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The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
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===========================================================================
| This text is compiled from posts by J. Michael Straczynski on the Usenet
| group rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5. This document contains material Copyright
| 1994 J. Michael Straczynski. He has given permission for his words to be
| redistributed online, as long as they are marked as being copyright JMS.
| This document, as well as other Babylon-5 related material, is available
| by anonymous FTP at ftp.hyperion.com.
===========================================================================
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 1 Sep 1994 00:48:15 -0400
Subject: Re: SPOILEd math in Quality of
Just as long as you don't name any of your cats Kosh, you should be
okay.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 1 Sep 1994 01:59:00 -0400
Subject: ATTN:JMS-Improvisation:yes or
When you're shooting a show, invariably you get to the stage and
find that you have, for instance, three lines, one per character in the
room...and you're trying to get them out the door, and it moves better
if you give one line to one character and the other two to the other
character. That sometimes happens. But rarely. In the Garibaldi's yell
case, it was written as a quick shot, he yells and we're out. The
director wanted to extend the shot a bit, visually. I wasn't in the
studio at the time, so Jerry improvised a series of yells.
This sort of thing is *extremely* rare on the show; the actors and
directors know they *cannot* change dialogue on the set without approval
from me or Larry. On any given script, no more than about 3-6 lines get
modified for staging purposes once we get to the set. And always with
approval required. This is an absolute, hard and fast rule. The only
reason the Garibaldi thing happened is that they figured it was just a
yell, so nothing could get messed up story-wise (which is the primary
reason this is so strict; change one word in a line and it could screw
up plot points three episodes down the road) by having him yell a few
specific lines. If I'd been there for that scene, I would've written him
something a little less reminiscent of "Aliens."
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 1 Sep 1994 01:59:08 -0400
Subject: Yet another question for JMS..
I would love to have David Warner do another episode, though it would
have to be an alien, for obvious reasons.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 1 Sep 1994 02:23:06 -0400
Subject: jms, i got a gripe! 8-) How co
Be patient; you'll see Centauri warships soon enough.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 1 Sep 1994 15:33:58 -0400
Subject: Re: [B5] Liar liar pants on fi
No, the ABCD comment wasn't meant in your direction, Jim, but due to
my GEnie mail reader, sometimes I can only get into a discussion by
replying to whatever message in the thread is in my box at the time.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 1 Sep 1994 15:34:06 -0400
Subject: JMS: Will we see big guns blaz
Believe me, by the time this story is done, you'll see *plenty* of
big guns and major engagements. It's fairly clear in the bits and pieces
that we're moving toward one hell of a conflagration.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 2 Sep 1994 05:27:38 -0400
Subject: JMS: Water Buffalo
Unfortunately, I don't know what the statute of limitations minimums
are up in Canada....
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 2 Sep 1994 19:06:54 -0400
Subject: Babylon 5 Novels
Correction to the LOCUS report: the first novel is "Voices," not
"El Diablo," which was an early premise that didn't work out.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 3 Sep 1994 02:25:25 -0400
Subject: Joe's Life Being Ebbed By Radi
Actually, as I understand it, lead *magnifies* the EMF problem, so
a lead-lined jockstrap is not something I contemplate with any degree of
calm.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 3 Sep 1994 02:29:18 -0400
Subject: The Writers/Directors List for
Some addendums: Larry, Christy and David Gerrold all also worked for
me on TRGBs. Mark Moretti is now writing books 2-5 of the B5 comic. The
first Vornholt novel isn't "El Diablo," a premise that didn't work out,
but "Voices." Add Jerry Jameson to the list of directors, doing episode
#8 for year two. (Probably an episode called "The Coming of Shadows.")
On my behalf, have written more than just the one comie; wrote single
issues of Teen Titans Spotlight, TZ comic, and the Star Trek comic. Also
2 novels and a bunch of other stuff.
Larry's second B5 script is entitled "GROPOS."
Also Kevin Cremin and John Flinn will both direct an episode this
season.
Both David and DC will be starting new scripts soon.
I've just completed my fourth script for the season, "A Race Through
Dark Places," shooting #7.
Lois Tilton is writing B5 novel #2.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 3 Sep 1994 04:29:09 -0400
Subject: The hiring of Boxleitner
For what it's worth, Sheridan is neither a "space cowboy" nor a
"gung ho type." This description has nothing to do with the character,
and I'm not quite sure where you got this. Certainly I never said or
implied it.
Captain John Sheridan is a war hero, of sorts; he squeaked out the
only real victory of the Earth/Minbari War. (Which means the Minbari
don't generally like him a lot.) He did what he did because that's his
job. He's a professional soldier. For the last two years, he's been
commanding the Agamemmnon, a high-visibility Earthforce starship on deep
patrol. As such, he has had to learn to work with a number of different
races and species.
In some ways, his character is somewhat more well-rounded than was
the case with Sinclair, over whom a general sense of doom often seemed to
hang. Sheridan is often very thoughtful and introspective; at other
times, he can be just a bit eccentric; he leads by respecting those who
work under him, and giving them room to grow; like any career officer, he
HATES the bureaucracy with a passion, and this is the one thing that can
drive him nuts; he knows that commanding B5 is a great opportunity, but
he also knows that his presence brings certain complications with it, and
he's very ambivilant about that aspect; he's the son of a diplomatic envoy
who disappeared on his 21st birthday, running off to see (of all things)
the new Dali Lama being installed; he has a very easygoing manner, and a
great sense of humor. He quickly re-forms a friendship with Ivanova, for
whom he has great respect and professional admiration. (For a time she
served under him at Io.)
He is, actually, a fascinating and intriguing character with a lot
of different shadings...none of which have *anything* to do with being a
"space cowboy" or "gung-ho type."
Anyway...point being...when it was announced that there was going to
be a new Lieutenant-Commander, a number of folks went ballistic and said
the show would now be ruined. I said, in essence, look...I created
Takashima; I can create an interesting character to replace her. And I
thunk up Ivanova, who according to the rec.arts.b5 poll is the most
popular character on the show. When it was announced that Sinclair would
be STAYING with the show, after the pilot, a number of folks said this
was bad, he was wooden, he stunk, get him off...and ended up being very
enamored of him. My only reply now about Bruce...give him, and me, a
chance. I genuinely think you will like what you see a *lot*.
In the course of the first season, Ivanova, Garibaldi, G'Kar, Londo,
Delenn, others...they've exploded into strong characters. You need an
equally strong character designed to hold his own, and be memorable, in
that august company. Sheridan was designed knowing we had a much
elevated playing field around the character.
Obviously, clearly, and irrefutably, an actor brings a *lot* to any
role. No question. But it tends to begin with what is created. I've seen
it said here, repeatedly, that none of the characters are uninteresting;
they all have lives, and agendas, that make them fascinating to watch:
Londo, Morden, G'Kar, Delenn, Garibaldi, Ivanova...what those characters
are came out of my head, in terms of who they are, what they say, what they
believe, where they came from and where they're going. Why would I invent
a new character that was any less involving, or interesting, o
multifaceted? Particularly knowing that he's going to be a central
character?
