JMS on CompuServe (Nov 10, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* 1/2
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Mon Nov 11 01:01:26 EST 1996
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
Continue at your own risk.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
P
R
O
T
E
C
T
I
O
N
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Archives of this material may be found at:
ftp://ftp.speedlink.com/pub/bbarrett/cis/
- or -
http://www.speedlink.com/bbarrett/b5/
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #607846-Newsgroups
Sb: #607618-<The Hour Of The Wolf>
Sb: #608111-#Stern cheers B5
Sb: #607954-Spill The Beans
Sb: #608108-#Season Four
Sb: #608143-Blown Away
Sb: #608282-Season Four
Sb: #608259-<The Hour of the Wolf>
Sb: #608310-<WEH to Mr. Garabaldi>
Sb: #608414-#<Wolf>--Morden thoughts
[ Summary: Asks which Babylon 5 USENET newsgroup is most useful. ]
#: 608134 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Nov-96 21:26:33
Sb: #607846-Newsgroups
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Trust me on this.
jms
#: 607618 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
09-Nov-96 00:59:27
Sb: #607549-#<The Hour Of The Wolf>
Fm: KEVIN P. KENNEY
Did'ja notice when Kosh was leaving Lyta that her head, from the Gills up, was
CGI. I noticed after freeze-framing the end of the transition, where they used
a messy flash to transit to the real Lyta. Nice job on the CGI hair (the loose
strands didn't match, though), but the face looked plastic, and the end-flash
was rookie city. That end flash starts creepy, when in the course of a few
frames, it looks like something more substantial than the light beams leaves
through Lyta's face. Then comes the 'messy' transition frames. I'll have to
check back to the first leaving scene to see how much CGI was there...
#: 608135 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
09-Nov-96 21:26:35
Sb: #607618-<The Hour Of The Wolf>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Er...there was *zero* CGI in that scene.
jms
#: 608111 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Nov-96 19:56:31
Sb: #604076-#Stern cheers B5
Fm: EDWIN CHAN
getting into don imus ... i have to ask you, what is your opinion of bob dole
and all the stuff he had to say about hollywood? i think babylon 5 is a nice
family show... :)
thanks in advance,
ec in nyc
#: 608145 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Nov-96 21:38:29
Sb: #608111-#Stern cheers B5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Television is a convenient target, nothing more. In this respect, and
some others, Dole has his head up his ass. When you don't have anything else
to offer, attack Hollywood.
jms
#: 607954 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Nov-96 16:32:44
Sb: #Spill The Beans
Fm: ALAN MULVIE
Hi Joe,
Having been an avid reader here for 6 months, and a Babylon 5 fan for 18 Months
( I thought it was pretty poor to start with until the Arc took hold, but I've
caught up on VHS release :->) I feel someone has to ask this question.
People in these forums ask you questions regarding episode past and episodes to
come.
People ask you about storylines and arcs (some even on biblecle ships.)
Some slag you off, and some praise you for waking up.
Throughout these you prevail. (you either answer normally, cryptivcally or
else philosophise.)
I would like to ask a two very simple questions, which relates not really to
Babylon 5, but to its creator JMS.
Would YOU have continued with Babylon 5, in the way you have done so, without
the feedback from fans.
Do you feel the critasism. both positive and negative, to be an asset or a
burden?
What is the main arc for the next 18 months? (Hey I know this is three but I
thought I'd lull you in to a fall sense of security first!) :-)
Mlv
#: 608146 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Nov-96 21:38:32
Sb: #607954-Spill The Beans
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"Would YOU have continued with Babylon 5, in the way you have done so, without
the feedback from fans?"
Absolutely. More than anything else, I'm making the show, and telling
this story, for myself; it's the story I'd want to see. I'm doing it because I
can't *not* do it.
"Do you feel the critasism. both positive and negative, to be an asset or a
burden?"
Neither. It's a sense of the room, which is always good, but in general
what you find is that for everything you do in a given episode, there will be
some who hate it, and some who love it...there is no single strong concensus.
So what you have to do is to just listen to the inner voice of the story and
follow that, regardless. If you start trying to second guess everyone's
reaction...that way madness lies.
