JMS on CompuServe (May 20, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* 3/4
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Mon May 20 16:32:39 EDT 1996
[ Continued from previous section -- BB ]
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 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: #508475-<<WWE, Part I>>
Sb: #508507-#Appreciation
Sb: #508541-Fan club
Sb: #508486-<War Without End, Pt 1>
Sb: #508536->>War Without End: 1<<
Sb: #508394-Puppet riots
Sb: #508408-#<WwE1 - recording?>
Sb: #508501-#<<<<WWE Pt 1>>>>
Sb: #508612-#<WWE II>
Sb: #508544-<<UK Dust 2 Dust>>
Sb: #508790-#B5 Fan Club Stuff?
Sb: #508702-<<War Without End>>
Sb: #508654-<War Without End, Pt 1>
Sb: #508761-#<WWE 2 Paradox>
Sb: #508789-<Rage's Thot's:WWE, #1>
#: 508475 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-May-96 12:14:11
Sb: #508287-#<<WWE, Part I>>
Fm: RAE AUGENSTEIN
Just a couple questions:
* So is the NightWatch done for now?
* Will we see any other episodes dealing with B5's relationship with the Earth
Govt. (such as another assault on the station by EA forces)?
* Is Corwin and everyone else on the B5 command staff cool with B5's
seccession now?
Just wondering.....
Rae ^^^^
Check out my B5 episode guide at:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Rae_
#: 508792 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-May-96 23:08:54
Sb: #508475-<<WWE, Part I>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
All I'll say for now is that we'll obviously have to get back into the
Earth situation sooner or later; that still has to be dealt with.
jms
[ Summary: General as well as specific thanks from a viewer. ]
#: 508793 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-May-96 23:08:55
Sb: #508507-#Appreciation
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thank you for all of that. It's a hell of a fight some days to get this
show made, and believe me, the appreciation is....well...appreciated.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if it's OK to hand-write a fan club order form if he doesn't
have a printer on his computer. ]
#: 508794 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-May-96 23:08:56
Sb: #508541-Fan club
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
That'd be fine, sure. Thanks.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if JMS would ever consider publishing the "arc" as a guide
when watching the series once it's run its course. ]
#: 508795 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:09:00
Sb: #508486-<War Without End, Pt 1>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Once I finish the show, then I'll have time to consider this. For now,
it's just too daunting an idea.
jms
[ Summary: :-) A poster begins his post of many questions about "War Without
End, Part 1" by claiming that JMS will probably respond with "Part Two will
clear that up." ]
#: 508796 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:09:02
Sb: #508536->>War Without End: 1<<
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Part two will clear that up.
jms
[ Summary: Asks JMS if he saw the new program "The TV Wheel" on Comedy
Central. It seems the show did a bit about "disgruntled Hollywood
puppets on the verge of rioting because they all lost their jobs to
computer animation." ]
#: 508797 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:09:04
Sb: #508394-Puppet riots
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Saw it...weird....
jms
[ Summary: Asks where the video of the White Star shooting at the fusion
bomb came from. ]
#: 508798 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:09:06
Sb: #508408-#<WwE1 - recording?>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
She said it came from Draal and Epsilon 3, which has been monitoring the
area for the last 500 years. (It's stated in dialogue.)
jms
[ Summary: Asks why Sheridan is dressed differently in the future in "War
Without End, Part 1." ]
#: 508799 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:09:08
Sb: #508501-#<<<<WWE Pt 1>>>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
His clothing is different because that's the future Sheridan, into whom
the current Sheridan has sort of slid....
jms
[ SPOILERS ABOUT WAR WITHOUT PART II FOLLOW -- These are biggies. Continue
at your own risk....
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#: 508612 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 16:42:54
Sb: #<WWE II>
Fm: DANIEL M. UPTON
Good job!
You tied everything up with only one lose end and did it in such a way that the
show is set up grow and expand beyond anything we had imagined before. But I
have a couple of questions that you probably wont be able to answer. In the
original version of the story where Sinclare stayed and there was no Sheridan
was Babylon 4 brought forward in time to replace the destroyed Babylon 5? Was
the ageing of Sinclare to have been explained by the fact that he had given his
time stabilizer to Zathras? What did the Soul Hunter mean when he told Sinclare
"they are using you"?
