Date: 01-May-96 01:19:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Theresa Kinney <70751.3262@compuserve.com>
Subject: <A Late Delivery>

 Theresa Kinney <70751.3262@compuserve.com> asks:
> Who else could it have been?
> perhaps we'll see more of the Narn Resistance in the future,
> redesigned under the "Round Table" framework?

      Actually, what I'd said was that these 2-3 eps between big arcs
were NOT arc stories per se, but breathers.  Just to clarify....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 01-May-96 12:35:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Ship of Tears Alien?>

{original post unavailable}

       Nope.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-May-96 12:35:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Ship Of Tears>

{original post unavailable}

       Thanks, I look forward to your feeling it's an ongoing quality
show.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-May-96 19:59:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Andrew Bradbury <100777.747@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5Sword Logo

{original post had no questions}

      Depends on where you got it from.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-May-96 19:59:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com>
Subject: HOMer Award: B5 TCoS

{original post had no questions}

      That's great.  Thanks to all who voted.  It's a good episode,
and the recognition coming from CIS is especially gratifying given
our/my longstanding relationship with this forum.

      So, like, is there a statue or anything that goes with this...?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-May-96 20:00:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> But does this mean that the allies of Light are going to start
> recruiting from among Psi Corps? Which character was she?
> Can you tell me if there was anything that you told Andreas or
> Mira about playing out this sequence, or was it pretty much an
> actor playing to another actor kind of thing?

      Thanks.  That's one of the things about the show that makes it
very appealing to write; you can go from fall down funny, broad comedy
in "Vir" to something more emotional, almost lyrical but serious in
"Avalon," then right into something vaguely horrific in "Ship."  You
get to use all your muscles, not just the same ones over and over.  I
like to stretch, try something I haven't tried before.  Which means
from time to time I fall on my face, but that's okay; it's the only way
to learn.  I have absolutely no qualms about making an ass of myself
and failing if it means that the next time, I can do it right.

      I didn't give Mira or Andreas any instructions on that scene
except what was in the script, which was minimal.  When you have two
performers that solid in the room, just give them the lines and run
like hell.

      Speaking of going back and rewatching episodes...part of this
goes right back to the *pilot*, where, you'll recall, G'Kar tried to
seduce Lyta, mentioning that there are no Narn telepaths, and they feel
very strongly it's important to their survival that they start breeding
them at the first opportunity.

      Ding....!

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-May-96 20:00:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Ship of Tears- Narns?>

{original post unavailable}

      No, because that would mean doing a story without our main
characters, since G'Quan's story took place about a thousand years ago,
and I don't think I could sell that.  (Unless I did another time travel
number, and I only intend to go to that well once, with the B4
storyline.)

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 01-May-96 21:37:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Kudos from Tampa

{original post had no questions}

      Thanks for the good words, and the encouraging news about how
the show is doing out there.  Much appreciated.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 05-May-96 22:01:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robin L. Small <76640.2012@compuserve.com>
Subject: Poisoning Kosh

 Robin L. Small <76640.2012@compuserve.com> asks:
> Has the poising Kosh thread from the pilot ever been completely
> addressed? any answers??

      What's really left to address?  The reasons given were the
reasons; the Minbari warrior caste were very much against the Babylon
project; an extremist clan within that caste decided to frame Sinclair
for murder, using what little info they had on the vorlons, in an
attempt to destabalize or defeat the goals of B5.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:01:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Simon Grierson <100407.2075@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Talia/Abbut Qs>>>

 Simon Grierson <100407.2075@compuserve.com> asks:
> Did Kosh know about the hidden personality within Talia Winters?
> Does he simply distrust Telepaths?
> Will he ever get to use this Data chrystal?
> My memory seems to recall him giving the chrystal to Garibaldi ?
> Abbut said somthing along the lines of "Nice doing business with
> you Mr Kosh, A pleasure as allways" - did this mean Kosh has had
> a lot of Telepaths scanned?
>  - If so, did he know what Lyita knew - but didn't know what
> Telepath was used, so had a number of them scanned?

      Kosh certainly knew more about her, and almost certainly her
second persona, than anyone suspected.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:01:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Jeff Sinclair

{original post unavailable}

      If you write to the fan club, you can get the form; and yes,
Sinclair returns in this month's two parter.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:01:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Brian Kornfeld <75703.1340@compuserve.com>
Subject: Bester and... Bester

 Brian Kornfeld <75703.1340@compuserve.com> asks:
> have ANY bearing on your Bester?

      Yes, it's certainly a tribute to Alfie, a giant in the field.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:01:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Women on B5>

{original post unavailable}

      It's got nothing to do with second class citizenship.  I'm
sorry, but when lives are at stake, *any* justification is acceptable
for saving them. When a ship goes down at sea, as much as possible it
tends to be the rule that women and children go first.  It's not
putting women and children on the same social level, that's silly and a
misstatement of fact.  The notion is that often men are physically
better suited to taking care of themselves in a physically dangerous
situation *as civilians*.  Now, if you're talking military, you need
only to watch the same episode, "Severed," and you see women combat
soldiers slugging it out, and getting stabbed, and killed, right along
with the male soldiers.

      Some people seem to feel that if one shows compassion for any
group, that somehow you are saying that's a lower or second class. 
It's sad when compassion can become warped around to mean something
else.  It's also illogical.

      If the position is that women are second class citizens in this
case, then the cry would be, "Don't fire, we've got men down here." 
Because that would imply that the men are more important; you'd get
"men first" on sinking ships because, as first class citizens, men
would be more important, and thus more worth saving, yes?

      In a crisis situation, where people are going to die, you try to
get out those for whom you care, and to whom you give status.  Those
which are important, and may be less able, physically, to deal with
great stress or danger.

      So, basically, no, the statement did not come from any agenda;
your analysis, however, *did*.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:01:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Ivanova vs. The Markab

{original post unavailable}

      I'd rather leave the question of what Delenn saw open for now.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:01:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com>
Subject: season finale in October

 Catherine Becic <73414.2603@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this set in stone?
> Can nothing be done?
> Must we really be tortured again?
> And will the UK get the end of season 3 before we do again?

         I haven't heard this myself yet formally, so I really can't
comment until I know more.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:01:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> How difficult do you find it to change emotional strides when
> writing stories like this? By the way, any chance I can get the
> spelling for the two Narn words that mean "mindwalker" and
> "destroyed" that Garibaldi mentioned at one point in that
> discussion?

      No, it's never difficult for me to go from horror to romance to
comedy to action; they're just different colors in the artist's
toolbox...you go from red to blue to green to yellow, and it's not
difficult doing it, just in knowing *when* to do it, and *how* to do
it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

{original post unavailable}

      Yes, Minbari telepaths can also have an effect, as we'll see
soon.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rick Sharon <76416.2213@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

 Rick Sharon <76416.2213@compuserve.com> asks:
> would he?
> would he?
> Not even HE is that devious, is he?
> could he??!?
> he couldn't, could he?
> will he?
> (Hmmmm, B5 repair kit?
> The newscaster wasn't visible "below the waist", was she wearing
> hip-boots? are the Shadows consumers and we're just consumables?
> He's a busy man, who has time for that sort of thing?
> But, correction Sheridan, it's not "now we have a weapon", it's
> "now we know what kind of weapon could work" - where is Sheridan
> going to find an Army of telepaths? could you please arrange to
> distribute/broadcast a new B5 episode every 2-3 hours? Whatever
> were you thinking? DO YOU HEAR ME???
> Anxiously looking forward to next episode (but, one week?

      Thanks for that...well, for *all* of that, as there was much
good stuff and kind words therein.  Just got in from Ohio, so I'm
bushed, but still very appreciative.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bruno Melancon <102647.3222@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

 Bruno Melancon <102647.3222@compuserve.com> asks:
>  - Delenn-G'Kar confrontation - Bester helping the cause?
>  - The War Room - Humans (or telepaths) merging with the Shadows
> ships - The telepaths-weapons against the Shadows? About that last
> point, can you tell me the name of the colony that is attacked by
> the Shadows? Is it a human colony?
> Clark be upset with the Shadows?

      That's Brakiri space they attacked; more on that in the next
episode. (They're a League world.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

{original post had no questions}

      Thanks...it's a great episode.  And they get better.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Ship of Tears-Bester>

{original post unavailable}

      Logically, he can't just go away indefinitely, and it's going to
take a long time before they can get Carolyn in shape.  A very long
time.  If he stays, he'd be noticed and hunted down by the Corps, which
ends his usefulness.  His staying served no purpose.

                                                                 jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:10
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: michael kazalski <72357.2642@compuserve.com>
Subject: ExcellenceInBroadcasting

{original post had no questions}

      Thank you very much for those kind words; we work hard on the
show, and that sort of feedback is appreciated.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: JMS: Quick Question

 (blocked) asks:
> When Sheridan and Ivanova are off galavanting about aboard the
> White Star, who's minding the store on the station? Does
> Garibaldi, as head of Security, run things, or would it be Delenn
> as she's Sheridan's co-commander of the Rangers in that quadrant? 
> Just what is the heirarchy of command on Babylon 5, now that it
> is an independent state?

      Yeah, generally it would fall to Garibaldi; it's no longer a
rank thing as much as a "who can we trust?" question.  And Delenn
maintains control of the Rangers in their absence.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: <...Avalon> further

 Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are there any myth-legend cycles that you are (or later became)
> acquainted with that you wished you had room for in B5, but
> couldn't fit in, for one reason or another?

      Dunno...I don't really make a list of what I'd like to do; it's
all just one big melting pot in the back of my head, and it all sifts
together.

                                                                 jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Interludes...>>

 David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com> asks:
> Were there any hints?
> Why halfway through our story do the Shadows show their hand?
> What is that agenda?
> Are the Shadows independent operators or do *they* answer to
> somebody?

      Good points.  In general, you always know when I'm going to
start answering a question, because I begin to point at it in episodes;
I'm now beginning to point to the shadows and ask, "What do THEY want?"

      The answer is coming.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 Renewal

{original post unavailable}

      We'll know later this month.  No word yet either way.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Interludes<<

 Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks:
> I felt frustration and confusion at his situation (how did it get
> this bad? why didn't he get help sooner?
> Question: Can Londo hear the Shadows now because he has turned
> toward the darkness, or was he allowed to hear so he'd be
> intimidated? Our phone rang right after that scene, and I debated
> on whether or not to answer it because I was afraid the person
> would ask me, "What's wrong?" That battle between the Vorlons and
> the Shadows was a joy to watch (can battle be "a joy?"

