JMS on CompuServe (Mar 20, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
Brent Barrett
brent.barrett at 24stex.com
Wed Mar 20 16:09:02 EST 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.
[ 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: Wonders how much work had to be done because Foxworth backed out
of his agreement to do Severed Dreams. Also, wants to know how JMS would
rank the next 8 episodes, relative to the one's we've seen so far. ]
#: 473043 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-Mar-96 16:19:55
Sb: #472741-Just a Question
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The Foxworth bail resulted in a change of about three lines, that's
about it. You'll know which lines when you hear them.
As for the next eight...one thing I'm trying to be more careful about
now is curbing my excitement about episodes. If I say "X is the best thing
since sliced bread," there's always going to be folks who then sit down to NOT
be impressed. Whereas if you say little, just hide in the underbrush and let
the episode whack 'em upsided the head, you often get a better reaction.
So I'll try to answer but in vaguer terms than usual.
Of the next eight, I'd put 3 of them in the category of the best we've
ever done, equal to or topping "The Coming of Shadows." Those would be
"Severed Dreams," and "War Without End," parts 1 and 2.
You've got two personal stories in the batch, which are more intimate
and give us a break from the big changes in the current three-part sequence.
"Sic Transit Vir" and "A Late Delivery From Avalon," that I enjoy immensely for
very different reasons. I'm very pleased with them.
Then you start heating up the arc again, leading toward the "War" two
parter, with "Ship of Tears" (which I think fans will like a LOT), and
"Interludes and Examinations," another very strong episode with some real
surprises.
Personally, from a storytelling and character point of view, I think
that the "War" two parter represents possibly the very best work we've ever
done on the show, with "Severed Dreams" right behind it.
(After the major events in "War," you get two more episodes that act as
an emotional buffer, a little quieter..."Walkabout" and "Grey 17 Is Missing,"
and of the two, I think "Walkabout" is pretty good; it has some moments that
are maybe a bit too soft, which I'm going to try and strengthen in editing this
week. The last three of this season, "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding
Place," "Shadow Dancing," and the last episode, are somewhat similar in
construction to the mini-arc of "Messages," "Point" and "Severed," in that they
build thematically and contextually toward a single resolution. There's a kind
of nifty little visual element I use to tie them all together.)
jms
#: 472784 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-Mar-96 04:42:54
Sb: #472332-#YEAR (sing) of shd war..
Fm: ANNE L. WARNER
Joe,
Do you happen to know whether out of control budgets is what sank "Live Shot?"
That's the one Wanda De Jesus was on. It was very gorgeous, and as we
rewatched the tapes we have, I started noticing how many people and sets and
aerial shots they had. It must have been wicked expensive to make. It's the
only thing I've ever seen that made the city of Los Angeles look positively
beautiful.
Anne
#: 473044 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-Mar-96 16:19:58
Sb: #472784-YEAR (sing) of shd war..
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I don't really know enough about that show to comment; the only reason I
know as much about the V series as I do is because, when they brought me in to
write the new miniseries, I was briefed on the situation they'd had.
jms
[ Summary: Wants to know if JMS' S.O. is "disinterested in writing for t.v.
altogether?" ]
#: 473201 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-Mar-96 21:28:43
Sb: #473154-#Marcon/Columbus Dispatch
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I'm not sure she knows quite which medium she prefers; she's in the
process now of making that decision.
jms
#: 473131 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-Mar-96 19:08:08
Sb: #We Have Always Been Here
Fm: NEIL BLEVINS
My good friend "The" Don, who's drove you insane with his song spoofs, has now
taken up poetry, and presents you with his ode to B5. Listen well...
WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE (A prayer In Babylon)
We have always been here
Waiting for this tale to unfold,
Our only light
An unseen star.
We wait for an apocoliptic armaggedon
Brought by unseen shadows.
A touch of something alien
Strange, new and welcome,
Unfolds in this lonely darkness.
Pride shatters the calm
Bringing something unwanted.
The gathering in the parlement of dreams
With revelations of the long dark,
We pass through Gethsamane
Before the point of no return.
Waiting in the darkness,
For the tale to unfold
We have always been here,
And perhaps so have you.
By Don Campbell
Dedicated to JMS
in thanks for
uncountable hours
of excellent entertainment
and all the other babblers,
cast and crew of a show
of unparallelled excellence.
#: 473248 S5/Babylon 5: General
20-Mar-96 00:03:52
Sb: #473131-We Have Always Been Here
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thank your friend for the great words, and the thoughts behind them.
jms
/*********************************************
* Brent Barrett brent.barrett at 24stex.com *
* Senior Software Engineer Automedia, Inc *
* -- Watch Babylon-5! -- *
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