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1528 lines
63 KiB
1528 lines
63 KiB
===========================================================================
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| This text is compiled from posts by J. Michael Straczynski on the Usenet
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| group rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5. This document contains material Copyright
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| 1994 J. Michael Straczynski. He has given permission for his words to be
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| redistributed online, as long as they are marked as being copyright JMS.
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| This document, as well as other Babylon-5 related material, is available
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| by anonymous FTP at ftp.hyperion.com.
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===========================================================================
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 1 Nov 1994 03:16:11 -0500
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Subject: Re: USA TODAY and the Truth ab
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Someone should point out to Ford the article appearing this week
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(out in many newspapers already) for the Tribune Syndicate, in which she
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states that, based on her interviews and sources, it WAS a mutual and
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amicable parting, that Sinclair is NOT gone, and basically reinforces every
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single point made here.
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Assuming anyone really cares anymore...frankly, I'm getting pretty
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fucking tired and disgusted with the whole discussion. Ford is an idiot,
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pure and simple.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 1 Nov 1994 03:16:30 -0500
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Subject: ATT JMS & PAD: (Re: Ignore Fo
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The idea of, "ask a member of the WGA" why one should never trust a
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television producer is moronic in the extreme, because for the most part,
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the majority of producers in TV ****ARE WRITERS**** and members of the
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WGA. I've been a member of WGA since 1978 or so, and have been a writer
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a lot longer than I've been a producer.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 1 Nov 1994 04:46:58 -0500
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Subject: Re: Bab 5 in USA Today
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*sigh*...I was up writing all night long, I meant to say that the
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Tribune Syndicate and TV Guide got the story more accurately than USA
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Today in that one respect (though the rest of the article seemed fine);
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unlike Ford, I have a life, and sometimes it gets tiring.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 1 Nov 1994 06:23:19 -0500
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Subject: Re: Ignore Ford Thaxton (was
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Woody Harper: you have ended your messages with a "quote" from me
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stating, "I'm foolin' 'em with these funny footprints!" As with much of
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what comes out of your and Ford Thaxton's mouth, this is a lie and a
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fabrication, I never made that statement.
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Just what the hell is your problem, anyway? You put info out that
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I'm fired, you misquote me, you lie to others on systems about me...this
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is stalking behavior on your part, and I'm getting very, very tired of it,
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and I'm not going to stand for much more of it. You may consider that I
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am now putting you on formal notice. Henceforth, all further fabrications
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and downright lies that you post, all harrassing messages sent by you,
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all rumors and deliberate distortions will be forwarded from me to my
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attorneys, and gathered to be filed with an attorney in your state for
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potential prosecution under libel laws and anti-stalking laws. Further, I
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may be forced to take personal legal action against you. Remember that I
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have your address.
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You have deliberately manufactured quotes from me. You have stated,
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as fact, that I was fired from my job. You have told others that I
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tracked you down for disagreeing with me, when in fact (as others here
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can and have agreed to testify), it was incidend #1, the firing story,
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that prompted this action. You (and now, our latest homunculus, Ford
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Thaxton) deliberately distort and misrepresent and simply lie about
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matters injurious to my (and in the latter case, Michael O'Hare's)
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career.
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I would also request the sysop of the system from which you are
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logging in to be aware of your stalking behavior, and to reconsider your
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continued access to this forum.
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I have had enough of this obsessive behavior from you. You are now
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under formal notice to stop it and stop it now. I don't know what the
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reason is for this sick fixation of yours, but get some help for it.
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If you don't stop, you, and your family, and your employer will be
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hearing from my attorneys in very short order.
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Enough is enough.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 1 Nov 1994 19:13:31 -0500
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Subject: USA TODAY WRITER STANDS BY STO
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So now why don't you call the bunch of other reporters who say the
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opposite of USA Today and ask if *they* stand beside *their* story?
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You seem obsessed with Michael O'Hare's personal employment
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conditions...like I said, why don't you give me YOUR personal employment
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history and let ME make some phone calls? Or shall I go ahead and
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answer my own question...that you're a sick, obsessed little fuck who
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has no appreciable life, and thus has to meddle in the lives and careers
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of others.
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Get this straight: you are entitled to *nothing*. Not even this
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reply. Leave Michael O'Hare, and his career, alone. You are trying to
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turn a pleasant situation between me and someone I call a friend into
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something that will, by rumor and innuendo, harm Michael O'Hare's career.
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The degree of your obsession is becoming an area of great concern to us
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at Babylon 5. I hear that someone posing under an assumed name started
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calling here the other day, trying to worm out information about Michael
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and his employment. Coincidence?
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Get this straight: LEAVE MICHAEL ALONE. Nothing here is any of your
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goddamned business. It is a PRIVATE matter, everyone is content with
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life...who the fuck are you to try and distort and screw around with
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people's careers? You are a viewer, who is entitled to what we put out
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over the air, and not one bit more. Okay, you don't buy what happens to
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be the truth. So the fuck what? I don't care, no one here cares; the
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concern raised is because you are openly trying to harm me, and Michael,
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through your messages.
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How about you get your OWN fucking life and leave everybody else
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alone? And until YOU are willing to provide, here, your OWN employers,
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so that we can do to you (a public figure on these boards) what YOU are
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doing to MICHAEL, as far as I'm concerned you're nothing more than a
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coward and a loudmouth who gets off on causing other people psychological
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distress.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 1 Nov 1994 19:26:50 -0500
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Subject: Re: Before There Was B5 There
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In my view, Blake's 7 is a *terrific* show, and if we can come even
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close to that quality, I'll be happy.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 2 Nov 1994 00:20:21 -0500
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Subject: ATTN JMS: Political opinions o
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The similarity to the Kennedy situation, and the use of the LBJ
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swearing-in photo as reference for the Earthforce One shot, were
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definitely intentional. Remember, we're trying to construct a metaphor
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here, as one of the levels on which the show operates.
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What do *I* personally think re: the Kennedy situation? I can't
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think of anything less interesting, and less grounded, than my own
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opinion on this subject. I've done an awful lot of reading in this
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area, but there are a lot of folks who know a hell of a lot more than I
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do, with probably many of them on this system.
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The House Subcommittee that investigated this issue some time ago
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came to the conclusion that there most likely *was* a conspiracy of
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some sort, but couldn't find any overwhelming evidence to any other
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shooter (these being two different but important issues). Do I think
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there was some sort of conspiracy (and to qualify as conspiracy you only
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need one or two other people)? Yes. Were there other shooters? My
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sense is probably, but not necessarily. Will we ever know the full
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story? No. Should we ever stop trying? No.
