JMS Speaks (long!)

[Colin Sebastian Roald]

Dan Wood is working on updating this, but it seems like it would make
sense to post it again now, so that all the new folks (welcome!) get
a sense of what questions have already been asked before JMS moves
over. Plus, this way, he doesn't have to deal with this long mother
in his Genie feed.

(and if you don't want to read the whole thing, i encourage you to
at least search for the code #chrysalis--that paragraph is what
sold me on this show in the first place...)

------------------------------
Newsgroups: alt.tv.babylon-5
Subject: JMS Speaks - Autopost
Date: 1 Feb 1994 06:00:50 GMT

******* Straczynski Speaks *******

(preliminary version... WILL NEED MORE INDEXING, and COMMENTS)

This document contains a selection of actual quotes by J. Michael
Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5, during his tenure online as the show's
pilot and series was in production.

This text, as organized, is intended to be read by people who are just
getting into Babylon 5, who have read the FAQ, and want to know more. Plus,
there are some fun tidbits you may have missed the first time around. For a
background history of the "universe" of B5, you will want to read the Babylon
5 Grid Epsilon Log as well. If you want a historical view of the creation of
the pilot and the show, go and read all the JMS archives.

Some aspects of the document will probably fade away, as the characters or
situation hinted at actually hit the airwaves; the need for the document may
fade away once the first season is underway and the episode guides are more
useful.

The text here is a selection of some of his stories, answers to questions
[paraphrased here], and general remarks. They are organized as simply as
possible, dashes separating followup remarks. WARNING: JMS tends to drop
interesting "tidbits" throughout his text--no real spoilers, since those he's
keeping classified--but if you don't want any hints at all, read no further.

Joe is online frequently, and there are a lot of people online who are
familiar with the B5 universe, but there's no point asking a question that
has been asked before. To make it easier to find an answer to a question, you
can search by keyword for the topic in which you are interested. Simply
search for a word preceeded by the "#" mark. For example, to read all the
articles about Ambassador Delenn, search for "#delenn". [Index words are
always lowercase, with occasional hyphenations and apostrophies.]

If the topic you are looking for is not here, it is probably because I
couldn't find anything recent and substantive to place there. Check out the
Grid Epsilon Log for descriptions of characters, races, etc. that had been
introduced in the pilot. (Example: Sinclair)

The information in here, though it at one point came from the fingers of JMS,
MAY NO LONGER BE CORRECT. Remember, a lot of this was written when the
series was supposed to start after the pilot, so there have been a lot of
changes. There are typos here, and potentially confusing lead-ins to some
answers, since these are quoted from responses to other people. Questions
formed are best guesses at what was actually asked.

This document contains material Copyright 1992, 1993, 1994 by J. Michael
Straczynski. He has given permission for his words to be redistributed
online, as long as they are marked as being copyright JMS.

This document is being maintained by dan wood <dan...@netcom.com>, and may
or may not be updated. Thanks to _______ ______ _____ _____ for their
assistance.

=============== Contents ===============

I. Story
II. Aliens & Humans
Language
Non-Humanoids
Vorlons
Centauri
Minbari
Human
III. Characters
Delenn
Franklin
G'Kar
Garabaldi
Hernandez
Ivanova
Kosh
Lennier
Londo
Sakai
IV. Technology
Station
Ships
Jump Gates
Medicine
V. Universe
VI. The Pilot
VII. The Episodes
VIII. Show Production
Writing
Casting
Scheduling
Music
Visual Effects
Sound
Editing
Video
Production
IX. Audience
X. Nitpicks
XI. Will there be a....?
XII. Products
XIII. JMS Himself
XIV. Miscellany

=============== Story ===============

==== #date #episode #timeline

???? What will the timeline be in the B5 story?

In posting this info elsewhere, it occured to me that I didn't remember
if I'd mentioned it here or not. So in case I didn't...I'm working it so
that real-time comes close to paralleling story-time in the series. The
events of the series will pick up approximately six months after the events
of the pilot. We'll have crossed into another year, so the first "year" in
which the series takes place is 2258, year two of the series (if we get that
far) would be 2259, and so on.
---
No, we generally don't announce the day/month in the episodes, though
sometimes dates or seasons are referred to tangentially or offhandedly. The
real significant progression is year to year, which is why each year of the
show will be marked in the opening narration and parallel real time (season
1: 2258, season 2: 2259, etc.).
---
There will be some time between episodes in the B5 universe; in some
cases it's about a week, in some cases much longer, as long as we end up
covering roughly a year.

==== #arc #story #five

???? How is the B5 story going to be told? If B5 is a five-year arc, will
I miss out if I miss some episodes?

I've constructed the B5 writing scenario more or less as follows:

1) Each episode will be able to stand alone. If you come in on season
two, without having seen anything else, you'll be able to get into it.

2) Questions asked in the course of an episode or a season will be
answered in that episode or season.

3) BUT...if you continue to watch the show, then over time a story writ
on a much larger scale will begin to emerge. Consider it like a triptych,
something out of Hieronymous Bosch...each individual panel is sufficient unto
itself, but put them all together, and suddenly you see connections and a
whole picture that wasn't there a moment earlier.

Relationships will change. People will live, and die. Alliances wll
shift. And at one point or another, everything you THINK you know about
these characters will be turned upside down.
---
You have to understand the way this show is going to be structured.
There aren't going generally going to be a lot of loose threads hanging
around. Episodes will resolve themselves. It's just that, from time to
time, we'll carom off some point that seems tangential, but which will later
become significant. You don't have to watch every episode. Hell, if I do
this right -- and this is one hell of a hat trick, lemme tell you, when it
comes to structure -- you can even watch them out of ORDER, within a season,
and still follow what's going on. The trick is to make it so that if
something slips past, the viewer doesn't trip over it. And when you do an
episode that you've set up before, that set-up should in some subtle,
non-heavy-expository way, be re-established for those who might not have seen
the episode.

Telling people "This is a five year arc" in a big way almost as a
warning is actually more destructive than constructive; it might lead people
to think that they need to commit five years of their lives to get the whole
story, and it's hard to get people to commit to even one ten-hour miniseries.
You can watch any part you want, and get a good, solid, independently
enjoyable hour- show out of it. You can come in at any point you want. The
key is that the more you watch, the more you will pick up on the nuances and
the threads we're going to be playing with. Generally, we're going to keep
those threads a bit light in the first season, then begin to draw in more of
the general story arc in the second and subsequent seasons. Let's use the
first year to get the audience comfortable with the B5 universe, and with our
characters, and in a handful of episodes, carefully begin leading everyone
where we want them to go, so that when we start to accellerate things in year
two, those who've been with us from the start can get right into it, and
those who come to the show late can play catch up without any problem.
---
The 5 year arc is worked out in considerable detail; 200 single spaced
pages in a triple-encrypted file.

==== #extend #five

???? Any chance of extending beyond five years?

What happens at the end of the five year arc? The "Babylon 5" series
ends...if I have anything to say about it (and I do). If something esle
follows, we'll see what that is, but it won't be the same series, or the same
title, or really the same characters.

Barring that very distant possibility, at the end of the five year arc,
I take a very, very, VERY long nap....
---
Re: the end of the 5th year...I've noted before that there is a thread
raised during the B5 run that could be extended into its own series. But it
wouldn't be B5. The story of Babylon 5 ends at the end of the fifth year,
regardless.
---
I'm being very careful not to let B5 turn into a *franchise*. It's a
story, created in X-parts, for television. This thing will turn into an
industry over my dead body. The most that the framework will permit is a 2-
hour TV movie that caps year 5. That's it.

==== #philosophy #holographic #story

Had an interesting conversation today with one of our crew. I was
talking to someone else about the writing philosophy on the show, and how
it's comparable to a tryptich...you line up the stories and you begin to see
a much broader story after a while. A series of interconnected images.

And this crew person said that I was wrong, that wasn't how the show is
being done. Now lemme tell you...we encourage people on every level to speak
frankly, at any time, to any one, but it takes considerable cojones to say
something like that to one's exec producer, that he has his own series wrong
in the description. "Oh?" says I.

He explains that what it is, is "holographic storytelling." I asked him
what the hell this meant. He said that the image of pictures side by side,
linear storytelling, wasn't right. That after he read two scripts, he went
back and reread the first one, and now he could see things in it that he
hadn't seen before. When he'd read three, again he glanced over the first,
and new things had come out.

"What it IS," he said, "is not side-by-side images, but *overlaping*
images, like old fashioned photographic plates stacked up one on top of the
other. Each has a piece of the whole picture. When you line them all up,
one behind the other, and look through all of them at once, you realize what
the picture is. It's three-dimensional storytelling."

I had to think about that one a long time, but frankly, he's right, and
I'm wrong. That *IS* what we're doing, and I've been describing it
incorrectly all this time.

Holographic storytelling...well, live and learn, I say.

==== #story #arc #ditillio

Just recently, btw, I gave Larry DiTillio a printout with just a little
of the coming 5 year arc...if he's going to story edit, he needs to know what
lines not to cross, and I can't ride herd on that all the time. He took it
home, read it. Called me. Didn't even say hello. Began the conversation
with, "You are out of your f'ing mind." I asked for some small clarification
of his position. He indicated that he thought it was absolutely great,
something that'll really go down in the rolls when the final tally is done,
"But you GOT to be out of your f'ing mind to try and pull something like this
off. It *can* be done...but it takes a lunatic to do it."

Sounds about right.
---
Kiwi...understand that no changes are just made willy-nilly (to use your
term). This is a STORY. As with any story, any novel, you have your moments
of surprise, of sudden turns where you kick over all of the tables and watch
the pieces scatter. But the writer already knows where the pieces will land.
It's all according to plan. Nobody's going to be screwed over. Anymore than
when somebody reading, say, a Stephen King book feels screwed over when
suddenly Salem's Lot, a nice quiet little town, suddenly gets filled with
undead and characters are suddenly going through some remarkable
changes...it's all part of the story.

==== #arc #twin #peaks

???? How does the arc compare to the arc of Twin Peaks?

The comment re: Twin Peaks is correct; I loved TP dearly, but if you
missed one episode, you were screwed. The way the story is constructed, you
can come in at any point, even miss episodes, and still be able to follow the
thing. It's just that the *more* you watch, the more you'll get out of it,
the more things you'll pick up on. It's a very difficult task from a writing
point of view, but worth the effort, I think.

==== #expanded #season #five #year

???? Though the story is locked into a five year time frame, is there a
chance of more than 22 episodes per season?

At this point, it's way too early to even *think* about topics like
expanded seasons. Obviously, yes, we could easily expand each season's worth
of episodes from a story point of view. That ain't no kind of problem. As
for the rest...only time will tell.

==== #opening #sinclair #narration

???? What is Sinclair saying in the opening of the show? How does it
relate to the telling of the story?

For various story reasons, the narration now shifts to Sinclair, who has
a slight variation on it.
---
"It was the Dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, ten years after the
Earth/Minbari War. The Babylon Project was a dream given form, its goal: to
prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work
out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call, home away from home
for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs and wanderers. Humans and aliens
wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal...all
alone in the night.

"It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last, best hope for peace.

"This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations.

"The year is 2258.

"The name of the place...is Babylon 5."
---
My sense is that we have Sinclair narrating from some point in the
future. The transition of grammar takes place as we push into the station,
from the outside in. This was the last of the Babylon stations, and this
particular segment of it is set in 2258. (Season two would say, "The year is
2259." And so on.)

Many here will remember a show called "You Are There." The usual
narrator would say, paraphrasing here but keeping the grammar, "The year 1776
was crucial to our nation's history. The founding fathers were on the brink
of declaring independence. It's a moment of great importance. The year is
1776...and You Are There." It's along those lines. The purpose of the
narrative changes to transition us into the story.
---
The tense shifts are intentional, and go with the scenes we're seeing.
They're *supposed* to shift, with the visuals, in order to bring us into the
present from the future, at which point this story is being introduced.

==== #lyta #talia #arc

???? What has happened to Lyta Alexander? What will her story be?

Much of the Lyta arc will now go to Talia, but there's now a different
way of getting her into that arc.
---
[This was written 1/9/93. Obviously, it's not Lyta in the scene anymore.]

There's something about the Lyta/Garibaldi dynamic that I like, as
others here have noted as well. I keep playing with one scene I'm dying to
write, where he's trying to pick up on her, and says, "Listen, what do you
say we go by my quarters, I'd like to show you my favorite thing in the whole
world." She gives him THAT look. "Okay-okay-okay, my SECOND favorite thing
in the whole world."

==== #two-part

???? Will there be any two-parters this season?

There will definitely be a two-parter this season; PTEN is so much in
love with what they're seeing that they've allocated a bit more on budget to
let us really go to town on a 2-part episode. I'll be either writing both
parts, or sharing the task with Larry DiTillio, depending on when he gets
free with his next script.

==== #first #season

???? What will the first season be like?

So far, this season you'll learn a lot about all the cultures of our
ambassadors, especially the Big Four; you'll see the League of Non-Aligned
Worlds in action; you'll learn a LOT about the Psi Corps, Earth government
and economics, the inner workings of Babylon 5, the history of the Babylon
project, Sinclair's background (also a lot about Ivanova's and Garibaldi's
past)...you'll see a darker side of Londo, a lighter side of G'Kar, a more
ambiguous side of Delenn, some very weird sides of Kosh...and you'll come
away with a real sense of B5 as a *place*, a habitat, where things are, what
they do, how it works. There will be an awful lot of action, and an even
greater amount of humor...there are parts of the show that, even having seen
them 16 times, are still fall-down funny.

Other than that...not much to say.
---
Since Mike mentioned it...yes. "Babylon Squared" answers the B4
question...though posing new questions about *why*. Basically, every
question we ask going into the first season we will answer, because I don't
think it's right or fair or smart to keep people hanging around 3 years to
get a simple answer to a simple question. Season 1 of B5 is what I generally
call the "what" season...you find out WHAT the Psi Corps is, WHAT happened at
the Battle of the Line, WHAT happened to Babylon 4, and so on...whereas
Season 2 is the "why" season...WHY did that happen to Sinclair? And so on.
New questions arise, and we proide new answers, generally within the course
of the following season, but while at all times making sure that each episode
stands alone, regardless of where and which season you enter the series as a
viewer.

(It's kinda like being one of those guys on the old Ed Sullivan show,
spinning plates on top of long, thin rods...there's a LOT to keep in motion
at all times.)

I'd classify the pilot movie as "who."
---
Season one will generally answer 90% of the questions raised in season
one; season two will answer the remaining 10%, and answer 90% of the
questions raised in season two...and so on. There will not be a sense of
unfulfilled waiting. Also, by January I will personally fly under my own
power from New York to Paris.

I reallly, *really* need a vacation....
---
You will find out what happened to Sinclair, for starters, during the
Earth/Minbari war. In that respect, the pilot movie is like the first
chapter of a novel. For nearly 10 years, Sinclair has worked to convince
himself that nothing happened to him on the Line other than what seems to be
the case: that he blacked out for 24 hours. He's just managed to convince
himself of this. Now, suddenly, someone comes into his life and with seven
words -- you'll know them when you hear them -- completely unravels the
self-deception. He knows then that something DID happen to him, that someone
DID mess with his mind...and he is going to find out who, and why.

This he will do. And the ramifications of that discovery will have a
major influence on the series, on his relationships, and the future of not
only his character but many others.

You will see what a Vorlon is...and what it represents. And what it may
have to do with our own saga, and a hidden relationship to some of our other
characters (watch the reception scene carefully). We'll discover that there
are MANY players in this game.

One thing that separates this show from others is that on other shows,
very often you do things to them to make for interesting drama...you take
them prisoner, you make them kids, whatever...in this show, it's what's
INSIDE the characters that will pose the greatest problems...and the greatest
possibilities for drama. Most every major character is either running to, or
away from something in their hearts, or their pasts, or their careers.
Garibaldi's past will catch up with him in a very difficult way that will
affect his role and make him a very different character for as much as a
full season, and have lasting effects thereafter. Lyta will take part in a
voyage of discovery that will very much change her character.

Some of the established empires will fall. Some will rise. Hopes and
fortunes will be alternately made or destroyed. At least one major group not
yet known even to EXIST will make its presence known, but only gradually.
Some characters will fall from grace. Others will make bargains whose full
price they do not understand...but will eventually come to realize, and
regret.

At the end of the first season, one character will undergo a major,
MAJOR change, which will start the show spinning on a very different axis.
The first season will have some fairly conventional stories, but others will
start the show gradually moving toward where I want it to go. One has to
set these things up gradually. Events in the story -- which is very much the
story of Jeffrey Sinclair -- will speed up in each subsequent season.

Someone he considers a friend will betray him. Another will prove to be
the exact opposite of what Sinclair believes to be true. Some will live.
Some will die. He will be put through a crucible of terrible force, that
will change him, and alter his destiny, in a profound and terrible way...if
he goes one way, or the other, will determine not only his own fate, but that
of millions of others. He will grow, and become stronger, better, wiser...or
be destroyed by what fate is bringing his way. In sum, it is a story of hope
against terrible adversity and overwhelming odds.

That, in broad brush strokes, is a *taste* of what I plan to do with the
series. I note this here because when the pilot airs, I am going to ask for
your continued help in supporting the endeavor for the series, and it occurs
to me that you ought to have at least SOME idea of what you're buying, and
being asked to support. One should never be asked to sign a blank check on
the bank of one's conscience.

==== #adult #nudity

???? Will the show feature mature themes?

You really have to do whatever's right by the story. Some adult themes
have to be handled in an adult fashion. There are some very adult themes in
B5. Some you may like, some you may not. I don't think we'll be able to go
in for nudity or the like because I don't think the stations would permit it.
If they did...I still don't know if I'd use it or not, because it would
really depend on the story.

==== #cliffhanger #finale #season

???? Will seasons be ending in cliffhangers?

As for "season finale cliffhangers," that depends on how you define
that. If you mean a cliffhanger that, once resolved at the start of the next
season, ends up having been more or less meaningless...no, we won't be doing
that. But the end of each planned season will make a left turn designed to
bring the show in new directions that will have long-erm (or long-term)
effects on all of our characters.

Whether it's a chapter ending in a book, or an act break in a TV series,
you build to a moment of change and transition, upping the stakes at each
turn. That's how our season-enders are constructed.

==== #lie #truth

Matt: I like it when people lie in television, and we find out about it
over time. The "lost colony" routine was one such. At one point, Garibaldi
confronts Londo with this as reason for why he doesn't trust the Centauri.
Londo shrugs it off as a "clerical error." There will be a few points in the
series when we'll get information, and we'll buy into it...and discover after
a while that that character bald-facedly lied to the other character (and, by
proxy, to us). And naturally there will be consequences to this....
---
Actually, at one point or another, just about *everyone* lied in the
course of the pilot...including Sinclair, who lied to G'Kar, and of course
Delenn lying to Sinclair in the Garden...and so on.

Basically, I have this theory that there are five kinds of truth. (This
is Joe's Theory of the Five Truths.) There is the truth you tell to casual
strangers and acquaintances. There is the truth you tell to your general
circle of friends and family members. There is the truth you tell to only
one or two people in your entire life. There is the truth you tell to
yourself. And finally, there is the truth that you do not admit even to
yourself. And it's that fifth truth that provides some of the most
interesting drama.....

==== #laurel #pilot

This isn't so much a spoiler, since it concerns an abandoned story like
(or, let me rephrase that...a modified story line). I mention this here
since I just mentioned it elsewhere, and might as well do so here.

