JMS on AOL: 02/21/96 to 02/24/96

[b5jms-owner at cs.columbia.edu]

Forwarded message to B5JMS list.
Originally From: Kevin P Mooney <kpmooney at acsu.Buffalo.EDU>

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The following is a compilation of the posts of JMS on AOL.  If you have
comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at <kpmooney at acsu.buffalo.edu>

WARNING:  Possible spoilers may lurk below.

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Subj:  Re:Steven and stims
Date:  96-02-22 00:52:52 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{Did I miss an episode?  (I can never get our stations right out here)  Last I
saw, Steven was getting hooked on stims, than last week he's happy go lucky
chattin with Marcus and being a lovable goof.}

It hasn't come to a head yet.  Any abuser of substances has moments when he's
up, and moments when he's down, moments when he seems fine, moments when he's
not.

jms



Subj:  Re:Norman Corwin
Date:  96-02-21 01:48:17 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

I'd suggest to start with ON A NOTE OF TRIUMPH, and THE PLOT TO OVERTHROW
CHRISTMAS.

jms



Subj:  Re:Random thoughts
Date:  96-02-21 01:51:27 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Thanks.  It is, I think, a uniquely American concern, since it's long been
common for writers in the UK to write a goodly portion of any season;
McGoohan did much of The Prisoner (under a variety of names), and Terry
Nation wrote the entire (and some say best) season of Blake's 7, though that
was only 13 episodes.  (I believe the adaptation of I, Claudius, at 12 hours
or so, was done by one writer...and it's the best thing ever made for TV, I
think.)

jms



Subj:  Re: Great Show!
Date:  96-02-21 01:51:49 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Thanks...actually, to you and to Blair.

jms



Subj:  Re:ATTN: JMS, B5 Fans
Date:  96-02-21 01:55:36 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Eventually, yes, we do hope to sell B5 eps via the fan club.  As for UPN, we
were never a part of UPN, though we're aired on some UPN stations, so they
can't actually drop us.

jms



Subj:  Re:Exogenesis question?
Date:  96-02-21 01:56:21 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

It was Ranger One.

jms



Subj:  Re:B5 C.D rom
Date:  96-02-21 01:57:57 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

There's the screensaver CD rom from Sound Sources currently; the company that
was going to do the encyclopedia cut down its list from 300 to 40 per year,
and we were in those cut.  We're now taking bids from other companies
interested in locking this down.

jms




Subj:  Re:Hey JMS...
Date:  96-02-22 00:58:51 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

The vorlons were never intending to hide themselves from the shadows; they
both know where the other can be found.  The concern was in the vorlons
potentially revealing themselves to others, and standing openly as what they
were.  

jms



Subj:  Re:ATTN: JMS, B5 Fans
Date:  96-02-22 00:59:10 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

It's up, should be "and running" soon.

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS: haitus
Date:  96-02-22 00:59:36 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{Is B5 on haitus?  If not , when do you stop filming?
If so , when do you go back?}

Filming wraps April 9th.  In theory it would begin again around late July.

jms



Subj:  Re:Messages - Fantastic
Date:  96-02-22 01:00:13 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

I think this is one of the best of the series to date.  I think there are a
couple coming up later in the season though that will give it a run for its
money.

jms



Subj:  Re:Messages - Fantastic
Date:  96-02-22 01:01:12 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Oh, and a PS..."does it get even better?"

It kinda has to.  We took a blood oath that each season must be better than
the one preceding it.

jms



Subj:  Re:" Original Ideas ", etc.
Date:  96-02-22 01:04:51 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{Yes, there are plenty of fans who would sign a waiver to give JMS free
ownership of story ideas, but that still doesn't matter. *Someone* would
bring suit. Someone, maybe, who holds a grudge for a real or imagined slight,
or just because it's easy money...}

The probelm is not just one fan.  People are *constantly* suing because they
think their idea -- sometimes just that, an idea -- was stolen.  Steven
Spielberg was sued by *three people* each one independently claiming that ET
was based on their story.  Obviously, that three different people say the
same thing means they're mutually contradictory...it can't be based uniquely
on all three.  Two of them have to be wrong at minimum (and as it came out,
all of them lost).  But they were True Believers.