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jm("Back, and to the left.")s
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 2 Nov 1994 00:20:46 -0500
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Subject: Kill files!
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Unfortunately, the GEnie gateway I use does not have a killfile
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feature.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 2 Nov 1994 01:09:28 -0500
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Subject: Re: USA TODAY WRITER STANDS BY
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What is most hurtful about this is that Michael O'Hare has been out
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there *really* pulling for the show lately, talking it up at the Big-E
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Con over the past weekend, wishing everyone well, looking to the future,
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reinforcing everything said here, he's been nothing but nifty...and along
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come people obsessed with poisoning the well and hurting Michael in the
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process.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 2 Nov 1994 05:44:46 -0500
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Subject: USA, JMS, and YKW.
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At this juncture, as you say, I have no further interest in
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responding to these people, since their agenda is quite clear. So much
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crap has been said about this show, so much misinformation put out by
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people, that it can make you crazy. (Several newspapers and stations said
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point blank that there were NO plans for Sinclair to return, that he
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would NOT return...and here I am in my office, looking at footage we shot
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which we're about to use for season two.)
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To your comment about personalities entering the fray and/or getting
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targeted...I guess I keep forgetting that part of it. I have never really
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considered myself a *PERSONALITY*...wasn't altogether sure I *had* one
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outside of the work....
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 2 Nov 1994 05:45:01 -0500
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Subject: Some ACTUAL SHOW questions WAS
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We try to accommodate our actors where we possibly can. For
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instance, one of our actors will tentatively be doing a CD Rom movie
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project, and will need two days off in the middle of shooting. So while
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we can't guarantee (we just got in the script and are now breaking out the
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shooting schedule), we're certainly going to try our best to work this
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out, and probably will be able to. Actors need to take every free chance
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they have to work; the more work they do, the better they get; the better
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they get, the better my show gets. As long as it doesn't interfere with
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production, I have no problem with it.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 3 Nov 1994 01:45:16 -0500
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Subject: JMS (and others): Babylon 5 co
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By the time B5 hits the UK, only the first 2 issues of the comic
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should be out, and there's nothing in any of those that could be
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considered a spoiler, so you should be okay.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 3 Nov 1994 06:53:51 -0500
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Subject: Re: Ignore Ford Thax
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Well, well...I've been getting some very interesting information on
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our friend Ford A. Thaxton, who is involved with a little enterprise
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called Silva Screen Records. Perhaps Mr. Thaxton wouldn't mind discussing
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some of *his* personal business, like how why he has been using
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Christopher Franke's music in his released (remixed) without paying
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Chris any royalties...? Apparently he has some real business problems
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with Chris, and I would think he has considerable motivation to smear
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anything that Chris is involved with. Didn't mention that li'l old
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conflict of interest in your quest for the "truth," did old Ford.
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And some of the things recently conveyed to me by some who've worked
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with, and for Ford, in HIS business practices, are quite illuminating, to
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say the least. But I suppose he would think that was a private matter,
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not to be discussed on a network.
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Maybe I should go and contact Edgar Froese in Germany, and ask about
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some of *his* recent dealings with Ford, so that I can post them here.
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Nice little place Ford has, out there in Olympia, Washington....
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My, but Ford's had such an *interesting* life...at least, so say
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the many people who've dropped me messages in the last few days, who have
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worked with him.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 3 Nov 1994 18:38:29 -0500
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Subject: Re: Points of Departure -- SPO
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Next week, in "Revelations," you get G'Kar, Londo, Delenn, Lennier,
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Na'Toth, Kosh, Garibaldi, Talia and everybody else. Because there was SO
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much happening in #1, that got slid back a bit; also, there's a fair
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amount of time required for everything to do what they're supposed to be
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doing. (Note that we're operating pretty much in real-time; "Points" is
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around 8 days after the events of "Chrysalis," and "Revelations" is about
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another week after that.)
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One thing I noted here some time ago, as a large part of the reason
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I dropped "to be continued" from "Chrysalis" is that this is more of a
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three-parter than a two, and some threads pulled in "Chrysalis" won't be
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fully resolved in some ways until the third and fourth episodes. There is
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a LOT going on, and if we try to cram it all into one episode (as I at
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first tried with "Chrysalis, Part Two") you don't give ANY of them the
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proper time to have any impact.
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Finally, we're getting new people sampling the first episode of the
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season, as is true of most shows. Thus, you have to put into dialogue a
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fair amount of stuff that otherwise you could just imply or rely on past
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experience/prior knowledge. So you kind of introduce the newbies to the
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situation, and that requires a fair amount of exposition. This is pretty
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much localized to "Points," however; with the next episode, we're up to
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full speed. Episode 2 deals with as many issues/plotlines as "Chrysalis,"
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with the main difference being that here, they're *resolved* rather than
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left hanging.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 3 Nov 1994 18:38:47 -0500
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Subject: Church of JMS
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Speaking as an atheist, if there is to be a church of jms, then I
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must become its first apostate and refuse to believe in myself (adding
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further insecurity to my life), and nail a whole bunch of theses to the
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front door on the way out....
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 4 Nov 1994 08:39:53 -0500
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Subject: The new "Tech #1" <sniff> (no
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Just as an advisory...the woman who spoke up in PoD (the tech who
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told Sheridan that Security wanted him) is not a Tech 1 replacement; she
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was there just for that one episode. We have a number of folks floating
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through that area now, because logically you would have rotating crews.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 4 Nov 1994 21:47:59 -0500
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Subject: Re: Ignore Ford Thaxton (was
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Well, well, well....y'all remember how for weeks and weeks old Ford
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has been in here, arguing that he had a right to know the inner workings
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of Michael O'Hare's business, his career, his employment, "the truth is
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out there," on and on and on ad infinitum? Message after message after
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message, smearing by implication and innuendo, demanding the truth, that
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he was entitled to know, that this was the right forum to discuss such
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matters?
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Well, after my ONE message here about *his* business, guess who has
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gone right up the flue and started whining to Warner Bros. about how it
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is unfair and wrong for me to discuss someone's business in a public
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forum...? And buttressed it with threats (veiled and otherwise)?
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I guess there are rules that apply to Ford, and rules that apply to
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everyone else.
