JMS on AOL: 02/27/96 to 02/29/96

[b5jms-owner at cs.columbia.edu]

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

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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.

ObSpoiler space:
:
:
:
:
:
:
;
;
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

Subj:  Re:Praise for MfE & N Staffo
Date:  96-02-27 01:52:17 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{So if you have the opportunity, please pass along to Ms. Stafford my
appreciation of her performance. }

I entirely agree; I think she did a dynamite job as Kirkish.  Totally
convincing.  When she walked into the audition, and did the part, there was
no question...it was her.

jms



Subj:  Re:Military Strength
Date:  96-02-25 19:42:18 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

I'd put Shadows and Vorlons at the top, then Minbari, Centauri, with Narns
and Humans at about the same level, give or take.

jms



Subj:  Re:To: JMS and DLyulkin
Date:  96-02-25 19:43:28 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

We've already established in the episode that the bodyguard is the same as in
"All Alone."  We did that when the two had a drink in the zocalo.  It was in
dialogue.

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS: TENTACLES!!!!!!
Date:  96-02-25 19:43:52 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Those are his...erm...reproductive organs....

jms


Subj:  Re:Major Plot Twist Ahead?!
Date:  96-02-25 19:44:39 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

The third age is involved, yes...and if I told you the first two, that would
give you the third.

jms



Subj:  Re:Sinclair?
Date:  96-02-25 19:45:10 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Sinclair appears in the 2-parter airing the last 2 weeks of May.

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS: One Word for MFE
Date:  96-02-25 19:46:15 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

....i don't remember anymore....

Senility is a terrible thing, but I suppose it happens to us all after a
while.

jms



Subj:  Re:Questions, questions
Date:  96-02-25 19:48:41 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Yes, Howard Stern has repeatedly endorsed the show; and yes, the shadow
vessel was still a little wobbly from its long hibernation and the improper
melding.  As for the title...I'm trying to avoid saying anything about it
yet.

jms



Subj:  Re:Particular politicals
Date:  96-02-27 01:41:52 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{Are the rights suspended during times of martial law similar to our own
(freedom to gather, habeus corpus (sp?) etc.) ?}

Yes, right to assemble, free speech rights, they're all open to abridgement.
Travel can also be restricted.

jms



Subj:  Re:Messages from Earth
Date:  96-02-27 01:43:17 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Certainly G'Kar has had...a revelation, I suppose is the best way of putting
it, and that tends to transform you.  What form emerges from this remains to
be seen.

jms



Subj:  Re:Bwok, bwok...huh?
Date:  96-02-27 01:44:14 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{It did raise one little question: if Earth is only a two-day voyage away, why
can't they get fresh eggs and bacon?}

Mainly it's the expense involved per volume.  It still costs big bucks, and
you generally need refrigeration.  

jms



Subj:  Re:Messages from Earth
Date:  96-02-27 01:45:40 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

So what *was* that blue goop everyone else had to eat in lieu of bacon and
eggs?}

Actually, I think it was blueberry yogurt.

jms



Subj:  Re:Lady Morella's Speech
Date:  96-02-27 01:46:27 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{One question, was Lady Morella's speech regarding the emperor ment as a
tribute to Gene Roddenberry?}

There's probably a fair amount there that could apply to Gene, yes...

jms



Subj:  Re:writing and spfx
Date:  96-02-27 01:47:18 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{Joe,   Do you take into account the ability of the SPFX crew to realize a
shot when you are writing an episode ?}

Generally, I write whatever the scene requires; most times, I find out that
the efx folks can deliver *more* than what I had in mind.  I don't think I've
had to pull back once yet.

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS:HDTV Question
Date:  96-02-27 01:47:52 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{I've read that B5 is shot in widescreen to be used later for HDTV.}

Yes, we film widescreen and crop for regular aspect ratio; eventually it'll
be released that way.

jms



Subj:  Re:Michael York
Date:  96-02-27 01:49:13 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

York finished with us quite some time ago.  Great episode, and a nice man.
Very friendly, very polite, nothing of the "I'm a STAR" attitude one often
gets with...well, *stars*.  He was even very nice when I gleepily asked him
to sign my laserdisk of CABARET.

jms



Subj:  Re:Soundtrack #2
Date:  96-02-25 19:40:20 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

No idea yet, though I should be getting a preliminary CD from Chris soon with
his thoughts.

jms



Subj:  Re:Eating Crow...Part 2
Date:  96-03-01 03:23:12 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{how about giving us fans one of those infamous cryptic
previews of the things we can expect in April and March....Please!!!!!}

How do you like your crow?  Medium?  Well-done?  It can't be rare because
crows are hardly ever rare.

