Babylon 5

Yhteenveto

Crusade olisi ollut Babylon 5:n spin-off, eli samaan universumiin sijoittuva toinen viisivuotinen tarina uusilla hahmoilla. Sarjan kotikanavan TNT:n "ehdotuksien" myötä sarjan tuotantoon tuli kuitenkin ongelmia jo viiden kuvatun jakson jälkeen. Kokonaan uusia ja alunperin suunnittelemattomia jaksoja kuvattiin sarjan alkuun JMS:n tehdessä joitakin kompromisseja, mutta hänen haluttomuutensa myöntyä TNT:n kyseenalaisiin vaatimuksiin laajemmin johti sarjan lopettamiseen 13 jakson jälkeen. Sarjan piti kestää B5:n tavoin viisi 22-jaksoista kautta.

Mikä Crusade olisi ollut?

Jo B5:n tuotannon aikana JMS kertoi, että hänellä oli valmiina toinenkin Babylon 5 -universumiin sijoittuva tarina, mikäli kysyntää riittää Babylon 5:n loputtua. Crusade on viisivuotinen jatkuva ja suunnitelmallinen tarina, joka tapahtuu samassa universumissa kuin Babylon 5, mutta pääosassa ovat eri henkilöt, ja tapahtuma-aika on joitakin vuosia Babylon 5:n tarinan jälkeen. Kyseessä on siis spin-off -sarja, joka on sukua Babylon 5:lle samalla tavalla kuin Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on sukua Star Trek: The Next Generationille.

JMS itse olisi vastannut Crusaden viisivuotisesta juonesta, joka olisi löysempi kuin Babylon 5:n vastaava, mutta silti mojovia käänteitä sisältävä. Crusadessa oli myös tarkoitus kokeilla mitä muut kirjoittajat saavat aikaan Babylon 5:ssä esitellyssä universumissa, ja uutta viisivuotista kirjoittamisurakkaa JMS ei koskaan aikonutkaan uusia. Tuottamisen ohella JMS aikoi kirjoittaa noin puolet jaksoista.

Crusadelle haettiin tunnistettavaa ja Babylon 5:stä poikkeavaa yleisilmettä. Tätä varten esimerkiksi musiikissa ja puvustuksessa annettiin mahdollisuus uusille nimille. Crusaden musiikista vastasi jazz-taustainen klassistakin säveltänyt Evan Chen, jonka Crusadea varten säveltämät musiikit ovat hyvin kokeilevia elektronisia äänimattoja, joissa on yllättävänkin vähän temaattisia elementtejä. Sen sijaan tuotantoporras ja efektifirma säilyivät samana kuin Babylon 5:ssä, vaikka erityisesti efektien puolella Crusade olisi ollut kokeilullisempi ja kehittyneempi. Budjetiltaan Crusaden piti olla jonkin verran Babylon 5:ttä suurempi, virtuaalilavasteiden huomattavasti suuremman tarpeen takia, mutta budjetinlisäyksen on kerrottu olleen vain noin $20,000 jaksoa kohti.

Loppukesästä 1998 kerrottiin, että NASAn Jet Propulsion Laboratory työskentelee Crusaden parissa yhteistyössä efektifirma Netter Digitalin kanssa. JPL:n tehtävänä oli tieteellisissä asioissa neuvominen, sillä tarkoituksena oli tuoda tiede takaisin tieteissarjoihin. Babylon 5 oli jo vuosia sitten syrjäyttänyt Star Trekit NASAn työntekijöiden suosikkisarjana.

Mitä tapahtui?

Crusaden taru alkoi virallisesti kesällä 1998, kun sarjan tuotantoon meneminen vahvistettiin. Pian pääosaan kapteeni Matthew Gideoniksi kiinnitettiin Gary Cole, joka lienee suomalaisilla tuoreimmassa muistissa sarjan Piru irti (American Gothic) sheriffi Lucas Buckina tai elokuvan Konttorirotat (Office Space) pomo Bill Lumberghina.

Viides ja viimeinen Babylon 5 -televisioelokuva A Call to Arms toimi johdatuksena Crusadeen. Kyseessä ei kuitenkaan ole suoranainen pilottielokuva, vaikka sarjalle pohjan rakentaakin. Se sai Yhdysvalloissa TV-ensi-iltansa 3.1.1999, ja alkuperäisen suunnitelman mukaan sarja olisi alkanut kolme päivää myöhemmin.