Think hard about the pilot for a moment. Whose job is it in the
observation dome to monitor incoming ships...but apparently let the spider
transport slip through unnoticed? The station's skin should have (and likely
did) detect something clamping onto it...but apparently someone over-rode
that for the spider transport. Someone had to PRE-arrange access via the
computer for the assassin, since it easily palms its way into Varner's
quarters. (And what is the name of the person the access computer
recognizes?) Someone had to arrange for the transport tube to be delayed,
and then *erase* that information from the computer system. Someone who knew
*exactly* when the Vorlon ship would be docking. We see, at various times,
the following people interacting with the assassin, in different capacities:
Garibaldi, Lyta, G'Kar, Londo, Dr. Kyle, and of course, much later, Sinclair.
Who did we never see in direct contact with the assassin? Who was put in
charge of the station after Sinclair was removed?

Do you notice a pattern developing? Do certain things here point to a
certain individual...who may, or may not, have been acting on her own
volition?

And yes, this is something we planned to explore, though it wasn't on a
*direct* line to the arc of our story. It definitely impinged upon it, of
course. This has been modified due to the change in the character of the
Lieutenant Commander, and this now won't go where it was going to go...but we
still have some very interesting plans for our secondary character, not at
all along the Takashima lines (which is why this isn't a spoiler), but
certainly intriguing on their own terms.
---
Now, I didn't say she was a villain. I said that certain things may or
may not have been done of her own free will, her own volition. What this
means...we'll see.

==== #name #babylon #why

???? Why "Babylon 5"?

Thing is, Babylon has become a myth that can be interpreted and re-
interpreted a zillion ways, and can't be unmentioned forever because of one
of those interpretations. That's why the name has come up more times than I
want to think about, in song and story. (Remember the song "Babylon," by, I
believe, Donovan?) We did a titles search before we began production, and
the title Babylon 1 has been used 4 times, Babylon 2 has been used twice,
Babylon 3 appears in a copyrighted song title, and Babylon 4 has also been
used (though neither copyrighted nor trademarked, so we've taken that step).
Which also goes to Somtow using a Babylon 5 in his story. It's a name that
merits lots of re-interpretations.
---
As for the reason for rebuilding B5...it was an idea that was right, and
those responsible refused to knuckle under to what was, in effect, terrorism.
During WW II, someone asked Winston Churchill what he would do if a V-2 took
out Big Ben. "We shall rebuild it," he said. And what if they knock THAT
down? "We shall rebuild it again, and again, as many times as is required.
Because it is not theirs to destroy, it is OURS."

B5, at this crucial time, is the last, best hope for peace, and there
are people dedicated to pursuing that peace, whatever the cost, however many
times others may try to destroy it. Those aboard B5 know the risk, but come
because they believe in what it stands for, just as U.N. observers go into a
country knowing fully that they may be killed.

Why rebuild the Enterprise? Why make more shuttles after one blows up,
even though you KNOW that the odds indicate that at least one more will go,
sooner or later? Why continue with the Gemini space program even after those
astronauts died in that terrible fire?

Because the universe doesn't reward you for doing what's safe, and easy.
Because courage and persistence is what pulled us out of the seas and onto
land and dragged us through millions of years of evolution. What sets the
human race apart from everything else is our persistence, the stubborn, noble
dignity that propelled Washington's men, when offered the chance to stand
down during the revolutionary war, when they were tired and bleeding and
frostbitten, to refuse to knuckle under, and to go on.

During WW II, again, there were cases of planes sent in to bomb
strategic sites...and when one batch was shot down, another wing went off.
And another. And another. Until finally SOMEONE got through. Because it
had to be done. The consequences were too terrible otherwise.

We have come into an age when it seems passion is passe, when the very
common coin of our shared humanity, the willingness to put our lives on the
line for a cause or a belief, seems somehow suspect. Why do people rebuild
BABYLON 5 even though it's not safe? Why do they go there when it's not
safe?

Because the Earth/Minbari war ALONE almost wiped out humanity. We can't
afford NOT to be there.

And these people are willing to put their lives on the line to see' that
that never happens again. Because they damn near won the first time, and the
next bunch might well finish the job.

One of my favorite pieces of verse is from Tennyson's ULYSSES. And it
is at the core of what BABYLON 5 is about. It concerns the final voyage of
Ulysses...older, tired, who has lost his family and most of his kingdom and
most of his men, betrayed and saddened...and he gathers up those few
surviving members from his earlier journey, and as they prepare to push off,
he concludes with a final benediction: "Though we are not now that strength
that in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are: one equal
temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate but strong in will, to
strive, to seek, to find and not to yield."
---
And here's a little something to consider. Some have noted the location
of B5's namesake, it's proximity to the Tigres and Euphrates, that sort of
thing...speculated on other aspects of the show...but much of what you need
to know about what will eventually happen in the course of the B5 story arc
is already available to you. In any decent desk encyclopedia.

What, you thought I pulled the name Babylon out of a hat? Let's just
say that there are going to be some interesting historical parallels....
---
You have to really dig to get any good material on Babylon; it's not a
big topic among commercial publishers, you really have to go for the academic
publishing houses. (Beware of religious publishing houses in this area; they
have their own spin on things that tends to infect the text.)
---
After the meeting, Ron Thornton and I were talking, and he said, "Okay,
what's the deal on Babylon 4? I mean, are we ever going to see what happened
to it, or see it again?"

I smiled. "Do you REALLY want to know?"

He considered it for a moment. I think he gets nervous when I smile
like that. "Okay...sure."

So I told him. And his eyes went wide as pancakes. It was a wonderful,
Tex Avery effect. "Get out of here," he said, at first sure I was kidding.
I explained that I was quite serious.

Last I saw him, he was wandering off, muttering to himself, but growing
increasingly enchanted with the idea....
---
Re: the 10 years and 1-4 Babylon stations. Remember, first, that they
were not completed. In one case only the superstructure was completed, in
another inferior materials were used (deliberately), and so on. So it's not
like they built 5 fully operational stations. Only B4 actually made it to
operational status. B5 was/is intended to be the last effort. If this one
doesn't make it...screw it.

=============== Aliens and Humans ===============

======= Language

==== #language #alien #translation

???? How do languages get handled in B5?

There are actually several languages heard on B5, though you have to
work to hear them. (Those with surround will have an easier time.) For
instance, in the customs area, announcements are made first in English, then
in Interlac. In the bazaar area, you'll hear chirrups and whistles and
clicks and a wide range of language-sounds.
---
The language facilities of aliens will vary; probably the most fluent
(by virtue of necessity) are the ambassadors, whose english is perfect or
nearly so (cyberlink to the brain dumping the English equivilants of their
own language and grammar directly into the brain, very expensive and not a
little painful). The drawback is that some cultural references or some
contextual areas may not be as clear as required. (Londo wondering about
ramoras, Delenn unsure for a moment about poetry....)
---
We've already instituted the need for translation devices on several
characters. There are basically three dominant languages on B5, a kind of
interstellar esperanto, Centauri, and English, which is the more or less
official military/diplomatic language. But not everyone is going to know
those languages, so you need another way. We have translation teams
(referenced though not seen in "Soul Hunter"), and physical translation
devices for use after we've had sufficient contact with a given group or
individual to be able to decode two languages into one another.

(Incidentally, we're going with a slightly different version of English
for things like airlocks and such, alongside the visual pictograms. Not
everyone who can speak english will have an immediate grasp of the
intricacies of the language, and there have been multi cultural/esperanto
like influences on English over the next 200 years. So for things like
Universe Today, you have standard conventional English, since that's
primarily an Earther-oriented publication. But then you have signs that
read, for instance SECUR AREA, with an accent over the U. We've taken the
liberty of simplifying some aspects of english for nonhumans, as well as
trying to figure out how the impact of multi- culturalism might affect
language ovese of 200 years.)
---
Yeah, that's one thing I've kind of slated in as a B story in a given
episode...an alien comes aboard and they just can't quite manage to
communicate, it's just too damned foreign in its thinking. (What I'd love is
for them to find out at the end that it's some other alien's damned cat or
something, and they've been spending all this time trying to communicate with
something that ain't sentient...but with aliens, how can you tell sometimes?)

==== #native #language #subtitle

???? Will aliens speak in their native languages?

ANd yes, they will speak in their own languages when amongst their own
kind...but just as with a WW II movie, when you show the germans talking to
one another, it'll be English. On those occasions when someone speaks Narn
around humans, then of course it's another language, and will sound that way.
---
The main problem with using sub-titles under an alien language to any
real degree is, of course, the probelm with the blind viewership, which is
especially large in SF, it appears.
---
No, it won't be rare. And that's the reason why we're NOT doing
subtitles. This is the difference between something sounding neat on paper,
but not in reality, and especially not on a TV series.

If you're doing a feature film, and only have one or two shots of aliens
talking in subtitles, for brief periods, you can do this; also if you're
doing an SF series in which you're mainly talking to humans, and only rarely
among your own kind.

But in B5, a LOT of our time is spent with our various alien characters.
And sometimes the conversation can get quite detailed, quite complex or
political. In one script, for instance, there's a 2 1/2 minute scene with
G'Kar and Na'Toth, followed by two lengthy scenes with Londo and Vir, and
Delenn and Vir. So you're talking about maybe 5 minutes here. The
conversation is very detailed, very elaborate. So are you a) going to put
all of this complex dialogue on screen, line by line, and b) use subtitles
for FIVE UNBROKEN MINUTES?

You'd kill yourself as a series. No one would stand for it, and they'd
be right. Again, not every good idea is a workable or practical idea.

==== #n'grath #language #communicate

???? How does n'grath communicate?

It speaks in cicada-like chirps and whistles, which are translated by
the translation device on its chest (the lighted thingie).

======= Non-humanoids

==== #alien #nonhumanoid

???? Will we see any non-humanoid aliens?

Re: Non-humanoid...bear in mind, you still haven't seen what Kosh is
inside that suit...others, very non-humanoid, will make their appearances
down the road...and there's one race that has not yet been heard from, one
shadow government so secretive its existence is only whispered about, and
when *they* make their appearance, and you finally see what *they* look
like...well, let's just say that I've talked at some length with our EFX
people, and it'll take about 2 years to work out how to do this and make it
credible.
---
Just an update...on Monday we a) do the final mix on "Midnight on the
Firing Line," so we'll have two finished and in the can, and b) finish
shooting Christy's episode of "Grail." (And those of you who've been asking
for nonhumanoid alien stuff...hold onto your hats for this one.)

======= Vorlons

==== #kosh #language #communicate

???? How does Kosh communicate?

Now that we've finished mixing some shows, we've now seen how Kosh
speaks, followed through to the end. It's a very unusual system that he's
got there, and it's *real* creepy to watch/listen to it. The kind of thing
that makes your skin crawl after a while.

I love it.

==== #kosh #vorlon

???? When will we know about Kosh? Will we have to wait 5 years?

We will reveal what Kosh is a LOT sooner than year 5. Closer to the end
of year 2.

======= Centauri

==== #centauri #metaphor #rome

No, the closest parallel to the Centauri would, I suppose, be ancient
Rome. I tend not to go that much to contemporary sources for metaphor, since
it's too obvious and over-done. Much of what's in B5 is drawn from much
older sources. The only exception, the only means of creating a metaphor for
the present, is one that will take some time before it's even perceptible,
though by the end of the season, you'll see what it is pretty clearly.

==== #centauri #hair #jewelry #ornamentation

???? How do centauri wear their hair?

Centauri males wear their hair in this fashion, the length of which is
determined by the person's status. Centauri women scorn such symbols of
status and go bald except for a knot of hair from the back. (Sort of a
peacock approach.)
---
Londo's people go for jewelry and ornamentation such as medals and
sunbursts and the like.
---
It's a standard bed, works fine. Though we *did* have a thing in mind
where Londo sits up in bed, having just had wonderful sex, and his hair is
now hanging limp...but in a sudden burst of sanity we decided against it.

======= Minbari

==== #ornamentation #minbari #textures

Minbari don't do a lot of ornamentation, going instead for fabrics,
textures and colors.

==== #delenn #makeup

???? Why did you change Delenn's look after the pilot?

Once the decision was made to make her definitely female, that led us to
modify the makeup. Also, the original make up was done with very little lead
time, and some things we liked, some things we didn't. It's now sleeker,
more attractive, and easier to apply and take off.
---
Since we only really got a good look at one Minbari, it's kind of a moot
point. The new lines are generally consistent throughout Minbari.

==== #minbari #clan

For those who might be interested, we've come up with some name for the
various clans of the Minbari warrior caste. The primary five are the Star
Riders (the oldest), the Moon Shields, the Wind Swords, the Night Walkers and
the Fire Wings. (The first three refer to the early Minbari version of a
mounted force, for which you need riders with shields and swords, with #4
referring to foot soldiers, and the last to those whose clan first used
flying machines in battle.)

(Oh, and Star Riders refers to those mounted soldiers who were trained
to use the stars for navigation. Behind them came the foot soldiers, who
were expert at traveling by night.)

==== #head

The bone that grows out of the back of Delenn's head is exactly that,
not a decoration, but an actual part of the physiology. It will differ with
various Minbari in size, configuration and texture (another Minbari seen in
the show has a darker tint to the bone structure, it's cracked and so on).
The thought is that it grows from the back of the skull structure, and comes
forward with age. You can see the "root" of thed -- the -- structure
whenever Delenn turns around.

======= Narn

======= Human

I don't believe in the notion that, when we go to the stars, we have to
leave behind our individual languages, and cultures, and ethnic backgrounds,
and fashions of dress. We bring that with us as part of who and what we are.
It's our differences that *strengthen* us. It's not all going to vanish in
200 years. There are cultures in the eastern part of the world that have
survived with minor changes for literally thousands of years. 250 years is
the blink of an eye. It's really a Western phenomenon; to us, 200 years is a
long time, the whole history of our nation. That changes when you go
outside. I stood on the cobblestone walks of Trinity College in Dublin, and
realized that on those same cobblestones some eager student raced across to
the living quarters to announce news of a big revolution in the American
colonies. I stood in the neolithic burial mounds at New Grange, the oldest
man-made stuctures in the world, older even than the pyramids...and realized
that in human terms, 250 years isn't even a blip. We're not going to change
that much.

250 years ago, people worked, got married, had families, separated, had
affairs, and hoped for a better world for their children. 250 years from
now, it will be exactly the same. Only the chrome of technology will vary.
For a good example of this, go find an SF movie musical called "Just Imagine"
made in the 1930s. Set in the 1980s, it pictured a world of people with
names instead of numbers, pills instead of food, and birth by machine. Much
of TV SF makes the similar error.
---
Good point, btw, about the international aspects, on many levels. I
think that if we're going to fairly represent Earth in the future, you have
to go beyond the "token" minority idea. Not just one black, or one asian,
but *lots* of folks in a mix...and not just from those two fairly safe
groups. When was the last time you saw a Moslem on Trek? Or a Jew? Did
somebody launch a Pogrom when we weren't looking?

That's the challenge...to be *truthfully* international, AND to show a
true vision of the future, you're going to need Native Americans, Indians,
Arabs, Africans, Hispanics, South Americans, Australians...on and on and on.
Not to be politically correct (which I tend to think refers more to the way a
character is *represented* than simply acknowledging his/her existence) but
simply to include them as part of the human race as we go to the stars.

=============== Characters ===============

======= Delenn

==== #delenn #female

Now that we've definitely decided that Delenn is female, we're in the
process of designing new costumes for her, some very exotic, but always in
the dignified Minbari style. Her aide, Lennier, will have a very monk like
look, very subdued.

We're also modifying the prosthetics a bit. Again, because Delenn is
definitely female, we can use a little less in the way of heavy overlays on
the head and face to convey ile keeping the desired androgynous look. This
lets us get the same basic image, but make a lighter and more easily applied
mask that will allow Mira greater degrees of comfort and free her up to act
without being hampered in any way.

==== #video #croatia #furlan

I can't remember if I mentioned this here or not...but did I note that
apparently the B5 pilot is the #1 best selling/renting tape these days in
Croatia? What this means I have no idea....
---
Mira was in a Croatian choir?! I didn't know this. She's never
mentioned it. I know that she was an actress there, but this part is news to
me. I must ask her about it when she comes in next week.

======= Franklin

==== #franklin #biggs

For the role of Dr. Stephen Franklin we have found an intense and
powerful african-american actor named Richard Biggs. He's younger, in his
mid- to late thirties, dedicated, sharp and...again, the word I keep coming
back to is *intense*. Consider a younger Dr. (and I'm going to misspell
this) Debakke: self-assured, confident almost to a fault. He comes largely
out of an experimental background, so his bedside manner isn't all it should
be. He's often impatient. His character is the newest addition to the B5
"team" of characters, and this will lead to a fair amount of conflict.

======= G'Kar

==== #g'kar

We're also doing some minor modifications to G'Kar's prosthetic, making
the chin less squared, the mouth a little broader, and the whole thing again
easier to put on and take off. It will also look far more realistic; parts
of it LOOKED like a prosthetic when you got up close.

It's one thing to throw heavy prosthetics on an actor who's only going
to wear it for the 4 weeks required for the pilot. But to wear something day
in and day out for 22 episodes...you have to think about that. Our own
concern was making it look even *better* for both of them, and we've found a
way to do that.

======= Garabaldi

#garabaldi

Regarding Garibaldi...in the first hour-script that I've turned in, we
do learn more about his past, and what brought him here. And yes, there were
some lives involved, but he was framed. Doesn't mean he didn't screw up
other things...and doesn't mean he won't screw up NOW, either. He's had a
problem with alcohol, and it may come back. But there is a strong link to
Sinclair that prompted him to give Garibaldi what is, essentially, his last
chance.
---
Brett: this isn't a case of jack-of-all-trades. Garibaldi *has* to be a
qualified fighter pilot as head of security of a *space station* where
problems can come up in the space surrounding the station. Also, as
mentioned here before (I think) and certainly in one of our scripts, during
the period between Garibaldi's last security job, and now, when eh (he)
couldn't get a job as security chief, he was a pilot, running transport
shuttles on a couple of ice mining operations. (It was not a good period for
him.) Nothing is done arbitrarily with these characters. All three of our
main EA characters - - Sinclair, Garibaldi and Ivanova -- are qualified
fighter and transport pilots. Having Talia suddenly going off in one of
these would be absolutely wrong, and a case of what you describe.

======= Hernandez

==== #hernandez

She's a medical doctor, running one of the many medlabs on B5. (Dr.
Franklin, as chief of staff, runs the primary medlab, supervising other
doctors on-station.)

======= Ivanova

Quick sketch of Ivanova: Russian, pessimistic, wry, very sharp. She
isn't in "Believers" because there was a one-week overlap with a prior
committment on a film project, which we accommodated. --

Being of Byelorussian descent, I've always wanted to write for an ethnic
Russian character. Not someone with an accent, any more than I have an
accent even though I have a last name with 10,000 consonants and no vowels.
There's a wry and formal and stiff-necked and sometimes very passionate
streak that runs through the Russian spirit, and a certain rough-hewn
mysticism, a sense of absolute fatality and doom punctuated by moments of
great belief in humanity. It's a mix of traits you don't much see in
American television.

Which is why the new second in command is Lieutenant Commander Susan
Ivanova, who will be played by Claudia Christian, a fantastic and very strong
performer who just knocked us out of the room. Very much a commanding
presence, a little quirky when she wants to be, a shade on the pessimistic
side.

Having come out of an Eastern European background, I've long lamented
the stereotyped roles usually written for that kind of character, and look
forward to drawing upon the real thing for her character.
---
Claudia has settled nicely into the role, with this great edge to her
performance. Pessimistic, fatalistic, occasionally sarcastic, but in a funny
way...that can turn right around and tear your heart out.

