JMS on CompuServe (May 16, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* 1/2
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Thu May 16 15:43:31 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: #506187-<War Without End, Pt 1>
Sb: #506196-Shadows entry to B5
Sb: #506239-<<Interludes & Exam>>
Sb: #506256-<<Spitfires>>
Sb: #506316-<Bester's Appearance>
Sb: #506329-<IaE Thought>
Sb: #506330-<Vorlon Thought, WWE,I>
Sb: #506371-<<Whither Lyta?>>
Sb: #506388-#The Creative Process
Sb: #506403-#Joe an atheist?
Sb: #506375-#JMS: Arc a Fake?
[ Summary: Asks if the prior stations (B1-B3) looked like B4. Also, why
wasn't B5 destroyed before it was completed? Finally, why didn't Sinclair
want Garibaldi to go to B4 with him? ]
#: 506346 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 12:56:10
Sb: #506187-<War Without End, Pt 1>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
B5 wasn't destroyed because it wasn't the one that would be taken back.
Yes, the prior stations would've looked more like B4 but they were sabotaged
*very* early in the construction process. You'll learn why he didn't want
Garibaldi along next ep.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if the Shadows with Morden have to physically come aboard B5
or if they can materialize inside the station like their ships do when
coming out of hyperspace. ]
#: 506347 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 12:56:11
Sb: #506196-Shadows entry to B5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
They physically come aboard. There's no beaming-in tech in the B5
universe.
jms
[ Summary: In a review of "Interludes & Examinations," this poster mentions
that JMS said we'd see what a Vorlon really looks like by season's end. ]
#: 506348 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 12:56:12
Sb: #506239-<<Interludes & Exam>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Actually, no, I never said that we'd show a vorlon as a vorlon this
season; in time, yes, but not this season.
jms
#: 506256 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 10:12:44
Sb: #<<Spitfires>>
Fm: TRENT K. JOHNSON
Joe:
I couldn't help noticing that in each recent occasion where we've seen the
Shadow "Spitfire" fighter get zapped, that some sort of winged thing appears to
come out of the wreakage. Is that the "pilot", or am I (as my friends
maintain) hallucinating again?
Trent/ReAnimators
^^^^ CD-RMES
#: 506349 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 12:56:13
Sb: #506256-<<Spitfires>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
It's hallucinations.
jms
#: 506316 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 12:27:25
Sb: #<Bester's Appearance>
Fm: BERNARD F. DOWDY, J
In "Ship of Tears" how did Bester's fighter get into B5 space? He didn't use
the jump gate for fear of being destroyed. And if he hitched a ride on a
larger vessel with jump drive, why didn't B5 detect the jump point? Is their
early warning system damaged or deficient in some way perhaps?
Bernie
#: 506350 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 12:56:15
Sb: #506316-<Bester's Appearance>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
It hitched a ride; and it's far enough outside B5...about an hour or so
in normal space...that they wouldn't have picked it up.
jms
#: 506329 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 12:51:04
Sb: #505704-#<IaE Thought>
Fm: JOHN M. KAHANE
Hullo, Joe,
< You'll know the difference. Believe me. >
I wouldn't be surprised...you have a very good way of making your
characters seem different from one another, and I wouldn't be surprised to see
how this comes out in the case of the Vorlon...
***********Minor spoiler for "WWE, One" below******************************
You were warned! :)
...given the one that we saw on Minbar in "War Without End, Part One."
That Vorlon encounter suit was certainly different than the one that we've seen
in the past, and the being inside certainly seemed to have a similarly
enigmatic air to the way Kosh was in the beginning. I'm looking forward to
seeing the episode where the new Vorlon arrives on B5. I assume that might be
"Walkabout"?
jmk
#: 506424 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 14:49:51
Sb: #506329-<IaE Thought>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes, the new Vorlon arrives in Walkabout.
jms
#: 506330 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 12:51:09
Sb: #<Vorlon Thought, WWE,I>
Fm: JOHN M. KAHANE
Hullo, Joe,
<< At this point, yes, since Ardwight tends to understand Vorlon. >>
Now that *is* a scary thought. On that subject, did Ardwight do the
voice for the Vorlon that we saw in "War Without End, Part One"? I didn't
notice a credit for the Vorlon voice in that one.
jmk
#: 506425 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 14:49:52
Sb: #506330-<Vorlon Thought, WWE,I>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes, that was Ardwight again.
jms
#: 506371 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 13:28:52
Sb: #505319-#<<Whither Lyta?>>
Fm: THE JAWA / JAWA #2
Whoa, a Vorlon who's miffed.
Suddenly the Shadows do NOT seem to be the biggest problem.
A question about poor ol' Kosh and his little comments--
Was he conceited, trying to protect Sheridan, or just acting like a
normal Vorlon?
He strung Sheridan along for quite awhile.
Do Vorlons *like* Humans?
Or do they see them as, say, a useful breed of animal?
The Jawa
Kidism Patrol
KOSH!!
#: 506426 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
15-May-96 14:49:54
Sb: #506371-<<Whither Lyta?>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I think a yes covers all or most of your questions.
jms
#: 506388 S5/Babylon 5: General
15-May-96 14:01:34
Sb: #506123-#The Creative Process
Fm: WILLIAM H. DIPAOLA
>>If you stop thinking about *trying to write*, and just write...the way you
have to stop thinking about the next step you make, and just *dance*...the way
you have to forget about technique and just make love...it all comes together.
