where Londo jumps into the
|
|
transport tube. Some even offered you could tell the fire was CGI.
|
|
|
|
Nooooooop.
|
|
|
|
Here's how that shot was done: we built a miniature hallway (actually,
|
|
"miniature" ain't the right word; it was something like 30 feet long or more).
|
|
Painted it so that it looked exactly like the regular B5 hallways. On film
|
|
you absolutely can't tell the difference. Then we mounted the hallway
|
|
*vertically* alongside the outside of the main building here. Set the camer
|
|
at the top, pointing down into the hall. We built a firebomb and set it at
|
|
the far end of the hall (on the bottom, in other words). We then set off the
|
|
firebomb (with all the proper authorities present), so that it shot up the
|
|
length of the vertical hall. We overcranked the camera so it'd start in slow-
|
|
motion, then pulled the plug so that the camera slowed down to normal
|
|
speed...giving the sense of the fire swelling, then suddenly rushing forward
|
|
with a huge fireball. So when it looks like the "hallway" is on fire...it
|
|
is. Real fire.
|
|
|
|
Next we shot Londo (Peter) against a bluescreen, reacting to this, then
|
|
diving to his left. We then comp'd the bluescreen into the hallway, and used
|
|
CGI to build a transport tube door to Londo's left, which then closed just as
|
|
the fire reached it.
|
|
|
|
It was an utterly immense amount of work for, basically, a five second
|
|
shot...but it looks 'way cool.
|
|
|
|
jms
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------------
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 328 Sun Dec 24, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:57 EST
|
|
|
|
Effects shots like this one were/are supervised via our EFX supervisor,
|
|
Ted Rae, working closely with the director and folks from Foundation.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
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------------
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SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 357 Tue Dec 26, 1995
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|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 06:38 EST
|
|
|
|
Now, kids, play nice....
|
|
|
|
Sue: as you're looking at the fireball approaching toward camera, he
|
|
jumps to our left. Trust me on this.
|
|
|
|
jms
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------------
|
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SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 304 Mon Dec 25, 1995
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|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:45 EST
|
|
|
|
The comment is quite correct; we never once verbally identified
|
|
Londo's...extension for what it was. We intimated, and left it in the
|
|
sophistication of the viewer to figure it out. Same with the Talis (er,
|
|
Talia) situation.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 370 Tue Dec 26, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:38 EST
|
|
|
|
Re: formula...yes, but remember that all the shows you cite, THE
|
|
HONEYMOONERS, I LOVE LUCY, and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE were all shows of a time
|
|
that lent itself to formula, all of the 50s and 60s. You set a format and you
|
|
never wavered from that. (But even in those, there was some room to maneuver;
|
|
remember the DICK VAN DYKE show which was one long dream about alien invasions
|
|
and closets full of walnuts? Even there some were experimenting and pushing
|
|
the envelope.)
|
|
|
|
Since then, television has grown, and changed, and the better shows tend
|
|
to be the ones that are most groundbreaking, least formulaic. You look at
|
|
TWIN PEAKS, or NYPD BLUE, or PICKET FENCES, and they're fresh, innovative,
|
|
interesting.
|
|
|
|
This is probably the one area where I have my biggest beef with ST. The
|
|
logic goes that if you're a new, untested show, you can't afford to take
|
|
risks, you have to build your audience. But ST has, however you wish to
|
|
phrase it, a guaranteed audience. It *can* take chances. It *does* have the
|
|
money for big episodes. But what it does is to stay within very strictly
|
|
proscribed boundaries. It's like having this incredibly powerful, souped up
|
|
Porsche...and using it to drive around the block to the corner store for
|
|
groceries.
|
|
|
|
ST is a program rooted strongly in the 1960s form of storytelling. It's
|
|
frozen in time, I think, when it could be innovative, challenging, dynamic.
|
|
It chooses, deliberately, not to be that. And if that's what people like
|
|
about it, then that's fine. I just think it's a tremendously wasted
|
|
opportunity to present something for the 90s that would be as innovative and
|
|
imaginative and challenging as the original ST was in the 60s.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
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SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 380 Tue Dec 26, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:47 EST
|
|
|
|
Actually, if you want to hold off a bit on the conversion, you may want
|
|
to consider using the first new ep coming in January, "Voices of Authority."
