Babylon 5 posts by JMS for November 1991 through Jan, 1992 This file includes a compilation of posts on GEnie by J. Michael Straczynski in the Babylon 5 topic. The posts are copyright by JMS (and compilation copyright is by GEnie). ************ Topic 22 Wed Nov 20, 1991 SOARON [Bio-Dread] at 19:41 EST Sub: Babylon 5 TWCNBN has been been named! J. Michael Straczynski has managed to bring a new quality to television and promises to do justice to TV and SF with a new action-adventure SF series of his own design. (NO story suggestions, please.) 447 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 1 Wed Nov 20, 1991 SOARON [Bio-Dread] at 19:41 EST That Which Cannot Be Named has finally been named, and the name is BABYLON 5. An action-adventure SF series set in space. To premiere sometime next year with a two-hour TV movie, soon followed by regualar episodes if ratings are good. J. Michael Straczynski has said that people always complain about SF not being done right on TV, well now it has a chance. This series has a shot of making it if has the support of fandom. So leave your comments here and perhaps JMS will leave news and info here as the series develops. Soaron ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 2 Thu Nov 21, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 00:13 EST Babylon 5 is the name of a particular place where our story takes place. It is numbered 5 because 1 through 3 were sabotaged/destroyed, and 4 mysteriously vanished within days of becoming operational. No one knows what happened to it. All of which makes those involved with #5 just a trifle uneasy. jms P.S. It might be useful if one of the sysops could move the initial announcement message (or, rather, copy it) here for archival purposes. ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 3 Thu Nov 21, 1991 SF-LAWRENCE [Katherine] at 04:29 EST We live to serve. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Well, now that the official announcement has been made, here's the straight skinny on BABYLON 5. For the last three years, this project has been in secret development with some of the Major Players at Warner Bros. Because everyone realized the potential of what we had, we all played things VERY close to the vest. Part of the reason for secrecy was that it was slated to be one of several projects that would spearhead what is, essentially, a new network formed between Warner Bros. and a consortium of TV stations, similar in some ways to Fox Broadcasting. And that deal as well had to be kept secret. It, too, was announced today at the conference. I created the concept of BABYLON 5 somewhere in between working on CAPTAIN POWER and TWILIGHT ZONE. I'd seen so many SF shows by then that backed into a budget, and thus went forever OVER budget, that I wanted to challenge myself to develop a show that met several important criteria: 1) It would have to be good science fiction. 2) It would have to be good TELEVISION, and rarely are SF shows both good SF *and* good TV; there're generally one or the other. 3) It would have to take an adult approach to SF, and attempt to do for television SF what HILL STREET BLUES did for cop shows. 4) It would have to be affordable, done on a reasonable budget. 5) It would have to look unlike anything ever seen before on TV, and present not just individual stories, but present those stories against a much broader canvas. The result was BABYLON 5. After creating the bible and writing a 2-hour script, I commissioned artwork for the series, knowing full well that it would be difficult for most execs to fully understand what I was trying to communicate unless they could see it with their own eyes. I then linked up with my producer from POWER -- who had previously run MGM studios -- and we formed a partnership to get the show produced. He and I will both serve as Executive Producers on the project. Our first thought was syndication, and took it to the head of one of the biggest consortium of stations around. We didn't at that time know that this group was putting together the Warners project, and in short order they snapped up the material. Because the fate of B-5 was linked to the new "network," of sorts, we had to wait for that deal to go through. Which has gone through various permutations, on-again, off-again, for three years. They never gave up on us once, and we never gave up on them. Our support came from the very top of both operations. It was our initial thought to begin with either one or two television movies, and then proceed onto the series. The reason for the movies had to do with 1) a desire to bring down the per-show budget by building the lion's share of our sets via the movie(s), and 2) because we wanted to hit the airwaves with a big story, more an event via a movie than the series pilot, which at one hour would probably get lost. And after three years, this has finally come to pass. Phase One of BABYLON 5 has been approved to production, and the financing is now in place, and we have an approximate airdate and production schedule. We have assembled a REMARKABLE production team, some of whom are classified (on current projects that they will leave to come work on B-5), but they include some of the best EFX and art direction people around, including many responsible for HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS and the Henson-shop-supplied DINOSAURS. People are coming out of the woodwork to work on this show, threatening us with dire consequences if they aren't allowed to work on it. As for the storyline and characters of BABYLON 5...I'm going to hold off just a little while longer, until I know how much I can say at this point. Some of it we're trying to keep fairly secret, but some other parts we can probably talk about. I just want to be sure I stick to protocol. I *will* say that it's set in the future, in space, that it isn't a battle-oriented show, though it has more than its share of action. One person described it (for commercial purposes) as CASABLANCA in space, though that doesn't quite hit the mark. More will be revealed as I am able to do so. The only other thing I will say is that we are going to need as much support as we can get from the fan community. By choosing to go the route of a movie first as a pilot, we basically have one shot at the ratings. It's better than a single pilot, but still chancy, so we will need support and every ratings point we can get our hands on to guarantee the number of episodes ordered subsequent to the movie. For years, at conventions, I have heard fans lament, and even sat in on panels entitled WHY CAN'T THEY GET IT RIGHT? This, I firmly believe, is a chance to do exactly that...to Get It Right, to take SF seriously, to build characters for grown-ups (not a Wesley in the bunch), to incorporate real science but keep the characters at the center of the story. Over the next 11 months, they will have ample opportunity to voice their desire to finally Get It Right. And I hope they will. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 4 Thu Nov 21, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 15:20 EST Some other info that I've been cleared to state: Phase One of BABYLON 5 -- the movie -- should air around October of the coming year. Phase Two -- the series -- is now slated for the following March. We figured close to that, but now it's on the dockets. Stations set to carry the project include: WWOR New York KCOP Los Angeles WPWR Chicago KBHK San Francisco WDCA Washington D.C. KTXA Dallas KTXH Houston WUAB Cleveland WTOG Tampa KMSP Minneapolis WDZL Miami KPLR St. Louis KRBK Sacramento KUTP Phoenix WNUV Baltimore WTXX Hartford KPTV Portland, OR WSTR Cincinnati KSMO Kansas City More stations will be added as we go. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 5 Fri Nov 22, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 01:52 EST For those into computer stuff, you may want to check message 403 in my topic on Cat 8 for some info on what's being developed here in that area. In brief, we're going to be taking a completely different approach to EFX than has ever been done before, using cutting-edge technology in creating the images. We've received massive support from one of the computer EFX companies that's on the very edge of this stuff, one of the largest around. We've assembled quite a brain-trust. And here's a surprise for you: if you will find a copy of MILLIMETER magazine -- I think it's either this month or the one just preceding it -- you will find a computer-generated photograph that is described only as "a work in progress" for an SF series. That is the first published photograph of BABYLON 5. (You see how sneaky we've been? How quietly this has been going on?) jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 6 Sat Nov 23, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 04:13 EST There is going to be a VERY strong female character. Although there is a male who operates as the titular head of BABYLON 5, and is more or less a de facto representative of...a certain group, BABYLON 5 itself is actually *run* on a day to day basis by (oh, what the heck, give her name) Vice-Commander Laurel Takashima. Now, this may not mean much until you understand what BABYLON 5 the actual *place* is, and how it works. Which will come soon enough. If I were to look at that OTHER sf show, hers is a much more authoritatve and independent role than, say, that of Riker. And there are other very strong female characters. I have a tendency to gravitate toward female characters in stories. Those who might remember CAPTAIN POWER will recall that the lion's share of personal stories were about Jennifer Chase, and those were generally our best stories. As for cast...we're not going to go for big names, in large part because we don't want to bring on people with a lot of baggage from other shows. (No, no Gil Gerard.) New faces to television, but with a background in classical training. We want ACTORS, with CHARACTER in their faces, not models or "hunks." See, by virtue of working on a number of SF shows, and knowing others who've been involved in still others, I've had the chance to find out what does, and doesn't work, and how to capitalize on that. By talking to the fans, and appearing at cons, and using this and other systems, I've been able to find out what the fans want, and to combine that with my own personal vision. So when I'm asked, "Will there be strong females?" I think of TNG, and "Why can't there be a female #2 or captain?" And I remember the other concerns, from BOTH sides of the fence. Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Life's too short for those kinds of mistakes. Which is why, from the very beginning of this project, three years ago, I sought out and began laying the foundation for bringing on the best and the brightest, to give the project a look unlike anything ever seen before on television. But frankly...talk is cheap. Judge us by what we *do* now what we say. SF fans have heard this stuff before...and have been disappointed. I'm determined not to go that route...but don't want ANYONE to take my word for it. