JMS on CompuServe (Nov 23, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Sat Nov 23 23:00:46 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.
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[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: Audio Note from jms
Sb: jms co on station.com
Sb: #614814-Oblique References
Sb: #614842-B5 back early in Detroit
Sb: #615102-JMS: Book of Dreams?
Sb: #615104-2nd B5 Soundtrack
Sb: #615058-<The Summoning>
Sb: #614854-<WHtoMG>
Sb: #614928-Going Native
Sb: #615162-<More Kudos for Joe>
Sb: #615200-Questioning...
Sb: #615211-#Time to Change?
#: 615391 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Nov-96 21:19:49
Sb: Audio Note from jms
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Just a little thought in your general direction....
After spending all Monday doing the audio mix on 404, "Falling Toward
Apotheosis," which is normal, we did all but 7 minutes of that episode.
George Johnsen, John Copeland and I spent from about 7 p.m. Wednesday
night until 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning doing the audio mix on those little
seven minutes.
So for that episode, you may want to make friends with somebody with a
really good surround sound system.
Just a thought.
jms
#: 615392 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Nov-96 21:19:49
Sb: jms co on station.com
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Just a quick advisory..I'll be doing an online conference this coming
Monday at the official B5 fanclub site, http://www.thestation.com ...this is
our very first online major conference, and you're welcome to attend. The site
is open to all, providing chat features, messages and a station tour, with some
areas set aside just for FC members, and more features coming on line soon.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if Sheridan's line, "I was. I'm better now," was a
reference to a line from an episode of Night Court. ]
[ NOTE: When will this ever end? Why can't people accept the fact that
JMS can actually write without stealing things from other sources and
pasting them together? I'm sorry for the comment, but this is really
getting on my nerves now . . . -- Brent ]
#: 615396 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Nov-96 21:43:09
Sb: #614814-Oblique References
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
As I've never seen that episode -- didn't watch much Night Court in any
event -- the answer would be no. I am, on occasion, capable of thinking up a
line or two on my own, if I strain real hard....
jms
[ Summary: Comments that WXON, channel 20, in Detroit, Michigan, has just
moved Babylon 5 from a midnight slot to a 6PM slot. ]
#: 615397 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Nov-96 21:43:10
Sb: #614842-B5 back early in Detroit
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
That's great news, thanks for the update!
jms
#: 615102 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Nov-96 08:00:09
Sb: #JMS: Book of Dreams?
Fm: NEIL BLEVINS
I have a friend with a quick question for you. He knows you're a fan of Sandman
and was wondering why you didn't write a story in the 'Book of Dreams'?
- Neil
#: 615398 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Nov-96 21:43:13
Sb: #615102-JMS: Book of Dreams?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Wasn't asked.
jms
#: 615104 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Nov-96 08:22:38
Sb: #2nd B5 Soundtrack
Fm: DARRAN WILLIAMS
Hi Joe,
Is there any further news on the second Babylon 5 soundtrack? The Sonic Images
web page still shows November as the release date, but none of the UK record
shops have any information. Is this a US release date or has it been delayed
again.
Darran..
#: 615400 S5/Babylon 5: General
23-Nov-96 21:43:15
Sb: #615104-2nd B5 Soundtrack
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Chris fell behind due to the press of work...however, the artwork and
liner notes are all finished, and he said this past Thursday that he'd have the
first pass at the new soundtrack in my hands this coming week for approval and
discussion. So it's getting there...he just wants it to be done right, and as
always, I'd always prefer it be done *right* than fast.
jms
[ Summary: In reference to JMS answering two fans' debate about the voice in
"Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?" being Morden:
"Man, 'truth,' just like from a thundering cloud atop Mount Sinai. This
is fun." ]
#: 615402 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
23-Nov-96 21:43:18
Sb: #615058-<The Summoning>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I live to serve....
jms
[ Summary: Loved "Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?" ]
#: 615403 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
23-Nov-96 21:43:19
Sb: #614854-<WHtoMG>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks...it's a good ep.
jms
#: 614928 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
22-Nov-96 21:59:36
Sb: #Going Native
Fm: REBECCA ESCHLIMAN
It just occurred to a few of us that that ClassicKosh might have been viewed by
the other Vorlons in the same way that Vir was viewed by Mollari during his
tenure on Minbar -- by becoming involved with Sheridan, ClassicKosh went
native. But that led to the thought that Delenn has gone REALLY native, and
that Franklin tried to go native during his "walkabout."
