JMS on GEnie
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June 1996 postings
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SFRT II RoundTable
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Category 18, Topic 1
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Message 374 Sun Jun 02, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:30 EDT
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Yes, B5 is filmed widescreen, the full horizontal range restored
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by going back to the original negs. (After coming back from Wolf 359 I'll
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actually get to see a full-widescreen version at WB.)
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You can get screwed in widescreen sometimes; I had the regular
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aspect ratio of Cabaret, searched for the wide, found it...and discovered
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that when they ran it in theaters, they just masked off the top and bottom
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of the frame for the widescreen effect, and the regular aspect ratio was
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the one where you could see all of it, not the wide.
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One reason there's no diffusion in space is that there's no
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atmosphere in space to PROVIDE the diffusion; haze and the like is a
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atmosphere effect.
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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 386 Mon Jun 03, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:49 EDT
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Though lately, from what I've been hearing from ST-oriented cons,
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the toys aren't selling as well from ST anymore. At the big blow-out ST
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convention in Pasadena a few weeks ago, the 30th anniversary one, some
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DS9 stuff sold, less Voyager stuff sold...and they had to send back to the
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warehouse twice for B5 stuff.
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Now, as an aside....
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Warners has been running the numbers on renewal, and we've been
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told that the numbers look right, and will be recommended for renewal. Now
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that's not the same *as* renewal, there are still some execs who need to
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stamp the thing and say domini domini over it (as John Copeland says),
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(in nomine patre, et fili, et spiritus sanctus, ACTION!")...it would take
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a huge and unexpected event to stop it now, and that doesn't seem likely
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at all. So while I wouldn't say this is an eep, that formally hasn't
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happened yet, and it's WB's perogative to actually make that
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announcement, I'd certainly consider this at least an e.
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I make a point of saying this only because I'm going to be in the
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UK this coming week, and thus offline, and won't be able to post any eeps
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that might be forthcoming.
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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 624 Wed Jun 12, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:30 EDT
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Just got in late last night, still catching up...yes, we've been
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renewed. I dearly wanted to announce it here before I left, as has been
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traditional, but it couldn't be done until we had the formal, final pickup
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notification from WB, until which time it ain't real, and a) things can
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still go wrong, and b) the last time I said something too early WB rapped
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my knuckles. It wasn't truly official until late Friday.
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We begin shooting again August 26th.
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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 413 Thu Jun 13, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:49 EDT
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Araratus: most messages pass in front of me, but given that I see
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about 500 or so per day, sometimes individual questions slip past me.
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Kwicker: a certain poet once wrote, "Truth is beauty, and beauty
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truth; this is all you know and all you need to know." If there is any
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beauty to the work, then it contains truth, and thus cannot be a lie. A
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story only has value wherein it touches an even greater Truth, perhaps
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even a universal truth.
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Fiction, at its best, is truth...it's the real world that's a
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lie.
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Sleep tight.
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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 656 Fri Jun 14, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:59 EDT
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But y'see, the Eep is only used when I know for sure it's renewed
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and can't say so. Now it's renewed and I can say so, and I was away for
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the very brief in-between...to misuse the power of the Eep is a serious
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infraction.
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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 705 Sun Jun 16, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:17 EDT
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"Ratings for all syndicated dramas have dropped."
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Incorrect, in at least one case. B5's ratings this quarter have
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been our highest in some time, so we're definitely on an upswing.
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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 391 Wed Jun 19, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:58 EDT
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WB is coming down hard on all its shows (or so I'm told), on the
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theory that a con showing = a theatrical exhibition, and they can be fined
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hundreds of bucks by the showbiz guilds. Now, in the history of hollywood,
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this has never, ever happened...but the lawyers got their noses into it...and
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at that point, you're doomed.
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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 395 Thu Jun 20, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:48 EDT
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Nope, they won't allow that. It ain't the slate, it's the
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guilds. And we can't show scenes with guest stars, either. And we
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can't take more than 4 minutes out of any given episode.
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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 544 Thu Jun 27, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:53 EDT
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Well, just finished the first (writer's) draft of "The Hour of
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the Wolf," the first episode of year 4, to be directed by David Eagle.
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It was a tough one, like all first-episode scripts...but quite
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interesting, in its way. Once again the show takes a somewhat different
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tone, I'm using some tools I somewhat developed in the background in year
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3 and am now trying in foreground, very interesting mood change...a good
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start.
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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 258 Fri Jun 28, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:49 EDT
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Here's what the talk shows tell us: "Sorry, but you're a
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syndicated show, and nobody knows from syndication, so our viewers
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wouldn't be interested."
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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 261 Sat Jun 29, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:49 EDT
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At some point along the way, somebody decided to mail out the B5
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newsletters bulk mail. This is problematic at best. So we're going
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to start switching over to 1st or 2nd class to ensure delivery. They're
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going out in batches.
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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 270 Sat Jun 29, 1996
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STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:30 EDT
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New episodes (the last of season 3) start in October.
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So the good part, such as it is, is that we'll play 5 in October,
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then 4 or 5 in November, so you're looking at 9-10 in a row, almost half a
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season in one go.
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jms
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