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 7 Sat Nov 23, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 19:52 EST Agree re: female characters. I very much want to see a woman in a position of power who is perfectly well-adjusged, has good relationships, the same basic number of character flaws as any other individual in the show...in other words, a Person, not a stereotype. As for being "in the planning stage" above...incorrect. We've been IN the planning stage for three years. Now we have a Go order for production, which will commence in the spring on Phase One. As for the location...no, it's not a saloon or anything of that nature. And regarding the various characters...I *like* a mix of good and not-so- good characters as regulars, people who are flawed, who you might enjoy talking with, but you wouldn't necessarily turn your back on them. In terms of explaining the show, I've decided that the best way to use this particular medium is to schedule out information. We have about 10 or 11 months before Phase One hits the airwaves (which is actually fairly short for a show of this scale). Since there are 9 main characters in B-5, plus the location itself, I figure one big release of info per month will carry us through to broadcast. So on or about December 1st, I'll post here the info about exactly what (and where) (and why) BABYLON 5 is. Then one character description per month. I'll also post a revised list of TV stations some time prior to broadcast to handle the added locations. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 8 Mon Nov 25, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 03:59 EST For those who might be interested, I have just uploaded a file -- #3085 -- into library 5. It's a .PCX graphics file that contains the BABYLON 5 logo. I did the scanning myself, so it's a little rough around the edges, and it's based on the initial draft of the logo, which is now being cleaned up. But this is fundamentally it. One note: please understand that this logo is both trademarked and copyrighted, and is uploaded here ONLY for individual viewing. Any other use is strictly prohibited. Most graphics display programs like Compushow (CSHOW) will work just fine on the file, as will Microsoft Paintbrush. For the show, the logo will be split at a diagonal, raggedly. We will see the two parts in space, rotating toward one another. The line where the two should join will begin to glow. Music rises. The two halves come together with a FLASH of light, and we get a metallic looking complete logo, looking like it's made out of heavy-gauge steel. We then PAN OVER the logo to reveal Babylon 5 in all its glory. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 9 Tue Dec 03, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 00:42 EST Thanks for the vote of confidence. I don't think you'll be disappointed. And now, at last, some hard info. The date: 2257 A.D. We have gone to the stars, and found that we are not alone. We have moved quickly out, establishing relations with other civilizations that has let us leapfrog technologies via an information and cultural exchange with at least one other culture. Many contacts have been friendly. Some have not been quite so benign. From 2250 through 2252, war raged between the Earth Alliance and the Minbari, an alien federation. The EA was losing, badly. As a last resort, a suicide perimeter was set up around Earth, known as the Line. Every last ship we had was on the Line, in a desperate defense of Homeworld. And on the brink of winning the war, just as they were breaking through the Line...the Minbari surrendered. To this date, no one knows why. They could have won, but chose not to. The secret behind their surrender will gradually play a part in our story. But that was now 5 years ago, in our story. There is now an uneasy peace between the Earth Alliance and the four other alien federations. To help cement that peace, the EA has constructed BABYLON 5. BABYLON 5 is a five-kilometer-long space station in neutral space more or less central to all five of the different alliances, human or alien. To get to one or the other, you have to pass through this sector of space. Thus, Babylon 5 has been created as a sort of port-of-call for travelers, statesmen, emissaries, traders, refugees and other, less savory characters. Five kilometers long and two kilometers wide, Babylon 5 is divided into separate, discreet sections that rotate at differing speeds to provide different gravities to accommodate those who come to the station. There are also sections with alternate atmospheres. The station boasts living quarters, customs areas, docking bays, meeting areas, a casino, several bars/nightclubs, command and control spheres fore and aft, and a decent defensive grid. In addition, each of the various federations has one official representative aboard the station (with the station's commander representing the Earth Alliance), so that it also functions as a sort of mini-U.N. It is home to humans and aliens in various roles, some arriving or departing every day, others working there full-time. They live on the very edge of the frontier, in the sense that if they get into trouble, there's no one who can arrive in time to help them. Because of the nature of the travelers, they bring their stories with them to Babylon 5 rather than having to seek them out. The stories are of people in flight, seeking sanctuary; stories of smugglers, assassins, traders, mappers, dignitaries and others, all on urgent missions of one sort or another. If STAR TREK was "Wagon Train to the Stars," then BABYLON 5 is Casablanca in space. It is humanity's last hope for peace, a single hope in the middle of an uneasy, fragile peace. And it *is* fragile, and dangerous. It is called BABYLON 5 because the first three efforts to build the station were sabotaged and destroyed. The fourth one disappeared without a trace 24 hours after becoming operational. No one knows what happened to it. And *that*...is only the beginning of our story. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 10 Tue Dec 03, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 14:01 EST Thanks. As mentioned, I'll probably layer out one character or setup per month, rather than shoot it all out at once. So for now, I'll be talking about the world of Babylon 5, the background, Earth history and the like. For now, I'll say that there are basically five major Earth Alliance characters who run the station, and four representatives, each from the other alien confederations. And for those who've been asking repeatedly on another show for a woman in a position of great responsibility, wait until you meet Laurel Takashima in a month or two. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 11 Wed Dec 04, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 00:13 EST Thanks to all for the good thoughts. (And my Visual Consultant is already on me about making patches...sigh.) There will be a novelization, though we haven't yet set a publisher. Today the finalized artwork on the B-5 logo came in (what's uploaded here is a rough version). It's absolutely *gorgeous*. The Warner Bros. publicity guys are working like busy little beavers, putting together the hardcover presentation volume about the show for the stations, they're absolutely stoked about the show. In a couple of weeks, right before the Christmas break, we're going to assemble the full production team, the First Team as we're calling it now, for an all-day meeting to go over the original 2-hour script and see what production suggestions there are. Then the rewrite will be done over the Christmas break, which will lock down the draft until we actually get close to production, which will necessitate some additional changes for set and other requirements. We're starting to add on other production staff now -- assistants and the like -- since things are starting to heat up a little. Thus far, we've got two Executive Producers (me and Doug Netter, with whom I worked on CAPTAIN POWER, a man every bit as grumpy and curmudgeonly as me, and he's a hoot to work with...particularly since he tends to leave me alone story-wise), a Line Producer (John Copeland, also from C.P.), a Conceptual Artist/Visual Consultant (Peter Ledger, the artist who did the artwork now in hand), a computer effects wizard (Ron Thornton of NewTek, inventers of the Video Toaster, folks who are on the cutting edge of EFX technology), a Production/Set Designer (John Acavelli, from such movies as HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS) and about half a dozen others, mostly young, eager, bright folks with a chip on their shoulder in the sense that they want to show what this show, and they, can do. It's not enough for ANY of us that the show succeed; we want it to kick ass. We won't start casting until after the first of the year, when the script has been locked down. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 12 Wed Dec 04, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 01:34 EST I know what happened to B-4. And to B-3, 2 and 1. Bear in mind, this thing has been in secret development for three years. During that time, with the script and artwork and bible finished, all I COULD do was background the story to the Nth degree. I now know far more than I ever thought I would about the universe of BABYLON 5. And what happened to B-4 will at one point come back to, um, "haunt"] B- 5. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 13 Thu Dec 05, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 00:40 EST Hmm...I'd appreciate any more info you may have about those patches (from computer or video). Could be very handy. As for the REAL GHOSTBUSTERS episode, yeah, that one -- "Janine, You've Changed" -- came out pretty well. One of my personal favorites. I don't think the collected CAPTAIN POWER episodes will *ever* be made available, sadly. I don't think even *I* have a complete set; I have those I wrote, or co-authored, and maybe one or two others, but I'm missing a few here and there. As for actors...we will be using standard channels. We will have a casting director chosen by the first part of the year, and that person will be available to agents same as any actor or casting director. The drill is well known. As co-exec producer on the show, I will have quite a bit of input into casting, based on what's recommended to me. I would mainly concentrate on classically-trained actors with a lot of stage work behind them, some film/tv work, but who aren't yet over-exposed. The only role that I've cast in my head is that of the station's resident telepath (NOT an empath, a telepath, who is available to sit in on business negotiations, sort of a "Rent-A-Telepath," to make sure that the man on the other side of the table isn't lying to you). There's an actress I've seen who's *perfect* for the role, and has some genre experience, though she isn't over-exposed yet. (Memo to myself: I have to call her agent tomorrow and see if I can set up a meeting.) Beyond that, the field's wide open. