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Babylon 5 Shadow Vessel Resin Model Kit B5

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Carl N. Hoff

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Jun 28, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/28/00
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Hello,

Did anybody else see this auction while it was up on eBay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=366136356

It was a 2 foot wide resin kit of a B5 Shadow ship. It was by far the
best one I've seen yet. The seller was offering to email more pictures
of this kit to anyone that asked, but before I could get the sellers
contact
info the auction disappeared. Did anyone else catch who it was, or have

any more info on this kit? I saved the two pictures that were up at the

auction if anyone wants to see them, just email me.

Regards,
Carl

Jms at B5

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Jun 28, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/28/00
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I should probably point out that this is, of course, a totally unlicensed and
not authorized pirate item, and though these keep being advertised as "one of a
kind," more such "one of a kinds" keep popping up on ebay....

jms

(jms...@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
(all message content (c) 2000 by
synthetic worlds, ltd., permission
to reprint specifically denied to
SFX Magazine)

Carl N. Hoff

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Jun 29, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/29/00
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Thanks for the reply. I was guessing this was the case and I even assumed
that that is why eBay deleted the auction. I wasn't interested in supporting
an unlicensed/unauthorized product, but I did think it looked nice and would
have emailed the seller for any other pictures he had, had the auction not
been deleted. I don't know if you saw this particular auction or not but
it did look nice, much better then the many other "one of a kind" Shadow
ships. I think it was also twice the size of most of the others that I've seen
on eBay. If you're interested in the pictures that were used at the auction
itself, I'll be happy to email them to you. I've even heard of an unlicensed/
unauthorized Starfurry resin kit that ended up on the show itself and there
is a rumor that its now in your possession so I guess there might be an interest.

This leads me to a question, not so much for my benefit, but maybe for those
that are actually making these kits. I understand why they are getting made
and why they sometimes sell for incredibly high prices on eBay. The simple
answer is there is a market for them, and that's just a testament to the fabulous
job you did with Babylon 5. You can get all sorts of Star Wars and
Star Trek model kits, but many of the Babylon 5 ships just aren't available.
If one of these guys (or gals) that has made the molds for one of these resin
kits wanted to get it licensed/authorized what should he (she) do? If you could
spell out the steps it would certainly be something that I'd forward to the
sellers of some of these kits that I see on eBay.

Again please don't take the above to say that I'd support any unlicensed/
unauthorized product. I know you and WB sure deserve your share, and
wouldn't do anything to cheat you out of it, but I do like to collect pictures
of some of these products that I sure wish existed. I must admit that I
think it'd be cool to have a Shadow Ship setting up on my book case, but
I'm happy to wait for an authorized one. I'm sure my pocket book would
be happy too.

Regards,
Carl

P.S. A while back I posted an email to say thank you for posting the
Crusade scripts up at Bookface. And I also asked if you'd ever
consider putting your "V" script up there as well. I know you
posted the first act of it long ago, and many have been longing
to see the rest of it since. Did you see that post? Is there anything
currently going on with that script, or is there a reason why you
wouldn't want to (or can't) put it up at Bookface? Just curious.

Jms at B5

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Jun 29, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/29/00
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>If one of these guys (or gals) that has made the molds for one of these resin
>kits wanted to get it licensed/authorized what should he (she) do?

It's been my experience that most don't want to, because that means letting go
of a percentage of their profits.

That aside...WB tends to make deals with larger companies, like factory-x (the
nifty massive pewter B5 stations available at factory-x.com), not individuals.

Iain Rae

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Jun 29, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/29/00
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Oh hell you just had to do that didn't you , just when I'd about got the
credit card paid off.

Does anyone know if there are any UK retailers for these guy's?


--
Iain Rae
Computing Officer
Dept. Civil & Offshore Engineering
Heriot-Watt University


Canis D.

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Jun 29, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/29/00
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"Iain Rae" <ia...@civ.hw.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:395BCDE1...@civ.hw.ac.uk...
If you're interested in somewhat smaller models, there is always the B5 Wars
line and the Fleet Action line. http://www.agentsofgaming.com/ Detail seems
decent, even on the little Fleet Action minis. Maybe they don't have the
dramatic impact of a larger model, but then they don't have the dramatic
financial impact of a larger model! Unless of course, you go and buy whole
fleets of the darn things.....

David Briedis

Carl N. Hoff

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Jun 30, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/30/00
to
Wow! Two replies from JMS in a week. Thank you, I truly appreciate the time
you take to answer our questions. Also thanks for pointing out the factory-x.com
site, I see they even have the Excalibur ship coming soon. I'll be saving up for
that
one.