Crusaden kuvausten alkaessa 3.8.1998 kaikki näytti vielä varsin hyvältä. Pian alkoi kuitenkin kuulua epäilyttäviä huhuja TNT:n mahdollisesta sekaantumisesta Crusaden sisältöön. Huhuja voimisti JMS:n vaikeneminen asiasta netin keskustelualueilla. Vain viiden jakson kuvaamisen jälkeen lokakuussa sarja meni kuvaustauolle. Tauon aikana sarjalle annettiin lisää rahoitusta, uusia lavasteita rakennettiin ja joitakin muita tuotannollisia seikkoja paranneltiin. Ja paljon muutakin, mutta niistä saatiin tietää tarkemmin vasta hyvän matkaa vuoden 1999 puolella.

TNT on pääasiassa westerneistä ja wrestlingistä (suomalaisittain vapaapainista) tunnettu kanava, jolla ei ole kokemusta uusista draamasarjoista. Niinpä TNT ajatteli antaa vähän omia luovia ideoitaan Crusaden kehittämiseksi. Myöhemmin paljastui ehdotuksien tarkempi laatu:

• enemmän ekspositiota – asiat pitää selittää tarkemmin että tyhminkin katsoja ymmärtää missä mennään ja mitä tapahtuu
• ei viittauksia menneeseen – eihän kukaan Babylon 5:ttä muista
• enemmän tappeluita ja toimintaa
• hahmokehitykseen mallia wrestlingistä
• enemmän isorintaisia naisia, tiukkoja uniformuja, ja yhdeksi päähenkilöksi ns. sexual explorer, joka harrastaa seksiä suunnilleen kaikkien vastaantulijoiden kanssa
• uusi avausjakso, alkuperäinen avausjakso olisi alkanut keskeltä tapahtumia ja sehän ei kelpaa

Nämä kaikki kohdat ovat totta. Siis lyhyesti: Baywatch meets Wrestling in Space.

Tauon jälkeen sarjalle kuvattiin peräti kahdeksan uutta jaksoa edeltämään alkuperäistä avausjaksoa. Osa näistä jaksoista oli jo suunniteltu, tai jopa kirjoitettu, mutta tarkoitettu tapahtuvan myöhemmin. Samalla sarjan alku piti siirtää tammikuulta kesäkuuhun, sillä lokakuussa kuvatut jaksot eivät olisi ehtineet millään valmistua riittävän nopeasti.

Uusi avausjakso on se, mihin TNT:n vaatimukset ovat kaikkein eniten purreet päättömättömästä tappelusta rautalangan vääntöön. JMS sanoi yrittäneensä tehdä juuri sen verran kompromisseja, että sarja yleensä saatiin uudestaan tuotantoon tauon jälkeen. Ja jaksoon hän myös ujutti lähestulkoon suoran viittauksen sarjan tuotannollisiin ongelmiin. Kaiken häslingin jälkeen JMS päätti myös pitää Crusaden alkuperäistä aikomustaan tarkemmin hallussaan.

JMS luonnollisesti oli hyvin vastentahtoinen toteuttamaan mitään TNT:n vaatimuksista. 29.1. hän varsin epäsuorin sanakääntein kertoi, että westerneistä, historiallisesta draamasta ja vapaapainista tunnettu TNT ei ole mikään ihanteellinen kanava scifille, ja että scifi-ystävällisempää levittäjää etsitään. Hän myös vihjasi SciFi Channelin olevan kiinnostunut sarjasta.

So if folks wanted to drop an encouraging note to, let's say, the Sci-Fi Channel, for instance, that would certainly be okay by me.

– JMS, 29.1.1999

JMS teki lopulta kolmantenatoista tuotetun (kahdeksantena esitetyn) jakson kuten itse halusi unohtaen täysin TNT:n palautteen, ja jopa sisällytti jaksoon pienen sivujuonen joka suoraan liittyi TNT:n sekaantumishaluun. Tämä oli liikaa TNT:lle, ja sarjan tuotanto loppui siihen. SciFi Channel ei pystynyt sarjaa hankkimaan, sillä kanavan vuoden budjetti oli jo lyöty lukkoon helmikuussa. Huhujen mukaan SciFi Channelin lisäksi mm. Fox (The X-Files, Millennium) oli ainakin jossain vaiheessa kiinnostunut sarjasta, mutta tätä ei ole missään vahvistettu.

