JMS chat transcript
Jeffrey Gustafson
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(Special thanks to Matt Heckaman for sending me the original
transcript).
Topic for #auditorium is Chat with J. Michael Straczynski, 6/21 10:15PM
ET
<straczynski> sorry, got bumped offline just as I was logging in.
<CraigE2> Welcome Joe, thanks for coming.
<straczynski> My pleasure.
<Moderator> Welcome Joe!
<CraigE2> I think everyone knows you here, so we'll jsut get stared with
the questions:
<CraigE2> *From Sharenn* Where did you get the inspiration for the
technomages from?
<straczynski> I've long enjoyed and been fascinated by wizards, starting
with Gandalf, and figured wouldn't it be great to take that to the next
level, to look at what Clarke described as technology of sufficient
advancement that it had the appearance of magic. So why not MAKE
technology magical? Why not take the mystery of a tradition such as the
technomages would represent and make it something very cool? The
interesting thing about technomages is that everyone tends to ask them,
"How'd you do that?" When the really important question is, "WHY do you
do that?" Why is it so important to them to keep mystery and the like
alive? Because we need those things.
<Moderator> Nuke- Marine jms, besides doing the sci-documentary
interview, are there any other plans in the works by yourself to help
promote this more "available" showing of Babylon 5 on Sci-Fi?
<straczynski> I plan to hang suspended from the World Trade Center by my
outer small toes in a high wind until the press pays attention. Beyond
that, nothing that's nailed down as solid.
<Moderator> FO-mudX Q: Are you working on any new TV/Movie related
stuff? Like a new show? Or a move maybe? Or maybe nothing at all? Not
even a script?
<straczynski> I'm doing the Rising Stars books from Top Cow, which are
in the top 20 of comics, which is great...to the point that TC has
offered me my own imprint. So starting in September, the first issue of
my imprint will be out. The comic title is "Midnight Nation," and the
imprint of the title overall is JOE'S COMICS. In addition to that we're
in the process of selling the Rising Stars film rights, and there are
some TV/film related projects that are in the early stages but not yet
nailed down to a point where I can talk about them. But expect some
info in the next few weeks.
<Moderator> Crusade-Smooch JMS: Thanks for the memories. I'm one of the
thousands who are clammoring for more Crusade. What lessons did you
learn from B5 that you applied (or had planned to apply) towards the
making of Crusade?
<straczynski> I just remembered something...Craig, can I talk about the
thing with Brian, or is that still top secret?
<CraigE2> talk away, It's been announced
<straczynski> Okay...lemme answer...er...CS-JMS's question first though.
The lesson I learned from B5 was to follow my belief in what constitutes
a good show, despite any or all obstacles. I applied this toward the
making of Crusade but found that the lesson must be grounded in people
who understand and support that. So any further exercises from me will
definitely be toward a crowd more willing to let me follow the dicatates
of the story.
<straczynski> To the other point Imentioned to Craig, I've been secretly
working with Brian Smith of the SciFi Channel's scifi.com to create a
new audio drama anthology series Brian also does Seeing Ear Theater,
which is a fine and wonderful show. The new series is THE CITY OF
DREAMS, a 13 episode all original stories/scripts anthology series, for
which I'm writing all 13 episodes, all half hours which will be
available first on scifi.com starting July 10th, then later on Dove
Audio. The first episode produced is entitled "The Damned are Playing
at Godzilla's Tonight," and stars Steve Buscemi.
<CraigE2> (Seeing Ear Theatre is available at http://www.scifi.com/set)
<straczynski> Basically, my deal with Brian is that I write what I want,
total creative freedom, nobody touches my words (it even says it in that
language in the contract.) It's been a great experience.
<Moderator> DarthEvil: There have been some great books that covered the
fate of most of the B5 characters, like the Psi-Corp Trilogy and the
most recent Legions of Fire; so are they're plans for more in the
future? To cover such characters as Lyta or Captain Lockely maybe?
<straczynski> At present there are no plans for books beyond the current
roster, which includes the final installment of the Centauri trilogy
(which just came through recently and is terrific), and the technomage
trilogy, which Jeanne Cavelos is doing. Amazing Stories will be doing
some more B5 stories, however.
<Moderator> NoL As I understand it, Crusade was supose to have a five
year story arc, is there any posibility of Crusade movies to fulfill
this story arc?
