JMS CIS Digest: 12-Apr-00 04:10 through 12-Apr-00 04:16 (24 msgs)
John D. Hardin
J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
12-Apr-00 04:10 through 12-Apr-00 04:16 (24 messages)
WARNING: This digest may contain information about shows
you haven't seen yet ("spoilers"). Proceed with caution.
Subjects in digest:
Rising Stars Debuts 7/28
NASFIC schedule
RISING STARS #2 OUT
B5 Bible/Treatment!
Rising Stars 4 is out
transitions
Final Reckoning
B5 Crew Jackets Here
B5/Crusade Keyrings?
Columbia House Videos
B5 on home video
Unauthorized books?
Administrivia:
South Park fans may wish to visit:
http://www.infinicorp.com/babylonpark/
The digest will continue to be produced. Thanks
for all your kind words.
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: 12 Apr 2000 04:10:03 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: Rising Stars Debuts 7/28
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
For those keeping track...the first issue of RISING STARS hits
comics stores this Thursday.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
69524 on 28-Jul-1999 06:31 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:10:03 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: NASFIC schedule
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
Just an FYI to let folks know that my apperance at NASFIC in
Anaheim has been moved from Sunday to Saturday (tomorrow) at 1:00 p.m.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
70873 on 28-Aug-1999 01:21 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:10:04 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: RISING STARS #2 OUT
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
As an FYI to those who've been waiting, RISING STARS #2 makes
its appearance this week at a comics store near you. It's a good one,
concerning invulnerability, what it *really* would mean, what good or
bad results would come of living with it...and the mystery of how you
kill someone who can't be killed.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
71638 on 29-Sep-1999 22:48 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:10:04 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: B5 Bible/Treatment!
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
Also posted to the net:
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... Delenn
was a male...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.
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
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72436 on 10-Nov-1999 05:18 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:10:05 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: Rising Stars 4 is out
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
Just as an FYI, this past Thursday the fourth issue of Rising Stars
came out. It's kind of a fun issue.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
73696 on 11-Jan-2000 07:43 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:11:03 -0700
From: Richard M Perry <76461...@compuserve.com>
To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
Subject: transitions
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
I was just visiting thestation.com two weeks ago and saw your
note to the fans... first let me say that no other fan club has ever
treated me in the way that this one has; heck, no other club has
treated me that well period. I am proud to say I truly belonged there.
I was there at the beginning and felt I got my money's worth with just
the welcome kit, let alone the next year free due to your feeling that
it wasn't living up to expectations. A year later I gladly handed over
the new membership fee and was pleasently suprised to find that the
welcome kit was better the second time around. Also with the renewal
went an order for a couple hundred dollars more in merchandise from
the club and it was delivered promptly in exellent quality. All fan
clubs should be this good.
The newsletters, Headline News and Universe Today, were very
well done and I enjoyed reading them. Their only fault was that by the
time they were delivered even the headline news was slightly outdated,
but then with such a small staff that wasn't entirely unexpected.
(especially when you consider the tremendous presence B5 news has on
the nets) Besides, every other fan club I ever paid dues to, (please
note the deliberate absence of the word "belonged") even though they
had a larger staff or mainstream availability of their publications,
has always had outdated material without the word of mouth from the
creators, writers, and producers on the nets that B5 has had since the
beginning. What I did get though, was great behind the scenes stuff
written by people who not only have access to that area to report on
it, but by people who have the same enthusiasm for those goings on as I
do because they themselves, like the creator, came from the fans. This
aspect of the club will be sorely missed as well.
I also wanted to voice my opinion, that though I do agree with
you that the Fan Club is trapped in a moment of transition, I can't
quite come to terms with the moment of revelation that follows it.
On the one hand I understand that the dynamics of all things
B5 have changed in such a way that continuing to produce the
publications in their current form just wouldn't be cost effective
enough to keep everyone happy, much less get the club into the black.
On the other hand, from the beginning B5 has been about
building communities and that is something that the fan club has done.
I take that back, it didn't build the community, the show itself and
its fans did that; but what the club did was provide a center for that
community to gather around and a means to identify eachother through
the wearing of apparrel only available through the club. The club also
provides a way to get into contact with the various people affiliated
with all things B5. For these things alone, the club should not be
allowed to go silently into that good night.
This moment of transition, as I understand it, is largely due
monetary concerns. Concern that the club will never be in the black
while doing what it set out to do. I feel, and maybe I'm alone in this,
that the club has already done what it set out to and all that remains
is to get it out of the red.
