JMS on CompuServe (Oct 21, 1996) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* 1/2
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Mon Oct 21 15:24:50 EDT 1996
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
Continue at your own risk.
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Note that JMS has expressed his public permission
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[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #595835-URGENT! HELP! from jms
Sb: #595630-URGENT! HELP! from jms
Sb: #595590-JMS conference
Sb: #595592-#<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Sb: #595593-<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Sb: #595496-#<Rock Cried Out>
Sb: #595507-Cult in Grey 17? Vindriz
Sb: #595603-<Shadow Dancing>
Sb: #595739-# Rock -Climbing
Sb: #596059-<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Sb: #596072-<Rock Cried Out>
[ Summary: Suggests that JMS do a McAfee virus scan on his system to be
sure that the Trojan Horse didn't leave a nasty residue. ]
#: 595953 S5/Babylon 5: General
20-Oct-96 17:09:20
Sb: #595835-URGENT! HELP! from jms
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I did a McAfee scan today, and found that the com file did/does have a
virus in it, PS-MPC.G2.MUDSHARK.314. But it found it nowhere else. What
happened, when the com file got initially activated by me, was that as soon as
I saw it was screwing with the directories, I shut down the computer. I think
that when I did this, I shut it down before it could send out the virus,
because it didn't show up anywhere *else* on the drive, and when I moved the
.com file to a floppy and scanned a second time, it didn't find anything.
So I *think* I'm now safe...does this jibe with your experience?
jms
#: 595630 S5/Babylon 5: General
20-Oct-96 08:40:25
Sb: #594827-#URGENT! HELP! from jms
Fm: RICHARD HOHM
>>Also, how does one uncompile a .com file?<<
You don't, generally. You might be able to load it into a hex editor and find
clear-text DOS commands embedded in the code, but the only way to discover
*everything* the beast did is to trace through it with a disassembler/debugger.
>> I think I caught the Trojan Horse before it did anything else, but I kinda
want to open it up and look inside in case it did anything else I should know
about.<<
Nod. Plz feel free to E-mail the little bugger to me, and I'll dissect it
(sans anesthesia) & let you know what I find.
rh
#: 595954 S5/Babylon 5: General
20-Oct-96 17:09:22
Sb: #595630-URGENT! HELP! from jms
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
See my note a moment ago...it did have a virus, one of the mudshark
viruses, but I think I shut down the computer when it started up fast enough
that it didn't get out, and when I moved it off the hard drive, the virus
didn't show up again when I scanned a second time. So I *think* I'm okay.
jms
#: 595590 S5/Babylon 5: General
20-Oct-96 07:16:53
Sb: #JMS conference
Fm: MERYL YOURISH
Joe, a question about your upcoming conference: I'm not sure if WWOR will be
showing Z'ha'dum at 2 or 8 p.m. that day. Will you be talking about the final
episode?
I really want to get to the conference early this time, but not if I'm going to
have the last episode spoiled for me. I've been avoiding the spoiler section
for months now. And I >know< that questions about that episode will be
uppermost on everyone's mind.
Meryl
#: 595955 S5/Babylon 5: General
20-Oct-96 17:09:25
Sb: #595590-JMS conference
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I think I'll likely be talking about it, yes, if there are questions.
jms
#: 595592 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 07:16:57
Sb: #<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: MERYL YOURISH
Just catching up on some old downloaded messages from the spoiler section:
Refa was the significant character doomed to buy it in the end of the season?
HOORAY! You're not killing off Ivanova!! At least, not yet. I was starting to
get really worried about her, especially after seeing her in the trailers for
"Shadow Dancing".
Also in one of those threads: You wrote the songs in "Walkabout"? Wow. Will you
be putting them on Franke's CD? I loved them, and would love to have them on a
medium that I can play back in stereo, whenever I want to. Videotape just
doesn't do that for me.
Lastly, regarding "Rock": Excellent episode. You had me snookered, completely!
I had no idea Londo and G'Kar were working together. Oooh, you're sneaky.
And that final scene, the cutting back and forth from Refa's death and the
song--you are an evil, evil man. I loved every second of it. That's the kind of
scene that makes me >feel< the show rather than just watching it.
That scene, if not the show, will definitely make it onto my personal top ten
list. Hm. I may have to subdivide the list, now. Or lengthen it.
One minor complaint: If Z Minuse 14 Days means "Z'ha'dum Minus 14 Days," all I
can say is: You tease!