Speaking as someone who's been in fandom a long, long time, I know
there is always a tendency for panic, to assume the apocalypse is upon
us, that something is never going to be the same again. I heard this after
the Enterprise was destroyed in "The Search for Spock." I've heard this
a lot over the years. It's generally over-reaction and worry before anyone
has even seen a frame of film.
Bottom line being...wait and see, then judge. I've tried very hard
not to let you down, and I think so far I haven't done so...I have no
intention of starting now. Bruce is doing an absolutely *brilliant* job
as Captain Sheridan, bringing a thoughtfulness and intensity and
charm and intensity to the part that is a joy to behold. Give him a
chance.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 00:30:49 -0400
Subject: Re: Babylon 5 comics
Small correction: I'm writing issue #1, and supplied the premise for
issues 2-5, which are being written by Mark Moretti.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 00:30:55 -0400
Subject: Re: The hiring of Boxleitner
Dylan...m'boy...ah thinks, that is, ah thinks you jes' ain't wired
up entirely right....
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 00:31:02 -0400
Subject: JMS: Franke defecting?
Most composers work on multiple projects, including series. Chris
is still doing B5, and we'll be sure to make the two shows sound different.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 00:31:10 -0400
Subject: Harlan Ellison
The book is Harlan's autobiography, which he plans to write around
the year 2000, and yes, that's his photo. (He borrowed the prop when we
were finished and casually carried it with him to a few places, just to
make people nuts thinking there was a book out they'd missed....)
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 05:11:13 -0400
Subject: Re: Chrysalis preview seen at
Dan Wood: I think the original poster was having some fun; there was
no "Chrysalis" trailer VO anywhere, to my knowledge; that's simply the
text of a message I placed on GEnie a while back.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 05:11:20 -0400
Subject: Re: AAAIIIIEEE season finale '
Matthew: correct. A lot more happens in "Chrysalis" than happened
in "Signs and Portents."
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 05:25:25 -0400
Subject: B5 & Violence: Light Years Awa
I'm afraid your logic is so far from reality that I'm not sure it
can be called back. The Suits as you call them have NOT asked for more
violence or action in the show. In fact, as reported in the trades and
elsewhere, they have specifically asked for more character stuff and less
violence. (Basically...we're telling the story we're telling, and we were
already starting to focus in on our characters, and we're doing more of
that in year two, but we're not sacrificing action, which I happen to
like.)
Re: "...the morality of being entertained by murder and violence,"
I'm sorry, but this doesn't happen on television. People are entertained
by *representations* or *illusions* of those elements. No one on B5 has
ever been murdered or treated violently. This is a fiction-based series.
There's a difference.
I happen to feel strongly that the link between violence in the
streets and violence in TV/movies is hugely exaggerated by people who
think it's much easier to deal with the *picture* of the problem than it
is to deal with the *problem*. It's simpler to censor a TV show than it
is to clean up the streets, provide jobs, properly fund schools, put more
police on the streets, provide opportunities for young kids and get the
hard drugs out of the community.
Frank, if you took *every* show with even a modicum of action off
the air tomorrow...and left it off for seven days...there would not be
one less murder in South Central Los Angeles, or any of our other major
cities. Not one. Because television isn't the problem. Every few
years, the trendoids and the politicos decide that comic books are the
problem, or movies are the problem, or TV is the problem...but the
reality is that the PROBLEM is the problme, not the picture of the problem.
Not long ago, here in LA, a Santa Monica based anti-violence group
went out to a video store which had a big honking picture of a gun in its
front window, and picketed it. Half a block away was a GUN SHOP. But
they didn't picket that, they picketed the poster. They focused on the
picture of the problem, not the problem.
For me, action is a necessary component of drama. Meaning sometimes
people get hurt. You say, "ST expressed intelligence and humanism," and
my only reply -- and I mean no offense to the hard-core ST fans, of which
you are clearly one -- oftentimes it simply bored me to *tears*. Nothing
was really ever at stake. Everything was sanitized.
I feel that B5 expresses just as much intelligence and humanism as
any other show, including ST. Maybe more. And I'll tell you why. In
the ST:TNG universe, every human is perfect...no inner doubts, no violent
tendencies, they're *genetically engineered that way*. That's what they
have said. There's no quandry, no sense of questioning what should be
done, they don't have to overcome, they have already done so.
So you can look at that show, and decide, "Well, I guess humanity is
doomed to be violent until we can genetically engineer ourselves to be
otherwise." B5 humans aren't perfect. They're flawed and scared and
tempted by violence. They're just like us. And though their record isn't
perfect, they frequently find ways to solve problems WITHOUT violence. I
think this is *profoundly* more relevant and a stronger message to send,
that we can do it *today*. We have the same problems they have, and if
they can deal with it, maybe we can.
It is one thing to say, "Mankind has no further problems, no doubts,
no insecurities," and another to say, "Here are some demonstrations of
ways we can overcome our problems, doubts and insecurities." Someone
here recently posted a message "Everything I Need To Know In Life I
Learned in Babylon 5." I was really rather astonished to read it, because
it took all the principles we've expressed in the show, or many of them,
and put them all in one place...the capacity for self-sacrifice being one
of the principles of sentient life...that it is better to find something
worth living for than something worth dying for...on and on and on.
Humanism does not mean turning a blind eye to our problems; it means
trying to elevate humanity from *inside*. Intelligence doesn't mean we
simply assume all of our problems have been solved by genetic engineering,
which removes free will, just wipe the slate clean...it means that we need
to see alternates and means of solving problems now.
Could Picard ever be tempted to do something illegal? No. Could
some of our characters? Yes. In the case of Picard, it's a no brainer.
In the case of a B5 character, we would see the struggle, the back and
forth, and maybe it would be done, maybe it wouldn't, but there would be
a REASON for it. We see the process. And I for one find that eminently
more interesting.
Having action or make-believe violence in a show doesn't make it
any less intelligent or humanistic than any other show. When you start
talking like that it's all kneejerk cliches and fuzzy thinking. If it
were true, then none of Shakespeare's dramas would have survived over the
last several hundred years, and they *drip* with spilled blood.
Finally, I point you to two things: 1) the original Star Trek, w here
Kirk says that yes, humans are a violent lot, we can and do kill; but we
can decide, now and then, that we will not kill *today*. That attitude
is very much in line with B5. So your problem isn't just with us, it's
with TOS as well. 2) I refer you to a short story by Mark Twain called
"The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg." I won't tell you much more here than
to read it. It should be self-explanatory.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 05:57:43 -0400
Subject: The Gathering did not win Hugo
Yep, that's pretty much what I said would happen. And in my view,
JP probably deserves the Hugo more than "The Gathering." Next year, now,
THAT is an open question....
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 19:11:29 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 & Violence: Light Years
By the way...I forgot the biggest irony of all in this discussion.
