JMS on CompuServe (Jul 01, 1997) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* (1/2)
bbarrett at speedlink.com
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Tue Jul 1 22:52:54 EDT 1997
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[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #681726-#Delenn`s background
Sb: #681738-#Last 4 - have to redo?
Sb: #681809-#Last 4 - have to redo?
Sb: #681872-B5 - tnt and WB
Sb: #681876-#You the man
Sb: #681976-Guest Editorial
Sb: #681955-#You the man
Sb: #681913-#Last 4 - have to redo?
Sb: #681925-Warners...
Sb: #681926-#B5 on TNT
Sb: #682136-Last 4 - have to redo?
Sb: #682137-#John Vickery in future?
[ Summary: About how the Minbari society is structured, see the quote
below. ]
#: 681798 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 11:58:30
Sb: #681726-#Delenn`s background
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"Considering how they refer to "The Children of VALEN" and don't bother to
mention the name of the WIFE of Valen, I'd say patriarchal."
Or they pick the more well-known of the two. We often say "Mick Jagger's
kid" because he's the more well known of the pair.
Or they could be rather subtly ignoring what they might consider just a
bit of scandal....
jms
#: 681738 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 06:38:52
Sb: #Last 4 - have to redo?
Fm: VADIM NARODITSKY
Will you now have to rewrite/refilm the last 4 episodes? I assume they were
ending the arc and now you have another year.
Of course, I wouldn't be much surprised if you do what you did with Shadow war
- end Earth conflict and write another one somewhere.
Vadim
#: 681799 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 11:58:32
Sb: #681738-#Last 4 - have to redo?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"Will you now have to rewrite/refilm the last 4 episodes? I assume they were
ending the arc and now you have another year."
No, there's just the replacement for 422, that's all. There's a
difference between *ending the arc* and providing a *sense of resolution.* By
the end of 421, things had been settled in a lot of areas...but far more were
made very clear as being Out There. You could view it as an epilog, or a
set-up for more down the road, depending on whether or not there was a fifth
season. Hell, there's a great big fat setup for season 5 right smack in the
middle of the Franklin/Lyta scene on Mars in "The Face of the Enemy."
This isn't directed at you so much, Vadim, as in general...some days I
wonder what the hell I'm doing on the nets. We busted our butts to get year 5,
same as we do every year (though moreso this year), because it would be *the
most satisfactory way to end the story*. It *could* end in year 4, I was
prepared to do that if necessary, but it wouldn't be as satisfactory to all
concerned as year 5. So now we have year five. And right out of the woodwork
come people -- such as a particularly twit-like message forwarded to me from
one of the usenet groups -- saying that the fifth season was going to be just
filler now, that the story was over, used up, it's all tied up, there's nothing
but "dumb old personal stories." No more arc.
And I would love nothing more than to just thump them.
I sometimes wonder if they think I was walking down the street one day,
and I came across this Arc laying in the road. And it's a finite package, and
once it's used up, it's used up. People, I THOUGHT THIS STUFF UP. You watch
it, but I make it...and I'm not doing this for my health, I didn't fight this
hard to do a season of filler. Where's the common sense here? My vested
interest in making this a solid story is a hell of a lot higher than ANY viewer
could POSSIBLY bring to the table. But again and again, not to you Vadim but
in general, it's "Oh, it's all done now, it's just filler."
Yes, I fought and bled to get a season 5 so I could do filler, instead of
going back to a network show where they'll pay me double what I get on B5.
Absolutely. That makes a LOT of sense.
I dunno...maybe I'm over-reacting...hell, I probably *am* over-reacting,
but it seems like they never let you rest. The end of the Shadow War came, and
folks said, "Oh, the arc is over now, nothing interesting can happen now," and
I said there was MORE interesting stuff even than that coming up, and sure
enough that happened, and it's "Oh...okay," and this happens time and time
again, and now we have a fifth year, and it's "Oh, the arc is over, nothing
interesting can happen now."
You'd think that by now we would've proven the point...but every year it
seems like we have to prove ourselves again and again and again. The confetti
has barely hit the ground and they move in the funeral draping.