Obviously, as you stated, there isn't really anything going on
to sustain the club in it's current form and there is no longer a need
for the club publications. By all means, end that aspect of the club,
but don't end the club. Take my membership fee and instead of sending
me a new welcome kit, just send the renewal pin. (maybe something with
the year on it that is sent to all current members, in good standing,
at a predetermined date each year) You could still send the welcome kit
to the new members upon joining and still be cutting costs. Heck you
could even charge $25/yr for the renewal and I wouldn't care. I mean I
pay that every month to an ISP for unlimited use and I don't get
anything really tangible out of it. I also pay $10 a month to
CompuServe to be here for 10 hours a month and use maybe 3. I wouldn't
pay either of them any amount of money to show my support or enthusiasm
for what they represent but I have done and will continue to do it for
B5 and its fan club.
Keep the website, or maybe expand it; I'd love to have and e-
mail address at like rmp...@thestation.com, how cool would that be?
I've loved having access to the Gold Channel as a member exclusive and
I'd like that to continue and for others to have that available to them
as well. It would be nice for all those people just discovering the
show to be able to participate on this sort of level. I even remember a
point where several people offered to help finance the production of
their favorite show every year as "news" of it's impending
"cancellation" came each spring. Knowing that once the fan club goes
down the path of sorrow, it will be that much harder to get it started
again (to say nothing of the cost) I'm sure these same people would
gladly pay to keep some sort of membership around as well as the
merchandising side of the club. As a friend once said about
merchandising, "I'll do it as long as I feel I can keep the tail from
wagging the dog." I feel that taking the membership side away from the
club, while still providing merchandise is, in some way, a step in that
direction. (of the tail wagging the dog)
I wonder how the member discount will work if there isn't a
formal membership? I mean I see club merchandise for sale all the time
at conventions and that pretty much kills the exclusivisity of the
merchandise. I buy from the club for two major reasons, no middle-man
so all my money goes to those responsible for the merchandise; and I
get a discount through the club so I can rest assured that I'm not
getting ripped off. (not that the regular prices are high, but dealers
are buying this stuff and charging alot more at the cons for it, I like
to see that I paid $15 for a hat they want $20+ for)
"The future is all around us, in moments of transition,
waiting to be born in moments of revelation... no one knows what shape
that future might take, all we know is that it will always be born in
pain." How much pain are we willing to suffer? B5 is done, Crusade is
in it's own moment of transition, and movies are waiting for the end of
Star Wars; are we willing to essentially end the fan club or do we try
to change it into something different. I don't know about anyone else
but I don't want the B5 fan club to turn into the B5 price club or the
B5 department store. Neither of those things provide a sense of
belonging, though they do provide a type of membership.
I give to the CBLDF because it is something I believe in and
though I donate $20 (usually more like 40) and get an $8 shirt I don't
mind because I also have a way to publicly show my support for them as
well as help them financially. I get comments about the shirts every
time I wear them and likewise I get comments about my B5 stuff, mostly
from people who don't know where to get the stuff for themselves. I
tell these people to join the club for the stuff and some other cool
stuff only available through them. I would like to continue with that
practice. I want to stand between the darkness and the light. Mostly I
want for others to be able to have the chance to truly belong
somewhere.
This is our club too , Joe. You have given us a voice in
everything else thus far, so how about giving us a voice in what the
fan club should move toward in this transition. Give the people who
wanted to finance the show the opportunity to keep their club. Give us
a chance to give to you, in some small measure what you have given to
us. You've been more than fair to us by giving us quality over quantity
and extending memberships that didn't need extending, now it's our
turn. Let us put our money where our mouths are to keep this thing
moving forward rather than toward oblivion.
May the Light shine forever, Rich
P.S. What, did you forget that we told you "yes" in response to your
question: "Will you follow me into fire... into darkness... into
death?"
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
71332 on 14-Sep-1999 18:10 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:11:03 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: Richard M Perry <76461...@compuserve.com>
Subject: transitions
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
I appreciate all of that...at the same time, however, what you
suggest would mean, in a sense, taking advantage of the fans to some
extent, charging for not getting much, and a) I can't do that, and b) I
think the majority, however attached to the show, would not want that
situation.
