JMS on AOL: 03/26/96 to 03/27/96
Kevin P Mooney
kpmooney at acsu.Buffalo.EDU
Sat Mar 30 12:03:43 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.
ObSpoiler space:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
Subj: Re:Mumy on Sci-Fi Buzz
Date: 96-03-26 16:37:56 EST
From: Jms at B5
I believe the clip in question was from "Ceremonies of Light and Dark."
jms
Subj: Re:Lincoln
Date: 96-03-26 16:40:35 EST
From: Jms at B5
"the last, best hope of Earth" was from Lincoln, yes. We quoted it in
"Points of Departure."
jms
Subj: Re:Pilots
Date: 96-03-26 16:42:16 EST
From: Jms at B5
The story just kinda shifted away from that for a while; I try not to stay
too long with any one thread. They sorta come in waves; as with this season,
we emphasized Earth stuff for the first 11 or so episodes; then we slide back
into the Centauri stuff, then the Minbari, then the Narn. Aspects of the
show rise and fall in prominence as needed for the story. We'll get back to
the pilots in the fullness of time.
jms
Subj: Re:West/East End of London
Date: 96-03-26 16:46:39 EST
From: Jms at B5
What I'd said, and maybe I wasn't sufficiently clear, but my sense was that I
wasn't going to change it *prior to the first US airing.* I found out about
the mistake -- it was a typo, I knew the difference, I just became
momentarily stupid and wrote west when I meant to type east -- after the show
aired in the UK, and had a couple of months in which I could've chosen to
make the change. But I was concerned that the dub wouldn't have the same
power as the original performance, so I was willing to let it go until after
it aired, so it would've had that impact, then make the change later.
Happily, the loop came out *very* well, so it worked out.
jms
Subj: Re:Odd Questions
Date: 96-03-26 16:48:44 EST
From: Jms at B5
The Ranger colony was financially supported by the Minbari; the Drazi allowed
them to use one of their colony worlds as a base.
If humans are special, and in some measure we are or we wouldn't be in the
story, I should think it's more for what we *do* than what we *are*. There
is something very unique about us which comes in handily in the series.
Delenn's already pointed this out.
jms
Subj: Re:Ask not.
Date: 96-03-26 16:52:47 EST
From: Jms at B5
Phil: thanks. A wonderful and very encouraging analysis. Sometimes I forget
how much we're really packing into this show until I see it broken down like
that. Then suddenly I'm tired...but vastly pleased.
As for Trent, we still plan to do that story at some point.
jms
Subj: Re:Who are you/Whaddya want
Date: 96-03-26 16:56:42 EST
From: Jms at B5
Exactly. I think the process of transcending is much more interesting than
*having* transcended. The struggle is what's dramatic.
Re: n'grath...while that didn't work as well as I'd've liked, I'm still
looking to explore some alternate ways of showing alien (non-humanoid) life
forms. We'll get there.
BTW, I note that you use semi-colons correctly in your messages...it's a tiny
thing, but it's the sort of thing rarely done anymore; the semi-colon seems
to have become a form of vestigal punctuation.
jms
Subj: Re:dolls
Date: 96-03-26 16:58:35 EST
From: Jms at B5
If you've got a petition, then a place like Playmates, which tends to make
action figure license deals, would be a good place to start.
Otherwise, there aren't any character dolls at the time; eventually we'll get
to it.
jms
Subj: Re:Renewal Process
Date: 96-03-26 17:10:05 EST
From: Jms at B5
The renewal process for B5 is a little different than the norm, due to the
PTEN structure. It works in two parts, as I understand it. (If I'm
incorrect on any of this, I hope that any of the onlooking WB folks will set
me straight.)
Part one comes from the stations. Each market looks at the show, and how
it's doing in their area, which is a combination of ratings and demographics,
and sometimes audience support for a show, though the first two always take
precedence over the third. They then decide whether or not to offer to take
the show for another season.
Part two comes from WB and the national advertisers. As the stations line up
yea or nay, you keep a running tally of how *many* stations, when they want
to air it, and if they want to do a double run or not. You need a certain
percentage of major markets, national coverage, to get national sponsors; and
you need to guarantee them a certain number of viewers. Best if you can
deliver a certain *kind* of viewer, the kind advertisers look for.
The last part of WB's decision is if the show is profitable for the company
given all of these elements. (WB gets the advertising money for national
spots in general, while local stations can sell other spots for local
sponsors, generating their income.) Unlike most TV shows, which can run at a
deficit for a number of years, on the theory that they'll make it up in
long-term syndication, our show and Kung Fu have to show a profit *from the
word go*. So the bear is much closer to us at all times.
The problem that all syndicated shows are currently running into is that of
diminishing berths for their programs. Most communities have, at most, 1 or
2 local independent stations. When B5 went on the air, these were all
available to us. Since then, the Warners Network and UPN have come into
existence, with contractual requirements mandating x-hours per week for their
programs. And Fox stations have grown, expanded their range of programming.
So now you find that there are fewer and fewer available timeslots for
syndicated shows not affiliated with one of these weblets. A number of new
syndicated shows announced recently have been pulled for the simple reason
that they can't find enough stations that have available slots.
It's a noose around our neck that we're definitely aware of, particularly
given the importance of double runs for the national sponsors, which is even
*more* difficult given the current glut of programs and the few slots
remaining. The game is trying to finish the story and get out before the
noose closes around our neck.
It's going to be tight....
jms
Subj: Re:JMS: Which Episode does
Date: 96-03-27 04:13:37 EST
From: Jms at B5
I'll tell you that *after* the episode airs...if I tell you before, you'll be
looking for it, and prepared for it, rather than being surprised.
jms
Subj: Re:Renewal/alternatives
Date: 96-03-27 04:15:35 EST
From: Jms at B5
I think the WB net would be very doubtful, since they're trying to create
their own identity as a network, and taking a syndicated show would likely
work against that; UPN is Paramount and I think they'd cut off their
own...er...noses before taking on B5, given our relative histories.
jms
Subj: Re:Five MILES long?!
Date: 96-03-27 04:17:50 EST
From: Jms at B5
Well, I suppose he could've said six-point-one kilometers (or whatever the
figure would be, I'm too tired and it's too late in the evening to do the
math), but it'd kinda spoil the flow of the sentence; and if it's total
length works out to five miles, give or take a bit, that seems the way to go.
jms
Subj: Re:Minbari rings
Date: 96-03-27 04:18:16 EST
From: Jms at B5
{whatever happened to the Minbari Rings Delenn used in
the pilot?}
The rings are still there; we just haven't yet had cause to use them.
jms
Subj: Re:Why Io?
Date: 96-03-27 04:20:09 EST
From: Jms at B5
{Why is there a base and jumpgate on Io.}
Yes, this is the primary jumpgate for Earth. It's positioned at Io (most of
the base is actually in orbit outside Io, some of it on the surface, as we
showed in "Chrysalis") to keep Earth a bit safer by removing it some
distance, and because putting it near the huge energy field of Jupiter makes
it more difficult for weapons to target it from a distance. It's mainly a
tactical decision.
jms
----
End Compilation
-***
-*** 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 send your
-*** reply to someone else, make sure the "To:" header line is correctly
-*** set. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: You may NOT repost any messages appearing in
-*** this B5JMS list/digest to any other forum without prior permission from
-*** all of the respective authors.
More information about the B5JMS
mailing list