Meryl
#: 595956 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 17:09:27
Sb: #595592-#<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Re: the songs....I keep thinking that it's best to keep the soundtrack
albums clean, instrumental. The songs would be a distraction, I think.
jms
#: 595593 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 07:17:00
Sb: #<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: MERYL YOURISH
>> Yeah, we've floated characters between human and alien from time to time;
we've used Wayne Alexander as a Narn, the actor who played the Ombuds came back
as the Markab doctor...we've basically got a kind of alien rep company goig
here.<<
I've noticed the "recycling" of actors, and have so often wondered "Where have
I seen that actor's face before?" that I now figure I'll just find out here in
the forum. But your use of Wayne Alexander as the Narn, besides making me
wonder where I'd seen him before, reminded me of something I've noticed about
the Narns for a while now.
It seems that with a few exceptions, a lot of the Narns we have seen have been
soft-spoken, almost gentle, even when their actions may not be very gentle. For
example, the Narn in the first scene in "Severed Dreams", when Londo is
re-entering the station, and now G'Dan. Even Ta'Lon acts in an understated
manner, as when he stood outside G'Kar's door waiting for him to be released
from prison.
Is this deliberate on your part, or just the way the actors and directors are
choosing to play those parts? I find the incongruity to be fascinating when you
put these understated ways in the larger context of all things Narn.
Meryl
#: 595957 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 17:09:29
Sb: #595593-<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
It's just another way of showing that a race doesn't just have one
attitude.
jms
[ Summary: Loved "And the Rock Cried Out, Ho Hiding Place," and especially
the hard decisions and pressure Vir had to face. ]
#: 595958 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 17:09:31
Sb: #595496-#<Rock Cried Out>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks. That emotional contradiction and uncertainty is what makes the
show fun....
jms
[ Summary: Asks if the cult members in "Grey 17 Is Missing" were the same
people who were taken over by the Vindrizi in "Exogenesis." Also thanks
JMS for a wonderful show. ]
#: 595959 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 17:09:34
Sb: #595507-Cult in Grey 17? Vindriz
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, no relation to the vindrizi...and thanks.
jms
#: 595603 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 07:27:55
Sb: #<Shadow Dancing>
Fm: DAVID CERRETA
Joe,
What an incredible show!! I can see why this was one of your favorites. You've
mentioned that it just sucks you in no matter how many times that you've
watched it. I agree. I'll tell you why it worked for me. For probably the
first time, this show felt like a novel. You know the kind, you try to write
this way, I'm sure. Every cut was like the end of a chapter. I'm sitting
enjoying the battle and then you cut back to Franklin on walkabout. I get all
involved with Franklin, almost forgetting the battle with the Shadows and then
you cut back to the battle. It was fabulous, and worked just the way a book
reads. In any case, congrats on a super, super show.
As much as the ending of this episode has been hinted at almost since the
introduction of Sheridan, it still had a huge impact. Like many things in this
series, viewers might be able to predict fairly accurately certain things that
will happen, but rarely can they figure why they happen or what they will
signify as the plot unfolds. I can't imagine even a novice viewer not wanting
to see the season ender.
Finally, for the past few months, during reruns, I've been thinking about
something. Then when I saw the list of title names for season 4 I realized
that, once again, you say volumes with your silence. In this case I mean how
little you've devoted to Garibaldi over the course of the last year. Early on
we saw some of his past, his drinking problem, his relationship with Lisa on
Mars, etc. But we haven't seen where this character is going. His role has
felt so supporting for quite some time. In many ways closer to Franklin's
supporting role. And, if not for Ivanova's budding relationship with Marcus,
I'd say she's in the same boat with Garibaldi.
Just as events on Earth have been ignored for the last half of season 3, you've
said they'll be addressed in season 4. Seems every time a thread is dropped
for a while, just when we begin to miss it or wonder why, it reappears more
potent and intriguing as ever. So it goes with Garibaldi, and I hope Ivanova as
well. In any case, congratulations on creating and maintaining an incredible
show.
Best, Dave
#: 595960 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 17:09:36
Sb: #595603-<Shadow Dancing>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks. Yes, the show goes in waves, picking up threads as it weaves
back and forth. It's time we paid some more attention to some characters and
situations that have been kinda quiet lately. Bring down the percussion a bit,
bring in the strings and brass...just like writing a symphony.
jms
#: 595739 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 12:20:16
Sb: # Rock -Climbing
Fm: REBECCA ESCHLIMAN
jms -
Even though I had seen some spoilers for this episode, the whole of it came as
a wonderful surprise.
