ATTN: JMS -- several anecdotes

[B5JMS Poster]

Subject: ATTN: JMS -- several anecdotes
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 No. | DATE        |  FROM
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s  1: Jan  5, 1997: Heath Fitts <nsfit8322 at ALPHA.NSULA.EDU>
*  2: Jan  5, 1997: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)

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From: Heath Fitts <nsfit8322 at ALPHA.NSULA.EDU>
Lines: 72

First of all, ditto all the praise you've ever recieved for Babylon 5.  It
is truely one of the greatest television events (not just a "show") of all time.

I have several short anecdotes and other musings I wanted to tell you, so
I've been collecting them until I had enough to make up a letter that might
actually be worth your time.

This past summer I was working a construction job (have to pay my way
through college somehow!) in Tennessee and one weekend we took a trip to
Cherokee (I can't remember the correct state this was in and I can't locate
my road atlas, but I want to say it was in West Virginia).  It's basically a
tourist trap revolving around the Cherokee people.  I was having a great
time looking at the arts and crafts, admiring the handmade knifes and such,
but when we were watching this couple perform Cherokee dances in front of a
store, I was suddenly reminded of Londo and the Centauri Empire.  I kept
hearing Londo say, "My god man, we've become a tourist attraction.  'Come
see the great Centauri Republic. Open 9 to 5 Earth time.'"  I kept hearing
that over and over in my head and I became saddened over the whole affair.
It really made me think about what my ancestors had done to their ancestors
and how the only way they could sustain their culture was to become a
tourist attraction.  I didn't enjoy anything else there that day.

My parents, who usually aren't into "all that sci-fi crap I watch" are about
as addicted to B5 as I am.  They don't get cable and live out in the boonies
so I tape the show for them.  Going home for a weekend and watching a whole
tape's worth of B5 has become a teasured family get-together.  My dad has
been rooting for Sheridan and Delen to get together for a long time.  Long
before _Severed_Dreams_, during a scene between them, he looked over at me
and said, "Those two just seem to belong together."  My mother's favorite
character (and mine too) is G'Kar.  At least once an episode, she has to
comment, "I just love G'Kar."  The scenes of his torture at Emperor
Cartagia's hands literally made her weep (me too) and she refused to watch
those scenes a second time.  Before we started the second viewing of the
tape she told me, "I can't watch G'Kar get beat.  I just can't handle it."
My dad continually remains impressed at how the show weaves together
subplots.  He loves re-watching old episodes and catching things he didn't
catch the first time around.  We also had a lengthy discussion about
Sheridan being "between tick and tock."

I recently wrote a paper for an English class (Survey of World Lit)
comparing Babylon 5 to Dante's _Inferno_.  I recieved an A.  The instructor,
who also is a B5 fan (although, this didn't influence my paper topic) told
me that he had considered showing _A_Late_Delivery_From_Avalon_ during the
time we spent on _Don_Quixote_, but time didn't allow it.

All of my friends know what a fan of B5 I am, and I have converted several
of them into devoted fans as well, but others are just reluctant to jump in
the story at this time (despite the fact that I have almost the entire
series on tape at their disposal).  A friend and her boyfriend (who have so
far not seen the show) watched an episode over the holdays.  When they got
back into town, that was one of the first things they told me.  They
commented on the special affects and the acting and said it had definitely
caught their interest and they would like to borrow my tapes.  So, slowly
but surely, I'm converting everyone I know.

Keep up the great work on B5 and I'll try to make it through the re-runs!

Heath Fitts



"Sanity is a one trick pony.  I mean, all you get is the one trick: rational
thinking!  But when you're good and crazy, the sky's the limit!!" --The Tick
==============================================================================
Heath Fitts         <*>           | nsfit8322 at alpha.nsula.edu
Northwestern State University     | http://www.nsula.edu/~nsfit8322/
Natchitoches, LA                  |
==============================================================================





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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 13

Heath:

It's very rare when I'm stunned into speachlessness.  That one (actually
all of that as a unit) just did it.  Thanks.  

Who knows...maybe this show might work out yet....


 jms




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