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 14 Thu Dec 05, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 03:22 EST Well, lemme comment on that. One of the reasons -- and there are many others -- for coming out here like this and, as you say, putting myself and the work on the line is my belief that this is right, and this is the kind of show that the fans have been looking for. And I'm willing to stand behind that, and be open about it, without giving away the real surprises in the project. For the better part of a decade, I've been on panel after panel, and gone to convention after convention, and listened to the fans talk about what they'd like to see in an SF series. How they want solid characters, imaginative stories, no kids or cute robots, using science the way it should be used, not talking down to the audience. That desire has been noted. I think there is a certain frustration among a large percentage of media fandom that they aren't listened to. This is my way of saying that you HAVE been listened to, somebody HAS been paying attention. What forms the stories and the characters must, perforce, come from one voice, you can't create anything worthwhile with a committee...but in terms of tone and sophistication and attitude and range, that's where you can be open to giving the fans what they want, and what they have been asking for now for a long time. This is simply one more effort undertaken to make the fan community a part of the process. One noteworthy thing about the creative and production team that we've assembled is that they're ALL fans of the SF genre. They've grown up on it, and they want to give something back to it, to stand on the shoulders of the giants that preceded us and try and do something *different*. I stand foursquare for communication. For this series to be special, it helps for the communication to be just as special, and open. This is a part of that process. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 15 Sat Dec 07, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 20:17 EST Well, the other day I got to see the official Warner Bros. -- well, I don't know what to call it, exactly, it's a lot more than a brochure, but not a book, and not a flyer...it's what they've made to send to the various TV stations (allied and non-allied), and for the Warner Bros. salesmen to take around with them to the stations, and for the overseas market. It's a three-part foldover on slick, card stock, photographic grade stock. The front piece has the main B-5 artwork of the station in space, a binary sun in BG, a planet, and several surrounding ships coming in to dock, beneath the final version (for now) of the B-5 logo. It's reproduced in stunning color. You open that up, and you find text on the inside of the flap, and continuing down inside are character descriptions and the artwork on each of the main characters. The second flap (folded beneath the first) is a cut-out all along on side, the cut-out conforming to the profile of the B-5 station. Open up that flap, and you find the artwork of the interior of B-5. It's absolutely *gorgeous*, full color, and everyone who's seen it has gone nuts for it. The overseas folks, normally reserved, are already asking for dibs. We're getting a terrific response. What was also fun for me, personally, was turning the whole thing over and seeing, there by the Warner Bros. logo, "Rattlesnake Productions in Association with Synthetic Worlds, Ltd." (The latter is my production company.) Cool. Having worked on this for so long, it's taking a while for it to come through to me that this is finally REAL, that every day more and more people are getting involved with something that came out of my head one day, that folks in England and Italy and Japan and other countries are getting into the picture, that layout and graphics guys are putting together whole campaigns around the program...jesus, it's amazing. Also received a preliminary copy of the final budget, and it looks good. Now we're looking at real money, and the responsibility starts to really come through. Now we have to DO IT, and do it the way we've been planning all these years. I think I'll go lie down for a while.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 16 Wed Dec 11, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 23:57 EST Two responses: on the input side, we don't have a strong network hand to worry about on the material. Thus far, they've had zero creative notes. One individual had one suggestion, which made sense, and has been implemented. That's it. Nothing from Warners at all. My associate on the project, Doug Netter, also tends not to get involved in story. "I'm not the writer, you're the writer, you figure out what you want to do with this" is his usual comment. When we worked together on CAPTAIN POWER, he said he would never give me a creative note because he wasn't a writer, and he held to that promise. So to all intents and purposes...it looks like I'm going to be pretty much left alone. If we succeed, great, if we fail, this time I'll have no one to blame but myself. As for alien-aliens vs. humans with bumps...bear in mind that as much as we'd like to use REAL aliens, thus far we haven't encountered any. So all of the roles will have to be portrayed by humans, and we'll do as much as we can to make them look as alien as possible. And in some cases, as mentioned, we won't ever SEE them because they'll be concealed inside atmosphere-controlled encounter suits. In the background, and where we can, we'll pepper really unusual looking aliens into the show, but bear in mind that if we're going to relate to these characters, and have our main cast relating to them, they have to be understandable (to varying degrees), and because they'll have to emote to one degree or another, we will have to leave some facial aspects free. But within those parameters, we're going to try some interesting stuff. None of us much likes the "humans with head bumps" look, and we are all dedicated to doing as much as we can to change that and come up with something new. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 17 Fri Dec 13, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 03:00 EST Yeah, we're trying to come up with new ways of doing stuff. Makes it more interesting. Quite a day today for B-5...exhausting. First in come the color portfolios at last, then we have THE FOCUS GROUP! I know, I know...you're wondering what a focus group is. The studio pays lotsa bucks to engage a research group to bring in two groups, one group of women, one group of men. They are then given synopses of the movie, the series episodes, the characters, all the stuff that for now can't be posted here. And they get to react, giving us some parameters in terms of marketing and, to a smaller extent, the story and presentation. Going in, we were told how it would probably break down: "The women will love the character stuff, the relationships, and hate the action, and the men will love the action, but hate the character stuff and the relationships as 'soap opera.'" Sonuvagun, but that's how it turned out. And after having worked for so long to convince studio heads that SF fans want other than EFX, there were these guys saying, "Oh, yeah, special effects is the most important thing to me...and action, heck, science fiction MEANS action, fights and stuff." I'm surprised they couldn't hear me banging my head against the wall through the 2- way observation mirror. That stuff aside, though, we tested VERY positively, and even got some good ideas out of it. It was strange, as the person who created all this, to look out through a 2-way mirror and see, for the first time, "civilians" discussing the characters and situations of Babylon 5. One more step on the long road set before us.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 18 Fri Dec 13, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 20:51 EST Believe me, I have no patience with or interest in focus groups or research or anything of that nature. My feeling is quite simple: in the early stages of a project, you should be willing to at least *listen* to anyone. Because sometimes good ideas come from the damndest places. But you can't WRITE that way. You take all the input, but finally you as the writer have to sit down and use what makes SENSE in the story. The day I abdicte that responsibility is the day I get out of the business. I've never seen a project that was Made by research or studio suits. If it works, it's because the project stems from one clear vision, and one clear voice. Just as one example...while I didn't agree with many reactions of the "civilians" -- especially since they were working off a summary, not the complete script -- the one point that *did* strike home was that it takes a while to get going. We set up suspense, and a lot of time introducing the characters. But a nice little hook at the beginning, I realized, just a little fillip, would be a good idea to goose things a bit. Now, I may change my mind when I get behind the keyboard to revise the script over the Christmas break (mainly for myself, and my own desire to strengthen the script, which has been around, after all, for quite some time, and I've learned a lot since that initial draft), I may decide to jettison that notion, I don't know. But it's worth considering at the very least. Fundamentally, if you're going to create a series, write and produce it, you've got to follow your instincts. Besides, the whole POINT of the exercise is so that you won't have anyone making decisions for you anymore, you do what YOU want to do with it, and let the chips fall as they may. To do otherwise, given the angst involved in getting a series this far, is dirt- stone-stick stupid. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 19 Thu Dec 19, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 13:49 EST Btw...for those who might be interested, apparently -- and I haven't seen it, I can only relay what I've been told -- there will be an article on NewTek, our computer guys on B-5, in the next STARLOG SPECTACULAR, and the article will contain a half-page or so photo of Babylon 5. (This is probably one of the early, rough versions of the station, so I don't know exactly the configuration. