JMS on GEnie June 1996 postings SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 374 Sun Jun 02, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:30 EDT Yes, B5 is filmed widescreen, the full horizontal range restored by going back to the original negs. (After coming back from Wolf 359 I'll actually get to see a full-widescreen version at WB.) You can get screwed in widescreen sometimes; I had the regular aspect ratio of Cabaret, searched for the wide, found it...and discovered that when they ran it in theaters, they just masked off the top and bottom of the frame for the widescreen effect, and the regular aspect ratio was the one where you could see all of it, not the wide. One reason there's no diffusion in space is that there's no atmosphere in space to PROVIDE the diffusion; haze and the like is a atmosphere effect. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 386 Mon Jun 03, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:49 EDT Though lately, from what I've been hearing from ST-oriented cons, the toys aren't selling as well from ST anymore. At the big blow-out ST convention in Pasadena a few weeks ago, the 30th anniversary one, some DS9 stuff sold, less Voyager stuff sold...and they had to send back to the warehouse twice for B5 stuff. Now, as an aside.... Warners has been running the numbers on renewal, and we've been told that the numbers look right, and will be recommended for renewal. Now that's not the same *as* renewal, there are still some execs who need to stamp the thing and say domini domini over it (as John Copeland says), (in nomine patre, et fili, et spiritus sanctus, ACTION!")...it would take a huge and unexpected event to stop it now, and that doesn't seem likely at all. So while I wouldn't say this is an eep, that formally hasn't happened yet, and it's WB's perogative to actually make that announcement, I'd certainly consider this at least an e. I make a point of saying this only because I'm going to be in the UK this coming week, and thus offline, and won't be able to post any eeps that might be forthcoming. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 624 Wed Jun 12, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:30 EDT Just got in late last night, still catching up...yes, we've been renewed. I dearly wanted to announce it here before I left, as has been traditional, but it couldn't be done until we had the formal, final pickup notification from WB, until which time it ain't real, and a) things can still go wrong, and b) the last time I said something too early WB rapped my knuckles. It wasn't truly official until late Friday. We begin shooting again August 26th. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 2 Message 413 Thu Jun 13, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:49 EDT Araratus: most messages pass in front of me, but given that I see about 500 or so per day, sometimes individual questions slip past me. Kwicker: a certain poet once wrote, "Truth is beauty, and beauty truth; this is all you know and all you need to know." If there is any beauty to the work, then it contains truth, and thus cannot be a lie. A story only has value wherein it touches an even greater Truth, perhaps even a universal truth. Fiction, at its best, is truth...it's the real world that's a lie. Sleep tight. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 656 Fri Jun 14, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:59 EDT But y'see, the Eep is only used when I know for sure it's renewed and can't say so. Now it's renewed and I can say so, and I was away for the very brief in-between...to misuse the power of the Eep is a serious infraction. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 705 Sun Jun 16, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:17 EDT "Ratings for all syndicated dramas have dropped." Incorrect, in at least one case. B5's ratings this quarter have been our highest in some time, so we're definitely on an upswing. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 26 Message 391 Wed Jun 19, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:58 EDT WB is coming down hard on all its shows (or so I'm told), on the theory that a con showing = a theatrical exhibition, and they can be fined hundreds of bucks by the showbiz guilds. Now, in the history of hollywood, this has never, ever happened...but the lawyers got their noses into it...and at that point, you're doomed. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 26 Message 395 Thu Jun 20, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:48 EDT Nope, they won't allow that. It ain't the slate, it's the guilds. And we can't show scenes with guest stars, either. And we can't take more than 4 minutes out of any given episode. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 544 Thu Jun 27, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:53 EDT Well, just finished the first (writer's) draft of "The Hour of the Wolf," the first episode of year 4, to be directed by David Eagle. It was a tough one, like all first-episode scripts...but quite interesting, in its way. Once again the show takes a somewhat different tone, I'm using some tools I somewhat developed in the background in year 3 and am now trying in foreground, very interesting mood change...a good start. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 258 Fri Jun 28, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:49 EDT Here's what the talk shows tell us: "Sorry, but you're a syndicated show, and nobody knows from syndication, so our viewers wouldn't be interested." jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 261 Sat Jun 29, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:49 EDT At some point along the way, somebody decided to mail out the B5 newsletters bulk mail. This is problematic at best. So we're going to start switching over to 1st or 2nd class to ensure delivery. They're going out in batches. jms ------------ SFRT II RoundTable Category 18, Topic 1 Message 270 Sat Jun 29, 1996 STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:30 EDT New episodes (the last of season 3) start in October. So the good part, such as it is, is that we'll play 5 in October, then 4 or 5 in November, so you're looking at 9-10 in a row, almost half a season in one go. jms ------------