JMS on CompuServe (Nov 05, 1997) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

bbarrett at speedlink.com bbarrett at speedlink.com
Wed Nov 5 18:27:08 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: #5287-B5 Sierra software?
    Sb: #5319-#Last episode #
    Sb: #5316-Last episode #
    Sb: #5330-#The Gathering re-edit
    Sb: #5282-Censors
    Sb: #5297-#Live chats OnLine
    Sb: #from jms on stuff
    Sb: #5447-from jms on stuff
    Sb: #5263-#<Darkness>
    Sb: #5453-<<Rising Star>>
    Sb: #5271-#<<Deconstruction>>
    Sb: #5450-<<Deconstruction>>
    Sb: #5381-#<faith manages>
    Sb: #5387-<<DFS>> -Crusades?
    Sb: #5354-#<DOFS> - Bro. Theo
    Sb: #5430-#>>Deconstruction<<
    Sb: #5454-#Baseball 1,002,662
    Sb: #4750-<<Deconstruction>>
    Sb: #4785-#Marcus Aurelius

 [ Summary: "When will a Mac version of the B5 CD-Rom come out?" ]

 #: 5435 S2/Bab 5: General
    04-Nov-97  22:11:02
Sb: #5287-B5 Sierra software?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      The mac and pc versions of the B5 informational CDrom should be out at 
the same time; they were designed for both platforms going in.

      They should be for sale around the 15th or so.

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: "Is TNT still trying to twist your arm to do a *sixth* 
   season?" ]

 #: 5437 S2/Bab 5: General
    04-Nov-97  22:11:03
Sb: #5319-#Last episode #
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      I think they finally realized it's not something I want to do....

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: "Is this a marketing decision, or was 5 years the 
   predetermined duration of the original story line?" ]

 #: 5436 S2/Bab 5: General
    04-Nov-97  22:11:03
Sb: #5316-Last episode #
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      B5 was always designed to be, and announced as, a 5 year story.

"If WB is involved in making production decisions, why don't they carry the 
show in their primary market?"

      I don't know what you mean here by "primary market," since "market" is 
usually taken to mean a particular area or region, so the term is being used 
here incorrectly.  If you mean syndication, the influx of new shows and the 
other mini-networks has chewed up available time-slots...and remember, TNT is 
now owned by WB, so one could argue about what is now their "primary" venue.

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: Re: The re-edited pilot, see the quote below. ]

 #: 5438 S2/Bab 5: General
    04-Nov-97  22:11:03
Sb: #5330-#The Gathering re-edit
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

"What else are these re-introduced cuts?"

      Watch and see.

                                                                    jms


 #: 5282 S2/Bab 5: General
    04-Nov-97  06:21:01
Sb: Censors
Fm: GARY WEINFURTHER

Joe, a long while back there was a message thread regarding the lack of 
network censors.  To which you replied (paraphrasing), "Heh heh heh".  What 
scenes, if any, have you written in reference to that?  IOW, what have you 
written that takes advantage of the lack of censors?  About the only thing I 
can think of is Susan's use of the word "boffed", but that seems pretty tame 
by today's standards.

                                   ...Gary

 #: 5444 S2/Bab 5: General
    04-Nov-97  22:11:05
Sb: #5282-Censors
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Mainly it's been in terms of the violence and language...I don't think 
we ever could've done G'Kar's whipping scene on network TV, for instance.

      What I was thinking of at the time I said it, though, was the sudden 
realization that I could have Cartagia talking to a bunch of heads on his 
desk....

                                                                    jms


 #: 5297 S2/Bab 5: General
    04-Nov-97  08:22:00
Sb: Live chats OnLine
Fm: NEIL S. TURKENKOPF

Hi Joe,
             Sorry I missed you in the 2 live chats recently. I went to both 
the Sci-Fi Channel (10-31) and the TV Guide (11-03) as well,and couldn't get a 
word in edgewise! They were packed!

Do you by any chance sell prepaid admission tickets for the next one? I'll 
have to camp out the night before,just to get a good spot in line! <G>

I did manage to hear many of your words of wisdom,so I'm still glad I gave it 
a shot!  One of the things I was gonna ask you,is: How's your back?

Neil  |ªp

 #: 5439 S2/Bab 5: General
    04-Nov-97  22:11:03
Sb: #5297-#Live chats OnLine
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      The back is better, though I'm being careful.

      Now if only I could get over the last of the Martian Death Flu....

