JMS CIS Digest: 06-Aug-99 15:21 through 11-Aug-99 21:10 (23 msgs)
John D. Hardin
jhardin at wolfenet.com
Sun Aug 15 02:20:21 EDT 1999
RFC 1153 Digest of messages from
J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
06-Aug-99 15:21 through 11-Aug-99 21:10 (23 messages)
WARNING: This digest may contain information about shows
you haven't seen yet ("spoilers"). Proceed with caution.
Subjects in digest:
Crusade's Future
Rising Stars
<Racing the Night>
Crusade and WB Network
<The Memory of War>
Administrivia:
South Park fans may wish to visit:
http://www.infinicorp.com/babylonpark/
The administrivia for this digest may be read at
http://www.wolfenet.com/~jhardin/JMS-Digest-Administrivia.txt
It was last updated Sat Feb 13 10:21:30 1999
Replies to this digest go to John Hardin.
obSpoiler-space...
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Date: 06 Aug 1999 06:56:08 -0700
From: Seanchai <75754.3567 at compuserve.com>
To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Crusade's Future
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69860 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69850 at compuserve.com>
Do you think Del Rey would - would be able to - put out a series of
novels?
Seancha¡
"We may well go to the moon, but that's not very far. The greatest
distance we have to cover still lies within us." - Charles de Gaulle
------------------------------
Date: 06 Aug 1999 15:21:07 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Seanchai <75754.3567 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Crusade's Future
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69897 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69860 at compuserve.com>
Dunno....
jms
------------------------------
Date: 06 Aug 1999 23:15:00 -0700
From: Richard M Perry <76461.2737 at compuserve.com>
To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Rising Stars
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69918 at compuserve.com>
Well, it's been a while since I've had time to do this but it
feels good to be able to say that I'm back. Finally things are setting
down enough for me to return. I got my degree last March, formal
graduation was May, the MCSE course is done next week, (one test to go)
and I'm working in a field I enjoy. My star is definatly on the rise.
Speaking of which, since getting the preview issue at Megacon
last March, I have been eagerly awaiting the first issue of what looked
to be a great story. Issue #1 was very good prologue for the type of
tale I know is coming. (I don't know how you're going to tie things up
in 24 issues, but I don't doubt that you can) I had the comic shop on
alert for me since March and I'm glad they listened this time. It isn't
often they disappoint me, but it usually happens with things I make
them aware of months in advance.
Well, you should know that the first hour or so of class on
Fridays is almost totally centered on what happened this week on
Crusade. The general feeling about the show until last week was that it
was moving too slow compared to its predecessor. I find it funny how
people are comparing Crusade season one to the whole of B5 as if it
stands a snowball's chance at standing up to that. Season one to season
one they are just about even, Crusade is moving a little slower but
then it is a different story. (this week's episode changed their
opinion though)
A question from class, in the scene where we see Gideon and
Lochley heading toward the shower together, did you intentionally pick
that specific ship to dock with the station? The ship docking was
obviously placed for its subliminal value, but did you intentionally
use that ship design?
Who was Mr. Kitty? Was he your cat? If so you have my
condolences. I just recently got a dog from a local shelter (my first
dog since I was a child) and I know how I would feel after his passing.
(the same way I felt when I found out where my last dog was going when
we moved)
This week's episode was great, Gideon is quite the gambler
indeed. Odd though, that he's waiting to see in what he should place
his faith, especially taking a bet such as the Drazi proposed. Galen
was his usual comical self. I like how he explains not holding a
grudge, that was great. Too bad TNT wasn't willing to gamble on the
show in the way Gideon is on the cure.
How are things going with you? I hope you've avoided the
annual bout with bronchitis this past July, that last one was enough to
count for several years off. I've seen from the posts that you have
other things in the works besides the comic, I trust they are going
well.
Have you played the South Park or Star Wars Racer games yet? A
few of my friends and I get together every now and then to hook up our
network and play games, those two are the latest must play games for
us. When you play as Jesus and he gets hit, his comment is "You don't
want to go to hell, do you?" And when he dies... "Forgive them." It is
the most hilarious first person shooter I've played.
The Racer game is just plain coooool. What else can you say
about racing your friends at 600 MPH?
