JMS on CompuServe (Dec 16, 1998) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* (4/5)
bbarrett at johndelenn.com
bbarrett at johndelenn.com
Thu Dec 17 01:32:39 EST 1998
[ Continued from previous section -- BB ]
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
Continue at your own risk.
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THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL IS THE COPYRIGHT OF THE
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Note that JMS has expressed his public permission
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[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #53141-#Sleeping In Light
Sb: #53155-#Objects in Plain Sight
Sb: #53386-#Hugo?
Sb: #53457-#SIL - Babylon 5
Sb: #53458-SIL - Babylon 5
Sb: #53474-<SiL> - ship
Sb: #53486-#SiL:Pakh'mara singers
Sb: #53690-#SiL:Pakh'mara singers
Sb: #54237-SiL:Pakh'mara singers
Sb: #53814-#B5 franchise?
Sb: #53399-#SiL
Sb: #53601-#SiL
Sb: #53927-#SiL
#: 53141 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
27-Nov-98 10:58:02
Sb: #Sleeping In Light
Fm: DAVE VINCENT
More elegy than story but a nice ending none the less. It was nice to see
that Garibaldi turned out to have a good life. Vir also seems to have found
happiness. And Steven has turned into the spitting image of his dad,
Firestorm Franklin. I was saddened to see Susan had not found happiness, for
of all the characters, she is the one I liked most. Ah well, as someone has
pointed out, she may be constitutionally unable to be happy.
One minor question:
Why was the station destroyed? A hazard to navigation? Why? Unless Epsilon
3 had become a hot tourist spot or something took the station's place, it
seemed to me that once B5's purpose went away, the traffic would dry up.
Perhaps the Great Machine is seeing a lot of business. And why wouldn't it
be kept as a permanent museum? A lot of history happened there. I suspect
that along with Sheridan, it too needed to disappear into myth so the
mundaneness of it wouldn't wipe away the legend.
This has been some really fine story telling. Thanks, Joe. I will really
miss it.
Regards,
Dave
#: 53369 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
30-Nov-98 00:06:11
Sb: #53141-#Sleeping In Light
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Remember how much money and maintainance it would take to keep a 5 mile
long station running. They could barely do it when there was a lot of tourism
and business coming through; absent that, it's unviable, and you don't just
want to leave it there for folks to come in and take over.
jms
[ Summary: Saw the Hugo in Ivanova's office and asks if that was a
shot glass that Garibaldi picked up from the Zocalo. ]
#: 53363 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
29-Nov-98 23:24:05
Sb: #53155-#Objects in Plain Sight
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Wasn't much else hid...few have noticed the Hugo so far...and yeah, that
was a shot glass...just playing the irony of his finding it.
jms
[ Summary: Asks if the award shown in Ivanova's office was the first Hugo. ]
#: 53396 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
30-Nov-98 12:29:00
Sb: #53386-#Hugo?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yeah, that was our first Hugo...just sorta slipped it in with Ivanova's
other awards. It was kind of a nod back to our fans...and I think the first
time that a Hugo has been shown on-screen in a series that has *won* a Hugo.
jms
#: 53458 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
01-Dec-98 02:29:04
Sb: #SIL - Babylon 5
Fm: BRUCE SCANDARIATO
JMS,
if you don't mind my asking a question about SIL.
Since SIL was filmed in season 4, was there anything that you would have
changed had you known ahead of time that B5 was renewed for season 5 with
respect to Ivanova and Lochley and others?
I know you would not have changed the ending, it was in a way, perfect.
Nice cameo as the station technician who powered down the station
#: 53572 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
02-Dec-98 15:32:01
Sb: #53458-SIL - Babylon 5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
I had the option to change stuff if I'd been so inclined...but felt it
was right as it was.
jms
[ Summary: "JMS, the ship that Sheridan took, is that the new
Earth/Minbari ship? is it still a White Star?" ]
#: 53573 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
02-Dec-98 15:32:02
Sb: #53474-<SiL> - ship
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
It's a smaller, personal version of a White Star.
jms
[ Summary: (See below.) ]
#: 53574 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
02-Dec-98 15:32:02
Sb: #53486-#SiL:Pakh'mara singers
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yeah...everybody figured the pak'ma'ra were just a waste...which is why
this seemed so right.
And yes again...SiL was untouched since I finished my producer's edit at
the end of year 4. No need.
jms
#: 53690 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
03-Dec-98 15:29:09
Sb: #53574-#SiL:Pakh'mara singers
Fm: GRAHAM SMITH
>>Yeah...everybody figured the pak'ma'ra were just a waste...which is why this
seemed so right.<<
That was a really nice touch. Typical of you to think up something that
special.
But, was that the same thing Sheridan heard during his "momement of beauty?"
Inquiring minds want to know <g>
--Graham
#: 53759 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
03-Dec-98 21:11:10
Sb: #53690-#SiL:Pakh'mara singers
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, that was something else.
jms
#: 54237 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
08-Dec-98 22:10:02
Sb: #53574-#SiL:Pakh'mara singers
Fm: RAY PELZER
Y'know, one of the things about SiL having been done a year ago just caught
me:
In StarTrek, or StarWars, or most any other popular SF material, a finale of
this magnitude would be (and has been) leaked to the public well in advance of
airing. I think B5 has managed another first - the synopsis of the finale
was, for the most part, left un-spoiled by those in the know for over a YEAR
while we enjoyed the series.
