Re: ATTN JMS: Have You Gotten

 Posted on 6/7/1995 by jmsatb5@aol.com to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated


"That admission was impressive!" (Ross Bench)

Not really. Kinda wish it was, but it ain't.

You have to understand, for all the criticisms on this or any other
net, there is nobody -- NOBODY -- harder on this show than we who make it.
Nobody gets spared. Opinions are not withheld. This is a show where
one of my producers, John Copeland, for instance, can walk into my office
after getting a new script and say, "Joe...it sucks." (Most notably,
this happened on the first draft of "Soul Hunter," which I knew didn't
work as soon as I finished it, but still put it into the pipeline because
I wasn't sure of my own opinion at that very early stage in the first
season, decided I was right after all, and yanked back the script from all
parties with a note simply explaining that I had been momentarily
possessed by an idiot.) We're all very open about this stuff.

What I guess maybe doesn't always come through is that if you ask me
a straightforward question about the show, or behind the scenes, I'll
give you a straightforward answer. I've never been big on politics or
self-preservation. Which ep disappointed me with the EFX? The Long
Dark. Which do I consider my worst ep? Infection, and it's entirely
my fault; if it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage. Is there
anything I'd like to re-do? Yeah, probably parts of Voice 2.

Happily, of all the stuff we've done, there's only about 5-10% that
sometimes glitches. Mostly, it's light years beyond anything I could have
hoped for. And lemme tell you...in advance...for those who thought "The
Coming of Shadows" was something, I've seen the final version of "The Long,
Twilight Struggle," and it's even better. Better than "Z'ha'dum." It's
probably the best we've done. I've poked and prodded that one all over,
and it's solid.

jms