JMS on CompuServe (Aug 23, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Fri Aug 23 19:52:00 EDT 1996
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The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
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Continue at your own risk.
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THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL IS THE COPYRIGHT OF THE
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PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR.
Note that JMS has expressed his public permission
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[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #564596-Christianity in Babylon5
Sb: #564687-#Snow White
Sb: #564750-Christianity in Babylon5
Sb: #564944-Travel times
Sb: #564682-Stealth Production?
Sb: #565213-B5 FAN CLUB INFO!
Sb: #565158-Christianity in Babylon5
Sb: #565169-Patricia Tallman
Sb: #565362-New episode airdates?
Sb: #565386-Richard Hatch
Sb: #565441-Quakers on B5?
#: 564596 S5/Babylon 5: General
21-Aug-96 21:24:29
Sb: #563995-#Christianity in Babylon5
Fm: REBECCA ESCHLIMAN
<< As a writer, you can choose to be honest in your characterization, or you
can use the medium for propaganda and the advancement of personal agendas. The
latter holds no appeal for me. >>
I just realized something -- the very people who post theories that your
convincing portrayals of religious organizations and beliefs must infer a
hidden religious belief by yourself rather conveniently forget your equally
convincing portrayals of such organizations as Nightwatch and Psi Corps. Maybe
we should (just for variety's sake) annoy you by claiming that you, at heart,
espouse totalitarian governmental approaches. <g>
- rje - Beware the Revenge of Unanticipated Consequences...
#: 565029 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 12:28:08
Sb: #564596-Christianity in Babylon5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Good point.
It can sometimes be annoying...I know there was a fan meeting of a
certain group in the UK at one convention last year where they insisted, in NO
uncertain terms, that my statement about being an atheist was just a cover, and
that I was in fact a religious person using that as a blind so I could get my
views across.
Language is a precise thing; if you do not say what you mean, you can
never mean what you say. What I stated in this regard is the simple truth.
Anybody who can't handle that...should just have a little faith.
jms
#: 564687 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 00:06:53
Sb: #564593-#Snow White
<< The night is young. >>
Not this side of the Atlantic :-)
#: 565031 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 12:28:14
Sb: #564687-#Snow White
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The night is never young on that side of the Atlantic.
jms
[ Summary: Point out that Star Trek: The Next Generation dealt with
religion in its stories as well, although often negatively. ]
#: 565032 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 12:28:15
Sb: #564750-Christianity in Babylon5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes, but almost always in terms of *alien* religions. ST frequently
addresses religious issues, and yes, mostly in a negative light...but when was
the last time you saw this about a human religion? See, that's the easy out.
You can say whatever you want about the stupid religious beliefs of the
blue-furred Erzani of Cromethiom Nine...take a shot at the Pope, and you get
letters.
jms
#: 564944 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 10:30:48
Sb: #Travel times
Fm: RICHARD WAKEFIELD
Jms,
Is the "travel time" from Babylon 5 to Earth inclusive of the time it takes to
travel from the IO Jumpgate to Earth. Or, is the *3 day* figure just to get to
the "Earth Solar System" ? If yes, then what roughly *is* the length of time
*in* Hyperspace (outside observers) ?
Richard, UK
#: 565033 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 12:28:18
Sb: #564944-Travel times
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Three days is the time to the jumpgate off Io. Once you're within our
solar system, it takes another several days or more to reach Earth itself.
It's fairly common to keep your jump gate a bit removed from your "core" planet
so you have warning if any agressors come out of it.
jms
#: 564682 S5/Babylon 5: General
21-Aug-96 23:38:49
Sb: #Stealth Production?
Fm: ARLINE WILLIAMS
I just happened to be at WB for the day. I had lots o' time to kill. <Well
not THAT much time, but a little> <g>
And there was this telephone directory... Just sitting there... Really.... So
I decided to take a look see... For research purposes only, you understand.
<bg>
Kung Fu was there. Kirk was there. Sister Sister was there. But no B5.
Ummm....