The title (and the words of the song) imply grim foreboding, and there was that
-- in Sheridan's desperate attempts to figure out Shadow-strategy and in the
deep games of Centauri politics. But there was also surprising joy in the
delivery of the song, as there was in the episode with the revelation of the
White Star fleet (a CGI lovely enough to lift the heart on its own).
The contrasts of the relationships deepened the impact of the plot: the
amicably acerbic rivalry of the Reverend and Brother Theo vs. the serpentine
rivalry of Mollari and Refa, the shared responsibility of Delenn/Sheridan vs.
the puppetmaster/tool relationship of Mollari/Vir.
It was surprising that Delenn was so bubbly in the beginning, particularly
since Sheridan was so careworn, but it made sense by the end. Sheridan's
willingness to heed the Reverend's advice about not trapping himself in the
loneliness of responsibility was counterpointed nicely with that brief, somber
glimpse of Franklin, now more alone than ever.
I always wondered at Vir's eventually becoming Emperor, since he has always
seemed relatively unwracked by the fierce power-hunger and pride of Mollari or
Refa. But after seeing his profound distaste at being used, it struck me that
his brief posting on Minbar gave him a taste for being able to act on his own,
and that ascending to the Emperorship would be as close a guarantee as he might
ever have to never being used again.
I liked the brief scene with G'kar discussing the effects of the war on the
climate of the Narn homeworld. Narn was stunning -- bleakly majestic. G'kar's
holding himself back from participating in Refa's execution nicely underlined
the profound spiritual changes he's undergone.
The one thing that puzzled me was why Ivanova would be resistant to G'kar's
offer of Narn bodyguards for the telepaths. Are Narns still needed too much as
security forces for B5 itself? Are they still too likely to act as loose
cannons in the midst of battle? Is G'kar starting to become too narrowly
focussed on the concept of glorious sacrifice to see the practical?
Another resonant contrast was the marshalling of the telepaths in the beginning
for a "noble cause" vs. the use of the Centauri telepath to force Vir to betray
Londo.
The only problem with watching this at midnight when it airs is that sleep
becomes highly problematical, since episodes like "Rock" set off powdertrains
of emotional and intellectual reaction.
Wow.
-rje- I can almost feel the rustling-in of some kind of enchantment already.
#: 595961 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 17:09:38
Sb: #595739-# Rock -Climbing
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes, we definitely wanted to have G'Kar *not* directly take part in
dealing out Refa's fate. He's somewhat moved past that.
jms
#: 596059 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 20:33:05
Sb: #595956-#<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: MARA K. MALOVANY
>>Re: the songs....I keep thinking that it's best to keep the soundtrack albums
clean, instrumental. The songs would be a distraction, I think.<<
I've heard you say this before (ok, well, read it, actually<g>), and
I've got to say that I disagree, strongly.
For one thing, the song that ran in the final credits was mangled by
the WOR broadcast (they cut from the first credit into the promo for next week,
then back into the rest of the credits and song), and I can't imagine it fared
much better in the rest of the country.
Second, there are some very good soundtrack/score albums which manage
to combine songs and instrumentals. "The Shawshank Redemption" cd comes to
mind--it includes 3 vocal pieces, but those pieces were important to the film,
and thus not the least bit jarring.
The songs in Walkabout were intimately connected to the episode.
Hearing them on the cd will not be a distraction, and not getting the chance to
hear them again would be a real shame, Joe.
Mara
#: 596116 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 22:26:44
Sb: #596059-<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Understood....
jms
#: 596072 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 20:43:43
Sb: #595958-#<Rock Cried Out>
Fm: JACKIE MAY
May I add my congratulations to those of practically everyone else on the
forum? That was incredible! The Sheridan and Delenn scenes had me bouncing up
and down and cheering (what can I say, I'm a romantic) and the
Refa/Londo/Vir/G'Kar/Narns scenes had me cringing, shuddering, and biting my
nails. (That's a compliment.) The last cut between Refa's death and the gospel
song was extremely well done, IMHO. I think Rock is my new favorite episode.
Jackie
KP, SPAMM, FOLC
#: 596117 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
20-Oct-96 22:26:45
Sb: #596072-<Rock Cried Out>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks, it's appreciated.
jms
[ Continued in next section -- BB ]
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