JMS on CompuServe (June 12, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* 1/2
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Wed Jun 12 19:01:07 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: #520602-How Time Flies
Sb: #519158-jms in UK
Sb: #519345-jms in UK
Sb: Sidebars 1
Sb: Sidebars 2: Cabaret
Sb: #519085-Merchandise question
Sb: #519357-JMS: Sorry...
Sb: #519601-Other races' ships
Sb: #521264-4th Season
Sb: #521361-Did Sinclair get married
Sb: #521676-A B5 reflection
[ Summary: Thanks JMS and everyone involved with B5 for the show. Also
asks if they give tours of the set. ]
#: 523219 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:41:45
Sb: #520602-How Time Flies
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks. Unfortunately, we're not really set up to give tours of the set,
so that's not possible for us.
jms
#: 519158 S5/Babylon 5: General
05-Jun-96 08:02:44
Sb: #jms in UK
Fm: SHANE S. SHELLENBARGER
>> I'll be doing an autograph session at Forbidden Planet Bookstore in London
this Thursday at 4 p.m. along with David Bassom, author of "Creating Babylon 5"
and "The A-Z of Babylon 5."
jms<<
Joe,
Do you know if these books will be appearing in these United States
through regular publishing channels as opposed to book dealers?
Shane
#: 523220 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:41:46
Sb: #519158-jms in UK
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I think the books will only be out via import stores.
jms
#: 519345 S5/Babylon 5: General
05-Jun-96 15:28:59
Sb: #jms in UK
Fm: CHRIS CROUGHTON (UK)
Joe,
> I'll be doing an autograph session at Forbidden Planet Bookstore in
> London this Thursday at 4 p.m. along with David Bassom, author of
> "Creating Babylon 5" and "The A-Z of Babylon 5."
I don't know if you realise it, but Thursday evening is the night of the 'Ton,
the monthly London SF meeting which is a direct descendant of the ones Arthur C
Clarke fictionalised in Tales From The White Hart. Y'all are welcome to come
along and socialise if you're still in the area.
It's at the Wellington Public House by Waterloo station (on Waterloo Road, near
the Old Vic theatre). People will be there from around 6pm until it closes
(around 11pm, I think, I don't stay that late).
I hope to be down for the signing anyway. Have a good trip!
Chris
#: 523221 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:41:48
Sb: #519345-jms in UK
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks; I just now got this, if I'd known at the time, I likely would've
stopped by.
jms
[ NOTE: The original must've scrolled, as I can't find it. :-( ]
#: 523222 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:41:50
Sb: Sidebars 1
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Good points, thanks.
jms
[ NOTE: The original must've scrolled, as I can't find it. :-( ]
#: 523223 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:41:53
Sb: Sidebars 2: Cabaret
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I wouldn't say Cabaret was my favorite movie of all time, but it's
certainly one of my tops, and that one scene, "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" still
scares the hell out of me.
If I had to delineate my favorite films overall, they'd be Seconds, They
Might Be Giants, Forbidden Planet, The Stuntman, A Christmas Story, The Empire
Strikes Back, Cabaret, Failsafe, Seven Days in May, Aliens, All That Jazz, The
Day the Earth Stood Still, Glory, The Haunting of Hill House, Road Warrior,
Terminator 1 and 2, The Natural, Network, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The
Rocky Horror Picture Show, Phantom of the Paradise, When Worlds Collide, The
Seven Faces of Dr. Lao, The Shootist, War of the Worlds, Stalag 17, and The
Time Machine.
Those are films I can watch again and again and never get bored with
them. Lao is a particular favorite, it's just a beautiful film. I tend to
love films that break your heart or make it soar, or both at the same time,
like Glory, or Giants.
jms
#: 519085 S5/Babylon 5: General
05-Jun-96 01:17:31
Sb: #Merchandise question
Fm: CARRIE FOREMAN
A friend of mine went to a convention here (Boise, Idaho) yesterday, and found
(but did not buy) a Psi Corps pin offered for $15. The convention was called a
'Star Trek Festival' but it wasn't from Creations. My question is: is the Psi
Corp pin an authorized merchandise item? I can't remember seeing it mentioned
anywhere, so I figured I'd better ask!!
