Roseann M. Caputo <103510.1542@compuserve.com> asks:
> How did that happen?????

Thanks...I do think this is one of our best to date.

jms

Roseann M. Caputo <103510.1542@compuserve.com> asks:
> Have you read "The Sandman" and if so, what do you think?

I loved "The Sandman," though I haven't read it lately (haven't
read much of anything lately). Gaiman's a tremendous talent, and I
will always go out of my way to find his stuff.

jms

{original post unavailable}

Re: your kind words about the episode...thank you.

"On a completely different and impertinent tack, I am curious to know
if you feel any impact from being perhaps the most visible atheist
since Ms. O'Hair?"

Not really. I think that a large sector of the religious
community is still trying to figure me out...because yes, I'm an open,
avowed atheist, but I've done stories about religion and spirituality
that -- if the mail from priests and rabbis and ministers and even a
few folks from other, non-western religions is to be believed -- are
more fair and respectful than just about anyone else in TV is doing,
even according to last week's Christian Science Monitor.

They openly ask, "How is it that an atheist is able to get
stories of great faith on the air when nobody else will do it?" To
which I generally have started replying, "Only Nixon could go to
China."

I think that if I were using my show as a bludgeon to convey my
own personal beliefs, or lack thereof, as an atheist, that would be a
whole different kettle of fish. But I don't. I have an obligation as
a writer before anything and everything else...that means that if I
create a character who is religious, I must treat that character with
respect and, just as importantly, *authenticity*. I must, in short, be
*fair*.

Where this works to my benefit is that if I, as an atheist, do
an episode showing a religious character in a positive light, the mail
comes in thanking me for being fair to points of view I don't agree
with. Then, when I do a show implying Ivanova and Talia were briefly
lovers, or when you have Marcus and Franklin undercover as a married
couple, they start to go to the keyboards to complain...then remember
what they said about fairness to other points of view.

As a result, even with all the very subversive and challenging
shows we've done in four years, and even being an open atheist, I can
count the harrassing religious fringe-mail on one hand. (Thinks for a
moment...okay, maybe two hands, but that's all.) As long as I stay
honest with the writing, I'll be okay. The moment I start to use it as
propaganda, they'll be all over me...and rightly so.

BTW, on the issue of Madalyn O'Hair...or O'Hare, I can never
remember which it is...interesting thing is, I worked for her magazine
for a while, doing a couple of columns and articles. At the time, I
did so because I felt (and still to some extent feel) that atheists are
easy targets in society. You will never see an avowed atheist in the
White House or Congress, whatever it may say in the constitution about
this being a secular government with separation of church and state.
When then-Vice President Bush could say, at a press conference at an
airport in Chicago, "Well, I don't really see how an atheist can be a
patriot, this is after all one nation under God," then you see how bad
things can get.

But in working for her magazine, I gradually figured out that
she wasn't oriented toward equal respect on both sides, for atheism and
religion, which is where I am...she was anti-religion and looking to
sabotage that element of society, which I do not condone. It's simply
wrong. I've always said, the day they try to shut down the churches,
I'll be the first one on the firing line to fight back...I just hope
that the other side will join me when they try to shut down the
libraries. Which, finally, is why I resigned from her magazine. I'm
pro-tolerance, and don't have time for bigots of any stripe.

jms

{original post had no questions}

Thanks...I agree that it's probably one of the best we've done.
I've now watched it at least a dozen times in finished form, and it
still works for me.

jms

{original post had no questions}

Thanks...it's a hoot.

jms

Kirk R. Darling <73063.3115@compuserve.com> asks:
> Do you think it was a matter of the programming that kept him
> from stopping the fight?

Also, Wade specificially says Lise wasn't there when they got
back, so that eliminates her from the scenario.

BTW...there's apparently going to be a positive review of 418,
"Intersections in Real Time" in the Monday USA Today. I haven't seen
it yet, though, so don't know what spoilers it may contain.

jms

{original post had no questions}

Nope. You're just seeing what you've seen before as your point
of reference. We don't tend to do that intentionally. We're in
Rohrscharch territory here.

jms

{original post unavailable}

Yep...and he's bugged, and we'll see where *that* goes.

jms

{original post unavailable}

There's a web page with the full text; don't have the info at
hand.

jms

{original post had no questions}

Also, they wanted it to look like it was done by the Resistance;
too much "attention" to his death would've drawn attention to the
Corps.

jms

Douglas Piligian <70760.2440@compuserve.com> asks:
> In the first act after the opening credits when Sheridan is on
> the bridge of the White Star, did we see the "automatic repair
> systems" at work on the wall next to where he was standing, or
> was that just some sort of display?