I just get tired of it some days.
Jerks.
(Not you, Vadim, a very nice man, just venting.)
jms
#: 681809 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 12:54:12
Sb: #681799-#Last 4 - have to redo?
Fm: GARY WEINFURTHER
Don't take it so personally, Joe. There are a lot of twits on the net (myself
excluded, of course <g>). And there are a great many more of us that sincerely
appreciate what you're doing. We not only support you all the way, but we
THANK you for enriching our lives, for giving us so much to watch and think
about, for sticking in there through thick and thin, for fighting for getting
the show produced not just for season 5 but for each and every season, and most
of all for being here interacting with us. You have broken many barriers and
have changed the rules of SF TV. You have our gratitude.
While I have your eyes, please pass on additional thanks and gratitude to
Kathryn. I read B5 novels #1 and #7. I thought #1 was just your standard TV
series exploitation novel, and #7 was better but IMO still limp (and Morden's
character was completely unbelievable to me). But #9 was incredible! It
pulled me in and hooked me immediately. I finally felt like these were the
characters and universe I have grown to love these past 4 years. To see the
characters grow and change, and to find the book actually *enhance* the B5 arc
made it a very enjoyable and fulfilling read.
...Gary Weinfurther
#: 681908 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 16:11:14
Sb: #681809-#Last 4 - have to redo?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I know, I know, I know...I think it's just the way we're all hard wired.
You can get 100 plaudits, but it's the one meroon who busts your chops for
something you didn't even *do* that sticks in your mind. Never met anyone yet
that was different. Ah, well...onward.
jms
#: 681872 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 14:43:12
Sb: #681260-#B5 - tnt and WB
Fm: PHILIP HORNSEY
TNT looks like a better home for B5 than SciFi. They seem like they would be
willing to spend a little more for new production. SciFi always seems to be
running on a shoestring...
Phil^^^^
FREE MARS!
#: 681909 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 16:11:14
Sb: #681872-B5 - tnt and WB
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yes, TNT is definitely a better home. For one thing, B5 would get lost
on the SciFi channel among all the other shows; here, TNT will treat it as
something special.
jms
#: 681876 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 15:00:39
Sb: #681714-#You the man
Fm: SCOTT BAKER
Will you be writting all of season 5, or is the remarkable streak soon to end?
--Scott
#: 681910 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 16:11:16
Sb: #681876-#You the man
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, I have no intention of writing all of S5...I'll probably do about
what I did in S1-2, writing 11-15, with the rest being assigned out of the arc.
And Neil Gaiman has said he's now in a place where he can tackle one, so I hope
to work out something with him, a story worth his doing, to make that happen at
last.
jms
#: 681976 S5/Babylon 5: General
30-Jun-97 19:08:32
Sb: #678099-#Guest Editorial
Fm: RICHARD M. PERRY
Sorry it's taken so long to get back to... work keeps interfering in what I
like to refer to as my life. <G>
<< The question was one that I get a lot, and I finally decided to redefine the
question and attack it from my own perspective. I'm glad it came out
reasonably coherent.>>
There are generally two questions I get that are on this level: "Why do
you like *that* stuff?" (after answering "yes" to "You really like that stuff,
don't you?") and "Why are you involved with Boy Scouts?" (when they realize
that I don't have children or any other family in it as a reason) My answer to
the second question has always been along the lines of looking toward the
future and seeing a way to create some measure of hope that it will be better.
I never really attributed that as an answer for the first question until I read
the article. Now I've come to the realization that many of the things I do, and
the manner in which I do them, are all to that end; an attempt at changing
tommorow for the better. Thank you for helping me apply that perspective
elsewhere.
On a somwhat related note, did you happen to get the Kingdom Come
limited edition slipcover? I picked mine up last week and read it over again,
those extra twelve pages add quite a bit to the story, especially the last
eight. And the sketch-book is wonderful too.
May the Light shine forever,
Rich
"The dreamer. The thunder. The bat. The eagle. The angel. Whose will be done?