      Thanks.  The Kosh stuff, his scene with Sheridan, and his
passing, is very moving.  I showed it at Marcon this weekend in Ohio,
and many folks, including Patricia Talman -- who hadn't seen it yet --
were in tears at that. That, to me, is the moment when you know you've
done something, when you can make people *feel* something.  Not just a
plot exercise, but you hit down deep where it hurts, or can make
someone laugh.  It's all about touching emotion...or what's the point?

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 05-May-96 22:02:23
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Interludes questions>

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> could it be that the Shadows technical advantage lies in the
> field of propulsion? First, why didn't Kosh flee the station and
> go into Vorlon space before ordering the attack on the Shadows? 
> Were Shadow vessels haunting hyperspace in the region of the
> station ready to destroy him if he tried to leave? Why didn't he
> ask Sheridan and Delenn for Ranger bodyguards? Would the Shadows
> have simply killed them and then pressed their attack on Kosh or
> would bringing things that far out in the open have left the
> Shadows with no more reason not to directly attack the station? 
> Why was Kosh able to order the Vorlon fleet to attack the
> Shadows? Was his position in the Vorlon hierarchy higher than the
> title of ambassador would indicate? was he, like Delenn was
> originally, part of some kind of governing body? Why did Morden
> and the Shadows automatically know that when the Vorlon fleet
> attacked them that Kosh was behind it? And most importantly, why
> are the Vorlon still "too few" to directly engage the Shadows? So
> again, why aren't they ready? Why are the Shadows, who had to play
> catchup in a big way, able to field a navy that has the
> "thousands" of ships that Londo saw in his vision while the
> Vorlons are still "too few"?

      Because I think, on some level, Kosh knew it was inevitable; a
price had to be paid.  In a way, Lincoln had the same feelings...why
was he to live when so many had died?  In a way, he knew he wouldn't
live much longer. Also, it would mean running...and the Vorlons don't
run.  If he fled, another would pay the price...and that also wouldn't
be right.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 06-May-96 13:27:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mark D. Smith <70254.107@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears-Bester>

 Mark D. Smith <70254.107@compuserve.com> asks:
> Will he continue to or begin to covertly assist B5 while Carolyn
> and the rest of the teeps are on board?

       Yes, that'll be something Bester will do now.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 13:27:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Interludes<<

 Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks:
> If that is so, then how did Morden know about her before he
> talked with the man Vir made the arrangements with? Or was it
> something else - something to do with Kosh? Is this because of
> what she is hiding - like knowing what the Shadows want? How did
> Kosh know what would happen to him if the Vorlons fought the
> Shadows? Since he is the link between the Vorlons and the army of
> light, did he simply realize that the Shadows would move to sever
> that link, or is there more to it? And why couldn't Kosh
> successfully defend himself? Was he outnumbered three to one, one
> Shadow being equal in strength to one Vorlon? His response: "Why'd
> you have to tell me that?

       The "crystals" were diamonds, he was bribing various people to
let him in and otherwise do things for him.  And yes, Delenn's holding
back some information still, and Kosh was outnumbered.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 13:27:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

{original post unavailable}

       There's no relation between the aliens working for the shadows
and the Streib.  The ones you saw in the flash were "doctors" of a sort
doing the work; there was no abduction required except of course the
covert kidnapping from the Psi Corps Re-education Center.  As for
Bester's look behind, he was just looking to the guards behind him, and
the ones in front of him.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 13:27:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Women on B5>

{original post unavailable}

       True, a woman's added body fat layer can help them cope with
the temperatures, but if the sea is roiling and choppy, it takes a lot
of upper body strength to stay afloat.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 13:27:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Interludes<<

 Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com> asks:
> Geez, how many of Morella's "chances" did he blow *this* time?

       Thanks.  Yes, I don't think Sinclair would've handled that
scene in the same way; it needed someone who'd go toe to toe with
something very old and dark and dangerous in his way.  He had to get
under Kosh's "skin," as it were. Needle and outrage and upset him until
he got through...whatever the cost.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 13:27:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bert Johnson <102476.201@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Interludes<<

 Bert Johnson <102476.201@compuserve.com> asks:
> I think it is incredibly symbolic that Kosh visited both Sheridan
> in Interludes and G'Kar in the previous episode as their fathers
> The one thing that bothers me is that now the Shadows and the war
> are out in the open as of at least two episodes, why why why do
> they let Morden walk around the station at will?

       They would do so, but since the fall from Earth, as Susan
mentioned, they've had to hire guards who may not be above bribes, as
we saw in the teaser.  And Morden is good at covering his footsteps.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 13:28:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Poisoning Kosh

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why did Kosh cooperate with the effort to poison him?

       Kosh extended a hand...because he recognized Sinclair.

       Which is all I'll say for now.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 13:28:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Women on B5>

{original post unavailable}

       Okay; understood, thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 21:44:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: JMS: gun port=respect?

{original post unavailable}

      Bottom line, Steven...what you're doing is applying not only
just Earth norms and standards of behavior to aliens, you're applying
distinctly Western modes of behavior, conduct and mentality.  You're
expecting them to think and act like we do, in the way we consider
logical.  You can't even apply that criteria to other countries right
here on Earth, let alone outside.  Is it logical to one day just walk
away from all your possessions, just leave them where they are, and
start walking, not coming back?  Here we consider that abnormal
behavior, abandoment...in Australia, among the Aboriginal culture, that
principle is called "walkabout" and is quite common and accepted 
behavior.  The idea of ritually mutilating a young woman's genitals is
a hideous, terrible notion to any sane person in this country...but in
many African nations, it's practiced quite commonly, on an everyday
basis as part of their notion of coming into womanhood.

      Part of having *alien* aliens is that they don't think like us. 
One big adjustment Americans rarely make when they go overseas is that
they expect everyone and everyplace to be just like home in attitude. 
But there are huge differences...and those differences can start wars.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 21:44:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robin L. Small <76640.2012@compuserve.com>
Subject: Poisoning Kosh

{original post had no questions}

      It didn't have to get past the encounter suit; he was distinctly
shown extending a portion of himself *outside* the suit.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 21:44:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Jeff Sinclair

{original post had no questions}

      It was a great convention, thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 21:44:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: season finale in October

{original post unavailable}

      All episodes of B5 are closed captioned as a rule, unless
something goes wrong at some point.

                                                                 jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 21:44:26
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ed Passarella, Ziff-Davi <72241.505@compuserve.com>
Subject: Delenn and G'Kar

{original post had no questions}

      Thanks...it's a nifty little scene.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 21:44:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Babylon 5 on video?

 (blocked) asks:
> Do you have any plans to release Babylon 5 on video?

      In the fullness of time.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 21:44:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: JMS: Quick Question

 (blocked) asks:
> Are the former EA personnel now part of the Rangers -- or are
> they still separate from the Rangers themselves? Or is it just
> kinda mish-mashed together with Sheridan technically being in
> command of both entities, with Delenn as official co-ommander on
> the Ranger side of things and Ivanova his second-in-command on
> the former EA side of things? What do they call themselves now
> anyway -- Rebels?

      The patch signifies their alliance with the Rangers, yes.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 21:44:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Troy Starr <74752.3172@compuserve.com>
Subject: <ISN News>

 Troy Starr <74752.3172@compuserve.com> asks:
> Dare one ask what's happened to the two reporters that were
> broadcasting from the ISN news center when "ISN pulled it's own
> plug to stop the fake trasmission?" Would people believe that
> their (well, his) report was a fake? Finally, is ISN the only
> channel out there?

      ISN is one of the only interstellar networks bounced via the
tachyon relay systems from Earth to the outer colonies and beyond. 
There are lots of other channels back home, but to get this far out you
need the support of the government.

      The other two reporters are, to say the least, in deep guano.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 06-May-96 21:44:38
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: 'Drop Dead' Date?

 Kevin P. Kenney <104102.352@compuserve.com> asks:
> When is that date this year?
> Any word if you'll be presenting at the San Diego Comic Con this
> year? Any suggestions?

      I believe the true, honest, drop-dead date is June 10th, which
is when we have to pick up the actors' contracts.  If it's after that,
we lose our options on the actors.

      Re: Red Clay Ramblers...I'd suggest their album "It Ain't
Right," from Flying Fish Records in Chicago.  It's got some of their
best stuff in it, from the title song to "Ezekiel in the Valley of the
Dry Bones" (which was on as I wrote "Ceremonies"), and a wonderfully
sick, twisted and funny song called "The Merchant's Lunch."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 00:41:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Christian Vitroler <100042.662@compuserve.com>
Subject: Ivanova vs. The Markab

 Christian Vitroler <100042.662@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any comment on the frequent mangling in German episodes?
> So you can wonder, if he (JMS) gives us the voice beyond any
> doubt why doesn't he show us her? But is there no such thing as
> sort of quality control from the Executive Producer? you're out
> once and for all once it's sold?

      There is absolutely nothing I can do about this except be upset
by it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 00:41:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Scott Miller <70562.3656@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Avalon and 3d age>

 Scott Miller <70562.3656@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why would they not have their own names for this place--why does
> everyone (seem to) universally use the Minbari name?

      No, it's not a Minbari name, any more than automobile is a
Spanish word, even though it's used in the Spanish language (albeit the
pronunciation varies just slightly).

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 07-May-96 18:41:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Jimi Vigotty <72316.2103@compuserve.com>
Subject: Babylon 5 !!@***!!@*%^**

 Jimi Vigotty <72316.2103@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are you aware of any plans to release the series on Video tape?

      Thanks, and tapes will doubtless come out in the fullness of
time.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 18:41:45
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gail Marsella <71551.3200@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: gun port=respect?

 Gail Marsella <71551.3200@compuserve.com> asks:
> I think she's right - was slavery acceptable just because it was
> common, we practiced it for a long time, and a large number of
> people found it convenient? Was foot-binding in China acceptable
> just because it was always practiced on young girls who had no
> way to say "no"?

     "However, neither is it appropriate to view all alien behavior as
acceptable just because it is different....."