======= Kosh

==== #kosh #words

As reward for the humor, here's what Kosh will *really* say, when he
utters the first words we hear. He's on the Observation Dome, looking out
through the window as a ship passes overhead, the lights shining down at him
through a window.

"Ahhh....beautiful." Long beat as he looks around the place. Then:
"I will miss this...when it is gone."

And then he exits, as Garibaldi mutters to Ivanova, "I *really* hate it
when he does that."

==== #kosh #reception

Here's one little extra for you: only one person aboard Babylon 5 has
any idea of what a Vorlon is, inside that suit, and only one race has had
dealings with the Vorlons before. Watch the reception at the end, and see if
you notice anything unusual in the way the various people respond to Kosh.

======= Lennier

==== #lennier #mumy

Well, we finished casting for the role of Lennier, who is Delenn's
aide/attache. We were looking for someone who could give us the most as a
quiet, restrained, almost monk-like character, fairly innocent in his way.

And in a very nice bit of synchronicity, the person who came in and
knocked us out with his audition was Bill Mumy, who has now been cast in the
role. Aside from his work in Lost in Space, Bill is a terrific actor whose
role, I think, may sometimes have become a stumbling block from time to time,
as did the roles of Shatner, Nimoy and others from Trek. Here he will be a
very different kind of character, barely recognizeable beneath the Minbari
makeup, and can show a very different sort of approach to his work. We're
very excited to have him on the team. (I think it will also be good to have
someone around from a prior successful SF TV series who can help our cast
prepare for the reception this show is likely to receive...and I suspect that
very few if any of them really understand yet what that will mean.)
---
Mumy's role, to answer that question, is a recurring role; I think he'll
be in about half a dozen episodes or so for us. To the best of my knowledge,
this won't interfere with any other obligations Mumy has.
---
BTW, this week will Bill Mumy's first week on B5, and he's done a very
nifty job as Lennier. He brings a wonderful sense of absolute
innocence...the proverbial innocent abroad...to Lennier's character. The
Minbari prosthetics look great on him, enhancing the sense he brings to the
character. He's also great with the cast, and keeping things up during
shooting. At one point, as they're leaving camera, Delenn says to Lennier,
who has just arrived at the station, "Now tell me of home; I have been away
far too long." His ad-libbed off-camera response: "Beatlemania is back."
(Another ad-lib for another shot: "Minimalls...they're everywhere," and
"Well, we just got Pizza Hut and cable.")

======= Londo

Yeah, the more I delve into Londo's character, the more I find him
intriguing. He mourns for the loss of his beloved Empire, and this makes him
vulnerable to some dangerous temptations. There are a number of dark corners
in his personality...but at the same time, a vulnerability, a sadness.

In the B5 story arc, Londo goes through some *major* changes, some good,
some tragic, some frightening. He becomes a major player, but not in the way
he would ever have anticipated.

(Hold back, Joe, you've got a long stretch ahead of you here....)

==== #garabaldi #cast #jurasik

Behind-the-scenes humor: because it had been so long since the pilot, it
took a few of our actors a bit of time to get back into their characters, to
find the characters' "fingerprints" for lack of a better term. This is quite
understandable given the long waiting period. When he needed to find his
character for a scene, Peter Jurasik mentioned that he would just stand up
straight and yell, "MISter GariBALdi!" and he'd be right back in character.
Sort of the B5 version of "Shazam!"

Minus the lightning bolt, of course.
---
We're going to re-create an entire new hairpiece that will lay flatter
and look better from the back, which I felt was one of its drawbacks. Also,
we don't want to have Peter shave his head for the whole series, as he did
for the pilot, so we're coming up with a longer prosthetic that'll come all
the way over the top of the head to the eyebrows, where we'll blend it in
unnoticeably. This will make Peter's life just that much easier.
---
We're not changing Londo's hair to make it anything less than what it
is. It'll still be as outrageous as it was in the pilot. What I was
referring to specifically was the way it bunched up at the back of the head,
just above the nape of the neck. What they had done was take a conventional
wig and shove the hair up and lock it into place; in this case, we're
stringing a new, custom wig that will gently come up in the back, as if
growing naturally in that direction. The top part will be the same, it's
only a matter of cleaning up the back, which simply didn't work
aesthetically.

==== #londo #wives

???? What's up with Londo and his wives?

..moment in a script where Londo is talking about homeworld, where marriages
are still arranged, to someone who doesn't want any part of that life.
"Here," he says, pointing to three photos, "these are my three wives:
Pestilence, Famine and Death. You think I married them for their
personalities? Their personalities could shatter entire *planets*. Arranged
marriages, every one. But it worked out. They inspire me. Knowing they're
at home, waiting for me, is what keeps me here, 75 light years away...."
---
We'll see Londo's -- spouse/spouses, I'm avoiding saying which -- in
time.

======= Sakai

==== #sakai

Finally, having gone his separate ways with Caroline -- she wanted him
to leave his job, he wouldn't -- Sinclair renews a longstanding relationship
with Catherine Sakai, a role we are going to cast sometime fairly soon.

Catherine works for an Earth Corp surveying asteroids and planets for
minerological exploitation, making sure they're uninhabited, and finding
items that might present the greatest possibility for profit.
---
We've shot our first scenes between Sinclair and his new love interest,
Catherine Sakai (as played by Julia Nickson). This is a very, very strong
character, and she brings a wonderful vibrancy to Sakai. They have a unique
relationship that looks and sounds like a real relationship, with all its ups
and downs and dumb moments. One way that I've reinforced this is
that...well, in the first episode in which they meet again (they were
involved before), just about every scene between them is lifted almost
directly from personal experience.

And given some of the awkward, even painful conversations that take
place, it was very, *very* hard to watch this being rehearsed. (Michael and
Julia worked over a weekend with the director to get the nuances just right.)
When it came time to shoot the scenes, much as I wanted to be on-set, I just
couldn't do it. My heart just kept falling right down to my shoes. I can't
wait for the first person to say "I don't buy this as a real relationship"
just so's I can whap him upside the head. But I have a hunch that won't
happen. It comes across as very real, and as a very vulnerable moment for
both characters.

"Write what you know," they said. Right. How about I just take a power
drill and stick it in my ear...it'd be faster, less painful, and after a
while I might even come to like it....

======= EXTRAS

==== #crowd #extras

There's one truly remarkable shot we did for the current episode, shot
Friday evening. Generally, in any shot with a crowd, you need about 20-45
people. That's usually enough to fill out the shot in any set you can go to.
More than that gets costly, and isn't really noticeable unless you frame your
shot just *so*. Yesterday's shot has 160 extras. It's a very impressive,
and very moving shot. It appears in the tag of "the Parliament of Dreams."
It's the kind of shot you just don't see anywhere else. We had some people
from PTEN and a film crew for a behind-the-scenes piece on hand, and they all
commented on how only this show would do this shot...and how significant it
is. (I can't tell you what it was, because that gives it away, and I want it
to be kind of a surprise; suffice to say you'll definitely know it when you
see it.)

======= WALTER KOENIG'S ROLE

==== #koenig

Funny incident today, though, also at lunch. Walter Koenig joined some
of the cast members at their table for lunch, and as he came to the table,
they all stood up at attention. When asked why, they explained that it's
protocol for junior officers to stand when a senior officer comes to the
table. It was kind of a nice moment.
---
Today,ter Koenig's 2nd day working in the B5 universe, as a Psi Cop in
"Mind War." He's doing well, taking part in some very difficult scenes
(fight scenes and the ilke), and it's a very powerful performance, not at ALL
what people have seen before. He's a terrific performer when given a role
with some meat to it. And the dailies look great. I think this episode will
wake up a lot of people who have never seen Walter as anything other than
Chekov.

=============== Technology ===============

======= Station

==== #station #size #capacity

???? How big is the station?

The station is a touch over 5 miles long. It can hold roughly 250,000
humans and aliens (many of whom are in transit at any point).
---
250,000 is the *maximum* number of beings who can be there at one time;
that's not necessarily the maximum number of living quarters. In some ways,
B5 is like an airport; you come in, linger, then move on to your eventual
destiny (catching a few winks in the customs area waiting for the right ship
to come in or go out).

==== #own #station

???? Who owns the station?

The station is owned by the Earth Alliance, and if you're going to be
staying there, you pay a fee. Station employees are charged a fee against
their salaries...which some of them aren't happy about.

==== #move #station

???? Will B5 ever be moving from its present position?

Re: B5 and movement...no, it ain't going anywhere. Nor will it.

==== #rotate

The station was designed to rotate mainly because it's scientifically
accurate. Afterward, we realized that, as you suggest, it *does* give the
station a very dynamic look. Which only proves the point that if you take
the time to actually do things correctly, to answer the next question, it
works FOR you, not against you.

==== #defense

The defense system for B5 consists of a system of moderate level
defensive grids, hull-mounted weaponry (which is generally concealed behind
large plates, which would be blown off with explosive bolts to reveal the
weapons beneath), and a small number of individual fighter craft stored in a
docking bay at the rear of the station.
---
The computer system is quite good, based on a crystalline technology
that's a mesh between alien and human-developed stuff. As for defense,
you'll see a full demonstration of this in the first season; for now, let's
just say that that smooth looking exterior is laced with sections that can
open and reveal all kinds of interesting things. Imagine a five mile long
Swiss Army knife....

==== #inside

Yes, there are definitely different levels in each section of B5.

And yes again, down the road there will be both small flyers and
individuals with air-packs in the zero-G section at the center of the Garden.
Ron's worked out how to do it.

How's it illuminated? Quite nicely, actually....

======= Ships

==== #fighter #starfury

The fighters are the SA-23E Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfuries, and B5 has
four fighter wings, each with approximately 12 fighters.
---
The starfuries are *only* non-atmosphere craft, and they can't hold more
than one person. The other specs are over at Ron's, and I'll try to remember
to snag them at some point.
---
The fighters are built on a cross-wing structure (four wings), but very
different from either X-wing or tie fighters. The four wings have fore, aft,
top, bottom and side thrusters, so that they can move in any direction...they
can fly left to right, turn backwards, and continue to fly left to right,
flying backwards, and thus fire right to left. They're perfectly designed for
zero-g environments.

==== #starfury #launch

???? How do starfuries launch?

The fighters enter via the main docking bay, where they are shunted back
into the Starfury launch bays. (BTW, for those who've asked, and let it
never be said that we're unresponsive...we asked Ron to develop a CGI
sequence that shows how ships get from the interior of the main docking bay
down to the customs and loading bays. I've seen it, and it looks pretty
spiffy. Look for it in "Grail."
---
The bay is pressurized, with drop doors beneath each fighter. A ramp
extends to the fighters individually, bringing on pilots. The bays are
depressurized as the pilots (in flight suits) prepare. Then the drop doors
open, the fighters pivot to nose-down position, and launch.
---
The fighters are in regular configuration when the pilot boards. Then
the drop doors open, the ship tilts down on a massive pair of arms, and then
they're released, the centrifugal force of the station sending them out the
drop doors.
---
The starfury fighter is launched by a drop straight out, nose pointed
"downward," toward space. Upon release, it flies pretty much straight out,
still containing some of the momentum from the rotation, so it would appear
to be going straight away from the station because its position in relation
to the station, like a geosynchronous satellite, is still more or less
correct. Shortly after getting out of the bay, the fighters fire up their
engines, which lets them take any angle or direction they choose. So they
can very quickly head away on any trajectory.
---
The bay is pressurized, with drop doors beneath each fighter. A ramp
extends to the fighters individually, bringing on pilots. The bays are
depressurized as the pilots (in flight suits) prepare. Then the drop doors
open, the fighters pivot to nose-down position, and launch.
---
There is nothing wrong with the launch sequence. It causes them to move
directly away from the station, on a slight spiral, facing out to the stars
from the pilot's POV. Whether or not it looks funky has little to do with
whether or not this is the most efficient means of doing this. I think it's
kind of funky that the space shuttle flies upside down while in orbit, its
cargo bay facing down toward Earth, but that's the way it's done, and there
are good reasons for it. We sat down for a very long time with a bunch of
designers and techies who know physics and know math and know flight
dynamics, we ran computer models, and the physics are right.

==== #spaceship #variety

???? Will there be a variety of spaceships?

Yeah, we do a LOT of ships this season. I have gifs of them all, and
some of them are mind-bogglingly nifty. What I like about Ron's work is that
many of the space shots are works of art you could practically frame. And
he's done one very important thing: he's brought COLOR into space, in a big
way. Ships are personalized, painted, textured and made into things you
enjoy looking at. The Starfury nicknamed the Sea Witch is a great example of
this...as well as a bunch of others.

Not all Starfuries are the same, btw...you'll be seeing a different
category of them in "Mind War," and they're gorgeous. Also very scary. Not
as scary, but more nifty, are the ones in "Survivors" and "Chrysalis."

Ah LOVES spaceships....

==== #civilian #earth #ships

???? Will there be starships from earth? civilian spacecraft?

Re: starships from Earth...yes, you'll be seeing a wide range of ships,
from smaller transports and trading vessels to big mothers. It is something
of an empire, and the ships come in as many varied forms as we have cars and
trucks and semis and tanks and on and on....
---
Civilian spacecraft are fairly common; they're expensive, to be sure,
and if you're just going from point a to point b, it makes more sense just to
book passage on something, but many folks now make their living in space, so
transport is required.

==== #dock

???? How do ships dock?

As you'll see in the series, we've worked out the docking bay stuff very
clevely. A ship enters dead center. It is then taken and lowered into one
of a number of different bays deeper within the station (by deeper I mean
lower, more toward the hull). That's how we can have a series of different
docking bays in the first place.

There's a nifty CGI shot we'll be using at some point in the series
where you can see the entirety of the docking bay, with the various ships
arrayed inside. Then there are the more secure bays areas, with restricted
access, as when Kosh arrived.

==== #vorlon

As for the Vorlon ship -- believe me, it ain't comic relief, in any
sense of the word. I've seen what it can do. And there *is* a utilitarian
reason behind its design. In addition, we want to show something VERY alien
in design and construction...and frankly, there's NO reason a ship that isn't
ever going to enter atmosphere needs to look aerodynamic. In time, you'd
move toward things that are visually or aesthetically interesting. In this
culture (Vorlon), art and science are closely allied, so this extension into
the look of their ships is quite natural. Concepts about what ships are have
become very rigid and inflexible thanks to the preponderance of SF-TV shows.
We want to loosen that up. And that look DOES, as stated, have a practical
aspect about it as well, which will be seen down the road.

======= Jump Gates

==== #jump #gate #ship #pay

???? How does a ship pay for use of a jump gate?

As soon as the ship comes through, its signature is registered and the
fees debited against their account, if they have one at the station. If
not, the incoming person is asked for payment before being allowed onto the
station. In some cases, as with transports, corporations buy jump gate
access in bulk, and then assign the routes to their various transports.
(Believe it or not, this actually comes up in dialogue in "Midnight.")

Ah, but remember, the government is the one who put the jump gate in; no
one individual or corp could afford to do that. When your ship, if Earth
registered, comes through, you're automatically billed, just like income
tax...it goes against your credit. If you're not Earth registered, you pay
when you arrive at an Earth port or orbital transfer station. Either way,
you pay. If you try to land somewhere without proper authorization, you'll
be arrested and your ship confiscated.

Now, you could probably come through the gate, hang in space for a
while, and go back in again (IF you're a non-Earth registered ship) and not
pay anything...but in that case, what's the point? It'd be like taking a
difficult trip in a small ship across the Atlantic, and not getting out or
going ashore once you arrive.

==== #mothership #jump

???? How is the mothership making its own jump gate?

In the teaser scene you refer to in "Midnight," you've got a couple
dozen fighters coming in alongside about 3-4 motherships (or capital ships,
either term will suffice). We've always said that big ships can punch
through and form their own jump points. That's how the jump gates get there
in the first place: a big ship comes through, on its own, and leaves behind a
jump gate. There's no contradiction. One (or more) of the big ships was
creating the point of entry as it went.
---
Yes, if a big ship went into hyperspace on its own power, it would
likely have to accellerate first, but if it were near B5, it might well just
use the jump-gate that's already there to save on energy and fuel.

==== #effect #jump

We've made some minor modifications to the jumpgate effect, in the
texture and color of the warp EFX. It looks a little less computer-y, and
some science guys suggested that there should be red-shift built into the
thing. So now when objects come *out* of hyperspace, and we're looking into
the jumpgate, the warp effect is blue; when you enter the jumpgate, it shifts
toward orange/red.

======= Medicine

==== #medicine #technology

???? How do you envision medical technology?

Our medical advisor tells us that regen technology should be well in
hand within the next 100 years, so you can grow back damaged internal organs
and the like, and avoid having to do transplants. Also that the system of
surgery is moving toward non-invasive procedures, using light in more and
different ways.

He went on past that, but there was some math involved...

=============== Universe ===============

==== #psi #telepath

???? Where do psi-corps ratings come from? What are their legal
restrictions?

Psi Corps ratings are assigned from within the Academy, based on test
results and personal interviews/training. Restrictions: NO unauthorized
scans -- you need the permission of the person, tacit permission, or written
permission of next of kin -- and no "dipping," going into other areas not
relevant to the current scan. In criminal cases, psi's may not scan
defendants during a trial or before to determine guilt or innocence, as this
violates the right of due process. After a conviction, a psi may be called
upon to function in various capactities (which will be seen in "The Quality
of Mercy"). A psi *may* scan the victim of a crime unable to remember
details of an attack, but that information must be backed up by physical
evidence, or it is inadmissible.
---
No, the accused cannot ask for a psi to validate his or her innocence;
the trial can ONLY proceed on the basis of evidence. This is to prevent
abuse, trials where a Psi looks at you and determines your guilt. When a life
is at stake, you can't risk the possibility of some hidden agenda on the part
of the telepath. You'd have to use a telepath to verify the first telepath's
scan, and on and on. Best simply to exclude them from that aspect of the
law.
---
As Walter says in "Mind War," about rogue telepaths, "Only Psi Cops are
qualified to bring them down, so we're afforded greater...latitude." (That's
a paraphrase from memory.)
---
We're going to be doing a lot on the Psi Corps toward the middle of the
series, btw. There's quite a bit in D.C. Fontana's new story, "Legacies,"
and in a script I just finished, "Mind War." The more I play around with the
notion of legalized, licensed telepaths, the more room there is for all kinds
of intrigue.

==== #earth

???? Will we be seeing Earth, or what's been happening on Earth, during
the series?

While we will not be *seeing* much of Earth in B5 (as in going there),
what's going on back home will be a *constant* undercurrent to the series.
You'll learn a lot about the state of Earth in 2258 in our universe during
the course of the series.
---
Actually, my plan is to show a *lot* of what's happening back on Earth,
because that will tie into what happens on B5. Social changes, politics,
religion, sports...again, this relates to one of the themes of B5 from my
point of view, the continuance of our species,the thread that connects our
past, our present and our future. And again, that's something that'll become
fairly evident from episode one on.
---
The questions concerned B5 and the political situation on Earth at this
time. Back home, there is an Earth Senate, which is made up of elected
representatives from each nation-state; the larger and more powerful the
nation, the more reps they get. Which annoys the smaller nations no end.
(And there's quite a bit of conflict between them; the smaller nation-states,
with limited resources, keep grousing about why they should support B5
financially, as well as other space endeavors, when their economy really
isn't set up to take as much advantage of the situation as the larger
nation-states.

==== #rank

???? What is the rank system on B5 based on?

On the theory that some of the militaries have blended, the system of
ranks is kind of a cross between the navy and the air force (at least the
ones with which our characters will have any interaction).

