Finally! B5 Bible/Treatment Available!

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: "Angela Hays" <hayscom at mindspring.com>
Date: 10 Nov 1999 20:07:18 -0700
Lines: 107

I went to thestation.com to see if there was any info available yet on the
B5 Bible.  Nothing yet in the main thestation.com section.  Then I went to
the Emporium section, did a search for "bible" and three items came up: 1)
the Crusade Bible, 2) the B5 Bible and 3) the B5 Bible Autographed by JMS.  

When I clicked to add either B5 Bible to my cart, it gave me the "We're
sorry, but this product is not currently available with the attributes you
selected." message.

Does this mean that it's not yet available for purchase or that it's already
sold out? 

Angela


----------
In article <19991109225552.04432.00004601 at ng-fo1.aol.com>, jmsatb5 at aol.com
(Jms at B5) wrote:


>Folkses:
>
>For the last six years, I've been asked repeatedly -- in email and at
>conventions -- "Are you ever going to make the original B5 series writers'
>bible available?"  My general reaction was to simply say...maybe someday.
>
>After considerable reflection, and as a Solstice present to B5 viewers...we're
>finally going to make it available.
>
>TWO such *its*, to be precise.
>
>First: The original Babylon 5 Series Treatment
>
>This is the 23 page document, written in September 1988, that was used to sell
>the series for the five years it took to find a buyer.  It has different
>characters than were ever seen in the show, such as Dr. Chakri Mendak (a role
>that later became Dr. Stephen Franklin) and more background on Vice-Commander
>Laurel Chang... Sinclair's background is also quite different from what we
>eventually ended up with (including the fact that he was widowed, a piece I
>pulled away from his character for the series and held for someone like
>Sheridan)....the Vorlons were warlike, squabbling aliens....
>
>This was the first attempt to put B5 down on paper, in a process that would
>change and evolve over the next 5 years.  Ideas that were never used,
>characters who would never be seen again, the first stirrings of the Minbari
>War story (including a never used alternate explanation for why they
>surrendered), Delenn was a male character... Kosh had a mate who came with him
>to B5...on and on and on.
>
>Second: The original Season One Babylon 5 Writer's Bible
>
>This massive tome weighs in at over 60 pages, with comprehensive backgrounds on
>all the characters as well as guidelines for writing SF for TV in ways that
>would be different than all of our predecessors.  It lays out the first year of
>the arc and warns potential writers away from areas we plan to explore in later
>years, has additional backgrounds on regular characters never actually used in
>the series (such as a strange fellow named Mr. Jones who would have been
>alternately a bane and ally to Garibaldi), stories that would eventually be
>filmed, other stories that would never be used, information on the the history
>and technology of the B5 universe, Psi Corps, Earthforce, the various
>governments, and other areas...this is the Big One, the Grail of the B5
>fictional world.  The table of contents alone covers 2 pages.
>
>This bible was ONLY given to prospective writers, who were in turn asked to
>keep the material totally confidential.  The treatment was ONLY given to
>network/studio. heads and others in a position to buy the series.
>
>In addition, BOTH of these documents will be peppered with the original
>illustrations by Peter Ledger used to sell and visualize the series in its
>earliest stage, including the original keyhole logo, many of them reproduced in
>full color, others b&w.  Some of these images have shown up in various places,
>but others will be seen here by the world at large for the first time.
>
>(Note: the page counts given do NOT include the pages of artwork, which expand
>the length further.)
>
>I debated long and hard about whether or not I would ever make these available,
>but finally decided to give in to the many requests for the release of this
>material.  
>
>This material will shortly be made available at www.thestation.com and via
>phone orders.  I don't know how long we'll make them available, but I suspect
>it may not be very long.  
>
>In reading through the documents, it's like taking a trip back through time to
>what was, to the very beginnings of the series, what would be, what might've
>been, what never was...what got abandoned on the side of the road, what was
>kept.  At times the material is coy, informative, deliberately misleading in a
>couple of places where I wanted to avoid leaks, rude and sometimes it actually
>makes a rough kind of sense.
>
>They're going to cost a bit more than the scripts, because at 60+ pages in the
>case of the bible, and with the color illustrations, they're more expensive to
>produce, and we're only doing a limited number of these.  
>
>Expect the full info to go up on thestation.com in a few days.
>
> jms
>
>(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
>B5 Official Fan Club at:
>http://www.thestation.com
>
>
>
>


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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 10 Nov 1999 22:13:16 -0700
Lines: 17

>When I clicked to add either B5 Bible to my cart, it gave me the "We're
>sorry, but this product is not currently available with the attributes you
>selected." message.

The info is *just now* starting to go up, so I imagine they are still adding in
the info to the system.


 jms

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




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