The largest watchdog groups monitoring violence in television, according
to their statements last season, rated the most violent shows on TV as
TNG and DS9, along with Brisco County Jr.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 4 Sep 1994 19:26:42 -0400
Subject: Re: Year 2000??
"...the only way a B5/ST crossover could happen is in some sort of
time travel/alternate timeline story...."
And over my cold, dead body.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 00:48:28 -0400
Subject: THe pilot episode
I'm sure the pilot movie will show up again eventually, though I
don't know when offhand.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 01:06:51 -0400
Subject: JMS: LaserDisc release
I suppose including the trailers would make for a good "compare and
contrast" exercise in terms of what's actually IN the episode....
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 01:16:52 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 & Violence: Light Years
Re: "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg," I will confess to being a
bit of a Twain enthusiast/scholar (if I can abuse that latter term for a
moment in a burst of unjustificed optimism). I've read virtually
everything the man ever wrote, up to and including his journals, which are
fascinating on their own, albeit fragmented (for obvious reasos). He
even wrote many stories that could be considered SF/fantasy outside of
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." I find myself quoting him
frequently. The man knew how to turn a phrase and make a point.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 01:25:05 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 & Violence: Light Years
I have known many, MANY of the people who've written ST, and served
on staff (specifically TNG at the moment), and this (the problem of perfect
people) is how they describe the problem in creating stories with any
degree of conflict.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 04:56:15 -0400
Subject: Q:Intro Sequence
The window around Sinclair, Garibaldi and Ivanova is computer
generated; the actors are not.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 04:56:22 -0400
Subject: JMS: Introduction.
Yes, we'll definitely be redesigning the opening sequence visually
as well as in the narrative.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 04:56:28 -0400
Subject: Re: The hiring of Boxleitner
Alas, I wrote my note about Bruce around 1 or 2 in the morning,
and I meant to balance out *intensity* with *intelligence*, but my
brain saw the first letters i-n-t-e, and vapor-locked.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 17:47:44 -0400
Subject: Re: The Gathering did not win
I think a large part of this debate will be determined by which
episodes fall into the right dates for eligibility. I think that, for
instance, David Gerrold's "Believers" fell just on the other side of Hugo
eligibility for this coming year. Which means that (if I'm correct, and
is someone could check that'd be great) only shows prior to that would be
eligible. The only real big ones in that bunch would be "And the Sky Full
of Stars" and "Mind War." Best bet may be to pick one of those two and
focus there.
One interesting sidelight is that B5 is *very* popular in the UK,
including Scotland, so it may have a fair chance.
jms
(And the TNG finale isn't eligible this year, I think, having conme
(come) in after the cutoff date.)
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 17:49:12 -0400
Subject: JMS: UK Censorship - Chrysalis
Insofar as I know, there's only one scene that might cause them a
problem for violence, but it's handled fairly discreetly...well, on
second thought, there's two...but if they did get snipped, you wouldn't
lose more than 20 seconds or so. If this cost plot information or not
would depend on how they edited it.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 17:49:19 -0400
Subject: Re: He-Man (was Re: [B5] Liar
I once wrote, just for myself and for fun, the Ram Man Theme Song,
to the tune of BONANZA: "Who is the man with the head of lead? IT'S RAM
MAN! Who is as dense as a picket fence? RAM MAN is his name! Leaping
here, bouncing there, jumping everywhere...."
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 17:49:25 -0400
Subject: JMS: Slappers?
Yes, slappers = skin tabs, for introducing medication. The ones in
TKO had been stolen from B5 medsupplies.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 17:49:32 -0400
Subject: JMS: Censorship
TKO's main importance is to the Ivanova arc, as she finally comes to
terms with her father's death. Do I have an opinion on C4's decision not
to show TKO?
Absolutely.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 18:29:51 -0400
Subject: jms: a few questions
As I'm told, Chrysalis will air the last week or so in October. As
for computer tech in 2258, it's something we're exploring for a story,
Larry has an interesting idea or two on how to realize it visually, but
it's hard to find something that's possibly accurate without making it
godlike. Still, we're trying...
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 18:29:57 -0400
Subject: Re: You guys read Alfred Beste
The direction and intent and background of the Psi Corps is *very*
different from Bester's "The Demolished Man." What may cause some of
the confusion is that when I decided to name the Psi Cop we'll be seeing,
knowing of Alfie's work in the genre in general, and knowing that he was
a close friend of Harlan's, I decided it would be a nice testimony to the
man to name the Psi Cop Bester. There's nothing beyond that.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 18:30:04 -0400
Subject: JMS: Three quick questions...
No, actually, B2 was structured for maximum jarring effect, thus the
sudden cuts back and forth, the sickly green light in B4...makes the
person watching feel unexplainably anxious, which was a subliminal but
definite intent. So no, nothing much was cut. And yes, eventually we
will see the flip-side of the B4 story.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 18:44:58 -0400
Subject: JMS: Question
No, alas, Tech #1, Marianne Robertson has decided that she would
like to travel next year with her husband Dick Robertson, and has some
other personal plans in mind, and thus won't be back next season.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 5 Sep 1994 18:45:04 -0400
Subject: JMS (and all) : Reruns and Rew
Insofar as I know, the shows have been rerun in the same order in
which they were originally broadcast.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Sep 1994 17:04:25 -0400
Subject: Alien looking aliens
Bob Hoskins in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was talking to a cartoon
that was supposed to be a cartoon; we were never expected to accept it as
a real, live breathing creature. We're so far doing one more major CGI
critter as an alien for year two, but the rendering power required is
absolutely MASSIVE. (I'd also note that the budget for "Rabbit" was a LOT
more than an average B5 episode.)
The problem, always, is having the alien interact with humans, not
vice-versa. You have two choices: a human in prosthetics, or essentially
a puppet/animatronic face. And the overall technology still isn't here
yet to do that convincingly, up close, for television. And if you want
any real *emotion* from the character, you're going to have to have an
actor inside.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Sep 1994 17:04:33 -0400
Subject: VItW Part 1 - Another Question
Once removed from his place, Varn was able to lead them back to their
shuttle. It's not terribly dramatic, and I figured that was a fairly
logical leap, so didn't feel the need to put in a scene which would just
consist of VArn saying, "Left....now right...."
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Sep 1994 17:04:41 -0400
Subject: JMS: Priority #1 question!
We always forward fan mail.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Sep 1994 17:04:52 -0400
Subject: filming show despite ratings?
The only problem to shooting a show in case a network decides not to
pursue it is where does one get $18 million or so per season in order to
continue filming? And if the ratings drop, how does one convince the
stations to carry the show instead of higher rating series?
The B5 series will live or die on the ratings. Fortunately, the last
seven new episodes have continued the trend of increasing ratings, and we
just went from #20 to #18 in the overall ratings for syndication, which
is extremely good.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 7 Sep 1994 03:48:30 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 & Violence: Light Years
"Ban guns and only criminals will have them" is one of those quick
and easy catchphrases that's used to gloss over the details of any real
problem.