                                                                    jms

 #: 5445 S2/Bab 5: General
    04-Nov-97  22:11:05
Sb: #from jms on stuff
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Some general stuff....

      Today, John Copeland and I finished re-editing "The Gathering," the B5 
pilot movie.  While there were some areas we couldn't get into because of the 
complexity in redoing the mix, virtually every scene got tinkered with to one 
degree or another, and most important, the roughly 14 minutes of footage left 
out of the original version is now back in.  The whole thing is tighter and 
faster, and there's more recent CGI, we'll have Chris Franke re-score it, and 
it's just in general a lot better.  (Some parts of it even make more sense 
now.)

      One additional change: because of the desire on PTEN's part to have as 
many commercial breaks as possible, the 6-act script was jerry-rigged and 
broken down into 9 acts.  One side-effect of this is that 9 acts wears on you, 
and wears you out, more than the standard 6.  You start to get a feeling of 
being led up to things too often, and there isn't time to dwell on the acts 
you're in.  I was finally able, with this re-edit, to move scenes back around 
again to what I originally wanted in a 6-act structure (you'll see a number of 
scenes juxtaposed from their original order).

      Anyway...the TNT Special Edition is much improved over the original.

      Other stuff: the fanclub site continues to expand and improve.  If you 
haven't been around in a while, you may want to check it out again sometime 
soon (http://www.thestation.com).  The chat room is running better than ever 
before, there are new graphics, and the B5 Emporium should be online in a 
matter of days allowing purchase of B5FC stuff online with credit cards. (Mail 
order stuff is still being processed.)

      Latest additions to the lineup: Psi Corps hats and pins, patches of 
various sorts, Earth Alliance pins, Ship Recognition charts in poster form, 
and others.

      Finally, I'll be a Guest of Honor at this year's LosCon, held 
Thanksgiving weekend in L.A. at the Burbank Airport Hilton.  My 2-hour B5 
presentation will be Sunday afternoon, where I'll be showing clips from the 
two TNT tv-movies (including lots of stuff from the finished prequel), from 
upcoming S5 episodes, new bloopers and so on.  I'll also be joined by John 
Copeland, producer, and Harlan Ellison, our conceptual consultant.  This is 
always an SRO venue for us -- LosCon has been a part of B5 from the start -- 
so you may want to get there early.  (Or even go the day before; it's a fun 
convention.)

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: Re: The move to TNT, this poster asks if JMS will continue to
   be present on the Net. ]

 #: 5460 S2/Bab 5: General
    05-Nov-97  02:20:01
Sb: #5447-from jms on stuff
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

"Will you be the same when you go big business?"

      I suppose one could make the argument that I'm already "big business" 
since the show is on worlwide and there's so much going on: figures, models, 
books, soundtracks, you name it....

      But to your question....I'm too old and cranky to start changing now. I 
is what I is.  Which is as scary a thought as I'm allowed to have on 
medication....

                                                                    jms


 [ Summary: "Back in season one your related a story to us about knocking
   someone socks off at a convention...and I 'wittily' said you had knocked 
   my pantyhose off." ]

 #: 5407 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    04-Nov-97  21:21:12
Sb: #5263-#<Darkness>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

"Well it's been a great ride and I have used up a lot of pantyhose!"

      Then I will be brief.

"What if anything do you have in store for us series or movie wise in the 
future?"

      Well, there's Crusade (the follow-up series), the B5 prequel, the 2nd B5 
TV movie ThirdSpace, a third TNT movie now in development, and several other 
series notions I have in various stages of development, a couple of novels I'm 
working on, a play, WB wants to talk about a B5 feature film....

      Other than that, not much.

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: "It's still beyond me how anybody gets so smug as to think 
   they were irreplaceable on the show especially with the turns and 
   twists and deaths you've thrown our way for every major character." ]

 #: 5461 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    05-Nov-97  02:20:02
Sb: #5453-<<Rising Star>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Funny thing is, while re-editing the pilot this afternoon, there was 
Sinclair saying, "Babylon 5 is more important than any of her crew, am I 
CLEAR?"

"Will TNT be promoting the actors who did not survive the entire 5 year arc in 
their ads?  WIll they be involved in any active TNT or Babylonian promotions?"

      Dunno...will be getting a clearer view of this in the coming weeks.

                                                                    jms


 #: 5271 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    04-Nov-97  03:45:06
Sb: #4495-<<Deconstruction>>
Fm: ARTHUR STOPPE

Message text written by Pam Jernigan
>Nice "Just Married" sign on the shuttle <g><

I thought it was cute too.  However, here's a nitpick, -once the shuttle was 
in the bay the sign was GONE.  I looked.  I guess they used some old stock 
shuttle bay footage.

