JMS on CompuServe (May 02, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Thu May 2 18:03:39 EDT 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.
I give permission for my summaries to be reposted in
any form, however I reserve all rights to them and
the right to revoke this permission at any time.
[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #498568-<Ship of Tears Alien?>
Sb: #498569-<Ship Of Tears>
Sb: #498626-#B5Sword Logo
Sb: #498794-HOMer Award: B5 TCoS
Sb: #498636-#<Ship of Tears>
Sb: #498660-<Ship of Tears- Narns?>
Sb: #498819-Kudos from Tampa
#: 498568 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
01-May-96 09:23:09
Sb: #497270-#<Ship of Tears Alien?>
Fm: NEIL BLEVINS
>Was the alien that committed suicide and put acid all on his body the same
species as we saw in the dream sequence operating on the woman?<
> Yep. Same species.<
Was it the same species as the aliens that took Sheridan in "All alone in the
night"?
- Neil
#: 498618 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
01-May-96 12:35:15
Sb: #498568-<Ship of Tears Alien?>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Nope.
jms
#: 498569 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
01-May-96 09:23:10
Sb: #<Ship Of Tears>
Fm: NEIL BLEVINS
I like sending a quick 'thank you' message to you after each extraordinary
episode, I have a feeling I'll be doing it 4 weeks in a row, starting with
"Ship of Tears", it kept my jaw on the ground for most of the night. Excellent
acting, as well as huge portions of the arc revealed, and that feeling at the
end of the episode that it's only just begun, that next weeks will be even more
of a kick to the face. Great job.
- Neil
#: 498619 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
01-May-96 12:35:16
Sb: #498569-<Ship Of Tears>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks, I look forward to your feeling it's an ongoing quality show.
jms
[ Summary: A user who uploaded a B5 logo file asks if he violated any
copyrights in doing so. ]
#: 498806 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-May-96 19:59:56
Sb: #498626-#B5Sword Logo
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Depends on where you got it from.
jms
#: 498794 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-May-96 19:26:42
Sb: #HOMer Award: B5 TCoS
Fm: SYSOP DUPA T PARROT
Congrats, Joe, the episode "The Coming Of Shadows" won the 1995 HOMer Award
for Dramatic Presentation.
-Dupa T. Parrot [Tech Supp SysOp]
<OS/2 WarpConnect & GCP> O-
#: 498808 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-May-96 19:59:58
Sb: #498794-HOMer Award: B5 TCoS
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
That's great. Thanks to all who voted. It's a good episode, and the
recognition coming from CIS is especially gratifying given our/my longstanding
relationship with this forum.
So, like, is there a statue or anything that goes with this...?
jms
#: 498636 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
01-May-96 12:56:09
Sb: #498343-#<Ship of Tears>
Fm: JOHN M. KAHANE
Hullo, Joe,
Just saw "Ship of Tears" last night, and had to drop you a line on this
one. One of the things that impressed me so much about "Ship of Tears" was
that when one compares it to "A Late Delivery From Avalon," the first thing one
notices is that "Avalon" seems much lighter in feel but is a very strong story,
whereas "Ship" seems to be a very horror-oriented, spine-tingling story. Yet
both have their strong points, both make definite statements about the story
arc in general and specific ways, and both stories feature strong performances
from the cast.
It's nice to finally see the connection between Psi Corps and the
Shadows established, although I have to admit that my first thought was that
telepaths were being avoided by the Shadows rather than used to power their
ships. I twigged to the fact that Bester's presence aboard the Whitestar (is
it one word or two, btw?) was what caused the Shadow "mother ship" to leave the
transport, but I also thought it might have left to avoid letting any harm come
to those aboard. The revelation of the Shadows using telepaths to power their
ships, while at the same time having a fear of telepaths, certainly makes
things more interesting, and their presence as a weapon could be invaluable.
