Attn: JMS - Interludes and Examinations

[B5JMS Poster]

Subject: Attn: JMS - Interludes and Examinations
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 No. | DATE        |  FROM
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+  1: May  5, 1996: Eric.Moore at zippo.com
+  7: May  7, 1996: hansens at jcave.com (Steven Hansen)
*  8: May  7, 1996: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
+  9: May  7, 1996: jdawson at midamer.net (Jim Dawson)
* 10: May  7, 1996: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
+ 24: May  8, 1996: Stephen Langasek <langasek at worf.netins.net>
* 25: May  8, 1996: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
+110: May 11, 1996: bpchu at ucdavis.edu (Bryan P Chu)
*111: May 11, 1996: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
*112: May 11, 1996: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)

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From: Eric.Moore at zippo.com
Lines: 2

One word: Awesome!


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From: hansens at jcave.com (Steven Hansen)
Lines: 65

(* Spoilers for Interludes and Examinations  *)


























	S  p   o   i    l    e   r      S  p   a   c   e  .   .   .





Wow!  I can see why that was a surprise for you when you wrote it!
Even though I accidentally read about it beforehand, the death of Kosh
was astonishing.
	Could you please give my regards to Bruce?  I just keep
getting impressed again and again by his acting ability.  That scene
with Kosh was simply POWERFUL.  I could really feel his anger and
frustrations at this race who has claimed superiority for so long, and
now won't show it.  (Or put their money where their mouths are, as
Sheridan said.) 
	 I hope that the "death" that Sheridan experiences when he
goes to Z'ha'dum is either a figurative or emotional death, because
I'm quite attached to him.  (OH NO! That means you WILL snuff him
out!)
	Oh, by the way, I thought I'd run some guesses of what the
cliff hanger at the end of the season will be called:

Little Space Station on the Praerie
Scarecrow and Mrs. Ingles

Actually I'm really looking forward to having Melissa on the show, but
it bothers me that even after all the great characters we've seen,
that some people are still having the "Chekov on Babylon 5?" syndrome
about her.
	One last thing, do we get to see soon what the rangers are
doing about these shadow incursions, and If they DO attack, I do hope
that they include a telepath on every vessel.   
	Thanks for working so hard to make this product of your
imagination come alive,

                                  >>>Steve<<<
	
	  

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 54

spoilers....
















"JMS, why did you edit out the scene where the Ranger follows Morden and
ends up being killed by the Shadows?  Don't you think fans of the show
would rather see that than the scene in the bar where Garibaldi asks for
info on Franklin's blood from the other doctor?  When you edit the show
please keep in mind what the fans would what to see.  Rangers and Shadows
fighting is much more exciting than a unimportant scene that could have
been left out easily."

Because it was important to set up what Garibaldi wanted, where it was,
and how he was going to gain access.  It had to show his concern for
Franklin, the moral ambiguity in asking for this, the betrayal we see on
Franklin's face, the difficulty in Dr. Hobbs dealing with his request. 
The ranger scene was a brief piece that was really unconnected to the rest
of the story, had no setup elsewhere or payoff, was only a brief piece of
action.  I needed the time to establish the character and plot information
in the Garibaldi scene.

And when you cite what "the fans" want to see, bear in mind that there
ain't no such critter.  There's what *you* like, but *you're* not the
entirety of the fans.  Some fans thought "Avalon" was one of the best of
the series to date; others thought it was just a character piece and
wanted more action and arc and called it a "waste."  Some people when they
read a novel read for the action, then when they come to a few pages that
establish the look of the forest, or some character background, jump ahead
a few pages to where the action starts up again.  Some do just the
opposite.

My obligation, first and foremost, is to the story, and to tell that story
as best I can.  If I start trying to second guess what *The Fans* want,
when there is no ready concensus, when there ain't no such thing, when
different fans want different things, it'll just get watered down and
wander around lost.  



 jms


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From: jdawson at midamer.net (Jim Dawson)
Lines: 135

"Interludes and Examinations" can be summed up in three words. "Oh My
God." It's what you will say right after a certain pivotal scene.
(during it you will be speechless.)

Warning: MAJOR spoilers below. Do NOT read any further unless you have
seen 'Interludes and Examinations'. Trust me, you want to see this
episode cold.















Several expeditions have been sent into spoiler space. None of them
returned. All we ever got back were messages that the ships had met with
'accidents' and not to send any further expeditions.













