JMS on CompuServe (Jan 28, 1997) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
bbarrett at speedlink.com
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Tue Jan 28 18:49:28 EST 1997
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
Continue at your own risk.
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[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #641988-#JMS' scriptwriting book
Sb: #642051-#Press and Year 5
Sb: #642054-#<<The Long Night>>
Sb: #642093-#Press and Year 5
Sb: #642104-#What's the word?
Sb: #642166-#JMS' scriptwriting book
Sb: #642234-Press and Year 5
Sb: #642299-Changes
Sb: #642334-Press and Year 5
Sb: #642350->>the Long Night<<
Sb: #642421-<<The Long Night>>
Sb: #642437-Press and Year 5
Sb: #642482-Season 5 Cancelled?
#: 641988 S5/Babylon 5: General
26-Jan-97 21:06:10
Sb: #641677-#JMS' scriptwriting book
Fm: REBECCA ESCHLIMAN
<< I would've believed this until a petition signed by 47
ferrets, ducks and hamsters arrived on my desk a few minutes ago.... >>
Don't believe everything that comes across your desk. They were forced
to sign the petition by a terrorist group of meerkats, kinkajous and
bandicoots with the eventual goal of achieving admittance of
cute-and-fuzzy to Babylon 5...
-rje-
I can almost feel the rustling-in of some kind of enchantment already.
#: 642033 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 03:41:46
Sb: #641988-#JMS' scriptwriting book
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"They were forced to sign the petition by a terrorist group of meerkats,
kinkajous and bandicoots"
Oh...*them* again....
Same old story.
jms
[ Summary: Asks when TNT will air Babylon 5. Also asks about the sequel. ]
#: 642182 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 14:26:50
Sb: #642051-#Press and Year 5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
TNT will begin showing B5 after it's finished.
Crusade is in development, and will take place within the B5 universe,
but with a distinctly different plot.
jms
#: 642054 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
27-Jan-97 06:04:58
Sb: #<<The Long Night>>
Fm: DAVID CERRETA
Joe,
First off, good luck this ratings period. Sounds like if B5 can average a 4,
you can fend off the ratings gods and get a renewal.
In any case, just a quick note about TLK. I was the one who long ago asked you
while you were writing this episode if your characters sometime take control
and demand to be heard. You told me it was happening then and there and to
watch at the end of act two. Now that I see the payoff, I'm quite pleased. To
see how much Vir has changed (and yet hasn't changed) has been one of the great
joys of watching B5. I remember the earlier comments by naysayers, complaining
about the Centauri hairdos and that"Flounder" didn't belong on B5. How many
could say that now? I don't even think I've noticed Centauri hairdos for years
unless it's pointed out to me as when Cartagia was commenting on the "new
style" in the court.
Once again Peter and Stephen were wonderful together and the scene where they
were joking about what Cartagia might say after being injected with an "almost
instantaneous" poison was morbidly funny.
And as the Vorlon/Shadows/First Ones thread comes to a head, I can only say
that it's been one hell of ride. I have no idea how this will turn out, except
that it *will* end. The scene where Sheridan has to send Erikkson and his
Minbari crew to certain death was very poignant and it was difficult to watch,
just as difficult as when G'Kar was whipped.
If there is a great mystery about where the story will finish this year
(whether you make it to year five or not) is how you'll fold G'Kar and Londo
back into the story. Speaking of ending the five year arc, I know there must
be a stopping point that isn't arbitrary, but clearly most of the principals
live on including G'Kar, Londo, Vir, Delenn, and Sheridan. So then it becomes
not a matter of who lives or dies, but what the story dictates. The Story must
come to an end because *that* is where it ends. Just what that might be has
become the biggest mystery for me in your novel for television.
Congratulations on a great ep, a string of episodes that will be, I predict,
the best run of a dramatic series in the history of television. But then
again, I'm biased.<BG>
Best, Dave
#: 642183 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
27-Jan-97 14:26:51
Sb: #642054-#<<The Long Night>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks...and yeah, lots of folks were eager to write off Vir at the
start. I think they've all changed their minds by now.
jms
#: 642093 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 10:28:07
Sb: #641201-#Press and Year 5
Fm: SCOTT BAKER
Do you have all the scenes you shot for the piolit on disk somehwere?
One other thing I just thought of, how long do you keep the shots from the
episodes on disk?
--Scott
#: 642184 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 14:26:52
Sb: #642093-#Press and Year 5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
We don't keep them on disk after we finish editing; in the case of the
pilot we're redigitizing dailies to go in and make our changes.
jms
#: 642104 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 11:00:50
Sb: #What's the word?