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I guess there are those who like to dish it out, but don't much like
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it when EXACTLY the same thing is done to them. Fortunately there is a
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long, LONG trail of messages here from Mr. Thaxton which present a very
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clear picture of who started what, and why.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 4 Nov 1994 23:09:52 -0500
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Subject: Re: USA TODAY and the Truth ab
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This to Ken Schroder...a very good analysis of the situation re:
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Sinclair/Sheridan. One other element, which will become clearer with
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the passage of time, is that Sinclair's main tie was to the Minbari
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storyline, which though not *resolved* per se in "Points," gets pushed
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back as the Shadowmen story advances. So his impact on that storyline
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would have been second-hand. Sheridan, on the other hand, has a direct
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tie-in to this latter storyline, though he does not know it yet. Also,
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there are some military aspects coming that only someone commanding a
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starship recently, and working with some other aspects of the military,
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would have access to, and that is also something Sheridan brings to the
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story.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 4 Nov 1994 23:11:33 -0500
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Subject: JMS: Mea Culpa (was : What I d
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Jeremy: you are forgiven; go, and sin no more.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 5 Nov 1994 03:16:16 -0500
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Subject: JMS: Good Choice!
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The nice thing is that Bruce's likeableness (is that a word?) isn't
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just confined to the camera. He's honestly a nifty guy. He's friendly
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to everyone on the set, even casual visitors. He's what's called a "team
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player," in that his concern is for the other actor, and gives as much off
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camera for the actor to play against as when he's on-camera. He's charmed
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the hell out of just about everyone involved in making B5, and that's not
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an easy task.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 5 Nov 1994 03:37:33 -0500
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Subject: Another B5 media mention
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I would be *profoundly* grateful if you could send a copy of the
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article to:
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14431 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.
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Thanks if you can oblige....
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 6 Nov 1994 03:27:59 -0500
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Subject: ATTN JMS: Assorted questions o
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Laurel Takashima was not a psi, no. Valen did have something to do
|
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in the struggle against the Shadows at a prior time.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 6 Nov 1994 03:32:34 -0500
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Subject: ATTN JMS (nagging question & a
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Valen's prophecy is something that will have to be revealed with
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time; if I gave it out now, it would ruin too much yet to come.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 6 Nov 1994 05:09:00 -0500
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Subject: JMS: PoD Plusses (Minor Spoile
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To your points...yes, we definitely plan to do more with Dr.
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Franklin this year. My goal is to get Ivanova OUT of Ops, and Franklin
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OUT of Medlab on occasion, to see their real lives, and do other things
|
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with them (and I think you'll find some real surprises coming up very
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shortly).
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The Earthforce lounge (EA personnel only) is Earhart's, named after
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the famed aviator.
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(Consequently, as tradition, only swing or big-band music is ever
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played in Earhart's.)
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Yes, we brightened things up a notch, but only a notch, because we
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discovered that a lot of the good work being done on the sets and the
|
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costumes wasn't being seen because we were too dark. So we went up about
|
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one f-stop, but at the same time began using more shadows, textures and
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colors, so the show has a denser look to it.
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Definite agreement on the CGI this year.
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There are a couple of big, honking CGI episodes coming up fairly
|
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soon that're just terrific, the best Ron and Kevin have done to date.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
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Date: 6 Nov 1994 09:01:30 -0500
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Subject: JMS: Thanks for the good trans
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An interesting summation; good stuff.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
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Date: 6 Nov 1994 18:29:42 -0500
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Subject: JMS? New info on New Series ?!
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I'd rather speak to the new projects when there's more concrete news
|
|
to convey.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 6 Nov 1994 18:29:58 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: why do aliens lust a
|
|
|
|
Actually, it's mainly just G'Kar who's big into human females (so to
|
|
speak); Lennier was more astonished than anything else.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 6 Nov 1994 18:31:42 -0500
|
|
Subject: Will we ever see...
|
|
|
|
You will see hyperspace from the inside briefly in episode 2, and
|
|
bigtime in episode 4.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 6 Nov 1994 18:33:30 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: Do YOU have any info
|
|
|
|
It's my understanding that Seven Network in Australia will begin
|
|
carrying B5 around December or thereabouts.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 6 Nov 1994 21:28:59 -0500
|
|
Subject: B5's music
|
|
|
|
Christopher writes the B5 music here; faxes it to Berlin, and the
|
|
Berlin Symphonic Film Orchestra, which he works with. The next day, he
|
|
gets on a high-compression audio/video link (via phone and fiber optic
|
|
lines) and conducts the orchestra in Berlin from his home here in LA. The
|
|
finished music is then sent here via those same high-compression lines,
|
|
and transferred to DAT. In some cases, if we need something fast, and
|
|
it's fairly simple, he does it on his studio equipment.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 7 Nov 1994 04:24:01 -0500
|
|
Subject: "Things cannot hold..."
|
|
|
|
One aspect of the Yeats quote, and the Lincoln quote, and the
|
|
Tennyson quote(s), and the many others, is that I think a lot of folks
|
|
at some point tuned out of, or aren't interested in, literature and
|
|
poetry because they've never really been exposed to it. So just to be a
|
|
little subversive, I work some of it into the show. I choose that which
|
|
has meaning to the show, and the characters, in the hopes that (as has
|
|
happened here), viewers will dig out the original material and be exposed
|
|
to some *really* nifty writing. Granted that television must entertain
|
|
at minimum; it should also elevate and ennoble and educate, and this is
|
|
too good an opportunity to waste, provided one does not become didactic
|
|
about it.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 7 Nov 1994 04:24:14 -0500
|
|
Subject: Mysticism (PoD Spoilers)
|
|
|
|
The fact that Minbari believe in souls does not make it so.
|
|
|
|
If a story is rigorously SF, but some of the people who inhabit the
|
|
story have belief systems, does that automatically invalidate it as SF?
|
|
|
|
I don't think it's the position of this show to state whether or not
|
|
a belief system is true but rather to explore the actions of those who
|
|
THINK it's true; not to resolve arguments, but to start arguments. (See
|
|
"Believers" for more on this one.)
|
|
|
|
What the characters believe is subjective, and is their business.
|
|
Or, as Sheridan says in a later episode, "I'm not saying what I'm saying.
|
|
I'm not saying what I'm thinking. For that matter, I'm not even THINKING
|
|
what I'm thinking."
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 7 Nov 1994 10:02:00 -0500
|
|
Subject: Sheridan didn't tell Clark !!!
|
|
|
|
This is correct. Sheridan did NOT tell President Clark about the
|
|
Minbari soul situation. Clark already knew about it. Sheridan's line
|
|
is, "I spoke with the president. He is the only other person who knows
|
|
why the Minbari surrendered." Also, in the first issue of the comic, this
|
|
prior knowledge on Clark's part is clear as well.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
Article 37979 of rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5:
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 7 Nov 1994 19:03:34 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATT JMS: Comments from my wif
|
|
|
|
Tell your wife I'm getting kickbacks from the AMA.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 9 Nov 1994 02:03:54 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS: Yeats The Second Coming-
|
|
|
|
Let's just say that I've read a lot of British literature, and quite
|
|
a bit of Yeats and Keats and Shelley and others, and let it go at that for
|
|
now.
|
|
|
|
Re: Lennier, the Grey Council fellow said, "Tell them what we've told
|
|
YOU," not someone else. Just to clarify.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 9 Nov 1994 02:12:56 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: Damn you, Mr Straczy
|
|
|
|
Let me reassure you.
|
|
|
|
It's all a carefully woven covert plot to destroy your attention span
|
|
so you can't study.
|
|
|
|
Look! Over there! A comet!