And the problem at hand is that the majority of murders committed in
this country are not committed by hardened (or even softened, or even
lightly par-broiled and kneaded) criminals. They are committed by average
folks who one day get too wound up, too hot, too crazed, too frustrated,
too depressed, and pick up a gun and shoot somebody...usually a spouse,
or a competitor, or the local Post Office. There have been cases where
the person goes out, buys the gun, comes home and starts shooting. This
would be at least sometimes mitigated by a waiting period of a few days,
during which sometimes tempers cool, or other options besides one's own
death and the death of others become available. (And how many times now
have we seen news of a boyfriend or husband killing wife and kids and then
turning the gun on himself?)
Most murders are acts of passion...and the "criminal" line simply
doesn't wash there. (Though certainly they're criminals *after* the
fact.) There was a NEWSWEEK or TIME magazine piece a while back, last
year I believe, where they chronicled one week's worth of murders, and
the majority of them are crimes of passion or suicides.
Yes, as you say, somebody can be killed with a baseball bat or a
knife or a rock...but then you've got to *catch* them first. And you can
only do one at a time. You can't spray a schoolyard with 50 teflon
coated bullets in 30 seconds with a rock. A knife is wonderfully
inefficient. A knife can cut and not kill, or even seriously wound you
if it doesn't go deep enough; a bullet always goes deep enough, and if it
doesn't blow through the other side, ends up bouncing around inside the
body and puncturing internal organs as much as a foot from the point of
entry. Do that with a baseball bat.
My feelings on gun and gun ownership and crime are more or less as
follows: ban assault weapons, they're good for nothing except killing other
human beings in large numbers, you don't go squirrel hunting with an
AK47...permit the ownership of rifles, shotguns, and handguns
(non-automatic), but require permits, the same way you do for fishing or
driving a car, and make sure that the person has to take X-hours of
lessons in proper gun use, the way you practice for a driver's license; if
you're going to own a gun, you should be trained to use it and use it
efficiently...if someone commits a murder with a gun of any kind, throw
the book at them. I'm ambivilant about capital punishment, but I'm all
for life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Put more police on
the streets and OUT OF THEIR CARS, let's see a return to community
police who are known to the folks in the neighborhood.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 8 Sep 1994 02:15:28 -0400
Subject: JMS: How is a delegated story
In most cases, I work out the story fairly comprehensively, giving
the writer a beginning/middle/end, and some of the characters. In a few
cases, it's less than that, a general direction and items which have to
happen in that episode. Very often it's in writing from me, ranging from
a paragraph or two to a few pages.
Generally, in TV, this would mean that I would take shared story
credit on the episode. But there are no arbitrated credits on B5; the
freelancer gets all the credit, and all the residuals, and rightly so.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 8 Sep 1994 02:17:13 -0400
Subject: JMS: Ad lib or not ad lib?
When it came time for that chant, nothing had been scripted; it was
supposed to be a soft, under one's breath kind of chant. Bill came and
asked me and Larry if we had anything in mind. We said no, whatever you
decide is fine...and he ended up chanting his album cover.
Later...*much*...laater...when I discovered this, we discussed it at
some length.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 8 Sep 1994 02:18:58 -0400
Subject: JMS: Re: B5 & Violence: Light
"B5 does respectfully acknowledge religion, and is therefore not as
liable to get bit by this group."
Oh, they'll still gig us on violence; already have. John Copeland,
one of our producers, heard an NPR report a while back interviewing some
rep of one of these pressure groups who complained about the violence;
more will come. And any group NOT represented will scream and yell
because they think they're not being represented. And given some other
aspects of our show...oh, yeah, they'll come after us all right.
Where nothing exists, they'll just make it up. When I was working
with ABC on The Real Ghostbusters, a consulting group came in from one of
these groups, to help the network avoid accidental satanic references, and
to keep an eye on this stuff. They gave the network execs their breakdown
of the signs that a kid was getting into satanism. Some of them (and
this is verbatim): "He's curious. He's sometimes sad. He's easily
pressured by his peers. He's into heavy metal rock and roll. He can
sometimes be rebellious."
By their lights, those are guaranteed signs of satanism.
Not come after *us*...? Oh, man....
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 8 Sep 1994 02:19:09 -0400
Subject: Re: You guys read Alfred Beste
I believe they are the same person, yes.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 8 Sep 1994 03:10:02 -0400
Subject: JMS: Minor Roles--Great Job!!
There are a number of security guard types we see frequently; one
who is Asian, the dark-haired guy who we saw in "Sky" that you note (and
who we also have seen elsewhere, including the picket crashers in "By
Any Means"), and Lou Welch, who shows up from time to time, and continues
into the next season. They all continue to show up.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 01:34:37 -0400
Subject: Re: He-Man (was Re: [B5] Liar
"This from the man who claims to hate filk."
Hey...I was young and stupid...now I'm older....
...and stupid.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 03:51:44 -0400
Subject: Re: The hiring of Boxleitner
"Sounds like a forumla to really PO the Minbari."
Yup.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 03:51:53 -0400
Subject: Why use real paper?
Paper (or synthetics) is light, foldable, portable, disposable and
recycleable. I remember being told that the coming of computers would
put an end to paper...come on by my office someday...I have MORE paper
and MORE drafts lying around now than when I was working on a typewriter.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 03:52:03 -0400
Subject: religion
"I haven't seen any references to Jung yet."
Don't be silly...everyone on my show is jung at heart....
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 17:29:54 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: B5 baseball caps
Well, see, here's the problem: yes, Creation licensed some stuff
from us, including the creation (so to speak) of B5 baseball caps. So
far, so good.
One day, about a week or so ago, John Copeland comes into my
office with one of these caps, purchased at a Creation store in
Glendale. Shows it to me. The stitching ain't great (they're supposed
to run these things past me, and I didn't see this item), but the cap is
more or less okay, I don't see why he's smiling.
Then the label attached to the cap swings out, and hangs in front
of my eyes. OFFICIAL LICENSED PRODUCT PARAMOUNT TELEVISION.
I went ballistic, Warners went ballistic, the caps were yanked out
of the stores so fast they left a doppler trail behind them...so I don't
know now if they'll be around for sale or not. If so, I doubt very much
that you'll see a Paramount tag on them.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 17:30:08 -0400
Subject: Re: Russian
Just FYI...Marianne Robertson, Tech #1, was Swedish, not Russian.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 18:12:58 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Opening sequence
Re: the "last" of the Babylon Stations...y'all might want to bear
in mind the syntax of the narration. It speaks of B5 in the *past
tense*. "Bablyon 5 WAS the last of the Babylon stations...it WAS the
dawn of the third age of mankind." The narration is the voice of future
history, the storyteller, long after the fact, spinning for us the tale
of the last of the Babylon stations.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 18:18:37 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 T-Shirts
The shirst are definitely legit.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 18:20:13 -0400
Subject: Bruce Boxleitner's Credits
There's not much I can do about outside costumes at the moment;
they haven't been codified into designs that we can release yet. Ann
Bruice, our costumer, plans to put it all together eventually, but not
for a bit yet.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 9 Sep 1994 19:28:26 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 reminds me of...