      Never implied it was.  In general, on the B5 station, though, if
an alien acts toward one of its own kind in a cultural oddity (to us),
we tend not to interfere unless so requested; if, however, an alien
turns that cultural oddity toward one not of its own species, then the
B5 staff would definitely intervene.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 18:41:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Bill Hirst <104106.431@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: gun port=respect?

{original post had no questions}

      True, though the female version of this, as practiced in some
countries, is extremely debilitating and far more violent or severe. 
Much as we are all attached to our respective genitalia, I'd suggest
that snipping the foreskin is not quite so severe as taking a razor
blade and cutting OFF the clitoris and parts of the labia major, as is
done in some places.

      But you're right, the practice on either side is certain of a
piece (so to speak).

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 18:41:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Ganofsky <73354.1057@compuserve.com>
Subject: Centauri Hair

 John Ganofsky <73354.1057@compuserve.com> asks:
> They were wondering how the makeup folks do the Centauri hair?

      All I know is that each Centauri hairpiece is hand-woven into
the fabric at an angle; you can't just take a wig and get it to stand
up, you have to *hand weave* it.  It's a fairly difficult and expensive
process.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 18:41:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <JMS: Quickies...>

{original post unavailable}

      I think probably most races that have to evolve through a
superstitious phase, at some point enter a religious phase (which is an
organized system of superstition by strictest definition) until such
time as the tools are there for the more scientific description of the
universe.  So within that context, yes, most cultures would have at
least one major figure in that area in its history.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 18:41:54
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: 'Drop Dead' Date?

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> Does the fact that one of the prizes in the recent "Mystery Alien
> Contest" was the chance to play an alien in an upcoming episode
> mean that they are more likely to renew the show?

      Doesn't really affect the odds either way; there's always an out
in these kinds of things.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 20:44:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Douglas Files Fox <74020.3260@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

 Douglas Files Fox <74020.3260@compuserve.com> asks:
> Had Geribaldi's "found pin" suffered the same fate as Bester's
> pin? Is the addition of the Cyber- Implants, the "Preparation"
> Delenn was refering to in "Messages from Earth"? The crew members
> of the Icarus, who didn't go along, were they used as Shadow ship
> "Central Cores"? So I was wondering if Sheridan's wife could have
> been used as a "Core" of one of the Shadow Ships?

      Yes, the implants are part of the preparation process Delenn
referred to in "Messages."  As for the rest...only time will tell,
cause sure as hell I ain't....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 20:44:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Ship of Tears-Bester>

 (blocked) asks:
> While we're on the subject, when was this little change of heart
> for Bester planned? Was it at the start, when you did Mind War, or
> something just this season?

      Yes, this was definitely intended from the start with Bester.

                                                                 jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 23:44:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Vicki Mitchell <76234.1317@compuserve.com>
Subject: Cheers for Mira

 Vicki Mitchell <76234.1317@compuserve.com> asks:
> Would you please relay to Mira Furlan our highest compliments on
> her scene with G'Kar in "Ship of Tears"?

      I'll tell her when next I see her; thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 07-May-96 23:49:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Richard M. Perry <76461.2737@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

 Richard M. Perry <76461.2737@compuserve.com> asks:
> What's next, little miniture Shadow ships painted on the side or
> will we see the jackets first? BTW, did someone at WB get a clue
> (or replaced by RMES)?

      Thanks, and that's great to hear about the station's reaction. 
It's a very hopeful sign, as is the increased advertising from WB.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-May-96 02:15:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Bester>

{original post unavailable}

"If the theme of the relationship is "All Bester needed was to love
and be loved, or he wouldn't have been the slimeball he is today", I
will be a bit disappointed."

Then you won't be.

"It's just a little too simplistic."

Absolutely.

One mongoose can love another; that won't change its attitude toward
pythons.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-May-96 02:18:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

 Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you happen to know what this refers to?
> Is this something you do in post, or is that done at the feed
> site?

"Noticed on the takeboards from the sat. feeds for this and a couple
of other episodes: Textless at 1:05.  Do you happen to know what this
refers to?"

Some of the cassettes provided have the opening sequences in a
separate section at 1 hour 5 minutes without the titles over them, so
that they can be used in promos by the stations.

"Also, they say "Color Corrected".  Is this something you do in post,
or is that done at the feed site?"

No, color correction is done in post, to make sure that all the colors
are true, and sometimes to enhance one element or another.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 08-May-96 18:01:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: Poisoning Kosh

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> I suspect that we'll learn more about this in "War Without End"?

       Yeah, it's fair to say you can imply more about this after
"War."

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-May-96 18:01:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <ISN News>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why am I not surprised?
> That right or am I still off?

       Yes, the ISN person was Alison.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-May-96 18:01:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can you tell me which spelling on the name is right, please?

       It's Brakiri.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-May-96 18:01:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 in Sac

{original post had no questions}

       That's great to hear...the message is getting through.  Thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-May-96 22:18:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Graham <74166.3727@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: gun port=respect?

{original post had no questions}

      "Different (alien) doesn't mean illogical in my book."

      I can think of a number of Zen schools of thought that you would
consider vastly illogical...but quite human.  There are many things we
would consider illogical to a western mind that are perfectly
reasonable elsewhere.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 08-May-96 22:18:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Robin L. Small <76640.2012@compuserve.com>
Subject: Upcoming EP:Walkabout

 Robin L. Small <76640.2012@compuserve.com> asks:
> Will "Walkabout" deal with the Vorlons' motivations???

      That would be telling....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-May-96 01:35:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears-Bester>

 Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> I mean, out of all the people on the ship, they just happen to
> find the one person who is significant to Bester? I can see what
> you wanted to do, but couldn't it have worked better if, say, he
> had been brought a list of people who were in the ship?

      Yeah, they could've brought him a list...and he'd have seen the
name instantly, and wouldn't have been hit with his own "blip" careless
attitude right in his face...also, she needed to be already being
defrosted at that point, and you can't defrost all of them at once.

      Yeah, it was a coincidence.  Synchronicity.  It happens.  It
doesn't happen much on this show, hardly ever.  I figured she'd be one
of the last in, and thus the first out.  Synchronicity and coincidences
*do* happen.  How many times have you reached for the phone to call
someone to find the phone ringing, and it's them on the other end? 
What're the odds of Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother
out of all the possible kingdoms in the area?  It happens.  As long as
it doesn't happen to excess, it's not something I'm worried about.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 09-May-96 22:04:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Lynne Caulfield <101647.2616@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Lynne Caulfield <101647.2616@compuserve.com> asks:
> Where did you get this information from?

      Yes, Mara is correct.  I'm an atheist.

      You got a problem with my personal beief system?

      Tough.  You don't get a vote.

      And if that's enough to make you not watch the show...well, the
problem is entirely yours.

      I leave my personal beliefs *out* of what I write for TV.  I
don't try to impose my attitudes or conclusions on others, or penalize
others for what they think.

      You ought to try it sometime.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-May-96 22:22:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Rage's Thots: Teeps>

{original post had no questions}

      No, it means that the person has to be in their line of sight;
they don't have to look into the person's eyes or anything as silly as
that.  It doesn't matter if the person's head or body are covered, as
long as there's a definite "focus" for them.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-May-96 22:22:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Kosh's Appearance/Form

{original post unavailable}

      Only similarity is that the same EFX person designed Kosh as
designed the aliens in the Abyss.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-May-96 22:22:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com>
Subject: Using B5 names and place

 Mike Hoffmann <100321.2604@compuserve.com> asks:
> My question is, whether such usage would fall under fair use or
> be prohibited by trademarks or if it is possible to gain
> permission from you or WB to use such a name, by giving a
> guaranty that any sites under that name would not deliver data
> that falls under these new indecency laws? There already happens
> to be a vorlon.com, did they just use the name or did they gain
> permission from WB first?

      If you make it a .com name, you will eventually run afoul of WB.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-May-96 22:22:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears-Bester>

 Michael Grabois <74737.2600@compuserve.com> asks:
> By the way, any thoughts on the B5 presentation at the San Diego
> Con this year?

      Yes, I'll be at comic con, and will likely bring nifty stuff to
show, as usual.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-May-96 22:22:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <<Interludes...>>

{original post unavailable}

      Let me answer this way...whenever I'm going to unveil something
on the show, I begin to point to it in upcoming episodes.  I've begun
pointing to the question of what the shadows want, and why they're
doing it.  So, logically, I'm now going to have to follow up on
that....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 09-May-96 22:22:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: >>Interludes<<

{original post unavailable}

      B5 is still a place of considerable commerce, access to lots and
lots of other races and diplomats...it serves Londo's purposes for now,
and there are probably lots of Centauri back home who would prefer he
stay here.  As for the rest...better the devil you know than the devil
you don't.  At least on B5 they can keep somewhat of an eye on him.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 00:25:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Lawless <70262.363@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Interludes<<

 John Lawless <70262.363@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since Kosh knew in advance that he would be Morden&Co.'s target,
> why didn't he prepare defenses? Or, failing that, why didn't he
> get in his ship and leave for as long as Morden remained on B5?

      Because he knew a price had to be paid, and if it wasn't him,
it'd be someone else.  Because he knew there was no getting around it. 
He's too prideful to run.

      Remember Gethsemane....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 00:25:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Interludes - Name>

{original post unavailable}

      Yes, you'll see more of Franklin, as he tries to deal with his
problem. At first it's not too bad, but with time....

      Re: titles...yeah, you got to watch out with this show,
sometimes I put on deliberately dull titles when I want to sneak up
behind you quietly.  The more innocuous sounding, the more you should
worry....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 00:25:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: carrie foreman <76400.1170@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<I&E: Soundtracking>>

 carrie foreman <76400.1170@compuserve.com> asks:
> What might have caused the ghosting of a soundtrack?

      It was probably caused by your local staion taping the show on
the satellite downlink over the same tape they used for "Avalon."  They
likely didn't degauss the tape first.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 10-May-96 13:17:46
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Harvey Mitchell <71172.1220@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<I&E>>

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks...it was a very moving moment for someone whose true
face we've never seen.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 13:17:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: >>Interludes<<

{original post unavailable}

       Thanks....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 13:17:50
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Lynne Caulfield <101647.2616@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Lynne Caulfield <101647.2616@compuserve.com> asks:
> You're mad aren't you Joe?

       "...you have so many who never question your show that you're
not gonna miss me!"

