JMS on CompuServe (Mar 09, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* 2/2
Brent Barrett
brent.barrett at 24stex.com
Sat Mar 9 15:34:05 EST 1996
[ Continued from previous section -- BB ]
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.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
Continue at your own risk.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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[ Note from Brent: Before you ask, no I cannot forward
your questions to JMS. He has asked that questions
not originating from CIS accounts not be posted to
CIS. He encourages all of us to wait for the
moderated USENET group, to which he plans to
subscribe. ]
[ Summary: Wants to know how the Aggie could have "locked-on" to the
White Star, which uses the same (if not more advanced) Minbari tech
that prevented EA ships from locking-on to Minbari ships in the
Earth-Minbari War. ]
#: 467201 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Mar-96 00:21:11
Sb: #466793-<Messages from Earth +>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
It can be for a number of reasons. The White Star was moving through a
highly charged atmosphere, which would leave detectable trails; it was being
fired at by the shadow vessel, which would've attracted considerable attention
from the flares; diving at that speed and coming back up there would be
considerble heat on the surface of the ship (not normally a problem in space);
and it was pretty much shaken up/partially damaged during the fight. Also, at
that range, once you're near enough, you can pick it up visually as it gets
close; it's not a cloaking system, only a stealth system.
jms
[ Summary: This is another response to the same message, in which the poster
said that the Aggie "couldn't hit the broad side of a Minbari barn door
during the war." ]
#: 467202 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Mar-96 00:21:14
Sb: #466793-<Messages from Earth +>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The Agamemnon was not IN the Minbari war; as established in the show, it
was one of the first of the Omega class destroyers constructed AFTER the war.
It's a *very* impressive battleship, as shown in its battle against the Streib.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if the White Star is all organic or only part organic and part
metallic. Also asks if the Lumati have organic tech and if we'll see them
in the Shadow War. ]
#: 467203 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Mar-96 00:21:17
Sb: #466847-OrganicTechnology
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The Lumati don't have organic tech; and a ship using this tech would be
a combination of the two, using organic components for certain specific tasks.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if the security forces are EA or privately hired/operated. ]
#: 467205 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Mar-96 00:21:20
Sb: #467011-B5 Security Forces
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, they're attached to the Earth Alliance and responsive to those
commands.
jms
[ Summary: Loves the show and says his friend told him that JMS has "got
a real SAGA going there." ]
#: 467206 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Mar-96 00:21:23
Sb: #467164-Thought from jms
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks...and yes, a saga is just what I have in mind....
jms
[ Summary: From the person who first posted the info from the Andrea
Thompson article that appeared in Starlog. Responds to another user
who bashes him for posting it. He tells that user, "sorry if it
offends your senstivity that someone gave their opinions about B5.
This is a television show, a business, a way of life, not some awe
inspiring moment in history. Everybody involved in B5 is in it for the
money. Everyone from Joe right down to the stage hands." ]
#: 467213 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Mar-96 00:41:21
Sb: #466783-#B5:Starlog
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"Everybody involved in B5 is in it for the money."
Y'know, this with some of your other comments here -- using the old
canard of dismissing anyone who disagrees with you as "worshipping" someone who
creates or does a TV show -- amounts to some of the most cynical crap I've seen
in a long time.
Here's a little revelation for you: Before doing B5, I was a writer
producer on MURDER, SHE WROTE. A top-ten (sometimes even top 5) rated megahit
for CBS, with extremely high visibility. I resigned M,SW to take on the reins
of a syndicated series, which pays me HALF WHAT I EARNED WHEN I WAS ON M,SW.
Not only is my producer's fee half what it was when I was at the network, the
scripts fees are ALSO far less...about $15,000 as compared to $24,000 for a
network script. The residuals are lower in syndication, the publicity budget
is less, people pay less attention to you in town.
Now...why don't you just sit down and do the math, and poke your head
out of your butt long enough to consider that maybe, MAYBE, some people do
something because they're motivated by something other than just being in it
"for the money." If I were "in it for the money," I would've stayed with a hit
network series for major bucks. If I were "in it for the money" I'd be pushing
for more merchandising, I'd *NEVER* have set a ceiling of 5 years on the show,
and I'd certainly never want to get away from TV and go back to writing novels
when this is all over, since books pay a fraction of TV.
It's truly sad to see the world through your eyes, in which no one does
anything for reasons other than THE BUCKS...no story wanting to be told, no
art, no music, no committment, nothing other than sheer, naked greed.
Do not mistake cynicism for open-mindedness. Yours is just another form
of prejudice. One can be just as close-minded by assuming the worst of others
as by (to use your term) "worshipping."
jms
/*********************************************
* Brent Barrett brent.barrett at 24stex.com *
* Senior Software Engineer Automedia, Inc *
* -- Watch Babylon-5! -- *
*********************************************/
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