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 9 Nov 1994 02:13:09 -0500
|
|
Subject: CHRYSALIS, blooper? (SPOILER)
|
|
|
|
Sorry, this isn't a blooper. Garibaldi says, into the Link,
|
|
"Garibaldi to Sinclair," which tells the Link to find Sinclair. Then we
|
|
have Sinclair's response. No blooper.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 9 Nov 1994 18:50:23 -0500
|
|
Subject: Attn JMS
|
|
|
|
Thanks for the support, and the story; I kinda like that....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 9 Nov 1994 18:52:11 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS! HELP! RE: B5 -Capt Power
|
|
|
|
I had very little to do with Captain Power after walking off the
|
|
show because I thought there was too much power being given to the
|
|
merchandising aspect. And I'm not sure how much to reveal; I can say
|
|
that Larry DiTillio, who came in after me as story editor, edited an
|
|
entire season worth of scripts; 24 scripts are lying around, waiting to
|
|
be filmed. I kinda gave him the elements I wanted to see dealt with, and
|
|
left. (I seem to remember a Starlog interview with Larry a couple of
|
|
years back where the arc is pretty much spelled out for year two.)
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 9 Nov 1994 18:52:23 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATT JMS: Casting the pilot
|
|
|
|
Oddly, the only name I remember from casting the pilot, in looking
|
|
for a Sinclair, before we found Michael, was John Rhys-Davies.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 9 Nov 1994 20:37:03 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN:JMS spoiler for revalatio
|
|
|
|
The platform seen in the opening of "Revelations" is a hazardous
|
|
materials platform, which is still cleaning up the radioactive debris
|
|
and other stuff from the blown Minbari cruiser in the last ep.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 9 Nov 1994 20:47:40 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS : who won the court case ?
|
|
|
|
The human won the case, but damages awarded were minimal.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 9 Nov 1994 20:50:52 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: New Officer's Lounge
|
|
|
|
Basically, I decided to name the EA Lounge "Earhart's" because she
|
|
is an important figure in aviation history, and I wanted a 40s art deco
|
|
style to the place, down to big band music, and it fit perfectly. There
|
|
have been more women aviators, civilian and elsewhere, than we know,
|
|
particularly during WW II at home, and they deserve recognition.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 10 Nov 1994 00:09:48 -0500
|
|
Subject: CHARACTERS CHANGING
|
|
|
|
Somebody posted the other day that this is as if you're reading a
|
|
novel, and something happens to a character, so you stop reading at
|
|
chapter three. Me, I'd want to keep reading to see what happens next...
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 10 Nov 1994 00:10:01 -0500
|
|
Subject: Attn JMS: Chrysalis and JFK (S
|
|
|
|
Actually, I was born in 54, so we're about the same age. Oddly, I
|
|
don't remember the day of the shooting; what I *do* remember is watching
|
|
JFK's funeral, and not entirely understanding the depth of the event, but
|
|
fully grasping the emotions around me. That will linger forever.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 10 Nov 1994 01:11:44 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATT JMS: Comments from my wif
|
|
|
|
AMA = American Medical ASsociation.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 00:31:50 -0500
|
|
Subject: "Revelations" blow by blow (SP
|
|
|
|
Re: inconsistent writing and Narns...please bear in mind that there
|
|
are two ways to encounter shadowmen: going out there, and them coming in
|
|
to see YOU. The Narns need not be (and were not) spacefaring when they
|
|
encountered the shadowmen. Or, more accurately, were encountered BY them.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 00:38:16 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS : Sheridan in from beginni
|
|
|
|
Sheridan, or more specifically the need for someone *like* Sheridan
|
|
began to get through clearly toward the latter part of last season, as I
|
|
began planning out season two's progression, and kept looking at elements
|
|
of the story and trying to find ways to get Sinclair into the heart of
|
|
them. They felt contrived, for the most part; and the other characters,
|
|
like Londo and G'Kar and Delenn, were *really* moving forward in a big
|
|
way. The role of Sinclair was becoming primarily that of a "problem
|
|
solver," and when that happens, a sort of glass bell falls down around the
|
|
character, and you can't do much with him.
|
|
|
|
So what the writer has to do is break that bell in one way or another;
|
|
do something totally unexpected to him, and bring in someone who has a
|
|
direct, personal connection with the storyline emerging in season two, so
|
|
it's not contrived or forced.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 00:38:28 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS: Question and a comment [n
|
|
|
|
It's G'Quan (or G'Quon, my notes aren't in front of me).
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 06:06:12 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS
|
|
|
|
Insofar as I know, no, wasn't on Alternative Possibilities BBS.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 06:54:40 -0500
|
|
Subject: Revelations and Tolkien (spoil
|
|
|
|
"it is hard to explain how the Narns...could travel faster than
|
|
light one thousand years ago."
|
|
|
|
Indeed, it would be, if that were what had happened. Fortunately,
|
|
it isn't.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 06:54:49 -0500
|
|
Subject: Lawyers?
|
|
|
|
Evolution notwithstanding, there are still lawyers in the future;
|
|
we've shown them (alongside defendants) but not given them any lines yet.
|
|
But they're there.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 06:54:59 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN: JMS...Opening music
|
|
|
|
No, we're not going to change the music. The season one music was
|
|
right *for that season*. The events in year two are different; the music
|
|
reflects where this season is going. The complaints mainly come because
|
|
it isn't the same. It isn't *meant* to be the same. It's not an inferior
|
|
version of year one, it's a different cue, meant to evoke different
|
|
emotions. They say it isn't evoking the same feelings in them as the
|
|
first year. Good. That's the intent. It will be changed EVERY season to
|
|
correspond with the general sensibility of that season. (And while you
|
|
note some who think it's lighter and airy, most others I've heard from say
|
|
they think it's darker and more ominous. It's all subjective.)
|
|
|
|
The only constant in the B5 universe is change.
|
|
|
|
I've written novels as well as TV. Often, in my published novels, I
|
|
include classical quotes at various points as chapter openings. I pick my
|
|
quotes to correspond with that section of the book. Should I use the same
|
|
quote over and over instead?
|
|
|
|
I am absolutely thrilled with the music as it is, and it's staying.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
(And btw, I remember getting LOTS of complaints on the nets about the
|
|
first season music, how nobody liked it, how they couldn't hum it, it was
|
|
not symphonic enough, on and on and on. Now everybody likes the old one
|
|
and some don't like the new one. Next year, folks'll be lamenting the
|
|
loss of the second year theme. Lots of folks complained about Sinclair.
|
|
We took him off the chessboard. Now a number of folks are complaining that
|
|
he's gone. What does all this mean? It means you can't do a show by
|
|
committee, whether that committee is a studio, a network, or a netgroup.
|
|
The alternative is chaos and lowest-common-denominator programming.)
