BAB012.TXT 
--- 
From: Lee_Whiteside-P14942@email.mot.com 
Date: 4 Jan 93 16:34:45 GMT 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: A Few tidbits from GEnie and such 
 
A few things to pass on from GEnie: 
  
The sat feed for Babylon 5 looks like it will be the weekend of Feb 13,14. 
The person who got the ST: Deep Space Nine sat feed info should have the 
details in the next few days (he works at a station that carries both shows). 
  
With all the articles about ST:DS9, Babylon 5 has been getting mentioned, 
although a couple have mentioned B5 as a knockoff of ST:DS9 (including 
Newsweek).  If you spot any of these in a local paper, post the details 
including the writer and the newspaper and we'll pass the info along to Joe. 
  
At one creation con this past weekend, the MC commented that B5 was only a 
TV movie and that the Warner Bros. network was dead and that they were 
shopping the show around for other buyers.  Joe has been notified of the 
details and will most likely be talking to Creation today... 
  
At a different con (in Chicago, I think), Creation showed the E! Behind the 
Scenes show on B5 and the audience booed at the end.  It's unknown if they 
were booing at Scott Baio (don't blame them) or if they thought B5 was a 
rip-off of Deep Space Nine.  In any case, it appears that there may be some 
problems convincing people that the show is worth watching. 
  
In my local paper (Phoenix), the TV columnist did a major article on the new 
SF TV shows and was only given a promo (not sure which one) on B5 from the 
local station.  He did get to see the movie and one episode of Time Trax and 
gave it a favorable review.  I plan to make sure he has more info on Babylon 5 
and maybe get some mention of the fan network that has started up. 
--- 
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 06:21:17 MST 
From: dnadams@nyx.cs.du.edu (Dean Adams) 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: Re: creation con 
 
Lee_Whiteside-P14942@email.mot.com writes: 
 >The sat feed for Babylon 5 looks like it will be the weekend of Feb 13,14. 
 >The person who got the ST: Deep Space Nine sat feed info should have the 
 >details in the next few days (he works at a station that carries both shows). 
Great! 
  
 >At a different con (in Chicago, I think), Creation showed the E! Behind the 
 >Scenes show on B5 and the audience booed at the end.  It's unknown if they 
 >were booing at Scott Baio (don't blame them) or if they thought B5 was a 
 >rip-off of Deep Space Nine.   
 
I have a *strong* feeling it was due to the incredibly pathetic and  
obnoxious "I want my Babylon 5" which that jerk spewed out at the end. 
That almost made me hurl...  Booing him is the least they could do! 
 
 >In any case, it appears that there may be some problems  
 >convincing people that the show is worth watching. 
 
That seems awfully hard to believe.  I would think that Behind The Scenes  
episode (sans baio) should be more than enough convincing for most people.   
Even just the PTEN B5 promo package looks fantastic... 
 
 
BTW, does *ANYONE* have ANY files of JMS postings from the last few months?? 
The latest i've seen is the September batch at the archive site.  The show  
will be out in about five more weeks, and there has practically been NO  
relaying of JMS' notes here.  I for one would like to read what he has had 
to say during October, November, December, etc...  For some reason I thought 
those posts were going to be forwarded to this list on a regular basis, but 
obviously that is not the case.  Any sort of archive file would be worth 
seeing at this point.  There must be a LOT of catching up to do for those 
of us that would like to read his "daily" commentary... 
--- 
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 09:40:25 MST 
From: jacque@niwot.scd.ucar.edu (Jacque Marshall) 
Message-Id: <9301051640.AA25104@niwot.scd.ucar.EDU> 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: Scott Baio, Gracie? 
 
I don't know if I've missed something, but while I've seen various 
passing (and somewhat disparaging) references to this Scott Baio 
person--I don't seeing recall any comments describing exactly what 
it was he *did*. Anybody care to enlighten me? 
--- 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
From: techy@iastate.edu 
Subject: Re: Scott Baio, Gracie? 
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 93 10:48:46 CST 
>  
> I don't know if I've missed something, but while I've seen various 
> passing (and somewhat disparaging) references to this Scott Baio 
> person--I don't seeing recall any comments describing exactly what 
> it was he *did*. Anybody care to enlighten me? 
>  
Scott Baio hosted (rather badly) the Behind The Scenes E! special on 
B5.   He is most famous for his role of Chachi on Happy Days and 
Joanie Loves Chachi, as well as Charles on Charles in Charge. 
 