Back to the "V" script question, (I really hope I'm not beating a dead horse).
Can you say anything about it at all? If you'd rather not put it at bookface.com
or if there is a reason why you can't, I'm sure we'll understand. I'm just
puzzled
by the complete silence on the subject.

Well, I did some searching in the archives and found this:

>Date: 5 Jan 1997 02:45:31 -0500
>Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: V script on-line
>
>I won't post the whole script, because I'm considering what can be done
>with it yet, including the possibility of getting WB to authorize a
>novelization, which would be the very last official chapter in the V
>story.
>
>jms

Has anything gone forward on this novelization? I guess as far as I know
it may already be out there.

To anyone, is there anyone else out there that remembers reading the first three
acts of this? For all the others (I hope this is ok, I see JMS once gave his
permission to repost it) I was able to find a link to it on the web. Here it
is: enjoy....

http://sflovers.rutgers.edu/Reference/fandom/fiction/v-rebirth.txt

Regards,
Carl

Chris Schumacher

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Jun 30, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/30/00
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What I want to know is why the Visitors have suddenly developed a
complete lack of interest in sucking the water out of Earth and
harvesting humans as food. I'm HOPING that this is just something that
the first three acts didn't get around to, but they (the first three
acts) present a view of the Visitors which is completely at odds with
what has come bnefore.

Sorry, JMS...

-==Kensu==-


Jms at B5

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Jul 1, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/1/00
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Sorry, Kensu...I don't buy it, and didn't buy it in the show.

You mean to tell me this is a highly advanced space faring civilization, and
they can't figure out how to mine asteroids for ice, and how to synthesize food
or find it in some more reasonable fashion than coming *this* far, dropping
into a gravity well, setting up an occupation...all this because they can't
decide where to go for lunch?

It's utterly and totally illogical.

So I came up with another approach...one which was consistent with the series
-- yes, they do eat humans, yes they do drink water -- but that's a *secondary*
thing to the REAL reason they were here, a reason they kept secret...because if
you're involved in a major mission, something with a hell of a lot more at
stake than dinner...you still need supply lines.

Pål Are Nordal

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Jul 1, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/1/00
to
Jms at B5 wrote:
>
> So I came up with another approach...one which was consistent with the series
> -- yes, they do eat humans, yes they do drink water -- but that's a *secondary*
> thing to the REAL reason they were here, a reason they kept secret...because if
> you're involved in a major mission, something with a hell of a lot more at
> stake than dinner...you still need supply lines.

Joe, you realize that you're teasing us with something that you'll
probably never expand on.

You're a very bad person.

--
Donate free food with a simple click: http://www.thehungersite.com/

Pål Are Nordal
a_b...@bigfoot.com


Chris Schumacher

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Jul 1, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/1/00
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On 1 Jul 2000 18:18:51 -0600, jms...@aol.com (Jms at B5) wrote:

>Sorry, Kensu...I don't buy it, and didn't buy it in the show.
>You mean to tell me this is a highly advanced space faring civilization, and
>they can't figure out how to mine asteroids for ice, and how to synthesize food
>or find it in some more reasonable fashion than coming *this* far, dropping
>into a gravity well, setting up an occupation...all this because they can't
>decide where to go for lunch?
>It's utterly and totally illogical.

>So I came up with another approach...one which was consistent with the series
>-- yes, they do eat humans, yes they do drink water -- but that's a *secondary*
>thing to the REAL reason they were here, a reason they kept secret...because if
>you're involved in a major mission, something with a hell of a lot more at
>stake than dinner...you still need supply lines.

> jms

Sorry about that, I sounded like a dick in that original post.

Considering what happened in the rest of the mini-series, I suppose
this would've come up right around the time the (spoilder deleted)
arrived. But there's still something I don't get:
Why did the Fifth Columnists think that is all there was to it? Did
they know what was really going on, and make it up to get the Earthers
to sympathasize with them, or did the 5Cs themselves not know what was
going on?
As for it being illogical. I mean, yeah, but what do you do if your
write a sequel to War Of The Worlds, make it so that the aliens
weren't martians and weren't killed by the viruses/bacteria?
(Hmm.....)