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 20 Thu Dec 19, 1991 STRACZYNSKI at 19:51 EST Yes, at this stage, we're going to use computer-generated images for the exterior of Babylon 5. Done right, you won't notice the difference between that and a model. (In fact, some of the SFX guys to whom we've shown a later version of the demo tape were absolutely unaware that they were looking at computer EFX; they thought it was a model...and these guys are experts. They also thought it must've been one hell of a miniature, given the detailing and depth of the thing.) The cost is *slightly* less than with a model...but what it gives us is truly ASTONISHING options. For instance...we have a ship waiting outside B-5, awaiting the word to proceed into the docking bay. We can go from the POV of the ship to B-5, out of the ship, approach the station, go up to a viewing port, through which we see our characters in a live, filmed scene, and push THROUGH the port RIGHT INTO THE SCENE, all in ONE CONTINUOUS CUT. And what's cool is to see them from the space side of the "glass" first, and we can't hear what's being said, since there's no sound in space. Then just as we push through into the room, THEN we suddenly hear the dialogue, as if we've penetrated a membrane. There are some really amazing things that we can do that, again, have never been seen before, using the technology that's come along in the last few years. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 21 Wed Jan 01, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 06:13 EST Since it is now January 1st, time for another piece of information about the B-5 storyline, which as mentioned will be parceled out one per month (and, again, I'm talking about the *major* points, each of the main characters and the backstory, though the plot of the movie will be kept confidential). Here's an interesting bit of backstory. The story of BABYLON 5 takes place in 2257. In 2236 or thereabouts, the Earth Alliance made First Contact with a race known as the Minbari. They were, at that time, only the second major civilization we'd encountered, though we had certainly come across a number of non-aligned worlds and smaller governments, one or two worlds each. The Minbari represent a *major* force on every level, resources, technology, sheer number of worlds involved, on and on. The Minbari are the oldest of the different alien civilizations, and largely kept to themselves. Their interests were (and are) in attaining perfection: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional. They answer to a Council of Elders, whose pronouncements are considered law in an almost biblical sense. Though deeply religious in their way, they have also pursued the ways of technology, and as such they are easily the most advanced of the various alliances. But they view technology as transitory, a means to an end rather than an end in itself. Like Tom Bombadil in LORD OF THE RINGS, they can hold the Ring of Technology but it has no hold over them. And from 2236 until about 2247, we were at war with them. The Earth/Minbari war began as a misunderstanding. The first time a Terran ship encountered a Minbari starship, they studied each other closely. The Minbari ship made a move that they thought would be considered non- threatening. It wasn't. Even in the present of our story, no one is quite sure who fired first. The Minbari ship was greater in power, but taken by surprise, was destroyed, and the Earth ship limped back to base with tales of a terrible new enemy. Minbari ships, arriving to investigate, were interpreted to be the first wing of an invasion force by the base commander, and ships were launched in response before receiving formal authorization from Earth Central. The war put a great strain on the Minbari, who have always been strongly divided between the religious caste, and the military caste, who were now forced to work together. The religious caste were quietly opposed to the war, but were generally vague about their reasons when asked. The climax of the war was the Battle of the Line. Earth had all but lost the war. In a last-ditch attempt to save Homeworld, every available ship left in the armada was positioned around Earth itself. It was, everyone knew, a suicide mission. And that's, indeed, how the Battle of the Line started out to be. In the course of that battle, a lone ship -- a one-man fighter with very little in the way of armaments -- took several heavy hits. His instruments failing, other ships blowing up all around him, he aimed his ship at the nearest Minbari cruiser, deciding to ram it in the hopes of destroying at least that one ship. He kept his ship on course for as long as he could hold out. Then, abruptly, he blacked out. When he awoke, he was still in his ship. Drifting. He fired up the engines, ready to continue, only to discover two things: first, that he had been out of it for a full 24 hours. Second...the war was over. And, incredibly, the Minbari had surrendered. On the very verge of success in the war, they had rolled over and sued for peace. No one in the Earth Alliance quite knew why, but they weren't about to debate the issue, and accepted minimal compensation for the war. Now, ten years later, the Earth Alliance is no closer to figuring out why the Minbari surrendered. It is, in fact, one of the great puzzles of that era, debated on a hundred different worlds. Only a few strange clues have slipped out. One is that the military genius who led the Minbari into the war committed suicide the day of the surrender, though it is unclear if his death took place before or after the surrender. And the rift between the military and religious castes apparently came to some sort of climax, with the religious caste taking complete control. There are rumors of some sort of religious vision, of a prophecy of great things, and a prophecy of complete doom. But since almost nothing is known of Minbari religion, what this might be, no one knows. At the conclusion of the war, those Terrans who fought in the Battle of the Line were proclaimed heroes. One of these men was Captain Jeffrey Sinclair...the pilot who still cannot account for the 24 hours he was out of contact with Earth Central. Commander Jeffrey Sinclair has come far in the 10 years since the war. He's had some rough times, but overall he's progressed. And he has at last been given a major assignment, perhaps the most important job of his life, concomitant with his promotion to Commander. Jeffrey Sinclair is the Commander in charge of the Babylon 5 space station. Although the station (and its prededessors, Babylons 1 through 4, which were either destroyed (1, 2 and 3) or mysteriously vanished (4)) was always intended as a sort of mini-U.N. as well as a free-port, with an Ambassador from each different alien alliance present, the Minbari refused to name an ambassador until the station commander was named first. Shortly after Sinclair was named Commander, the Minbari assigned their first ambassador to the station. His name is Delenn. And he stays very close to Commander Sinclair. Some say he is keeping a close eye on Sinclair. Some say he is Sinclair's friend. And some say there may well be something very lethal behind those unreadable Minbari eyes. And there are quite a few others, including a shadow-group in the Earth Alliance, who would very much like to know what happened during the 24 hours that disappeared from Commander Sinclair's life. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 22 Wed Jan 01, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 06:19 EST Small typo in the preceding: it should read that the Earth/Minbari war lasted from 2236 to 2247, not 1147. This, by the way, represents only one small segment in the overall history of the world of Babylon 5. I've literally worked out a couple hundred pages of condensed notes. So...whadaya think? jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 23 Wed Jan 01, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 19:54 EST I would very much like to go for a soundless explosion...though logically the shock wave from any near-proximity explosion would cause some disruption in anything nearby, I would think. So if, for instance, something exploded near B-5, the ext. space shot of the blast would be soundless, but if we cut to the int. of B-5, there would be some sort of vibration or similar disruption, I should think. (Hmm, I'd better look into that further, since...well, never mind why.) Yes, some of this will be in the 2-hour movie, just enough to set the stage. As for Delenn, yes, he is of a somewhat philosophical bent, but he takes great pleasure in his emotions, which is another difference. And he will look quite different. I've been trying to come up with a very off-beat plot turn to pull in seasons 3 or 4 (assuming we ever GET that far, again, I'm working all this out in advance and hoping for the best), and this morning I came up with something SO neat, SO unusual, I practically slipped in the shower. It's something that has never, EVER been done in an SF series involving a major character. And boy, will this have major ramifications! Too bad I have to wait so long to pull it off. Oh...I forgot to mention one other thing about (then) Captain Sinclair's curious incident above (and yes, this will come up peripherally in the movie). When he lost consciousness, he had 16 hours of oxygen left in his ship. When he awoke 24 hours later...he had 12 hours of oxygen left in his ship. Funny, ain't it...? jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 24 Sat Jan 04, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 04:48 EST There are, in fact, a number of splinter groups in the world (or the universe, I suppose) of B-5. There are individuals who claim residency in no particular group or government, they're free-traders of the purest sort. Within the Earth Alliance, things are structured more or less along the lines of the Commonwealth of Independent States we're seeing now, with one monolithic voice that speaks in tersm of foreign policy, but within the framework of everything else -- domestic policy, economics and the like -- the independent state makes its own rules. So their are colonies and fringe areas that consider themselves by and large independent. And, from time to time, there will be sparks of secession and the like. I've never much liked the Gleaming Steel Of A Perfect Federation approach; I like things a little more tentative, less sure. And for that matter, even WITHIN the E.A., there are factions and problems and power struggles and the like. Wheels within wheels. As for locations inside B-5...we've designed a number of very different looks and locations to give it a non-claustrophobic feel. By virtue of being patterned physically after the work of such scientists as Gerard K. O'Neil, the absolute center of the elongated station (which revolves to provide gravity) is a sort of hollow-world look, with fields and hydroponic gardens along the 386-degree circular section (which is about a half-mile, or a mile across)...and as you get closer to the absolute center, where a transport tube cuts from one end of the station to the other, naturally you get less and less gravity until you can literally hang suspended. And there are living areas designed to accommodate different environments and atmospheres and conditions. The alien sectors are off-limits to humans without protection (breathing gear and other measures). Similarly, a heavy CO2 breather or methane breather would have to wear an encounter suit to travel among the humans on the station. In addition, the B-5 station is actually made up of several independent (though connected) sections, each revolving at a different speed in order to create alternative areas of gravity. Parts of the station are still under construction, and parts are finished. Some sections are in daylight, some in night, alternating by level and sector. On the very outer ring, the viewports are in panels ON THE FLOOR, so you're looking down and out into space, revolving beneath your feet. BTW...the Babylon 5 station isn't just floating there. It's at the L-5 point in a binary star system between a moon and a barren, lifeless planet. Well, a *theoretically* barren and lifeless planet, anyway.... But that's Year Two.