Sunday, January 31, 2021

SFL Archives 1992: Daniel Keys Moran 1992 status update to the world

Notable for the level of hype, broken promises and writing that never happened.


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


Date: 24 Aug 92 07:47:32 GMT

From: d_moran@pain.la.ca.us (Daniel Keys Moran)

Reply-to: sf-lovers-written@Rutgers.Edu

Subject: Continuing Time


     Daniel Keys Moran

       P.O. Box 667

    Van Nuys, CA 91408

    ***NEWS RELEASE***

      August 13, 1992

  

Okay, in response to the questions, for those of you who asked. (This is a

very lengthy document.)

  

1) There is a new Continuing Time novel. It's called "The Last Dancer," and

   it's set principally in 2076, though there is a lengthy section set

   50,000 years in the past. The book is principally about Denice

   Castanaveras, during a TriCentennial Rebellion. Trent is in the book for

   about one hundred pages; as I said, it's mostly Denice's story.

  

   "The Last Dancer" expands the stage on which events are taking place;

   you'll finally learn something substantial about the Continuing Time at

   large, as opposed to learning only about post-Unification Earth.

  

   The book is more than twice as long as "The Long Run", which is part of

   why it took as long to write as it did. Also I got divorced midway

   through it; and then my editor had a baby, so she couldn't edit it for

   about five months; and then Bantam fired her, along with a whole bunch

   of other people . . .

  

   The upshot is that "The Last Dancer" is completed, Bantam has it and has

   paid for it; but the book may not see publication for nine months or a

   year, until Bantam has the first draft of the *next* Continuing Time

   novel in hand.

  

   You will *never* have to wait this long again for a new book from me. My

   promise to everyone who wrote... and wrote... and wrote...

  

2) The Continuing Time novel I'm currently at work on is "Lord November:

   The Man-Spacething War." It's set in approximately 2680, six hundred

   years after the Trent/Denice stories. It's another very big novel, and

   the first Continuing Time novel that's really *set* out in the

   Continuing Time. Its principal characters are Tyrel November, one of

   Denice Castanaveras' descendants, and Bodhisatva Sill, a Pinkerton Agent

   who also happens to be a Trentist, a member of the Exodus Church, aka

   "The Church of His Return."

  

   "Once there was a thief, and the thief was God..."

  

   I think you'll like it.

  

3) There are two more novels coming about the Trent you have come to know

   and argue over. Unlike "Last Dancer," Trent will have about as much time

   on stage as in "The Long Run." The two books are due soon after "Lord

   November" - and I do mean soon.  They'll be published pretty much back

   to back.

  

Coming in 1994:

   The discovery of star travel, the passing of an era, and the end of the

   story of Mohammed Vance, Denice Castanaveras, and Trent the Uncatchable

      PLAYERS:

         Book One: The AI War

         Book Two: Revolution

  

4) And to close, some news about "The Long Run," and "Emerald Eyes," the

   novels that got everyone's attention in the first place.

  

    A. There is a "Long Run" screenplay. It's being shopped around

       Hollywood as we speak. It covers events in both "Emerald Eyes" and

       "The Long Run."  Copies are available directly from yours truly at

       $80 a pop. $40 of this goes to either AIDS Project L.A., or RLA

       (Rebuild L.A.). The other $40 is approximately what it costs me

       (time and expense) to have a copy of the screenplay printed, bound,

       and mailed. (You get to decide which of those two worthy causes your

       extra $40 goes to.) Receipts will show contribution.

  

    B. Copies of EE and TLR. *Damn* good question. If anyone out there

       finds a place where they can buy copies, let me know. I'd be

       interested.

  

       On a (slightly) more optimistic note, my editor said that Bantam

       would be re-issuing EE and TLR when "The Last Dancer" comes out. Of

       course, this was right before they fired her...

  

       Several people have requested that I make EE and TLR available as

       data files - a sort of literary "shareware." I actually find this an

       attractive idea, and I'm thinking of releasing some short Continuing

       Time fiction this way - write if you're interested - but for EE and

       TLR, I can't.  Except for screenplay rights, Bantam essentially owns

       those novels - I was 24 and naive when I signed those contracts.

  

       Inevitably all fiction will be available digitally; I'm disinclined

       to fight the inevitable, even if I thought it a bad thing, which I

       don't.

  

    C. R. Talsorian Games is currently negotiating with Bantam for the

       rights to do a "Long Run" module for their "Cyberpunk" RPG. RTG

       seems serious, but I have no idea if anything will come of it; I'd

       like to see it happen, but Bantam controls the game rights to TLR,

       not me.

  

       This does not mean there will not be a "Continuing Time" based RPG,

       even one with Trent in it; however, it may be based on scenarios

       from "The Last Dancer" or "The AI War," stories to which I control

       the rights.

  

    D. Capstone Studios, a startup graphics company in L.A., run by John

       Dismukes and Geoff Miller, is by an odd coincidence also currently

       negotiating with Bantam for the rights to do a "Long Run" graphic

       novel. Once again, I have no idea if anything will come of this, and

       it's out of my hands. *However,* it looks very likely that "The AI

       War," the next Trent book, *will* be done as a graphic novel,

       possibly even before book publication, regardless of whether or not

       "The Long Run" ever sees such publication. I *do* control the rights

       to that.

  

I want to thank everyone out there who's kept the faith with me these last

three years. The stories are coming; I haven't abandoned Trent or Denice or

my readers, or myself. I've been working on the Continuing Time since I was

thirteen, and I'm not stopping now.

  

Titles in quote marks are individual novels; the rest are short stories.

       

These are the Tales of the Continuing Time:

                                                   DATE:

 VOLUME ONE: "IN THE BEGINNING..."


 Starcloud...................Previous Cycle of the Wheel

 Spacethings..............................7 Billion B.C.

 The Revolt of the Living...............4.5 Billion B.C.

 The Time Wars..........................3.5 Billion B.C.

 The Continuing Time.........................62,000 B.C.

 "The Last Dancer: The Dancer"...............48,000 B.C.

 The Painsharing of Ifahad....................5,800 B.C.

 The Lord in His Castle..................540 to 589 A.D.

 Remembrance........................................1963

 Driving in the Dark................................1982

 "Emerald Eyes: The Ancestors"......................2030

 The Shepherds......................................2049

 "Emerald Eyes".....................................2062

 Faster than the _Wind_.............................2063

 "The Long Run".............................2069 to 2070

   o  The Last Summer of His Youth

   o  The Long Run

   o  The Wall

 "The Last Dancer:  Spring 2072"....................2072

 "Bordered in Blue".................................2072

   o  Sea Songs

   o  Death Songs

 The Mechanism of Desire............................2074

 "The Last Dancer"..........................2075 to 2076

   o  Summer: 2075

   o  Spring: 2076

   o  Back to the Beginning: Dvan's Story

   o  The TriCentennial Summer

   o  The Last Dancer

  

 VOLUME TWO: ON THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION


 "Players, Book One: The AI War"............2078 to 2080

   o  Trent the Uncatchable and the Temple of 'toons

   o  The Big Boost

   o  A Good Hair Day (The Lay of the Rose)

   o  The AI War

   o  Trent's Return

 Moving.............................................2082

 "Walk Against the Wind"....................2087 to 2090

 "The Last Detective".......................2090 to 2091

   o  Master of the Fucking Obvious

   o  Deathjokes, Part One

   o  Catch Me If You Can

 "Players, Book Two: Revolution"............2090 to 2100

   o  The Telepath, the Politician, and the Thief

   o  Deathjokes, Part Two

   o  The Light From the Crystal

   o  The Voyage of the Dauntless

   o  A Revolt in 2100

  

 VOLUME THREE: THE WAR WITH THE SLEEM


 "A Song as Yet Unsung".....................2111 to 2119

 "A Tale as Yet Untold".....................2121 to 2139

 "Legend"...................................2145 to 2149


Post one of two.


d_moran@pain.la.ca.us


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


Date: 24 Aug 92 07:50:18 GMT

From: d_moran@pain.la.ca.us (Daniel Keys Moran)

Reply-to: sf-lovers-written@Rutgers.Edu

Subject: Continuing Time


 VOLUME FOUR: THE EXODUS FROM EARTH


 The Corridor of Dawn...............................2290

 "The House of November"....................2291 to 2294

   o  Ares

   o  Sondra

   o  Richard: the First Lord of November

   o  Lorn

 The Lords of Shadow................................2309

 The Left Handed Hunter.............................2341

 "Kinderjim on Earth"...............................2347

 "The Serendip, the Starclouds,

         and the Scout".....................2349 to 2361

   o  Discovery

   o  Looking for Home

 "Domain"...................................2382 to 2389

   o  Homecoming Day

   o  The Domain of Kinderjim

   o  Domain

 "The Always Rising of the Night"...........2468 to 2501

      (Being the  true  story  of  Our  Lady  of

      Nightways, Ola  Blue, who  was Lady  Blue,

      who was Leiacan of Eastersea.)