Olemassaolevat 13 jaksoa tuotettiin loppuun ja esitettiin TNT:llä alkaen 2.6.1999. On olemassa hyvin hyvin pieni mahdollisuus, että sarja saataisiin vielä tuotantoon, mutta se on erittäin epätodennäköistä. Näyttelijäsopimusten optiot umpeutuivat heinäkuussa, tosin useimmat näyttelijöistä olisivat tiettävästi kiinnostuneita jatkamaan tarvittaessa. Internetissä on joitakin kampanjoita joilla pyritään pelastamaan Crusade.

Tuotetusta kolmestatoista jaksosta JMS kirjoitti lopulta peräti 10. Babylon 5:n viidennellä kaudella jatkuvuutta valvonut Fiona Avery kirjoitti kolme, joista tosin vain kaksi ehdittiin tuottaa, ja jo Babylon 5:stä tuttu Peter David (Soul Mates, There All the Honor Lies) yhden. Muita jotain kirjoittaneita henkilöitä olivat ainakin Larry DiTillio (Born to the Purple, Deathwalker, TKO, Eyes, A Spider in the Web, GROPOS, Knives) ja Richard Mueller, mutta he eivät ehtineet saada mitään valmiiksi ennen Crusaden lopettamista.

Mutta miten TNT pystyi sanelemaan näitä asioita, kun niin Babylon 5:n kuin Crusaden, sekä TNT:n omistava Warner Brothers on kuitenkin se korkeampi taho? Ei TNT pystykään lopettamaan sarjaa tai tekemään tuon tason päätöksiä. Mutta eräs Ted Turner (TNT = Turner Network Television) sattuu omistamaan myös WB:n osake-enemmistön...

Crusaden jaksolista (alkuperäinen esitysjärjestys)

Toisessa sarakkeessa olevista tuotantonumeroista näkee miten viiden jakson kuvauksen jälkeen TNT tahtoi uusia jaksoja alkuun.

Nämä jaksot oli kirjoitettu, mutta jäivät kuvaamatta TNT:n vedettyä töpselistä lopullisesti.

JMS:n ilmoitus Crusaden lopettamisesta

From: jmsatb5@aol.com (Jms at B5)

Subject: from jms re: Crusade

Date: 26 Feb 1999 14:07:43 -0700

Bottom line:

The reason we've been waiting so long for news is that the SciFi Channel has been crunching numbers for weeks, trying to make the deal work with WB, and doing their level best. The programming folks there loved the show (and special thanks has to go to Programming Head Tom Vitale at SFC who worked hardest to make this work).

The problem is simply this: the money to fund a series is a BIG chunk of change. SFC had already allocated its budget for the year as of January 1st, and there simply wasn't enough left in this year's budget to pull it off. Also, the emphasis now is on spending money on shows where one owns a piece of it, and Crusade is owned entirely by WB.

At the end of they day, they just couldn't make the dollars work, though they tried their damndest, and are only to be thanked.

I'm told that if the ratings are good on the 13 which TNT will still air, all the eps made so far will be shown, there may be a second season, but we'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm taking the day off. There have been seven offers for overall deals and multiple network pilot deals with both networks per se and studios on my desk for about a year now, ever since B5 ended, which I've been putting off to do Crusade. Now I'll pick one of those deals and make it. So the next thing from me you see will almost certainly be on one of the major networks. I'm going back into the deep water again....

Meanwhile, my thanks to all those who emailed and wrote and called and supported. It's a good show, as will be seen when the shows are aired, and I'd rather lose a show I believed in than keep one I didn't believe in.

jms

JMS:n tarina Megaconissa 6.3.1999

Q: "I'd like to know how many episodes are sold and what plans you have..."

JMS: "For?"

Q: "Crusade."