Kindom Come"
#: 682115 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-Jul-97 02:15:34
Sb: #681976-Guest Editorial
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Exactly. And the question is phrased to put you on the defensive when
there is *nothing* one needs to be defensive about...it's "how long have you
been beating your wife?" You have to redefine the question to something a tad
closer to reality.
Re: the Kingdom Come ltd. edition...no, I didn't know about that. Will
definitely go out and pick it up next chance I get; that was one of the few
series I read this year, and I liked it a lot.
jms
[ Summary: "Any chance we could see another episode penned by Peter David?
How about Harlan Ellison?" ]
#: 682116 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-Jul-97 02:15:36
Sb: #681955-#You the man
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I was planning to speak to both those folks.
jms
[ Summary: (See below.) ]
#: 682117 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-Jul-97 02:15:38
Sb: #681913-#Last 4 - have to redo?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"I say do that same thing you did when you first had this idea-write for
yourself. Focus on what you want to express. Develop those ideas you deem
important."
That's the only way I can do this; only way I ever have or ever will.
"And if you ever need a break, drop by Vegas and share some Corona's, limes,
and a can of salt with me. We can laugh at the world together in the summer
sun, watch some showgirls, and throw some bucks at the blackjack table."
I don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, don't gamble...I write. Sad,
innit?
"I'll steer you away from any Tyson boxing matches, though."
I'm just *waiting* for him to get mad at somebody, and have that person
reel back saying, "Hey, sorry, jeez, don't bite my head off, man."
jms
[ Summary: With respect to the change from WB syndication to TNT, this
fellow says, "This was more of a lateral than a punt....true?" ]
#: 682118 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-Jul-97 02:15:41
Sb: #681925-Warners...
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Not really, no...because the two organizations are *affiliated* but they
continue to operate as wholly different companies, and neither side takes
orders from the other. TNT *actively pursued* both the reruns (before the
companies merged) and the fifth season. And they fought like hell to make the
deal work.
jms
[ Summary: (See below.) ]
#: 682119 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-Jul-97 02:15:43
Sb: #681926-#B5 on TNT
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"In hindsight, do you think that a deal like you've got now with TNT would have
helped the show if you'd gone that route in 93/94?"
Oh...probably, but only about 200%.
jms
#: 682136 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-Jul-97 04:46:38
Sb: #681908-#Last 4 - have to redo?
Fm: ANNE L. WARNER
Joe,
>> You can get 100 plaudits, but it's the one meroon who busts your chops
for something you didn't even *do* that sticks in your mind. Never met anyone
yet that was different. Ah, well...onward. <<
In an effort to glue some praise in place....
I noticed, in reading the TV Guide stuff, that you have rearranged everyone's
assumptions so thoroughly that they aren't aware you did it! In the article on
the new Roddenberry show, "Earth: Final Conflict," one comment really stood
out!
"The late writer's notes were strong and specific enough to allow the team to
map out a five-year story arc."
I read that last night, and didn't know whether to laugh or cheer. There
wasn't any indication that this is unusual, innovative, special. Just useful.
Something that has long been discussed as unique to B5 is now *normal.*
You've suceeded in remaking the industry, or at least a small corner of it.
Thanks and kudos.
Anne
#: 682285 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-Jul-97 12:43:51
Sb: #682136-Last 4 - have to redo?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I hadn't noticed that in the article...well, interesting....
jms
#: 682137 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-Jul-97 04:46:38
Sb: #John Vickery in future?
Fm: ANNE L. WARNER
Joe,
I've been brooding on a question, so I'll ask it.
Perhaps in season 5, perhaps in Crusade... Couldn't you have John Vickery
portray a nephew or cousin or even a son of Neroon, who also became a ranger?
He's so good. I miss Neroon already.
Anne
#: 682286 S5/Babylon 5: General
01-Jul-97 12:43:52
Sb: #682137-#John Vickery in future?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
We'll keep our eyes out for a way to bring him around again, same as
with Wayne.
jms
[ Continued in next section -- BB ]
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