       Lynne...here is where you show your stripes repeatedly in this
discussion.  There is a certain type of poster who is under the
curious assumption that only he or she questions me, or this show, and
everybody else is just a follower, never questioning.

       And it ain't true.  Believe me, I see more questions, go
through more heated drilling about this show than you can possibly
*begin* to imagine; no one here is in the least shy about expressing
their opinions if something doesn't strike them as being correct.

       Your comment here, as all have been to date, is
self-congratulatory when no such basis for congratulations exist.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 13:17:51
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Interludes comments>

{original post unavailable}

       Yeah, certainly the flash of light was an echo of Lyta's mask. 
As for Delenn, I think she was just stunned, just emotionallly worn out
over this.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 13:17:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: >>Interludes<<

{original post unavailable}

       One can certainly argue that Franklin's actions were hasty,
that he is basically running away from the *consequences* of the
problem he has, as much as from the problem itself.  This will, of
course, have to be dealt with.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 13:18:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: I&E Support

{original post unavailable}

       Thanks...I'm just waiting for some nit to come out of the
woodwork and announce that the real reason for what happened to Kosh
was that Kosh had a contract dispute over money or walked off the
show....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 13:18:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Steven L. Wiser <102633.3171@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post had no questions}

       Thanks.  Like I've said..if I *had* any answers, I'd be happy
to give them in an episode.  But all I have are questions.

       Television, as well as entertaining, should try where possible
to get us TO think, not tell us WHAT to think.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 13:18:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Rage's Thots: Teeps>

 Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com> asks:
> So Bob the PsiCop *can't* scan someone behind them?
> What about through a closed door?
> Could Bob scan Mike if he knew Mike was in the next room over?
> Would Bob know it was really Jill instead of Mike in the room?
> I guess the ultimate question is, if I sneak up behind Bobin the
> hallway, wearing a chameleon suit and really quiet shoes, will he
> know I'm there Psiwise? If so, will he be able to scan me?
> What if I duck behind a corner, outta LOS; can he still scan me?
> Is it "seeing" or "knowing"?

       No, if the person is behind a door, or otherwise can't be
located visually, it's difficult to impossible to scan.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 14:01:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: Arc a Fake?

 Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com> asks:
> What I cannot help but come up with is, magnificence of the
> series and storytelling aside, are we being had? Have we been
> subject to sales banter and are still expecting to see what we
> expected? Have we been distracted from our original impressions by
> the sheer brilliance of the show? (i) How come Ironheart who 'knew
> everything' didn't see the fake personality? (ii) We saw
> interaction between Kosh and her in (was it?) 'Deathwalker' which
> resulted in Kosh recording something of her - what ever happened
> to that?

       It's a fair question.  I'm going to try and deal with it as
best I can. The problem, first and foremost, is trying to explain the
craft of writing to someone who isn't a writer.  This isn't intended as
a slight; if a brain surgeon tried to explain his work to me, I'd be
about as much in the dark.  I have no idea where music comes from; I
can sit with Chris Franke for hours, trying to understand that process.
I never will.  I'm not hardwired that way. I *am* hardwired for
writing.  So it's not a judgment, just a minor truth.

       The creative process is fluid.  Has to be.  Consider for a
moment the position in which I find myself.  Let's say I'm writing a
novel.  I start with a fairly clear notion of where I'm going.  Six
chapters in, I get a better way of doing something, so I go back and
revise chapters 1-5, so it now all fits; you never see what went
before.  Now, compare that to a situation where you're publishing each
chapter as you go, and you can't go back and change anything. (This is
pretty much the situation Dickens found himself in, as he published his
works chapter by chapter; you can never back up, only go forward.)

       At the same time, because we're using actors who have real
lives of their own, to whom things happen -- broken limbs, health
problems that may preclude appearing in a given episode, sudden career
changes, you name it -- you have real-life obstacles constantly in your
way.

       The closest thing I can compare this to...is if you're on
stage, in front of a large audience, and you have to do a very
elaborate dance...and all the while people are throwing bowling balls
and chainsaws at you.  You either learn how to accommodate all that,
and keep pretty much on rhythm, or you're dead.

       This show was originally conceived in 1986/87.  About 10 years
ago. Back then, all TV episodic stuff was done pretty much from one
person's point of view, your nominal hero.  Yes, you'd occasionally
dive outside that for a quick scene with other characters, usually to
set up something, but for the most part, it was about that one person. 
In MURDER, SHE WROTE, Jessica Fletcher was always at the heart of every
episode; you had the occasional guest character with whom she'd
interact, and the recurring supporting cast, but none of them ever
changed, and none of them ever really took center stage for more than a
few minutes at a time.  That's how TV has been done up until now.

       Novels, on the other hand, are often omniscient in narrative
structure, and you blip in and out of multiple points of view.  THE
STAND, for instance.

       Now, I've done both; I've written novels and I've written TV. 
When it came time to pull together B5 initially, you go into the "okay,
who is the TV point of view character" question.  Which was Londo's
narration, and which was the way I'd learned to write TV all these
years.  Once the series got going, it quickly became apparent that I'd
have to learn a whole new way of writing TV that was a lot more like
what I'd been writing in my novels, which were multi-POV huge stories. 
It's a kind of writing that's never really been done before for
American TV; and I had to somewhat invent that style or form of writing
as I went, in front of millions of viewers.

       You can't prepare for something like this, as much as you try,
because it's never been done before.

       (On reflection, probably the closest thing to what I've been
doing here was the miniseries The Winds of War, in terms of the
multiple viewpoints involved.)

       Also, in the last 10 years, I've become a better writer,
learned more about my craft, added more tools to my toolbox.  That
means being able to perceive better ways of doing things now than I
could've seen before.

       So here we are.  I sit at my word processor with my notes from
1986, and I see a better way of doing something from those notes...do I
go with what's there, or do I strike off and do the better approach,
PROVIDED that it still takes me where I want to go in the arc?  To
ignore it is to be inflexible.

       I've stayed fluid.  It's the same way I write a novel.  You're
just seeing the *process* acted out right in front of you, a process
which normally the public never gets to see.  That, I think, is some
part of what you're reacting to.

       Also, you have to be careful in how you define an arc.  There
have been definite arcs of character all through this.  Look at Londo
when we first met him...and look at him now.  Same for G'Kar, Delenn,
Franklin... look at Sheridan when he first arrived: happy go lucky,
smiling, glad to be there, fresh fruit and a hot shower, able to take
care of anything and everything, how bad can it be?...and look at the
dark, haunted, almost overwhelmed figure we see now.

       The story has also arc'd, peeling off layer by layer.  The
Minbari war leads to the secret of the Grey Council, which leads back
to the first shadow war, which leads to the current shadow war, each
really on a direct line one from the other.  The slow corruption of
Earthgov, the death of President Santiago, the rise of Clark, the fall
from Earth...all of it a very definite arc.

       It's not just a matter of "living in interesting times."  What
makes a story is *causality*.  A sequence of linked events.  "The king
died, and then the queen died" is not a story.  "The king died, and
then the queen died of grief" is a story.  It is an arc, however small.

       Finally, I'd just note the posts -- public and private -- from
folks who have sat down and watched the *whole show* as a unit, once
per day, or several per day...and the linked aspect, the real *arc* of
the show, becomes far more apparent when watched that way right now. 
It's there.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 22:08:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Arisians and Vorlons

{original post unavailable}

      No, I really hadn't been thinking of the Arisians in either
direction when I came up with the Vorlons...just what they were, not in
relation to anything else.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 22:08:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Cathy Holley <75204.1515@compuserve.com>
Subject: I admit I'm an idiot

 Cathy Holley <75204.1515@compuserve.com> asks:
> Now, anybody know where I can get videos of the first two
> seasons? How about the pilot?

      Welcome to the party.  Videos aren't currently available, though
the second and third season episodes can get rerun over the coming
year.

      And you can always disagree with a decision...and explain why. 
Around the stage, we have a simple policy...anybody can go up to me and
say, "Joe, it sucks."  And tell me why.  And if they're right, they get
to stay....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 22:08:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Interludes>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> What was going on, who was this fellow, and what happened to him?
> Who were these two species, have we seen them before, and are
> they part of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds (given the hints of
> their proximity to Brikiri space)?

      Thanks.  The two aliens in the start of the episode were a
Brakiri and a Gaim.

      "Interludes" for me marks a slight transition in the story, from
one "shape" to the next up...the demarkation between the hero-cycle and
the myth-cycle in the arc.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 10-May-96 22:08:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: I&E Support

 (blocked) asks:
> Was this the thing you did that caused everybody to avoid you at
> lunch for two days?

      Yeah, it's funny, out of all the awful terrible things I've done
to our characters over these 3 years, the one that honked off the whole
crew was the Kosh development.  On one level, they loved it...loved how
it tightened the screws...but they still didn't want to know from me
for a day or two.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 01:35:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <<Interludes>>

 (blocked) asks:
> Sheridan tells Kosh, "How do we know it's even you in that
> encounter suit? Wow, is that foreshadowing or what?
> * Is the last voyage or duty of Kosh's ship something we'll see
> in more detail? * My husband wants to know if you're going to get
> Dick Sergeant to play the new Kosh?

      Thanks; there's a lot in the episode that plays very well on all
the levels you mention.  A lot of meat there.

      As for Kosh's ship...it headed for the nearest star, the local
one, and basically dived into it....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 01:35:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Larry Rosenblum <72122.1555@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<Interludes Question>>

 Larry Rosenblum <72122.1555@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why did Londo not mention Adira since his original fling with
> her, before this episode?
> F

      Basically because it's hard in an episode to just bring up
something out of the blue unless you're going to use it.  You're stuck
with, "Boy, I wish Adira were here...so what's for dinner?"  Which will
mean nothing to the folks who didn't see the first season unless you
then talk more about her, show her...and then suddenly you REALLY have
to deal with it or it's intrusive.

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 11-May-96 15:55:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Julia E. Linthicum <73114.3530@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 article in paper

 Julia E. Linthicum <73114.3530@compuserve.com> asks:
> Lennier as the "gentle alien"?
> And Ivanova as "Sheridan's serious and comely colleague"?