<straczynski> Crusade movies? Probably not, not unless there were to be
a series upon which to launch it. A B5 movie? Perhaps at some point
down the road. But I'm in no particular rush.
<Moderator> Ribbonman: JMS, do you ever worry about falling into the
same trap as Gene Roddenberry? Being famous for 1 show?
<straczynski> I think there are two operative questions there, one being
a perception the other being the record. I've worked on a lot of shows,
and am known for a number of them from MURDER SHE WROTE to THE NEW
TWILIGHT ZONE, and others...but you're right in that, in the public eye,
B5 is (thus far at least) the one for which I'll likely be most
remembered and there, yeah, one gets into a dicey mentality. "Oh, all
I want is just this one show, and I'll be happy." Then you DO the one
show, and "All I want is to prove that this one show wasn't a fluke, so
just give me ANOTHER show so I can prove the point...."
Which is really a form of madness. How I'm considered or thought of is
really kind of out of my grasp. All I can do is to try and tell the
best stories I can, and hope for the best. If on the other hand... all
I'm ever known for is B5...I'm okay with that, 'cause it's a great show.
<Moderator> nuke-marine jms, have you found keeping the Science in
Science Fiction more difficult now that fans are expecting more
"realism" out of your futuristic tales (use of JPL was cool by the way)
<straczynski> no, not really.
<Moderator> greenlant3rn: What role did Harlan Ellison actually play (I
have never heard of the conceptual before)
<straczynski> He consulted. Meaning, when we had a question, he could
suggest stuff. The design for the shadow planet killer? His concept.
There were a number of things that we went to him on -- like the look of
the alien in Thirdspace -- where he came back with great stuff he also
served as my Jiminy Cricket, perching on my shoulder and helping me to
avoid some of the pitfalls he encountered in his own work.
<Moderator> haines: I read Demon Night not too long ago and couldn't
help but notice the battle between light and dark and other similarities
to the struggle portrayed on B5 bewtween Shadows and Vorlons. Did the
idea carry over from the novel, or is it a "message" you wish to convey?
<straczynski> I think those are universal elements, the common coin of
supernatural drama and, to a lesser extent, SF. In B5, I went all the
way back to Babylonian creation myth (hence in part the reason I titled
the show Babylon 5) which posited that the universe was born out of the
conflct between Order and Chaos, bipolar opposites. So it wasn't a
continuation of Demon Night's approach, but both do emanate from similar
cultural wellsprings.
<Moderator> foxytiger: When humans turn into "beings of light" (jason
and future humans), is that a process of evolution or genetic
manipulation? Why didn't the shadows turn into beings of light?
<straczynski> If you look at the shadows, they do tend to phase in and
out of view...they're not always substantial as you or I understand that
term. There is a certain heightened reality that somewhat supersedes
our own so I do take it as a kind of evolution past the physical to
something more profound. The *shape* of that evolution -- light or
shadows -- is something that is flexible.
<straczynski> (please god tell me she bought that)
<Moderator> Marcus: JMS, How hard is it for you to go on to other
stories/genres after being steeped in the B5 universe for so long?
<straczynski> It took some doing initially. It's the analogy of the
horse that gives rides in the park for kids, and spends years walking in
the same circle...then one day it's set free...and goes out to the
pasture...and walks in circles there was kind of a psychological hiccup
when B5 and Crusade ended, and it took me a while to really get back on
my feet again creatively. But that's always the case with TV when I was
on Murder She Wrote for 2 years, it took some adjusting to stop putting
Jessica Fletcher into Babylon 5 episodes.
<Moderator> Ribbonman: JMs, did you take
any flak from right-wing Bible bangers, after making Ivonova a bisexual?
<straczynski> Not really, no. We got very little flak from people on
various sides of various issues over the years, and here's the secret
for that:
<straczynski> We always treated every issue fairly. A religious person
might say in an email, "Thank you for showing an unpopular side, a
religious person, with compassion and understanding" They know it's not
my cup of tea, but I *respect* the other viewpoint. So when I now go in
a different direction, they look for the pen or the email to complain
then they suddenly remember, "Wait, he was fair to MY point of view when
HE doesn't agree with it, and I praised that, how can I do less?" So
they don't complain. It's a nice arrangement.