|
|
It has elements of the sense of wonder, some good background on the show,
|
|
advances the storyline bigtime, and has some of the funniest stuff we've ever
|
|
done. Something for everyone.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 390 Wed Dec 27, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:58 EST
|
|
|
|
Err...I think something may not have been understood, or maybe my syntax
|
|
was sloppy...what I'd intended, and what I think is still there in the
|
|
message, was that I'd hoped that ST today would be as exciting in the 90s as
|
|
it was in the 60s. That was kinda my point, that ST in its first incarnation
|
|
*was* innovative and interesting and imaginative; I hope that wasn't
|
|
misconstrued.
|
|
|
|
(And Jose...yes, you're probably right on that distinction between the
|
|
two kinds of Trek.)
|
|
|
|
Came across this in my email tonight (it's now a tick before 3 a.m.).
|
|
|
|
This leads me to a request, which I am writing by email since I don't
|
|
have access to CompuServe or GEnie, but please feel free to respond to it
|
|
publicly rather than privately if you wish, since others may be interested
|
|
in your response as well. I would be fascinated, if you would care to
|
|
talk about it, about your writing process. Do you have a set time, a
|
|
predetermined schedule in which to write? Are you *able* to write like
|
|
that? Do you write rapidly? easily? enjoyably? Do you read your work-
|
|
in-progress aloud to hear the language? Do you solicit feedback from
|
|
others? Do you revise? much? What kind of revisions are you likely to
|
|
make? And if you do make revisions, do they occur as you go along, or
|
|
afterwards, or a combination? And, finally, would it be possible for you
|
|
to post (or email) any bits of writing showing the revision process?
|
|
|
|
I'm refraining from asking all the related questions I'd love to know the
|
|
answers to, but if this is a topic you'd be willing to discuss and think
|
|
I/we would be interested in other details as well, please do talk about
|
|
them. Thank you so much.
|
|
|
|
Marcia Goldstein
|
|
|
|
Since these were good questions, I thought I'd tackle them here. To the
|
|
first: no, I don't have a set time, except that I pretty much end up writing
|
|
all the time...when I get up, when I'm fighting sleep to go to bed, in-
|
|
between...basically, I chew on a scene over and over in my head until I'm
|
|
satisfied with it, then I write it down. Sometimes that process goes on at
|
|
the desk, or over dinner, or watching TV...but as soon as it comes through, I
|
|
get up and I write it. Consequently, once I've thought it through, "seen" it
|
|
in my head a couple dozen times like watching a movie, the actual writing, or
|
|
transcribing, is fairly easy. It's the thinking part that makes Zathras' head
|
|
hurt.
|
|
|
|
Most of my revisions take place before anyone else sees it; I don't
|
|
generally turn over the script until I'm happy with it. At that point, it's
|
|
published as an official first draft, even though it may have gone through
|
|
multiple revisions in my computer before anyone else ever saw it. Sometimes,
|
|
though, I get it right the first time, and what gets shot is basically first
|
|
draft. Once it's turned it, there are additional revisions, but usually of a
|
|
minor nature, changing sets to accommodate shooting, or just changing a word.
|
|
(I've been known to reissue a full page when we get into blues or pinks *just*
|
|
to change a word or two.)
|
|
|
|
I never read the words aloud because then they all come out sounding like
|
|
me; I can "hear" them better in my head, where I can hear the actual tenor of
|
|
Londo's voice. I never solicit opinions on pages while I'm still writing,
|
|
only afterward, and mainly in terms of production aspects. To do otherwise
|
|
risks you losing your direction and second-guessing too much.
|
|
|
|
Do I enjoy it? Yes and no. Writing is the one, the ONLY thing I'm good
|
|
at. Writing is also the hardest thing I do. I agonize over every word,
|
|
always fighting the fear that this one won't be as good as the last one, that
|
|
this time I won't be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat. Sometimes, when
|
|
a scene comes through completely of its own volition, it's great fun; when it
|
|
doesn't, it's agony. Sometimes I enjoy the writing process; sometimes I more
|
|
enjoy *having* written. It's kinda like taking a portable speed drill with a
|
|
3/4" steel bit and driving it into the side of your head...it's painful, but
|
|
after the first four inches in, you kinda start to like it....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
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SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 322 Tue Dec 26, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:48 EST
|
|
|
|
Mike: suffice to say there are some...interesting moments coming up soon
|
|
between Refa and Londo. There are a number of showdowns coming up this
|
|
season, between a lot of different characters, over stuff that's been building
|
|
up for a while now. We'll see where this one goes.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 411 Wed Dec 27, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:01 EST
|
|
|
|
Rick: exactly. I think the show will thus be perceived differently when
|
|
its stripped daily, just as you mentioned.