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 25 Sat Jan 04, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 19:28 EST Cam: yes, exactly. Psion: whoof! What a bunch of questions! Some of the areas you hit are areas we're still discussing. We *will* have jump-drive technology using hyperspace. About 5 klicks away from B-5 is a...well, I haven't yet decided WHAT to call it...it's a jump-point through which most ships enter normal space to approach B-5 from hyperspace. There are two constructs, about a half- mile long each, paralleling each other, and both fairly thin, which produce a dampening field that helps ships decelerate as they come out of hyperdrive. The effect as the ships come through the jump point should be quite spectacular. We do plan to touch on some of the medical/biological issues you raise, though that'll have to wait for the series, naturally. I thnk that's a VERY fertile area for not only scientific and story exploration, but sets some profound moral and human questions as well. The technology on ships and weaponry will not be consistent. I think this is very important. In ST, the technology levels are all pretty standard...phasers/disrupters, and warp drives and transporters...except for the packaging they could all be buying from the same K-Mart. We're devising as many new technologies as we can, and dividing them up between the different species/groups. Each group is constantly trying to upgrade to the next level, and get the other group's technology. We even have tech-runners, smugglers who trade primarily in data. As for the look of things...I like things bulky and functional. I want a gun that looks like it WORKS. I want uniforms with POCKETS. A too-clean future doesn't interest me. How's that for a start? jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 26 Sun Jan 05, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 04:58 EST If we didn't think we could do the show up right for the money we've got, we wouldn't be doing it. Given that I can log on here even in the midst of production on the show I'm currently doing, MURDER, SHE WROTE, I figure I can keep on showing up throughout the B-5 production. To the question of vision...yes, this is entirely my baby in that respect. There has to be direction, firm and complete, from the top for ANY show to be successful, I think. But what you then have to do is get people you trust involved AND LISTEN TO THEM. You tell your tech guys, "Okay, what I want to do in this scene is X, how can we do that?" and they give you options. Let them run with it. Then take whatever works best visually and for the story. By giving every person the freedom to be creative, the show works better, the attitude is better, and it all accrues to the benefit of the person running things. We don't at this time have a science advisor per se, though that's something we're considering when we get to series. There's certainly a solid brain-trust available at JPL, which is practically down the street. (Curious thought...we don't normally expect SF writers to hire science advisors, they tend to do their OWN work...and I think that as much as possible, I'd like to try and hew to that standard. I'm not a major science guy, but I know enough to hold a conversation, and by going to writers who ALREADY ARE SF WRITERS, I think that will go a long way toward taking care of the problem. But one way or another, we're still thinking about it. We already have a visual consultant, and we'll have a creative consultant when we get to series to make sure we don't accidentally duplicate any stories already in the SF literature.) One last note re: the B-5 logo. Again, that's an early version. The finished (for now at least) version is in, and it's being used on all of our mailings and the like. It's the same basic design, but it's in burnished copper and gold against jet black, and it looks like it's been carved out of solid steel, with a slightly 3-D look. That symbol, btw, will also be used IN the show. The upper, pyramidal section will be incorporated into rank insignia, with a separate bar below finishing off the symbol. The symbol will be altered to fit various professions and status. That, at least, is the plan for now. Almost 2/3rds finished revising the movie script. I hope to have the darned thing finished soon. We can't do SQUAT until it's in hand. So here I am, an exec producer, waiting impatiently for the damned writer to finish his rewrite...and it's me. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 27 Sun Jan 05, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 19:18 EST Mayhap it was the parrot that threw them off.... As for language...most times, since other groups know that they're going to a station run by the Earth Alliance, they'll take time to get the basic language down. But, of course, there are always equivilants of the Ugly American who doesn't have the time. In those cases, there will be a computerized translator, under which we will faintly hear their actual language. And, from time to time, it could be fun to have two different species at an impasse because neither understands the other. One of our regular characters will normally use the second method of the computerized translator because we will never see his.... Oops. Too soon. Never mind. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 28 Sat Jan 11, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 00:08 EST Here, after many consultations with Wise Men Who Weild Great Power, is where things stand for now, I think. 1) Apparently, B-5 met with a *very* positive reception at the INTV conference in San Francisco. 2) Our contract with WB and the independents stations guarantees our production as a movie, with the series still very solid. 3) The B-5 movie is going to air this year, in the fall/winter. There is no conceivable way that anyone else can beat us to the punch on that. It WILL be made, and it WILL be aired on schedule. 4) Given that there is going to be a lot of PR attendent upon the airing of B-5, it would seem counter-productive for any other studio to watch a well- publicized movie being aired in 1992, and then come out with a similar concept in 1993. There would be no question as to who was there first, and the newcomer would, I think, be viewed as less than original. So for now, we're hanging fire and waiting. In two weeks is NATPE the *main* marketing gathering for independent TV stations. And stations will have to decide whether they want a show that's ready to go NOW, or something very tenuous that will take another year. And, again, we are LOCKED IN to the stations that form the consortium, and they include many of the top stations and top markets in the country. So we'll see. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 29 Sun Jan 12, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 05:14 EST Haven't heard of POINT CENTRAL, and I think I'll avoid it for the time being, for obvious reasons. In terms of "literary or visual influences," frankly...well, I thunk it up. Somebody has to start SOMEwhere. Where it began, really, was an Einsteinian thought-experiment. I'd seen SO many SF shows ruined by backing into a budget that ended up always being 2- 3 times what they'd said it would be, that I sat down, very deliberately, and said, "Okay, let's see if we can come up with a show that's SF, that isn't one of the TV Generics (Man On The Run, Man In Search Of New Worlds, Man Trying To Find His Way Home), and that can be contained." The major source of expense on a show is creating new worlds every week. So I figured, this should be stationary. I thought about the sorts of shows I liked in TONE...Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, even M*A*S*H, and in each case, there was created a center of operations and YOUR STORIES CAME TO YOU. Look at L.A. LAW (which I can't abide)...you set up a law office, and people with problems come to you. So: a stationary locale, where people in trouble come to you. This led me to also think of post WW II Germany, where American, French and British forces (and, I think, some Russian) patroled equally to make sure that no one side got the upper hand. It also put me in mind of the early free-ports of the 19th century, which were noted for some pretty rough characters, for adventure, for intrigue and smuggling. Put those various elements together...and you've got BABYLON 5. That's where it came from. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 30 Sun Jan 12, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 18:00 EST J.LAHUE....clearly you haven't been getting NEARLY enough sleep. Does your mom know you're doing this? Regarding the WW II stuff...bear in mind that was the feathering of my mind in the early stages. That does not represent where the show is NOW, only what process took me to this. While I don't like any sort of analogy to what went before -- only because it creates images and expectations that may not be exactly the same, and for that matter should not be exactly the same -- the "Casablanca In Space" log-line is the most accurate. As for SF influences in more general terms...I don't want to leave the wrong impression. I LIKE SF, and grew up reading it. I don't have any particular school (Analog vs. F&SF) that I belong to, I just find what I like and read it. I suppose you could find the scope of the show in my appreciation from youth of such books as the LENSMEN and FOUNDATION books, and the CHILDHOOD'S END material. That is the KIND of saga that I'd like to present. Too-hard, meaning too technical SF doesn't terribly interest me. The technology is a means into the story, and should not (in most cases) BECOME the story, unless you've got something really extraordinary on your hands. The story is how it AFFECTS someone. (Kurt Vonnegutt's "Report on the Barnhouse Effect" being a good comparison.) I suspect, as the program progresses, you'll catch little influences of Bradbury, and Serling, and THE PRISONER (there's a certain surrealness in some later stories I've planned out), with a healthy dollop of Clarke and Asimov and Ellison. But I don't think there's enough of any ONE to make a clear distinction. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 31 Thu Jan 16, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 03:43 EST Absolutely. And to anyone else...feel free to transfer the material in this topic to any other system (kindly noting whence it came), and to give it to friends or whomever. The only systems to which this permission is NOT given are the Idle Gossip BBS and the TFI BBS, which will only mean anything to those who know what it is/they are, and beyond that I won't elaborate. Next week is NATPE, the main marketplace for selling shows to TV stations. Anyone out there who wants to call their independent local TV stations (Fox is included in this), or ALL their independent stations, and suggest that they pick up B5 is more than welcome to do so. It could be of help. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 32 Fri Jan 17, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 00:18 EST At this point, we're looking at same-diameter sections rotating at different speeds. My feeling is...if you can buy hyperdrive, you can buy that we've got some spiffy new construction technologies. Regarding the NewTek tape...did the video you saw feature a ship entering the docking bay of the station? And were there huge solar collectors at one end? Were sections rotating at different speeds? If so, then yes, that was BABYLON 5. (Though that must be an odd copy, or they've done some strange color correcting, because B5 is steel grey in color, augmented by black in some areas and the solar collectors are a metallic blue, though not garish.) My *suspicion* is that yes, that was BABYLON 5, especially since you mentioned the flickering stars, which are present in the rough test demo (was there also a ringed planet in the background)? What I'm *pretty sure* you must've seen was the very first test demo of the Babylon 5 station. Later, the length of the video was expanded, we layered in an early version of the B5 logo, music was added, plus the shot of a single ship docking. (That was for perspective; for those who might see this, the ship at the beginning of the sequence is about the size of a Boeing 727...and when we first see it from a distance approaching the station, it looks practically like a fly until you zoom in on the docking bay.) So, based on what you saw, I gather you approve? Regarding ads and publicity, yes, thus far I've been consulted, as was the case with the color brochure. As we gear up more, I'll be further involved in all aspects of publicity, in order to control the image that goes out. I'm not that involved in the NATPE stuff mainly because that's a specialization of the marketing guys, and they know that aspect more than I do. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 33 Sat Jan 18, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 01:55 EST I don't yet know which stations in Canada will be carrying B5. Once I have a comprehensive list of stations, I'll post it. Okay, folks, listen up: You say you've been hearing about this Babylon 5 station. You say you'd like to know what it's gonna look like. You say you'd like to know how big it is. Well, step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, here's your chance to see just what the heck we're talking about. Proceed immediately to your nearest magazine rack. Pick up issue #4 of STARLOG SPECTACULAR, which just hit the stands. Turn to page 54. And there, in full color, is a half-page photo of the Babylon 5 space station from a frontal three-quarter angle shot. The little ship about to pull into the docking bay is about the size of a 727, and the station is built to scale. You can see the main airlock starting to iris open, and the blue things right on the very edge of the picture are the solar collectors. You'll notice the modular sections, for the varying gravities, as discussed. And there are ports, an observation deck, and the like. Now mind you, this is a *fairly* early version of the station, so it's a bit cleaner than what we'll see in the final version. But this is pretty close. (We'll also make the station a bit darker, closer to steel grey...the photo has it kind a bit lighter than that.) Anyway, there is it. Anyone who'd like to digitize it and upload it here as a GIF file is welcome to do so. (Note: the photo doesn't identify the station as B5 because at the time the article was being prepared, B5 was still TWCBM, That Which Couldn't Be Mentioned. Top-secret. And we didn't yet know what the time-frame was. NewTek is permitted to use the material to show its capabilities, but at that time was not allowed to identify it. In future, that proviso will not be in force.) It's rough, and it's being revised, but it's there. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 37 Sun Jan 19, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 03:26 EST Thanks for the info. And yes, that spaceship-breaking-orbit shot is also from the B5 demo. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 39 Sun Jan 19, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 17:22 EST I will pass this on to our tech guys, who can probably answer most of it better than I can. Two things that I can comment on: the crops grown in the very center of B5 will be grown under artificial lighting conditions to replicate natural light. Heck, we've already got lights that can be used underground and in nurseries for that purpose...and creating such an environment that way is easier than a complex system of mirrors and windows (and windows are at best problematic, now matter how strong they are). Second it *does* take quite a bit of time to fully decelerate for docking. One option you have to save time is the energy-dampers positioned quite a ways outside B5. We're still working out the technology on that one, but it *seems* to hold up. Oh...and yes, we're looking at a gravity range from 0 to 2Gs. Anybody not content with that can bloody well deal with it. jms "Babylon 5: We're A Space Station, Not The Club Med In Space" ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 41 Sun Jan 19, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 18:50 EST Why not? Besides, don't forget that humans have to be able to at least GET into some of these areas if necessary, even though it may be extremely uncomfortable. (So okay, maybe 3Gs.) Otherwise you find yourself in a situation where an alien can do something destructive, escape to the high-G sections, and no human can follow. Seems kind of impractical. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 45 Sun Jan 19, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 20:47 EST Okay, for those interested, I now have a more specific schedule to work from, based on our latest discussions with all parties. I finish my revisions on the 2-hour screenplay (entitled "The Gathering," for those interested) by February 1, about two weeks, give or take. Then two weeks to get in the notes from Warners. Two more weeks to attend to whatever suggestions they may have. The screenplay is then locked down by March 1st. We go into design and casting March 1st. Production design, art design/directing and tech teams begin work. We begin checking out the director we're going to use. First part of April we begin blueprinting of sets and construction. We finalize cast and director by the end of May, and begin shooting June 1. We finish shooting June 26th. We go into editing and post production, and come out with the finished film by early or middle October, and deliver to Warners and the stations. (By the first part of October we also deliver a three-minute trailer to the stations for use in promoting B5.) BABYLON 5: The Gathering then airs the third week in November, during sweeps. Probably on a Tuesday night. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 48 Sun Jan 19, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 21:44 EST Thanks, any publicity helps. The NewTek scene being shown around is the early stage of the B5 concept. There won't be a full-scale model built, it will exist entirely within the computer EFX realm. And the latest stuff I've seen is photo quality; you can't tell. I showed the new material to SFX guys who know the field inside and out, and not ONE of them picked up on the fact that it was computer generated until I told them. They all thought it was a model. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 59 Tue Jan 21, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 00:36 EST BABYLON 5 is a deep-space station located in a strategic sector of space that is heavily traveled, a jump point for journeys, with representatives from various civilizations on board. DEEPSPACE 9 is a deep-space station located in a strategic sector of space that is heavily traveled, a jump point for journeys, with representatives from various civilizations on board. Funny...I don't see what's similar about them at ALL...even if there ARE some other points of comparison that I can't reveal for fear of compromising my OWN story. As for the reason for rebuilding B5...it was an idea that was right, and those responsible refused to knuckle under to what was, in effect, terrorism. During WW II, someone asked Winston Churchill what he would do if a V-2 took out Big Ben. "We shall rebuild it," he said. And what if they knock THAT down? "We shall rebuild it again, and again, as many times as is required. Because it is not theirs to destroy, it is OURS." B5, at this crucial time, is the last, best hope for peace, and there are people dedicated to pursuing that peace, whatever the cost, however many times others may try to destroy it. Those aboard B5 know the risk, but come because they believe in what it stands for, just as U.N. observers go into a country knowing fully that they may be killed. Why rebuild the Enterprise? Why make more shuttles after one blows up, even though you KNOW that the odds indicate that at least one more will go, sooner or later? Why continue with the Gemini space program even after those astronauts died in that terrible fire? Because the universe doesn't