colin heaps <100622.3610@compuserve.com> asks:
> Having watched Z a few times now, I find myself thinking the
> unthinkable, has JMS lost the plot??? While I'm playing devil's
> advocate, what about Anna??

It seems to me that the problems you cite are really ones you've
put onto it, frankly. They don't really have anything to do with
what's being *done*, only with what you're projecting *might* be done.
And in some cases, your information is simply incorrect.

"While I'm playing devil's advocate, what about Anna?? I thought
shadow ships only worked with telepaths, you telling me that Psi Cops
didn't spot Anna was telepathic - I don't think so!!"

Incorrect. Ivanova even says, "Delenn never said that was
required." A shadow vessel can use *any* body and brain of sufficiently
evolved form as its CPU...the whole purpose of picking up teeps was to
start putting together ships that could withstand telepathic jamming.
That was the whole *point* of "Ship of Tears."

"I have a fundemental problem with this, namely, that unless JMS pulls
something absolutely extrodinary out of the bag, we are going to end
up with a quick and dirty fix, not what I think B5 is known for."

Translation: you haven't figured out yet how I'm going to pull
this off, so you're making an assumption based on what you can't figure
out. Why not wait and actually *see* what happens before judging?

"Another failing, the shadow ship with Mr G's ship in, historically
speaking we know that the shadow ships take people in, they are "wired"
into it, that suggests a centre of operations. For a Starfury to fit
inside a shadow ship, it's gonna loose an awful lot of itself, I don't
see it - sorry!"

Again, you're not paying sufficient attention, and citing it as
a problem in the show. Not everything it encounters is or has to be
wired into it. Remember "Shadow Dancing"? You see Anna's ship being
released by a shadow vessel and flying off. It wasn't in the *center*
of operations, it was held in the skin of the thing. Look at how *big*
these things are. They're huge. (Compare the size of the Narn attack
ships and the shadow vessels in "Coming of Shadows" for a good
perspective.) They can function almost like an aircraft carrier,
holding ships within their skin as they fly through hyperspace, then
releasing them on at a time, or by separating a piece of that skin and
firing them as a group (as also seen in the show).

"Maybe JMS should take 5 and step back from the problem a bit."

And maybe you should wait to see what I do first, then decide.
Because what you're pointing to as problems have *nothing* to do with
what I'm planning to do with the show.

jms

colin heaps <100622.3610@compuserve.com> asks:
> Having watched Z a few times now, I find myself thinking the
> unthinkable, has JMS lost the plot??? While I'm playing devil's
> advocate, what about Anna??

It seems to me that the problems you cite are really ones you've
put onto it, frankly. They don't really have anything to do with
what's being *done*, only with what you're projecting *might* be done.
And in some cases, your information is simply incorrect.

"While I'm playing devil's advocate, what about Anna?? I thought
shadow ships only worked with telepaths, you telling me that Psi Cops
didn't spot Anna was telepathic - I don't think so!!"

Incorrect. Ivanova even says, "Delenn never said that was
required." A shadow vessel can use *any* body and brain of sufficiently
evolved form as its CPU...the whole purpose of picking up teeps was to
start putting together ships that could withstand telepathic jamming.
That was the whole *point* of "Ship of Tears."

"I have a fundemental problem with this, namely, that unless JMS pulls
something absolutely extrodinary out of the bag, we are going to end
up with a quick and dirty fix, not what I think B5 is known for."

Translation: you haven't figured out yet how I'm going to pull
this off, so you're making an assumption based on what you can't figure
out. Why not wait and actually *see* what happens before judging?

"Another failing, the shadow ship with Mr G's ship in, historically
speaking we know that the shadow ships take people in, they are "wired"
into it, that suggests a centre of operations. For a Starfury to fit
inside a shadow ship, it's gonna loose an awful lot of itself, I don't
see it - sorry!"

Again, you're not paying sufficient attention, and citing it as
a problem in the show. Not everything it encounters is or has to be
wired into it. Remember "Shadow Dancing"? You see Anna's ship being
released by a shadow vessel and flying off. It wasn't in the *center*
of operations, it was held in the skin of the thing. Look at how *big*
these things are. They're huge. (Compare the size of the Narn attack
ships and the shadow vessels in "Coming of Shadows" for a good
perspective.) They can function almost like an aircraft carrier,
holding ships within their skin as they fly through hyperspace, then
releasing them on at a time, or by separating a piece of that skin and
firing them as a group (as also seen in the show).

"Maybe JMS should take 5 and step back from the problem a bit."

And maybe you should wait to see what I do first, then decide.
Because what you're pointing to as problems have *nothing* to do with
what I'm planning to do with the show.

jms

{original post had no questions}

Okay, got it, thanks for the clarification.

jms