JMS on CompuServe (Apr 39, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

Brent Barrett bbarrett at speedlink.com
Tue Apr 30 14:08:48 EDT 1996


 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
 upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.

 Continue at your own risk.

 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL IS THE COPYRIGHT OF THE
 RESPECTIVE MESSAGE AUTHORS AND CANNOT BE 
 REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED
 PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR.  
 
 Note that JMS has expressed his public permission 
 that all of his messages may be reproduced freely.

 I give permission for my summaries to be reposted in
 any form, however I reserve all rights to them and
 the right to revoke this permission at any time.


 [ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
    Sb: #497456-Fan Club Idea
    Sb: #497520-#<Avalon and 3d age>
    Sb: #497528-<Ship of Tears>
    Sb: #497562-#<Avalon and 3d age>
    Sb: #497618-#Shadow defeat, 1st time?
    Sb: #497286-Franklin's Dad
    Sb: #497696-Hour 25
    Sb: #497782-Story of G'Quon
    Sb: #497771-#<Avalon and 3d age>
    Sb: #497787-<Ship of Tears>
    Sb: #497780-<Ship of Tears-Bester>
    Sb: #497748-#>>Late Delivery<<
    Sb: #497806-<Death of Ducat>
    Sb: #497841->>Ship of Tears<<


 #: 497456 S5/Babylon 5: General
    29-Apr-96  12:50:42
Sb: #Fan Club Idea
Fm: CHAD UNDERKOFFLER

Hey Joe--

I was talking with my roommate about the Nifty Stuff (tm) I'll be getting from
the Fan Club any time now, and he mentioned an item that we aren't getting but
*should* be...

Two words:  Decoder Rings.

Whattaya think?

Rage
Ranger of Washingdome
"I've got two wax inner seals from Ovaltine..."


 #: 497545 S5/Babylon 5: General
    29-Apr-96  15:14:04
Sb: #497456-Fan Club Idea
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

       The shadows will love it....

                                                                       jms



 [ Summary: In addition to the monitor, keyboard and obsessive-compulsive
   that JMS said would be seen if someone could look in on him at that 
   moment, this poster asks, "What about the bath robe and the baseball 
   bat?" ]

 #: 497546 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  15:14:06
Sb: #497520-#<Avalon and 3d age>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

       "What about the bathrobe and the baseball bat?"

       That's not a baseball bat.

       But thank you for saying so.

                                                                       jms




 #: 497528 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  14:57:10
Sb: #497269-#<Ship of Tears>
Fm: DANIEL M. UPTON

Thanks for answering.  And by the way, any word on renewal?

Dan^^^^
danupton at blueridge.net


 #: 497547 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  15:14:07
Sb: #497528-<Ship of Tears>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

       We won't hear on that until mid-May or so.  If there were word, you
wouldn't have to inquire.

                                                                       jms



 [ Summary: About the baseball bat joke, this poster asks, "Enjoying your
   hiatus, are you?" ]

 #: 497614 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  16:44:46
Sb: #497562-#<Avalon and 3d age>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

       Can't help it...I've got stark, staring mad....

                                                                       jms



 [ Summary: The poster asks if telepaths were involved in the defeat of the
   Shadows the "first time around." ]

 #: 497644 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  18:05:23
Sb: #497618-#Shadow defeat, 1st time?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

       Who can say...?

                                                                       jms




 #: 497286 S5/Babylon 5: General
    28-Apr-96  23:29:42
Sb: #495624-#Franklin's Dad
Fm: MICHAEL GRABOIS

>>I'm looking to find a way to bring Franklin's father back into the storyline
now, to help resolve this.  (Note: no suggestions, please.)<<

This brings up something I was wondering today.

In that outline you have in your computer or wherever (the one that's triple
encrypted), how much detail do you have the series mapped out? Obviously the
major points -- who does what to whom, and where it happens -- are there, but
what about the little stuff? Is Season 5 mapped out in great detail or just
rough outline?
        mg


 #: 497805 S5/Babylon 5: General
    29-Apr-96  21:41:08
Sb: #497286-Franklin's Dad
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      It varies; some aspects are extensively mapped out, some are left a
little open to allow for spontaneity.  A lot is in a triple-encrypted computer
file, which I consult as needed; the rest I carry in my head.

                                                                       jms



 #: 497696 S5/Babylon 5: General
    29-Apr-96  18:45:58
Sb: #497268-#Hour 25
Fm: SYSOP DUPA T PARROT

  Speaking of Hour 25 ....

  On occasion, I play that tape that David Gerrold made available of the August
10th, 1990 show about "Fan Xenophobia" that you and Larry Ditillio did with
Harlan Ellison and DG. It's still good stuff.

  What day/time is Hour 25 broadcast in LA? Come Labor Day weekend, I'll try to
catch a broadcast.

        -Dupa T. Parrot [Tech Supp SysOp]
        <OS/2 WarpConnect & GCP> O-


 #: 497812 S5/Babylon 5: General
    29-Apr-96  21:52:34
Sb: #497696-Hour 25
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      H25 is usually broadcast 10 p.m. to Midnight Friday nights.

                                                                         jms



 #: 497782 S5/Babylon 5: General
    29-Apr-96  21:00:31
Sb: #Story of G'Quon
Fm: JAMES R. KAPESIS

Since you already have the story of how G'Quon defeated the shadows figured
out, would you consider simply posting the story on the internet?

  All of your fans would enjoy reading this very much and it would be a lot
easier for you than getting a book deal for it.  This way you would be sure the
story of G'Quon gets told just how you want it to be.


