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Nothing in the way of TV in the works

J

Joseph DeMartino

Moderator
There was an interesting exchange on one of the comic book newsgroups today. A fan asked if the 9th issue of JMS's Supreme Power comic book was on newstands yet, another fan posted a rather snarky reply, and JMS jumped in:

>Not out yet. JMS is busy again with his TV stuff, so it should come as no >suprise that some of his other projects might suffer lateness.

And by what trail of evidence do you come to that (incidentally totally false) conclusion? You make an unequivocal statement that I'm "busy again with (my) TV stuff." What TV stuff would this be? Please cite the title, since you seem to know something definitive that even I and my agent do not know about.

The message went on to give information about production glitches and how far ahead JMS is on script production for his comics, but the significant part of the exchange for B5 fans is that it is clear that no "TV projects" have advanced as far as the writing and signed contracts phase, either in relation to B5:TMoS or as separate projects. Given the somewhat feverish speculation and wishful thinking about how far along certain non-TMoS B5 projects might be, I thought this worth pointing out.

Reading between the lines it does sound like there may be a TV discussion or two on-going (not necessarily related to B5) but nothing "definitive".

Regards,

Joe
 
I think JMS was a bit harsh to call the guy a liar. More likely, he was just mistaken, thinking that the new project JMS is on is TV, not the big screen, and JMS has hinted at some TV stuff in the works, too. But, that does make it clear that it is a theatrical film project, if anyone needed any more assurance. The fact that JMS is getting well ahead with his comic scripting also shows that he plans to be very involved with something for a while, in the not-to-distant future.

And, as a long-time Dr. Strange fan, I just may have to buy some Marvels, for the first time in years!
 
I read the JMS response a bit differently. To me it sounds like he is denying "TV Stuff" as the reason for the Supreme Power comic not being on newstands. This of course is different than denying the existance of "TV Stuff".

I do have a serious beef with JMS at the moment. How dare he make a post "around the ides of may" that has no B5:TmoS information. Pfft.
 
I read the JMS response a bit differently. To me it sounds like he is denying "TV Stuff" as the reason for the Supreme Power comic not being on newstands. This of course is different than denying the existance of "TV Stuff".

I do have a serious beef with JMS at the moment. How dare he make a post "around the ides of may" that has no B5:TmoS information. Pfft.
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On the basis that someone in a job like his will always be talking to different people about possible future projects, the lack of anything "definitive" on TV stuff, basically means that there is nothing going on that is unusual.

I read his post as specifically (well, as specifically as JMS gets) stating that he is not doing "TV stuff" at the moment - not just denying that is the reason for SP's lateness.

That doesn't mean he isn't talking to anyone about possible TV projects in the background, of course, but he probably does that quite often without us ever hearing about them because he doesn't end up getting involved.

And, as far as your last comment goes - on the off chance that you were being serious - remember that his "ides of May" post specifically pointed out that any announcement would come from "Harry, Jack and Albert" (ie Warner Brothers) and not from him.
 
I read the JMS response a bit differently. To me it sounds like he is denying "TV Stuff" as the reason for the Supreme Power comic not being on newstands. This of course is different than denying the existance of "TV Stuff".
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JMS doesn't prevaricate like that. If he say's there's no tv stuff keeping him occupied right now, you can take it as truth. That doesn't mean that there might not be in the future.

I do have a serious beef with JMS at the moment. How dare he make a post "around the ides of may" that has no B5:TmoS information. Pfft.
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"How dare he???" I sincerely hope you forgot your smilie but just in case... How many times do you have to be told that he cannot say anything until the official announcement is made?? There are certain protocols involved in showbiz and one of them is that the people handing you large amounts of money get to decide how, when and where to let people know about the project.

Jan
 
"How dare he???" I sincerely hope you forgot your smilie but just in case... How many times do you have to be told that he cannot say anything until the official announcement is made?? There are certain protocols involved in showbiz and one of them is that the people handing you large amounts of money get to decide how, when and where to let people know about the project.

Jan
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What is the deal with people being so angst ridden. This includes JMS's "snap" against the guy saying he was busy with "TV Stuff". I would say the vast majority of people reading this board, or the B5 newsgroups are fans of his work. Berating them because they innocently posted something that wasn't completely true is probably not a good way to treat your fan base. A simple, "the existance or non existance of TV Stuff is not the reason your comic is late", would have sufficed.

Yes, my "beef" statement was 50% humor, 30% irony, and 20% sarcasm (the Pfft is akin to an overexaggeration of throwing your head back, much like Humph!). I've been following the whol B5:TMoS so I am well aware of the stated protocol in which the information will be released, so no need to "how many times do you need to be told" me. Things are getting slightly too persnickety for me around here.
 