On a personal side, it can sometimes be a bit stressful, but I said I'd
be accountable one way or another, and that promise stands.
jms
#: 608108 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Nov-96 19:47:51
Sb: #Season Four
Fm: EDWIN CHAN
jms, i have three questions for you. :)
when will the new cd (soundtrack) come out?
will corwin get a bigger role, and a spot on the openning credits?
and, the names of who narrated the openning of season four in the order they
narrated in? i recognized some of the voices, but not all of them...
btw, you're doing a great job. loved the season premiere. :)
thanks,
ec in nyc
#: 608147 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Nov-96 21:38:35
Sb: #608108-#Season Four
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"when will the new cd (soundtrack) come out?"
I'm going to be getting the soundtrack in about 10 days from Chris, so I
can listen and approve or give notes. That's the last stage; the artwork is
done, the liner notes are in, everything's done. So it should be fairly
quickly thereafter.
"will corwin get a bigger role, and a spot on the openning credits?"
There are currently no plans for that; the main cast is big enough as it
is.
"and, the names of who narrated the openning of season four in the order they
narrated in?"
I have to do this from memory, but I think it's Bill, Jeff, Andreas, Pat,
Stephen, Jason, Mira, Peter, Richard, Claudia, Jerry and Bruce.
jms
#: 608143 S5/Babylon 5: General
09-Nov-96 21:37:59
Sb: #Blown Away
Fm: TONI MULLER
I just wanted to add my congratulations to the many I'm sure you've already
received. We had to wait a week to see Z'ha'dum because we were on vacation
when it aired. But it was worth the wait - we were utterly blown away. The
acting, CGI, story, everything was superb. We kept saying, "I can't believe he
did it," meaning both JMS and Sheridan! And, "Can you believe this is on TV?
It's so much better than anything else?"
I had read a synopsis of the episode a few weeks back. I regretted it only
because I kept worrying about Sheridan's future, particularly with Delenn. But
after seeing it, I'm glad I read the synopsis because I might have had a heart
attack had I not been prepared.
Again, thank you, thank you, thank you for all your hard work. And please
thank the entire cast and crew as well. You all are doing something historic.
Toni Muller
#: 608190 S5/Babylon 5: General
10-Nov-96 00:20:30
Sb: #608143-Blown Away
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks. I hope, and sometimes allow myself to think, that you're right.
This show is going to be around for a long, long time, and I think it's going
to be remembered and talked about. It's a great experiment, and my only regret
is that its like will almost certainly not come my way again.
jms
#: 608282 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
10-Nov-96 06:26:18
Sb: #608147-#Season Four
Fm: S J NICHOLSON
<<I have to do this from memory, but I think it's Bill, Jeff, Andreas, Pat,
Stephen, Jason, Mira, Peter, Richard, Claudia, Jerry and Bruce. jms>>
Yesterday I played the opening again and again, trying to figure out who was
saying what. Later, with the help of my daughter we figured it out.
So last night at work my friend, Kevin, says to me (out of the blue), "You know
I've been replaying that opening and I think I've figured out who says which
line..." <g>
VCRs must be going crazy around the country this week. <g>
It is a tremendous opening and I don't know how you are going to top it next
year. Do you have an idea about your opening for season five?
#: 608524 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
10-Nov-96 14:50:38
Sb: #608282-Season Four
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I think a year five opening would be just a still, unmoving camera
focused on me, collapsed at my desk....
jms
#: 608259 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
10-Nov-96 05:26:09
Sb: #<The Hour of the Wolf>
Fm: BILL HIRST
Belated reply, but we didn't get to see "Wolf" until Saturday.
Excellent show. I have no idea where this story's going, and I think you like
it that way. What's the fun of writing if you can't confuse and surprise the
audience?
You've outdone yourself yet again. Your writing skills seem to get better every
year.
-Bill
#: 608525 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
10-Nov-96 14:50:40
Sb: #608259-<The Hour of the Wolf>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks. I keep adding and trying out different tools...so far they seem
to be working.
jms
#: 608310 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
10-Nov-96 07:18:02
Sb: #<WEH to Mr. Garabaldi>
Fm: DAVID CERRETA
Joe,
I'm speechless.