JMS: "Thank you. It's a very long story. There's stuff I can say, and there's stuff that I can't say. So, I'll tell you what I can say and lie about what I can't say. "We shot 13 episodes. And TNT will be airing those on June 9 at 10:00, starting then and going straight through, more or less.

And we had... they had said they weren't going to do more beyond that, beyond the 13. We tried at that point to take it to the SciFi Channel, but it was so late in the game.... It takes a lot of money to be able to support an entire season of a show. The SciFi Channel had already allocated their funds for the year, so they couldn't pick it up.

If the show does well, the first 13, then it will be considered for a season, beginning with the second season, on the SciFi Channel. If the show does well, it will go on. "As for more what happened...

Let me tell you a fairy tale. And every fairy tale begins with Once Upon A Time...

"...There was a writer of songs in a kingdom. And he wasn't the best writer of songs on the entire planet. There were others who were as good or better. And he had written 110 really good songs... and four or five long odes.

And they said, 'Do some more songs for us.'

And he said, 'Sure.'

And he began writing more songs. And those were for this little kingdom which was great. As were the ministers, who had always before worked with him.

"Then the King heard about the new songs that were being commissioned. Not the Emperor. Not the Emperor Theodore and his wife Lady Jane. I ain't talking about them. I'm talking about the lower king of a particular land, all right. I don't want the Emperor getting pissed at me.

And he (the King) said, 'Well, I should be involved creatively.' "And thus there came... runners would come with scrolls, which the singer/songwriter would look at and burn.

"Now this is just a fairy tale. Okay? This is nothing but a fairy tale. This is not about Crusade. Okay? I'm just telling you a story here.

"And the King became wroth. He waxed Wroth, and Wroth wasn't very happy about it. Old joke, I'm sorry.

"So they called for a grand meeting at which, along one long table were ministers, and emissaries, and ambassadors, and functionaries and assistants, and programming-uh,...a whole lot of guys. Now on the other side of the table was the writer of songs. And they had plenty of these huge scrolls in front of them. And they began to open the first one.

"And the writer of songs said, 'no.'

"And they brought someone in with a book to explain to them what the word 'no meant, because they had never heard it before. And they said, 'no to what?'

"I said... The writer of songs said, in this imaginary story, 'no to all of it. No to all of it in all its parts and pieces, from page 1 to page 20. No to all of it.' The writer of songs felt that what they wanted was, in modern terms, for a moment, sort of Baywatch meets wrestling in space. Which was not applicable, exactly, to our fairy tale scenario. (aside: If I every work again, it'll be a miracle)

"It became clear that if the King's emissaries were not properly responded to, that they may say, 'you can only write 13 songs.' And the writer of songs said, 'better 13 songs that I can believe in than 22 that I do not.

"So there were 13 songs, and the writer of songs has moved to a different kingdom knowing that the 13 songs were songs that he wanted to hear. And in the 13th song there was a sub-thread in the song about people who come in with suggestions, which is rather similar to the King's situation. Astonishingly, the King saw the 13th song and didn't realize what it was.

"And the writer of songs moved to another kingdom and lived happily ever after.

"And this has nothing to do with Crusade or your question, but I thought I'd tell you that story because it amuses me."

TNT sekaantuu Crusadeen

Johdanto

Materiaali on JMS:n joulukuussa 1998 TNT:lle lähettämästä muistiosta, jossa JMS kommentoi TNT:n vaatimuksia jo kuvattuihin tai käsikirjoitusasteella oleviin jaksoihin. JMS postasi muistion nyysseihin 27.10.1999, asianomaisten nimet poistettuna.

TNT:n kommentit kursiivilla, [tarkentavat kommentit hakasuluissa].

You need to understand that the notes-giving process was ongoing, that every day was a fight, and every day there were pressures from WB and others to accede to those requests and notes. We were told repeatedly, "Look, give 'em the show they want for the first year, then you can make it your way in the second season."

I've always had a policy that if a note makes sense, whoEVER it comes from -- a network, a grip, a carpenter, whoever -- then I'll listen to it. So I tried, where possible, to listen for any notes that made sense in the whirlwind of ka-ka that came our way. Some who were not there said that I was acting unreasonably, and that only the one script WarZone was really affected, that the other scripts were already written and thus not affected. But nothing could be further from the truth. They were all whittled at in big or small ways.

