JMS on CompuServe (Nov 13, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Wed Nov 13 16:56:19 EST 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.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Archives of this material may be found at:
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[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #609745-Pilot Question
Sb: #609749-Thanks
Sb: #609737-<The Hour Of The Wolf>
Sb: #609832-<Wolf general comments>
Sb: #609923-<Whatever Happens>
Sb: #609765-Orientation
Sb: Some jms rules
[ Summary: Asks why Kosh's encounter suit is shielded against telepathic
scan, per Lyta in "The Gathering." Wonders if it is to protect the Vorlon
or others. ]
#: 609933 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Nov-96 23:26:32
Sb: #609745-Pilot Question
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
It's to protect both.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if the "Tony Dow" listed in the credits is the same one
that appeared on the "Leave it to Beaver" television show. Also, wonders
if anyone has guessed Lorien's true identity as of viewing "The Hour of
the Wolf." ]
#: 609934 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Nov-96 23:26:35
Sb: #609749-Thanks
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The Tony Dow on the show is indeed THAT Tony Dow. And no one's guessed
Lorien per se.
jms
#: 609737 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
12-Nov-96 17:25:05
Sb: #609247-#<The Hour Of The Wolf>
Fm: ASHA DEVELDER
Joe,
Was there any CGI work with Morden's face (the burnt version)? My husbands
and myself seemed to notice some strange "movement" seemingly under the skin.
Were we all hallucinating?
Asha
@}-`---,---
#: 609935 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
12-Nov-96 23:26:37
Sb: #609737-<The Hour Of The Wolf>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
You're hallucinating....
jms
#: 609832 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
12-Nov-96 19:51:00
Sb: #608807-#<Wolf general comments>
Fm: DEONAHA M. CONLIN
Hi Joe!
I think I have quite a bit to go "Wow" about - I've been out of the
loop since just before 'Shadow Dancing'. But - I am back. <EG>
First - 'Z'ha'dum' accomplished something I have not seen ever happen.
Alan, my better half (so he claims) wandered into the den while I was watching
Z for the third time. He paused, stared at the TV, asked a few questions, and
returned to the computer room. I then saw the light go out, and he returned to
the den to watch the rest of Z. He has watched B5 before, but really has only
a small grasp of what is going on. When it ended, he sat there very quietly,
then gave me a funny look. "How does he DO that?" "Do what, dear?" <my most
innocent look> "Get hooked into your mind like that?" All I could do was
smile. This is a man who watches little television, and rarely anything deeper
than 'Home Improvement'. We had a homeowner's meeting last night, and our
Tampa trip came up, thus B5 came up. They asked him how he liked it. He
replied "I don't watch much television - THIS I will WATCH!" Another convert.
<G> This man then sat through me editing commercials out of tapes of 12 eps of
season three, asking questions. Amazing.
Hour of the Wolf - Brrrrrrr. I can't believe so much and so little
happened at the same time. A few things really gave me the crawls: Morden
picking his skin off (eeeeeew) was pretty nasty, but what gave me a chill was
watching it just blow away across the floor. Morden seems to have gone more
than just alittle bit 'round the bend, and I can't figure out whether he is now
more to be feared or pitied.
Cartagia was deliciously insane. You did mention the bit with the
heads at Necro - but I was not prepared for it at all. And caught myself
giggling at the stray thought that maybe he had also managed to glom onto
Talia's head, and wondering if there was enough of Refa's head left to be in
the collection. It was also real tough to get this image out of my mind of him
suddenly picking up a pair of long bones and playing drums or something. It
was so dark and so creepy and disturbing that the mind went straight for
SOMETHING, ANYTHING to laugh about.
Stephen's drop in weight did cause a small argument to break out
between me and a friend, who swears that Vir's and Londo's facial weight was
nothing more than appliances, while I was certain it was their own. Latex just
does not move like real tissue. But he does look terrific, and it kind of gives
a more mature edge to Vir. That whole scene was a blast, and Vir's reactions
had Alan rolling. Vir is a favorite of mine for a whole raft of reasons - he's
kind, caring, loyal, and honorable. The man has a conscience and does his best
to listen to it. He has stood by Londo even after Londo has done some awful
things, maybe because he sees something in Londo that Londo himself has lost
sight of. (I seem to recall Londo once saying that in Vir he saw something of
himself at one point in his life.)
When Ivanova, Lyta and Delenn went to see if they could locate
Sheridan, I couldn't help seeing yet another triad, each corner searching for
the same thing for different reasons. And I sat there crying because they
didn't find it. When Ivanova remarked that "it knows our name", Alan
remembered her saying something similar to that before, another surprise for
me. And another chill.
When we saw Sheridan alive, Alan asked if he hadn't been told that if
he went to Z'ha'dum he would die. Yes, but he's still there and it ain't over
yet. But, could I be far off base in thinking that maybe Kosh was referring to
a death other than corporeal?
This is one I will have to go back and rewatch, as I missed part of the
exchange between Sheridan and Lorien (#^^%# phone), but I caught enough to get
some sense of real dignity about this new character.
