>In B5, you clearly took the opportunity to deal with this and similar
>issues. You had the whole 5-year story - the whole universe, in fact -
>at your disposal to allow you to do this. But what about before, when
>you had less control - and what other about jobbing freelance writers?

I've always tried to express a point of view in the work...when I worked on
Twilight Zone, I did stories about wife beaters and such; when I did Murder She
Wrote I tried to slip in a point of view (Jessica going toe to toe about Gulags
with the former head of the KGB and criticizing their treatment of writers and
other intellectuals), that sort of thing...but I tried never to get *political*
in the sense of saying, in or out of B5, "Democrats are better," or
"Conservatives suck."

They were really about the importance of taking personal action and
responsibility for both yourself and the world around you.

Which was the point of my story about the comic con incident (typical of late
night postings, I started the tale, got distracted, and forgot to get to the
*point* of the thing, the reason I mentioned it, which is that as a citizen, I
could not ignore someone who is being unjustly treated by a thief, and felt it
necessary to intervene. Similarly, how can one not hear the cry of a nation in
distress and not take action, even if that action is nothing more revolutionary
than the casting of a vote (which in historical terms is a very revolutionary
thing in and of itself)?

>For example, imagine at some point in the past you'd been working on
>some show and been presented with an outline for an episode much like
>"By Any Means Necessary", but in which the protagonist came down firmly
>*against* the docking unions. Would you do it and try to sneak in a plot
>thread or two to try and make it a little more acceptable? Or would you
>walk?

If it was a freelancer's story...no, of course not, it all comes down to how
well that particular story is told. Had the unions lost in that story, it
would've been equally fine with me if the story had been told with logic and a
point of view and integrity, if it ahd made a point.

If, on the other hand, we had that script as written, and the network insisted
that it be changed the way you suggest because it didn't want to be pro-union,
THEN we'd have words....


jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
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