 Honorable Enemies..................................2614

 "Lord November:

         The Man-Spacething War"............2676 to 2682

 The Face of Night..................................2696

  

 VOLUME FIVE:  CAMBER'S WAY


 "Young Camber".............................3000 to 3018

   o  Young Camber

   o  The Darkness Has a Name

   o  The Hunted Man

 "The Winding Way Home".....................3022 to 3030

   o  The Song of Camber and S'Reeth

   o  The Song of S'Reeth and the Freebooters

   o  The Old Humans

   o  Mithian the Mercenary

   o  Homecoming Day 3030

 "Lord Camber"..............................3036 to 3038

   o  The Traveler

   o  Cities in the Darkness

   o  The Borderland of Night

 "Camber's Way".....................................3040

  

 VOLUME SIX:  THE TIME WARS


 "Comes A Man"..............................3106 to 3107

 "In Time of Legend"..........................Irrelevant

 "All of the Things That You Are".............Irrelevant

 "In All of Your Brilliance:

         The Writings of Camber"........3397; Irrelevant

  

 VOLUME SEVEN:  THE FAILURE OF THE MAP


 "Platformer"...............................2964 to 3031

 Shiva..............................................3042

 Chauki November....................................3392

 The Return of the Ultimate Webdancer...............4600

 The High Servant...................................7822

 "Anarchist"................................8864 to 8976

   o  The Last Lord of November

   o  The Way the World Ends

   o  Anarchist

 "End of Empire"....................................9082

 "Monument: The Day of Its Release"...............10,400

      (In which the Chained One, Creator of the

      Great Wheel of Existence, is released; the

      Starclouds and the Zaradin return; heroes

      who died before die again; and the

      Continuing Time draws to an end.)

 The Cold Time..............................circa 12,000

  

 Related Works (fictional and otherwise):


 "The Encyclopedia of the Continuing Time" (Non-Fiction)

 "Tales of Old and New Earth"

   o  Other Times and Other Places

   o  Tales of Old and New Earth

 "The Way off the Wheel"

      (In the universal heat death, as the Great

      Wheel of  Existence collapses around them,

      a group of heroes searches for the Way off

      the Wheel.)

 "The Collapse of the Levels"

      (A fantasy trilogy unlike _anything_ you

      have ever seen before, deeper and more

      detailed than "The Lord of The Rings." Of

      course you won't _get_ to see it for about

      twenty years; a trivial enough wait for a

      classic of this magnitude.)

 And, last but _certainly_ not least:

 

    TRINITY

       Earth Angel

       Sun Magic

       The Poet of the Apocalypse

  

d_moran@pain.la.ca.us


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


Thursday, January 28, 2021

SFL Archives 1993: SF&F newsletter Ansible 72

 Charles Stross shares issue 72 of the UK based SF&F newsletter Ansible to the SF-LOVERS mailing list. Can be found in SFL Archives Vol 18b.

For comparisons sake, here is issue 72 in html format at the Ansible website https://news.ansible.uk/a72.html

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


Date: 3 Jul 93 07:06:27 GMT

From: charlie@antipope.demon.co.uk (Charlie Stross)

Reply-to: sf-lovers-misc@Rutgers.Edu

Subject: Ansible 72 (July 1993)


Ansible 72

July 1993

From _Dave Langford_, 94 London Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AU. Fax

_0734 669914_. ISSN 0265-9816. _Ansible_ is available for SAEs, whim,

#12/year, etc.


[Disclaimer: Each issue of _Ansible_ is designed for exquisite DTP in

multiple fonts. This text dump looks awful. So it goes. All thanks to

_Charles Stross_ for net access! DRL]


_WATCH THIS SPACE:_ as we go to press the death struggle between Little,

Brown and Millennium to commission the _Fantasy Encyclopaedia_ (companion

volume to ...) is in its final phase.


+++ The March of Mind

_Piers Anthony_'s personal statements are always intellectual treats. In

the _British Fantasy Society Newsletter_'s `Desert Island Books' spot he

chooses, for his `single item of no practical use whatsoever', a critic.

Also he would take _Finnegans Wake_ plus a guide to understanding it

(written presumably by a cr*t*c), and the complete works of George Bernard

Shaw (that fine dramatic and musical cr*t*c). Why Shaw? `As an outspoken

vegetarian writer of greater competence than the critics claim, I relate

well to him....' I love it, I love it. [_BFSN_]

  _David Clark_, ConFrancisco chair, warns of new convention peril: Vampire

Cats in Arizona! `At Westercon, there was a woman going around with a black

cat. The cat wore a black cape with a red lining. This was Vladimir, a

"vampire". His fangs were rather long, though I'm told this isn't uncommon

in cats. He was being wheeled around in a little coffin, being made

available for photographs. His mistress -- his "human slave", as she puts

it -- is working to build Vladimir a career as a photogenic cat for

commercials, TV and such. (He was so relaxed about dealing with people that

we were debating which tranquillizer had been used.) At the Vladimir Party

it was revealed unto us that we could purchase Vladimir mounted

photographs, and Vladimir key-chains, and Vladimir photo buttons.  _And_

the Vladimir fanzine. We were able to tear ourselves away from this

bounty....'

  _Les Dawson_, who died in June, will be remembered as a very funny

comedian and not -- we hope -- for his staggeringly awful horror-fantasy _A

Time Before Genesis_ (1988). See `How _Not_ To Write A Novel' by David

Garnett in _Vector_ 144.

  _Lilian Edwards_ knows how to acquire _Ansible_s: `Stamped addressed

envelopes? I'll get my secretary to send you some.'

  _William Golding_ of _Lord of the Flies_ fame died on 19 June aged 81.

Anthony Burgess's obituary complained that WG didn't write enough; a great

scratching of pens was heard as the obvious rejoinder was added to many

draft Burgess obits....

  _John Grant_ exults: `Red Fox have seen sense and decided that 12 _Lone

Wolf_ novels is probably enough. The temptation is considerable to make #12

end with the most stupendous cliffhanger -- as Our Hero dangles by a single

blade of grass over the cauldron of bubbling lava, a crossbow- bolt is

already hissing towards his groin, but if the caterpillar chews through the

grass in time he'll drop just far enough that the bolt merely parts his

hair rather than getting him in the chest, so that as he falls he can

unsheathe the Sommerswerd, strap it across his shoulders and thereby gain

just enough airlift that he can glide past the rim of the cauldron and into

the relative safety of a pitched battle between mutant necromancers and

giant carnivorous slugs left over from millennia ago when the legions of

Agarash the Damned stalked the world; on the other hand, if the caterpillar

chews just a mite too slowly ... _could this be The End?_ It's going to be

hard for me to get out of the habit, you know.'

  _David A.Hardy_ announces the 20th birthday of his green plasticene alien

`Bhen' (created 1973; seen on various _F&SF_ covers since Nov 75; endemic

in Birmingham). Dave protests that Bhen is not a `little green man' but, as

evident from the scale of accompanying NASA hardware in the paintings, over

2 metres tall. _How did a mere artist afford all that plasticene?_

  _Dave Langford_ whinges that _PCW Plus_ magazine is axing his legendary

column (along with other outside contributions) as part of a cost-cutting

exercise. He confidently expects his millions of fans not to write in and

complain.

  _Chris Priest_ visited the doctor to have a horrid mole removed and

became a guinea pig: `While I was in the waiting room, a man was sitting

there with a big case and a large bottle of liquid nitrogen. Ha ha, thought

I, smart-aleck as ever, bet he's in for a kidney transplant.  Turns out

he's a rep from a medical supplies company, here to demonstrate a nifty new

liquid-nitrogen scalpel on, well, er, me. I now have a black crater where

my chest was, slowly warming up....' Besides the ignominy of being operated

on by a _salesman_, Chris had to go back a week later for a real doctor to

finish the (botched) job. After which he was `stitched together by the head

of the Dartmoor Mailbag Division'....

  _David Pringle_ has `combined' his ailing _Million: the Magazine About

Popular Fiction_ (now, alas, down to 500-odd subscribers) with _Interzone_.

Anyone remember the _Million/IZ_ crossover issue furore? No, actually the

merger announcement scheduled for _IZ74_ radiates soothing signals in all

directions: erstwhile _Million_ subscribers will get _IZ_ and are assured

that several _Million_ features like Brian Stableford's `Yesterday's

Bestsellers' series will continue to appear there, while for _IZ_ readers

the message is that _Interzone_ `will not change its nature'. [DP]

  _Carl Sagan_ habitually asks UFO nuts who claim contact with alien

intelligence to prove it by passing on the superior ETs' proof of Fermat's

Last Theorem. Following Prof.A.Wiles's mindboggling announcement of a proof

at a Cambridge lecture on 23 June, Sagan could soon be getting a lot of

mail.... Since the hard bit reputedly runs to 200 pages, Fermat was right:

a bloody enormous margin will be needed to contain it.


+++ Condylopods

2 Jul // _Weerde 2_ anthology signing, 5:30, Dillon's, Oxford.

  3 Jul // _Armageddon Fireworks_, Whitchurch, Reading -- contact Martin

Hoare or Hugh Mascetti. #4 at the gate.

  14 Jul // _BSFA_, The Conservatory/Munchen upstairs bar. Chris Evans

and Garry Kilworth hold forth. 7:30ish.

  17-19 Jul // _Contagion_ (Trek), Hospitality Inn, Glasgow. #35 reg.

Contact PO Box 867, Rutherglen, G73 4HR.

  24 Jul // _Dangercon V_ (humorous sf/kids' TV), Croydon. #3 reg. 11am-

11pm. Contact 37 Keens Rd, Croydon, CR0 1AH.

  30 Jul-1 Aug // _Lunicon_ (Unicon 14), Leeds. GoH Roger Zelazny. #12

reg, #6 for students. Contact LUU, PO Box 157, Leeds, LS1 1UH.

  1 Aug // _Wottacon_ (_Dr Who_), Imperial Hotel, Exeter. #12.50 reg.

Contact 3 Victoria Clo, Kenton, Exeter, EX6 8JX.