You don't Try To Write. You just write.<<
Joe,
I appreciate your insights as a true and absolute pro. To a
great extent I found myself relating to just about everything you said in this
last message, but I have found myself *at times* reaching for the next part of
a story and sometimes having to struggle to get it. I am by no means in your
class at present where my writing is concerned, though I do think that what
I've been working on sporadically(it went from weekly postings to two entry
postings a month earlier this year) since last year would make one hell of a
movie. In short, it's an online serial story arc that I send out to a group of
people on my mailing list. I like to think of it as a comic book -like sort of
a saga for my readers. I've written a few other unrelated things; a spec script
for TNG when it was still being produced; a manuscript for a TOS paperback,
which was my first attempt at anything really, but as for this online thing I
generally get high praise from those who follow it regularly and care enough to
really want to know what comes next. Sometimes the writing flows precisely the
way you described the process taking place for yourself. However, sometimes I
have found throughout the course of this little epic of mine(which is now at
Episode #41 with Episode #42 to be sent out this weekend) that I would find
myself stuck at the end of a particular episode. Sure, that episode would end
just find and dandy, would be the perfect place to leave off and keep the
audience not only interested, but hanging as well, but I was left scratching my
head trying to figure out the best way to go from there because of the
situation that had been set up, how and where it had led to, and plotting the
best course of things to follow rather than make mistakes and inconsistencies.
Can you at all identify as a writer with what I'm relating to you here?
Granted, this has been a rather lengthy saga to some extent or another because
I started working on it in August of last year, though things will be wrapping
up in the weeks to come. When I was a young boy who dabbled in writing the pen
just moved quickly across the page and I could barely get the words written
fast enough to keep in line with how fast my mind was moving and where it was
taking me. It's clear that this is what you experience when you write. I must
admit to being very envious of you now that I know you have that ability while
for me it at times seems more of an effort. I'm also hard on myself where my
writing is concerned because I constantly find myself in the spot of saying,
"Why is it that I can't do more than I do?!" I've been told by close friends
that I'm being to critical of myself, and it's not like there isn't any
validity to what they're saying in that regard. If I were to start my own Web
Page and post one story entry a week based on the work I've already done where
this little sage of mine is concerned, four entries a month, I'd still have
fresh material for my audience for a good eight months straight without having
to write a single new entry. I guess that's substantial in a way, but I don't
feel as though it is because I want to do more but somehow lack the drive,
ambition ...whatever! I have a great idea for a fantastic episode of the
X-Files that I want to pen, another idea for an incredible screenplay all
mapped out in my head with a short synopsis already written down on paper, but
I can't find it within myself to cut out the BS and just sit down and do it.
Any suggestions? As you know, I have great respect and admiration for you as a
writer. Your talent speaks for itself and anything you might choose to impart,
any words of wisdom that you think might serve to help me in any way would be
greatly appreciated.
BTW, I think it's great that a man in your position not only stays in
touch with his audience, but is willing to take things to this extent with
those you find yourself coming in contact with here and there. You're probably
the only man working in television or even films for that matter who even takes
the time and does so openly without using a pseudonym. On behalf of me and
many others I'm sure, I want to thank you for that. ;-)
#: 506427 S5/Babylon 5: General
15-May-96 14:49:57
Sb: #506388-#The Creative Process
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
That's the hard part, the doing. Lots of folks have ideas, but they
flit, or they don't have the discipline to sit down behind a keyboard and just
*do it* for the requisite number of hours per day. And that's the one thing
neither I nor anyone else can help or advise with. It's what Marcus said:
patience, determination, direction and strength.
And to quote somebody else, sometimes some people mistake a passion for
reading for a desire to write. They're wholly different impulses.
Writers write. It's what they do. If you're struggling to do it, maybe
it's part of your brain throwing roadblocks in front of you to try and tell you
something. Maybe it's a lack of discipline, or attention span, or something
deeper, a concern about finishing, or some other area.
I dunno...this is one area where I can't advise worth a damn, because
I've never had this problem. It's Heinlein's (and Ellison's) rules of writing:
you must write, you must finish what you write, you must put it on the
marketplace, and you must keep it on the marketplace until sold. Sometimes we
get caught by the *idea* of a story, but to actually finish writing it, the
*execution* of that idea, takes a great deal of work, and if the basic idea is
already down there, the impetus to write it, the steam feeding the machine,
evaporates quickly. Only a conscious decision to finish the damned thing can
carry you the rest of the way, a commitment to follow through on the craft of
the STORYTELLING.
It's the difference between two kinds of people who talk about how they
met their respective spouses. One says "at a party," the other says, "at Bob's
part in Toluca Lake, and she was wearing a red dress, and I couldn't take my
eyes off her until I got her alone for a minute." Idea vs. execution, telling
the idea vs. telling the *story*.
jms
[ Summary: A German viewer can't believe that JMS would be uninteresting
in person and extends an invitation to a good meal if JMS is ever in
Germany. ]
#: 506430 S5/Babylon 5: General
15-May-96 14:54:45
Sb: #506403-#Joe an atheist?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Nah, it really isn't understatement...people who spend a day in my
company invariably come away with the suspcion that there's considerably less
there than meets the eye.
The invitation is, however, much appreciated.
jms
#: 506375 S5/Babylon 5: General
15-May-96 13:29:41
Sb: #505856-#JMS: Arc a Fake?
Fm: MERYL YOURISH
PMFJI, but Murder One was a great example of a producer trying to put an
arc-driven story on American television.
Alas, its ratings seem to prove that the American public (saving the SF fans)
aren't interested in long-term mysteries and plots.
#: 506431 S5/Babylon 5: General
15-May-96 14:54:47
Sb: #506375-#JMS: Arc a Fake?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Oddly enough...I think there's room for arc series elsewhere. What I
think is killing Murder One is that we just lived *through* this with the OJ
Simpson trial, and everybody kind of got uniformly fed up with it, and so just
don't have it in them to go through it again in a fictional environment.
jms
[ Continued in next section -- BB ]
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