 #: 497813 S5/Babylon 5: General
    29-Apr-96  21:52:36
Sb: #497782-Story of G'Quon
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      I think I'd rather hold it for now, on the chance that I can use it
somewhere, or in time turn it into something larger.

                                                                     jms



 #: 497771 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  20:43:23
Sb: #496864-#<Avalon and 3d age>
Fm: JOHN M. KAHANE

     Hullo, Joe,

<  Yeah, there's a small clue about the third age in the discussion between
Marcus and Franklin about the ranger pin.  I mean, it's really pretty blatant.
>

       Damn...now I'm going to have to re-watch that sequence. :)

       Speaking of the Ranger pin, can you please give me the spelling for the
Minbari word that Marcus used for the pin's surface or gem?  I'd like to add it
to my ongoing B5 Lexicon.  And the spelling of the term Delenn used for the
rebirth ceremony in "Ceremonies of Light and Dark" would also be appreciated.

       I can't wait until tomorrow night.  "Ship of Tears" airs here. :)

        jmk


 #: 497814 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  21:52:39
Sb: #497771-#<Avalon and 3d age>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      The name of the Ranger pin is spelled Isil'zha.  I'll have to look up the
other word.

      The Minbari term for Ranger One, btw, is Entil'zha.

      Z'ha'dum is where the shadows live.  Odd, that reversal....

                                                                      jms



 #: 497787 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  21:08:36
Sb: #497269-#<Ship of Tears>
Fm: SYSOP LEE WHITESIDE

The command center looks to be a good sized set.  Whereabouts on the sound
stages did you fit it in?


 #: 497815 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  21:52:40
Sb: #497787-<Ship of Tears>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Since we're not using the casino much this season -- not a lot of room
for frivolity -- we yanked it out and put up the war room on stage C.

                                                                          jms



 #: 497780 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  20:56:57
Sb: #<Ship of Tears-Bester>
Fm: JAMES R. KAPESIS

Was Dr. Franklin able to help Bester's girlfriend or is she still on the
station?


 #: 497816 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  21:52:43
Sb: #497780-<Ship of Tears-Bester>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      It'll be a long time before Bester's ladyfriend comes anywhere near being
whole again.

                                                                       jms



 #: 497748 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  20:21:28
Sb: #497495-#>>Late Delivery<<
Fm: NEIL BLEVINS

>As I remember it, it was Legacies.<

Yup, I broke out the tapes last night and watched the ep, knew immediatey it
was the one I wanted. Strange how they didn't know about the gun ports, but I
guess Joe can't get EVERYTHING right (he's got an astonishing amount right
already). Nice to see it mentioned though, a little bit of continuity mixed
with the uncontinuity. :)

- Neil


 #: 497855 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    30-Apr-96  00:25:10
Sb: #497748-#>>Late Delivery<<
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      It wasn't that they didn't know about the gun ports, they did, it's just
that since the start of the war, they hadn't run into any Minbari warships that
did this, there was no reason for it...until they learned what was going on.
For all they knew, it could've been trouble.

                                                                   jms


 [ Summary: This poster points out that Duhkat didn't die right-away from
   his wounds, since we learned in the Soul Hunter episode that he lived 
   long enough to be approached by Soul Hunters and protected by a wall
   of Minbari, including Delenn.  He then asks JMS if this is correct. ]

 #: 497858 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    30-Apr-96  00:32:05
Sb: #497806-<Death of Ducat>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      That's correct, yes.

                                                                       jms



 #: 497841 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    29-Apr-96  23:06:59
Sb: #>>Ship of Tears<<
Fm: TONI MULLER

Well, I've watched it twice today, and it was even better the second time
around.  What an incredibly moving episode.  The whole thing was great, but I
particularly liked:

The music -very fitting

Bester - as always, the teep you love to hate.  But we learn that he is capable
of love, and seems himself to have been surprised by that.

The atmosphere - how chilling.  Although we knew the Shadows used living beings
as "pilots," seeing who was being used and how added a dimension of evil to
them.  Seeing Carolyn with those implants and hooked up to all that circuitry
was just creepy.  (Of course, I also thought about how the Vorlons have organic
tech, appear to be telepathic, and have taken an interest in at least one human
telepath we know.....)

The scene between Delenn and G'Kar - I had tears in my eyes near the end, and
continue to be amazed at how Andreas makes G'Kar so _real_, especially under
all that make-up, which is actually not very noticeable with him behind it.

The Book of G'Quan - Garibaldi finally did some bedtime reading and look how it
has paid off.  We found it interesting that a very human atheist reading an
alien religious manuscript discovered such an pivotal piece of information.
Perhaps G'Kar was too "close" to/familiar with the Book to have made the
connection.

Just a couple questions:

I assume we will be learning more about the aliens in Carolyn's visions?

Was the fact that there are no telepaths left on Narn part of the reason the
Shadows were so eager to help the Centauri destroy them?  Easy prey without
"weapons" - a nice first battle?

Will we learn what became of the other telepaths aboard the transport?

Eagerly awaiting next week's installment!

Toni


 #: 497859 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
    30-Apr-96  00:32:06
Sb: #497841->>Ship of Tears<<
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Certainly, that there were no teeps on Narn made them easy targets, as
were their ships.  They would also have a vested interest in subduing them
because of the knowledge they have, revealed here.  If you'll remember, in
"Matters of Honor," they mention to Morden that they've only been able to track
down some Narn legends.  Morden's reply: "Well, we've taken care of that
problem."  Had G'Kar not been out and about, they might have succeeded.

                                                                    jms


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