JMS on CompuServe (Dec 08, 1997) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
bbarrett at speedlink.com
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Mon Dec 8 17:46:01 EST 1997
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
Continue at your own risk.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
P
R
O
T
E
C
T
I
O
N
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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:
http://www.johndelenn.com/
**********************************************
[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #8917-JMS new Series?
Sb: #8946-Thanks to the cast
Sb: #8988-B5 Link comm device
Sb: #8992-B5ers do it very late.
Sb: #8950-Rumors
Sb: #8990-Rumors
Sb: #9113-Status check?
Sb: #9065-#Rumors
Sb: #9100-Rumors
Sb: #9042-#Rumors
Sb: #9079-Rumors
#: 8917 S2/Bab 5: General
05-Dec-97 12:48:13
Sb: #8761-JMS new Series?
Fm: JONATHAN KASS
Message text written by J. Michael Straczynski
>A first season hasn't been committed to, at least in contractual terms to me,
and I can assure you that the series would be season-by-season, like any other
show. It's never been broached to us as a five-year deal.
jms<
Just a curiousity side question... Stephen Furst mentioned at Creation last
weekend that he just signed a 5 year extension - is that standard stuff?
#: 9031 S2/Bab 5: General
06-Dec-97 20:50:11
Sb: #8917-JMS new Series?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"Just a curiousity side question... Stephen Furst mentioned at Creation last
weekend that he just signed a 5 year extension - is that standard stuff?"
No, that was a result of having amended Stephen's contract when he did
"Misery Loves Company" a while back.
jms
#: 8946 S2/Bab 5: General
06-Dec-97 04:54:11
Sb: Thanks to the cast
Fm: JOSE CABANILLAS
Was at the creation con in Pasadena last weekend. Had a chance for the second
year in a row to get with the cast for autographs after the event, even though
they (creation) had limited access to those willing to fork over extra $$.
Please pass along thanks to everyone from the cast who stuck around for what
was a long time - Jonathan Kass and I got in there after 3 hours and the only
person who couldn't stay was Marjorie Monaghan. It was especially nice (at 9
pm) as Bruce B and Richard Biggs were discussing an early call the next am,
yet as usual nobody (other than Jerry Doyle!) seemed in the least cranky or
odd. Must of made for a short night for them, but those of us in the Bob
Uecker seats really appreciated everyone sticking around.
Now if I could only get over these pesky withdrawl siezures. Impatiently
awaiting January.
Happy holidays,
jose
#: 9032 S2/Bab 5: General
06-Dec-97 20:50:12
Sb: #8946-Thanks to the cast
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
They're a good bunch.
jms
[ Summary: "I saw in the Friday Chicago Sun-Times a picture and small
news blurb that NTT in Japan has developed a Dick Tracy-style wrist-
radio cellular phone." ]
#: 9033 S2/Bab 5: General
06-Dec-97 20:50:12
Sb: #8988-B5 Link comm device
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Cool...I want one.
jms
[ Summary: A U.K. fan is enjoying season four, but laments the fact that
the show screens at 11pm in England now. ]
#: 9034 S2/Bab 5: General
06-Dec-97 20:50:12
Sb: #8992-B5ers do it very late.
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks....
Bear in mind that the C4 programmers put it late because they received
many calls from B5 viewers asking for a later slot, since they said C4 was
treating the show as a kid's show...so this is a situation where C4 gets
yelled at whichever way it goes.
jms
[ Summary: Reproduces a rumor posted to the TNT web site claiming that
TNT has canceled Babylon 5. ]
#: 9035 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
06-Dec-97 21:08:00
Sb: #8950-Rumors
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
It's utter crap, like all such rumors. These people put them up and
come up with ways to make it sound real, but it's crap. TNT is in love with
what they're seeing, we've had no problems with them, they've given us the
biggest PR campaign in their *history* to launch the new show and reruns...
these rumors are put there by people who enjoy making others jump around and
respond to them, and put out fires. They're no different than the kinds of
folks who light grass fires near homes and watch from cover giggling as the
firefighters come out to deal with it all...makes them feel important, because
their lives are sad and pathetic and basically irrelevant.
Like the rumor that I had a heart attack on the way to the stage; the
phone calls that came into the stage tied up phone lines and ended up as a
huge hassle for everyone.
Look, it's really this simple...and I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at
them...if there's a problem, I WILL TELL YOU. I've been doing that for five
years now. Every time one of these rumors comes up, everybody goes running
around like chickens with their heads cut off until I can calm everyone down,
and then two weeks later it's the same thing over and over, one manufactured
crisis after another that takes up your time and my time in responding.