Dan^^^^
danupton at blueridge.net
#: 508800 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:09:10
Sb: #508612-#<WWE II>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, B4 was never intended to go forward in time. The aging was done
pretty much as intended. And the Soul Hunter meant they're using him to create
their old Leader. Still tracks. I'll have more to say about all this after
everyone's seen the episode.
jms
#: 508544 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-May-96 14:25:02
Sb: #<<UK Dust 2 Dust>>
Fm: SIMON GRIERSON
JMS,
Wow! What a ride!!!
I NEVER expected D2D to be quite so movving! Andreas Katsalus' performance was
A1 and I will be very upset if he doesn't get an Oscar for it! :-)
I literally jumped out my seat when G'kar stood there at Londo's door with Vir
dangling from his hands! Then that scene when we see the aftermath of G'kar's
rather violent meeting with Londo.
Walter Koeng was suitably creepy as Bester. I like Bester :-)
And now we see how deeply wounded Susan Ivanova was after her dramatic
experience with Talia Winters revealing her hidden personality (or unlocking of
I should say). Geez, would she REALLY have blasted Bester??
Now one question. After that final conversation between Bester and his
ascociate, - is it possible that the Psi-corp PUT that Dust dealer onboard B5
as an excuse to come on and do some snooping? or was it merely co-incidence.
Finally, I really must say that today has been a bit of a depressing day as far
as Sci-fi series go. First there was DS9's second Season 4 episode (with Jake
Siscos recounting of his fathers Death/dissapearence) - and now your own
series' 6th episode. Am I man enough to say I could have cryed? Honest :-)
Thankyou JMS, and please - keep up the excellent work!
Simon Grierson.
#: 508812 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-May-96 23:38:41
Sb: #508544-<<UK Dust 2 Dust>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes, she would've blasted...she gave the order to fire; only the fact
that Sheridan gave the over-ride at the same moment stopped it.
jms
#: 508790 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-May-96 23:04:07
Sb: #B5 Fan Club Stuff?
Fm: CHAD UNDERKOFFLER
Joe, What's the word of Fan Club stuff? And the Webpage?
Just curious,
Rage
Ranger of Washingdome
"I'm a Ranger; I range."
#: 508813 S5/Babylon 5: General
19-May-96 23:38:43
Sb: #508790-#B5 Fan Club Stuff?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
We're just awaiting final word from WB before releasing the fan club web
site; newsletters should be going out soon. We're just waiting until there's a
slight lull in memberships so we won't have to do too many multiple mailings.
jms
#: 508702 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 20:02:16
Sb: #<<War Without End>>
Fm: THE JAWA / JAWA #2
I just saw "W W/O E." Whoa. I'm still a little foggy on the timelines,
but I'll watch it again and figure it out <G>.
A nitpicky thing: In the briefing scene, Garibaldi mentioned that *he*
had had a flash foreward into the future on B4. Didn't he go backwards to Mars
Colony, and Sinclair had that flash? On B4 when Sinclair came out of it, he
asked Garibaldi what had happened, and he didn't seem to have any idea what the
commander was talking about. Furthermore, wasn't it supposed to be "different
for everyone?" (Sorry. "B>2" is a favorite episode of mine.)
I noticed a lot of changes in Sinclair. He's more...Vorlon-like. (He
can be the replacement for Kosh, he's so cryptic. Someone get that man an
encounter suit!) I think he's terse because he's scared. These people are his
friends and he does feel a certain fatherliness toward a lot of them (like
Ivanova). He might not want to spill the truth to all of them yet--short
comments save him from having to do that. I thought I'd run that by you. I
see real fear in Sinclair now, for all of his Zen calm and self-possesion. I
saw it in his memories of B4.
And the wardrobe was, of course, spectacular. A brown robe? Cool.
Delenn is another thing. She's a great believer in the prophecy--I
wonder if they're all so sold on it. I wonder if she'll be half as believing
if they don't find Sheridan soon. Ivanova seems to be rather calm,
considering--"I'll be in the car." She freaks out, but obviously not much
*really* messes her up. Miss C. did a great pouty face after Sinclair told her
that they wouldn't stop the mission for Sheridan.
I also wonder how much Zathras knows...?
I figure that next week will be Sinclair's last episode (for several
reasons). This was a stellar performance by Michael O'Hare and the entire
cast and crew. I can say for definite: THIS WAS MY *FAVORITE* EPISODE!!!