==== #earth #alliance #ea #administration #autonomy

In most everyday situations B5 operates fairly autonomously; EA doesn't
generally get involved unless there's a very good reason. And from time to
time, they do. That happens right off the bat in the pilot movie, where they
stomp down hard. They exercise other authority from time to time --
"suggesting" that a group of Centauri representatives be given the VIP
treatment in order to encourage them to invest and help to defray the cost of
running B5 (an issue that never seems to come up in TV SF...just how much
DOES the Enterprise cost to run?), and in the series, there's considerable
conflict planned for down the road between those on B5 and the EA officials
(especially since not everyone is 100% behind B5, and would love nothing more
than to see it shut down).

Wheels within wheels...that's the secret.

==== #squadron #patches

???? Names of squadrons of Starfuries?

BTW, for those who might be interested in such things...continuing the
Earth tradition, all of our various fighter wings have their own names. The
fighter unit that Ivanova belongs to, for instance, is the Ghost Riders. The
name of Sinclair's Earth/Minbari War Fighter unit was Death's Hand. We've
had patches made of these and other insignia, which get used at appropriate
moments on their flight suits in the cockpit. (I don't remember offhand the
name of the primary fighter unit on B5, which is technically Delta Wing, but
it has a specific name beyond that, and it just fell out of my head.)
---
BTW, today I was gifted by some folks in B5 with a collection of some of
the patches we've used on the fighter pilot suits. You'll see these on the
front breast and arms (both sides of each) of the suits, if only in the
occasional glimpse. Even though they'll probably never bee fully seen, we
felt the need to make 'em real looking and finish them off to the last
stitched detail.

These include the Earth Forces Off-World patch (gold-handled sword
against a starburst within what looks like a cross between a mobius strip and
human DNA), Earth Force Command (similar, but minus the starburst, with
transverse red stripes against a black background), a B5 Fighter Wing
Squadron patch (Flying Nightmares, B5FA-1013 on the outer ring, with a B5
symbol on the left side outlined by up-and-down red stripes, and on the right
a black up and down stripe bordered by 2256), a rectangular Earth Alliance
Fighter Identification patch (five-pointed command insignia circled by red
and gold, overlaid with gold wings over Joe Straczynski), and the insignia
worn by those on the Battle of the Line, a triangular patch with Star Fury on
the upper left angle in silver on black, FA-23E in silver on black on the
right upper angle, with the inner part of the triangle divided in two by a
vertical silver stripe, blue on the left, gold on the right, over which is
the design of one of the fighters in full accelleration, leaving trails
behind it, with the squadron number 361st - TFS, with UGLY beneath it, and on
the lower left angle of the patch, in black on silver, the words BUT WELL
HUNG.

Which refers, of course, to the figher craft itself.

(They hang upside down prior to launch, you'll recall.)
---
That's the logo for Starfury squadrons in general. On the opposite arm
goes the individual squadron name, such as Death's Hands (Sinclair's squadron
on the Line), Ghost Riders (Ivanova's wing), and so on.

==== #league #non-aligned

There are more aliens than just the 5 major groups. In addition to
them, there's *bunches* of oththe classification of the League of Non-Aligned
Worlds. The Big Five constitute what is in essence the Security Counsel,
while the rest are the General Assembly. We will see these groups
participating in that capacity in "Midnight."
---
It was Minbari Federation, Centauri Republic, Narn Regime, Vorlon Empire
and Earth Alliance, for anyone keeping track. And yes, most all of them have
some other alien species within their sphere of direct influence.
---
Most of the non-aligned worlds have a less technologically advanced
society, but mainly what constitutes membership in the Big 5 is the size of
the government in question. If it's just one planet and maybe a sister world
or two, that's not enough to qualify.

It's based very much on the security council of the UN in that respect.

==== #peace #status

I'll have to be a little circumspect here (damn it, you're doing it
again....). The Narn Regime is not currently at war with the Centauri
Republic, which occuped the Narn homeworld for nearly a century before
finally being driven off by the Narn resistance. Their resources depleted
they are not currently in a position to make war on anyone; being naturally
rather paranoid, and having just been more or less enslaved, they have a
dread of other races getting together and possibly harming them, as well as a
hunger for the technology that might protect them down the road (as Russia
feared invasion its Eastern Front after WW2).

There's a rough alliance between the Earth Alliance and the Centauri,
since theirs was the first race we encountered. (They told us at that time
that they were the biggest guys around, that they ran everything, that we
were a lost colony of theirs...which eventually was disproven by genetic
examination. The rest of their claims were also BS. They were trying to
impress the natives.)

There's some movement toward making nice with the Minbari, but also a
GREAT deal of resistance, given the recent war.
---
The only questions I can remember...the vorlons have never fought a war
with any other race. (At least none has ever been recorded.) And right now
in the Minbari race there's a big split that took place after the
Earth/Minbari war between the religious leaders and the military leaders,
which culminated with the suicide of the Minbari commander at the conclusion
of the war. They've now arrived at an uneasy truce, but with time, who
knows?

==== #stars

Yes, we're trying to use real stars and constellations in our script
references, as well as indications of new ones that may have been discovered
in the 200 years between now and the time of B5. (At one point, a tech-
runner's background is being discussed, and they mention that he ran
forbidden technology into the Vega and Proxima systems, for instance.) Which
star is the one Babylon 5 orbits? One that hasn't been discovered at this
point in time...but in about 50 years, it'll show up on the starcharts. It's
a fairly small star, dwarfed and hidden by several nearby binaries that
overwhelm the spectrum visible from Earth.

Yeah, that's the ticket....

=============== Pilot ===============

==== #pilot #problem

???? What was wrong with the pilot?

At risk of rehashing this one more time, what's missing from the pilot
is 25 minutes of additional material that further fleshed out the characters.

Each of the characters is being solidly rounded out in the series,
showing multiple sides to each character. All I can say is that I think
you'll like what we're doing.
---
Re: the pilot...I've hashed and rehashed this, and the bottom line is to
see what we do in the series and judge the series by the series. The DS9
pilot had to explain very little that wasn't specific to the plotline: you
already knew what a bajorran was, what a wormhole was, what the Federation
was, what the cardassians were, on and on and on. Because they didn't have
to introduce any of that, they could spend time on other character moments.

We didn't have that luxury in the pilot. We had to do what, in essence,
ST has done over 25 years: establish our universe, painting it in broad
strokes, as broad're done with that aspect. And now we can do our character-
based stories. Which is exactly what we're doing.

==== #delay #pilot #series

???? Why the big delay between the pilot and the series?

We'd always figured on going right to series, but once we had done the
pilot, the studio said, in essence, "Well, we've got a pilot, we don't know
if the market will sustain more than one space SF series, no other SF series
has done well lately...maybe we ought to air the pilot first, and get the
ratings, before committing to a series." And that's what happened...much to
our consternation at first, but in the long run it was a blessing in
disguise, because that interim period allowed us to really do a lot to make
the show better.

==== #pilot #miss

???? My friend missed the pilot! How can I get her introduced to the B5
universe?

Don't show 'em the pilot first. Let 'em dive right in.
---
Actually, the funny thing is, I don't much mind if people who hadn't
seen the pilot don't catch the rebroadcast. What we're doing now is SO
radically better than the pilot that I almost can't watch it now.

==== #missing #old #characters

???? What happened to the old characters on the pilot, not working on the
series?

On a classified mission (which I hope we will be able to get into at
some point), Laurel has been reassigned out on the Rim, and Dr. Kyle is now
working with the EA President on the issue of alien migration to Earth, a
growing problem to some, a benefit to others.
---
Pat Tallman passed on returning to the B5 project. Our new telepath
will be played by Andrea Thompson, with the character name Talia Winters.
---
The main task was to get the telepath in trouble with the psi cops.
There's another way of doing that with Talia that's just as effective.

What it *does* give me, which is kinda nice, is that the only two people
to have ANY direct contact with a Vorlon...have been transferred back to
Earth. Which plays wonderfully into something sinister I'd kinda like to
develop that the Earth Alliance is working on behind the scenes....

==== #story #arc #pilot

???? What is in the pilot, as it relates to the overall story?

How much of the basic "saga" is in the pilot? Some...bits and pieces.
The problem, always, is that we have a whole new universe to establish, with
all the backstory that goes with that. As it is, it's fairly "information
intensive," as one person put it. We find out about the Earth/Minbari war,
the curious surrender, Sinclair's past, the missing 24 hours, the relations
between the various governments and their own personal agendas, and a hint of
what's to come. This while establishing the backstory of all our characters,
and telling a story in present time (for them).

I think you will find indications of what we've talked about for the
series present in the pilot. Which is why it bears watching more than once;
you'll pick up more information and more of a sense of the world the more
closely you inspect it. (We tried to come up with a pilot that actually
BENEFITS from close inspection, rather than falling apart if you look at it
too closely.)

==== #narration #pilot

???? What was the narration in the pilot?

LONDO (older voice): "I was there at the dawn of the Third Age of
Mankind. It began in the Earth Year 2257. Babylon 5 was the last of the
Babylon stations, located deep in neutral space. It was a port of call for
refugees, businessmen, smugglers, diplomats and travelers from a hundred
worlds. It could be a dangerous place, but we accepted the risk because
Babylon 5 was our last, best hope for peace. Under the leadership of its
final commander, Babylon 5 was a dream, given form. A dream of a galaxy
without war, where species from different worlds could exist, side by side,
in mutual respect...a dream that was endangered, as never before, by the
arrival of one man on a mission of destruction.

"Babylon 5...was the last of the Babylon stations. This...is its
story...."
---
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....
---
Oh, yeah, the "mission of destruction" thing ONLY relates to this
particular episode, the pilot. It'll be gone from regular episodes.

For the series, my feeling is that the intro should be as short as
possible, almost more for mood than for information.

The intro may also change slightly each season....
---
"Mankind" was being used by Londo specifically in relation to humans,
not sentient aliens including his own race. Earthers. Which was one reason
(of many) I wanted his character to be the narrator, someone looking in from
the outside.

As for the Third Age, it's -- oh, darn, look at the time, have to go....

==== #lost #scene

LOST SCENES FROM BABYLON 5

Here's another scene, which was filmed for the pilot movie, but
cut when the pilot ran long. It takes place at the top of the
movie, in the teaser.

***

INT. OBSERVATION DOME

One of the consoles BREEPS and Laurel goes to it. With a push
of a button, the slender glass panel in front of her fills with
the image of SECURITY CHIEF MICHAEL GARIBALDI, early forties,
dark haired, hard-edged.

LAUREL
Garibaldi, what's up?

GARIBALDI
Looking for the Commander. We've got
someone down in Bay 12 needs his
personal clearance to come aboard.

LAUREL
He just linked in a few minutes ago,
said he was on his way. Had to take
care of a "tourist problem" first.
And no, I don't know what he meant,
so don't ask. I just hope it works
out better than the last one.

And with that, we go to

INT. CASINO

where we PAN the surroundings, revealing a mix of alien and
human life forms. There's smoke, music, dancers, and a colorful
blend of costumes and strange drinks on the bar. We FIND COMMANDER
JEFFREY SINCLAIR moving slowly through the crowd, keeping a close
eye on

A COUPLE

male and female from the look of it. He's human, she's alien,
and there's something vaguely chitinous about her skin, something
both exotic and forbidding. He's clearly coming on to her. He
surreptitiously hand her a credit chit. She smiles and moves away
from the bar, taking his hand as suddenly Sinclair is behind her.
He takes the chit from her and hands it back to the human.

SINCLAIR
I wouldn't.
(to the alien woman)
You know the rules about crossing
species. Stick with the list.

HUMAN "JOHN"
What're you, a bigot or something?

SINCLAIR
No. But obviously you've never me
an Arnassian before. After they
finish, they eat their mate.

With that, Sinclair heads away. The human looks back at the
woman with a very new perspective. And this time it's her turn
to smile...and now she holds up a hand, offering *him* money. On
his wary look, we CUT.

***

(I know, I know, I'm a sick man....)

==== #lost #scene

LOST SCENES FROM BABYLON 5

The following scene is excerpted from the script for "The
Gathering." It was filmed, but was eliminated from the
final cut due to time restraints.

Earlier in the story, Dr. Benjamin Kyle has had...an
encounter with what is inside the Vorlon's encounter suit.

***

INT. MEDLAB

where Laurel and Kyle look through the glass at Kosh.

LAUREL
So, Doctor...just what *did* you see
when you looked inside that suit?

KYLE
(a long beat, then:)
There are moments in your life when
everything crystallizes. When the
whole world reshapes itself, right
down to its component molecules, and
everything changes.
(beat)
I've looked upon the face of a
Vorlon, Laurel...and nothing's the
same anymore.

And, his thoughts distant, Kyle moves off, leaving Laurel
to peer through the mist at the shrouded figure within the
isolab, and wonder....

***

Just a little aside, provided FYI.

=============== Episodes ===============

==== #soul

Well, I just saw a cut of the episode that's going to air second, the
one guest-starring Morgan Shepherd. Oh, man...on the question of Did you
learn anything from the pilot...this thing *moves* like a sumbitch. It's a
very unusual, very *creepy* episode in many ways. And filled with character
stuff...and a good bit of background about some of our characters rendered in
active ways. I'm really dying to see what people think of this one when it
airs. It manages to take what would normally be considered a science
*fantasy* issue, and deal with it from a science fiction perspective,
without compromising on the latter at all. It's a very, *very* strong
episode.
---
Who's right, the soul hunter or the minbari? Yes.

==== #purple

We're currently finishing up production on "Born to the Purple," with
Clive Revell and Fabiana Udeno. It's a very offbeat and funny story (by
Larry DiTillio, natch) which adds a new side to Londo's character. It puts
our characters into different situations than we're used to, and it's fun
seeing how they react to these new conditions.

==== #parliament

???? How would you describe "Parliament"?

In looking at all the episodes shot to date, from a story point of view,
I think that "Sky" is still my favorite, in how it ties into the whole 5 year
arc. From a personal point of view, I'm very fond of "The Parliament of
Dreams," which is a very funny show, and at times a very emotional show.
"Parliament" is all over the place...it's got all of our major characters,
our ambassadors, their seconds, we see lots of group scenes, we're all over
the station, dipping in and out of three different but interconnected
stories...it's really a matter of keeping a lot of balls in the air at one
time, and I think we pulled it off nicely.

==== #squared

The one I'm most looking forward to writing just now, though, is
"Babylon Squared," in which we finally show what happened to Babylon 4, and
in the process ask more questions than we answer (though at least we DO
answer the questions we asked about the fate of that station in
general...you'll know what happened to it, just not yet what it means).

==== #sky

As for a production report...things are going swimmingly. Today we
started getting dailies on our first day of shooting on "And the Sky Full of
Stars," which deals with the Battle of the Line. This is not going to look
like your conventional episode of television. We've brought in equipment
that you don't normally see on a television set, certain kinds of cranes and
lenses and lighting packages that will give this particular episode a very
strange, almost surreal look. It's quite remarkable.

And Ron's pushing the envelope on the CGI...compositing some live action
stuff with CGI that'll blow your TV out.

It's going *well*.
---
Let me just stick my neck out a little here...though I know I won't be
sticking it out very far, having seen what I've just seen.

I've always been *very* careful in what I say, to avoid over-hyping
anything, or to make promises I can't fulfill. That's why I ask, when I go
to conventions, "Did I keep my promise?"

Here's a promise for you. Which I make without hesitation.

"And the Sky Full of Stars" is absolutely unlike anything ever produced
before for television. It is, so far, the high-water mark of the season.
Directorially, and in terms of the visual effects, the CGI, the performances,
(the writing, one hopes)...right across the board, it's a stunner. And
just...I can't convey this enough...*different*. It just takes TV science
fiction and yanks it to a whole other level of complexity.

Knowing that I'll eventually be hitting conventions after this show
airs, at which time I'll get reactions, I say that without hesitation. I
think you will find this promise kept.

==== #chrysalis #impact

Unrelated to anything that's preceded (thank goodness), here's a little
something for consideration...thoughts to conjure with, when it comes to our
season-ending episode/cliffhanger.

On Power, leaving out the things that unnerved people too much to let me
do, I was still able, in the final episode/cliffhanger of that first season,
to destroy the protagonist's base of operations totally and completely and
beyond recall, set up a major change in the antagonist's appearance (the
final mechanized stages of Lyman Taggert), eliminate all or nearly all of our
Jonathan Power's supply lines and support personnel, totally turn around the
direction of the show, and kill one major regular character.

So if that's what happens on a show where I'm not allowed full reign to
do *everything* want...stop to consider for a moment what happens when
there's no one to stop me from going all the way....

"Chrysalis" is going to be one heck of an episode....
---
I have just seen the director's cut of "Chrysalis," which will be the
last episode of this season...and I think it has just displaced "Sky" as the
most heavy-weight episode of the season. Even knowing what was coming, I
just sat here, stunned, at the end of it. Seeing dailies, bits and pieces,
doesn't really prepare you for the whole thing.

What I like most about it are two things: one, by about halfway in, you
really begin to understand that anything can happen, to anyone, and the rules
that normally carry you through a television episode no longer apply. It's a
very dangerous, dislocating feeling. Two: you get the very real feeling
that, after this episode, nothing is the same anymore. The show has taken a
very profound and *irrevocable* turn that will have lasting effects on all of
our characters. Of all the episodes so far, this one has the most feeling of
being the chapter end in a novel.

The really hard part will not avoiding the temptation to show this to
people...because it really can't be allowed to get out prior to airing.
There are too many twists and turns and revelations that spin one off into
another.

One other thing's certain: after you've seen "Chrysalis," you're going
to want to go back and check out three prior episodes...because something
that you will have read/interpreted one way, without question or hesitation
accepting it as what it obviously appears to be, will suddenly be turned on
its head, and a brand new interpretation will emerge. And it's *real*
creepy....
---
Re: the Oliver Stone thing...that's a comment made during the edit on
"Chrysalis" as well. I'm dying to see how people will react to what's done
and revealed and advanced in that episode, but we have to sit on it; though
we'll be mixing and finishing it in the next few weeks, we won't be turning
it over to PTEN until shortly before airdate, because we don't want this
getting all over town. There's not a single major character who's not
profoundly affected...or strongly set up for profound changes in the very
near future.

I love it...it's my favorite of the season, without question.

==== #demon #ellison

I thought long and hard about the question of mixing universes, and
allowed it only in this one case, because the events that propelled Trent
(the character from Demon) into the past (our present) don't take place for
another thousand years or so. Thus it doesn't do my arc any harm at all.
One could say that the events in "Demon" will happen at some point in the
future of the B5 universe...unless some events change them. On this one
occasion, therefore, I decided to allow it. But that's the ONLY one.
---
We're still working out the dynamics of how these two universes would
cross seamlessly, without doing damage to either. We've got some solid
leads, but this is 'way too early to get into them. More down the road, one
hopes....

=============== Show Production ===============

======= Writing

==== #ditillio #ellison

???? Tell us about how you work with DiTillio and Ellison.

We've recently, as of this past week, added a story editor to the staff,
Larry DiTillio. Which now makes three. But there's an implicit
understanding that this is a story that I want to tell, and I generally need
to have final word on characters, stories and everything else that involves
the scripts. Both Harlan and Larry are willing to defer to the reality that
this is my universe. I don't mean that to sound like an ego thing, because
it's not. It's no different than writing a novel; I know where the story has
to go when it hits the end, and we have to be sure not to fall off the
tracks. I didn't fight six years to get this show on the air to turn it over
to a committee.

I know already that that is going to be probably my biggest problem when
it comes to this series: turning over parts of it to other people. Letting
go. But it's necessary.

It's important, though, to clarify the difference between letting people
go where they want within a script, so that I can let Larry or Harlan or
others have their own head, as opposed to general changes that might affect
the story arc, which is a different category altogether. The two of them
have already had some great ideas on fleshing out some of the characters now
that they're established, have expanded the universe and clarified many of
the rules, the ideas, background stuff and so on.