reward you for doing what's safe, and easy. Because courage and persistence is what pulled us out of the seas and onto land and dragged us through millions of years of evolution. What sets the human race apart from everything else is our persistence, the stubborn, noble dignity that propelled Washington's men, when offered the chance to stand down during the revolutionary war, when they were tired and bleeding and frostbitten, to refuse to knuckle under, and to go on. During WW II, again, there were cases of planes sent in to bomb strategic sites...and when one batch was shot down, another wing went off. And another. And another. Until finally SOMEONE got through. Because it had to be done. The consequences were too terrible otherwise. We have come into an age when it seems passion is passe, when the very common coin of our shared humanity, the willingness to put our lives on the line for a cause or a belief, seems somehow suspect. Why do people rebuild BABYLON 5 even though it's not safe? Why do they go there when it's not safe? Because the Earth/Minbari war ALONE almost wiped out humanity. We can't afford NOT to be there. And these people are willing to put their lives on the line to see' that that never happens again. Because they damn near won the first time, and the next bunch might well finish the job. One of my favorite pieces of verse is from Tennyson's ULYSSES. And it is at the core of what BABYLON 5 is about. It concerns the final voyage of Ulysses...older, tired, who has lost his family and most of his kingdom and most of his men, betrayed and saddened...and he gathers up those few surviving members from his earlier journey, and as they prepare to push off, he concludes with a final benediction: "Though we are not now that strength that in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are: one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate but strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield." jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 61 Tue Jan 21, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 03:07 EST Because of Babylon 5's function as a free port, the laws are a bit dodgy. Outside B5 it's neutral territory, it's only when you set foot inside the station that you fall under Earth Alliance regs. Even so, you have to tread carefully. You raise some good points, and that is an issue that's going to have to be dealt with. Some sort of preventive measure would seem to be in order...it's just a question of figuring out WHAT. Thanks for the comments...and the opinion, which is one that a lot of others are coming to share re: the situation with That Other Show. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 62 Tue Jan 21, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 03:10 EST BTW...this Friday's HOUR 25 will be dedicated to the question of how one gets a show on the air, the rigors and traps involved therein, and will follow the long history of BABYLON 5 as an example. (What a coincidence!) Joining me and my co-host Larry DiTillio will be B5 line producer John Copeland, and EFX wiz from NewTek, Ron Thornton. Anyone in the LA area, feel free to tune in. And if anyone wants to comment on anything, the phones are open midway through the show.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 70 Tue Jan 21, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 20:29 EST For info on HOUR 25 -- the SF talk show I host, with others on alternating nights -- check out the topic in Cat 19. Topic 3. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 81 Wed Jan 22, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 01:29 EST Yes, it was BABYLON 5 in the CNN Showbiz Today clip from Newtek. For those who missed it (*I* didn't know it was on until I heard it on another system!), it'll be on again tonight at 2 a.m. Pacific, 5 a.m. Eastern time. I *think* I know what you're referring to re: Jello aliens, and will check out the message. If it is what I think, I may have another comment on all this. Interestingly enough...originally the new TREK show was supposed to begin PRODUCTION in Spring 93 for a debut Fall '93. When we announced that we were going to air the B5 movie in Fall '92, suddenly they moved the airdate for *their* show to January 1993. This is, honestly, NOT a coincidence. And I'm going to be amused to watch them try to catch up...we've got a screenplay, a production team, visual concepts, a bible, EVERYthing...and I *know* that they have only a treatment...no series bible, no screenplay, nothing. This is getting more interesting by the moment.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 82 Wed Jan 22, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 01:43 EST Okay, I just read the pertinent notes on 21/21 regarding the new TNG spinoff, and the "Jell-O Man," clearly (as indicated in the prior messages there) a morph/shapechanger. Guess what? As I mentioned in 21/21, there was also a shapechanger on the B5 station in the screenplay that Paramount has had now for some time. What *I* like is the fact that in the current version of the script, I'm omitting the shapechanger because that technology is, in my view, overexposed right now. By the time it hits the air, morphing will be so common that it's old hat. (It WASN'T old hat when I wrote the original screenplay several years back. That was the goal with the current rewrite...to make the script as far in advance NOW as it was when I first wrote it.) And the coincidences just keep on coming.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 85 Wed Jan 22, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 02:20 EST We're keeping all of our options open at this time. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 93 Wed Jan 22, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 13:29 EST Regarding the NewTek B5 demo...no, that wasn't done with the Video Toaster. In this case, NewTek is noted because it's the company that MADE the VT, but this isn't an aspect of that, insofar as I know. They've come up with some startling new technologies for computer-generated EFX, and in fact Ron Thornton, our one-man brain trust, is completely REWRITING THE CODES specifically to accommodate B5. When the opening sequence is completed, the trailer will be one continuous take of the starship pulling away from the planet, scooting across space, then we pan in from FIVE MILES OUT, join up with the ship as it enters the docking bay, and go THROUGH the docking bay...ending up right on a live- action face of one of our characters inside. And yes, we'll be slowing down the animation a bit, partly for aesthetics, partly because real objects should have mass and weight and shouldn't move *quite* that fast. Also, I have some additional ideas on how the B5 station should look, and we'll be incorporating those in as well. The *basic* form and shape will, I suspect, stay pretty close to what you've seen. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 100 Thu Jan 23, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 00:05 EST Yes, the ship arcing away from the planet, as you describe, is part of the B5 demo. The sequence is reversed; first the ship leaves the planet, THEN it arrives at B5. Look carefully at the front of B5 and you can see it pulling in. I initially roughed out what I wanted in the station; basic shape and configuration, the use of rotating sections, docking bay at the front, that sort of thing. Peter Ledger then did the preliminary artwork, and then Ron Thornton did the computer version. I have to tell you, it was way cool to turn on the TV and see the Babylon 5 station on CNN after all this time. Even with the hassles, it was kinda nifty. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 103 Thu Jan 23, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 01:57 EST B5 is a "hollow-tube" type station, similar in some ways to the Gerard K. O'Neil stations. And I don't know what platform is being used, unfortunately. (Metal? Wood? Just kidding...) jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 133 Sat Jan 25, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 22:04 EST Sorry for the absence; was up to my ears in alligators. Just time for a quickie...the show has now been sold into a LOT more markets, and I should be able to post the new station list here in the next week or so. It met with a VERY enthusiastic response. Nothing but continued support. Will bring in some new info in another week or so also regarding the show per se. And while I'm not sure exactly what's meant by "expand" the idea, I *do* like a show that grows and changes a little from time to time. Shifting relationships, the occasional character who goes off or gets croaked, changes in character that catch you by surprise, so that will definitely be the case. My problem right now, in looking over the B5 screenplay, "The Gathering," is one of personal overload. There's so much that I want to get into this, but if you lay in *too* much backstory and exposition, you get dull REAL fast. So that points you in the direction of action. Too much action undercuts the character/backstory/offbeat stuff that will make the project DIFFERENT. It's got to be accessible enough for reg'lar folks, at least for the movie, but strange/SFish enough to let the fnas (or fans) of the genre now we mean business. Agh! I think I'll go lie down.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 143 Sun Jan 26, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 20:59 EST Actually, Eric, you're right one one important count...the hydroponics will be at the center of the station, as you describe...and that section will indeed be known as The Garden. Which has both resonance from the original Gardens of Babylon, to a certain Judaeo/Christian myth, both of which will gain more resonance as the story develops over the long term. Found a way around the problem I'd mentioned, and now things seem to be back on track. Also found out Friday that a really NIFTY effect I'd hoped for can, indeed, be done for the show. I won't elaborate except to say that we can show a ship arriving like nobody's ever seen before. It's gonna be nifty. Also got some other good news on Friday from NATPE, but I'll have to wait a few days before I can announce anything about it. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 147 Mon Jan 27, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 00:44 EST As stated, the picture of B5 in Starlog is from a VERY early stage of development. The actual version, in later renditions, is darker and -- for lack of a better term -- more *massive* in its feel. And there will be considerable polishing in terms of how it looks. This is *strictly* my own opinion (though it's a pretty solid one, I think)...but frankly, I don't think it's even REMOTELY possible for the Other Show to begin filming in June. At present, there's neither a bible nor a script for it. If you're going to start filming in June, you need a script NOW. Or at least by the first of February (which is when "The Gathering" is due). You need to run your script past the studio, then start conceptual design (and in our case, we're ahead and it's STILL going to be tight), construction, casting...and none of that can happen until you've got a script. I don't see that happening (filming) on the Other Show until the fall or VERY late summer. Even at that late date, though, there's still every chance that they could hit air by February '93. And bear one other thing in mind: if they could shoot in June, they could release in November, when B5 airs. And they're not. So phooey on them. Just finished another act on the script. Closing in on the end. The fun part of this is trying to imagine the future, and trying to come up with ways in which things can be done differently for TV, ways no one has really dealt with in TV. One of our recurring characters (not a regular, in that sense, but someone we'll see from time to time) is a woman who is, for lack of a better term, a Rent-A-Telepath. She works for B5, but she is available for businessmen who need to make sure that the person across the table can really deliver what's promised. (Note: she is not the only one, they're pretty common in business at this time in the future.) Not an empath, by the way, but a proper, licensed (Psi-Corps, Level 5) TELEPATH. Bound by all the regs of the P-C. No random scanning, no access to the gaming tables, no unauthorized dipping, all deals must be on record. And there's the privacy question that TNG has never really dealt with. A telepath peeping into someone's mind or emotions without that person's permission (or that of the next of kin) can likely have his or her license revoked. It's a basic right of privacy...whereas a Certain Other I can think of is constantly peeping into people's emotions and feelings without so much as a by-your- leave. And, again, this will be the very exacting reading of thoughts, rather than a, "I sense discomfort" sort of thing. In the focus group, that character elicited considerable interest from the subjects. I suspect the idea of a Rent-A-Telepath is appealing for a LOT of reasons.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 150 Mon Jan 27, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 03:17 EST Actually...we're using hand puppets. I'll get the specs and try to put the info here as soon as I can get it in a form I can understand. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 161 Tue Jan 28, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 01:09 EST Actually, I hadn't yet given the planets in the neighborhood of B5 names yet, only numerical designations. Hmm. I have to confess I rather like Tigris and Euphrates. As for the jump-point...as it turns out, I moved it out QUITE a bit from the station after my original posting. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed best to move it back. (For one thing, I need to buy about five hours from the moment A Certain Ship arrives through the jump-point, until it decelerates enough to dock at B5, so that seems to indicate pushing it away a bit.) Finally, as regards t-shirts...maybe. Will advise. How about this: the B5 logo (the FINISHED version, which is 'way cool) on the front, and ACCEPT NO IMITATIONS on the back...(smile, couldn't help myself). jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 166 Tue Jan 28, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 03:13 EST I think someone else here might have the info on the GIF file. As for characters and story...that remains the first concern. The discussion here got a little EFX/tech heavy, but ain't nothing wrong with that. Bear in mind, also, that I can only reveal so much here without compromising the movie. There will already be, doubtless, folks who've seen so much here that what would ordinarily have been suprising when the movie airs will now seem expected...because they read it here. I'll pass on what I can, as I can. Be assured, as a writer, story is and will always be my first concern. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 185 Wed Jan 29, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 03:09 EST I'm trying to decide if I actually want to upload the final version or not. Well, not so much if I *want* to...I do...but whether or not I should. The problem, basically, is one of control. How can you tell if something -- a flyer, a release, a piece of art or a shirt -- is an authorized piece from B5 Central, or something counterfeit? That logo is a pretty good means of telling the difference. Once the final image is uploaded, it becomes easily distributed, and that *may* open up difficulties. It's something I'm going to have to think about a bit longer. In the interim, take what's there and imagine it rendered in solid, stainless steel, with a silver trim running around the edge of the whole thing, giving it a 3-D look, and instead of solid colors, as it is now, the colors look airbrushed or reflectorized, as though made of coppor and gold catching the light and throwing it back. THAT is the final (for now) version. If that undergoes further changes -- I'm giving thought to making the word BABYLON bigger, as though cut from a solid steel template -- then I will have no compunction about putting up Logo 2.0. Does that make sense? jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 195 Thu Jan 30, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 01:14 EST YAAAAAGGGGHHHH! Stop-stop-stop-stop-stop. One hard-nosed Absolute Enforceable here: tech stuff is one thing, but the telepath discussion is ranging into concrete story ideas, and that opens a LOT of danger for me, particularly since a couple of things hit upon here are in the script as it stands now. (Answer: yes, I *am* ahead of you, Correa.) Please, that's the only request I have to make in this regard: NO STORY IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS. We are in deeply litigious times. Just today I received a legal piece of paper from a pinhead in Georgia who thinks I swiped his idea for a ZONE, and that's probably going to involve lengthy legal stuff to prove that I didn't do it. (The script, and the material on record BEFORE the script predates his material by a long, long, LONG time. He knows this, but is going ahead anyway in hopes of harrassing the studio and me into making a settlement to dispense with this...which AIN'T gonna happen.) Anyway, the point being this becomes very problematic. So while we will let stand what's here, please, no more on this approach. Thanks. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 206 Thu Jan 30, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 13:44 EST I'm not worried overly about anything here thus far, I only wanted to cut it a little short before it got too problematic. (Especially since one of the points suggested is actually one of the main events in the movie.) Don't mean to inhibit anything, just a reminder, that's all. And the Tigris/Euphrates thing is something that's intriguing, and is still being considered, as is a great deal of the tech stuff. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 212 Fri Jan 31, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 00:04 EST B5 doesn't use fusion. It uses *nothing* but the very FINEST in fairy dust. (Actually, I haven't stated, though it *does* have solar collectors, big ones.) KL, please give me 24 hours notice before you archive this topic so's I can do a fast download me own self. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 215 Fri Jan 31, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 00:47 EST Insofar as we can tell, the EFX work via computer will be easier and faster. The B5 demo that's floating around was done literally in about a week, by one guy working part time. Look at that and imagine what we can do once we get our full team working full-time. I don't know if you'll see more or less such EFX on B5 as opposed to TNG because I haven't really counted. We'll use them as required by the story. I think the mix on "The Gathering" is a little light on EFX, because so much of this story is establishing the characters and the relationships. So we'll take what efx we DO have in that episode and make them REALLY spiffy. I'm *pretty* sure that Ron Thornton told me we can generate 5-8 NEW minutes of EFX every week once we get to series. Bear in mind that many of the space EFX you see on a show like TNG are recycled or composited using a mix of old and new film. We can do all that PLUS put out a very substantial amount of new EFX. And we'll be using those EFX in interesting ways that I think will be fairly original in look and feel. One thing that I'm planning toward now is a mid-season crisis, and we'll be squirreling away bits of EFX for that episode early on, since the script will be finished well in advance of the shooting. What I want to do -- and again, this is the series part -- is have one episode where we just kick over the table and go for it: a major, armed conflict between dozens, maybe even HUNDREDS of individual ships. Think some of the sequences in RETURN OF THE JEDI as a boilerplate. And what will be cool, what the EFX guys have sketched out for me, is that we can begin from the POV of one ship, move away as it's blown up, move THROUGH AND BETWEEN the other ships, change direction, and pull back to the B5 POV, all in one continuous take. It means preparing WELL in advance, but I suspect that the result is going to be worth it in spades. Which is, again, one of the benefits to working things out on a show or film far in advance, as with a novel. Instead of lurching from one script to another, never knowing what's coming next, we'll have a full time-line to work from...what approximate EFX will be required, what sort of sets we will need down the road, that sort of thing, which means we can make things look better overall. I just wish we were PAST the movie already, and moving on. But one crisis at a time.... jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 220 Fri Jan 31, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 14:01 EST Regarding jump-points and how they're used...I'm going to hold back on that for now. In talking to our EFX people and the usual neepers, I've come up with a really cool technology and a visual to go with it, and given that there's another show, I shouldn't mention names, you should never speak ill of the...anyway, ANOTHER that will use a sort of transit point/wormhole effect, I'm sitting on that info for now. jms ------------ Category 18, Topic 22 Message 222 Fri Jan 31, 1992 STRACZYNSKI at 23:52 EST Also you're a day early. February has 31 days. jms ------------@