|
|
|
|
Executor: I have to take exception to the notion that it's not "written
|
|
by committee." I happen to know many of the people who do, and have, worked
|
|
over there. (And there is no one "script editor" you refer to there.) On
|
|
every episode, once the freelancer or staffer does an outline, it's brought in
|
|
and the story is "broken" (their terms) by all of the available
|
|
writers/producers/story editors gathered into one room who invariably tear it
|
|
apart and rebuild it, with someone writing on a chalkboard where everything's
|
|
going, changing it as the group changes stuff. Jeri Taylor confirmed this in
|
|
an interview with her; the Wired in-depth story does the same; and I know the
|
|
people who've worked there in this capacity. And, I'm sorry, but a group of 7
|
|
or so people sitting around a room and throwing out ideas about how the story
|
|
should go *is* a committee. Before you come back with this, I suggest you
|
|
read the article in question, lest you commit the crime you decry, that of
|
|
speaking from ignorance.
|
|
|
|
Sue: no, it's our left *and* Londo's left. As the fireball comes toward
|
|
us, he's standing with his back to us, looking at the fire. The door is to
|
|
his, and our, left.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 424 Thu Dec 28, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:29 EST
|
|
|
|
YAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH.....
|
|
|
|
Well, I *finally* finished writing the two-parter, "War Without End,"
|
|
which is probably the toughest thing I've written for the series to date.
|
|
Given everything that has to fit in here, and the fact that it's the other
|
|
half of the B4 storyline (this ain't a spoiler, that'll be common knowledge in
|
|
ads and the like), it became a pretty difficult job, moreso than when I'd
|
|
originally thunk it up. It's kinda like cramming 20 pounds of potatoes in a
|
|
10 pound bag...but I *think* I got it all in, even though the initial drafts
|
|
came out at about 7 pages too long. As I commented to one person, "I'm
|
|
definitely dancing on the edge of my ability here." But I'm pretty sure I
|
|
pulled it all off...and I think folks are going to be quite pleased.
|
|
|
|
But *man* that was tough....
|
|
|
|
Now, having written 16 and 17, only 5 scripts remain to be written for
|
|
this season. And there's still an awful lot to fit in before the big season
|
|
ender, which I suspect will raise quite a few eyebrows.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 2
|
|
Message 329 Wed Dec 27, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:03 EST
|
|
|
|
Thanks. Though I knew about the gaff a LONG time before it was to air
|
|
here in the US, I let the east/west thing go through as shot for the very
|
|
first broadcast because I was afraid that the loop might hurt the scene, and
|
|
it was *so* perfectly done. That over, I decided it was worth taking a shot
|
|
at it. If your friend didn't notice, then we did it right. So now those who
|
|
taped the first broadcast have something that'll never be seen again (if I
|
|
have anything to say about it).
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 43
|
|
Message 10 Thu Dec 28, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:20 EST
|
|
|
|
The email response I sent is correct, the release is valid, just not
|
|
written the way I'd've preferred; it makes too much of the fiscal aspects of
|
|
the darned thing.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 446 Thu Dec 28, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:40 EST
|
|
|
|
Kim: this was probably the most logistically difficult, since I had so
|
|
many elements "in play" at any given moment, and so many threads to deal with,
|
|
even though there's really just the one overall storyline (it's hard to
|
|
explain, you'll just have to see it). Other things have been more difficult
|
|
for other reasons...either it was too emotionally close to me, or I've been
|
|
under a killer deadline, it varies.
|
|
|
|
Pat: you fall into the trap of accepted cliche re: committee writing.
|
|
That's the usual picture people have of TV writing, and frankly, in the case
|
|
of most dramatic TV, it ain't true. For starters, two of the shows you cite
|
|
are sitcoms; sitcoms work differently from dramatic series in that there's
|
|
often (though not always) a gang of gag writers who work in tandem to come up
|
|
with an episode, with someone transcribing the jokes, around a basic premise.
|
|
Other times you get a writing team, one knows structure, the other is funny;
|
|
ain't the same deal as dramatic writing.