The Jawa
Kidism Patrol
Sinclair's Brown Robe--A Jawa Trend!!
#: 508814 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:38:44
Sb: #508702-<<War Without End>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks, I'm glad it's come out to be your favorite; it's a good ep.
jms
#: 508654 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 18:39:26
Sb: #507321-#<War Without End, Pt 1>
Fm: MICHAEL GRABOIS
>>No, the B1-B3 sabotages had nothing at all to do with the B4 situation; it
was just done by forces opposed to the very notion of the Babylon Project.<<
Are these forces incidental or important to the rest of the series, or can't
you say?
I finally saw "War without end" on Saturday. Can't you EVER be predictable? I
hadn't counted on alternate futures to explain the visions of the destruction
of B5 or the future Londo/G'Kar death match. I sat there for an hour with a
"Holy S***" look on my face. And I love Zathras' speech patterns and dialogue.
I had figured (or read somewhere) that B4 would be brought into the present to
help fight the Shadows, and Sheridan & Co. would take command of it. Sinclair
would thus take command of B5, fulfilling the "last commander" clause, and
would die in the resulting battle which would destroy B5.
But I like your plans better.
mg
#: 508815 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:38:46
Sb: #508654-<War Without End, Pt 1>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes, a number of folks took speculations and began posting them about as
True Things set to happen. Always an error....
jms
#: 508761 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 22:12:50
Sb: #<WWE 2 Paradox>
Fm: DANIEL M. UPTON
Delenn uses a machine to turn herself into a Minbari/human mixture. Delenn has
the machine because her people found it on B4 one thousand years ago, a gift
from Valen. Sinclare takes the machine back in time with him and uses it to
turn himself into Valen. Question. Where did the machine come from in the
first place. Even if the machine that Sinclare used was a copy where did the
knowledge come from to build it originally? It seems to have no beginning and
no end.
Dan^^^^
danupton at blueridge.net
#: 508816 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:38:48
Sb: #508761-#<WWE 2 Paradox>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Nope. The machine came up with Zathras from Epsilon 3. It first
appeared with Sinclair, then later got into Delenn's hands. So she still has
that version of it.
jms
#: 508789 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:02:58
Sb: #<Rage's Thot's:WWE, #1>
Fm: CHAD UNDERKOFFLER
Hi-diddley-ho, friends and neighbors!
It's time for Rage's Thoughts, a weekly examination of the current episode of
Babylon 5.
The ep is question: WAR WITHOUT END, PART 1.
Hang on to your socks!
SPOILERSPACE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
<*>
0
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
*Joe, I really liked this episode. Not so much gutpunching as last
week's ep (I&E); I kinda saw where this was leading as far back as the end of
Season One. I just wasn't sure how you would pull it all together. The
time-jumping is remarkably well done; I have no real problems with the way
you've laid out the situation. However, some comments about time-shifting and
temporal-stuff overall:
1. Are we to assume that if all goes well, the variant future of
Sinclair and Garibaldi's flashforwards will be wiped out of existence?
2. Are these flashforwards becoming 'unstuck in time'? If so, why
didn't Sinclair and Garibaldi vanish like Johnny did?
3. Is Johnny's unstuck jump *able* to be wiped out of existence like
the visions mentioned above?
4. The first real treading on the borders of Technobabble Land happen
in this ep, yet they are not egregious. And there was no "technology for
technology's sake" feeling here, merely "here are the tools and methods which
we must use, now forget about them."
5. In B^2, do we ever see Sinclair or Garibaldi in oldstyle EA
uniforms, or just the black riot gear?
6. An interesting aside: Ladira's vision of the destruction of B5 was
a possible future; Morella's vision of Londo upon the throne was *unalterable*.
This seems to me to be an interesting balance of free will and predestination;
cf. CtI ("Someone else will rise to take your place"), or ItSoZ (much the same
comment, pertaining to Morden).
7. Someone's gonna *HAVETA* have a long talk with Draal after WWE, #2.
("So what ***ELSE*** can this puppy do, Draal-meister?") To not do such would
be a terrible sin and flaw.
* Minbar is *beautiful.* Give Ron, Mojo, & the guys over at Foundation
a box of donuts. I particularly liked the virtual hallway job in which
Sinclair & Rathenn talk.