Why do I get the feeling we are bout to have the rug yanked out from
under us in a big way?
Di Conlin (crossing her fingers for a 5th season)
#: 609936 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
12-Nov-96 23:26:39
Sb: #609832-<Wolf general comments>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"How does he DO that?" "Do what, dear?" <my most innocent look> "Get hooked
into your mind like that?" All I could do was smile."
Thanks...that's probably the ultimate compliment.
"Stephen's drop in weight did cause a small argument to break out between me
and a friend, who swears that Vir's and Londo's facial weight was nothing more
than appliances, while I was certain it was their own."
You're right, they're wrong...there was never any appliance to add weight
to them.
And thanks again for the great report.
jms
#: 609923 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
12-Nov-96 22:27:53
Sb: #<Whatever Happens>
Fm: BRENT BARRETT
Joe,
What can I say? I thought "Wolf" was packed and deep, but "Garibaldi" puts it
to shame.
I was just re-watching it to add it to my web site and I was struck by the
incredible performances of Andreas as G'Kar in his cell with Londo and Bruce as
Sheridan at the end with Wayne's Lorien.
It dawned on me today that Londo has finally answered the question of, "Who are
you?" He's answered it out of order. Now that he knows who he is, he knows
that his answer to "What do you want?" was wrong. And he's trying, with all
his will and might, to correct that mistake.
And Sheridan's death . . .
Aww, damnit, Joe, you gone and made me cry again. Once when G'Kar made his
bargain with Londo and again when John realized, just as he died, what he had
to live for.
*sniff*
I can analyze this one for quite a while, and I think I will . . . later. But
for now I just had to let you know that, yet again, you and your cast and crew
have surpassed yourselves.
-- Brent
#: 609938 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
12-Nov-96 23:26:43
Sb: #609923-<Whatever Happens>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thank you...it's a very emotional episode, and one I like quite a lot.
Those are some great scenes.
jms
[ Summary: The same woman who complained about only showing bisexuals
on television instead of full-blown homosexuals responds to another
poster. ]
#: 609939 S5/Babylon 5: General
12-Nov-96 23:40:15
Sb: #609765-Orientation
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"My point is that orientation, that who you fall in love with, is not a matter
of choice! Why would I choose a marginal position in society? I operate very
much in the mainstream as a senior executive in a large multinational
corporation and believe me - being openly gay is not the most career enhancing
thing I've ever done by a long shot! It is not chosen and I don't believe you
can switch orientation like changing socks."
Ah, but you see, here you are revealing your *own* prejudices. The gay
community has adopted the "ther is no choice, this is how you're born" argument
for many political and social reasons, some of them sound and reasonable, some
of them less so.
You say you want to enhance choices, but in that one paragraph alone you
are restricting the choices of others...one can not explore, one cannot change
one way or another, one is locked in for life. Now, in many cases, this may be
true...but it is not true in all places, at all times, for all people, and the
lack of tolerance for lifestyle choices you indicate does not speak well for
you.
I have many friends who are gay. I have many friends who are bi. I know
women who were involved with men exclusively for most of their lives, then got
involved with women exclusively for a number of years. Some are still there,
and happy, some have flipped back again.
The far right uses political agendas to restrict the choice of other
people..."nobody's naturally born gay, it's all teaching, and it's against
god's law," which is nonsense...and I'd hate very much to see the same
politicization going on at the *other* end of the spectrum, in which there are
only gays, and straights, and no room to maneuver, and anybody else has
something wrong with them somewhere.
You go that way, and you're just exchanging a closet for a
straightjacket. This, by my lights, is not progress.
jms
#: 609954 S5/Babylon 5: General
13-Nov-96 01:32:31
Sb: Some jms rules
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Okay, it's time for the usual recitation of email rules.
1) Please do not send me inquiries about the storyline in private email.
You may think, "Well, it's just me," but at last Neilsen count there were about
15 million of you out there, and only one of me. I can't get into lengthy
discussions about the plot or storylines in email. I end up answering the same
questions multiple times, and the answers go to only one person at a time. If
you have a story question, ASK IT IN A PUBLIC FORUM, NOT IN EMAIL, so that
others can benefit from the answers.
2) Please, please, PLEASE do not send me story ideas in email.
3) Do not send jpgs or anything else that requires downloading; I was hit
by a trojan horse and virus lately, and consequently I have a very firm
no-download policy on anything else coming into me via email.
4) Private email should be used for things you cannot discuss in a public
forum, or for which confidentiality is needed for other reasons. I'm swamped
with 500 messages a day...if it doesn't have to be sent email, please don't do
so.
5) Requests for agent suggestions, or requests to read your scripts or
stories, will be met by stony silence.
6) We cannot give studio tours, or afford to send out scripts, or story
bibles, or actor photographs. When the actors do this, bear in mind that it is
a kindness *that comes out of their own pockets*, as there is no budget from WB
to send photos.
I hate to be as brusque as this, but I'm starting to get overloaded with
email, and an occasional pruning seems necessary.
Many thanks.
jms
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