  2-6 Sep // _ConFrancisco_ (51st Worldcon), San Francisco. Reg $125 to

16 Jul, then $145 at the door. Contact (UK) 12 Stannard Rd, London, E8

1DB.

  12-19 Sep // _Milford (UK) SF Writers' Conference_ cancelled. Too many

people going to ConFrancisco instead, they say. [CS]

  1-3 Oct // _Fantasycon XVIII_, Nameless (in the flyer, anyway) Hotel,

Birmingham.  #30 reg; BFS members #20. Contact 137 Priory Rd, Hall Green,

Birmingham, B28 0TG.

  12-14 Nov // _Armadacon V_, Astor Hotel, The Hoe, Plymouth. #20 reg.

Various guests, all `subject to work commitments'. Contact 4 Gleneagle

Ave, Mannamead, Plymouth, PL3 5HL.

  4-6 Mar 94 // _Masque III_ (costume con), Stakis Victoria Hotel,

Nottingham. #20 reg to 30 Dec 93. Contact 4 Ednaston Ct, Ashbourne,

Derbyshire, DE6 3BA.

  20-22 May 94 // _Corflu Nova_ (fanzine con), Arlington, VA, USA. $37

reg. Contact PO Box 1350, Germantown, MD 20875. Corflu plans to exhume

a long-dead horror: the partly rugose and partly squamous Fanzine

Activity Achievement Awards.

  _Rumblings_ // The Scottish Convention's first progress report was

sighted at a fan gathering on 27 June. Many swooned or spoke in tongues.

Miraculous cures were rumoured. Pigs flew. // That _Speller/Kincaid

Wedding_ (26 June) was a riot of something or other, with standing room

only in Folkestone's tiny registry office. Our fashion reporter forgets

everything but Paul's puce paisley waistcoat and the bell-bedizened anklets

that best woman Moira Shearman was persuaded to remove for the actual

ceremony. The bride wore something purple with glittery bits.  Others wore

clothes. Best man Chris Priest almost made a speech but thought better of

it, thus wasting the nanoseconds of research which had supplied him with

the Doc Smith marriage line traditionally quoted at all Martin Hoare's

weddings: _`Then, as Kinnison kissed his wife, half a million Lensed

members were thrust upward in silent salute.'_ The rest is drunken silence.


+++ Infinitely Improbable

  _A71_ Corrections. It was BSFA _Matrix_ 104, not infallible _Critical

Wave_, which rumoured that the Gollancz graphic-novels line might be

folding and led to hapless Dave `Well, I Just Mentioned There _Was_ A

Rumour' Langford being severely chastised by Gollancz's Faith `Strict

Disciplinarian' Brooker. // Also _Paul Barnett_'s lawyers demand the

insertion of the statement (re Mexicon), `It was _Stross_'s shorts that

were unspeakable.'

  _Hodline or Header?_ Hodder & Stoughton sent circulars to their authors

on 3 June, insisting that the coming merger with Headline as Hodder

Headline PLC was a Jolly Good Thing. What luck -- one fewer sf list to

worry about selling to!

  _Exotic Imagery._ Reported in a forthcoming Robert Jordan epic: `The

words left Elaida's mouth like a whip.' `Now Danelle's big blue eyes looked

thoughtfully inward.' [Anon] // Aussie radio, of a corpse: `In an advanced

state of decomposition, she was said to be an affectionate mother.'

[_SoEN_]

  _Stamp Out Moriarty!_ UK stamps depicting scenes and people from Sherlock

Holmes stories are to appear on 12 Oct, marking the centenary of Holmes's

`death' at the Reichenbach Falls (er, but ...). David Pringle suggests `a

write-in campaign on behalf of Wells's Martians', but that centenary isn't

until 1998: how about Eloi and Morlock stamps for _The Time Machine_ in

'95?

  _Meng & Ecker 6_, latest issue of the first comic to be banned in the UK,

turned up from Savoy Books. The highlight is a 7-page official transcript

of the Greater Manchester Police interviewing scriptwriter David Britton

about seized comics last year: it's non-communication to the point of

surrealism. I wasn't that wild about the comic itself, which offers a

scattering of OK jokes amid much murky artwork and determined Greater

Manchester Police-baiting (good heavens, such _bravery_, here is someone

_screwing a pig_, the frontiers of art are _hurled back_). But I would

defend to the point of extremely minor inconvenience Savoy's right to

publish it. The price is #1.75.

  _C.O.A. Etc._ _Dick & Leah Smith_, 410 W.Willow Rd, Prospect Hts, IL

60070-1250, USA (a road is being built through their old place!). _Hazel

Marchington & Robert Newman_ will be married on 2 July. [MP]

  _SF Encyclopaedia_ Updates. The most mysterious item in the _SFE_ update

sheet (see _A71_) came from Harlan ELLISON: `_The Book of Ellison_ (1978)

is unauthorized.' Since most of its text is by HE himself, this implies

wicked literary piracy on the part of publisher Algol Press -- that is,

Andrew Porter of _SF Chronicle_ infamy, who remarks somewhat bitterly that

HE never objected when receiving royalties: `If the book was unauthorized,

then Ellison's left hand didn't know what his right hand was agreeing to.'

// Spies report that the most vituperative comments came from Piers

Anthony, that one of the US computer nets rang with cries of rage at the

`omission' of Vonda McIntyre (someone misunderstood the alphabetization

convention), and that Larry Niven responded to _SFE_ hints about loss of

`joy' in his later work by sadly agreeing it was so. // An even newer

update sheet is expected soon, as addenda pour in. // The _Nimbus_ CD-ROM

edition planned for `late June' seems to have been delayed, but they've

sent another jolly sample CD of their wares, 128Mb including all of

_Frankenstein_ and _Dracula...._

  _Raiders of the Lost Duck._ Anecdote from `Lucasfilm Archives, a state-

of-the-art 28,000 sq ft barn': archivist Don Bies grows weary of visitors

asking if they can open the Ark of the Covenant from _Raiders_, and of

telling them their very souls might be endangered. So inside the thing he

places two objects, and waits. In due course a brave fool lifts the lid and

reels back at ultimate horror: a Howard the Duck mask and a sign reading I

TOLD YOU YOU'D REGRET OPENING IT. [DLR] Gosh, how droll.

  _Ten Years Ago._ The _TLS_ discussed Japanese comics' conventional sounds

for activities like slurping noodles (_suru-suru_), reddening with

embarrassment (_po_), adding cold cream to hot coffee (_suron_) and

vanishing into thin air (_fu_). The news that `When a penis suddenly stands

erect the accepted sound is _biin_' led to wild surmise about a Japanese

origin for the famous sound of Heinlein's nipples, _spung_....  (_Ansible

34_, Jul 83)


+++ Proofs of Holy Writ

[Fascinating documents float around the world of publishing. Paul Barnett

worked on the proofs of the coming _Before the Sun Falls_ by William James,

and felt it was so awfully written that it would damage Orbit's reputation

if not heavily edited. Orbit decided not to bother: the author is said to

be `touchy' about his immortal prose. Here's an excerpt from a very long

Barnett letter to the Orbit editor....]

  For example, we have what I've come to call cliche-rivers. The author

doesn't quite know what to do with his characters when they're mouthing

dialogue, and has a limited gamut of incidental actions for them to

perform. In any twenty-page stretch of the text you're almost certain to

encounter not just a few but _all_ of the following at least once, some of

them (as asterisked) several times over:

  *he showed his teeth // *he gave him a hard, flat, cold, level or

expressionless stare (about every two pages someone gives someone else a

stare of some kind -- I particularly liked the single despairing instance

of giving `an oblique stare') // he produced a _[pick from the limited

variety above]_ stare // *he looked down his nose // *he wrinkled his nose

// *he smiled grimly // he smiled sourly // *he grinned // the corners of

his mouth twitched // *he pursed his lips (this one is so frequent it was

driving me nuts) // *the head came round // *his head went back // his head

came up // his st'lyan screamed // his st'lyan danced (first third of book

only) // he sidestepped his st'lyan (latter two-thirds of book only) // he

opened his mouth, then closed it again // he clenched his teeth // he

seemed/appeared to do something (while in fact doing it -- as in `he

appeared to hesitate') // *he made a face // something flashed in his eyes

but then was gone // he reined around // his eyes went wide // he nodded

(after having spoken an assent) // he shook his head (after having spoken a

dissent or negation) // he rolled the cup between the palms of his hands //

it was as if a message of some kind passed between them // he stirred the

grass with his toe

  Others are more localized. For example, early on a shipboard Kubulai

spits expressively over the side; just a few pages later someone else comes

up and, presumably inspired by his lord's example, _also_ spits

expressively over the side. This is in the midst of all the other,

expressionless spits over the side that are going on, you understand....

  _[There is much more. A st'lyan, I gather, is a bit like a h'rse.]_


Ansible 72 (c) Dave Langford, 1993. Thanks to John Bangsund's Society of

Editors Newsletter, Paul Barnett, John Clute, Mark Plummer, Andy Porter,

David Pringle, David L.Russell and Our Distributors: Vikki Lee France,

Steve Jeffrey, Janice Murray, Charlie `I will make you famous on the Net'

Stross, Alan Stewart, Martin Tudor and Bridget Wilkinson.  1/7/93


[Additional note from Charlie Stross: there is now a listserv address for

Ansible. To subscribe to Ansible by email if you don't get netnews, send

mail to ansible-request@dcs.gla.ac.uk.]