<Moderator> Teco: You've done novels, comics, tv...would you like to try
movies and/or theater some day? (I'm not going to mention your brief
foray into playwriting in the past, don't worry :) )
<straczynski> I've kinda dipped my toe in movies in the past, and the
Rising Stars thing may become a feature down the road, but it really
isn't a high priority for me in features, the director is the king, and
I'm a stubborn pain in the ass who has a hard time letting go of that
much control, so I don't think I'll ever get very far there and as for
plays, I've been kinda quietly working on something for a bit now, but
it's nowhere near being finished enough to talk about.
<Moderator> MarkP: If you had to choose any one moment/scene/plot
element in Babylon 5 that you are the most proud of, what would it be?
<straczynski> Weird answer...the end credits in Sleeping in Light,
starting from B5 blowing up, through the actual credits per se, where
you see the characters as we were first introduced to them, and then at
the end, and you can see the years and the story in their faces. I
always get very moved by that sequence.
<Moderator> Crusdad-Leato: You seem extremely good at picking just the
right actor for a part. Ivanova, Sheridon, Gideon notably, What do you
look for when selecting an actor for a part. I wait in a room for the
character to walk in. When Jerry walked in, he WAS Garibaldi. He
wasn't Jerry *playing* Garibaldi...he WAS Garibaldi. Claudia WAS
Ivanova. And so on. I always have a rough mental picture of the
character, and I look for whoever fits that picture the closest. I
don't trust or look to prior credits that much...it's really a game of
gut instincts.
<Moderator> AMuse: Please forgive me if this already known from other
interviews: Where did you attend college and what degree did you get?
Had you already begun writing at that point or have ambitions of writing
for TV/books/etc?
<straczynski> Okay, in reverse order...
<straczynski> I started writing and selling at about 17 years of age.
Articles, short stories, little stuff...had my first play commissioned
by a local theater for summer stock when I was 19, but I always knew
that I was and would be a writer. Took 3 years of typing in high school
until I could do 90 words a minute (now at 120 wpm thanks to computers),
which is why you see a lot of words here and not a lot of typos as for
schools, I went to 4 colleges: Kankakee Community College in illinois
(known best for "the train pulls out of" to Bob Dylan fans)...Richland
College in Dallas Texas...Southwestern College in Chula Vista, CA...and
finally San Diego State University, where I got degrees in Clinical
Psychology and Sociology.
<Moderator> foxytiger: An Indian friend of mine got into B5 and claims
that you drew inspiration for your epic ideas and certain characters
(G'Kar and other "spiritual" types) from the great Indian (Hindu) epic
the Mahabharata. Are you aware of the epic, and is there any connection?
If not, where did you draw inspiration from?
<straczynski> Yeah, I'm roughly familiar with it, I've read just about
every religious text or spiritual epic out there, but again the
Mahabharata draws on the same order/chaos dichotomy that I mentioned
earlier which goes back to the ancient Babylonians, which is actually
more where I went for the notion of the shadow epic stuff. B5 itself
even has hanging gardens (a la the hanging gardens of Babylon). It's
really a pastiche of a lot of different religions, cultures, myths,
mythic structure, archetypes, Jungian psychology (most noteworthy his
ideas about the Shadow, that part of us that wants uncritically) Bottom
line: it's a mutt.
<Moderator> DarthEvil: Okay, now I'm sure you've probably answered this
time and time again, but what advice can you give a guy (like me) who
has some great ideas for stories but cannot get the patience to write
them? I can never finish anything I start nomatter what!
<straczynski> You're in the wrong biz. Lots of people mistake a passion
for reading for a desire to write. A writer *writes*. A writer
*finishes* what he or she writes. There's no force in the universe that
can make you finish what you start unless the desire to finish it
springs from somewhere deep inside. If this is truly a problem, then
--and I know it sounds harsh, but it's necessary to say --maybe that's
your subconscious' way of saying, "I know you THINK you want to do this,
but *I* don't want to do this."
<Moderator> *From Slopmaster* I heard you really like Lexx, is there
anything you can do to help fans get a fourth season?
<straczynski> I actually haven't seen much of the series, and I
understand that it's gotten a bit T&A-ish, but that's second-hand so I
really can't comment intelligently (or under the best of circumstances)
all I know is that the movies I saw were just kickass. I thought it was
a great, fresh concept done remarkably well with some astonishing
visuals.
<CraigE2> (Side Note: The four two-hour Lexx movies will air on SCI FI
in August)
<Moderator> crazysoph: In Fahrenheit 451, people "become" books --
memorize them -- in order to preserve their contents against the book
burners. If you had to choose to "be" a book, which would you pick? (or,
which author, or on what criteria would you choose....)