So, when is the next time you'll be in Florida? Is Top Cow
bringing you back to Megacon next March? I guess you'll be at the SD
Comicon this coming weekend, that's one show I'd love to go to if only
I had the time, now that I have the money. (Maybe next year though)
Speaking of which, have you gotten back into your comic book
habit yet? What books are you reading lately? The Batman books have
been great with the "No Man's Land" storyline and the upcoming
"Judgment Day" crossover looks promising.
Well, I gotta go build up some other communities now, a
dictator's work is never done.
May the Light shine forever, Rich Dictator of the Moon RMES
P.S. Happy B-day (belated)
------------------------------
Date: 07 Aug 1999 15:38:07 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Richard M Perry <76461.2737 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Rising Stars
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69941 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69918 at compuserve.com>
Don't know about Marcon yet; nothing's set. As for the image of
the ship docking at that particular moment...yeah, that was most
definitely deliberate. When I, er, inserted it during editing, the
editor just *looked* at me and said "you are just sick and wrong."
jms
------------------------------
Date: 07 Aug 1999 06:32:14 -0700
From: Michael Beemer <71551.1670 at compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69931 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69911 at compuserve.com>
TulsaFred,
I didn't hear it clearly myself, but I thought it was saying
something like [things changed since I last knew]. It's a BS excuse
and Gideon isn't happy with it.
Since we've already seen the box in a later shot / earlier aired
episode, we know that the box doesn't always tell the truth. It seems
Gideon is relying heavily on his luck to tell which of the box's
recommendations to follow. Then again, he said he'd deal with the
devil if that's what it took...
Mpb.
------------------------------
Date: 07 Aug 1999 15:40:06 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Michael Beemer <71551.1670 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69942 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69931 at compuserve.com>
"Things change...long time gone."
And in later instances when the box talks, it's Gideon's/Gary's
voice. You may take that as foreshadowing if you wish.
jms
------------------------------
Date: 08 Aug 1999 06:32:05 -0700
From: Graham Smith <74010.764 at compuserve.com>
To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69963 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69942 at compuserve.com>
> And in later instances when the box talks, it's Gideon's/Gary's
> voice. You may take that as foreshadowing if you wish.
I have learned that a leaf falling can sometimes be foreshadowing in
your stories <g>.
BTW, why didn't we see anything of the box in the "first" episodes?
--Graham --Graham
------------------------------
Date: 08 Aug 1999 14:51:11 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Graham Smith <74010.764 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69970 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69963 at compuserve.com>
"BTW, why didn't we see anything of the box in the "first" episodes?"
You did, in Path of Sorrows.
jms
------------------------------
Date: 08 Aug 1999 02:11:14 -0700
From: Carl Cantarella <105030.3700 at compuserve.com>
To: Michael Beemer <71551.1670 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69957 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69931 at compuserve.com>
> Since we've already seen the box in a later shot / earlier aired
> episode, we know that the box doesn't always tell the truth. It
> seems Gideon is relying heavily on his luck to tell which of the
> box's recommendations to follow. Then again, he said he'd deal with
> the devil if that's what it took...
Well, he's a gambler, and he's gambling with that box, and if
he's not careful it may blow up in more than just his own face. The
entire crew may stand to suffer as a result of his having misplaced
faith in both that box and with his own choices concerning it.
------------------------------
Date: 08 Aug 1999 15:09:12 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Carl Cantarella <105030.3700 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69974 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69957 at compuserve.com>
Also, no one else on the crew knows about the box. Well,
officially. One other person knows about it, but he's not supposed to
know. And Galen suspects something amiss from his passing comment at
the end of the ep.
jms
------------------------------
Date: 09 Aug 1999 14:41:09 -0700
From: Graham Smith <74010.764 at compuserve.com>
To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.70002 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69970 at compuserve.com>
> Q: "BTW, why didn't we see anything of the box in the "first"
> episodes?" A: You did, in Path of Sorrows.
Well, yes, I know that! <G>
But I meant that here we were with the box in the original first
episode. I'm just a bit surprised we didn't see more of it in some of
the other episodes shown to date since it would have originally been
introduced in the first episode. Does that make sense?
--Graham
------------------------------
Date: 09 Aug 1999 16:21:09 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Graham Smith <74010.764 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.70021 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.70002 at compuserve.com>
Remember, you're seeing things with the broadcast order all
kafuffled due to the TNT situation, so it would've been better layered.
jms
------------------------------
Date: 09 Aug 1999 19:57:09 -0700
From: Karen S. Hayes <112230.2454 at compuserve.com>
To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.70030 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69974 at compuserve.com>
> Also, no one else on the crew knows about the box. Well, officially.
