a certain date, that makes it easier for them to "control" the air dates, but
that's not something that PTEN seems to have a lot of control over. Witness all
the markets where B5 is shown at midnight or early in morning...
Secondly, the "short year" business is a misnomer. JMS is producing 22
episodes of B5 per year; that's his plan. The B5 season isn't starting in
September to begin with (it's starting in late October or early November), so
the season goes longer to begin with. Given some of the production times
required for certain CGI and the like of some episodes, we don't get to see
continuous weeks of new episodes; we get seven or eight of them, followed by
several repeats...this is not necessarily good for the series, but it's
something that makes a lot of sense in that context.
However, there's really one other central point to make here. Regardless
of whether it's a "good spin" or a "bad spin" or whether it's a good or bad
decision on PTEN's part, the decision has been made. Even JMS was unable to
convince the PTEN p-t-bs to change their minds on this; and apparently, he did
try. I think whether this happens again for the fourth season is dependent on
what happens when the episodes air, to be honest with you. And whether B5 is
renewed for a fourth season, of course. And *that's* something else to start
thinking about...
John
.....
Stir the cup that's ever filling with the blood of all that's born.
--- GoldED/2 2.42.G0614
* Origin: JohnK's OS/2Warp Point - Ottawa, Ontario (1:163/198.5)
Ä [22] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 24 of 57
From : John Kahane 1:163/198.5 .óį 15 .žė 95 12:42
To : Ecarey
Subj : Plot Borrowing on TV
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
In a message of , Ecarey scribed:
JK> JK>>> It seems the Federation will have a bit more on its mind
JK> JK>>> than just the Dominion - they'll have to deal with the
JK> JK>>> end of the Federation/Klingon peace treaty! Gee, it
JK> JK>>> sounds like the folks at ST: DSN are about to bring a
JK> JK>>> war into the storyline... I wonder where they got the
JK> JK>>> idea from? :)
JK> MJ>> I wonder.
JK>> Neither of us are *really* wondering about this at all, Mark,
JK>> but it seems =awfully= coincidental, doesn't it?
E> Yeah, nobody ever came up with the idea of a "space war" before
E> JMS, did they? Even Doc Smith stole JMS' idea, complete with
E> one set of all-powerful good aliens and an opposing set of
E> all-powerful evil aliens, both manipulating humanity and every
E> other race they can find in pursuit of their conflict. You know,
E> that awful ripoff of B5, "The Lensmen Series" ? :)
hehe Exactly right, Elisabeth. :) To be honest with you, however, I
think that it can't be all that much of a coincidence that the folks over at DSN
are about to start this whole potential "war footing" thing after it's been
established, and done relatively successfully, over on B5. I'm not saying they
ripped off the plan to do so or anything like that...but it does seem *terribly*
convenient to me...
John
.....
Whilst I appreciate you are no deviate, I might come to some harm.
--- GoldED/2 2.42.G0614
* Origin: JohnK's OS/2Warp Point - Ottawa, Ontario (1:163/198.5)
Ä [22] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 25 of 57
From : John Kahane 1:163/198.5 .óį 15 .žė 95 12:45
To : Ecarey
Subj : B5 POSTPONED
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
In a message of , Ecarey scribed:
E> They can't advertise them in October as "all-new episodes" if
E> they've already aired them in July. This would make a big
E> difference to both the advertisers and to the more casual
E> viewers - there's no gain over competing series if B5 only has
E> reruns in October, ESPECIALLY if ST:VOYAGER is running NEW
E> episodes.
And yet by its very nature, PTEN has decided to show these episodes in
Britain (and possibly Europe) right after the Tour de France; the first episode
airs July 25th. That means the episodes aren't "all-new episodes" other than in
North America, and the NA fans are the ones getting the shaft here for some
reason. Most of the series out there will start their new seasons some time in
September or whatever. Why not air the four episodes at that point?
E> And what JMS \said\ that everyone seems to have forgotten, is
E> that UPN's decision to hold the last four Voyager episodes until
E> the fall \preceded\ and \precipitated\ PTEN's decision to do the
E> same with B5.
Except there is also the fact that VOYAGER was a mid-season entry to begin
with, and there have only been fifteen episodes to this point in its "first
season." I guess it comes down to the fact that we don't know the real reasons
behind the UPN and PTEN decisions on this, but it seems as if the two companies
want to go head-to-head with the shows.
E> The British market works differently and different marketing
E> conditions apply, on the one hand, and on the other hand, as a
E> practical matter, they KNOW there won't be enough people getting
E> usable bootleg copies to matter - especially as, as was commented
E> above, the diehard fans will watch the October broadcast of the
E> episodes REGARDLESS of whether they've seen them before.
Everything you say above is true, Elisabeth... There's also the other
consideration; assuming that the four episodes air in a row, they won't finish
showing until August 15th. Depending on the mailing times to NA, the time it
takes to convert the Brit tape to NA format, the time it takes to mail the tapes
to friends and all, there's a good chance that one wouldn't see the bootlegs
before the episodes start to air on NA television to begin with.
John
.....
Deep red are the sunsets in mystical places.