But does this mean that the allies of Light are going to start recruiting from
among Psi Corps? I doubt it. <g>
Bester's return to B5 was something that I had looked forward to for quite
some time, and this episode was no disappointment. Bester's motivations for
coming to the station and working with Sheridan and company against the Shadows
struck me as being nicely fit to the current plot, and I am looking forward to
seeing if any development of Bester's plan to take the Psi Corps under his
"wing" (so to speak) will actually bear fruit in the series. He never strikes
me as friendly when he comes to the station, and this episode was no exception
to that rule. I liked the idea of Carolyn's presence being what might have
truly motivated him to help Sheridan and company in future, but one has to
wonder about Sheridan's wife as well. One other question in this regard: I
noticed the opening credits had one credit for a character called Alison, but I
don't remember seeing her in the episode. Which character was she?
I think the sequence between Delenn and G'Kar is one of the best parts of
the series in recent times, and is rivalled by the sequence of Delenn accepting
Excalibur from "Arthur" in "Avalon." It was touching, and soul-searching in
its warmth, and sad and tear-rending in its sincerity and its depth. One of
the best moments in the series from the third season, and up there with some of
the moments in "Comes the Inquisitor." Can you tell me if there was anything
that you told Andreas or Mira about playing out this sequence, or was it pretty
much an actor playing to another actor kind of thing?
Garibaldi's knowledge of the Book of G'Quan and his revelation to the
others at the end of the story was quite nice, I thought, and brought G'Kar
very neatly into the alliance of Light. I like the new War Room set, but found
it to be a bit too glitzy in some ways. Don't even ask me to explain what I
meant here, since I can't, but perhaps on a second viewing I'll be able to look
at it a bit more.
All in all, "Ship of Tears" was a terrific episode of BABYLON 5, and made
me realize the sheer depth of the plot. When a character like Bester, not even
a regular on the series, has multiple layers of personality and when some of
the plotting from way back in the first season comes back to us in this way,
then it's time to crank up the old vcr and watch some of the old episodes
again, just to see what points might have been missed. Keep up the good work.
jmk
#: 498809 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
01-May-96 20:00:01
Sb: #498636-#<Ship of Tears>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks. That's one of the things about the show that makes it very
appealing to write; you can go from fall down funny, broad comedy in "Vir" to
something more emotional, almost lyrical but serious in "Avalon," then right
into something vaguely horrific in "Ship." You get to use all your muscles,
not just the same ones over and over. I like to stretch, try something I
haven't tried before. Which means from time to time I fall on my face, but
that's okay; it's the only way to learn. I have absolutely no qualms about
making an ass of myself and failing if it means that the next time, I can do it
right.
I didn't give Mira or Andreas any instructions on that scene except what
was in the script, which was minimal. When you have two performers that solid
in the room, just give them the lines and run like hell.
Speaking of going back and rewatching episodes...part of this goes right
back to the *pilot*, where, you'll recall, G'Kar tried to seduce Lyta,
mentioning that there are no Narn telepaths, and they feel very strongly it's
important to their survival that they start breeding them at the first
opportunity.
Ding....!
jms
[ Summary: Asks if JMS could use the G'Quan story as material for the
proposed direct-to-video B5 movie. ]
#: 498810 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
01-May-96 20:00:05
Sb: #498660-<Ship of Tears- Narns?>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, because that would mean doing a story without our main characters,
since G'Quan's story took place about a thousand years ago, and I don't think I
could sell that. (Unless I did another time travel number, and I only intend
to go to that well once, with the B4 storyline.)
jms
[ Summary: A Tampa viewer congratulates JMS for "Severed Dreams" and points
out that the TV station and local media are giving B5 great support,
including a weekday *prime time* slot and a full inner-page treatment
of B5 by a local newspaper. ]
#: 498847 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
01-May-96 21:37:11
Sb: #498819-Kudos from Tampa
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks for the good words, and the encouraging news about how the show is
doing out there. Much appreciated.
jms
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