--- 
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 11:06:47 -0800 
From: chris@univrs.decnet.lockheed.com 
To: "b5@iastate.edu"@eagle.decnet.lockheed.com 
Subject: Newsweek article 
 
  I have yet to pick up Newsweek to read the article.  However, if he truly 
stated that B5 is a copycat/imitation/rip-off of DS9, I am planning 
on writing a letter to the Newsweek editor indicating that the author of the 
article should know that JMS already publicly stated (in TV Guide) that 
the B5 story treatment came first (many years ago), that it is typical but 
disappointing that the writer would "assume" that B5 would copy DS9 since 
the "Star Trek" name is so well known and B5/JMS isn't, and that the author 
should be looking at the shows objectively as different, complementary, and  
both excellent science fiction. 
 
  Does anybody think writing such a letter would be a mistake, or have 
any comments? 
 
  Unfortunately, letters to the editor will not undo much of any damage that 
was caused since some small letter in the letters section (assuming it gets 
published :-) will not counteract a large feature article.  But it may get 
the few readers that see it to take a second look at B5. 
--- 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: Re: Scott Baio, Gracie?  
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 1993 10:37:25 PST 
From: Michael P Urban <urban@cobra.jpl.nasa.gov> 
 
Your message dated: Tue, 05 Jan 1993 10:48:46 PST 
 
> Scott Baio hosted (rather badly) the Behind The Scenes E! special on 
> B5... 
 
Yes, but surely nobody supposes that the poor guy thought up any of 
that cutesy garbage that he said?  If you did, perhaps he did quite a 
good job after all, since that job is to say his lines in a way that 
appears spontaneous and informal.  Has anyone taken note of the 
writing credit for the Behind the Scenes B5 show? _That_ is where the 
booing should have taken place (cute chatty aliens, for Ghu's sake...) 
--- 
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 11:13:48 -0800 
From: chris@univrs.decnet.lockheed.com 
To: "b5@iastate.edu"@eagle.decnet.lockheed.com 
Subject: P.S. on Newsweek article 
 
  I think in my letter I will steer clear of any implication that DS9 actually 
copied B5, because I don't think this is the case, but I do want to point out 
that it was unfair for the writer to automatically assume that B5 copied DS9 
instead of, more appropriately, seeing the shows as 
having similar plotlines but NOT being copies of each other, rather being 
complementary and different.  Since JMS -publicly- (in TV Guide) stated that 
the B5 storyline came first and was looked at by Paramount years ago, I don't 
feel it hurts to mention this without physically stating that this implies 
DS9 actually copied from B5.  Eh, maybe I could use some help with wording. 
 
  This whole similarity/copycat issue is really sticky and gross and I'm 
sorry it keeps coming up. 
--- 
 From: Lee_Whiteside-P14942@email.mot.com 
Date: 5 Jan 93 22:43:03 GMT 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: Re: Newsweek Article 
 
From comments on GEnie, several people have already written letters to 
Newsweek, including JMS, who was not pleased with that comment.  He's also 
been notified of a couple of local newspaper writers who made the same 
inaccurate assumption. 
--- 
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 22:30:57 -0800 
From: Jonathan Roy <ninja@halcyon.halcyon.com> 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: DOwnlink, and Joe's recent posts 
 
Here's the downlink info, and some of Joe's more interesting 
posts from the last 2 days. Hope you enjoy them. 
 
-- 
 
Category 18,  Topic 1 
Message 682       Tue Jan 05, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:35 EST 
  
     RE: cliffhangers...not between episodes, certainly.  Between seasons, 
it's...hard to explain.  There are, or will be *changes* that happen from one 
season to another (as planned), specific events that take place that should 
bring one up short...but "cliffhanger" in the sense of leaving some guy 
hanging from a string over a lake of fire...no, no plans for such at this 
time. 
  
     RE: kids...boy, that one sure hit a nerve on both sides, didn't it?   
That's good.  An argument like this is what a show or story should do, get 
people discussing the issues. 
  
     Meanwhile, on other areas.... 
  
                             ****WOW**** 
  
     I was in the editing bay today during the pre-dub of B5 (which I'll 
explain more , which btw has a nifty huge projection screen, twelve or fifteen 
feet across, so I got to see some of the show as if at a theater...plays 
pretty well. 
  