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 06:55:08 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS: What might have been...
|
|
|
|
The only problem with answering how things would've been different
|
|
is that some information might get out by inference about how things might
|
|
still *be*. However, to do what I can with the question (never let it be
|
|
said I don't try to accommodate....).
|
|
|
|
If Lyta had stayed on B5, her arc would be pretty close to that of
|
|
Talia, except that she would have begun to form a strong link to Kosh,
|
|
first in the form of dreams, then something with implications that could
|
|
be read as menacing or benign.
|
|
|
|
If Dr. Kyle would have stayed around, he would have moved more into
|
|
the position of advisor/paternal figure for Sinclair. He also would have
|
|
continued to be more scientist than doctor.
|
|
|
|
Takashima would have been revealed as having been in on the Vorlon
|
|
assassination attempt by season's end, and would have betrayed Garibaldi
|
|
in the events in "Chrysalis," either giving him over to those involved
|
|
with the coup, or pulling the trigger herself. While we would know this,
|
|
our characters would not, for as much as another full season.
|
|
|
|
Carolyn Sykes would've gotten into major trouble with one of the
|
|
major EarthCorps.
|
|
|
|
Finally, if Sinclair had stayed with B5 at this juncture, the events
|
|
in "Points" (the reveal of the Minbari surrender) would've taken place in
|
|
episode 3 instead of 1. Episode 1 would've consisted mainly of the events
|
|
in "Revelations," which was mainly as a bystander to the events around
|
|
him, since the sister aspect specific to Sheridan obviously wouldn't be
|
|
there. Basically, with all the events surrounding Delenn, Londo, G'Kar
|
|
and others, he didn't have one whole hell of a lot to *DO* in the first
|
|
six to eight episodes, since that segment was set aside primarily to
|
|
introduce the Shadowman war and get that cranking, and Sinclair had no real
|
|
direct connection to that.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 06:56:44 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS: A few odd bits
|
|
|
|
The changeling net face belonged to Ron in that sequence; not the
|
|
same as that in the boarding area. And the new VO in the end credits is
|
|
done by Harlan Ellison.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 20:17:21 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS: Forever Babylon!
|
|
|
|
Thanks. Positive feedback is always welcome. Best to you and to
|
|
your associates.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 20:24:46 -0500
|
|
Subject: Too much net influence?
|
|
|
|
My sense has always been that no one hanging thread should be allowed
|
|
to hang more than one season. And all information needed to understand
|
|
any thread must be included in the episode.
|
|
|
|
When I work here on the nets with notes about foreshadowing, it's
|
|
basically to play and allow some folks to start to figure out stuff before
|
|
it happens. This is something that, from talking to many non-netted
|
|
viewers, the regular audience member doesn't really try to do. The
|
|
emphasis in the minds of most viewers is tuning in to see what happened.
|
|
The emphasis here on the nets is to try and figure out what's going to
|
|
happen BEFORE it happens.
|
|
|
|
The influene on the show by the nets is really minimal, if at all.
|
|
Mainly the purpose of the nets, from my perspective, is a) to help
|
|
educate people about how a show is done, b) to show respect for some of
|
|
those linked in who are in the SF community, and c) to get barraged by
|
|
questions about my characters and universe, knowing that when I get hit
|
|
by a question I hadn't considered, and answering it, I've learned a bit
|
|
more about my own story, which helps round it out.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 12 Nov 1994 20:43:58 -0500
|
|
Subject: Dear JMS-Question?
|
|
|
|
I tried to develop a basic language structure for each of the races
|
|
on B5. There are certain commonalities to the structure of names. I
|
|
came up with some prefixes and suffixes, and assigned meanings to them,
|
|
the same as real names. For instance, Rathenn (referred to by Delenn in
|
|
"Voices") and Delenn have the same suffix, which has a specific meaning.
|
|
You can break it down; Ner-oon (Legacies), Del-enn, Rath-enn, Der-onn, and
|
|
so forth. The various parts do have specific meanings, but I generally
|
|
keep that to myself, just for amusement.
|
|
|
|
No Irish ancestry here that I'm aware of.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 13 Nov 1994 07:42:00 -0500
|
|
Subject: Revelations -- Wham!
|
|
|
|
Speaking of looking into the abyss...which comes from "Revelations,"
|
|
it's a partial quote. Neitzsche: "When you look into the abyss, the abyss
|
|
looks also into you."
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 13 Nov 1994 09:02:19 -0500
|
|
Subject: Underwriting + Underacting = Q
|
|
|
|
"Whoever wrote 'Points of Departure.'"
|
|
|
|
That would be me. The first three ("Points," "Revelations" and "the
|
|
Geometry of Shadows") are mine. The next three are by D.C. Fontana ("A
|
|
Distant Star," Scott Frost "The Long Dark," and Larry DiTillio ("A Spider
|
|
in the Web"), with Peter David's "Soul Mates" rounding out the first
|
|
seven new eps to be broadcast in a row.
|
|
|
|
We then hit late December, and reruns through the Christmas
|
|
holidays when nobody's home. We'll come back then with "A Race Through
|
|
Dark Places" (jms); "The Coming of Shadows" (jms); "GROPOS" (ld); "All
|
|
Alone in the Night" (jms); "Acts of Sacrifice" (jms), then some more
|
|
freelance scripts.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 13 Nov 1994 19:03:35 -0500
|
|
Subject: Attn: JMS: Shadowmen and Narns
|
|
|
|
"my question is who, what or how where (the shadowmen) beaten back
|
|
then?"
|
|
|
|
All in good time....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 13 Nov 1994 22:10:38 -0500
|
|
Subject: DUMB SCREW-UPS
|
|
|
|
She's not seeing the shooter from outside Garibaldi's POV. That
|
|
shot in particular is *exactly* from Garibaldi's POV. It's a lot like
|
|
what is done in hypnosis, going back into somebody's memory and dragging
|
|
out details they might have seen but not noted; the eye sees more than
|
|
the brain recalls at any given moment. When we shot that scene, I was
|
|
on-set, and the camera was put *exactly* where Garibaldi was standing,
|
|
so we'd be very careful that it WAS his point of view. So though I hate
|
|
to contradict you, it's not "a stupid plot hole from hell."
