JMS on CompuServe (Aug 09, 1997) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

bbarrett at speedlink.com bbarrett at speedlink.com
Sun Aug 10 02:03:14 EDT 1997


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 [ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
    Sb: #691999-The Casting Process
    Sb: #691952-S5 Episode Titles
    Sb: #692025-<Summoning: Translation>
    Sb: #691936-->402
    Sb: #691999-#The Casting Process
    Sb: #692288-The Big Picture


 #: 691999 S5/Babylon 5: General
    07-Aug-97  19:44:03
Sb: #691935-#The Casting Process
Fm: CARL CANTARELLA

>>It's a different character, not a recast...Ivanova's away on another
assignment.<<

Joe,
        Will we be hearing about her from time to time throughout the season?
                I would assume so since she's going to resurface again in
episode 522, but then again, only you would know for sure.  ;)


 #: 692296 S5/Babylon 5: General
    08-Aug-97  23:02:29
Sb: #691999-The Casting Process
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      No, there are no plans for Ivanova to appear in S5.

                                                                    jms


 [ Summary: Wonders if the new episode title for season five, "The Very
   Long Night of Londo Mollari" is in any way related to the proposed 
   story title of an episode that never was, "The Very Long Night of
   Susan Ivanova." ]

 #: 692297 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
    08-Aug-97  23:02:31
Sb: #691952-S5 Episode Titles
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      No, just that since I ain't doing that story, the title became available,
and it was most apt for this episode.

                                                                    jms



 #: 692025 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
    07-Aug-97  20:12:25
Sb: #<Summoning: Translation>
Fm: MARTIN ROTH

Joe (and everyone),

I've watched The Summoning a few times now and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.

However, each time I have seen the scene with Ivanova speaking Minbari to
Marcus and Delenn, something has left me a little unsettled. Finally, on about
the sixth viewing, I have figured it out.

One of the terms Ivanova uses is translated in the subtitles as "hatrack".  At
first, this seems like simply a little bit of humor thrown in -- just a word
she mispronounced and gave an unintended meaning. But then it hit me -- why
would the Minbari even have a word for "hatrack"? It's not like we've ever seen
them wearing hats -- with their bone ridges, I don't even think they could.
They wear hoods, but that's not the same. So how do they even know what a
hatrack is?

Well, the easiest interpretation would be that you just stuck any old word in
that sounded right. But that's not like you. It's much more your style to throw
in something like that which sounds like a throwaway line but really gives a
clue to future events or story background.

So, obviously, the Minbari have seen a hatrack someplace. And there's only
place I can think of that they would've seen one far back enough in time for it
to have become a common word in their language -- Babylon 4. I'd imagine that
the Minbari of 1000 years past would have asked Valen what it was.  "It's a
hatrack," he'd have replied.  "Well, what's it for?"

At this point, Valen could've either tried with great patience to explain the
entire history of the station and where he came from and the fact that there
was this other race that they'd be meeting in slightly under 1000 years that
did not actually have bones on their heads and wore these things called hats
and so on, or he could've just introduced it as some sort of religious artifact
and gone on to the next question.

I just wanted to get everyone's reaction on this. I could speculate a lot more
about what this fact could mean to the show over the rest of the arc, but I
don't want to risk venturing into story ideas. Plus I have to go since there's
someone at the door.

-- Marty
---------------
Oh, it's the Narn Bat Squad.  I wonder what they're doing here*WHAM *WHAM *WHAM
*WHAM *WHAM *WHAM *WHAM *WHAM

Ouch.


 #: 692298 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
    08-Aug-97  23:02:33
Sb: #692025-<Summoning: Translation>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Hatrack would, of course, be a loose interpretation of the bony crest at
the top of a Minbari's head.

      (long pause to see if he buys it or not)

      Okay, okay...bear in mind that if you misuse the language you can create
words that don't actually exist.  In German, for instance, they create new
words by adding suffixes and prefixes to previous words (as Mark Twain said,
they eventually acquire a perspective, like a train receding into the
distance).  The fact that Ivanova came up with that word -- taking English in
her head and trying to find Minbari equivilants -- doesn't mean that it *is* a
word to the Minbari.  I can say, "uberfleidermaus," which would mean "the
supervising bat," but that ain't a word the Germans would recognize, even
though it is in German.

                                                                    jms


 [ Summary: "Will the long-ago rumoured Harlan Ellison script finally appear 
   in Season 5?" ]

 #: 692299 S7/Babylon 5: UK/World
    08-Aug-97  23:02:36
Sb: #691936-->402
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Harlan is working on something now, and suggested something that I then
based an episode on, so we share story credit on "A View from the Gallery."

                                                                    jms



 #: 691999 S5/Babylon 5: General
    07-Aug-97  19:44:03
Sb: #691935-#The Casting Process
Fm: CARL CANTARELLA

>>It's a different character, not a recast...Ivanova's away on another
assignment.<<

Joe,
        Will we be hearing about her from time to time throughout the season?
                I would assume so since she's going to resurface again in
episode 522, but then again, only you would know for sure.  ;)


 #: 692300 S5/Babylon 5: General
    08-Aug-97  23:12:44
Sb: #691999-#The Casting Process
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      She'll be mentioned here and there.

                                                                    jms


 [ Summary: Asks if there will at least be closure on the Ivanova/Marcus
   relationship. ]

 #: 692301 S5/Babylon 5: General
    08-Aug-97  23:12:45
Sb: #692288-The Big Picture
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      There will be closure provided to that relationship.

                                                                    jms



[END]

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