     Anyway...what a pre-dub is, is this: those who saw the earlier version of 
the pilot will remember, for instance, the scenes in the main corridor of the 
station (well, one of them, anyway).  You have Sinclair and Garibaldi talking. 
It's an un-mixed scene...just as filmed, there are just two guys talking.  All 
the rest of the set is silent. 
  
     But now...NOW...you're in the editing bay, and now you add in the 
background voices, human and alien...mechanical sounds nearby...an intercom 
voice advertising station services...then layer in the music, and suddenly 
it's a MOVIE!  Someone said that sound is half of a movie, and you forget that 
until it hits you in the face. 
  
     The pre-dub is where you layer in the voice tracks (original, from the 
production; adr (automatic dialogue replacement) for lines that were not 
sufficiently audible or need to be looped; incidental dialogue  (computers, 
background characters) and walla (general crowd sounds).  You decide how much 
of any of these is too much, how much more you need, what the balance is...if 
you need to use the surround capability to put this voice HERE or THERE.... 
  
     Then we previewed some scenes with music, and did a little of the same 
there (we'll do more during the final mix Thursday through Tuesday).   For 
instance...most music cues are anywhere from a few seconds long to maybe a 
minute or more.  Ours tend to be longish...the longest is a cue that lasts 7.5 
minutes, and goes inside the station, outside the station, to different 
*parts* of the station, and the music continues throughout.  We figured that 
we needed to better differentiate the sound inside vs. outside the 
station...so in the music cue, we drop the electric guitar out of the mix for 
the inside scenes, and put it back in for the outside scenes, for instance. 
  
     The result, basically, being that it becomes a *M*O*V*I*E* for the first 
time.  And boy, it cooks, lemme tell you.  There are moments of absolute and 
inutterable self-doubt in a project like this, especially when paired with the 
monumental press machine from elsewhere which is doing everything possible to 
bury us in the interests of preserving an economic monopoly and critics who 
figure we're a clone of another show.   But then you turn around and see 
something like this, and you know it's going to work...and it really helps.   
  
                                                                   jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 3 
Message 407       Tue Jan 05, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:53 EST 
  
     Basically, I think that there should be something on-screen if there 
NEEDS to be something on-screen.  For instance, in both Sinclair's quaters and 
the briefing room, you'll see monitors on the wall in BG and later used for 
important stuff.  (That should be quarters, not quaters, which is what you 
find on the moon.)  When not *actively in use* they display only the B5 logo, 
sort of a carrier wave.  When a signal comes in from local, you get the BabCom 
logo, then the signal.  When a signal comes in from a ship, or the computer 
provides information, you go right from the B5 symbol straight to the display. 
When it's over, you go back to the static symbol until it's needed again. 
  
     The only real exceptions to this are a) the consoles in the observation 
dome, which are going at all times to monitor incoming and outgoing ships, and 
b) displays in the business areas which show the internal B5 Newscast and 
commercials. 
  
                                                                jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 4 
Message 406       Mon Jan 04, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:36 EST 
  
     The amount of contact required varies according to the telepath's 
strength.  Lyta at P5 needs a little help.  A P10 could nail you from across 
the room. 
  
     And I want to have some fun with the commercial funding aspects of 
B5...ads, gov't support, commercials, all that stuff.  That's an issue that I 
feel really needs to be addressed...who pays for this neat stuff? And what 
happens when the money runs out? 
  
                                                              jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 4 
Message 418       Tue Jan 05, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:41 EST 
  
     Yes, we'll definitely see them in their civvies, and there will be a 
range of entertainment possibilities, including TV (again, there are shots of 
an internal newscast on B5, and commercials as well).  Thee's -- er, there's -- 
one little thing that I'm gonna do the first episode or so to establish that 
that's so off-beat and (one hopes) funny that I'm sure you'll like it.  If 
only I can get Warners to release the footage.... 
  
                                                            jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 8 
Message 97        Mon Jan 04, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:39 EST 
  
     That'll probably be decided by forces wiser than I.  And just FYI, all 
the PTEN shows are given 22 episode committments per season. 
  
                                                       jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 8 
Message 102       Tue Jan 05, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 02:56 EST 
  
     That's simply a standard unit of measure.  Some series do more than 22, 
but those are more rthe MURDseasons generally ran 22 episodes.   
  
     22 x 3 seasons is 66, which is enough for long-term syndication, if 
barely. 
  
     And there won't be a Joe Jr.  One doesn't go through a vasectomy for lack 
of anything better to do on a Friday night.... 
  
                                                                   jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 8 
Message 106       Tue Jan 05, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:45 EST 
  
     Nope, B5 is shot right here in LA County. 
  