I wish it were true about Twin Peaks having an overall story that
they had planned out prior to filming. Just recently, though, I had
meetings with a couple of main writers/story editors on the show, and
they said, yeah, they were making it all up as they went, they really
didn't have a clue where it was going. There was a general sort of theme,
but as for having the story plotted out...apparently not. Needless to
say, I was vastly disappointed...I loved that show...still do, actually,
even knowing this.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 10 Sep 1994 03:37:29 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Warner Bros. Stores
In general, WB doesn't sell many TV series items through the stores;
and only sometimes via catalog. There are several WB shows that aren't
represented at all. (And B5 isn't produced by WB, it'san independent
production aired on a network partly owned by WB, and that's a vital
distinction to remember.)
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 11 Sep 1994 17:56:29 -0400
Subject: Re: WE WON THE EMMY FOR BEST M
The Special Effects Emmy generally reflects the work over the course
of a season. TNG submitted something like 6-8 episodes, ditto with other
series. Through a situation best left unexamined, only one B5 was
submitted, "Sky," whereas "Mind War," also eligible, was not submitted.
There wasn't enough to work from to make the determination to give B5 th3
(the) award (there are no nominations in this category, only 3-4 juried
awards). This will be corrected next season. In spades.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 11 Sep 1994 18:03:28 -0400
Subject: JMS, Artistic control in show
I think that the PRIMARY reason that B5 is as good as it has been is
that we've been pretty much left to our own devices without much in the
way of interference from the studio/network. The day a studio begins
messing around with a show is when it pretty much becomes doomed. I don't
see WB so much meddling with Chris' vision of the music as trying to find
the best distributer...it's the *result* of that decision that then affects
the creative product. Certainly, if it were me, I'd go with Chris.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 13 Sep 1994 00:43:19 -0400
Subject: JMS: Three quick question
By the "flip side" of stories I was referring to the other side of
events. I.e., in episode one, Sinclair is reassigned, but we hear about
this mainly when he's away. In the comic, we'll see where he is, and
see his reaction to what's going on. In B-squared, we saw the present
events in the vanishment of B4; in a future episode, we'll actually see
our characters make the decision to go back in time and yank B4 forward,
what went wrong, and so on.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 13 Sep 1994 15:51:17 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Ready to puke?
The VOYAGER pilot is *$23 million*?!
The BABYLON 5 pilot was $3.5 million.
With $23 million, we could make 1.3 SEASONS of B5. And have a bit
of money left over for a wrap party.
Amazing....
jm(who keeps thinking of what he could do with that)s
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 13 Sep 1994 15:51:35 -0400
Subject: JMS: Star wheel
Unfortunately, it would have to be a HUGE starwheel, beyond a
manageable size; and wiring the lights at that range would be a problem,
and the noise factor during shooting would be a pain. I'm afraid that
for now, it is what it is.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 13 Sep 1994 16:19:00 -0400
Subject: Ratings of PTEN
I think we're quite a bit ahead of Kung Fu just now....
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 14 Sep 1994 00:45:24 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS: Scripts available?
We're in the process of setting up some kind of fan liaison office,
which would do some limited sales stuff, just enough to pay its own
way. Should this come about, we'll sell some of the B5 scripts through
this office. (One difference between us and ST is that we will pay the
freelance writers a *royalty* on any scripts of theirs we sell.) But
this is still in the works.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 14 Sep 1994 05:11:18 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Ready to puke?
By rounding it to 1.3 seasons, the number is still inexact; certainly
we make the show for less than $1 million per episode.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 14 Sep 1994 05:11:36 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Star wheel
If we put a blue screen behind the window, and did that, given that
we tend to have long scenes in front of it, every frame of starfield has
to be rendered, cut in digitally...it's a *very* time consuming process,
and would detract from Ron & Co. doing the other EFX we use in the show.
We don't have the ability to throw money at everything here.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Sep 1994 17:04:25 -0400
Subject: Alien looking aliens
Bob Hoskins in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was talking to a cartoon
that was supposed to be a cartoon; we were never expected to accept it as
a real, live breathing creature. We're so far doing one more major CGI
critter as an alien for year two, but the rendering power required is
absolutely MASSIVE. (I'd also note that the budget for "Rabbit" was a LOT
more than an average B5 episode.)
The problem, always, is having the alien interact with humans, not
vice-versa. You have two choices: a human in prosthetics, or essentially
a puppet/animatronic face. And the overall technology still isn't here
yet to do that convincingly, up close, for television. And if you want
any real *emotion* from the character, you're going to have to have an
actor inside.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Sep 1994 17:04:33 -0400
Subject: VItW Part 1 - Another Question
Once removed from his place, Varn was able to lead them back to their
shuttle. It's not terribly dramatic, and I figured that was a fairly
logical leap, so didn't feel the need to put in a scene which would just
consist of VArn saying, "Left....now right...."
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Sep 1994 17:04:41 -0400
Subject: JMS: Priority #1 question!
We always forward fan mail.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 6 Sep 1994 17:04:52 -0400
Subject: filming show despite ratings?
The only problem to shooting a show in case a network decides not to
pursue it is where does one get $18 million or so per season in order to
continue filming? And if the ratings drop, how does one convince the
stations to carry the show instead of higher rating series?
The B5 series will live or die on the ratings. Fortunately, the last
seven new episodes have continued the trend of increasing ratings, and we
just went from #20 to #18 in the overall ratings for syndication, which
is extremely good.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 15 Sep 1994 21:16:32 -0400
Subject: Re: Sci-fi lunacy!!
I want to be there when someone informs Mr. Pavlocik that the new
Voyager series has contracted with Amblin' Imaging to do all of its space
effects (except for the main ship) with CGI by way of Amigas/Toasters.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 16 Sep 1994 06:41:32 -0400
Subject: # of aliens
What you describe is already what we're doing, deciding when a new
races is better than one of our others. Logically speaking, in a sector
of space as massive as what we're talking about, you're going to have
literally *hundreds* of worlds, possibly thousands, that have sentient
life. (I forget now the specific number of such worlds advanced by the
Drake equation, but it's on the level of millions of such worlds in our
galaxy alone.) You'd also have subset worlds; a world controlled by the
Centauri, for instance, whose inhabitants are not themseles Centauri, but
some other race. (Or species, more accurately.)
The pak'ma'ra (the carrion eaters) weren't just introduced for that
one episode ("Legacies"), they have been seen before and since, starting
with the very first episode. Deathwalker and Varn ("Deathwalker" and
"Voice") were both the last of their kind, or close to it in the latter
case, so logically you couldn't have it be one of the previously seen
races. So that only leaves two or three that we've brought in in the
course of a season.