Fm: RAE AUGENSTEIN
I'm sure you're probably sick and tired of hearing the question about renewal,
but the web site for my local B5 affiliate posted this on their web site today
(http://www.tricon.net/Comm/upn/program/):
"There will be no fifth season of BABYLON-5 from Warner Bros. The
UPN30 WAPK-TV Program Director learned that news yesterday from WB.
Check your web sites for more details!"
Does he have good information, or can I write them a nasty letter for making me
panic? (I do mean panic: I got pale, my heart started racing, and I feel all
light-headed now).
Thanks,
Rae ^^^^
#: 642185 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 14:26:53
Sb: #642104-#What's the word?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Not having been told this myself, I can only say I'll have to check it
out.
jms
#: 642166 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 13:38:18
Sb: #642033-#JMS' scriptwriting book
Fm: SCOTT BAKER
Why is it everyone around here thinks you don't like cute? Is there some
comment that you made regarding "cute fuzzy things"??
--Scott
#: 642186 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 14:26:54
Sb: #642166-#JMS' scriptwriting book
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Ah hates cute....
jms
#: 642234 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 15:38:51
Sb: #642184-#Press and Year 5
Fm: SCOTT BAKER
Correct me if I'm wrong, but everything you shoot is stored digitally for final
mixing and the CGI effects to be added, right?
So, what are dailies and how are the stored?
And what happens to the data after the episode is sent off?
--Scott
#: 642506 S5/Babylon 5: General
28-Jan-97 11:54:55
Sb: #642234-Press and Year 5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Dailies are the actual film, developed overnight and transferred to
video. The videotapes are then digitized, and dropped into the editing
machines. Once editing is finished, the main disks containing the digitized
dailies are wiped; we only keep the list of shots and frame counts for the
supercomputer to use in assembling the film.
jms
[ Summary: Comments that the "Never eat anything bigger than your head"
quote was used in an old stand-up comedy routine she saw recently on
television. ]
#: 642507 S5/Babylon 5: General
28-Jan-97 11:54:56
Sb: #642299-Changes
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yeah, it goes way back.
jms
#: 642334 S5/Babylon 5: General
27-Jan-97 19:53:39
Sb: #642184-#Press and Year 5
Fm: SYSOP LEE WHITESIDE
Does that mean you are definitely rediting the pilot or that's what you'll do
if you get the go-ahead?
#: 642508 S5/Babylon 5: General
28-Jan-97 11:54:58
Sb: #642334-Press and Year 5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
We've got a definite maybe, but we can't wait until the last moment to
begin digitizing stuff.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if JMS goes through a lot of drafts on scripts and if the
line about Vir being "harmless" was added after the decision to have Vir
kill the emperor. ]
#: 642509 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
28-Jan-97 11:55:00
Sb: #642350->>the Long Night<<
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, I usually go through only a couple of drafts. The line about Vir
seemed correct regardless.
jms
[ Summary: Love "The Long Night" as was moved by the sacrifice of the White
Star ship and her crew. ]
#: 642510 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
28-Jan-97 11:55:02
Sb: #642421-<<The Long Night>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks. The White Star mission in that ep has definite roots; during
WW2 to convince the Germans we weren't going to land at Normandy, our own
agents were fed incorrect information, set loose...and then info was leaked to
the Germans allowing them to pick up the agents and torture the information out
of them. This wasn't quite as bad as that, the crew at least knew what they
were getting into...but there are often no good choices in war.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if UPN will be showing re-runs of Babylon 5. ]
#: 642511 S5/Babylon 5: General
28-Jan-97 11:55:05
Sb: #642437-Press and Year 5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
UPN has nothing to do with B5.
jms
#: 642482 S5/Babylon 5: General
28-Jan-97 10:27:13
Sb: #Season 5 Cancelled?
Fm: JOHN GRAVES
JMS,
Sorry to bother you with this but... I received the following in an on-line
B5 newsletter. I thought you should know what's being said. Any comments?
-John Graves
We've received a number of notes and fax messages from readers who have
been in touch with their local stations. Here's a portion of a letter
received from WFIE-TV in Evansville, IN regarding Babylon 5:
"I wish I could be writing you with more pleasant news concerning what
is obviously your favorite television program. Earlier this week,
while attending the National Association of Television Programming
Executives (NATPE) convention, I was informed by my Warner Brothers
Domestic Television representative that "Babylon 5" will not be
produced beyond the current season. As disappointed as I was to
receive this news, I was not totally surprised. Rumors that this
would be the show's last season have been circulating in some circles
since last summer."
This station expressed sadness at the loss of the show, since in its words
"ratings performance and viewer response to the program have been quite
good." We have not received any "official" word from JMS on this, but we
will keep you posted.
#: 642512 S5/Babylon 5: General
28-Jan-97 11:55:07
Sb: #642482-Season 5 Cancelled?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
If I had anything to say on this, I would've said it. All I know is
that this exact thing has happened before in previous seasons.
jms
[END]
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