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

Saturday, January 23, 2021

SFL Archives 1981: The Unicorn-Goat meltdown

 tldr: Back in 1981, one SFLer desperately wanted a unicorn-goat hybrid to be real.


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

Date: 6 Apr 1981 09:28 PST

From: Chapman.ES at PARC-MAXC

Subject: The Evolution of Unicorns


With regard to doing research about Unicorns. . .a couple of

acquaintances of mine in the Berkeley area have done extensive

research on this subject. They came to realize that until the period

of the Renaissance, the Unicorn was pictured as a goat with one horn,

which only later turned into a horse with a horn. They reasoned that a

one-horned goat was much more likely to have been real, since goats do

have horns naturally. They then set out on a careful breeding plan,

and about two years ago, the first real, live unicorn was born on 

their ranch, and named Lancelot. Please do not take me for a kook. I

was very scepticle myself, but I saw and touched and played with

Lancelot at the Fantasy Worlds Convention held in Berkeley February of

this year. It seems that there may be something besides just genetics

involved, although that helps. When I asked Morning Glory, she said

something akin to Bonsai was also involved but would go no further

since their lawyer is trying to patent the process.


The point of this experiment which worked is that Unicorns, although

now considered mythical, really existed. They were, perhaps, sports,

probably rare.  But they have a reputation for being smarter than

others of their breed, and fiercer. Historically, mythically, they

were used as herd leaders, because they were better as defending the

group than their more normal counterparts. Several half-brothers and

half-sisters of Lancelot are expected to be born this spring, and the

people who are working with these unusual creatures will be starting

to show them around at some limited Science Fiction/Fantasy events. If

you are interested, I will try to dig up the address for writing for

more info. Please respond to me directly; if interest is high, I will

send the info to SF-LOVERS.


Cheryl

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

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

Date: 6 Apr 81 12:11:24-PDT

From: mclure at Sri-Unix

Subject: concerning 'unicorns'


I, too, have seen this thing... at a local SF convention, and on t.v.

in the Bay Area. However, it seems more like a simple case of a couple

of charlatans (one named Morninglory, no less) pulling the wool over

people's eyes. It is unfortunate that they can sell so many doo-dads

and knick-knacks to naive people.


[ Lancelot has been mentioned in the digest before in issue 66 of

  this volume, Friday, March 13.  It was in connection with the

  San Jose Convention that was held at that time.  -  Jim ]

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

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


Date: 7 Apr 1981 08:09 PST

From: Chapman.ES at PARC-MAXC

Subject: Re: The Living Unicorn


I take exception to your slur upon Morning Glory and her husband, and

your suggestion that they are charlatans. These are sincere people,

who are into mysticism, it is true, but just because you don't agree

with their world view doesn't mean you have to insult them. The things

they sell help support their research and are at least partly driven

by the desire of other people to own mementos of this unusual

creature. (When Lancelot appeared at the Fantasy Worlds Festival,

Morning Glory had to apologize for his appearance. Someone has snuck

into his pen and cut off huge hunks of his coat, apparently hoping to 

capitalize on the souvenir value this has attained. Morning Glory and

her husband were appalled. It had never occurred to them that they

were going to have to protect Lancelot from this sort of thing,

because they are hardly aware that such people exist. Yes, they

themselves are somewhat naive.) They are not charlatans ("one who

claims to possess knowledge or skill that he does not have," American

Heritage Dictionary). They do know how to create Unicorns, and are the

only people in thousands of years who have bothered to figure out how

to do this.


As I said before, I have played with Lancelot, touched him, examined

his horn.  It is a real, single horn, emanating from the center of his

head. It does have a slight depression in the vertical direction,

approximately where you would imagine two horns that had been bound

together would meet (remember that Morning Glory said something akin

to Bonsai was also involved), but the horn is a single, integral unit,

not two separate horns growing very close together. The animal is

real, and similar animals probably were real thousands of years ago.  

Whether they had any of the mystical powers attributed to them is

mote.  Unicorns are not myths.


Cheryl

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

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

Date:  8 APR 1981 0832-EST

From: Marty c/o procep at MIT-AI

Subject: Unicorns and evolution


The unicorn obviously died out due to the attraction the males of the

species had for human females, which led them to neglect their female

counterparts of the unicorn species.  Not to mention that impregnating

with a horn is often fatal, and therefore not a survival trait.


Marty


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

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


Date:  9 APR 1981 1039-PST

From: RODOF at USC-ECL

Subject: Unicorn making


     I'm not sure this is how they did it, but I'd like to contribute 

this little personal experience.

     When I was somewhat younger, it was finally decided that I should

have braces.  Since I wanted the things off before I went to college,

the orthodontist agreed to do a somewhat accelerated job, and finish

the job in a year, although I was warned that it would hurt more.  It

did.  My teeth were moved by the simple process of pulling or pushing

on them until they were in the right place.  The orthodontist

explained that by exerting a steady force on the tooth in one

direction, the jawbone on the leading side dissolved, and bone

reformed on the trailing side.  Apparently a very natural biological

process.

     I'm not saying that a goat's horn is a tooth, but there's a good 

chance that the structures are similar enough to work.  One horn was

probably removed (a common procedure on farms) and the other horn

slowly dragged over by some sort of harness.  I'd doubt very much that

it is two horns grown together, as I believe only the root and a small

central core of the horn is alive, and it would be difficult to make

them meld.  (any of your teeth joined together?)  Goat horns do have

natural ridges (always reminded me of the blood runnels in a sword)

and, from what I've seen of the critter on TV, it was probably filed a

bit to shape.

     Lancelot is awfully cute, but since MY personal image of the

Unicorn was always something grand, majestic, and powerfully

uncontained, I'll put off my souvenir purchase till the horse version

comes along.

                Rodof 

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

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


Date: 10 Apr 1981 1539-PST

From: OR.TOVEY at SU-SCORE

Subject: making unicorns


        You \can/ make a unicorn by removing one horn and

transplanting the other to the center of the forehead; this has been

done before.  I don't know whether this is how Lancelot got to be a

unicorn or not.  His owners now claim otherwise (I may have been wrong

in saying that they didn't before); they say that he is a true

mutation and will breed true.  --cat 

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

Date: 10 April 1981 04:31-EST

From: Neal Feinberg <NEAL at MIT-MC>

Subject:  The Evolution of Unicorns


Howdy!

        I would be very interested in the address of these people.


                                                --Chiron

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

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


Date:  5 May 1981 14:58 edt From:  JRDavis.LOGO at MIT-Multics Subject:

Lancelot the Uni-Goat


From the Boston Globe, Tuesday May 5 1981 page 5


FACT, A FREAK, OR FAKE, HE'S PULLING A CROWD


Associated Press


Redwood City, CA - Though at least one professor doesn't believe it, two

Californians say the one-horned, cracker-eating goat they've bred

according to an "ancient secret" is a real, live unicorn.


Lancelot, a shaggy 1-year-old Angora goat, has one 10-inch horn growing

from the middle of his forehead, just like the creature of mythology.


"A 4000 -year-old legend," says one of the breeders, who calls herself

Morning Glory.  She and her husband, called Otter G'Zelle, claim to have

carefully bred the creature on their remote Mendocino County spread

after discovering a secret formula.


But Dr. Perry Cupps, a University of California animal science

professor, believes Lancelot is just a freak of nature, not a unicorn.


Cupps, who said that such abnormalities happened rarely, laughed at the

notion that breeders could make the central horn appear consistently.

"Remember that famous ... fellow who said a sucker is born every

minute?" he asked.


Freak, fake or fact, Lancelot is drawing admiring crowds of paying

curiosity seekers at Marine World, a combination zoo, aquarium, and

amusement park about 20 miles south of San Francisco.


The unicorn of ancient legend was generally part horse, part stag, and

part lion, with its horn considered to have magical powers as an

antidote to poison.  The creature is found woven into tapestry and

painted on shields.


Lancelot, for his part, is fond of oyster crackers and has been trainded

to heel, walk on a leash, jump through a hoop, bow, and lie

down on command.


Lancelot is produced from Angoran goat stock, but that's as far as the

naturalists will go in describing the process that created him.


"We quite literally stumbled across an ancient secret," Glory said,

adding that when the process has been patented, they will release it to

a scientific journal.


But Cupps says that the single horn in the middle of Lancelot's

forehead, which could grow to 2 1/2 feet, is a freak occurrence similar

to the development of a cyclops - a one-eyed being.


"The tissue that forms the eye starts to form in the center, then

migrates away from the center.  The horn does the same thing," he said.

"If something happens so the animal doesn't develop normally, then you'd

get a central one."


But Glory says, " We have a responsibility as scientists, romanticists,

and idealists to (protect) a 4000-year-old legend."


"Lancelot is quite a remarkable animal.  If he were human, you might say

he was a superman," she says.


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


Date: 04 May 1981 1740-PDT From: Jim McGrath <JPM at SU-AI> Subject:

Naturalists Turn Fantasy Into Reality


    REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) - Lancelot, a year-old Angora goat, sports

a solitary 10-inch horn in the middle of his forehead. His owners claim

they bred him using an ancient secret for unicorns, but an animal

science professor says the horn is just a rare abnormality.

    However Lancelot came by his horn, he is proving a popular

attraction at Marine World, a combination aquatic park, zoo and

amusement park about 20 miles south of San Francisco. Sightseers crowd

around his pen to gawk, snap pictures, and touch the fearsome horn that

may grow to 2 1/2 feet.