     It helps that my Spousal Overunit is also a writer, and understands what 
it means when I come out, eyes like poached eggs, staggering toward the coffee 
pot, mumbling, "Deadlines...deadlines...."   
  
                                                                   jms 
--- 
From: Lee_Whiteside-P14942@email.mot.com 
Date: 6 Jan 93 15:11:08 GMT 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: Sat Feed Info and other stuff 
 
Here's the info I also posted to the net (includes Time Trax and weekly DS9 as 
well for those who need it). 
  
  
 SATELLITE FEED INFORMATION FOR TIME TRAX AND BABYLON 5 
 ------------------------------------------------------------- 
  
Time Trax: 
  
 Pilot Movie Feeds:  Wed Jan 13 1993    2:30 Am -  4:30 Am  EST 
                     Fri Jan 15 1993   10:30 Pm - 12:30 Am  EST 
  
 Weekly Series Feed: Starting January 26th 
  
                     Tuesday           11:00 Pm - 12:00 Am  EST 
                     Wednesday          6:00 Am -  7:00 Am  EST 
  
 Babylon 5 feeds:    Sat Feb 13 1993   12:00 noon- 2:30 pm EST 
                     Sun Feb 14 1993   12:00 noon- 2:30 pm EST 
  
  
 All feeds are coming from T301/2v/Ch 3 
  
 Audio is 5.8 left, 6.2 right, 6.8 mono on all feeds. 
  
  
  
  
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine weekly sat feed info 
  
Weekly feeds (starting Jan 9) will be: 
Saturday         10:00 am to 11:00 am EST  T301/5V 
                  4:00 pm to  5:00 pm EST  T301/5V 
Sunday            4:00 pm to  5:00 pm EST  T301/5V 
  
  
NOTES: 
T301 is Telestar 301 
2V is 2 Vertical and corresponds to Transponder 3 
5V is 5 Vertical and corresponds to Transponder 9 (the same one ST:TNG is on) 
10V is 10 Vertical and corresponds to Transponder 19 
  
  
  
As for posts by Joe on GEnie, I'm working on it.  As an example, capturing all 
of the posts by Joe from early November (right after the GEnie SFRT reorg) to 
early December ended up with about 150K!  I've also been digging out my files 
of his posts from earlier in the year and when I get them up on the ftp site, 
I'll let everyone know. 
--- 
From: Lee_Whiteside-P14942@email.mot.com 
Date: 6 Jan 93 19:17:29 GMT 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: New text files at ftp site, etc. 
 
OK, I got some more text files of JMS posts organized and put into the 
/incoming directory at ftp.hyperion.com (192.65.216.1). 
  
Following is a list of the message compilation files with the new ones 
noted with an "*". 
  
gejmsfeb.txt* - posts from Feb 11, 1992 - Mar  5, 1992 
gejmsmar.txt* - posts from Mar  8, 1992 - Apr  8, 1992 
gejmsjun.txt* - posts from May 26, 1992 - Jul 02, 1992 
gejmsjul.txt  - posts from Jul  5, 1992 - Jul 31, 1992 
gejmsaug.txt  - posts from Aug  1, 1992 - Aug 17, 1992 
gejmssep.txt  - posts from Aug 31, 1992 - Oct  1, 1992 
gejmsnov.txt* - posts from Nov  5, 1992 - Dec  6, 1992 
  
  
Also, I can't remember if this has been mentioned, but the second 
B5 newsletter has been sent to the printers and should be getting 
mailed within the next week or so. 
--- 
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 07:34:08 MST 
From: dnadams@nyx.cs.du.edu (Dean Adams) 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: Re: posts 
 
 
Lee_Whiteside-P14942@email.mot.com writes: 
 >As for posts by Joe on GEnie, I'm working on it.  As an example, capturing  
 >all of the posts by Joe from early November (right after the GEnie SFRT  
 >reorg) to early December ended up with about 150K!   
 
Wow!   Sounds good... 
 
 >OK, I got some more text files of JMS posts organized and put into the 
 >/incoming directory at ftp.hyperion.com (192.65.216.1). 
 
