JMS on CompuServe (Jun 18, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Tue Jun 18 19:53:12 EDT 1996
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
Continue at your own risk.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
P
R
O
T
E
C
T
I
O
N
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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: #525448-#Hour 25/B5 Music
Sb: #525462-Delenn's Family
Sb: #525668-B5 off air in Philly
Sb: #525728-#Season 4 Narration
Sb: #525690-<WWE & Geo. of Shadows>
Sb: #525647-Severed Dreams
Sb: #525773-#<Severed Dreams>
Sb: #525846-Two Questions
Sb: #525812-ABA and B5
Sb: #525999-<<Interludes>>
Sb: #525896-#UK B5 Radio Times
Sb: #525991-#Which came first?
Sb: #525927-Which came first?
[ Summary: The poster who suggested that the music from the battle in
"Severed Dreams" should be on Franke's new CD asks JMS for
clarification of his previous response. ]
#: 525527 S5/Babylon 5: General
17-Jun-96 11:34:52
Sb: #525448-#Hour 25/B5 Music
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
My agreement was that it should be on the next CD, and have noted same
to Chris.
jms
#: 525462 S5/Babylon 5: General
17-Jun-96 08:44:29
Sb: #Delenn's Family
Fm: BRENT BARRETT
Joe,
We've seen/heard about the parents/family of Sheridan, Franklin, Ivanova, G'Kar
. . . will we ever hear about Delenn's parents/family?
Thanks,
-- Brent
#: 525528 S5/Babylon 5: General
17-Jun-96 11:34:53
Sb: #525462-Delenn's Family
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
As a matter of fact, yes, you'll hear about Delenn's parents in "Grey 17
Is Missing."
jms
[ Summary: Informs JMS that WPHL in Philadelphia is cancelling Babylon 5,
points out that they didn't support it very well, and asks JMS if Warner
Brothers is considering any other stations in the area. ]
#: 525808 S5/Babylon 5: General
18-Jun-96 00:00:29
Sb: #525668-B5 off air in Philly
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I'm sure WB is looking at alternate stations. The basic reality is that
if the station supported the show, it did well; if not, not.
jms
[ Summary: "Have you decided who is doing the narration for the new
season, and are you willing to tell us who it is?" ]
#: 525810 S5/Babylon 5: General
18-Jun-96 00:00:32
Sb: #525728-#Season 4 Narration
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes and no.
jms
[ Summary: Wonders if the little creatures "stuck" to the back of Londo
in "The Geometry of Shadows" were foreshadowing of the "keeper" from
"War Without End." ]
#: 525811 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
18-Jun-96 00:00:34
Sb: #525690-<WWE & Geo. of Shadows>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, it wasn't an intentional bit of foreshadowing, unless my subconscious
is smarter about this stuff than I am...which is altogether possible, I
suppose.
jms
[ Summary: A U.K. viewer tells JMS that he's just seen "Severed Dreams"
for the sixth time, loves it, and wonders if the ship Delenn arrived
in was her flyer or the White Star. ]
#: 525836 S5/Babylon 5: General
18-Jun-96 00:18:04
Sb: #525647-Severed Dreams
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
That's the White Star, and thanks.
jms
[ Summary: A couple of posters wonder about JMS' early schooling. ]
#: 525837 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
18-Jun-96 00:18:06
Sb: #525773-#<Severed Dreams>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I actually went to a mix of schools; four different high schools, a dozen
or so grade and junior high schools...some were public, some were parochial
(catholic) schools. The last time I stepped into a catholic school was in my
first year of high school at St. Benedict's High School in Matawan, New Jersey.
After, oh, about six months they asked me to leave, on the theory that I was
troublesome, asked impertinent questions, and had a tendency to poke holes in
whichever theological discussion was underway at the moment. So I got blipped
over to Matawan Regional High School, and stayed public thereafter...though
still getting into trouble from time to time for asking too many questions and
refusing to take "because I said so" as ANY kind of legitimate response.
So yes, while I do have some experience with catholicism, I wasn't in any
way raised, trained or educated by those intellectual pit bulls of religion,
the Jesuits. The last time I had anything to do with it at all was about the
same time as the above incident, wherein I was told, at the first session of
this religious doctrination session, that Confirmation was "the sacrament of
free choice." I wanted this clarified -- religious rules were always tricky,
and you didn't want to get on the wrong side of anything as positive as hell
(to paraphrase Christopher Fry) -- and asked, "So this one we can choose or
not, we don't have to be here, right?" The nun said yes, that's corr---
She never finished the word, as there was no longer a "me" standing in
the room, only a jms-shaped silhouette made of the dust kicked up by my sudden
and rocket-like departure, rather like a Warner Bros. cartoon, which
disappeared before her eyes.
Bottom line...I have *always* been a pain in the ass.
jms
[ Summary: Asks what Vir did with the Narn at the end of "Sic Transit
Vir." ]
#: 525873 S5/Babylon 5: General
18-Jun-96 04:40:41
Sb: #525846-Two Questions
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Basically, after seeing what he's done for the Narns, and knowing who Vir
is all this time, and seeing his reaction of horror to what Lyndisty was
suggesting, anybody who thinks he offed the Narn isn't paying attention.
jms
#: 525812 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
18-Jun-96 00:04:33
Sb: #ABA and B5
Fm: REBECCA ESCHLIMAN
Just wanted to let you know that Warner Brother Publishing did right by B5 at
the ABA -- nice boutiqued section in their booth which presented the novels,
"A-Z," "Creating...," and playbooks for the upcoming game system. I also
overheard a bookseller say, as I was passing by, "I wish 'those' were
giveaways..."