    ''There's a lot of people who say it's a hoax, that he's just a

one-horned goat, a freak, a fluke of nature,'' said Morning Glory, a

naturalist who claims to have bred Lancelot with her husband, Otter

G'zelle on their home in rural Mendocino County.

    ''To that we say, meet Lancelot and decide for yourselves,'' she

added. ''Lance is the message that wonder and beauty and hope are

available, and if you work hard enough, you can have them.''

    Lancelot, who has a shaggy white mane and cloven hooves, was

produced from Angora goats, which normally have two horns, but that's as

far as the naturalists will go in describing the process that spawned

him. The unicorn of ancient legend - as depicted in stories and on

tapestries - was generally part-horse, part-stag and part-lion, and its

horn was considered to have magical powers as an antidote to poison.

    ''We quite literally stumbled across an ancient secret,'' Morning

Glory said, adding that when the process has been patented, they will

release it to a scientific journal.

    ''We have a responsibility as scientists, romanticists and

    But Dr. Perry Cupps, an animal science professor at the University

of California at Davis, who saw Lancelot on television, considers him a

''congenital anomaly'' similar to the legendary one-eyedcyclops.

    ''The tissue that forms the eye starts to form in the center, then

migrates away from the center. The horn does the same thing,'' he said.

''If something happens so the animal doesn't develop normally, then

you'd get a central one.''

    Cupps said such an abnormality was rare and laughed at the notion

that breeders could make it appear consistently. ''Remember that famous

fellow who said a sucker is born every minute?'' he added.

    Sue Watkins, the 21-year-old Marine World animal handler who trained

Lancelot, said he is a frisky, intelligent beast who likes to sit on the

couch and munch oyster crackers.

    ''He loves to be in the crowd. Whenever there are lots of people

around, and something's happening, he wants to be there,'' said Ms.

Watkins, who taught Lance everything he knows.

    ''He's leash-trained, he can heel, lie down when you tell him to,

come to you when you want him to, jump through a hoop, take a bow, rise

up on his hind legs,'' she said.

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


Fun factoids: 

The Morning Glory and her husband mentioned in the above posts are Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart & Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. Besides patenting a goat-horn surgery process, https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US4429685.pdf , Morning Glory & her husband created a church of Neo-Paganism, and established an actual school of Wizardry, which can be found at  https://www.greyschool.net/

Thursday, January 21, 2021

SFL Archives Volume 18a readthrough update 01

SFL Vol 18a 6.5mb raw text file 

100% completion, 173 bookmarks

-Movie & tv-series mentioned: STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, SPACE RANGERS, SPACE COPS, TIME TRAXX, FOREVER KNIGHT, QUANTUM LEAP, GOLDEN YEARS, SEAQUEST DSV, ZARDOZ, JOHNNY QUEST (1990s cartoon), TEK WAR, TOMORROW PEOPLE (1990s reboot tv series), LOIS & CLARK, GET A LIFE, MATINEE. MOON 44, THE SURVIVORS, GROUNDHOG DAY, TREMORS, TREMORS 2, PIRANHA 2, CAPTAIN AMERICA 1990, ROCKY JONES, PRINCE OF DARKNESS, THE ABYSS SPECIAL EDITION, THE PUNISHER 1989, SUPER MARIO BROS 1993, JURASSIC PARK,

-Books & stories mentioned: THE GRIPPING HAND, SUNGLASSES AFTER DARK, INTERTEXT (newsletter), ISLANDS IN THE NET, DESTROYER novellas, TEK WAR, GLASS HAMMER, IT CAME FROM SCHENECTADY, THE FOREVER KING, A FIRE UPON THE DEEP, PEACE WAR, ON BASILISK STATION, THE GENERAL: THE ANVIL, TEN YEARS TO DOOMSDAY, MILLION OPEN DOORS, GRUNTS!, CHILDREN OF MEN, MODERAN, GURPS UPLIFT, CHINA MOUNTAIN ZHANG, FIRST ON MARS, INNER ECLIPSE, HEAVEN CHRONICLES, AGAINST A DARK BACKGROUND, GUILTY PLEASURES, SARAH CANARY, RHAND: MORNINGSTAR (rpg).

-Pop culture references: Crazy Eddy NYC commercials, Serbian-Balkan War, David Hasselholf: German music superstar, Sime/Gen RPGs, Doogie Howser MD, the launch of WIRED! magazine, Ed Nilges(?) being a infamous usenet poster, nanotechnology,

-Death notices: Keith Laumer, Ishiro Honda, Brandon Lee, Avram Davidson, Lester Del Rey, and Richard Webb.

-Unusual SFL Archives requests:

>Fan Societies/groups

>Canadian slave magic

>Science catches SF

>hyper-intelligent space beings

>homosexuality in SF

>Connecticut Yankee Syndrome

>Best time travel

>Humor in SF

>access to ST: TOS & TNG, Robotech and other novels for blind people

>SF authors of the Catholic faith

>Librarian and Libraries in SF and fantasy

>Early Fantasy (1900-1950)?


-Del Rey & TOR Books editors start posting in the SFL Archives. The Del Rey editors effort-post about various decisions/things that happen behind-the-scenes at Del Rey...meanwhile the TOR Books senior editors opt for "yes/no this book is/is not published by TOR" responses.

(2021 note: The Del Rey newsletters are really worth checking out if you want behind-the-scenes info on how book cover art is chosen, why certain authors get published/republished, the mechanics behind doing print runs and interviews with different SF&F series authors.)

-Discussion of now long forgotten tv-series TIME TRAXX, SPACE RANGERS, GOLDEN YEARS, etc.

-Editors from TOR Books & Del Rey books start posting in the SFL Archives. The TOR Books editors opt for snide 2 paragraph posts while the Del Rey editors effort-post.

-The BABYLON 5 pilot episode The Gathering is produced and released to mostly favorable SFL Archives reaction. CGI effects look good/bad, characterization is rough, dialogue is worse, but the costuming is ace plus.

(2021 note: All JMS comments on BABYLON 5 have been put into a dedicated post here https://nothing2seeherepleasedisperse.blogspot.com/2021/01/sfl-archives-1993-compiled-posts-from-j.html )

-Let the record state that bhoughto@xxxx.xxxx.xxx really knows his pornography.

2021 note: bhoughto's post heavily reminded me of:

-Writing letters directly to heads of TV Networks about un-cancelling tv-series becomes a big thing. QUANTUM LEAP, SPACE RANGERS, HIGHLANDER, FOREVER KNIGHT, etc. 

-The TEKUMEL RPG standing out from other fantasy RPG settings because it's not so boringly medieval Europe, re-hashed with orcs.

-PLANET OF THE APES movie franchise & book timeline discussion. SFLer's see at least 2 timelines for the movies, with alternate dimensions.

-STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE premieres, and most SFLer's have negative reactions to everything & everyone in it.

(2021 note: This is a typical reaction whenever a new Star Trek series comes out. THE NEXT GENERATION had the same thing happen, VOYAGER same thing, ENTERPRISE same thing, DISCOVERY same thing, LOWER DECKS, same thing.)

-Damon Knight writes an open-letter to the internet complaining about a mean career overview Algis Budrys wrote about Damon Knight.

(2021 note: Damon Knight loved to abuse his power as editor-author, and had hyper-thin skin. AKA Damon Knight could dish out criticism 24/7/365 but could not handle any criticism of himself.)

-Interview with Godzilla movie series soundtrack composer Akira Ifukube.

-ClariNet's The Hugo and Nebula Anthology 1993 CDROM which contained ebook versions of all nominated Hugo & Nebula award stories.

-Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro react to unauthorized fan fiction set in their literary universes getting published in fanzines/GEnie/SF&F periodicals, destroying months of work when book publishers/magazines refuse to publish their versions of the same stories.

(2021 note: MZB's version of how things worked out is suspect as hell, even before the SFWA White Knight chimes in to give their own pro-MZB take on the matter.)

-Intense David Brin UPLIFT universe discussion ranging from uplift methods, debates about Herbie, inter-galactic Libraries, wolfling cultures, and why Earth managed to be wolflings in 7 galaxies full of Uplifted races Uplifting away.

-David Milner firmly establishes himself as the resident Godzilla movie franchise/Kaiju movie subject matter expert.

-P.J. Plauger being inescapable if you were both a Science-Fiction fan and a C programmer.

-QUANTUM LEAP airs the back-half of it's final season. Most people see a huge drop in show quality and self-contradiction of internal rules the show had previously set. Lots of debate as to whether NBC or Don B is to blame for the decline/switch in the show's focus for the final season.

-A Canadian SF&F convention called WOLFCON implodes in real time on the SFL Archives. Extremely angry management people ban each other plus another local convention (KingCon) completely, both sides air grievances, both sides backtrack with more grievances...and all of a sudden WOLFCON is on a 2yr hiatus (lawsuits pending on both sides?). 

-Someone starts posting biweekly lists of what movies are in pre-production/production from January 1993 to May 1993, then gives up. 

(2021 note: These lists are interesting/worth reading by a scifi film historian because so many movies that came out decades later are listed as being worked on/optioned.)

-Rabid Jerry Pournelle & Larry Niven defenders defend all things written by Pournelle & Niven, especially the dated racist/sexist/islamophobic/etc stuff.

-SFLer's begin to turn on Orson Scott Card, noting OSC's one note-storytelling method of "child main character gets tortured" and OSC's obsession with working Mormon lore into every new series/story.