*Except for a few rough moments, O'Hare didn't seem wooden at all. I
am forced to reevaluate my opinion of his acting skills. Perhaps when I can
see Season One again (subliminal: TAPES TAPE TAPES) I'll like his performance
then as much as I did in this ep. His smile as Johnny and Delenn hold hands,
his nod when he talks about his source of info, his Vorlonic manner... very
nice. (Lucy and Ethel? Sheesh. I was hoping for Batman and Robin-- you're a
WARNER'S serf, Straczynski! <g> But I can see where Johnny would get REAL
p.o.'d at being called 'Robin'.)
*Cool Vorlon. I really enjoyed the different 'take' in Ardwight's
performance. I saw your note on how you help direct him. Keep doing it; it
works *well*. Glad to see that encounter suits vary in construction. Was Kosh
*taller* than this guy?
*I'm glad Garibaldi gets some flight time this ep. All throughout his
Starfury scenes, I think he did a bang-up job of emoting through facial
expressions.
*Delenn. ObRemark: How I *love* that green dress! Mira's performance
was stellar as usual, especial favorites included "He's my *friend*, Lennier,"
her utter loss at how to react re: Zathras, and the FEAR she showed when Johhny
went bye-bye. For the first time, she DIDN'T KNOW! Not "unsure" or
"doubtful," but just plain ol' flying blind. And it scared her. A lot. And
that really came through.
*Nice map in the War Room. Gotta have one for the bedroom wall. <g>
*The Meeting. I think the meeting of Sheridan and Sinclair was
artfully, even tastefully, done. I'm a bit miffed that they had met before,
and you *never* told us. That little bit seemed gratuitous. The comment on
the interrupting character of the link was priceless.
*Zathras was well-done. I'm glad you saw fit to give the character
actual useful knowledge as regards the apparatus and procedures of time travel.
It would have been very easy, and damaging to the story, to leave him an
ignorant grunt. Nice job.
*Really enjoyed the Shadow fighters & the White Star this ep. I was
wondering when we'd get to the Vorlon-ish component of the Whitestar. Thus
far, it's seemed to be all Minbari tech.
*Why does Lennier seem to always mention new functionalities of the
ship in the middle of combat?
*Why hasn't Johnny gotten fully checked out on the ship as he did with
the Thunderbolts in SoT? To not do so is just plain *stoopid*. (Granted, lack
of time may be a factor, here.) Furthermore, he should really, really,
really, really start learning Minbari, especially the language of the religious
caste.
*BTW, what phrases were thrown up on the screen behind Delenn in
Minbari script? Was it like Vir's Aloha shirt, or actual Minbarese?
*Londo's peeved, and rightfully so. Ravening Shadow beasties have
made Cenaturi Prime into a hellhole for apparently 20 straight years. (I'm
betting you COULDN'T find a Shadow minion like the one in TLD outside of a
closed system.) I like the "Flash Gordon-esque" look of the Imperial Guards.
I wonder however, how much of the Centauri's problems were due to Johnny's
neglect or Londo's refusal to take help (much as he did in C&L).
* Just *when* is Johnny supposed to go to Z'ha'dum? And just what does
"If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die" MEAN? Londo says "Sheridan, back from
the Abyss." What does that MEAN? It implies something, namely death or being
"lost," but obviously Johnny's alive and well (except for a boot to the stomach
from an Imperial Guard or two). He does look a bit older, and is wearing
different clothes. Curious. I reserve judgement until Part 2. Don't let me
down, Joe! <g>
*If Johnny *WAS/IS/Will BE* dead, we have a new candidate for one of
Londo's Chances.
In summary... why does there have to be seven days between episodes? I
want to sit down with a pile of videos and just watch B5 continuously until my
brain oozes out of my ears. Good beginning Joe, but you bit off a huge chunk
here; my money says you can swallow it, but for God's sake, man, don't *choke*!
Next week: WAR WITHOUT END, PART 2
See ya then, kids!
Rage
Ranger of Washingdome
"In time of war, the Devil makes more room in Hell." -- German Proverb
#: 508817 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
19-May-96 23:38:50
Sb: #508789-<Rage's Thot's:WWE, #1>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks. To the questions...no, we only saw the black flak uniforms in
B2, because I knew we'd be changing them, but wanted to hide that fact (as I
did with Delenn's line to Sinclair in B2, done off-camera to hide her change).
And the Minbar cityscape was done by Eric Chauvin.
jms
[ Continued in next section -- BB ]
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