-==Kensu==-


Chris Schumacher

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Jul 1, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/1/00
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On 1 Jul 2000 18:26:15 -0600, =?iso-8859-1?Q?P=E5l?= Are Nordal

<a_b...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>Joe, you realize that you're teasing us with something that you'll
>probably never expand on.=20

>
>You're a very bad person.
>

If you've read the Starlog article, you already know what he's talking
about. Remember the VERY last scene of the original miniseries?

'course, we never did find out how it all ended, sort of like Captain
Power. I assume they eventually drove them off Earth, or made peace...

Hmm.... Who knows?

-==Kensu==-


Pål Are Nordal

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Jul 3, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/3/00
to

[ Contains spoilers ]

Chris Schumacher wrote:
>
> On 1 Jul 2000 18:26:15 -0600, Pål Are Nordal


> <a_b...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> >Joe, you realize that you're teasing us with something that you'll
> >probably never expand on.=20
> >
> >You're a very bad person.
>
> If you've read the Starlog article,

Nope. Only the script snippet.

> you already know what he's talking
> about. Remember the VERY last scene of the original miniseries?

I'm afraid not. I was quite young when I saw it so I don't remember much
of the details.

> 'course, we never did find out how it all ended, sort of like Captain
> Power. I assume they eventually drove them off Earth, or made peace...

Hmmm. I seem to recall the miniseries ending with the resistance
releasing a poison and driving all the lizards off Earth.

Though, as I understand it, a (horrid) TV series picked up from there
with the poison being ineffective in some parts of the world or some
such, and it was from those events jms continued.

J. Potts

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Jul 3, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/3/00
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Chris Schumacher wrote:
> 'course, we never did find out how it all ended, sort of like Captain
> Power. I assume they eventually drove them off Earth, or made peace...

In article <3960DBC6...@bigfoot.com>,


Are Nordal <a_b...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>Hmmm. I seem to recall the miniseries ending with the resistance
>releasing a poison and driving all the lizards off Earth.
>
>Though, as I understand it, a (horrid) TV series picked up from there
>with the poison being ineffective in some parts of the world or some
>such, and it was from those events jms continued.

I think (I'm having to go by faint recollections of the time) that the
deal was that the anti-alien-agent had to have a dormant period in order
to continue. In order for it to go dormant, it had to get really cold
so in areas like LA, which don't get that cold, the stuff wore off and
wasn't "renewed" thus allowing the aliens to be able walk about unharmed
even without the counter agent.

--
JRP
"How many slime-trailing, sleepless, slimy, slobbering things do you know
that will *run and hide* from your Eveready?"
--Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson


Gharlane of Eddore

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Jul 3, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/3/00
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On 1 Jul 2000 18:26:15 -0600, P=E5l Are Nordal

<a_b...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
> Joe, you realize that you're teasing us with something that you'll
> probably never expand on.
>
> You're a very bad person.
>

Chris Schumacher wrote:
>
> If you've read the Starlog article, -------------
>


In <3960DBC6...@bigfoot.com> a_b...@bigfoot.com writes:
>
> Nope. Only the script snippet.
>

Chris Schumacher wrote:
>
> ------------- you already know what he's talking


> about. Remember the VERY last scene of the original miniseries?
>


In <3960DBC6...@bigfoot.com> a_b...@bigfoot.com writes:
>
> I'm afraid not. I was quite young when I saw it so I don't
> remember much of the details.
>


You lucky, lucky, LUCKY person....


Chris Schumacher wrote:
>
> 'course, we never did find out how it all ended, sort of like Captain
> Power. I assume they eventually drove them off Earth, or made peace...
>


In <3960DBC6...@bigfoot.com> a_b...@bigfoot.com writes:
>
> Hmmm. I seem to recall the miniseries ending with the resistance
> releasing a poison and driving all the lizards off Earth.
>

They later decided that this only affected certain special areas,
so they could have a few "free" human cities where the Visitors
couldn't go.


>
> Though, as I understand it, a (horrid) TV series picked up from there
> with the poison being ineffective in some parts of the world or some
> such, and it was from those events jms continued.
>


Right. And "horrid" doesn't even come close.

Since it wasn't SF to start with, but rather a WWII / Nazi scenario,
which Ken Johnson had been encouraged to *convert* to SkiFfy so he
could get it made... and Johnson had no idea how to format or write
in the genre..... and since the network went ape on zero notice, and
told them to fire up a series with about 2-3 weeks of lead time...
and there were no, repeat *ZERO*, scripts in the pipeline... the
result was a three-ring circus with broken rings, no ring-master,
and the clowns and tigers running amok.