-Extended Convention discussion on all fronts. How to manage art shows, staffing, weapons policies, hotel bids, the downsides of airing SF&F movies or tv-series, Secret masters of fandom, 

-6+ years later, the events of BOSKONE 24 & how the NEFSA handled BOSKONE 25 are still bringing up anger. Things are not helped by everyone involved in managing BOSKONE 25 tripling down on defensive posting.

(2021 note: I came into this readthrough attempt non-committal on SF&F conventions and how they were run. 22 SFL Archives Volumes later, I utterly loathe everyone associated with the 1980s-1990s version of NEFSA, the management committee behind BOSKONE conventions for being ultra-beyond terrible hyper-toxic.)

-During discussion of draconian security at certain conventions, one SFLer(Gharlan of Eddore) describes the modular cosplay Wizards Stave they like to bring to conventions

One of my favorite costume props is my "talking stave."  It's a carved, 

bejewelled, battery-powered six-foot wizard's staff with L.E.D.'s that 

flash in controlled patterns, several dedicated microprocessor chips,

a voice synthesizer, a couple of music synth chips, and two megs of RAM

that hold whatever music I've downloaded from the totable cpu I keep in

the hotel room.  (AND is 2.5" max diameter, thinner most places.)

Even though the tube is custom-machined aircraft aluminum (under all the 

anodization and wood-strip overlay) it weighs about twenty-thirty pounds.

(Depends on whether I have the Big Battery Pack or the Little Battery Pack

in it, and whether I have the tuned-port speaker modules mounted on the 

ends... it's a modularly configurable wizard's stave, you see.)

 And yet, the last time I tried to carry it through the halls at Boskone, I

got jumped by "security" because they were afraid I was going to "hit

someone" with a prop I'd been working on, off and on, for several years.

Riiiiiiiiight


-DOORWAYS, a tv-series pilot written by George RR Martin about a group of people dimension-travelling sounds like the inspiration behind a later scifi tv-series called SLIDERS

-The Exclusion Act at the first WorldCon in NYC (1939?) featuring Sam Moskowitz & Donald Wollheim. 

-Why in 1953, did Forry Ackerman, the first SciFi fan to receive a Hugo Award, immediately give his Hugo Award to Ken Slater?

(2021 note: Nobody answered this query. Mildly curious at the answer.)

-SFL April Fools 1993: A special SF-LOVERS Digest devoted to April Fools posts went out, the jokes were ok to eh.

-One SFLer waging a one-man war vs the CONFRANCISCO convention. Why did CONFRANCISCO 1993 break established Hugo Award nomination procedures about including the previous years WorldCon attendees in the nomination process? Why did CONFRANCISCO lie about hotel availability? Why is CONFRANCISCO full of SMOF's?

-John Brunner's work being banned from a un-named publisher/bookstore chain when they found out he was the same John Brunner that wrote a bunch of anti-nuclear war stuff.

-JURASSIC PARK 1993 comes out and the last 7 weeks of SFL Archives Vol 18a are almost exclusively dedicated to Jurassic Park movie/book discussion with side-conversations about Michael Crichton's research/anti-technology bias as a author. 

Monday, January 18, 2021

SFL Archives 1993: Compiled Posts from J. Michael Straczynski about BABYLON 5

From SFL Archives Volume 18a

 Will update this post as more BABYLON 5 content appears in Vol 18a.


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

Date: 1 Feb 93 06:11:16 GMT

From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com

Reply-to: sf-lovers-tv@Rutgers.Edu

Subject: BABYLON 5: Compiled Posts from J. Michael Straczynski (35K)


Following are selected posts by J. Michael Straczynski from GEnie from the

last month in the Babylon 5 Category.  These posts are copyright 1993 by J.

Michael Straczynski with compilation copyright by GEnie.


They deal with the final days of production and the buildup to the airing

of the pilot movie "The Gathering".  An updated B5 FAQL will be posted soon

to the net.  J. Michael Straczynski is the creator/writer/executive

producer of the Babylon 5 movie and proposed series.


WARNING: these posts may contain spoilers about the movie and future shows.


Category 18,  Topic 1

Message 180       Tue Jan 05, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 22:35 EST


   RE: cliffhangers...not between episodes, certainly.  Between seasons,

it's...hard to explain.  There are, or will be *changes* that happen from

one season to another (as planned), specific events that take place that

should bring one up short...but "cliffhanger" in the sense of leaving some

guy hanging from a string over a lake of fire...no, no plans for such at

this time.


     RE: kids...boy, that one sure hit a nerve on both sides, didn't it?

That's good.  An argument like this is what a show or story should do, get

people discussing the issues.


     Meanwhile, on other areas....


                             ****WOW****


   I was in the editing bay today during the pre-dub of B5 (which I'll

explain more , which btw has a nifty huge projection screen, twelve or

fifteen feet across, so I got to see some of the show as if at a

theater...plays pretty well.


   Anyway...what a pre-dub is, is this: those who saw the earlier version

of the pilot will remember, for instance, the scenes in the main corridor

of the station (well, one of them, anyway).  You have Sinclair and

Garibaldi talking.  It's an un-mixed scene...just as filmed, there are just

two guys talking.  All the rest of the set is silent.


   But now...NOW...you're in the editing bay, and now you add in the

background voices, human and alien...mechanical sounds nearby...an intercom

voice advertising station services...then layer in the music, and suddenly

it's a MOVIE!  Someone said that sound is half of a movie, and you forget

that until it hits you in the face.


   The pre-dub is where you layer in the voice tracks (original, from the

production; adr (automatic dialogue replacement) for lines that were not

sufficiently audible or need to be looped; incidental dialogue (computers,

background characters) and walla (general crowd sounds).  You decide how

much of any of these is too much, how much more you need, what the balance

is...if you need to use the surround capability to put this voice HERE or

THERE....


   Then we previewed some scenes with music, and did a little of the same

there (we'll do more during the final mix Thursday through Tuesday).  For

instance...most music cues are anywhere from a few seconds long to maybe a

minute or more.  Ours tend to be longish...the longest is a cue that lasts

7.5 minutes, and goes inside the station, outside the station, to different

*parts* of the station, and the music continues throughout.  We figured

that we needed to better differentiate the sound inside vs. outside the

station...so in the music cue, we drop the electric guitar out of the mix

for the inside scenes, and put it back in for the outside scenes, for

instance.


   The result, basically, being that it becomes a *M*O*V*I*E* for the first

time.  And boy, it cooks, lemme tell you.  There are moments of absolute

and inutterable self-doubt in a project like this, especially when paired

with the monumental press machine from elsewhere which is doing everything

possible to bury us in the interests of preserving an economic monopoly and

critics who figure we're a clone of another show.  But then you turn around

and see something like this, and you know it's going to work...and it

really helps.


jms


[Moderator's Note: Due to the length of this article, it has been split

into two parts.  The second part will appear in issue #115.]

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

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

Date: 1 Feb 93 06:11:16 GMT

From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com

Reply-to: sf-lovers-tv@Rutgers.Edu

Subject: BABYLON 5: Compiled Posts from J. Michael Straczynski (35K)


[Moderator's Note: This is the second part to the article that began in

issue #114.  Part three will appear in issue #116.]


[JMS was asked if David Gerrold was doing the novelization]


Category 18,  Topic 2

Message 547       Tue Jan 12, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:15 EST


   Yes, I've asked David (and he's agreed) to write the novelization, which

will probably commence within days of the series go being given.  And there

have been many screenplays published over the years, in script form/via

paperback or hardcover; I have a rather extensive collection of same

(including the aforementioned T2 book, which is extraordinarily good).  It

might be a good idea to do one for B5, with annotations, but not including

the "how to write for tv" material mainly because that's a) covered in my

writing book, which b) I intend one of these days to finish updating to

Writers Digest Books can stop yelling on me.


   Some random observations and thoughts which might be of interest...


   We've pretty much finished the final mix, as stated, which we'll review

tomorrow morning to be sure that it sounds okay on a small set.  But for

those of you out there with surround systems, and stations that will

broadcast in surround...me boyos, have YOU got a treat coming your way.  We

did a *lot* of work on this thing to emphasize the surround.  One act had

over 100 passes to make the sound as layered as possible (an average show

has maybe 30 per).  The movement is quite distinct and compelling.  The

sound EFX are also quite good...the sound made by the weapons is also quite

good.


   One thing we did with the weapons is to try, again, to be fairly

logical.  If it's a BIG weapon - rifle size or better - then you're going

to have a quicker recharge time (if any) between firings, though you may

have to change packs more often.  At one point, you'll see a smaller,

hand-sized gun being fired a few times.  And each time, you'll hear a power

whine as it builds up the required power to fire off another round.  A gun

that small simply wouldn't have the capability to fire off one after

another after another without some power buildup that might not be present

in a larger gun.  (Smaller guns are generally things you'd want to smuggle

on board, and might be as useful, in those ways, as a Derringer, which

could only fire one or two shots, as opposed to a machinegun or gattling

gun brought openly into battle, and which is intended to be used a lot.)


   Someone mentioned the positive aspects to building the maximum

population of a space station around available supplies and other very real

considerations.  We're trying, consistently, to ask "How would this work in

reality?  What are the SCIENCE considerations in doing SF?"  In general,

we've found that if you Ask The Next Question and try to be logical, you

get MORE options, and you get more INTERESTING options than if you just

throw all that to the winds.  (Often networks say, "Ah, screw the science

on it, you'll just limit yourself."  Not true.)


   During the final mix-down, a group of cub scouts came through the mixing

facility on a tour.  So we invited them in for the play-back on the

next-to- the-last act...this is the one where we kick over the table and

it's pretty much nonstop action.  Wanted to see the reaction of kids to the

show, because if there's a more relentlessly honest audience than kids that

age, I don't know what it is.  The fidget factor is enormous when they get

bored.


