ATTN JMS - A few questions....
LAdkins767
a) I keep reading references to SoZD which assume that the Icarus awoke
the Shadows upon landing on Za Ha Dum. Is this supposed to be the idea?
Or is it another misunderstanding (like the excessive pronouns that led
some to believe that Kosh himself is the only remaining "old one")?
b) re: B5 widescreen LDs - Do your directors compose their shots for the
widescreen format, and then pan and scan in post production for broadcast,
or do they compose for the small screen and then just crop the sides of
the frame (I would think this is much more economical). If the latter,
aren't the shows going to look a little unbalanced in the widescreen
format? Or am I just being ignorant?
c) I don't really expect you to answer this, but it's worth a shot....
You've said that each season of the series will equal a year of "real
time" for the characters, but will those five years be continuous (ie,
2258, 2259, 2260, 2261, 2262), or will there be a jump somewhere?
d) A possibly related question: I think I saw a post somewhere where you
said that we may see Babylon 4 again in season 3? Is this still true?
Was it ever?
e) I just noticed that someone else posted this question today, but I'll
ask again anyway: At the Creation convention in Anaheim last month, you
seemed to indicate that the third season title will be, "Now I am become
Death, destroyer of worlds." Is this definate or just an idea. (In
response to the poster who finds this a cheesy and overused quote, I think
it has a certain poetry to it which fits in nicely with a lot of the other
titles you have used in the series. I know it sounds like a quibble, but
one of the many things that annoys me about the new Trek series is that
they've lost some of the eloquence of the old show, which is evident even
in the titles of the episodes, most of which are purely functional and add
nothing to the show, whereas the old series was full of Shakespearian and
Biblical allusions. I just think that if you're going to bother printing
the title at the head of the episode, it should *add* something to the
experience. Most of your titles - "Midnight on the Firing Line", "Born to
the Purple" (a reference I don't think I entirely get, BTW), "The Geometry
of Shadows", and many others - have an intrinsic, lyrical value aside from
the stories to which they are attatched. Just a thought.
f) And finally: This isn't a question, but has anyone brought to your
attention the current issue of TV Guide, in which Rick Berman reveals that
the next season of Star Trek "we-don't-*do*-war-stories" Deep Space Nine
will feature a "slight change in premise" - namely the outbreak of war
between the Federation and the Klingon Empire? (!!!) Who's ripping off
who, now?
Thanks
Ted McCoy
LAdkins767 <ladki...@aol.com> wrote:
>f) And finally: This isn't a question, but has anyone brought to your
>attention the current issue of TV Guide, in which Rick Berman reveals that
>the next season of Star Trek "we-don't-*do*-war-stories" Deep Space Nine
>will feature a "slight change in premise" - namely the outbreak of war
>between the Federation and the Klingon Empire? (!!!) Who's ripping off
>who, now?
No doubt!
And did you notice that rerun of "Past Tense" the other week? At one point
it mentions that Sisko is fond of baseball -- clearly ripped off from
Sheridan's baseball scene in "Knives"!
Plus, this week's episode involves Odo being taken over by one of Dax's
former hosts. Clearer "inspired" by the rest of the Sheridan plot in
"Knives."
And the bit about Quark being used by a female host -- that's obviously
ripping off the way Delenn was originally going to have a sex change.
(Not to mention the preview for next week's episode. Hmm, a shape-shifting
villain who could be hiding as anybody? Somebody saw "The Gathering"! Plus,
the talks of war recall a certain B5 episode....)
Ted
T. Horowitz
LAdkins767 <ladki...@aol.com> wrote:
>f) And finally: This isn't a question, but has anyone brought to your
>attention the current issue of TV Guide, in which Rick Berman reveals that
>the next season of Star Trek "we-don't-*do*-war-stories" Deep Space Nine
>will feature a "slight change in premise" - namely the outbreak of war
>between the Federation and the Klingon Empire? (!!!) Who's ripping off
>who, now?
Ah, yes, the mysterious, almost "shadowy" Klingon Empire we've
been hearing about for years but never really understood will be revealed
in this season of DS9.
And where else would the DS9 crew get the idea of a war if they
hadn't watched Babylon 5?
When will you people figure it out: Babylon-5 and Deep Space 9
do NOT "rip off" one another. They're both SPACE OPERAS. If you see something
on one show which reminds you of the other, chances are it was done somewhere
else a long, long time ago. Not on television, perhaps, but the world is
a lot bigger than television. DS9 having a war is no more a ripoff of
B5 than B5 is a ripoff of Star Trek because it's set in the 23rd century, has
telepaths and interstellar empires.
Which of course leaves entirely mysterious the question of why
Berman would seek to ripoff a show with significantly lower ratings than his.
-todd
Stephen Notley
: e) At the Creation convention in Anaheim last month, you
: seemed to indicate that the third season title will be, "Now I am become
: Death, destroyer of worlds." Is this definate or just an idea. (In
: response to the poster who finds this a cheesy and overused quote, I think
: it has a certain poetry to it which fits in nicely with a lot of the other
: titles you have used in the series.
I agree it's poetic, but hang on...
: I know it sounds like a quibble, but
: one of the many things that annoys me about the new Trek series is that
: they've lost some of the eloquence of the old show, which is evident even
: in the titles of the episodes. Most of your titles - "Midnight on the
: Firing Line", "Born to the Purple", "The Geometry
: of Shadows", and many others - have an intrinsic, lyrical value aside from
: the stories to which they are attatched.