What's coming up?  Hmmm...the world is turned upside down, other people turn
their backs on everything they think they believe in, a voice comes from the
distant past, there's a change in fashion sense, there's romance (intended
and unintended), heroics, the return (as it were) of Babylon 4, revelations,
revolutions, treaties and a whole lotta gunfire.

jms



Subj:  Re:Lyta Alexander
Date:  96-03-01 03:24:22 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{I read somewhere that Lyta is deaf.}

No, the novelist didn't blow it, Joe blew it, because in proofreading the
manuscript, Joe missed that line somehow, and didn't catch it.  It's my job
to catch these things.  (Just spent a whole week going over the A-Z of
Babylon 5 coming out from Boxtree Books in the UK to keep it as accurate as
possible.)

jms



Subj:  Re:Ike and Abe
Date:  96-02-28 04:31:14 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Evan: what a *great* analysis.  I'd nudge you in the direction of the
Politics and History folder here in this area; I think you could add a lot to
that one, which just started up.  Anyway, very well considered.

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS: White Star Symbols
Date:  96-02-28 04:31:56 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

They're Minbari letters; yes, each race does have its own symbol or logo;
we've used them here and there.  Will see if I can post them sometime.

jms



Subj:  Re:Katsulas honored?
Date:  96-02-28 04:32:57 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

No, I don't believe he has won an emmy...and he's long overdue given his
skills.

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS: A few questions...
Date:  96-02-28 04:34:53 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

1) Who writes the blurbs each week in TV Guide?  Is it someone involved with
the show, or someone at PTEN, or just some shadow somewhere?

If by this you mean the actual listings themselves...they're written by TV
Guide staffers, as I understand it.

2) Is there a timeline that lists the approximate day/month/year that each
episode takes place?  If so, could you post it?

I don't have one available outside the show, since it's very detailed and
has, well, EVERYthing in it, past and future...but there's one at the
hyperion website (available here via the www jumpgate) that's pretty darned
thorough.

3) You say that after B5 ends, there is a possible "spin off" that _could_
happen, but probably won't be made into a TV series.  Have you considered
either a novel or a series of novels?

Considered and considering...but for now, I have to focus on this.

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS: Film Stock Question
Date:  96-02-28 04:35:48 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

No, we shoot in super 35 millimeter, which gives us a widescreen image which
we crop for current domestic aspect ratio TVs.

jms



Subj:  Re:The Shuttle Dyson
Date:  96-02-28 04:36:16 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Just a guy in the walla group who happens to sound kinda like Sean....

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS: Tentacles again
Date:  96-02-28 04:36:52 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Well, Londo did use them once to cheat at cards...so they're fairly
dexterous....

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS thankyou
Date:  96-02-28 04:37:48 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

The thanks are entirely mine....

jms



Subj:  Re:More inquiries
Date:  96-02-29 20:16:58 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{Many, many questions}

I think you just won the prize for most questions that I absolutely can't
answer at one time....

jms



Subj:  Re:Frankly, You Amaze Me
Date:  96-02-29 20:31:19 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Cristine: thanks.  You're right, in many ways it is personal to me.  I tend
to get passionate about the job because I never taken on any job unless I
feel passionately about it, if that makes any syntactical sense whatsoever.
Life's too short.  B5 is a particular case in that this is something that
everyone involved -- from the cast, through to the crew, directors, others --
is absolutely dedicated to.  They believe that we're creating something
rather extraordinary here, something that'll be talked about for a long time
after we're gone.  

It took me five years to sell this show, after everyone else told me to
forget it, that it'd never happen, that it was too ambitious...said that I
*could* sell it if I made it sexier, less aimed at the "smart" viewers and
more accessible to folks who just want plain action and a smattering of sex.
I could've sold a more mainstream series with far less hassle, to any of the
networks.  But I have to tell *this* story.  

So when you're obsessed with something, it's easier to spend 24.9 hours a day
working on it.  (I cobble up the extra 9/10ths of an hour from a
fourth-dimensional gate in my office.)  As for the online time...that ties
into the obsession part, in some ways, but beyond that, it's a chance to keep
working at my #1 bugaboo, demystifying TV, being responsive (and answerable)
to fans when it works or doesn't work...actually, it works out for me because
when I have to stop writing and think through a story point, I don't just get
up and walk into the living room to watch TV, where you can lose a couple
hours at a time.  I stay at the keyboard, do a quick pass through one of the
nets, kill 15 minutes...by which time I've worked out the story point, and I
get back to work.  It keeps me at the computer.

But yeah...in every conceivable sense, the work comes first in my life. This
is the single biggest thing I've ever attempted in my life, in terms of sheer
scale and scope and hours.  It has a finite lifespan.  So during that time,
it owns me.  I can give it nothing less.  When it's finally done, then I can
rest.  Selling and running the show is like being yoked to a train; you pull
real hard for a long time, for five years, until it finally moves.  Then it
picks up speed.  And then you spend the next five years of your life running
as fast as you can in front of it, because if you slow down, it'll run over
you.

jms



Subj:  Re:Hyperion Website
Date:  96-02-29 20:32:44 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

No, I had and have nothing to do with the Hyperion website, except to look at
it with awe and wonder.  It's quite a site.