I selected Larry as story editor because he's someone I've worked with
dozens of times over nearly ten years; we know how one another works, to the
point where we can shorthand a lot of stuff in meetings, which saves a lot of
time. He's an excellent script doctor when it comes to rewriting freelance
scripts. And he's one of the country's foremost role playing game designers;
he's great on campaigns and coming up with huge sagas, and I need someone who
can think on that kind of scale.

The other reason I had for selecting Harlan and Larry to work with,
aside from their skills as writers, is that they're both two very strong
individuals who won't be intimidated...*can't* be intimidated...and will
fight for what they think is right. I feel that's very important. So they
both give me an endless hard time. Which is needed for the mix.

==== #story #writer #credit

There's some small amount of blurring that goes on in this show; a
freelancer turns in a script, and things get added. For instance, there was
a need to really tighten up the story in "Believers," which could best be
done by bringing in a small B story, which would allow us to streamline and
intensify the main story. So I wrote the B story and slipped it in. In
"Grail," for instance, there's a courtroom scene with a character named Mr.
Flinn that was added to the script (I won't reveal what happens, but it's
very funny.)

And of course nearly all of the freelance scripts have been based on
assigned stories, something that's developed in-house (particularly if it's
an arc story) and then given to a writer to do the full outline and script.
So far the only story developed *outside* our offices first is D.C. Fontana's
second script, "Legacies."

In none of these, however, will you see more than one writer's name on
the script. Just the writer who did the draft. This is a policy I've had
for a long time, starting on JAKE. It's somewhat pro forma for some story
editors or producers to do a rewrite, or add a scene, and then slap their
name on the finished script...which cuts into the freelance writer's
residuals forever thereafter. My feeling is that if you're on staff, you are
being compensated well for your work, and should leave the freelancers alone.
The residuals are really their only way of making any real money off these
things. So we had a non-arbitration policy on JAKE, also on MURDER, and now
on B5. You'll never see a gang credit on this show. Having been a
freelancer myself, this sems the only fair way to run things.

==== #fan #scripts

???? What about fan-submitted scripts?

Re: scripts...for the first year, there will be only two people on
staff: me, and Harlan Ellison, as creative consultant. So the majority of
the scripts will be freelance. For that first season, we've already locked
down our writers. They will come from one of two groups: a) a small group of
writers who I've worked with over the years and have trained to my tastes,
and b) another small group of leading SF writers, many of whom don't work for
TV anymore, but will break that absence for B5.

Part of the reason for this is to establish ourselves firmly during the
course of that first season, get our feet wet, firm up our identity, and
other hits by the same name. It does no good for freelancers on the outside
to try a script until they've seen at least one season, as well. Finally,
because there will be a certain amount of continuity and developing
storylines from episode to episode, that requires a certain degree of
direction from in-house on stories. Very often we'll go to a writer and say,
"Here...in this story, X has to happen. Beyond making sure that X is
included, do what you want." An outsider won't have access to knowing what
that X is.

Still, there will be episodes totally separate from the arc, and those
are far more wide open.

One disservice that TNG has done the SF writing community is its -- in a
way -- tendency to *use* SF fans as idea mills. Hundreds of scripts arrive
each month, they're read through, good ideas are plucked out, they pay a
couple hundred bucks for the premise, then write it in-house. Part of the
reason they're always so desperate for material, and driven to this length of
soliciting scripts from fans, is that they don't have a terrific reputation
in the writing community. Some of it is undeserved, a hanger-on from
previous administrations, and some of it seems to have some basis in terms of
the fact that you will never have the chance to see your script through to
the end.

That problem does not exist with B5. Our writers are already lined up
and ready to go.

Starting with the second season, assuming we get that far, we will open
things up more and be willing to look at finished scripts with a release
form. I think that providing that opportunity is important. But it won't be
such a cattle-call in the way it's handled.

======= Casting

==== #ethnic

The ethnic mix has nothing to do with any changes in the series. We
ended up keeping the mix intact. Lost was one Caucasian woman, one black
male, one asian female. What we're adding is one Caucasian woman (Lt.
Commander Ivanova), one black male (Dr. Stephen Franklin), and one asian
woman (Catherine Sakai). In addition, we're introducing a Hispanic doctor
who will, we hope be a recurring character from time to time (look for her in
"Believers" to start with). And we will be doing more of this, not just in
small parts, but larger ones as well. We have been very careful to keep a
mix of actors that reflects what our thesis is: that if we go to the stars,
we're ALL going to the stars.

In fact, we just recently -- when we found out it was going on --
instructed our casting people not to put any ethnic background information
into the breakdown sheets that go out to actor's agents. (In other words,
usually you need a white male actor 30-40, with a mustache, that kind of
specificity is commonplace in breakdowns.) We have instituted open
casting...anyone, of any ethnic background, is eligible for any role at any
time. We hope that this will *further* help us to broaden out the tapestry
of our series.

This is a very committed show, on a lot of different levels, with the
idea of trying to live out what we're preaching. We have an almost equal
breakdown of males to females in our crew and every aspect of our production.
(I say almost equal because I'm *fairly* sure there are actually more women
on the show, many in non-conventional jobs, than there are men.) Our casting
is open. We've instituted recycling on an everyday basis. I'm working on
getting the styrofoam cups at the snacks table replaced by recycleable paper
cups, and trying to set up a deal where we can give any leftover food from
the catering truck to a shelter. We've got women in the writer and director
categories, and two of our three editors (a very dominantly male business)
are women.

I don't like the way Hollywood works either.

That's why we're not DOING it that way.

==== #cameo #crew #netter #bruice

???? Will B5 crew members be featured in the show? Will you do a cameo?

Actually, thus far, nearly everyone on our crew has appeared in the
background of one episode or another, except for me. Which is the way I like
it....
---
Nope, I don't do cameos; for me, it ruins the illusion.
---
As a matter of fact, in a couple of episodes you'll see a photo of the
Earth Alliance president. The photo itself is of Doug Netter, my associate
on the show and fellow executive producer. (The woman running against the
incumbent president in the election featured on "Midnight" is played, in
photo, by our wardrobe designer, Ann Bruice.)

======= Scheduling

==== #schedule

For those who might be interested, I thought I'd pass along a quick view
of the process of producing a show like B5, step by step (though briefly).

Day Minus 21: The script is finalized and distributed to all cast and
crew.

Day Minus 14: The episode goes into serious pre-production, with
meetings on visual effects, wardrobe, CGI and so on. Props are designed and
construction begun on both props and wardrobe and any sets that are specific
to that episode.

Day Minus 10: Tone meeting with director and producers to make sure all
parties see the story the same way. Casting, begun on day 14, is finalized
about this time.

Day Minus 6: Major production meeting with all departments, at which
each scene is gone through in detail, examining and reinforcing what props,
costumes, extras and lighting requirements are needed per scene.

Day One: Filming Starts.

Day Seven: Filming finishes. Editing has been going on since day 2, as
dailies arrive at the studio, with editors making rough assemblies of the
scenes as they come in.

Day Eight/Nine: the director works with the editor to make the first,
Director's Cut of the episode, relying to some degree on the preliminary
Editor's Cut.

Day 10/11: Producers begin making their cut. (Mainly me and John
Copeland.) Sit with editor and view each scene, picking out various takes
and angles, integrating CGI. Sometimes the cut varies a lot from the
Director's Cut and is a whole new version...or it is very close to the
Director's Cut. Producer's Cut finished around day 12/13.

Day 15: Producer's Cut is sent to primary editing bay for on-line
editing, at which the frames of actual film are slugged and readied for the
real thing (as opposed to editing computer images on the Avid).

Day 20: Episode is color-timed to make sure color values are correct.

Day 25: Spotting session...producers, sound designer, composer, dialogue
editors meet and review the on-line edit or CTM (color timed master) to
determine where sound and music should be placed, the kind of sound or music
required, and number of frames/seconds duration. Second spotting session
with visual EFX supervisor to determine rotoscoping or other non-CGI EFX
placement.

Day 39: Final mix-down of all elements: music, sound, looping, visual
effects and other elements. For this we sit in the mixing bay from 9 a.m. to
7 p.m. nonstop, bringing in lunch, to determine balance of sound to music,
music to dialogue, which elements to use or lose, and so on.

Day 46: Finished episode delivered to PTEN and in-house.

Total time required: 57 days. And during this period, we are
simultaneously editing at least 4-5 other shows, and have shot roughly
another 6 episodes, which are also in various stages of editing.

I've glossed over a few things, but that should give you some idea of
the process and the highlights thereof.

==== #schedule #shoot #season #two

???? How would the shooting for season two be scheduled?

The time for prep on year two, if we were to get picked up, would be
equal to year one, with the exception that we won't have to build all of
these sets. We'll have more time in that sense. Again, the stories are
pretty much mapped out for five years, so that's already done. If we get
renewed, we'll probably get the word around March, shoot beginning in July
'94, and air year 2 in January '95. But again, this is very premature at the
moment.

======= Music

==== #copeland

???? What happened to Stewart Copeland?

The deal with Stewart isn't about money. That part of the deal was
fine. The problem is that he also a) wants to do an album or two, and b)
wants to do some touring, which means he can't take a long-term assignment,
which a sereis represents. If we wanted to pay what an album and tour would
bring, that's possible, but no show can afford that.

==== #franke

BTW, since as mentioned Stewart Copeland is going to be off touring and
doing an album and other stuff, we've had to lock down someone else as our
resident composer. Someone suggested here numerous times has now been
confirmed: Christopher Franke, of Tangerine Dream, who has done the
soundtracks for such projects as Thief, Angel Falls, Universal Soldier,
Tommyknockers and others. In addition to being a solid percussion man and a
great musician, he's a real techie, up on the latest technologies involving
music and sound, and will be able to give B5 a VERY unique sound.
---
It was the discussion early on here about composers, in which Chris
Franke's name was mentioned, that bumped him to the top of our list and
helped motivate us to take a look. One more way the interaction has been
positive.

And yes, he will be doing the entire season. And composing a new B5
theme. (I keep suggesting something along the lines of "Bali High" from
"South Pacific." They keep hitting me with week old halibut.
"Babylonnnnnnn FiiiiiiIIIIve.....")
---
Well, we deliver our first final finished totally done episode on about
October 8th. Christopher Franke has some *great* ideas on how to handle the
music, and plans a curious blending of music and sound effects in some
places, plus instruments from other parts of the world not normally heard in
the US, to try and create a "new music" kind of sound.
---
The B5 soundtrack for the series is built from many different kinds of
pieces, synthesized (based on one of the most extensive collection of
musical/audio samples in the world, which Christopher has been in the process
of collecting ever since he practically hand-assembled his first Moog), and
symphonic, since we're using the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra for some elements
of our score. It changes dramatically depending on the subject.
---
Christopher Franke is developing themes for each of the characters, plus
themes for the station, for space in general, and for our various
aliens...something that carries a sense of the minbari, the grey council,
others. He even wrote a wonderful little Narn libretto for G'Kar, a la
Gilbert and Sullivan. Some elements carry across shows, but in each show
there are new and different pieces that work wonderfully. He's nothing less
than terrific.
---
BTW, tomorrow we do the final mix on "Sky." And for that episode,
Christopher Franke has composed a piece entitled "Requiem For the Line,"
which is very moving...at the same time brave and sad, hopeful and ominous,
martial and doomed...one of the best things I've heard for TV.

======= Visual Effects

==== #save #effects #season

???? Did you save any of the good special effects for the end of the
season, or blow your budget at the onset?

Did we save anything for the rest of the season? Lemme put it to you
this way...you ain't seen *nothin* yet. "Midnight" makes just about
everything done before for TV look lame...but there's stuff coming down the
pike that'll make "Midnight" look pale by comparison. With each show we get
better, we learn more, and we can *do* more.

==== #stock #library #establish

???? How much stock footage is used in establishing shots?

We did some library stuff in the first few eps, but as we've ben (been)
spending more time, we've built up more, and generally we have 3-4 new
establishers per ep. So there's less and less of it the deeper you get into
the series. (And when you come down to it, a shot of the station against a
planet is going to be pretty much the same in general, unless there's
specific activity going on around it.)

==== #render #station

Also, Ron did *substantial* modifications to the B5 station itself,
making it the biggest single object to render. It has something like (and
this is only my memory) 100 times the resolution of the station used in the
pilot, so you can get right in close for paint-scraper shots. It's much more
detailed and substantial looking.
---
Not necessarily...it may have been 100-times in resolution, or it may
have been 1000-times in resolution...actually, as I think of it (via the fog
that's in my head) I think you're right...I knew there was a 1 and some 0s
involved in it...and it was a big deal...so maybe it *was* 1,000x.

==== #compositing

There's one new thing you'll be seeing in the B5 series that you didn't
see much in the pilot, and that's compositing digital CGI with live action.
There was the observation dome shot in the pilot, where you push in and see
the Lt. Cmdr, but that was about it. We're doing a lot more in the series,
and some of it looks absolutely *stunning*.

==== #cgi #effect #sky

Spent a very, very, very long day today in editing...not out of any
problems, but because of the *astonishing* amount of detail we're putting
into "And the Sky Full of Stars." Leaving out all the live-action shots,
there are 25 CGI shots in one and a half minutes in one sequence alone. (By
way of comparison, there were 55 or so in the full two hour pilot for B5.)
So we go frame by frame, making sure that everything meshes properly, through
some pretty intense logistics. You'll understand when you see it.

I've never seen the like of this particular episode before. It's a real
gem.

==== #render

???? How much time is needed to render the images?

Re: time per scene rendering...you have to understand that the Toasters
render 24 hours a day. Ron et al set 'em going before they leave for the
night, and the next morning come in to pick up the finished scene. So you
can do a LOT of CGI in the course of a week. Generally several minutes of
new stuff per week...and yes, that includes long, panning shots. Trust me,
there's a LOT of CGI in just about every episode of the series. A couple of
character-based stories are light, but they're more than compensated for in
heavy-CGI stories like "Midnight," "Sky," and "Raiding Party," to name a few.
---
Here's a thought to conjure with. It takes about an hour to render a CGI
frame that's very complex; 45 minutes if it's not terribly complex. With
the new Screamer, we can cut down that time by about half, so that a highly
complex scene can be rendered in 15-30 minutes. Average length for a CGI
scene is about 60 frames, so figure 30 hours. You can do a full show's worth
of CGI in about a week, give or take.

Today we turn over the raw footage for a special scene that'll be in one
of our episodes. (Several scenes, actually, in the same episode.) Ron's
elves will be rendering 24 hours a day (on automatic at night) for the next
THREE WEEKS to do something very special with this episode. If it's done
right, it won't really draw attention to itself, it'll just be very, very
cool.

==== #cgi #trek

Here's a Joe Predicts for you: by this time next year, ST will have gone
either completely to CGI, or 95% to CGI.

======= Sound

==== #gun #sound #blast

Our sound designer has finished working on the gun-sounds, and they
sound very impressive. We've come up with a different way of handling the
gun sequences -- firing, impact, and sound -- based more on how these things
would actually work if they existed. And let me tell you, if you EVER ran
into or heard one of these things coming your way, you'd get the hell out
FAST. We actually sat down for hours and tried to determine the effects on
impact, on firing, on the surrounding atmosphere, and how to avoid the 30 mph
problem usually associated with TV lasers. (That is, you trace the "laser"
across screen, you see it move, which means that this beam of light is moving
slower than a bullet...which is silly.) By all rights, it should be nearly
invisible and nearly instantaneous...but then you don't see anything. We've
managed to come up with a nifty little solution to the problem.

==== #walla #ditillio #zocalo

BTW, for all you who ride the pause button and jack up the stereo
volume (we're doing Dolby Surround, incidentally), I assigned Larry DiTillio
to write a bunch of walla (background dialogue) for the Zocalo, the
observation dome, customs and other areas. Some of it's sane...but the
rest...oh, man....

==== #sound #space #franke #music

???? How do you deal with the issue of "sound in space"?

And just so everybody knows...so you don't gig me on this later...I have
spent more time than I want to *think* about lately talking with our sound
people about the sound-in-space issue. We've literally spent HOURS locked
up, discussing various options, middle grounds, extremes and some off-beat
possibilities. I still don't know what we're going to do exactly, but for
what it's worth, believe me, this has been examined to within an inch of its
(and my) life. What it comes down to now is this: we will have all of the
options we discussed available to us at the final mix-down, and we will try
them in different combinations. Whatever works best is what we'll go with.
And we won't know what that is until we get there.
---
Today, at Christopher Franke's, I heard the music for "Soul Hunter," and
it's brilliant. It's very hard to describe...it's not rock, but it's
aggressive, and powerful, not at all synth sounding. And I think that he
just may have resolved the sound in space question for the most part. He
tried some things we discussed, and it works great. So this may be the
solution we've been looking for. (Though the first one who tells me there's
no orchestra in space gets it in the eye.)

======= Editing

The editing, by the way, is a fascinating process. Television is the
process of making choices: you choose how to write the scene, you choose who
you want to play the scene, the actor chooses how he wants to play the
character, the director chooses how to stage the scene, the cinematographer
chooses how to light and frame the scene, and then you and the editor choose
how to structure that scene using the finished film.

What you have in your hands (not literally, since we're all computerized
now, and hardly anyone uses film anymore in editing) is the film for a scene.
You've got the master shot, showing everyone. You may have 1, 2 or 3 takes
of that shot. Then you get the medium, close, and two-shots, as well as
reverses. You get 2-3 of those, times the number of characters in the scene
(i.e., 2 close-ups of Sinclair in the scene, 2 or 3 close-ups of Garibaldi,
plus the over-the-shoulder shots of both, on and on). Though the staging is
the same, the pacing of lines varies, the delivery varies, inflection,
stance, attitude...there are subtle differences that become terribly
important when you start cutting film. Maybe the first close-up has the
intensity you want in the first half, but falls off in the second part, so
now you use part two of take two, which *does* finish with the required
intensity. But in that take, the actor visible in the same scene isn't quite
where he's standing in the master shot, and you have to go back to the master
for the next shot because that's where you need to see X entering the
room....

It's a complex, complicated, exhausting process that requires you to
hold the various scenes and shots all in your head at the same time,
particularly if you want to do any last-minute restructuring, or "borrow" a
shot from another scene to fill out this scene because there was a problem on
the angle in what you've got.

But I'd be a liar if I didn't say it's an awful lot of fun. You can
make a scene play 50 different ways, depending on how you edit it. And we've
got some *great* editors working with us.
---
We're using some state of the art computers for our editing work, in
some ways in advance of EditDroid. The first line is the Avid editor, which
digitizes all of the printed takes from an episode and stores them in full-
motion video/audio the same way you store a .gif file. You can have instant
access to everything; you don't have to swap disks in or out, and it's all
immediate. Once you've edited the thing to where you want it, you save the
information to the system. Then you provide all of the required prints to
the major computer system at the editing house which then *automatically*
assembles the entire cut overnight. Operates almost entirely without
supervision. You come in in the morning, and your cut is waiting for you.

we're able to stay further toward the cutting edge of technology because
we're small, new, and can react faster than something that has to work
through an entrenched studio bureaucracy that has already invested major
bucks in its old systems, and doesn't want to re-tool since what it has
basically works fine.