In time, if we can get the thing into the black, we will
certainly revisit the structure of the thing and see what can be done
at that time.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
71337 on 14-Sep-1999 22:31 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:11:03 -0700
From: (blocked)
To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
Subject: transitions
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
Joe,
I can't access thestation, it crashes my system quite reliably. Do
these messages mean that you're disbanding the Fan Club? I was going
to write a renewal check today.
Anne
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
71355 on 15-Sep-1999 11:26 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:11:03 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: transitions
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
To a certain degree...the forthcoming Universe Today will have
all the info.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
71398 on 16-Sep-1999 23:10 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:01 -0700
From: Graham Smith <7401...@compuserve.com>
To: Bob Ingria <70373...@compuserve.com>
Subject: Final Reckoning
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
> In 'Sleeping in Light' Garibaldi tells Franklin that he and Sheridan
> have had their differences, which is an odd thing to say given what
> we've seen of their relationship during the series.
SiL was written and filmed before Season 5 and would have been the
final episode of Season 4 had Season 5 not happened. In that light,
this comment more likely refers to the problems they had in Season 4
than any as-yet-untold problems.
--Graham
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72114 on 18-Oct-1999 21:36 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:01 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: Graham Smith <7401...@compuserve.com>
Subject: Final Reckoning
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
"SiL was written and filmed before Season 5 and would have been the
final episode of Season 4 had Season 5 not happened. In that light,
this comment more likely refers to the problems they had in Season 4
than any as-yet-untold problems."
Except of course that Garibaldi's whole future arc was known to
me; whether or not there was a S5, his future was his future.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72134 on 19-Oct-1999 21:22 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:01 -0700
From: Bob Ingria <70373...@compuserve.com>
To: Graham Smith <7401...@compuserve.com>
Subject: Final Reckoning
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
>
> You're proposing that JMS decided to project a transient, and
> externally imposed, disturbance between Garibaldi and Sheridan into
> SiL.
Quite the opposite. My point is that things between Garibaldi and
Sheridan got *extremely* strained by during season 4. That more than
adequately accounts for the comments in SiL.
>>>
Not to me; the falling out is too transient and besides it's not
Garibaldi's fault. Hell, by 'Rising Star', Sheridan is virtually
boasting to Bester about Garibaldi's eventual revenge on Bester, hardly
the actions of somebody who's carrying a grudge. And hardly something
to be remembered so pointedly 20 years later.
> Whereas you seemed to be suggesting that events that had not yet
> happened when SiL was filmed - possibly even events not covered by
> Season 5 - were responsible for the comments.
>
Except that you're forgetting, as JMS already pointed out, that JMS
knew what was going to happen between Garibaldi and Sheridan, whether
it was filmed before SiL or not, or whether it was or would be
dramatized in the series at any time at all.
There are innumerable (well, a denumerable infinity) of details that
either alluded to or were foreshadowings of 'events that had not yet
happened when [the episode] was filmed' throughout Babylon 5's run.
(For example, Sheridan's return from the dead at Z'Ha'Dum is alluded to
several times; e.g. in 'Messages from Earth', when Ivanova tells
Sheridan 'You look pretty good for a dead man'; or 'Ceremonies of Light
and Dark' when Sheridan asks the C and C staff: 'Haven't you ever seen
somebody who's been reborn?')
By the way, I note that SiL clearly does refer to 'events that had not
yet happened when SiL was filmed '. For example, there's Lennier's
death. (Remember that Lennier is toasted as one of the 'absent friends,
in memory still bright'.) Franklin being the head of Xenobiology back
on earth. Garibaldi being head of Edgar's Industries (although this is
implicit in 'Rising Stars'). The whole point is: it's twenty years
later and lots of things will have happened that we won't have, and
couldn't possibly have, seen.
-30- Bob ('Joe') Ingria As always, at a slight angle to the universe
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72139 on 20-Oct-1999 01:44 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:01 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: Bob Ingria <70373...@compuserve.com>
Subject: Final Reckoning
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
"By the way, I note that SiL clearly does refer to 'events that had
not yet happened when SiL was filmed '. For example, there's Lennier's
death. (Remember that Lennier is toasted as one of the 'absent friends,
in memory still bright'.) Franklin being the head of Xenobiology back
on earth. Garibaldi being head of Edgar's Industries (although this is
implicit in 'Rising Stars')."
Exactly so. Franklin's situation even predates any thought at
all about Crusade as a series.
Garibaldi's death (a much quieter passing than he would have
imagined waiting for him), Franklin's final fate on a distant,
unexplored planet, Delenn's final journey (a quest involving Valen,
though no one else around her believes it), Lennier's sacrifice...it's
all mapped out, on the theory that whether or not it ever gets used,
*I* had to know it.