      Thanks, actually it's an AP article that's appeared all over the
place. One can quibble with the details, but it's actually a good
piece.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 15:55:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com>
Subject: Interludes question

 John Hardin <74076.22@compuserve.com> asks:
> Could you please post this note to either JMS, or to the
> moderated info notesfile? Was that man Morden, or Sinclair?

      It was Morden.  If it were Sinclair, the actor would've been
noted in the credits.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 15:55:37
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Interludes - Name>

{original post unavailable}

      No, it's not B4.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 15:55:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Arline Williams <102551.2346@compuserve.com>
Subject: <I&E Support>

 Arline Williams <102551.2346@compuserve.com> asks:
> People are upset because you've killed off a main character?
> One question: Will we be seeing the Monks again?

      Yes, you'll be seeing Brother Theo in the next batch of new
eps...and thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 15:55:41
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <I&E Support>

{original post had no questions}

      Darn, you went and told...now it'll be all OVER the place....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 16:10:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> PS - Remember after the episodes about the soul hunter and the
> one where the Minbari's belief that their souls were
> transmigrating to Humans was revealed how all the rabid atheists
> jumped down Joe's throat and said that if there was any room for
> the objective existence of a "soul" in his story that it stopped
> being science fiction and became fantasy and that he would lose
> them as viewers?

"The atheist is also denying the existence of God on faith since the
statement that there is no God anywhere in the universe is equally
impossible to prove (all universal statements are impossible to prove
and therefore inherently unscientific)."

That's a well phrased analysis of the situation...the only problem
with it is that it ain't so.

By your reasoning, if you say that there are green penguins at the
north pole, and I refuse to believe it until you prove it, then I am a
believer in non-green-penguinism.  I am, therefore, a believer in the
negative concept of everything in the universe that has not yet been
conclusively proven.  At which point the very notion of belief becomes
utterly meaningless.

If someone comes up to you and offers you a job if you move cross
country, wouldn't you want a contract, some proof that the offer is
real?  Until it's provided, are you believing in non-contractosity?

Bottom line, Daniel...if you or anyone else makes a statement, the
burden of proof is not on me to *disprove* it, it's on you to *prove*
it.  Until that point, the question of belief doesn't enter into it. 
Is it or is it not provable?  If not, then it isn't recognized as a
real thing.  Belief is irrelevant.  Once you've shown me my new car,
and I've driven in it, it doesn't require faith or belief to know it
exists.  For my money, no one has yet proven the existence of a supreme
or minor deity...so for me, it simply doesn't exist.  Again, belief has
nothing to do with it.

(I used the phrase belief system only because I didn't want to get
into a prolonged discussion of it, and that seemed the simplest way of
stating it. That'll teach me not to go for the precise terms, even if
it means another few paragraphs of explanation.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 16:11:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Laurence Moroney <100546.50@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: Arc a Fake?

{original post had no questions}

      The other thing to bear in mind is that I can't really be
responsible for what expectations you bring to it, since I can't see
inside your head. (Or if I could I wouldn't tell you...and stop that,
you'll go blind.)  All I can do is tell the story that's in my head.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 16:11:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com>
Subject: <I&E Support>

 Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com> asks:
> When it was over and I was breathing again, I wondered, was this
> the death where the actor asked "why me?"

      This was the "now me" episode.  The "why me?" episode is yet to
come.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 22:28:00
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> On another matter, are scripts from already produced episodes of
> B5 available commercially from any source?

      Daniel, you're on a slippery slide into sophistry.  Of *course*
one can make a blanket statement about some things.  Many things, in
fact.  I can declare, in no uncertain terms, that there are in fact no
Minbari.  They are a fictional creation.  So right off the bat that
negates your thesis.

      And, again, you miss the point...the statement is not "X does
not exist," that's the usual argument brought out to try and make
someone prove a negative, which is nearly impossible.  I repeat: the
burden of proof is NOT on the person saying "show me," the burden of
proof is on the person making the assertion.  You say there's a god. 
Show me objective, scientifically verifiable, quantifiable, repicable
evidence of same.  Otherwise, I can say that there is no evidence in
it, therefore I don't believe it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 22:28:02
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Rage's Thots: Teeps>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> Now one could attribute this change in Lyta's abilities due to
> the Vorlons (since she has undergone some changes), but are we
> going to find out more about this and Lyta's abilities later this
> season?

      It's fair to say that Lyta has been...aided, slightly, in her
abilities. But I'm not ready to pull the trigger on that one for a
while yet.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 22:28:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: Arc a Fake?

 Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Don't we have here a really good example of the Heisenberg
> Uncertainty Principle shifted from the laboratory to the
> storytelling platform? Are you ever astonished at the
> interpretations applied like a varnish over the story as you see
> it?

      Yes, I'm often intrigued -- don't know if I'd say astonished --
at how the story is sometimes interpreted.  But that's the interactive
part of the process, what the viewer takes away is sometimes only
indirectly the result of what's actually *there*.  Take modern art for
a moment.  You show me a white canvas broken only by a single red dot
in the lower left hand corner, I see a single red dot in the lower left
hand corner of a white canvas, nod and walk away...somebody else takes
a look at it, and sees a telling commentary on isolationism and the
Communist scare of the 50s and man's basic inhumanity to man.

      Anything that passes for art reflects the work's creator, and
the viewer; it's a mirror that works in two directions, and neither
reflection holds the totality of the work individually.  Art happens in
the moments in-between.

                             jm(could I possibly sound more effete?)s

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 22:28:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Guntis Glinavs <72411.1421@compuserve.com>
Subject: Toronto Star B5 Article!

 Guntis Glinavs <72411.1421@compuserve.com> asks:
> Again there are a few inaccuracies - did 500,000 fans really show
> up to a B5 con in England?

      Thanks for letting folks know; I just heard about it myself, and
am having a copy or two sent on to me for the files.

                                                                   jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 22:28:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Interludes>

 Ray Pelzer <70475.1263@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are you giving out answers today?

      I meant you'd see Vorlons as Vorlons, not necessarily Kosh; I
think I phrased it that way initially.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 22:28:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Interludes - Name>

{original post unavailable}

      Thanks, and glad to have you on board for the ride....

                                                                jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 22:28:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Interludes - Name>

 SysOp Dupa T Parrot <70040.104@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why did Morden have to open the door to Kosh's quarters before
> his Shadowy friends could attack Kosh? Are the Shadows a variety
> of Teep?

      No, they're not a variety of teep.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 22:28:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com>
Subject: WwE Part 1 Question

 Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is it supposed to be a Shadow beam or some other race's?

      Sigh...no, it's a piece of stock footage from "Sky."  We don't
make the promos.  On the other hand, they've been doing a much better
job lately, so I'm not about to complain.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 11-May-96 22:59:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> In other words, who's challenge will you accept, Mark Twain's or
> Pascal's?

"This is a discussion that *has* to take place on two different
levels.  One is the purely empirical where saying "there is a God" and
"There is no God" are both statements of nonsense devoid of real
meaning because they both claim to describe some aspect of reality yet
no test can be devised (again short of dying) that can falsify either
of them."

Once again, your knowledge of logic is faulty.  The attempt in logic,
debate or science is not to "falsify" or disprove anything; the goal is
to PROVE something.  Repeat after me: you cannot prove a negative.  The
burden of proof of any statement belongs with the person making the
assertion, NOT the person receiving it to disprove it.  You are simply
misstating how science and logic work in order to make a debating point
that doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

"Without a transcendent God imposing a transcendent morality upon man
there is no basis for rights save the state. Without a source of right
and wrong that exists outside of the human race there is no basis,
except for fickle human opinion, to say that Mother Teresa is better
than Adolf Hitler."

Another debating trick that also doesn't hold up to close inspection.

The notion of a monotheistic god -- *GOD* -- is fairly recent in human
terms. The Greeks managed to build an entire civilization that was
known for its arts, its philosophy, its advancement in all areas
(military included) using a host of household and minor deities who
were in NO way ANY kind of guide to what was right and wrong; half of
them were capricious and just plain nuts, the the other half were off
mating with human women and then writing off their kids.

Yes, in time Greece fell.  But so did Rome, the spearhead
(figuratively and literally) for Christian propagation worldwide in its
early history, so I wouldn't necessarily throw *that* into the mix.

Very, very, very few people decide not to murder because God wouldn't
like it. They don't murder (assuming they choose that) because they're
afraid of being apprehended and sentenced under the laws made by humans
in order to facilitate cooperation and progress and safety.  (If
anything, people have proped up the notion of god as rationale for
murder for centuries on all sides of the theological coin.)

I'm not saying that religion is per se bad, it's like any other human
artifact, including technology, it's what humans make of it.  But at
the same time it's self-indulgent in the extreme for folks who believe
to write off the whole of human history and say that if it weren't for
their particular deity, we wouldn't know right from wrong, or positive
from negative, that we'd just be staggering around blindly...when the
notion of that sort of god is extremely recent in human consciousness,
and prior to then we did okay; not perfect, we had wars and bloodshed
and the like...and we still do.  Most of it by believers in one thing
or another.

When was the last time you heard of an atheist car bombing an embassy
because he thought it would bring him closer to the void?  When was the
last time you heard of an atheist murdering his entire family because
he *didn't* hear the voice of god talking in his head?  When was the
last time you heard of an atheist declaring a crusade or a jihad or a
pogrom?  (And don't even try to bring the old soviet union into this;
that was a political madness that had less to do with belief systems
and more to do with the accumulation of personal power at the expense
of EVERYthing, that wouldn't allow for ANY divergence from what they
considered the norm.)

You can write off "fickle human opinion" all you want, but from where
I sit we haven't done too badly, all things considered.

If my tone seems to imply I took some small offense...the operative
word is "small," because I'm used to this.  On the one hand, I pretty
much don't have a problem with anything anybody believes so long as
nobody's hurt by it.  On the other, religionists tend to mutter darkly
that if it weren't for some god-inspired notion of right and wrong, if
we don't have that, well, we're just anchorless, as prone to murder a
child as give somebody a gift.  That it's all caprice.

Well, I happen to be an atheist, and I *can* tell the difference
between Mother Theresa and Hitler.  And your inference that one can't
is simply wrong and condescending.  As an atheist, I view every life as
*incredibly* valuable because we only get one turn around the merry go
round, and then it's over; no backsies, no second chances, no heavenly
choir to sing one into the pearly gates no matter how terrible or
abusive a life one's led as long as at the end one chooses to Believe. 
Every life is rarer than the rarest diamond, and since the only future
we have is that which we make, the only signs we were here are that
which we create, life must be preserved, nourished and given the chance
to grow.