======= Video

==== #title #letterbox

Well, we've finished finalizing our main/opening titles sequence, and
done the on-line editing, and now will put it into the process and start
putting whole shows together. We've decided, in order to emphasize the
cinematic aspects of our show, that it's taking more of a movie approach to
TV SF...to do the main titles in letterbox format.
---
Yes, the main titles will be in letterbox format for conventional
televisions...we're taking the footage that we've shot in 16:9 aspect ratio,
and shrinking it down just enough to fit, so there's black on top and bottom,
the same way that, for instance, TNT shows movies in their full aspect ratio.
And we've custom designed some CGI that also is in that format. (In the
case of series footage that we're using, there you'll be able to compare the
regular aspect ratio of the broadcast with what's in the main titles. In
other words, there's a scene in "Parliament" of a Minbari gathering. In
regular aspect, as part of the show, you'll see it one way. We've clipped a
section of that for the main titles and used the full aspect ratio, and in
that you'll see the far right and left sides normally clipped for standard TV
aspect ratio.)

Apparently this is also done on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, I learned the
other day, so that'll give you some sense of it. It's very effective at
giving a real cinematic feel to your main titles.
---
RE: composition...the monitor on which the director and DP can watch and
see what the camera sees has on it demarkations to show the regular aspect
ratio, as well as the widescreen view. Which pretty much allows them to
compose for both, for the most part.
---
We're not shooting on videotape, so it's kind of a moot point. We're
shooting on film, which can be converted to HDTV standards *very* easily.
The pixel density is a function of where you go once you decide to convert
the film. It's now being converted to video at standard resolution; when
HDTV comes into existence commercially, the film will be reprocessed out and
transferred to video at that level.
---
We are shooting in 16:9 aspect ratio, cutting it down to normal TV
aspect ratio for its initial broadcasts. When a) the laserdisks are in time
released, and b) when HDTV becomes more of a standard, the full letterboxed
aspect ratio will be available.

==== #film

???? How would B5 episodes look on the big screen?

Films are difficult because the level of resolution required to make an
image that'll stand up to scrutiny on the big screen is still a major pain in
the butt. But that'll change in time.

======= Production

==== #netter

???? What is your relationship with Doug Netter on the show?

As for Doug, he's my equal partner in the project. Doug's been in the
business as long as there's *been* a business, once serving as head of MGM.
He was my producer on POWER, and he and I made a deal: he will never give me
a creative note on that series. And he kept that promise. If it came in
long, or short, or there was an effect we couldn't do, that was one thing,
but creatively, he left me alone. "I'm not a writer, that's your job," he
said. There are very few people in this town who'll deal straight with you,
and Doug's one of them. So when I created B5, of all the choices available
about who to partner up with, Doug was on top of the list. He handles most
of the business stuff, and I handle the creative stuff. (Which isn't exactly
true in some ways; I have to get into some of the business, and he has to get
into some of the creative, but those are are general areas of expertise.)

His name generally appears in books about the film business, and in one
of these books, it explains that when he was at MGM, his nickname was the
Rattlesnake...hence, Rattlesnake Productions.

==== #budget

???? What's the budget of a B5 episode?

The details of the budget per episide are classified...but you could
easily take DS9's budget, cut it in half, and you'd still have more than
we've got.

Which is, again, part of the overall plan...if we can prove that you can
do quality SF on a budget comparable to non-SF series, it'll open the gates
for more shows down the road.

==== #final #executive

And yes, in TV, it's the exec producer who generally gets the final cut,
whereas in film it's often the director (or, in some cases, the studio).

=============== Audience ===============

==== #Trek #TNG #DS9 #press #publicity #Rocky

Had a reporter in here the other day, and he asked if it bothered me
that other shows were getting all the ink...meaning, I suppose, TNG and DS9
and SQ:DSV...and my response really said it all, I think. It's like the
Rocky movie. Let the other guys get all the press, do the big flashy stuff,
wave around big budgets...we'll just stand here in a meat locker, pounding
slabs of meat with our bare hands....

==== #online #Warner

The one thing that I'd like to point out is that Warner/PTEN isn't in
the programming business. This isn't a normal part of their PR strategy.
The only reason they have done this at all -- the B5 computer promo -- is in
recognition of the online support here and elsewhere. They have had to
contract out for this, and because this isn't a proven (yet) strategy, could
only carve out so much for it. No, not every platform is covered; doubtless
that will change with time. But it's generally never done at ALL. So I
would just temper the discussion with that reality.

==== #impact

???? What kind of impact do you want the show to have on viewers?

The other day, a reporter asked me what I wanted to accomplish with
B5...and I remembered this commercial showing a viewer plastered against the
wall opposite the TV...and that seemed about right. I don't want viewers to
see a show and say, afterward, "Well, that was a nice story." There has to
be more than that.

And while we certainly have our episodes that are paced just a little
more slowly, less intensely, because you have to have variation, have to
allow time for character stories...there are some episodes, like "Sky," that
just hit the viewer right between the eyes with a 2 by 4 *real* hard and say
"HEY! PAY ATTENTION! WE'RE NOT KIDDING HERE!"

Take no prisoners....

=============== Nitpicks ===============

==== #rank #admiral #administrator #sinclair

???? Why is Sinclair running this station? What rank would the
administrator have been if it hadn't been Sinclair?

As for Sinclair's status as both commander and ambassador...that is
something we're going to deal with in the series. By all rights, he
shouldn't even BE there. EA tried to stick an Admiral or some other
high-ranking officer there. The first race to sign onto the station, the
Minbari, had approval over who was sent to that post. They rejected everyone
suggested, right down the line, until Sinclair. EA Officials are still
wondering why HE was selected. (There is a reason.)

That post was previously designed to either include representing Earth
as an ambassador (to avoid in-station conflicts) or as an adjunct to one.
And at one point, an ambassador will arrive, and they will hash this out once
and for all.

What you have picked up on are not flaws, but story points in the
making...areas that will be explored down the road. These questions WILL be
answered. It would have been very easy to make him Admiral or Ambassador
Sinclair. He was given this lower rank for a reason...and there are an awful
lot of people who look at this, and wonder if Sinclair isn't just a *tad*
too cozy with their former enemies in the war, and just where ARE his
loyalties, *really*?

==== #pilot #sinclair #danger

???? Why does Sinclair, who's the commander, go out on a ship himself?
Why doesn't he send somebody?

In "Infection," Garibaldi tells one person, who's been looking for
Sinclair (and whom Sinclair is ducking) that "the commander'll take any
opportunity to take out a fighter; he's like that." Sinclair is first and
foremost a *pilot*, this is what he loves. And thus he does it wherever he
can (also to continue his flight pay, he like any other officer needs to log
in X-hours of flight time per month).

In "Soul," there's only room for one ship to go out and link up with
another ship that's out of control, it's not a combat situation, so it makes
sense for Sinclair, since he has the most combat/flying time on the station,
to go out after it. It's also a potential first-contact situation, which
doubles the importance of a command officer. I "Midnight" he goes out
because there's something that he knows that others wouldn't know to react
to.

But at the same time, in "Midnight," when the first distress calls come
in, it's Garibaldi who takes out a ship; in "Believers" it's Ivanova. In the
combat-heavy "Raiding Party," it's Garibaldi and Ivanova in ships, while
Sinclair stays behind in C&C. In "Believers," Ivanova states that
regulations require the presence of a command officer in long-range flights
that may involve combat.

==== #station #atmosphere #orbit

???? Why is Babylon 5 orbiting a planet, instead of on the planet?

Many of the huge transports that'll be coming to B5 were never meant to
operate within an atmosphere, they're strictly deep range starships, to which
you transfer using atmosphere-capable shuttles. We're not talking little
flits, we're talking about ships that can be as big as a mile across.
Dropping something that huge down into the gravity well of a planet is just
unworkable. If you want something that can handle lots of big ships, it
*has* to be in space...as in a station.

You could park a big ship near a planet, and use lots of shuttles to
unload it down to the planet (gravity well, heavy cargo, lots of fuel, lots
of time, more accidents), then haul it right back *up* again when it's sold
or transferred...or you could build a station in zero G where your big
transport just parks alongside, loads or unloads its cargo in zero gravity,
and transfer it where needed.

And the atmosphere of the planet is no longer breathable.

==== #lurker #homeless #station

???? What are lurkers? Why not send 'em back?

Actually...y'know...it's funny, but I've been trying to come up with a
name for the folks who just sorta roam B5, the "homeless" or others who have
enough resources to get there in hopes of jobs or new worlds, and don't have
enough to get off again...and who play a running game of tag of sorts with B5
security..."Lurkers" ain't bad....
---
Scenario Number One: sending the Lurkers back to Earth. Comes a call
from Earth Central: "Hell, no, you're NOT shipping them back here, we're
overcrowded enough as it is, we will NOT give you permission to send them
back here."

Scenario Number Two: turning them over to their representatives on B5.
G'Kar: "Thank you very much for bringing this to my attention, Commander,
I'll have him sent back at once." Beat. The commander leaves.

G'Kar: "Get OUT of here and don't come back! I don't have time to deal
with the likes of you, we're NOT paying to send you back to Homeworld, just
get out!"

==== #humanoid

???? There shouldn't be other aliens who look humanoid...

Actually, I disagree...the basic "model" of the human form is very well
tailored and may be more general than we might suspect. Legs for walking,
probably two because all closed up sideways we present less of a silhouette
for predators, and two legs are more nimble, can slip through narrower places
than three. Arms to lift, and hands to manipulate objects (show me a culture
without a good opposable thumb) required for the birth of technology.
Sensors (eyes/ears/nose) at the very highest part of the body, best for
observational purposes, hunting and the like.

There are zillions of species on Earth, but you rarely seen anything
above spider-level with more than six legs. Now, I'm not saying that it's
impossible to have other forms, not at all...only that the humanoid form may
in fact be far more common than anyone suspects.

==== #starfury #x-wing

???? Why do the starfury fighters look like X-wings from Star Wars?

When we did the research on how a fighter could best operate in zero
gravity, it seemed to require a four-wing axis with thrusters on every side.
We've thus taken every possible step to make them NOT look like x-wings,
particularly since there's no long, sleek forward section at *all*, it's a
snub-nose, and the wings don't move, plus they have the unusual thruster
combination.

==== #constellation

???? I thought I saw Orion. Are you showing constellations?

For starters, the Orion constellation would not look like the Orion
constellation from another POV, say, 30 light years from here. Another
cluster of stars might *look* the same, or similar, but anyone expecting to
see the constellations as we recognize them from here is going to be
disappointed.

As far as I know, from what Ron's said re: constellations, while it may
look like Orion, it isn't. It's perception, the mind looking for patterns it
recognizes.

==== #skin #tab #kosh #poison #lyta

And just a note on the "hand" question...it wasn't Lyta's pov of Kosh's
hand, it was Kosh's pov of Kosh's hand...maybe. Not everything is what it
seems to be.

Especially the owls.
---
For those out there who still think the skin-tab-getting-through-
Kosh's- encounter-suit was an error...we're going to be dealing with that,
and some other interesting threads in "The Parliament of Dreams" episode.
Sinclair comments on the whole question of how the poison ever got into
him...and notes how curious it is that, within weeks of that incident, Dr.
Kyle was transferred back to Earth to work directly with the Earth Alliance
President on matters of alien immigration...and Lyta Alexander was similarly
transferred a week or so after that. The only two people to have personal
knowledge of a Vorlon have been shipped off and possibly locked up.

(Interesting, how one can take real-life developments and weave them
into the tapestry. This will feed into the main line of the story even
better than what I had originally planned.)
---
By the way...on the Kosh poisoning thread, which was originally to be
discussed in "Parliament"...we ended up about 3 minutes long on
"Parliament," and three minutes short on D.C. Fontana's "War Prayer." So we
lifted that scene and inserted it into her episode, doing a small bit of ADR
to facilitate the move. It's now quite seamless.

=============== Will there be... ===============

==== #rank #ea

???? Will any high-ranking EA officers come to B5?

Yes, there are instances where other EA officers come aboard with
equivilent or close ranks to our characters. In one particular episode it
makes for some considerable conflict....

==== #zero #gee #gravity

???? ... zero-gravity scenes?

We plan to do some such shots for the series, in the zero-g section of
the garden, and possibly in the zero-g cargo section that rides on top of
B5. My mandate to Ron is to come up with a way of doing it that looks good.
Once we have that, we'll do the story.

==== #dead #minor

???? In other shows, the characters that get killed off are always the
anonymous, unknown characters. Will we see anybody get killed off that's not
just a minor character?

You'll get your wish...and you'll wish you hadn't....
---
Matt: the most entertaining thing for a writer is creating a character;
the second most entertaining thing is killing off a character. Believe me,
as you'll see in the Fight To The Death in the pilot, I have no problem
dropping a body. And as far as I'm concerned, only 2 or 3 characters in this
series are indispensible...the rest are open to all kinds of interesting
fates.
---
The problem with episodic series is that, after a while, you know what
the parameters are. You know THIS character won't ever be killed, and THAT
base has got to remain, and THIS can't change. And you fall into a habit and
into regular expectations. I *love* to blow up those sorts of expectations.
Find the one thing that NO ONE thinks you're ever going to do in your
show...and do it. It keeps EVERYBODY on their toes. If you can tune in and
never know for sure what's going to happen, knowing that everyone and
everything is fair game, it makes the tension in the show far more real. The
reaction when Pilot/Jennifer Chase was killed off was astonishing...and when
the base was destroyed with her. I was at a con when it was shown, and one
person finally broke the stunned silence and said, "Jesus, they're not
kidding around, this IS a war." Which was exactly the right response.

How this will affect B5...wait and see.

==== #pov #hyperspace

???? Will we get to see the point of view of a ship leaving or entering
hyperspace?

At some point, we'll probably see what it looks like from the ship' POV
leaving or entering hyperspace, yes.

==== #gay

???? Will there be a gay character? When will we meet this character?

(And at one point, we'll introduce a character -- assuming we haven't
already -- who will be around for quite some time, and then we'll just drop,
quite casually, that the character is gay. I think that this is much better
than doing A Gay Story. Just drop it in and move on.)
---
To give that information out now would defeat the dynamic of its
revelation. There's some stuff I can talk about, some that I can't. That is
one of them.

And how do you know you haven't already seen this character?

==== #tractor

???? Will there be tractor beams on the show?

There are no tractor beams in use, or available, for the most part.

==== #mimes

???? How about a planet of mimes?

An entire planet of mimes.....AN ENTIRE PLANET OF MIMES!?!

NUKE 'EM!

NUKE 'EM TILL THEY GLOW THEN SHOOT 'EM IN THE DARK!

YAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!

==== #telekinetic

Any telekinetics on board Babylon 5? you ask?

No.

At least, not yet.

==== #bigotry

That doesn't mean that bigotry is going to disappear, however; lilke
religion, there is some dark impulse there -- the tribal preservation
instinct, or somedamnthing -- that keeps turning up. The target keeps
changing, but the impulse remains. So likely it'll turn toward the new
"different" people...the outsiders...aliens. I think you'll see a lot of
people taking an "Earth First" (no relation to the current group) mentality,
hate crimes against aliens, that sort of thing.

==== #flashback #past #sinclair #running

Mike: we're not going to see a lot of Sinclair in the past, only what is
necessary to understand the present...and there are going to be
transformations, but I prefer to see my transformations take place in the
present, pointing toward the future, than in flashback.

The difference, I suppose, is that in many shows, characters arrive at
Point X in a series at the very beginning, and stay there for the duration,
and we are sometimes shown what made them that way. In B5, what I'm trying
for is to take a certain set of characters, and move them all toward
substantive changes in their lives, their characters, their beliefs and their
allegiances. Just about everyone on B5 is running to, or away from
something. I don't want that simply as backdrop, I want that something to
*catch up with them*. That, to me, is where the fun starts.

==== #being #powerful #story

???? Will there be any stories about all-powerful beings?

Mike: you needn't worry. I find all-powerful beings of any stripe
incredibly boring. I find it more interesting when ordinary people are
summoned to do extraordinary things, and must rise above their limitations
without losing their limitations; succeeding in spite of them. Sinclair is a
man, period. He may have a great calling ahead of him, as did Churchill or
Lincoln or Alexander or (for all we know) Rondo Hatton, but they're all just
men in the final analysis.

==== #transporters #matter

Definite no on the question of matter transmitters. That's a little too
much in the magic/science-fantasy area for my preferences. Space travel is
done in ships.

==== #diversity

???? Will there be diversity in the aliens, as there are in humans?

Yes, I *strongly* believe that there has to be diversity among our alien
races...accents, political beliefs, religion, name it. I think that is VERY
important. Yes, from time to time, you want the monolithic, perfectly
homogeneous aliens, but if so, you want them to stick out a bit in contrast
to the rest.

==== #movie #guest #cast

???? Can you cast movie stars? DeVito? Lloyd? Gibson?

The problem, of course, with DeVito or Lloyd or (as some suggested) Mel
Gibson or others it that their salaries would be, individually, equal to our
entire production budget for 3-4 episodes. Which means we'd have to shoot
only 18 rather than 22.

==== #clothes

???? Will the crew wear anything besides crisp new uniforms?

Finally...yes, there are leftover clothes. Why not? There are in real
life. What you'll often see Sinclair wearing, when he's off duty in his
quarters, is an old scruffy sweatshirt/sweater from the EA flight school.

==== #morn

???? Will there be a "Norm/Morn" type in B5?

What is a Norm/Morn type?

=============== Products ===============

==== #merchandizing

For me, merchandising is one of those aftershocks of the creative
process, sort of an, "Oh, yeah, there's *that* part over there, too." I'm
not disdainful of it, it's just not something that I think about a lot,
because first and foremost it's a *distraction*. You start thinking about
the *P*R*O*D*U*C*T* and not about the story. Then you start bending the
story to work in the product.

And that's something I've fought against as long as I've *been* in TV.
When I was at Filmation, I fought tooth and nail against *any* interference
in content from the sponsor, Mattel. Especially when they started forcing in
characters simply so they could market them. That was the reason I resigned
from Captain Power after the first season; my sense was that too much
attention was being given to the merchandise aspect of the show, to the
detriment of the series.

If a deal is set, I want to be part of the process afterward to insure
the quality of the product, so it won't be a slapdash or cheap thing. And it
should be representative of the spirit of the show. But that, for me, is
about it.

==== #director's #pilot #video #release #footage

???? What are the odds of a director's cut of the pilot being released
which incorporates the footage which was removed?

The odds are zero, since the first version of the B5 pilot existed only
as a computer-graphic file edited movie. It wasn't edited on film, for real,
until we'd pared it down. We'd have to go in and totally re-edit and
re-score, and I doubt that's going to happen.
---
The computerized cut of the pilot is now dumped out of memory, and those
portions only exist on a few VHS tapes of marginal quality. Also, the
footage in computer file form is *very* low grade, like a poorly scanned gif
file, very low resolution. It would be useless on a laser disk.

==== #scripts #available

???? Will scripts of the show be made available?

No plan to make the scripts available at this time, but who knows...?

==== #laserdisk #video #release

???? Will B5 be released on LaserDisc?

Yes on laserdisks, one hopes.
---
Nobody tells me nuttin' 'bout no laserdisks 'r tapes 'r any of that thar
stuff....

==== #licensing #toys #comics

I really don't know that much; apparently there's something in the works
about toys, but I don't have specifics. Ditto for comics and the like. I
tend not to get my head too far into that part of it, because I think that as
soon as you do, you can get lost in merchandising, and the next thing you
know you're doing things not necessarily because they belong in the story,
but because they make great merchandise prospects.

==== #book #novelization

We're still working out book details. One possibility is also to take
the most heavily arc-related episodes, stitch them together into a novelized
form, and publish them so that there in one book is the major part of that
year's arc. Other approaches are still being investigated.