We knew that when all was said and done, we wanted a minimum of 20
or so races who would be available to us at all times, and now we've got
those. We've just finished a 35 page breakdown of each race's history,
culture, language, politics, reproductive mechanisms and other areas for
in-house distribution. Most alien stuff will come out of this group,
unless, again, there's a specific reason for bringing in a new one that
would compromise the story otherwise. (For instance, the Drazi play a
role in several episodes next season.)
We're not just throwing them in helter-skelter; we wanted to build up
a solid "repertory group" of diverse aliens, and now we've got that.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 16 Sep 1994 06:41:48 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Ready to puke?
Virtually ALL dramatic series cost at or above the $1 million mark.
A show as simple and cost effective as "Murder, She Wrote," without any
CGI or models or big efx, with recurring cast and sets and not a lot of
location shooting, cost around $1.2 million per episode.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 16 Sep 1994 06:42:03 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Ready to puke?
Re: a lot of sets costing $23 million....we have 19 standing sets
and 55 or so swing sets, on only our series budget and the pilot ($3.3
million) movie.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 16 Sep 1994 06:43:44 -0400
Subject: Mind of the [Great] Maker
Marc: when being interviewed about my presence on the nets, some
reporter will invariably work his or her way around to the question,
"Yeah, but what do YOU get out of it?" The answer to that could not be
expressed any better than in my response to your analysis. One of the
wonders of being on the nets is that from time to time one will encounter
a cogent, reasoned, thoughtful and perceptive analysis that comes at
one's own creation from a totally unexpected direction, casting it in a
new light. Yours was such a message. Many thanks.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 17 Sep 1994 23:02:04 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Ready to puke?
Actually, my point was that we have *more* sets than just about any
other SF series I can think of, including DS9.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Sep 1994 01:05:02 -0400
Subject: Re: Sci-fi lunacy!!
Excuse me, Jason, but please explain to me what the fuck you're
talking about re: "net-worship" after the pilot? I got broasted, roasted
and toasted here on Internet. I got raked over every conceivable coal
you can think of, and a couple you can't. And there's plenty of criticism
to go around. If you didn't see some of it, that's your problem, that
doesn't mean it wasn't there. Say what you want, but don't distort the
historical record to make a totally fallacious point. I think you're
seeing what you want to see, or somehow the discussion is pushing some
button of yours that's got *nothing* to do with me. If the conversation
has gotten more positive since the series has come on, it's because the
show has gotten better. These people have no personal history with me,
we didn't go to high school together, nobody here owes anybody money...if
the show stunk, they'd say so. (And those that think it does, do.)
I'm sorry, but on this one point you are singularly, 100% deadass
wrong.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Sep 1994 21:06:33 -0400
Subject: Re: Bored of Trek, try B5!
Correct, Gregory. One of the things we learned from the pilot was
that we shoved too much information at people too fast. So I deliberately
held back a lot of arc stuff in the beginning of the series, allowing
people to move gradually into the B5 universe, learn more about it, and
THEN start whapping them with the arc. It isn't until "Mind War" and
"Sky" that we really begin cranking the arc.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Sep 1994 21:06:46 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS, how long do we have
How long until: organic tech a la Infection (six months); healing
machine (two months); the planet (now being adjusted slightly; within a
year, give or take); the triluminary (one month); a vorlon (under one
year); a shadow (one month).
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 18 Sep 1994 23:02:23 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: novel serialization /
Doing a story in weekly arcs is really the only way to do it in what
is a standard dramatic TV format, airing every 7 days. On another level,
the episodes aren't as tightly linked as a novel, because if so, then you
couldn't afford to miss even one of them. We try to be more flexible.
And loved "Tales from the City."
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 19 Sep 1994 17:39:10 -0400
Subject: SQ
The dipping of a telepath into a normal's mind randomly, the kind
of invasion of privacy you see on SQ, is *exactly* why rules were set in
place for B5 telepaths. Otherwise you've got incredible deus ex machina
problems, and nobody has any right to privacy. What's the difference
between peeking into someone's mind without permission, which they seem
to have no problem with, and peeking in their door while they're having
sex? They're both incredible violations of privacy.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 20 Sep 1994 02:50:37 -0400
Subject: JMS: Please read (was Re: This
Sorry, Allen, I have not seen a lot of facts on the other side of
this issue (gun control); I have seen only rhetoric and fuzzy logic and
a complete mischaracterization of my original message, including the one
I'm responding to now. Everybody characterized this as a "ban guns"
argument, which it never was; I indicated the kinds of guns that I felt
were appropriate, and those that I had a problem with from a logical
perspective.
I haven't said anything more on the subject because, frankly, it's
pointless; gun control, like abortion, is a topic that just goes on and on
forever, each side stating and restating their positions and no one really
ever changing their mind. I've been on the nets too long, and seen this
one too many times, to fall into this trap again. I said what I believed,
and what I still believe, and see no need for an act of contrition. You
seem to operate under the apprehension that I didn't fully investigate
the issue, and if I just looked at the "facts" you and others present,
the scales would fall from my eyes like Saul, and I would suddenly come
around to your point of view. Sorry, I *have* investigated the issue, and
my feelings on the issue are as stated. I did not see one new element in
the discussion that I have not read a thousand times before elsewhere.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 20 Sep 1994 08:46:27 -0400
Subject: Re: SQ
From the way it was played, it seemed that the telepathy was a
conscious, active decision (which reconciles with what was shown last
season about telepaths in SQ).
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 20 Sep 1994 21:49:10 -0400
Subject: Re: JMS: Please Make B5 More L
My story editor, Larry DiTillio, explained to me that the acronym in
SeaQuest DSV stands for Doesn't Survive Viewing....
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 20 Sep 1994 21:49:20 -0400
Subject: Re: SQ
Joshua...no one has ever said anything about Paramount bugging
devices or anything else. The Babylon 5 pilot screenplay, bible, series
treatment, and a flock of story premises was given to Paramount
Television in 1989, where it was reviewed and discussed in depth. Are
we clear on this distinction now? (Oh, yeah, also the extensive full
color artwork was submitted with it.)
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 21 Sep 1994 18:21:41 -0400
Subject: [JMS+Radiophiles] Last resort
I have always been a MAJOR fan of radio drama, and have even
written for the field (Alien Worlds, Mutual Radio Theater, others); also,
many of those whose works influenced me came out of radio (Norman Corwin,
Arch Oboler, Rod Serling). I love dialogue, and because of the rather
intricate overall story, this is definitely an information-intensive
show, which is certainly like radio drama. I also like trying to make
pictures out of words, which is also out of that tradition, and trying to
blend that with the visuals.