   They didn't BUDGE.  For some of the shots, they sat there, slack jawed,

at what they were seeing.  Which is also good to know, that the show can

appeal to kids as well as adults WITHOUT making any dumb compromises (i.e.,

writing down, sticking in kids) to that audience.  I heard them later

talking about it among themselves, and though one kid was a bit unnerved by

the whole thing, the rest just went on and on about

it..."awesome"..."cool"..."that was great."  So far, so good.


   Onward.


   In thinking a little about the discussion, and what role I've tried to

play (and if I've seemed a bit brief or short of late, my apologies; the

workload is immense just now), and I don't want anyone to think that I'm

playing coy or just teasing about the series when questions about same come

up, insofar as story possibilities or plot stuff is concerned.  Obviously,

I don't want to give out stuff that would constitute the Ultimate Spoiler.


   But there are generalities that I *can* talk about.  When this topic

first began, I was able to talk a little about what was hoped for in the

movie...to let people know what we were talking about, and what to expect

in exchange for the interest.  (I've always believed that you have to put

your money where your mouth is and earn loyalty by keeping promises and

being straightforward in what you do.)


   So what *can* be said about the series, what would you have to look

forward to?


   You will find out what happened to Sinclair, for starters, during the

Earth/Minbari war.  In that respect, the pilot movie is like the first

chapter of a novel.  For nearly 10 years, Sinclair has worked to convince

himself that nothing happened to him on the Line other than what seems to

be the case: that he blacked out for 24 hours.  He's just managed to

convince himself of this.  Now, suddenly, someone comes into his life and

with seven words - you'll know them when you hear them - completely

unravels the self-deception.  He knows then that something DID happen to

him, that someone DID mess with his mind...and he is going to find out who,

and why.


   This he will do.  And the ramifications of that discovery will have a

major influence on the series, on his relationships, and the future of not

only his character but many others.


   You will see what a Vorlon is...and what it represents.  And what it may

have to do with our own saga, and a hidden relationship to some of our

other characters (watch the reception scene carefully).  We'll discover

that there are MANY players in this game.


   One thing that separates this show from others is that on other shows,

very often you do things to them to make for interesting drama...you take

them prisoner, you make them kids, whatever...in this show, it's what's

INSIDE the characters that will pose the greatest problems...and the

greatest possibilities for drama.  Most every major character is either

running to, or away from something in their hearts, or their pasts, or

their careers.  Garibaldi's past will catch up with him in a very difficult

way that will affect his role and make him a very different character for

as much as a full season, and have lasting effects thereafter.  Lyta will

take part in a voyage of discovery that will very much change her

character.


   Some of the established empires will fall.  Some will rise.  Hopes and

fortunes will be alternately made or destroyed.  At least one major group

not yet known even to EXIST will make its presence known, but only

gradually.  Some characters will fall from grace.  Others will make

bargains whose full price they do not understand...but will eventually come

to realize, and regret.


   At the end of the first season, one character will undergo a major,

MAJOR change, which will start the show spinning on a very different axis.

The first season will have some fairly conventional stories, but others

will start the show gradually moving toward where I want it to go.  One has

to set these things up gradually.  Events in the story - which is very

much the story of Jeffrey Sinclair - will speed up in each subsequent

season.


   Someone he considers a friend will betray him.  Another will prove to be

the exact opposite of what Sinclair believes to be true.  Some will live.

Some will die.  He will be put through a crucible of terrible force, that

will change him, and alter his destiny, in a profound and terrible way...if

he goes one way, or the other, will determine not only his own fate, but

that of millions of others.  He will grow, and become stronger, better,

wiser...or be destroyed by what fate is bringing his way.  In sum, it is a

story of hope against terrible adversity and overwhelming odds.


   That, in broad brush strokes, is a *taste* of what I plan to do with the

series.  I note this here because when the pilot airs, I am going to ask

for your continued help in supporting the endeavor for the series, and it

occurs to me that you ought to have at least SOME idea of what you're

buying, and being asked to support.  One should never be asked to sign a

blank check on the bank of one's conscience.


   Reactions?


jms


Category 18,  Topic 2

Message 549       Tue Jan 12, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:42 EST


   What happens at the end of the five year arc?  The "Babylon 5" series

ends...if I have anything to say about it (and I do).  If something esle

follows, we'll see what that is, but it won't be the same series, or the

same title, or really the same characters.


   Barring that very distant possibility, at the end of the five year arc,

I take a very, very, VERY long nap....


jms


[The following is the opening narration from the movie.  The voice talking

is an older Londo Mollari ].


Category 18,  Topic 8

Message 137       Sat Jan 09, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:23 EST


   "I was there at the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind.  It began in the

Earth Year 2257.  Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations, located

deep in neutral space.  It was a port of call for refugees, businessmen,

smugglers, diplomats and travelers from a hundred worlds.  It could be a

dangerous place, but we accepted the risk because Babylon 5 was our last,

best hope for peace.  Under the leadership of its final commander, Babylon

5 was a dream, given form.  A dream of a galaxy without war, where species

from different worlds could exist, side by side, in mutual respect...a

dream that was endangered, as never before, by the arrival of one man on a

mission of destruction.


   "Babylon 5...was the last of the Babylon stations.  This...is its

story...."


jms


Category 18,  Topic 2

Message 250       Mon Jan 25, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:29 EST

 

   A video index...oh man...you're *deliberately* trying to make my

life a living hell, aren't you?  (More than it is already.)


   We'll see.  It's something I'll mention, and see how they react.


   Meanwhile, here's a little something I came across in my computer this

evening.  I had always sensed that the Londo introduction/narration at the

top of the pilot was the way to go.  But it never hurts to try other

avenues...you discover the darndest ideas that way.  Anyway, I came up with

an alternate introduction, just to see if it worked or not.  I rather liked

it...and still do, to some degree...but finally opted to go with the Londo

intro instead, which is what we'll stick with.


   But since it's not going to be used, I figured...why not let y'all take

a look at what would've been an alternate opening for the pilot?


                             BABYLON 5

                          Insert/Prologue


 FADE IN:


 ON STATIC.  Then: a BLACK SCREEN, OVER which we HEAR the FEMALE 

 voice of a news broadcast in progress:


                              FEMALE VOICE (vo)

                -- continue to bring you updates on 

                the Interplanetary News Network.


 And now, gradually, a PICTURE begins to emerge from the darkness 

 -- grainy, slightly washed out, a VIDEO IMAGE of Babylon 5.


                              FEMALE VOICE (vo)

                In other news, the Earth Alliance 

                space station Babylon 5 celebrates 

                its first year in operation with the 

                imminent arrival of an ambassador 

                from the Vorlon Empire.


 And now: a MONTAGE of shots from within B5, and some EFX shots 

 from outside...the casino, the customs area, the bazaar and other 

 areas.  During this, the IMAGE BEGINS TO SHRINK, to recede into 

 the distance, and gradually the stars begin to come out on all 

 sides of the picture, framing it.  This UNDER:


                              FEMALE VOICE (vo)

                Located in neutral territory, Babylon 

                5 has exceeded all expectations in 

                dealing with the many life forms that 

                pass through the five mile long 

                station.  As a result, Earth Central 

                has approved an appropriations bill 

                to keep the orbiting freeport open to 

                travelers, businessmen and diplomats 

                for another five years.


 And now the image shifts, and the picture continues to recede 

 into the distance, now only a few inches across...a grainy black 

 and white image:


                              FEMALE VOICE (vo)

                Meanwhile, a new binary star 

                discovered by Mars colony scientists 

                has been named Kennedy Proxima, after 

                20th century president John F. 

                Kennedy, born 340 years ago this 

                week.


 And now, in the small picture framed by stars, receding more 

 rapidly from view, we SEE footage of JFK speaking before the

 Democratic convention the eve of his presidential nomination:


                              KENNEDY

                I believe that the times require 

                imagination, and courage, and 

                perseverance.  I'm asking each one of 

                you to be pioneers toward that New 

                Frontier.  My call is to the young at 

                heart, regardless of age; to the 

                stout of spirit, regardless of party; 

                to all those who respond to the 

                scriptural call, "Be strong and of 

                good courage.  Be not afraid, neither 

                be dismayed."  For courage, not 

                complacency, is our need today.


 UNDER this, Kennedy's image recedes further into the distance, 

 growing smaller and smaller until he is now one of the many 

 surrounding stars splashed across the blackness of space.  A

 moment, and the MUSIC RISES, brave and martial, as we


 TILT and PAN ACROSS to reveal Babylon 5 itself, up close and

 personal in all its huge splendor.  PUSH IN on the station as

 a ship approaches, and we HEAR: 


                              LAUREL (vo)

                Confirmed, Delta Gammer Niner, you 

                are clear for docking.


jms


Category 18,  Topic 2

Message 251       Mon Jan 25, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 04:33 EST

 

   That should be Delta Gamma Niner, not Gammer Niner.  Typo.  Sorry.


jms

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

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

Date: 1 Feb 93 06:11:16 GMT

From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com

Reply-to: sf-lovers-tv@Rutgers.Edu

Subject: BABYLON 5: Compiled Posts from J. Michael Straczynski (35K)


[Moderator's Note:  This is the final part to the article that began in

issue #114.]