<straczynski> Despite being an atheist, I would probably choose the Book
of Job. Because the story is one of the best ever written, and among
the most important after that, either the Martian Chronicles, or the
Lord of the Rings trilogy, assuming of course that memorizing that much
text didn't blow out my synapses.
<Moderator> ZimQTar: Hello Joe, the Hugo award was big but was winning
that the best part of having created Babylon-5? Or was the overall
success of the show and seeing it through to the end a bigger deal for
you?
<straczynski> I honestly don't know yet...I think I'll need another
decade before I have enough perspective on the show to be able to
clearly answer that. What I *do* know is what it represented for me
which was an opportunity -- the rarest imaginable -- to write what I
wanted, whatEVER I wanted, and to get it on the air, without
interference. I live to tell stories, to push the envelope, and for a
writer working in TV that is a parlous approach, because it's damnably
hard to get anything past the suits. B5 was a once in a lifetime
opportunity to have nearly total creative freedom in a medium known
primarily for creation by committee and for that element alone, it will
always burn bright in my thoughts.
<Moderator> Rachie: Back to the "writing" string of thought, how do you
know when a script, story, or book is *done?* How do you come to that
point where you're sure you're happy with something, and can stop
revising it? Do you even revise a lot when you write?
<straczynski> I constantly revise. There's an old saying; "Art is never
finished, only abandoned." At some point, you look at it and you say,
"This is as good as my talent, at this time, can make it." You HAVE to
walk away at some point, otherwise you can continue to revise forever.
That's probably the biggest obstacle to new writers, they write one
thing, and revise it endlessly ,rather than moving on and writing a new
thing the goal should be to make the next thing, whatever that is,
better than what you wrote last time, and so on. But in the interim,
you simply have to let it go after (I'm pulling this out of my
tuchis)...maybe six drafts, tops....
<Moderator> ZOG: to JMS: Could you get back into a Crusade "frame of
mind" to continue where you left off, now that some time has elapsed?
What, if anything, would be different about your approach to returning
to writing Crusade scripts?
<straczynski> It wouldn't be a problem to get back into it. There's
really no different mindset or approach to Crusade scripts. I just tell
stories. And BTW for those who didn't know, two of my last Crusade
scripts are up at www.bookface.com (search under straczynski).
<Moderator> Cable: You mentioned earlier about Rising Stars possibly
being optioned as a movie. Will you write and produce, or have any input
as to actors?
<straczynski> I'll write, and the rest will be up to what I will have
time to do...I may produce, I may sit back, it's all a function of
whatever else is going on in my life at the time.
<Moderator> KoshN: To Joe: Is it just a coincidence that you're on
today, and Bonnie Hammer is on tomorrow???
<straczynski> No Bonnie today. Bonnie tomorrow. There's always a
Bonnie tomorrow.
<straczynski> (Didn't know she was on tomorrow, actually.)
<Moderator> Bamwv: Hey Joe, do you have any tips or suggestions for
young science fiction writers still i high school?
<straczynski> Sure. Don't wait to start writing. Write NOW. For
anybody or anything. To be a writer you first have to pump out all the
Bad Writing that's in all of us, the same way you have to first pump out
the mud and water and crap before you can start pumping out oil. The
faster and sooner you begin that process, the sooner you get past that
into the good stuff and don't major in writing if you go to college (and
you should). Major in something that will teach you about the world and
life and yourself, and maybe provide an alternate means of employment.
Write for the school newspaper, the school magazine, the school
theater, the school TV station...write for all of it, because sometimes
you find what you REALLY want to write that way.
<Moderator> Stoner: Will there be any editing from the original length
of the Babylon 5 episodes when it is shown on SciFi Channel? I know that
sometimes even the briefest dialog or even an expression can change the
perception of what it going on.
<straczynski> dunno. I'll probably know when you do. But there
shouldn't be, we were already maxed out on commercial air time in
syndication.
<Moderator> Marcus: JMS: Are you going to force yourself to go into
other genres, dabble in them maybe, just to exercise the "muscles" or
are you set/satisfied with SF for a time/life?
<straczynski> I've always dabbled in other forms and genres. The
stories also at bookface.com range from mystery/suspeense to horror to
SF. The City of Dreams is contemporary dark fantasy, the play I'm
writing is historical/medeival, the novel I just finished is horror. I
always encourage everyone to write in various genres and forms because
writing the one teaches you how to write the other...writing a horror
story helps you learn how to create suspense in a mainstream novel, and
so on.