(Incidentally...in a coming issue of the B5 magazine, there is a
canonical timeline that covers the history of the B5 universe from the
Big Bang to a million years in the future...and it's really nifty to
see the whole thing laid out like that, to realize that, sonuvagun, it
really does work. I commend it to everyone in the highest possible
terms.)
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72156 on 21-Oct-1999 03:12 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:02 -0700
From: Bob Ingria <70373...@compuserve.com>
To: John Bendel <7344...@compuserve.com>
Subject: Final Reckoning
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
>
I wonder how many people would have believed him unless he allowed
himself to be scanned. And then, no one would believe a teep anyway.
>>>
I believe that teep's (everybody's?) DNA is on file, so a DNA test
could have been done to confirm the claim. Not that Bester would have
wanted this, of course; he was quite happy with the irony.
(Incidentally, I wonder if this is a plot gap. Given that genetic
information about teeps is on file, and given that all teeps were
supposed to register with PsiCorps when Bester was discovered as a
foundling, it would be natural for the Corps to do a genetic test on
Bester, and foundlings in general, to see if their bloodline was known.
Otherwise unregistered teeps might slip through PsiCorps' net, either
by accident or design.)
-30- Bob Ingria As always, at a slight angle to the universe
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72164 on 21-Oct-1999 17:41 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:02 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: Bob Ingria <70373...@compuserve.com>
Subject: Final Reckoning
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
Except, of course, that as I recall (and my memory could be off
here), Bester's parents were never part of the Corps, and thus would
not have had their DNA on file there.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72198 on 23-Oct-1999 23:53 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:14 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: All
Subject: B5 Crew Jackets Here
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
Pitchman mode on:
One of the main questions I get at conventions, when I show up
flying the colors, is "Where can I get that jacket?" As those've
who've been there will attest, my answer has always been, "You can't.
They're only for cast and crew."
So there've been a lot of requests for this particular item over
the years...so for this month only, www.thestation.com will be offering
a limited number (about 200) of B5 jackets. These are essentially
identical to the other crew jackets, same material, same manufacturer,
same detailed logo embroidered on the back. It's a *nice* jacket (and
available for a hell of a lot less than the $500-1000 some of them have
been sold for in the past on ebay and convention auctions).
But they're going to go fast. Same as with the Gathering
script, which was only available in September, and is now off market.
(The next one for sale, this month only, is the script for Midnight on
the Firing Line.)
Pitchman mode off.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
71809 on 06-Oct-1999 00:55 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:14 -0700
From: Neil S. Turkenkopf <10266...@compuserve.com>
To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5/Crusade Keyrings?
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
Hi Joe :-)
Sorry to bother you with trivialities & trinkets,but I was wondering
if there are any *official* keyrings/keychains on the horizon? I'm
asking you here,because I saw some earlier online at either "Another
Universe" or the "Sci-Fi Channel Store",can't remember which.
I actually went there searching for Rising Stars #2, and was surprised
to find them on the list. One was all pewter,and the other had a
(ceramic?) photo of some kind on it.
Other than a Minbari Fighting Pike,I've always wanted an Official
KeyThing as something B5 to carry around with me 24/7 <g> Anxious to
hear your thoughts on this...
Neil |™D
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72041 on 14-Oct-1999 20:34 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:14 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: Neil S. Turkenkopf <10266...@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5/Crusade Keyrings?
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
I don't *think* they're official, but I can't be 100% sure.
Certainly they never came through for approval, which makes me think
they're not official.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72058 on 15-Oct-1999 02:45 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:14 -0700
From: Andrew S. Troth <74663...@compuserve.com>
To: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5/Crusade Keyrings?
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
> I don't *think* they're official, but I can't be 100% sure.
> Certainly they never came through for approval, which makes me think
> they're not official.
Really? I've got three B5 keychains in stock, all purchased through
Diamond Comic Distributors within the last two years.
One is all pewter, has the B5 logo on the front and an etched drawing
of the station on the back, accompanied by the words "Earth's Last,
Best Hope". It comes attached to a bit of cardboard bearing the B5 logo
and a shot of the station floating in space. At the bottom is a logo
reading "Creation Entertainment" and a copyright notice: "Babylon 5 TM
& C 1998 Warner Bros."