==== #comics

If B5 succeeds, there will be comics published in the same basic
universe, as well as novelizations. These will be specifically encouraged to
go in different directions, partly for selfish reasons, so they won't mess
with my time/character line, and partly because I'd like to see what others
can do with this universe...sort of like a shared world anthology. So yes,
there's room to play, and with luck, we'll see it there and elsewhere.

==== #soundtrack

I'm sure at some point there'll be a B5 soundtrack album, but when, I
don't know. My guess is that it'll wait until we have more stuff from the
series to plug in. I want to buy a copy for myself....

==== #tech

Yes, there will eventually be a B5 tech manual, which I believe Ron
Thornton will supervise.

==== #autocad #ship #release

???? Will Autocad documents of ship designs be made available?

I really don't know if they'll be released as autocad stuff or not, but
will try to remember to inquire.

==== #blooper #christmas

???? Will there be a blooper reel?

The bloopers reel/christmas reel we did is just for internal use, I'm
afraid (though it's *very* funny). As for the computer program...it hould be
out in about a week, on schedule.

==== #licensing

PTEN licensing is handled by the Licensing Corporation of America, which
can be reached via Warner Bros.

=============== JMS Himself ===============

==== #favorite #preference #chrysalis #sky

???? What are your favorite episodes of the season so far?

By the way, if anyone's curious, here's how I'd rank the first six
episodes in terms of my own personal preference, from 1-6: "The Parliament of
Dreams," "Mind War," "Soul Hunter," "Born to the Purple," "Midnight on the
Firing Line," and "Infection." We'll see how close this coincides with your
own reactions.
---
But I'd say that our two *best* so far are still "And the Sky Full of
Stars" and "Chrysalis." I just watched a cut of "Chrysalis" today which
finally had all the CGI in it, and had to scrape my brain off the opposing
wall, it's *that* good.

==== #satisfied

???? Are you satisfied with how the episodes have come out?

Generally speaking, in television, you're lucky to get on screen about
half of what you had in mind when you saw it in your head. So far, the
average here is about 80%. In a very few cases, I don't think the finished
episode delivers as well as it might on the script, but for the clear
majority of them, the episodes come through. And in some cases, like "Sky"
and "Parliament" and especially "Chrysalis," I got *over* 100% of what I had
in mind...it came out even better than what I'd had in my head when I wrote
it. It's a confluence of many factors...the guest star and how much he/she
*gets* it, the EFX, the direction, and other things. But across the board,
I'd have to say that I'm very satisfied.

==== #success #show

???? How would you rate the success of the show?

I'm not sure, from my perspective, that there's any one definition of
success that I'd use. There are several: 1) How much is the project in its
final form what I conceived it to be? This is something that Harlan keeps
hammering home at me, pointing to what happened to him on the Starlost by
way of comparison...it was dreadful, and he had to take his name off it.
It's the show I wanted to make, made the way I wanted to make it, so on that
level, I'm content.

2) The ratings. Is what we conceived of interest to other people, or
have we missed the mark? Television, like any other medium, is aimed at an
audience. If the audience isn't there, then it comes down to "does the tree
make a noise when it falls in an empty forest?" Whether it's good or bad
becomes nominally irrlevant. And 3) Whether or not anyone talks about the
show, or remembers the show, years down the road. Something can get a lot of
attention, critical acclaim, ratings, be what the creators envisoned...and be
gone in a year, the flavor of the month.

If I had to pick one, it'd be #3. As an atheist, my sense is that one
achieves immortality by the effect one has on others. If the show lives on
beyond me, then I am satisfied. Twain observed: "If you want your work to
live forever...and by forever I mean fifty years...it must neither overtly
preach nor overtly teach...but it must *covertly* preach and *covertly*
teach."

==== #record #activites

???? Are you keeping a record of your activities in the creation of B5?

As for keeping a record...I try, if spottily. Oddly enough, the very
best record of this process exists in the multi-megabytes that have been
exchanged here, on GEnie and elsewhere. It's something of a living
chronology. I try to take photos on the set (when I remember), and I'm
keeping 1 copy of each day's dailies, instead of recycling the tapes.

==== #credentials #past

???? What things have you worked on in the past? How did you break into
writing?

Okay, because they've been requested (I got another couple of notes in
email asking for this), here's a quick rundown on my prior work. This isn't
everything...this is about half of the body of work...but this is probably
the more interesting stuff.

...BOOKS

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF SCRIPTWRITING, Writer's Digest Books (now out of
print, mainly because I'm about 2 years behind delivering the new edition,
THE (EVEN MORE!) COMPLETE BOOK OF SCRIPTWRITING.

DEMON NIGHT, horror/dark fantasy novel, hardcover, E. P. Dutton. Nominated
for Bram Stoker Award, Horror Writers of America.

OTHERSYDE, dark fantasy novel, hardcover, Dutton.

TALES FROM THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE, softcover, anthology of my adaptation of
my TZ3 episodes. Bantam.

...SHORT STORIES

"Your Move," Amazing Stories Magazine. "A Last Testament for Nick and the
Trooper" Shadows 6 anthology. "Say Hello, Mister Quigley," Pulphouse
Magazine, and the Midnight Grafitti anthology. (There are others, but those
are the good ones.)

...ARTICLES/JOURNALISM

500+ published articles -- ranging from feature articles, to reviews,
investigative articles and others -- appearing in PENTHOUSE, VIDEO REVIEW,
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES (for which I was a regular Special Correspondent), THE
LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER (ditto), TIME, INC. (where I was on staff at
various points), SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE, THE SAN DIEGO and LOS ANGELES
READER(s), WRITER'S DIGEST (10 years worth of columns and articles as a
Contributing Editor), and others that I've forgotten and am too lazy to dig
out.

...RADIO

On-air reviewer and entertainment editor for KSDO Newsradio, San Diego, for
about 2-3 years.

Host, HOUR 25, a weekly SF talk show in L.A. for 5 years.

Radio drama writer for ALIEN WORLDS, MUTUAL RADIO THEATER, and
writer/producer/director on other radiodrama projects.

...THEATER

A dozen produced plays, including "The Apprenticeship," a full- length play
which played at the Marquis Public Theater in San Diego for 20 weeks.
Includes many one-act plays. One play published in book form by Baker's
Plays. (No, I'm not telling you what it is.)

...COMICS

Wrote issue of TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT: Two Face vs. Cyborg, "Face to Face
Two Face."

Wrote issue of STAR TREK comic for DC: "Worldsinger." (Cover of
"Worldsinger" is now Star Trek trading card.)

Wrote issue of NOW's TWILIGHT ZONE comic, "Blind Alley."

...TELEVISION

Animation:

Writer/story editor, Filmation Studios, HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE
UNIVERSE, then subsequently, SHE-RA. Wrote about 20-25 episodes.

Writer, JAYCE AND THE WHEELED WARRIORS, about 11-12 episodes.

Writer/story editor, THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, writing about 15-20 episodes or
more. (I actually have no idea how many, really.)

Live Action:

Story editor, CAPTAIN POWER, writing or co-writing about 16 episodes.
Nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series (the
Gemini is Canada's version of the Emmy).

Story editor, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, writing about 12 episodes. (1 for the
network Zone, 11 for the syndicated Zone.)

Writer, NIGHTMARE CLASSICS: THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE,
for Showtime. Nominated for Writers Guild and Ace Awards.

Story Editor, JAKE AND THE FATMAN, writing 4-5 episodes and one TV movie.

Co-producer/Producer, MURDER, SHE WROTE, writing about 9 episodes.

Supervising Producer, WALKER, TEXAS RANGER, writing 1 episode.

UNPRODUCED CREDITS:

Developed (with Larry DiTillio) ELFQUEST animated series for CBS. Wrote MR.
FREEZE, SF/comedy motion picture for Ivan Reitman. Wrote 4-hour "V"
miniseries, "V: The Next Chapter" for Warners. Wrote series development on a
dozen different projects. Wrote other feature film screenplays for DIC and
London Films.

Anyway, those are the highlights. I've left out a lot of stuff, and
subsets of stuff (like the prime-time TRGB's special, for which I cowrote a
couple of songs with Brian O'Neal of the Busboys, and other song related
stuff...I've had about half a dozen songs get out there, plus one on
record), but those are the main items.
---
I've always found "how/when did you get your break into writing" to be a
very weird question, at least in my case; like asking a doctor, "when did you
get your break into foot surgery." It wasn't one thing at one time. This is
a career that I've prepared for, and worked toward, and entered incrementally
over a very long period. I always knew that I would be a writer, used to
collect pencils and paperclips and could determine the better grade of
erasers and #10 pencils at an age when most kids were still trying to figure
out which end to hold. It's just a quirk.

When I was 16, after having read comprehensively in every genre I could
get my hands on, I decided that now was a good time to start. So I began
writing. Short stories, poems, playlets, articles, you name it, I wrote it.
I didn't show anyone at first, just kept slamming words together in the
process of learning how to make little explosions of character and action.
When I felt ready -- six months later -- I began showing it around. The high
school I was attending began producing some of my one-acts, and commissioned
a full play from me; I began selling articles to local newspapers and
magazines; even placed a one-act with a local theater, which decided to
produce it before discovering that I was only 17 years old. (When I showed
up, they kept waiting for my parents to arrive, until I pointed out that *I*
was the JMS on the script.)

After that, it was just a process of *writing* and *sending it out*.
There is no mystery, no big break, no sudden revelation or secret handshake.
Bit by bit, I sold more articles, sold more plays, sold some short stories,
and bit by bit, almost without noticing, the list of credits got longer until
one day, people started asking me when I knew I'd Made It as a writer, when
it hadn't ever occured to me that I *had* made it as a writer...I hadn't
realized it'd happened.

It's the difference, I suppose, between buying a finished house, and
there it is...and watching the house go up brick by brick over a long period
of time. At what point did it "become" a house?

It's probably not a helpful answer, but it's the only one I have....

==== #straczynski #jms #name

???? Why "J. Michael Straczynski"? What do people call you? What do we
call you?

It's "J. Michael Straczynski" on title credits mainly because that's the
way it looks best, frankly. Lets you sneak up on the whole name in
progressively larger bites. Joe Michael Straczynski looks kinda dumb to me,
also too long; Joe Straczynski is too short, and unbalanced in terms of
layout (he said quickly). My friends call me Joe. My crew calls me Joe.
One person on the crew kept calling me Mr. Straczynski, which you should try
saying out loud sometime. Even *I* can't do it. It was so painful to listen
to that after a while I kept calling back "Joe" at him until he got the
message.
---
I've never been real big on formality. And I know that typing
Straczynski can be a fearsome thing indeed. Fingers were never meant to move
in that particular configuration, I think, and more than one person has had
to dial 911 with his nose when his fingers tangled on the keyboard.

Point being..."Joe" is just fine. If there's another Joe in a thread
(as above), "Mr. S." is is also fine if you need to make the distinction.
(One or two have called me Big S. Some comment that I'm the biggest S in
town...and I wish they wouldn't smile quite so broadly when they say it, or
hold it quite so long.)

In any event, we're all in this together, so I think we can let
formality slide.

==== #straczynski #power #lingerie

???? Is Straczynski a household name?

I hate to burst any bubbles, but I can go just about anywhere in the
U.S. and find that nobody knows the name Straczynski, and the only time I've
caused a mob scene at a K-mart was in a tussle over the last Captain Power
figures...or was that when I wandered into the lingerie section and...well,
never mind.

==== #role

Here's one of those interesting little things that happen sometimes
during production. We're shooting "Believers," David Gerrold's story. Now,
when we break for lunch, we all eat together -- crew, cast, writers,
producers, everybody -- in this little area behind the stage. I try to
encourage everybody to stick around for lunch rather than split so that we
can maintain that sense of being a real unit.

Anyway, I'm sitting across from someone I've seen on set a few times,
who's apparently the teacher for a young actor we're using (Jonathon Kaplan)
in "Believers." I don't make a big deal out of my position on the show,
dress like everybody else, so the guy sitting across from me at the table
asks, "So, who do you play in this?"

Unable to resist the temptation, I say, "I play the executive producer."

==== #jms #camera #ellison

???? Wanna be on Tee Vee?

As for me...the TV camera doesn't like me, it just sorta slides over me
and adds 10 years to me. Complicated by the fact that when I'm shoved in
front of a TeeVee camera, my head retracts like a turtle, my neck disappears,
and everything goes everywhere. Harlan, on the other hand, is comfortable
before a camera. The camera *loves* Harlan.

==== #religion #spirituality #athiest

???? How do you stand on religion?

I am an atheist, a total atheist, and am more than happy. What I write
is what I write, what I am is what I is.

Yes, much of my own background goes into what I write. In the case of
religion, and spirituality...a writer's job is to be as honest as he can in
telling a story. My canvas (for lack of a less grandiose term) is the human
condition. And since the dawn of sentience, humanity has been trying to
figure out its place in the universe. The religious impulse is as much a
part of that process as anything else, and it must be treated with integrity
and respect, as I would have my own views respected. I try not to exclude
something just because I don't agree with it, because that corrupts the whole
purpose of writing, which requires an honest look at the subject.

And as a writer, there are parts of the religious impulse that I want to
examine, and explore, and raise questions about, just as much as I'd like to
explore the scientific aspects of living in space, and the more personal,
emotional repercussions of this. It's all a part of trying to figure out
who, and what, and *why* we are.
---
Actually, religion isn't totally irrelevant to B5 in that in several
episodes we'll be dealing with, or touching upon that issue...there's a bit
of it in "Soul Hunter," "By Any Means Necessary," "The Parliament of Dreams,"
"Legacies," "Believers" and a couple of others.
---
I've never felt the need, as a writer, to be didactic about this stuff.
No, I don't believe in an afterlife...I also don't believe in the actual
existence of Vorlons, either, but I write about them. I don't think it's a
requirement. H.P. Lovecraft was one of our best writers of supernatural
fiction, but I very much doubt that he believed in the Old Ones, or made bi-
weekly offerings to Cthulhu.

All areas of human endeavor should be open to exploration, discussion
and analysis, for what we can learn from them.

==== #nepotism #drennan #spousal #means #necessary

One thing I can mention now, since it's nearly finished: see, I have
this real problem with nepotism. Specifically...I hate it. As a result, I
make people I know work twice as hard. The closer the tie, the more the
person has to work to prove him or herself.

Kathryn Drennan, my Spousal Overunit, is also a writer, and has written
for many other shows, primarily in animation, but with some forays into other
areas. (She was co-author on the Night Gallery series of articles I wrote
for Twilight Zone Magazine, as one fr'instance, and was a producer with
public televison for some time.)

Anyway, she desperately wanted to write a B5 script. But because of my
feelings about nepotism, I refused to give her an assignment. (I can be a
REAL pain in the ass.) Something similar happened when I was working on The
Real Ghostbusters; she loved the show, and wanted to write for it. I put her
through the wringer: she had to submit written premises, just like any other
freelance writer, which were then sent on to the producers for final
approval. They did not know of any relation between her and me; they based
their approval only on the merits of the story. Period. And she ended up
writing two episodes: "Egon's Dragon" and "The Man Who Never Reached Home."
(The former is considered a favorite by many viewers of the show.) Only long
after we finished production did the exec producers on TRGBs learn that there
was a relationship there; it was all based on the quality of the work.

But in the case of B5, I *am* the exec producer, so it became more
difficult. At first I said simply no. Finally, I set into place a number of
conditions/provisions. NOT because she wouldn't do a great script, but only
because I don't like the look of nepotism; I hate it, and I hate the way this
town operates on the principles of nepotism. The conditions were that she
had to write the script completely on spec, no assignment; not a spec
outline, which is shorter, but a spec *script*. It would then have to pass
muster in- house; if even one person thought it wasn't up to snuff, it got
deep sixed. And revisions would not be handled by me, for the most part; she
would have to work with Larry, who has a reputation (as Katherine Lawrence
can attest) to not pulling his punches. No favoritism. Then the script
would have to pass muster with Warners. IF, after all that, the script was
approved, then it would be bought, and not a moment before. If anywhere
along the line it didn't meet one of those criteria...then it would be a 50
page learning experience and nothing more.

Well, I'm pleased to say that it *did* pass muster with everyone, and
"By Any Means Necessary" is now over halfway through production, with a
number of people -- including Michael O'Hare -- saying it's their favorite so
far, mainly for very odd reasons. The premise is one that ST would never,
EVER do, which is one thing I like about it; it also shows us more on the
inner workings of B5, the blue-collar types who keep the whole place
operational...and what happens when that falls apart. The B story gets into
a confrontation between G'Kar and Londo when Londo interferes in an important
Narn religious observation.

We brought back John Snyder (Soul Hunter #2) minus prosthetics for one
guest role, and Katy Boyer as our other guest star. They're both doing
terrific jobs, and it's a very intense script in which we basically put
Sinclair through the wringer for 48 hours and try and make him absolutely
nuts. And succeed, for the most part.

Anyway...there you have it.
---
Kathryn's last name is Drennan. Her full credit is Kathryn M. Drennan.
Not Straczynski. Probably displaying considerable wisdom on her part. Ten
thousand letters, no vowels.

==== #favorite #television

???? What's the coolest show ever made?

Disagreement: the coolest show ever made is THE PRISONER. I hope to
capture a little of the flavor of that show, mainly by playing a little with
surrealism, what's real and what's not...but it'll pale beside that show.
THE PRISONER, for me, is the perfect television program. I've never really
seen its equal.

==== #music

???? Favorite kinds of music?

I have very weird, very eccentric and eclectic tastes in music. In
addition to Meatloaf, I'm big on Leon Redbone, Indigo Girls, Enya, I'm
starting to like Digable Planets...classical, jazz, big band, hard rock,
celtic, blues, just about anything *except* country, which I couldn't warm up
to even if I were cremated in a crate of Garth Brooks albums.

==== #pets #cats

Pets is okay. Ah lahkes pets. Pets be cool. And cats be coolest.

==== #math #jms

???? How good are you at math?

Joe does not learn math in one episode. Joe does not learn math in one
*year*. I took bonehead math in college three -- count 'em three -- times,
and only passed the third semester because the class was taught by the same
instructor, and the third time I wandered into his class, he siad, (or said),
"Here...just go, I'll give you a C, just...leave."
---
MATH! MATH! YOU SAID THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY MATH ON THIS TEST! I
DIDN'T STUDY! HOW MUCH OF MY GRADE WILL THIS BE?! AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!

==== #sleep

???? Are you exhausted from all this work?

I am. I'm exhausted all the time...running on 3-4 hours of sleep a
night, producing during the day, writing all night...but it *is* fun. The
only hard part is that because of my close involvement in this show, and
creating the characters, and assigning the stories, and working with the
actors...I have Londo and G'Kar and Kosh and Garibaldi and all the rest
running around in my head and yelling at each other 24 hours a day, and
sometimes that can make you just a little nuts...you wanna tell them to shut
the hell up for five minutes...and then they look at you with this wounded
expression...you ever see a Narn sulk? It's not a pretty sight.
---
Yeah, easy for YOU to say, KAL...I've got Londo, Garibaldi, G'Kar, Kosh
and half the Psi-Corps running around inside my head and yelling at each
other 24 hours a day...YOU try to sleep with all that racket.

I either need to find a better neighborhood, or a worse one, I can't
decide....

"AH, my GOOD, CLOSE FRIEND, GariBALdi --"

That's it! Everybody outta the pool......!

=============== Miscellany ===============

==== #motto #filk #kids #robots

Re: kids/robots...the exact phrasing of that has gone through various
permutations and paraphrasings; the specific line is "No kids or cute
robots." The latter specifically entails entities such as Twiki (got the
spelling right this time, thanks to whoever corrected me), who should be run
down by a truck at the first opportunity. (In fact, I can say without
hesitation that if you ever DO see what passes for a cute robot on this show,
keep a close eye on it, because you'll probably see somebody drop an anvil on
it REAL fast.)