Category 18,  Topic 2

Message 265       Mon Jan 25, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:17 EST

 

   Generally speaking, I agree with the sentiments expressed, and what

you've picked up on are the reasons that I decided against using this

particular form, even though there are things I like about it.  What was,

for me, the #1 reason for not using it is that it's...for lack of a better

term, fairly prosaic.  A news cast as opposed to the voice of the story

teller, a sense of future-history you get through Londo's voice and the

identification of him as the storyteller.


   Although I agree about the Kennedy tie, and that it can be somewhat

problematic, what I like about it is that it fed into what I've been after

with this show from day one...to tie our past, our present and our future.

Done properly, it could've been fairly classy, I think.  And there's

Kennedy's voice - I have the tape of his speech - which rings powerful

and true in that speech.  It set a tone.  But as has been noted here

before, writing and acting and directing are fundamentally about making

choices...this move rather than that, this attitude over that attitude.

The Londo choice was the *better* of the two, even though there's much

about this version to commend it.


   (A quick aside re: the MURDER question...the episode you cite was one

done under my watch, but not the one I mentioned as the last I'd have

anything to do with for this season.  That one, which I wrote, aired about

two weeks ago.  The one you saw this weekend was from last season, as is

the one coming up this Sunday, an episode of mine called "The Committee," a

fairly gothic episode that actually came out quite well.  The mystery

element may or may not be that strong, but for me, MURDER was always a

character story first, onto which you graft a puzzle.)


   Well, review copies of the pilot are going out, and have gone out.  I

heard through back channels that a major reviewer for a major magazine saw

the pilot on Thursday last and his head exploded, thought it was terrific.

The one comment that I keep hearing back from people is that it redefines

SF on television.  Now, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best thing

since sliced bread, but in terms of character and SFX and the general, more

adult approach, it redefines what you can get away with.  Which is all to

the good.


   As for what I'm doing now...writing a script for a friend who's in a

bind, ratcheting up the PR on the show a little more, giving interviews and

suchlike, trying to get a leg up on my next novel so I'll be able to

continue with it once this thing gets going to series, and some other stuff

that, for the moment, is classified.


   It's now less than a month until this thing shows nationally.  And just

a tick over two weeks until those with satellite dishes pull the show out

of the general ether.  By February 22nd, I fully anticipate being a

complete and total basket case.


   Fortunately, it's unlikely anyone will notice....


jms


Category 18,  Topic 2

Message 318       Thu Jan 28, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 06:54 EST

 

   Well, it's almost 4 a.m.  I was going to give you three guesses as to

what I've been watching - again - but I figure by now that's kind of

pointless.  I know, I know, obsessive/compulsive.  Sue me.


   It's now 2 weeks and 1 day until those of you with satellite dishes see

the pilot.  I'll be very interested in seeing (well, reading) your

reactions.  I must confess that as this dialogue continues, I find myself

learning more, and questioning more, and digging deeper for information

that had been glossed over before.  I very much appreciate your comments,

your suggestions, even the occasional outbursts of Attitude.


   There will shortly be a private screening of the pilot on a real movie

screen, just for cast and crew.  The only time that I know of that this

thing will be shown in the US on a big screen.  Have been going over what

I'm going to say to the assembled folks...how does one properly thank

another for the fulfillment of a dream?  How do you quantify five (now six)

years of struggle, now given life by people you had hardly met one year

before, but have given their blood and time and effort to see someone

else's dream realized?


   During the filming, as I would be standing on stage, off camera, and

we'd take a break between shots, invariably someone - the camera operator,

the costumer, an actor, a carpenter - would come up alongside and say, "Is

this close to what you saw when you wrote it?  How are we doing on the

dream?"  They knew what it meant, the long road to get here, that it wasn't

just a *job* for me and many others; it was something we wanted to do out

of passion.  And they responded to that...slept nights on the set rather

than going home, produced work above and beyond the call of duty...how do

you properly thank someone for reaching into your head and pulling out a

vision and giving it form and weight and light and substance?  I don't

know.  I don't know.


   Whatever the future holds - win, lose or draw - I think we've done

something special here.  And it's interesting to see how that sense

pervades everything...the casting, the production...and now even this.  I

have noticed - I do a LOT of bbsing, much to my spousal overunit's dismay -

that the tone on this category seems vastly different than it is elsewhere.

I don't know...a give and take, no flame wars, a sense of community, the

VERY SAME sense present on the set, in the dressing room, behind the

camera.


   In the cold light of morning (when I manage to see it, when I'm not

coming at 4 a.m. from the opposite direction), I tell myself it's just a

television show, and six months from now, or ten years from now, no one

will notice or remember.  At night, as I watch the show again for I no

longer know how many times, I allow - just for a second - the notion that

we've carved out a little piece of history.  Win, lose or draw, we got it

on film, when everyone said we couldn't.


   And now it's yours.


jms


Category 18,  Topic 12

Message 176       Thu Jan 28, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 20:01 EST

 

   BTW, I've been hearing more and more from our Warners liaison that the

reviewers who've gotten copies of the B5 pilot have had their corneas

melted by what they've seen.  Half a dozen have already scrapped plans for

other covers in their weekly television magazine/supplements in deference

to a cover story on B5 (and this during Sweeps Week, no less!).


   Keep your eyes peeled, folkses...the stuff should start hitting the

streets in the final week of our countdown.


jms


Category 18,  Topic 2

Message 363       Sat Jan 30, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 03:20 EST

 

   Agreed on LBJ...he was something of a thug.


   Flat-out wasted tonight...we had a private screening this evening for

cast, crew, some critics and some Warners execs.  About 400+ people at the

theater in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood

(in the shadow of a 50 foot Emmy).  I don't think I've ever been as

nervous, because here's where all the people who worked their butts off get

to see if we screwed it all up for them or not.  Everyone liked it bigtime.

The few critics who said anything (most headed out, as is standard, you

don't want to tip your hand) loved it...one CNN person said he hoped it

would run for 10 years, another critic said it was the best SF television

pilot he'd seen in the last 10 years...I think they liked it.


   Sitting here now with a MASSIVE headache from fretting over all this, so

will probably make this short tonight.  (Harlan kept hitting me in the

shoulder after the screening, smiling and saying, "Will you for chrissakes

ENJOY this?  It's your night!  It's a hit!  It's wonderful!  This kind of

night only comes once in your life!  Enjoy it!"  I will...as soon as we get

the series Go.  Nothing can be allowed to distract from that.)


jms


Category 18,  Topic 2

Message 374       Sat Jan 30, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 23:50 EST

 

   The sound system at the theater was great; we ran it off the D2, the

master tape, and it came out very well.


   The point you raise re: Starlost is one Harlan's made to me.  When I was

at times feeling a bit low - I want the series NOW - he would point out

that no matter what happens, we made my show the way I wanted it made, no

interference...as opposed to what happened with Starlost, which just yanked

his heart out.  And it's a valid point.


   Thing is, it took five years to get this made, and that it HAS been

made...it's almost an act of sheer will.  I decided five years ago that no

matter what happens, this pilot WILL be made.  You have to focus in on the

goal like a laser beam (tm Bill Clinton).  That's been done.  Now the next

step: the series WILL be made...and now I have to focus in on that one with

equal conviction.  It's quite literally the only way ANYTHING ever gets

made in this town.  Ask George.  He's been down the same road.


   As for the question of the show working with non-SF fans...we've

actually shown it to a number of people who don't know from SF, and the

result has been that they've liked it enormously.  The reason, basically,

is that it's not a hardware-driven story.  It's a character drama with a

mystery story element.  The solution doesn't come from cross-wiring the

ramaframmit with the zigamakawanna, and computing the resonance factors.

(And I have to confess that those kinds of stories bore me to tears.)  You

start and end with character, and drama...and if you're true to those

elements, the audience will follow you even into unfamiliar terrain.


jms


Category 18,  Topic 2

Message 379       Sun Jan 31, 1993

STRACZYNSKI [Joe]            at 05:21 EST

 

   (btw...anyone here know of any major conventions between now and

February 22nd around the country?)


   What has been said that's *negative* about the show?  Do you actually

believe I'll provide *NEGATIVE* information about my own show?


   You do?  Oh.  Then okay.


   Probably the number one comment, when there are any negatives voiced, is

that the first half-hour is slow when compared with the rest of the

episode.  And I have to agree...there's SO much to establish, so much

ground to cover, that the first half hour is very dense.  Once we've

established the foundation, that changes fast, because we now have a common

ground of understanding about the universe in which the story is taking

place.


   Let's see...one fellow from Starburst Magazine who was at the preview

said that if it were his, he would've rearranged the last few shots.  The

current sequence is, Action Scene, Transition with Kosh, Confrontation with

a Major Character and Sinclair, the Reception, Delenn and Sinclair in the

Garden, and the final shot with Laurel in the observation dome.  He

would've put the Confrontation with a Major character as the LAST scene,

and cut the shot of Laurel altogether.  His sense is to end on a big

scene...my sense is that it's better to end on a note that sets up the

series to follow.  Not so much a negative as a difference of opinion.


   Let's see...some didn't like the gun designs (others loved it), some

felt we didn't do as much as we could've with the background aliens (some

thought we did too much)...mainly they've been matters of taste, rather

than someone finding something that Just Doesn't Make Sense, or an EFX shot

that looks crummy.  There aren't any Real Big Plot Holes, and insofar as I

know, nothing major to pick on which is *objective*, only differences of

opinion.  (As we've seen here with the Kennedy stuff; some liked it, others

didn't.)


jms


Posted by Lee Whiteside

P14942@email.mot.com

elw@cup.portal.con

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