And yes, 98% of these cases are nonsense, and are eventually won by the
original writer; but the process of defending such a case can literally
consume *years* of your life.  

jms



Subj:  Re:" Original Ideas ", etc.
Date:  96-02-22 01:07:54 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Here's an example of this, btw.  On another service, someone without
considering what he was saying (not his fault, it just happened) said, in
essence, "What if somebody on B5 found out that he had been mind-wiped, and
used to be something awful previously?"

Well, I'd had "Passing Through Gethsemane" on the wire at that time, but when
I saw this, I had to scuttle the story.  It lay there, untouched, for over a
year, until I could finally meet the fellow and get a signed release
indicating what'd happened.  If that fan had not been fair and reasonable,
that episode -- which many consider one of our best -- would never have been
made.

jms



Subj:  Re:The Screen Saver
Date:  96-02-22 01:08:43 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Yes, I hear the Mac version will be out in April.

jms



Subj:  Re:Original Ideas, etc.
Date:  96-02-23 03:30:08 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

I've been over all this a hundred times with others, on other forums.  Or
forii.  Yes, all of the reasons that you cite could be used in winning a
lawsuit.  But I have no desire to spend the two years of my life fighting
such a lawsuit.  If story ideas get posted, I turn to vapor, it's that
simple.

jms



Subj:  Re:Messages - Fantastic
Date:  96-02-23 03:31:33 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Thanks.  I find relationships fascinating, in how they grow, change, develop,
veer right or swerve left.  The ones we're seeing here are fun to play with,
and I tend to avoid the saccherine.

jms



Subj:  Re:messages
Date:  96-02-23 03:33:10 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

1) There was an outsider, Kirkish, in the room.  Yes, she's helped him, but
he's still going to hold back some info because he doesn't know what impact
it might have on Sinclair.  He's protective of him.

2) Yes, Kosh should've been there.  Kosh wasn't.  Kosh hasn't been carrying
his weight, if you ask me.  I hope this doesn't cause a problem somewhere....

jms



Subj:  Re:Spoilers Please
Date:  96-02-23 03:34:05 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

I wish I could, but they're just very cool, and I wouldn't want to give
anything away....

jms



Subj:  Re:Hey...that guy over there
Date:  96-02-23 03:34:52 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Can't do it.  A cameo would destroy (for me) the illusion that is B5.  So you
won't see me in a B5 episode.

jms



Subj:  Re:MFE -WHOA!!!
Date:  96-02-23 03:37:03 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

"Was the "package" mentioned in Exo the blonde woman giving us the Mars
Shadow info? Or was it the eggs and bacon?  Or have we not seen it yet?  

Yes, the package referred to Kirkish.

"It seems Sheridan is destroying his Shadow ships by using tricks - not a
straight up battle.  At some point won't he be one on one with a Shadow and
have to deal with it?"

Sooner or later.  Right now he's outgunned hideously.  He'll have to find a
way.

"At some point won't Sheridan have to fight Earth? (I really don't expect an
answer to this one)"

Stick around.

jms



Subj:  Re:Two Questions for JMS
Date:  96-02-23 03:39:16 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{2) With six appendages for the males and six slots for the females, I kinda
wonder if the Centauri are capable of multiple births on a regular basis.
Care to comment on that?}

No multiple births, in that sense, not any different than humans.

{1) Although the capital of the Earth Alliance (Earthdome) is located in
Geneva, it seems to me the basic legislative structure is like the United
States, albeit in a unicameral setting (I see only the Senate). Did you plan
it this way, and have you ever thought about doing a historical
article/presentation on Earth history until the Babylon 5 setting?}

Your analysis on the governmental situation is pretty accurate; the Senate in
this case comprised of member nation/states, with smaller ones having less
voice than the bigger ones (like the Russian Consortium, the North American
Federation, and so on).

jms



Subj:  Re:Love the Show!
Date:  96-02-23 03:40:14 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Thanks.  Eventually eps and the pilot will be on video, it's simply a matter
of time.

To the rest...wait and see.  And thanks.

jms



Subj:  Re:Fan Fiction
Date:  96-02-24 03:50:10 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{You could create a file entitled, "NO JMS Allowed". That should cover the
legal stuff}

1) Simply saying "NO JMS" on a folder is not sufficient; I could still go
into any area to which I have been proven to have access.  Having access to
the general area (AOL) access to the specific material is *automatically
assumed* in any court of law.  Instant loss should someone post a story and
decide later that something we did was too close to their story.