If a note didn't make sense...then the answer had to be No.

The "big no" meeting was specifically about a small percentage of the scripts...and only one meeting out of many. They kept at us *constantly*.

As Michelangelo said, "Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle." Sometimes the notes nibbled at big issues, sometimes at small ones, but there are profound effects either way. Sometimes doing something as small as changing the rhythm of a scene can destroy it. Take a particularly memorable piece of classical music (I won't even name it to illustrate the point further) that begins "dah-dah-dah-DAAAH."

Now change it to "dah-dah-dah-BLAAAT." It's only one note difference. You can say it' s just a teensy change. But your gut says it ain't right, something there doesn't work.

Just for the hell of it...I'm going to reprint now one of my memos to TNT, omitting the name of the person involved. This is emblematic of some of the exchanges. (This memo was widely distributed to TNT, WB and Babylonian folks involved in the creative stuff, so it's by no means private.)

JMS:n yleinen vastaus

We've had a chance to review the latest batch of comments, and have some thoughts on how some of them can be done. Others, as will be examined below, are more problematic.

Prior to that, though, a general thought: when the notes process began in earnest subsequent to 105 [Each Night I Dream of Home, viimeinen vapaasti kuvattu jakso], we voiced the concern that we seemed to be getting conflicting reactions on the one hand we received requests for action, on the other hand we got requests for more dialogue about what the stories mean to the characters, scenes that allow them to express their feelings to one another. Prior to then, with the possible exception of a few scenes in 101 [The Needs of Earth], we had been primarily an action-based series.

We said at this time that we needed clarification: did TNT want more action, or more dialogue scenes/exposition? Since then, the script notes have been primarily oriented toward creating more dialogue scenes, more background on the characters, their feelings toward one another and the situations they're in, and the emotional consequences. Essentially, expository scenes of one sort or another. We have complied with those notes as much as we possibly could.

So you can understand my concern when, having done as TNT asked, we get notes on the cuts that essentially pillory us for having a slower pace. The pace is in large measure the result of adding in those expository scenes. If TNT asks for new scenes or to expand scenes in which characters talk about their feelings, it's going to perforce slow down the action aspect.

I feel it's unfair to take us to task for doing what we were told to do.

The Senator scene in 108 [War Zone] is particularly emblematic of this. That scene was originally much shorter. TNT asked for more information about how this was affecting people back home, how they felt about it. We did that, and now are being told that the scene is too long. It wasn't too long when we started with it. It only became too long after we added in all the things that TNT asked us for.

It is both confusing and demoralizing for all of us involved in the production of Crusade to receive contradictory notes. As I mentioned in our previous meetings, there has to be consistency; if the goal post keeps getting moved around the field, we have no idea what to move toward.

To be honest, the pacing that the current notes seem to be asking for is most embodied by episodes 101-105 [viisi viimeisenä esitettävää jaksoa, joita TNT ei sorkkinut], the kind of show we were making prior to the hiatus and notes process.

Anyway, that's a general reaction that I think we need to address at some point in the future. Meanwhile, on to the specific notes.

1 - War Zone

The pacing of this episode, as well as 106 [The Well of Forever] and 107 [The Long Road], is consistently slow.

While there may be some validity to this as far as 106 is concerned, about which more later, I find "slow pacing" a very difficult concept to apply to this episode.

WAR ZONE contains 25 interior shots, 52 exterior shots, and a total of 115 scenes over 43 pages, averaging 3 scenes or major shots per page, which is something of a record for a script on this or just about any other show. It has stunts, fights, hand-to-hand combat, air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat, sneaking, shooting, and buckets of other action. It is, frankly, the most ambitious and fastest-paced episode we've ever produced, rivaled only by 103 [Racing the Night, alkuperäinen avausjakso], which is in your hands now, and which is anything but slow.

I believe that, as with 103, the pacing will become more evident once the CGI and other effects are in.

The fight scene in the opening is choppy and unrealistic.

We did the best we could there with what we had in the dailies, which were also sent to TNT. It was a small set, and we really only have the two scenes with which to play.