So this allows us to explore the question of robotics, but to do so in a
fairly serious context. Because logically, 200+ years in the future there
are going to be some changes; robotics will be more common, though likely in
some different form. (If you've seen the promos or the pilot, you've seen
the maintenance 'bot that checks out the hull of B5; it has arms, it moves,
it's independent, it's a robot. It just doesn't begin its report with
"Bida-bida- bida.")

On the topic of kids...it's a deliberate decision to steer clear of that
part, not because I think it's invalid, but because a) it's been done on
another show, and its spinoff, rather intensively, and b) it's part of the SF
stereotype, "We have to have kids because SF is a kid's genre."

Might there be a story about a family of refugees who come seeking
sanctuary, or opportunity elsewhere? Of course. But any kids in that family
won't be at the *center* of the story. And they'll be gone by the end of the
episode. It's also a matter of context; absent the scenario just posed, this
is a place for businessmen, travelers, mappers, traders, diplomats and
others, it's not a place for kids. It's also potentially a very DANGEROUS
place.
---
Hmm...maybe I should amend it to "No cute kids, no cute robots, and no
filkers, ever...."

Nothing personal, but given the choice between listening to two hours of
filking, and having my eyeballs scooped out, popped, spread on toast as jam
and fed to me for breakfast...I'll take the latter.

==== #pc #politically #correct

???? Are you trying to be politically correct?

I take great joy in being politically *incorrect* at every possible
opportunity. I believe in the motto someone at the BBC once voice: "There
are some people we WANT to offend."

==== #crew #softball

Now here's comedy...we're fielding a Babylon 5 softball as one of the
showbiz leagues. (Many shows in town have softball teams, and th ey've
organized into something that has grown quite substantially into a Big Deal.)
We're making up jerseys for the team, and on the front there will be the B5
logo, and on the back, for the team player number, there will be 5. That's
all. The only number. Which will make calling the game a WONDERFUL
challenge..."And on shortstop we've got number five...out in center field is
number five...with number five pitching and catching."

Everything about this show is surreal.

BTW...our first game is against the SeaQuest team.

==== #alternate #narration

[posted 1/25/93, when Laurel was still on board]

Meanwhile, here's a little something I came across in my computer
this evening. I had always sensed that the Londo introduction/narration
at the top of the pilot was the way to go. But it never hurts to try
other avenues...you discover the darndest ideas that way. Anyway, I came
up with an alternate introduction, just to see if it worked or not. I
rather liked it...and still do, to some degree...but finally opted to go
with the Londo intro instead, which is what we'll stick with.

But since it's not going to be used, I figured...why not let y'all
take a look at what would've been an alternate opening for the pilot?

BABYLON 5
Insert/Prologue

FADE IN:

ON STATIC. Then: a BLACK SCREEN, OVER which we HEAR the FEMALE
voice of a news broadcast in progress:

FEMALE VOICE (vo)
-- continue to bring you updates on
the Interplanetary News Network.

And now, gradually, a PICTURE begins to emerge from the darkness
-- grainy, slightly washed out, a VIDEO IMAGE of Babylon 5.

FEMALE VOICE (vo)
In other news, the Earth Alliance
space station Babylon 5 celebrates
its first year in operation with the
imminent arrival of an ambassador
from the Vorlon Empire.

And now: a MONTAGE of shots from within B5, and some EFX shots
from outside...the casino, the customs area, the bazaar and other
areas. During this, the IMAGE BEGINS TO SHRINK, to recede into
the distance, and gradually the stars begin to come out on all
sides of the picture, framing it. This UNDER:

FEMALE VOICE (vo)
Located in neutral territory, Babylon
5 has exceeded all expectations in
dealing with the many life forms that
pass through the five mile long
station. As a result, Earth Central
has approved an appropriations bill
to keep the orbiting freeport open to
travelers, businessmen and diplomats
for another five years.

And now the image shifts, and the picture continues to recede
into the distance, now only a few inches across...a grainy black
and white image:

FEMALE VOICE (vo)
Meanwhile, a new binary star
discovered by Mars colony scientists
has been named Kennedy Proxima, after
20th century president John F.
Kennedy, born 340 years ago this
week.

And now, in the small picture framed by stars, receding more
rapidly from view, we SEE footage of JFK speaking before the
Democratic convention the eve of his presidential nomination:

KENNEDY
I believe that the times require
imagination, and courage, and
perseverance. I'm asking each one of
you to be pioneers toward that New
Frontier. My call is to the young at
heart, regardless of age; to the
stout of spirit, regardless of party;
to all those who respond to the
scriptural call, "Be strong and of
good courage. Be not afraid, neither
be dismayed." For courage, not
complacency, is our need today.

UNDER this, Kennedy's image recedes further into the distance,
growing smaller and smaller until he is now one of the many
surrounding stars splashed across the blackness of space. A
moment, and the MUSIC RISES, brave and martial, as we

TILT and PAN ACROSS to reveal Babylon 5 itself, up close and
personal in all its huge splendor. PUSH IN on the station as
a ship approaches, and we HEAR:

LAUREL (vo)
Confirmed, Delta Gamma Niner, you
are clear for docking.

==== #cricket

You wanna hear really dopey? Of all the things that can bug you --
literally, in this case -- it's always the small ones that get under your
skin. The goofy ones.

Take crickets for instance.

Crickets. Cute little critters, welcoming the twilight, equipped with
top hat and umbrella to usher Pinnochio into his long-sought humanity....
Crickets.

Ah hates crickets.

A cricket family -- at least one that we know of -- moved into a corner
of one of our sets. The medlab, to be precise. Now, when we're moving
things around, building stuff, moving stuff, it's silent, as a cricket will
generally be when made nervous. But make it all nice and quiet -- as you
would do for, say, filming -- and he becomes downright rambunctious. And
sure enough, there is is, deep in the audio background on a few shots. Oh,
we can hide the audio easily enough...but Getting The Cricket has become
something of a cause around here.

We absolutely cannot find him. I stood back there for ten minutes, eyes
closed, trying to triangulate and draw a bead on the little sucker. We've
tried exterminators, smoke, nitrogen, assassins and psychics; we've tried
scaring him and coaxing him, to no avail. He is as invisible as god but with
a MUCH louder voice.

You ever fire up a daily to hear, at the top of the take, the off screen
director saying, as fast as he can, "Okaythecricket'ssilent,ACTION!"

Like I said...not really a problem, just one of those little things that
niggle at you when there's nothing else going on. So we're going to wait him
out.

Anybody know offhand the lifespan of your average cricket...?

==== #o'hare #brother #f-14 #starfury

As it happens, btw, Michael O'Hare's brother is a Commander in the
Gunfighters fighter squadron, running weapons, mainly, and flying an F-14.
At some point we'll probably stick him in a B5 cockpit, and stick Michael in
an F-14 cockpit....

==== #stolen #g'kar #mask

Incidentally...as long as I'm here...an advisory. We've got about as
much security as anyone can *have* on a stage...but as with TNG and other SF
shows, we've had our share of things suddenly vanishing. We lost a biggie
the other day, swiped by someone. As mentioned, we re-examined G'Kar's
makeup/prosthetic, and did some minor redesigning. Prior to final approval,
a full-size (head and neck) sculpture was done, painstakingly hand-painted.
There's only the one. And someone swiped it, right out of Doug Netter's
office, where it was hanging on the wall. I couldn't even begin to tell you
how much it's worth; just the physical value alone would be considerable, let
alone collector's value.

I'm putting this out here so that, if anyone here should see it at a
convention, or a dealer's room, you should know that it's stolen merchandise,
and should be reported to the police. There's no chance of mistaking this
for something else, since there's literally only the one in existence.

==== #minbari #forehead #brand #mark #ds9

???? What about the minbari who got branded on the forehead?

Y'know...it's a funny old world. And sometimes it just astonishes you.

About 2 months ago, one of our freelancers turned in a script that has
to do with a hate group, in the course of which a guest character -- a
Minbari -- is attacked and has her head branded with the symbol of the group.

So you will doubtless understand my astonishment when I turned on DS9
and saw the same thing happen.

Unfortunately, we've already shot that episode, it's in the can, so
there's nothing we can do about it now. Further -- and let me be totally
clear about this -- there's no way that DS9 could've borrowed the idea from
us, or in any way been influence by us, and no way we could've been influence
by them. To get on the air now, they would've had to shoot their episode
some time before the writer turned in that draft for our show. And none of
us were in any way aware of what was going on there until we saw it the night
of the broadcast...and came in the next day with looks of absolute shock.

These things do happen...and when you're dealing with similar general
areas -- humans vs. aliens, or one alien group vs. another alien group --
then something like this becomes inevitable. And given the foreheads on
Ferengi, and the foreheads on Minbari, the obviousness of that target
becomes clear. Still, it's amazing when it happens. And I guess I just
wanted it to be clear when this thing airs that the sequence in our show was
in the can and done when the DS9 episode aired.
---
Kiwi...yeah, I know. We're in discussions to see if there's any way we
can cut this from the show...the only problem is that the brand stays on
throughout the show. If it were just in one shot, we'd cut the shot and find
some other way around it. The only way we can lose it now would be if we
literally wiped off the brand by going into every frame in which it appears
and digitally removing it from the frame...which is a *real* pain in the
butt...but we are considering it.
---
The points made above are essentially correct; the brand goes on in the
very top of the show, in the teaser, and stay on throughout the episode...and
part of the story is dealing with this, and what it means. An offer is made
to remove it, but the victim decides *not* to have it removed, because there
are lessons in these things...and it becomes almost a badge of defiance.

In addition to the notes here, I've received a whole bunch of email
notes saying to leave it in, on the grounds that it *does* happen in real
life (or incidents close to it), and how we're handling it *is* very
different. (Some indicated that it can illustrate how the two shows handle
their themes in different ways.) So it's a tough call...to change would also
mean some re- shooting...but given the responses here, I think it's okay to
leave it in place.

File this one away the next time someone asks, "What sort of ways has
the BBS discussion actually affected Babylon 5?"

==== #theological #crew #soul

???? What's this about a crew member leaving for "theological" reasons
with "Soul Hunter"?

One person at a post production house we've used has indicated that he
has "theological problems" with working on that episode; not because it's
*against* what he believes -- he's worked on horror movies and stuff with
devils and the like -- but because it takes a point of view he doesn't much
like...in that he has to sit and defend the whole *context* of his
ideas...meaning, it's making him think. He can just poo-poo the stuff
against what he believes, support what he does believe in...but he isn't
quite sure where this show comes down, or where it makes *him* come down.
I've had any number of problems with people on a show before, but this is the
first time I've run into a theological problem.

==== #nonsense

If what you think I said is correct, then what you think I said is what
I said. If what I might have said was not correct, then what I might have
said is not what I said, incorrectly.

This message will self-destruct as soon as anyone manages to parse the
grammar....

==== #inside #jokes

???? Will there be in-jokes?

There are a lot of little in-jokes...but I'd rather let you see them
than ruin the surprise.
---
We sneak in GEnie coordinates from time to time....
---
By the way...just for funsies I slipped a reference into one of our
scripts to a location being at grid coordinates 471-18-25.

==== #fun

Today was "Men In Skirts Day" for many in the Babylon 5 crew.

There are some things man was not meant to know....
---
Re: the crew...today was Pajama Day. Don't ask.
---
Our head of post production, associate producer George Johnsen, pulled a
number on me today that just struck me as hilarious, and I pass it on to you.
(We do a lot of silly stuff behind the scenes.)

Take your hands. Fold in the thumb until it's pointing in toward the
palm of your hand, but not entirely. Fan out your other four fingers on each
hand as far as you can. Now put the two hands together so that the index
fingers touch, and the pinkies are on either side of one another (i.e.,
you've formed a crown or fan). Raise your hands so that your wrists are
settling on either side of the top of your head.

Now look at the person sitting next to you and say, "Live, Londo, and
Prosper." This is the unofficial B5 crew greeting. Apparently some have
been doing it when they arrive for work in the morning.

We're a sick bunch, but we're fun.
---
Funny...I sometimes make up little clips from shows and put them to
music for myself or for convention appearances...and I was giving some
serious thought to assembling a montage and using "I Am the Walrus" by the
Beatles as the music...and then realized that it would probably give away too
much if I composed the pictures correctly with the lyrics.

I am the walrus...coo-coo ka choo....
---
During the con appearance, Jerry told a story that *I* hadn't heard
before. There's a scene in the script "Midnight on the Firing Line" in which
Talia (Andrea) goes into a transport tube, finds Garibaldi, and asks some
questions about Ivanova. They rehearsed it several times, this being
Andrea's first time on the set, and filmed one take. She comes down the
hall, comes to thepen...and Garibaldi's pants are down around his ankles.
Needless to say, that shot did NOT end up in dailies....

==== #fart

How You Know You're Finally Going Bananas, by JMS.

So there I was, lying abed, at 3 a.m., unable to sleep, and I come up
with the Fart Classification System (FCS). Basically, they break down into
three categories: small farts are squibs, medium farts are crackers, and
really huge farts are zeppelins.

I desperately need to get a life....

==== #flu #nyquil

???? How do you like having a flu?

Cooney: I wasn't offended...very little offends me...EXCEPT THIS DAMNED
FLU THAT REFUSES TO GO AWAY, AND EVERY NIGHT IT'S FEVER TIME, AND I'M GOING
OUT OF MY MIND, YOU HEAR? I'M GOING MAD! I'M SPENDING MY DAYS AND NIGHTS
TRYING TO WRITE IN TWO STATES OF MIND: DELUSIONAL OR CONFUSED (which on the
up side is one more state of mind than is normal for me) AND I'M TIRED OF IT,
YOU HEAR? TIRED OF IT!
---
....courtesy of NyQuil.

The colors, man, check out the *colllllllllllllooooorrrrrsssss*****...

("May induce drowsiness" my ass...you're lucky if you make it across the
room with this stuff....)

==== #more

???? Do you have anything more to say?

Don't know really how much more there is to say; it's getting to that
time when all the worthwhile talking will be done by the series itself.

---------------------------- "....We're all set. If you'll come this way..."
Dan Wood, dan...@netcom.com See TV enter its third age on January 26 as
---------------------------- Babylon 5 hits the air. (I saw it! Tis way cool!)

[Dan Wood]

Yikes! That was a draft that got posted...anyhow, there is a
slightly more recent version ("b5_jms_answers.txt") at the ftp.hyperion.com
site...at least it's the first release version. Hopefully I'll be
compiling an updated version that is a bit more concise and brings in a bit
more of what we know.

If anybody has any suggestions, wish-lists, and so on, by all means,
e-mail me. (The more response I get, the sooner I'll be motivated to update
the dang thing!) :)
--
---------------------------- :Hairdo:Gold and Blue:what's new:apercu:kangaroo:
Dan Wood, dan...@netcom.com :Have some spoo:tried and true:void foo ( ):guru:
---------------------------- :Tom Vu:a whole slew:The New Number 2:get a clue!

[neil hammar]

co...@callisto.pas.rochester.edu (Colin Sebastian Roald) posted words by JMS:
[vast quantities of stuff deleted both fore and aft.]

>==== #squadron #patches
>
>???? Names of squadrons of Starfuries?
>
> BTW, for those who might be interested in such things...continuing the
>Earth tradition, all of our various fighter wings have their own names. The
>fighter unit that Ivanova belongs to, for instance, is the Ghost Riders. The

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

MERCHANDISING OPPORTUNITY!!!

I wanna be in Ivanova's squadron! More importantly, I am willing
(eager even) to pay money for the appropriate insignia and
patches. JMS, please pass this one along to whoever is handling that
part of your business.

PS I think we've just found a better name for the "Official Ivanova
Fan Club". Whadda ya say folks.
--
Neil Hammar
ham...@cs.unm.edu
Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know. -- Lao Tzu
He had probably just finished reading News.

[Dianne Hackborn]

ham...@python.cs.unm.edu (neil hammar) wrote thusly:

| co...@callisto.pas.rochester.edu (Colin Sebastian Roald) posted words by JMS:

| >fighter unit that Ivanova belongs to, for instance, is the Ghost Riders. The
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

| >on the Line), Ghost Riders (Ivanova's wing), and so on.
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
| MERCHANDISING OPPORTUNITY!!!

Oh ghod please nooooooooooooooooo.... *shudder*

| I wanna be in Ivanova's squadron! More importantly, I am willing
| (eager even) to pay money for the appropriate insignia and
| patches. JMS, please pass this one along to whoever is handling that
| part of your business.

How about an Ivanova wind-up doll? Somehow, the image of such a cheesy
thing saying some of her lines....... :)

| PS I think we've just found a better name for the "Official Ivanova
| Fan Club". Whadda ya say folks.

This is just getting *way* too complicated for me...

Member of the Official "I only drool tastefully" Club,
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dianne Kyra Hackborn "The popularity of Reagan was essentially the
hac...@xanth.cs.orst.edu implementation of a collective masochistic
BIX: dhack / IRC: Dianne will to be sodomized by a movie cowboy."
Oregon State University -- Jim Lipschorken

[strac...@genie.geis.com]

We've had some talks with merchandisers about the patches; we'll see.

jms

[Mohammad Khan]

ham...@python.cs.unm.edu (neil hammar) writes:
>>---
>> That's the logo for Starfury squadrons in general. On the opposite arm
>>goes the individual squadron name, such as Death's Hands (Sinclair's squadron
>>on the Line), Ghost Riders (Ivanova's wing), and so on.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> MERCHANDISING OPPORTUNITY!!!

> I wanna be in Ivanova's squadron! More importantly, I am willing
>(eager even) to pay money for the appropriate insignia and
>patches. JMS, please pass this one along to whoever is handling that
>part of your business.

>PS I think we've just found a better name for the "Official Ivanova
>Fan Club". Whadda ya say folks.

Heh, will you be keeping track of all of her one-liners?

>--
>Neil Hammar
>ham...@cs.unm.edu
>Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know. -- Lao Tzu
>He had probably just finished reading News.

--
|\/| _ |_ _.._ _ ._ _ _. _| |/|_ _.._ mk...@nyx.cs.du.edu :-)
| |(_)| |(_|| | || | |(_|(_| |\| |(_|| | Mohamm...@islam.chi.il.us
Sysop: National Islamic BBS +(312)274-8136 9600v.32 N81 1:115/449
finger (or mail to) mk...@nyx.cs.du.edu for more info

[Benjamin B. Thomas]

>>>>> "JMS" == straczynski <strac...@genie.geis.com> writes:
In article <940408035...@relay2.geis.com> strac...@genie.geis.com writes:

JMS> We've had some talks with merchandisers about the patches;
JMS> we'll see.

If you let someone make the patches, please make the stipulation that
they be fully embroidered. It is amazing how much nicer a patch becomes
when you stitch in the background color instead of just letting colored
cloth show through. It may cost a few pennies more, but the leap in
quality is amazing.

/>
// Benjy Thomas be...@ai.mit.edu
(//////[O]>=========================================-
\\ (617) 225-7225 Baker House 225
\> "Off to see Ironheart"

[neil hammar]

hac...@storm.cs.orst.edu (Dianne Hackborn) wrote:
>ham...@python.cs.unm.edu (neil hammar) wrote thusly:

[much tastless drooling removed]

>Member of the Official "I only drool tastefully" Club,
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Dianne Kyra Hackborn "The popularity of Reagan was essentially the
>hac...@xanth.cs.orst.edu implementation of a collective masochistic
>BIX: dhack / IRC: Dianne will to be sodomized by a movie cowboy."
>Oregon State University -- Jim Lipschorken

If you're going to be >tasteful< about it, why bother? :-p