JMS on AOL: 03/21/96 to 03/22/96
Kevin P Mooney
kpmooney at acsu.Buffalo.EDU
Tue Mar 26 13:42:57 EST 1996
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.
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Subj: Re:some questions...
Date: 96-03-21 03:23:59 EST
From: Jms at B5
There are no shadow vessels buried on Narn, no. The shadow influence on the
Psi Corps has been growing for about 7 years now.
jms
Subj: Re:ATTN: JMS
Date: 96-03-21 03:25:52 EST
From: Jms at B5
I wasn't really happy with what we did with n'grath; it's not any fault of
Optic Nerve, they did a bang up job, it's just...it's a subjective opinion,
and when I looked at it, it never really worked for me. So we may not see
that group again.
jms
Subj: Re:Cancellation
Date: 96-03-21 03:27:26 EST
From: Jms at B5
At this point, we're still assuming we'll be renewed, so it's a moot
question.
The larger issue comes down to commercials, though. To get national
advertisers, you need X number of stations, in Y markets, carrying Z
commercials, preferably on two nights (first run and rerun). If you can't
get national sponsors, paying enough money, it doesn't matter if the show is
over, on, or under budget...you're a dead duck.
jms
Subj: Re:JMS - Voices of Authority
Date: 96-03-21 03:28:45 EST
From: Jms at B5
{What did the Walkers say about the Vorlons}
Well, this isn't a *literal* translation, because some words don't translate,
but the *sense* of the sentence would be "the vorlons can kiss my ____."
jms
Subj: Re:Dawn of third age
Date: 96-03-21 03:29:39 EST
From: Jms at B5
The dawning of the third age really happens over the course of the B5 saga.
jms
Subj: Re:B5 Cast in the UK
Date: 96-03-21 03:31:24 EST
From: Jms at B5
I don't think the overseas audience numbers will overly affect the decision
either way; studios tend to look at domestic as the primary market, and
everything else as ancillary, despite the fact that we are now a global
electronic community.
I think a few of the cast will hang about the UK for a bit while they're over
for the cons; in general, many of our cast and crew hang out together and do
things while on vacation...they like each other, and getting them apart is
tough.
jms
Subj: Re:Tom Baker
Date: 96-03-21 03:31:47 EST
From: Jms at B5
I'd love nothing more than to use Tom Baker on the show at some point.
jms
Subj: Re:protecting your work
Date: 96-03-21 03:32:45 EST
From: Jms at B5
No, there's not much point to copyrighting the work; if you're really
concerned, you can always register it with the Writers Guild, but frankly,
stealing is not as common as one might think.
jms
Subj: Re:The Shadow Wars
Date: 96-03-21 03:34:07 EST
From: Jms at B5
No, the whole point of a mystery done *right* is that some folks won't ever
figure it out, a majority of them will have some vague ideas, and some *will*
figure it out. That's the only outcome -- a bell-shaped curve -- if you're
playing fair with the audience. The clues have to be out there, and if they
are, some will notice. If nobody gets it, you didn't play fair. This was
one of the lessons I learned working on MURDER, SHE WROTE.
jms
Subj: Re:bad copies of b5
Date: 96-03-21 03:35:35 EST
From: Jms at B5
I have no idea, unless when the tape was duped en masse, they just got a bad
copy and nobody QC'd it to find out. But 90% of all stations pick up the
downlink, so this shouldn't be a problem.
jms
Subj: Re:Black uniform clues/hints
Date: 96-03-21 03:35:58 EST
From: Jms at B5
No, the black uniform you've seen here and there isn't a Psi Cop uniform.
jms
Subj: Re:Apologies are in order...
Date: 96-03-21 03:38:22 EST
From: Jms at B5
Every line an actor speaks is written down in a script; the actor's task is
to find the character in that, and breathe life into it via the performance.
So when someone asks, "who creates the character?" one can say the writer
creates, and the actor interprets...but at the same time, that really isn't
indicative of the vast contribution brought by the performer. Londo in the
hands of any other actor but Peter wouldn't be *Londo*.
jms
Subj: Re:JMS: Broken Limbs...
Date: 96-03-21 03:44:09 EST
From: Jms at B5
Oddly enough, Jerry's broken arm tied *beautifully* into something that had
happened in the course of the episode we were filming, so all it took was a
line or two to sell it.
The funny thing is...in the very next episode after the incident, there was a
line in the script I'd written *weeks* earlier, and it freaked everybody
out...when Garibaldi asks someone to do something, and the person responds,
"What, you've got a broken arm or something?" At first some people thought
I'd put it in there to pink Jerry, but it'd been there the whole time.
Similarly, in the Claudia incident, there was a line (cut for time) where
Sheridan says talking to the Drazi is like trying to talk to your right
foot...and Ivanova replies "I'll have you know I have a sublime relationship
with my right foot." Yep, the next day...that's the foot she broke.
Just recently, I was trying to explain time travel to one of the actors. I
used the analogy, over lunch, "Suppose you finished eating your chicken here,
then got sick as a dog a few hours later, then got in a time machine to go
back in time and warn yourself not to eat the chicken." Well, a few hours
after that...the actor got sick as a dog from the chicken.