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 15 Nov 1994 09:34:55 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: Fighting in Hyperspa
|
|
|
|
They can fight, after a fashion.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 15 Nov 1994 09:40:55 -0500
|
|
Subject: Re: Underwriting + Underacting
|
|
|
|
Oddly enough, while I always had just one title for each of the first
|
|
two season, I have several competing titles for year three, and haven't
|
|
quite decided which to go with. Somewhere near the top of the list is,
|
|
"I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds." May be a bit too much,
|
|
though....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 15 Nov 1994 19:56:00 -0500
|
|
Subject: RE: B5 & Tolkien
|
|
|
|
The only problem with this discussion is that it begins on the
|
|
assumption that there is *any* kind of one-to-one correlation between
|
|
B5 characters and LoTR characters. There isn't. There are, however,
|
|
many aspects that they share in that they both are moving toward creating
|
|
myth of a sort; if you've read Campbell's "Hero With a Thousand Faces,"
|
|
you know that there are some constants that work throughout mythic-based
|
|
fiction. The Foundation books, the Lensman books, Childhood's End, all
|
|
worked on a kind of myth-structure; so does B5 (at least in theory; how
|
|
well it actually succeeds at that task will have to be seen with time).
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 15 Nov 1994 19:59:04 -0500
|
|
Subject: Chelo Stew!
|
|
|
|
This is really getting distressing. This hate campaign is sick in
|
|
the extreme.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 15 Nov 1994 23:00:02 -0500
|
|
Subject: (JMS, your thoughts?) Re: Real
|
|
|
|
Y'know, I'm really getting sick of Theron's whining and constant
|
|
second-guessing and "personal observations" about me, Michael, and how
|
|
this show works when he is absolutely without any information on which
|
|
to base these suppositions.
|
|
|
|
No, Michael wasn't in the first episode. Why? Because after we
|
|
went our separate ways in the spring, he headed back to New York for some
|
|
pending offers there. HE WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO SHOOT. Okay, Theron? CAn
|
|
we be clear on this? Can I be *ANY* clearer on this? We DID grab
|
|
a piece with him before he left, which will be dropped in later in the
|
|
season.
|
|
|
|
I don't know which world you live in, Theron, but I live in the real
|
|
world that has to consider cross-continental flights, shooting schedules,
|
|
and a thousand other areas.
|
|
|
|
Further, in episode one, from a strictly creative point of view,
|
|
I had to a) introduce a new character and make him interesting, b) tie
|
|
up some important war threads from season one, c) come up with a present
|
|
time/foreground story (the Tragati) to make the episode self-contained,
|
|
d) keep all of the other characters moving...and a zillion other things.
|
|
If I had dropped a piece with Sinclair into the midst of this, it would
|
|
have royally screwed up my structure.
|
|
|
|
I COULD NOT HAVE GIVEN THAT SCENE THE TIME AND ATTENTION AND
|
|
IMPORTANCE IT DESERVED. When we *do* see Sinclair again, it will be in
|
|
a context where it will be important, and can be handled properly.
|
|
|
|
I *really* don't like people second-guessing me; worse still when
|
|
they imply motivations and engage in personal speculations that have
|
|
NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the real world, or the story that I'm trying
|
|
to tell. Okay, Theron, YOU wouldn't have done it this way. So go make
|
|
YOUR show. This is mine. And I'll do it as I see fit, in order to tell
|
|
the story that I want to tell.
|
|
|
|
Can we now resolve this and move on?
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 15 Nov 1994 23:00:12 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: Music and Harlan
|
|
|
|
Harlan is not actually *in* the story as a character, and the
|
|
opening VO is for those IN the story. It's not a merit thing, it's a
|
|
story thing.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 16 Nov 1994 01:29:18 -0500
|
|
Subject: Why is B5 syndicated?
|
|
|
|
Real simple, non-tech answer: none of the networks wanted it. They
|
|
didn't think it could be contained and shot for a budget; they didn't
|
|
think there was an audience for SF space stuff outside Star Trek (and many
|
|
still don't); they didn't think the EFX could be done using CGI. Every
|
|
single one of them passed on it on the grounds that it couldn't be done.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 16 Nov 1994 08:28:21 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS: RE: Underwriting + Undera
|
|
|
|
I scuttled my story for "The Customer is Always Right," a stand-alone,
|
|
because I decided it wasn't up to par, and walked over some of the turf
|
|
ST had walked over.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 17 Nov 1994 02:45:31 -0500
|
|
Subject: JMS: Utility Actor????
|
|
|
|
In order to create more involved alien makeups, and because many
|
|
actors have a hard time with prosthetics, we created what we call the
|
|
Babylon 5 Alien Rep Group; last year about five, and this year about 12
|
|
actors who we have taken full head and (in some cases) body casts, so we
|
|
can use them in mid-level speaking roles as aliens and rotate them in and
|
|
out. Since we had fewer last year, you saw Mark more than you'll see him
|
|
this year. Green Drazi #1 in "Geometry" is one such rep group alien.