In addition, when I queried the SF/Comic booksellers I met as to what was
selling best/they would like more of to sell, B5 was either 1 or 2 on their
desired list.
"Wallace & Grommit" also had a good presence. Doubleday had a standee at the
entrance of their booth and postcard giveaways featuring W&G, plus I saw
several other booths featuring W&G.
Your scriptwriting revision was not a highlit item in the WD booth, but the WD
imprint was more or less buried in their parent (F & W?). The scriptwriting
book was quite nicely featured in the catalog being handed out, however.
Just as an interesting sidelight:
The ABA is quite rightly referred to by the Chicago Tribune as a "multimedia
floor show and saturnalia." Celebrity signings are an anticipated event, but
several celebrities (Richard Simmons and Cindy Crawford, to name two) blew off
their signing by showing up late and not honoring a number of the signing
tickets. Ray Bradbury, on the other hand, stayed 45 minutes beyond his
scheduled time to make sure that everyone who wished for one got his autograph.
There does seem to be an greater appreciation of the power of fandom by the SF
community, therefore the SF authors accord fandom greater respect. I can't
help but think you follow in this tradition with your willingness to
participate daily with your viewers on-line. Thanks for keeping with the
inclusive SF tradition.
- rje -
#: 525874 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
18-Jun-96 04:40:42
Sb: #525812-ABA and B5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
That's good to hear from the ABA booths. Thanks.
Re: the fan/pro relationship (which can be difficult at times)...yes, I
do tend to think that because many SF pros come from the ranks of fans, it
makes them more receptive to and sympathetic to that side of things. It makes
me *very* annoyed to see people who've stood in line for 1, 2 or 3 hours for an
autograph being turned aside. If I have any control over this, I won't have
it. (The only time I haven't been in control of this was at Wolf, where a
number of folks were turned aside, and that's something the organizers and I
have to discuss for next time. I also found out, after the fact, that some
folks were turned away from the Forbidden Planet signing because they brought
stuff instead of buying, and that was NEVER a condition that I'd agreed to or
even knew about, and I'm quite unhappy about that.)
Generally speaking, I don't care how long I have to sit there and sign,
ain't *nobody* walking away empty handed if I can help it. Because I've been
in that position myself.
jms
#: 525999 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
18-Jun-96 14:21:01
Sb: #<<Interludes>>
Fm: VLOBB
>>But Sheridan, at the last, was willing to suck in the pain and do what was
right, however much it grieved him, and forego revenge...Londo, on the other
hand, has embraced revenge.<<
Isn't this one of the primary differances between the characters, though?
I've always thought of the darkness with respect to Londo and Sheridan, etc, as
something which overcomes those who give in to it. The easiest thing to do is
to just follow the darkness, because it preys on those emotions which generate
a feeling of euphoria, of power, in people.
Londo is someone, IMO, who seems to revel in obtaining and using power, and
because of this, the darkness overcomes him eaisly. Sheridan, on the other
hand, is one of those people who, although rarer than Londo's type, are far
more special. They stand up to the darkness, and the very act of saying 'No,
I'm not going to give in, I'll stand against you', gives them a greater
strength. Even though they know it may harm them, they still stand and fight,
because they know that, in the end, it is right.
(I told you your show was thought provoking...)
Simon Pallett - Minister of Moral Order and Decency - Official KP UK Member
(Otherwise Known as Vlobb)
Fear RMES!...(and never use 'kidism')...even if it isn't in most spell
checkers!
#: 526007 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
18-Jun-96 14:43:38
Sb: #525999-<<Interludes>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yep, that's it exactly.
jms
#: 525896 S5/Babylon 5: General
18-Jun-96 07:10:37
Sb: #UK B5 Radio Times
Fm: NIGEL NIXON
The latest issue of the RT (22-28/06/1996) has a third-of a page feature on B5
(page 41). Very positive, if a spoiler zone.
Nigel, whos copy of Universe today arrived this morning.
Dictator of France, Duck of Normandy, Minister of Bad Puns.
Chancellor of the Ex-Keffer. Attractive dude! Official!
#: 526009 S5/Babylon 5: General
18-Jun-96 14:47:18
Sb: #525896-#UK B5 Radio Times
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
So like, what does it SAY?
jms
#: 525991 S5/Babylon 5: General
18-Jun-96 13:32:14
Sb: #525927-#Which came first?
Fm: NIGEL NIXON
SFZ
John,
>> which came first, the martial law decree, or the Shadow ship excavation on
Ganymede?<<
According to the comics the excavation happened about seven years before events
in Messages, so excavation then martial law.
Nigel
Dictator of France, Duck of Normandy, Minister of Bad Puns.
Chancellor of the Ex-Keffer. Attractive dude! Official!
#: 526010 S5/Babylon 5: General
18-Jun-96 14:47:19
Sb: #525991-#Which came first?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The *Mars* excavation was years ago, the *Ganymede* one was the one in
Messages.
jms
[ Summary: Asks which came first, the President's martial law decree or
the excavation on Ganymede. ]
#: 526011 S5/Babylon 5: General
18-Jun-96 14:47:20
Sb: #525927-Which came first?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The excavation came first, then martial law.
jms
-***
-*** B5JMS SUBSCRIBERS: Messages to this list come from various sources.
-*** Replies to them, automatically to go the maintainer of this list
-*** <b5jms-owner at majordomo.cs.columbia.edu>. If you want to reply to
-*** someone else, make sure the "To:" header line is correctly set.
More information about the B5JMS
mailing list