I can't believe what you packed into that hour. I find it rather humorous that
the title had almost nothing to do with what went on in this episode, although
it was nice to see Jerry Doyle for at least a scene. Yes, I know that
Garibaldi's disappearance was what got G'Kar off B5, but where his search
landed him was so much more interesting.
Favorite moments:Londo and G'Kar in the cell. Both actors conveyed what a
momentous moment this was between two men that still hate each other. Very
reminiscent of the stuck elevator scene in past seasons. Both prisoners again
but in different ways this time. Londo bound by duty to his world, G'Kar
physically bound, but still unbowed in forcing a price from Londo for his
cooperation. Beautiful.
G'Kar and Marcus: Another great series of scenes. Their repartee was fun to
watch. Especially enjoyed the cat howl when G'Kar accidently opens the
fighting staff. "I Liked It"<G>
Lorien and Sheridan: Tick Tock indeed. Lorien's word vs. thought speech was
fabulous. Well done, Joe! When Sheridan asked him how long he had been there,
I almost expected to hear Kosh's standard reply of "I have always been here."
And as much as I wanted to laugh, I couldn't at Sheridan's statement that
Lorien, "...didn't look a million years old."
The directing was top notch, and I especially like the departure from the
standard approach with Garibaldi in his cell. It had a "Homicide" or "NYPD
Blue" feel and worked great! Special effects were great as usual.
What is so odd for me is what I feel now that we've seen the last five from
season 3 and these first 2. I think that this show was the best. Others might
prefer action, but I'm an intrigue and character development junkie. I love
watching the threads come together and new ones added in. Can't wait to see
the final garment!
Congrats!
Dave
#: 608526 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
10-Nov-96 14:50:43
Sb: #608310-<WEH to Mr. Garabaldi>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks. This one's a favorite of mine as well. On the Garibaldi scene,
it was shot fairly conventionally, but as we got into editing, I said, "Let's
do something we don't normally do, let's try a visual approach that's not
usually part of SF shows." So we put that sequence together. Again, my
feeling is, break your format once in a while or get stuck in a rut. Take
chances. The worst that'll happen is that you'll fail.
It's a lovely episode.
jms
#: 608414 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
10-Nov-96 11:54:11
Sb: #<Wolf>--Morden thoughts
Fm: MARA K. MALOVANY
"Hour of the Wolf" was a terrific episode, can't wait for next week.
Morden's scene was wonderfully creepy.
The idea that Morden was once in a Shadow vessel, or has been
'programmed' by the Shadows has been mentioned around here from time to time,
but it's never felt right to me.
I've always had the impression that Morden was motivated by
self-interest. He's the kind of guy that could talk himself out of any bad
situation, that could charm anyone into doing his bidding (or have you quietly
assasinated if he couldn't). I imagine that when the Shadows told the crew of
the Icarus what their options were, he smiled that smile and said 'I'm your
man'. Through the years we've seen him operate on B5, he behaved like a
leader, not a servant. When the Shadows advised him to kill Londo, he came up
with the idea of killing Adira instead. Though he was never alone, he had the
illusion of autonomy.
But with this episode, that has been shattered. He is a slave, and he
knows it. "Flesh does what flesh is told." Almost every word he said to Londo
applied to both of them, and he knows it.
You once said that Morden would have to pay a price for what he's done,
and I think it's that realization, far more than the physical injuries, which
is the payback. Whether he gets his head stuck on a pike or not is almost
irrelevant. Congrats.
Speaking of slavery, the parallel between Morden's situation and Lyta's
was chilling. Actually, now that I think about it, just about everyone in this
episode was dealing with leadership--Ivanova, the League representatives,
Delenn.
I only have one nit about the episode, but I'm still mulling it over.
Mara
#: 608527 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
10-Nov-96 14:50:45
Sb: #608414-#<Wolf>--Morden thoughts
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks.....
jms
[ Continued in next section -- BB ]
-***
-*** B5JMS SUBSCRIBERS: Replies to messages in this list go to the list
-*** maintainer, <b5jms-owner at cs.columbia.edu>. If you want to reply
-*** elsewhere, adjust the "To" field. The best way to reach JMS is to post
-*** to rastb5m, which can be done by sending email to <rastb5 at solon.com>.
More information about the B5JMS
mailing list