On another level, though, Linda Ellerbee once commented that if you
could walk into another room and, listening to the TV, follow the story,
it isn't TV, it's radio. TV should take fullest advantage of the visual
medium, and that's something that I'm working more on this season, now
that we've established the core of the B5 universe over the first
season, and the information required for that. More and more scenes
without dialogue, or a minimum of dialogue, to balance it all out. It's
really a learning process, every day. I've written over 125 produced
episodes of TV, for some of the highest rated shows around...and I still
feel like I'm just beginning to learn how to write even half-decently.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 21 Sep 1994 18:21:51 -0400
Subject: Question: Why only one camera
All shows (including ours) sometimes use two cameras (referred to as
the A and B cameras). Adding a second camera costs money, because you
now also need a second camera operator to run it, second focus pullers,
dolly guys, on and on. In general, all of your main footage (masters,
close-ups and the rest) are always shot with the A camera *anyway*, with
the B camera usually used for group reactions or coverage in action scenes.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 21 Sep 1994 18:31:31 -0400
Subject: A "promotion" for Ivanova??
*sigh*...yes, Ivanova has always been second in command; she gets
promoted to Commander rank under Captain Sheridan. TVG goofed.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 21 Sep 1994 18:31:43 -0400
Subject: To JMS: thanks for honoring As
You're most definitely welcome; it was something we did to honor
Asimov, who determined the shape of this genre for many writers.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 21 Sep 1994 18:33:17 -0400
Subject: JMS: Videos?
Regular aspect ratio tapes should begin showing up this winter;
letterboxed laserdisks to follow probably in the spring.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 22 Sep 1994 07:00:21 -0400
Subject: JMS: Thanks
Two responses: on your B5 comments...thanks, much appreciated.
Regarding the new Twilight Zone...I saw the same article you did on
why MGM chose to make one more season, to have enough to syndicate, and
was *furious* by it. Yeah, MGM did it because if they *didn't*, there
wouldn't be enough episodes to syndicate, and they would never again see
the light of day. The article seemed to make a big deal out of the idea
that they were doing this so they could make some of their money back.
Well (and this isn't directed at you, as much as the article), I
hate to break anybody's bubble, but NONE of the studios produce TV series
because they think they're doing something good for the commonweal. They
do so because they think the show will make money for them. It's then up
to the writers and producers to try and make it something MORE than that.
The article was skewed and biased and snotty, and I'm *still* pissed
off about it.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 22 Sep 1994 15:57:30 -0400
Subject: Don't Unveil Kosh
I think it would be profoundly unfair to viewers to keept hem
(oops, keep them) hanging around for more than one more season waiting
to see a Vorlon. Though I understand and see your point.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 22 Sep 1994 16:24:44 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 & DS9: Off to War
To Toby Papa Funk: "I'm a-twitter."
I think there's a typo there; given your insulting tone to the
whole of this group, I think next time you write this you need to leave
off the last three letters.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 22 Sep 1994 16:25:02 -0400
Subject: B5 Comic - When Available?
Should be out late November/early December.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 22 Sep 1994 17:11:50 -0400
Subject: Why does B5 exist?
B1-3 were sabotaged very early into production, so the cost was less
than the inconvenience. B4 was where they dumped all the money, and it
was very iffy if there'd be a 5, until the Minbari came up to the plate
and offered to help finance it. For Earth, which was almost wiped out in
the war, it's more a matter of self-preservation.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 23 Sep 1994 02:04:20 -0400
Subject: JMS: Questions about the B5 un
I've always said that there's a side story that could follow the 5
year B5 storyline, which takes place in the B5 universe, and follows on
the heels of the events in B5...but who knows if that would happen?
The one thing I would hate is for B5 to become any kind of so-called
"franchise." Because as soon as that happens, you're prevented from making
any changes, from doing anything that might startle people, cutting into
the piggy-bank. Once that happens, you're dead.
I've also made no secret of my sense that, should B5 run its full
five year course (and assuming the side-story doesn't go, which I would
not exactly count on)...I plan to get out of TV. By that point, I would
have said pretty much everything I want to say in TV, and it's time to
get out, buy a small house somewhere outside London, and spend the rest
of my years writing novels, which is kinda where this all began. (I've
had 2 novels, 1 anthology, and a bunch of short stories published, as
well as 500 or so articles.)
I never got into this to make a ***FRANCHISE***, and never really
intended to become an executive producer. I just don't like being
rewritten...so I climbed higher, until finally there was nobody over me
messing with my scripts. Outside of the B5 reality, if someone came to
me and offered me *staff writer* on a show -- the lowest position in the
TV totem pole -- but with the guarantee that I wouldn't be rewritten, they
wouldn't change the words...I'd take it in a hot second. I'm here, now,
strictly out of self-defense.
Two valuable social skills are knowing when to enter a room, and when
to leave a room. At some point, you have to get out or become something
you don't want to become. I've never really been part of the Hollywood
SYSTEM, and have no desire to do so.
In "The Velvet Alley," Rod Serling wrote of a young advertising writer
who becomes a success at writing television. At one point, the character
says (paraphrased from memory): "Here's the trap...in TV they pay you lots
of money for what you do...then, slowly, your standard of living rises
until you *need* that constant flow to stay at that level. Then...they
threaten to take it away from you if you don't behave. And THAT'S when
they've got you."
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 00:30:35 -0400
Subject: Re: To JMS: thanks for honorin
The reference in "By Any Means" is to Matewan, where a terrible
labor strike took place (and a film was made about it); the other is
Matawan, which is where I lived for a while, but the reference is to the
former, not the latter.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 00:30:39 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: "And The Sky Full of
The wisp of smoke is a wisp of smoke, nothing more important than
that. If something living in hyperspace bothers you...good, it should.
The Psi Corps article is in frame for a reason. Yes, we sometimes put
additional or important information in the background, but I don't think
we can be fair and assume that everyone sees it, so if you don't see it
in one place, it's stated out loud later on...the background stuff is to
give the alert viewer a fighting chance to guess some stuff BEFORE it
happens; when stuff DOES finally happen, all the required information is
supplied at that time.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 00:30:42 -0400
Subject: Story arc question
"Mind War" is important to the arc because Psi Corps, and certain
aspects of it, is important to the arc.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 18:30:49 -0400
Subject: Candles And Stars in Babylon S
The notion of candles and stars in your note (Jason) would also
seem to apply, for instance, to the role of Draal in "Voice."
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 18:43:02 -0400
Subject: JMS: Earthdome question
Earthdome is in what was once Geneva, and is a domed city similar to
some of what's done on Mars, though here it's to protect the city from
outside threat. We mainly hear about it because that's where B5's
political, military and social ties are, but I'd like to expand outside of
that...hear what's new in New York, that sort of thing (though we have
heard references to the Russian Consortium, and to poor old San Diego...).
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 18:44:26 -0400
Subject: Re: A "promotion" for Ivanova?
Major Krantz wasn't so much in charge of B4 as he was (as noted in
dialogue) assigned to oversee the final stages of construction. His job
was to get the station finished, then turn it over to someone else to
run.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 19:14:01 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 & DS9: Off to War
The working name for the sixth race is the Shadowmen.