<Moderator> KoshN: To Joe: Have the existing 13 eps of Crusade, and
Fiona's "Value Judgements" and your two scripts (currently on bookface)
been presented to The Sci-Fi Channel for possible pick-up?
<straczynski> Nope.
<straczynski> (gotcha, didn't expect a one word answer, did you)
<Moderator> Croosayde: There is a candle burning among the fans that
Crusade could return if SciFi's B5 ratings are healthy enough. How far
into B5's run might we have to go (assuming the ratings are acceptable),
before we can get a word on that?
<straczynski> I honestly don't know, that's a question for the SFC
people. My guess -- and it's only that -- is that they might pick up
Crusade reruns maybe in the Spring of next year, and if they do
well...who knows. ga
<Moderator> here's another for KoshN, who I owe : KoshN: To Joe: Did
you have titles for all the 22 planned Crusade Season 1 episodes, and if
so would you please post the correct episode order somewhere (e.g. on
the Lurker's Guide)?
<straczynski> I generally apply titles only as I begin to write an
episode, because that's when I determine the feel of the thing, so no,
didn't have 'em. And eventually I'll probably post that info, though
most of the assumptions I've seen online seem correct.
<straczynski> Just a thought...
<straczynski> I often get asked, "What can the fans do?" Here's an
answer. There are still a lot of folks who, for one reason or another,
never checked out the show, often because they were concerned about
disloyalty to ST or the like... if every B5 fan went out and got 5 to 10
people who'd never watched the show, and bugged them to watch the cycle
when it starts on SFC...who knows what remarkable things could happen?
That's all. So we can take a few more questions then I gotta split.
<Moderator> RICKatS14: Joe-- one of the more fascinating interviews I
read with you covered how your extensive study of religious texts lead
you to athiesm...while I understand that beliefs are very individual,
I've always been curious as to what is was that you read that lead you
to belief in athiesm?
<straczynski> Ah...I should've quit when I was ahead...up comes the
question that's gonna get me in trouble. As Mark Twain observed, in all
his readings, he never met a god that was really much better than the
average man, and in many cases less noble than the average person with
gods showing penchants for jealousy (the smallest and most disreputable
of feelings), spite, lust, envy, violence, vindictiveness, and so on
qualities that a very good person might not have...and he concluded (jms
said, hiding behind Twain) that he couldn't find a god that was worth
the name, that there was greater nobility in a soldier on a battlefield
laying down his life without surety of an afterlife, to save 10 people
in his unit, than in the crucifixion, where the subject was guaranteed
the great white throne, and endured a few hours pain. At least, that's
what Twain said. I, of course, would never say that sort of thing.
Next question....
<CraigE2> *From greenlante3rn* I heard that there was a B5 fighter game
that was in development, and that it was cancelled when Sierra(or the
developer) hit financial troubles. So is that the end of the game or
could it given to another company to make?
<straczynski> Dunno, I haven't heard anything new lately.
<Moderator> BlkOmga: to JMS: will you have time in your Gen Con
schedule to do some autographing?
<straczynski> Yeah, as I recall, I'm scheduled to sign stuff at a couple
of different points in the convention. ga
<Moderator> Koshka: joe, do you have any idea the impact B5 has had on
the lives of your fans? for instance, my husband who I met at the B5 Fan
Club chat.... the friend's we've made. The life changing experiences
we've "experienced...
<straczynski> I've heard of that a lot, from different people who say it
helped them get over the death of a loved one, that it created
marriages, that it brought people together but the most moving I heard
was about a fellow who was dying, and had his sister make an audio tape
of all G'Kar's speeches about not surrendering to despair and he had
that tape playing at his bedside endlessly, on repeat, to keep him
going...and when he finally went away, it was to the sound of G'Kar's
voice you cannot hear that and remain unmoved.
<CraigE2> (I have to ask...who types faster, you or Harlan?)
<straczynski> Uh, oh...I see a contest coming...John Henry vs. the Steam
Machine... He's faster on a manual, but I'm faster on a keyboard.
<Moderator> JMS-is-da-man: JMS: You are the man! Anyway, how do you
think Babylon 5 will affect the future of television in the long run?
Do you think the way television is structured will change because of the
innovations you made?