However:

Ø I agree that there are some places where a couple of transitional shots (such as the downshot, and the crew running out the door coming into the stairwell scene) are a bit awkward, given the coverage we had. We jumped into the scene a bit faster because we wanted to speed up the pacing, get into the confrontation with Gideon quickly, rather than wait for them to start at the top of the stairs and come all the way down.

Ø We can try to further expand the fight by lengthening the first piece, but only by double-cutting some of the footage we have from B-camera and grabbing bits of side-action, but this will add more cuts and that may also make it more "choppy."

Ø If you want additional fight stuff for that scene, it would have to be shot as new material, and there will be costs involved in doing that.

The scenes which include the senator's speeches need to be cut back.

As noted previously, this scene was expanded to meet TNT's earlier notes. Virtually all of the information presented here is necessary for the audience to understand what the show is about: the plague, the blockade, why Gideon was chosen, and what the mission is.

Ø However: there is a small piece or two that can be lifted, about 5-15 seconds worth, which may help to pick up the pacing. It would, however, mean eliminating some of the material asked for in earlier notes. So if TNT is okay with that, we can trim up the scene and add those seconds to the fight scene in the teaser.

If "unrealistic" could be better defined for us, that would be very helpful, because that one has us kind of stumped.

Ø One other thing we can do in future episodes that will help the pacing is to work more closely with the directors, who tend to loved their long panning shots to open up a scene, rather than just jumping into it. (We sometimes get stuck with those long pans because coverage tends to start later into the scene, leaving us unable to cut into the scene any later.)

Gideon doesn't seem to have an understanding or a rapport with his ship.

So that I can better understand the note, at what point does Gideon indicate that he doesn't understand his ship?

As for "a rapport with his ship," in this episode he is assigned to the Excalibur for the first time. He's only been there for a few hours; it seems unrealistic to expect to build a rapport with a place in just a few hours.

There are also logic problems. How does he know where the conference room is on the Excalibur without some investigating?

In the first Excalibur scene, Matheson escorts Gideon to the bridge. Gideon can see the conference room from his chair. Since it is in his clear line of sight, I'm not sure how much further investigation is required in order to find it.

Introduce Trace by name earlier.

Ø We don't have any footage of this, but we can add an ADR line using his name.

Regarding the Chambers scene here we must agree to disagree. Her letter to her sister seems very emotional to everyone here and at WB. Further, it's not a crying scene because that scene is about encouraging her sister about their intention to find a cure. She has to be strong for her sister, not fall apart. This had to be done as a recorded letter to her sister because we couldn't afford another actor at that point.

Also, that scene was sent through in script, and everyone was fine with it at the time.

Regarding 106 and 107 as we noted in our conversation prior to their publication in script form, having done massive action shows in 101-105, we needed to have a couple of smaller, quieter shows in order to balance out the costs involved. So yes, they are slower episodes, as I noted at the time they would be. You can't produce every episode at a screaming pace and expect to stay on budget. Some are loud, some are quiet; the key is just to do more louds than quiets

3 - The Well of Forever

The opening seems slow. Is there a way to open with the scene in which Galen convinces the crew to go to the Well of Forever? This scene will catch the attention of the audience.

There are only two scenes in the opening: a walk-and-talk scene with Matheson and Gideon, in which we learn that Matheson is going to get tested to ensure that he has not been improperly scanning people telepathically, and the convince-the-crew scene. The most we could do structurally would be to flop the two scenes in sequence.

Both are dialogue scenes. The first one keeps us in motion, and sets up that Gideon is en route to a meeting; the second scene is that meeting. We cannot edit out that part because it comes at a point where the camera is moving and we're well into the scene. It seems to us best to start in on movement, to pull the audience in, and end on the conference scene, because that sets up the mystery: no one has ever come back. To have that moment, and then the walk-and-talk, would eliminate the dramatic end of the teaser, which we're hoping to use to make the audience want to come back after the commercial break.

So on careful reflection, this one can't really be done without actually working against the overall pacing and structure of the episode.

6 - Ruling from the Tomb

Kommentit ovat käsikirjoitusta koskevaan TNT-palautteeseen.

Regarding the recap of the request to edit down the Jehanne dialogue on page 13, expressed at the time because it seemed too "far out" as noted later in the script, we are using the actual dialogue of Joan of Arc in the script. So if we are to retain our historical accuracy, we can't really change that material.

