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.


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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

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

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