Are we simply adding to the "holography" of the B5 experience by adding our own
layers, or was this parallel actually predetermined in the "magic plan?"
-rje-
I can almost feel the rustling-in of some kind of enchantment already.
#: 615404 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
23-Nov-96 21:43:21
Sb: #614928-Going Native
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Certainly he came to care about us more than the vorlons intended.
jms
#: 615162 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
23-Nov-96 10:41:00
Sb: #<More Kudos for Joe>
Fm: MERYL YOURISH
I was trying to find something to read this morning, but couldn't find anything
that interested me. So I decided to watch the last three eps of Babylon 5. And
as I was watching them, I realized that it felt like I was reading three
chapters of a phenomenal book. I've mentioned before that re-viewing B5 enables
you to see the story arc unfold like the novel that you meant it to be. Now,
however, the novel form is so evident that you don't have to go back more than
one episode to see it.
And right now, we're just past the middle of the book, when the background has
been realized, the crises have hit, and events have reached the point where you
do >not< want to put down the book for a second. If B5 >were< a novel, this
would be about midnight on a work night for me, and I'd look at the clock and
realize I should get some sleep. I never do, though. And I certainly wouldn't
put down >this< novel.
The myth cycle: Joe, the introduction of Lorien, and Sheridan in the underworld
of Z'ha'dum have brought your story into the mold of the classics. You've
mentioned that you are striving to create something great. I believe you have
achieved that.
Lorien is that mystical, powerful being that our hero always finds in one form
or another. Lorien is also constrained by needing to find that one special
person. No one has reached him before Sheridan. Many have tried, he said. The
Shadows know that he is there. I think the puzzle of Z'ha'dum itself is being
solved. They want his power. They don't know how to get it. They can't seem to
have it. So they put themselves right on top of Lorien's prison (whether or not
it was a self-imposed imprisonment remains to be seen) and prevent all else
from getting to Lorien and perhaps sharing in that power.
"The man in between is looking for you." Lorien was looking for someone to be
his instrument, or his messenger. He probably even has the power to have known
that Sheridan would ultimately arrive on Z'ha'dum.
"You are the hand." Sheridan is the tool that Lorien will use to fulfill his
purpose. What is his purpose? We don't know yet. Is he good or evil? We don't
know that yet, either. He seems to be benevolent. And that, too, is a mythic
element. Not for you the blacks and whites of lesser writers. Greys, and greys,
and greys again for the Babylon 5 mythos.
Don't misunderstand this next part. I have a strong background in myth and
literature, and I am >not< a tunnel-visioned fantasy fan. But the best
adjective I can use to describe your writing at this moment is Tolkienian. NOT
for the imagined similarities in your works. But because I believe your ability
to take the mythic elements and put them into a wonderful, well-written
narrative and a hugely entertaining story resembles Tolkien's works. I greatly
admire authors who can take myth and make it into literature. Mary Stewart's
Arthurian novels are among my favorites, as is T.H. White's Once and Future
King. Each of them took legends and fantasy and made them real.
You, Joe, have done more than that. Now, you're making legends real. But you
are also taking reality (to a degree, since Babylon 5 feels so incredibly
realistic to me) and making it legend. It is an extremely rare ability. Felix
Salten and Richard Adams had it, too. Bambi and Watership Down are two novels
that shout myth and archetype. Deer and rabbits and the forest creatures they
wrote about are real. But what those authors did with those animals was legend.