jms



Subj:  Re:Hour 25
Date:  96-02-29 20:35:52 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

I followed Harlan as host.  After Mike passed away, he gave it to Harlan, who
did it for a year, then Harlan passed it to me, and I managed to stick with
it for five years.  I'm trying to remember when I finally left...I think it
was around 1992-ish.  I opted out for many reasons, among them that I felt it
was a conflict of interest to be making an SF series at the same time that I
was hosting a radio show that covered stuff like SF TV series.  I enjoyed
doing the show -- a 2-hour weekly gig on a high-power radio station in LA, no
commercials, doing anything I wanted -- but ethically I had a real problem
continuing when B5 became a reality.

jms



Subj:  Re:Many thanks great show
Date:  96-02-29 20:37:23 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

No, the thanks are entirely mine, for your support and kind words.  This is
the kind of show that will never come around for me again, and it wouldn't be
here without viewers.

jms



Subj:  Re:JMS: Lyta to appear ???
Date:  96-02-29 20:38:12 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{In which episode will we see Lyta again?}

You'll see Lyta again in Interludes and Examinations, then again this season
in Walkabout.

jms



Subj:  Re:nightwatch
Date:  96-02-28 04:29:16 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

Here's something to consider in this.

It's easy -- safe and reassuring -- to dismiss Nightwatch and the whole
political climate on Earth at this time as referring to Nazi germany...SS,
Stormtroopers, informers...but if we know our history, it shows that this is
not so isolated as we might think.  If we say it was just the Nazis, then
it's a non-repeatable phenomenon, we needn't worry about it again.

But, of course, it does happen again...it did, and it will, to varying
degrees.  Go back to the Inquisition, and forward to Joe McCarthy and the
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) which destroyed lives and
reputations based on association, past history, social contacts and party
affiliations (the items specified by Musante to the EA folks in Nightwatch).
Stalin and to a lesser extent Lenin would have been right at home in
Nightwatch.  Several of the leaders speaking for parties in the ruins of what
was once Yugoslavia would also fit.  

It's easy, and safe, for us to say, "Oh, we would never do that, only THEY
did that."  But the "they" in this ARE the we on the other side...and "we"
have done it, are doing it now, and will continue to do it.  Only when we
*know* the history of such things, when we recognize the rhetoric of control,
when we oppose blacklisting and scapegoating and dead-catting do we help to
assure that they *won't* arise again.  Remember the quote: "Those who do not
remember history are condemned to repeat it."

There's a great deal of generalized historical and political metaphor in the
show, never one-to-one because that's too easy, but disguised in one form or
another, transumted.  The Centauri Republic isn't a real republic by any
stretch of the imagination...any more than the Roman Republic from which it
draws some of its political structure, particularly the Centarum, the ruling
body.  There's a great deal of Japanese political and social structure to the
Minbari, in their culture and art and some of their philosophy.  You can find
parallels to the story in World War II, and the bible, among a few dozen
others.

Too little of TV these days is *about* anything...it's all context, no
subtext.  This show is about a lot of things...but never in the mode of
telling you what to think.  We'll ask *that* you think, that you consider the
world around you, and your place in it...but defining that is your business,
not ours.

jms



Subj:  Re:The enemy is us.
Date:  96-02-29 20:08:57 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

"Zack is the key figure here.  He's the one questioning if he's on the right
side and just what his allies are up to.  I've heard some good analogies to
present days situations kicked around on these boards, but It seems mostly
Republicans want to accuse democrats and vice versa.  What we need is more
Republicans willing to criticise fellow republicans and democrats willing to
criticise fellow democrats."

A very good point.  Zack is, to all intents and purposes, the Everyman
character in this; he wants, desperately, to do what's right.  But he doesn't
exactly *know* what's right, because he's getting conflicting
information...or rather, a lack of *real* information and a plethora of
agendas.  Who is he to believe?  Which wasy does he jump when he's not sure
which pit holds the lion?

When a culture become factionalized, when it becomes us vs. them, everyone
starts setting up consistently smaller camps...first it's democrats vs.
republicans...then it's mainstream republicans vs. conservative
republicans...then it's conservative republicans vs. religious right
republicans (with the democrats having equal problems on their side).  As
soon as we forget that we're *all* US, it begins to fall apart.

jms



Subj:  Re:Psuedo-intellectual babble
Date:  96-02-29 20:13:15 EST
From:  Jms at B5       

{B5 sucks, people only want to talk to JMS to feel like they are in the
"inner circle", your lives are pathetic, etc}

Yes, Sandie, that's very nice, but you still have to finish your brussel
sprouts or you can't stay up and watch Baywatch.  

Your mother and I are *very* concerned.

jms



----

To receive copies of future compilations via e-mail, send mail 
to <kpmooney at acsu.buffalo.edu> with "jms archive" included in 
the subject line.

--
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.info | a service of ISN mars bureau
submissions to:   b5-info at callisto.pas.rochester.edu
contact to:   b5-info-request at callisto.pas.rochester.edu