Great!  Thanks!! 
--- 
From: Lee_Whiteside-P14942@email.mot.com 
Date: 7 Jan 93 15:18:32 GMT 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: GEnie message archives 
 
One problem with making the message archives from GEnie available elsewhere is 
that GEnie holds the compilation copyright for messages posted on GEnie, while 
each individual user also has copyright on their messages.  In the case of the 
message archives, they contain posts by everyone and it probably isn't legal 
to make them available elsewhere.  However, JMS has given permission for his 
messages to be "reprinted", which is why the compilation of Joe's messages 
only CAN be made available elsewhere.  I've managed to capture almost all of 
his messages (slowly getting them all organize) in separate files (using the 
"author =" search capability.  Unfortunately, I was not able to do that for 
most of the messages in October since they archived almost all of them before 
turning the Babylon 5 topic into a Babylon 5 category.  I did track down most 
of my other archive files so in the next day or two, I should have the files 
at the FTP site of almost all messages Joe has left on GEnie in the last 
14 months. 
--- 
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 08:46:53 -0800 
From: Jonathan Roy <ninja@halcyon.halcyon.com> 
To: Lee_Whiteside-P14942@email.mot.com, b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: Re:  GEnie message archives 
 
 
I don't consider copyright violation to be a significant 
factor in reposting the message to the FTP site. All those 
GIF pictures in Pictures/ violate Warner's Brothers copyrights, 
which is why GEnie won't allow them added to the SFRT file 
library. For the ones that are scanned, they also 
violate the agreement between Warners and the magazine to use 
that picture. 
 
Since there are so many GIF's up there, I didn't think anyone would 
mind the text archives as well. 
--- 
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 20:58:39 MST 
From: dnadams@nyx.cs.du.edu (Dean Adams) 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: PTEN 
 
 
Warner at this moment is running an advanced screening preview 
feed for Time Trax.  I missed the beginning, but it must be 
the pilot movie.  Hopefully they will be doing the same for 
Babylon 5 *ASAP*!! 
--- 
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 22:16:36 -0800 
From: Jonathan Roy <ninja@halcyon.halcyon.com> 
To: b5@iastate.edu 
Subject: Recent stuff 
 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 1 
Message 732       Fri Jan 08, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:46 EST 
  
     Aquila...let me try this again, since you may have missed it in other 
postings.  Our current situation is ironic in that it has nothing really to do 
with our show, but rather with the network. 
  
     The chronology, and our situation, is simple. 
  
     1) November 1991: Time Trax, Kung Fu and B5 contend among each other for 
the first night of programming on the new network.  There are ONLY TWO SLOTS 
AVAILABLE, two hours.  B5 and TT have the inside track, but there's a question 
as to whether or not B5 can be done for TV *at all* given what we were 
promising (a huge saga, state of the art EFX, a large cast, that sort of 
thing).  So we have to answer that question by making a pilot.  The other two 
shows go into series production at that time. 
  
     2) They start filming episodes in August, about the same time we start 
the pilot. 
  
     3) We finish the pilot (barring our current last phase of post 
production).  Warners LOVES the show.  The stations, which have always been 
big on the show, WANT the show.  Warners tries to convince the local stations 
to open up a second night of programming, with B5 as the anchor.  The stations 
love the idea...but don't want to open up a second night until they get the 
ratings on ALL THE SHOWS.  Not just B5.  If all the shows are big hits, then 
they open the second night with Bt as the anchor.  If one doesn't perform, 
then B5 becomes the replacement. 
  
     Point being...and I can't stress this enough...there is no -- repeat, NO - 
- problem with Warners or the stations in terms of confidence or anything 
else.  They're chomping at the bit to go with it.  The only problem is that 
their "box" in which to put programs currently can only fit two one-hour 
shows.  Either they take one out, or get another box, but they can't give us a 
go until one or the other  happens.  It's not like a big network that has 7 
days of programming a week and can just drop in a show wherever it wants...or 
a straight-ahead syndicated show.  This is part of a new network, and is 
dependent upon the internal workings of  that network.  Which is fine by me, 
it's just the way things are just now. 
  
     Does that address your question? 
  
                                                                   jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 1 
Message 745       Fri Jan 08, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:43 EST 
  
     Ninety percent of the stations taking the PTEN lineup have news from 10- 
11, so that only leaves 8-10 for programs.   
  
     The deal is that the stations and Warners pay 50/50, as I understand it 
from the trades, for the shows, and I don't think Warners would want to set 
the precedent of paying 100% for any given number of shows.  And because 
they're 50/50 partners, it would be politically inappropriate for one arm to 
unilaterally order X-episodes of anything.  As for the rest, there are options 
on top of options, all in our favor. 
  