And if it WAS leaked to anyone, the RECIPIENTS of that information were polite
enough to keep it to themselves.
No mean feat, that.
#: 54241 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
08-Dec-98 23:13:01
Sb: #54237-SiL:Pakh'mara singers
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
My sense was that in general, most folks didn't want to know, they just
wanted it to happen as it happened.
jms
[ Summary: "some people are saying B5 has become a franchise, because
now we have to read the novels, buy the comics, catch the TV movies
and follow the spin-off in order to have the complete story, not
to mention trading cards, models, software etc." ]
#: 53821 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
04-Dec-98 13:42:14
Sb: #53814-#B5 franchise?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
They're nitwits.
Look...first off, nobody *has* to buy anything. If you want to learn
more about the characters after the duration of the show, and you want to buy
the novels or whatever, fine, you have that option. But you didn't have to
buy them to enjoy the series...and I'm working hard to make sure you don't
even have to have watched the series to enjoy the novels.
There are two fundamental choices here, given that fans want more stuff
in the B5 universe. Either you do novels that have nothing to do with
anything, or you make them canon. Fans wanted the books canonical, as do I.
That's the point of a coherent, consistent, sustained universe.
The Psi Corps novels, for instance, track Bester's life from birth to
death, and the development of the Corps. Is that essential reading to follow
any of the B5 episodes? No. Is it cool if you want to learn more about it
and enrich the experience? Yes. So where here is the problem?
Look...some folks have always looked for an excuse to rag on this show,
so they could bug me and anybody who likes the show. First it was that B5
couldn't possibly be as good as Trek because there wasn't any merchandise; now
there's merchandise and they say now THAT means it can't be good.
If you never bought a single book or outside material, you could still
enjoy the series. None of it is required. So the complaint is unjustified
and silly.
Should we not give fans of the show a chance to acquire more info about
the B5 universe and characters because a few folks complain that it's a
franchise? Nonsense. The problem is theirs, nobody else's.
jms
#: 53399 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
30-Nov-98 13:16:07
Sb: #SiL
Fm: KOSLOSKY
JMS,
We LOVED SiL, BUT, my newly converted office mate fans of B5 asked me to query
you regarding this ep - why did you leave SO many questions unanswered?
The Drak and Centari Prime?
Londo?
Lyta?
Bester and the Psi Corps?
G'Kar?
Garibaldi and Bester?
B5's seemingly needless and useless destruction?
Sheridan's son - we guess he survived the Drak and their intended keeper?
We could go on but you get the point. Are we to assume we'll never know the
answers to any of these questions?
Respectfully,
Bob
#: 53447 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
30-Nov-98 22:46:06
Sb: #53399-#SiL
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The Drak and Centari Prime?
Vir is Emperor now. Londo asked Sheridan to free his people; we can
assume he did this...but we will also be showing this in the Centauri Prime
trilogy of books in more detail.
Londo?
We saw Londo's fate in War Without End Part 2.
Lyta?
The telepath crisis and events surrounding it will provide a lot of the
background to Crusade.
Bester and the Psi Corps?
Ditto.
G'Kar?
We saw his fate in WWE2 also.
Garibaldi and Bester?
This will be covered in the Psi Corps trilogy, of which volume 1 is out
now, and volume 2 is in my hands for editing.
B5's seemingly needless and useless destruction?
Neither needless nor useless. It was built cheapest of all the
stations, and it takes a lot of money to maintain it. With trade routes now
going around it, there isn't enough income to support it. So do you leave it
intact, for others to occupy or raid for weapons systems and other systems too
difficult to yank out? Or take it out, the same way we implode buildings now?
Sheridan's son - we guess he survived the Drak and their intended keeper?
This will also be covered in the Centauri Prime trilogy...but if you sit
back you can do some of the work to figure out a large part of this. As Londo
states, his situation in WWE2 (Sheridan and Delenn captured on Centauri Prime)
takes place 18 years after the events in 2260, which would put it at 2278.
The urn, given to Sheridan in 2262, is supposed to be given to the heir at the
occasion of his/her 16th birthday, by Centauri tradition.
That would put the urn presentation at...ding!...2278.
In 2278, Sheridan and Delenn have been drawn to Centauri Prime. We know
their son is involved, because Delenn says "David is safe." So they were
somehow able to save him, because we know that in 2281, David is alive and
well and serving in the Rangers (SiL).
You can see the shape of the events there...once again the clues are
more or less in plain sight...but again, this will be drawn out in the books
in more detail.
jms
[ Summary: (See below.) ]
#: 53754 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
03-Dec-98 21:11:08
Sb: #53601-#SiL
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
All three of the Psi Corps books are by J. Gregory Keyes, from a jms
outline.
jms
[ Summary: Couldn't they have moved B5 to where the people were? ]
#: 53965 S5/Seas. 5 SPOILERS
05-Dec-98 22:11:01
Sb: #53927-#SiL
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
You couldn't tow something as massive as a 5 mile long station like this
through hyperspace; it'd tear apart.
jms
[ Continued in next section -- BB ]
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