|
|
|
|
We keep trying to find interesting solutions to interesting problems.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 17 Nov 1994 04:09:18 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: Re: Why is B5 syndic
|
|
|
|
No, neither B5 nor *any* of the ST shows get enough ratings to come
|
|
near the basement in terms of network ratings. So B5 will either survive
|
|
where it is, or vanish.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 17 Nov 1994 04:39:26 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATT JMS! How can we help "save
|
|
|
|
The best thing to do, really, is to a) let the stations know, in
|
|
writing, that you like the show, and why, and b) keep bringing in others
|
|
to discover the show. Near as I can tell, most of the new viewers we're
|
|
now getting are coming not through ads or promos, but word of mouth.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 17 Nov 1994 04:55:23 -0500
|
|
Subject: 14 words
|
|
|
|
If I told you what the 14 words were, they wouldn't mean anything
|
|
anymore.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 17 Nov 1994 04:55:35 -0500
|
|
Subject: Geometry of Shadows [SPOILER]
|
|
|
|
You hit on the head *precisely*. When Garibaldi was popping the
|
|
energy cap in and out of the PPG, he was on the floor, nominally in the
|
|
dark, thinking of killing himself. I didn't want to play it up, didn't
|
|
want to make it what the story was about...just show him doing it, over and
|
|
over. And from Sheridan's face, seeing the last of this, it's clear he
|
|
got it...and I thought he handled the scene *perfectly*, by his whole
|
|
demeanor, but NOT talking about it except indirectly.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 17 Nov 1994 04:55:48 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: Vir and Londo (small
|
|
|
|
Be assured, Vir's position continues to be important, and he moves a
|
|
bit closer to the limelight as he does so...remember, he's the one who
|
|
has to watch Londo's actions like a man watching an accident in slow
|
|
motion, and try to do what he can to stop it.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 00:40:25 -0500
|
|
Subject: Historical models for B5 empir
|
|
|
|
Certainly, when I sat down to construct Minbari society, I looked
|
|
into various historical models, and overall, though there are bits and
|
|
pieces of one or another, I tried not to model it after any one group
|
|
wholecloth. Certainly there's allegory all over the place....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 02:12:29 -0500
|
|
Subject: Noises in space and Harlan
|
|
|
|
Harlan, like many others who've bought the no-sound-in-space okeydoke,
|
|
did ask for that, yes. Then I figured I'd try and get the straight skinny
|
|
on this, and sent messages around to folks at JPL, NASA, and elsewhere, and
|
|
y'know what? There IS sound in space. The conditions and circumstances
|
|
are fairly specific -- proximity to nebulae, proximity to the air-bubble
|
|
contained in a big ship when it explodes, such that it can reach you and
|
|
provide sound -- but there's a LOT of grey in this discussion, and lots of
|
|
reason to think there IS sound. We've just all bought into it without
|
|
really doing the math. Freeman Dyson, who currently hold Einstein's
|
|
chair, came back with many circumstances in which you'd hear sound in
|
|
space (and we've used them). Folks from JPL and the High Altitude
|
|
Observatory reported that when Pioneer broke the speed of sound, it
|
|
registered a bow-shock of a sonic boom *while in space*.
|
|
|
|
I've got something like two dozen email messages from credible and
|
|
well-grounded scientists who said, in essence, everybody ASSUMED this, but
|
|
nobody ever really bothered to ASK if it were true, and do the math. I'll
|
|
eventually upload the file when I get around to cleaning it up.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 02:14:13 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN: JMS: Organization, Man!
|
|
|
|
This is gonna sound really awful, and I'm not sure if this is good
|
|
or bad, but my "method of organization"...is just basically that I keep it
|
|
all in my head. I've tried day timers, calendars, planners, and I tend to
|
|
forget to write stuff down in it. I just tend to keep all this stuff in
|
|
my head. Sometimes I forget something, but usually it's all there.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 02:15:55 -0500
|
|
Subject: Does Harlan really have any in
|
|
|
|
Yes, Harlan and I are friends. His role on the show is whatever he
|
|
wants it to be, as he wants it to be. He describes it as being a mad dog
|
|
nipping at my ankles. I describe him as alternatively a free-floating
|
|
agent of chaos, or Jiminy Cricket, depending.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 02:16:20 -0500
|
|
Subject: Re: GoS costumes (no spoilers)
|
|
|
|
Actually, Londo has two coats, a cloak, several different colored
|
|
vests (blue, black, others), often wears just his shirt, we've seen him
|
|
in his PJs...he's got a fairly large wardrobe.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 02:16:34 -0500
|
|
Subject: Re: "The Geometry of Shadows"
|
|
|
|
Ivanova did NOT take the kerchief off either of the Drazi leaders in
|
|
the council chambers; she walked PAST them, and signaled for two of the
|
|
regular Drazi to come down out of the cheap seats.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 02:16:49 -0500
|
|
Subject: "GoS" blow by blow (SPOILERS)
|
|
|
|
"A race that speaks in macros" referred to the Drazi constantly
|
|
repeating their stance, Green must fight Purple, Purple must fight Green,
|
|
over and over...macros.
|
|
|
|
Sheridan wasn't so much talking to himself at the end, as he was to
|
|
the Tech who'd just asked about clearing the Technomages for jump.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 02:17:10 -0500
|
|
Subject: GoS costumes (no spoilers)
|
|
|
|
Ann Bruice did a great job on the technomage costumes; I agree. She
|
|
found ways to implement what was described in the script that were both
|
|
creative and wore well, and fulfilled the function. I wanted black, with
|
|
fine silver lines, and an almost circuitboard look to the patterns in
|
|
places, but not *obviously* that, stylized. She took that and came back
|
|
with a true niftyness....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 05:08:36 -0500
|
|
Subject: Re: THE GEOMETRY OF SHADOWS --
|
|
|
|
I have yelled, frequently and consistently, about the trailers for
|
|
the series, *especially* the use of prior episode's footage, since in my
|
|
view it makes it look like a rerun. The trailers are assembled by PTEN
|
|
marketing, which is hooked on the idea of flashy visuals, and if they're
|
|
not there, they borrow or cobble them. And sometimes their version of
|
|
the story doesn't touch reality at any two contiguous points. It's got
|
|
nothing to do with me, except that it annoys the hell out of me.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 05:10:15 -0500
|
|
Subject: Re: Ivanova's Foot (minor spoi
|
|
|
|
Nope, that really was Claudia walking on her broken foot in the
|
|
council chambers. She's a trooper....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 18 Nov 1994 17:02:24 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN: JMS A question
|
|
|
|
No major significance, no; the person doing the narration will, in
|
|
theory, change each year.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 19 Nov 1994 01:39:22 -0500
|
|
Subject: Londo's fate (A DISTANT STAR s
|
|
|
|
This thread is also bogus. The poster, enigma2336@AOL.com is
|
|
screwing with everybody here.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 19 Nov 1994 01:39:34 -0500
|
|
Subject: Sheridan sux
|
|
|
|
Here's why I'm troubled by this discussion not at all.
|
|
|
|
I've been here before.
|
|
|
|
Last season, in the first handful of episodes we aired, some folks
|
|
were screaming that they hated Sinclair, O'Hare was a terrible actor, on
|
|
and on and on (many of them now the ones yelling about how he was the
|
|
great thespic center of the story, and is irreplaceable). Same thing now
|
|
with Sheridan.
|
|
|
|
You get to know a character OVER TIME. I made a conscious decision
|
|
at the top not to go for broad-strokes characterization, but rather peel
|
|
back layers over time. Lots of folks hated Londo at first. Then they
|
|
got to know him *over time*, and turned around to the favorite character
|
|
for many people.
|
|
|
|
This was made clearest to me after "Infection" aired, number four to
|
|
be broadcast, when lots of people said that they felt O'Hare was finally
|
|
settling into his role and had improved. Only later they discovered that
|
|
"Infection" was actually the FIRST episode we shot, it just aired later
|
|
than it was produced (4 rather than 1). It wasn't that O'Hare had settled
|
|
into Sinclair, it was that the AUDIENCE was settling into Sinclair.
