And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder ( *Spoilers* )

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: szdefons at dogbert.ucdavis.edu (Eric DeFonso)
Date: 16 Jun 1998 14:55:32 -0600
Lines: 89

Spoilers for And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder


























Hello JMS, longtime lurker, first-time questioner!



spoiler space, just in case....



















I had a few mostly innocuous questions about the Centauri moon
prominently featured in AAMD,TA. First, a little lead-in....

I personally liked the shot of the C' moon while the camera pans up from
the Palace cell, to see a silhouette of more departing warships against
the wan face of the dead companion world to C'. Some people were annoyed,
thinking that it looked "too much" like Earth's moon, and argued that it
was an example of laziness or lack of imagination. Of course, they don't
seem to express any annoyance that at least fully clothed, the Centauri
look a lot like humans, nor that their world looks a lot like Earth in
many respects. Nor have these people mentioned that at the very least, the
appearance of the one C' moon in AAMD,TA is at least consistent with how
it has appeared in earlier seasons.

My question is, how much effort do you (or *did* you, since everything for
B5 is already finished) put into your concept of how you wanted the
Centauri homeworld (and its moons) to appear? What was the relative amount
of differentness and sameness between C' and Earth that you wanted to
inject into the show? (There is obvious quite a bit.) Is it something that
you as a producer have had to keep a close eye on, to ensure consistency
and continuity, etc? To my untrained eye, I would guess that there is
plenty of effort behind the scenes regarding Centauri homeworld,
especially since there are so many elements in the B5 story to keep track
of. I guess that what I'm really wondering is, how intentional are the
various "surface" differences and similarities between Earth and C', and
how much "eternal vigilance" does it require on your part to keep them
implemented consistently? 


Now that my question is fully posed, it seems pretty trivial. Still, I
look forward to any answer.



Thanks!


Eric D

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 16 Jun 1998 15:26:06 -0600
Lines: 16

If some people are upset at the Centauri moon, that's a damned silly thing to
be upset about.  Most moons are too small to have any real atmosphere, so
there's nothing to keep meteors from hitting and causing craters rather than
burning up on entry.  So you're going to have pockmarks.  We made it a point to
have the patterns different than our own moon.  It's round because most
planetary bodies *are*.  And the local sun has the same basic spectral
qualities as Sol, so you're going to get similar bounce-back on the light.

An equal amount of effort goes into making that moon or a more odd one.  But
not everything has to be constantly different just to be different.  

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
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