That should be enough.

Ivanova's 'diary' opening seemed almost a little too much like "Captains
log: stardate 226008.3. The Shadows started attacking ten days ago..."

This episode takes place on August 3rd. Apparently JMS has something for
3. Didn't 'Severed Dreams' take place on April 3?

Once again Vir gets one of the best lines in the episode: (to Morden)
"Short of dying, no. 'Can't think of a thing."

Gee, Did Sheridan actually tell Kosh "Up Yours."? Did Darth Vader teach
Kosh that little trick?

"I will do as you ask. but there is a price to pay. I will not be there
to help you when you go to Z'ha'dum." Perfect symmetry with "In the
Shadow of Z'Ha'Dum" where Sheridan tells Kosh pretty much the same
thing. 

"I will not be there to help you when you go to Z'Ha'Dum." 
"You already said that if I go to Z'Ha'Dum I'll die." 
"Yes, Now." 
"...if you want to withhold your help when the time comes, fine. I'll go
it alone." 
"You do not understand. but you will." I'm sure I wasn't the only one to
have cold chills up and down my spine during that scene.

Gee, the Shadows already attacked Brikiri space once already. Talk about
kicking someone when they're down! But what's this? The Vorlon Armada to
the rescue! Apparently the Vorlon's don't have a more advanced method of
entering/exiting hyperspace that they don't want the 'lesser' races to
know about. They apparently have weapons that work against the Shadows,
like the beam to hold the BattleCrab in place and weaken it until you
can ram it! (And it made a very agreeable Crunch!)  And the BIG ship can
even stand up to the Turbo Ginsu Purple Death Beam! And they used a
tactic that I suspected would work against the Shadows. overwhelm them
with attacking targets. Since they only go after one at a time that many
targets going against them at once can confuse them. And apparently the
worst the Shadows did to the Vorlons was to blast a little piece off of
the Vorlon Mega-Cruiser, and it took a GinsuBeam to do that! This is the
first major victory against the Shadows, but somehow I'm afraid the
euphoria is going to be short lived...

And Londo. Going from the happiest he has been in months, a feeling that
he had almost forgotten, and then... 

"The news is spreading all over the place captain. We've got every
ambassador on the station ready to sign on." (Presumably this does not
include the Centauri. Even if it weren't any Shadow connection to the
Centauri, Londo has had more immediate concerns...) 

"I want you to know you were right. I didn't want to admit that, just
pride I guess. You get my age you get kind of set in your ways. It had
to be done. Don't blame yourself for what happened later." "It's too
late for me. I'm sorry for what I did before. I knew what was ahead, I
guess... I guess I was afraid. When you've lived as long as I have you
kinda get used to it. I wish I could have done more for you. There's so
much I should have said, and now it's too late. You're right. It's time
you began fighting this war your way." "It's alright son, you see, as
long as you're here, I'll always be here."

It's a good thing that Ivanova told Sheridan to get some sleep before
thanking Kosh. (1) he could have ended up in the wrong place at the
wrong time, and (2) he might not have been in the right mental state for
Kosh to have 'appeared' to him as his father while he slept.

Not much else I can say except rest in peace, Kosh.

Londo! Can't you see that Morden is playing you like a cheap fiddle!
Refa just jumped to the top of the 'Already Dead' list. I grieve for
Londo almost as much as I do for Kosh. Could it be possible that the one
'that is already dead' is himself??? Or Kosh's replacement? or... wait a
minute... we beat this thread to death months ago. 

Do any of the Authurian legends have Merlin being killed by... No,
forget that I mentioned it.

What is Franklin going to do now that he's resigned. Methinks Minbar
might be a nice place for the good doctor to take a little vacation...
Vir says it's nice this time of year. He could drop in and say hi to
Sinclair. and... stuff.

"Then, once Kosh's belongings are loaded into his ship, it will activate
itself. The ship was made for him. It was a part of him. In a curious
way, it is alive. and it cannot live without him. So it will grieve, as
we do, in it's own way, and perform it's last duty."

Again, not much I can say here.

I've Got to go now and make preperations for a wake for Kosh.
---
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| <*>                Jim Dawson - jdawson at midamer.net              <*> |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  _   _     Morden :"Is there anything I can do to help?"      _   _  |
|  _>O<_  Vir :"Short of dying, no. 'Can't think of a thing"    _>O<_  |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 30

spoiler space...

















