>I finally got to hear the commentary about the Pagans using the
>Declaration of Principles during rituals (and at some that I've
>attended, BTW). And I just wanted to mention that one of the local
>groups here REQUIRES their new members to watch the entire series as a
>starting point for discussions about personal responsibility and choices
>and consequenses.
>
>B5 is a nice, big rock to throw in the pond.

That's really terrific to hear. The funny thing is that I've been hearing more
and more of this lately, about the philosophy and ideas behind B5 being used in
this way.

In addition to the Pagan groups, I came across a bunch of Technomage sites that
use some of those elements, a Buddhist site that's full of B5 quotes, and a
Southern Baptist site that used a B5 quote (without attribution) right on its
front page.

I hear from so many people these days about this sort of thing...it's vastly
rewarding, I must say.

Funny thing is, on an aspect of the B5 philosophy...a while back, in order to
be able to use it in the show, I wrote down the whole basic philosophical
underpinning, under the heading of the Foundation (Franklin's group). It's
quite long and involved, but I felt that the only way to use it properly would
be to have it as fully fleshd out as the rest of the B5 universe.

Because so many people seem to respond to it, from time to time over the years
I've considered releasing that material...then I hesitate. It's one of those
things that either I'll release posthumously or delete altogether.

jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)

>>Because so many people seem to respond to it, from time to time over the
>>years
>>I've considered releasing that material...then I hesitate. It's one of
>those
>>things that either I'll release posthumously or delete altogether.
>
>Is it too late to slide it into the quote book? Sounds like it might go well
>there.

Not feasible since it's basically a small book in length on its own.

>And speaking of which, any news on a publication date?

The final manuscript should be going in this coming week, so figure a few
months thereafter.

jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)

>I think it's very important that everything you wrote regarding the series --
>notes, index cards, napkin scribbles, the odd graffiti spray-painted on Sun
>Valley brick walls -- needs not only to be preserved but also released for
>public access at some time.

Not possible. It's gone. Nearly all of it.

My notes: gone once I used them.

Early drafts of scripts: gone. I'd write the script, make my notations in
hand, get the revised one in hand, toss out the one with my notations and put
out the final draft. There are no surviving scripts from B5 with my
handwritten notes or edits on them.

B5 correspondence and memos: unless they're in the hands of other people: gone.

I have, to all intents and purposes, erased my footprints in the sand. Only
the finished work remains. It was a deliberate decision from day one. I don't
want people poking in to find where "I" am in this, where my brain was at this
point or that point. I ain't the issue. The story, as told, is the issue.

The only things that remain in my possession are the script books with the
final draft of each script, shooting schedules, and in some cases, art or
prosthetics designs. Some blueprints. The rest I threw out.

The only real document about the making of Babylon 5, from stem to stern, is
the one I wanted to leave behind: this conversation, on line, with the folks
who stayed with us for five plus years.

It's the only thing that really means anything to me.

jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)

> Joe, one of the problems that Mark Twain scholars have to deal with is
>that a number of his writings weren't published until after his death, and
>were often then bowdlerized to the point that there's still debate about his
>original opinions and intent. (MT is my favorite author...)

Same here. He's always been a seminal influence on my work. I have pretty
much everything he's ever written, absent the five volume set of his journals
that's only available to libraries. "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg" is
still one of my favorite pieces, as is "The War Prayer," leading to its nod in
B5.

His essays, to which you refer, are some of his best work, especially his takes
on Adam, Eve, heaven, hell and the rest.

For anyone looking on: there is one book I tell anyone who wants to be a
writer, to read. Twain's autobiography. It is, quite honestly, probably the
best book, best autobiography, ever written. Funny, inspiring, moving, sad,
and deeply profound. We think of bios from that time as being dry or
irrelevant...TRUST me on this one. It's anything but. I consider it one of
the best books I've ever read.

As for the problem of who really wrote what, and what got changed: we have one
benefit he didn't have: read-only PDF files.

jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)