> One other person knows about it, but he's not supposed to know. And
> Galen suspects something amiss from his passing comment at the end of
> the ep.
Do we find out who this is in the remaining four (*sniff*) episodes?
And if not, can you give us a little hint? If I had to speculate, I'd
say probably Max, because this sort of artifact is in his province. On
the other hand, Matheson could have accidentally picked up something
telepathically. On the other hand, that uses up all the "he's" doesn't
it? unless you were deliberately confusing the gender pronouns. But I
think I'd still go with Max.
Karen
------------------------------
Date: 10 Aug 1999 16:57:03 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Karen S. Hayes <112230.2454 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.70077 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.70030 at compuserve.com>
"Do we find out who this is in the remaining four (*sniff*) episodes?
And if not, can you give us a little hint?"
Nope.
jms
------------------------------
Date: 08 Aug 1999 02:09:03 -0700
From: Carl Cantarella <105030.3700 at compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69956 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69900 at compuserve.com>
> I share your enthusiasm for this episode. This is the type of story
> that pulls you in and does not let you go untill its over. JMS at
> his best. I have been generally disappointed by the show so far.
> Theis ep got my blood flowing again.
It was also so very sad in its own way because I thought it
awesome as well, and I couldn't help but start thinking of "What might
have been ..." <Sigh>
I was also surprised to learn that this was originally the
episode that was supposed to air first because I think it would have
sucked a lot of people right into the saga very quickly, and by saving
it for as long as they did they probably worsened the enthusiasm
factor.
Well, that was TNT's doing, not Joe's, though I wonder if
they would have had this episode ready to air first anyway because it
was so SFX heavy.
------------------------------
Date: 08 Aug 1999 15:09:12 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Carl Cantarella <105030.3700 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69972 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69956 at compuserve.com>
"Well, that was TNT's doing, not Joe's, though I wonder if they would
have had this episode ready to air first anyway because it was so SFX
heavy."
Racing was finished last December.
jms
------------------------------
Date: 08 Aug 1999 06:32:06 -0700
From: Graham Smith <74010.764 at compuserve.com>
To: Jim Miles > [jmiles1005]
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69964 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69958 at compuserve.com>
> It would have been very interesting to see just how desperate the
> crew of the Excalibur would have gotten 3 years down the road, and
> just who they would have walked over to find the cure.
This is a point I was making after "The Long Road". I disliked the
actions of the EA strip mining the planet at the expense of the people
living there, and liked Gideons solution to it. But it begs the
question, "How long do you keep being polite when there are billions of
lives at stake?"
The Shadows believed in evolution thru struggle. The plague is more
than just a weapon of destruction. It has the ability to start the
kind of conflicts that the Shadows were always trying to start.
That's the potential of the arc that has been set up here. As time
passes, the EA is going to be under more and more pressure to find a
cure by any means possible. That may mean by violent means at times.
This will mean conflicts between the members of the IA and even
conflicts within the EA itself.
--Graham --Graham
------------------------------
Date: 08 Aug 1999 15:09:12 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Graham Smith <74010.764 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.69973 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69964 at compuserve.com>
"I disliked the actions of the EA strip mining the planet at the
expense of the people living there, and liked Gideons solution to it.
But it begs the question, "How long do you keep being polite when there
are billions of lives at stake?"
"That's the potential of the arc that has been set up here. As time
passes, the EA is going to be under more and more pressure to find a
cure by any means possible. That may mean by violent means at times.
This will mean conflicts between the members of the IA and even
conflicts within the EA itself."
Exactly.
As Eilerson said, "Wouldn't you sacrifice a hundred Narns to
save Earth?" It was a question Gideon didn't answer.
jms
------------------------------
Date: 09 Aug 1999 16:21:10 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Chris Shepard > [chrisvshep]
Subject: Crusade and WB Network
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.70022 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69980 at compuserve.com>
"If Warner Bros. really believes in the future of Crusade, then why
don't they just save the show themselves and put it on the WB Network?"
Because there IS no one Warner Bros. It was constructed as a
series of competing and structurally independent fiefdoms...WB Domestic
TV competes with the WB Network and so on. Each division actively
competes and to a large degree won't *cooperate* with other divisions.