-Carrie Foreman
#: 523224 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:41:54
Sb: #519085-Merchandise question
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, Psi Corps pins have not been licensed, and are thus illegal.
jms
#: 519357 S5/Babylon 5: General
05-Jun-96 15:33:54
Sb: #JMS: Sorry...
Fm: VLOBB
This is just a quick apology concerning the thread 'Garibaldi P.I.', which I
started. Carl Bussjaeger pointed out to me that you had expressed 'negative
feelings' about anything which could infrige upon the B5 Copyright, and I
understand this. It is after all, your creation. I would feel the same way.
I never intended the thread to infringe on copyright, but, as it obviously
could have, I would like to say sorry.
As I said to Carl, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you and the show
you have created. Long may it continue.
P.S. Just how negative are those feelings?
Simon Pallett - Now Begging your forgiveness...
(Otherwise Known as Vlobb)
#: 523225 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:41:57
Sb: #519357-JMS: Sorry...
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I didn't read the thread, but yes, Carl's right when he says that we have
to be careful to avoid storylines and the like. Don't worry, apology accepted;
forgiven, forgotten, gone. We learn by doing.
jms
#: 519601 S5/Babylon 5: General
05-Jun-96 23:28:46
Sb: #Other races' ships
Fm: GRADY W. SMITHEY I
Just out of curiosity, have any Markab ships been shown, other than the one in
"Confessions and Lamentations"?
Also, did the Markabs have warships?\
(I know these are coming from way out in left field, but it has something to do
with my plans for the upcoming B5 RPG... <g>)
Commander Grady W. Smithey III,
First Officer, EAS Europa
Earthforce Rebellion
#: 523226 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:41:59
Sb: #519601-Other races' ships
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes, Marcabs had warships, though not a lot of them.
jms
#: 521264 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Jun-96 10:36:52
Sb: #4th Season
Fm: PHILIP HORNSEY
Congratulations,
Have a Bottle of Virtual Dom on me!
B5 has integrity, and holds fast to in principles, it is comforting that such
things are not ignored, even in Hollywood. It gives a *little* hope.
now...
<ahem>
YYYYYYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EDEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
i feel better now
Were you given any feel as to the likelyhood of a Season Five? I know you have
to decide whether or not to pick up the pace and try and finish this season if
you think five is unlikely...
Phil ^^^^
FREE EARTH!
#: 523227 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:42:01
Sb: #521264-4th Season
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks, and we'll know more about Warner's plans in a bit.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if Sinclair and Catherine were eventually married. ]
#: 523228 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:42:04
Sb: #521361-Did Sinclair get married
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, they didn't get married. Wasn't time, and his new posting precluded
that.
jms
#: 521676 S5/Babylon 5: General
10-Jun-96 00:29:31
Sb: #A B5 reflection
Fm: BARBARA PFIEFFER
Joe:
I thought you should see this. It's off Usenet, but not posted to the moderated
group, so you wouldn't see it, normally. The author is Peronet Despeignes.
--------
...The important thing is this: at its best, B5 consistently exhibits an
attention to detail and a respect for the tragic elements of life that
ST,for all of its improvements over the last season, too often fails to
represent. I suspect B5, like TOS before it, will not only survive but
transcend its shortcomings and thrive in spite of them. Here's why...
At its best, B5 represents an uncertainty about how much worse things will
get rather than a comfortable belief in things eventually returning to
normal over smiles, quiet laughs and hot cocoa after the battle's over.
It's about slowly wading through the thick muck of ugly tensions instead
of backslaps and handshakes between the warring parties when an individual
episode comes to an end. It's something beyond antiseptic portrayals of
main characters visibly confident that they'll survive the season no matter
what happens.
B5 is not about
two-ships-passing-in-the-night-firing-slow-intermittent-glorified-cannonballs-a
-one-another.
Its about several swarms of metallic worker bees degenerating from fixed
formations into chaotic interactions along three dimensions.