Have you ever read Bambi? Salten created a conversation between two leaves
about the onset of winter and made it so chilling that I can't help but think
of that passage every time I see a leaf fall from tree.
I find that certain lines from Babylon 5 effect me that way. "Teach me how to
fight legends" keeps echoing in my head during the Z'ha'dum sequences. The
scene where Sheridan finds Delenn after her nightmare in the plague quarantine
is an image that pops up any time it feels like. "Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead."
Another scene that refuses to leave my mind.
Babylon 5 is reaching the heights of archetype.
There are many things about your show that I enjoy more than I've enjoyed on
any other show. One of them that I treasure most is this medium. I know you
don't know me from Adam, but I love that I can send you these messages now,
while the images are fresh in my mind, and while I'm thirty minutes away from
seeing "The Summoning" here in New Jersey. I know that you've planned Babylon 5
for a long time, and that fans won't effect the overall plot and consequences.
But your presence on the nets brings a sense of immediacy to the production.
And I know that you listen to us, and take our comments into account. I think
that your respect for your audience shows in your work. I certainly hope that
you realize the vast majority of us respect you as well.
So again, Joe, I thank you for all your efforts. It's now twenty minutes until
"The Summoning," and I'm going to have to find something to do to fill the time
until my latest fix of Babylon 5.
Meryl
#: 615405 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
23-Nov-96 21:43:23
Sb: #615162-<More Kudos for Joe>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Wow...I hardly know what to say. You work this hard on a show, and you
hope that what you're doing gets noticed for what it is. You hope people will
understand. Thanks for, in one message, making the journey worth the effort.
jms
#: 615200 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
23-Nov-96 11:00:03
Sb: #Questioning...
Fm: GOPHER
Okay... I need some answers to things that have already happened. I am now
questioning everything in the show unless we have clear proof, but given time
constraints you may not always be able to provide that clarity in the
broadcast.
1) Are the Shadows motives really (at least) what we've learned so far (chaos,
evolution, what do you want)?
2) Are the Vorlons motives really (at least) what we've learned so far (order,
evolution, who are you)?
3) Did the Vorlons actually destroy the planet mentioned in Summoning?
4) Do the Vorlons really want to wipe out all the worlds touched by the
Shadows, and ultimately eliminate the Shadows all together?
5) Is Lorien really a different "thing" than Shadows or Vorlons/Koshs? This is
probably a "far more complicated question than I could possibly understand",
although I'm beginning to understand...
6) Is there more to the Minbari working caste than we've learned so far? This
has been a suprisingly quiet group, possibly due to its lack of interesting
antics.
Thanks,
/Mark, trying to separate propoganda from reality, Pietrasanta - mpiet at cais.com
#: 615406 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
23-Nov-96 21:43:25
Sb: #615200-Questioning...
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes to all of them.
jms
#: 615211 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
23-Nov-96 11:27:50
Sb: #Time to Change?
Fm: BRENT BARRETT
Howdy, Joe;
Question about 403, "The Summoning":
There appears to be no long gap between Sheridan's walkway speech scene and the
meeting in his office, however Sheridan's uniform had been changed or sewn, and
Delenn's clothes had changed by the time of the later scene.
Exactly how much time passed between these two scenes? Was something written
and/or shot that wasn't fit into the final cut?
Thanks,
-- Brent
#: 615407 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
23-Nov-96 21:43:27
Sb: #615211-#Time to Change?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, that's the funny thing...I've seen a number of posts about how his
uniform was changed, but it *wasn't*. It was exactly the same outfit right out
of the wardrobe closet...not sewn, not cleaned, just dusted off a bit, by hand,
the way he might've upon coming in. You can clearly see that the sleeve is
still torn as he's up there.
All I can figure is that the red Z'ha'dum lighting made it look a lot
worse than it was.
jms
[ NOTE: Yes, I know he misunderstood my question -- I've followed up on it.
-- Brent ]
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