     Re: post production timing and budget...we budgeted plenty of time and 
money for post production.  When the sound folks came back and asked for an 
additional day, just so we can be sure we have time for whatever little 
corrections are required by then, that wasn't a problem.  As it is, we'll be 
delivering the show next Thursday to Warners, and it won't even go out on the 
satellite to the stations for a full month, and doesn't air for nearly six 
weeks from the time of completion, so we're WELL ahead of schedule in that 
respect.  They only actually needed the show 4 weeks ahead for 
screening/reviewer purposes; we extended that by two full weeks. 
  
     Another busy day in post today...but it's coming together well.  We have 
basically just two more acts to finish, and will probably give all of Monday 
to one of them, since it's massively complex.  (Usually you can do at least 
two or three acts in a day.)   
  
     BTW, and totally aside...I finally saw the tape of my last MURDER, SHE 
WROTE episode, and it actually came out quite well, minus one or two very 
minor glitches.  It airs Sunday.  (And there's a bonus to the Captain Power 
fans contained in the name of one of the characters....) 
  
                                                                jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 2 
Message 441       Thu Jan 07, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:01 EST 
  
     I can't remember when I was last this tired.  (Well, that's a lie, it was 
during the last 2 days of filming on B5, but the former made for a better 
opening line.) 
  
     After getting zero sleep (nervous with anticipation, running the pilot 
through my head over and over again to prepare for today), I went in with a 
number of the production people today on the first day of the final 
sound/dialogue/music mix.  Ten straight hours, one half-hour break during 
which we ate at the mixing tables.  Trying different combinations, re-showing 
scenes with slight modifications, over and over and over, until your eyes -- 
focused for 10 hours on the same focal distance, blinking against bright 
lights so you can make notes -- start to melt out of your sockets.  And there 
are three more days to go of this.... 
  
     But man, this thing is really coming together.  It's exciting to watch it 
happen.  To the question about music...the music in this thing is just 
terrific...dynamic, evocative, moody, exciting...and while it took me a while 
to get it into my head (as with the theme from the Equalizer, which has 
similar resonances), the theme definitely stays with you. 
  
     Along wund editors, Stewart Copeland came by, as well as various of the 
film editors, the cameraman, others...and Richard Compton, our director, was 
also at the helm for the whole ten hours, as was our line producer John 
Copeland (no relation).  People just wanted to come by and see it. 
  
     It's gonna be a hoot, ladies and gentlemen.... 
  
                                                                 jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 8 
Message 120       Thu Jan 07, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:10 EST 
  
     The series standard opening will be a variation on Londo's narration at 
the top of the pilot. 
  
                                                               jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 8 
Message 122       Fri Jan 08, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:43 EST 
  
     Yeah, Londo seems like the *least* likely person to do the opening 
narration for a show like this; you don't even see him for nearly two full 
acts, and it's the kind of thing you'd expect the Commander to do. 
  
     But there are reasons for everything.... 
  
                                                                    jms 
---------- 
Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 11 
Message 271       Thu Jan 07, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:12 EST 
  
     I've lost all track of how much time I spend on BBSs; two-three hours a 
day here, plus 1-2 per day on CIS, and then other services.  I'm on several 
where I don't post messages, and the folks there engaged in SF-TV discussions 
don't know I'm looking over their shoulder. 
  
     Why?  Because if people know you're there, they tend to speak more 
politely about you, and your projects.  They're free to be brutally 
honest...and lemme tell you, it brings one up short sometimes.  But I think 
that's both good and essential.  Sort of a control group approach...see what 
the opinion is like of folks who don't have direct access, and only hear stuff 
second-hand. 
  
                                                                 jms 
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Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 11 
Message 274       Fri Jan 08, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 00:45 EST 
  
     Yes, GEnie is still my first choice.  You'll note I didn't call the 
locale for B5 Central Interstellar System or anything dopey like that; only 
referring to it (in bible now, eventually in script) as Grid Epsilon (GE).  I 
post only a few messages there per week; this is home. 
  
                                                                 jms 
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Second SF&F RT 
Category 18,  Topic 13 
Message 103       Fri Jan 08, 1993 
STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:54 EST 
  
     I'm still hammering down the rules on hyperspace...what can and can't be 
done.  My first thought was that they travel blind, but given that it's 
heavily traveled, I realized after a while that you'd *have* to be able to see 
your surroundings in order to avoid collisions. 
  
     The point you raise is quite conceivable. 
  
                                                               jms 
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