Either Zathrus has been at work here or WB is hinting at something. Or are you
guys just shy? <g>
Arline
#: 565037 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 12:41:01
Sb: #564682-Stealth Production?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
We're not on the lot. We couldn't find facilities big enough for our
needs, and if you're on the lot...you're more accessible, and people have a
tendency to wander in and give you notes. So we're well off the lot, and
nobody bothers us.
jms
[ Summary: Asks about the status of Fan Club mailings. ]
#: 565250 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 20:31:42
Sb: #565213-B5 FAN CLUB INFO!
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Stuff is still going out; another 1500 zipped out the door today. It's
coming....
jms
#: 565158 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 16:58:49
Sb: #564581-#Christianity in Babylon5
Fm: WILLIAM H. DIPAOLA
>> To the question of why more folks don't do it, or as much or "as well" (the
last in that list being subjective and self-serving for me to repeat), I think
a large part of the problem may be that very often, if you deal with religion
in TV, ten gazillion pressure groups from either side of the political spectrum
jump up and down on your head until it's reduced to guava jelly. So folks get
very tentative about the area.<<
Notice that this hasn't happened to you though, which is really saying
something because I believe you're absolutely right in your assessment of
todays climate when it comes to such matters. It's obvious when you do it that
you're not dishing out propaganda, and that you're dealing with the story at
hand intelligently and in a very thought provoking manner. You invariably leave
it up to the viewer to make up his or her own mind as to what they've seen, and
*that's* what's very important when dealing with such subject matter in my
view.
#: 565251 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 20:31:43
Sb: #565158-Christianity in Babylon5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Also, I think we're sufficiently low-profile that they just haven't
noticed us yet....
jms
#: 565169 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 17:30:22
Sb: #564586-#Patricia Tallman
Fm: MERYL YOURISH
Joe, is Ivanova in the main title sequence next season?
(If he doesn't answer this, someone will have to remove every heavy object in
my living room so I don't break my television set when the final episode airs.)
#: 565252 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 20:31:45
Sb: #565169-Patricia Tallman
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
All of our regular characters are in our main title sequence for the year
in which they appear.
jms
#: 565362 S5/Babylon 5: General
22-Aug-96 23:55:37
Sb: #New episode airdates?
Fm: MICHAEL GRABOIS
Do you have any closer idea as to when the end of Season 3 is going to be shown
in the US besides "sometime in October"?
mg
#: 565640 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Aug-96 11:47:13
Sb: #565362-New episode airdates?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Starts the first week of October, straight through.
jms
#: 565386 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Aug-96 01:49:12
Sb: #Richard Hatch
Fm: MR. TRACY SCHELL
Did Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica read for the part of Sheridan?
Mr.T- On Florida's Space Coast
#: 565641 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Aug-96 11:47:15
Sb: #565386-Richard Hatch
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Trying to remember...Bruce was our first choice, but we had to have some
backups in case he wasn't available...yeah, we saw Hatch, and felt he wasn't
right for the role, though he's a good actor. Saw a bunch of actors, most of
whose names have fallen out of my head.
jms
#: 565441 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Aug-96 03:56:06
Sb: #Quakers on B5?
Fm: JONATHAN HOOPINGARN
Dear JMS;
In order to stave off withdrawal symptoms I have been re-watching the
first season tapes (only recently obtained), and I caught "Parliament of
Dreams", which has always been one of my favorites. With tounge (sp?) firmly in
cheek I must ask "What? No Quakers? What civilized society wouldn't still have
the Society of Friends?"
I can just see the representatives of the Earth Alliance Friends
Service Committee petitioning for peace between the Shadows and the Forces of
Light. Of course, I suppose it's possible that if they tried to be pacifist
during the Earth/Minbari War the unfortunate incidents where Quakers (and
Menonites, and others) were beaten, imprisoned and otherwise persecuted during
both World Wars, Korea, etc could have been (euphamistically) more extreme and
Quakers might be extinct.
I guess I do have to ask, seriously, "How fair the Friends in the B5
universe?"
#: 565643 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Aug-96 11:47:18
Sb: #565441-Quakers on B5?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Well, if Quakers choose not to use mechanical means of transportation,
only horse-drawn carriages...then I would suggest that this may hinder their
progress in interstellar travel.
jms
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