The other two are pewter with some sort of color appliquÇ on the
front. One is the Sigma Squadron Insignia, the other the Centauri
Emperor Insignia. Each has the following imprinted on the back: "TM & C
1998 Warner Bros. Rawcliffe Authorized User Made in U.S.A."
If these are not legitimately licensed products, please let me know so
that I can remove them from sale and go scream at my Diamond rep.
cheers,
Andrew Troth The Mind's Eye Comics Eagan, MN
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72073 on 15-Oct-1999 21:37 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:15:14 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: Andrew S. Troth <74663...@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5/Crusade Keyrings?
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
The B5 keychains are legit; the question was in regards to
Crusade keychains.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72075 on 16-Oct-1999 00:03 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:16:00 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: Bernard Dowdy <7655...@compuserve.com>
Subject: Columbia House Videos
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
I don't have any direct knowledge of this, only what other fans
have conveyed, which is that for whatever bizarre reason, CH doesn't
"have access" to those episodes. I don't know or understand why that
would be.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72311 on 30-Oct-1999 21:59 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:16:00 -0700
From: (blocked)
To: JMS <71016...@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 on home video
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
Dave's Laser in Studio City hosted its annual "studio day", where reps
from the studios, the DVD and laser industries and "jess plain folks"
can mingle last week. Peter M. Bracke of "The DVD File.com" covered
the event, and here is his report on the status of "B5":
"...no definitive word on Babylon 5 still. It is "under
consideration", as is the use of any widescreen transfers."
So much for DVDs in the States in the first quarter of 2000.
BTW, you once mentioned widescreen releases in the U.K., but were
unsure if they would be DVD or VHS. WB has released a boxed set of all
five TV movies including 4 "widescreen" releases, but it turns out that
only two of them are truly widescreen transfers ("Thirdspace" and "A
Call to Arms.") "In the Beginning" and "River of Souls" are merely the
4:3 frame cropped down to 1.77:1 (or thereabouts.) So they are missing
material at the top and bottom, and add nothing to the sides. (You can
see actual screen caps comparing the widescreen and standard releases
at http://www.paul.harper.net/widescreen/index.htm)
It appears to me from these screen images that you shot "B5" on
Super35 using the "common topline" method of simultaneously framing for
4:3 and widescreen. If this is the case than the new VHS versions of
"ItB" and "RoS" are WORSE than full-frame version since they actually
crop NECESSARY information from the top of the picture while adding
nothing to the sides.
Does anyone at WB know what they're doing? Who is in charge over
there?
Any comments or insights would be appreciated.
Regards,
Joe (Who is starting to think the Time-Warner business plan was written
by Kafka.)
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72647 on 23-Nov-1999 05:04 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:16:00 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 on home video
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
I'm astouned that they would do that to the two movies...there
was no reason to do so unless they just didn't want to spend the
additonal money on two more transfers. I'm afraid the ways of WB
utterly defy explanation....
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
72676 on 25-Nov-1999 06:36 GMT
------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 2000 04:16:00 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016...@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Unauthorized books?
Message-ID: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
References: <forum.bab...@compuserve.com>
I think that unauthorized books fall into a grey area; on the
one hand, they're exploiting a known commodity (a show) but none of the
creative people involved with the project actually benefit from the
book; that's sort of the bottom-feeder aspect to the thing...on the
other hand, an unauthorized book can sometimes (but may not always) be
more objective in telling the story of a given show. I've generally
tried to make sure that anything associated with B5 is more than just
fluff; the B5 magazine is probably the best example of this, and
they've shown both the warts and the good stuff, and have in fact
published any number of very critical articles and reviews of episodes
(teeth-grindingly so, in some cases, but I let it go through on
principle).
The Lane books fall into the "may not always be more objective"
category stated above, especially the second one, in which the author,
feeling that the series didn't go the way *he* would've wanted it to
go, totally distorts situations and events to underscore his theme,
even at the expense of honest reporting. The whole book is, frankly,
skewed and even fans have considered it mainly a personal
attack/fannish venting than a book about the show...it's about the
author's frustrated desires and not about the show at all, in the final
analysis. There's a lot of incorrect information in the book, which
in an authorized book could have been caught, but here there was no
safeguard against misinformation and personal opinion disguised as
fact.
jms
This Message was originally posted to the Babylon 5 Forum as number
73261 on 22-Dec-1999 06:29 GMT
------------------------------
End of JMS CIS Digest 12-Apr-00 04:10 through 12-Apr-00 04:16
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