Yes, those were the autorepair systems at work.

jms

{original post had no questions}

They're not that close. Certainly not on a first date to a bar
like that.

jms

{original post unavailable}

"I thought the fight was a bit too long for much the same reason as
you. All I can suggest is that John's metabolism isn't "normal" any
more, and perhaps this had an effect. (And maybe the bullyboys were
doing less damage than we think, simply to prolong the "fun".)"

1) It was for dramatic/stylistic effect. Not everything done
with some style has to have a scientific explanation.

2) Having been mugged myself, time expands and slows down.

3) It's the TV cliche that fights are over in a second. Ask
anyone who's ever been in a real knock-down fight. It goes on a heck
of a lot longer than we showed here. When I got mugged it went on for
10 minutes.

One of the ironies in other messages on this (not this one here
specifically) is that some have noted the fast-paced editing, which is
supposedly associated with music video/short attention span
material...and then turn around and say it wasn't over fast enough.

jms

{original post unavailable}

Actually, no, you're right, ther isn't that much direct,
personal violence in the show. My feeling is that if you do that a
lot, it loses any potential for impact. You only pull out that card
when you really need it, to best effect...don't waste it. It's like
harsh language, after you've heard someone going on using all the more
remarkable Anglo-Saxon words for a while, it loses all impact.

jms

Anne Stallcup <102436.203@compuserve.com> asks:
> And when is Ivanova going to learn to quit saying things like
> "We'll be OK as long as nothing goes wrong."?

Thanks...and I've always been a big believer in the notion that
we can purchase redemption if we are willing to go to the wall, not for
ourselves, but for someone else...so there's a chance for all of
them....

jms

{original post unavailable}

I have to watch it at least 6-9 times just in the production
process as we edit, make changes, mix, all that...then 3-4 times
afterward just so I can get the process out of my head and be able to
"see" it for the first time.

jms

O. C. Alexander <72623.3472@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was this line inspired by some of the recent Neanderthal finds?
> Or was this part of your orignial conception for the story?
> Did Edgars really believe the Earthgov propaganda that Sheridan
> was operating under the malignant influence of aliens? Is Bester
> really done with Garibaldi? Was this a deliberate historical
> reference? Any further developments in the works here?
> By the way, I think that Marcus' plaint, "Susan!?"

Wade had a great line about the clash of homo sapiens and Neanderthals
in Carthage. Was this line inspired by some of the recent Neanderthal
finds? Or was this part of your orignial conception for the story?

Not recent stuff, just a general knowledge of this area.

Did Edgars really believe the Earthgov propaganda that Sheridan was
operating under the malignant influence of aliens?

Nope.

Is Bester really done with Garibaldi?

For the moment.

One of the captains of the Earth vessels is named Leo Frank. Was this
a deliberate historical reference?

Not intentionally.

Franklin and Number One seem to have cooled their relationship. Any
further developments in the works here?

Any more personal stuff got set aside when Franklin showed up a)
with another female, and b) she was a teep. When #1 calms down, they
might take another shot at it.

Lastly, there is a bit of irony in the fact that the stage for
Sheridan's capture is set when he steps aboard his old ship, the
Agamemnon. Agamemnon was the supreme commander of the Greek forces at
Troy, who survived that long war, but who was betrayed and murdered by
his wife when he returned home. He blindly and arrogantly stepped into
a trap, as Sheridan also seemed to do.

Yeah...that's one of many reasons why I picked that
image/reference. It plays on a LOT of levels in the story.

jms

Martin Toggweiler <74041.2400@compuserve.com> asks:
> Is there anymore a fan can do help bring about a season 5?

Thanks...it's a good one. We'll have to see how soon we can
find any reassurance....

jms

(blocked) asks:
> Was that tube on Edgars' compound?
> Was Garibaldi acting under the influence of his telepathic
> instructions and leaving anyway as to get word to Bester?

If anybody could slip away, Garibaldi could.

jms