Arthur

 #: 5440 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    04-Nov-97  22:11:04
Sb: #5271-#<<Deconstruction>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      The painted letters were on the *right* side of the shuttle as it went 
in.  The CGI inside the bay showed the left side.

      We don't miss these things.

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: "What was the insignia on the Human 'vorlon' ship as it 
   apparently went with humanity beyond the rim?" ]

 #: 5462 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    05-Nov-97  02:20:02
Sb: #5450-<<Deconstruction>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      It's a Ranger symbol.

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: "As someone who has spent some time in [rastb5], I had to 
   wonder whether Delenn's line, 'You don't wish to know -- you only 
   wish to speak,' might have had some personal significance for you." ]

 #: 5441 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    04-Nov-97  22:11:04
Sb: #5381-#<faith manages>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      I think you can look at a *lot* of the pieces of that episode and find 
some resonance there....

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: "In light of the events of DoFS, is, isn't the climax of 
   Crusade a foregone conclusion?" ]

 #: 5442 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    04-Nov-97  22:11:04
Sb: #5387-<<DFS>> -Crusades?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      I don't think it's anticlimatic at all; putting on our logic hats for 
the moment, do you really think that I intend to wipe out all of humanity and 
decimate the earth in Crusade?  No.  In any show, this is going to be a given, 
the question is how do you *get* there?  The premise exists to push us out on 
a mission...it's what happens in pursuit of that mission that's going to be 
especially interesting.

      As with Londo/G'Kar, you saw them strangling each other...but it was in 
the learning of *how* and *why* this happened that the fun started.

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: Were the colonies mostly saved from the destruction of the 
   Great Burn?  Was the Great Burn caused by what we saw at the +500 year
   mark? ]

 #: 5443 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    04-Nov-97  22:11:05
Sb: #5354-#<DOFS> - Bro. Theo
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Yes, it was mainly Earth that bore the burden of the great Burn, and 
yes, that was the one Garibaldi got into....

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: "There was a reference to 'the incident involving [John and 
   Delenn's] son.'  If and when will we learn what this is all about?" ]

 #: 5463 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    05-Nov-97  02:20:02
Sb: #5430-#>>Deconstruction<<
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      When I write it.

                                                                    jms

 [ Summary: (See below.) ]

 #: 5464 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    05-Nov-97  02:20:02
Sb: #5454-#Baseball 1,002,662
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

"Wasn't that an Atlanta Braves emblem on the side of the Human "vorlon" ship 
as it went beyond the Rim?"

      Even Zathras say, Braves suck.

                                                                    jms


 #: 4750 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    31-Oct-97  12:16:08
Sb: #4740-<<Deconstruction>>
Fm: PHILIP HORNSEY

>> John Copeland over lunch the other day was outraged over a situation where 
new Japanese textbooks are being introduced indicating that the rape of 
Nanking never happened, and that the bombing of Pearl Harbor was in 
retaliation for Hiroshima.

The Japanese have been excising the rape of Nanking for 60 years, as to the 
other, that sounds a lot like an urban myth...

Phil
FREE MARS! <--Now accepting applications for a new tagline.

 #: 5575 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    05-Nov-97  12:55:00
Sb: #4750-<<Deconstruction>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Actually, no, it wasn't an urban myth...the web site he found the info 
on actually posted the pages of the textbook, as I recall.

                                                                    jms


 #: 4785 S2/Bab 5: General
    31-Oct-97  16:27:04
Sb: Marcus Aurelius
Fm: MICHAEL  ZITAGLIO

Hi Jo,

Just read " dream in the city of sorrows".  Excellent book. The flight to LA 
went by in a snap.  Too bad we cant see more of SInclair in the future.

Anyway, There was mention of a Marcus Aurelius book.  Im not an avid reader 
Joe, but this sounds intriguing.  Can you please give me any insight on this 
book?

PS,   What was Jason Carter's reaction to his character being killed off?

Thanks,

Mike

 #: 5574 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
    05-Nov-97  12:54:14
Sb: #4785-#Marcus Aurelius
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

      Kathryn's the big fan of Marcus Aurelius, though I'm familiar with his 
work.  I can't recall offhand which part she was referring to, though, but 
will ask.  (She tends to quote him to me all the time...I think she's working 
on my moral and ethical development.)

                                                                    jms


[END]

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