I have seen several JMS replies that were more aggressive than it seems they needed to be, but this guy's TV STUFF comment sounds pretty bad, the way I read it, and if it's not taken out of context, it seems to me he had a bitch-slap coming to him. ;)
 
JMS wasn't slapping the guy down for mentioning "TV stuff", but for blaming any perceived "lateness" on JMS's script being late - which it isn't. JMS gets a lot of grief for being "late with scripts" whenever an artist is late, a production glitch occurs or a distribution problem happens. A handful of late scripts a couple of years ago has earned him a rep and he gets pissed when people who pretend to have some kind of inside info just "announce" to the world at large that some delay is JMS's fault. He gets doubly annoyed when they compound the error by presuming to explain his lateness by making unfounded statements about his other commitments - hence the (richly deserved, in my estimation) bitch-slap to the present poster. (I don't follow that particular newsgroup, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is someone who has had his ears pinned back by JMS before for posting nonsense.)

And I do think it is very clear from his ever-careful wording that he isn't currently working on any "TV Stuff" - which is to say that there isn't a signed deal in place for anything like that. (Naturally he could be talking about six different series - but members of the WGA do not write to order without a contract in place.)

Regards,

Joe
 
Here's the complete post from JMSnews.com. I'm practicing my copy and paste technique :LOL:

>> Has Supreme Power #10 come out yet? It was suppossed to come out a week
>ago
>> wednesday but the shop where i buy my comics didn't have it. I tried
>another
>> store and they didn't have it either. Is it being shipped late or has it
>sold
>> out?
>
>Not out yet. JMS is busy again with his TV stuff, so it should come as no
>suprise that some of his other projects might suffer lateness.

And by what trail of evidence do you come to that (incidentally totally false)
conclusion? You make an unequivocal statement that I'm "busy again with (my)
TV stuff." What TV stuff would this be? Please cite the title, since you seem
to know something definitive that even I and my agent do not know about.

The reason this (well, let's call it what it is, shall we?) lie is so offensive
is that, after I finished Jeremiah in July, I had the option of jumping on
another show, but I elected instead to take a year off, partly to recover from
Jeremiah, but also to build up a backlog of scripts on the comics work so that
when I do jump on another show, there won't be any delays.

And there have been no delays in either title for going on two years. SP in
particular has come out like clockwork. The truth is never as colorful as a
really good lie, and the truth in this case is that both ASM and SP, among a
few other books, ran into some production glitches and got delayed. That's it.

ASM 507 is hitting stands this week, and I'm about to turn in 511 SP 9 hits
next week, and I'm about to turn in issue 13. You will note that in both
cases, I am four months ahead of delivery.

In addition, I've just turned in the first issues of the Doc Strange mini, plus
a new series I'm doing for Marvel.

So...you were quick to jump in with a falsehood. Let's see how quick you are
to jump in with an apology. Or do manners only run one way on the planet where
you come from?

jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
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Just FYI: The exchange quoted above was not on a B5 newsgroup, but on one devoted to comics - which is why that was what was emphasized in the posts, and why there should have been no expectation of any B5 information in the post. (Or even much reason to assume that people would be aware of the "ides of May" remark.)

Regards,

Joe
 
You know, as I read this JMS post I had to laugh. With every line from his post I kept on hearing the voice of the "Comic Book Guy" on the Simpsons. Yes, JMS sounds that petty. It is kind of pathetic.

Worst lie about TV stuff ever (what a joke)
 
JMS wasn't slapping the guy down for mentioning "TV stuff", but for blaming any perceived "lateness" on JMS's script being late - which it isn't.
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I thought JMS's post was rather harsh on my first reading. But, after reading Joe D's post, and giving it additional thought I think JMS was justified. It's one thing for a poster to express an opinion or a guess when clearly stating that it is an opinion or a guess. Otherwise it comes off as fact, and JMS was right to do the bitch-slapping.
 
It was a little OTT, IMO. JMS is obviously wanting to vent steam for some reason.
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A little OTT, perhaps, but not as OTT as some of the stuff I have read (and posted) on this and related boards over the last month or so.

As JMS noted a long time ago, it is hard to sit on news. It is even harder to be slammed for a rumor of a speculation on a misunderstanding. I hope the posters on the comics board are big enough to take it for what it is: just the trials and tribulations of a guy trying to communicate with his fans knowing that they know he knows a secret he cannot share. Personally, I would be a lot harsher about that kind of crap (for crap is what it is) than JMS under the circumstances.
 
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