Because those Greeks -- you remember, the ones who didn't believe in
your particular god, with its rules for right and wrong -- actually had
the audacity to once define happiness.  Not in terms of right and
wrong, but in even larger terms.  I noted them at Macon.  To wit: "The
exercise of vital powers along lines of excellence in a life affording
them scope."  It's about the only creed I live by.

Not bad.  Bet they could even figure out this whole Mother
Theresa/Hitler thing, too....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 12-May-96 13:58:18
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chris Croughton (UK) <100014.3217@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Chris Croughton (UK) <100014.3217@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, are there any other TV people who believe that?

      Yes, there are definitely other TV folk who feel that way;
difference is, you just don't hear about them a lot.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 13:58:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com>
Subject: B5 Act Structure

 Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this something that's common in TV drama?
> Have I just not noticed it before?
> Or is this something uncommon that you've adopted?

      It's actually something I had to fight for; a number of folks at
WB weren't sure about the notion of using the tag (which you refer to
as the last act) in quite the way I use it.  So yeah, it's a bit off
the usual.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 13:58:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <I&E - special ship?>

{original post unavailable}

      Not special per se, just to establish that they have more than
one design.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post had no questions}

"One of the bedrock elements of science is that for a theory to be
taken seriously it must be falsifiable."

Nope.  If that's what you're thinking, then I suggest you go back and
check, because that's not correct in any respect.  To take the green
penguins at the north pole scenario again, I can search for 165 years,
and not find any, and you can say, "Well, I guess you just missed them,
but they're there."

It is not the purpose of scientific endeavor to *disprove* every
assertion, only to prove them.

Your statement is simply false.  I'm sorry.  Saying it's so doesn't
make it so.  So everything that proceeds from that is equally flawed. 
Any scientist or logician here will back me up on this.  You may not
want to hear it, Daniel, but you're simply wrong on this.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:06
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post unavailable}

      No, I'm an atheist.  I prefer to define myself.

      I don't say "maybe there is, maybe there isn't."  There isn't. 
There is no proof to this statement.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post unavailable}

      No, see my note to the, er, feeder...not an agnostic, an
atheist.

                                                                   jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> Since you don't believe in God what standard do you use to judge
> Mother Teresa better than Hitler if it isn't human? Without a
> viewpoint that exists outside of the human race what basis do you
> or the Greeks have for saying that one is ultimately better than
> the other that doesn't finally come back to human opinion?

      Daniel, I hate to burst your balloon, but *everything* comes
down to a human standard, to human opinion.  Christianity as it's
practiced today is nothing like what was originally there around 100
AD.

      For a long time, the church had no problem with the concept of
slavery. Even used sections of the bible as proof that it was a proper
activity.  Only later, after society began to change, did they come
around. Why?  Because they reacted to changing human opinions.  Once,
the proper way to deal with heretics was to burn them at the stake, or
press them with stones.  That changed as society changed.

      And I'm sorry, but I've *read* the bible, twice, cover to cover,
and I don't see any perfect guide or example of right and wrong there. 
I see a fictional deity that is capricious, slightly insane, petty,
inconsistent, vindictive...jealous, by its own admission, a trait we
would deplore in ourselves.

      The whole Adam/Eve thing was a mean-spirited setup.  The tree
was the tree of knowledge, remember; the penalty was death.  But
insofar as we know, nothing died in the garden, certainly no other
people had died.  So to say "you shall surely die" was a meaningless
concept.  They were children, they didn't know what the penalty meant. 
And the kicker is...if the tree truly *were* the knowledge of good and
evil, and they didn't have that knowledge until after they ate the
fruit...then THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS WRONG WHEN THEY DID IT.  They'd
only know it was wrong AFTERWARD.

      And for this they and their inheritors across ten thousnd
generations were sentenced to pain and death?

      This is the example of transcendental rightness you would hold
before me?

      Thank you, but I'll apply elsewhere.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:16
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Marte Brengle <76703.4242@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post had no questions}

      Here's a little interesting aside...I used to write for Madeline
Murry O'Hare's magazine, AMERIAN ATHEIST, back when I was in college. 
I did a humor column, the occasional article, that sort of thing.

      But over time, I came to the conclusion that she wasn't just
trying to push for rights for atheists, but in fact was working to
*eliminate* religion, which I had a moral and ethical problem with. 
The constitution is there to allow anyone to believe, or not believe,
whatever they choose.  If the day comes when certain relgions are
banned, I'll be right there on the front lines with everybody else
fighting for the restoration of those rights (though I have a quiet
suspicion that the same might not happen if the situation were 
reversed).  I felt that this was supremely wrong, and resigned as a
result.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:19
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Michael Beemer <71551.1670@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: Arc a Fake?

 Michael Beemer <71551.1670@compuserve.com> asks:
> Why would he?

      No, actually, there's a much simpler answer to the Ironheart
question than that.

      If we all remember the episode, he was trying as hard as he
could to control himself, lest his abilities tear the place apart.  He
was deliberately and with great pain trying NOT to use his abilities in
any way, manner, shape or form.  He was also in great physical pain,
was later shot, and became transcendent...which tends to kind of
distract one....

                                                                jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Arline Williams <102551.2346@compuserve.com>
Subject: <JMS: Arc a Fake?>

{original post had no questions}

      Thanks.  The voice-over is something I mentioned here a few
months ago as a tool I was adding to my toolbox to use as counterpoint,
or segue, in ways I hadn't tried before.  I use it again here and
there, though the key with any new tool is not to go nuts and use it
all over the place when a better one, maybe the one you already had, is
better suited to the task.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:25
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Scott Miller <70562.3656@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Religon on B5>

{original post had no questions}

      I think the nature of the debate is using the wrong language
here; I think when people are saying I'm "open-minded" it's possible --
and I'm only suggesting this, not to put words in anybody's mouth --
that the word being searched for is actually "fair."  Am I open minded
about the possibility of deities?  No, in that you're correct.  Am I
fair and/or open-minded in the treatment of religions on the show, in
saying that for many people, it's a good thing *for them*?  I like to
think so.  And that may be what's under discussion.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:28
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<War Without End>>

 David Cerreta <72630.3433@compuserve.com> asks:
> Apparently every encounter suit is not the same, neh?
> The message from Ivanova is beginning to come through
> because...of the temporal rift AND because there was no guarantee
> that the Whitestar would go 6 years into the past to save B4 from
> the Shadow attack, right? Then was the vision Sinclair had of a
> future B5 being attacked by a much stronger Shadow fleet a vision
> (again) of an alternate future, where he never became ambassador
> and remained on B5?

      Thanks, and yep, you nailed the timeline just right.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 12-May-96 19:02:30
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Philip Hornsey <74053.2101@compuserve.com>
Subject: <I&E>

{original post had no questions}

      "I hate you."

      Why, thank you...then the episode had its desired effect....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:04:40
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> At what point does anything you said address my point that a
> standard that isn't divine must therefore be human? Otherwise what
> stops me from decreeing that I have a "right" to everything you
> own and backing up that claim with the fact that I am better
> armed than you?

"Otherwise what stops me from decreeing that I have a "right" to
everything you own and backing up that claim with the fact that I am
better armed than you?  Rights must be granted by some force greater
than the individual. That leaves God or the state."

And, of course, this is exactly what happened on a regular basis
throughout human history until only the last couple of centuries.

If it was god doing this granting of rights...where was he for the
last six thousand years?  Snoozing off in a corner somewhere?

No, the rights you speak of were won by humans, fighting for their
right not to be trammeled upon by greater forces, and bonding together
in common cause to make sure it doesn't happen again in this place.

While many of the "founding fathers" were believers, many others were
simply deists, or freethinkers...they didn't do what they did because
suddenly they figured god had given them the right, but because they
got pushed to the wall, and we were 3000 nautical miles away from King
George, and they in their very human way got fed up with being pushed
around and decided it was time to push back, and create a set of laws
that would prevent the tyrant from trying it again, or rising from
within.

Sorry, Daniel, we did this on our own.  God's a credit jumper.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:04:43
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: BRIAN COONEY <100551.1656@compuserve.com>
Subject: UK Titles

 BRIAN COONEY <100551.1656@compuserve.com> asks:
> After the opening, the actors names and eps title are in a
> different text any reason way?

      I suspect that this is because we provide textless sections in
the beginning to foreign markets for various languages, so they set
them in a different type.  I guess....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:04:44
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: SysOp Lee Whiteside <76711.2660@compuserve.com>
Subject: Radio & TV Museum

 SysOp Lee Whiteside <76711.2660@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do they only include things that they get as part of a festival
> or something or can some producer or studio offer them some tapes
> to make available for viewing?

      I hadn't even thought about that aspect...it's certainly one
that should be pursued, I agree.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:04:48
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Shane S. Shellenbarger <104305.3404@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

 Shane S. Shellenbarger <104305.3404@compuserve.com> asks:
> While I'm sure that you never intended the comparison when you
> wrote SoT, (I'd go so far as to lay odds that you've never seen
> Captain Eo), were the parallels mentioned by anyone when the show
> was being produced?

      No, it's never come up before, and I think that's WAY stretching
it. (How come everybody always spends so much time trying to find out
what a show like B5 is *like* instead of just looking at it for what it
is?  "Oh, it's Cap'n Eo...oh, no, it's Lord of the Rings...Dune, Dune,
I tell you, it's Dune...no, it's this over here...no, it's Cap'n
Crunch...."

      Feh.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:04:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: >>Interludes<<

{original post unavailable}

      Actually, no, there are probably fewer.  We have a stable of
about half a dozen directors at any given time; some move on, some
stay, it's the nature of the beast.  That's about par for the course,
maybe a bit less.  I know we had more on Murder, She Wrote.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:04:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Cheers for Mira

{original post unavailable}

      Which is pretty much what I told you would be the case by this
point. (Nobody ever believes me...do I have an untrustworthy face?  Do
I look like Robert Vesco trying to sneak back into the country
disguised as Moe Howard?)

      And yes, Bruce is a hell of a lot better than some folks were
willing to give him credit for in the beginning.  I think that's coming
out now as his role becomes more deep and more serious.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:04:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Interludes - Name>

 Elyse M. Grasso <70302.3304@compuserve.com> asks:
> Are they a lot bigger now?
> How big do they grow?