So this is just one more BS stupid rumor by an online jerk, of which
there are many. Just take that line and cut and paste it on the next stupid
BS rumor.
jms
[ Summary: (See below.) ]
#: 9036 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
06-Dec-97 21:08:00
Sb: #8990-Rumors
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"...well half of this one was probably true from what i've heard nobody liked
the pilot as aired including JMS."
Well, actually, if NObody liked the pilot we *wouldn't* have become a
series. But the ratings were very good, and a lot of folks *do* and did like
the pilot. It just could've been better, which is my take on it, and now that
we've gone in and adusted it it, is *is* better.
jms
#: 9113 S2/Bab 5: General
08-Dec-97 05:36:08
Sb: #Status check?
Fm: ANNE L. WARNER
Joe,
In the interests of asking you something soothing....
How is filming coming? What episodes are done? etc.?
How is the special effects work going? Is anything new or interesting
happening there?
Anne
#: 9159 S2/Bab 5: General
08-Dec-97 12:53:00
Sb: #9113-Status check?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"How is filming coming? What episodes are done?"
Filming is going great; we're shooting 513 as I speak, with John
Copeland directing (John did "Endgame"). We shoot through 514 then we break
for Christmas, coming back on the 4th. The first 6 episodes have been
completely finished (technically mixing the sixth one tomorrow, but it's a
fine distinction), and delivered to TNT, which has had nothing but praise for
the stuff this season.
"How is the special effects work going? Is anything new or interesting
happening there?"
Fine there; the most interesting stuff has been in the prequel, and now
in Thirdspace as we start producing stuff for that, since both movies are very
ambitious. We're doing more compositing stuff for the series, trying some new
things, getting progressively closer to the objects in the show to give a
dynamic realism to them. But most of the interesting stuff this time around
tends to be in the story and the personal relationships, and changes
everyone's going through.
jms
[ Summary: "Did you have anything to do with the commercials [TNT is]
currently running or did TNT do it themselves?" ]
#: 9073 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
07-Dec-97 15:34:13
Sb: #9065-#Rumors
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Interestingly enough...I saw what they were doing for commercials
initially, and it wasn't really what I had in mind, it was the same basic
actino stuff WB did that didn't get the right audience. So I wrote up a
commercial and had our editors put it together. I sent it to TNT and said
this is kinda what I had in mind. I also showed it at a couple of conventions
as an example of what I thought the promos should be like.
To TNT's credit, they decided that our approach was better, and went in
that direction. This is really quite extraordinary, as most corporations get
very entrenched and it's their way or no way, but TNT wants to do right by
this show, they believe that we know the show well enough to know how to
promote it, and make it, and they've given us tremendous leeway and support.
jms
[ Summary: In jest, this fan posts several new rumors about JMS
working with aliens to invade Earth, being an agent for the real
Vorlons, and creating Babylon 5 based on unearthed works he had
translated and then burned. ]
#: 9160 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
08-Dec-97 12:53:00
Sb: #9100-Rumors
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Go to your room.
It's the one with the alligators.
jms
[ Summary: The TNT rumor poster responds to JMS' post. ]
#: 9072 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
07-Dec-97 15:34:12
Sb: #9042-#Rumors
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"But I'm not certain that in this case the people putting up the posts are the
jerks responsible for the rumors. In at least one case I'm pretty sure it was
a somewhat panicky *fan* of the show who heard something and didn't think it
through to see how ludicrous it was."
I've been on the nets for a long, long, very long time, and I've yet to
see a case of this where the person actually *heard* this, until after it had
long gotten into the fan community. People *say* they heard these things just
to give it some credibility and someone to blame so they don't have to take
the rap for it themselves. If they *really* heard it from someone, then post
that person's name. They were willing to post the rumor, which caused hurt
and confusion and distress, why not post the person's name who said it, so
that this person can be enlightened and corrected? But they never do, because
there never IS "the other person."
They're sickos, liars, flakes, yoyos, yipyops, yahoos, bozos and
kadodies.
jms
[ Summary: The TNT rumor poster apologizes for the fuss. ]
#: 9094 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
07-Dec-97 22:24:14
Sb: #9079-Rumors
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Not your fault, you have nothing to apologize for.
jms
[END]
-***
-*** B5JMS SUBSCRIBERS: Replies to messages go to the list maintainer,
-*** <b5jms-owner at cs.columbia.edu>. If you want to reply elsewhere, adjust
-*** the "To" field. See http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~ezk/b5jms/ for all
-*** other information about this list.
More information about the B5JMS
mailing list