It was a criminal waste of a bunch of good actors and a bunch of
good production funds, and largely painful to experience.
( I mean, look at the roster.... Faye Grant, Marc Singer, Robert
Englund, Jane Badler, Andrew Prine.... you could go on for two
paragraphs of great people. )


One of the most painful bits in the history of TV-SkiFfy was the
serious discussion between purportedly intelligent people about
how "iridium" is poisonous to dinosaurs, and how all the dinosaurs
were wiped out by the impact of a large asteroid made of iridium.

( This apparently grew out of a cursory reading of a popularized
article concerning the minutely higher percentage of iridium
in the world-wide deposition layer left after the "Dino-killer"
asteroid impacted, as described in scientific literature by
Alvarez and Alvarez.... and probably a chance viewing of a
"DOCTOR WHO" episode where someone kills CyberMen by tossing
gold dust into their ventilator grills. )

At one point, they actually tried to hire Jerry Pournelle and
Larry Niven to come produce/write the series out of trouble.

Some degree of morose hilarity ensued among the cognoscenti.

Pitzerboy

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Jul 4, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/4/00
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<<Oh hell you just had to do that didn't you , just when I'd about got the
credit card paid off.

Does anyone know if there are any UK retailers for these guy's?>>

not for sure, but since they advertised in the official B5 magazine, i would
assume so... maybe forbidden planet?
they might have links on their website too.
cp


Iain Clark

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Jul 4, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/4/00
to

"Chris Schumacher" <ke...@madison.tdsnet.com> wrote in message
news:395d113...@news.tdsnet.com...

> What I want to know is why the Visitors have suddenly developed a
> complete lack of interest in sucking the water out of Earth and
> harvesting humans as food. I'm HOPING that this is just something that
> the first three acts didn't get around to, but they (the first three
> acts) present a view of the Visitors which is completely at odds with
> what has come bnefore.

It couldn't be worse than the ongoing TV series. Or indeed, V: The Final
Conflict, which went downhill very quickly. And it didn't start that far up
the hill to begin with.

Iain

--
"Signs, portents, dreams...next thing
we'll be reading tea leaves and chicken entrails."


Jms at B5

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Jul 4, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/4/00
to
Given that the miniseries was great --

>It couldn't be worse than the ongoing TV series.

There's a reason many people referred to it as V2....

Steve Brinich

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Jul 4, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/4/00
to
"3133+ haquer d00d of "Followup-To: alt.dev.null" wrote:

> They later decided that this only affected certain special areas,
> so they could have a few "free" human cities where the Visitors
> couldn't go.

Paging Mr. Iscariot, Mr. Arnold, and Mr. Quisling....

--
Steve Brinich <ste...@Radix.Net> If the government wants us
http://www.Radix.Net/~steveb to respect the law
89B992BBE67F7B2F64FDF2EA14374C3E it should set a better example


The Nuclear Marine

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Jul 7, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/7/00
to
Jms at B5 wrote:

> Given that the miniseries was great --
>
> >It couldn't be worse than the ongoing TV series.
>
> There's a reason many people referred to it as V2....
>
> jms
>

Ah yes, V2: Electric Boogaloo.
and of course B5: Dance and Jive
and last but not least DS9: Feeling Fine

=====================================

Song Title of the Week: They're putting dimes in the hole in my head to
see the change in me.

nuke-...@home.com


Maagic

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Jul 7, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/7/00
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I'm just curious as to how come their voices all suddenly started
sounding "human" in the series...

Besides, all our water (not to mention our PEOPLE) isn't going to last
forever... they're just borrowing time in the long run. Like Donovan
said, it would have been better for them if we could have found a way to
share it. To ME it sounds pretty darn risky to travel millions of miles
to a unknown planet, land, and start munching on the inhabitants...

Jms at B5 wrote:
>
>
> Sorry, Kensu...I don't buy it, and didn't buy it in the show.
>
> You mean to tell me this is a highly advanced space faring civilization, and
> they can't figure out how to mine asteroids for ice, and how to synthesize food
> or find it in some more reasonable fashion than coming *this* far, dropping
> into a gravity well, setting up an occupation...all this because they can't
> decide where to go for lunch?
>
> It's utterly and totally illogical.
>
> So I came up with another approach...one which was consistent with the series
> -- yes, they do eat humans, yes they do drink water -- but that's a *secondary*
> thing to the REAL reason they were here, a reason they kept secret...because if
> you're involved in a major mission, something with a hell of a lot more at
> stake than dinner...you still need supply lines.
>