      No, they're about the same height consistently; it's probably an
artifact of the camera angles and lighting.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:04:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <What have you DONE???>

{original post unavailable}

      If we put in warnings, the impact would be reduced.

      No word yet on renewal, probably in the next couple of weeks
we'll hear something definitive.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:04:59
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <I&E, "wow" part II>

{original post unavailable}

"The "arc" is fully alive for you now, I think.  Without these
characters living and breathing inside your mind I don't see how one
man could write as much as you have over the past two seasons.  What I
*have* noticed is that all the actors now seem to be responding to the
story you're telling."

Yeah, it's kind of a funny thing...the deeper we got into the season,
as the actors saw only one name on script after script, and they began
to understand what was coming, and it's all *very* consistent...the
sense of this being a novel really came through for everyone in a very
profound way.  You could really feel a change in everyone's attitude,
though it'd be hard to put into words.  A sense of, "This is it, this
is the story, we're moving now, we're doing something nobody's ever
done."  They know how hard it is for anyone to write this many scripts,
which is why it's never been done before, and I think they not only
respected that, but felt they had to rise to the challenge and give
just as much at that end of it.  Usually you tend to hit a slump 
energy-wise in your third year; not here.  Everyone's just hitting all 
cylinders.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:22:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> The closest thing to an insulting term that I have used is to
> call human opinion "fickle" but if that isn't a proper term for
> the race that produced both Mother Teresa *and* Adolph Hitler,
> George Washington *and* Bill Clinton, Babylon 5 *and* Star Trek:
> Voyager then what is?

      Dan, I know you don't understand how one could take offense at
some of this, which is why I've more or less been riding closely on my
reactions. Let me try and explain:

      Your statement is that without a "transcendental" outside force,
a deity, to tell us right from wrong, that we have no way of
distinguishing good from evil, Mother Theresa from Hitler.  That's what
you *said*.  Now, I don't buy into the deity business.  Therefore, *by
your definition*, I'm one of those folks who can't distinguish a
humanitarian from a mass murderer.

      The problem, Daniel, is that there's so much jingoism in this
argument that statements like the one you made are put out there almost
reflexively, without thinking.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:22:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com>
Subject: JMS: Arc a Fake?

 Rebecca Eschliman <76072.2345@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is this difference something that will be addressed at a later
> date or a nice detail that will simply be a source of viewer
> speculation? Will her reaction to his death come into play in a
> later epidose?

      The red ship was simply another variation on the standard;
nothing too major about it...and yes, when Lyta returns from her
errand, she'll definitely get into this, and there will have to be some
explanations made, though not to her....

      And thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:22:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: wwor channel nine nyc

 (blocked) asks:
> Could you do something about it?

      No, the incidents with local stations can only be affected by
local residents, I have zip control or influence over that.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 00:22:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: George Ryerson <70775.142@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Interludes<<

{original post had no questions}

      Actually, no, the replacement isn't Kosh, as you say, it's
another Vorlon, with a very different personality...the "we are all
Kosh" is more of a conceptual thing....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 13-May-96 15:34:42
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<War Without End>>

 Trent K. Johnson <71020.1052@compuserve.com> asks:
> I know you said you were going to start pulling some triggers,
> but man, are you related to "The Rifleman", or what?

      Thanks.  I like Zathras...he's just nuts.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:14:47
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Shane S. Shellenbarger <104305.3404@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Shane S. Shellenbarger <104305.3404@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you heard anything different?

      Not only haven't I heard anything new, I hadn't even *learned*
that she was missing until about a week ago...the perils of being
buried alive in a story.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:14:49
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Liz P. <76370.2665@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post had no questions}

      Exactly.  The constitution (this is from memory, so I may get a
word out of place) stipulates "Congress shall make no law respecting
the establishment of religion, or prohibit the free exercise thereof." 
Which means the state should have nothing to say about it one way or
the other. It's a personal matter for each individual.  It's a bit of
wisdom that goes back about 2,000 years; "Render unto Caesar that which
is Caesar's; and to god that which is god's."

      That the line gets blurred sometimes is really in violation of
what the bible seemed to suggest.  The pharisees were synonymous with
hypocrites, they had allied themselves with the government of the time,
and that was their downfall in the final analysis; the state invariably
corrupts religion.  The overall sense was to keep away from the
government, to strive for something higher.  These days a fair amount
of religion has become mass theater, much in violation of the
suggestion to "go into your closet to pray," and the suggestions that
those who made a show of their beliefs were not exactly role models.

      The state should be religion-neutral, neither encouraging nor
discouraging.  Sometimes this is unfair to one group or another, but
as long as it does so consistently, not favoring either side, then it's
okay.  The best compromise is one in which neither side feels it's
entirely won.  (Yes, some of the questions of where and when religious
artifacts can be put up stray into grey areas...but at least the
patriotism of those involved is not usually up for grabs.  During one
Presidential election, then Vice-President Bush, on a campaign stop in
Chicago, was asked about his reaction to atheists, and he said, "Well,
that's certainly their choice, though I don't see how anybody could
call them patriots, since this is one nation under god." Substitute
catholics or jews or moslems or japanese or irish for atheists in that
sentence, and you'd have a firestorm that would've brought down the
whole campaign.  Here nobody even seemed to notice.)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:14:52
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Al Lipscomb <75204.2225@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is any of this making any sense?

      Exactly.  That's a *very* good point; I'd forgotten about Romans
2:14. There are sections that imply that those who don't hear The
Gospels will be judged by their own actions and their own conscience,
which implies the presence of a conscience (as does the quote you cite)
even in the absence of a "transcendental" being, that is, knowing right
from wrong.  Excellent point.

      "...the largest problem we have in this country is that we have
moved from a justice system to a legal system."

      Wow...I've never heard that put so simply and so succinctly. 
And it's absolutely correct.  Nicely done.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:14:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post had no questions}

      Yes, Daniel, but you keep dancing away from the fact that the
catholic church, and the Jewish religion, have also had changes and
schisms and fractures, as the result of *changes in human opinion*.  If
there were an eternal truth being practiced, then it should be
unchanging.  But religion is *constantly* changing because of
alterations in social mores and opinions. The role of women in the
synagogue.  The changes from latin to english mass. The final decision
by the church that maybe the sun *doesn't* rotate around the earth. 
The ordination of women rabbis.  The dietary restrictions as set forth 
in the Bible.

      Heck, Daniel, the Old Testament goes on and on at great length
to explain how the laws work, that the laws are the only ways to get
over to the pleasant side of the afterlife...then suddenly in the new
testament it's all, "No, no, forget the laws, THIS is how you do it." 
What, god was just kidding for the preceding couple thousand years?

      Go back to the early Catholic records, read the Dead Sea
Scrolls, the early Roman records, and you'll find that the practice of
Christianity today is utterly unlike its early history.  Religion
changes as the world around it changes...or it dies.

      The constant, unchanging religion you cite doesn't exist in
reality. It's ALL a case of "it seems to me."  Every time a new pope
comes in, you get a massive case of it.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:14:58
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: I. & E. Opinion

{original post unavailable}

      Thanks.  Yes, Delenn mentions in the tag that the Vorlons will
be sending someone to quietly replace Kosh.  It's a bit darker
character.

                                                                 jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:15:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <<Interludes...>>

{original post unavailable}

      Actually, Sebastian said that bit about dying alone to both
Sheridan and Delenn.  Who knows, he may have known something....

      Yes, if Kosh had run, which wasn't in his character in the first
place, someone else would've paid that price.

      Londo still has chances, if he doesn't blow them.  You'll see a
bit more about this in the two-parter.

      Yes, some Vorlons do appear to us as female versions.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:15:03
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Meryl Yourish <103470.2703@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Interludes<<

 Meryl Yourish <103470.2703@compuserve.com> asks:
> Joe, one question about Kosh: Since the Shadows killed him, did
> they see him in that now they know he was one of the Elder race? 
> Or are they in the dark about the Vorlons?

      Oh, no, the Shadows and the Vorlons know each other from way,
way back.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:15:05
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <<Interludes Question>>

{original post had no questions}

      You're right; it was a sideways reference, without name, and I
was thinking of whether or not the character had been named since.  I
missed that one.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:15:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Wilhelmy <73370.1751@compuserve.com>
Subject: <I&E - special ship?>

 David Wilhelmy <73370.1751@compuserve.com> asks:
> Kosh's ship), are there a bunch of Vorlons in that cruiser or
> just one GREAT BIG Vorlon?

      There's a bunch in the big ship.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:15:09
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Rage's Thots: I&E>

 Chad Underkoffler <102512.1310@compuserve.com> asks:
> "Where?"
> How do you *write* like that?!?
> Ed just exudes menace like slime, doesn't he?
> (I mean that in the best possible way.) An interesting thought:
> What are the standing Security orders re: Morden?

      Yes, there is something thematically present about growing up,
and parents, and coming of age that threads through the story.

      And yes, there's the deliberate irony...that just as we finally
start to really hear from Kosh...he's gone.  Snatched away just as we
got close. Which would add to the feelings.

      Good analysis.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 16:15:12
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: David Kuhn <73532.741@compuserve.com>
Subject: Zocalo Statement

 David Kuhn <73532.741@compuserve.com> asks:
> Any comments on your earlier statement to help us feel better?

      Still waiting....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 20:48:14
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 and J.R.R.Tolkien?

{original post unavailable}

      Odd...they reversed the Michael and the J.  Weird they'd do
that.

                                                                 jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 20:48:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> So by what authority do you say that "A" is bad and "B" is good
> and why should I respect it?

"Alright, you and I are both humans.  We are in essence equal.  So by
what authority do you say that "A" is bad and "B" is good and why
should I respect it?"

You respect if if there are more people than you are who believe A is
bad and B is good, and they pass a bunch of laws requiring your
adherence to this.

Furthermore...

You, as a christian, say A is bad, B is good, suggesting the
transcendental guidance of your particular deity or prophet.

A moslem says B is good, and A is bad, based on the transcendental
guidance of HIS particular deity or prophet.

So how is this resolved?