I have been asked, expressly, not to make any further mention of actors' body
parts in scripts....
jms
Subj: Re:JMS: Game Time
Date: 96-03-21 03:44:44 EST
From: Jms at B5
No, nobody's approached us about an Ivanova-based game, but it's a great
idea.
jms
Subj: Re:Mr. Morden
Date: 96-03-21 03:45:32 EST
From: Jms at B5
{Are Morden and his associates equals?}
Well, he may sometimes *think* of his associates as equals...and my cat
thinks he actually owns this house....
jms
Subj: Re:JMS: Shadows ships & bein
Date: 96-03-21 03:45:58 EST
From: Jms at B5
You can see one of the shadows in the main titles; not too much like their
ships.
jms
Subj: Re:Fan Club
Date: 96-03-21 03:47:04 EST
From: Jms at B5
We have an address for the fan club, but haven't finalized details of price
and material yet.
jms
Subj: Re:jms: derivation of word a
Date: 96-03-21 03:48:10 EST
From: Jms at B5
An arc is simply a geometry; it starts at an angle, goes up, and then comes
down, like the arc of a flare fired by a flare gun. Similarly, a story has
its own dramatic arc.
jms
Subj: Re:Any Comment on Hypernauts
Date: 96-03-21 03:49:10 EST
From: Jms at B5
No, I had nothing to do with Hypernauts beyond recommending Christy; it's
entirely their work. It's good to see our methods and techniques used to
bring more SF shows around; that was what we were hoping for.
jms
Subj: Re:JMS: complex show
Date: 96-03-21 03:50:49 EST
From: Jms at B5
Thanks. I think you'll warm to Marcus as we go deeper in; he's a great
character, and Jason does a terrific job of it.
Not backing away from anything re: Ivanova's diversity...we clarify something
about her relationship with Talia very soon, in fact.
jms
Subj: Re:The Psi Corps
Date: 96-03-21 03:51:40 EST
From: Jms at B5
The initial tests can indicate if the teep is a P1 to P12, they don't
generally start at the same level.
jms
Subj: Re:Open letter to JMS
Date: 96-03-21 03:52:24 EST
From: Jms at B5
Fired? I'm surprised you let him live.
Next time....
jms
Subj: Re:Question going Waaay Back
Date: 96-03-21 03:53:55 EST
From: Jms at B5
They could've punched their way out, but been even less able to get a direct
location in real space because their new position, unpredictable, could be
hundreds of light years away, and they couldn't pinpoint exactly where they
are. They could then jump back, and because of the math, gotten even further
lost.
jms
Subj: Re:JMS: Casting Question
Date: 96-03-21 03:54:23 EST
From: Jms at B5
I honestly don't remember what happened with that, or even if we considered
him.
jms
Subj: Re:Who are you/What do you w
Date: 96-03-21 03:55:34 EST
From: Jms at B5
You miss the point. It's not that there's a *correct* answer, but that
there's an *informed* answer. If you decide what you want, before you know
who you are, you're likely to get something that will destroy you; if you
know who you are, you can then ask for something that will be of greater use
to you.
jms
Subj: Re:Vir's family
Date: 96-03-21 03:56:30 EST
From: Jms at B5
I can, but I'd rather show it; you'll find out a lot more about Vir and
family relations in "Sic Transit Vir" in mid-april.
jms
Subj: Re:An Open Letter to JMS
Date: 96-03-21 18:45:15 EST
From: Jms at B5
Good points. I'd point you, incidentally, to an essay by Mark Twain on, I
believe, the Boxer rebellion, in which he dissects the phrase "my country
right or wrong," the earliest use I've ever seen of that phrase. Also A
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which has some very serious
commentary on what *is* patriotism, what what *is* the Nation?
Uncritical jingoism is as inherently unpatriotic as uncritical attacks. It's
important to see what a goverment does that is good, by our ability to
perceive the good, and support it...and to find what is in need of redress,
and fix it. But either way, we have to be honest about what we see, and ask
ourselves if it's right. Even if we come back toward saying yes, it *is*
right, at least we've thought about it, and now have reasons and objective
criteria for *why* it's right. Or why it's wrong.
jms
Subj: Re:4th Season Status
Date: 96-03-21 18:46:21 EST
From: Jms at B5
What gives is that it's a long process, always is, every year. We'll know
for sure when they finally tell us.
jms
Subj: Re:JMS: Contest
Date: 96-03-21 18:47:55 EST
From: Jms at B5
I believe Canada is considered part of foreign distribution; I don't know the
figures on income from foreign runs, 'cause by the time any of that info gets
to us, it's been...fixed...in the books to keep any possible profit from
showing, so I have no real idea.
jms
Subj: Re:JMS: Slade?!?!?!?!?
Date: 96-03-21 18:48:52 EST
From: Jms at B5
Yeah, I confess I enjoy Slade quite a bit; have most of their CDs. Wish they
had more currency here in the US.
jms
Subj: Re:Hey!
Date: 96-03-22 03:50:10 EST
From: Jms at B5
Songu, I answered something like 16 or 20 questions in a row; it's not
possible for me to answer every single question or I'll never get the show
made. I'm not avoiding anyone's questions, and don't yell "HEY!" if I don't.
It's rude.
jms
Subj: Re:Novels & Comics
Date: 96-03-22 03:52:33 EST
From: Jms at B5
I'm involved in the comics and novels, but the problem with the novels is
that I get only a few days to review the manuscript before it has to go back,
and given everything else I'm doing, sometimes I miss things. I try to keep
it as close to the show as I can, but there are always going to be glitches
when you let it out of your direct supervision and into the hands of others.
jms
----
End Compilation
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