A network also wants its own stamp on the development process, so they
simply wouldn't take another show they didn't develop, from a competing
division.
jms
------------------------------
Date: 09 Aug 1999 19:57:10 -0700
From: Karen S. Hayes <112230.2454 at compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.70032 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.69965 at compuserve.com>
> I really loved this episode as an introduction to the series *I*
> wanted to see. Starts dark, is dark, ends dark. The dark, focused
> characterizations, and the edgy overriding tension, are a *much*
> truer follow-on to ACTA than everything else we've seen.
Agreed. And in a way, the darkest part is Gideon's flashback, when the
ambassadors, looking after their own interests as usual, force him
into this devil's bargain of abandoning his search in 4 years if he's
unsuccessful (Too bad, I used to like the Brakiri ambassador!) It
makes me wonder whether, if push came to shove and the cure hadn't been
found at the end of 4 years, Gideon would actually keep his word?
Also, JMS has hinted elsewhere that the cure might be found before the
end of the series. He's also said the show we think we're watching will
turn out not to be the show we're actually watching. Put these two
together, and I wonder greatly if, had the next few years played out,
he might have gradually uncovered some other, greater theme or conflict
that would overshadow the plague, and take over the plot for the last
year or so.
Karen
------------------------------
Date: 10 Aug 1999 17:08:10 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Karen S. Hayes <112230.2454 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Racing the Night
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.70078 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.70032 at compuserve.com>
"JMS has hinted elsewhere that the cure might be found before the end
of the series. He's also said the show we think we're watching will
turn out not to be the show we're actually watching. Put these two
together, and I wonder greatly if, had the next few years played out,
he might have gradually uncovered some other, greater theme or conflict
that would overshadow the plague, and take over the plot for the last
year or so."
If not sooner....
jms
------------------------------
Date: 11 Aug 1999 20:32:14 -0700
From: Graham Smith <74010.764 at compuserve.com>
To: ALL
Subject: The Memory of War
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.70157 at compuserve.com>
"The Memory of War" by JMS brings a level of intensity to Crusade that
is surprising for what would have originally been the second episode.
And by coming fast on the heels of "Racing the Night" as it does, it
shows what a powerful start the series might have had if the show had
aired in it's original sequence.
As was the case with "Racing", we get a chance to see Dureena doing
her thing as the thief and finder of hidden things. When Gideon told
Galen that his staff was buried and that the openings were too tight
for anyone to get thru, I knew that Dureena would find a way. And I
must admit, that as a cave explorer myself, I know how easy it is to
get dirt into every nook and cranny of your body. But the makeup
people out did themselves in dirtying up Carrie. She would do any hard
core caver proud with that layer of muck. Bravo.
And what a surprise to find that there is more techno to a Technomage
than just the name. When Galen was reluctant to let Dr. Chambers have
a look at him, I expected to see some mystic runes or something
tattooed, not cybernetic implants. But the scenes of him altering his
vision did give it away that he had something along those lines going
for him. Wow, what a great idea.
We also find out that not all Technomages are good guys. In this
case, one sold out for money and power and destroyed everyone on a
planet in the process. This leads me back to the hunch that the Shadow-
like ship seen destroying the Cerberus (Gideons old ship) may have been
a Shadow enhanced Technomage ship. I also have the strong feeling that
this hunch of mine will play a major role in things down the line
(assuming there is a down the line).
On the down side, we also saw an adverse effect of the change in
sequence -- this episode marks the development of the nano-tech shield
we already saw used in "Patterns of the Soul". Which once again makes
me think I am going to rearrange my tape sequence to put these episodes
back in their originally intended order.
--Graham
------------------------------
Date: 11 Aug 1999 21:10:04 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644 at compuserve.com>
To: Graham Smith <74010.764 at compuserve.com>
Subject: The Memory of War
Message-ID: <forum.babylon5.70160 at compuserve.com>
References: <forum.babylon5.70157 at compuserve.com>
""The Memory of War" by JMS brings a level of intensity to Crusade
that is surprising for what would have originally been the second
episode."
That's because we knew what the show was from the git-go.
Second one we shot, and we were already fully up to speed.
jms
------------------------------
End of JMS CIS Digest 06-Aug-99 15:21 through 11-Aug-99 21:10
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