--- GoldED/2 2.42.G0614
* Origin: JohnK's OS/2Warp Point - Ottawa, Ontario (1:163/198.5)
Ä [22] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 26 of 57
From : Starwolf 1:163/214 .óį 15 .žė 95 01:49
To : Judy Hayes
Subj : Destructed plots
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
St> He'd better get used to it. Asimov, who's got a higher grounding in
St> science, got nailed by obsolete plot devices more often than niven
JH> That's only to be expected since Asimov wrote 10 times
JH> more than......anyone.
But he's also got more science training than almost anyone else, too. So, he
ought to have even less of 'miss' record than others, in spite of a large body
of work. I think it isn't so much that he wrote more, but that he wrote for
such a long time. Many accepted tenets had the chance to get knocked down.
--- Maximus 2.01wb
* Origin: Land of Ill Repute (1:163/214)
Ä [22] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 27 of 57
From : Starwolf 1:163/214 .óį 15 .žė 95 01:53
To : Phill Ash
Subj : No bat car!!!!!!
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
I fear I have no solid data about the original TV Batcar. The show has been
rerun in the area, though, and I do rather like the thing.
--- Maximus 2.01wb
* Origin: Land of Ill Repute (1:163/214)
Ä [22] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 28 of 57
From : Steve Wright 1:3666/501 .˙ņ 14 .žė 95 11:54
To : All
Subj : Worf
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
He is back, and will be returning to Deep Space Nine in their new
season!!
--- Platinum Xpress/Wildcat! [TESTDRIVE] v1.0TD [TESTDRIVE]
* Origin: MTCC BBS! 704-652-0330 (1:3666/501) (1:3666/501)
Ä [22] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 29 of 57
From : Frank Eva 1:154/750 .cź 16 .žė 95 08:05
To : Jeff Schlenker
Subj : DS9 Season 4
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
.TID: FastEcho 1.45 8060
JS> FE> Agreed! Some of my favorite TNG eps were those in which The
JS> FE> Federation was up against The Borg! However, I just don't take
JS> FE> anything they promise about DS9 as gospel. They seemed to be
JS> FE> promising a new direction last season, but after those horrible
JS> FE> first few episodes, I knew their "new direction" was going no
JS> FE> where it hadn't already.
JS>Hmmmm, how about a new opening monologue for DS9. (Or Voyager, for
JS>that matter.)
JS>...to boldly go where previous incarnations of Star Trek shows have
JS>...gone before!
I'll change that "boldly" to chickenheartedly! :-)
---
* Origin: *YOPS ]I[* 3.1 GIG * RA/FD/FE RADist * Milwaukee, WI (1:154/750)
Ä [22] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 30 of 57
From : Frank Eva 1:154/750 .cź 16 .žė 95 08:05
To : Greg Mcneil
Subj : Short B5 Season
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
.TID: FastEcho 1.45 8060
GM> FE> Even WITH the 4 episodes that were postponed, we still wouldn't
GM> FE> have a full season... in the traditional sense of the term (but
GM> FE> it would have at least been close to season #1). Juggling their
GM> FE> schedule in order to avoid conflicting with the start of new
GM> FE> episodes of competing series is the kind of rookie mistake we
GM> FE> have come to expect out of PTEN, and now it's pretty much
GM> FE> guaranteed another short year for B5 next season! Now try to
GM> FE> put a good "spin" on this bad decision PTEN made!
GM>And I always thought it meant:
GM>P-Part
GM>T-Time
GM>E-Entertainment
GM>N-Network.
GM>
GM>Notice the first 2 words?
:-) That sure is a much more apropos description, considering how little
(comparatively speaking) original "entertainment" they're willing to
actually pay for...
--- CMPQwk 1.42-R2 #145 ---
Exotic Psychic caught in fire: Rare Medium Well-Done
---
* Origin: *YOPS ]I[* 3.1 GIG * RA/FD/FE RADist * Milwaukee, WI (1:154/750)
Ä [22] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 31 of 57
From : Frank Eva 1:154/750 .cź 16 .žė 95 08:05
To : Robert Parson
Subj : Short B5 Season
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
.TID: FastEcho 1.45 8060
RP> FE> at least been close to season #1). Juggling their schedule in
RP> FE> order to avoid conflicting with the start of new episodes of
RP> FE> competing series is the kind of rookie mistake we have come to
RP> FE> expect out of PTEN, and now it's pretty much guaranteed another
RP> FE> short year for B5 next season! Now try to put a good "spin" on
RP> FE> this bad decision PTEN made!
RP>I think PTEN made a bad decision.
Thank you!
RP>But whether B5 has 21 or 22 episodes this season is not going to
RP>bring the missing children back home.
Obviously. I think we should be prepared for the worst, however; a 5
year story arc spread out over 6 or more TV "seasons".
RP>Back off. Take it easy. Chill out. It's just a show. Keep it in
RP>perspective with the REAL world rather than the tunnelvision of Star
RP>Trek vs Babylon 5.
I have never been a "trek vs B5" type of person. I like them both. What
I don't have any stomach for is the disappointment suffered when this