> jms
>
> (jms...@aol.com)
> B5 Official Fan Club at:
> http://www.thestation.com
> (all message content (c) 2000 by
> synthetic worlds, ltd., permission
> to reprint specifically denied to
> SFX Magazine)

--
-Maagic
aka Bryan Foster
Webmaster of the Rick and Bubba Experience
http://www.rickandbubba.net


Maagic

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Jul 7, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/7/00
to
Do you mean "V" or "V: The Final Battle"? Oh wait you mean the scene
where Julie and Elias are at the radio telescope and they send a signal
to the Visitor's "enemy" hoping they'll get to Earth in time but "it may
take years... but we may have to face reality that help may NEVER come"
and they go out and Elias paints the "V" on the door?

Chris Schumacher wrote:
>
> On 1 Jul 2000 18:26:15 -0600, =?iso-8859-1?Q?P=E5l?= Are Nordal


> <a_b...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> >Joe, you realize that you're teasing us with something that you'll

> >probably never expand on.=20


> >
> >You're a very bad person.
> >
>

> If you've read the Starlog article, you already know what he's talking


> about. Remember the VERY last scene of the original miniseries?
>

> 'course, we never did find out how it all ended, sort of like Captain
> Power. I assume they eventually drove them off Earth, or made peace...
>

> Hmm.... Who knows?
>
> -==Kensu==-

Maagic

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Jul 7, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/7/00
to
Yeah that's it. Also somehow they gave control of Los Angeles to Nathan
Bates (Lane Smith), head of Science Frontiers and producer/distributor
of the Red Dust (as well as the antidote). Bates ordered LA to be a
"free city" in which Visitors and humans could co-exist peacefully,
while at the same time banning all weapons from the city. What I can't
understand is, if the Red Dust wears off in certain cities, and they
have the ability to make more of it, why not just re-dust the affected
areas?

"
> I think (I'm having to go by faint recollections of the time) that the
> deal was that the anti-alien-agent had to have a dormant period in order
> to continue. In order for it to go dormant, it had to get really cold
> so in areas like LA, which don't get that cold, the stuff wore off and
> wasn't "renewed" thus allowing the aliens to be able walk about unharmed
> even without the counter agent.

--

Daniel W. Johnson

unread,
Jul 8, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/8/00
to

Maagic <ma...@cybrtyme.com> wrote:

> I'm just curious as to how come their voices all suddenly started
> sounding "human" in the series...

That's easy to figure out. Their budget dropped enough that they
couldn't post-process the voices any more. (Since the voice difference
was a plot point in the original series and the lack of a difference
became a plot point in an episode of the later series, an explanation
within the story will be difficult to find.)

--
Daniel W. Johnson
pano...@iquest.net
http://members.iquest.net/~panoptes/
039 53 36 N / 086 11 55 W
.

Andrew Swallow

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Jul 8, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/8/00
to
In article <3962C50C...@home.com>, The Nuclear Marine
<nuke-...@home.com> writes:

>Date: 7 Jul 2000 15:47:48 -0600


>
>Jms at B5 wrote:
>
>> Given that the miniseries was great --
>>
>> >It couldn't be worse than the ongoing TV series.
>>
>> There's a reason many people referred to it as V2....
>>
>> jms
>>
>
>Ah yes, V2: Electric Boogaloo.
>and of course B5: Dance and Jive
>and last but not least DS9: Feeling Fine
>

Or the V2 missiles the Germans used to bomb London.

Andrew Swallow


The Nuclear Marine

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Jul 8, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/8/00
to
Andrew Swallow wrote:

new soundbite: I shoulda had a V2

========================================

nuke


Eric

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Jul 16, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/16/00
to
Folks,

if you come across an unlicensed or pirate item on eBay, you can report
it via eBay's Community Watch:
http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ReportInfringing

thanks,

-Eric Davis
B5 Fan and eBay employee

In article <20000629002928...@ng-fj1.aol.com>,


jms...@aol.com (Jms at B5) wrote:

> I should probably point out that this is, of course, a totally
unlicensed and
> not authorized pirate item, and though these keep being advertised as
"one of a
> kind," more such "one of a kinds" keep popping up on ebay....
>

> jms
>
> (jms...@aol.com)
> B5 Official Fan Club at:
> http://www.thestation.com
> (all message content (c) 2000 by
> synthetic worlds, ltd., permission
> to reprint specifically denied to
> SFX Magazine)
>
>


Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.


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