JMS on CompuServe (Oct 30, 1997) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
bbarrett at speedlink.com
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Thu Oct 30 16:22:32 EST 1997
[ Note: Due to an error in my computer's clock yesterday,
the October 29, 1997 issue of this post went out with
a stamp indicating it was the October 30, 1997 issue. ]
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
Continue at your own risk.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
S
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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:
ftp://ftp.johndelenn.com/pub/bbarrett/cis/
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http://www.johndelenn.com/
**********************************************
[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #4021-Luchenko returns?
Sb: #4211-#Gathering re-edit?
Sb: #4125-Last episode #
Sb: #4236-Another conversion
Sb: #4433-Babylonian Model/Movie
Sb: #4235-#ATTN: JMS Taken in Vain
Sb: #4195-#<Rising Star>
Sb: #4438-#<<Rising Star>>
Sb: #4252-#<Rising Star> Bravo
Sb: #4379-<<Endgame>>
Sb: #4386-<Rising Star> Ivanova VO
[ Summary: "Any chance President Luchenko will be back in season 5?" ]
#: 4388 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
29-Oct-97 14:03:09
Sb: #4021-Luchenko returns?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Would love to use her again.
jms
[ Summary: "What was wrong with the original [pilot]?" ]
#: 4459 S2/Bab 5: General
29-Oct-97 22:51:06
Sb: #4211-#Gathering re-edit?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"What was wrong with the original?"
I was new at exec producing, and deferred 'way too much to the director,
whose cut was, frankly, slow and left all the best character moments on the
cutting room floor. We lost 14 minutes of good stuff, which is now going to
go back and we're going to tighten and make it better, the way we do our cuts
on all the episodes.
jms
[ Summary: "The last episode of this season - is it officially gonna be
labeled 501 or has it been relabeled 422?" ]
#: 4460 S2/Bab 5: General
29-Oct-97 22:51:06
Sb: #4125-Last episode #
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
It's officially tagged as 422.
jms
[ Summary: Explains that she's been converting some of her customers
to Babylon 5 over the years. ]
#: 4461 S2/Bab 5: General
29-Oct-97 22:51:07
Sb: #4236-Another conversion
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks...that's how it happens, one by one by word of mouth....
jms
#: 4433 S2/Bab 5: General
29-Oct-97 18:51:06
Sb: Babylonian Model/Movie
Fm: REBECCA ESCHLIMAN
jms,
Should you get the go-ahead (under acceptable terms to you) to do a B5 feature
film, would you be able to do it at the current Babylonian facilities, or
would the scope of such a project force you to relocate?
And, as a corollary, would you be able to apply the "Babylonian model" of
efficient production to a feature film, or does it best serve the interlocking
demands of a TV series?
-rje-
To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else -- Emily
Dickinson
#: 4467 S2/Bab 5: General
30-Oct-97 00:34:07
Sb: #4433-Babylonian Model/Movie
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"Should you get the go-ahead (under acceptable terms to you) to do a B5
feature film, would you be able to do it at the current Babylonian facilities,
or would the scope of such a project force you to relocate?"
We'd do a lot of the indoors stuff here, to take advantage of standing
sets for some of it, but for other parts we'd have to go on location and other
stuff.
"And, as a corollary, would you be able to apply the "Babylonian model" of
efficient production to a feature film, or does it best serve the interlocking
demands of a TV series?"
Yes, but in different ways. For instance, the CGI is not rendered at a
level greater than can be handled by TV screens (including HDTV) because it's
a waste, you'll never see the difference...but for a feature you'd have to
render at a higher resolution. So there's a lot that would apply, and some
that wouldn't.
jms
[ Summary: Asks JMS which on-line services he currently uses. ]
#: 4463 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
29-Oct-97 22:51:07
Sb: #4235-#ATTN: JMS Taken in Vain
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I'm still kind of everywhere...and they've got much faster access over
at GEnie now.
jms
[ Summary: "How long do Minbari live?" ]
#: 4462 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
29-Oct-97 22:51:07
Sb: #4195-#<Rising Star>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Minbari can live to about 120, with some rare exceptions going beyond
that.
jms
#: 4438 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
29-Oct-97 20:07:00
Sb: #4384-<<Rising Star>>
Fm: RON CHUSID
Message text written by Jonathan Kass
> That voiceover was not only fixed to explain her absence, I think if you
listen carefully, its worded to address CC as much as Ivanova - "you would
have had command of B5 if you were sure where your heart was" was the jist I
got out of it :)<
While we don't know for sure what went on, it appears likely that Claudia was
playing a game of brinkmanship and lost. I wonder if, knowing she was to in
command of B5 for the 5th season, made her overconfident in negotiations,
thinking her character wasn't expendable.
