Script Book #9 - SPOILERS

[Jan]

Since at least a couple of us have gotten notified that their books are on the way, I thought I'd go ahead and start this thread.

Been too long!

Jan

[OmahaStar]

First spoiler. Highlight to read ...


The cover of the book is black! You heard it here first!

I know, it's major, isn't it?

[Joseph DeMartino]

Anybody get the feeling that JMS writes the blurbs for this stuff?

Included in this volume you will get the following seven scripts -- coun't em, seven, not just one, like some others might do, we shouldn't name names, live in peace, we say, live long and prosper even...but still, we've got SEVEN -- scripts for these pivotal fourth season episodes.

And as if that weren't enough -- and for some people it is, no names, just saying -- there's another original 51 page introduction with episodic commentaries that gives readers an inside-out view of the production of Babylon 5

Not that he'd ever make a snarky comment about any other shows that might or might not be selling scripts on the internet or anything. It is just the style that makes me think "JMS". Yeah, that's it.


Got an e-mail with a UPS tracking number to show that my order had shipped earlier today.

Regards,

Joe

[Jan]

My books are here! More later...

Jan

[KoshToo]

First time poster, long time lurker

Has anyone noticed a problem with their copy of vol. 9? I flipped through it yesterday looking for the pictures and noticed sections are upside down and apparently inserted randomly. The intro/episode synopses look fine but right after that starts pg. 7 of Racing Mars, upside down. Then, about halfway through the book pages appear right side up but then they switch upside down again.

I'm hoping there's some hidden code by JMS to explain it, but I'm guessing not.

[Jan]

Hi, KoshToo! Nice to see a fellow Floridian around here.

No, that definitely sounds like a printing error. What you need to do is contact the Scripts Team at [email protected] and they'll help get it corrected posthaste.

Jan

[Joseph DeMartino]

Hi, KoshToo! Nice to see a fellow Floridian around here.

No, that definitely sounds like a printing error. What you need to do is contact the Scripts Team at [email protected] and they'll help get it corrected posthaste.

Jan

Mine were waiting for me when I got home Thursday. Read all the intros and flipped through the rest and don't see any problems.

The same day brought me part three of the Forever Knight Trilogy. But that's going to have to wait because (a) part one is still in a packing box somewhere and (b) I've just started season three of Highlander, all six seasons of which I ordered in late August for $90 on sale from Deep Discount DVD. They got such a response that the sets immediately went on back order and they would ship them as they got new stock - with the result that season six was in the first shipment in early September, but season 1 (with season 4) didn't arrive until the last shipment about a week ago.

There is something about the combination of TV shows in full season sets on DVD and a DVD changer that hold 400 discs that I just like.

Regards,

Joe

[KoshToo]

Hi Jan! Thanks for the tip. I e-mailed the Babylon 5 Scripts team and they are sending another book ASAP free of charge. They have not heard of any other problems, so hopefully this is an isolated problem. I've started reading the book and the problem is worse than I originally thought. Not only are some of the pages upside down, but once I turn the book the right way to read them, I have to read those pages back to front.

I'm just glad to have a new script book to read but it will be nice once I can read it in public without odd stares

[Jan]

You've got a collector's item, KoshToo. Just think how valuable stamps and currency are that have printer errors.

Isn't anybody going to talk about the book? Okay, I'll start. Things that particularly caught my attention:

-personal stories. At Comic Con, one question put to JMS was if he sometimes worried about putting too much of himself in his stories. His reply was that he felt it was the only way to make the reader feel, that his feeling the emotions as he wrote the stories would give them an inner truth. He proves that again in his revelation about Delenn submitting her relationship with Sheridan to the judgment of her clan.

-Still not a whole lot of footnotes but he makes that up with probably the longest perenthetical I've ever seen. See pages 36 & 37. Geez, a page and a half...

-Many people have commented about wanting JMS to acknowledge the passing of Tim Choate as he did with Rick (who is still dearly missed by JMS as mentioned twice in this volume) and Andreas. The fact is, as beloved as the character of Zathras was, JMS didn't know Tim Choate well at all. I can attest to Tim not resembling Zathras in any way, having met him once at a convention. He was a really nice man.

-Illustrating the immediacy of Print on Demand, JMS added an acknowledgement of the passing of Johnny Sekka who played Dr. Kyle in "The Gathering".

-More becomes clear about how and why the B5 comics faded away as they did. DC certainly came up with a unique qoint of view pertaining to creative control. Imagine editors whose main experience was with children's books editing B5 stories! <shudder>

-I'm going to have to dig out my copy of "Personal Agendas" and read it and compare it to the outline JMS did. It was recently raked over the coals in a review done by a moderated newsgroup poster.

-And of course, could a book that included "The Illusion of Truth" fail to have many paralells drawn with events today and insights into how unintentionally prophetic some of B5 was?

I so enjoy these books! Got spoiled there for a while, with having new JMS comics and script books regularly. A gal could go into withdrawal having to wait (even though I understand and agree that personal projects like this *have* to take a back seat to professional obligations). So I was spoiled, what's wrong with that?! But in true dramatic form, JMS leaves us hanging just as it seems that hope for a fifth season is to be rekindled. Aaarrgghh! He enjoys that....

Jan

[OmahaStar]

-I'm going to have to dig out my copy of "Personal Agendas" and read it and compare it to the outline JMS did. It was recently raked over the coals in a review done by a moderated newsgroup poster.
Jan

No! Don't! It's not worth it. Just leave it in the back of the closet, where it belongs. It's the single worst book in the B5 line. The only positive thing I can say about it is that it's short. I don't remember any chapter being longer than three pages. Three horrible, painful, crappy pages.

[Jan]

Ah, I'd forgotten...sortta. As I've mentioned, I'm mainly buying the script books for the 'story of the story' aspect and haven't really paid a lot of attention to the scripts themselves. I snagged Volume 9 to take on the plane with me yesterday (I'm visiting my sister in DC-we're going up to PA this morning) and read some of the scripts. I'd forgotten the little notes that JMS sometimes slides into his notes. Like (paraphrasing) "If the Executive Producer hadn't given the actor a note promising never to kill him off, he'd be dead now."

Scenes that were trimmed are fun, too. Like in Atonement when Sheridan comments on his shoe soles melting when he sees Delenn in her little black dress.

Fun stuff.

Jan

[phazedout]

mine arrived this morning so I popped into work to get it. I see there's another sketch on the back. I'm stillplaying catch-up though having read volume 6 yesterday I'll get through 7 an 8 the weekend.
Phaze on the "skipping lunch so I can indulge in a chinese this evening" ID

[Night Marshal]

bush=clark, fox news= ISN, Kerry=Sheridan? now you can skip the first few script comments.

I can only wonder when Sheridan gets to hit Garibaldi, I bets its soon...

[Jan]

It's in this book. JMS comments on it in his commentary, too.

As for the current equivalents, that's a case of the B5 synchronicity.

Jan

[Garibaldi's Hair]

Another good read, I'm really pleased to have these books. I have, however, never read Personal Agendas, but the outline JMS wrote looks like it could have been interesting ... judging by the reviews they obviously got a trained monkey to actually write it, though.

Slightly disappointed that in all the stuff about their struggles to get B5 released on VHS in the States there was no mention of the fact that the entire series was released much earlier outside the US ... I can vouch for the UK, since I bought the lot (still have them somewhere) and remember that I was pretty much able to buy each season in full before the next season came on air.