JMS on CompuServe (Sep 09, 1996) * FINAL FIVE SPOILERS *
Brent Barrett
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Mon Sep 9 15:39:27 EDT 1996
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts DO contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
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This SPECIAL section of "JMS on CompuServe"
posts contains spoilers for the Final Five
episodes of season three.
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Continue at your own risk.
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Note that JMS has expressed his public permission
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This SPECIAL section of "JMS on CompuServe"
posts contains spoilers for the Final Five
episodes of season three.
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[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #574060-<<ATRCONHP>>
Sb: #574066-#<<Z - Minus 10 days>>
Sb: #574109-<<And the Rock...>>
Sb: #574131-<<Z Minus>>
Sb: #574133-Ep. title
Sb: #574300-<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Sb: #574404-<<Rock -- Yes!>>
[ Summary: Asks if the fear of other races and different people is really
the motive of the Shadows. ]
#: 574126 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
08-Sep-96 14:23:28
Sb: #574060-<<ATRCONHP>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Nope, that ain't the motive.
jms
[ Summary: Comments that the "countdown" to "Z" is a very effective
technique and will serve to link the final three episodes. Also
thinks that it was "cruelly funny to link in Refa's fate with the
song/title." ]
#: 574127 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
08-Sep-96 14:23:31
Sb: #574066-#<<Z - Minus 10 days>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks, yeah, the countdown aspect does add a lot to this, gives it a
forward momentum and a kind of subliminal ominousness. And as for the Refa
situation presented in counterpoint...I love how that came out. It's almost
subversive in a way...just gives me the quiet chills.
jms
#: 574109 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
08-Sep-96 13:29:52
Sb: #<<And the Rock...>>
Fm: SIMON PALLETT
Joe,
Once again, I congratulate you from my humble position as a fan, on another
powerful and fast moving script. The use of the 'Z minus 14', and 'Z minus 10'
was superb, it has certainly served to wet my appetite for next week's show.
You certainly know how to write a cliff-hanger...<g>
Now, onto the questions, (or, to be precise, question, since I have only one
this time...) :
I find myself wondering, after watching the interaction between Vir and
Londo, if Vir, now that he has been betrayed by Londo, is going to stand by his
master as he has done so far. Although he is very loyal, and always tries to
do what is right, I wonder if he now feels that Londo has gone too far. In
other words, will he, in the light of the events in this episode, ever take
action to stop Londo's campaign? I'm not inferring that it might be major
action, such as leaving Londo's side, or turning against him openly, but might
he now consider 'dropping Londo in it', to coin a phrase? <g>
(Oh, and I take it that the Minbari language is more logical than our own,
in terms of word definitions? <g>)
Simon Pallett
#: 574128 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
08-Sep-96 14:23:33
Sb: #574109-<<And the Rock...>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I don't know if Vir really has anywhere else to go....
And thanks.
jms
[ Summary: She's amazed that G'Kar went along with Londo. ]
#: 574189 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
08-Sep-96 15:21:33
Sb: #574131-<<Z Minus>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Well, you combine the release of 2,000 prisoners, many of whom were
likely resistance fighters, and the payback to one who orchestrated the bombing
of Narn, and that adds up to a pretty good incentive to get Refa even WITHOUT
Londo's presence in the deal.
jms
#: 574133 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
08-Sep-96 14:26:26
Sb: #Ep. title
Fm: SUSAN PEAK
Hello,
I wondered if the latest ep. title: 'And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place'
was thought of by Harlan Ellison (it's his kind of phrasing!), so was
interested to see it came from a song. Is that a 'real' song, or are you also a
songwriter/composer??
I like the multilayered incidents in this ep., eg, the title has quite a lot of
applications, and I noticed G'Kar *not* getting directly involved in killing
Refa (in fact, he looked as though he disliked that bit). I also noticed that
he put in Refa's pocket the data crystal that Londo later holds out as evidence
of Refa's duplicity - and I bet G'Kar took a copy first!
Thanks for a good show; glad about the Hugo,
susan
#: 574190 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
08-Sep-96 15:21:34
Sb: #574133-Ep. title
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, as a rule, Harlan doesn't suggest titles; "Rock" came from the quote
from the Bible, which was later made into a gospel song, used in the show. So
it's a real song, though I did write 2 for "Walkabout."
PS, please be careful as your message isn't spoiler protected, and would
give away stuff. When possible, just remember to note the brackets around
message headers. And thanks for the rest.
jms
#: 574300 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
08-Sep-96 19:17:35
Sb: #<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: BRENT BARRETT
Howdy, Joe;
First off: From myself and all the readers of my web site, a big "thank you"
for the kiss. We were getting a *tad* impatient there . . . :-)
Okay. So it was Refa who died in this episode. Now, the obvious question: Why
did everyone seem so convinced that it was a major character who would die?
Did the fans just confuse the death of Kosh with the death of Refa and you let
it brew until we all had it dead wrong? Or is there still a death to come?
I mean Refa's hardly a major character. He's in the league of a Keffer, and
since you stated at one con that the death of someone like Keffer just didn't
have much impact on us emotionally, I took it that you weren't referring to
Refa.
Anyway, I'm sure it was just us, the fans, who got all wound-up for the death
of a major character, so there's no reason we should be upset with you over it.
But if Refa *was* the "major" character, then (and this is for you, Peter
Stathis): "Booooooooooooooooo!" ;-)
-- Brent
#: 574365 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
08-Sep-96 22:07:21
Sb: #574300-<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Well, given that Refa has been around for two years, and Keffer was only
in a few in one season, I'd hardly put them in the same league. Part of all
this is how you define "major." Usually, I've refrained from using that
term...I would say someone you've seen since the first year, for instance, or
an important character.
Certainly I was primarily referring to Kosh in my original note about all
this...but a lot of folks took that and extended it past that point, which I
just let go rather than correct, because the show should do any correcting.
jms
#: 574404 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
09-Sep-96 00:35:28
Sb: #574365-#<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: BRENT BARRETT
Thanks.
I am a bit disappointed, though. I was hoping that a significant character
would buy it. By "significant," I suppose I mean one I'd care about. Refa's
been so minor that I really didn't care less what happened to him, and,
frankly, expected and probably hoped he'd die anyway.
Ah, well. Here's hoping you'll off a title character next season. (God, how
cruel of me. :-) But that's one of the things I think I've always hated about
traditional television. They easily kill off recurring characters, but title
characters only seem to be killed if there's some sort of dispute with the
actor.
I suppose the majority of my disappointment over this is my own doing; I'd
fallen for the false/confused information and worked myself up for a major (or
title) character's demise. I also thought I read you comment somewhere that it
was a character we'd care about losing, so I'd gone over it an over it in my
head and ruled out such characters as Refa and Morden, as I wanted 'em dead
anyway, and I didn't think of them as terribly major. Again, though, that's my
fault for drawing conclusions from a false premise.
At any rate, as I said in my last post, I think I'll live thanks to the
developments in my favorite couple's relationship (and, yeah, I'm prepared for
the coming trial through which that relationship must pass). Keep up the good
work, Joe. It really is the finest stuff on television today, and I sincerely
hope you get to tell it to the end.
-- Brent
#: 574407 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
09-Sep-96 00:58:57
Sb: #574404-<<Rock -- Yes!>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yeah, I think the message of mine you're referring to are the ones I
wrote with Kosh in mind, not Refa. But since I obviously couldn't say that at
the time, some of it sloshed over into how folks viewed later episodes.
jms
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