B5 is a relentless barrage of painful hesitations, difficult
judgements,terrible miscalculations, aborted detentes, paralyzing fears
and grudging resignation to the demands of necessity. It's a man biting
his lower lip as he pulls the trigger.
B5 is a long, drawn out camera pan over a landscape of battered carcasses
at the end of an undesired firefight; B5 is a confrontation between an
organized conspiracy of insecurity and a disorganized, insecure conspiracy
of competing interests; B5 is a council leader whose gesture of greeting
is welcomed with weapons fire; B5 is a dying emperor and a targeted
president entertaining wild and pretentious ambitions of a peace neither
will survive; B5 is a command staff in command of very little, anxious,
confused, bewildered, in mild disarray; B5 is a head of security unable
to protect himself; B5 is a medical officer suffering from an illness he
cannot treat; B5 is an ambassador and a people wildly chasing vague hopes
of an elusive grandeur to will fill the voids of moral decay; B5 is an
ambassador whose efforts at strengthening the ties that bind two species
are rewarded with the scorn of both; B5 is a war-hardened diplomat-soldier
cowering like a baby against the wall of a hallway, tears in his eyes,
fragile hopes betrayed, disheveled, demoralized...angry; B5 is a
submissive, hesitant and otherwise insignificant subordinate with a rare
courage to vainly declare the unspoken, mitigate the irreprable, and speak
to the face of an enemy the words "I'm sorry."
B5 is about the death of important characters; it's about the lingering
threat of impending death hovering over *all* of the main characters
*all*of the time; it's about people succumbing to petty selfishness; its
about consequences, repercussions, enduring tensions, irony, things going
bad just when characters thought they couldn't get any worse. It's about
quasi-protagonists who, more often than not, act as recalcitrant puppets
reluctantly dancing to the tune of forces beyond their control. It's about
the frayed-yet-sturdy conviction of an individual where institutions have
failed. It's about the universe as you once knew it going straight to
hell.
Its about the primacy of fear, prejudice and self-interest over
last-ditch, heartfelt appeals to reason, open-mindedness and sacrifice for
the greater good. Its the loud, united thunderclap of euphoria celebrating
a signed treaty contrasted with the quiet, lonely sobs signalling the
wake of its failure. Its about dealing with life as it is, not life as we
wish it could be or life as we may have once envisioned it. B5 is about
severed dreams-- the death of grandiose visions-- and the effort to adjust
and build new ones. B5 is about the turmoil of the human condition and
the struggle to transcend it- about a long twilight struggle against the
lesser angels of our nature.
Make no mistake. B5 is no "line drawn against the darkness;" it is no"line
in the sand" drawn against some dark and nefarious nemesis, some
well-defined and unabashedly evil enemy, some clear, present and external
danger.
B5 is a near-hopeless holding action against the bland and indifferent
avalanche of inevitability. B5 won't die. Babylonians, armed with weapons
of telecommunication that TOS viewers and Roddenberry himself could have
only dreamed of, simply wont let that happen. Any possibility of
cancellation would engender a viewer movement for reinstatement unseen in
the world of television since...say...the 1960s when the first ST series
was experiencing some of the same travails. B5's strength is beyond
numbers, beyond ratings, beyond pragmatic and jaundiced assessments of
its commercial viability.
It's bigger than you. It's bigger than all of us. Frankly, it's bigger
than JMS, himself.
This is about an immense yearning (however inchoate) heretofore untapped,
for a serious, organic, well-integrated, meaningful, realistic portrayal
of the struggle of life with sci-fi as the metaphor, vehicle and medium.
This is about the exploration of archetypes that have helped us to define
the human condition. This is about a sci-fi novel with moving pictures.
It's a deliberate focus on the painful duality of human nature and the
incredible darkness underlying it.
It is not about a mere agglomeration of television episodes or some
line-item on a ratings list or about a mere collection of aliases on an
internet newsgroup or about some staff stationed in Hollywood.This is a
leviathan, immensely bigger than the sum of its parts.
My fellow Lurkers, this...thing...is alive.
-----------
#: 523229 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Jun-96 16:42:05
Sb: #521676-A B5 reflection
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
That's great, thanks for passing it along.
jms
[ Continued in next section -- BB ]
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