#: 4468 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
30-Oct-97 00:34:07
Sb: #4438-#<<Rising Star>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
"I wonder if, knowing she was to in command of B5 for the 5th season, made her
overconfident in negotiations, thinking her character wasn't expendable."
jms hums quietly to himself, looking around the room, saying nothing
jms
#: 4252 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
28-Oct-97 21:57:12
Sb: <Rising Star> Bravo
Fm: JONATHAN KASS
Sir,
IMHO, with Rising Star you really tied the whole series together
beautifully... it was such a complete connection back to the beginning, the
goals of the station, the "Humans form communities" theme, and the characters
settling into their rightful orbits (if at least briefly, and certainly not a
sacharine "happy ending" for all)...
The alliance was a terrific cap on the now clear progress from a fractured,
self centered set of alien communities into a real association with common
goals...
Londo and G'Kar, momentarily at total peace... what a transformation from
their opening positions (in fact so much of this episode gave real resonance
to the sense of the players as chess pieces, with the story moving them
towards their final positions)... a hopeful moment, even with the knowledge of
what is eventually and pretty inevitably to come... and Londo's gleeful
recognition of being "in the presence of living history" - what a great line!
There was also something subtly satisfying in Sheridan's almost smug response
when asked whether he knew he'd be the alliance president when he resigned -
this Sheridan no longer has blind faith in earth and its government, despite
his love for his people - his ability to maneuver even the interim president
to ensure the amnesty for his troops was wonderful...
As for Ivanova / Franklin, an interesting place for them if this was all there
was... certainly we've lost a rich thread with regard to Ivanova, one you had
just really sprung into life (she was after all, by her own words, mostly not
living before Marcus' sacrifice - what she would have become was certainly an
interesting jumping off point)...
Poor Lennier - loses ostensibly the only person he's ever told about his
feelings, and can't share the depths of that loss with Delenn for obvious
reasons, and left "always a bridesmaid" :)... And Vir - wonder when he'll get
around to remembering the prophecy, and realizing he's gotta start thinking
emperiorily himself soon...
But the best was knowing you had room for more stuff! Delenn's narration at
the end was practically perfect, there is so much more story there, I look
forward with baited breath at Season5 (and since I'll not see it for a few
weeks due to a trip, i'll be wondering for a while just what the heck this
million years in the future stuff is in Deconstruction)...
But again, thanks for telling a story this rich - the only other show I can
think of that really felt as good as a book series (as yours does) was "Game
Set Match" on PBS, and of course that was a series of books first :)
OK enough gushing, get back to work on Season 5
#: 4464 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
29-Oct-97 22:51:08
Sb: #4252-#<Rising Star> Bravo
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks...and from our current position, 12 scripts (and 9 shot so far)
into S5, I think you're going to be pleased at what's coming.
jms
#: 4379 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
29-Oct-97 13:43:02
Sb: <<Endgame>>
Fm: STEVEN K. ANDEWEG
I saw Endgame last week, and one question has been bothering me ever since.
When you started the computer program that ran the CGI for that episode, just
exactly how many homeowners in southern California lost power? Not only was
it a great story, but the CGI was unbelievable-- the best I've seen on any TV
episode of ANY show, and better than I've seen on a lot of movies. I mean,
the Agamemnon coming through that flaming explosion? Whoa! Great job!
Steve A.
#: 4527 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
30-Oct-97 10:54:07
Sb: #4379-<<Endgame>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Thanks...a hideous amount of rendering power and time went into that
episode, and the result is all there on-screen. The only bigger CGI feast is
in the prequel, which is approximately 21% EFX, most of it pure CGI and
composites.
jms
#: 4386 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
29-Oct-97 13:51:05
Sb: #<Rising Star> Ivanova VO
Fm: JONATHAN KASS
Sir,
In my general gushing, I forgot something I really liked...
That little voiceover describing Ivanova's decision to take the shakedown
cruise on the Warlock (thats awfully ominous) class prototype... was it just
me, or was that explanation a nice fit not just for Ivanova but for Ms.
Christian? Wasn't it something like "till she finds out where her heart lies"
:) Nicely done.
#: 4528 S4/Bab 5: **SPOILERS**
30-Oct-97 10:54:07
Sb: #4386-<Rising Star> Ivanova VO
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Does kinda resonate, doesn't it?
jms
[END]
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