It wasn't my idea.  It was Kosh's idea.  It was his pulling me that way
that led to it.  "Trust me," he said.  I followed.

And yeah, it does hurt.  Pat Tallman was devastated at the screening. 
Even my own crew wouldn't talk to me for a day or so after the script came
out.

Which is when I knew it was the right thing to do.


 jms


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From: Stephen Langasek <langasek at worf.netins.net>
Lines: 51

Martyn B. Drake wrote:
> >       S  p   o   i    l    e   r      S  p   a   c   e  .   .   .










> 
> [ Extra space inserted due to lack of space protecting a MAJOR spoiler
> 
>   that nobody outside the USA who hasn't seen this episode should
>   know about .. yet. ]












> 
> > Wow!  I can see why that was a surprise for you when you wrote it!
> > Even though I accidentally read about it beforehand, the death of
> > (name DELETED to protect the innocent) was astonishing.
> 
> A request to everyone posting regarding Interludes and Examinations..
> 
> Could you _please_, _please_, insert at least 20-30 (or more if
> necessary) lines space in your posts in future, as I managed to catch
> the "death of" bit straight away when my newsreader hit the article by
> accident.  I've just been majorly spoiled..  I'm not angry, but the
> episode does appear to have lost it's effect slightly.  :-(

As one who was voluntarily spoiled, I'd have to say that the episode is still very 
powerful.  If all you know is "Kosh dies," then there's still a lot of reasons to 
watch it. :)

                                 -Steve
-doink-
___
The opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of my employer...
But they *should* be, dammit!

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 9

Thanks, yes, Bruce did a great job in that scene; there's a touch of
madness in it, which is quite understandable.  As for the Rangers, they
get a new, added role later this season.



 jms



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From: bpchu at ucdavis.edu (Bryan P Chu)
Lines: 94

Linda Avraamides (la at u.washington.edu) wrote:
: On Tue, 7 May 1996, Jim Dawson wrote:
: 
: > "Interludes and Examinations" can be summed up in three words. "Oh My
: > God." It's what you will say right after a certain pivotal scene.
: > (during it you will be speechless.)
: >
: > Warning: MAJOR spoilers below. Do NOT read any further unless you have
: > seen 'Interludes and Examinations'. Trust me, you want to see this
: > episode cold.
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: > Several expeditions have been sent into spoiler space. None of them
: > returned. All we ever got back were messages that the ships had met with
: > 'accidents' and not to send any further expeditions.
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: > That should be enough.
: >
: [snip]
: >
: > Gee, Did Sheridan actually tell Kosh "Up Yours."? Did Darth Vader teach
: > Kosh that little trick?

Well Kosh did appear as his "father"....  At least he didn't offer to 
rule the universe together with him.

: >
: 
: >
: [snip]
: >
: > And Londo. Going from the happiest he has been in months, a feeling that
: > he had almost forgotten, and then...


Acctually the most tramatic scene for me was when they discovered Lady 
Adira's body.  She was one of those charactors I REALLY liked.  A sweet, 
inocent bystander that was killed only because she ment something to 
someone else.  I hate to say it but if I was Londo I'd do the same 
thing.  He probably knows Morden is responsable (look at how he looked at 
him) but he wants to strike out at anyone who might have had anything to 
do with Adira's death, this means Refa, and maybe eventually himself.  
It's that I want to wash away this event with blood feeling that one gets 
when they loose something that means the most to them. 


Bryan Chu

: 
: I'm a little surprised that he didn't think of Morden as a possible :
culprit given his recent conversation with him where he refused to help M.
: and basically said, I understand your MO and it's not in the Republic's
I'm a little surprised that he didn't think of Morden as a possible
: culprit given his recent conversation with him where he refused to help M.
: and basically said, I understand your MO and it's not in the Republic's
: best interest.
: [snip]
: >


: >
: 
: Linda Avraamides
: la at u.washington.edu
: best interest. : [snip] : > : > :  : Linda Avraamides :
la at u.washington.edu


: 

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 12

"I'm going to withdraw my rating of '10' on "Severed Dreams.""

So who says there can only be one episode worth a ten...?  If you can have
many worth a 9, why not many worth a 10?  If one skater at the Olympics
gets a 10, why can't another?

Just idle thoughts at 2 a.m.....


 jms



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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 6

Bruce is doing a *great* job, and definitely growing into the part.


 jms


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