See, this is one of the problems people bring to the table on this
argument; they argue that truth always comes from transcendental
god...omitting that they mean THEIR PARTICULAR god, that this alone is
real truth...and the other guys are just misled.  "Ours is BETTER.  Our
god can beat up their god."

It's like those who want creationism taught in schools...oddly, when
they bring this up, it's always the christian version of this...you
don't tend to hear much about the one where Earth is carried on the
back of a giant turtle....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 20:48:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Cheers for Mira

{original post unavailable}

      Tell your husband that the Flying Tigers actually have given
their permission for us to use their logos and artwork; Sheridan's
helmet has a Flying Tigers logo.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 20:58:53
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Ship of Tears-Bester>

{original post had no questions}

      Not everything in life has a clue in front of it....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 20:58:55
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: >>Interludes<<

 Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com> asks:
> If you were still the producer what are the chances that the last
> episode of the series would have been about Jessica's friends
> using Jessica's investigative techniques to solve Jessica's
> murder?

      The odds of that story are about zip.  One doesn't do such
things to Jessica Fletcher.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 20:58:56
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: >>Interludes<<

{original post unavailable}

      No, the shadows and vorlons are definitely not the same race. 
And thanks.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 20:58:57
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <<Whither Lyta?>>

 (blocked) asks:
> Now that Kosh is dead (still hard to accept), what happens to
> Lyta Alexander? She was Kosh's special attache, wasn't she?
> Or is she working with ALL of the Vorlon?

      She'll now have to work with the incoming replacement Vorlon,
who might be just a bit miffed....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 20:59:01
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Doolitle's Raid

 (blocked) asks:
> Anyway, was this Vorlon attack synonomous to Jimmy Doolittle's
> raid on Tokyo in the early days of WWII? WHat exactly has Sheridan
> learned as of now? Will Kosh's replacement become his mentor now?
> a Vorlette?

      Sheridan has almost certainly not learned all he needed to know.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 20:59:04
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Timothy C Schell <71174.2414@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<I&E Sublime>>

 Timothy C Schell <71174.2414@compuserve.com> asks:
> How was this fight different than the one we didn't see in "Signs
> and Portents"? Were there more Shadows this time or are they
> getting stronger? If Kosh did take out some Shadows, will more be
> sent to Morden as replacements? Did Kosh project to Delenn, G'Kar,
> or anyone else besides Sheridan during the fight? Did Garibaldi
> ever get a chance to speak with Kosh about the Talia/Abbut data
> crystal as hinted at in "Divided Loyalties"? Besides being
> extremely old, was Kosh an average Vorlon or particularly special
> in terms of strength, skill, or status?

To your questions:

1.  Kosh died fighting, I guess, and I'm also guessing that he took
some Shadows with him.  How was this fight different than the one we
didn't see in "Signs and Portents"?  Were there more Shadows this time
or are they getting stronger?

They were not initially prepared to kill him.  That was a territorial
or jurisdictional squabble.  This was retribution.

2.  If Kosh did take out some Shadows, will more be sent to Morden as
replacements?

He didn't.  Hurt 'em good, but didn't take them out.

3.  Did Kosh project to Delenn, G'Kar, or anyone else besides Sheridan
during the fight?

No.

4.  Did Garibaldi ever get a chance to speak with Kosh about the
Talia/Abbut data crystal as hinted at in "Divided Loyalties"?

Yes.

5.  Besides being extremely old, was Kosh an average Vorlon or
particularly special in terms of strength, skill, or status?  No other
ambassador on the station has demonstrated the clout back home to
sortie an entire fleet at a moments notice.  Delenn and Londo have only
called on forces from a particular faction in their polities.

He was certainly well regarded...one of the older of the vorlons.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 13-May-96 23:47:35
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: B5 and J.R.R.Tolkien?

{original post unavailable}

"The best place to find out more about Joe is from the Lurker's Guide
(http:/www.hyperion.com/lurk/lurkers.html)."

      Yeah...I suppose...well, that or America's Most Wanted....

                                                                  jms


------------------------------


Date: 14-May-96 13:39:20
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Dimitri M LaBarge <71501.3353@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Dimitri M LaBarge <71501.3353@compuserve.com> asks:
> Who was right, what was the proper interpretation of this church?
> Yet, aren't Pelagius' ideas of an human-powered Christianity
> equally as valid as the self-hating Augustinian conception?

       Good points.  (And of course, there's Martin Luther and his
fistful of theses nailed to a door....)

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 13:39:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <I&E Opinion>

{original post unavailable}

       At this point, yes, since Ardwight tends to understand Vorlon.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 13:39:22
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Ship of Tears>

{original post unavailable}

       Yeah, and after a while I stopped doing that, because a number
of folks couldn't distinguish between nodding to something that went
before as an act of tribute or respect, and *doing* that story.  So I
pointedly don't do that anymore.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 13:39:24
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com>
Subject: WwE1 & Zathras

 Automedia, Inc. <70530.2521@compuserve.com> asks:
> After just watching WwE1, I have to ask: Will we ever learn
> exactly who/what/when Zathras' people are?

       Eventually, though that answer isn't terribly important.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 13:39:27
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com>
Subject: <IaE Thought>

 John M. Kahane <102664.773@compuserve.com> asks:
> The only question I have about this is will we, the audience, be
> able to tell that there is a different Vorlon on the station,
> other than through the personality of said character?

       You'll know the difference.  Believe me.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 13:39:29
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Your impression

{original post unavailable}

       I thought Marcon was quite enjoyable.  The organizers were
quite pleasant, and the folks who showed up were nothing short of
terrific.  I think I can speak for Richard and Pat as well, and say
that we all had a great time.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 13:39:31
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Scott Miller <70562.3656@compuserve.com>
Subject: <<I&E Sublime>>

 Scott Miller <70562.3656@compuserve.com> asks:
> Kosh may even have been the one the Shadows' asked, "What do you
> want?" Care to comment?

       No, not really, but you're in intertesting territory.

                                                               jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 13:39:33
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Stephen M. Demarest <70674.1405@compuserve.com>
Subject: <MFE Question>

 Stephen M. Demarest <70674.1405@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was Santiago president 8 years ago?
> If so, was he (or his govt) working with the Shadows?

       No, Santiago wasn't involved with the shadows; certain elements
within his government, however, *were*.  Which was one reason why they
needed to get him out of the way.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 22:32:39
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Scott Miller <70562.3656@compuserve.com>
Subject: <Minbari souls?>

 Scott Miller <70562.3656@compuserve.com> asks:
> Am I in the ballpark?

      You could be in the ballpark...question is, which ballpark? 
Anything clearer than that will have to wait another week.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 23:13:07
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post had no questions}

"Generally whichever side has the most people left alive at the end of
the war gets to decide."

Exactly.

So much for eternal verities and transcendental truth.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 23:13:08
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post had no questions}

"The reason for the multiplication  of Old Testament laws was because
when Moses brought down the first ten the people promised to obey them
to God's satisfaction.  This proved that they had missed the point,
which was that God's law is impossible for man to keep to God's
standards because his standard is perfection and we are imperfect."

So in other words, this was sort of god's version of "pull my
finger...."

                                                                   jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 23:13:11
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Daniel M. Upton <75442.1331@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

{original post had no questions}

      Right.

      And that's why they were so sad, you see....

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 23:13:13
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Jon A. Bell <74124.276@compuserve.com>
Subject: Joe an atheist?

 Jon A. Bell <74124.276@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is it just me, or is there something wrong with this picture?
> (Then again, I live in San Francisco, and becoming an Ordained
> Minister of Anything in California is probably just a matter of
> filling out a form and paying $20 to someone.) The Church of
> Silly Walks, anyone?

"My stepfather, a tax accountant, informed me that the pay of ordained
ministers does not have Social Security taxes taken out of it, on the
grounds that in their dotage, their flock will take care of them. Is it
just me, or is there something wrong with this picture?"

Yes, it proves that the social security system is completely flocked.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 23:13:15
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: Prophetic dream

{original post unavailable}

      The origin of that image will be discussed later this season.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 23:13:17
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: (blocked)
Subject: <Thoughts from Germany>

{original post unavailable}

      Great that the CD got there...and no, Ivanova isn't a strong
enough teep for the incoming shadow vessel to really even notice.

                                                                  jms

------------------------------

Date: 14-May-96 23:13:21
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
To: Gail Marsella <71551.3200@compuserve.com>
Subject: The Creative Process

 Gail Marsella <71551.3200@compuserve.com> asks:
> Here's a different kind of question for you: When you sit down to
> work, I know you're not entirely in charge - the characters are -
> but how do you participate? Did you *develop* a sustainable
> creative process, or were you just always this way? In short, can
> you train - or at least successfully invite - the Muse, and how
> do you do it?

"Here's a different kind of question for you: When you sit down to
work, I know you're not entirely in charge - the characters are - but
how do you participate? When I write fiction (admittedly not often), it
either flows out onto the page as though someone else were using my
hands on the keyboard, or nothing happens at all, no matter how long I
sit there. You don't seem to have any "nothing" time. Did you *develop*
a sustainable creative process, or were you just always this way?  In
short, can you train - or at least successfully invite - the Muse, and
how do you do it?"

Hard to say...it's like any muscle, the more you use it, the easier it
gets to use.  I think a part of it stems from the fact that I have very
little in the way of barriers between me and the writing.  Too many
people who want to be writers feel that when they sit behind the
keyboard, they have to do something different or other...that somehow
WRITING has an overlay of some sort, that it's different than talking. 
But in many ways, it ain't any different.

The best writing (IMO) is natural writing, where the words on the page
flow very naturally, very smoothly.  Every once in a while, you pull
out all the stylistic tricks, you thunder and lightning all over the
page, when needed for effect...but it's the writing free of artifice
that seems, for me, to work well.  If you hang out with writers long
enough, the really *good* ones, you learn soon enough that most of them
talk exactly the way they write.

Lemme give you a forinstance...when Asimov was first struggling as a
writer, he had lunch with his agent one day.  He was having a hard time
describing things, using language to paint pictures.  The agent said,
"You know how Hemingway would describe the sun rising in the morning?" 
No, Asimov said, leaning in...how?  "The sun rose in the morning."

There's virtually nothing between my brain and the keyboard; I'm
hardwired that way, which is why I can't dictate scripts...I write
through my fingers. I write pretty much the way I talk.  A lot of folks
hereabouts have seen me at co