Henderson's murder at the end of the teaser needs to have more physical action have it become more of a hand-to-hand struggle.

We have already had to pull back on some of the stunt work in that episode due to budget limitations, and adding one more here is not within the limits of what we can do. Also, the suddenness of the attack is what we're looking for, dramatically, rather than a prolonged struggle with someone we've never met.

Ø However, I've spoken with John Copeland about this (he's directing this episode), and he will do what he can to maximize the action of that scene without having to add stunts or other costly elements.

I hope that this will be of assistance in clarifying the situation. We will certainly try and do what we can in the areas where we indicated we have some room to work, but as always, the degree to which we can make modifications is dictated to us by the budget, and we have an obligation to both WB and TNT to stay within those limits.

8 - Appearances and Other Deceits

Nämä kommentit ovat myös käsikirjoituksesta. Ja niin uskomattomalta kuin se tuntuukin, aitoja - kannattaa muistaa että jakson koko konsultanttijuoni on vain JMS:n kuittailua TNT:n Crusadeen vaatimille muutoksille.

Can we have one of our primary characters become inhabited by the being instead of either Rice or Janey?

This is not possible; in order to provide the solution to the problem, we need Chambers, Eilerson and Matheson outside, and free. I chose those individuals specifically because they're the ones who together work out the solution. If you take any of them out of the equation, you don't have the people necessary to resolve this. So they can't become inhabited.

If we choose another character from our roster of regulars, that means a substantial rewrite and increased cast costs and we have further problems because we only have access to a limited number of episodes per cast member, and we're trying to spread them out for maximum effect. So this one we can't really do.

It might be fun to play up the comedy with (the fashion consultant) have him get the crew into more trouble, not out of it. [TNT-setä sanoo: "haluamme saattaa teidät vielä enemmän vaikeuksiin"]

That would be kind of the cliché way to go, in my view; to have him even inadvertently help the process is a nice surprise. Also, to create a thread where we have to set up a third problem in the script (the changes being asked for by Earth being one, the infestation being the second) and pay it off requires more room than we have in 43 pages, and is an unnecessary beat.

Can we heighten the crew's annoyance with the changes being made on the ship? [TNT-setä sanoo: "haluamme olla vieläkin kiusallisempia"]

The changes are not actually made until the end of the episode, which makes this rather problematic. We can add material in which they voice their concerns about what might be done, but this will again add expository dialogue that will slow down the pacing of the episode, and that seems to contradict what we are being asked for elsewhere.

Ø Re: "decoding of 'the air is human,'" >I'll look at that and see if we can extend the discovery of what he's trying to communicate to make it clearer about how they get there. Be advised, again, that this will add time and exposition and slow the pace.

[3.6.] Sekalaisia kommentteja

JMS kertoi nyysseissä yleisesti ongelmista TNT:n kanssa. Ja edelleen, JMS:n puhumat viisi ensimmäistä jaksoa ovat ne viisi viimeisenä esitettävää.

In one scene we shot, there's a slight reflection on the monitor wherein we can see Gideon's face reflected. (Intentional on the director's part.) They asked if we could give them the scene without the reflection. No, we can't...unless we reshoot it.

One other area where we ran up against a problem with understanding was on the EFX and delivery. They simply couldn't visualize what was going into a CGI shot before we actually *did* it. They'd look at a scene where we'd slugged time for action, and think it was slow, because no, there isn't anything there NOW, but there will be when the CGI is done.

They also kept saying (after the first 5) that the show was too dark, that they couldn't see anything, that the colors were muted. That's one reason they wanted the sets repainted, to make them more colorful. We kept saying, no, it's NOT too dark, we don't know where you're getting that.

I finally found out when I went to visit someone at TNT and looked at what THEY were looking at...not the digibeta footage, or a good clean copy of the edit...they were looking at a fourth- or fifth-generation dub of the *avid output*, which is a digitized version of the film, somewhat low-res.

So finally, we brought in their tech guy, and showed him the digital beta version, the actual footage. He looked at it, and said, "Oh, okay, you're right, it's not dark at all." But by then the mandate had come down from on high, LIGHTEN THE SCENES. Which is why the first five have a moodier, more stylistic look to them than the rest.