2) I have asked, as a courtesy, for people to refrain from fan fiction until
the 5 year story is over.  There are only 2 years remaining on this request.
ST fanfic was developed as a way to keep the characters alive while the show
was gone.  There is no such need at this time.

3) If fanfic is posted to AOL, I will have to withdraw from AOL.  That
simple.  It's even worse than posting a story idea, it's a whole *story*.  I
have no desire to scuttle another story, or a major part of an arc, to avoid
somebody thinking I swiped it.

4) Be advised that the names, situations and characters are all copyrighted
by Warner Bros., and if courtesy is not sufficient, any infringement of that
copyright by fanfiction will be conveyed to the legal eagles for action.

Don't do it.  I *mean* it.

jms


Subj:  Re:O'Hare, a bad guy?
Date:  96-02-24 23:28:35 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{The real reason Sinclair is gone? RATINGS! WB didn't feel he was helping the
ratings. They wanted a better known actor. An old story, but true.}

There were only the following people in the room when Michael and I discussed
the prospect of his leaving the show to return in another capacity at a later
date: me, Michael, Doug Netter and John Copeland.  You are none of these.

Further, at the time we had this conversation, the ratings were on one of
their usual upswings after reruns.  

You know *nothing* of this situation.  You're just going off what you assume
to be true.  But assuming it and saying it doesn't make it true.

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS. life for B5 after B5
Date:  96-02-24 23:37:56 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{I am interested in your thoughts as to whether the will be a life
for the surviving B5 charcters after the 5yr story arc.   You have created a
universe that is rich and varied, and it would be a shame to see it just end
after this much creative talent has been lent to it's birth }

There's always been a side-story that could go off after the 5 years, though
the odds are slim and none.

jms



Subj:  Re:Thanks for the ride!
Date:  96-02-24 23:38:35 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{Thank you for the delicious thrill I get each week from your incredible
show/universe/mind!  You have tapped brilliantly into the mythic themes of
the great epic tales - and whether I feel caught up in the great "resistance
struggle",  moved by the profound choices which degrade Londo or ennoble
G'Kar, thrilled by encounters with Beings of Light, horrified by though
control police or}

Thanks....

jms



Subj:  Re:Poetry guidelines (?)
Date:  96-02-24 23:40:49 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

As long as new elements aren't introduced into the piece, we're fine.  "Oh, I
remember when you found the space duck / We said you were really a big shmuck
/ The bombing of Earth was a crummy notion / Now Detroit is just a great big
ocean."

That sorta thing.

jms


Subj: Re:Waiting for June...
Date:  96-02-24 23:42:49 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Some themes are universal and timeless.  In the case of Bosnia, more's the
pity.

Yes, I'll be at Blackpool.

jms



Subj:  Re:To JMS: Re: How we doing?
Date:  96-02-24 23:45:03 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

So far, I hear we're doing well with the station-by-station renewals.  Won't
know anything for sure for about a month or so.

jms



Subj:  Re:Hats off, JMS!!
Date:  96-02-24 23:46:25 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Thanks, we try....

jms



Subj:  Re:Messages from Mars?
Date:  96-02-24 23:47:35 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{6.  And isn't Sheridan the least bit upset that Kosh wants him to do
everything without help, even if it costs him his life?
7.  Can you tell me the dimensions of a Shadow ship or the WhiteStar?  I'm
guessing that a Shadow Mother-Symbiotic-Terror Ship has a 'spine-span' of
about 2 kilometers at least, maybe even two miles; is this close?}

Don't have the shadow dimensions offhand; and yes, you'd think Sheridan might
begin to wonder about Kosh's level of involvement.

jms



Subj:  Re:By the way...
Date:  96-02-24 23:48:30 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{We haven't heard squat from the Grey Council since Delenn was removed, and
replaced by Neroon. Are they talking behind closed doors about...Londo?...
In other words, will they show up again this season sometime?}

At least one of them will show up again, yes.

jms



Subj:  Re:IPX Question
Date:  96-02-24 23:49:07 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{How long has Interplanetary Expeditions been a going concern?}

IXP has been in business, in one form or another, for between 50-80 years.

jms



Subj:  Re:"Message" Question & Comm
Date:  96-02-24 23:50:49 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{1)  I didn't notice Lennier or Delenn doing any translations on the White
Star.  Has the Minbari crew learned to speak English now?}

Lennier was muttering his translations off-screen.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

jms


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