<straczynski> It's already changed. THere are more shows using long
term arcs, the production techniques we introduced (the first to use
CGI, for instance, at this level), others have already affected other
series.... I think it will be noted as the first real *saga* for TV, and
that's an accomplishment worth at least two tombstones. Beyond that, I
can't tell, I can't see the future as well as I'd like...but its impact
will only continue to grow with the passing of years.
<straczynski> Amendment: saga for American TV. The brits beat us to
this a long time ago with Dr. Who.
<Moderator> Jacobs: Have you found Computers and the Internet a help or
a hinderence to the creative process?
<straczynski> yes. It's a help in the sense that computers make the
work faster, and the net allows you to bring together a wide range of
people, to create a community, to call (sparingly and only at great
risk) down the thunder. A hindrance when it results, as it inevitably
does, in the occasional net-stalker, because they can make your life a
living hell. I can't tell you the days/hours lost due to a false rumor
planted on the net and the time spent fixing it, the visceral material
expended in tracking down someone who's netstalking the chaos when one
stalker puts up on the net that I had a heart attack (not correct) and
ties up the phone lines at Babylonian for two days. So it's a mixed bag.
On balance I'd rather have it than not, but it's a trial some days, no
mistake.
<straczynski> We can take 3 more questions. Make 'em good, Craig.
<Moderator> Cable: Do you think that B5 in sindication will gather
steam, much like the re-runs of the original "Trek" did, and possibly
signal a re-birth like the trek movies?
<straczynski> Truth? I think that is utterly inevitable.
<Moderator> Ship-chan: JMS: I was just wondering.. how do you feel about
fan fiction? Do you ever read any?
<straczynski> No, because it opens me up to legal problems. It's caused
at least one author to lose an entire book's worth of work because her
publisher was afraid of being sued because it was close to some fanfic
out there. All I've asked is that it be kept where I can't see it
without expending effort to protect myself. Beyond that, I imagnie it's
pretty cool (and the first one to do Garibaldi/G'Kar Slash fiction gets
it in the neck).
<Moderator> Last Q -- BenW: JMS could you tell us a little about your
new book and when can we expect to see it in stores?
<straczynski> I can't talk about the book right now in detail for
reasons that will become clear in a few weeks...but keep watching
Bookface for more updates on this...so since I couldn't answer that one,
I'll take a replacement question.
<Moderator> A-babylon5rules: Joe' Do you think that with Babylon5 now
being on Sci-fi channel that you are now hitting the target audience?
<straczynski> Yeah, very much so. I think that this is the *perfect*
venue for us: it's core SF viewers who appreciate intelligent drama,
it's in prime time, it's shoulder to shoulder with other terrific shows.
I think that this is the best possible consequence for the show. I have
every confidence that it will remain a viable program for SFC for a long
time to come; this is where a show like this SHOULD be. Rather than a
network that might be, oh, I dunno, known mainly for wresting....
<straczynski> (looks away, whistling)
<straczynski> or wrestling (damn, a typo after all this time)
<straczynski> and it would be on a punchline.
<Moderator> Joe, your typing has been incroyable.
<straczynski> No, wait, it's...wresting away good shows, yeah, that's
the ticket...it's...ah, crap, never mind, it's a typo damn it, and I
can't change that.
<straczynski> pooh
<Moderator> as has your general answerin' and banterin'
<straczynski> ah lives to serve
<CraigE2> Thanks so much for joining us, Joe. It was great having you
drop by, and I hope you'll visit with us again.
<straczynski> you betcha
<Moderator> yes, please!
<CraigE2> And best of luck with all of your many projects.
<straczynski> And my thanks to all the B5 fans who've stayed with us for
so long and supported us so well.
<Moderator> in just a moment i shall turn the moderation OFF ...
<straczynski> RUN FOR IT!
<Moderator> ... and let the fire fall ...
<CraigE2> And thanks to our wonderful audience for joining us.
<Moderator> yes. sorry i couldn't get to all questions. they were
unusually good tonight.
<Moderator> ready ...
<straczynski> hey, they're B5 fans, what do you expect but good
questions?
<Moderator> ... set ...
<straczynski> "...it's full of stars..."
<Moderator> 1 4 9 ...
<CraigE2> B5 will debut on SCI FI on Sept. 25
-The Jeff
Sheridan:^ÓSo how did you find out all of this?^Ô
Bester:^ÓI'm a telepath. Work it out.^Ô <*>