|
|
|
|
One of the things I've seen most often on the nets is a certain lack
|
|
of patience...if the actor doesn't grab one right off with some folks,
|
|
it's "he's a bad actor!" No, you don't work as much, and as successfuly,
|
|
as Bruce and be a bad actor. He's not. It's just taking time -- as with
|
|
ALL our characters -- to get to know the audience, and vice-versa.
|
|
|
|
I've been here before...heard some yelling that they hated Ivanova,
|
|
Claudia was a rotten actor, space her (now one of the most popular
|
|
characters on the show), same for Garibaldi and others at varying times.
|
|
But by season's end, once we got to KNOW who these people WERE, then that
|
|
changed. As it'll change here.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 19 Nov 1994 03:47:01 -0500
|
|
Subject: Londo being tortured in A Dist
|
|
|
|
Everyone who reads this thread...this is a bogus thread, the so
|
|
called "spoilers" are fakes and have nothing to do with the episode.
|
|
|
|
I would, however, suggest that perhaps the poster of this original
|
|
bogus storyline go work with the PTEN marketing people making trailers
|
|
for our show...couldn't be any less accurate than they are now....
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 19 Nov 1994 17:51:28 -0500
|
|
Subject: Technomage: Shadowrun homage?
|
|
|
|
The techno-mages were not a homage to ShadowRun games, since I've
|
|
never seen the game, and have never heard of it prior to seeing this
|
|
message.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 19 Nov 1994 17:51:38 -0500
|
|
Subject: Five years!! That's it??????
|
|
|
|
I've mentioned before that there's a side-story that could go off,
|
|
within the B5 universe, with a few of our characters, once the Babylon 5
|
|
story itself comes to an end in its fifth year, but that's a long ways off,
|
|
and I don't know if that's realistic.
|
|
|
|
You have to understand...I never came in wanting to be a producer.
|
|
I'm a *writer*, and I only got here because it was the only way to protect
|
|
the words...create and run the damned show so nobody can mess with it.
|
|
Once I've finished the Babylon story, assuming it runs its full length,
|
|
(5 years alone, more if there is that doubtful spinoff), the story is
|
|
over. Every story has a beginning, middle and end, and the story's over
|
|
when it's over.
|
|
|
|
I've also made no bones about the fact that, should the Babylon story
|
|
run its full term, I will have said just about everything I want to say in
|
|
television, and plan to get out, go back to writing novels.
|
|
|
|
My philosophy: find what it is you want to say, walk in the room,
|
|
say it, and get the hell out. (Second philosophy behind that one: when in
|
|
doubt, roll in a grenade and come in firing.)
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 20 Nov 1994 16:36:03 -0500
|
|
Subject: B5
|
|
|
|
It was mainly for story reasons. In any event...your support and
|
|
kind words are appreciated.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 20 Nov 1994 18:26:42 -0500
|
|
Subject: A Distant Star
|
|
|
|
Yes, now that we had the images in hand, Bruce re-did the opening
|
|
narration, and was able to nail it perfectly.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 22 Nov 1994 02:25:29 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: Centauri Emperor
|
|
|
|
The role of the Centauri emperor has been cast, and performed with
|
|
marvelous skill, in the person of Turhan Bey.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
|
|
Date: 22 Nov 1994 02:56:59 -0500
|
|
Subject: ATTN JMS: New Director?
|
|
|
|
We've signed a few new directors for year two; Mike Vejar, who did
|
|
GoS, will return to do another one or two; have also brought in Mario
|
|
Di Leo and a couple others.
|
|
|
|
jms
|
|
|
|
From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 22 Nov 1994 14:22:37 -0500
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Subject: Evidence (Revelations SPOILERS
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Copies of the evidence were made, but the question is what is the
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available evidence to BE copied? Frankly, there isn't much. There are
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no witnesses, very little physical evidence. If you tried to make a case
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with what they've got, you'd be laughed out of the courtroom.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 23 Nov 1994 00:52:01 -0500
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Subject: The Geometry of Shadows (SPOIL
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"Somehow the idea that her first assignment as Commander is
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successful only because of Garibaldi's competence and on a piece of blind
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luck is perhaps just a bit sexist."
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There were *substantial* differences made between the first draft
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and the final, based on the fact that a lot of the physical stuff I'd
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written for Claudia -- getting herself out of the problem she was in with
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the Drazi -- had to be dumped because the actress had a broken foot. So
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that aspect has to be remembered. We pushed her to the limits, and I
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didn't want to push further.
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I don't feel Sheridan was downplaying her promotion; he was sneaking
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it up on her to surprise her, making it more of an unexpected delight.
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Re: the techno-mages being the "alien of the week"...they're humans.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 23 Nov 1994 01:32:26 -0500
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Subject: ATTN JMS: *PLINK* for TV Guide
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The plink got deleted for time; will do it later.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 23 Nov 1994 02:01:37 -0500
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Subject: Why didn't C-prime conquer Ear
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The question isn't so much "Why didn't the Centauri conquer Earth?"
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as, "Why would they have WANTED to?"
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We're kind of off the beaten track, and there's little logistical or
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tactical value to a base here; up until the last couple hundred years, we
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didn't have a technological base they could exploit, and when we finally
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did get one, the Republic was already beginning to shrink and lose its
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tendency toward expansionism. Basically, we fell between the cracks, and
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for something as substantial as acts of conquer, there have to be solid
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goals, either real or imagined.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 23 Nov 1994 02:06:14 -0500
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Subject: jms: Geometry comment
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The idea behind the title "The Geometry of Shadows" was in a sense
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a metaphor for the techno-mages; geometry bespeaking the use of math and
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equations, the latter being generally something dark, or mysterious, or
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mystical.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 23 Nov 1994 03:07:57 -0500
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Subject: <spoiler of Geometry of Shadow
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Congrats; you're the first person I've seen to get the MacBeth
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parallel.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 29 Nov 1994 19:58:54 -0500
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Subject: JMS: No ST style Technobabble
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So many questions about hyperspace came up over the last year or so
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that we figured they should be addressed; be assured, we're staying as
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clear of technobabble as ever, despite my Spousal Overunit's absolute
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and unshakeable conviction that *everything* is, at its root, a math
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problem.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 29 Nov 1994 22:43:36 -0500
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Subject: Season 1 Themes CD
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There's a *limited edition* of 1,000 CDs being released now; there
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will be a much larger release around January for regular stores.
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jms
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From: straczynski@genie.geis.com
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Date: 30 Nov 1994 08:47:17 -0500
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Subject: Re: Whom Will JMS Kill First?
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Probably the person who puts our promos together for PTEN....
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jms
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