|
|
|
|
I've been involved in a LOT of dramatic television, from MURDER SHE WROTE
|
|
to WALKER to TWILIGHT ZONE and JAKE, and it's just not done by committee.
|
|
When it comes to my scripts, as a staffer, I write them on my own, get my
|
|
notes from the exec producer, make the changes, and it goes into production.
|
|
In the case of a freelancer, the outline and script come in, the writer gets
|
|
notes from the story editor or producer, does the next draft, turns that in,
|
|
and someone on staff then takes the script and makes whatever final changes --
|
|
minor or major -- are required to make it producible or a better story.
|
|
Sometimes you don't touch it at *all* except to make production (set) changes;
|
|
sometimes it's more. But you've got just the original writer, and usually one
|
|
staffer doing cleanup. It ain't three, four or seven guys in a room throwing
|
|
around ideas. If a staffer does a huge rewrite, sometimes you'll put in for
|
|
shared credit. (The reason you see ten zillion writer credits in many ST
|
|
episodes is due to the gang rewriting/writing process.)
|
|
|
|
I'm not saying it doesn't happen at all in dramatic TV, because that
|
|
wouldn't be true...only that it's not the rule, and is much rarer than you
|
|
might think. Not one of the dramatic series I've been involved with has ever
|
|
worked that way.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 1
|
|
Message 473 Fri Dec 29, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:40 EST
|
|
|
|
Let me see if I've got this straight...Executor says that ST is not
|
|
written by committee...I say that it is...he says it's not, and that "reality
|
|
doesn't care" if I take exception to his statement that ST is written by
|
|
committee...and then he states that ST *must* be written by committee, and
|
|
thus it IS written by committee, which means I was correct and reality is on
|
|
my side.
|
|
|
|
At some point here I think somebody fell down the rabbit hole....
|
|
|
|
And then I'm contradicted quoting the "script editor" for ST, when I say
|
|
there IS no such creature working on the show, and in fact despite being told
|
|
I'm wrong by Executor, he turn turns around and reveals that the "editor" in
|
|
question is John Ordover, who edits the BOOKS, not the show, and is NOT a
|
|
script editor, which I said doesn't exist, which again shows that reality is
|
|
on my side....
|
|
|
|
This is makings Zathras' head hurt....
|
|
|
|
Re: the "stupid thread," and the "effective end of similarity" being that
|
|
the two shows were set on space stations...oh, you mean absent the fact that
|
|
the two shows both were helmed by commander ranked officers who had survived
|
|
major and emotionally devastating battles, both had female seconds-in-command,
|
|
both had a shapeshifter in their pilots, both had the female second leading a
|
|
counter-attack to a massive attack in that same pilot, and a lot of other
|
|
stuff in common....oh, you mean absent all THAT it's the "effective end of
|
|
similarity." Gotcha.
|
|
|
|
"Writing teams can come up with ideas better than one writer." Well,
|
|
THAT should certainly put Hemingway, and Shakespeare, and Dickens, and Wilde,
|
|
and Borges, and Faulkner, and Dostoeyvsky, and Marlowe in their place,
|
|
yessir...and I'm sure you are now prepared to name the committees of writers
|
|
that have come up with better than individual writers. I eagerly await them.
|
|
|
|
As for your comments on how TV writing and production works...rarely have
|
|
I seen misinformation so breathtakingly portrayed. Saying it's so doesn't
|
|
make it so.
|
|
|
|
Finally, as for being bugged by email, I almost always see this when
|
|
somebody gets his or her hide branded in public forums; if you have these,
|
|
notify GEnie. Otherwise, it leads me to doubt if they exist, and to consider
|
|
that you're just saying that to get sympathy on your side, 'cause the *facts*
|
|
sure as heck aren't.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|
|
SFRT II RoundTable
|
|
Category 18, Topic 43
|
|
Message 16 Sun Dec 31, 1995
|
|
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:54 EST
|
|
|
|
One other aspect I forgot to mention is that if we do the tapes, there
|
|
are residuals and royalties to pay to actors, writers, directors as well as to
|
|
WB and elsewhere. The more you put on a tape, the more residuals you end up
|
|
paying per tape...and the more the prices is going go up. It's not the same
|
|
as copying a bunch of tapes for a friend; we have to pay everyone who
|
|
participated in the episode.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
------------
|