I absolutely agree (I'm the poster who complained, by the way, or one of
them, at least, if there are more than one). One of the things that made
me tingle with anticipation for this brash new series was the boldness of
its titles. And the titles you mention are all excellent examples of B5
episode titles. What makes them interesting, though, to my mind is that
they are evocative without actually being a quote. They sound portentious
without sounding pretentious. I'm just saying that the
Oppenheimer/Baghavad-Gita quote is a pretty common one in the world of
SF, and even in Gharlane's Sci-Fi.
I mean, hell, it's not like I'll stop watching the show over it. I would
just like to see a fragment of new poetry to evoke new ideas rather than
old poetry evoking old ideas. Yes, there's thematic validity to bringing
up old legends and religious texts in this coming phase of B5, but why
not come up with something that *other people* will be borrowing,
something with the same air as "Parliament of Dreams", for example?
Stephen
sno...@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca
"Yeah, well, I'm not too thrilled about my User ID either..."
Michael Heser
: And did you notice that rerun of "Past Tense" the other week? At one point
: it mentions that Sisko is fond of baseball -- clearly ripped off from
: Sheridan's baseball scene in "Knives"!
They played up Sisko's love for the game of baseball in the premiere
movie and has had a baseball on his desk the entire series. It is one of
those things writers like to use because it relates the future reality into
our reality.
: Plus, this week's episode involves Odo being taken over by one of Dax's
: former hosts. Clearer "inspired" by the rest of the Sheridan plot in
: "Knives."
: And the bit about Quark being used by a female host -- that's obviously
: ripping off the way Delenn was originally going to have a sex change.
She did, didn't she? She was male, at least portrayed very much like a
male, in the "Gathering."
: (Not to mention the preview for next week's episode. Hmm, a shape-shifting
: villain who could be hiding as anybody? Somebody saw "The Gathering"! Plus,
: the talks of war recall a certain B5 episode....)
: Ted
I'm really not sure if this guy is serious, or even watches anything
else but B5. All these plotlines have been used before B5 and will be
used since, in different ways, some better, some worse, but B5 did not
originate any of them.
It's been said recently that B5 fans are becoming as close-minded as the
Trek fans. Defending "their show" against all. I think, unfortunately, it
is become so.
----...@omni.voicenet.com----
-----------------------------------------------------------
jere7my tho?rpe
(Michael Heser) wrote:
*Ted McCoy (mc...@math.ohio-state.edu) wrote:
*
*: And did you notice that rerun of "Past Tense" the other week? At one point
*: it mentions that Sisko is fond of baseball -- clearly ripped off from
*: Sheridan's baseball scene in "Knives"!
*
[xnip]
*
*I'm really not sure if this guy is serious, or even watches anything
*else but B5. All these plotlines have been used before B5 and will be
*used since, in different ways, some better, some worse, but B5 did not
*originate any of them.
*
*It's been said recently that B5 fans are becoming as close-minded as the
*Trek fans. Defending "their show" against all. I think, unfortunately, it
*is become so.
Um...Scrid, this is a) Ted McCoy, using b) sarcasm. He's a fan of DS9,
and is often more fond of it than he is of B5. Generally, his posts are
intelligent, and his criticisms of both shows are valid. (Though I don't
agree with him in all cases.) In this instance, he was making a biting attack
against those people who keep saying that DS9 ripped everything off from B5.
[Personally, I feel that, though DS9's potential introduction of a war
next season (plus all the other changes they've hinted at) may have been
_influenced_ by B5 and the SF community's response to it, that doesn't make it
a "rip-off" of B5. But that's neither here nor there.]
----j7y
**************************** <*> ****************************
jere7my tho?rpe "Arf, arf."
Physicist and Artist Guy The sound of certain death
jtho...@cc.swarthmore.edu in the land of the fifty-
(610) 604-0669 ton dogs. (Mister Boffo)
strac...@genie.geis.com
directors frame quite a bit off center, or have stuff going on over in
the edges, or otherwise work to make the whole thing interesting when it's
returned to widescreen format. You will see B4 again in year three, yes.
Interesting about the war in DS9, that's all I'll say on it.
jms
(Except that we'll do it better.)
MICHAEL J.KING SR.
Todd Horowitz posted>>> When will you people figure it out: Babylon-5 and Deep Space 9
on one show which reminds you of the other, chances are it was done somewhere
else a long, long time ago. Not on television, perhaps, but the world is
a lot bigger than television. DS9 having a war is no more a ripoff of
B5 than B5 is a ripoff of Star Trek because it's set in the 23rd century, has
telepaths and interstellar empires.
Which of course leaves entirely mysterious the question of why
Berman would seek to ripoff a show with significantly lower ratings than his.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
it can be good but it just seems to be lacking pieces to make me pine for
the next episode. I try to catch it but if I miss it well thats what reruns
are for. The idea of TREK ripping off B5 seems to trigger your hot button
as every time someone says 'Did you notice that DS9 or STV used the same
idea as B5" you start frothing! Neither you nor I know what influences
writers to what gets put on the page but face facts TeeVee tends to imitate
whats hot or innovative and B5 is a unique beast.The Trek name will give you a a certain rating just on it's name alone. The local station that carries DS9
here recently when asked about DS9 performance stated it was seeming kind of stale and rudderless. I don't think the same can be said for B5 as IMO it
weekly breaks rules and draws you in so at episodes end you pine for the
next episode.I don't think B&P are taking notes on B5 and then saying to its ststaff 'write this' but I think it is definetly influencing DS9's direction.
Just my thoughts YMMV. Mike#139
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