<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>What is the Crusade Bible like? How is it set up? What does it contain?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
To partially answer your question (and for the benefit of those who have never seen one):
Every series has a "bible" or "writer's guide" that is used by freelance scriptwriters - especially before a show goes on the air, or into production, when they can't
watch the show to learn about it. Although the organization tends to vary a bit (I've seen four or five over the years, no two of them alike) they all cover pretty much the same material:
Description of the basic premise and style of the show, including any necessary backstory.
Descrpition of each of the regular characters, ditto.
Discussions of the types of stories the producers do and
don't want to see on the show.
Episode structure (does the show use a teaser and tag? How long should each be? Script lengths, use of opening narration, all that mechanical stuff.)
Often they'll include two or three line story synopses, both as a guide to the sort of story the show wants to do, and as a kind of menu the writers can choose from as the basis for their own scripts.
The bible is typically updated each season, to accomodate story and character changes.
I, too, have a copy of the
Crusade Bilble around here somewhere (along with the
Trek and
B5 S1 bibles) but I haven't seen them since I moved two years ago. Probably still buried in a box somewhere.
The
Crusade bible, being for a sequel, had to deal with the changes between
B5 S5 (2262) and 2267 - as well as warning the writers off storylines that would interfere with events in the novels or "SiL" Hence the references to
(Spoilers for events between "Objects at Rest" and "SiL")
<table bgcolor=black><tr><td bgcolor=black><font size=1 color=white>Spoiler:</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2 color=black>The deaths of Lennier and Lyta. The writers had to know that these two characters were not available for their scripts except in flashbacks.</font></td></tr></table>
Regards,
Joe
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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net