And, as you note, one of things that I like to play with is the
layering of ambiguity. Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that
we set up two sides: Shadowmen vs. Vorlons, which looks like evil vs.
good. Fundamentally, I would find that boring. What you would then have
to do is get into WHY they're doing what they do, and HOW they're doing
what they do.
There is, for instance, the "good" that says, "We know what's best
for you, we'll protect you, nurture you, but you'll do it our way, and
we'll keep you away from ideas and beliefs you shouldn't be exposed to."
Okay, maybe that fits one definition of good...but is it?
On the flip side, for instance, there's the "bad" that says "There
must be conflict and death, because it's only through conflict and death
that we grow stronger, that we can eventually create an ordered
universe. The gene pool must be kept strong. To do that, there must be
war and strife and death." Okay, maybe that fits the definition of evil,
but is it?
The key, again and always, is that nothing is what it seems on
Babylon 5. And even if it looks like it IS what it is, you have to look
at WHY it is what it is...and maybe at that point it isn't.
One of the things about this show is that you see as much as you're
willing to see. You can gloss over it, say, "Okay, these are the good
guys, these are the bad guys." But the closer you look, the more you see
the shades. I imagine when the Shadowmen are more fully revealed, some
folks'll think we're going for a basic good/evil conflict...but believe
me, there's a hell of a lot more involved in it than that.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 19:14:05 -0400
Subject: Next on Geraldo-- Is Morden Re
Morden tried to find out what the ambassadors would like. Morden
arranged to rescue an important Centauri artifact. Morden helped wipe out
the crooks. Morden saved Londo's career, and asked for nothing in return.
And yet we get the sense that Morden is a bad guy.
Kosh destroys our chance for immortality. Refuses to get involved
in the affairs of others. Is plainly studying us. Terrorizes one of our
main characters, Talia, for unknown reasons.
And yet we get the sense that Kosh is a good guy.
If anyone should ask, I really *love* writing this show....
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 19:30:16 -0400
Subject: Morden = Rod Serling?
You noticed that too, huh? Surprise me, too. We'd cast him in the
part of Morden, then the first day's dailies come in, and his stance, his
manner, the way he looks...we all looked at the TV and said, more or less
at once, "Holy shit, it's Rod Serling!"
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 24 Sep 1994 19:30:19 -0400
Subject: Re: B5 acknowledging religion
"...you're claiming that an *atheist* is proselytizing for judaism."
Hey, it's a new organization, haven't you heard? Atheists for Yahweh.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 25 Sep 1994 05:54:31 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS (part III) More Neve
We'll see more on Talia's additional talents in year two.
Yes, that is a triluminary on the grey council staff in "Sky."
No current plans for Ben Zayn to reprise.
Did I say something about the development of psi talent...?
The rest will have to wait.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 25 Sep 1994 19:37:35 -0400
Subject: info, was Re: B5 & DS9: Off to
Correction: Jeri Taylor isn't full-time on DS9; she ran TNG, and is
now co-running Voyager, which she co-created.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 25 Sep 1994 19:37:40 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN JMS (part III) More
Ironheart was created, as one of many reasons, to exemplify a problem
that is growing within Psi Corps. There will be other symptoms, though
not as grand as that one.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 26 Sep 1994 20:39:16 -0400
Subject: JMS: Origin of name Giribaldi
Garibaldi was nameed after the famous Italian war hero of the same
name.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 26 Sep 1994 20:43:27 -0400
Subject: Los Angeles losing Babylon-5 (
The Sunday 11 p.m. rerun has been moved to Saturday nights at
midnight.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 26 Sep 1994 20:43:36 -0400
Subject: How is Claudia?
Thanks; Ivanova's a lot of fun to write for. Re: Claudia...she's
up and running around, though still wearing her cast. We worked it into
the script following the one she was shooting when it happened, and shot
around her for the balance of that. It's come up in a total of two
episodes in dialogue, but otherwise hasn't affected the show; she's been
great about it.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 27 Sep 1994 04:50:59 -0400
Subject: Loscon Babylon 5 Presentation
Well, I'm certainly glad to hear about the B5 presentation being
scheduled for that Sunday; it's the first I'd heard of it. I hadn't been
notified or invited prior to this. (Though in fairness, just after I
read this here, I found a note on CIS from Lyon doing just that.) In any
event...yes, I'll be there.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 27 Sep 1994 05:05:52 -0400
Subject: Re: Morden = Rod Serling?
His name is in the credits; it's Ed Wasser.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 28 Sep 1994 02:47:25 -0400
Subject: ATT JMS : Question on Rules...
Actor suggestions are fine. As for Chrysalis, there's about 8
to 10 days in "story time" between it and the events in "Points." The
next few shows track in real-time.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 29 Sep 1994 05:50:25 -0400
Subject: JMS: Seen at a convention....
Insofar as I know, those are bogus items. All such items must go
through my office for approval, and no one's sent those through yet.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 29 Sep 1994 05:50:35 -0400
Subject: UK: B5 ratings
There's some chance that I may be in London within a week or so of
"Chrysalis" airing there. Anything I should know about, any London
conventions? How's the weather out there this time of year (October)?
Anything doing in London that's worth checking out? (Plays in
particular.)
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 29 Sep 1994 05:50:44 -0400
Subject: How do you write for B5?
I appreciate your interest; at this time, we're fully booked on
scripts for B5.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 29 Sep 1994 10:01:58 -0400
Subject: Truth on Ohare <offical>
Mellissa Gilbert didn't state things exactly right, and was being
provoked by Stern to say something controversial. O'Hare already is
slated to appear later in season one, so that alone takes care of the
issue. I'd also suggest the current Starlog interview with Michael,
which also confirms stuff.
(Oops, typo above, I meant to type later in season *two*.)
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 30 Sep 1994 01:01:23 -0400
Subject: Re: Truth on Ohare <offical>
Michael O'Hare had *absolutely* no such "in-first-episode, so in for
all" clause in his contract. Not only that, but insofar as I know such
clauses don't *exist* in ANY SAG contract. This in particular is one of
the most astonishingly stupid things I've heard in ages. We gave some
serious thought to having Michael in the first episode, except as I got
into the story, it really slowed things down...and I'm kinda partial to
mysteries. I like *doing* something...and then a bit down the road you
find out what it's all about. (Like this is news to anyone here.)
And Sinclair *does* appear later on this season.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 30 Sep 1994 01:01:42 -0400
Subject: Effect of Earth-Minbari War on
You don't need to cut off every limb if you cut off the head.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 30 Sep 1994 01:02:01 -0400
Subject: JMS: Babylon 5 and DSS!
I'll pass it along, but hey, if people listened to me, you think
we'd have to wait until October 24th to see "Chrysalis"....?
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 30 Sep 1994 01:02:25 -0400
Subject: JMS: what other kinds of warsh
At various points I think you'll probably see all those various
classes of ships.
jms
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
Date: 30 Sep 1994 23:09:31 -0400
Subject: JMS: the common cold?
Yeah, the common cold is still around. Have been playing around for
a while now with a story using that. We'll see.
jms